After Little Sweet Omega Runs with the Ball - Chapter 35

Song Shuangtian pulled her hand back. “Pleased to meet you.”

A flicker of awkwardness crossed Xu Lianyun’s face. “But I clearly heard that Teacher Song had a cooperation agreement with the M Group recently. I heard President Ji has high expectations for you.”

Inwardly, Xu Lianyun looked down on Song Shuangtian. She didn’t believe Ji Mingxue actually liked her much; after all, rumors said Song Shuangtian once went undercover at the M Group as a corporate spy. How ridiculous. Ji Mingxue likely didn’t pursue legal action only out of professional courtesy to avoid a public fallout.

Song Shuangtian smiled but said nothing.

Not wanting to invite further rebuffs, Xu Lianyun prepared to leave, but her gaze lingered on the Hetian jade bracelet with the caramel-colored “swimming fish” pattern.

This woman must have stolen it, she thought. Stole Ji Mingxue’s bracelet and fled abroad.

Heh, was she playing hard to get? Xu Lianyun had heard that Ji Mingxue and Song Shuangtian once had a fling back when Song Shuangtian was still the heiress of the ST Group.

Song Shuangtian stood quietly, her skin crawling as if countless eyes were boring into her. She gave a small shiver.

“Don’t worry about irrelevant people,” the Omega murmured, lowering her eyes to focus on the work at hand.

Song Shuangtian’s newly hired assistant spoke softly. “That big star Xu seems to harbor some ill will toward you.”

Song Shuangtian replied, “Perhaps she thinks being pretty is enough to win Ji Mingxue’s favor?”

Song Shuangtian didn’t hesitate to use the most cynical thoughts to speculate about others, especially when it involved Ji Mingxue.

“Ha, does Ji Mingxue really think having a bit of money makes everyone love her?”

Song Shuangtian said this in French, so everyone present could understand. Ignoring the stares, she took the gemstones awaiting cutting and moved to a different workstation.

It was not recommended to wear expensive jewelry or accessories in the cutting area. Cutting dust could corrode the surface of jewelry, causing irreversible damage.

Song Shuangtian applied a generous amount of hand cream, removed the bracelet, and placed it in a secure storage area that required a passcode.

When Yuan Yin returned with snacks, she found the atmosphere quite strange.

“What happened? A fight?”

The assistant shook her head and recounted the encounter.

Yuan Yin’s expression twisted. “Ji Mingxue and Xu Lianyun have nothing going on. They’ve only met a few times at parties. Someone like her isn’t qualified to climb onto Ji Mingxue’s level.”

The assistant shrugged helplessly. “Our President Song can’t stand hearing anything related to Ji Mingxue.”

Yuan Yin held out the snacks. “Song Shuangtian, my Yanyan just baked some croissants. You haven’t had lunch, come try some.”

Song Shuangtian was wearing goggles, her hands moving without pause. Her wrists were slender and looked fragile, but her movements in cutting the gems were precise, like an AI robot programmed with an autonomous script.

“Not eating. Take it away,” Song Shuangtian said. She was already full of anger.

Song Shuangtian was alone in the cutting zone. It was separated from the design area by a dust-proof door. Between the two doors was a vacuum zone for changing clothes and storing valuables like jewelry and phones.

However, Yuan Yin ignored the dust-free regulations. “Just one bite. Yanyan baked them specifically for you.”

Song Shuangtian cut an emerald with some fissures into a perfect shape. The emeralds she used underwent no oil immersion or optimization treatments. The finished gem was only half the size of a fingernail, but it refracted countless brilliant stars under the light.

Song Shuangtian’s eyes were downcast, and she looked dispirited. Her heart felt a dull ache whenever she thought of Ji Mingxue.

“Are you heartbroken?” Yuan Yin asked, pulling up a stool and expertly sitting cross-legged on it. “I cast a hexagram for you last night. You’re going to lose something soon.”

Song Shuangtian appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, she felt a part of her had died. “It’s fine. I have nothing left to lose.”

