Divorced from the Cold CEO Who Lived by the Rules - Chapter 31

If Xu Zhen hadn’t appeared so serious, Xing Yan would have thought she was deliberately teasing her.

She fixed the beta with a deep stare. “I have no interest in being friends with you.”

The omega’s tone was firm, her refusal clear. Xu Zhen felt a flicker of disappointment, but then she remembered that Xing Yan treated Sister Zhenzhen, Jiang Ruan, and everyone else with the same icy demeanor and quickly let it go.

“You’ve never taken the time to know me,” Xu Zhen countered, raising an eyebrow slightly. “How can you be sure I’m not worth getting close to?”

Xing Yan hesitated. “There’s no need.”

Her gaze was so complex that Xu Zhen couldn’t decipher it. “I’m not interested in any of this.”

Xing Yan was withdrawn and sensitive, her entire being weighed down by negativity, as if it had consumed her body and left her little more than a walking corpse.

An indescribable emotion rose in Xu Zhen’s chest. “But how can you know it’s unnecessary if you don’t even try?”

“Based on the few times we’ve met?”

Xing Yan could see it now this beta was stubborn and relentless, unwilling to back down easily. If she didn’t agree, Xu Zhen would keep pestering her until she gave in.

So she stiffened her expression, her words turning sharp and merciless. “If you’re trying to get information about Jiang Ruan through me, you can stop right now.”

“I won’t tell you anything about her, and I don’t know the person she is now.”

“Instead of wasting your time on me, you’d be better off going back and talking to Jiang Ruan properly. ”

Xing Yan had clearly misunderstood. Without hesitation, Xu Zhen cut her off. “You’ve got it wrong. I’m not here to ask you about Jiang Ruan.”

“I just want to get to know you.”

Her tone was resolute, leaving no room for argument. Xing Yan froze again, her expression shifting subtly before she finally asked, “Why?”

She narrowed her eyes dangerously. “Do you like me?”

“Yes.” Xu Zhen sensed the ambiguity in Xing Yan’s question, but she could explain, so she admitted it without hesitation. “I like you.”

It wasn’t the same kind of love she felt for Jiang Ruan this was something Xu Zhen couldn’t quite define, a strange and inexplicable fondness.

“So, give me a chance. Will you?”

Xu Zhen’s sincerity was undeniable. Xing Yan stared at her intently before suddenly letting out a soft laugh. “Like me?” The moment the words left her lips, the smile vanished from the omega’s face. “Then what does Jiang Ruan mean to you?”

“You like your wife’s rumored lover now that’s a bombshell.”

She stepped closer to Xu Zhen. Though slightly shorter, her presence was overwhelming, even eclipsing Xu Zhen’s. “Had enough fun? If so, leave. Now.”

Xing Yan remained sealed off, unwilling to give Xu Zhen even the slightest opening. But under the omega’s oppressive aura, Xu Zhen didn’t retreat. Instead, she asked stubbornly, “Xing Yan, do you hate me?”

The other woman didn’t answer, only giving her a cold glare.

Sister Zhenzhen,, watching the tense atmosphere between the two, felt like an ant on a hot pan, itching to intervene and mediate but she didn’t dare.

She nervously bit her fingers, her heart pounding with fear, not daring to blink.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll take it as you don’t dislike me.” Xu Zhen even admired her own shamelessness at this moment never in her life had she been this bold. “It was nice meeting you today.”

“Since you don’t want to see me right now, we’ll meet another day.”

With that, she stopped pestering the Omega and quickly retreated to Sister Zhenzhen,’s side.

“So? How did it go?” Sister Zhenzhen, immediately lowered her voice, eager for gossip. “Did you succeed?”

Xu Zhen: “Got rejected.”

“…I knew it.” Sister Zhenzhen, instantly wore an expression that said, I told you so. “A-Yan isn’t someone easily won over. Her personality has become a bit strange lately, but it’s not a big deal.”

“As the saying goes, even the fiercest woman can’t resist persistence. If you keep at it, A-Yan will eventually be moved by you!”

Sister Zhenzhen, clenched her fists excitedly, cheering Xu Zhen on. Xu Zhen hesitated. “Won’t it just annoy her?”

“Don’t be silly. You can’t just barge in bluntly every time.” Sister Zhenzhen, shared her wisdom. “Find the right opportunities like when we childhood friends gather for dinner, you can tag along with Jiang Ruan and pretend it’s a coincidence. Or during other events and parties, just follow Jiang Ruan there and act like you ran into her. ”

“Sister Zhenzhen,.” A cold voice suddenly cut in from behind them. Sister Zhenzhen, stiffened and immediately shut her mouth.

She forced an awkward, stiff smile. “What’s up, Ayan?”

“Traitor.” Xing Yan’s red lips parted as she mercilessly condemned her.

Sister Zhenzhen, studied Xing Yan’s expression and, sensing no real anger, scratched her brow sheepishly. “A-Yan, don’t say that. You know I’d betray the whole world before I’d ever betray you.”

