A Fishing-Type Omega Always Wants to Possess Me - Chapter 10

Yu Mianzhou returned to her room.

The power was still out, leaving the room without any light. She walked straight through the darkness to the wardrobe and found the closet.

Feeling along the gap, she pulled out the clothes hanger she had bent and wedged inside, then casually tossed it onto the floor.

After a faint metallic clatter, an almost inaudible click came from within the concealed doorway, like some kind of locking mechanism sliding back into place.

She had fulfilled her promise.

Once that was done, Yu Mianzhou took several changes of clothes and her computer from the wardrobe and stuffed them into a backpack.

When she went downstairs, the living room was dim, illuminated only by a few flickering candles.

Yu Shu was directing the servants as they lit candles throughout the house. Seeing Yu Mianzhou come down with a backpack, she looked surprised.

“Mianzhou? What are you…”

“The company has been very busy lately, and the project has reached a critical stage. I’ll stay at the office for the next few days.”

Yu Mianzhou’s voice carried no discernible emotion in the vast living room.

Beneath the dim, wavering light, Yu Shu thought her daughter’s face looked frighteningly pale. Assuming she had simply seen incorrectly, she only nodded.

“Then be careful on the way.”

Yu Mianzhou gave a quiet acknowledgment, changed her shoes, and disappeared into the rain outside without looking back.

Behind her, Yu Shu continued muttering:

“How could the power suddenly go out like this? It’s really strange…”

At first, she did not pay much attention to such a minor matter.

That changed at around five in the evening, when the estate’s electrical system was finally repaired and Jiang Yingqiu returned from outside with an icy expression.

She removed her coat, which had been slightly dampened by the rain, and immediately asked:

“When did Mianzhou come back?”

Yu Shu knew that expression on Jiang Yingqiu’s face far too well.

Her heart skipped.

She recalled the time her daughter had returned, but her face immediately softened into delicate concern. Stepping forward, she nearly nestled against Jiang Yingqiu as she wrapped her arms around hers.

“I… I’ve forgotten. It was probably sometime after one.”

She lowered her eyes, grievance entering her voice.

“She packed her things as soon as she came back and said she was going to stay at the office. Yingqiu, do you think I’ve failed too much as a mother? She’s become so distant from me…”

Jiang Yingqiu found the power outage suspicious.

It had not happened earlier or later, but precisely before Yu Mianzhou returned.

She had merely wanted to confirm the timing.

After hearing Yu Shu’s words and seeing her expression, however, the scrutiny in Jiang Yingqiu’s eyes faded. She nodded, her tone softening somewhat.

“Zhizhi has a fever. I’ll go upstairs and check on her first.”

No matter how breathtaking one’s unforgettable first love had been in youth, the passage of many difficult years had long since faded that stirring emotion.

After Jiang Yingqiu left, Yu Shu remained alone in the empty living room.

She had stated that Yu Mianzhou returned half an hour later than she truly had.

The servants had been busy lighting candles at the time, so they probably had not noticed the exact hour either.

It seemed she had made the right gamble.

But when she thought about that missing half hour, Yu Shu’s expression became grave again.

…

Yu Mianzhou lived at the company for an entire week.

She practically immersed herself in code and data, working overtime and driving the whole team forward.

Finally, on Friday evening, Lingxi’s final character design was confirmed.

To celebrate, several founding members found a restaurant near the office.

“Damn, Mianzhou, are you planning to turn the office into your home?”

Lunn raised her glass and teased her.

“You’re working way too hard.”

Yu Mianzhou took a sip of the drink in her glass. Fruit juice and carbonation had been added to the alcohol, creating an intense flavor.

“I never asked any of you to stay with me.”

“Oh, please.”

Ling Yuetao bit off a large piece of steak.

“When the big boss herself is working herself to death here, how could we possibly dare go home and lie around?”

Despite her words, not the slightest complaint appeared on anyone’s face.

Yu Mianzhou smiled and raised her glass.

“Then I’ll punish myself with three drinks.”

Her tolerance for alcohol was poor, and everyone knew it. No one actually allowed her to drink three glasses, and the atmosphere soon became lively.

“Seriously, now that the project is finished, shouldn’t we go relax?” Lunn suggested.

