After Marrying the Cold Omega in Secret - Chapter 26

The suppressant that Chi Ye brought worked quickly and effectively. Less than a minute after Chu Jin injected it, even the last trace of restlessness vanished completely.

“Are you really alright now?” Chi Ye still looked unsure.

“I’m fine, really.” Chu Jin raised her hand and made a vow-like gesture, her gaze firm. “I swear.”

Even so, Chi Ye still seemed hesitant.

Seeing this, Chu Jin lowered her hand and suddenly leaned in close to Chi Ye, catching her off guard. She lowered her eyes and stared gently at her.

As Chi Ye avoided eye contact, a playful smile tugged at Chu Jin’s lips. She leaned even closer, whispering near her ear.

Warm breath brushed lightly against Chi Ye’s skin.

Her voice was low and teasing.

“See? I’m this close to you, and I didn’t lose control like I did last night.”

The soft sensation tingled from Chi Ye’s ear to her chest.

Feeling the flirtation, Chi Ye turned her head slightly and took half a step back, putting some space between them.

She glanced at Chu Jin and finally said, “Alright.”

Seeing her reaction, Chu Jin felt a rush of amusement and mischief. She deliberately shifted away from the camera and gave Chi Ye a playful wink.

“President Chi, you do care about me after all.”

Hearing that, Chi Ye felt a sudden tightness in her chest, though she didn’t show it. She looked away and replied calmly, “Legally speaking, you are still my wife. I don’t want you to end up in a situation you didn’t choose, especially with someone else.”

She paused, then carefully chose her words.

“Someone you have no connection with.”

She said this with her usual calm and indifferent tone.

It was different from the version of her that Chu Jin had seen last night.

Now that Chu Jin was thinking clearly again, she recalled everything that had happened. Aside from the guilt and embarrassment she felt, she also noticed something strange. Last night’s encounter, every step of it, seemed to have been subtly guided by Chi Ye.

Even though it had started under the pretense of testing whether Yan Sisi liked her, it had been Chi Ye who first held her hand. That was when everything started escalating.

Thinking about it now, it felt odd. Someone as cold and distant as Chi Ye had actually initiated something with her during a sensitive period?

The more Chu Jin thought about it, the more confused she became.

But now, seeing Chi Ye return to her usual cold self, she started to doubt her memories from last night. During sensitivity phases, her hormones would create chaos in her body, often making her imagine things that were never real.

So there was a good chance it had all been in her head.

It was common for alphas to lose control during a sensitivity episode and do things that did not reflect their true intentions.

At least not their rational intentions.

In that sense, what Chi Ye said wasn’t wrong.

Noticing that Chu Jin was lost in thought, Chi Ye spoke up.

“Stop spacing out.”

“Come downstairs and help me cook.”

“What?” Chu Jin had just snapped out of her daze when she heard the unexpected command. She looked confused as Chi Ye was already opening the door and leaving the room. Chu Jin quickly followed, whispering, “President Chi, I just got over a cold. I can’t be doing housework.”

If anyone saw her working, wouldn’t that make her lie about being sick fall apart?

She had planned to cough a few times for effect when she went downstairs. She even skipped makeup today to look more pale and convincing.

Chi Ye glanced at her and was persuaded.

“Fine,” she said. “You don’t need to do anything.”

Chu Jin was overjoyed, thinking she could relax, and didn’t think too much about what Chi Ye meant by that last sentence. It wasn’t until they reached the bottom of the stairs that she tried to head to the living room, only for Chi Ye to give her a look that made her stop.

So “not doing anything” meant she still had to go to the kitchen and watch her cook?

Chu Jin was annoyed. Did President Chi really have separation anxiety or something?

But she had no choice and followed along.

At that moment, Yan Sisi had also just arrived in the kitchen. Bai Xuqing was going to help them cook today, and the two of them were tying aprons for each other.

Chi Ye gave Chu Jin a subtle look.

She didn’t need to cook, but she still had to play her part.

Chu Jin understood and walked over to get an apron.

