My Childhood Friend, Who Is An Omega, Has Become My Personal Secretary - Chapter 55

En, I have something I need to confess to you.

Jellyfish drifted nearby, schools of small yellow fish soared past colorful coral reefs, and sharks glided through the side, swimming on and on without pause, creating ripples in the deep, eerie blue seawater.

Zhang Linen subconsciously reached out her hand, wanting to touch these deep-sea creatures, when suddenly a roar that pierced through heaven and earth made her ears go numb. She frowned and looked back; it was that sea beast.

The sea beast swam slowly toward her. Infinite terror rose within Zhang Linen’s heart, and she fled hurriedly in the opposite direction, using all her strength to escape this place.

The “ao-ao” sound of howling pursued her. Zhang Linen kicked her legs desperately, but her ankle was still seized.

“En.”

Ji Zeyuan’s voice drifted over. Zhang Linen looked back in shock; the sea beast had turned into Ji Zeyuan’s likeness, her amber eyes shining like stars in the pitch-black deep sea.

The “didi-di” sound of a monitor woke Zhang Linen from the chaos. She slowly opened her eyes, and the dream from just now gradually blurred.

“You’re awake?”

Zhang Linen tilted her head toward the sound and saw that familiar face.

There were unmistakable dark circles under Ji Zeyuan’s eyes; her hair was messy and her clothes disheveled. She did not look at all like the high-spirited CEO of Jixia.

Looking at Ji Zeyuan, Zhang Linen’s heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife. She turned her head wordlessly, putting her back to Ji Zeyuan.

Zhang Linen’s lack of cooperation stung Ji Zeyuan’s heart, but she knew exactly why it was happening. Moreover, since Zhang Linen had just woken up, Ji Zeyuan did not want to push her too hard, so she silently left the ward to find the doctor.

After a series of examinations, the doctor called Ji Zeyuan outside the ward.

“The patient’s body is still too weak, but there is no major issue. The most important thing is that her mood is very poor. The family must supervise her to actively cooperate with psychological treatment to prevent the patient from committing more impulsive acts of self-harm.”

Ji Zeyuan nodded repeatedly. She politely saw the doctor off and then returned to the ward, but the moment she opened the door, the scene before her made her heart strings tremble.

Zhang Linen had pulled out the IV needle and was struggling to unbutton her clothes with one hand to change. Even though Ji Zeyuan had arrived, she only gave her a cursory glance and continued unbuttoning.

Ji Zeyuan advised softly, “En, you haven’t fully recovered yet, don’t…”

Zhang Linen interrupted her sharply: “I want to go home.”

Her tone was very cold, but because her voice was so weak, it instead made her words sound completely lacking in momentum.

Watching her stubbornly tossing about despite her frail body, Ji Zeyuan’s gentle gaze suddenly retracted and became stern: “Stop moving. Even if you get dressed, I won’t let you leave.”

Hearing this, Zhang Linen stopped her movements. She let out a cold “Heh” and sneered, “What floor is this? Can you seal the windows as well?”

The words were spoken casually, but Ji Zeyuan’s face instantly turned cold.

Zhang Linen stopped looking at her and continued the arduous task of unbuttoning with one hand. As the last button of the hospital gown came undone, she let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, Ji Zeyuan walked to her side. Zhang Linen took a large step back, but Ji Zeyuan didn’t even look at her; instead, she took out a fruit knife from the drawer of the cabinet beside the bed.

It was a knife that wasn’t very new. Zhang Linen recognized it as the one she had used.

Ji Zeyuan pulled the sheath off the fruit knife, looked at Zhang Linen, and asked calmly: “You still want to die, don’t you?”

Zhang Linen didn’t understand the point of Ji Zeyuan asking this, but she still said: “This is my own right. What right do you have to care?”

Ji Zeyuan smiled faintly, her eyes full of powerless sorrow.

She pressed the blade against her wrist, her amber eyes filled with a darkness like an abyss, the center of her pupils seemingly lit with a flickering, ghostly fire.

