My Childhood Friend, Who Is An Omega, Has Become My Personal Secretary - Chapter 46

The “real and fake heiresses” are getting along harmoniously? What kind of plot is this?

The moment she heard the first sentence, Zhang Linen realized this was an affair she had best not get involved in. She moved her steps quietly, intending to leave without a sound, but Li Ziruo spotted her and betrayed her location with a single glance.

Hua Jianjiu noticed Li Ziruo looking behind her. She turned her head in anger and happened to lock eyes with Zhang Linen, who was just about to make her exit.

“You two continue, I’m leaving,” Zhang Linen said expressionlessly. She had only taken two steps after turning around when someone grabbed her arm.

Hua Jianjiu’s voice was heavy and slightly hoarse: “Can you please not leave yet? Let’s talk.”

Zhang Linen looked toward the stairwell; Li Ziruo’s figure was already gone. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded reluctantly.

The two of them went to an empty pantry. As soon as they entered, Hua Jianjiu locked the door. Seeing this, Zhang Linen spoke first: “Even if you don’t know me well, you should know I don’t like gossiping about others. So, you can rest easy.”

Hua Jianjiu was slightly stunned. After a moment, she pulled out a chair and sat down dejectedly, saying, “I didn’t stop you because of that.”

Zhang Linen remained silent. After a short pause, she sat down in the chair beside Hua Jianjiu.

“Did you hear everything?” Hua Jianjiu asked with her head lowered.

Zhang Linen replied, “I heard one sentence, but the information density was quite high. Her and Zhao Yan…” She stopped herself at the appropriate moment, not finishing the sentence.

Hua Jianjiu closed her eyes helplessly. She clenched her fingers tightly, and Zhang Linen could see her right jaw muscle twitching.

“Actually, this isn’t the first time,” Hua Jianjiu said slowly after a long silence. Her tone was very weak, as if uttering those words had exhausted all her strength.

Zhang Linen frowned. She looked at Hua Jianjiu, her eyes shifting thoughtfully, and asked hesitantly, “So, which time is it?”

Hua Jianjiu shook her head powerlessly: “About the fifth time. She always gets involved with people she thinks are wealthy or have high status…”

The voice trailed off. Hua Jianjiu fell into a somber silence; Zhang Linen was at a loss for words.

“As for her, I can actually understand,” Zhang Linen spoke up slowly after a while. Hua Jianjiu looked up in disbelief.

“What did you say?”

Zhang Linen explained calmly, “I said I understand, not that I approve. I understand the logic behind why someone like her would act this way.”

Hua Jianjiu lowered her head again. Zhang Linen showed no mercy in displaying her “poisonous tongue” attribute: “Your heart must be as vast as the ocean, otherwise how would she have gotten those subsequent four chances?”

Faced with Zhang Linen’s words that struck right at the painful truth, Hua Jianjiu had no rebuttal. She continued to sit in bitter silence. At that moment, the door handle of the pantry turned twice. Since it was locked, the person outside couldn’t get in and knocked twice: “Is anyone in there?”

Zhang Linen stood up and picked up her cardboard box, leaving behind a piece of advice that wasn’t particularly pleasant to hear: “In truth, you two don’t have a real relationship to begin with. Why keep entangling yourselves?”

To her surprise, Hua Jianjiu was provoked by this sentence and immediately snapped back: “Then what is the relationship between you and Ji Zeyuan? You’ve waited for her for all these years—what has she ever given you?”

The knocking continued incessantly. Zhang Linen, holding the box, froze in her tracks.

Hua Jianjiu looked at her with reddened eyes and continued, “Ah, actually, you can try it now. After all, you’re the one with status now. Maybe Ji Zeyuan can be just like Li Ziruo? Wouldn’t your wish of all these years finally be fulfilled?”

There was no point in arguing with someone controlled by extreme emotions. Zhang Linen gave Hua Jianjiu a cold look, then opened the door and left with her box.

