Chapter 32:
If you can’t wear them, you can throw them away. Mu Sixue’s words left Yan Qinghe a little dazed. She furrowed her brow and leaned back in the chair in front of her desk, her eyes vacant.
With a sense of loss, she thought, Sometimes, the things Senior says are very similar to the young Ji Qianqian, following her heart’s desires without overstepping boundaries.
She knew that Qianqian, dressed so seductively, had come to her house today to reconcile with her.
But she didn’t want to see Qianqian humble herself for her. It reminded her of her own past humility, and it also made her miss the old Qianqian even more.
No matter how Qianqian had changed later, it couldn’t change the fact that they were childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree.
In a moment, childhood memories galloped through her mind like a horse.
Yan Qinghe clutched her chest, a dark shadow falling over her eyes. The setting sun, shrouded in a hazy mist, silently coated her with a layer of lonely light.
She loved Qianqian so much. She missed the Qianqian before she had differentiated into an alpha, her Sister Qianqian.
When they were children, Qianqian, in a pretty dress, had given her a piece of candy. After eating it, she had thought it tasted average, but moved by the kindness, she had still crunched it down.
From then on, whenever she came across something delicious, she would share it with her.
At first, Qianqian would accept it. Later, she would give it to the servants in front of her, explaining seriously that she was on a diet to dance well. With a serious look on her pretty face, she would pat her head and, like an older sister teaching a younger one, tell her—
[Qinghe, if you come across something you really don’t like or can’t eat, don’t force yourself to eat it, even if it’s given to you by the person closest to you.
You don’t have to consider me in everything. Sister Qianqian hopes you’ll be a little kinder to yourself.]
[You are the young master of the Yan Corporation. You don’t have to wrong yourself for others, even if that person is me.]
She had remembered Sister Qianqian’s words for many years as a child.
Her mother, Yan Manxing, had raised her with a suppressive style of education. Whenever she made a mistake, she would either have to face the wall and reflect, or be met with cold words, cold violence, be denied food, and be locked in a dark room.
If it weren’t for her Little Aunt, she would have probably starved or frozen to death in that room, and no servant would have dared to ask about her.
Besides her Little Aunt, Qianqian would also put in a good word for her in front of her mother. Every time Yan Manxing belittled her in front of the family, Qianqian would stand up and say that Qinghe was really great, and that her aunt just hadn’t seen her good qualities.
If their first meeting was a surrender to Ji Qianqian’s stunning beauty after she had grown up, then the more they got to know each other, the more she could feel Qianqian’s care for her.
When did Qianqian’s attitude towards her change so drastically, as if she had two faces?
It was probably because of that incident. Yan Qinghe’s hands fell, dangling on either side of the office chair, as if she had been shot by an arrow.
It started when she had forcibly marked Ji Qianqian, their terrible first time, when she had suddenly differentiated into an alpha and forcibly marked Qianqian.
They had only just come of age then.
Qianqian’s mother had been forcibly marked by her biological father, resulting in Qianqian’s birth.
The terrible circumstances of her own origin, and her mother’s influence, had made Qianqian hate all alphas, giving her a deep-seated fear of them.
And she had only deepened that shadow.
So, no matter how much Ji Qianqian had belittled and trampled on her later, she had willingly endured it.
But today, after being reborn, she suddenly realized—
The Sister Qianqian in her heart, due to her mistake, due to various twists of fate, had long since vanished on the day she was marked by her.
From then on, Ji Qianqian’s feelings for her had soured from that of a sister, a friend. After all, what kind of sisters would sleep together? From the moment her first time was taken, the way Ji Qianqian looked at her was no longer as pure as an older sister’s.
She knew she hated her, but she didn’t know that this hatred would last so long. Hatred, coupled with a long-planned goal, had made her willing to submit to her, to carry her child, and then, in the end, to deal her the greatest blow by aborting their child and taking over her company. How cruel.
Unknowingly, they had long since become enemies, a resentful couple.
In their previous life, their souls had already gone their separate ways. Yan Qinghe sighed, then, in the next moment, covered her moist eyes with a laugh.
The ridiculous thing was, their pheromone compatibility was still a damned one hundred percent. Their bodies were still incredibly compatible.
An irresistible sexual attraction. Her pheromones seemed to only react to Ji Qianqian. Even during occasional self-pleasure, she could only find complete release by thinking of Qianqian. Afterward, she would be filled with self-loathing, waiting for despair and sorrow to envelop her again.
Did Qianqian know this, and was that why she was getting close again?
She understood Ji Qianqian less and less. She was even more afraid that Ji Qianqian had the same goal as in her past life: to get close to her, to tempt her, and then, in the end, to make her submit.
She had to admit, psychologically, she had developed a kind of PTSD named Ji Qianqian.
Physiologically, however, only Ji Qianqian could release all the desires suppressed by her pheromones.
Pain… The moment she had inhaled Mu Sixue’s scent, she had felt as if she had returned to her childhood, to the pure and innocent years with Ji Qianqian.
She missed Mu Sixue’s beautiful, slender fingers. Her whole body trembled, an unbearable ache.
It was just a simple desire to hold that hand. Yan Qinghe crossed her hands and pressed them to her forehead, then imitated Mu Sixue, lightly touching her ring finger.
As the lights came on and dusk fell, her long, slender fingers seemed to overlap with Mu Sixue’s. It felt so familiar, as if she had held such a hand in her memory and run for a long, long time.
Was it in a dream? Or was it not Mu Sixue, but that person?
