My Childhood Friend, Who Is An Omega, Has Become My Personal Secretary - Chapter 18

I hope we can be happy forever.

From elementary school through high school, Zhang Linen rarely ate food from outside. First, she felt it was unhygienic, and second, she had a mother with superb culinary skills and a passion for cooking who had spoiled her palate.

The chefs in the Ji family were selected through layers of screening; several had even been poached from top-tier domestic hotels. By comparison, Zhang Qian was not only their equal but perhaps even a cut above.

Zhang Linen lowered her gaze to look at the sandwich in the trash can, then turned back to Ji Zeyuan, saying calmly, “I eat it occasionally, not often.”

Ji Zeyuan remained silent. She walked to Zhang Linen’s side and, before Zhang Linen could react, leaned down and abruptly pulled open the drawer under her desk.

Inside, it was filled with similar instant food products—roughly three- or four-days’ worth.

Zhang Linen watched her quietly, her gaze gentle.

Silently, Ji Zeyuan threw the instant meals from the drawer into the nearby trash bin one by one until the bin was overflowing.

Having disposed of all the junk food, Ji Zeyuan said, “Since you can tirelessly urge me, why can’t you lead by example yourself?”

Zhang Linen smiled faintly. “I don’t have stomach problems. I’m just too busy and eat some instant food to get by. Aren’t you being a bit too serious?”

Ji Zeyuan’s expression was stern; she couldn’t find a reason to smile at all.

If Zhang Linen weren’t so thin that she was practically skin and bones, Ji Zeyuan wouldn’t have thought eating some instant food was a problem.

“You…” Ji Zeyuan opened her mouth to lecture her, but before the words could come out, she realized she was the person least qualified to condemn Zhang Linen.

Eight years of indifference and neglect had caused her to lose many of her rights; things had long since changed.

Ji Zeyuan lowered her head gloomily, tears flickering in her eyes.

“I understand. I won’t eat those things anymore,” Zhang Linen suddenly relented, her tone soft and warm.

Ji Zeyuan’s eyes wavered, tears welling up in her sockets.

“I’m sorry. I neglected you in the past, I…”

I’m just a coward who couldn’t control my own filthy feelings and could only resort to blind escape.

Ji Zeyuan bit her lip, keeping those remaining words to herself.

Zhang Linen looked at Ji Zeyuan with a profound gaze. She raised her hand, then lowered it, and finally stood up altogether, reaching out her arms intending to hug Ji Zeyuan.

Ji Zeyuan instinctively retreated, but this only caused Zhang Linen to press forward more stubbornly.

The scent of grass-flavored pheromones constantly teased Ji Zeyuan’s nerves. Unable to bear it any longer, she helplessly grabbed Zhang Linen’s wrist, trying to pull and push her back into the office chair.

Under the resistance, Zhang Linen stumbled. Her path veered off, and the small of her back struck the corner of the desk.

“Ah…” Zhang Linen let out a trembling murmur.

Panicking, Ji Zeyuan asked, “What’s wrong? Where did you hit?”

Unexpectedly, Zhang Linen took advantage of Ji Zeyuan’s distraction. She grabbed Ji Zeyuan’s hand and pulled hard. Ji Zeyuan lost her balance and fell toward her.

In the flurry of movement, fearing that her weight would cause secondary injury to Zhang Linen, Ji Zeyuan hurriedly wrapped her arms around Zhang Linen’s waist, protecting her back.

The back of Ji Zeyuan’s hand slammed heavily against the sharp corner of the desk. she let out a muffled groan, barely managing to suppress the expression of pain.

Amidst the pulling and tugging, the two ended up in a full embrace.

“Ji Zeyuan…” Zhang Linen buried her head in Ji Zeyuan’s chest, her voice hurried. “Why are you apologizing?”

Ji Zeyuan sobbed, unable to speak. She truly didn’t know how to say it, or where to begin.

Zhang Linen’s tone was gentle yet laced with a hint of hidden pressure. She leaned into Ji Zeyuan’s ear and questioned in a low voice, “Do you regret it? Do you know what you did wrong?”

The warm breath brushed against Ji Zeyuan’s sensitive earlobe, making her body tremble.

The rose-scented Alpha pheromones erupted and scattered chaotically, mixing, intertwining, and wrestling with the grass-scented Omega pheromones in an inseparable tangle.

