The CEO Omega I Picked Up Has Run Away - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Do you… even know how to cook? Don’t you dare waste this good rice.”

Looking at Ji Shu, who couldn’t even manage to light the firewood properly, Ji Hen was deeply skeptical. He looked ready to snatch the rice from her hands. As far back as he could remember, he had never seen his cousin cook a single meal.

As a child, she had begged in the village, even stealing leftovers from cats and dogs. Even as an adult with a government subsidy, she hadn’t changed. The money usually vanished at the gambling table. Ji Hen had tried to lecture her at first, but eventually gave up, and their relationship drifted apart.

Ji Shu: “…Help me start the fire.”

This was indeed her first time cooking with a wood-fired stove. Thinking of the plain boiled chicken Ji Hen made earlier, she had no appetite; she’d only eaten it then because she was starving.

Ji Hen hesitated. “If you can’t do it, don’t force yourself. Maybe I should do it. Little Wan is hungry.”

Li Mengwan, who was helping wash vegetables, looked up at them. “I believe in Sister.”

The corners of Ji Shu’s mouth curled up involuntarily. She wouldn’t let that trust go to waste.

She turned on her mobile data, opened the streaming app, and logged in with the account provided by the system. Placing the phone in a stable spot where it could capture her, she took the vegetables from Li Mengwan and began to chop and stir-fry.

Ji Hen: “…” She actually looks like she knows what she’s doing. Fine, he’d handle the fire. They say in a group of three, one is always extra and he was clearly the extra one. But if the food tasted terrible, he wouldn’t hold back his criticism.

The screen was pointed right at Ji Shu. Being a novice streamer, she followed the system’s instructions perfectly: look up, turn sideways, move here…

Then, the system suddenly urged: “Unzip your jacket a bit and talk to the camera!”

Ji Shu remained unmoved.

The system hissed: “I’m doing this to get you followers! More followers means more money. It’s just showing off your build, not ‘NSFW’ content. You should cooperate!”

Ji Shu glanced at the screen. A comment flickered by: Where is this? How are people still this poor? But this girl is so beautiful and Alpha, and she can cook! Why isn’t she talking? Show us your figure and I’ll send a Rocket.

One “Rocket” was worth a hundred yuan—more than Ji Shu had earned from farming yesterday. However, she saw that thirty minutes had passed. The system’s sixty-yuan payout was already in her account. She promptly ended the stream, shoved the phone in her pocket, and set the dishes on the table.

“Time to eat,” she called to Li Mengwan and Ji Hen.

System: “…” Fine, you win. Luckily she had the looks; with that personality, having fifty viewers was a miracle.

Ji Hen and Li Mengwan had been waiting outside to avoid the smoke, so they hadn’t noticed the livestream. They just assumed she liked watching videos while she worked.

Until the first bite.

Ji Hen swallowed a piece of stir-fried pork with green peppers and stared at her in disbelief. “When did you learn to cook? Are you even my sister?”

The meat was tender, the seasoning perfect. It wasn’t professional chef level, but it was better than most home-cooked meals. Even Li Mengwan, who usually had a small appetite, finished two bowls.

Ji Hen’s comment was casual, but it struck a chord with the transmigrated Ji Shu. “Maybe… natural talent? I’ve watched others do it enough to learn,” she white-lied.

The simple-minded Ji Hen didn’t doubt her. Li Mengwan’s gaze shifted slightly, but a smile remained on her face. “Sister is amazing. It’s delicious.” She wondered if Ji Shu had been following a tutorial on her phone.

After dinner, as night fell, Ji Shu prepared to head back to her mud hut despite Ji Hen’s odd looks. Li Mengwan stood up naturally. “I’ll walk Sister out.”

It was only a few steps, so Ji Shu didn’t refuse. However, as soon as they stepped outside, she saw her mud hut was on fire. The thatched roof was engulfed in flames.

She and Ji Hen rushed to put it out, but by the time the fire was dead, the hut was a ruin. The roof was gone, the walls were crumbling, and most disgustingly it was filled with animal waste. If the fire could have been an accident, the waste made it clear: this was intentional.

