The Lost Omega Heiress is Pregnant with My Child - Chapter 41

I’m going to dump her.

This thought of Ji Tianheng’s did not arise on a whim.

The Empire was now riddled with flaws, on the verge of collapse at any moment. Internal factions were deeply entrenched, while external border issues plagued the nation. Jiang Wei’s second term as Governor was about to end.

If the border issues were not effectively resolved, he would have no chance of being re-elected for another term.

The Empire’s political structure was nominally based on the separation of powers. Although the Governor’s Office controlled the administration and the military, its operations heavily relied on corporate taxes and the legal support of the Senate, making it outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

The Senate, composed of old nobles and regional representatives, nominally held legislative and supervisory powers. However, it had long since degenerated into an arena for the interests of major corporations to clash.

What truly exerted a profound influence on the Empire was the Corporate Alliance, where Ji Tianheng belonged, a shadow government formed by business oligarchs like the Ji, Shen, and Li families, controlling the Empire’s economic lifeline. These three forces kept each other in check, maintaining a delicate balance.

Now, Ji Tianheng had grown weary of maintaining this balance.

As an arms dealer, she craved the eternal prosperity of her family and hoped the Empire could operate efficiently while maintaining order and by order, she meant an order she could completely control.

Being the Governor under the spotlight was too troublesome for her. Comparatively, staying in the shadows as the one who controlled everything was what Ji Tianheng preferred.

Jiang Wei had been quite accommodating to the Ji family during his previous term.

In recent years, however, Jiang Wei’s ambitions had grown. Being re-elected as Governor was not enough for him; he had increasingly confronted the Ji family head-on, offering fewer and fewer concessions.

Ji Tianheng knew Jiang Wei was anxious.

And when people are anxious, they tend to do foolish things.

Many times, Ji Tianheng had considered completely overturning Jiang Wei’s power. Replacing him with someone else would be a good choice for the Ji family.

To this end, she had put in some effort, selecting and grooming a few candidates. In the end, she chose You Lie, a detective from the Central Police Department of the Special Zone. This Alpha was intelligent and came from a poor background, giving him certain electoral advantages.

The boxing match held at the Crucible was originally intended to build momentum for You Lie.

But in the end, it was her daughter who won.

Wasn’t this fate?

After sharing her thoughts with Su Lian, Ji Tianheng quickly solidified this idea.

She whispered to the tombstone, “Ah Lian, I can’t reveal our relationship with our daughter just yet. When the time is right, I’ll bring her to see you.”

If Shi Anzhi were to become Governor, it would be best not to have any familial ties with the Ji family in the early stages, as this would help garner support from the lower-class populace.

Ji Tianheng’s thoughts churned. Now that the goal was set, she quickly began considering how to pave the way for Shi Anzhi.

The first and most important step Shi Anzhi must not resist this.

Otherwise, everything would become complicated. She needed to guide Shi Anzhi to willingly walk the path she had laid out.

At that moment, her assistant’s communication came through her mind.

[President Ji, the Senate has summoned you according to procedure. The time is set for 9 a.m. tomorrow.]

Ji Tianheng replied impatiently, “Understood.”

Someone in the Senate had already tipped her off beforehand. Did Shen Hong really think the Senate or the Governor’s Office could decide things for him?

The Senate was full of incompetents. Her attendance would merely be a formality.

Shi Anzhi stayed at the Ji family’s private medical center for a few days.

Over the past few days, Ji Tianheng had deliberately blocked any information related to the Shen family. The television in the hospital room only played content unrelated to the matter.

Shi Anzhi never proactively asked about anything concerning Shen Tingxue.

She was receiving high-level care, wanting to let her body recover a bit more before making any future plans.

Ji Tianheng visited her every day, but there wasn’t much conversation between them.

To be honest, Shi Anzhi didn’t particularly like Ji Tianheng. Being around this woman sometimes made her feel oppressed.

