The cold medicinal spray misted over the wound, yet Xie Shimian did not ask how the injury had come to be.
She left Hua Zhi with the last shred of her dignity.
“What a poor little thing,” Xie Shimian murmured as she fastened the buttons for her.
Hua Zhi hung her head low, fingers gripping Xie Shimian’s shoulders tightly unyielding, refusing to let go.
“Does sister think I’m ugly?”
“No, you’re not. You’re very beautiful.”
Xie Shimian’s fingers traced the jagged, uneven scars. “Spray this twice a day. After a week, they’ll fade completely.”
A stray cat, battered and bruised all over, had stirred Xie Shimian’s pity.
Hua Zhi could feel the tenderness in her benefactor’s touch, the complete absence of disgust in her eyes.
“I don’t want to,” Hua Zhi said stubbornly. “I don’t want to see these scars.”
Xie Shimian pressed the spray bottle into her hands. “No acting spoiled.”
The girl, who barely reached her shoulders, clenched her jaw, her expression fierce yet childish frail and helpless, yet still defiant.
Xie Shimian was reminded of a Ragdoll cat that used to hiss at her.
Her gaze softened. “Don’t like me applying the medicine for you?”
Hua Zhi’s expression wavered, tears pooling in her eyes.
“N-no… I do like it.”
She just didn’t want her wounds to taint her benefactor’s sight.
Xie Shimian leaned down, pressing her forehead against Hua Zhi’s, their breaths mingling as she met her eyes.
“Hua Zhi, since you don’t dislike me, then in the future…”
She paused, a faint, careless smile playing on her lips.
“If anything happens, I hope Zhizhi remembers this kindness.”
Don’t kill me or my parents.
Having said her piece, Xie Shimian pulled away. “I have something to do this afternoon. Come out with me.”
Hua Zhi stood frozen, fingers touching her forehead where the warmth lingered.
Her heart pounded wildly, and once again, she caught the scent of fruity rum in Xie Shimian’s pheromones.
“Ah, wait!” Hua Zhi chased after her, insisting, “Strawberry milk!”
Xie Shimian had promised, if she behaved and took her medicine, she’d make her strawberry milk.
But once in the car, Xie Shimian paused.
Strawberry milk?
She’d forgotten.
Today, Hua Zhi wore a light blue qipao with a cashmere coat draped over her shoulders, her wavy long hair pinned up elegantly. Her lips, untouched by lipstick, were a deep, natural red.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Xie Shimian coughed, stalling. “I’m taking you somewhere nice today.”
The car glided smoothly along the newly paved roads of the capital, surrounded by a bustling prosperity Hua Zhi had never seen before.
While driving, Hua Zhi flipped through her textbooks.
At seventeen, most girls were noisy and restless, but Hua Zhi sat in silence her breathing light, the rustle of pages barely audible.
Seventeen was supposed to be the most beautiful age.
“Miss? Miss?” Ke Rong called.
Xie Shimian snapped out of her thoughts. “We’re here?”
Ke Rong nodded. “Yes. What were you thinking about so deeply?”
Xie Shimian murmured absently, “When I was seventeen, I was a punk, part of the ‘Farewell Love’ clan, always carrying cement powder in my pockets.”
Ke Rong: ?
What nonsense is this?
With a sigh, Xie Shimian took Hua Zhi’s hand and led her out of the car, unable to resist running her fingers through the girl’s soft, fluffy hair.
So much prettier than the ridiculous chicken-feather hairstyle I used to sport.
Before them stood a grand building flanked by towering golden Roman columns, the sheer opulence of it blinding to the eyes of a corporate drone.
Ordinary Roman columns were just dirt but gilded in gold leaf, they became high art.
Stepping into the building, ornate cursive English letters were prominently displayed high in the air.
The Nocturne Club
As a second-generation aristocrat, Xie Shimian was required to attend the elite afternoon tea salons.
Arm in arm with Hua Zhi, she walked into the opulent hall. The club attendants recognized her face and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
Xie Shimian paused mid-step, prompting a questioning look from the person beside her. “Shimian?”
Yan Fang, her friend from the original story, was cut from the same cloth both were troublemakers who ended up exiled to a barren planet by the final boss, losing an arm in an accident.
Xie Shimian seemed dazed. “It’s overwhelming.”
She waved her hand in front of her nose a couple of times.
Yan Fang, puzzled, sniffed the air like a dog. “It’s the scent of white bellflowers, your favorite.”
Xie Shimian sighed in admiration. “I smell the decadent stench of capitalism.”
Yan Fang: ?
She settled onto the central sofa with the beauty in her arms. Before long, a group of young club models approached.
