After Little Sweet Omega Runs with the Ball - Chapter 27

Ji Mingxue originally wanted to continue teasing the adorable cub a bit longer.

Unexpectedly, a sudden phone call called her away. The Alpha stood in place and looked back at the child holding the mud-stained fruit hard candy in her hand. She couldn’t resist reaching out to pat the child’s hair.

“This child.”

If she were sent to an orphanage or adopted by someone with ill intentions, she would likely lead a hard life. Seeing how fair and tender this child was, she must have been well cared for by her parents. To suddenly suffer such a disaster, there must be an indelible scar left in her heart.

The phone in her hand vibrated, urging Ji Mingxue to hurry and handle her work. Guanguan blinked her round eyes, looking at the woman in front of her with a dazed expression.

“Big Sister, you are so beautiful.”

Guanguan gave Ji Mingxue a sweet smile.

Ji Mingxue’s heart skipped a beat. “You are also very good-looking.”

Ji Mingxue turned her head to answer the phone. It seemed she had encountered an urgent matter, as she walked quickly in another direction.

When she returned half an hour later, Guanguan was gone.

Ji Mingxue stood in place as a staff member smiled apologetically. “That child left a gift for you.”

In the staff member’s palm was a fruit hard candy that hadn’t been stained by any dust or mud. The orange-red candy was wrapped in cellophane, and hints of sweetness seeped through the gaps in the packaging. It looked delicious just by looking at it.

Ji Mingxue held the candy in her hand.

“I feel that child looks a bit familiar.”

Lu Xing was reading the speech for the press conference. She looked up. “Familiar?”

Ji Mingxue used her fingers to smooth out the crumpled cellophane. “It’s nothing.”

She had smelled a familiar scent on that child. Every time she tried to recall it, that scent was like a ghost floating in the air or a dream in the midst of confusion. She wanted to reach out and grab it, but it slipped through her fingers. She could find nothing.

“Who told you to run around blindly!”

Song Shuangtian, frustrated that her child wasn’t living up to expectations, picked Guanguan up and gave her a slap on the bottom.

Guanguan pursed her lips and let out a loud wail.

Madam Qiu frowned in disapproval. “Don’t hit the child.”

Madam Qiu reached out and placed a cheese stick in front of Guanguan. “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Song Shuangtian expressed her dissatisfaction with Madam Qiu’s overly indulgent attitude. “A child can’t be molded without discipline.”

The Omega, a first-time mother, didn’t really want to hit the child. She was just angry that Ji Mingxue had suddenly appeared here, seducing her cub behind her back.

What a sinister-minded Alpha. Song Shuangtian was currently avoiding Ji Mingxue at all costs.

Madam Qiu pinched her temples with a headache. Her tone was usually gentle, but now it carried a hint of helplessness. “According to your education method, back in the day, I should have beaten you to death when you were climbing chimneys, scaling rock gardens, and walking along the outer edge of the balcony.”

Song Shuangtian: “.”

Guanguan sat close to Song Shuangtian, with tears hanging on her beautiful little face.

“Mama, that sister just now was so pretty. She smelled so good, a bit like that bunch of flowers outside our room.”

Guanguan was referring to the white magnolias.

Song Shuangtian’s eye twitched. “Is that woman better looking, or am I?”

“Mama is the most beautiful!”

Giving birth to a child had not brought exhaustion or wrinkles to Song Shuangtian. Time favored the beautiful, granting Song Shuangtian only a touch of the maturity that comes with being a new mother, while the youthful innocence in her eyes had not faded.

At this moment, that innocence instantly turned into rage.

“Guanguan! Don’t stuff mud into your mouth!!”

The three-year-old girl stuffed the mud-stained candy into her mouth all at once. Yellow mud smeared on her cheeks, and her pink little face instantly turned into a mud doll’s. Her newly bought clothes were also smeared with a layer of mud. The cub’s paws were covered in yellow mud, and she waved them around, smearing it onto Song Shuangtian’s face.

Song Shuangtian felt her soul leave her body. “Song Yuqing!”

“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Hurry up and spit the mud out.”

Song Shuangtian’s movements with the wet wipes were cursedly practiced. She pried open Guanguan’s chin and wiped the mud off her lips.