When she learned from Madam Qiu that her mother had gone abroad right after giving her birth, she had always assumed it was because her mother was busy with work. Of course, that was one reason, but her mother had spent more time accompanying Ji Mingxue as she grew up.

Her mother provided Ji Mingxue’s early education. Her mother wrote recommendation letters for Ji Mingxue before she was even ten. Meanwhile, as the biological daughter, Song Shuangtian had to test into every academy herself. No one wrote her recommendations; no one paved the way for her.

Ji Mingxue’s parents were busy and couldn’t be with her, so Song Shuangtian’s mother took their place.

Why?

The thought made Song Shuangtian’s heart tighten with pain. Only work could suppress the physiological ache.

This relationship ends here. We should just break up, she thought. She would take the child back once Madam Qiu’s condition stabilized and her career entered a steady phase. She felt she had failed her Guanguan.

Yuan Yin didn’t understand gem cutting, so she leaned against a machine with her arms crossed, watching Song Shuangtian’s exquisite technique.

“I saw news from back home. Lately, Ji Mingxue has been taking your ‘Jar’ to work every day. She even brings her into the conference room.”

Song Shuangtian: “…”

Yuan Yin smiled slightly. “I heard Ji Mingxue bought out entire high-end custom children’s clothing lines. Kids grow fast, but she doesn’t care about wasting money.”

Song Shuangtian: “…” How inhumanly wealthy.

Yuan Yin continued, “I heard your ‘Jar’ had a cough and a fever a few days ago.”

Song Shuangtian immediately stopped the equipment, asking anxiously, “What happened?”

“I heard she went to play in the snow and fell into a green belt. She’s fine now, but Ji Mingxue was so worried she donated several million to a temple.”

Song Shuangtian: “?”

“Isn’t she an atheist?”

Yuan Yin replied, “Yeah, so she donated money to a church too. She’s just waiting to see which deity can make your cub recover faster.”

Song Shuangtian thought: Ji Mingxue really has money to burn. Was she trying to hit a competition KPI or something?

Having finished cutting all the gems, Song Shuangtian took off her goggles and set them on the table. Hearing this news left her heart feeling complicated. As a parent, Ji Mingxue was undoubtedly excellent; she loved the child and was willing to sacrifice work time for her.

Song Shuangtian spoke with Guanguan on the phone every night, and Guanguan clearly loved her mother.

Song Shuangtian left the cutting area and reached the locker where she kept her phone and jewelry. She entered the code and opened the door. Only her phone lay quietly in the narrow locker.

Song Shuangtian’s nerves suddenly went on alert. She picked up her phone and felt around inside the locker.

“My bracelet?!”

Hearing her exclamation, Yuan Yin rushed over. “What bracelet?”

Song Shuangtian said, “The one I found. The bracelet that originally belonged to Ji Mingxue.”

Yuan Yin immediately realized the gravity of the situation. “The bracelet you were clutching when you gave birth?”

Song Shuangtian nodded silently.

Yes. Back when she found the bracelet, it still carried traces of Ji Mingxue’s pheromones. Of course, over the years, those pheromones had long since vanished. But if it weren’t for that lingering trace of pheromones on the bracelet, Song Shuangtian’s delivery would never have gone smoothly.

“I’ll go check the surveillance right away.”

Yuan Yin’s family had influence in the fashion world. Although she wasn’t here as a designer, she was one of the investors for the organizers.

“What? You’re saying the footage is gone?” Yuan Yin slammed the table. The staff member in charge of surveillance took a half-step back in fear.

Yuan Yin launched into a rapid-fire interrogation, mixing French, English, and bits of the staffer’s native dialect. “How can there be no surveillance in a place like this? Can you afford to repay the cost of that bracelet? This time it’s a bracelet; what if a designer’s work is stolen next time? How will you take responsibility?”

The dark-haired staffer shook their hands in terror, nearly crying from anxiety. Yuan Yin muttered a curse in Chinese.