“How? A house party or a nightclub?”

“How ordinary.”

Ling Yuetao smiled mysteriously.

“Listen, my friend managed to get several internal tickets for the Qingye Orchestra next weekend. Are you coming? Those tickets are ridiculously difficult to get. It would be a waste not to go!”

Lunn looked stunned.

“Since when did you become so sophisticated? We’re a herd of uncultured boars. What if we can’t understand the music?”

“If you can’t understand it, then use your eyes!”

Ling Yuetao poked her forehead in exasperation.

“Don’t you know who the Qingye Orchestra’s principal cellist is? Jiang Zhi! Jiang Zhi! You have the chance to see an Omega known as the entire nation’s first love, and this is what you’re worried about? I don’t care. Even if refined delicacies are too sophisticated for your palate, I’m stuffing them down your throat this time…”

The name “Jiang Zhi” was like a small stone suddenly tossed into the alcohol Yu Mianzhou had just consumed.

Her eyes became unfocused for an instant.

The alcohol had not yet gone to her head, but her head had begun to ache.

The moment Joyce heard Jiang Zhi’s name, she immediately turned toward Yu Mianzhou with excitement.

Yu Mianzhou’s brow twitched.

Sensing danger, she set down her glass and spoke before Joyce could open her mouth.

“Those who want to go may go. Consider it a company benefit. You can take the day off at the company’s expense.”

Everyone immediately cheered.

No one noticed the brief abnormality in her expression.

After dinner, everyone went their separate ways.

Joyce drove Yu Mianzhou back to the office.

As they approached the building, Joyce suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

“Elowen.”

She kept her eyes on the road as she finally asked the question she had suppressed throughout the drive.

“Why didn’t you tell them Jiang Zhi was your sister?”

Soft music played inside the car, while the city outside glittered brilliantly.

Yu Mianzhou’s calm facade was pierced.

She frowned slightly and looked at the neon lights outside, the city’s shifting glow moving alternately across her face.

Only after a long silence did she speak, her voice carrying a trace of hoarseness soaked in alcohol.

“Because I’m not her sister.”

Joyce’s foot faltered on the brake, and the car slowed.

Yu Mianzhou continued in a tone so indifferent that she might have been discussing something entirely unrelated to herself.

“My mother wanted to marry Jiang Zhi’s mother, but she never succeeded. Strictly speaking, we aren’t even members of the Jiang family. We’re merely staying in their home.”

Staying in their home?

Joyce’s eyes widened.

Something seemed to explode inside her mind.

No wonder they did not share the same surname.

No wonder Elowen had never mentioned her family or mother throughout all those years abroad.

No wonder the atmosphere between her and Jiang Zhi outside the restaurant had been so strange.

“No wonder…”

Joyce finally understood.

No one knew how many tragic possibilities her imagination created, but intense sympathy flooded her eyes.

“So that’s what happened. I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t know…”

After knowing Yu Mianzhou for so many years, this was the first time she had glimpsed the hidden past Yu Mianzhou never showed anyone.

Yu Mianzhou noticed that Joyce had misunderstood something.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth and attempted to smile, but lacked the energy.

“There’s nothing to pity.”

She leaned against the seat and closed her eyes.

“The Jiang family treated me… quite well.”

After saying that, the alcohol became too much for her.

She instructed Joyce to take her upstairs and said she would sleep at the office that night before falling completely unconscious.

She had not dreamed in a long time.

Perhaps it was because she had returned to her homeland, but Yu Mianzhou suddenly dreamed about the year she first entered the Jiang household.

It was spring.

The snow and ice were melting, the grass was growing, and orioles flew through the air.

She stood inside the Jiang family’s enormous living room, listening as Jiang Yingqiu summoned all the servants and announced that Yu Shu and Yu Mianzhou would be moving in.

Yu Mianzhou stared at the flower buds beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching them sway in the breeze.

That was when Jiang Zhi walked inside.

She appeared to have just emerged from the isolation room. Because she had knelt for too long, her manner of walking was slightly strange, and she did not dare put much weight on her right leg.

The moment she entered, she saw the two strangers.

Perhaps she had always known this day would come. Therefore, when she saw that the mother and daughter had truly moved in, her expression could only be described as calm.

