Because of Zhuang Meiyan’s phone call, Ji Yao mustered the courage to visit her parents.
After returning home and getting a good night’s sleep, she went to the supermarket the next day.
She bought a gold necklace that Zhuang Meiyan liked and a tea set for Ji Hong, then returned to the home she hadn’t set foot in for three years.
The door lock had long been changed, so Ji Yao couldn’t get in. She could only hold her gifts and ring the doorbell.
No one answered for a long time, so she waited patiently.
Nearly half an hour later, she finally saw Zhuang Meiyan and Ji Hong stepping out of the elevator.
Just as she remembered, Zhuang Meiyan was affectionately holding Ji Hong’s arm, her face blooming with a radiant smile.
But the moment she saw Ji Yao, her expression froze over as if coated in ice.
Her hand slipped out of Ji Hong’s arm.
In Ji Yao’s memory, Zhuang Meiyan had never been particularly gentle and was even a bit nagging, while Ji Hong had always played the role of the warm, caring father more tender-hearted than Zhuang Meiyan, an omega.
To Ji Yao, these were the parents she hadn’t seen in three years. But to Zhuang Meiyan and Ji Hong, she was the unruly, good-for-nothing daughter they had disowned.
Naturally, Zhuang Meiyan showed her no kindness.
It was hard to recall how long it had been since they last saw Ji Yao, but Zhuang Meiyan had no intention of leaving her with even a shred of warmth.
“We’ve already cut ties. Why did you list me as your emergency contact?” Zhuang Meiyan’s cold questioning forced Ji Yao to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.”
She set the tea set down on the floor, picked up the necklace box, and walked over to Zhuang Meiyan. With pitiful, puppy-dog eyes, she called out softly, “Mom!”
Without a word, Zhuang Meiyan slapped her hard across the face.
Ji Yao’s cheek reddened instantly, followed by an expression of shock and disbelief. The feigned pitifulness in her eyes turned into genuine hurt.
For a moment, Zhuang Meiyan felt a pang of regret, her hand hanging limply at her side before she finally lowered it.
Ji Hong, standing behind her, was already flustered. He quickly put down the groceries and meat he was carrying and moved to check on Ji Yao.
But Zhuang Meiyan snapped back to her senses and said coldly, “Don’t move!”
“Does Ji Yao need your pity?”
Although Zhuang Meiyan was an omega, she wasn’t the gentle type. She had always been this way, and facing Ji Yao only intensified it!
Even though she hadn’t seen that expression on Ji Yao’s face in a long time, her moment of soft-heartedness was fleeting.
From the day Ji Yao declared she was cutting ties, Zhuang Meiyan knew she shouldn’t show her any more leniency.
She had once thought that Ji Yao was just going through a delayed rebellious phase, which explained her defiant behavior and troublemaking.
After all, during her school years, Ji Yao had been so well-behaved. The only rebellious thing she did was chase celebrities, but even then, she would save up money from part-time jobs to do so.
Everyone needs a few small hobbies in life, and Zhuang Meiyan never interfered. Besides, she and Ji Hong were in the midst of advancing their careers at the time. By the time things stabilized, Ji Yao was already in college.
After graduation, she obediently took the civil service exam. Zhuang Meiyan believed she had respected her daughter, allowing her to try it for a year as promised and never forcing her afterward.
She and Ji Hong had only one child. Though she wasn’t spoiled growing up, she never lacked for anything. So Zhuang Meiyan couldn’t understand how, after joining a television station and entering the entertainment industry, Ji Yao had so quickly become someone she no longer recognized.
Their concern and care for her, in Ji Yao’s eyes, had turned into restrictions on her freedom. What was once a harmonious family environment became stifling and awkward.
Until she married Shi Yu and drew a clear line between them.
Zhuang Meiyan didn’t dislike Shi Yu, nor did she have any prejudice against people in the entertainment industry.