Seeing this, Yan Sisi thoughtfully took down an apron and was about to hand it to Chu Jin.

But Chi Ye intercepted it halfway.

“I’ll do it,” Chi Ye said in a calm voice.

Yan Sisi was speechless.

Was that really necessary? They had already used suppressants. Did she still need to be so guarded?

Chi Ye ignored her look and put on the apron herself. Then she walked over to Chu Jin, turned around, and said, “Help me tie it.”

As the camera turned toward them, Chi Ye added two more words.

“Thank you.”

Chu Jin wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this.

Just a moment ago, Yan Sisi could have helped her put on the apron. Why the sudden change?

Could it be that Chi Ye had seen Yan Sisi helping Bai Xuqing and got a little jealous, so she wanted Chu Jin to tie hers?

Chu Jin didn’t understand it completely, but as the designated assistant, she went along with it and tied a perfect bow behind Chi Ye’s back.

Today they were making pasta. It was not a difficult dish, but for two people who couldn’t cook, it was already quite the challenge.

Luckily, Bai Xuqing was handling the main tasks. At least today they wouldn’t have to suffer through another disaster meal.

Chi Ye’s hand had not fully healed yet, though the gauze had been removed. She now had a bandage over the cut.

Chu Jin glanced at her fingers and noticed the bandage was stuck on crookedly. It looked like she had done it herself.

“Wait,” Chu Jin said suddenly. “Let me fix that for you.”

She quickly turned around and went upstairs to get something from her bag.

It was a pink adhesive bandage, decorated with little hearts.

When Chi Ye saw it, she looked visibly unimpressed.

“Look how cute it is,” Chu Jin said with a raised eyebrow. “And it’s waterproof too.”

Even though Chi Ye didn’t look thrilled, she didn’t say anything. She quietly let Chu Jin replace the bandage.

Chu Jin bent down slightly and lowered her head. With practiced ease, she removed the old bandage. The wound had already closed and was now just a red line.

She looked up at Chi Ye.

“Have you been applying scar cream?”

“Yeah, I put some on this morning,” Chi Ye nodded, then added casually, “It was from He Xian.”

Chu Jin took a second to catch the meaning behind that sentence.

She was explaining that she had not used the ointment sent by Wen Zhixue.

Chi Ye lowered her eyes and focused on Chu Jin’s serious expression.

Today, Chu Jin was wearing a loose sweatshirt. Her hair was loosely clipped up, and because she was bending over, a few strands had fallen forward, brushing against the corner of her eyes.

Chi Ye stared for a moment, lost in thought. She nearly raised her hand to tuck the hair away but stopped herself midway and came back to her senses.

But Chu Jin noticed the movement and looked up, slightly concerned.

“What is it?”

Chi Ye had no way to pull back, so she gently lowered her hand to Chu Jin’s collar.

“Your hood was crooked.”

Her tone was calm as she adjusted the perfectly fine collar without blinking.

The entire scene was captured by the filming crew. Without either of them realizing, the editor had already added soft background music to the footage.

[Oh my gosh, this is so sweet.]
[Her hood wasn’t even crooked. That was just an excuse to get closer.]
[Their relationship is developing so fast. I’m starting to think something happened last night.]
[Makes sense. They didn’t show any bedroom footage at all last night.]
[Chi Ye seems so much softer today. Total post-cuddle energy.]
[Wait, who’s the A and who’s the O in this pair?]

After finishing with the bandage, Chi Ye went back to cooking. Chu Jin sat nearby at the dining table, ready to help if needed. She didn’t have much to do, just occasionally passed things to Chi Ye or wiped her hands.

For some reason, Chi Ye felt much gentler today than usual.

Chu Jin rested her chin on her hand and watched Chi Ye move around the kitchen. An amused and slightly wicked thought came to mind.

Did she win her over last night?

Maybe Chi Ye no longer liked Yan Sisi. Maybe she had already fallen for Chu Jin instead. After getting pinned down and kissed on the bed, had she completely given in?

The more Chu Jin thought about it, the more she felt a chill crawl down her spine.