Zhang Linen wasn’t particularly angry at Hua Jianjiu’s reckless words. However, those unintentional remarks acted like a thread, pulling her mind toward an abyss she had never before considered.

Ji Zeyuan had changed so drastically. Amidst the confusion, Zhang Linen’s joy naturally outweighed everything else, so she hadn’t thought deeply about the reasons behind Ji Zeyuan’s transformation.

But Hua Jianjiu’s words were like the first spark to a fuse. That spark ignited all the lines, connecting them into a chain, and in an instant, a prairie fire of realization spread through Zhang Linen’s mind.

If one thought about it rigorously, the timing of Ji Zeyuan’s transformation was the day of the incident. It was hard not to associate such a massive change with the causal link of their identity swap.

Zhang Linen dumped the contents of the box into a trash bin. As she walked out of the waste station, she ran into Zhao Yan, who was also carrying a basket to throw things away.

Zhao Yan hadn’t been employed for long, but the amount of things she was throwing away far exceeded Zhang Linen’s. Sensing something was wrong, Zhang Linen reached out to stop her.

“What is this?” Zhang Linen asked coldly.

Zhao Yan’s face was full of resentment. In a fit of anger, she slammed the entire woven bamboo basket heavily onto the ground.

Zhang Linen looked down. The basket was filled with neatly categorized folders and document bags, all with signature stickers neatly placed on the corners bearing the name “Hua Jianjiu.”

“Does this have anything to do with you?” There was a very obvious bruise on the side of Zhao Yan’s face, clearly from being hit.

Zhang Linen said, “These are Hua Jianjiu’s things. Did she ask you to dispose of them?”

Zhao Yan lifted her drooping eyelids impatiently: “Yes. Can you get out of the way now?”

Zhang Linen didn’t move. She stood firmly in place and said, “Since it’s trash, it doesn’t matter how it’s handled. I’m taking it.”

Zhao Yan’s eyes widened in fury. She let out a cold snort and looked at Zhang Linen with a mocking gaze: “You’re the heir to Jixia now, so you’re acting tough, huh? Oh, wait, that’s not right. Didn’t you personally give up your inheritance rights? You didn’t forget, did you?”

As she spoke, Zhao Yan even started getting physical. She raised her hand and pointed directly at Zhang Linen’s shoulder, poking her right shoulder repeatedly: “You aren’t even a secretary anymore. What kind of thing are you to be barking orders at me?”

Perhaps it was a lack of confidence; although Zhao Yan was aggressive and acting as if she would fight to the end, it was merely the “impotent rage” of a coward. After her shouting, she turned and left.

Zhang Linen picked up the basket that had been thrown on the ground. She walked to the door of the Brand Planning Department but didn’t go in. Instead, she waited for someone to pass by, handed them the items, instructed them to give them to Hua Jianjiu, and then left.

…

The security guards at the Emperor City Club were doing their mundane, repetitive daily work: opening gates for the wealthy. It wasn’t until a very familiar face appeared that one of them perked up.

The “real and fake heiresses” incident at Jixia had caused a massive stir. Having spent their time in Emperor City working for the elite, the guards naturally followed the news closely.

In this incident, personal information regarding Zhang Linen had been kept incredibly airtight. Her only public appearance was at the clarification press conference, but after twenty-four hours, even the video of that conference became classified and was almost impossible to find online.

So, when the guard first saw the person sitting next to Ji Zeyuan and realized how much she looked like the rumored “real heiress,” he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

It wasn’t until the driver had moved further away that the guard pulled out his phone to check a saved video of the press conference. Comparing them, wasn’t that the same person?

The real and fake heiresses are getting along harmoniously? What kind of plot is this?

Stepping into the elevator, Ji Zeyuan suddenly remembered she had forgotten to tell Shen Jiuyue that Zhang Linen would be coming.

After a moment of thought, she spoke truthfully to Zhang Linen: “En, I didn’t tell Shen Jiuyue you were coming.”

Before Ji Zeyuan could hear a reply, the elevator reached the designated floor. Zhang Linen glanced at her, her gaze slightly cunning.

