Xie Shimian repeated each word deliberately, “I don’t like underage girls. My tastes are perfectly normal.”
Ke Rong lowered her head and smiled. “Miss, there’s no need to explain yourself to me. I’m just an assistant working for the Xie family.”
Xie Shimian gritted her teeth.
She thought to herself that even if she jumped into the Yellow River, No, the Milky Way, she still wouldn’t be able to clear her name.
Rubbing her throbbing temples, Xie Shimian said, “Liking underage children is illegal. I have a very strong sense of the law.”
Ke Rong gave her a strange look, thinking to herself that the young miss had become much more restrained.
Had her brain been damaged by pheromones after all?
Before leaving, Xie Shimian added, “And my brain isn’t broken either!”
Ke Rong: “…”
Really? Not sure. Let me take another look.
In the afternoon, Xie Shimian poured herself a cup of coffee and hummed a tune as she arrived at the Xie family’s corporate building.
He Yuying was in her office reviewing documents, with the impeccably dressed audit team standing before her.
“Mom.”
Xie Shimian raised her hand in greeting. “You’ve been busy lately.”
It’s easy to grow accustomed to luxury. Humans have a remarkable ability to adapt to happiness, once they get a taste of a good life, they quickly become immersed in it.
For someone like Xie Shimian, who had almost never experienced familial warmth, just a few simple interactions with the original host’s mother had swiftly rekindled her longing for family.
He Yuying looked up with a faint smile, murmured a few words to the audit team, and dismissed them.
As they passed Xie Shimian, they bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
Not only was Xie Shimian the future head of the Xie family, but she was also a bona fide noblewoman.
He Yuying tilted her chin, signaling Xie Shimian to sit across from her. “Has your… condition improved?”
Xie Shimian: “.”
She nearly fell out of her chair.
Damn that “condition.”
It was all Hua Zhi’s wild speculation.
Gritting her teeth, Xie Shimian said, “I don’t have any condition.”
He Yuying tossed a stack of medical reports in front of her. “Your pheromone allergy has been improving lately. Spending time with Hua Zhi really seems to have helped.”
She had originally intended to say “messing around with Hua Zhi,” but since her daughter hadn’t actually touched Hua Zhi, “messing around” didn’t seem appropriate.
Xie Shimian skimmed through the reports. Though there was improvement, the frequency of her headaches was enough to drive a normal person insane.
Before her transmigration, Xie Shimian had suffered from severe migraines, so she could endure this level of pain.
“Mom, you didn’t call me here just to discuss medical reports, did you?” Xie Shimian took a sip of coffee. “The person who tried to assassinate me has already been sentenced to death, the company is running smoothly, everything’s been good news lately.”
He Yuying: “The eight-hour workday system you proposed last time has been implemented well. Ke Rong mentioned you have other ideas for improving employee efficiency.”
Xie Shimian sipped her coffee. “Do you want to hear the legal methods or the illegal ones? The ones that lead to sudden death or the ones that don’t?”
If it was the illegal ones, she knew plenty.
He Yuying: “?”
You’ve got some nerve.
Xie Shimian smiled and nodded: Just doing my best.
Just your average exploited office worker, that’s all.
Her meager conscience led her to only share some positive methods.
Before leaving, Xie Shimian tossed her empty coffee cup into the trash with a flick of her wrist.
He Yuying’s expression was complicated. “You… I originally thought you weren’t suited for business. Your father and I considered pushing you into politics. It seems we misjudged you.”
Xie Shimian: “…I’m really not suited.”
He Yuying: “Have you been under some kind of stress lately?”
Xie Shimian: “No need to worry, Mom. I’m perfectly fine.”
Just nearly dropped dead at my workstation, that’s all.
As soon as she stepped out of the office, Xie Shimian paused. “What’s that noise?”
“Let me in! I need to see Xie Shimian!” A man roared, struggling to break through the security guards blocking him. “You can’t do this to my son, absolutely not!”
In the reflection of the glass, Xie Shimian stood tall in a long black trench coat, her hands clad in fingerless gloves, her curly long hair cascading over her shoulders. Beneath the coat, she wore a white V-neck sweater with a pearl necklace resting against her collarbone.
She strode toward the man in her high heels. “An Alpha?”
The man, restrained by security, glared at her with bloodshot eyes, looking as if he wanted to tear her apart.
The onlookers exchanged nervous glances and silently backed away.