“Fine. I’ll accompany you.”

The moment the words fell, Ji Zeyuan slashed down with the knife without the slightest hesitation.

The blade cut through the fragile skin, and a stream of fresh blood gushed out. The fruit knife dropped to the floor.

Zhang Linen, who had been as cold as frost a moment ago, lunged forward regardless of everything, knocking the knife away and kicking it to the side.

She gasped for breath, covered in a cold sweat, and hurriedly tried to press the call bell. A hand covered in fresh blood reached out, forcibly pushing her hand back, and she fell back onto the bed.

Zhang Linen looked up in terror; Ji Zeyuan’s gaze was as cold as the dead of winter.

“Didn’t you say your life is your own right? Mine is too.” Ji Zeyuan gritted her teeth, saying each word one by one as if to carve them into Zhang Linen’s brain and heart.

Ji Zeyuan grabbed Zhang Linen’s wrist—the one that hadn’t yet healed—and pinned her to the hospital bed.

“Since you love self-destruction so much, I might as well accompany you.”

Ji Zeyuan stared deeply at Zhang Linen, her gaze profound. The blood from her wrist was still flowing non-stop, yet she didn’t care in the slightest.

The ward was terrifyingly quiet; the sound of their mutual breathing was like surging undercurrents.

At that moment, a nurse pushed the door open. Seeing the scene before her, she screamed in fright and ran out to call for help.

“Answer me, do you still want to die?” Ji Zeyuan gripped Zhang Linen’s wrist tightly, nearly sinking her fingertips into Zhang Linen’s flesh.

The gushing blood touched Zhang Linen’s hand and the hospital bedsheets.

Several doctors rushed in, all stepping forward to stop Ji Zeyuan’s mad behavior. Ji Zeyuan’s pheromones suddenly released violently and tyrannically; almost instantly, all the doctors fell to the ground in convulsions.

Zhang Linen trembled, her dark eyes meeting that flickering ghostly fire.

Then, several Beta security guards carrying protective gear pushed the door open and warned: “Madam, please withdraw your pheromones, or we will have to take forced measures!”

Ji Zeyuan acted as if she heard nothing. She stared fixedly at Zhang Linen, not blinking once for two minutes.

The sensation of the thick, sticky blood touched the back of Zhang Linen’s hand and palm. Her tense gaze suddenly contracted, and all her pretenses collapsed in an instant. For a moment, she was weeping uncontrollably: “I don’t… Please don’t do this…”

Ji Zeyuan slowly let go, and her pheromones were withdrawn. At that moment, several security guards swarmed forward, grabbing her arms and pinning her against the wall.

Over an hour later, Ji Zeyuan had treated her wound and returned to Zhang Linen’s ward. Zhang Linen had obediently finished her IV drip and was sitting quietly against the headboard of the bed.

Ji Zeyuan sat in the chair beside Zhang Linen’s bed. Zhang Linen tilted her face away, unwilling to look at her.

“Many things happened during the two days you were unconscious,” Ji Zeyuan said. “I have transferred all the equity in my name to your name.”

Zhang Linen’s brow twitched, and she turned her head.

“We are going to get married later anyway; it doesn’t matter whose hands the equity is in.” Ji Zeyuan spoke very naturally, as if it were only right and proper.

The soft light from outside the window fell into the room, draping a layer of pale gold brilliance over the snowy-white bedsheets. Zhang Linen closed her eyes, struggled in pain for a moment, and said: “You don’t have to do this. I know…”

“You saw that paternity test, didn’t you?” Ji Zeyuan asked directly.

Zhang Linen hadn’t expected Ji Zeyuan to ask her so directly. After all, it was… too cruel.

“Yes,” Zhang Linen replied weakly, lowering her eyes and brow, really not wanting to say anything more.

Ji Zeyuan looked at Zhang Linen silently, hesitating to speak. After a long while, she forced herself in her heart to say in a slightly mean tone: “Ah, so you wanted to commit suicide because of this? Didn’t you say you were willing to give me everything? You can’t even endure this little thing?”

