The Paranoid Female CEO’s Contracted Beauty (Omegaverse) - Chapter 53

Li Ge didn’t say anything. She seemed to have nothing more to say. Even without Tang Ling’s terrible idea, if Xu Qingyan had known she was planning to run, she would have done the same thing. Tang Ling’s advice had only accelerated what was already going to happen.

“Um, Xiao Ge, are you angry?” Tang Ling glanced at the bruises and bite marks on Li Ge’s neck and immediately felt more guilty. Xu Qingyan had clearly pushed her too far. “If you’re mad, then here. Take this and hit me to let out your anger.”

She bent down and picked up the feather duster that Xu Qingyan had thrown earlier, then tried to hand it to Li Ge.

“You could…”

Li Ge looked up and stared at the feather duster in Tang Ling’s hand. The only person she really wanted to hit was Xu Qingyan, but she knew she couldn’t win in a fight against her. In the end, she gave up.

“If I hit you, what would that change?”

“Huh?”

“Everything has already happened. What would hitting you even accomplish?”

That was true.

Tang Ling replied, “But if it helps you feel better, then it’s worth it.”

Li Ge thought for a moment, then said, “Then how about the two of you hit each other?”

Tang Ling froze.

Xu Qingyan was silent.

Li Ge explained calmly, “Since both of you are at fault, if you hit each other, I might actually feel a bit better.”

Tang Ling turned and looked at Xu Qingyan. She had to admit, Li Ge’s suggestion was ruthless. It was a clever way to get revenge on both of them and let out her anger at the same time.

But she couldn’t beat Xu Qingyan. If she could, she would’ve made her a lackey back in school.

The two of them stared at each other, neither willing to make the first move. The room quickly became awkward.

Seeing that neither of them planned to act, Li Ge turned and walked outside.

Xu Qingyan thought she was upset and immediately followed her.

“Xiao Ge.”

Li Ge didn’t stop. She headed straight for the garden and paused in front of a blooming jasmine flower.

“Chairwoman Xu, are you afraid I’ll run again? In this condition, where could I even go? If you’re really that worried, then just buy a chain and lock me in the room. That way I won’t be able to go anywhere.”

Xu Qingyan shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. You haven’t eaten since yesterday. Please, eat something first.”

“I’m not hungry.” Li Ge didn’t feel like eating anything. “If you’re hungry, go eat. If you’re worried I’ll run, then have the staff keep an eye on me.”

Xu Qingyan knew Li Ge wouldn’t try to run now. But she was genuinely concerned that after not eating for so long, her health would worsen. Her body was already weak, and going hungry would only make things worse.

“Then wait here. I’ll bring something out for you.”

Li Ge didn’t respond and allowed her to do whatever she wanted.

She thought Xu Qingyan was just making an excuse to go back and eat. But a few minutes later, Xu Qingyan came rushing out, carrying a bottle of warm milk and some expensive-looking bread.

“If you don’t feel like eating, at least drink some milk. I asked the butler to warm it up. It’s raspberry flavored. I remember you like that.”

As soon as Xu Qingyan mentioned it, Li Ge remembered the first time she had gone to the company to meet her. The secretary had given her a raspberry-flavored drink. At the time, she had wondered if it was just a coincidence. Now she knew it wasn’t.

Li Ge couldn’t help but be curious. If Xu Qingyan really liked her, why hadn’t she just pursued her directly? If she had shown genuine care, even if Li Ge didn’t feel the same, she might have been willing to give it a chance.

“Xu Qingyan.”

Xu Qingyan looked up. “What is it? Do you not like raspberry anymore? What flavor do you like now? I’ll ask them to make it right away.”

Li Ge finally asked what she had been wondering. “The first time I went to your company, was that raspberry juice something your secretary prepared on your instructions?”

Xu Qingyan didn’t understand why she was suddenly asking this, but still answered honestly.

“Yes. I asked Secretary Su to prepare it for you.”

“You looked into my preferences beforehand?”

“I… yes.”

Actually, it hadn’t been a formal investigation. One time when Li Ge had taken her out shopping, she got thirsty along the way. Xu Qingyan had noticed that she refused every drink except for raspberry juice. She had even gone out of her way to ask a vendor if they had that flavor. That moment stuck in her memory.

Xu Qingyan lowered her head like a guilty student.

“I liked you long before you ever realized it. Much earlier than you think. It’s just… you forgot.”

Li Ge looked at her, confused. If they had met before, she should have remembered. But Xu Qingyan didn’t seem to be lying.

“When was that? Why don’t I remember?”

Xu Qingyan had expected this. If Li Ge had remembered, she would have recognized her at first sight. But it made sense. Back then, they were just strangers passing by. Why would anyone remember something so casual?

“It was a rainy day. I was soaked from head to toe. You came over with an umbrella and shielded me from the rain. You gave me a packet of tissues.”

Xu Qingyan’s voice softened. She felt it was finally time to explain.