Moreover, Ji Tianheng had once mocked Shen Tingxue for clutching her stomach in an unsightly manner. Somehow, even though Shi Anzhi no longer loved Shen Tingxue, the memory of that scene still left her feeling uneasy.

Ji Tianheng noticed that Shi Anzhi only answered her questions and rarely extended the conversation, always seeming disinterested.

She didn’t mind.

At least, on the surface, Ji Tianheng had to appear indifferent.

Sometimes, she would sit on the sofa nearby, allowing the silence to stretch, and then begin handling her work. The light from the holographic screen cast shadows across her sharply defined face.

Even her silent presence carried a certain pressure.

One day, Ji Tianheng brought some news.

She walked into the hospital room, smiled faintly at Shi Anzhi, and said in a relaxed tone, “By the way, there’s something I haven’t had the chance to tell you until now, as I was worried it might upset you.”

She had ordered her subordinates to crack the firewall Shen Tingxue had set up for Shi Anzhi. They succeeded through a forceful attack, but even after Shi Anzhi was taken away, Shen Tingxue’s team continued to retaliate fiercely.

This infuriated Ji Tianheng, who then ordered a counterattack aimed at planting a virus in the Shen family’s system.

It wasn’t until this morning that the covert battle finally ceased.

Shen Tingxue was the one who stopped first. Ji Tianheng guessed she was probably too overwhelmed with her own troubles and had given up completely.

Hearing this, Shi Anzhi grew curious.

The only thing that could upset her now was related to Shen Tingxue.

“When you were with the Shen family, were you unable to contact the outside world?”

“Shen Tingxue blocked all your information, including your location and identity records. She wanted to hide you away. It wasn’t until this morning that my people completely resolved the issue for you.”

“Over the past few days, there were communication requests from a dental clinic in District R, but they were all blocked.”

In fact, there were also messages from the He family and some boxing gym owners, but Ji Tianheng didn’t think it necessary to mention them.

As for the one from District R. Ji Tianheng had looked into this person and found that she was a friend of Shi Anzhi’s, now with some influence in District R. Letting Shi Anzhi reconnect with her friend might help distract her.

Upon hearing this, Shi Anzhi froze.

A call from a dental clinic in District R, it had to be Teng Ying who had tried to reach her.

Teng Ying had mentioned this to her before, but Shi Anzhi hadn’t paid much attention at the time.

Shen Tingxue really had been keeping her under house arrest.

It made sense since she was treated as an experimental subject, they would naturally be afraid she might escape.

Seeing Shi Anzhi’s troubled expression, Ji Tianheng subtly twisted the knife, “It seems you weren’t aware of this.”

Shi Anzhi remained silent.

She bit her lower lip lightly, struggling to maintain a calm facade.

“Thank you, President Ji.”

She swallowed her emotions. “None of it matters anymore.”

Ji Tianheng hummed in acknowledgment. “You can communicate with others normally now. Once your health improves a bit more, I’ll have the neural interface implanted for you.”

Shi Anzhi said politely, “Thank you for your kindness, President Ji.”

Ji Tianheng let out a soft sigh.

Shi Anzhi’s temperament was truly hard to warm up to. Accustomed to being in a position of authority, she wasn’t familiar with how to coax others.

Coaxing someone felt more challenging than handling difficult work.

The communication device in his mind buzzed again. Ji Tianheng answered it and said to Shi Anzhi, “Then rest well.”

It was only after Ji Tianheng had been gone for quite some time that Shi Anzhi took out her long-disabled terminal and connected to Teng Ying.

Without Xiao Yu, she couldn’t access the holographic projection this time, and she felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

After a while, the signal connected, but the background noise on Teng Ying’s end was rather loud.

Teng Ying’s tone was half-doubtful, “Shi Anzhi?”

“It’s me.”

Teng Ying let out a heavy sigh. “I can hardly believe it. I couldn’t connect with you for days before. How are you?”

“I’ve been incredibly busy lately, but I heard Ji Tianheng took down the Shen family’s lab.”

