Forced to Romance the Omega Psychiatrist - Chapter 39

Bai Shuixi still attended the meeting on time.

Fortunately, it was just routine business, a weekly meeting that the original host probably wouldn’t have bothered with.

Bai Shuixi was distracted, her standards for listening to reports noticeably more relaxed than usual. The entire meeting room breathed a sigh of relief, focusing on their work except for Xu Chuan, who was the only one to notice that Bai Shuixi had changed clothes.

Her gaze kept drifting over, making it impossible for Bai Shuixi to ignore.

Come to think of it… Xu Chuan had been paying an excessive amount of attention to her lately. Bai Shuixi even suspected Xu Chuan might be planning something underhanded. She had instructed He Jiu to keep an eye on Xu Chuan’s faction these past few days, though nothing had come of it yet.

Beneath the seemingly calm conference table, undercurrents were stirring.

Since there wasn’t much to discuss recently, Bai Shuixi had little interest in wasting time with her employees. Thanks to her deliberate control, the meeting progressed quickly.

Liu Heng, the head of the distribution department, who had never been particularly deferential to Bai Shuixi was the last to report on recent work. Normally, Bai Shuixi would toy with him for a while, but today, she let him off without a fuss.

As the meeting neared its end, everyone prepared to disperse except for Bai Shuixi, who remained seated.

Xu Chuan glanced at her and, for some unknown reason, also stayed behind.

Bai Shuixi lifted her eyes to meet Xu Chuan’s gaze, smiling faintly though the warmth didn’t reach her eyes. Her tone was mild, but still carried a hint of coldness.

“What is Vice President Xu looking at?” Bai Shuixi asked softly, her fingers tapping idly on the table, giving no indication of her mood.

A few younger attendees who hadn’t yet left the room immediately gathered their things and hurried out at the sound of their boss’s tone.

But Xu Chuan seemed entirely indifferent to the others. She simply stared at Bai Shuixi with that same inscrutable, vaguely unsettling look.

“…I just thought President Bai’s outfit seemed unfamiliar.”

Bai Shuixi’s fingers stilled on the table. She raised her eyes to meet Xu Chuan’s gaze.

Her expression was calm, revealing nothing. But in truth, Bai Shuixi had always disliked being watched any excessive attention would inevitably provoke her displeasure.

“Ah, so it’s about the clothes,” Bai Shuixi said with a light, humorless chuckle. “I thought Vice President Xu’s workload was already stressful enough. I didn’t realize you still had time to pay attention to me. It seems I’m not as inhumane a boss as I thought.”

Xu Chuan lowered her gaze, shifting her attention away as she replied with her usual detached professionalism, “…Perhaps President Bai should be more discreet in the office. I doubt I’m the only one who’s noticed.”

Bai Shuixi lifted her eyelids slightly, studying Xu Chuan.

She did consider how her actions might be perceived by the company when it came to Xia You like how she was currently figuring out a plausible excuse to cover for Xia You’s absence that afternoon. But that didn’t mean certain people could insinuate things in front of her.

“Oh? So others might find it surprising too?” Bai Shuixi said.

She could hardly remember how she used to react to such provocations back when emotions rarely stirred within her.

In her original world, when she first joined the company as an adult, some people didn’t take her seriously either. But after two rounds of “cleansing” within the company, no one dared to trouble her anymore.

Facing such blunt provocation now, Bai Shuixi actually felt somewhat unfamiliar with the situation.

Meeting Xu Chuan’s steady yet puzzled gaze, Bai Shuixi smiled faintly, her words carrying an underlying meaning: “I thought the entire company already knew Xia You is my girlfriend.”

Xu Chuan’s expression froze, his jaw tightening abruptly.

Bai Shuixi chuckled lightly, as if completely unaware of Xu Chuan’s emotional shift.

Having made her point with that single sentence and stamped her mark on Xia You, she leisurely stood up, picked up the coat casually draped over the chair, and slung it over her shoulders while opening the door:

“The CEO’s office and the deputy CEO’s office aren’t on the same floor. If there are any new developments on the project, you can always come find me later.”

In other words mind your own business.

As long as the company’s collaborations aren’t ruined, I’ll do as I please. It’s none of your concern, so keep your mouth shut.

Xu Chuan remained stiffly seated, offering no response, his mind replaying that line, “I thought the entire company already knew Xia You is my girlfriend.”

Bai Shuixi had never lacked people around her. As a spoiled heiress, her current behavior was already restrained, she had been far more outrageous in the past.

But Bai Shuixi had never acknowledged anyone before. Her attitude toward short-term girlfriends had been far more dismissive than Xu Chuan’s current demeanor, let alone getting angry over a single remark.