“I gave that sister a candy. That sister is also my friend. She is so gentle. She used a fragrant handkerchief to wipe Guanguan’s face. Will we see her again next time?” Guanguan said indistinctly.

Song Shuangtian got even angrier. She puffed up like a pufferfish. She wanted to throw the cub out.

“We will meet again.” Guanguan’s eyes narrowed into slits with her smile. “I want to give her more candy.”

“Next time, let’s go visit her grave together, okay? :)”

Madam Qiu couldn’t listen anymore. “Shuangtian, do you have a big problem with Ji Mingxue?”

Madam Qiu didn’t understand. Song Shuangtian seemed to become a different person whenever Ji Mingxue was mentioned. Was it a case of professional rivalry? But that didn’t make sense either. The development of Reborn was far from the level of needing to face off against M Group. Was it a grudge from the time at ST Group?

Song Shuangtian: “.”

She stammered an affirmative sound. “It’s good to have a bit of wariness toward strangers.”

She didn’t dare tell her aunt that Ji Mingxue was the “bastard” who got her pregnant.

As her aunt drove, she caught a glimpse of the bracelet on Song Shuangtian’s left wrist through the rearview mirror.

“I forgot to ask before. How do you have that bracelet? That was your mother’s bracelet when she was young. I thought she had lost it.”

Before Song Shuangtian could react with shock, she said, “It wasn’t my mother’s.”

She hadn’t expected that once the bracelet was put on, it couldn’t be taken off.

Madam Qiu didn’t continue the topic. Instead, she opened a folder and handed it to her from the passenger seat.

“Reborn is in a stage of rapid development. It’s good to communicate more with various international brands. Maybe we can negotiate a cooperation. I have an invitation for an International Jewelry Inlay Technology Exchange here. Go take a look.”

Song Shuangtian took the folder and the invitation. “In the capital?”

“Yes. Guanguan needs to attend kindergarten in the capital. While you’re back this time, you can help her settle on a kindergarten.”

Guanguan looked up as if she had been unblocked. She knew what kindergarten meant. They could make many good friends there.

“Are we not staying at the nursing home?” Guanguan’s ignorant eyes seemed to realize the fact of parting from her grandmother.

Song Shuangtian ruffled her hair. “Yes.”

Children don’t know what parting is; they only know that someone will be missing from their future lives.

By the time they boarded the plane to the capital, Guanguan had her hands on the porthole, watching the scenery outside gradually rise. The plane broke through the clouds, and the dazzling sun poured down.

“But we won’t be able to see that big sister anymore.”

Thinking of this, Guanguan pursed her lips and wanted to cry again, but Song Shuangtian immediately covered her mouth. Song Shuangtian’s temples throbbed.

“You are not allowed to make noise in public. Your mama doesn’t want to end up on the Weibo trending searches because of this kind of mess.”

# Founder of Reborn allows child to cry loudly, disrupting plane order #

Guanguan’s crying was forced to stop. Her confused eyes were filled with sadness. Guanguan is a child no one loves. QAQ

In the headquarters building of M Group.

Ji Mingxue leaned against the balcony, slowly smoking a cigarette. As the smoke billowed out, her eyes half-closed. There was a roar in the sky as a plane flew overhead.

Ji Mingxue’s heart beat fast twice for no reason.

“President Ji.”

Ji Mingxue watched the plane slide from one end to the other, finally disappearing into a visual blind spot. A secret corner in Ji Mingxue’s heart throbbed frantically, and even she didn’t know what she was throbbing for.

“President Ji.”

After the assistant called out twice, Ji Mingxue blinked her sore eyes. “Is something wrong?”

The assistant handed over the invitation with both hands. “President Ji, here is the invitation for the International Jewelry Inlay Technology Exchange.”

Ji Mingxue’s gaze swept across the surface of the invitation. Designers from major international jewelry brands would attend this kind of exchange. If Song Shuangtian were still working at her company, Ji Mingxue would have definitely let her participate in this kind of opportunity immediately.

Ji Mingxue’s gaze swept complexly over the assistant standing aside, who was a bit terrified. Her new assistant was good, but this position was originally reserved for Song Shuangtian.

“I see. Put it on my desk.”

“Yes.”

The platinum-colored invitation lay quietly on the desk. Ji Mingxue didn’t extinguish her cigarette in the crystal ashtray until she had finished it. Only after the smell of smoke on her body had dissipated did she walk into the office.

