The Eldest Lady always wants to have a double O Relationship with her old enemy - Chapter 51

Shen Jianxi indeed did not leave. She sat there playing idly with her phone, but her thoughts had already drifted away, following Tang Yanzhao’s departure.

She waited and waited, but Tang Yanzhao never appeared. Time passed, minute by minute, and in the pitch-black sky, stars were nowhere to be found. Even the only light source—the moon—was swallowed by thick clouds.

Shen Jianxi watched the moon disappear from sight, then lowered her head with a sigh. Staring at the time on her phone, she watched as the year turned into a new one.

On New Year’s Eve, countless fireworks blossomed across the sky. The distant bustle only made the silence inside the car feel heavier.

Shen Jianxi sent her a punctual “Happy Birthday.” But Tang Yanzhao, contrary to their agreement, never called back.

Had she already gone to bed?

Shen Jianxi frowned and lifted her gaze out the window. The empty road held no trace of the figure she longed to see.

Ten more minutes passed. Her chest was filled with a suffocating sourness, her eyes brimming with mist. She rubbed them with her fingers, but she couldn’t stop the tears.

This entire year, no matter how much she tried to fool herself, Tang Yanzhao’s deliberate avoidance was undeniable.

At first, it was under the pretext of “not disturbing her competition preparations.” Later, it was “signing a contract early to join the research program.” Each time, there had been perfectly valid reasons. And yet, when they were together, Tang Yanzhao had never once shown her a cold face.

Something felt wrong—Shen Jianxi knew that much. But she couldn’t throw a tantrum or act unreasonably, not when it came to her.

Her tears soaked through her fingers as she kept her head down, silently bearing it.

In the quiet of the night, a sound came from the side. She looked up and froze—Tang Yanzhao was sitting in the passenger seat of Hua Yan’s car, her body leaning toward Hua Yan. Under the dim glow of a streetlamp, Hua Yan tilted her head slightly, and Shen Jianxi saw a radiant, flowery smile on Tang Yanzhao’s face, along with Hua Yan’s fingertip gently brushing across her cheek. The night breeze lifted the strands of hair at Tang Yanzhao’s brow, tangling them around Hua Yan’s fingers.

And Tang Yanzhao didn’t dodge. If not for the seatbelt restraining her, she might have been leaning against Hua Yan’s arm already.

The scene was so piercingly intimate that anyone who saw it would think them lovers.

In an instant, Shen Jianxi’s chest felt as if torn apart. Reason shattered. She didn’t even stop to think that they were half-sisters by blood and thus could not possibly be together.

The tears that had been welling in her cat-like eyes finally spilled over—one after another, unstoppable. Even the driver up front, startled by her quiet sobs, gripped the steering wheel tighter and stole glances through the rearview mirror. Nervously, he offered her a packet of tissues. Shen Jianxi ignored it, burying her head as soft, broken sobs slipped out.

Yes, she kept sobbing in a muffled voice. The fragile sound was heartbreaking to hear.

Tang Yanzhao knew she could never bear to see Shen Jianxi in this state. Back when she hadn’t yet fallen for her, even accidentally shutting a door on Jianxi’s hand had left her flustered. How much more unbearable was it now?

Only when the car finally drove away did Tang Yanzhao let out a secret sigh.

Hua Yan, of course, had caught everything. What she had just done was entirely deliberate.

Though the two of them had planned in advance to act out an intimate scene in front of Shen Jianxi to make her give up, Hua Yan herself thought the chances of success were slim. But since Tang Yanzhao—her most cherished younger sister—had asked, she could only cooperate, even if the lie was riddled with holes.

Tang Yanzhao, so brilliant in every other way, was clumsy here. She was so naïve that even when Hua Yan had deliberately driven the long way to the north gate where Shen Jianxi was parked, she still said innocently, “But the south gate is closer.”

Hua Yan had wanted to knock her on the head to see if it was filled only with IQ, with EQ crammed into just a tiny corner.

So she had to take the lead herself. She tricked Tang Yanzhao by saying there was an insect on her face, then used the excuse to touch her cheek intimately.

And that, precisely, was the moment Shen Jianxi had witnessed.

Back in her seat, Tang Yanzhao frowned so hard it looked like she could crush a fly between her brows.

Hua Yan smirked and teased, “This was your idea. I’m only carrying out the plan.”

Tang Yanzhao disliked being touched by others, but Hua Yan was right—her irritation faded, leaving only discomfort and annoyance.

Hua Yan gave a soft chuckle. She hadn’t expected the plan to work anyway, and now the chance of success had dropped to nearly zero.

She arched a brow, one hand lazily on the steering wheel. Light and shadow played across her face, giving her an air of mystery.

But the car behind them refused to fall away—or perhaps the driver already knew their destination.

Hua Yan tapped the wheel and said, “Yanzhao, your Jianxi is tailing us.”

Tang Yanzhao’s face darkened. Sure enough, in the rearview mirror she saw the car following closely. She gave a low grunt of acknowledgment.

At that moment, her phone rang. It was Shen Jianxi calling.

Hua Yan glanced at it and laughed. “Just hang up.”

Tang Yanzhao hesitated for two seconds, then obeyed.