Zhang Linen looked up in astonishment. She could hardly believe her ears, let alone believe that such shameless words could come out of Ji Zeyuan’s mouth.

But Ji Zeyuan didn’t think it was enough. She had lit a fire and wanted to add more wood. With a piercing gaze, she continued: “It seems you are quite hypocritical too. You said you’d give me all your things, but when you actually gave them, this is the reaction…”

Before she could finish, with a loud “Snap,” Zhang Linen’s heavy slap landed clearly on Ji Zeyuan’s face.

Ji Zeyuan’s fair right cheek instantly turned red, revealing a red palm print. She pressed the tip of her tongue against her painful right cheek, but the piercing light in her amber eyes vanished in an instant, leaving only softness.

“So you can get angry?”

Zhang Linen’s chest heaved violently. She looked at Ji Zeyuan, who was actually smiling happily after being hit, and suddenly realized she had done it on purpose!

Why do this?

Zhang Linen was extremely confused.

Ji Zeyuan watched her with a warm, faint smile. Zhang Linen looked like a cat with its fur standing on end out of vigilance toward an unknown creature.

“You aren’t a saint. Did you think you could endure that much?” Ji Zeyuan said. “Properly vent the places where you feel dissatisfied. Don’t be so self-righteous. Do you think I care about those things you gave me? You want to take the person most precious to me away from my side and then leave me a pile of useless property? You…”

As she spoke, Ji Zeyuan’s brow suddenly furrowed, and her eyes gradually grew moist and red. Zhang Linen was completely at a loss; she poked Ji Zeyuan with her uninjured hand, her guarded appearance gradually fading.

Ji Zeyuan grabbed her hand and pressed her forehead against the back of it, murmuring in a low voice with a sob: “In the future, if you are angry or unhappy, just take it out on me. Even if you stab me, really, don’t do something like this ever again…”

Zhang Linen had no words to offer; she could only silently listen to the suppressed yet uncontrollable sound of her crying.

After a long time, Ji Zeyuan finally held back her tears. Her eyes were red with tears, her expression broken but determined as she said: “If you die, I will definitely go with you.”

Zhang Linen’s heart twitched. Zhang Qian had once said those words to her. The drama of deep mother-daughter affection had just ended in a mess, yet she heard the exact same words again from Ji Zeyuan.

The familiar scene triggered panic in Zhang Linen. She pulled her hand back and said coldly: “Ji Zeyuan, don’t say such things. You might not necessarily be willing to give up your own life.”

Ji Zeyuan kissed the back of Zhang Linen’s hand and said: “I am indeed unwilling, but if you truly die, I won’t be able to live either. So don’t die. Let’s live well together.”

Zhang Linen remained silent. She used to think the same way—that she couldn’t live without Ji Zeyuan.

Perhaps she still thought that way now.

Zhang Linen looked at Ji Zeyuan, tracing her exquisite features with her eyes: the crimson at the corners of her eyes, the undried tear stains on her cheeks.

“Ji Zeyuan, no matter what you are like, I love you,” Zhang Linen said. Her gaze moved toward the window, not wanting to look directly at Ji Zeyuan. “Your cold alienation from me, your calculating distance, your torture of being sometimes far and sometimes near—none of it can change this fact. That is what makes me break down the most.”

“Even though I discovered that you knew the whole truth as early as eight years ago, I still had no thought of wanting to destroy you. But no matter how calm and self-possessed I am, I am still a person. Being treated like this by you is no different from having ten thousand arrows pierce my heart.”

Zhang Linen spoke these words in an extremely flat tone, as if she were talking about a small matter like eating or drinking.

Ji Zeyuan felt as if her heart were breaking. What kind of mental tug-of-war must Zhang Linen have experienced to be in such a calm and ripple-less state?

She had to say it. She had to tell Zhang Linen everything—tell her that her departure eight years ago was all because of her own foolish misunderstanding, and that Ji Zeyuan had always deeply loved Zhang Linen.

“En, I have something I need to confess to you.”