My Childhood Friend, Who Is An Omega, Has Become My Personal Secretary - Chapter 35

Ji Zeyuan sat on the sofa until dawn.

The waiter mistakenly thought Zhang Linen was speaking to her and hurriedly bowed, asking, “Is there anything you need, ma’am?”

The boiling clamor of voices pierced Zhang Linen’s ears—noisy and illusory. She stared at the hemp curtain printed with wave patterns in front of her, meditated for a moment, and turned back to her private room.

“The night market has already begun preparations,” Shen Jiuyue said, looking down at the rows of small white commercial stalls below.

The setting sun still hung large in the sky. Gulls circled in the low air with soft cries, and the fiery clouds soaked the sky and earth with the speed of a prairie fire. Gold and red became the world’s main themes.

Ji Zeyuan glanced at her watch; it was exactly 5:30 PM.

“I have to go back to the hotel by 6:30,” Ji Zeyuan said. She had promised Zhang Linen she would be back before 7:00.

Shen Jiuyue smiled at Ji Zeyuan and said, “Then we can still play for another hour.”

Ji Zeyuan did not refuse. To ensure Shen Jiuyue would truly keep her secret, Ji Zeyuan felt it was best to go along with her as much as possible lately.

“It’s a pity it’s getting dark, otherwise we could go kayaking or even surfing,” Shen Jiuyue said, looking at Ji Zeyuan. She asked, “President Ji, have you ever surfed?”

Ji Zeyuan nodded wordlessly, her eyes filled with melancholy. The last time she surfed was during the summer vacation of her sophomore year of high school. She and Zhang Linen had made a bet: whoever couldn’t hold out any longer would have to knit a red scarf for the other before Christmas.

In the end, Ji Zeyuan lost, but Zhang Linen still knitted a red scarf for her anyway.

Later, Ji Zeyuan left the country in a hurry and didn’t bring a single old item with her. She didn’t even know if that scarf still existed.

Shen Jiuyue did not notice the emotion hidden in Ji Zeyuan’s silence and continued to herself, “I’m very good at surfing. If it’s convenient for you, President Ji, we can make another appointment to come surfing together.”

Ji Zeyuan flatly refused: “I’m very busy lately.”

Shen Jiuyue was used to this and didn’t ask further, only saying, “Then when you are no longer busy in the future, we can come to the seaside together again.”

The darkness swallowed the last glow of the sunset, and the small stalls in the seaside market lit up their small lamps one after another.

Zhang Linen took off her sunglasses and curled up in the shadows, using the crowd as cover to watch Ji Zeyuan from a distance.

The light was dim, making it impossible to see expressions clearly. The two were walking further and further away, nearly fading from her vision. Zhang Linen hurriedly straightened up to catch up, but before she could take a step, someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind.

“Hey, Miss Secretary.”

Mia was dressed in an airy, deep blue straight-cut dress, her tone playful.

Zhang Linen’s gaze fell on Mia’s hand gripping her wrist. Without any mercy, she said, “Let go, unless you want to eat with only one hand from now on.”

Mia sensibly let go. She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender and laughed, “Haven’t seen you in a few days, Miss Secretary, and you’re still so cold.”

Zhang Linen ignored Mia’s glib talk, but when she turned back, Ji Zeyuan was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you looking for someone?” Mia asked with a smile. “Isn’t it a bit too much to be wearing so many clothes in this heat?”

Zhang Linen took a deep, impatient breath and glanced sideways at Mia with a cold, dark gaze. Mia immediately retracted her playful expression.

In a place where crowds gathered, pheromones of various scents mixed together. Zhang Linen felt a slight dizziness. She scanned the surroundings, but the crowd was too dense; it seemed she had been separated from Ji Zeyuan.

“You don’t look well. Do you want to rest a bit?” Mia asked in a low voice.

The jumbled pheromones were like an invisible wall, completely isolating Zhang Linen and making it difficult for her to move.