Song Shuangtian sat quietly on a bench outside the surveillance room, her face pale, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find the bracelet.” Seeing Song Shuangtian waiting so quietly made Yuan Yin even more anxious. She decided that if she found the thief, she would drag them to a high-crime area, put a bag over their head, and beat them. If one beating wasn’t enough, then two.

“What happened?” He Yanyan had been learning baking from a pastry chef recently. She arrived with freshly made bread to find the two of them in the surveillance room.

He Yanyan was a bit scared. “Was something stolen?”

Song Shuangtian nodded but didn’t say much.

He Yanyan suddenly slapped her forehead. “Oh no, you didn’t lose your bracelet, did you?”

Song Shuangtian looked up sharply. Yuan Yin stopped arguing. “How do you know?”

He Yanyan took out her phone. It was a photo taken from a candid angle, showing a woman’s back. That woman was wearing Song Shuangtian’s bracelet on her wrist.

“It’s Xu Lianyun. I happened to run into her when I arrived today. She looked familiar, so I approached her and asked about the bracelet’s origin. She didn’t say a word and hurried away.”

“I overheard her telling her assistant that she bought a ticket back to the Capital. She should be in the air by now.”

“I thought it was suspicious, so I took a photo. If it’s inappropriate, I’ll delete it now.”

Song Shuangtian’s lips pressed into a tight line.

“I’ll have someone go to the Capital to find her right now!” Yuan Yin fumed. “That damn thief. She thinks just because she’s in the Capital, I won’t dare touch her? Does she think she has no dirt in the entertainment industry? I’ll take down the financier behind her too and see who protects her then!”

“She makes so much money herself, yet she covets your bracelet. Is she sick? Bah!”

“International theft. I’ll hire a lawyer and sue that trash to death.”

Yuan Yin was so aggressive that everyone around her broke into a sweat. When these wealthy heiresses got angry, it truly wasn’t something an average person could handle.

Song Shuangtian said calmly, “There’s no need.”

“That won’t do!” Yuan Yin argued. “Otherwise, people will think Reborn is easy to bully.”

“Xu Lianyun will give the bracelet to Ji Mingxue,” Song Shuangtian said.

Yuan Yin was about to object, but hearing the name “Ji Mingxue,” she immediately went silent.

He Yanyan was uneasy. “If I had known, I would have snatched the bracelet back. It’s all my fault.”

Song Shuangtian was one of He Yanyan’s few friends. As an Omega, she had a great impression of Song Shuangtian and really liked Guanguan. She pulled a rock-hard baguette out of a paper bag. “If I had known, I would have hit her over the head with this. It definitely would have knocked her out.”

The staff thought: Little sister, you’re too fierce. That’s really not necessary.

Among the three of them, Song Shuangtian was the most composed.

After a long silence, Song Shuangtian leaned loosely against the cold wall. “Xu Lianyun stole the bracelet to return it to Ji Mingxue in exchange for the global spokesperson role for M Group. Don’t worry, the item won’t be lost.”

Once Song Shuangtian explained, everyone realized why Xu Lianyun had stolen it.

“You… don’t be too upset. Ji Mingxue will give it back to you.”

Song Shuangtian shook her head. “The bracelet belonged to Ji Mingxue in the first place.”

That night, her aunt had a video call with Song Shuangtian and reminded her about the bracelet. Song Shuangtian sat in her hotel suite, looking at her aunt’s pale face on the screen.

“Your bracelet is gone?”

Song Shuangtian nodded. “It’s fine. She will return it to Ji Mingxue.”

Madam Qiu hesitated, and eventually, there was only silence on the call.

“What’s wrong with that bracelet?” Song Shuangtian suddenly realized her aunt’s attitude toward the bracelet had always been hard to read.

Song Shuangtian jokingly touched her necklace. “That bracelet couldn’t have been given to Ji Mingxue by my mom, could it?”

She just said it casually, but she saw her aunt’s shoulders suddenly stiffen.

“No way?”

“It looks familiar,” Madam Qiu said. “But high-quality Hetian jade all looks similar. To confirm its origin, you can only ask Ji Mingxue personally.”

