The Omega Who Canceled the Engagement Ended Up Falling for Me - Chapter 1

The traffic light turned from red to green. A lime-green racing motorcycle roared away, leaving the sluggishly accelerating cars in the four-lane road behind, its thundering engine drawing eyes from every corner of the intersection. Fu Shuang, who was busy helping an elderly lady across the zebra crossing, was irritated by the noise and muttered under her breath, “Show-offs die young.”

However, few people shared her sentiment. A primary school student behind her pointed at the rider’s retreating figure and exclaimed with wide-eyed admiration, “Wow, what a cool female rider!”

Only then did Fu Shuang look up to glance at the speeding “large green insect.” From a distance, she caught sight of long hair fluttering beneath a white helmet, and her eyes brightened a fraction.

Actually, that is pretty cool, she thought, mentally retracting her previous comment.

“Thank you, child,” the old lady said, clutching her vegetable basket. Her wrinkled hand patted Fu Shuang’s forearm, her eyes bright and kind. “Go on now, you young people have so much work pressure; don’t let me waste your time.”

Fu Shuang checked the time—she was late for her interview. She called out, “Goodbye, Grandma!” and began to run, her Mary Jane shoes clicking against the pavement.

At the Jingnan intersection, just eight hundred meters from the entrance of her workplace, Xu Qing was suddenly jolted by the sight of two conspicuous green figures. She slammed on the brakes, terrified, and prepared to pull a U-turn to escape.

However, before she could even turn the handlebars, the morning rush hour traffic blocked her retreat. On the other side, a traffic policeman on duty had already rushed over, gesturing intimidatingly for her to stop.

Resigned to her fate, Xu Qing pulled off her motorcycle helmet and signed the ticket with a dejected face.

As dashing as she had felt riding on the road moments ago, she was equally pathetic now while being scolded.

Motorcycles were banned in Shengyuan’s city center. Most of the time, the police didn’t bother; relatively speaking, checking for e-bike helmets was a more “cost-effective” use of their time. But accidents happen—just like now.

A two-hundred-yuan fine. That was equivalent to a day’s wages; it hurt just thinking about it.

Once the process was finished, the officer returned the driver’s license to Xu Qing and instructed, “Be careful from now on. You can’t ride motorcycles in the city. You can pay the fine online later. You may leave now.”

Xu Qing nodded honestly and thanked him. It wasn’t until she had walked a few steps away that she realized: Why did I thank him? For taking my money?

This job is turning me more and more into a dog, Xu Qing grumbled internally.

Her workplace was over ten kilometers from where she lived. There was no direct subway line, and driving a car was both congested and slow, which was why she had specifically bought a motorcycle for her commute.

In this northern city, it hardly rained throughout the year. Riding a motorcycle meant not worrying about getting wet or being stuck in peak traffic. Until she ran into the police today, it had always been her optimal commuting solution.

Now, she had to consider other options.

Work started at eight, and Xu Qing was twenty minutes late. When she arrived at the office, she found she was actually the first one there.

But this was common. Xu Qing’s department only had three people. Aside from her, there were two “connected” staff members. Xu Qing herself was technically a “semi-connected” hire, but she was a top-tier university graduate with an overseas master’s degree. She had actual skills to back up her connections, which was exactly why every time a task was handed down from above, it fell on her shoulders.

Over time, Xu Qing had learned a few tricks for “slacking off.” For instance, when the section chief asked her to write a project investment document yesterday, she had finished it before leaving work. She was just waiting a couple of days to submit it.

The morning passed quietly with nothing to do. Not even a single colleague stopped by. Xu Qing brewed tea, watered the plants, browsed the web, and cleared junk files from her computer while waiting for lunch.

The cafeteria was much more lively, and the food was as sumptuous as ever: golden-brown fried chicken cutlets, braised pork belly with a perfect ratio of fat to lean, deep-fried yellow croaker drizzled with sauce, and large, clean boiled shrimp. There were even a dozen vegetable dishes—vibrant green stalks and tofu that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Every dish made one want to reach out with chopsticks.

According to the rules, each person could only choose two meat and two vegetable dishes. After picking three, Xu Qing hesitated between the braised ribs and the boiled shrimp. Seeing this, the cafeteria auntie simply scooped both onto her plate, her enthusiastic smile visible even behind her mask. “You’re so thin, you need to eat more!”

“Thank you,” Xu Qing said.