Bai Shuixi had truly changed.

“Director Xu, is something wrong?” Liu Heng from the distribution department returned, pushing open the meeting room door with concern.

“…Nothing.”

Xu Chuan snapped back to attention at his voice. After a brief silence, his gaze darkened as he looked in the direction Bai Shuixi had left, murmuring softly, “Just exchanged a few words, that’s all.”

Liu Heng studied Xu Chuan’s expression and felt an inexplicable unease.

Previously, he had sided with Xu Chuan purely because Xu Chuan was far more reliable than Bai Shuixi when it came to work and genuinely cared about Tianyin. Xu Chuan was the kind of person who could truly take Tianyin further unlike Bai Shuixi, who relied entirely on her family’s influence.

But now… at least in this moment, Liu Heng couldn’t explain why, but Xu Chuan’s expression unsettled him.

…As if something he didn’t want to see was about to happen.

Bai Shuixi had no idea what Xu Chuan was planning, nor was she interested in finding out. Most of her attention was focused on how to deal with Bai Ye, with occasional thoughts drifting toward Xia You, who was sleeping in her lounge.

That foolish Omega when she was alert, she was truly alert, but when she let her guard down, she was utterly careless.

To say such things to a villain like her… What if Bai Shuixi had taken advantage of the conversation to trick Xia You into liking her? What if she had used Xia You? She wasn’t a good person, after all.

But Xia You seemed softer toward her now… Bai Shuixi’s thoughts derailed momentarily, her fingers unconsciously rubbing together before she caught herself.

Her expression stiffened, and she scowled as she pulled her thoughts back in line.

She had never been distracted by romantic nonsense while handling serious matters before.

Lately, though… her vulnerabilities were multiplying. Was this what it was like to be capable of emotions?

Bai Shuixi felt somewhat displeased and instinctively wanted to talk to the system, but after hesitating, she found the system rather annoying.

Not only did it rarely speak the truth, but it also kept trying to pry information out of her, far from safe.

After some consideration, she ultimately decided against discussing things with the system. Unsure how to handle Xia You, Bai Shuixi simply pretended nothing had happened, ignoring the faint stirrings in her heart. She occasionally put on her usual playboy demeanor when dealing with Xia You, and time passed little by little. The long-desolate city of G finally entered winter.

Winter in G City was unbearably dry and cold, yet it rarely snowed. More often than not, the biting wind left pedestrians shivering without offering much of a wintery scene.

Amid the slow, frigid breeze, a Panamera pulled into a parking spot near a dessert shop not far from an upscale residential complex in the city center.

The residents here were either wealthy or influential, so luxury cars were a common sight. However, it was rare to see both the driver and passenger being stunning beauties though the driver’s icy aura made it hard for anyone to stare for long.

Shortly after the car stopped, a gentle-looking Omega stepped out from the passenger seat.

The Omega walked around the front of the car onto the sidewalk before the driver’s window slowly rolled down, revealing Bai Shuixi’s beautiful but indifferent face. With a faint smirk, she asked, “Really don’t want me to come with you?”

The two in the car were none other than Bai Shuixi and Xia You.

“No need, I’m just checking out the desserts. I’ll be back soon,” Xia You replied quickly.

This was a dessert shop Xia You had taken a liking to, and she often visited after discovering it by chance.

On previous occasions, Bai Shuixi had accompanied her inside, but her complete disinterest in sweets was written all over her face. She merely followed Xia You at a leisurely pace, drawing covert glances from nearly everyone in the shop. After that, Xia You refused to let Bai Shuixi come along anymore.

Hearing the rejection, Bai Shuixi didn’t argue. She simply gave a nonchalant “Mm,” then pushed the car door open and stepped out anyway, leaning against the hood as she said, “Then go ahead.”

Xia You glanced at Bai Shuixi and smiled helplessly.

Naturally gentle and already biased in Bai Shuixi’s favor, even her resigned smile carried a sweetness, as if she held infinite indulgence.

Bai Shuixi froze for a moment, her indifferent gaze lowering slightly as it swept over Xia You’s smile. Her usually unshakable composure faltered, stirring an unfamiliar feeling within her.

It was strange something like reassurance.

“……” Bai Shuixi couldn’t quite explain it herself, so she turned her head away, arms crossed as she leaned against the car. Hidden beneath her sleeves, her fingers lightly rubbed together.

It probably wasn’t her imagination… Xia You really was becoming more and more indulgent toward her, no longer resisting even sharing a bed.

Last night, when she had tried following Xia You into her room, she hadn’t been rejected. In a moment of recklessness, she had even, “I’ll head over now,” Xia You suddenly spoke up, snapping Bai Shuixi out of her thoughts.