In fact, she had an excellent impression of Shi Yu and knew that Ji Yao had been Shi Yu’s fan since childhood. But during that period, Ji Yao had become so unfamiliar that Zhuang Meiyan could hardly recognize her.
Everything Ji Yao did was rebellious and unconventional, and Zhuang Meiyan feared that Ji Yao would hold Shi Yu back.
Yet all she received in return was: “Shi Yu is willing. Who do you think you are, meddling in everything?”
That day, the three of them had a fierce argument, and Ji Yao roared, cutting off ties with them.
Disappointed time and again, Zhuang Meiyan ignored Ji Hong’s advice and let Ji Yao have her way.
Even afterward, whenever she thought of Ji Yao, the hurtful things Ji Yao had done made Zhuang Meiyan wish she had never given birth to her.
But in the end, Ji Yao was her own flesh and blood, born after ten months of pregnancy. Blood runs thicker than water.
Over the years, Ji Yao had never softened her stance, so Zhuang Meiyan gritted her teeth in anger. Even when Ji Yao called last time, Zhuang Meiyan could still respond with sarcasm, though deep down, she missed her.
But this time, with loan sharks showing up at their doorstep, she couldn’t forgive it.
“Take your things and get out of my house.”
“Ji Hong, close the door!”
Just like that, Ji Yao was shut out by her own parents.
She only had time to call out “Mom” and endure a slap before she could explain what had happened to her.
A dozen seconds later, Ji Yao, her eyes red, crouched down to gather the gifts she had brought for Zhuang Meiyan and Ji Hong, thinking, “Next time, I’ll give them next time.”
But then the door opened.
Ji Hong poked his head out and handed her a bank card.
Sometimes Ji Yao felt that, compared to Zhuang Meiyan, Ji Hong was more like an omega emotionally stable, gentle with her, and often slipping her some pocket money.
But this time, she didn’t dare take it.
Ji Hong urged her, “Take it. This is all the pocket money I’ve saved up for you.”
His words carried a lot of meaning.
In the past, these pocket money gifts were irregular whenever he came home, Ji Hong would give her some, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan, all from his private savings.
Their family’s business was diverse. Since Ji Yao could remember, they had run hotels. At their peak, they even owned a three-star hotel. Later, when business declined, they sold it and ventured into the short video industry, making money by selling goods and even opening their own factory.
But Ji Hong rarely handled money. Only the income from the last month of each year was left to him by Zhuang Meiyan, and the amount varied.
As a child, Ji Yao thought he was particularly poor, always having to do things secretly.
Giving money was no exception.
“Dad, you keep it. I’m too old for this.”
“Think it’s too little? There are tens of thousands here. Keep it for emergencies. As for the loan.”
“Ji Hong! What are you doing again?”
Before Ji Hong could finish, Zhuang Meiyan’s angry roar echoed from inside. Ji Hong made a face at Ji Yao and said quickly, “Take it fast! Your mom’s angry, I need to calm her down!”
With that, he slammed the door shut.
From inside, Zhuang Meiyan’s continued scolding and Ji Hong’s placating voice could be heard.
Clearly, even after going inside, Ji Hong couldn’t escape Zhuang Meiyan’s wrath.
Ji Yao didn’t dare take the money even more now.
If she had truly caused the trouble and spent the money herself, that would be one thing. But now, she was just taking the blame for someone else, how could she drag others into it?
She tucked the money under the doormat, then took out her phone to text Ji Hong and let him know.
After leaving home, Ji Yao put her things in the car and reluctantly drove away.
Although her mother hadn’t forgiven her, her father’s attitude seemed to have some room for reconciliation. She just needed to wait a little longer.
After giving herself a mental boost, Ji Yao finally set off.
Her destination was the television station.
Faced with overwhelming debt, Ji Yao no longer felt any resistance toward her workplace which meant it was time to resign.
Upon arriving at the station, she went straight to find her supervisor, Zhou Feng.
However, she was told that Zhou Feng wasn’t in and had gone to the recording set.
