Becoming the Yandere Omega's Fluffy Pet - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Are You Thinking of Leaving Me, or Thinking of Me?

Secretary Zhou had originally intended to pluck up the courage to ask why Liu Ran hadn’t come in. When Secretary Liu was around, their lives were much easier; Ming Siyu rarely criticized them, and even if they made a mistake, she’d just say a few words and move on.

But remembering Secretary Wen’s warning that no one was to mention a single word related to Liu Ran in front of Director Ming for the next few days Secretary Zhou licked her lips, swallowed her words, and hurried away after finishing her tasks.

Liu Ran lay silently in the dark room for an entire day.

She didn’t dare sleep; she didn’t even dare close her eyes. Whenever she did, she saw Ming Siyu’s terrifying smile with blood-stained lips, and felt the fierce suction and biting of that forced kiss.

While she had been patiently drawing Ming Siyu, thinking the woman was focused on work, Ming Siyu was likely scrolling through her search history. How could someone pretend so well? For at least two hours, Ming Siyu hadn’t shown a single stray emotion, acting as if violating someone’s privacy was as routine as reviewing a subordinate’s report.

The thought made Liu Ran physically nauseous. She felt a chill run through her body.

She disliked Ming Siyu, even hated her, but yesterday’s behavior brought a new level of revulsion. Liu Ran even suspected she had been fitted with a GPS tracker or a listening device, her every move monitored by a voyeuristic freak. Perhaps there were even cameras in this very dark room.

She still had her phone; Ming Siyu hadn’t taken it, either forgetting or deeming it unnecessary. Liu Ran turned it on. The battery was nearly dead, and a trending notification popped up:

#Miao Qinglan Red Carpet Look: This Year’s Most Seductive Cat Alpha#

She clicked it. It was a photo from today’s film festival. Miao Qinglan was dressed boldly: a three-point bikini made of fur, even the straps were fluffy. Her outfit featured a long, slender silver cat tail and a pair of silver-white cat ears. A sheer lace shawl dotted with down feathers draped over her shoulders, and fur cuffs adorned her wrists and ankles. Pink and white cat-paw prints were painted on her cheeks, and her eyes were a clear, Ragdoll-cat blue.

Scrolling down, there were more tags: #Miao Qinglan Shows Off Body on Red Carpet# #Miao Qinglan Photographed with Ming Entertainment CEO: Rumors of Reconnecting with Former Boss#

Liu Ran paused. She remembered Ming Siyu’s schedule there was a film festival event today. Were Ming Siyu and Miao Qinglan back together?

Just as she was about to click the photo, she heard the heavy thud of the front door closing. The house was usually silent, as Qi Zhen rarely made noise. Soon, footsteps echoed in the hallway, followed by Ming Siyu’s voice: “Did you feed her?”

“No,” Qi Zhen replied. “She’s been in the room all day.”

The fingerprint lock on the door beeped. Liu Ran stood up, staring at the door in the darkness, her blood racing, her body heat seemingly evaporating through her pores.

Ming Siyu entered and flipped on the light. As Liu Ran shielded her eyes from the sudden glare, Ming Siyu flashed back to the torn drawing. No matter how perfectly she had glued it back together, the ugly cracks remained. A sudden flicker of pity stirred within her.

“Liu Ran, explain clearly why you wanted to go to Huaici Sanatorium, then promise you won’t lie to me again or think of leaving. If you do, I’ll act as if yesterday never happened.”

Ming Siyu’s attitude made Liu Ran even more afraid to reveal Bai Yu’s existence.

Liu Ran felt cold. She slowly lowered her arm, squinting to adjust to the light, and looked at Ming Siyu. Ming Siyu hadn’t even changed out of her heels; she smelled of the alcohol from the event.

“I heard it was a very good sanatorium,” Liu Ran said, her voice raspy. “I searched it on a whim. I didn’t know Chen Liaoqing was a lawyer, and I never sought legal aid from her. You’re right; you have a whole legal team. A single Lawyer Chen can’t do anything against you. I might be uneducated, but I’m not a fool. I’m not so stupid as to think a lawyer could help me throw an egg against the stone that is the Ming Group. That lawyer calling… it must have been a wrong number.”

