The CEO Omega I Picked Up Has Run Away - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“I have no money, as you know. And my house… it’s not fit for another person to live in,” Ji Shu said, searching for excuses.

An engagement so soon? She wasn’t ready, and frankly, she was terrified.

“I’ll lend you my house,” Ji Hen replied. Now that Little Wan’s injuries were healed, and he was heading to town to work, he could make arrangements.

Ji Shu: “…”

She wanted to struggle further, but Li Mengwan spoke up beside her. “Sister, I don’t mind. I don’t need a bride price. Do you… not want to get engaged to me?”

In this world, an engagement was essentially a marriage.

Ji Shu lowered her head, her voice weak. “No.” She couldn’t refuse. There was simply no way to say no. Li Mengwan is the one insisting on marrying me. If she regrets it later, she can’t blame me for being unreasonable, right?

“Since that’s the case,” Li Mengwan said, taking Ji Shu’s hand, “let’s do as Brother Ji said and get engaged this month, okay?”

Ji Shu’s mind said, No, wait a bit, but her mouth uttered a single word: “Okay.”

Li Mengwan smiled with satisfaction. Her beauty was like a blooming flower, and her fragrance muddled Ji Shu’s senses. Ji Shu’s heart hammered uncontrollably against her ribs.

As the three of them walked down the left path into the village, Ji Xiao-gui and Ji Da-niu drunk again stumbled out from a side road. Seeing them, they immediately began to mock: “Oh, look, it’s Ji Shu! Taking your loose woman out to beg for food again?”

“Come here, let your wife give her ‘big brother’ a kiss, and I’ll give you some money.”

“Tsk, not engaged after all this time? Is Ji Shu just playing with you? Regretting it now? Too late I don’t want a used shoe anyway. I’m taking my 80,000 yuan to find a virgin this month.”

Drunk or sober, Ji Xiao-gui had a foul mouth. However, remembering their last beating, the two brothers only dared to bark and didn’t actually move. Looking at the now-clean Ji Shu, Ji Xiao-gui was burning with jealousy. He mainly said these things to disgust Ji Shu.

Normally, Ji Shu didn’t care about verbal attacks; she usually just hit people. But they were in the village now with people passing by. Beating them up publicly would cause trouble. In rural areas, Alphas were often given a pass for bad behavior, while the Omegas bore the brunt of the gossip.

Sure enough, several middle-aged women passing by began pointing at Li Mengwan. “Such a pretty girl, but no brains. Refusing 80,000 yuan just to follow a loser for free.” “You can’t just look at an Alpha’s face. It’s the economic conditions that matter.” “She’ll be crying later.” “This is what happens when you live with an Alpha without a proper ceremony.

Once she’s ‘played out,’ she’s worthless. I must warn my daughter.” “Probably wasn’t raised well by her elders.” “Shh, I heard her family is all dead. She’s probably a jinx.”

Their words were sharp enough to draw blood. Li Mengwan’s face, which had finally gained some color, turned pale. Her fragile, “broken” beauty made one want to shield her from the world.

A rush of protective adrenaline hit Ji Shu’s head. For the first time, she proactively gripped Li Mengwan’s hand tight. “We are getting married. An 800,000 yuan bride price—not a cent less. And we are getting engaged this month.”

The crowd froze.

Then, Ji Xiao-gui and Ji Da-niu erupted into louder laughter. “800,000? Are you high? Ji Shu, forget 800,000—if you can produce 400,000 in three years, I’ll kneel in front of the whole village and call you ‘Mom’!”

A bum living on 800 yuan a month claiming to have 800,000? He didn’t even bother to write a draft for his lies.

“But if you can’t,” Ji Xiao-gui patted his crotch with a sneer, “you’ll crawl through my legs in front of the village. And your wife… she has to come play with me.”

“Sis, you’re crazy!” Even Ji Hen didn’t believe her.

Only Li Mengwan looked at her with steady eyes. “I believe you, Sister. I’ll wait for you to marry me.”

Ji Shu had slightly regretted her impulse, but seeing that look, she felt it was worth it. “Fine. 400,000. I’ll have it in three years. But let’s add a condition: you have to kowtow and apologize to… Little Wan.”

She wasn’t afraid of the money; she just regretted saying the word “marriage.” With the system’s help, earning 400,000 in three years wouldn’t be hard. She wasn’t the useless original host.

Three years, she thought. The system said that’s how long it takes for her memory to return. Maybe by then, we won’t actually have to go through with it.

“Don’t count on it,” the system interrupted. “You’ve stolen the male lead’s script. The female lead isn’t some lovestruck fool. If someone you looked down on tricked you into a relationship while you had amnesia, what would you do when you woke up?”

Ji Shu: “…” Right. I’d break their legs. But she wasn’t trying to trick her!

The system continued: “Focus on farming. Don’t be blinded by a pretty face. I’ve noticed you’ve been looking at her more often lately.”

Ji Shu was speechless. She wasn’t. She was perfectly sane.

Ji Da-niu, slightly more sober, pulled on his brother’s arm. “She said 800,000. Why did you lower it to 400,000? What if she actually gets it?”

“Relax,” Ji Xiao-gui dismissed him. “She’s a lazy girl with no land and no education. 400,000 is impossible.” He turned to Ji Shu. “I’ll wait for that 400,000. Unless… you send your wife out to sell herself? She’s got the looks for it—”

Ji Shu’s eyes went cold. Her foot flicked a small pebble on the ground. The stone shot out like a bullet, hitting Ji Xiao-gui square in the mouth. He clutched his bleeding lip, stunned.

“Was that you?!” Ji Da-niu demanded, though he saw nothing.

Ji Shu snorted, her fists tightening. She wanted to thrash them. Li Mengwan pulled her away. “Sister, ignore them. Let’s go home. I’m tired.”

“Do you have proof it was me?” Ji Shu said coldly. “Maybe the Heavens just can’t stand a foul mouth.” She let her fists relax and allowed Li Mengwan to lead her away.

Ji Hen followed them, still anxious. “Sis, you acted like a real Alpha today, but 400,000? Even if we sold ourselves, we couldn’t save that much in three years! You have to come to town with me tomorrow and find a job. I won’t let you drag Little Wan into your mess.”

Li Mengwan looked at her hand, which was still firmly held by Ji Shu. “My injuries are better. I can find a way to make money too.” Being protected felt… good. Even if she didn’t think Ji Shu could make 400,000.

Ji Shu shook her head. “No. You focus on recovering. I’ll handle the money.”

Farming was the plan. But then she remembered the next system task: tilling the soil. No ox, no machines just manual labor. She looked at Ji Hen.

Ji Hen shivered. “What? You don’t want to work in town? You’d rather till that one-acre plot? Even if you grow gold, you won’t make 400,000 in a lifetime!”

The system huffed in her mind: “Short-sighted! They don’t know agriculture is about to boom. My seeds aren’t ordinary seeds!”

“Xiao Tiantian, you have seeds?”

“Of course. But you have to finish the tilling task first. One type per week. They grow in a quarter of the time, have high nutritional value, and taste amazing. My cabbage takes a week to grow, not fifty days.”

Ji Shu wasn’t listening to Ji Hen anymore; she was focused on the system. Eventually, she convinced the grumpy Ji Hen to help her till the soil tomorrow morning.

They arrived back at Ji Hen’s house. With the new rice, oil, and meat they bought, Ji Shu volunteered to cook. It was her turn to provide, and more importantly, she could use the kitchen time to start her first mandatory livestream.

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