“Mm…” Bai Shuixi snapped back to reality, her expression betraying nothing as she nodded. “I’ll wait here.”

Xia You smiled and turned to walk toward the dessert shop.

Bai Shuixi exhaled in relief.

Ever since the incident where Bai Ye had secretly intercepted Xia You, she had lost all trust in this broken world’s sense of safety.

Perhaps to correct the original trajectory, or due to the butterfly effect, more and more events were spiraling beyond expectations. Bai Shuixi couldn’t shake the feeling that something unforeseen would occur, unconsciously keeping a closer watch on Xia You.

This was also the first time Bai Shuixi realized there might actually be a trace of kindness in her nature.

Despite knowing Xia You was destined to suffer repeated heartbreaks in the original timeline, Bai Shuixi still couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her under her watch. It was so uncharacteristically tender-hearted of her.

Leaning against her car, Bai Shuixi stared absently at the bustling street, lost in reflection. After all, she was just a villain and she hadn’t forgotten that. So why did she keep making concessions for Xia You?

And protecting Xia You brought her no tangible benefits.

Before she could untangle her thoughts, her phone rang from inside the car. Calls at this hour were usually work-related, so she picked it up without much thought only to see an unexpected caller ID: “Chairman Xin.”

It took Bai Shuixi a long moment to recall who this “Chairman Xin” was.

One of the two powerful figures who had spoiled the original owner into a lawless, spoiled heiress. The most untouchable tycoon of the Bai Group, Bai Shuixi’s biological mother in this body. Even the original owner’s alpha mother wouldn’t dare provoke her. The woman at the very top of the food chain.

Bai Shuixi: “……”

Was this person even in the original novel?

Frowning, she tried to recall, but only dredged up memories of the original owner’s miserable downfall. It seemed… the novel had been entirely preoccupied with the tangled, thread ball-like romantic drama between the leads. Until the very end, the original owner’s cheat-code-level mothers had never made an appearance.

Maybe they only discovered what their daughter had done after her demise but why was Chairman Xin reaching out now?

While Bai Shuixi was still puzzling over it, the call disconnected.

Bai Shuixi blinked. “……?”

Was it just a casual check-in? Too long since she last contacted her daughter, so she decided to say hello?

Less than two seconds later, before Bai Shuixi could make sense of it, the call came through again. The soft, insistent ringtone carried an air of stubbornness, as if the caller would keep trying until she answered.

Bai Shuixi: “……”

Fine. Since it’s already come to this, might as well hear her out.

After all, whether she picked up or not, whatever was meant to happen would happen anyway.

Glancing at Xia You, who was still engrossed in conversation with a staff member inside the dessert shop, Bai Shuixi straightened and stepped aside.

She wasn’t keen on Xia You getting entangled with the original owner’s affairs. If she could keep it hidden, she would.

Taking the phone a few paces away, she turned her back to the car and answered just as a Porsche with a blindingly flashy license plate (all sixes) pulled smoothly into the spot beside her Panamera.

A tall woman stepped out, arm draped around a young Omega who seemed utterly unfazed by the cold. Laughing intimately as if no one else existed, they made their way toward the dessert shop.

“There. That dessert shop your friend raved about. Brought you here happy now?”

Omega coquettishly whispered something, making the tall woman laugh. She then flirtatiously stroked the young girl’s chin and said, “I offered to buy you a bag, but you refused. You just had to come to this shabby little shop for dessert. This dessert is… Ouch! Can’t you watch where you’re going?”

The tall alpha was too busy flirting with her lover to notice someone exiting the dessert shop, and she bumped right into them. This alpha seemed to have no concept of apologizing her first instinct was to blame the other person.

Xia You, holding the dessert she had just picked out, instinctively stepped aside. “Sorry,” she said.

She had no interest in arguing over such trivial matters and easily moved out of the way. Unexpectedly, the alpha who had bumped into her didn’t move on. Instead, her gaze lingered on Xia You’s face, scrutinizing her with uncertainty.

Xia You: “…”

Under the woman’s blatant stare, Xia You felt increasingly uncomfortable and took a subtle step back before hesitantly asking,

“…Is something wrong?”

The Omega in the tall woman’s arms seemed indifferent, yawning lazily.

Meanwhile, the tall woman narrowed her eyes, studying Xia You before speaking with a hint of recognition, “Oh… aren’t you that Omega Bai Shuixi has been obsessing over for ages?”

Xia You froze, barely processing the woman’s words.