Liu Ran was usually impulsive and loud a match that caught fire at the slightest strike. Hearing her respond with such cold, flat logic made Ming Siyu’s heart sink. Suddenly, she didn’t want to investigate the lawyer anymore. She didn’t care if the call was a mistake. As long as Liu Ran stayed by her side and was honest, she could let it go.

“Fine. I accept that explanation. And the promise?”

Liu Ran looked down and shook her head. “Ming Siyu, I can’t. I can’t stop myself from wanting to leave. If I promised you, that would be a lie.”

Ming Siyu’s chest heaved. She felt as if a knife had been driven into her heart, leaving a hole that whistled as the air leaked out. The little wolf who cried when her tail was pinched in the fitting room but begged for mercy through gritted teeth was gone. The little wolf who timidly peeled shrimp and knelt to change her bandages was gone. The one who let her touch her collar and watched horror movies despite being terrified was gone.

In her place stood this wolf, bristling with cold, hard thorns.

“Liu Ran, look at your own conscience. Am I not good enough to you? Have I lacked in providing for your food, clothes, or lifestyle? Have I ever burned you with a cigarette like Miao Qinglan did? My demands of you are so low they’d be laughable if I told anyone. What more do you want?”

“Do you know how many people try everything just to see me for a moment? Your former master, Miao Qinglan, heard I like fluffy things and dressed herself up like a shedding clown in public just to get a nod of approval from me. I don’t ask you to fawn over me like they do. I only ask you to be good and obedient, and you’ll get things others won’t see in a lifetime.” Ming Siyu spoke as calmly as possible.

Liu Ran clenched her fists. She had so much to say—that those expensive clothes were chosen for Ming Siyu’s aesthetic, not her own; that she never wanted them.

She knew Ming Siyu’s temperament. She never expected respect. They were unequal from the start. Liu Ran had retreated again and again, leaving herself only a tiny corner. Ming Siyu’s surveillance was an attempt to erase even that last corner. She couldn’t retreat anymore.

But she didn’t have the energy to argue. She knew Ming Siyu wouldn’t listen. Ming Siyu was someone who rationalized everything from a height of absolute power. As she said, surveillance was her “right.”

Liu Ran tightened her fists. “You monitor me. I can’t stand it.”

Ming Siyu countered sharply: “Only those with a guilty conscience fear being watched. If you were honest and had nothing to hide, would you fear my surveillance?”

Liu Ran: “…”

She was so tired. They were always talking past each other. “Whatever you say.” She just wanted the conversation to end.

But Ming Siyu became stubborn. “No, Liu Ran.” Her heels clicked across the floor until she stood directly in front of her. She forced Liu Ran’s chin up. “You must give me your promise today.”

Liu Ran was physically and mentally exhausted. Seeing her silence, Ming Siyu leaned in and kissed her again.

Wearing eight-centimeter heels, Ming Siyu was the same height as her; she didn’t need to pull her collar down this time. She kissed her lips easily. It wasn’t the frantic, venting bite of yesterday; this kiss was incredibly gentle.

Liu Ran could feel Ming Siyu’s tongue licking her lips, carefully sliding over the unhealed wounds. Never having been treated so tenderly, Liu Ran’s body stiffened, her breathing hitching. The oxygen in her lungs wasn’t enough to stay conscious; she was forced to open her mouth to breathe, giving Ming Siyu the chance to slip her tongue inside and tease her own.

Ming Siyu held her chin, then slid her hand down to cradle her neck while the other arm wrapped around her waist. Liu Ran stood rigid, trembling with a formless fear that submerged her like a tide.

The kiss seemed to last forever.

When they parted, Ming Siyu was breathing slightly hard. She licked her lips and leaned her forehead against Liu Ran’s, asking the same thing as yesterday: “So, Liu Ran, what were you thinking just now? Were you thinking of leaving me, or thinking of me?”

