My Childhood Friend, Who Is An Omega, Has Become My Personal Secretary - Chapter 11

Ji Zeyuan felt as though her entire being was being scorched by a blistering, relentless sun.

Zhang Linen looked up at Ji Zeyuan, the haze beneath her eyes dissipating slightly.

Ji Zeyuan leaned forward slightly, looking down at Zhang Linen with lowered brows. Her eyes flickered with a silent question: What else do you want to know?

The silence stretched for half a minute until Ji Zeyuan’s phone suddenly rang.

She didn’t check it immediately. Instead, she continued to gaze at Zhang Linen, waiting for her answer.

However, the person sending the messages didn’t care about the timing. They kept sending them incessantly, and the phone chimed “ding-ling, ding-ling” without end.

Zhang Linen lowered her head and looked elsewhere. Ji Zeyuan clenched her fist in slight annoyance and whispered, “Sorry, let me handle this.”

Irritated, Ji Zeyuan pulled her phone from her pocket. It was a flurry of notifications from her international social media account, all from Mia.

“Hey, isn’t that the girl from your photo album?” “Are you two dating?” “Wait, no—are you guys having a lovers’ quarrel right now?” “Didn’t you say it was impossible for the two of you to ever be together? Did you make up?”

Ji Zeyuan’s expression stiffened. She subconsciously glanced at Zhang Linen, who happened to be looking at her. Their eyes met, and Ji Zeyuan’s fingertips trembled as she quickly averted her gaze.

“We’ve never had a fight. You’re so obsessed with romance. She’s a friend I’ve known since childhood, like a younger sister to me.”

Ji Zeyuan hit send. Mia replied with a lonely puppy emoji and a simple “Okay.”

When Ji Zeyuan looked up again, Zhang Linen’s face had darkened once more.

Ji Zeyuan’s heart skipped a beat, and she found herself explaining instinctively, “It’s Mia. She’s leaving soon and wanted to say goodbye.”

But the moment the explanation left her lips, she felt a pang of regret. She realized she was acting like a henpecked spouse, desperately trying to prove her innocence to her partner.

“Miss, you really are the same as before,” Zhang Linen said, her voice gentle and her dimples showing faintly.

Ji Zeyuan froze. She remembered their student days—how Zhang Linen was so skilled at controlling her emotions, able to extract everything she wanted to know without saying a word.

It was as if, whenever she was around Zhang Linen, Ji Zeyuan couldn’t resist the urge to confess everything to her.

This is too dangerous.

Ji Zeyuan’s face turned cold. She shoved her phone back into her pocket and turned to leave. But just as her hand gripped the doorknob, she was embraced from behind.

Zhang Linen threw herself forward, using all her strength to hold Ji Zeyuan from the back. Her forehead pressed against Ji Zeyuan’s back, and she was shaking like a leaf.

The scent of grass-like pheromones flooded the air. Ji Zeyuan’s back went rigid. she didn’t dare move, fearing that one wrong step would cause her to lose control and do something irreversible.

“Actually, I went abroad to look for you. But I didn’t even know which school you were attending. That place was so big.”

Zhang Linen’s voice was choked with sobs. She spoke very slowly, her words broken, as if it took immense courage just to speak.

Ji Zeyuan remained silent. Fine beads of sweat broke out on her forehead; she was reaching her limit in resisting Zhang Linen’s unrestrained pheromones.

Zhang Linen pressed her entire body against Ji Zeyuan’s back, her voice soft and warm. “You know what kind of person I am. I don’t have friends. All these years you were gone, I’ve been alone.”

“We were together for over ten years, yet you left without a single word. It’s as if those ten years meant nothing to you.”

Zhang Linen’s pheromones became increasingly intense and aggressive. Ji Zeyuan felt as though her entire body was being scorched by a blistering sun. An uncontrollable fire burned through her every nerve, the veins on her temples throbbed, and her body reached its breaking point.