“Who is he?”
Hearing this, the male Alpha bellowed, nearly breaking free from the security’s restraints.
“The Xie family abused their power to appoint a judge who sentenced my son to execution, this debt must be repaid in blood!”
A young secretary nearby whispered, “General Manager, this man is the chairman of Global Intelligence. He snuck in under the pretense of attending a meeting, but they found a quantum gun hidden under his arm.”
“And you’re the bastard behind the Omega protests outside! A vicious woman like you will get what’s coming to you!”
The crowd trembled in fear, but Xie Shimian let out a soft laugh.
“What else have I done? Go on.”
The overwhelming pheromones of a powerful Alpha instantly spread, pressing down on everyone like a suffocating weight. The man pinned to the ground by the security’s restraints turned purple from lack of air, his bloodshot eyes bulging.
Xie Shimian pressed her stiletto heel against him. “You tried to kill me in a staged car accident, and now you’re upset I fought back?”
“Explain to me, what kind of logic is that?”
The sharp heel dug into his flesh, eliciting a pig-like squeal from the man.
His labored breathing sounded like a massive industrial fan at work. Xie Shimian tucked her hands into her pockets, a strand of hair drifting across her face.
Beautiful and deadly, like an asura risen from hell.
The difference between one Alpha and another was greater than the difference between a human and a snail.
“You don’t know this yet, do you? That child you’ve been keeping, the one you treat as a bedwarmer, isn’t as simple as you think. Sooner or later, she’ll turn on you.”
Xie Shimian’s eyelashes flickered.
“Keep talking.”
Inside a private elite academy.
Hua Zhi walked out of the school gates alone, carrying a briefcase.
Ke Rong opened the door of the hovercraft. “Get in.”
Hua Zhi wasn’t the sociable type. She avoided mingling with the aristocratic students, who mocked her as a country bumpkin from the wastelands the moment they learned of her origins.
After Xie Shimian spoke to the academy’s director, the rumors died down. But Hua Zhi’s solitary nature remained unchanged, unaffected by the newfound quiet around her.
Ke Rong: “Fasten your seatbelt.”
Hua Zhi unbuttoned her coat, revealing a red qipao dusted with snowflakes.
“I want to see Miss.”
Ke Rong: “Not possible. We’re heading home now. Miss is at the company.”
Hua Zhi: “She needs to sign my test.”
Miss was her legal guardian. Today’s perfect score needed to be acknowledged.
Her benefactor had promised her a reward for good grades.
She wanted to reward Xie Shimian by having her sleep with her.
Just sleeping together would be enough, but she’d be even happier if they could get “negative distance” close though her benefactor would never agree.
The girl’s thoughts were written all over her face, a faint blush rising at the corners of her cat-like eyes.
Ke Rong: “Then let’s go to the company. Behave yourself, it’s a serious place.”
The aircraft sped along, the intense g-force making Hua Zhi grip the seatbelt tightly.
By the time they arrived at the company, her legs were weak, her steps unsteady as she nearly stumbled upon stepping onto the ground.
Yet the eager smile on her face at the thought of seeing Xie Shimian couldn’t be hidden.
The receptionist recognized Hua Zhi and gave a slight bow before guiding her to the private elevator.
The moment she stepped out of the elevator, the first thing she heard was a man’s voice, ragged as if on the verge of death.
“Xie Shimian, you think that little canary of yours is so docile? She lured her own half-brother into an abandoned mine, cut the ropes, and set off the explosives.”
The man’s laughter was bordering on madness and suffocation.
“My dear noble lady, explosives are never in short supply in a mine. Her brother burst apart like a firework of blood and gore. I was there investing in the mines at the time, a piece of intestine landed right in front of me. You’ll end up the same way sooner or later!”
The man’s voice was weak, and Xie Shimian had to lean down to hear him.
That was the first and last time he had ever seen Hua Zhi.
Hua Zhi’s hearing was sharp. Standing behind the door, her face instantly paled.
No, that wasn’t how it happened. It was her brother who had tried to assault her.
After being harassed one too many times, she had no choice but to…
Her benefactor would never keep someone as dangerous as her by her side. She’d be cast aside.
Hua Zhi was an atheist, but right now, she wished there was a god in this world who could protect her.
At the very least, spare her from seeing the disgust and wariness in Xie Shimian’s eyes.
Xie Shimian suddenly turned her head. “Who’s there?”