In that moment, Liu Ran finally realized the source of her fear.

She had been thinking of Ming Siyu. In this state of extreme despair and helplessness, her mind was filled with nothing but the woman kissing her. Her physiological instincts wouldn’t let her resist.

But she would never admit it. “I was thinking of how to leave you,” Liu Ran said.

Ming Siyu’s breath hitched. A moment later, they pulled apart, and a hand struck her neck. Liu Ran realized the blow was originally intended for her face, but for some reason, Ming Siyu had redirected it to her neck at the last second.

“Think about it carefully. Don’t think I won’t lock you in here until you die and rot,” Ming Siyu spat before leaving.

Liu Ran was alone again. She checked her phone; it was dead. Her eyes burned, and having not eaten or drunk all day, her stomach had moved past hunger into a dull ache.

Hours passed. Eventually, the door opened and Qi Zhen entered with a bowl of porridge and a blanket. She set them down and said softly, “Miss Liu, I don’t know what you fought about this time, but whatever it is, just apologize to the eldest miss. Let it pass, otherwise, everyone suffers.”

A sudden surge of irrational anger flared in Liu Ran. “Why should I apologize?”

Qi Zhen blinked, startled. The anger vanished as quickly as it came. “I’m sorry, Qi Zhen. I’m not mad at you.”

“Eat,” Qi Zhen urged, pushing the bowl forward.

It was warm fish porridge, silky and fresh. As the steam warmed her face, tears began to fall, splashing into the bowl. Liu Ran ate in silence, letting the tears serve as salt.

Qi Zhen continued, unaware she was crying: “Miss Liu, the eldest miss coming to you today was already a concession. Why not just follow her lead and turn the page? I’ve been with her for years; aside from the Old Madam, I’ve never seen her bow to anyone. Usually, it’s only others who apologize. She actually values you. I’m worried that if you keep being stubborn, she’ll lose her temper completely and things won’t end well.”

“Even if you don’t think you’re wrong, just nod. Say a few soft words. Keep your own thoughts in your heart she can’t rip your head open to see what you’re really thinking, right? She isn’t completely unreasonable.”

Liu Ran didn’t respond. When she finished, she handed the bowl back. “Do you want me to tell her anything?” Qi Zhen asked hopefully.

Liu Ran closed her eyes and shook her head. “No. I’m tired. I want to sleep.”

At the end of the second-floor hallway, Ming Siyu stood in her pajamas, a half-burned cigarette between her fingers. “Did she apologize?”

Qi Zhen shook her head.

“Stubborn thing,” Ming Siyu cursed under her breath and returned to her room.

Liu Ran fell into a deep, exhausted sleep. The “curse” of that first kiss on the floor continued to haunt her; she often thought of it, and the kisses that followed. She fell asleep thinking of Ming Siyu’s kiss.

She dreamed in fragments: giving flowers to a ballet girl in school; the backyard of her first buyer filled with vicious dogs that refused to bite her…

The last dream was the night her mother died. She saw her mother return home drunk and exhausted, washing her face in the mirror. She saw her mother prepare her own herbal medicine, setting it to boil, then gathering art books for a project she wanted to finish despite her illness.

Then, her mother looked tired. She took two pills from the nightstand, forgetting she had been drinking. Forgetting the stove was on.

Liu Ran screamed “Don’t take them!”, but her mother couldn’t hear. She tried to grab her arm, but her hands passed through her mother like wind. She watched her mother fall asleep on the sofa and slowly suffocate. The pot boiled dry, the ceramic cracked, the herbs ignited…

Liu Ran knelt by her mother, helpless as the flames grew into a giant beast. Even though she couldn’t touch anything, she felt the agonizing pain of smoke in her lungs and the searing heat on her skin…

“Cough—cough!”

Liu Ran coughed herself awake. Ming Siyu was standing nearby, a menthol cigarette lit in her hand. Ming Siyu tilted her head, looked at the cigarette, and stubbed it out.