It all made perfect sense. Too much sense.

But just as she looked up again, she saw Chi Ye talking with Yan Sisi across the kitchen. The two were facing each other and seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.

Chi Ye had her back to Chu Jin, so she couldn’t see her face. But she could clearly see Yan Sisi smiling brightly, her eyes crinkling with amusement, like she had just heard something funny.

Chi Ye’s head was slightly lowered, and from this angle, it looked like she was gazing right at Yan Sisi. It almost seemed like she had told a joke just to make her smile.

In that instant, all of Chu Jin’s earlier theories collapsed.

It was all just her overthinking and wishful imagination.

Her eyes lowered, falling on the glass of water in front of her. It had been poured by Chi Ye just a little while ago.

So Chi Ye had lied. She said she had never been in a relationship, but in reality, she seemed completely at ease with these kinds of emotional moments.

That thought made a dull fog settle over her chest. Within that gloom was a quiet, stifling pressure.

Without her noticing, someone had sat down beside her.

“You were watching them pretty closely,” Xin Ning said quietly.

Chu Jin snapped out of her thoughts, glanced at her, and replied, “I was just zoning out.”

Xin Ning raised her eyebrow, clearly not buying it.

“You expect me to believe you weren’t thinking about her while you zoned out?”

Chu Jin frowned slightly.

She was starting to wonder if Xin Ning had mind-reading powers.

“I minored in psychology in college,” Xin Ning added, noticing the slight surprise in her expression.

That explained a lot.

Chu Jin didn’t want to stay on this topic, so she took advantage of a moment when the camera wasn’t focused on them and asked, “How are things going between you and Chen Mo?”

She had seen them often painting together in the courtyard these past few days, but she had no idea if there had been any progress.

Xin Ning glanced cautiously at the camera, made sure it wasn’t pointing at them, then leaned in and spoke softly.

“We’re not even sharing a room yet. Everything’s moving really slowly.”

“What does that have to do with feelings progressing?” Chu Jin asked.

Xin Ning looked at her with a meaningful smile.

“Sister, you’re older than me. Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?”

Chu Jin felt a bit uneasy under her gaze.

She had indeed shared a room with Chi Ye and had more than a few physical moments with her these past few days.

Still, she kept a straight face.

Xin Ning continued, “If we shared a room, there’d be more chances for physical contact. Worst case, I wait until after nine at night, have a few drinks with her, say a few flirty lines, and if the moment is right, I’ll push her down. Then when her special period hits, if our pheromones match, it’s pretty much sealed.”

Chu Jin was completely guilty by the end of that sentence. Aside from the final part about waiting for a special period, she had done all the rest.

Seeing Xin Ning’s troubled expression, Chu Jin tried to comfort her.

“It’s alright. Just be sincere. She’ll feel it eventually.”

“Yeah.” Xin Ning pressed her lips together, her gaze drifting outside to where Chen Mo was sitting in the courtyard.

“She’s really quiet and doesn’t talk much. So I’ve been the one starting conversations. But now, sometimes she’ll come talk to me first.”

A soft smile began to form on her face.

“She doesn’t like taking the lead, so I’ll be the one to keep moving forward. If love is a journey of one hundred steps and she can only take one, then I’ll take the other ninety-nine.”

She looked at Chu Jin.

“She took that first step. Now it’s my turn to run the rest.”

Her words left a small ripple in Chu Jin’s heart.

Xin Ning still carried the fiery passion of youth, that headstrong courage to chase someone wholeheartedly, even if it meant risking everything.

“You’re not scared?” Chu Jin asked.

“Scared I won’t catch her? Or scared it won’t end well?” Xin Ning smiled calmly. “If we live in fear all the time, what’s the point?”

“Sister, you can’t stop eating just because you once choked.”

Chu Jin couldn’t help but wonder if she had become one of those boring, overly cautious adults.

“Is that why you and Chi Ye haven’t made any progress?” Xin Ning asked.

Chu Jin instinctively replied, “There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Everyone watching can see it. You’re really going to deny it?”