Zhang Linen bit her lip in frustration. After lingering for a moment out of reluctance, she took a mask out of her pocket, put it on, and turned toward a coffee shop that looked high-end but quiet.

Mia followed closely, asking as they walked, “Are we going for coffee now? At night?”

The greeter at the coffee shop took the initiative to open the door. Zhang Linen walked to the most remote corner and sat down. Mia sat across from her.

The air inside the shop was not as murky as it was outside; it was much fresher. To allow customers to view the magnificent sea scenery while drinking coffee, the shop used transparent glass walls. Zhang Linen took off her mask, her gaze still lingering on the flow of people outside, searching for Ji Zeyuan’s figure without a moment’s pause.

Mia followed her gaze but couldn’t see anything specific. A waiter approached and asked, “What would you two like to drink?”

Zhang Linen said casually, “The same as her.”

Mia laughed, “I haven’t even said what I’m ordering yet.”

Zhang Linen ignored her, staring out the window with a heavy gaze.

Mia randomly ordered two drinks from the menu and sent the waiter away. She looked at the staring Zhang Linen and asked in confusion, “What are you looking at?”

Zhang Linen withdrew her gaze, still ignoring Mia. She took out her phone to check Ji Zeyuan’s location. Ji Zeyuan was still here.

“You don’t look like you really want coffee. It’s so lively outside; are we really going to waste time here?” Mia’s tone revealed regret and longing.

That’s right, this is a waste of time.

Zhang Linen’s heart sank to the bottom. She couldn’t understand the meaning of her being here anymore. She couldn’t find Ji Zeyuan, and her pheromone phobia was showing signs of acting up. Plus, an annoying Alpha was sitting opposite her.

At that moment, the waiter arrived with two cups of coffee. Mia introduced them with a smile: “This is their signature drink.”

Zhang Linen looked down at the “signature” in front of her, which looked no different from ordinary coffee, and remained motionless.

Seeing that Zhang Linen made no move, Mia picked up her own cup and took a sip.

“It’s quite good,” Mia said. She cautiously peeked at Zhang Linen’s face, but Zhang Linen remained somber without any reaction.

Mia put down the cup. Her right hand lightly tapped the table as she asked tentatively, “Miss Secretary, are you in a bad mood?”

Zhang Linen was deaf to this and still didn’t speak.

Mia said softly, “I want to help share your unhappiness. You can tell me what’s bothering you. I’m a very good listener.”

Hearing this, Zhang Linen finally had a reaction. Her ink-black eyes moved as she said, “The only way you can share my unhappiness is by letting me give you a thorough beating.”

A chill ran down Mia’s spine. She slumped her back and said aggrievedly, “Miss Secretary, I did you a huge favor. Isn’t it a bit too much to treat me like this?”

Zhang Linen sneered, “I can thank you in other ways, but my dislike for your attitude comes from the heart; it cannot be changed.”

Having spent years playing around in the world, Mia had seen many people. Some played along with her, greeting her with smiles while slandering her behind her back. Some were half-sincere but left decisively after seeing her true colors.

Mia spoke with feigned depth: “Miss Secretary, you are truly special. I have never seen someone like you. Most people in this world are hypocritical. There are genuine people, but someone as reckless and indifferent as you is truly unique.”

A wave of disgust rose in Zhang Linen’s heart. She made no effort to hide her contempt: “Are you reciting poetry?”

Mia raised an eyebrow and smiled: “Anyone who knows my net worth wouldn’t disparage me like you do, even if they might not like me… Other than you, only Jessica is that casual, but she has assets that rival mine, and you don’t.”

Zhang Linen frowned at Mia. After a moment, she turned her head and sighed heavily: “The people you mentioned must have very good tempers to be able to endure your nauseating greasiness and arrogance.”

Mia laughed instead of getting angry, continuing her previous question: “So can you really not tell me? Why are you so frustrated?”

Zhang Linen silently picked up the coffee in front of her. She took a small sip, but the taste was truly not to her liking, so she frowned and put the coffee back down.