“You’re my favorite person in this world.” With that, she grabbed a stunning red rose from a nearby vase and shoved it into Xing Yan’s hands.

Xing Yan was momentarily speechless, her expression unreadable.

In the end, Xing Yan didn’t accept Sister Zhenzhen,’s thoughtless little gesture. Without even glancing at Xu Zhen, she said to Sister Zhenzhen,, “Let’s go. They’ve all arrived.”

Sister Zhenzhen, and Xing Yan were distant relatives, so the newly eighteen-year-old kid was technically Sister Zhenzhen,’s junior.

“Qin-Qin, wait here for us. We’ll just go greet the elders and come right back.” Sister Zhenzhen, felt terrible leaving Xu Zhen alone, so after a moment’s thought, she quickly added, “Actually, why don’t you come with us?”

“Since you’re Jiang Ruan’s wife, you’re practically family anyway…”

Xing Yan frowned disapprovingly at this. “Are you trying to ruin today’s peace?”

Sister Zhenzhen, was confused. Xing Yan, unusually patient, explained, “Xue Ling is here too.”

Xue Ling? Sister Zhenzhen,’s expression shifted, and she quickly dropped the idea. Flustered, she said to Xu Zhen, “Qin-Qin, maybe you should wait here after all. We’ll be back soon.”

The abrupt change in Sister Zhenzhen,’s attitude made Xu Zhen silently commit the name Xue Ling to memory. “Alright.”

The two Omegas left together. Xu Zhen found a corner to sit in, but her peace didn’t last long before it was shattered by a haughty girl who strode over. “So you’re Xu Zhen?”

Xu Zhen lifted her eyelids to see the other woman clutching her own arms, her makeup meticulously applied yet somewhat exaggerated, giving her an especially haughty and unapproachable air.

“Are you Xue Ling?” Xu Zhen probed nonchalantly.

“That’s me.” Xue Ling arched her light brown-dyed eyebrows. “At least you have eyes and recognize me.”

The last person Sister Zhenzhen, wanted Xu Zhen to encounter was now standing right before her. Recalling Sister Zhenzhen, and Xing Yan’s attitudes whenever they mentioned Xue Ling, Xu Zhen pieced together a guess. “You like Jiang Ruan.”

Her tone left no room for denial not that Xue Ling had any intention of denying it. “If it weren’t for your scheming and manipulation forcing Jiang Ruan-jie to marry you, I would have been her wife.”

“You’re poor, powerless, and insignificant. I could crush you effortlessly.” Xue Ling never bothered to hide her malice. “Just a measly beta, yet now you’ve climbed onto Jiang Ruan-jie’s coattails to play the phoenix.”

“Listen here, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll divorce her immediately. Otherwise, I’ll make your life miserable.”

Xue Ling was beyond frustrated. She had finally managed to get rid of Xing Yan, only for Xu Zhen to drop out of nowhere. If Xu Zhen were an Omega like Xing Yan, it might have been tolerable, but she was just a lowly beta, someone Xue Ling despised the most.

What use was a beta? They were invisible nobodies everywhere, let alone Xu Zhen, whose background Xue Ling considered downright destitute.

Xue Ling was utterly impolite, but Xu Zhen, noting her youth, chose not to engage. “How do you know it was me scheming and not Jiang Ruan genuinely liking me enough to marry me?”

“She wouldn’t!” Xue Ling declared with certainty. “I’ve never seen her show interest in any woman before!”

“Even after marrying you, doesn’t she still spend all her time working, barely sparing a moment for you?” Xue Ling sneered mercilessly. “And if Jiang Ruan-jie truly cared about you, she wouldn’t have let those rumors with Xing Yan spread.”

Xue Ling was sharp, she saw right through it all. “When someone truly loves another, they’d never let them suffer. But you?”

“Have these past six months not been suffocating and painful for you?”

Xue Ling deliberately aimed for Xu Zhen’s weak spots, but Xu Zhen merely regarded her calmly. “You’re trying to provoke me, aren’t you? But your little tricks won’t work on me.”

“If you make me cry today, Jiang Ruan will have to comfort me tomorrow.”

Dealing with such a girl didn’t require much effort. With just a few offhand remarks, Xu Zhen successfully shattered Xue Ling’s composure. “You’re shameless!”

Xue Ling fumed. “How dare you? How can you even say that?”

“Jiang Ruan and I are partners, the kind who share a bed and blanket every night.” Xu Zhen tilted her head slightly. “Knowing all this, you still come to pick a fight with me. Are you trying to be the other woman?”

“So what if I am?” Xue Ling wasn’t ashamed, if anything, she lifted her chin proudly. “There’s nothing wrong with boldly pursuing the person I love.”

“Even if I fail in the end, I’ll have no regrets. I, Xue Ling, can take a loss!”

The girl’s passionate declaration made Xu Zhen press her fingers to her temples. Another victim of toxic, delusional romance.

There was no point arguing with a child. Xu Zhen exhaled softly and wordlessly picked up a nearby dessert to savor. Seeing her remain silent, Xue Ling grew impatient. “Why are you pretending to be mute?”

