After the Sickly Child Differentiates into A - Chapter 60

Wen Jingzhi slightly furrowed her brows, casting a puzzled glance at the other person.

“I once watched a movie where the lion keeper was quite interesting, very much like you,” the woman narrowed her eyes. “Did I mistake you for someone else?”

“Yes,” Wen Jingzhi replied, feeling an unsettling, serpent-like gloom emanating from the woman. She turned her face toward the stage. “You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

“Ah, is that so?” The woman chuckled softly. “My apologies.” There wasn’t a hint of sincerity in her tone.

Wen Jingzhi paid her no further mind.

The host took the stage and began following the program’s flow.

An hour and a half later, it was finally time to announce the Best Actress award.

Wen Jingzhi held no expectations for this award. She believed her performance was strong enough, but the core of the story was somewhat clichéd. It might have worked a few years ago, but now it felt a bit outdated. Just being nominated was already quite an achievement.

In the past thirty years, she was the youngest actress from Country Z to be nominated for this award.

Back home, hot searches were exploding one after another. She could already imagine the hectic schedule awaiting her upon her return.

“Congratulations!”

The award went to an actress from Country M. This was her third nomination, and she was now nearly fifty years old.

Wen Jingzhi maintained a calm expression as she raised her hands to applaud. The woman beside her gracefully stood up and walked onto the stage, she was the award presenter.

“Let’s welcome Miss Man from the Sullen family to present the Best Actress award!”

Wen Jingzhi’s expression froze for a moment.

The Sullen family.

The oldest family in Country M, with an extremely complex internal structure and involvement in various fields. To any influential family in Country M, they were an insurmountable mountain, a colossal entity.

A century ago, they were part of the mafia. Now, they operated openly, controlling nearly over twenty percent of Country M’s total annual economy.

It was no exaggeration to say they held immense power.

Wen Jingzhi occasionally followed international news, especially recently. In the information Shen Yuan had gathered, there were also some details about the Sullen family.

In recent years, the Sullen family had been plagued by severe internal strife, with ongoing conflicts. So far, no victor had emerged. However, it was rumored that an Omega from a collateral branch had shown formidable tactics, carving a path through the turmoil and now holding a favorable position as a hot candidate for the next family head.

Wen Jingzhi glanced at the woman’s narrow eyes on stage but soon lost interest and looked away.

At 1 a.m., the film festival concluded. Wen Jingzhi gave a few interviews before leaving, and by the time she returned to the hotel, it was almost 2:30 a.m.

She wondered if the little one was asleep.

Rubbing her temples, she swiped her key card to open the door. The room was brightly lit, and as she looked up, she saw a slender figure curled up on the sofa.

Her heart softened instantly.

Wen Jingzhi gestured to the two bodyguards, who bowed and exited, closing the door behind them.

She walked over to the sofa, bent down, and gazed at the pale, sickly face for a long moment before reaching out to pick the person up. The movement woke the one in her arms. “Sister?”

A soft embrace wrapped around her neck. “You’re back.”

“Mm,” Wen Jingzhi replied, carrying the person with one arm as she opened the door and took the stairs upstairs. Standing at the doorway, she set her down and ruffled the soft hair. “Get some rest.”

Lin Li yawned and suddenly hugged Wen Jingzhi. “Next time, Sister will definitely win the award!”

Wen Jingzhi raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” She didn’t need consolation, but the young girl’s comfort was something she greatly appreciated.

“Goodnight, Sister~”

“Goodnight.”

The door closed, and Wen Jingzhi turned and went downstairs.

The next day, the little one didn’t wake up until after ten in the morning. The two of them leisurely had a late breakfast before heading out to the farm.

What made this farm famous was its abundance of protected wildlife.

It was less of a farm and more of a forest, with a manor built inside it.

The manor also grew many unique varieties of vegetables and fruits that visitors could pick themselves.

After four in the afternoon, the group gathered to take a walk in the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of some rare animals.

The entire manor was reserved just for them, Old Master Wen had paid to book it for a week.

Wen Jingzhi’s attitude toward Qiao Xian remained lukewarm, while the latter seemed to be suspicious of something, occasionally observing her in silence.

After three days of fun at the farm, Lin Li began to feel bored. Only Sun Xiaoxiao and Zhou Cheng remained energetic, taking their cameras into the forest every day to search for animals.

