Forced to Romance the Omega Psychiatrist - Chapter 19

Having found the person she was looking for and confirmed that the situation was still under control, Bai Shuixi finally shed her icy demeanor of ‘all work can wait’ and became somewhat receptive to reports.

He Jiu was half a step behind, catching up to his seemingly cold and indifferent boss who hadn’t acknowledged him for ages, urgently calling out, “President Bai! President Bai!”

“What?” Bai Shuixi paused and glanced back at He Jiu.

He Jiu silently exhaled in relief. Thank goodness, she was finally responding to him.

He jogged to a stop in front of Bai Shuixi, took a deep breath, and adjusted his glasses, instantly transforming back into the image of a polished, elite executive assistant. He opened the folder in his hands and presented it to Bai Shuixi, speaking in a perfectly composed tone, “President Bai, this is the revised filming schedule from the production team. Compared to the previous version, it seems to have reduced the promotional emphasis on our group’s sponsorship, cutting some of the shots.”

Bai Shuixi glanced at the document He Jiu handed her, looking indifferent and saying nothing.

Instead, when Xia You followed along, Bai Shuixi lifted her gaze to the Omega, the corners of her eyes curving slightly with a hint of amusement. “Not resigning anymore?”

Xia You’s expression was a little awkward, but she averted her eyes and said earnestly, “I’ll honor our agreement and the contract I signed. I’ll do my job properly. But I also hope you’ll seriously investigate what really happened that day. I understand the principle, I’ll work for you in exchange.”

Bai Shuixi quietly studied this suddenly cooperative Omega for a moment, then smiled. “Alright…”

Her voice trailed off softly, like a hook, as if there was more left unsaid.

Xia You couldn’t help but look at Bai Shuixi, waiting to hear what else she might say.

The moment their eyes met, Bai Shuixi curved her lips and murmured the last two words, sweet and lingering: “…Jiejie.”

He Jiu, standing to the side: “!!”

His pupils trembled in shock.

No… wait, he was genuinely stunned now.

Why was the boss calling Miss Xia ‘jiejie’? And in such a sweet tone?! Wasn’t the boss the one signing her paychecks?!

If it were him, he’d be willing to bump the boss up a generation out of respect for the money, let alone daring to exploit age for a term of endearment!

And… employment contracts were standardized, legally protected documents. Had something changed without his knowledge? What was this about an ‘agreement’ and an ‘exchange’?

Could it be that the contract between the boss and Miss Xia wasn’t exactly… professional?

The utterly bewildered elite assistant shot his boss a glance and gleaned something from Bai Shuixi’s faintly amused expression.

That look… was she teasing Miss Xia?

Ah, never mind then. Here he was thinking it was some new industry secret he needed to watch out for, when it was just the boss indulging in some strange play on a whim.

The quick-witted and tactful executive assistant He Jiu promptly turned himself into a lamppost, pretending to be completely deaf to the odd exchange between his boss and her potential romantic interest. From his eyes to his ears, he stood as still and unresponsive as a statue.

Xia You was also startled by Bai Shui Xi’s sudden intimacy. She glanced at He Jiu in a flustered manner before turning back to scold Bai Shui Xi in a low voice, “Don’t call me that randomly!”

Bai Shui Xi’s eyes curved slightly, appearing completely unbothered. “As you wish,” she replied.

She had deliberately teased Xia You, intentionally lowering her tone when calling her ‘sister’ to make it sound ambiguous and lingering, just to see Xia You’s reaction.

Bai Shui Xi had expected Xia You to get angry or flustered, but instead…

Xia You’s skin was fair and thin, making any blush extremely noticeable.

Bai Shui Xi’s gaze swept over Xia You’s rapidly reddening earlobes with amusement, deciding without hesitation that she would keep using this nickname.

After all, Xia You’s reaction was far cuter than she had imagined.

“Since you’ve decided to stay, you might as well work properly under me,” Bai Shui Xi said as she took some documents from the tactful and quick-witted He Jiu, skimming through them.

“Frequent personnel changes are a hassle for me. I don’t want to hear about resignations for at least half a year. What do you think?”

Xia You took a quiet breath, understanding that Bai Shui Xi was laying out her terms. She answered seriously, “Fine.”

Bai Shui Xi glanced up at her, smiling faintly before handing the documents back to He Jiu and saying matter-of-factly, “This is still too little compared to before. Tell the production team to add more verbal mentions for the artists. The group’s sponsorship isn’t free, after all.”

He Jiu nodded. “Understood.”

Bai Shui Xi turned to look toward the stage area. “The rehearsal should be ending soon, right?”

He Jiu checked her watch. “Yes, according to the schedule, official filming will begin in about 20 minutes. The stage should already be prepared.”

“Alright, let’s head over then,” Bai Shui Xi said, glancing at Xia You. “You, come with me.”

The fact that Bai Shui Xi, the major investor who was supposed to stay in the VIP lounge observing rehearsals and giving feedback, had finally returned to her seat was a relief to both the director’s team and senior staff.

They had long heard that the Bai family’s heir was not someone to be trifled with a spoiled, arrogant troublemaker with a notorious reputation. When news spread that the representative from Tianyin had changed from Vice President Xu to her, half the production team had braced for disaster.

What if this one caused trouble for them? Their shooting schedule was already tight.

Fortunately, this particular sponsor had been relatively easygoing during her time with their team just a bit unprofessional, skipping rehearsals to chase after some assistant.

Honestly, what kind of assistant was so negligent that even the boss couldn’t reach them?

But after receiving the revised script notes from He Jiu, the production team’s relief quickly faded.

Damn it! This spoiled heiress wasn’t so easy to fool after all!

