Chapter 7

The doctor missed the deeper meaning behind Li Jia’s words. Hearing her say that, her first reaction was that she had misunderstood, and she felt a bit embarrassed. “Sorry about that…”

Li Jia smiled good-naturedly. She was already holding a bouquet of flowers in her arms, which only made her look even more innocent and harmless.

Just then, Ye Chengxing finished handling the discharge paperwork and returned. She happened to meet the doctor’s apologetic gaze. Her tone was utterly earnest. “I’m sorry. I misunderstood you these past few days.”

Ye Chengxing paused for a moment. “It’s fine.”

In truth… it wasn’t exactly a misunderstanding. She had transmigrated here. If she hadn’t, this world’s “Ye Chengxing” really would have been the kind of scumbag Alpha the doctor imagined.

With the discharge formalities complete, Li Jia followed Ye Chengxing to the elevator.

Ye Chengxing had parked her car in the hospital’s parking lot.

—Ever since Li Jia’s condition had improved, she had taken the opportunity to drive it over.

In the past couple of days, the original owner’s scumbag friends had sent her no shortage of messages, but Ye Chengxing hadn’t replied to a single one.

Once they were in the car, she handed Li Jia an elegantly wrapped little box with a smile. “A discharge gift.”

Li Jia took the box, sensing something. Her eyes flickered subtly.

She opened it, and sure enough—

Inside was the latest model of smartphone.

She couldn’t help thinking that the changes in this life were almost too drastic. But considering Ye Chengxing’s fetishes, it made a strange sort of sense.

Still, upon closer reflection, there was always this faint sense of something off.

All she had to offer right now was her face and her body. She had acted dependent and trusting enough, yet after all these days, Ye Chengxing hadn’t shown any cracks in her facade. If anything, she had grown even more attentive and considerate.

This life’s Ye Chengxing bore a subtle resemblance to the one from her previous life, but it somehow… wasn’t quite the same.

Ye Chengxing started the car. In the brief intervals, she stole a glance at Li Jia with her peripheral vision.

The Omega clutched the box in her hands, her fingertips tightening, her expression slightly frozen.

Ye Chengxing felt a twinge of nervousness. She really didn’t know much about this world. Even with the memories and some glimpses of the original plot, the everyday details like this weren’t covered in depth. She had no idea if this phone was a good gift or not. Assuming Li Jia didn’t like it, she said, “If you don’t like it, we can exchange it for something else. No problem at all.”

Li Jia took the phone out of the box. As it touched her skin, it felt slightly cool. She suddenly let out a silent scoff.

“No, it’s just… I didn’t expect my sister to buy me a phone. It’s a bit sudden. After all, before this, they never let me touch things like that…” As she spoke, Li Jia flawlessly mimicked a vulnerable tone, lowering her lashes.

She speculated with keen interest, but she couldn’t quite predict Ye Chengxing’s next move.

Was Ye Chengxing planning to keep treating her this well, win her heart, and then crush it underfoot?

If so, she hoped Ye Chengxing would try harder. This level of effort wasn’t enough to bring her any pleasure.

Ye Chengxing, of course, had no inkling of what was going through Li Jia’s mind. Focused on driving, she kept her eyes glued to the road.

Ever since witnessing that flying taxi last time, Ye Chengxing had crammed this world’s traffic rules. She had them memorized now. Still, she preferred driving on the ground for the moment. She planned to experiment with aerial driving later, when she was alone in the car on an empty road.

As Ye Chengxing drove, listening to the Omega’s cautious, melancholic, and puzzled tone, her thoughts drifted back to those scumbags. Her heart ached fiercely. The villainess was truly so pitiful. The more she thought about it, the more her heart hurt. She nearly blurted out, “What’s one phone? Sister will buy you anything you want.”

But saying that outright would likely cause a misunderstanding. Their current relationship wasn’t intimate enough for such familiarity. Though she had coaxed Li Jia into calling her “sister,” in the Omega’s eyes, her kindness might seem suspiciously inexplicable.

The situation as it stood offered no real justification. She needed to take it step by step.

Ye Chengxing silently repeated that to herself three times, steadying her emotions. Then she changed the subject. “By the way, I found an empty house for you, but it hasn’t been set up yet. Would you mind staying at my place for a while?”

Li Jia listened to her voice, a spark of interest lighting her eyes.

Was she finally about to show her true colors?

She wasn’t quite done playing yet, but in any game, there came a point where you had to wrap things up.

She parted her lips slowly, like a hunter who had finally seen her prey take the bait—but in no hurry. “Sister, won’t that be too much trouble for you?”

