The Paranoid Female CEO’s Contracted Beauty (Omegaverse) - Chapter 32

After dropping Li Ge off at the villa, Xu Qingyan drove alone to the Xu family estate.

She wasn’t exactly happy about it. Normally, she was already short on time because of work and barely had time to spend with Li Ge. Now that she finally had a little free time, she was being summoned back by Xu Hong. Anyone in her shoes would feel irritated.

But this would be the last time. Once she met with Pei Xiaoyu, she would have no reason to return to that cold and lifeless house.

“Young Miss, you’re back.” The butler greeted her as soon as she parked the car in front of the entrance.

“Where is she?” Xu Qingyan asked, not even bothering to mention her mother by name.

The butler understood their strained relationship well. In the past, Xu Qingyan would at least ask, “Where is that woman?” Now she didn’t even say that much, which only showed how bad things had gotten between them.

“The former chairman is in the living room,” he replied cautiously.

Xu Qingyan glanced at him and corrected coldly, “She’s no longer the chairman. Make sure you change how you address her next time.”

The butler froze for a second but then nodded reluctantly. “Understood.”

Without another word, Xu Qingyan stepped past him and walked briskly into the house.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Xu Hong sitting on the sofa.

She had a magazine in hand. Her burgundy hair was cut short and curled gently to her neck. A pair of pink metal-framed glasses rested on her nose. Her features were well-defined, with long, narrow phoenix eyes that gave her a stern expression. Her lips were a bold crimson, like fire, and though faint wrinkles marked her face, the years had only left traces, not stolen her elegance.

Even now, Xu Hong still exuded a striking presence. One glance was enough for anyone to imagine how breathtaking she must have been in her youth.

“You’re back,” Xu Hong said flatly.

“Weren’t you the one who told me to come back?” Xu Qingyan replied with a mocking tone. “Or are you already getting senile at your age?”

This was the first time they had seen each other this month.

Xu Hong rarely came back to the Xu estate, mainly because she didn’t want to run into Xu Mo, the patriarch of the Xu family and Xu Qingyan’s biological father.

It wasn’t that Xu Hong had found someone else. There was simply no love left between them. Whenever they met, arguments followed. Xu Hong found emotional entanglements exhausting, while Xu Mo thought she was insufferable. In the end, they both silently agreed to stay out of each other’s way.

“How unfortunate for you. I’m still doing quite well,” Xu Hong replied, flipping through her magazine without looking up. “Besides, dementia doesn’t usually affect high-ranking Alphas like me.”

She glanced at Xu Qingyan and added, “And I’m your mother. Is this how a daughter should speak to her mother?”

Xu Qingyan almost laughed. She didn’t understand where Xu Hong got the confidence to say such things. Perhaps if she had been raised by someone else, she wouldn’t be like this now. But Xu Hong was different.

She didn’t deserve the title of mother.

For as long as Xu Qingyan could remember, Xu Hong had always spoken to her from a place of superiority. It was as if she were talking to a subordinate, not her own child. Or more accurately, Xu Qingyan wasn’t even treated as a subordinate. She was more like a servant from ancient times.

“I’ve always spoken to you this way. Or are you just now realizing that you gave birth to me?”

No matter how much time had passed, Xu Qingyan still couldn’t stand Xu Hong’s condescending attitude.

“I treat people the way they treat me. You just called yourself my mother, but when did you ever treat me like your daughter?”

The moment she said this, Xu Hong’s expression turned cold. The fire in her eyes flared up immediately.

“What? Are you trying to settle old scores with your mother now?” Xu Hong snapped. “If I hadn’t been so strict with you back then, do you think you’d be sitting where you are now? Everything I did was for your own good. How are you still too foolish to understand that?”

For her own good?

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Xu Qingyan felt so moved, she nearly laughed. She had no idea how Xu Hong had the nerve to say something like that.

“You still think it was all for my good?”

“Of course. You’re my daughter. If I wasn’t doing it for your good, would I do it for someone else?”

“Do you actually believe what you’re saying?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Xu Hong remained firm. “Back when I married your father for the sake of the family, I already knew our child would be exceptional. Children are like trees. If you don’t train them to grow straight from the start, they’ll end up crooked. If I had left you to your father, someone else would be sitting in your position right now. Do you really think a clueless little girl like you could have made it this far without me?”

“Is that so?” Xu Qingyan didn’t hesitate to expose her. “Everything you did was for yourself. Don’t make it sound so noble. Even if you pretend that you stepped down from the board out of goodwill, it doesn’t change the fact that you lost to me. Just admit it, Xu Hong. You’re getting old. I’m young, and my mind is sharper than yours. Your way of thinking can’t keep up with the times. You’ve been left behind, whether you want to admit it or not.”

Xu Hong was furious. She slammed her hand on the table.