In the afternoon, when the sun was at its peak, Sun and Zhou ventured outside again. Lin Li, too lazy to move, sat in the manor’s first-floor lobby playing on her phone.

Online discussions about Wen Jingzhi’s nomination for Best Actress were still trending, with the hashtag remaining high on the hot search list.

After scrolling for a while, Lin Li yawned and dozed off on the sofa.

Wen Jingzhi was in her room, making phone calls and handling work matters.

Not long after, Qiao Xian, who had gone fruit-picking, returned to the manor. As she entered the lobby, her eyes immediately fell on the young girl lying on the sofa. She set down her basket, tiptoed over, and crouched in front of the girl.

This frail young Alpha had an exceptionally captivating face, appearing gentle and refined, completely devoid of the typical aggressiveness associated with Alphas.

Her usual tone was soft and soothing, perhaps due to her poor health, her voice always gentle and unhurried.

The Alphas in the military were all brawny, straightforward types who laughed without restraint and fought over meals.

She had never encountered such a delicate Alpha before.

Initially, she hadn’t been too keen on this “mission.” Why leave a comfortable position in the team to become a bodyguard for some wealthy young lady, only to end up as her “medicine bottle” after developing feelings?

Wasn’t that essentially selling herself?

So when she went to the “matchmaking” session, she treated it as just another task. To her surprise, the young lady she met was completely unpretentious gentle, refined, and as an Alpha, she seemed somewhat slender and petite, even less robust than Qiao Xian, an Omega.

Instantly, she felt a surge of compassion.

After several encounters, she found herself, quite smitten.

Who wouldn’t adore an Alpha who was well-behaved, sensible, polite, and deeply respectful of Omegas?

In any case, Qiao Xian grew fonder with each passing day. She sat cross-legged, propping her chin in her hands as she gazed at the sleeping girl’s face, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

A breeze slipped through the slightly ajar window, tousling the strands of hair on the girl’s forehead and obscuring her eyes. Qiao Xian chuckled softly, reaching out to brush the stray locks aside.

A chilling gaze fell upon her back. Alert, she turned around, her smile faltering.

The aloof woman stood on the staircase, her eyes half-lowered as she watched Qiao Xian. The light cast shadows beneath her long lashes, making her expression difficult to read.

Qiao Xian felt her hand, which had just brushed aside the hair, stiffen slightly. She forced herself to remain calm as she withdrew her hand. The woman lifted her eyelids slightly, then turned and went upstairs.

Qiao Xian was taken aback.

That was it, she just left?

She scratched her cheek.

She had expected to be on the receiving end of a glare.

For a while, this little Alpha’s older sister had been giving her cold looks, but she wasn’t angry about it. After all, her father often nagged in her ear about “giving away a daughter is like carving out a piece of one’s heart,” urging her to keep her eyes open and not be deceived by some smelly Alpha.

She could understand how the older sister felt. But recently, she sensed something strange in the older sister’s attitude.

She no longer wore a cold expression and instead observed her with a gaze that made her hair stand on end it was the same look her superiors in the military gave during evaluations.

Most importantly, the older sister’s attitude toward the little Alpha felt odd, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

A young Omega who spent her days hanging around with unkempt Alphas and had never experienced romance was utterly clueless about matters of the heart.

How could she possibly understand?

On the seventh day, everyone packed up and returned to their home country. Wen Jingzhi was picked up by her agent as soon as she landed to “repay her debts”, she had accumulated quite a few pending commitments during her absence.

The others naturally went their separate ways. Qiao Xian also had to return for training and missions, but before leaving, she dropped Lin Li off at the entrance of Er Yue’s residential complex.

By the time Wen Jingzhi finished her work and returned home, it was the day before summer vacation ended. Feeling guilty, she took the little one out for a day of shopping at the mall and even watched a movie.

Midway through, they were recognized by fans, nearly causing a scene. Fortunately, the two bodyguards, tall and sturdy, managed to carve a path through the crowd.

Before bed, Lin Li asked when she would take her back to her hometown. Wen Jingzhi ruffled her hair and said, “After your second estrus cycle ends.”

Lin Li didn’t understand, but she didn’t want to pressure her sister. She knew how busy Wen Jingzhi had been lately, so she obediently agreed.

