A Fishing-Type Omega Always Wants to Possess Me - Chapter 6

When Yu Mianzhou woke the next morning, the headache caused by her chaotic pheromones had yet to disappear completely.

The lychee fragrance Jiang Zhi had left behind the night before had lingered inside her room all night like an invisible ghost.

Fortunately, the special medication had taken effect and kept her from losing her mind.

When she went downstairs, Yu Shu was the only person left in the dining room.

Yu Shu was on the phone with a luxury boutique sales associate, arranging for the season’s newest clothes to be delivered to the house. Seeing Yu Mianzhou come down, she immediately forced out a smile.

“Mianzhou, come have breakfast.”

Yu Mianzhou pulled out a chair and sat down. After taking a sip of milk, she went straight to the point.

“Mom, I’m planning to move out.”

The smile on Yu Shu’s face froze.

She stared at Yu Mianzhou, her eyes flickering as though rapidly weighing her options.

After several seconds, that stiffness softened into something almost pleading.

“Mianzhou, you only just came back… Can’t you stay and keep your mother company for a little longer?”

“At least…”

Seeing that Yu Mianzhou remained unmoved, she lowered herself even further.

“At least stay until your Sister Jiang Zhi has finished getting married, all right? Otherwise, of all the times you could leave, you’ll be moving out right before the wedding. I’m afraid they might…”

Yu Mianzhou understood.

She was afraid the Jiang family would misunderstand and think Yu Mianzhou still had not gotten over Jiang Zhi.

Yu Mianzhou said nothing and quietly cut the fried egg on her plate.

There were no servants nearby, so Yu Shu finally dared to voice the words she had been holding back for the past several days. Her voice carried suppressed grievance.

“Mianzhou, Mommy has been wondering whether I didn’t care enough about you while you were growing up. Maybe that was why you… did something like that.”

“Do you blame Mommy? Everyone makes mistakes when they’re young. Mommy only did it for your own good. I couldn’t simply stand by and watch you go down the wrong path. Besides, the relationship between the two of you—”

Yu Mianzhou raised her eyes.

Her gaze passed over Yu Shu and settled upon one corner of the ceiling diagonally above her head.

Yu Shu followed her line of sight.

An inconspicuous black surveillance camera was embedded in the corner, its red light flashing faintly.

Cold sweat instantly soaked her back.

How could she have forgotten?

Even without servants nearby, there were still cameras.

After what happened three years ago, everything involving Yu Mianzhou and Jiang Zhi inside this mansion had become an unmentionable taboo.

Fortunately…

Fortunately, Mianzhou had reminded her.

Still shaken, Yu Shu hurriedly changed the subject, her voice becoming noticeably dry.

“What are you planning to do now that you’re back? What kind of job do you want to find? Should Mommy… speak to your Aunt Jiang and ask her to let you join the Jiang Corporation?”

Within the Empire’s highest social circles, the words “Jiang family” had long transcended their meaning as a mere symbol of wealth. They had become synonymous with a premier aristocratic family whose influence stretched across politics, commerce, academia, and scientific research, possessing both power and prestige.

In Yu Shu’s eyes, if Mianzhou could enter the Jiang Corporation, she would ascend to the top in a single step.

It was only a small favor. If Yu Shu begged Jiang Yingqiu, she should still be able to arrange it.

“There’s no need.”

Yu Mianzhou shook her head and wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

“I’ll find work myself.”

Yu Shu wanted to persuade her further, but after looking at her daughter’s detached face, she swallowed the words again.

They had been separated for three years, after all.

It would naturally take time for them to become close again.

Once Mianzhou had suffered enough outside, she would understand that her mother had been right.

After breakfast, Yu Mianzhou drove directly out of Shenyuan Estate.

The oppressive atmosphere was left behind. As the streets outside the window rapidly receded, her taut nerves finally began to relax.

Three years.

Perhaps it was because of what Yu Shu had said, or perhaps her pheromones had yet to settle completely, but Yu Mianzhou once again began uncontrollably recalling the scenes from three years ago—

She and Jiang Zhi secretly holding hands, kissing, and sleeping together behind everyone’s backs.

How astonishing.

As an outsider, an illegitimate stepdaughter with no proper status in the family, she had once been brazen enough to fool around with Jiang Zhi, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family.

As for why she described it as “fooling around” rather than “being in love”…

Yu Mianzhou thought it was probably because that secret relationship had been like rain falling from heaven to her, the fulfillment of her most impossible dream.

But to Jiang Zhi, it had been nothing more than a trivial diversion in a life as still and dull as stagnant water—

No different from casually teasing a kitten or puppy.

The grief and agony Yu Mianzhou had felt when they were discovered and she was driven away had clearly been enormous.

So enormous that, like a bitter winter, it had nearly blanketed most of her past life.

But Jiang Zhi was still the same Jiang Zhi.

Why?

Yu Mianzhou’s hands tightened fiercely around the steering wheel.

Why did this thorn—soaked in sweetness and honey, then wrapped in resentment and hatred—pierce only her?

The car eventually stopped beneath an exceptionally modern office building.

Tianji Technology.