“Watch your mouth! Is that how you talk to your mother? You’re just upset because I’m not like those other loving parents. Ever since you became chairman of the Xu Group, you’ve been challenging me and flaunting your authority. You’ve been holding a grudge against me all this time. But I did nothing wrong.”

Her voice grew louder.

“And what about Xu Mo? Is he any better? Why don’t you talk about how he treated you? He ignored you too. He’s worse than I am. After you were born, he didn’t even look at you for years. Why don’t you resent him?”

Yes.

Why didn’t she resent Xu Mo?

Xu Qingyan had asked herself that question many times. She hated Xu Hong for claiming everything she did was for her sake. She despised Xu Mo for his complete indifference. Yet somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him.

Now she finally understood why.

It was because Xu Mo had never even pretended to care. His lack of concern was so total that, in her heart, he was nothing more than a biological vessel, a man who had fathered her in name only. They shared blood, but not emotions. To her, he was little more than a stranger.

And since he was just a stranger, what reason did she have to hate him?

She looked at Xu Hong and asked calmly, “Do you regret it?”

“What did you say?” Xu Hong’s expression stiffened.

“Do you regret how you treated me when I was younger?”

Xu Hong sneered.

“Regret? What a joke. I, Xu Hong, never regret anything. The word ‘regret’ doesn’t even exist in my vocabulary.”

Xu Qingyan walked up to her slowly, looking her in the eyes as she spoke, clearly and deliberately.

“Of course you regret it. You regret that if you hadn’t treated me the way you did when I was a child, you would still be the chairperson of Xu Group. You wouldn’t have ended up this humiliated. You regret raising me into someone who is now smarter and more capable than you, someone you can no longer control. Xu Hong, can you really say you’ve never regretted those things?”

Xu Hong was completely caught off guard. She had no words to reply. Deep down, she had regretted it. But she didn’t regret shaping Xu Qingyan into who she was now. In fact, she had always admired ambitious people. And this daughter of hers was so much like her younger self.

The only thing she had never expected was that once Xu Qingyan gained power, the first person she would turn against would be her own mother.

“Fine. Think what you want. Even if you hate me, I won’t hate you. After all, you are still my daughter.”

That sentence made Xu Qingyan feel sick.

When she was younger and still naive, she had imagined many times that maybe Xu Hong had no choice. Maybe she had to be strict, but somewhere in her heart, she still loved her daughter.

But as she grew older, Xu Qingyan realized the truth. Xu Hong never loved her. What she loved was power. What she wanted was a tool she could control, someone who would obey her. Xu Hong wanted a puppet, not a daughter. She wanted to be like the empresses from ancient times who ruled from behind the scenes, still holding the real power even after stepping down.

But she miscalculated. What she created, in her eyes, was a daughter who turned against her.

“Spare me your fake kindness. I don’t need it anymore,” Xu Qingyan said bluntly.

Xu Hong felt both angry and helpless. She could not deny it. As Xu Qingyan had said, she really had gotten old. If this were years ago, she would never have lost so badly.

“I didn’t bring you here today to fight. No matter what you think of me, I am still your biological mother.” Xu Hong leaned back into the sofa, her tone just as firm. “Xiaoyu will be coming over soon. If she sees us fighting, she’ll think her future mother-in-law is too harsh on her fiancée.”

Of course. Xu Qingyan had already guessed that was Xu Hong’s plan.

Her irritation reached a new peak.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you. But you might not become her mother-in-law after all.”

Xu Hong’s expression changed immediately. Her eyebrows tightened with suspicion.

“What are you talking about? Don’t tell me you’re not going to marry Xiaoyu.”

“What if I said that’s true?”

“You ungrateful brat.”

Xu Qingyan ignored her insult and sat down across from her with a calm expression, looking completely unbothered.

“If I’m a brat, then what does that make you?”

“I…” Xu Hong was left speechless again. She felt as if she had walked into her own trap, seething with frustration but unable to do anything about it.

“If you don’t marry Xiaoyu, who do you plan to marry? One of those wild Omegas from the streets? Let me tell you, Xu Qingyan, I will never allow some nameless Omega to step through the doors of the Xu family.”

Xu Qingyan said calmly, “That’s fine. I can marry into theirs instead.”

“You… you disgraceful child.”

“And what exactly is so special about the Xu family’s front door?”

“You… you…” Xu Hong was so angry that her chest began to tighten. She pointed a trembling finger at Xu Qingyan, almost breathless with rage.

“So she wasn’t lying to me. You really are keeping a mistress outside.”

Xu Qingyan didn’t deny it. In fact, she responded with complete honesty.

“She is not a mistress. She is my partner. My lover.”

“Your lover?” Xu Hong scoffed. “Since when does love exist in wealthy families? You might think you love her, but does she love you? She is only using you for your family name and the power behind Xu Group. If you had nothing, do you think she would still want you? Let me tell you, she wouldn’t.”

Xu Qingyan looked serious and said, “She would. Because I would force her to love me anyway.”

Xu Hong was completely speechless.

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