She was too beautiful, more dazzling than the rose in her hand, yet she softened all her edges only in Xie Shimian’s presence.
Hua Zhi replied, “That won’t do.”
Xie Shan narrowed her eyes. “Why not?”
So, she did have ulterior motives.
Xie Shimian pricked up her ears, curious about the future big boss’s thoughts.
Hua Zhi said, “I like the young miss’s pheromones. She…”
The cat-like girl blushed slightly. “Her skills are excellent. I love it. I can’t get enough. If I leave her, I’ll never experience it again.”
Xie Shan coughed violently: Cough cough cough cough cough!
Ke Rong: “Cough cough cough.”
Xie Shimian: “…”
The cat had learned to be naughty.
Ke Rong: “Young miss, why are you blushing?!”
Xie Shimian’s face burned with complicated emotions, but before she could speak, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out.
The manor’s wall collapsed with a thunderous crash, chunks of debris scattering across the ground.
Xie Shimian’s breath caught. Damn it, another assassination attempt!
Hua Zhi and Xie Shan immediately stopped talking and rushed to Xie Shimian’s side.
Smoke filled the air, visibility plummeting as everything turned gray.
Hua Zhi clenched her fists, her face twisting with frustration unbefitting her age.
She was too weak to protect the person she loved.
“Mr. Xie, do you suspect I mean harm to the young miss?”
Xie Shan’s cold gaze said it all.
Amid the smoke, a Beta suddenly appeared behind Xie Shimian, holding a quantum gun.
This assassination attempt hadn’t happened in the original story.
Xie Shimian’s heart pounded as she braced her arms and vaulted over the railing.
In the blink of an eye, the bullet struck the wall in front of Xie Shimian.
Bricks shattered, her grip loosened, and a muffled groan escaped her as she nearly collapsed to the ground.
The dark muzzle of the gun was aimed squarely at her forehead when suddenly, someone moved in front of her with such speed that Xie Shimian could barely register it.
Hua Zhi pulled her into a roll, the bullet grazing past her back.
Swish, swish, swish!
Seconds later, the beta’s lower back was impaled by Xie Shan.
Xie Shimian, still shaken, found her coat covered in dust.
The white snow was stained crimson, and the Omega in her arms let out a weak groan. “Sister, are you okay?”
The Omega’s face was drenched in cold sweat, on the verge of passing out.
As an Alpha, Xie Shimian had been protected by an Omega something no one would believe if word got out.
Xie Shimian: “Hua Zhi!”
She shouted, “I’m fine, Hua Zhi, you quick! Call a doctor!”
She was fine, but Hua Zhi wasn’t.
During the roll, Hua Zhi’s back had slammed against a steel rod, leaving a gruesome mess of torn flesh.
Xie Shimian’s heart felt as if an invisible hand had clenched it, her gaze unable to linger on the blossoming bloodstains.
It looked agonizing, the kind of injury that would land someone in the ICU immediately.
Rose petals scattered across the snow, indistinguishable from the blood in the distance.
Xie Shan stood nearby, tossing the beta to the security personnel behind him.
“Take them to the dungeon for interrogation. Sweep the entire estate.”
Xie Shimian cradled the limp Hua Zhi in her arms, urgently patting her face.
“Don’t fall asleep, look at me.”
Hua Zhi’s fingers weakly clutched Xie Shimian’s sleeve, her gaze fixed on her as her lips gradually paled.
Hua Zhi let out a small, wounded whimper. “As long as you’re safe, miss.”
Xie Shimian’s heart ached. “Call me sister.”
Hua Zhi, pliant, murmured, “Sister.”
The security personnel thought, Is now really the time to correct how she addresses you?!
The Alpha lifted her Omega into her arms. “Bear with the pain. I’ll take you to the doctor.”
Hua Zhi had a high tolerance for pain. Though she feared it deeply, her past had taught her that crying out would only make others think she was seeking attention unbecoming for an illegitimate daughter like her.
Staying quiet was a virtue.
But Hua Zhi didn’t want to uphold that virtue now. She pressed a kiss tinged with blood against Xie Shimian’s jawline.
“Sister, it hurts so much.”
Xie Shimian carried her to the private hospital’s treatment pod, where Hua Zhi was submerged in translucent green nutrient fluid, tubes inserted into her nose and mouth.
Her faint voice murmured, “Sister, it really hurts.”
The girl seemed determined to voice all the pain she had endured over the past eighteen years, tears streaming down her cheeks as she gasped for breath between sobs.