Madam Qiu’s words practically confirmed the bracelet’s origin, even if she didn’t state it clearly for Song Shuangtian’s sake.

Sigh, it’s all the trouble my sister caused before she died.

Song Shuangtian: “…”

After the video call ended, Song Shuangtian buried her face in her hands. A massive sense of helplessness washed over her.

Fine. Fine. Fine.

She had found something that didn’t belong to her, and now it had finally returned to its rightful owner.

Song Shuangtian recalled the way that little star looked at her, as if despising her for stealing Ji Mingxue’s things and wearing them so brazenly.

It was true. She had stolen Ji Mingxue’s things.

Song Shuangtian thought to herself despondently that her mother must truly be Ji Mingxue’s mother, while she herself was nothing more than someone who had pilfered a tiny, negligible fragment of maternal love.

The bracelet was also a gift from her mother to Ji Mingxue. By wearing it on her wrist, wasn’t she essentially stealing the love her mother intended for Ji Mingxue?

 

Song Shuangtian had never been someone who relied heavily on family ties, but she couldn’t help the feeling of a thousand tiny knives stabbing at her heart seventeen or eighteen years after her mother’s death.

 

The Omega didn’t cry this time. Her eyes were simply too red as she stared blankly at the distant landmark iron tower.

 

She decided that she would never forgive Ji Mingxue again.

 

Ji Mingxue was truly, truly hateful.

“Baby, we can’t eat ice cream. Eating ice cream will make your tummy hurt.”

Ji Mingxue knelt on one knee, maintaining eye contact with the “White Jade Ball.” She coaxed the toddler gently, “How about Mother takes you to the office to play?”

 

Guanguan, who was staring longingly at the walk-in refrigerator, pouted. Mama wouldn’t let her eat ice cream, and now Mother wouldn’t either. She had begged the butler uncle nicely yesterday, but he wouldn’t let her either.

 

But Guanguan had seen the butler uncle push open the door to that walk-in fridge! She saw it! She saw it! Inside there was matcha ice cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, sea salt caramel ice cream, cookies and cream…

 

There were such big buckets of it. Bigger than Guanguan herself.

 

So, taking advantage of a moment when no one was around, Guanguan had quietly slipped into the fridge and taken a bite out of every single ice cream tub.

 

The butler nearly lost his soul when he found her; he almost fainted on the spot from the shock. He bowed in apology. “I am so sorry, President Ji. It was my fault for not closing the kitchen door properly, allowing the young lady to slip in unnoticed.”

 

Ji Mingxue had a headache. “It’s not your fault. Distribute the ice cream among yourselves; we won’t keep any in the fridge from now on.”

 

Those were all handmade imported ice creams. The butler nodded immediately. “I thank President Ji on behalf of the nannies, the chef, and the gardeners.”

 

Those ice creams were meant for desserts; usually, the chef would only scoop a small spoonful to pair with freshly baked waffles. They were delicious. Before the White Jade Ball arrived, Ji Mingxue rarely stayed at the villa, so those ice creams were rarely touched and many were unopened.

 

Guanguan cried very loudly. However, once she heard she could go to her mother’s workplace, she didn’t feel quite so bad. The M Group had many pretty older sisters who spoke so kindly.

 

Ji Mingxue led the White Jade Ball out of the car, and the receptionist hung a badge around the baby’s neck. The ID featured a large photo of Guanguan’s head. In the “Position” column, the word “Supervisor” was written in large letters. For the name, Ji Mingxue originally wanted to write “Little Ball,” but Guanguan shouted loudly that her name was Guanguan.

 

Ji Mingxue: “…” Fine then.

 

Ji Mingxue worked on the 52nd floor, so Guanguan acted as a supervisor, waddling around the company. She toured every single department. Wherever Guanguan went, the staff would stop their work to take photos.

 

The pretty baby was very photogenic; whenever she saw a camera pointed at her, she immediately flashed an angelic smile. It was a total beauty attack.