That person… Yan Qinghe suddenly sat up straight, her lips almost bleeding from her bite. She slapped her face hard, thinking she was overthinking.
She forced herself to change her train of thought—Mu Sixue’s fingers showed no problem at all. Was it really congenital, as she had said?
A guess suddenly formed in her mind, and her heart skipped a beat… She pursed her lips, then thought it was her private business and she shouldn’t pry.
This pair of beautiful hands, and Mu Sixue’s cold, snowy scent, had temporarily diverted her chaotic thoughts.
She furrowed her brow and opened her computer, first dealing with some of the corporation’s affairs. The manager she had previously entrusted was now in the process of handing over the details of the corporation’s projects to her. She needed to check not only the various sub-projects of the Yan Corporation, but also various management issues.
In her past life, the corporation’s elders, with their various factions, had become even more rampant after Yan Manxing’s disappearance and Xi Zhaowan’s departure, each claiming their own territory. This had given Ji Qianqian the opportunity to seize control of the company while she was abroad.
In this life, she had to manage the company well and not let down her Little Aunt’s hard work. That was the most important thing.
After working some overtime, she received a notice from the director. There was one last scene to shoot.
Fei Qiankun’s words were sincere: Please, Chairwoman Yan, save us one last time.
He had attached several praying hands emojis. Seeing Fei Qiankun’s obsequious manner, she felt a little uneasy.
After several encounters, she had a preliminary understanding of Director Fei’s personality. Although Fei Qiankun looked easygoing, a smiling tiger, he was extremely stubborn about the quality of his scenes.
The character she was playing was Ling Han, and the original actress was Xue Menghuan. Once, she had been slightly injured during a scene, but Fei Qiankun, while smiling, had refused to let her go, suggesting she finish the scene.
How could such a serious director let an amateur like her just show her face for a scene, and then use AI face-swapping technology to replace it with Xue Menghuan’s face?
No matter how high the restoration rate, her acting skills were not that of a professional actress and couldn’t compare to Xue Menghuan’s. Besides, in terms of the final effect, it would be better for her to show her real face.
What was Fei Qiankun thinking, or rather, what were the people behind him thinking?
She had been smart since she was a child, her mind quick and agile.
It could only be that the financial backer was using their money to pressure Fei Qiankun into letting her act. It was obvious who this person was. Besides the film’s investor—Wei Weizhi of the Wei Group—who else could it be?
After finishing her company’s affairs remotely, Yan Qinghe called Wei Weizhi’s phone.
When Wei Weizhi answered, she seemed to be talking to someone and couldn’t be bothered with her.
“Sob, sob, sob, I’ll listen to you. Baby, don’t ignore me. I want to sleep at your place tonight.”
Goosebumps broke out on Yan Qinghe’s arm. The demoness Wei had been in the game for many years, decisive and ruthless in business. As an S-class alpha, she had always been able to get any omega she wanted with a flick of her finger.
She had never heard her be so…
And she was acting cute?! She remembered that when Wei Weizhi was pursuing her Little Aunt, she wasn’t this clingy. Even with so many rivals, Yan Qing before her, and her mother, Yan Manxing, after, even if they all liked Xi Zhaowan.
Even in such a situation, Wei Weizhi had never clung to her Little Aunt, but had been polite and courteous, like a gentleman.
But on the phone, who could make the demoness Wei throw away her pride and shamelessly insist on sharing a bed?
A big question mark formed in Yan Qinghe’s mind. Then she heard the woman’s reply on the other end, a cold “Get lost!”
The voice was cold, with a casual pride, like an empress on her throne, haughtily reprimanding a subject.
She was suddenly startled. Just that one word, that voice was so familiar! Where had she heard it before, and more than once?
She had heard before that the playgirl Wei had turned over a new leaf and was relentlessly pursuing a woman. Was it the one on the phone?
Wei Weizhi seemed to be even happier after hearing the word “get lost,” smiling without a care. After a while, she realized someone else was there.
Her tone changed instantly, all business, asking Yan Qinghe what was the matter. Her face changed faster than a magic trick.
Pinching her earlobe, Yan Qinghe brought her thoughts back. She turned her purpose for calling into a question and threw it all out, stating seriously that if President Wei didn’t answer, she wouldn’t act in this scene.
Wei Weizhi smiled nonchalantly. “It’s fine if Chairwoman Yan doesn’t act. Xue Menghuan can just fill in.”
She even added meaningfully that Xue Menghuan was not sick.
Yan Qinghe was speechless.
Wei Weizhi: “But the great Miss Ji will probably be sad. If you don’t act, this deal will be a huge loss for Ji Qianqian.”
Yan Qinghe frowned, her mind racing with a possible guess. She asked her coldly what she meant.
So, it really wasn’t a coincidence, but Ji Qianqian had found a way to make her act?
Boring. Yan Qinghe’s heart grew cold. She felt that Ji Qianqian was indeed no different from her past life, resorting to any means to achieve her goals.
In her past life, she had gotten close to her to expand her Ji Corporation’s business empire.
In this life, what was her purpose for getting close to her? It must be the same as in her past life.
Round and round, utterly uninteresting, utterly vulgar.
However, Wei Weizhi’s answer left her stunned for a long time.
“For you to act in these three scenes, the great Miss Ji gave me a very generous amount of Ji Corporation’s shares,” Wei Weizhi said happily.
Three short days of filming in exchange for shares worth hundreds of millions. She had made a fortune.