A Fishing-Type Omega Always Wants to Possess Me - Chapter 14

Yu Mianzhou slept terribly that night. Every so often, faint rustling noises reached her ears.

When she woke the next morning, her head still felt heavy. Ever since returning to the Jiang residence, she had slept poorly every single night.

As she went downstairs, she happened to see Joyce and Yu Shu sitting together on the living-room sofa, chatting.

Joyce had been given a guest room at Shenyuan Estate the previous night.

Joyce also came from a prominent family and had received an elite education from childhood. Her eye for luxury was exceptionally sharp. With a single glance, she recognized the Patek Philippe watch on Yu Shu’s wrist as a limited edition, while the seemingly ordinary cashmere sweater she wore was actually haute couture.

After Joyce complimented her a few times, Yu Shu immediately beamed and affectionately took her hand.

“Mianzhou has been cold and distant since she was little. She never had many friends because the other children were all afraid of her. I was always worried that she would grow up badly. Fortunately, she has you now. You don’t dislike her and are willing to be with her.”

The smile on Joyce’s face stiffened briefly before she carefully replied in the most standard Imperial language she could manage:

“Mianzhou is a very good person. She treats me and all her colleagues very well.”

Yu Shu sighed.

“Joyce, you don’t need to speak up for her. I know my own child. Ever since she was young, people have constantly come to complain to me about her. They said she was arrogant, always looking down on everyone. She didn’t respect her classmates, and she didn’t even take her teachers seriously. She was always skipping classes too, without the slightest discipline…”

“If I hadn’t kept such a close watch on her, she would have gone down the wrong path long ago.”

Joyce was completely stunned.

Was the Yu Mianzhou she knew truly the same person Yu Shu was describing?

Was Mianzhou really that terrible?

Yu Shu continued speaking on her own.

“You shouldn’t dislike Mianzhou just because she keeps everything bottled up either. If she ever wrongs you in any way, come and tell me. I’ll help you discipline her…”

The more Joyce heard, the stranger it seemed.

She happened to notice Yu Mianzhou standing near the staircase and hurriedly called out as though she had found her savior.

“Mianzhou, you’re awake!”

Caught off guard by the sight of her daughter, Yu Shu frowned.

“Why don’t you make any sound when you walk? You nearly frightened me to death!”

Yu Mianzhou’s expression did not change.

She walked downstairs and headed directly toward the kitchen. Taking a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator, she twisted off the cap and tilted her head back to drink several mouthfuls.

The icy liquid slid down her throat, waking her completely.

“You were simply too absorbed in your conversation.”

She lowered the bottle, her voice calm.

Yu Shu choked on her response and muttered several words beneath her breath. Then she turned back toward Joyce with another smile.

“Good child, sit here for a while. I’ll go see whether the housekeeper has finished preparing breakfast. I’ll personally make you some sweet fermented-rice dumplings. Mianzhou loved them when she was young.”

“After breakfast, the people delivering the formal dresses should arrive. You can choose one too. Then you can attend Zhizhi’s wedding together with Mianzhou.”

At the prospect of attending Jiang Zhi’s wedding, Joyce’s eyes instantly lit up. Her voice trembled with excitement.

“I can go too?!”

Yu Shu did not notice the unusual enthusiasm in her tone and nodded as though it were only natural.

“Of course.”

She privately thought it would be even better if Joyce attended. That way, the Jiang family would feel more reassured.

After speaking, Yu Shu rose and went into the kitchen.

Almost the moment she disappeared inside, Joyce looked eagerly at Yu Mianzhou.

Only after Yu Mianzhou nodded as well did Joyce nearly jump up in excitement, pressing a hand against her chest to restrain herself.

It was her goddess’s wedding!

Even though her goddess might dislike her simply because she was associated with Yu Mianzhou, Joyce was still delighted!

Yu Mianzhou did not care much either way.

Since Joyce wanted to attend, they could go together.

At that moment, the door to the second-floor study opened.

Jiang Yingqiu and Gu Wanlan came downstairs one after the other. Yu Mianzhou had no idea when Gu Wanlan had arrived. Whenever she was not busy, she seemed to spend most of her time at the Jiang residence.

Jiang Yingqiu saw Joyce and knew this was the girlfriend Yu Mianzhou had mentioned.

She had already learned of Joyce’s existence from Jiang Zhi’s bodyguards. Now that they were meeting, she asked several lukewarm questions, fulfilled the requirements of proper etiquette, and said nothing further.

Yu Mianzhou greeted them, then took out her phone and opened the company group chat, forwarding the project proposal Gu Wanlan had sent her the previous night.

Because of that, she failed to notice—

Behind her, Gu Wanlan’s gaze was resting upon her intermittently.

It was subtle, carrying an indistinct sense of investigation that was difficult to describe.

No one except Gu Wanlan knew what she was thinking.