Zhou Feng’s assistant was cut from the same cloth both were part of the A-sexual circle. The assistant gave Ji Yao a strange look, and their tone grew even weirder when mentioning Zhou Feng’s name.
Ji Yao knew perfectly well that she wasn’t just average-looking she was quite attractive, with a bright and striking appearance.
But this type didn’t seem to appeal much to omegas. Instead, from childhood onward, those who pursued or liked her were always alphas.
In the past, Ji Yao hadn’t been so resistant.
Back before she had even differentiated, she had boldly declared that the gender of the person she liked didn’t matter alpha, omega or beta as long as there was a spark, she was open to anyone.
Even “becoming an omega for love” wasn’t off the table.
But during college, after encountering a beautiful and delicate female alpha, she completely shut the door on ever liking alphas again.
That seemingly cute and soft-looking female alpha, who actually had some unusual preferences, had deeply hurt her.
From then on, her instinct around alphas was to keep her distance.
Setting aside the issue of clashing pheromones, her true aversion was toward the alpha gender itself.
Being wild and uninhibited seemed to be a point of pride for many alphas, but Ji Yao wasn’t one of them.
That’s why she detested being teased with such looks and tones.
With a dark expression, she ignored Zhou Feng’s assistant. After all, she was about to resign, there was no need to endure it anymore.
After winding her way to the studio, Ji Yao searched for Zhou Feng and finally spotted her standing next to Shi Yu.
Though only a day had passed since last night, seeing Shi Yu again felt like an eternity.
Shi Yu noticed her too, glancing past Zhou Feng to meet her eyes.
Then, Zhou Feng’s gaze locked onto her.
Deliberately making her wait, Zhou Feng continued talking to Shi Yu, though Shi Yu was barely tolerating the interaction.
With Xie Bing absent, there was no one to speak up for her.
Even if it was just wishful thinking, Ji Yao felt that Zhou Feng’s smug smile in front of Shi Yu was likely connected to her.
Zhou Feng knew about her relationship with Shi Yu and didn’t treat Shi Yu very well.
“Director Zhou, I’d like to submit my resignation. Do you have a moment?”
Ji Yao watched as the smugness faded from Zhou Feng’s face, replaced by disbelief.
Just as she had guessed, after a few days, Zhou Feng probably thought she had come to yield, which was why she had been grinning like that in front of Shi Yu.
How pathetic.
Absolutely pathetic.
“Ji Yao, you!”
“Have you thought this through?” Zhou Feng’s expression darkened as she asked. When Ji Yao nodded, Zhou Feng could no longer stay put and immediately tried to pull Ji Yao away.
Ji Yao instinctively dodged, which made Zhou Feng feel even more humiliated.
Accustomed to throwing her weight around at the station, and with no one from the program team present except Shi Yu only station staff around Zhou Feng felt her pride had been wounded. She grabbed Ji Yao with more force.
Ji Yao didn’t retreat this time, but instead took a step sideways.
The overhead light had inexplicably fallen, landing precisely near Shi Yu and Zhou Feng.
Just as it was about to hit Zhou Feng’s head, Ji Yao ignored her and pulled Shi Yu aside instead.
With just a light touch of her fingertips, Ji Yao clearly felt Shi Yu tremble violently, and a second later, Shi Yu shook off her hand.
Shi Yu crossed her arms, her eyes filled with distance and a hint of disbelief.
The alpha’s pheromones, fresh and gentle when they were close, reminded her of the first time she met Ji Yao.
Back then, it was also Ji Yao who had pulled her away from danger in the same manner.
And now, it was the same again.
Shi Yu stared at Ji Yao, but Ji Yao was looking upward.
Where the wires were tangled, faint black smoke was rising. Ji Yao followed the trail with her eyes and eventually fixed her gaze back on Shi Yu.
She had no idea what Shi Yu was thinking, her mind solely occupied with the thought that Shi Yu truly had a talent for attracting trouble.
Even without Xie Bing by her side this time, she still managed to get into such a situation.