“If you’re here, then Bai Shuixi must be around too, right? Where is she?” The woman’s arrogance mirrored Bai Shuixi’s demeanor when Xia You had first met her. She glanced at Xia You intermittently, as if searching for something, then turned to look around for Bai Shuixi.

Xia You frowned, mulling over the woman’s words. For some reason, she didn’t want to engage with this person. Instead of answering, she replied distantly,

“Is there something you need? I can pass it along.”

The alpha raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down with an odd expression. “Oh, nothing much. But from the looks of it, you’re pretty comfortable with Bai Shuixi now, huh? Weren’t you reluctant at first? What changed your mind?”

“What…?” Xia You was taken aback. “What do you mean ‘at first’?”

How did this woman know about her and Bai Shuixi?

Did Bai Shuixi actually talk to others about their relationship? And how did she describe her?

The alpha, as if disgusted by Xia You’s feigned innocence, crossed her arms and sneered, “Stop pretending. Wasn’t it you who refused Bai Shuixi no matter what? What, did you give in after one night? Playing hard to get?”

Her words were crude, but the Omega beside her seemed unfazed, showing no reaction.

Xia You’s breath hitched, her mind reeling from the woman’s implications, what did she mean by ‘give in after one night’?

Was she referring to that time with Bai Shuixi in the Tianyin office?

But how did this woman know about that? Why did it seem like she knew everything?

Did Bai Shuixi tell her?

Bai Shuixi was halfway through her phone call when she inadvertently glanced back. First, she noticed the alpha standing at the entrance of the dessert shop, feeling a vague sense of familiarity. Just as she was puzzled by this, her casual gaze met Xia You’s complicated, sorrowful eyes.

That look was filled with shock, grievance, and a hint of anger.

Bai Shuixi froze for a moment, her heart sinking with a sudden ‘thud.’ Wondering what was wrong with Xia You, she suddenly remembered: the original story was full of absurd coincidences. If Xia You was making that expression now… could it be that the vaguely familiar person had said something to her?

Before she could speak, Xia You for reasons unknown gave her a deep look, turned, and walked away, her steps so quick they hardly seemed like her own.

Bai Shuixi was stunned for a second. Without even taking the time to figure out what had happened, she hung up the call without hesitation and immediately chased after her.

She hadn’t even finished her conversation with that ‘Chairwoman Xin.’

She wasn’t sure what kind of relationship the original owner of this body had with this so-called mother, but Chairwoman Xin spoke in roundabout ways, starting with trivial matters before subtly probing into Bai Shuixi’s life with vague, evasive questions.

Bai Shuixi was growing impatient, but she hadn’t planned to hang up, intending to wait and see what Chairwoman Xin really wanted.

But then Xia You suddenly left and didn’t seem happy about it. Without time to think, Bai Shuixi instinctively chose the side that felt more important in her subconscious…

“Hey, where are you going?” The female alpha who had just mocked Xia You grabbed Bai Shuixi’s arm, giving her a bewildered look. “If she left, then let her go. She’s being unreasonable, you’re not actually going to chase after her, are you? Is she even worth it? There are plenty of well-behaved, obedient people out there. If she dares to throw a tantrum, just replace her.”

Bai Shuixi’s brow twitched.

The condescending tone ignited a fire in her chest, an unfamiliar surge of anger rising. She couldn’t recall ever feeling this furious in her entire memory.

Suppressing the urge to lash out, Bai Shuixi coldly glared at this vaguely familiar woman likely one of the original owner’s so-called friends feeling her vision narrow to a slit. “Since when do you get to decide for me? Who I’m with is that up to you?”

The female alpha froze, startled by the icy hostility in Bai Shuixi’s eyes, and instinctively let go.

Bai Shuixi didn’t have time to deal with her further. She shot the alpha a sharp look, mentally noting this grievance, then sneered and sprinted after Xia You.

Their apartment wasn’t far from here. In her haste, Bai Shuixi had left her car behind, and by the time she regained her senses, she was already nearing the residential complex, so she simply kept running.

As she entered the complex, a flicker of unease passed through her. The plot was already a complete mess, what if, in this short time gap, some side character had swooped in and taken Xia You away?

Her expression darkened as she strode down the path, pulling out her phone to call Xia You. Just as she rounded a flowerbed, her gaze swept absently forward then abruptly stopped.

The person she was looking for stood at the end of the path, right in front of their building, head bowed in silence. She looked slender and gentle, yet inexplicably aggrieved.

Beside her was a parked Maybach, where an elegant woman draped in a shawl leaned against the car, smiling as she watched Bai Shuixi approach.

It took Bai Shuixi several seconds to react. She hesitated, glancing at the elegant and beautiful woman before her, then finally spoke in surprise, “…Mom?”

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