“Don’t mention it! Which department are you from? Do you have a partner? Want me to introduce you to someone?” the auntie asked, seizing the opportunity.

Xu Qing gave a dry laugh. “Haha, no thanks. My family has already arranged someone for me.”

The auntie looked disappointed. “Arrangements by family are never as good as finding someone yourself!”

“Is that so?” Xu Qing replied.

“Of course! I’ll introduce you to someone young and beautiful later—any gender you want! They’ll definitely be better than whatever your family arranged!” The auntie was extremely confident. Her iron ladle danced lightly, piling Xu Qing’s tray until it was twelve-tenths full, nearly overflowing.

Watching her tray groan under the weight, Xu Qing hurriedly stopped her. “Thank you, but really, it’s fine!”

The auntie’s hand hesitated for a split second, and Xu Qing immediately snatched her tray and fled, moving so fast it seemed she feared the auntie might call her back if she lingered.

Sitting down with her tray, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, her mind wandered back: If I had been decisive and escaped the traffic police this morning, maybe I would have been spared.

But what if the cop chased me on a motorcycle? Would I have been charged with resisting law enforcement? Would they report it to my unit? As a public servant, how bad would the fallout be for defying the law?

Good thing I didn’t do anything dangerous, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to face my family.

The moment the ribs hit her mouth, Xu Qing finally shook off those messy thoughts.

Thanks to a certain leader, the cafeteria food was better than most restaurants. The ribs were stewed until they were incredibly tender, melting in the mouth without a hint of gaminess, leaving only the rich, mellow fragrance of the meat. Xu Qing couldn’t help but speculate that the head chef’s salary was probably higher than hers, despite her master’s degree—at least they were creating tangible value.

With the current economic downturn, it was hard for ordinary people to find a decent job, so everyone fought tooth and nail to get into the “system” to grab what little social resources remained. After returning from abroad, Xu Qing had interviewed with several architectural firms and couldn’t even get a base salary of 12,000 yuan. In her disappointment, she followed her family’s arrangements, applied for a public service position, and landed this current job paying 6,000 yuan a month.

An “iron rice bowl”—leisurely work, a stable promotion path; all one had to do was put in the years.

As for the salary? Who looks at the base pay?

When the time comes, they’ll distribute subsidized housing and pay out annuities; the benefits are better than you can imagine!

—Xu Qing had heard all of this at least a hundred times.

In truth, she understood the perks of the iron rice bowl better than anyone. After all, her family had held such positions for several generations. While they weren’t top-tier officials, they had accumulated significant wealth, connections, and social status. If nothing else, it allowed Xu Qing to live worry-free during her years studying abroad and smoothly arranged an engagement for her with a daughter of a wealthy family.

Thinking of that “rich young miss,” Xu Qing felt another headache coming on.

In the six months since she returned to the country, Xu Qing had yet to meet her rumored fiancée. At first, she could use the excuse of being busy with job hunting, but now that she had been employed for two months, how could she keep stalling?

Her family was already screaming with impatience. Xu Qing had opened the chat window with that young lady many times, but she had never sent a single message.

What a mess.

The afternoon sun shone through the window. The greenery on the windowsill had been meticulously cared for by her, every leaf glowing with health.

Xu Qing slowly cleaned the coffee grounds from the Moka pot funnel. She had heard that the stuff could be used as fertilizer; it might be useful to collect it.

“Smells so good! My god! Xu Qing, do you have some secret recipe for brewing coffee? This smells better than a coffee shop!” The office door was pushed open as the first colleague arrived late for the afternoon shift.

“Is it already two o’clock?” Xu Qing finished cleaning the coffee pot and sat down at her workstation, saying lazily, “I have to work hard, or it’ll be time to get off work soon.”

“It’s already two o’clock and I haven’t even eaten!” Fu Shuang walked out of the office building holding her resume. She felt dizzy under the scorching sun, her pale face contrasting sharply with the energy she used to curse. “If they only wanted to hire Beta women, they should have written it clearly in the brochure! What a waste of effort! I’m going to the Labor Bureau to report them for gender discrimination! I’m so angry!”

“And that place this morning! I waited in line for two hours only for them to say the internship pay is 60 yuan a day! And no offer after the internship ends? What do they think college students are? Toilet paper you use once and throw away?”

A sultry, soft laugh came through her earphones, soothing her gently. “Calm down, my lady. Didn’t you send out 200 resumes? With that many companies, there has to be one you can go to, right?”