“My clothes were completely drenched, and tissues couldn’t help much. You were worried I would catch a cold, so you took me to a nearby shopping mall and bought me a clean set of clothes. Do you remember that?”

Thunder suddenly rumbled across the sky.

In the back of her mind, Li Ge found pieces of a blurry memory. The weather, the setting, even the scent of the rain. Everything felt like that day again.

“Big sister, you’re so pretty.”

“Big sister, I have tissues here. Take them quickly. You’ll catch a cold if you stay wet like this.”

“Big sister, did your family kick you out? I thought my dad was the only one that cruel. I didn’t expect your parents to be like that too.”

“Big sister, your clothes are soaked. Tissues won’t help. You’ll definitely catch a cold. There’s a mall nearby. I’ll buy you some clean clothes. It won’t cost much.”

Li Ge stared at Xu Qingyan in disbelief. The once-blurry face in her memory slowly overlapped with the one in front of her. The features became clear, and everything aligned.

“Xiao Ge, do you remember now?” Xu Qingyan asked with hope in her eyes.

Li Ge lowered her head and gave a bitter smile.

“If you knew it was me, why didn’t you say so from the start? If you knew, then why did you use such harsh methods? If you knew, why did you wait until now to tell me how you felt? Xu Qingyan, do you think treating me like this is some kind of game?”

“No, that’s not true, it’s really not,” Xu Qingyan stepped forward and held her tightly. “I wasn’t playing with you. I really wanted to explain everything. But that day, when I saw you with Gu Shi, it hurt so much. I thought you had completely forgotten me. And when I saw how happy you were with her, I convinced myself to silently wish you well. I never expected that it was all part of Li Dahai’s trap. That’s when I started to think maybe this was fate giving me another chance to make up for what I lost. But I have never liked anyone before, not like this. That’s why I handled it so badly.”

Xu Qingyan gently let go and held Li Ge’s shoulders, her voice filled with sincerity.

“Xiao Ge, I never wanted to treat you that way. I like you. I truly do. This isn’t just some passing feeling. I want to be with you forever. I want you to be my omega, to be the wife of the chairwoman of Xu Corporation.”

Li Ge looked at her, confused and hurt. “If you liked me back then, why didn’t you come find me?”

If Xu Qingyan had come to her, confessed her feelings, and taken her away, she would have followed without hesitation. She would have left with her. Then she wouldn’t have been betrayed by Li Dahai or become the target of gossip behind her back.

Xu Qingyan looked panicked, trying to explain. “I wanted to find you, I really did. But at the time, I wasn’t in any position to do that. Xu Hong, my mother and the former chairwoman of Xu Corporation, was still in charge. I didn’t have the power to stand up to her. If she found out I was seeing you, she would have destroyed you.”

“Then what about later? You became the chairwoman. Why didn’t you come for me?”

Xu Qingyan hesitated, her voice turning softer. “Because by then, you were already with Gu Shi.”

She didn’t want to bring it up. Every time she thought about it, she felt like tearing Li Dahai apart. If it weren’t for him, she and Li Ge could have already been together.

“I see.”

Xu Qingyan slowly moved behind her and hugged her again. She pointed toward the garden filled with blooming jasmine flowers.

“All of these flowers, I planted them for you. Your scent is jasmine, so I thought if I filled the entire garden with them, it would feel like you were always here with me. I hoped that when you came to visit me that day, you would see my feelings. I swear, I never had feelings for Pei Xiaoyu. She was someone my mother arranged to keep around me, to keep other omegas away. But I never liked her. You are the only one who truly reached my heart.”

She gently bit Li Ge’s earlobe, then rested her head on her shoulder and rubbed against her softly.

“Xiao Ge, will you marry me? If you do, I’ll belong to you forever.”

Li Ge looked at the garden filled with jasmine. She knew that during this season, jasmine flowers weren’t supposed to bloom so brightly. Without special techniques, they would have already withered. Xu Qingyan must have gone through a lot of trouble to make this happen.

So it hadn’t been her imagination back then.

If she had just dared to ask, would they have avoided all of this?

But there is no such thing as what if in real life.

Was it still not too late?

Even so, she couldn’t let go of what had happened. Xu Qingyan had gone too far in the past few days. If she forgave her so easily, wouldn’t that make all her pain seem like it didn’t matter?

She wanted Xu Qingyan to understand what it felt like to be unsure, to fear losing someone.

Still, no matter what she told herself, Li Ge’s heart was soft.

“Xiao Ge,” Xu Qingyan whispered again, rubbing her head against her. “Be with me. I will love you for the rest of my life. Whatever you want, I can give it to you.”

“Even the stars and the moon?”

“I can’t give you those,” Xu Qingyan said seriously. “But I can give you the whole world.”

Li Ge stayed silent.

Now that the truth was out, she should have been happy. But for some reason, she wasn’t ready to forgive Xu Qingyan just yet.

If she did, then everything she went through would seem too easy to forget.

She wanted Xu Qingyan to feel the fear of losing something precious.

Even so, deep down, Li Ge knew she had always been someone with a soft heart.

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