The Alpha subconsciously felt she shouldn’t smoke in the office. Even the act of smoking itself carried a certain sense of guilt.

Ji Mingxue’s eyes trembled. She walked past the office where Song Shuangtian had briefly stayed for a while. She wouldn’t allow anyone in to clean. Ji Mingxue hummed a song as she skillfully picked up a broom and swept away the imperceptible floating dust on the floor.

With the fresh air system running twenty-four hours a day, there shouldn’t be any dust here. It was as if someone came here to work every day; even the green plants in front of the window remained vibrant.

Ji Mingxue suppressed the complex emotions in her eyes. After finishing all the cleaning work, she walked slowly into her office to check the invitation her assistant had just placed there.

“This kind of boring exchange. Let the designers below attend.”

Ji Mingxue casually handed the invitation to Lu Xing, who was sitting in the office drinking coffee. The invitation hung in mid-air with no one to take it.

Ji Mingxue looked sideways at Lu Xing. Seeing her slowly place her coffee cup back on the saucer, the sound of the bone china clashing made Ji Mingxue’s forehead throb.

“?”

Lu Xing: “The founder of Reborn will be attending. Are you sure you’re not going?”

Ji Mingxue’s hand holding the invitation paused. “This kind of exchange is a waste of time. I have more important things to do.”

Lu Xing: “By ‘more important things,’ do you mean you only plan to adopt that child who has already vanished without a trace?”

“Since there is no fate between us, then forget it.”

Ji Mingxue’s brow twitched. She was a bit annoyed at having her thoughts exposed.

“I asked the person in charge of disaster reconstruction. That child is not on the rescue list. Judging by her clothes, she is more likely the child of some big boss who came to help and donate.”

“Who?”

The look on Lu Xing’s face suggested she thought Ji Mingxue was about to go kidnap someone else’s child. “President Ji, the surveillance signal there is poor, so no figures were captured on camera, but I filtered through the records and found one person.”

Ji Mingxue’s heart skipped a beat. “From which family?”

“Only a surname was recorded: Qiu.”

“The donor had no intention of revealing their full identity.”

Ji Mingxue didn’t ask further. There weren’t many people with that surname; the last one she knew was Qiu Tingnan.

Song Shuangtian’s mother, her mentor.

“I understand. I’ll go.”

Once the office was empty, the Alpha placed the invitation into her handbag. She leaned back against her chair, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window at the contrail of a plane slicing through the sky.

A few moments later, the Alpha expressionlessly pulled an odor suppressant from her safe and injected it into her arm. As the suppressant entered her system, the chaotic noise in her brain and the desperate urge to vent were suddenly doused like a fire hit by a bucket of cold water.

The stunningly beautiful Alpha leaned by the window, her eyes half-lidded and filled with a trace of desolation.

During her childhood, that woman had taught her to identify gemstones, play the piano, and ski with her. Then, that woman returned to her home country and passed away shortly after.

Later, she had fallen for Song Shuangtian, but she hadn’t recognized her own heart, treating her only as a dispensable lover. Consequently, Song Shuangtian left her.

Recently, she felt an instant connection with a child who was willing to be close to her and called her beautiful. Now, it turned out the girl wasn’t an orphan available for adoption.

Even the bracelet was gone.

In the Alpha’s relatively short life, the people and things she loved were constantly leaving. Logically, Ji Mingxue should have been used to losing things by now, but she still couldn’t accept it.

Fate seemed too cruel for this Alpha.

The cold suppressant coursing through her veins made the usually rational Ji Mingxue feel uncharacteristically sentimental.

What would be the next thing she’d lose?

Ji Mingxue felt a flicker of curiosity, her lips curling into a mocking smile.

“Reborn?”

In the capital, Song Shuangtian let out a violent sneeze while processing the kindergarten enrollment paperwork for her cub.

Guanguan worriedly wrapped her short arms and legs around her mother’s leg.

“Mama is sick.” Is it Guanguan’s fault?

Song Shuangtian patted her worried daughter. “Be good, Mama is fine.”

It was just someone talking behind her back.