A small vendor selling handmade accessories was shouting vigorously. Occasionally, people stopped at the stall, but after seeing the high prices for items that didn’t match their quality, they left one after another.

“President Ji, look at this.” Shen Jiuyue pointed to a cat’s eye stone bracelet on the shelf. She looked up and asked the seller, “Boss, has this been degaussed?”

Ji Zeyuan scanned it briefly. She didn’t think the plain bracelet was anything special, but just as she was about to look away, another bracelet caught her eye.

The seller was a local who couldn’t understand Shen Jiuyue’s words and could only repeatedly introduce the benefits of the bracelet in broken English.

Shen Jiuyue looked at Ji Zeyuan with slight embarrassment and said, “President Ji, can you temporarily act as a translator for me? I roughly understand what she’s saying, but my spoken English isn’t great.”

Ji Zeyuan skillfully translated what Shen Jiuyue had just said into English. The seller immediately nodded with a smile and said, “Yes, they have all been degaussed.”

Then the seller pointed to a matching cat’s eye bracelet next to it and said, “These two are a couple’s set. If you both buy them, you can each wear one.”

Ji Zeyuan clarified, “We are not a couple.”

The seller froze and looked at Shen Jiuyue. Shen Jiuyue smiled and pretended not to understand, asking, “How much for these two?”

Ji Zeyuan translated the question. The seller smiled and said, “This bracelet has a very beautiful meaning and was even blessed by our most famous priest.”

After some marketing, the seller quoted a price.

Shen Jiuyue frowned and whispered to Ji Zeyuan, “Is she treating us like suckers?”

Ji Zeyuan said calmly, “You don’t have to speak so softly; she can’t understand us.”

Shen Jiuyue waved her hand at the seller and said to Ji Zeyuan, “President Ji, let’s go.”

Ji Zeyuan did not move with Shen Jiuyue. She reached out and picked up a white shell bracelet on the shelf, which was intertwined with green threads like seaweed. It looked natural and fresh, as if it were a product of nature.

“I want this one,” Ji Zeyuan said. The seller smiled and was about to start the “legendary story” of the bracelet, but Ji Zeyuan interrupted her: “Just tell me how much.”

The seller’s smile stiffened, and she held up five fingers, quoting a price obviously several times higher than the bracelet’s value.

Ji Zeyuan paid the money and carefully placed the bracelet into her handbag.

After leaving the stall, Shen Jiuyue kept looking at Ji Zeyuan with a look that suggested she had something to say.

Ji Zeyuan didn’t notice her hesitation. She checked the time on her watch; it was already 6:20 PM.

“I have to go,” Ji Zeyuan said. After saying this, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The moment Ji Zeyuan turned to leave, Shen Jiuyue suddenly spoke: “President Ji, did you buy that bracelet for Secretary Zhang?”

The question caught Ji Zeyuan off guard. She paused in her tracks but did not answer.

Shen Jiuyue sighed and spread her hands. “It seems so. President Ji, I know if I say too much you’ll get impatient, but I still want to remind you…”

Ji Zeyuan remained silent. Shen Jiuyue continued: “If you truly want to stay by her side for a long time, holding onto these kinds of feelings won’t work sooner or later. If you can’t control your emotions, you at least have to restrain your actions.”

The salty sea breeze blew past, and the noisy clamor was filled with foreign languages.

Ji Zeyuan felt as if she had been hit over the head. Even after getting into the car, Shen Jiuyue’s words echoed in her ears, constantly reminding her.

Standing in front of the hotel room door, Ji Zeyuan hesitated for a long time and ultimately did not take out the bracelet she had just bought.

She was about to use her key card to open the door when she suddenly remembered she had forgotten to bring it when she went out today. She knocked a few times, but Zhang Linen didn’t seem to be back yet. She had to go downstairs to the front desk to have them open the door with a master key.

When Ji Zeyuan sat down in the living room, the time was exactly 6:58 PM. Usually, Zhang Linen would return around 7:00.

But that night, Ji Zeyuan sat on the sofa until dawn, and Zhang Linen never appeared.