They both knew each other’s thoughts. After what Shen Jianxi had just witnessed, it was better to be decisive—to send a clear message: Don’t come near me anymore. From now on, our paths are separate, like strangers who once knew each other best.

Call after call came in, and Tang Yanzhao hung up each one. Finally, overwhelmed, she simply turned off her phone.

Hua Yan only chuckled faintly, amused by the scene.

Shen Jianxi had no way to keep up. Hua Yan’s driving skills were sharp—after a few sharp turns, the car vanished from sight.

“I lost them,” the driver reported apologetically.

Shen Jianxi was silent for a long time before finally speaking, her voice thick with a nasal tone, “Take me to Yanzhao’s house.”

She couldn’t give up. No matter what, Tang Yanzhao and Hua Yan could not be together—that would be against ethics. And besides, it wasn’t fair. She hadn’t even had the chance to confess before being cut off.

Her patience collapsed. She needed to tell Tang Yanzhao her feelings, because all her endurance had been built on the belief that Tang Yanzhao’s future would lead back to her.

But now… she wasn’t sure anymore.

So she argued with herself over and over.

Even though the image of that intimate moment burned in her mind, she told herself: they couldn’t be together. Sisters being a little close was normal. Not every close Alpha and Omega ended up in love.

She tried to convince herself.

But there was no ignoring the truth: with Tang Yanzhao’s distant personality, she would never let anyone touch her—except Shen Jianxi.

Clenching her teeth, she forced down her emotions and said hoarsely, “Take me to her place.”

—

The New Year’s Eve festivities had ended, and the central square was packed with dispersing crowds. Shen Jianxi’s car, too, was stuck in traffic, forced to slow down.

She leaned back against the seat, trying to compose herself. She didn’t want Tang Yanzhao to see her looking so pitiful.

It took half an hour before she finally arrived at Tang Yanzhao’s building. Looking up, she easily spotted the ninth-floor apartment—just as she remembered.

Aunt Tang was away on a business trip, her mother had told her, so only Tang Yanzhao should be home.

The answer was right there before her. Yet Shen Jianxi hesitated.

If she went up and asked, if Tang Yanzhao denied it, she could finally be at ease. But if she didn’t… if the answer wasn’t what she hoped for… then what?

She lingered for ten minutes. By then, it was past one in the morning.

When the last light in the neighboring building flicked off, Shen Jianxi took a deep breath and got out of the car, bracing herself for the worst.

The elevator climbed floor by floor. With each number, her heart sank heavier. She clenched her fists as she finally stood at Tang Yanzhao’s door.

The scene felt familiar—like back when she had first been reborn, when a misunderstanding had driven Tang Yanzhao to avoid her, and she had stood knocking, barred outside her dormitory.

Knock, knock, knock!

The door opened.

Standing there in pajamas, cheeks flushed, was Hua Yan. From inside spilled two strong scents of pheromones—intense, passionate, mingling together as one.

But Shen Jianxi still recognized it—one of them was the unique smell of green pomelo rum.

Hua Yan’s breath came quick, her throat bobbing as she asked, “Jianxi, what are you doing here so late?”

The heavy scent overwhelmed Shen Jianxi’s senses, throwing her mind into chaos. She froze for a long moment, then suddenly turned and fled.

She couldn’t bear to lose control in front of them.

The sound of the elevator doors closing echoed faintly. Only then did Hua Yan shut the apartment door. With a playful grin, she turned toward Tang Yanzhao, who was leaning against the wall with arms crossed. Shrugging, she asked, “She ran off. It’s dangerous this late at night—sure you don’t want to chase her?”

Tang Yanzhao shot her a glance, said nothing, and went to the window instead. Pulling back the curtain, she gazed down at the car parked on the roadside. A familiar figure got in and drove off without pause.

“With your people watching, she’ll be fine,” she said quietly.

By then Hua Yan had sprawled on the sofa, holding up two glass vials that shimmered faintly with liquid. A shake released a wave of strong fragrance—the same that had filled the doorway earlier.

“Well, I’ll give you credit,” she laughed. “Your experiment’s convincing. Even Jianxi couldn’t tell it was synthetic pheromone.”

Tang Yanzhao walked over calmly. “It’s developed for patients with pheromone deficiency syndrome, to help partners cope during special periods. The formula aims to replicate the effects and scent of real pheromones.”

Hua Yan snorted. “Then why didn’t I react when I smelled your synthetic pheromone?”

Tang Yanzhao, businesslike, actually explained, “The higher the pheromone grade, the harder to replicate. Right now, the experiment has achieved 91.23% similarity for low-level pheromones, but for high-level ones, only 21.49%.”

Hua Yan raised a brow. “So basically, it only mimics the scent, not the function.”

“More or less,” Tang Yanzhao admitted.

Hua Yan shook her head with a laugh. “Then it seems Jianxi really loves you deeply.”

Tang Yanzhao frowned slightly. “Hm?”

Hua Yan adored seeing that look on her face. Her smile widened wickedly. “Because even a flawed imitation like this was enough to fool her.”

If she didn’t care so much, how could her reason have been so easily shaken?

“……”

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