A senior manager rushed forward to greet them: “President Ji, what’s the plan for today? Shall we go straight to the private room and serve the food, or do you want to head to the floor to play something first?”

Before Ji Zeyuan could speak, Shen Jiuyue’s voice came from the side: “President Ji, you’re actually on time this time.”

She looked over. Shen Jiuyue was wearing a set of casual sportswear, a far cry from her previous exquisite outfits.

Even more startling was that Shen Jiuyue took the initiative to greet Zhang Linen: “Secretary Zhang, you’ve come as well.”

Zhang Linen nodded slightly. Ji Zeyuan said to the manager, “Take her to the private room first. I’ll be there shortly.”

The manager nodded and complied. Ji Zeyuan then turned to Shen Jiuyue: “Let’s go inside and talk.”

Once in the private room, before she had even sat down, Shen Jiuyue said, “President Ji, it feels like you’re planning to leave as soon as you’re done talking. What’s so important that it had to be said in person with such fanfare?”

Ji Zeyuan didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “Let’s end the ‘shipping’ and CP-publicity here. I’m currently under a lot of controversy; being associated with me isn’t beneficial for you anymore.”

The lighting in the room was dim and colorful. Shen Jiuyue remained silent, hesitating to state her position.

After a while, Ji Zeyuan raised her hand to check her watch. Only then did Shen Jiuyue speak: “President Ji, do you really not understand? Do you think I wanted to be paired with you just for fame?”

Ji Zeyuan’s expression was frank: “Even if it wasn’t for fame, people in the business world have treated you differently because of me, and your offers have been non-stop. Those benefits have indeed materialized, haven’t they?”

Shen Jiuyue’s brow relaxed. She finally lost her composure and laughed.

“President Ji, you certainly see things clearly.” Shen Jiuyue wiped away a tear of laughter. “Fine. Since you’ve put it that way, let’s just call it quits.”

Ji Zeyuan nodded slightly and moved to get up and leave. Shen Jiuyue suddenly asked, “President Ji, I still haven’t quite figured it out—what exactly is going on between you and Secretary Zhang?”

It was natural for Shen Jiuyue to have such a question. From her perspective, she had just learned from Ji Zeyuan that Zhang Linen was her biological sister (meaning Ji Cheng’s illegitimate daughter), only for the news to immediately break that Ji Zeyuan was the one who wasn’t the biological child, and Zhang Linen was the real heiress.

What was most mind-boggling was that after such a massive scandal, Ji Zeyuan hadn’t been affected at all. First, Zhang Linen voluntarily gave up her inheritance rights at the press conference, and then Jixia continued to recognize Ji Zeyuan as the CEO.

All of this seemed absurd, yet at the same time, it had reached a strange, eerie balance.

As an observant bystander, Shen Jiuyue understood very clearly that there was only one reason why everyone remained unscathed: in this complex web of relationships, the only victim—Zhang Linen—didn’t fight or grab, remaining quiet and inconspicuous.

Ji Zeyuan couldn’t explain it, and she didn’t want to try. She simply said, “I’m leaving now.”

“President Ji, you called me all the way here just to say this? Leaving me here without even eating a meal… isn’t that a bit unethical?” Shen Jiuyue called out to her.

…

Zhang Linen only stayed in the room for five minutes before she couldn’t sit still and stepped out.

She originally intended to wait outside the room where Shen Jiuyue and Shen Jiuyue were talking, but as she walked through the long corridor, she came face-to-face with several people staggering toward her, reeking of alcohol. Their scent was mixed with traces of Alpha and Omega pheromones.

Zhang Linen covered her nose and stepped aside, intending to let them pass before continuing. Suddenly, someone among the group said: “Is what that foreign Alpha woman said true? Does she really have the power to mess with the Jixia heir?”

Drunk people have no filter. The voice was loud: “Damn, you really don’t know anything. That Omega mother of hers is the founder of Wharton.”