“It’s just part of the show,” Chu Jin insisted, trying to brush off the feelings she had yet to fully admit. “People are also shipping me and Qiao Man.”

Xin Ning cut her off casually. “Let’s not talk about Qiao Man.”

“What really matters is what you feel.”

“What do you actually want?”

Chu Jin fell silent for a moment.

She couldn’t deny that at certain moments, she did feel something for Chi Ye, something that shouldn’t have been there. But because of the situation they were in, she always forced herself to stop thinking about it.

Her eyes shimmered with complicated emotion.

After a long pause, she finally let out a quiet sigh.

“It’s a little complicated between us.”

“Complicated?” Xin Ning frowned in confusion. “But love is simple, isn’t it? I like you, you like me, and that’s it.”

“Even if you aren’t sure how you feel, I think Chi Ye definitely likes you.”

Chu Jin looked surprised.

“You probably haven’t noticed, but she’s completely different with you compared to everyone else. With the rest of us, she keeps her distance and is always polite but cold. But with you, she makes breakfast, pours water, and lets you touch her without hesitation.”

“And all these days, you’re the only one she’s had any real physical contact with.”

Chu Jin listened to every point, and her certainty began to waver. Still, she clung to reason and asked a question that had been bothering her.

“What if she’s only getting close to me to make someone else jealous?”

Xin Ning squinted at her in disbelief.

After a moment, she laughed softly.

“Why would anyone do that?”

“If someone truly likes another person, why would they get close to someone else just to make them jealous?” Xin Ning glanced over at Chi Ye and still looked puzzled. “And who exactly would she be trying to make jealous?”

“Yan Sisi?”

“They don’t even seem to have anything between them. Honestly, Yan Sisi looks more into Bai Xuqing. That’s pretty obvious.”

They say those involved in the situation are the last to see clearly. Chu Jin knew this well. Hearing Xin Ning speak so firmly made her question her own assumptions.

After a short pause, Chu Jin decided that since Xin Ning was an outsider, it was safe to share a little more.

She lowered her voice and asked, “Then do you think it’s possible Yan Sisi is getting close to Bai Xuqing to make Chi Ye jealous?”

Xin Ning widened her eyes. “Sister, are you sure your cold is better? You sound like you’re sick in the head.”

“The way your brain works, you should write dramatic romance novels. Who does that kind of thing when they like someone?” She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath before continuing.

“If you really like someone, wouldn’t you keep a respectful distance from others so the person you like doesn’t misunderstand?”

“Unless, of course, they’ve lost their mind.”

Her tone was sharp, but she added quickly, “But if they really are like that, don’t go telling them I said it.”

Chu Jin smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

“But,” Xin Ning returned to her point, “I really do think Chi Ye likes you. And if you like her too, you need to take the initiative.”

She gave Chu Jin a firm nudge of encouragement.

“Show her what a real alpha looks like.”

After that conversation, it felt like a new door had opened for Chu Jin. The views she had been holding onto for so long started to shake.

Thinking back now, she realized Chi Ye had never actually explained why she agreed to the contract marriage in the first place. It had always been Chu Jin making assumptions. Chi Ye had simply never corrected her.

This lingering doubt clouded her thoughts, even during lunch. She barely touched her food.

Qiao Man, sitting across from her, noticed her distraction.

“Sister, are you feeling unwell?” she asked. “Did you take the medicine I brought?”

Chu Jin, feeling guilty, took a sip of water and smiled. “I’m fine.”

Just as she spoke, Chi Ye reached for her cup.

“The water’s gone cold. I’ll go refill it.”

Chu Jin nodded, touched by the gesture. Then Xin Ning caught her eye from across the table, and her phone buzzed with a message.

[See that? That’s jealousy.]

[That’s what liking someone looks like.]

Chu Jin felt completely unsettled. The conversation with Xin Ning had stirred up everything inside her, and now she couldn’t even look at Chi Ye without feeling a bit nervous.

That feeling stayed with her all through lunch.

After they finished eating, she helped wash the dishes. Then she applied some sunscreen and left the house alone.

