The Paranoid Female CEO’s Contracted Beauty (Omegaverse) - Chapter 34

After making her stance clear, Xu Qingyan did not stay any longer. She walked out of the Xu family villa as Xu Hong continued shouting insults behind her.

She had planned to go back and see Li Ge to relax a little and ease the frustration of the day. But just as she stepped out of the villa, she received a call from the company’s senior management.

Left with no choice, Xu Qingyan called the housekeeper at her private villa and asked her to inform the Omega that she might have to spend the night at the office.

But that excuse was not something Li Ge could easily believe.

So when the housekeeper passed along the message, Li Ge felt a strange mix of emotions.

She should have felt relieved knowing Xu Qingyan would not return that night. At least she would not have to endure the Alpha’s intense and invasive behavior. Yet, for some reason, when she heard those words, a deep and unexpected sense of disappointment settled in her heart.

It reminded her of the cheating Alphas and Betas in television dramas. At first, they would claim they had to work late, then gradually they would stop coming home, saying they were staying overnight at the office. But in reality, they would be off with a secret lover at some hotel.

Was Xu Qingyan becoming that kind of person too?

But hadn’t she just gotten what she wanted from her?

How could she already have someone new?

Then she remembered. Xu Qingyan had also been at that hotel before. That likely meant she had done this more than once. Maybe all of Xu Qingyan’s teasing had just been a game.

“I understand,” Li Ge replied.

The housekeeper, sensing she might be overthinking, added kindly, “President Xu was planning to return after meeting with Miss Pei, but something urgent came up at the company, so she had to go back.”

Miss Pei?

Who was that?

Anyone who could get a personal visit from Xu Qingyan must be someone very important.

Li Ge’s curiosity got the better of her, and she could not stop herself from asking, “Who is Miss Pei?”

The housekeeper answered, “The Pei and Xu families are old family friends. Miss Pei’s full name is Pei Xiaoyu. She is the daughter of Pei Yuan, chairman of Pei Group. She is an S-class Omega and grew up with President Xu. When they were young, Miss Pei was always by her side.”

A childhood friend. An S-class Omega. Someone who had always been close to Xu Qingyan.

Those words pierced straight through Li Ge’s final bit of hope.

But she could not be surprised. Someone like Xu Qingyan, with her status and strength, would never be matched with someone like her.

She was just a temporary companion, someone chosen on a whim. A little canary in a golden cage. She had never belonged in this place. And now that the rightful person had returned, it was time for the canary to remember her place and stop imagining things.

“I see,” Li Ge said, forcing a bitter smile. “So Miss Pei returned this time to discuss marriage with President Xu, didn’t she?”

The housekeeper was unsure why Li Ge asked that. Xu Qingyan never brought unknown Omegas to her private villa. For her to bring this Omega here showed that she was not just anyone.

“The former chairwoman, who is President Xu’s biological mother, has always liked Miss Pei. She saw her as her future daughter-in-law and treated her with special care. But Miss Pei later went abroad to study, and President Xu stayed in the country. That was when the two of them drifted apart.”

“So that means Miss Pei has always been the one President Xu truly liked, right?”

The housekeeper did not know how to answer. She was unsure of Xu Qingyan’s true feelings. But one thing she was certain about was that President Xu clearly liked the Omega in front of her. That was why she had brought her here and kept her close.

Some might call it hiding a precious beauty in a golden house.

“Miss Li, I really don’t know. Maybe you can ask President Xu directly. I believe she would give you an honest answer.”

Li Ge said nothing more and quietly returned to her room.

That night, as expected, Xu Qingyan did not come back.

The housekeeper prepared a full and luxurious dinner, with enough food for several people, but it was only for Li Ge. She wanted to tell the housekeeper that there was no need to prepare so much, but it was probably arranged by Xu Qingyan. Not wanting to argue, she sat down and ate as much as she could to avoid wasting food.

After dinner, Li Ge went for a walk in the garden. She strolled around for over thirty minutes.

