When the Possessive Omega Fell for Me - Chapter 69.2

Yi Jing spent a full day and night in the detention cell, drifting in and out of sleep at times.

But sleeping in a metal chair was uncomfortable only light, restless dozes. Each time she opened her eyes, the same dim, decrepit, and eerie cell greeted her. The faint yellow light in the windowless room remained unchanged, making it impossible to gauge the passage of time. Waking up felt no different from before.

With nothing to do and no access to information, the oppressive silence magnified every breath, every heartbeat, every stray thought and emotion, an excruciating mental torment.

To keep from breaking, Yi Jing replayed recent events in her mind over and over, while also drafting and redrafting future plans to maintain some semblance of control.

Still, she worried. For now, her internal clock told her it was probably the afternoon of the second day. But if this continued, she couldn’t guarantee her mind and body wouldn’t succumb to the environment, losing all sense of day and night, reality and delusion.

But she had to endure. Even if she had to stay like this indefinitely, she couldn’t afford to collapse before Old Master Yi even made his move.

Yi Jing closed her eyes, trying to regulate her breathing and clear her thoughts, when a faint noise came from the large door on the left. Soon after, bright sunlight streamed in accustomed to the dimness of the cell, Yi Jing instinctively turned her head away from the sudden glare.

“Baby?” A familiar, gentle woman’s voice called from the direction of the cell door, her cheerful tone laced with unmistakable concern. “Oh dear, how did you end up in here? This dreadful place is no good for eating or sleeping, how could you stand staying for long?”

Yi Jing froze for a moment, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the light. Her shielded face with one hand and looked toward the entrance. “Auntie?”

Seeing the person at the door, Yi Jing froze completely.

“Who else could it be but me?” Though they hadn’t met in months, her aunt was still as beautiful as ever if not more radiant standing at the prison cell door in her meticulously tailored dress with a sigh. “If not me, then who? You troublesome child, come here and let me take a look at you.”

Yi Jing pressed her lips together, hesitated for a moment, but eventually walked over.

As she moved, the iron chain around her ankle inevitably clanked, the sharp metallic sound immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

At the sight of the chain, her aunt’s previously gentle expression darkened.

“Auntie,” Yi Jing called softly, standing before her with a hint of embarrassment.

She felt somewhat ashamed. When she had first arrived at the Yi family estate, everything had been fine. She had even confidently declared in front of her aunt all her plans to marry Yu Miao, acting as if she had everything under control. Yet, not long after, she had ended up in this state. Thinking about it now, it was downright humiliating.

But her aunt didn’t seem interested in reprimanding her for that. Instead, she stared in silence at the chain around Yi Jing’s ankle, her expression growing increasingly grim. After a long pause, she turned to the butler beside her with barely suppressed anger.

“What is the meaning of this? Why is there a chain around the child’s ankle? Are you treating her like a prisoner? Mistakes are one thing, but does that justify this kind of treatment?”

The butler accompanying her was the same one who had previously threatened Yi Jing. He maintained his usual composed demeanor and replied, “Madam, please don’t be upset. This is standard for all family members placed under house arrest. The patriarch isn’t singling out Miss Jing. He didn’t want it to come to this either, but her actions this time were truly beyond the pale.”

“Hmph.” Her aunt let out a cold laugh, too furious to speak for a moment. “Fine. If that’s how you want to justify it, so be it. I have no say in these matters anyway. If the patriarch insists on discipline, then let him have his way. The Yi family and I can each mind our own business.”

The butler gave a faint smile but said nothing.

Her aunt ignored him and turned back to Yi Jing. After studying her for a while, she sighed softly, reaching out to gently stroke Yi Jing’s cheek with a pained expression. “I told you back then not to come back, not to return here. But you wouldn’t listen to me.”

“I’m sorry.”

Yi Jing instinctively apologized, bowing her head in guilt for a few seconds before realizing something was off. Wait, hadn’t the decision to come to the Yi family been made by the original owner of this body, not her?

Now that she thought about it, she had often benefited from the original owner’s arrangements.

Was she, a transmigrator, actually less competent than a native without any foresight?

For a moment, Yi Jing felt disheartened. But then she reconsidered, the original owner had grown up under the guidance of high-ranking officials and graduated from a prestigious law school. She was already accustomed to the ways of this world, so of course she’d handle things more smoothly.

Well, as long as Yu Miao truly belonged to her, nothing else mattered.

Yi Jing quickly cheered herself up. Meanwhile, her aunt continued stroking her cheek. “What’s there to apologize for? Your temperament hasn’t changed in all these years. Always causing trouble, you little troublemaker.”

Yi Jing smiled sheepishly.