Fu Shuang grumbled, “Two hundred… but only a few replied. Many of them don’t even take interns…”

“Keep trying, but if it really doesn’t work out, just give up,” the woman on the other end said with a long, drawn-out tone. “The employment environment is tough right now. It’s harder for women, and even harder for Omega women. My advice is to give up early and find a reliable Beta or Alpha to support you. That’s at least easier than finding a job, isn’t it?”

After a brief silence, Fu Shuang’s tone suddenly turned cold. “Are you joking?”

“Haha, I’m not. Don’t be mad, Miss. You might not understand the current social situation… though I know you really want to be independent… but right now you have no income and nowhere to live. If this keeps up, you might really end up on the streets. I’m really worried about you. What can sixty yuan a day do? You can’t even afford rent. You’d have to find strangers online to share a room with. Even if you manage rent, what will you eat? Does your company provide three meals? If not, you’ll have to learn to cook for yourself to save money. Forget buying makeup or clothes; you won’t even be able to afford a 300-yuan shot of suppressants. Have you ever seen those rental houses where a dozen people share a flat?”

Fu Shuang was stunned.

She wasn’t scared by her friend’s description; she was mostly angry. So the employment situation for Omega women was actually this dire?

A college student just wanted an internship. Of course, getting an offer during the autumn recruitment season was ideal, but right now she was just desperate for an internship opportunity.

As long as she had a job, she would immediately sever ties with that family.

“Miss? Have you thought it through?” The voice in her ear fluctuated, carrying a tiny sliver of hope in its hesitant tone.

Even though as a friend she could only advise Fu Shuang to make a rational decision, subconsciously she still hoped Fu Shuang could bravely carve out a path for herself. What if she succeeded?

Sure enough, Fu Shuang was not deterred by the doomsaying; instead, she became even more determined.

Enduring the sun, Fu Shuang said clearly, “I won’t end up on the street, and I won’t share a flat with that many people. Don’t worry, I will definitely make money—at least enough to support myself. As long as I can support myself, that family can’t do anything to me. Besides interning during the day, I’ll go sing at bars at night—only temporarily, of course. And this weekend a parent is looking for a piano teacher; the hourly rate isn’t low. Just you wait and see.”

“Alright then, I wish you success. If you’re short on money, come to me; I’ll ask my brother for a little help.”

“No need!”

“Hmph!”

At 6:00 PM, the city lights began to glow.

In the most prosperous shopping mall in Shengyuan, even the coffee shops were decorated with an air of extravagance. Men without a Rolex or women without a Louis Vuitton bag almost felt embarrassed to walk through the doors.

Yet Fu Shuang had been sitting there for three hours with her laptop, a paper coffee cup filled only with plain water in front of her.

Since three o’clock, she had only asked the clerk for one cup of water. Since then, she had rightfully occupied this prime-view seat, busy and focused without looking up once.

There were few customers in the store. The clerk stood dryly at the counter smiling, staring blankly at the girl’s profile.

Fu Shuang had sent out another dozen resumes. A few companies weren’t officially hiring interns, but Fu Shuang recommended herself anyway—what if she got lucky and a scout liked her?

A call from an unknown local Shengyuan number came in. Fu Shuang’s heart raced. She waited a few seconds before answering, cleared her throat, and said, “Hello, who is this?”

After about twenty minutes of conversation, the other party readily told her to report to the company the next day.

“Do you mean… you agree to let me intern at your company?” Fu Shuang was so nervous her words stumbled.

“Come in for a few days and we’ll see. We will evaluate if it’s a good fit. If you perform well, we’ll consider a formal tripartite agreement later. Also, the stipend for interns here is 120 per day. I’ll send you the company address in a moment…”

Fu Shuang thanked them repeatedly. Only after hanging up did she carefully check the company’s details.

It was a reasonably sized internet company. It had a business license and a physical address, and its operations could be verified online; the risk of a scam was ruled out.

“They didn’t even say they were hiring interns. Looks like I hit the jackpot.” Fu Shuang closed her laptop excitedly, nearly knocking over her paper cup.

Slinging her laptop bag over her shoulder, she cheered inwardly. As she reached the intersection, a green motorcycle sped by. Fu Shuang’s face was full of envy. She thought that once she earned enough money, she would also buy a motorcycle. She would pick up her best friend, rev the engine to 120 km/h, and gallop through the wind of freedom.

Yes. First thing’s first: severing ties with her family.

And as for that “dead ghost” fiancée she’s never met? Goodbye to her too.