Xie Shimian, covered in blood and dust, sat beside the pod, offering pale reassurances.
“I’m here, don’t be afraid. The pain will fade soon.”
Hua Zhi seemed to hear her, gradually settling down.
The treatment room was silent except for the rhythmic beeping of machines, the heart monitor pulsing steadily.
Xie Shimian: “How is Hua Zhi?”
The doctor replied, “Spinal injury, some degree of muscle tearing, but fortunately, no damage to bones or organs.”
Ke Rong took the medical chart. “Miss, you should go to the restroom and change your clothes.”
Xie Shimian’s pitch-black eyes fixed on Ke Rong before shifting to Xie Shan.
The latter lowered her voice in apology, “I’m sorry, Miss. It was my lack of consideration that led to Miss Hua Zhi getting hurt.”
She couldn’t forget the look Hua Zhi had given her completely different from the way she looked at Xie Shimian. She was no simple character.
She was absolutely not that simple, but the fact that she had rushed to save Xie Shimian without hesitation was enough to prove she bore no ill intent.
At least, not for now.
“I have a bit of a headache. Leave me alone for a while,” Xie Shimian said, pressing her temples. “Uncle, have the prisoners been interrogated?”
Xie Shan, a towering Alpha, stood before Xie Shimian almost as awkwardly as a guilty wolfhound.
“They were mercenaries hired by space pirates desperate outlaws. A shipment from the Xie family’s industrial planet was intercepted by pirates during transit.”
She listed a staggering figure of losses.
Xie Shimian wanted to light a cigarette but noticed the no-smoking sign on the wall. Instead, she tore the cigarette open and placed the tobacco in her mouth.
“Got it. You all can leave now. My head hurts.”
The doctor steeled himself, preparing to treat Xie Shimian.
Ke Rong blurted out, “Has the love-addled brain grown back?”
Xie Shimian: ???
Xie Shan: Huh?
The doctor: Perhaps you should listen to what you’re saying.
Xie Shimian waved Ke Rong away dismissively and said to the doctor, “I’m fine. No new brains have grown.”
The doctor: “…?”
Damn it. Xie Shimian chewed on the bitter tobacco and clarified, “No love-addled brain has grown.”
The doctor flipped through Xie Shimian’s medical records and asked, “Two months ago, Assistant Ke mentioned you had a certain condition that required treatment. May I ask what kind of condition that was?”
Xie Shimian was speechless: “None. Thank you.”
Rumors. All just rumors.
After everyone had left, Xie Shimian was left alone with Hua Zhi in the treatment pod.
The kitten didn’t dare fall asleep, her consciousness hazy as she gazed outside.
Sister!
Does Sister believe me now?
She truly wasn’t a spy, nor had any connection to the Empire. She would rather give her own life than harm Xie Shimian.
Xie Shimian stroked the lid of the treatment pod, understanding her silent plea. “I believe you. Sleep now. You’ll be fine after resting.”
Only then did Hua Zhi slowly close her eyes.
Ever since her transmigration, Xie Shimian had operated under the assumption that Hua Zhi posed a threat to her.
Her Zhizhi must have sensed it that Xie Shimian didn’t trust her.
But from start to finish, Hua Zhi hadn’t done a single thing wrong. Like any eighteen-year-old girl, she was earnest and pure, timid yet hopeful when it came to love.
The one at fault was Xie Shimian herself.
Yes, she had always been the one who wronged Hua Zhi.
If Hua Zhi hadn’t saved her, Xie Shimian might be dead by now or at best, lying in the treatment pod, writhing in pain.
Xie Shimian was just a bit of a scoundrel, not a heartless monster.
Hua Zhi’s treatment lasted until midnight, finally bringing an end to the chaotic mess of her eighteenth birthday.
The hospital was quiet in the dead of night. Xie Shimian had fallen asleep leaning against the chair.
Hua Zhi’s wounds had rapidly healed under the nourishing fluid in the pod. She opened the lid, wiped away the liquid with a towel, and padded barefoot to Xie Shimian’s side.
“Sister?”
Hua Zhi nuzzled against her affectionately. “Sister, I’m fine now.”
The kitten’s voice was soft as she pressed her lips lightly to Xie Shimian’s forehead in a tender gesture.
Xie Shimian frowned. “Hmm?”
She slowly opened her eyes. Her neural interface displayed the report she had just sent to her father.
“Zhizhi?”
The cat nimbly nestled into Xie Shimian’s arms. “What did you dream about, Miss?”