“Seeing you’re not seriously hurt puts my mind at ease,” Auntie said with a resigned look at Yi Jing, muttering under her breath, “Always getting into trouble, and now you’ve landed yourself in this place again. I don’t have the energy to deal with you anymore, but I’ve arranged for someone to visit you daily.”

“Daily?” Yi Jing’s eyes widened in shock.

She had thought Auntie’s visit alone was already an extraordinary exception. After all, Old Master Yi had merely confined her here, wasn’t this meant to be psychological torture through endless silence and disorienting timelessness?

Given her background as a legitimate public servant in the judicial system, physical punishment would be difficult to justify. Psychological torment was clearly the preferred method.

Yi Jing had braced herself for disrupted circadian rhythms and mental collapse. Yet Auntie claimed someone would visit her daily. How was this any different from an extremely unpleasant detention?

Would Old Master Yi really be so kind?

For a moment, Yi Jing felt utterly bewildered.

“Of course,” Auntie replied without hesitation. “This dreadful place, how could we not check on you daily? Anyone would go mad otherwise.”

Then Yi Jing understood this was Auntie’s doing.

Auntie had no intention of letting Old Master Yi’s malicious targeting succeed, hence transforming the original punishment into its current form.

If so, this was merely confinement.

Though still unpleasant, compared to prolonged solitary isolation with no external contact or psychological torment, it was nothing significant.

“Alright, you seem more spirited now, so I won’t linger,” Auntie said, stroking Yi Jing’s hair. “I have matters to attend to with your great-grandmother. I’ll have your girlfriend keep you company later.”

“Girlfriend?” Yi Jing blinked in confusion before her eyes lit up with realization. “Yu Miao? She can come?”

“What, do you have other girlfriends? Ah, I see you only want your girlfriend visiting,” Auntie teased with mock hurt. “Look how excited you are nothing like when I arrived.”

“N-no,” Yi Jing stammered, swinging Auntie’s hand sheepishly. “I wanted you to visit too.”

“Enough of that. Stay put, I’m leaving now. Yu Miao will be here shortly.” Amused by Yi Jing’s reaction, Auntie gave her another glance before following the butler to Jinghe Garden, where the Yi family matriarch resided.

Alone in the cell, Yi Jing waited without noticing the dim lighting, harsh environment, or oppressive silence where even her heartbeat seemed audible her mind filled only with joy at soon seeing Yu Miao.

After what felt like an eternity, the cell door finally reopened.

At the sliver of daylight by the door, Yi Jing rushed forward, spotting Yu Miao immediately. Her eyes crinkled into a smile: “Jiejie.”

“Jingjing!” Yu Miao strode over and clasped Yi Jing’s hand.

“I missed you so much. I’m so glad to see you, I was worried sick.” Yi Jing grabbed Yu Miao’s hand and spoke rapidly while carefully examining her from head to toe, muttering, “Did my confinement cause you much trouble outside? Did anyone give you a hard time? Did Old Master Yi’s steward come after you again?”

“Who would dare target me? After all, Old Master Yi hasn’t made any moves yet. How are you?” Yu Miao was equally anxious to check on Yi Jing.

At first glance everything seemed fine, but upon closer inspection, Yu Miao noticed the shackles around Yi Jing’s ankles.

The sight of these seemingly harmless restraints froze Yu Miao in place. Her slender fingers trembled slightly before clenching into tight fists. Overcome with rage, she impulsively slammed her fist against the doorframe. “How dare they treat you like this!”

“Hey!” Yi Jing instinctively reached for Yu Miao’s hand, cradling it gently to soothe the reddened knuckles. Only then did she notice Yu Miao had turned her face away, eyelashes lowered and eyes slightly reddened.

“Hey, I’m fine, just locked up for a bit. The people here didn’t do anything to me. Aside from the terrible sleeping conditions, everything’s been perfectly fine.”

Yi Jing grew flustered trying to comfort Yu Miao, though her disheveled appearance undermined her reassurances. After a moment’s hesitation, she tentatively changed the subject. “So, after being locked up for a day, were there any major news stories outside?”

Yu Miao paused briefly before understanding dawned.

“Yesterday…” she considered her words carefully before meeting Yi Jing’s gaze, “Yesterday, the port in District Nine exploded. Nearly half the harbor was destroyed. The port is temporarily closed today, and the news was broadcast everywhere last night.”

Yi Jing swayed on her feet, bracing herself against the doorframe.

It really happened.

The last shred of hope in Yi Jing’s heart vanished, leaving an icy chill in her chest. Having witnessed the events firsthand, the confirmation brought no new shock her greater concern lay elsewhere. “Were there any casualty reports? How many were injured at the Inspectorate?”

Yu Miao frowned worriedly at Yi Jing and hesitated to respond.

