After Marrying the Cold Omega in Secret - Chapter 76

The day after camping, filming resumed as scheduled.

That afternoon during shooting, Song Xunyu came to visit Chu Jin on set, bringing an assortment of snacks and drinks that she generously distributed to nearly the entire crew.

She had intended to come earlier, but her recent workload had been overwhelming, leaving no opportunity until now.

When Chu Jin first accepted the script, Song Xunyu had planned to visit frequently, hoping she might bump into Feng Yuwei and perhaps get an autograph or photo.

But before she could even finish Feng Yuwei’s currently airing drama, she received a call from Chu Jin.

Her idol had fallen from grace, again.

Song Xunyu wondered if she possessed some special cursed constitution, given how every celebrity she liked seemed destined for scandal.

Few fangirls these days suffered quite like she did.

“I’m seriously starting to think I’m not cut out for celebrity worship,” Song Xunyu said solemnly between sips of her soy milk mochi drink, then sighed. “Who knows how many decent people are even left in this entertainment industry?”

Chu Jin frantically gestured at herself in response.

But her friend ignored the hint.

Song Xunyu heaved another dramatic sigh toward the sky. “Ah…”

Even Chu Jin, who never followed celebrities, found herself sympathizing with Song Xunyu’s plight.

However, Song Xunyu had one redeeming quality:

She adapted to new things remarkably quickly.

In simpler terms, she was fickle, easily transferring her affections from one object to another.

The upside was her ability to swiftly move on from past interests.

After considering her words carefully, Chu Jin offered comfort: “With so many stars out there, when one falls there’s always another. As long as you change your favorites fast enough, scandal can never catch up to you.”

Song Xunyu’s sighing stopped abruptly. She narrowed her eyes at Chu Jin, carefully digesting this advice.

Then she slapped the table in sudden enlightenment. “You’re absolutely right!”

“Why cling to one tree when there’s a whole forest ahead?”

Chu Jin raised an eyebrow and sipped her coffee.

The student had become the master.

The newly enlightened Song Xunyu stroked her chin pensively before murmuring to herself, “I should reflect on whether I’ve been too devoted. That must be why this hurts so much. Maybe I should like several at the same time.”

Chu Jin: “…”

This interpretation was somewhat unconventional.

She’d even managed to extrapolate the principle.

A waiter arriving with their food looked slightly alarmed, having overheard Song Xunyu’s last remark.

Chu Jin quickly clarified, “She’s talking about celebrity fandom.”

She smiled pleasantly and emphasized, “Celebrity fandom.”

The waiter nodded and retreated after serving their dishes.

Having resolved her dilemma, Song Xunyu’s mood improved dramatically, along with her appetite, she devoured over half her salad in one go.

“How do you survive eating nothing but greens every day?” Chu Jin asked between bites of pasta.

“No choice, gotta lose weight,” Song Xunyu said gloomily. “This job’s giving me stress-induced weight gain.”

“But…” Her expression brightened as she lovingly cradled her milk tea against her cheek, “I have my lifeline right here.”

Chu Jin looked puzzled. “Doesn’t that cancel out the salad?”

Song Xunyu rolled her eyes. “What do you know? This is lightly sweetened, won’t make me fat.”

Then she suddenly remembered something and poked Chu Jin’s arm, winking as she whispered, “By the way, what’s going on between you and Chi Ye now? Spill everything from start to finish.”

She still remembered how Chu Jin had suddenly texted her a month ago, saying she was now together with Chi Ye.

Song Xunyu had been puzzled, thinking the two had already been together long ago, hadn’t they even gotten their marriage certificate?

Then Chu Jin continued, saying she had marked Chi Ye.

Song Xunyu’s mind exploded upon hearing this, her first thought being,  Chi Ye was actually an omega?!

Only later did it dawn on her that when Chu Jin said “together,” she meant genuinely dating, the real deal.

She had been about to call Chu Jin right then, but her damn boss called her into the office and rambled on for the entire morning, piling her with an overwhelming amount of work.

Thus, a whole month passed in a blur.

Chu Jin had also been busy filming, so the two never got the chance to meet up, and this juicy topic remained unexplored.

“I’m still shocked, how could Chi Ye be an omega? Didn’t you secretly check her suppressants back then?” Song Xunyu asked.

During the dating show, the day Chu Jin went out with Song Xunyu to buy swimsuits, she had rummaged through Chi Ye’s cabinet that very night, trying to determine her secondary gender based on the suppressants.

She had found only rut suppressants inside, which was why she had concluded Chi Ye’s gender.

“Those were extras her assistant brought prepared for me,” Chu Jin explained.

After that night when the truth came out, Chu Jin had asked Chi Ye about it, and the latter had given a thorough explanation.

Before that, Chi Ye had deliberately played along with Chu Jin’s mistaken assumption, maintaining the pretense for a long time.

“That night in the bathroom, Chi Ye used the last heat suppressant she had, which led to the misunderstanding.”

“You two really have your ways,” Song Xunyu didn’t know what to make of it, clicking her tongue teasingly. “Is this how young couples play their games?”

Chu Jin chuckled, then recounted everything that had happened the day they officially got together, down to the smallest detail, how they had each thought they’d missed their chance with the other, and how Jiang Xu had confessed to her.