Jiang Zhi came downstairs soon afterward.

She had already dressed and prepared herself, changing into a long ivory dress. Even without makeup, her features overflowed with natural vitality. There was no trace that she had been drunk the previous night.

Not long after breakfast, employees from several luxury brands arrived precisely at the agreed time.

Rows of garment racks filled with haute couture gowns were wheeled into the living room. Several display cases of jewelry scattered dazzling flashes beneath the lights.

A manager approached with several tall models and bowed respectfully.

“Madam Jiang, Miss Jiang, Miss Gu, Ms. Yu—which outfit would you like to try first?”

The wedding dress had already been chosen. Today’s main purpose was to select the reception gowns Jiang Zhi and Gu Wanlan would wear while toasting guests at the wedding.

Yu Shu and Jiang Yingqiu each casually chose an outfit and had models with similar figures try them on. Once they decided the results looked acceptable, they confirmed their selections immediately.

The manager then turned toward Yu Mianzhou and Joyce, apology written across her face.

“I’m sorry, Second Young Miss, Miss Joyce. The schedule was too rushed, and we couldn’t locate models with figures similar to yours. You may need to try the dresses on personally today. But please don’t worry—our staff members are all professionals, and the process won’t be troublesome.”

Yu Mianzhou did not particularly care.

Joyce was even less restrained.

Among the gowns before her were several limited-edition designs she had admired previously. She enthusiastically selected several and entered the fitting room.

She emerged wearing a mermaid gown, but the zipper at the back had become stuck.

“Mianzhou, come help me!”

She blinked her large eyes pleadingly.

Yu Mianzhou helplessly put down her phone and walked over.

She carefully pulled up the delicate zipper at Joyce’s back. Afraid her hair might become caught, she naturally gathered Joyce’s bright, silky red hair and braided it.

Joyce pursed her lips in distaste.

“Why is it always a braid? After all these years, this is still the only style you know. I have to say, your skills desperately need an update.”

Yu Mianzhou selected a diamond necklace from the jewelry display that matched the color of the gown and fastened it around Joyce’s neck.

She coaxed her as though soothing a child.

“You look good with your hair braided.”

Her movements were practiced and natural.

To outsiders, they appeared so intimate that it looked like a public display of affection.

Yu Shu had initially suspected that Joyce might merely be a shield Yu Mianzhou had brought back to mislead everyone.

But after watching their unrestrained intimacy, her remaining doubts finally faded.

She could not help saying with relief:

“Now Zhizhi is getting married, and Mianzhou has also found a suitable partner. As long as both of you have found somewhere you belong, Yingqiu and I can finally stop worrying.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yingqiu looked sideways at her daughter.

Jiang Zhi showed no change in expression. She instructed the model before her to change into another outfit, appearing completely indifferent to the sight of Yu Mianzhou behaving affectionately with someone else.

Halfway through the fitting, Gu Wanlan handed her a glass of honey water and asked gently:

“Are you tired? Drink some water to soothe your throat.”

Jiang Zhi accepted it, her smile faint and her voice soft.

“Thank you.”

This scene was equally sweet and harmonious.

Nothing about it seemed wrong.

It was as though this was the path their lives should originally have followed if the incident three years ago had never occurred.

Jiang Yingqiu was about to look away when Yu Mianzhou suddenly spoke.

“Aunt Jiang, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. I want to move out.”

The subject came so abruptly that no one present reacted immediately.

But Yu Mianzhou continued calmly:

“I probably shouldn’t bring it up at a time like this, but you seem very busy lately. The Jiang family has already supported me for three years. Now that I’ve found work and can live independently, I truly don’t have the nerve to continue imposing upon you.”

The moment she finished speaking, that familiar, suffocating silence once again descended over the Jiang family’s living room.

Cold white light spilled from the crystal chandelier and fell across the marble floor.

Yu Shu was the first whose eyes reddened.

She hurried forward and tightly grasped Yu Mianzhou’s wrist, her voice trembling.

“Mianzhou, didn’t you promise me—”

“Mom,” Yu Mianzhou interrupted her. “Sooner or later, I have to live independently. Besides, the company has been very busy recently. Living at home is inconvenient.”

She paused.

A gaze with almost tangible weight landed upon her, like a snake’s tongue passing across her skin and leaving behind a damp, dangerous chill.

Even so, Yu Mianzhou endured that gaze and finished the rest in a quieter voice.

“And… I’m not a member of the Jiang family, after all. Before, there was nothing I could do. But I’m grown now. Once I leave, perhaps life will become easier for you here. No one will be able to say you brought along a burden anymore.”

The final words were very soft, yet they pierced Yu Shu’s heart like needles.

She fell silent and released Yu Mianzhou’s wrist, merely pressing quietly at the reddened corners of her eyes.

Truthfully, Jiang Yingqiu was extremely surprised.