 

# Arrested for being too cute #

 

“Ahhh, the big boss’s kid is too cute! I want to kidnap her!” “Stop your dangerous speech.” “The baby is smiling at me. She’s so sweet, I’m literally crying.” “Guanguan is going to be a real heartbreaker when she grows up.” “But the name ‘Guanguan’ is a bit strange.” “Strangely cute.”

 

“Pretty sister.”

 

Guanguan stood on her tiptoes, peeking over an office desk in the administrative department. The employee, who was working on a spreadsheet, looked at her with sparkling eyes. “What does the baby want?”

 

There were only office documents on her desk. A normal child would have rummaged through them, but the big boss’s kid was exceptionally good. She never touched the employees’ things or messed up files; if she wanted something, she would just stare at them with puppy eyes.

 

She was ten thousand times better than those “bratty” kids!

 

“Pretty sister, long eyelashes, so pretty,” Guanguan praised in her milky voice.

 

The employee was so happy she almost fainted. Then, Guanguan pointed her chubby little finger at a small cake sitting next to the computer monitor. “Can Guanguan eat that?”

 

The employee had lost all reason to the “moe” attack and held the cake out to Guanguan with both hands. Everyone in the office watched Guanguan longingly. They all had snacks on their desks—why was Guanguan only staring at her? QAQ

 

“Mama said Guanguan can’t take things for free,” Guanguan said, repeating her mother’s teachings. She reached into her pocket, fumbled around her little wallet, and pulled out three lollipops. “Can Guanguan trade lollipops with the pretty sister?”

 

Guanguan recognized it—that was an ice cream cake! There were even cold water droplets on the box! Yay!

 

The employee was completely melted. Ahhh, what a polite child!

 

Guanguan successfully traded three lollipops for an ice cream cake. By the time Lu Xing caught her, her little belly was already round from eating. Eventually, the situation evolved to the point where whenever Guanguan sat on the sofa to rest, passing employees would leave snacks in front of her. They had essentially turned her into the company mascot.

 

Lu Xing: “!!!!!”

 

Lu Xing felt her vision go dark. She adjusted her glasses with a trembling hand. “Miss, you’ll get a stomachache if you eat like this.”

 

Guanguan replied, “Mama told me before: minor illnesses don’t need treatment, and major illnesses can’t be cured.”

 

Lu Xing’s forehead throbbed. She almost lost her elite professional composure. She picked up the future owner of the building and shut her inside Ji Mingxue’s office.

 

Before evening arrived, Guanguan suffered from diarrhea because she had eaten too much cold food. Ji Mingxue had to end her meeting abruptly and rush back to the office.

 

As she pushed the door open, she caught a certain scent. The veins on Ji Mingxue’s forehead bulged. “What happened?”

 

Lu Xing elegantly covered her nose with a handkerchief. On the office carpet, there was an indescribable stain. “Indigestion.”

 

Ji Mingxue: “…”

 

“Throw the carpet away and disinfect the entire office.” Lu Xing added, “There are spare clothes for the young lady in your lounge.”

 

Ji Mingxue kept comforting herself, thinking it was normal for a child this age to have accidents. The ventilation system hummed loudly, but it couldn’t clear the air immediately; the office had a “subtle” aroma. Usually, she didn’t need perfume in the office; the Alpha’s pheromones would occupy every corner, marking it as hers. The cold magnolia pheromones were just like Ji Mingxue herself—frosty, noble, and unmatched by any perfume.

 

Now, this frosty and noble Alpha was rolling up her sleeves to wash the child’s bottom. Halfway through, the cub had a sudden abdominal cramp, leading to another “outpouring.” Accompanied by the gurgling sounds, Ji Mingxue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

 

Raising a child was great, but it sure gave her high blood pressure. Luckily, they didn’t mess up the floor this time; Guanguan knew to go to the toilet to finish.

 

“Mother, I’m never eating cold things again! QAQ” “Fine, no more next time. After I wash you, I’ll give you some medicine.”

 

If the Alpha before was someone who “never dipped her ten fingers into spring water” (did no manual labor), she could do anything now.