When she first came to Xu Qingyan’s private villa, she had noticed that the entire garden was filled with jasmine flowers. She had found it strange because Xu Qingyan’s pheromone scent was clearly rose. A strong and captivating rose fragrance that completely surrounded her the moment it was released. Compared to that, her own jasmine scent seemed light and plain.

So why grow jasmine?

Why not roses?

Did Xu Qingyan dislike her own pheromone scent?

But who would dislike their own scent?

Or maybe the jasmine was planted for someone else. Maybe for a certain Omega.

Maybe for that childhood friend.

But no two people had the same pheromone scent. Each one was unique, unless it was inherited from a parent.

As an S-class Alpha, Xu Qingyan’s scent almost certainly came from her parents. That much was clear.

Could it be that she simply liked jasmine?

Li Ge shook her head. That did not feel right. Jasmine was a common flower, often seen by the roadside. It was cheap and unremarkable. Someone like Xu Qingyan, who had status and taste, would not prefer something so ordinary. Even if she disliked her own scent, she would probably like peonies or roses instead.

It could not be because of her.

Right?

In just thirty minutes, Li Ge’s thoughts had spun in countless directions.

She realized she was being too sentimental. She did not even know why. She had only ended up with Xu Qingyan because she had no other choice. At most, she had thought that even if Xu Qingyan was only temporarily interested in her body, at least she was getting paid. Xu Qingyan got what she wanted, and she got what she needed. It was a deal, not a relationship. Feelings should never have been involved.

Besides, someone like Xu Qingyan was never someone she could truly be with.

But ever since Xu Qingyan had done those ambiguous things, something inside her had changed. Had Gu Shi’s betrayal really hurt her so deeply that her feelings had shifted to Xu Qingyan?

If that was the case, then her affection for Xu Qingyan was just a reaction to pain. It was never real.

Li Ge shook her head hard, trying to get rid of the thought.

Finally, she came to a conclusion. Maybe she did not really like Xu Qingyan at all. Maybe she had just been wounded by Gu Shi, and Xu Qingyan had stepped in with a little warmth at the right moment. That small gesture had tricked her into thinking Xu Qingyan was someone she could love.

It was all just an illusion.

After convincing herself, Li Ge felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She decided it would be best to return to how things were in the beginning. She would keep a safe and respectful distance from Xu Qingyan. That way, she would not need to worry about anything.

Back inside the villa, Li Ge took a shower and went to bed early.

Xu Qingyan had not taken her phone, so Li Ge was still free to browse as she pleased.

While scrolling through her feed, she came across a trending topic. Her fans had created a super topic on Weibo just for her.

Even now, Li Ge found it hard to believe. She was not even considered a minor celebrity, yet somehow she had fans. She didn’t understand what they liked about her.

Was it her face?

But she did not think she was especially pretty. At best, she looked a little cute.

In the entertainment industry, people only liked stunning beauty. Someone with her appearance was never popular. She wasn’t even attractive enough to be called a “flower vase,” and some people even accused her of pretending to be cute.

Besides her looks, she couldn’t think of anything special about herself.

That reminded her of the filming schedule the director had sent her. Starting tomorrow, she would join the cast for script readings.

To be honest, being cast as the second female lead should have made her happy.

But when she thought about it seriously, she realized she had no acting experience. The most she had done were short videos or livestreams. She was far from a real actress. Being given a major role like this made her nervous. She was not sure she could handle it.

What if she ruined the production?

Wouldn’t that cause trouble for Xu Qingyan?

But then again, she had never asked Xu Qingyan for the role. It was Xu Qingyan who insisted on giving it to her.

So, if she messed up, it would be the director’s fault for trusting Xu Qingyan, not hers.

It had nothing to do with her.

Li Ge made up her mind. If she followed through with her plan, maybe she could finally get back at that twisted Alpha, Xu Qingyan.

Just then, while scrolling through her phone, Li Ge stumbled across a piece of breaking news from the upper-class circle.