“I knew it! That Jiang Xu!” Song Xunyu’s emotions flared, her eyes narrowing to slits as she viciously stabbed the remaining vegetables on her plate with a fork, gritting her teeth. “She’s always been different toward you since we were kids, but you never believed me. I’ve always disliked her anyway.”

Chu Jin had introduced Jiang Xu and Song Xunyu before, but the two had clashed terribly like fire and water. Each had privately complained to Chu Jin about the other: Jiang Xu thought Song Xunyu was loud and meddlesome, while Song Xunyu thought Jiang Xu was two-faced and manipulative.

They often grew upset, each feeling Chu Jin favored the other.

This had given Chu Jin headaches in the past, so she later made a point of keeping them apart.

Even so, their mutual dislike never lessened.

Thus, at the mention of Jiang Xu, Song Xunyu’s eyes practically spat flames as she launched into another tirade: “She’s always ‘sister this, sister that,’ acting all sweet and docile around you. But whenever she sees us close, the look in her eyes could carve a chunk of flesh off me.”

“She always puts on that innocent look. Just thinking about it makes me furious!”

“Didn’t she leave to pursue opportunities in another city? Why is she back?” Song Xunyu’s face was flushed with anger. “And she even secretly confessed to you? That’s ridiculous! How could you only tell me this so late?”

“I was afraid you two would start arguing again,” Chu Jin replied helplessly.

They hadn’t even met yet, and emotions were already running this high. Who knew what would happen if they actually came face to face?

“I don’t care. When you go to the fashion week, I’m coming with you,” Song Xunyu declared, her eyes gleaming with mischief and barely contained excitement.

“I want to see if Jiang Xu is still so arrogant after being rejected by you.”

Chu Jin: “……”

This was just asking for trouble.

“Will your boss even let you go?” Chu Jin asked.

“I don’t care,” Song Xunyu said firmly.

“If she doesn’t let me, I’ll just quit. It’s not like I need this measly paycheck anyway.”

Chu Jin: “……”

She’d never seen her so bold before.

Apparently, the power of a rival was truly unmatched.

Song Xunyu smirked and raised an eyebrow at Chu Jin. “Take me with you then. Don’t worry, I won’t argue with her.”

Don’t worry? Chu Jin was anything but reassured.

“We’ll see when the time comes,” Chu Jin said.

Song Xunyu winked and replied cheerfully, “No ‘we’ll see’, it’s settled.”

Then, to cut off any further objections, she quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, I remember you and Chi Ye were having some issues a while ago, partly because she wouldn’t confess her feelings, and also because of Wan Qing,” Song Xunyu ventured cautiously. “Has Chi Ye told you anything about her and Wan Qing?”

Chu Jin shook her head. “Not yet.”

She had already decided that if Chi Ye didn’t bring it up again, she wouldn’t press the matter.

She’d wait until Chi Ye was ready to talk.

But since Song Xunyu had mentioned it now, she must have some new information.

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Jin asked, “What’s going on?”

Seeing her interest, Song Xunyu got straight to the point. “I have an older sister who used to be close with the Wan family. I asked her for a favor the other day and took the chance to dig up some details.”

She paused, waiting for Chu Jin’s response.

Chu Jin hesitated.

She had already made up her mind not to dwell on Wan Qing anymore, but then again her decision was to avoid asking Chi Ye, not to forbid herself from finding out.

So she met Song Xunyu’s gaze, considered for a moment, and finally said, “What kind of details?”

Encouraged, Song Xunyu leaned in closer, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and lowered her voice to a whisper.

“We all know Wan Qing is the daughter of Wan Yuan’s first wife, but actually, she had an older sister named Wan Ran.”

She paused, then dropped her voice even further. “Rumor has it. Wan Ran died in a car accident three years ago.”

Chu Jin wasn’t familiar with the Wan family’s affairs. All she had managed to find out was that Wan Yuan had married twice, with the second wife bearing him two children, while Wan Qing was the daughter of his first wife.

Public records only listed Wan Yuan as having three children, so the sudden mention of a Wan Ran made Chu Jin frown.

“An illegitimate child?” she asked.

Song Xunyu shook her head. “No, they share the same mother as Wan Qing.”

“Let me continue,” Song Xunyu glanced at Chu Jin’s furrowed brows, hesitated for a moment, and carefully chose her words before speaking:

“Back when Old Master Wan. Wan Qing’s grandfather was still alive, Chi Ye and the Wan sisters were quite close. They had a good relationship growing up together as childhood friends.”

“Three years ago, after Old Master Wan passed away, the Wan Group was fully handed over to his only son, Wan Yuan. Since then, the relationship between the Chi and Wan families has gradually drifted apart.”

Noticing Chu Jin’s complicated expression, Song Xunyu’s voice trailed off before she concluded, “In short, something significant and likely unspeakable must have happened three years ago, which is why Chi Ye has kept it from you all this time.”

After calming the turbulent waves in her heart, Chu Jin finally pieced together a bold speculation from the jumbled information:

“So,  does Chi Ye have something to do with Wan Ran’s car accident three years ago?”

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