Her beautiful eyes were entirely hollow, containing no emotion at all.

The moment Jiang Yingqiu noticed her awkward gait, her expression turned cold.

She reprimanded her sharply:

“Look at the way you’re walking. Have all these years of teaching been wasted on you?”

Yu Shu hurriedly stopped Jiang Yingqiu.

“Don’t speak to Xiao Zhi like that, Yingqiu. She only just came out of the isolation room. It’s natural for her knees to hurt…”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhi suddenly looked sideways and examined Yu Shu with an almost condescending gaze.

There was pity in that look, as well as mockery, but most of all, indifference.

Why should she care about a woman who was destined never to marry into the Jiang family?

She merely had not expected this woman to be so foolish.

She would never receive even a fraction of the family fortune, yet because of something as insubstantial as love, she had still thrown herself headfirst into this cold prison.

Jiang Zhi did not take Yu Shu seriously at all, much less feel grateful that she had spoken on her behalf.

She was about to go upstairs when she seemed to sense something.

Her gaze shifted and landed upon Yu Mianzhou, who stood beside Yu Shu.

The little burden wore a dull, unremarkable school uniform. She looked foolish and vacant as she stared unblinkingly at Jiang Zhi.

Even after seeing Jiang Zhi look at her mother that way, she did not appear to care in the slightest.

An irritating little brat, just like her mother.

Jiang Zhi withdrew her gaze and went upstairs.

Even after her figure disappeared around the second-floor corner and Jiang Yingqiu had gone to comfort the ignored Yu Shu, Yu Mianzhou remained rooted to the spot, staring toward the second floor without moving.

Why?

Jiang Zhi’s gaze had clearly been so distant and cold.

Why had a single glance made Yu Mianzhou’s scalp tingle and sent her heart pounding wildly beyond her control?

Living in the Jiang household was not as difficult as Yu Mianzhou had imagined.

Jiang Yingqiu spent nearly every hour of every day at the company.

Jiang Zhi had also recently joined the Qingye Orchestra. Despite her young age, she had already become famous and spent most of her time rehearsing or performing.

The person who remained home most often was actually Yu Shu.

She rarely went out and contentedly played the role of an unacknowledged “Madam Jiang” at home. Her daily life consisted of having employees from various luxury brands deliver goods to the house for her to choose from.

Yu Mianzhou might return home ten times before encountering Jiang Zhi once.

They never greeted each other.

Their gazes did not meet even once.

One day after school, Yu Mianzhou mentioned the final parent-teacher meeting before the college entrance examinations and asked whether Yu Shu had time to attend.

Yu Shu was examining a newly delivered necklace in front of the mirror. At the question, her movements paused.

“I… I’ve been rather busy lately.”

She had probably vaguely heard what people outside were saying about her, and recently, she had become even more reluctant to leave the house.

“I’ll ask your Aunt Jiang for you.”

After speaking, she seemed afraid that Yu Mianzhou might say something else that would place her in a difficult position. She immediately put down the necklace and hurried upstairs.

Sure enough, Jiang Yingqiu raised the subject at dinner that evening.

She wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin, but her gaze fell upon Jiang Zhi.

“Zhizhi, go to Mianzhou’s school tomorrow and attend her parent-teacher meeting on her behalf.”

Jiang Zhi had been drinking water.

Hearing this, her movements stopped.

She raised her eyes and let out a brief, disbelieving laugh.

“You want me to attend her parent-teacher meeting? Have you lost your mind, or have I?”

Jiang Yingqiu’s expression instantly darkened.

“Who do you think you’re speaking to? Where are the manners and etiquette I taught you?”

“Besides…”

Anger simmered beneath her voice.

“Mianzhou is your younger sister. It is perfectly reasonable for you to go.”

Jiang Zhi set down her glass.

Its base struck the table with a soft sound.

Suddenly, she curved her lips.

“Younger sister?”

The words left her mouth lightly and slowly.

“Is she even worthy?”

As she spoke, her gaze crossed the length of the dining table and fixed directly upon Yu Mianzhou.

The corner of her mouth still held the slightest curve, yet her beautiful eyes were bitterly cold, as though tempered in the most frigid ice of winter.