The educational resources in the capital were naturally incomparable to those in the small southwestern town, and Song Shuangtian wanted her child to receive the best education. Of course, this didn’t mean Guanguan had to give up her connection with nature; in fact, Song Shuangtian believed that kindergarten life should mostly be about freedom, happiness, and playing.

Song Shuangtian just felt a bit bad that Guanguan hadn’t met many peers yet.

“When winter break comes, Mama will take Guanguan to play with Grandma, okay?”

Song Shuangtian was determined to take Guanguan to climb snow-capped mountains.

Guanguan giggled with joy, and in her excitement, a snot bubble popped out.

The kindergarten teacher looked at Guanguan with affection. “I haven’t seen such a beautiful child in a long time.”

Song Shuangtian skillfully wiped away the snot bubble with a tissue. “This child is a bit of a handful. Please look after her.”

Guanguan gave the teacher a shy smile.

At that moment, the teacher thought Song Shuangtian was just being polite, not realizing how chaotic her life was about to become.

Guanguan, with her angelic face, pulled a large handful of imported candies and chocolates from her pocket. “For the teacher!”

The teacher gasped and immediately accepted the gifts with both hands. “Thank you, baby.”

The teacher had seen many children who were spoiled rotten by their families, learning at a young age to look down on others. In comparison, Guanguan was incredibly polite.

Guanguan lowered her head shyly. “If Guanguan does something bad later, Teacher isn’t allowed to be angry, okay?”

Song Shuangtian: “.”

It was starting. Again. Using beauty as a weapon.

The kindergarten teacher’s heart completely melted. She leaned down and rubbed Guanguan’s little face. “Baby is the best. Teacher won’t be angry.”

Song Shuangtian: It’s over.

After finishing the paperwork, Song Shuangtian led Guanguan home. She owned a house in the capital and had arranged for someone to deep-clean it before they arrived. Her next step was to rent an office building.

By the time she finished all the errands, it was time to attend the exchange.

The Omega stood before the full-length mirror wearing a small black dress and a pearl necklace. Since she didn’t feel comfortable leaving Guanguan home alone, she brought the child along. Guanguan had been in big social settings since she was little; she was well-behaved and wouldn’t be a nuisance.

The Omega’s long hair was styled into an elegant bun, with stray strands perfectly covering the slightly swollen gland on the back of her neck. The orange-blossom-scented gland was well-concealed beneath a gland patch.

Since giving birth to Guanguan, Song Shuangtian hadn’t been troubled much by her pheromones. Even when she felt uncomfortable, it only happened once every six months or a year, and an injection would perfectly soothe it. Perhaps her body already considered her an Omega permanently marked by an Alpha.

The little Omega held her cub’s hand as they got into a black sedan.

“Mama is so beautiful today.”

Guanguan leaned obediently against her mother, her bright eyes guiltily darting toward her mother’s lips.

Song Shuangtian’s smile didn’t fade. “Guanguan is very cute today, too.”

Yuan Yin, sitting beside Song Shuangtian, noted curiously, “Your lipstick today is different from yesterday’s. I thought you’d wear the one you just bought.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t find yesterday’s lipstick.” Song Shuangtian patted the child who was so good at sweet talk. “I don’t know where it was thrown.”

Just as Song Shuangtian was trying to remember, her phone rang, breaking the silence in the car.

“The housekeeper?”

Song Shuangtian answered, and the housekeeper’s voice immediately echoed through the car.

“Miss Song, your lipstick!”

The woman babbled for a long time without making sense. Finally, in a panic, she turned on her camera. The once pristine white bathroom tiles were now covered in lipstick streaks. One might have mistaken the chaotic red lines for crayon drawings until a closer look revealed over a dozen lipsticks scattered on the floor.

On the tiles, the toilet, the shower head. It looked like a crime scene.

The expensive lipsticks now looked like cheap crayons; some were worn down to the nub, others snapped in half. Even the gland patches Song Shuangtian kept in the cabinet were used like stickers on the toilet seat. For an Omega, the privacy level of a gland patch was no different from underwear.

Song Shuangtian: “…” Yuan Yin: “.”

Guanguan tried her best to squeeze herself into the corner of the seat.

Song Shuangtian had been so busy lately she had barely stayed overnight, so she had no idea one of the bathrooms had been desecrated like this. She had even been thinking about how well-behaved the child was.

Little Guanguan sensed a sinister gaze.