“What am I to you?”

Zhang Linen spoke those words heavily, each syllable sounding like it had been weighed down by time.

The atmosphere turned stagnant. After several minutes of stalemate, Ji Zeyuan still hadn’t answered.

Zhang Linen gave a bitter laugh and slowly released her grip, her heart turning to ash.

“It seems I shouldn’t have asked.”

With that, she fought back her tears and pushed past the deathly silent Ji Zeyuan.

The door was already open, and Zhang Linen was halfway out when Ji Zeyuan finally spoke.

“Zhang Linen,” Ji Zeyuan said in a low voice. “Don’t be sad because of me anymore. I’m not a person worth this much trouble. Seeing you like this because of me, I wish I could…”

She stopped abruptly, leaving the rest of the sentence unsaid.

Zhang Linen’s red, peach-blossom eyes were full of deep affection as she stared at Ji Zeyuan.

Then, as if abandoning all reason, she threw herself into another embrace.

Ji Zeyuan instinctively wanted to push her away, but her body had already begun to go weak from absorbing a massive amount of Omega pheromones.

Zhang Linen leaned close to Ji Zeyuan’s ear. Her warm breath made the tip of Ji Zeyuan’s ear itch.

“Answer me. What am I to you?”

Ji Zeyuan held her breath, using every ounce of willpower to suppress her desires.

“You… are like a sister to me.”

After a long silence, Zhang Linen let go of Ji Zeyuan.

Ji Zeyuan was drenched in sweat. She shifted uncomfortably, her throat feeling incredibly parched.

Zhang Linen took a pack of tissues from her pocket and handed them to Ji Zeyuan.

“Come with me to see my mother. She really wants to see you.”

Ji Zeyuan took the tissues in a daze. She no longer struggled; she simply looked at Zhang Linen with a hollow gaze and nodded woodenly.

Due to Shen Jiuyue’s early departure, the set was forced to take a day off. Director Zhang was fuming, shouting about replacing her. However, after Shen Jiuyue’s manager pulled the director aside for a few minutes of whispering, Director Zhang became all smiles. No one knew what magic the manager had performed to appease the picky director so quickly.

The next day, however, a very hard-to-buy, limited-edition luxury watch appeared on Director Zhang’s wrist.

Hua Jianjiu helped the lighting technician move the light stands into the shed. Afterward, to show his gratitude, the technician treated her to a cup of milk tea.

Since it was lunchtime, Hua Jianjiu placed the milk tea on a table in the storage room and went to get her boxed lunch. When she returned, the milk tea was gone.

Thinking she had misremembered where she put it, she searched the room for a while. Suddenly, with a “creak,” the door was pushed open.

“Are you looking for this?” Shen Jiuyue tilted her chin up, haughtily waving the half-finished milk tea in her hand.

Is this person crazy?

Hua Jianjiu grumbled internally but maintained her composure on the surface.

Shen Jiuyue walked toward Hua Jianjiu and spent a moment sizing her up with her arms crossed. Hua Jianjiu felt uncomfortable under that blunt gaze and prayed fervently that the woman would leave so she could eat in peace.

“Are you really my fan?” Shen Jiuyue asked doubtfully, her finger tapping rhythmically against her arm. “Have you even seen any of my dramas?”

Hua Jianjiu broke into a cold sweat, thinking: I shouldn’t have claimed to be her fan.

“I’m a fan of your visuals,” Hua Jianjiu managed to squeeze out after a long pause.

Visual fans still watch dramas, though. Don’t you see the face in the drama? Hua Jianjiu criticized herself internally, almost wanting to laugh.

Shen Jiuyue tilted her head in confusion. “What are you laughing at?”

Hua Jianjiu quickly pulled her expression together. “Nothing.”

Clearly, Shen Jiuyue didn’t believe her. She pondered in silence, her gaze never leaving Hua Jianjiu.