Thinking of the nasty looks the Ji brothers gave them earlier, Ji Shu’s expression turned icy. She knew they were petty, but this was a new low.

“Which bastard did this?” Ji Hen growled. “Sis, let’s call the police.”

“Forget it,” Ji Shu shook her head. There were no cameras here, and Ji Xiao-gui claimed to have connections at the station. It would lead nowhere. I’ll settle this debt later.

She planned to sleep on the road for a few nights, but Ji Hen wouldn’t hear of it. He dragged her back to his house. But once inside, he realized the problem: three people, three genders. Sharing a room was awkward.

“You sleep in my room,” Ji Hen decided. “We’ll both sleep on the floor.”

Ji Shu agreed. But Li Mengwan spoke up: “Brother Ji’s room is too small for two people to sleep on the floor. My room is larger. Sister should stay with me.”

Ji Hen felt his heart shatter. “Little Wan… you aren’t married yet.” He really thought he could just squeeze in with his cousin.

“It doesn’t matter,” Li Mengwan said firmly. “Sister and I will be sleeping together sooner or later anyway.” She played the part of the stubborn “lovelorn girl” perfectly.

Ji Hen sighed. “Fine… as long as Little Wan is happy.” Why does she get all the luck?

Ji Shu, being more conservative, felt this was inappropriate. But more than that, she was scared. Her mind flashed back to the soft sensation of Li Mengwan pressing against her arm earlier. Her palms began to sweat. No, definitely not.

Li Mengwan’s eyes welled with tears as she looked at Ji Shu.

Ji Shu swallowed her refusal.

Ji Hen got annoyed. “You’re an Alpha, why are you being so indecisive? Little Wan doesn’t mind, so why do you? Besides, you’re sleeping on the floor. Don’t think you’re getting near the bed before you’re engaged!”

Ji Shu: “…” I wasn’t thinking about ‘beautiful things’!

She grabbed a bundle of straw and followed Li Mengwan into the room. It was a simple room with a cement floor, an old wooden bed, and a table. It was much better than her hut—at least it didn’t leak.

Ji Shu chose a corner far from the bed and began flattening the straw. It was October and not too cold yet, but it would be freezing soon. She was lost in thought until she felt Li Mengwan behind her, leaning over.

“Sister, let me help you.”

The spring fragrance brushed against the back of her neck. Ji Shu turned around instinctively, and her lips brushed against Li Mengwan’s cheek. In a panic, she tripped backward, and when Li Mengwan reached out to catch her, they both tumbled onto the straw.

Ji Shu’s head hit the floor with a dull thud. Feeling the weight of the woman on top of her, her body went rigid. Li Mengwan, much more composed, sat up quickly. “Careful, Sister. Did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Ji Shu scrambled up. “Go to sleep, don’t worry about me.”

Silence fell. When the lights went out, Ji Shu lay on the straw facing the wall. She couldn’t sleep. The fragrance lingered, and her neck was prickling with a restless energy.

On the bed, Li Mengwan looked at the Alpha who was avoiding her like the plague. Am I not pretty enough, or is this Alpha… broken?

Eventually, Ji Shu drifted into a fitful sleep. She dreamed of a pair of incredibly seductive red lips hovering before her. She wanted to kiss them, but she was terrified. In the dream, she ran away but was cornered at a cliff. She jumped, only to find the red lips waiting at the bottom, wide open… to eat her.

“Aaaah!”

Ji Shu woke up drenched in sweat. It was her first time having such a vivid, bizarre dream.

“Sister, get up and eat some noodles,” Li Mengwan’s voice called out.

The noodles Ji Hen made were plain but edible. Ji Shu ate with her head down. Ji Hen looked at her suspiciously. “Sis, did you do something… guilty last night?”

She couldn’t even look at Little Wan. The avoidance was too obvious.

Cough, cough! Ji Shu choked on a noodle. “No! Hurry up and eat. We need to get to the fields.”

Ji Hen knew he wouldn’t get an answer. He finished his bowl and went to borrow a hoe.

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