After A Secret Marriage Agreement With A Rival Omega - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

◎Kiss me and see if I have the sincerity you’re looking for.◎

Jian Jixing picked up the phone.

The back of the phone was a little hot, a clear sign that Sheng Ruxi had been using it just before she came in.

The bedding was wrinkled and not very neat. An edge of clothing was peeking out from under the blanket near the bed’s edge—it was a sleeve cuff.

Jian Jixing’s eyesight was sharp, and she recognized her own clothes at a glance.

Sheng Ruxi’s acting was incredibly convincing; her eyelashes didn’t even twitch while she was feigning sleep. Unfortunately, the fox had failed to hide her tail.

With her eyes, she told Tuanzi to leave and watched Sheng Ruxi’s performance with a hint of amusement.

If the phone hadn’t rung, she might have watched for a little longer. The fact that Sheng Ruxi could still pretend to be asleep meant she was indeed fine.

She knew who Fufu was, of course.

She said the name aloud, hoping to get Sheng Ruxi to break character and answer the call herself. Their relationship wasn’t close enough for her to casually touch Sheng Ruxi’s phone and answer it.

Yan Fuzheng didn’t get an answer from Sheng Ruxi but stubbornly let the phone ring until the very last second.

“Sleeping so soundly. Did she pass out again?” Jian Jixing said deliberately, reaching out to check Sheng Ruxi’s breath. Her fingertip lightly pressed down, as if she were about to pinch Sheng Ruxi’s philtrum.

Sheng Ruxi on the bed was motionless, but her mind was screaming that Jian Jixing was being ridiculous. Who treats a patient like this?!

Jian Jixing’s hand moved away, but the next moment, it rested gently on Sheng Ruxi’s soft palm. She sighed and said, “Xixi, you can’t have anything happen to you. If something happens to you, what am I supposed to tell the family?”

Oh, my god. Sheng Ruxi had been able to hold back before, but now, those words and that tone sent shivers down her spine. She almost jumped up to kick Jian Jixing.

When Yan Fuzheng’s call came in again, Jian Jixing smiled. This time, she finally tapped the screen to silence the sound, but the phone was still vibrating.

“I can’t help it. She must have an emergency.”

Jian Jixing seemed helpless and pressed “answer.” On the other end, Yan Fuzheng finally connected and immediately went on the offensive, not caring who was on the other side.

“Something’s not right, Xixi. Jian Jixing doesn’t seem like the type to be useless. How can she make you so repressed?”

Please stop talking!

Sheng Ruxi once again wanted to spring up, but the thought that Jian Jixing was listening made her force herself to hold back.

Yan Fuzheng wasn’t stupid. As soon as she heard Jian Jixing’s voice, she would surely stop spilling more secrets—

But Jian Jixing didn’t make a sound.

“You can’t just repress yourself like this, can you? You say you’re the one with power, but in reality, she can’t even meet your basic needs.” Yan Fuzheng sighed. “How about this, you go see Professor Chu? Or go to the hospital and ask a doctor if Jian Jixing is really useless, to be able to turn around and walk away from a beauty like you.”

Sheng Ruxi’s last hope finally died.

“Say something. Don’t be so angry you’ve gone silent. You were just chatting so happily with me, weren’t you?”

Sheng Ruxi could no longer hold back. She instantly opened her eyes and sat up.

And at that very moment, she also saw Jian Jixing say with a smile, “Hello, this is Jian Jixing. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Yan Fuzheng: “…”

Sheng Ruxi was about to get up and grab her phone, but Jian Jixing tapped the speaker with one hand and easily pressed Sheng Ruxi back onto the pillow with the other.

“I think you have some misunderstandings about me,” Jian Jixing raised an eyebrow, her tone serious and composed. “You’re welcome to visit my home in the future.”

Yan Fuzheng immediately hung up to save her life.

Jian Jixing placed the phone on the bedside table, still holding Sheng Ruxi down. “You’re so energetic. It seems you’ve recovered.”

Sheng Ruxi’s face was burning up. Though she was embarrassed at being caught, her anger toward Jian Jixing was stronger.

Even after being caught faking sleep, Sheng Ruxi’s demeanor didn’t falter. “Who told you to come here? Fufu and I always joke around. Don’t read too much into what was said.”