“Are you okay? You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“I bet there’s quite a show to watch now. Hurry up and tell me everything that happened.”

Teng Ying spoke rapidly, and with the noise on her end, Shi Anzhi had to hold her breath and listen intently.

Hearing Teng Ying’s casual, unaffected tone, Shi Anzhi suddenly smiled. In a way, Teng Ying was a very good friend to her.

Teng Ying had saved her life and given her work when she was at her most helpless. Because of this, Shi Anzhi didn’t mind Teng Ying’s occasional greedy nature.

Listening to her old friend’s voice, for the first time in many days, she felt a sense of peace.

Instead of answering Teng Ying’s questions, she asked in return, “Where are you now?”

“In the black market. Why?”

Teng Ying guessed, “Want to hear Bobo’s voice?”

“I’ll call you when I get home. Oh, by the way, I moved, the new place is much bigger than the last one.”

Shi Anzhi fell silent for a moment.

She was making a decision, one that had been brewing in her heart for the past few days.

“Teng Ying.”

“Hmm…”

There was a burst of static on Teng Ying’s end, and Shi Anzhi could hear her haggling with a vendor: “A flawed pigeon’s blood ruby for 40,000 coins? Don’t think I don’t know this is a subpar product from the Special Zone. It’s even chipped, and you still dare to rip me off?”

Shi Anzhi smiled at the sound.

“What do you need a pigeon’s blood ruby for?”

“To wear…”

Teng Ying’s voice was lazy. “I want to make myself a necklace.”

Shi Anzhi took a breath, her gaze fixed on a corner of the bedsheet. Suddenly, she said, “Since it’s chipped, don’t buy it. Use the money to buy Bobo some treats instead.”

“What’s with you?”

Teng Ying laughed. “Since when do you boss me around?”

Shi Anzhi laughed too. “Haven’t you always wanted me to come back?”

“A top-quality pigeon’s blood ruby consider it my thank-you gift for taking care of Bobo.”

“If you need me to bring any reagents back, or express deliveries, tell me all at once.”

On the other end of the line, Teng Ying suddenly couldn’t hear the vendor’s slick voice anymore. The world fell silent for a few seconds, and then she was overjoyed.

Her old acquaintance was coming back to help, didn’t that mean the grand plans she’d mentioned before could continue with even greater momentum?

Teng Ying wasn’t one for sentimentality. Without delay, she said, “That’s fantastic, Shi Anzhi! Wait for me to get home, and I’ll write you a list.”

“Remember what I told you about the situation in R District? There have been new developments in the past few days. The things you’ll need to bring back might be a bit much.”

“Don’t complain, they’ll all come in handy.”

“Alright.”

Shi Anzhi said, “Then I’ll wait for your news.”

Teng Ying had completely lost interest in the pigeon blood ruby. She walked a few steps away from the stall to a relatively quiet spot.

Gossiping, she deliberately made wild assumptions while waiting for Shi Anzhi to refute them. “What, is the Shen family about to fall on hard times? Are you flying the coop before disaster strikes? I never expected you’d be the one to dump Miss Shen first.”

Shi Anzhi felt a moment of speechlessness at such a caustic and teasing remark. She lowered her head and chuckled, surprisingly not feeling the need to refute anything.

Thankfully, during their last call, she hadn’t told Teng Ying that she was going to be a mother, how ironic that would have been now.

“Yes,” Shi Anzhi said softly. “I dumped her.”

As if saying it aloud could offer her some comfort.

Teng Ying fell silent for a moment, certain that wasn’t the whole story. She turned serious. “No matter what, welcome back.”

“Mm.” Shi Anzhi smiled.

After the call ended, having confirmed her next steps, the oppressive gloom in her heart seemed to lift slightly.

Shi Anzhi took a long, deep breath. She missed Bobo so much.

She wanted to bring back some premium meat from the special zone for Bobo, along with dog treats and pretty dog toys.

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