 

Lu Xing asked, “President Ji, do you need me to find an employee to finish the winter break homework on your desk?” Ji Mingxue: “…I’ll find time to do the handicraft myself.” Lu Xing: “Very well. Xu Lianyun says she has an urgent matter and needs to see you.”

 

After serving the little ancestor, Ji Mingxue wiped the water from her hands with a towel. “Who?”

 

After Lu Xing briefly explained her name, she found it strange. “Xu Lianyun should be in Europe right now. Why did she suddenly return?”

 

Ji Mingxue nodded. She changed her clothes and found an empty office to let her in. As for the global spokesperson role, Ji Mingxue had already made up her mind—it wouldn’t be Xu Lianyun. She needed an artist with more international fame and skill to be the face of M Group.

 

Xu Lianyun found it strange that President Ji didn’t see her in the main office, but she didn’t dare complain. Upon seeing this legendary top-tier Alpha, she instinctively lowered her head. The cold pheromones on the Alpha were too aggressive, making her legs feel weak as an Omega.

 

Ji Mingxue tapped her fountain pen on the desk listlessly. She looked like she was waiting for Xu Lianyun to speak, but she was actually thinking about how to do her cub’s winter break handicraft homework. What was the difference between her doing handicraft and using an anti-aircraft gun to swat a mosquito? She wanted to make Guanguan the most outstanding kid in the entire kindergarten.

 

“Say what you have to say.” Don’t waste my handicraft time.

 

Xu Lianyun’s face showed a momentary awkwardness. She immediately took a black velvet jewelry box from her handbag. She had walked into M Group with her head held high; the bracelet that hadn’t been found for four years had been easily encountered by her. Her status in the entertainment industry was now secure.

 

Xu Lianyun opened the box, revealing the familiar Hetian jade bracelet. “I heard President Ji lost this bracelet four years ago. I kept an eye out for it and finally found the thief who stole it. I’ve brought it back to you.”

 

As she spoke, Xu Lianyun stole glances at Ji Mingxue, hoping for some appreciation from the big boss.

 

The moment the box opened, Ji Mingxue’s gaze locked onto the bracelet. She, of course, knew its origin. And she knew it had been in Song Shuangtian’s possession.

 

Xu Lianyun waited for a compliment, but instead, she saw Ji Mingxue’s face darken to the bottom of the abyss. Ji Mingxue picked up the bracelet; she could smell faint traces of Song Shuangtian’s pheromones on it. The scent was extremely light, as if a single gust of wind could blow it all away.

 

“Song Shuangtian would never give this to you. Where did you get this bracelet?”

 

“I… I…” Seeing things were going south, Xu Lianyun stammered. Under Ji Mingxue’s interrogation, she eventually confessed that she had stolen it from Song Shuangtian’s locker and bribed someone to turn off the surveillance.

 

Ji Mingxue’s face instantly turned pale. She immediately opened her chat with Song Shuangtian. As expected, she had been blocked. Ji Mingxue felt like banging her head against a wall.

 

“You idiot!”

 

Ji Mingxue ignored the stunned Omega in the room. Disregarding her usual elegance and composure, she rushed to the assistant’s office, pulled open the door, and shouted:

 

“Book me a flight immediately. I’m going to Fashion Week early.”

 

The Alpha thought despondently and miserably: I wonder if Song Shuangtian will refrain from slapping me in public for the sake of how hard I’ve been taking care of the cub.

 

No, Song Shuangtian would definitely be furious. She had let the cub get a cold and diarrhea, and now she had been mistaken for someone who ordered the theft of the bracelet.

 

Ji Mingxue crouched down in front of Guanguan. “Jar, shall we go find Mama?”

 

Guanguan was a bit dazed and didn’t speak. Ji Mingxue, feeling heartbroken and grasping at the last straw of hope, pleaded, “My Jar, I won’t stop you from watching TV anymore. Can you use your watch-phone to call Mama for me?”

 

Guanguan looked at her strangely. With the most innocent expression, she spoke the coldest words:

 

“But Mama called me yesterday and said she doesn’t want to see Mother.”