“Is it really that stifling?” she muttered.

“What do you want?” Liu Ran asked. Her voice was gone, sounding like a raspy croak.

Ming Siyu knelt beside her and reached out. Liu Ran flinched back. Ming Siyu’s hand paused in mid-air. “I just wanted to touch your head.”

Liu Ran smelled the faint scent of alcohol on her. She stopped moving. Ming Siyu slowly reached out again and, seeing no further resistance, patted her head. Feeling the weight, Liu Ran lowered her wolf ears and bowed her head.

Ming Siyu’s hand slid down to gently pinch her earlobe. Her tone was almost pleading. “Ranran, stay by my side. Don’t lie to me again, and don’t try to leave, okay?”

Liu Ran remained rigid. She heard Ming Siyu take a deep breath, as if suppressing something. When she spoke again, she still wasn’t angry.

“I’ll let you be my secretary again. I’ll give you a raise same as Secretary Wen, 80,000 a month, paid on the first of every month.”

“You said you wanted a bedroom. I had Xiao Qi clean out a large one. Let’s find some time this week to go buy furniture, okay?”

Suddenly, Liu Ran’s nose stung. She stared at the gaps in the floor tiles, remembering Qi Zhen’s words.

Why do I have to fight her? If she fought, Ming Siyu went crazy, she got locked in a room where she had to ask permission just to use the bathroom, and Qi Zhen got yelled at. The house felt like a battlefield.

She didn’t know what Ming Siyu had gone through to make her bow down and say these soft words. But Qi Zhen was right: “Quit while you’re ahead.” If she kept resisting, she’d lose everything.

If she bowed now, she got an 80,000-a-month job and a real bedroom in this empty duplex. It was like a stock price hitting its peak if she waited, everything would just crash. She could accept the normal life on the surface, while her true thoughts remained her own.

Before Ming Siyu’s patience evaporated, Liu Ran nodded. “Okay.”

Ming Siyu exhaled in relief. She wouldn’t have backed down again. She had already conceded more than she thought possible. “If only you were this obedient from the start,” she said, standing up. “Come out and eat. I had Xiao Qi cook. Your voice is hoarse; eating something light will help.”

Neither mentioned the surveillance again.

Liu Ran discovered she had been locked away for three and a half days. She stayed home for a day to adjust.

Ming Siyu had left that morning without breakfast. Liu Ran assumed she went to work, but found out later she had no schedule that day. When Ming Siyu returned, she was pale as paper. She ate nothing and locked herself in an upstairs room for a long time.

The next day, as Qi Zhen carried Ming Siyu’s laundry past the sofa, Liu Ran smelled the heavy scent of menthol cigarettes. She didn’t ask where Ming Siyu had gone. Before she could, she received her first task as “Assistant Secretary”: accompanying Ming Siyu to the Ming ancestral home for the Old Madam’s 70th birthday banquet.

Ming Siyu wore a deep blue gown accented with flamingo-pink conch pearl earrings solemn but not dull. In the car, she warned: “Ming Siwei will be there; stay away from her. My grandmother loves to drink, and I’ll have to join her. Help me deflect some of the others.”

The first part made Liu Ran unhappy—Ming Siyu was as overbearing as ever. She pouted secretly but didn’t argue. “I don’t know how well I can hold my liquor.”

“If you can’t handle it, go wait in the car. Don’t vomit in front of my grandmother.”

The ancestral home sat on a mountain in the north of the city, backed by lush green peaks. The air was fresh. The estate featured a brick courtyard, a five-story mansion, and a bell tower.

Entering the gates, Liu Ran saw not just relatives, but business people looking for connections, and even a famous celebrity she’d seen on LED screens.

Unexpectedly, Jian Huaijin and Jian Huaici were also there, laughing and talking with guests.

Old Madam Ming was surrounded by a crowd. She was in a wheelchair, a plump, white-haired woman wearing a massive, oily, imperial green jade pendant the size of an egg. She looked kind and approachable.

As Ming Siyu approached, the crowd automatically parted to make a path.

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