The Paranoid Female CEO’s Contracted Beauty (Omegaverse) - Chapter 31

In the end, Li Ge still didn’t ask the question.

She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was fear, or maybe she was just avoiding it. She had a feeling that if she asked and Xu Qingyan answered, the truth might be something she wasn’t ready to hear.

Xu Qingyan could tell Li Ge was hesitating, but she didn’t push her. Gaining an Omega’s full trust wasn’t something that happened overnight. It would take time.

“It’s alright. You can ask whenever you’re ready.”

Xu Qingyan reached out her hand. “You’re not in a good state right now. Let me take you back to the villa.”

The moment Li Ge heard the word “villa,” she immediately became alert. Was this woman planning something indecent in broad daylight? Her body hadn’t recovered yet, and she had just been beaten by Li Dahai. If Xu Qingyan still tried anything with her now, that would make her nothing less than a monster.

“Why do I have to go back to the villa?”

“I have to stop by the company in a bit. The filming for this drama won’t start for another two days. If you’re not going back to the villa, where else are you going?”

Xu Qingyan leaned in closer, her gaze fixed on Li Ge. “If you don’t want to go back to the villa, then where do you want to go? Back to that ex-boyfriend who lied to you? Or to your Alpha father who’s nothing but a piece of garbage?”

Li Ge could feel the warmth of Xu Qingyan’s breath on her skin. It made her whole body feel like it was on fire. Her heart, which had already been racing, began pounding even harder. Her breathing grew unsteady. She slowly lowered her gaze.

“No. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“Are you sure?” Xu Qingyan didn’t believe her and leaned in even closer. Their noses were almost touching. “Then why won’t you look me in the eyes?”

Li Ge knew Xu Qingyan was doing it on purpose. She was deliberately asking things she already knew, just to embarrass her. She clearly understood what Li Ge was feeling, yet still forced her to say it out loud. She was so mean.

“I said I’m not!” Li Ge pushed her away and stood up, turning her back to her.

Xu Qingyan didn’t quite understand what this reaction meant. Li Ge didn’t seem angry or upset. Judging by how red her ears were, could she actually be shy?

That thought made Xu Qingyan secretly a little pleased. This was the first time the Omega had shown her any emotion other than anger.

Hard work really does pay off.

Xu Qingyan’s lips lifted in the faintest attempt at a smile. Just as she was about to speak, Secretary Su walked in.

“President Xu.”

When Secretary Su saw Li Ge with her back turned, she assumed they had just argued again. After calling out to Xu Qingyan, she suddenly didn’t know what to say next.

The atmosphere, which had finally started to soften, was instantly ruined. Xu Qingyan’s expression darkened. She couldn’t tell if Secretary Su had done it on purpose or not, but at that moment, she found her very unpleasant to look at.

“What is it?”

Snapping back to attention under Xu Qingyan’s cold tone, Secretary Su quickly spoke.

“President Xu, just now, Madam Xu called me. She’s already returned to the Xu family estate and had the housekeeper prepare dinner. She asked me to tell you to go home now.”

As soon as Xu Qingyan heard that it was another order from Xu Hong, her eyes turned cold. She frowned.

“Didn’t I tell the housekeeper to call me directly? Why is she calling you? If she wants me to go home, why not just call me herself?”

Worried that Xu Qingyan would suspect her, Secretary Su quickly explained.

“Madam Xu knew that if she called you directly, you wouldn’t answer. That’s why she called me instead.”

Xu Qingyan narrowed her eyes.

“She’s right. I wouldn’t answer that old woman’s calls. But haven’t I made it very clear before? If Xu Hong ever calls anyone in this company, no one is allowed to answer. Did you not listen to me?”

Secretary Su immediately felt like she was walking on thin ice.

Xu Qingyan had indeed made that rule crystal clear. She had said it in front of everyone and even had it written into the company’s official policy. As her personal secretary, making this kind of mistake was inexcusable.

“President Xu, I’m sorry, I…”

Xu Qingyan wasn’t someone who refused to reason. She didn’t believe Secretary Su was that kind of person, so she asked calmly.

“Why did you take her call? Did she threaten you? Or does she have something on you?”

Secretary Su stammered, unable to speak clearly for a long while. She kept her head down, her eyes shifting nervously, clearly flustered and avoiding eye contact. It was as if she was struggling with something, her conscience weighed down.

Xu Qingyan frowned, but she didn’t say anything right away. She just stared at Secretary Su silently. She didn’t want things to escalate. If she was told the truth, there was still room to be understanding.

Li Ge turned back around. She had heard enough to understand what was going on. Even if she were clueless, she would still be able to tell. What surprised her was the relationship between Xu Qingyan and her mother. From the sound of it, it was completely hostile. Could Xu Qingyan’s current personality have something to do with her mother?

Actually, that wasn’t so hard to guess. A child’s personality is often shaped by their upbringing. Someone as intense and complicated as Xu Qingyan was likely molded by either her mother or her father, or perhaps both. That might explain how she ended up like this.