“You… you let go of me first.” Ji Zeyuan suppressed herself, struggling to maintain her rationality. Zhang Linen’s pheromones were diffusing wantonly. If Ji Zeyuan weren’t a Superior Alpha skilled at controlling the influence of pheromones, she likely would have lost control and crossed the line long ago.

“You haven’t even answered my question yet.” Not only did Zhang Linen not let go, but she also held on tighter.

Ji Zeyuan opened her mouth, about to speak, when suddenly there was a knock on the office door.

Zhang Linen clicked her tongue in frustration. She glanced at the door, seemingly hesitating over whether to ignore it, but the knocking sounded every few seconds, appearing quite urgent.

“Forget it for now,” Zhang Linen said, finally letting go of Ji Zeyuan out of necessity.

The visitor entered after hearing Zhang Linen respond. Ji Zeyuan panicked; the office was filled with the mixed pheromones of herself and Zhang Linen. If someone discovered this, who knew how many rumors would fly? Fortunately, the person who entered was a Beta.

Time flew by, and soon it was Friday. Upon waking up, Ji Zeyuan almost forgot her appointment with Shen Jiuyue, but Shen Jiuyue called early to remind her, making it impossible to forget.

“President Ji, surely you haven’t gotten out of bed yet?” Shen Jiuyue asked on the other end of the line.

Ji Zeyuan rubbed her bleary eyes and checked the time: 8:30 AM. After getting ready and the commute, she would arrive at the destination around 10:00 AM.

She put the phone on speaker by the bed and asked while changing clothes, “Miss Shen, was the matter of increasing the endorsement fee your own idea?”

“…President Ji, you really know how to ruin the mood. Can’t we talk about work during working hours?” Shen Jiuyue said leisurely, sounding quite aggrieved.

Ji Zeyuan was unmoved. She felt that going to the amusement park with Shen Jiuyue was essentially work anyway, as she didn’t want to go at all.

However, she didn’t mention the endorsement fee again.

Around nine o’clock, Ji Zeyuan left the house.

Ji Zeyuan instructed the driver not to bring the silver-black Maybach she usually rode in, but instead to bring a common sedan seen everywhere. For this outing, she didn’t want to be too conspicuous.

To ensure the privacy of the trip, Ji Zeyuan gave the driver the day off and chose to drive herself.

Because she was unfamiliar with the route, Ji Zeyuan spent some time on the road, but she had already accounted for this and left a margin for error. In the end, she arrived at the agreed-upon amusement park on time.

To avoid drawing attention, Ji Zeyuan had chosen a relatively remote and unpopular amusement park. Although it was opening time, there were only a few scattered people at the entrance.

Ji Zeyuan parked the car in a roadside space and got out.

Shen Jiuyue sent her a message: “President Ji, I’m already inside. I’ll wait for you at the carousel.”

After having her ticket checked, Ji Zeyuan took an amusement park map from the navigation rack at the entrance.

She was just using the icons on the map to determine her location when someone suddenly tapped her shoulder from behind.

Ji Zeyuan turned around. Standing before her was a person wearing a baseball cap and a mask pulled right up under their eyes, bundled up like a mummy.

“President Ji, why don’t you look up? The carousel is right in front of you.” Shen Jiuyue spoke with a smile in her voice, pointing behind Ji Zeyuan.

Ji Zeyuan looked in the direction she pointed and saw the carousel in operation.

Perhaps because it was a workday and the park wasn’t popular, the rides were mostly empty. Almost every attraction had fewer than five people on it.

“This round is about to end. Let’s wait for the next one,” Shen Jiuyue said with a smile, naturally reaching out to take Ji Zeyuan’s hand.

Ji Zeyuan dodged slightly and put her hands in her pockets. Her brows quirked up, her mouth tightened into a straight line, and she narrowed her eyes slightly at Shen Jiuyue.

With this sequence of actions, though Ji Zeyuan said nothing, Shen Jiuyue already felt her rejection and a faint trace of impatience.

What on earth? Is this person a block of wood?

Shen Jiuyue found it hard to understand. She had searched for Ji Zeyuan online and found very little information; most of it was business-related discussion regarding her status as the heir to the Jixia Group.

The only news regarding Ji Zeyuan’s private life was a joke about how she held a high position and was exceptionally beautiful, yet was nearly thirty and had never been in a relationship.

However, not having a public lover didn’t mean she didn’t have relationship experience. On the surface, she looked devoid of desire, but who knew how many secret lovers and “partners” she might have had?