Interpreting the silence as confirmation of horrific losses, Yi Jing’s face drained of color. Vivid memories of her once-vibrant comrades flashed through her mind. She clutched her chest in agony, bending over as if struck by a sudden heart attack.

“Jing jing, Jing jing!” Yu Miao reached out to support her. “Don’t!”

“I…” Bent double, Yi Jing struggled against the searing pain in her chest. Her vision blurred inexplicably though she felt otherwise normal, her voice emerged strained and broken, rendering coherent speech impossible.

“Don’t grieve yet, Jing jing!” Yu Miao pleaded urgently. She tried pulling Yi Jing upright, but her body remained rigid as ice. Forced to kneel slightly to meet Yi Jing’s lowered face, Yu Miao cupped her cheeks gently. “Jing jing, look at me! No one died, there were zero fatalities! Only minor injuries!”

Yi Jing froze for a long moment. Though Yu Miao’s voice was right beside her ear, it seemed to take an eternity for the words to register. Dazed, Yi Jing lifted her head and asked, “What did you say?”

“No one died, not in the Inspectorate, not in District Nine,” Yu Miao said softly, gently taking Yi Jing’s hand. “You were the operation leader, but Chief Commander Xu Jiu made the right call. She withdrew everyone from District Nine in time. Only a few were injured; no one was killed.”

“How?”

How could Xu Jiu have pulled them out? Xu Jiu didn’t know about the ambush, and Yi Jing hadn’t given such an order.

Yi Jing stared blankly at Yu Miao, who was watching her with a slight frown. Though neither spoke, something unspoken passed between them the moment their eyes met. Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Yi Jing understood what Yu Miao hadn’t said aloud. Her eyes widened in delighted realization.

Yu Miao smiled faintly at her.

“That’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful!” Overcome with emotion, Yi Jing reached out and pulled Yu Miao into a tight embrace.

The familiar warmth and scent eased her unsettled feelings. Nestling into the crook of Yu Miao’s neck, Yi Jing murmured quietly, “You have no idea how terrified I was last night. I was so worried about you, about the safety of the inspectors involved in the operation. The guilt was eating me alive. I thought I might have gotten them killed, that my poor judgment had cost them their lives. Maybe this really was my fault. I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have let personal feelings interfere with official duties.”

Yu Miao sighed softly and pinched Yi Jing’s cheek.

“Ow!” Yi Jing hissed in pain, rubbing her face as she looked up at Yu Miao in confusion. “What was that for?” she asked, her voice tinged with hurt.

Yu Miao met her gaze seriously. “Was there really a better option at the time? Neither of us wanted things to turn out this way. Every step we took was the only choice we had. Dwelling on the past is pointless. The outcome isn’t bad, so let it go.”

Guilt was useless. Regret was useless.

The only way forward was to keep moving, to honor all the effort that had come before.

Yi Jing fell silent, then after a moment gave a small nod. “Mm,” she murmured before asking quietly, “What about me? With the incident in District Nine, as the operation leader, I can’t avoid responsibility. There’ll be some disciplinary action from above, won’t there? Will it affect the election?”

“The election, the results aren’t out yet. The final votes are still being tallied, but the outlook isn’t great. Without you, the Inspectorate is struggling to get anything done. As for the rest.” Yu Miao hesitated but ultimately continued, “Both senior officials at the Inspectorate are unavailable to handle the District Nine matter. Hubert, the head of the Supreme Supervision, has been temporarily appointed as acting Inspectorate Director. Yesterday, he issued your suspension notice.”

Suspended. Well, that was to be expected.

Yi Jing pressed her lips together, unsurprised, and looked up at Yu Miao. “Now we just wait for the election results.”

“Yes,” Yu Miao said, taking Yi Jing’s hand with meaningful emphasis. “Let’s hope the candidates put in a little more effort.”

That evening, the election results were announced.

The months-long intense electoral battle finally came to an end, with Mahila narrowly winning the election to become Jing’an City’s new mayor. The parachute candidate returned to their original position, while judicial faction candidate Delinkelost and went back to preside over affairs at the Supervision Court.

In the end, the Yi family emerged victorious in this round.

Within days, before judicial system institutions could even adapt to the new municipal team, they received Mahila’s first transfer order after taking office:

Delinke, who should have continued overseeing matters at the Supervision Court, was instead assigned to investigate a case in District 7 , currently Jing’an’s most economically underdeveloped area  to examine the local political situation. He would likely be transferred to serve as District 7’s governor afterward.

During Delinke’s assignment, Chen Feng, Chief Prosecutor of Jing’an’s Supreme Court, would serve as acting president of the Supervision Court, taking over all affairs from Hubert.

The transfer order made the intention to sideline Delinke abundantly clear. With the Supervision Court being heavily targeted, the political situation became turbulent once again.

Support