Jian Jixing’s expression softened. “It seems you’ve been coveting Chu Wu so much that your friend thinks I’m useless.”

The word “useless” felt very dangerous.

Sheng Ruxi’s neck went stiff, and she suddenly felt the air in the room turn cold. She had intended to keep arguing with Jian Jixing, but she felt like she couldn’t win right now.

Jian Jixing gave a soft chuckle, released her, and walked over to pour her a glass of water. Then she raised the hospital bed and placed a pillow behind Sheng Ruxi’s back to make her more comfortable.

Sheng Ruxi watched her the entire time.

Jian Jixing seemed oblivious to Sheng Ruxi’s gaze. She walked to the bed and, in front of Sheng Ruxi, pulled out the clothes tucked into the bed.

Sheng Ruxi immediately shifted her attention, focusing on drinking her water with an air of arrogance. “Why are you here?”

Jian Jixing glanced at the spacious hospital room and then turned her appraising gaze back to Sheng Ruxi.

“If I hadn’t come, how would I have known you were thinking of me? Just my absence from the helicopter was enough to make you faint.”

Her tone was meaningful and suggestive. Sheng Ruxi understood the implicit flirtation and pushed Jian Jixing away with a cold expression. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Jian Jixing looked at her and laughed mockingly. “What, you want me to leave quickly so you can find a solution with Chu Wu?”

She had clearly heard everything Yan Fuzheng had said, so there was no point in pretending to be deaf anymore.

“Who I seek out is none of your business.”

How ridiculous.

She was an Omega who had already accepted Jian Jixing’s mark. Why would she go to another Alpha to satisfy her physiological needs?

Her upbringing and her respect for the contract would never allow her to do such a thing.

The statement was absurd, and Sheng Ruxi’s expression immediately turned cold.

After a long silence, Jian Jixing took two steps back and wordlessly headed for the door.

Sheng Ruxi grabbed her clothes and threw them at Jian Jixing. They weren’t even close to hitting her.

But Jian Jixing quickly turned around, took a step forward, caught the jacket, and naturally tucked it back under the blanket. She slightly narrowed her eyes. “I wasn’t even leaving. Why are you already trying to kick me out?”

What? She was clearly about to leave. How could she twist the truth so blatantly?

Sheng Ruxi finally got angry enough to speak. She glared at Jian Jixing, finding her utterly unreasonable.

“I’m kicking you out? Stay here as long as you want! I don’t understand your way of thinking. You came, but it’s worse than if you hadn’t…”

Her voice trailed off, and her eyes dropped, her dark lashes trembling slightly.

Sheng Ruxi knew she couldn’t change her habit of crying when she felt wronged. It hadn’t happened in a long time, but Jian Jixing’s words were so infuriating that they made her feel completely blocked, from her heart to her throat to her stomach.

Jian Jixing watched her silently, letting Sheng Ruxi vent until she turned her face away and stopped talking.

She slowly picked up the glass of water that hadn’t been touched and offered it to Sheng Ruxi. “Why don’t you have some water before you continue? I’m worried you’ll get thirsty.”

This was a sign of her goodwill. Under normal circumstances, Sheng Ruxi would have understood.

But today, she was very unhappy.

As the water glass was about to reach her hand, Sheng Ruxi swept it aside without hesitation.

The glass tipped, but Jian Jixing quickly caught it, half a cup of water spilling and leaving a dark stain on her pants. Jian Jixing calmly put the glass back on the table.

“You don’t want me here,” Jian Jixing said, her face calm, her voice indifferent. “Being a travel ambassador here isn’t easy. The terrain is complicated, and it doesn’t have city amenities. It might not be for you.”

For whatever reason, this fainting spell showed that Sheng Ruxi’s body hadn’t fully adapted to the altitude.

Sheng Ruxi was mad at her but wouldn’t tell her the real problem, and even though Jian Jixing had a slight guess, she couldn’t force the issue.

Jian Jixing said in a low voice, “No matter what you’re doing, cutting your losses is always the best option.”

The air was silent.

The state of both of them was off. Logically, the conversation shouldn’t continue.

But the frustration in Sheng Ruxi’s heart surged once more.

The soft pillow behind her back felt like a rock, and it was weighing on her heart.