The company had been established less than a year ago, yet through its unique artificial-intelligence technology, Lingxi, it had already begun making a name for itself within the industry.

Yu Mianzhou entered the office.

Inside the open-plan work area, the sounds of keyboards rose and fell continuously, filling the space with youthful energy.

“Elowen! It’s been so long!”

A woman in a plaid dress and black-framed glasses spotted her and immediately rushed over with a smile, wrapping her in a forceful hug.

Lunn was one of the company’s technical department heads and had also been Yu Mianzhou’s university classmate.

Yu Mianzhou patted her back and smiled faintly.

“It’s only been two months.”

“Two months still counts as a long time.”

Lunn released her, looking rather excited.

“While you were away, quite a few companies contacted us to discuss partnerships, and most of them seem quite sincere. I sent the list to your email. Take a look.”

“All right.”

Yu Mianzhou nodded. Before entering her office, she said to Lunn:

“Joyce will be coming in to report for work later. Remember to help her complete the onboarding process.”

“Leave it to me.”

Lunn winked at her, her expression carrying a hint of suggestiveness.

“You managed to convince Joyce to join us. As expected, she only agreed because it was you, right?”

Yu Mianzhou knew Lunn had always misunderstood her relationship with Joyce, but she did not bother explaining.

She turned and walked toward her desk.

After switching on the computer, she opened the email.

The names of dozens of companies were listed inside.

Her fingers moved over the mouse as her gaze swept across logo after logo, some familiar and others unknown.

Suddenly, her movements stopped.

On the screen, a gilded character reading Gu struck her eyes.

The Gu Group.

She stared at the name for two seconds before expressionlessly closing the document.

At noon, several of the company’s founding members gathered for lunch to celebrate Joyce officially joining the company.

“Cheers! Welcome to our great beauty, Joyce!”

Lunn raised her glass.

The founding members present were either Yu Mianzhou’s classmates or fellow students from the same academic circle. Because of their connection to Yu Mianzhou, they had also known Joyce for a long time and were on good terms with her.

“Thank you, everyone!”

Joyce smiled with dazzling beauty.

“From now on, I’m one of you! Everyone had better take good care of me!”

Joyce had been appointed director of the newly established Industry Solutions Department.

She had excellent taste and was exceptionally skilled at business negotiations and uncovering client needs. The position seemed practically tailor-made for her.

Her only shortcoming was probably her accent.

The Imperial language was used throughout the entire interstellar civilization, and Joyce had studied it before. She simply struggled to pronounce the tones of every word correctly.

No one minded, however.

On the contrary, they found it entertaining.

Around the dining table, everyone spoke animatedly about recent technological breakthroughs and industry developments. The atmosphere was lively.

Yu Mianzhou leaned back in her chair and listened to her companions chatting, relaxing in a way she rarely allowed herself to do.

Halfway through lunch, just as the mood reached its liveliest point, Yu Mianzhou’s phone suddenly vibrated on the table and its screen lit up.

Several new messages appeared one after another.

The vibration was clearly insignificant, yet everyone fell silent with remarkable coordination and turned in unison to stare at Yu Mianzhou’s phone.

Lunn, who was sitting closest, caught a glimpse of the screen.

She exchanged looks with the colleagues beside her, and they all wore expressions that said, As expected. Here we go again.

“Is it still that stalker?” Lunn asked.

【That shirt suits you so well. It’s such a waste for you to wear it where other people can see. I want to put a puppy tag around your neck so you’ll only let me look at you and only obey me.】

【I just bought a box of gummies. Mint flavored. They taste exactly like you when I bite into them.】

【My hands tremble whenever I miss you. Water ran into my palm. When are you coming to lick it clean for me?】

The explicit and disturbingly obsessive words were displayed openly across the screen.

Yu Mianzhou picked up her phone.

Her thumb moved over the display as she expertly deleted the messages, then she nodded.

“My God, it’s been two years and this person still hasn’t given up?”

Another founding member, Ling Yuetao, exclaimed in astonishment.

“I’m almost beginning to admire her. That’s some incredible persistence.”

Joyce had been the first to discover what was happening.

One day, she had caught Yu Mianzhou frowning at her phone. She leaned over to look and immediately exploded upon seeing the filthy, obscene messages.

She instantly gathered Lunn and the rest of their technologically skilled friends, declaring that they would drag the pervert hiding behind the internet out into the open.

They were a group of elite computer experts.

Surely locating a single person should have been effortless.

Yet no one expected the other party’s technical abilities to be absurdly advanced.

The stalker continuously switched IP addresses and virtual numbers, leading them around in circles. Even the police could not open a case because they could not identify the person responsible.

They were furious and preparing to escalate their technical methods when Yu Mianzhou, the actual target of the harassment, suddenly told them to stop.

She said there was no need to continue investigating and that they should not waste everyone’s time and energy.

Since they could not locate the culprit and the person being harassed remained so indifferent, everyone gradually became accustomed to it.

After all, aside from occasionally sending harassing messages and spouting obscene nonsense, the stalker had never caused any tangible harm.

Joyce pursed her lips.

“With this much perseverance, she could accomplish anything she wanted. Why insist on fixating on our Elowen?”