Shen Jiuyue withdrew her hand awkwardly and cleared her throat, saying, “Does President Ji not like this? How about we switch to something else? How about the roller coaster? I ride it every time I come to an amusement park; it’s very thrilling.”

The corner of Ji Zeyuan’s mouth twitched upward into a token smile as she said indifferently, “Whatever works.”

Shen Jiuyue: “…”

This was simply a humiliation. She, Shen Jiuyue, was the peerless beauty praised as the “Daughter of God.” Even if the other person wasn’t interested, they shouldn’t be this cold, right?

“…Has President Ji eaten? Should we go get something to eat first?” Shen Jiuyue asked, suppressed her anger.

Just then, Ji Zeyuan’s phone chimed. Instead of answering Shen Jiuyue’s question, she opened her phone first.

“I saw your driver downstairs at the company. Why did you decide to drive yourself today?”

Ji Zeyuan had hidden today’s itinerary with Shen Jiuyue. To this day, she still hadn’t asked Zhang Linen if it was, she who had leaked Shen Jiuyue’s contact information to Mia.

“I had the driver take the Maybach in for maintenance,” Ji Zeyuan replied. She had indeed instructed the driver to do so.

“Be careful while driving. Also, don’t forget to eat. Did you bring the stomach medicine and suppressants that were in the car?”

Because she often needed to go out, Ji Zeyuan kept the necessary medicine in the car. When Zhang Linen asked, she realized she had forgotten to take them.

“I brought them. You should eat too; don’t just settle for anything,” Ji Zeyuan lied. If she told the truth, Zhang Linen would surely worry.

“Mm.”

Ji Zeyuan only looked up after replying to the last message. She thought for a moment and asked, “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

Shen Jiuyue, who had been ignored the whole time: “…”

Shen Jiuyue’s eyelid twitched as she repeated, “Has President Ji eaten? Do you want to go eat?”

Thinking of Zhang Linen’s reminder, Ji Zeyuan nodded slightly.

There weren’t many restaurants in the amusement park, and even fewer offered high privacy. After walking for ten minutes, the two finally entered an Anhui-style restaurant.

“What would you two like to eat? Where would you like to sit?” The waiter greeted them warmly with a smile.

“We would like to eat privately,” Ji Zeyuan said.

“Understood, follow me.”

The restaurant had many booths, and while there seemed to be no private rooms, there were two partitioned areas screened off with cloth curtains.

The two followed the waiter to one of the partitions. After they sat down, the waiter handed over the menu and said with a smile, “What would you two like to order?”

Shen Jiuyue pushed the menu toward Ji Zeyuan and whispered, “You order. I’m fine with anything.”

Ji Zeyuan took the menu and skimmed through it, eventually ordering several dishes that did not contain chili.

The waiter noted the order and left. Shen Jiuyue finally relaxed and pulled her mask down below her nose to vent some heat, not daring to take it off completely in case the waiter returned suddenly to serve the food.

This was the first time Shen Jiuyue had been alone with Ji Zeyuan. At this time, there weren’t many customers, and the restaurant was fairly quiet. Shen Jiuyue calmed her mind and quietly observed Ji Zeyuan. Ji Zeyuan was tilting her head, staring at the wall, though it wasn’t clear what she was looking at.

Shen Jiuyue followed Ji Zeyuan’s gaze and saw traces of graffiti on the wall. It was a sentence written in red pen: I hope we can be happy forever.

Ji Zeyuan’s brow furrowed slightly as if she were touched. She fixed her gaze on the distorted handwriting for half a minute before suddenly snapping back to her senses, withdrawing her gaze and returning to her usual indifferent appearance.

From this subtle movement, Shen Jiuyue sensed that Ji Zeyuan seemed to be someone with a “story” as well.

“President Ji, do you not like that sentence?” Shen Jiuyue couldn’t help but ask.

Ji Zeyuan’s thoughts seemed to have drifted elsewhere. She lowered her eyes and murmured absently, “It’s alright.”

The red handwriting on the wall had long since dried and faded. Above that old trace, there was a new mark—a black one.

“Eh?” Shen Jiuyue discovered the black mark. “This…”

Just then, the waiter came in to serve the food. Shen Jiuyue quickly stopped talking and pulled her mask back up under her eyes.

Once the waiter finished serving and left the partition, Shen Jiuyue spoke again to finish what she had been about to say.

“That line of words has been crossed out.”