Sheng Ruxi glanced at the water stain on Jian Jixing’s pants and smiled. “If you cut your losses on everything, where’s the thrill of adventure?”

She raised her hand, her jade-like fingertips pointing at Jian Jixing. “When everything is a surprise, even if the process is complicated, it’s worth it if it all becomes a toy in my hand.”

Sheng Ruxi’s expression was so dazzling.

It was as if she wanted the stars and the moon in the sky, and in the next moment, those things that mortals couldn’t reach would come running to her and fall into her hand.

A question that had been lingering in Jian Jixing’s mind for a long time finally came to the surface, like a bubble released by a fish, uncontrollable until it burst, creating ripples.

“Including marrying me?”

Sheng Ruxi curved her lips, leaning against the headboard. She didn’t answer and instead asked, “What do you think?”

Marriage wasn’t a game.

When their families’ elders arranged the marriage, they never thought they would get divorced. That’s why they were urging them to nurture their feelings for each other.

Jian Jixing knew that Sheng Ruxi’s willingness to be part of this year-long treatment meant she owed Sheng Ruxi more.

Even if Sheng Ruxi was entering this marriage with the sole purpose of opposing her.

For that reason, she was willing to concede to Sheng Ruxi more often.

“Sheng Ruxi,” Jian Jixing no longer stood by the bed. She bent down, looking directly into those beautiful eyes. “Besides angering me and placating your family, what other reason do you have for marrying me?”

Sheng Ruxi smiled faintly and said, “None.”

Jian Jixing said slowly, “Many arranged marriages in high-society are nothing more than agreements, yet they end up working out. Qin Qinyan and He Xiao, who got married publicly last year, are holding their anniversary party next month.”

“Other people are other people. What are we?” Sheng Ruxi looked at her coldly. “Rivals. We were from the beginning, and we always will be, until we…”

She wanted to say, until our one year is up, until Wuwu returns.

But for some reason, she didn’t say the second half of the sentence.

They were very close, their breaths mingling, but their conversation was as cold and sharp as if a thin layer of ice separated them.

Jian Jixing’s gaze fell on Sheng Ruxi’s lips.

The breaths so close, the soft lips, made them look like lovers. Sheng Ruxi’s words were cold, but her breath was warm and gentle. Jian Jixing didn’t really care about Sheng Ruxi’s nonsense just now.

The owner of these lips could pout, scold, get angry, cry, and moan, but she would never soften or kiss her.

After a moment of silence, Jian Jixing said, “We still have eight out of the twelve times we agreed on.”

To be precise, each of them had eight times left, for a total of sixteen.

Sheng Ruxi looked up at her in surprise.

At a time like this, what kind of state am I in? And yet, the first thing Jian Jixing thinks of is the agreement they haven’t fulfilled!

At a time like this, all she could do was settle scores with her.

Sheng Ruxi pulled out the jacket that had been balled up in the blanket, which had been warming against her skin, and threw it at Jian Jixing.

Jian Jixing caught it, stepped back, and put the jacket aside without asking why.

That’s right.

Jian Jixing was originally an indifferent and arrogant person. Her occasional anger and helplessness in Sheng Ruxi’s presence were the exceptions, not the rule.

This Jian Jixing was truly annoying.

Jian Jixing was an Alpha.

When she agreed to marry her, it was probably because she knew that between the two of them, the Alpha would never lose out. She had an absolute advantage, and she could control everything.

But Sheng Ruxi, since she was a child, had never had the word “obedience” in her vocabulary.

Sheng Ruxi once thought that if Jian Jixing hadn’t been her rival, they could have gotten along over time.

Now, she took that thought back.

“I know this is just a transaction,” Sheng Ruxi revealed a smile, as if answering her own question. “What trace of sincerity could you possibly have?”

Jian Jixing moved closer to the bed again, looking at Sheng Ruxi. She said in a low voice, “Then you can try.”

“…Try what?”

Having made up her mind, Jian Jixing took off her jacket and pressed Sheng Ruxi onto the bed. She cupped the back of Sheng Ruxi’s neck and leaned forward.

Sheng Ruxi had no time to resist, nor could she, because she heard Jian Jixing say—

“Kiss me,” Jian Jixing’s soft laugh brushed past her ear, like a hypnotic whisper. “Let’s see if I have the trace of sincerity you’re looking for.”