[#Pei Group heiress returns to China, rumored engagement to Xu Group chairperson#]

She scrolled through the comments. Strangely, there wasn’t much speculation. It seemed as if everyone already accepted this news as fact, as if it was something everyone had expected.

[Marriages between powerful families are normal. Why is this even trending?]

[Exactly. These kinds of arranged marriages are an open secret. Everyone knows. Nothing special here.]

[My friend is in that circle. He told me the heiress of the Pei family and the chairperson of Xu Group were childhood sweethearts. No one knows why, but the Pei heiress went abroad and only returned this year. Logically, if they were really close growing up and both from elite families, marriage should have been inevitable. But only she left the country. Whatever happened between them must be complicated.]

[Wait, are you saying Xu Group’s chairperson did something to upset her so badly that she left the country, and now she’s only back because both families are forcing an engagement?]

[If that’s true, then this Alpha really knows how to play the game. You’d have to cross a serious line to make an S-class Omega leave the country. That’s beyond bold.]

The tone of the discussion quickly shifted. Speculation grew darker.

Li Ge knew the people in the comments weren’t talking about her. But thinking about how chaotic Xu Qingyan’s past seemed, she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. A part of her found it hard to accept this side of the Alpha, even though she was currently just her kept lover.

Eventually, Li Ge couldn’t take it anymore and closed the app. She figured if she didn’t see the comments, then it was easier to pretend she didn’t know anything about Xu Qingyan’s past.

If the rumors were true, Li Ge suddenly felt sorry for this Miss Pei.

She believed that Pei Xiaoyu probably did love Xu Qingyan. After all, they grew up together. But to be betrayed like that and still be expected to marry and have children with the same Alpha? Any Omega would find that unbearable.

It really proved one thing. In the world of the rich, love rarely mattered. Everything was about power and alliances.

Li Ge had never seen what this Miss Pei looked like, but she could imagine. An S-class Omega was surely stunning. Yet she would be forced to marry someone who had once hurt her. Most likely, her future would be filled with regret.

Compared to her, Li Ge realized she might actually be the lucky one.

Even if her role in Xu Qingyan’s life was kept in the dark, at least she could leave once their contract ended. She would walk away with a generous sum, enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life. After that, she could even find an Alpha she truly liked, or maybe even use her money to support one herself and live freely.

Miss Pei, on the other hand, had no such option. She would be tied to Xu Qingyan for life. Divorce was impossible. In marriages between powerful families, everything was tied to business interests. Even if divorce became necessary, it would require the approval of the company’s shareholders.

With that in mind, Li Ge suddenly didn’t feel so bad about her own situation.

As long as she stayed obedient and did what Xu Qingyan asked, once Xu Qingyan grew tired of her, she could take the money and leave. She would disappear from the capital and never come back.

With these thoughts swirling in her head, Li Ge eventually drifted off to sleep.

Sometime after midnight, she woke up feeling cold. A draft was coming through, chilling her under the blanket and making her whole body tremble.

She clearly remembered tucking herself in tightly before falling asleep. She didn’t have a habit of kicking off the covers. So how was cold air getting inside?

Half asleep, she reached out to adjust the blanket. But in the next moment, her hand was caught by someone behind her.

The person seemed to think she was having a nightmare. They gently placed her hand back under the blanket and then quietly embraced her from behind.

This person did not stop there. After slipping their face under the covers, they forced her legs apart and nestled between them, holding her close in a tight, almost possessive hug.

Li Ge was instantly wide awake. Her entire body went stiff.

No one could enter Xu Qingyan’s private villa without permission.

Which meant the person behind her was Xu Qingyan herself.

But didn’t she tell the housekeeper she wouldn’t be coming back tonight?

Why was she here now, sneaking back in the middle of the night?

Li Ge pretended to be asleep and tried to turn over to confirm. Just as she was about to move, the person behind her slipped a hand under her pajamas.

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