Having worked for half the day, Hua Jianjiu was starving and hadn’t had a drop of water. Her stomach was burning with hunger, so she simply ignored Shen Jiuyue and started eating.

The moment Hua Jianjiu sat down, Shen Jiuyue sat across from her, milk tea in hand.

Shen Jiuyue asked, “What’s your name?”

Hua Jianjiu mumbled her name through a mouthful of food. Upon hearing it, Shen Jiuyue let out a long, thoughtful “Oh.”

Shen Jiuyue asked again, “Are you and Zhang Linen really in the kind of relationship the rumors say?”

Hua Jianjiu: “…”

Seeing Hua Jianjiu’s stunned reaction and the way her chopsticks paused, Shen Jiuyue knew she was going to deny it. So, she changed her phrasing: “Are you very close with Zhang Linen?”

What kind of questions are these?

Hua Jianjiu put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth, her expression impatient. “Aren’t you asking too much? Does this have anything to do with you?”

Shen Jiuyue narrowed her eyes and gave a mocking laugh.

Confused, Hua Jianjiu went back to her meal.

“Hey, you’re not my fan at all. Why do you keep stealing glances at me every day?” Shen Jiuyue’s tone turned cold.

A chill ran down Hua Jianjiu’s neck. She looked up at her.

Shen Jiuyue tapped her finger on the table and spoke coldly, “Zhang Linen transferred you here to spy on me, didn’t she?”

Speaking to herself, Shen Jiuyue muttered, “I thought it was strange. What a coincidence—that lunatic suddenly shows up in the middle of a meal saying something about going home. Couldn’t that have been said over the phone?”

Shen Jiuyue’s eyes were full of resentment. Hua Jianjiu, on the other hand, felt a sense of relief. She thought: It’s fine if I’ve been found out. If I’m useless now, Zhang Linen can send me back.

“How long have President Ji and Zhang Linen known each other?” Shen Jiuyue asked.

Clearly, the subject had shifted from Zhang Linen to “President Ji” as the primary focus. Hua Jianjiu understood immediately and gave a faint smile.

“Miss Shen, I’ll tell you the truth,” Hua Jianjiu said, adopting a serious, deep tone. “Wasting your efforts on President Ji is futile. Zhang Linen and President Ji have been together since kindergarten. They’ve been inseparable since they were kids. That kind of bond isn’t something you can just shake.”

Hua Jianjiu deliberately didn’t mention the eight years Ji Zeyuan spent abroad; after all, she didn’t understand why Ji Zeyuan had suddenly left without a word herself.

But one thing she was certain of: Ji Zeyuan cared deeply about Zhang Linen.

Shen Jiuyue’s expression darkened for a moment, but then she smirked. “Regardless, aren’t they not together right now?”

Hua Jianjiu shrugged indifferently. “Think whatever you want. I’m just giving you a heads-up. It’s none of my business anyway.”

Shen Jiuyue chuckled. “Interesting. Then why are you here?”

The implication was: Then why are you here helping Zhang Linen spy on me?

Hua Jianjiu caught the meaning but wasn’t bothered. After swallowing her last bite of food, she prepared to pack up and leave.

Before she could go, Shen Jiuyue suddenly called out to her, “Tell Zhang Linen: if she likes her, she should go confess. If President Ji has a partner, I naturally won’t interfere. Using such underhanded tactics… I truly look down on her for that.”

Hua Jianjiu remained silent. She could actually understand why Shen Jiuyue said those things, and she sincerely felt that Zhang Linen’s methods were a bit much.

But for some reason, she inexplicably felt that Zhang Linen was… pitiable.

“Where is this?” Ji Zeyuan asked, frowning as she looked at the dilapidated, old second-hand residential complex in front of her.

With expert skill, Zhang Linen steered the car into a narrow parking space. She pulled out the car keys and looked at Ji Zeyuan with a faint smile.

“My mother’s house.”