Chapter 6

Ye Chengxing was completely unaware that she had just brushed right up against the edge of death.

After barely managing to tie up the curtains, she let out a sigh. It looked so hideous she couldn’t bear to look at it. She simply abandoned the idea of making them look pretty and walked back over to the table.

The food in this world was nothing like the food from the world she had come from.

For instance, the only things sitting in front of her and Li Jia right now were a bowl of porridge as plain as plain could be—not to mention pathetically meager in portion—and tubes of something called nutrient liquid.

The nutrient liquid filled transparent glass tubes and was utterly colorless.

The assistant had brought the porridge, and judging by her reaction, even this tiny amount had been incredibly hard to obtain.

What had the assistant said at the time?

—”We got lucky today. I bid high and managed to snag this porridge.”

Ye Chengxing had been so caught off guard by the words that it took her a moment to process them. To her, it was just a bowl of porridge.

But in the face of the assistant’s perfectly natural expression, she held back her questions. Instead, she decided to buy some food herself and take the opportunity to observe her surroundings.

That was when Ye Chengxing discovered, to her shock, that most people in this world subsisted solely on nutrient liquid. Freshly prepared food—the kind she took for granted—was a luxury reserved for those in positions of great power or immense wealth.

She slid the bowl of porridge over to Li Jia and cracked open a tube of nutrient liquid for herself.

Li Jia lowered her gaze to the porridge now sitting before her, her thoughts inscrutable.

The nutrient liquid had virtually no flavor—just the mouthfeel of a thin liquid—but it delivered a clear sense of fullness. Ye Chengxing sipped it leisurely, a bit here and there, then ventured a question in the lull. “Li Jia, have you thought about going back to school?”

Li Jia paused at the question, then slowly lifted her eyes until they rested on Ye Chengxing.

Going… back to school?

Ye Chengxing assumed the suggestion felt abrupt, so she pondered for two seconds before elaborating. “I mean continuing your studies. Of course, that doesn’t mean you couldn’t keep acting. High school coursework can be demanding, though, so it might get a little hectic.”

“I’ve already found a school for you, but I wasn’t sure about your preferences. What do you think? Does it sound okay?”

As Ye Chengxing spoke, she raised her eyes and met Li Jia’s gaze head-on. Sunlight slanted in from the side, gilding her lashes and making her look impossibly radiant.

A memory surfaced unbidden in Li Jia’s mind: certain proclivities of the Alpha before her. First, to offer redemption… then to utterly destroy. It was a classic ploy.

Ye Chengxing probably didn’t just want her face and body. No, she wanted her heart as well.

Well then… let’s see how far she could take it. If she couldn’t make things entertaining enough, Li Jia would simply kill her.

With such mocking thoughts swirling in her mind, Li Jia schooled her features into an expression of wistful longing. She looked almost shy, utterly harmless. “C-Can I?”

Seeing that look softened something bittersweet inside Ye Chengxing. She gentled her voice. “Of course you can. I’ve even hired a tutor, so don’t worry about it.”

The original plot had mentioned Li Jia’s brilliance time and again—prodigious, almost otherworldly. It was precisely because her agent and company had recognized this that they tightened their control, cutting her off from the outside world. They hadn’t even given her a phone, terrified she might slip their grasp.

It was revolting.

Every time Ye Chengxing thought of them, a spark of fury ignited in her chest. Once she finished nursing Li Jia back to health over the next few days, she would head straight to Li Jia’s old company, terminate the contract, and set her free to go wherever she pleased.

She hatched her plans inwardly while describing the school she’d chosen—the environment, the facilities. She even pulled out her phone. The technology here was astonishingly advanced; with a tap, a holographic panorama sprang to life before them.

“It’s this one. The faculty’s solid, and their graduation results have always been top-notch. Take a look. If it doesn’t suit you, we can find another.” Ye Chengxing adjusted the view for better details, her explanations patient and unhurried, her tone as soothing as a spring breeze.

Li Jia’s eyes swept over the holographic schoolscape, a flicker of something odd passing through them.

She knew Ye Chengxing had money and influence to spare, so she could tell this was no mere “solid-faculty” school. On the contrary, it was the kind not even the wealthy and powerful could always buy their way into.

She had no idea how Ye Chengxing had managed to enroll her. After all, right now, she truly had nothing—no status, no records, not even an official school registration.

Ye Chengxing was probably just toying with her. Dangling a beautiful illusion, but never letting it come true.

Memories of her previous life rose up. Even after gaining power, years of lost time meant she could only hire private tutors and take exams independently. She had never experienced high school. At that point in her life, books and schoolwork had seemed like unattainable dreams. Each day brought fresh nightmares, no light, no future. Who would dare hope for something like school?

