My Childhood Friend, Who Is An Omega, Has Become My Personal Secretary - Chapter 10

“Ignoring me again.”

The dining at Imperial City was considered top-tier within the country, but Ji Zeyuan had little appetite. She ate a few random bites and set her utensils down.

She glanced at her phone; Zhang Linen had sent three messages.

“No work arrangements this afternoon, are you coming home? My mom wants to see you.”

“Ignoring me again.”

“I’m coming to Imperial City to find you.”

The last message was sent ten minutes ago. Ji Zeyuan hurriedly replied: “Don’t come over, I’ve already left.”

After the message was sent, it remained in an unread status. Ji Zeyuan let out a helpless sigh and raised her hand to beckon the manager.

The manager trotted over without delay. Ji Zeyuan said, “If a Miss Zhang comes looking for me later, remember to tell her I’ve already left and not to wait for me.”

Still feeling uneasy, she added, “She is an Omega. Her pheromones smell like green grass—very fresh. If she insists on waiting, remember to call the member phone number I have on registration.”

The manager gave a subtle, faint smile and nodded, responding repeatedly, “Yes, yes.”

Ji Zeyuan exhaled a micro-sigh. At that moment, a familiar, playful voice suddenly came from behind her.

“Hey, Jessica, what are you doing here?”

Ji Zeyuan turned her head while sitting in her chair. A short-haired girl with blonde hair and green eyes walked over, beaming. Her eyes were flying with spirit, and she dressed with a unique, individualistic flair—the aura of an artist.

“Mia?” Ji Zeyuan was somewhat stunned. “I should be the one asking you that.”

Mia raised an eyebrow, spread her hands, and sat down opposite Ji Zeyuan, saying, “As you can see, I eventually chose to compromise with my mother and came here to inherit her family business.”

Jessica was the English name Ji Zeyuan had chosen for herself abroad. Mia was a friend she met during university—a mixed-race Alpha. Ji Zeyuan had an aloof personality, while Mia was a sculptor who loved performance art.

Two people who seemed eccentric to outsiders had somehow ended up in the same dorm and were surprisingly harmonious. After several years of living together day and night, Mia naturally became Ji Zeyuan’s only friend in a foreign land.

Ji Zeyuan gave a faint, agreeable smile, but her heart was still preoccupied with Zhang Linen. Mia, who knew her well, saw at a glance that she was heavy-hearted.

Mia asked with a smile, “Are you waiting for someone?”

Ji Zeyuan shook her head and answered hesitantly, “Not exactly.”

Mia narrowed her eyes slightly, the corners of her mouth curling into a subtle arc.

“Are you…”

Before she could finish, someone suddenly interrupted from the side in a surprised tone: “Heavens, are you President Ji?”

Ji Zeyuan turned her head with no interest. Mia turned with her. They saw Shen Jiuyue, dressed in a beige silk gown, with exquisite makeup and a moving appearance.

Mia’s eyes lit up, and she looked at Ji Zeyuan with excitement. Ji Zeyuan gave her a secret glare, then looked at Shen Jiuyue with a flat expression, answering politely: “Yes, what a coincidence.”

Shen Jiuyue smiled and said, “Indeed. Is President Ji dining here? Uh…”

Her voice paused, and she looked at Mia with a casual smile: “Perhaps I am disturbing you?”

Before Ji Zeyuan could answer, Mia hurriedly replied, “No, not at all. We also just ran into each other by chance.”

Shen Jiuyue maintained a proper smile. She looked at Ji Zeyuan and asked cautiously, “Since it’s such a coincidence, would President Ji mind if I joined your table for a meal?”

Ji Zeyuan’s expression was indifferent. She opened her mouth to refuse, but Mia was quick-tongued and snatched the words away again: “Of course not.”

Ji Zeyuan: “…”

Half an hour later, having not received a reply from Ji Zeyuan, Zhang Linen didn’t hesitate for a second. She took her car keys from the drawer and headed straight downstairs to drive to Imperial City.

