It’s over!
Ji Yao stepped forward, ignoring Shi Yu’s disgust toward her, and took the glass from her hand. She formed a hand seal, intending to directly deal with the entity above Shi Yu’s head.
But then her hand was slapped away harshly. Ji Yao stared blankly, looking at Panpan, who had rushed out at some point.
How could such a small child have so much strength?
Panpan clung to Shi Yu’s leg, puffing her cheeks angrily as she glared at Ji Yao. “Mommy, I told you not to make Mom angry!”
“How could you do this? I don’t like you anymore.”
With Panpan’s appearance, Shi Yu finally snapped back to reality. The stinging pain in her hand made her frown slightly.
But what needed to be addressed more urgently was the situation at hand.
No matter how much of a failure her marriage with Ji Yao had been, Shi Yu didn’t want Panpan to be hurt.
Even though her alpha mother was despicable, she didn’t want Panpan to know.
So after the divorce, whenever Panpan wanted to see Ji Yao and Ji Yao was willing and patient, Shi Yu would still allow them to meet.
However, she always had to be present, and such occasions were rare. In the three years since the divorce, it had only happened three times.
Each time was on Panpan’s birthday, when Ji Yao reluctantly agreed to spare some time to accompany Panpan and weave a few lies.
Shi Yu didn’t know why Ji Yao did this, but she also didn’t want Panpan, at such a young age, to catch a glimpse of Ji Yao’s filth.
She didn’t want her daughter to have an unhealthy childhood.
Even though her marriage with Ji Yao was already unhealthy enough.
But she couldn’t let Panpan see it.
“It was an accident. Mom accidentally hurt herself.”
“Really?” Panpan anxiously checked Shi Yu’s hand, then pouted and asked Ji Yao, “Mommy, you really didn’t make Mom angry, did you?”
Panpan was only a little over four years old and didn’t understand many things, but she vaguely knew that Mom and Mommy were often angry with each other.
Mommy was very busy, so she couldn’t see her often.
Thinking about how harsh she had just been to Mommy, Panpan felt a bit guilty. She lowered her big eyes and looked at Ji Yao, apologizing softly, “Mommy, I’m sorry. I wrongly accused you.”
Before crossing over, Ji Yao still felt like a child who hadn’t fully grown up chasing after celebrities, buying figurines, and attending comic conventions.
But the five years in the alternate world had been unbearably difficult, grinding away her temper and her hopes.
All she did was survive, just survive.
There was no longer any trace of eagerly anticipating anything.
Yet such a vibrant little life had unexpectedly given her a sense of anticipation she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Even though she hadn’t participated in creating this life was it the power of blood ties?
Ji Yao forced a slight smile, trying to face Panpan with the gentlest expression.
But it had been so long since she last smiled that the smile on her face was extremely awkward.
Shi Yu turned her head away, unable to bear the sight.
Panpan, however, was a bit happy. She smiled shyly and hid behind Shi Yu.
Although she missed Mommy, Panpan was closer to Shi Yu, whom she saw often. It was only natural for her to seek comfort from Mom when she felt shy.
The somewhat warm scene of the family of three made Ji Yao feel a momentary sense of melancholy, but it quickly faded.
Because Shi Rui had returned.
He was carrying a water kettle, and his face darkened noticeably when he saw Ji Yao.
“Uncle!”
Panpan was the first to see him. Letting go of Shi Yu’s leg, she rushed over to him, successfully brightening Shi Rui’s expression.
He picked Panpan up and, without even glancing at Ji Yao, reached out to pull Shi Yu, intending to go straight into the hospital room.
But Shi Yu avoided his hand slightly.
It was very unnatural.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“How did you hurt your hand?!” Shi Rui’s expression shifted again, then he glared at Ji Yao.
His gaze was practically murderous.
Ji Yao, who had clearly done nothing wrong, felt somewhat wronged. Her eyes darted between the three of them before she finally spoke after a long pause, “Call a doctor.”
“Who asked you?”
The one speaking was Shi Rui, who was barely suppressing his anger.
Ji Yao thought that if it weren’t for Pan Pan being there, Shi Rui might have lashed out at her again.
Even if she couldn’t win, she would still fight back, the grudge ran too deep.
In contrast, Shi Yu appeared cold and detached, as if the one bleeding wasn’t her.
Soon, Ji Yao called for a doctor.
And once again, Ji Yao was shut outside the door.
But the doctor’s voice was loud enough for her to hear everything clearly.
“The special-effect suppressant can be used up to three times in six months, but she’s already used it twice in such a short period. It’s causing significant harm to her body. I recommend introducing alpha pheromones into the treatment as soon as possible.”
“By the way, you’re an omega, right?”
“It would be best to have her alpha by her side that would be more beneficial.”
“I don’t have an alpha.”
Shi Yu, who had already regained consciousness, also heard the words.
Though awake, her condition was still far from ideal.
The doctor wasn’t wrong, the disruption in her pheromones had indeed affected her. The wound on her wrist was long, but from the moment it was cut to when it was bandaged, not much time had passed. It shouldn’t have caused excessive blood loss.
Yet, she had still lost consciousness.
The chaos in her omega pheromones played a significant role in this. After the nurse administered medication, her condition improved quickly.
But her words made the male omega doctor frown, and he retorted, “Is that so? Then what about that female alpha who was just in the office.”
Which female alpha could it be? Of course, it was Ji Yao.
Shi Yu instinctively thought, but the more she dwelled on it, the more disgusted she felt. She didn’t want to be associated with Ji Yao, so she replied coldly, “I don’t know any female alpha.”