What confused Li Ge, though, was if both parents were like that, you’d expect her to at least have some kind of relationship with them. But judging by what she was hearing now, the bond between Xu Qingyan and her parents was completely broken. Their relationship had clearly reached a point where it could no longer be repaired.

Li Ge couldn’t imagine what must have happened between them. As much as she hated Li Dahai, if something truly terrible happened to him, she would still go check on him. But Xu Qingyan would not even answer the phone. If something really did happen, she probably wouldn’t care at all.

“I’ll step outside. You two should talk.”

Li Ge was tactful enough to know she didn’t belong in that moment.

Just as she was about to leave, Xu Qingyan reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Xiao Ge, there’s no need to leave. This is just a small issue.”

A small issue?

Even Li Ge, who tried not to overthink things, could clearly see that Secretary Su had betrayed Xu Qingyan. Maybe she had no choice, or maybe she was trying to find someone new to rely on. Either way, she had betrayed her.

But to Xu Qingyan, something this serious was considered a small issue?

Xu Qingyan couldn’t quite read what the Omega was thinking at that moment. She wondered if she had scared her again. But she felt that she had been controlling her expressions fairly well. Compared to how she used to be, she had improved a lot. She just wasn’t fully used to it yet and needed more practice.

However, judging by the look in the Omega’s eyes, it didn’t seem like she was scared. Xu Qingyan was in the middle of handling a matter and couldn’t ask directly, so she could only gesture for Li Ge to sit to the side and wait for a while.

Secretary Su looked up at Xu Qingyan with disbelief. From the day she started working with her, whenever Xu Qingyan handled anything, no matter how big or small, she never allowed others to be present. That was her way of giving the other party a bit of dignity and avoiding unnecessary embarrassment.

And now, Xu Qingyan was breaking that iron rule, just for an A-class Omega.

“President Xu.”

“Answer my question.”

Xu Qingyan gave her no chance to hesitate.

“Why did you answer the call from that old woman, Xu Hong?”

Secretary Su still said nothing. Slowly, she lowered her head again.

Xu Qingyan wasn’t angry. Rules were made for order, but people were flexible. She wasn’t going to sentence Secretary Su for a single mistake. Still, rules were rules. Just because Secretary Su had been with her for a long time and had built a bit of rapport, didn’t mean she could overlook it completely.

If others in the company found out about this, where would her authority as the chairman go? Who would respect the rules she set in the future?

The first time might lead to a second, then a third, and eventually to countless violations. She had to stop this at the root.

“Secretary Su, you probably know the group’s rules even better than I do. Since you’ve broken them, you’ll have to accept the consequences. Go speak with the Finance Department about it later.”

Secretary Su had thought Xu Qingyan would fire her. When she realized she wasn’t being dismissed, she was surprised.

“President Xu, you’re not firing me?”

The situation was obvious. She had contacted Xu Hong behind Xu Qingyan’s back. This wasn’t just about breaking a rule anymore.

Xu Qingyan replied, “I have no concrete evidence that you and Xu Hong are hiding something improper. If I dismissed you just for this, then by that logic, I would have already fired half the people in this company for the things they say. There’d be no point in the group continuing to operate.”

After saying that, she added, “Of course, since you still haven’t answered my question, I’ll keep my doubts about you. But if you ever decide to tell me the truth, I’ll be here to listen.”

She’s actually… kind of nice.

That thought popped into Li Ge’s mind unexpectedly.

But on second thought, maybe she was just being naive. Xu Qingyan probably said those things to win people over, to create the image of a fair and reasonable leader.

But to be honest, Xu Qingyan really did seem like a good boss. She didn’t withhold salaries, never looked down on her staff, and even considered their well-being. A boss like that was rare to find, even if you searched high and low.

Still, none of that changed the fact that, deep down, Xu Qingyan was a total maniac. A villain. A cold-blooded she-devil who didn’t know when to stop. A beast who only knew how to torment her.

Xu Qingyan noticed the glance coming from beside her. She followed the gaze and met the Omega’s eyes.

Maybe because she had just been caught doing something bad, the Omega quickly turned away, looking guilty. That disappointed Xu Qingyan. She had hoped Li Ge was worried about her. But it turned out she was just silently judging her.

She probably thinks I’m awful.

Maybe she thinks I’m heartless, cold, and inhuman.

Most likely, she thinks all of that.

Xu Qingyan grew even more annoyed as she looked at Secretary Su. It had taken her so much effort to build an image in the Omega’s eyes, and now it had all fallen apart. She even felt the sudden urge to lash out.

“If there’s nothing else, you can leave now. If Xu Hong calls you again, just tell her I already know. And if she keeps bothering me with calls, she can forget about seeing me tonight.”

“What about Miss Li?”

“I’ll take her back myself.”

Secretary Su understood and quickly turned to leave.

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