“Not at all.” In the time it took to exchange those few words, they had reached the villa district. Ye Chengxing parked the car, got out, and opened the door on Li Jia’s side. “Just treat this place like your own home.”

Li Jia picked up the phone, cradling it along with the gift box in her arms as if it were precious treasure. She lowered her gaze, murmuring a soft, seemingly bashful “mm” in response. “Sister, you’re so good to me. I’ll definitely repay you someday.”

At an angle Ye Chengxing couldn’t see, the Omega’s pupils trembled violently with excitement and delight.

Killing her in her own home… that seemed like a fine choice too.

…

Ye Chengxing had spent most of the past two days at the hospital by Li Jia’s side. Anything they needed, she either had her assistant deliver or bought new.

She had come back yesterday to fetch a car from the garage and park it at the hospital, making it convenient for Li Jia’s discharge today.

She hadn’t lingered much at the villa for two reasons: one was Li Jia, and the other was the villa’s decor. The oppressive, blood-like color scheme permeated the entire place. The original owner had also stuffed it with all sorts of macabre collectibles. Staying there too long made her feel stifled, so Ye Chengxing had the AI overhaul it. She even had it redesign the exterior. But the scope was so vast that it would take over ten hours—conveniently finishing right on the day of Li Jia’s discharge.

Though she had already encountered AI in daily life, Ye Chengxing still wasn’t used to it rushing toward her the moment she opened the door.

The AI had shed its previous grotesque, rotting-head appearance for a pure white, round little robot body. It rolled on four metal wheels, with a screen where its face should be, displaying emoticon features. It looked utterly adorable, like an exuberant little sun.

“Master, you’re finally home!”

As it said this, it whizzed over to Li Jia’s side. But in front of her, its tone turned polite and courteous. “This seems to be a new face. Should I record her, Master?”

Ye Chengxing’s expression twitched subtly at the word “Master,” but she quickly replied, “Yes.”

She recalled the general procedure from her memories. The AI obeyed its owner’s voice commands, so Ye Chengxing simply stated Li Jia’s name aloud, spelling out the characters to avoid any mix-ups, making it easy for the AI to register.

Once registered, the AI’s attitude toward Li Jia warmed up instantly. It bustled about, fetching slippers for them and taking their outer coats.

Ye Chengxing couldn’t help marveling inwardly once more at how convenient this world’s high tech was.

The AI was highly efficient. The villa’s new decor was uniformly bright and airy. There were plenty of spare rooms, each one spotlessly clean and ready for immediate occupancy.

Ye Chengxing’s own bedroom was on the second floor. She glanced at the Omega still lingering by the door and smiled at her, eyes crinkling. “Li Jia, pick any room you like. I’ve already registered your info, so if you need anything, just call… Xiao Bai to help.”

She stumbled a bit at the end, realizing then that the original owner hadn’t named the villa’s AI. Calling it “AI” felt awkward, and name-brained as she was, she blurted out “Xiao Bai” on the spot.

A second later, she pondered it.

Yeah, a white, round little robot—Xiao Bai suited it perfectly.

This villa had only housed the Alpha before. Now, Li Jia was the only other person registered.

Li Jia met Ye Chengxing’s smiling eyes and suddenly found her actions baffling. For the first time, she doubted her own assumptions.

Ye Chengxing hadn’t hidden the registration from her, so Li Jia had clearly seen that she was granted the same level of access as Ye Chengxing herself.

That meant she now had full control of the entire villa, including all the passwords. If she wanted to do anything, Ye Chengxing would be none the wiser.

Why had Ye Chengxing given her such high privileges?

She knew this was Ye Chengxing’s villa from her previous life, despite the style change. It wasn’t some new place bought to house a mistress like a pet bird. And that made it all the more incomprehensible.

Hadn’t she seen so many lovers quarrel over access permissions?

Was Ye Chengxing betting everything on this, handing her top-level access just to win the game? Wasn’t she afraid of losing her gamble?

Li Jia watched the AI rolling back and forth in the sunlight nearby, its face displaying a happy emoticon. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, bright daylight streamed in, reflecting off the light-colored floors almost prismatically.

She couldn’t shake the thought: Why was everything around this life’s Ye Chengxing always so bright?

Too bright.

It stung her eyes like the light itself. Li Jia averted her gaze. “Sister, aren’t you afraid I’ll do something with such high privileges? Or does my sister give this level of access to everyone she brings home?”

Ye Chengxing blinked, then hurriedly denied it. “Of course not. I wouldn’t give such high privileges to just anyone I bring home.”

With that, across the short distance between them, Ye Chengxing met Li Jia’s eyes.

She curved her own into crescents, beaming radiantly. “But it’s you I brought home. I trust you.”