When the doctor came out, his gaze toward Ji Yao was complicated.
Ji Yao paid no attention to it. Instead, she waited a while and, seeing that Xie Bing hadn’t appeared and neither had that ghostly entity, felt slightly relieved.
Wrapping her down jacket tightly around herself, she strode away.
The ride-hailing app still required verification, and Ji Yao didn’t want to bother with it. She simply raised her hand and hailed a taxi.
Returning home, she was once again confronted with the chaotic mess.
Ji Yao sighed, took off her down jacket, and began tidying up.
An hour later, the living room was finally much cleaner, and she sat on the sofa to rest for a while.
Even though it was her own body, she still felt uncomfortable using things that the other person had touched.
That scumbag who cheated during the marriage even if it was only emotional cheating, it was still despicable!
And on top of that, there was domestic violence.
The chaotic night had left Ji Yao somewhat exhausted, but whenever she thought about these things, she wished she could sever all ties immediately. So, after resting for just a moment, she threw all those garishly colored clothes and various items outside.
She was also grateful that she hadn’t transmigrated a few years earlier. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to navigate mobile payments or all those apps.
Even now, it took her quite some effort to find the nearest large supermarket to her home.
The brand-new environment and dazzling array of items momentarily overwhelmed Ji Yao, bringing her to the brink of tears of joy.
God knows what kind of life she had in the other world at best, she could manage to eat her fill and stay warm, with absolutely no quality of life!
She went on a shopping spree at the supermarket without giving a single thought to how much money she actually had. By the time she reached the checkout, her delighted expression had turned into a bitter frown.
Aside from various overdraft apps, she only had 200 yuan left to her name.
She hated owing people money, but these items were all necessities, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and buy them.
Back when she worked at the TV station, her monthly salary was only a few thousand yuan. The down payment for this apartment had been scraped together through years of scrimping and saving since her university days, with some financial help from Zhuang Meiyan.
The mortgage was a 20-year term, and after deducting the past few years.
That meant she still had about sixteen years of loan repayments ahead of her.
She had no idea how the person who had taken over her body before had managed it, but as a diligent and hardworking employee, she felt nothing but a headache.
The joy of shopping evaporated, and Ji Yao trudged home with her head down.
Not long after returning home, Ji Yao truly experienced the saying, “Misfortunes never come singly.”
As soon as she got back, she holed up in the secondary bedroom to tidy up. Underneath the desk, she found three copies of a divorce agreement and one prenuptial agreement.
The divorce agreements were dated five years ago, four years ago, and three years ago, respectively. Each one was signed by Shi Yu, and only the last one bore her own name, Ji Yao.
She had never actually experienced marriage, let alone romantic relationships.
At most, she had idolized Shi Yu like a star-struck teenager in her youth, but five years in another world had nearly worn away even that lingering affection.
Seeing Shi Yu again, and under such circumstances, had stirred her emotions for a while. But as she began to notice clues about Xie Bing, her thoughts had drifted elsewhere.
And now, she was back.
Even without personal experience, Ji Yao had grown up in this world with its three genders: Alpha, Beta, and Omega.
She knew that many laws and customs tended to favor Alphas.
It was widely believed that Omegas were fragile emotionally fragile, physically fragile.
And since Alphas made up a large portion of the population, they often arrogantly assumed the role of protecting Omegas.
Of course, that was the polite way to put it. The harsher truth was that they sought to control Omegas’ lives.
Shi Yu was quite famous in the entertainment industry. The title “Sweet Song Queen” had followed her since her debut and rise to fame. Initially, it might have been fan hype, but later, Shi Yu proved it with her talent.
Her career in the entertainment world grew smoother, but such privileges only applied to her public life.
Once she entered marriage, her life might not entirely be her own to control.
For an Alpha and Omega to divorce was no easy task.
Not only did both parties need to agree, but they also had to provide proof of irreconcilable differences.
It was even harder for Shi Yu. Perhaps the reason she hadn’t divorced the outsider all this time wasn’t just a lack of consensus.
It was also that Shi Yu didn’t dare to gamble, didn’t dare to expose her marital life to the public.
Omegas might understand, might even rally in solidarity.
But it was insignificant.
They talked about equality, but discrimination still existed her own family was a prime example.
Zhuang Meiyan had graduated from a prestigious university, but her entrepreneurial journey hadn’t been smooth. Often, she had to rely on her father, Ji Hong, to navigate and negotiate for her.
Until things gradually got on track and she started elementary school, Ji Hong finally took a step back, though many matters were still discussed and decided together.
Even so, it drew criticism. Zhuang Meiyan no longer needed to rely on anyone, but achieving great success in her career was still unlikely, as the upper-class alphas still inherently looked down on omegas and by extension, the alpha Ji Hong standing behind them.
In short, life remained difficult for omegas.
Clearly, these three divorce agreements indicated that the divorce between Shi Yu and her “former self” back then was far from simple.
Ji Yao reflected for a while, then carefully examined the divorce agreement bearing her own signature.
There was also the prenuptial agreement.
The prenuptial agreement, needless to say, involved both parties notarizing their assets and stipulating that post-marital incomes would remain separate and considered individual property.
Therefore, this divorce agreement did not require any further division of assets.
However…
One clause stood out glaringly.
She, Ji Yao, owed Shi Yu a full three million.
Originally, she thought she had no further ties with Shi Yu, a mix of relief and melancholy.
But now, she was furious.
Because she and Shi Yu had become creditor and debtor!