Wen Jingzhi had originally planned to take the little one back during summer vacation, but she hadn’t expected the second estrus cycle to come so late.

So late that the little one had already swapped her thin blouse for a warm coat autumn had arrived.

In late October, on a Saturday, Wen Jingzhi went to S City for a magazine cover shoot. Qiao Xian, who had finally gotten a break after several months, returned to the capital and invited Lin Li out for a “date.”

That evening, as they were leaving the cinema, Lin Li’s second estrus cycle arrived without warning.

No one had anticipated it, not even Lin Li herself this time, she hadn’t felt any of the usual stifling heat before it began.

Qiao Xian took her to the hospital. After Su Yue completed the examination, she went to the isolation room again to release her pheromones.

But this time her pheromones were ineffective.

“Ineffective” wasn’t entirely accurate; it would be more precise to say her pheromones had only a minimal effect on Lin Li.

Su Yue asked Qiao Xian to stop releasing her pheromones, then went in to draw a tube of Lin Li’s blood, the Alpha had already passed out from the pain.

Half an hour later, when the results came out, Su Yue waved Qiao Xian out and gathered her team members.

“Qiao Xian’s pheromones are no longer effective for soothing,” Su Yue said, gritting her teeth as she looked at the report. In the list of pheromone types in the blood, the one marked in red was “Code 011-Omega Pheromones.” “Once you’ve used a better ‘medicine,’ the body refuses to accept anything inferior.”

She had no idea when the Third Young Lady had provided the little one with soothing pheromones.

“Fortunately, there are still traces of pheromones in the blood. This estrus cycle won’t last very long, but she’ll have to tough it out on her own.”

“The pheromones accumulated in her body have reached the threshold. She must be marked during her next estrus cycle to find relief. Otherwise, she will die.”

The young girl writhing in agony on the sofa suddenly opened her eyes and glanced at Su Yue outside the glass wall. The next second, her eyes closed again as she was dragged back into the swamp of pain.

The following day at 1 p.m., Wen Jingzhi, who had returned to Kyoto early hoping to surprise the young one, found no one at home. She called, and the person who answered was Qiao Xian.

After hanging up, Wen Jingzhi rushed to the hospital, found the isolation room, and was about to push the door open when faint voices drifted through the door.

“Why won’t you let me go?” It was Qiao Xian.

“Your pheromone soothing is almost ineffective now. Going in won’t help. She has to endure it on her own.”

“Next time, you must mark her.”

“How far has your relationship progressed? Will you be able to do it when the time comes?”

It was Su Yue’s voice.

Wen Jingzhi’s hand on the doorknob tightened, veins bulging on the back of her hand.

“Huh? It’s already ineffective that quickly?”

“No, nothing’s developed between us.We haven’t even held hands.”

“Didn’t you two just go on a date yesterday? How could you not have held hands!”

“She’s so delicate, can’t you take the initiative? This is a matter of life and death!”

“It’s not about taking the initiative, Professor Su. She doesn’t seem to like me, how can I force her?”

“Then she will die during her next estrus cycle.” Su Yue’s voice turned icy cold. “The latest high-potency suppressors you’ve been using since the year before last were developed based on the valuable data she provided she personally tested the medication and fine-tuned it step by step.”

“Although the suppressors were originally developed for her, everyone has benefited from them.”

“She’s also the orphan of Colonel Lin, the youngest granddaughter of General Wen.”

“Stop, Professor Su!” Qiao Xian clutched his head, almost wanting to shout, “Master, stop chanting!” “I know, but I really can’t.”

“Making me force a young girl, I really can’t do it.”

“Let’s think of another way.”

“If there were another way, would I resort to such a ‘ruthless’ tactic?”

“Forced marking is immoral and illegal. Even if an Omega counter-marks an Alpha, the latter could easily sue with evidence.”

“Why else do you think I’ve been urging you to build a relationship?”

“You’re really no good. After all this time, not only has your relationship not warmed up, you haven’t even held her hand!”

Su Yue was furious, running his hands through his hair. “There’s still some time before her next estrus cycle. Can’t you put in some effort?”

“I’ll file a request for you to take leave until her next estrus cycle. Spend every day with her, alright?”

“This…” Qiao Xian scratched his head.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open.

A tall woman stood at the doorway, emanating a chilling aura, and spoke coldly, “No need to trouble yourself.”

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