Meanwhile, Bai Shui Xi, guided by an assistant director temporarily assigned by the production team, made her way back to the VIP lounge.

She could have found her way back without help, but the production team had been overly eager, sending this assistant director along with two staff members to clear the path for them.

Bai Shuixi followed the assistant director down the corridor with an indifferent expression, flanked by two unfamiliar staff members who shielded her from the hurried foot traffic of various crew teams. Xia You trailed half a step behind, staying close to her.

As they passed through a particularly noisy hallway, the assistant director suddenly guided Bai Shuixi toward a different route, eagerly saying, “That area is too close to where fans wait for the artists to arrive it’s a bit chaotic. Let me take you another way, President Bai.”

Bai Shuixi didn’t mind either way and nodded coolly. But as she glanced toward the end of the corridor, her eyes landed on a vaguely familiar face, the young girl who had tried to strike up a conversation with Xia You to get her contact information.

The girl noticed Bai Shuixi’s group too, her gaze lingering first on Bai Shuixi, then on Xia You, before flickering between them in visible confusion.

Bai Shuixi smirked, easily guessing what was puzzling the girl.

After all, there was technically nothing between her and Xia You but she didn’t mind letting others misunderstand.

Casually, Bai Shuixi lifted her hand slightly behind her, first hooking Xia You’s fingers before fully grasping her hand.

Xia You: “…?”

The young girl: “…?!”

Just before turning into the next corridor, Bai Shuixi locked eyes with the stunned girl for a brief moment, flashing her a deliberately smug smile.

What are you looking at? Even if you keep staring, she’s not yours.

The staff flanking them: “……” See nothing, hear nothing, know nothing.

Xia You, abruptly pulled into the handhold, froze for a second, staring blankly at their joined hands. Only when she noticed the deliberately averted gazes around them did she flush with embarrassment. She twisted her wrist lightly and whispered, “What are you doing?!”

Bai Shuixi glanced back at her with amusement and obligingly let go.

Having successfully unsettled the young girl, she was in a good enough mood to temporarily stop ‘teasing’ the female lead.

Due to the detour, they arrived at the VIP lounge a little late filming for We’ll Meet at the Top had already begun.

After exchanging a few polite words with Bai Shuixi, the assistant director and the two staff members quickly excused themselves when they sensed her lack of interest.

With all the nuisances gone, Bai Shuixi visibly relaxed.

Just then, the lighting in the venue below shifted, drawing everyone’s attention to the rising stage where the contestants would emerge.

Bai Shuixi spared a half-hearted glance and saw Zhou Wanwan stepping confidently into the spotlight, radiant under the dazzling stage lights.

…What a coincidence today.

She flicked a glance at Xia You’s reaction before casually picking up an orange from the table and peeling it. “Oh, it’s Zhou Wanwan. Since she’s here, Li Wei must be in the audience, right?”

Xia You pressed her lips together and stayed silent.

Amid the fresh citrus scent, Bai Shuixi’s voice, laced with faint mockery, drifted over:

“I haven’t asked you yet, where exactly did you run off to after abandoning your post?”

Or rather, where had the plot deviated to make the system panic so much?

“…I saw that man who came to the mall to cause trouble for me that day,” Xia You hesitated for a moment, only telling Bai Shuixi the parts she was certain about. “He seems to be a fan of Zhou Wanwan.”

Seeing Bai Shuixi’s furrowed brows as she pondered, Xia You worried she might not remember: “The one who blocked me in the mall lobby, demanding I take responsibility, and was eventually pushed away by you.”

Bai Shuixi thought for a moment: “The blond guy?”

Xia You: “…Ah, yes, him.”

Bai Shuixi looked somewhat surprised as she peered through the one-way glass at the lively scene outside, failing to spot the blond-haired man. She let out a cold laugh and muttered to herself: “He actually dares to show up here…”

Xia You: “What?”

“Oh, nothing, I was just saying…” Bai Shuixi snapped out of her thoughts and placed half of the peeled orange in Xia You’s palm, “If your situation… our situation is related to that blond guy, then him appearing here probably means he didn’t expect you to come to the recording, let alone run into you by coincidence.”

And the reason she had discovered this was precisely because Bai Shuixi had brought her to the variety show set.

Xia You stared blankly at the orange in her hand, its white pith had been meticulously peeled away by Bai Shuixi’s germaphobic and perfectionist hands, leaving only the soft fruit resting in her palm.

Her feelings were complicated, too tangled to sort out at the moment. Perhaps because she had been staring at the half-orange for too long, when she finally looked up, she met Bai Shuixi’s amused expression.

Xia You: “?”

For some reason, she suddenly had a bad feeling.

Bai Shuixi leisurely wiped her orange-stained fingers with a wet wipe, studying Xia You’s expression before smiling and asking, “What’s wrong? Are you rejecting my kindness?”

“That’s not it…”

Xia You just felt that their relationship wasn’t this intimate. Even sitting together now was only because their goals temporarily aligned.

Bai Shuixi unhurriedly tossed the used wet wipe away and took a fresh one to wipe her hands again: “You’re so patient when random young alphas call you ‘sister,’ yet you keep me at arm’s length. Could it be that’s your type?”

Xia You sighed helplessly: “I’m not keeping you at arm’s length…”

“Then let me feed you.” Without missing a beat, Bai Shuixi peeled off a segment of orange and brought it to Xia You’s lips. Her cool fingertips brushed against Xia You’s mouth as she said suggestively, “Open up… eat it, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

Sorry everyone, it looks like the promised second update today might not happen either.

The virus has attacked my brain, and I can’t write anything coherent right now. Slowly grinding away at it…

Tears, a simple cold has shattered my dreams of timely updates.

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