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“What should I say?” Xu Zhen put down her dessert with a complicated expression. “There’s too big an age gap between us, generational differences make conversation difficult.”

Xue Ling glared. “Then make an effort!”

“You’ve been in the entertainment industry for so long aren’t you good at finding topics? Or do you think I’m not worth the effort?” Xue Ling’s thought process was strange and clingy, leaving Xu Zhen at a loss and desperately wishing Sister Zhenzhen, and Xing Yan would hurry back.

“I really don’t understand how Jiang Ruan could fall for someone as dull as you.” Xue Ling was furious. “Jiang Ruan is a blockhead, and so are you. No wonder you two are always in a long-distance relationship.”

Never one to mince words, Xue Ling blurted out her next question without hesitation. “Do you two even keep straight faces when you’re doing it?”

She made an exaggerated, horrified expression, her face full of drama.

Xu Zhen: “…”

The beta’s speechlessness was too obvious. After a moment of thought, Xue Ling continued enthusiastically, “Or is it that you two ignore each other in public but go wild in private?”

Xu Zhen really didn’t want to engage. “Could you maybe keep some distance from me?”

If she didn’t know how to hold a conversation, she could just not talk.

“No. I finally caught you, and I’m telling you, today, you’re not shaking me off.” Xue Ling grew even more indignant. “Jiang Ruan keeps avoiding me, refusing to see me. If I stick with you, I might still have a sliver of hope to meet her.”

Determined to see Jiang Ruan, Xue Ling clung to Xu Zhen like a stubborn shadow.

Xu Zhen changed locations several times to evade her, but the girl was like a lump of dry yogurt, stubbornly lodged in her path with no escape.

Left with no choice, Xu Zhen gave up. “Jiang Ruan isn’t coming.”

“How would you know?” Xue Ling shot back mercilessly. “Did she tell you her daily schedule?”

The kid had a sharp tongue, and Xu Zhen lost all desire to continue the conversation.

Xue Ling lifted her chin proudly, like a victorious peacock. “I told you, you’re not getting rid of me. No one except Jiang Ruan has ever managed to shake me off.”

“Zhen Zhen.” Sister Zhenzhen,’s pleasant voice finally rang out, and Xu Zhen subtly exhaled in relief. “I’m here.”

Sister Zhenzhen, approached quickly but paused when she noticed Xue Ling beside the beta.

She tugged Xing Yan’s sleeve in a fluster. “A-Yan, it’s Xue Ling. What do we do now?”

“What do you mean, what do we do?” Xing Yan, already exhausted from fending off marriage pressure, looked thoroughly displeased. She cast a cold glance at Xue Ling before commanding Sister Zhenzhen, firmly, “Just go over and bring Xu Zhen here.”

“What if Xue Ling refuses?”

Xing Yan lowered her head indifferently. “Can’t you take her in a fight?”

She could, but as a grown adult. If word got out that she was bullying a kid, Sister Zhenzhen, agonized, how humiliating would that be?

Sister Zhenzhen, dawdled, taking forever to make a move.

Xing Yan, irritated beyond patience, finally snapped.

Soon, Sister Zhenzhen, caught sight of Xing Yan striding toward Xu Zhen. Without hesitation, the omega grabbed the beta’s wrist and pulled her away from Xue Ling with a firm tug.

Xing Yan’s expression was icy, the air around her heavy and intimidating.

Sister Zhenzhen, instinctively shrank her neck and hurried forward to receive the person. Just as she was about to reach Xu Zhen, a slender hand suddenly shot out, blocking the space between the three of them.

Xue Ling raised an eyebrow. “Did I agree to let you take her away?”

Sister Zhenzhen,: “??”

She stared at Xue Ling in disbelief. “What do you mean? Who do you think you are?”

“Xu Zhen isn’t even related to you, and you’re trying to control her freedom and whereabouts?” Sister Zhenzhen, scoffed. “Have you read too many domineering CEO novels? Did it fry your brain?”

Xue Ling immediately fired back, “Isn’t she unrelated to you too? What business is it of yours where she goes?”

“Let me make this clear right now, Xu Zhen is mine today. Anyone who dares to take her from me is declaring war against me, Xue Ling, and the entire Xue family.”

“My grandparents dote on me the most. No matter what I ask for, they’ll do everything in their power to fulfill it. So I suggest you think very carefully before speaking next time.”

Xue Ling loved threatening people, it was a foolproof tactic that had never failed her.

But this time, she was facing Xing Yan, who coldly retorted, “Then go ahead and try. I dare you to bankrupt the Xing family by tomorrow. If the Xing family isn’t ruined by then, I’ll lose all respect for you.”

Xue Ling was stunned. “Why aren’t you following the script?”

Seeing that the argument was about to escalate, Xu Zhen had no choice but to intervene. “Alright, that’s enough. Stop fighting.”

The moment she spoke, three pairs of eyes snapped toward her. Xu Zhen slowly forced a mechanical smile. “I’ll be going with Miss Xing Yan.”

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