Hua Zhi had been to places like this before glittering on the surface but filthy underneath.
She couldn’t believe her savior enjoyed such a place.
“Zhizhi, don’t be afraid,” Xie Shimian patted her hand. “You’re gripping my arm too tight, it hurts.”
Hua Zhi loosened her grip, pursed her lips, and clutched her cocktail tightly.
“Do you have strawberry milk here?”
Xie Shimian beckoned a waiter. “She’s too young to drink. Bring her a cup of warm strawberry milk.”
The waiter had never seen anyone order milk at a club before. “Of course, I’ll fetch it right away.”
Yan Fang, clinging to Xie Shimian’s arm, burst into laughter. “Everyone in the capital knows you’ve found a treasure. Is this the girl?”
Xie Shimian smiled. “Adorable, isn’t she?”
Yan Fang covered her mouth, giggling. “Never thought you’d go for the innocent type. She hasn’t even presented yet can you handle it?”
Xie Shimian swatted her hand away, remembering her own debauched persona. “Handle it or not, the Xie family gave her a meal, isn’t that what she’s here for?”
Hua Zhi, overhearing her savior’s words, flushed crimson.
She could handle it. If her savior wanted, she’d endure anything.
The crude words sounded like intimate flirtation to the kitten’s ears.
Yan Fang whispered to Xie Shimian, “I brought the person. Hurry up.”
Xie Shimian’s eyes flickered. “Got it. Don’t let anyone else touch her.”
A tall Omega model with fox-like eyes swayed over, wrapping an arm around Xie Shimian’s waist. A smear of lipstick stained her earlobe as the model cooed,
“Miss, you’re here. Nuo Nuo missed you so much.”
The model named Nuo Nuo led Xie Shimian by the arm into a private room.
Hua Zhi’s eyes reddened. No!
Was Xie Shimian avoiding her because she had someone else outside?!
Yan Fang sipped her cocktail, amused. “What, jealous? Jealousy isn’t a virtue.”
Hua Zhi nearly crushed the glass in her hand.
Once inside the room, Nuo Nuo immediately released Xie Shimian’s waist, her tone now formal:
“The second son of Universal AI’s chairman was here yesterday. He left DNA samples and, while drunk, admitted to hiring assassins to attack you. He also mentioned plans to collude with officials to block the Xie family’s next batch of AI equipment, labeling it defective to prevent market release.”
The annual product launch was critical for every corporation. If officials deemed the products substandard, the financial blow would be devastating.
Xie Shimian glanced at the bag containing the DNA turbid liquid. “I heard that the second young master privately made disparaging remarks about Omegas?”
She noted down the official’s name and immediately wrote a whistleblowing letter, submitting it to the relevant imperial department under her father’s name.
The corner of Xie Shimian’s lips curled up as she lit a cigarette.
Nuonuo nodded. “Yes.”
Xie Shimian tapped her fingers on the table. “Record the statement and have it published on the front page of all media outlets the next day. The headline should read: ‘Exposing the Dirty Deals of the Nobility, When Will Imperial Omegas Truly Stand Up?'”
Stirring conflict and smearing opponents Xie Shimian had once navigated the murky waters of domestic internet companies. She hadn’t learned much else, but she was all too familiar with these tactics.
Compared to the interstellar world, the domestic scene a thousand years ago was the real breeding ground for toxicity.
She had abandoned all decency. Amen.
Nuonuo was shocked. “W-won’t this have a negative impact?”
In the empire, Alphas and Omegas weren’t exactly in opposition, after all, they only made up 0.1% of the population.
Xie Shimian smirked. “It’ll divert public attention, boost daily activity on the StarNet, and whitewash our Xie family’s reputation. What’s not to like?”
Nuonuo: “Understood.”
Where on earth did the young lady come up with such outrageous tactics?
Xie Shimian finished her cigarette, loosened her neatly arranged clothes, ruffled her hair, and stepped out of the room alone.
At first glance, she really did look like she’d just finished “business.”
The moment she pushed the door open, her cat launched itself into her arms like a cannonball, tears clinging to its cheeks, looking utterly pitiful.
Yan Fang shrugged. “If I hadn’t stopped her, she might’ve interrupted your ‘good time.'”
Huazhi kept sniffing her, puzzled there was no scent of another Omega?
A glance at the wall clock showed only half an hour had passed?
Xie Shimian sighed in exasperation and picked up the cat. “So clingy?”
Huazhi mumbled, “The condition…”
Xie Shimian covered her mouth. “Don’t mention the condition! I don’t have a condition!”
Yan Fang & Nuonuo: “???”
Wait, the condition is real?!