“I… I didn’t do it on purpose. QAQ”

Song Shuangtian gave a cold smile. “You didn’t do it on purpose? Did the lipsticks start it then?”

Yuan Yin burst out laughing. Song Shuangtian could only helplessly send a large digital red envelope to the housekeeper, asking her to clean the mess.

“Why don’t you just hand her over to Ji Mingxue to look after? Let her wreck Ji Mingxue’s house instead.”

Song Shuangtian pressed her fingers to her brow. “We’ll see.”

She didn’t plan on keeping it from Ji Mingxue forever, but now wasn’t the right time to confess.

Seeing that her mother didn’t intend to hit her, the cub boldly tugged at Yuan Yin’s sleeve. “I know I was wrong.”

Song Shuangtian: “And you’ll do it again next time, won’t you?”

Cub: QAQ sob sob sob.

Song Shuangtian decided that after the exchange, she would give this child a “complete” childhood—by letting her experience some “corrective” parenting.

At the exchange.

The presence of the head of M Group took every designer by surprise. There was no shortage of chief designers from top international brands and corporate executives, but someone of Ji Mingxue’s status attending personally naturally drew curious gazes.

Ji Mingxue accepted a glass of champagne, took a shallow sip, and surveyed the room.

“Has anyone from Reborn arrived?”

“President Ji, the people from Reborn haven’t arrived yet.”

Ji Mingxue frowned almost imperceptibly. She checked her watch, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes. The Alpha, who was used to being flattered, couldn’t stand it when someone arrived later than her. She had timed her arrival perfectly; was Reborn putting on even more airs than she was?

Raised in luxury, Ji Mingxue scanned the room with a proud, arrogant gaze.

The person she was looking for wasn’t there.

Outside, Song Shuangtian slowly approached with her child and handed her invitation to the staff.

“This child is mine.” Song Shuangtian met the staff member’s slightly surprised gaze.

“Of course. Non-alcoholic drinks are provided. I hope the little one has a pleasant time.”

Guanguan gave the staff member a sweet smile, making the woman’s expression soften even more.

“Please sign your name here.”

Song Shuangtian and Yuan Yin entered together. After each signed their names, they were led into the hall. No matter how much the event was dressed up as an “academic exchange,” the participation of so many jewelry brands made the already magnificent venue absolutely dazzling.

Undoubtedly, the most eye-catching person was Ji Mingxue, standing in a corner among the crowd.

Song Shuangtian: !!! Yuan Yin: Oh ho! Your old lover. Guanguan chirped, “It’s the pretty sister!”

Song Shuangtian gripped Guanguan’s hand tightly and muttered a curse that only she could hear.

What a small world. Dammit, now is not the time to meet.

Song Shuangtian hoisted the child onto her shoulder and turned to leave without a word. Fortunately, they were standing in the shadows, and no one noticed the sudden retreat.

Ji Mingxue felt a sudden intuition and looked up toward the empty, dark hallway.

Pretty sister?

“Miss Song? Miss Song!”

Seeing Song Shuangtian leave in a hurry, the staff member called out after her.

Ji Mingxue was so startled by the name “Miss Song” that she immediately lifted her skirt and hurried toward that hallway.

Miss Song. Was it the Miss Song she knew?

Ji Mingxue’s pupils darkened. By the time she reached the spot, Song Shuangtian was gone.

“President Ji?”

The staff member stared blankly at the car that had already driven off.

Ji Mingxue’s chest heaved slightly as she struggled for breath. “The person you were calling just now… who was it?”

“It was Miss Song. She…”

Ji Mingxue didn’t wait for the staff member to finish. She took it upon herself to flip through the visitor log.

Song Shuangtian. Yuan Yin. The affiliation column read: Reborn.

It had been nearly four years. Seeing that familiar name and handwriting again, Ji Mingxue felt as if an invisible hand had suddenly seized her heart.

Song Shuangtian. She was back.

Under the bewildered gazes of the staff and the guests, Ji Mingxue grabbed her keys from her bag, climbed into the driver’s seat, and slammed the accelerator.

Impulse took control before logic could. With the roar of the engine, the black car shot into the darkness like an arrow.

Song Shuangtian.

Ji Mingxue’s eyes were bloodshot as she repeated the name in her mind.

You little liar. It really was you.