“All we can say is that Elowen truly has terrible luck. She attracts nothing but perverts.”

Lunn sighed.

“It happened abroad too. Once, she and I went out together and someone snatched her bag. We were about to report it to the police when the bag was suddenly thrown back not long afterward. Nothing was missing except one identification photograph of Elowen. Tell me that isn’t strange.”

When Lunn finished, Ling Yuetao could no longer hold herself back.

“So it happened to you too? Listen to this. During the month we interned over winter break in our third year, someone placed a drink on Elowen’s desk every morning. It was always something different. There weren’t any surveillance cameras in the office, and none of the employees admitted to it or claimed to have seen anyone.”

She could not help marveling:

“Only Elowen could be carefree enough to actually drink them. If it were me, I’d throw them as far away as possible…”

At this point, Joyce teased:

“Elowen, with this kind of constitution, you’d definitely be the main character if your life were a movie.”

Yu Mianzhou merely lifted her glass and took a sip of water before putting her phone away without any change in expression.

“What kind of movie? A romance or a horror film?”

She smiled faintly and added with apparent indifference:

“My luck is rather poor.”

“It isn’t only your luck. Your temper is far too good as well.”

Lunn looked at her in frustrated disappointment.

“That pervert has been pestering you with messages for two years, yet you haven’t lost your temper even once.”

After lunch, the afternoon passed in another rush of work.

Near the end of the day, Yu Mianzhou walked out of the company entrance.

Not far away, Gu Wanlan stood dressed in sharp professional attire, her long hair swept up. She appeared to be waiting for someone.

Upon seeing Yu Mianzhou, Gu Wanlan was first startled before offering a courteous smile.

“Little Sister Mianzhou? What a coincidence.”

Her gaze settled upon the four large characters reading Tianji Technology behind Yu Mianzhou.

As though realizing something, she asked:

“Did you come to interview with this company? Or…”

Yu Mianzhou paused.

“I just finished the interview. I start tomorrow.”

Gu Wanlan’s eyes lit up.

“That’s wonderful. To tell you the truth, I’m here representing the Gu Group. I want to discuss a partnership with the person in charge of Tianji Technology, but I haven’t been able to secure a meeting.”

She had already stationed people here for nearly a month without catching even a glimpse of the mysterious person in charge.

Only after hearing through unofficial channels that this person might recently have returned to the country had she come to try her luck personally.

She had never expected to encounter Yu Mianzhou.

Although Yu Mianzhou was only a new employee who had yet to start working officially, she was at least someone on the inside.

It was still an opportunity.

Gu Wanlan looked at her, the end of her sentence lifting slightly in a somewhat intimate tone.

“Little Sister Mianzhou, could you… help me pay attention to when your company’s person in charge comes into the office?”

Yu Mianzhou remembered the gilded words Gu Group on the partnership list.

She was not particularly surprised by Gu Wanlan’s appearance.

“I’ll try,” she said.

“Thank you so much.”

Gu Wanlan smiled, then extended another invitation.

“To express my gratitude, let me treat you to dinner. Right now.”

Right now?

Yu Mianzhou fell silent.

She did not believe she and Gu Wanlan were familiar enough to dine together.

Surprisingly, despite having been pampered all her life and occupying a position of authority, Gu Wanlan sensitively noticed Yu Mianzhou’s hesitation.

When she spoke again, her tone became even gentler.

“If you think it would be awkward with only the two of us, I have several friends who can join us.”

The implication was that if Yu Mianzhou wanted to dine alone with her, that would be fine. If she preferred a group, Gu Wanlan could call others over.

Yet this gentleness caused Yu Mianzhou to become distracted for an instant.

Perhaps this was why Jiang Zhi had chosen Gu Wanlan from among all her pursuers to become her future partner.

Suddenly, Yu Mianzhou wanted to see exactly how long Gu Wanlan could maintain this graceful composure.

“Of course. Thank you for the trouble, Miss Gu.”

She got into Gu Wanlan’s car.

The restaurant had already been booked, and quite a few people were seated inside the private room.

They were all brightly dressed young men and women from wealthy families, apparently friends of Gu Wanlan.

When Gu Wanlan pushed open the door and entered with Yu Mianzhou, the lively conversation and laughter inside abruptly stopped.

Every gaze turned toward them in unison.

The instant they saw Yu Mianzhou, their expressions became shocked and rigid.

The atmosphere around the dining table was strange.

The people on the other side continued talking and laughing, yet no one spoke a single word to Yu Mianzhou. They could not even be bothered to spare her a glance.

Yu Mianzhou did not mind.

She ate on her own as though everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Gu Wanlan noticed that her friends were deliberately excluding Yu Mianzhou, and embarrassment crossed her face.

This was the method these privileged young heirs commonly used to ostracize someone. She had not expected everyone to react so strongly.

Guilt rose within her.

She was about to say something to Yu Mianzhou to ease the atmosphere when the friend beside her suddenly tugged forcefully on her sleeve.

The woman lowered her voice and leaned close to her ear.

“Wanlan, why did you bring her here?”

Her friend’s brows were tightly furrowed.

“Do you even know who she is?”