However, the incident back then had always resembled an invisible time bomb, with no one knowing when it might suddenly explode.

Now that Yu Mianzhou had proposed leaving of her own accord, it might actually be a good thing.

Jiang Yingqiu looked at her deeply before giving a single-word response.

“Fine.”

Then she asked, “When will you move?”

“Within the next few days,” Yu Mianzhou answered. “Joyce has already helped me find a place.”

“I’ll have the butler help you move when the time comes.”

Jiang Yingqiu nodded, then added as though bestowing an act of great mercy:

“Even after you leave, you’re welcome to come home whenever you like. Come and visit us—and your mother.”

And so the matter was settled.

But no one spoke afterward.

The living room became frighteningly quiet.

The employees providing the at-home service kept their heads lowered as they worked, even softening their breathing for fear of disturbing the peculiar atmosphere.

The manager wiped the sweat from her forehead.

She genuinely could not understand how everything had suddenly turned this way when it had been perfectly fine moments earlier.

Where exactly was this suffocating pressure coming from?

Then the Jiang family’s pampered and precious eldest daughter suddenly spoke.

“The Alps for the honeymoon?”

Her fingers idly stroked the back of her hand. She did not even lift her eyelids, and a faint, inscrutable smile curved at the corner of her lips.

“Has it been decided?”

Gu Wanlan’s tone was indulgent.

“Would that be all right? The snowy scenery there is beautiful. We can go and see the mountains together.”

“What’s interesting about looking at snow?”

Only then did Jiang Zhi raise her head.

“If we’re going there, of course we should skydive or try wingsuit flying.”

She spoke very slowly, each word slipping from between her lips.

“Falling from ten thousand meters above the ground, your heartbeat racing… Wouldn’t that be much more exciting?”

Her words seemed half mocking and half resentful.

For one instant, Yu Mianzhou’s eyes lost focus.

During their first year of university, she had hidden the truth from Yu Shu and secretly taken a week off to accompany Jiang Zhi to a famous snowy country in the Northern Hemisphere.

The crisp wind swept across the withered grass near the cliff, blowing the loose strands beside Yu Mianzhou’s temples wildly.

Even back then, Jiang Zhi appeared to have been involved in extreme sports for a long time.

She wore a black-and-red wingsuit, the fabric between her shoulders and arms swelling gently in the wind.

When she turned around, her eyes shone with astonishing brightness, reflecting the surging clouds below the cliff and the dazzling sunlight overhead.

Without giving Yu Mianzhou any time to prepare, she seized her wrist, smiled, and threw herself backward over the cliff—

Without the slightest warning.

Their bodies abruptly became weightless.

Wind instantly filled Yu Mianzhou’s throat, the mountain chill scraping painfully across her cheeks.

Yet Jiang Zhi’s delighted voice rang beside her ear.

“Look! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Yu Mianzhou needed quite some time to adjust before she finally opened her eyes.

A green mountain wall rushed directly toward them. The wind roared deafeningly beside her ears, and beneath them lay a churning sea of clouds.

As they skimmed past rocky pines growing from the cliffs, pine needles brushed against the wingsuit membrane with faint, scattered sounds.

Jiang Zhi’s courage was terrifyingly immense.

She actually led Yu Mianzhou straight toward a narrow valley.

The rock walls on either side were so close that they seemed within arm’s reach. The wind spiraled through the ravine, yet Jiang Zhi laughed even more freely.

Still gripping Yu Mianzhou’s hand, she shifted slightly toward the left.

The membrane of her wingsuit skimmed past the cliff face, sending fragments of stone flying.

Yu Mianzhou’s arm tightened more firmly around Jiang Zhi’s waist. The sweat in her palm soaked into the fabric.

Not because she was afraid.

Jiang Zhi’s madness had bewitched her until her heart raced and even her breathing lost its rhythm, following Jiang Zhi’s pace instead.

Jiang Zhi had always been a lunatic who pursued the sensation of her heart accelerating.

Returning to the present, Yu Mianzhou suddenly understood.

Jiang Zhi was angry—

She was blaming her.

This was a secret known only to the two of them.

That day, at the exact moment their wingsuits cut through the clouds, the light before them had suddenly dimmed.

Yu Mianzhou had looked at Jiang Zhi’s face, and within that brief shadow, she heard herself swear:

“I’ll stay with you. I’ll never abandon you alone inside that cold prison.”

The wind had been warm then, and the sunlight fierce.

Their hearts had beaten tightly against one another, their wingsuits intertwined and their direction the same.

They had believed that flying together like that could withstand every storm in the world.

But now, she was leaving.

Could a vow made in youth really be taken seriously?

If violating an oath meant eternal damnation—

Why was Yu Mianzhou suffering so terribly when she had not been the first to break it?

She was no longer a dog kneeling beneath chains, begging Jiang Zhi to look at her one more time.