While driving, Ji Zeyuan’s exclusive message notification rang once. She glanced at it, and upon spotting the words “Don’t come over,” her gaze turned cold and she threw the phone heavily onto the passenger seat.

Zhang Linen completed a thirty-minute drive in twenty minutes. When she reached the entrance of Imperial City, she was intercepted because she didn’t have a membership.

“Hey, I said you should leave. Do you know what kind of place this is? Driving a piece of junk like this and expecting to enter Imperial City?”

The security guard judged people by their possessions. Seeing Zhang Linen alone and being a petite Omega, his tone was very aggressive.

Zhang Linen looked at the towering Imperial City building with a grim face. She glanced at the rambling guard, thought for two seconds, took off her work ID, and held it out the car window in front of the guard’s eyes.

“I am the secretary to the CEO of Jixia Group. Our President Ji asked me to deliver documents. She is a member here,” Zhang Linen said in a steady, crisp tone.

The guard was stunned for a moment. After looking Zhang Linen up and down with piercing eyes for two seconds, he opened the gate directly.

Things went exceptionally smoothly; Zhang Linen had thought she would have to deal with the guard for a while longer.

“President Ji is waiting for you on the eighth floor,” the guard’s tone became respectful. Zhang Linen was startled; she hadn’t expected Ji Zeyuan to actually be able to wait for her.

Zhang Linen parked the car first. When entering the underground garage, she saw the silver-black Maybach that Ji Zeyuan rode in every day. The driver was in the front seat, nodding off.

Forty or fifty minutes had passed since the message from Hua Jianjiu. Considering the distance from the film set to Imperial City, Shen Jiuyue might have already arrived.

Zhang Linen walked toward the main building of Imperial City with trepidation, her mind uncontrollably drifting into wild thoughts.

Stepping into the elevator, Zhang Linen looked at her own face in the mirror and suddenly realized she looked so pale and haggard.

“Guest, the eighth floor is here,” the attendant responsible for the elevator reminded the dazed Zhang Linen. Zhang Linen snapped out of it and walked out of the elevator.

But she didn’t head to the guest area immediately. Instead, she used the polished amber porcelain wall to carefully tidy her messy hair.

Only after the last stray strand of hair was smoothed down did Zhang Linen walk toward the guest area.

Upon entering, the manager in charge of reception glanced at Zhang Linen. Seeing her dressing poorly, he didn’t step forward to greet her.

“May I ask which private room President Ji is in?” Zhang Linen stepped forward to inquire.

The manager’s expression changed slightly. He looked her over again and asked, “Are you Miss Zhang?”

Zhang Linen nodded slightly. “My surname is Zhang.”

The manager dropped his perfunctory attitude and said with a smile, “Oh, you’ve finally arrived. President Ji has been waiting for you for a long time.”

The exaggerated change in tone made Zhang Linen a bit uncomfortable. She followed the manager into the hall with a displeased expression. From a distance, Zhang Linen saw Ji Zeyuan sitting at a square table for four, with Shen Jiuyue sitting right beside her.

Zhang Linen immediately left the guiding manager behind, quickened her pace, and walked up to Ji Zeyuan.

Ji Zeyuan heard footsteps and looked up. Seeing it was Zhang Linen, her slightly furrowed brows tightened even more.

“Zhang Linen, you…” Ji Zeyuan seemed to want to say something harsh, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she held back out of consideration for the others present. She switched to a gentler tone: “Why did you come here?”

Zhang Linen’s tone was as soft as ever. She said, “You shouldn’t have any more work this afternoon. I came to pick you up. Mom wants to see you.”

Ji Zeyuan’s brow twitched, but she didn’t respond.

Since returning to the country, she had only gone home once to avoid meeting Aunt Zhang.

