After the System Called Me Mom, My Arch-Nemesis Omega Fell for Me - Chapter 24.1

She sucked in a breath of cold air. Twenty thousand! For someone like her, whose finances were already struggling, this was a devastating blow.

Suddenly, a hand wearing an expensive luxury watch reached out from the side and tapped her shoulder. Lu Lingzhi turned her head in confusion, meeting a handsome face with a touch of “Yuppie” charm. Dressed in a sharp suit, the man offered her a quintessential, polished smile.

“Young Master Jiang?” Lu Lingzhi raised an eyebrow in surprise, recognizing him.

He was Jiang Mingyue’s older brother.

The crown prince of the Jiang Group: Jiang Mingzhao.

“Young Master Jiang?”

Jiang Mingzhao seemed taken aback by the formal address, but his smile deepened with a calculated sense of intimacy. “Sister Lu Er, why so distant? Didn’t you used to call me ‘Brother Mingzhao’?”

Lu Lingzhi’s aversion to Jiang Mingzhao was both physiological and psychological.

However, she was aware that Jiang Mingzhao was an established Alpha, while she was not yet a mature one. She knew exactly where the power balance lay. This man was not a good person, so there was no point in getting entangled with him.

Just keep it polite, she told herself.

Jiang Mingzhao’s gaze naturally drifted toward the payment screen, noting the striking amount and the name of the medication. With five minutes left on the countdown and considering the rumors floating around the social circles about the Lu family’s second daughter having her allowance cut, he understood the situation perfectly.

He unlocked his phone, ready to scan the code. “I’ll pay for you.”

Snap! Lu Lingzhi slapped the payment screen off. She forced a hollow, social smile. “No need. Just some minor medicine. I can handle it myself.”

She turned around and paid using her medical insurance card instead.

Jiang Mingzhao’s hand froze in mid-air. Only then did he truly lower his head to look closely at the girl before him.

Up close, he realized her face was like the morning glow, her skin so fine that pores were invisible. Her beautiful peach-blossom eyes held a distant coldness, yet they remained shimmering and captivating.

The Lu Er before him was an absolute stunner in both bone structure and complexion, vivid and brilliant.

No wonder she had his sister so spellbound and obsessed.

A flash of amazement and a deeper sense of playfulness flickered in his heart. His voice softened even more. “Sister Lu Er…”

Ugh. A wave of revulsion hit her. That voice was hideous.

In the Jiang family, it seemed Jiang Mingyue had inherited all the good looks and the pleasant voice. What exactly did Jiang Mingzhao inherit?

“Young Master Jiang,” Lu Lingzhi interrupted him bluntly, her pretty eyebrows knitting together in subtle disgust. Keep staring and I’ll give you a black eye. “We aren’t that close. Please call me Miss Lu. I’m surprised you can still call me that after my sister gave you a slap.”

Jiang Mingzhao choked on her words, a flash of malice crossing his eyes. “Miss Lu, we all have siblings. Moreover, siblings of the same blood. My sister and I tell each other everything; we have no secrets.”

“My sister protects me, so naturally, I protect her. Taking a slap from your sister was just something she did in the heat of the moment for your sake. Family must always present a united front against outsiders.”

He deliberately brought up the past, trying to poke at her sore spots. He was trying to provoke her.

“I thought after the coming of age ceremony ended and my sister personally apologized, things would be better. She really wanted to go to Boston University with you. She cried in her room many times. Of course, my parents don’t know about what happened between you two. In the end, meeting again in the capital is a twist of fate.”

“I hope you two can reconcile this time. I also plan on staying here long-term.”

This mad dog Jiang Mingzhao… his words are so dignified, Lu Lingzhi thought. He really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Did his brain degenerate from too many vaccinations? Does he not see the situation? I’m sick, and he’s still trying to drive a wedge between us.

I’m sick, not brain-dead. This is so low.

The contrast between the siblings was stark. Jiang Mingyue was observant, she wouldn’t go out of her way to make Lu Lingzhi miserable.

She remembered Jiang Mingyue saying: “My brother… he isn’t good to me. We just act like loving siblings for show.”

Jiang Mingzhao faintly released some pheromones, letting them coil toward Lu Lingzhi.

However, they quickly collided with a much more violent set of pheromones.

“What are you doing?” Lu Lingzhi’s gaze turned sharp as her pheromones lurked in the perimeter.

She was thinking: How can I use a time loop to kill Jiang Mingzhao?

Jiang Mingzhao suddenly remembered the name of the medicine he saw on the screen.

Lu Er is undergoing an abnormal differentiation. She’s turning into an Alpha. My sister is clearly planning to take her down.

Jiang Mingzhao smiled apologetically. “My apologies, Miss Lu. I’m not acclimated to the capital yet and forgot to wear a suppressant patch.”

“I see.” Lu Lingzhi’s eyes shifted, suddenly landing on a red mark on his slightly curled right hand. “Brother Mingzhao, you’re injured.”

“I accidentally got caught in the elevator doors just now.”

Lu Lingzhi merely gave a meaningful “Oh,” stopped looking at him, and turned toward the medicine dispenser.

[Whoosh]

Jiang Mingzhao was suddenly back on the tenth floor. “Hiss!” He gasped in pain, yanking his hand back and staring in shock at the elevator doors that had snapped shut. He didn’t think much of it, stepped back into the elevator, and pressed the button for the first floor.

When the doors opened, he was on the first floor.

[Whoosh]

The next second, Jiang Mingzhao was back on the tenth floor. His hand was caught in the elevator door again.

Jiang Mingzhao: “?”

[Whoosh]

Once again, he was sent back to the tenth floor. The elevator doors were snapping open and shut like the jaws of a demon showing its fangs. He tested it with his hand, nothing happened. He tried again, still nothing.

But the moment he tried to rush in….”AH!!!”

This time, it caught his entire arm.

The “buffs” were stacking.

Looking at his rapidly swelling, burning right palm, he let out a howl of pain.

He stared blankly at the elevator. This was definitely not a normal elevator door malfunction.

Is the elevator haunted?

A chill rose from the soles of his feet.

A crumpled maintenance slip blew past his feet:

“Under maintenance. Forgot tools. Be right back. Sorry for the inconvenience!”

Jiang Mingzhao’s face turned ashen as he cursed under his breath.

Fine, I’ll take the stairs!

Resigned to his fate, he pushed open the heavy door to the emergency stairwell.

Jiang Mingyue blinked. She had just seen Jiang Mingzhao, he got caught in a door and then vanished in a flash. She walked to the elevator and saw it was a direct line, stopped on the tenth floor.

What was Jiang Mingzhao doing on the tenth floor?

Suddenly, Jiang Mingyue’s phone rang.

It was Lu Er.

Jiang Mingyue stared at the number. Dr. Chang was incredible; she really made it happen.

“Jiang Mingyue, where are you? Come with me to test our pheromone compatibility. I’m waiting for you on the west side. Hurry up.”

Hearing Lu Lingzhi’s impatient voice, Jiang Mingyue felt a bit confused, but she quickly agreed. “Alright.”