But this life was unfolding on entirely different rails.

Amusement curled the Omega’s lips.

“Then this school it is,” Li Jia said, lowering her lashes. Though she was convinced Ye Chengxing was just painting a pretty picture, she cloaked herself in softness and innocence, her voice brimming with trust. “I believe you. If you say it’s possible, then it is.”

She lifted her head. “But you still haven’t told me what to call you…”

Ye Chengxing blinked at the question, considering for two seconds. “How about calling me ‘Sis’?”

Even before transmigrating, she had been older than Li Jia was now.

At the answer, the Omega tested it out softly. “Sis?”

Li Jia wasn’t just strikingly beautiful; her voice was captivating too. Even those two ordinary syllables took on an indescribable allure in her mouth.

Ye Chengxing felt her face inexplicably warm. She almost said one syllable would suffice, but one look at the Omega’s innocent expression and trusting gaze changed her mind. What was wrong with “Sis,” anyway? Any hint of ambiguity was just her own impure thoughts. Clearing her mind, she responded to the word with utmost seriousness and propriety.

Come to think of it, even before transmigrating, she’d been an only child—no sisters, no little siblings.

But now that Li Jia had called her “Sis,” from this day forward, she would cherish and protect her like true family.

After confirming Li Jia’s wishes, Ye Chengxing contacted a tutor.

The enrollment at that school had gone so smoothly because they required a placement test before official admission. Ye Chengxing had assured them Li Jia’s scores wouldn’t disappoint; if they did, the school could reject her without her reneging on her pledge to donate a building.

Li Jia was exceptionally intelligent—like a gem shrouded in dust. Ye Chengxing was confident the girl could hit the mark before the exam.

Honestly, if not for those excruciating, soul-crushing ordeals that twisted Li Jia into darkness, Ye Chengxing thought she could have been the protagonist.

The original plot lavished hundreds of words on her appearances every time she appeared, endlessly praising the villain’s cunning and stratagems.

It was a shame Li Jia wasn’t the lead. If she had been, the ending wouldn’t have been so tragic…

With a sigh, Ye Chengxing pushed the thought aside.

After a full night’s rest—plus the suppressant and fever-reducing injection from before, and now breakfast—Li Jia’s complexion had improved markedly. Her skin was still pale, but it had shifted from a deathly pallor to a healthy, luminous ivory glow.

Even so, Ye Chengxing wasn’t entirely reassured. She arranged for a full-body checkup, and only once the doctor confirmed the Omega was completely recovered did she finally relax.

They were discharged the next morning after the checkup. Ye Chengxing had specially ordered a massive bouquet—so huge it barely fit in her arms—filling the room with fragrance.

Li Jia cradled the flowers, a mix of surprise and bashfulness lighting her face. Though the blooms were vibrant, her smile outshone them in that instant. “Thank you, Sis.”

Ye Chengxing’s expression softened at her words. “No need to thank me. Wait here in the room while I handle the discharge paperwork.”

Li Jia watched with a smile as Ye Chengxing pushed open the door. The instant it clicked shut behind her, the smile dropped from her face. She tossed the flowers aside.

Just then, the doctor who had been overseeing Li Jia’s care entered.

The Omega was perched on the bed. She turned at the sound of the door, and though sunlight flooded the room, for that split second, her expression held an indescribable shadow of menace.

The doctor stared, seized by an urge to step back. But this was the same mild-mannered, beautiful patient all the nurses knew and liked—the one whose lips always curved in a gentle smile. How could she make such a face? It must have been a trick of the light; in the next blink, the Omega on the bed was soft and sweet again.

Probably just her imagination.

The doctor frowned, suppressing the unease.

She had watched Li Jia’s condition improve day by day these past few days, yet her mind kept flashing back to the girl’s state upon arrival.

She knew she shouldn’t say it, but after seeing so many Alphas with two-faced facades, the doctor still remembered how wretched the Omega named Li Jia had looked when she was carried in. Any later, and it might have been too late.

“Do you need help? If an Alpha has hurt you, don’t hold back. And don’t let post-harm guilt trips fool you into forgiving them.” After a moment’s hesitation, the doctor spoke up.

Li Jia slowly gathered the discarded flowers again, her slender fingers toying with the petals. “You mean the Alpha who’s been by my side these past few days?”

The doctor nodded.

“To be precise, she saved me.” Li Jia met the doctor’s eyes with a meaningful smile. “I’m planning to thank her properly in the days ahead.”

When the Omega said “thank her properly,” she bit off the words with particular emphasis.