She wanted to clear her head by walking by the river.

And she wanted to think carefully about everything Xin Ning had said.

The weather was overcast. The air was stuffy, and even the river looked murky and heavy.

Chu Jin walked slowly and, before she knew it, had gone quite far. Just as she was about to head back, she spotted an older woman selling handmade crafts on the side of the road.

The woman had a small wooden table filled with cute handmade items.

There were crocheted flowers and little wooden animals.

Chu Jin loved cats, and her eyes immediately landed on a wooden cat carving.

There was a small metal rack on the table holding a variety of carved cats. Orange tabbies, silver stripes, Siamese. She crouched down and looked through them carefully until her eyes landed on a pure white ragdoll.

For some reason, it reminded her of Chi Ye.

Cold and elegant on the outside, but deep down, just a proud and adorable cat.

She wondered if Chi Ye would like it.

After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to buy it.

When she got back, Chi Ye was nowhere to be found.

Chu Jin scanned the room and noticed Yan Sisi was also missing.

Everyone else was playing a board game. When they saw Chu Jin return, they called out to her to join.

Chu Jin waved them off. “In a bit.”

The cameras were currently filming the living room, so Chu Jin felt no need to hide her movements. She started looking for Chi Ye openly. After checking every room and finding nothing, she began to suspect that Chi Ye had left the villa.

Then she stopped in her tracks, a thought forming in her mind.

She walked up to the third floor.

To the room where Yan Sisi was staying.

The door was slightly open.

Inside, she could hear voices. One of them was Chi Ye.

Chu Jin hesitated, knowing it wasn’t right to eavesdrop. But in the end, her curiosity won out, and she stepped closer.

It was Yan Sisi speaking.

Her voice was soft, almost dripping with sweetness.

“Sister, do you think I’m bothering you? I really feel guilty, but I just can’t help how much I miss you.”

Chu Jin felt her mind go blank. She prayed Chi Ye would respond with a cold rejection.

But there was only silence.

She tightened her grip on the little wooden cat in her hand. Her fingers turned white from how hard she was holding it.

Inside, Yan Sisi’s voice continued.

“Sister, I feel so cold. Can you hold me for a bit?”

“Sister, you’re always so kind…”

Just hearing those words made Chu Jin feel like ice water was pouring over her.

Whatever hope she had built up today was completely crushed in that moment.

She could imagine the scene inside. They were probably already embracing.

Chu Jin let out a small, bitter laugh.

Everything she had felt today now seemed like a joke.

She had actually dared to believe Chi Ye liked her.

Where had that confidence come from?

Had she really thought she was special?

How ridiculous.

Yan Sisi’s sweet voice still echoed from behind the door. Every word felt like a knife to the heart, and Chu Jin could not stand it any longer. She turned and left in a hurry.

She didn’t know that inside the room, the two people were not as close as she imagined.

In fact, they were far apart. Chi Ye had been keeping a strict distance from Yan Sisi the whole time, frowning as she listened to her so-called “lessons.”

Earlier that day in the kitchen, Chi Ye had asked for advice. She wanted to know how to win someone over and figured that, with her experience, Yan Sisi might have some insight.

After all, she had way more dating experience than Chi Ye did.

Surely she would know what kind of omega an alpha liked.

But after listening to her suggestions, Chi Ye could not take it anymore.

She finally interrupted her.

“Are you sure any of this actually works?”

Yan Sisi stopped just before launching into another flirtatious line. She looked at Chi Ye and said with full confidence, “Of course it does. It always works.”

“But it sounds kind of disgusting.”

Just hearing it made Chi Ye’s skin crawl.

She started to wonder if saying those things to Chu Jin would really help her at all.

Yan Sisi gave her an annoyed look. “That’s because you’re saying it to me. Obviously, it sounds gross.”

Chi Ye thought for a second, then nodded. “Fair point.”

Yan Sisi blinked. “Excuse me?”

Completely unfazed by her glare, Chi Ye quietly replayed the lines in her mind, then gave her a look.

“Alright. I’ll transfer you the payment later.”