During that time, Aunt Zhang had conveyed through her father and Zhang Linen that she wanted to meet, but Ji Zeyuan had always found excuses to put it off.

Ji Zeyuan quickly racked her brain to concoct a reason for refusal. Before she could think of one, Mia, who had just gone to the restroom, returned.

Zhang Linen was facing Ji Zeyuan, so from Mia’s angle, she could only see her back.

Mia walked over smiling and said, “Jessica, is this lady also your friend?”

Zhang Linen turned her head at the sound. Her gaze was cool. The moment Mia saw her face clearly, she froze. Her lips moved, and she looked at Ji Zeyuan.

Ji Zeyuan instantly understood Mia’s expression. With a somber face, she gave a subtle shake of her head.

Mia restrained her expression and flashed an upbeat smile to greet Zhang Linen: “Hello, I’m Mia, Ji Zeyuan’s university roommate.”

Zhang Linen forced the corners of her mouth up slightly and nodded. “Hello.”

After the formulaic pleasantries, Mia returned to her seat. She purposely sat one seat over, leaving an empty space for the newly arrived Zhang Linen.

But Zhang Linen seemingly had no intention of sitting down. She just stood silently beside Ji Zeyuan like she was being punished, watching her quietly.

The atmosphere at the scene plummeted. Mia looked at Ji Zeyuan, then at Zhang Linen, appearing as if she were waiting to watch a drama unfold.

Shen Jiuyue had also long noticed the strange atmosphere between the two. Although it was awkward, she didn’t want to waste a hard-won opportunity to have such close contact with Ji Zeyuan.

To draw Ji Zeyuan’s attention to her side, Shen Jiuyue took the lead in breaking the silence, smiling. “President Ji, you didn’t make it to the set last time because you were busy. When do you plan to go next? I’m waiting for you every day, longing like the stars and the moon.”

Ji Zeyuan gave a distracted, perfunctory reply: “Depends on my schedule.” Her gaze uncontrollably fixed on Zhang Linen, never leaving for a moment.

The dismissed Shen Jiuyue pouted unhappily. She was somewhat unwilling to give up and quietly moved closer to Ji Zeyuan, narrowing the distance between them.

Suddenly, Ji Zeyuan stood up. She didn’t notice Shen Jiuyue’s small movement at all. She looked straight at Zhang Linen and said, “Come over here with me for a moment.”

She then turned back to Mia and Shen Jiuyue. “If you two are finished with your meal, please leave first. Excuse me.”

Having said that, she called the manager, opened a new VIP private room, and took Zhang Linen away.

The two left at the booth looked at each other. Shen Jiuyue was so angry her face turned red. She simply threw down her utensils and left indignantly.

Mia hurriedly stood up and urgently called out to Shen Jiuyue, “Miss, may I have your phone number?”

Shen Jiuyue didn’t stop for a single step, leaving directly without even looking back.

Being rejected while flirting is a scene many people enjoy watching. By the time Mia realized it, everyone was looking at her and whispering. She wasn’t embarrassed, however, but sighed with a bit of regret, mumbling to herself, “She really is beautiful.”

As soon as they entered the private room, Ji Zeyuan went straight to the point, saying to Zhang Linen, “Tell Aunt Zhang for me that I can’t make it back tonight. Tell her I miss her too, and I will take the initiative to visit her when I have time.”

Zhang Linen kept her eyes lowered and gave an irrelevant answer: “You really do have a lot of friends.”

Ji Zeyuan thought she had misheard and frowned, asking back, “What did you say?”

Zhang Linen looked up at her but quickly turned her face away again.

Ji Zeyuan watched her in silence, took a deep breath, and exhaled heavily.

She bit her lip with some irritation. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke with a sense of helplessness.

“Running into Shen Jiuyue was a coincidence; she insisted on sitting down herself.”

“As for Mia, she is mixed-race and understands Chinese. We were in the same dorm, so we are relatively close. Bumping into her here today was also a coincidence.”