A Heartless Omega Regrets It When I’m Dying - Chapter 19

Qi Yishu was a Beta, so Lin Wantang had no way to judge her emotions through pheromone fluctuations. However, even after a long time had passed, she could still see a tiny curve at the corners of Qi Yishu’s mouth; her amber eyes remained motionless like solidified honey, as if she hadn’t yet fully come back to her senses.

Lin Wantang understood. For Qi Yishu, learning that her crush was about to get divorced immediately after returning to the country must have triggered an uncontrollable surge of emotion.

“I’m sorry, I lost my composure,” Qi Yishu finally spoke, her voice regaining its calm, devoid of any discernible emotion. “I simply didn’t expect it to end like this.”

Lin Wantang shook her head with a smile. “It’s alright.”

The atmosphere grew slightly stiff. Lin Wantang pressed her palm against the side of her glass, thinking about how to transition the topic naturally.

“Do you have any plans after finishing this role, Junior?”

“I might rest for a while after this shoot,” Lin Wantang answered vaguely, not wanting to mention the surgery. “Once I’ve adjusted, I’ll probably continue taking roles.”

Qi Yishu nodded. “Aside from that? Any other plans for the future?”

Lin Wantang tightened her grip on the water glass. She sensed that this question wasn’t just a simple pleasantry, but she truly didn’t know much about Qi Yishu. After a moment’s pause, she said cautiously, “I haven’t thought too far ahead yet. I’m just taking it one step at a time.”

The curtains in the private room were thick, completely sealing out the night view and blurring the passage of time. After answering, Lin Wantang checked her phone; it was already past 8:00 PM. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Senior Qi, it’s getting late. Let’s meet again another time.”

“Mhm,” Qi Yishu nodded, but she remained seated, making no move to get up. She continued, “What genre of roles are you planning to take after this one?”

“I haven’t fully decided yet,” Lin Wantang smiled. “I might be resting for a very long time after this.”

The surgery only had a 10% success rate. Although Lin Wantang was trying her best to prepare, the future felt too distant and uncertain for her. She wasn’t sure if she would even be able to continue acting.

“If you have any thoughts, you can tell me.”

Qi Yishu finally stood up and picked up her coat from the back of the chair. She looked at Lin Wantang with a serious gaze. Her amber eyes, illuminated by the warm yellow light of the overhead lamp, looked like bright oil paint on a canvas. “I can help.”

“Thank you, Senior.”

Lin Wantang’s movements faltered for a brief second as she picked up her coat. For a fleeting moment, she thought of another “Senior” from years ago who had also released such gentle kindness. Her fingers felt a bit sluggish.

The coat slipped slightly from her hand, and Lin Wantang paused for a moment before slowly draping it over her shoulders.

Though she was grateful to Qi Yishu, Lin Wantang didn’t actually intend to continue accepting her help. Such kindness was addictive, but she was even more afraid that one day it would fall apart in the most humiliating way.

She didn’t know when she had started the habit of envisioning loss before ever truly possessing something. She couldn’t accept Qi Yishu’s goodwill without reservation, even though she knew Qi Yishu was likely doing this out of sympathy—or perhaps as compensation for Lin Wantang’s initiative in divorcing Wen Zhiqing, which spared everyone from a difficult situation.

“Senior Qi, I’ll be heading back now.”

Lin Wantang gave a polite smile after picking up her bag, but her exit was hurried. The sound of her soles tapping against the floor was rapid and dense, as if she were frantically fleeing from this sudden gift of warmth.

Before leaving, Lin Wantang had quietly paid the bill on her phone. She walked quickly to the elevators. When the doors opened, she stepped in and pressed the button for the lobby, letting out a long sigh of relief only after the doors had completely shut.

As she left the restaurant, a few drones were still hovering in the shadows, but Lin Wantang, in her haste, didn’t notice them. For the first time since her diagnosis, she luxuriously hailed a taxi. When she stepped out, she realized it had started to snow again.

Fine flakes swirled sparsely in the halos of the streetlights, landing on her eyelashes and shoulders, gradually melting into a cold dampness.

Lin Wantang pushed the door open and entered the villa, carrying a lingering chill. Only a single floor lamp was lit in the living room. In the dim, yellow glow, Wen Zhiqing was leaning against the sofa with her laptop open on her lap.

Hearing the sound of the door, Wen Zhiqing’s fingers slid rapidly across the trackpad. She slowly lifted her eyes toward Lin Wantang at the entrance.

Her eyes were as black as ink, reflecting no light in the shadows. When she looked at someone, a silent sense of pressure surged forward heavily.

Usually, Wen Zhiqing only worked in her study, so Lin Wantang didn’t know what she was doing. She could only guess it wasn’t business-related. Lin Wantang instinctively brushed the half-melted snow from her shoulder. The snow melted into water upon contact with the room’s temperature, leaving her fingers trembling slightly from the cold.

“Is something wrong?”

Lin Wantang took off her slightly damp coat. Seeing Wen Zhiqing still staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze, she finally couldn’t help but ask.

“You took a new role?”

Wen Zhiqing’s gaze returned to her laptop screen, her tone indifferent. “A big production, too. How does an eighteenth-tier actress like you land something like that?”

The private investigator was highly efficient; they had already summarized Lin Wantang’s recent movements for Wen Zhiqing tonight. Wen Zhiqing quickly found what she was looking for. She saw that a few days ago, Lin Wantang had secured a new role through Qi Yishu’s connections, and that today, Qi Yishu had even made a special trip to dine with her privately.

Wen Zhiqing’s first reaction wasn’t anger, but a sense of absurdity. Yet, beyond the absurdity, all the confusing events of late were finally connected into a single line. It was a feeling of so that’s how it is.

Qi Yishu often brought up Lin Wantang “unintentionally,” and recently even acted like some lovelorn saint. Meanwhile, Lin Wantang, who had always been meticulously attentive to her, suddenly proposed a divorce. Everything now had an answer.

These two had probably made secret vows long ago. Perhaps once Lin Wantang got her divorce, they could openly run off together. In the logs sent by the investigator, there were also records of Lin Wantang frequently visiting the hospital. Wen Zhiqing dismissed this with contempt, certain that Lin was only going to the hospital to create a cover story.

Qi Yishu was the friend she had grown up with, yet she had teamed up with a mercenary liar like Lin Wantang to stab her in the back. It made her heart turn cold. The actions of these two disgusted her.

But the evidence currently in hand wasn’t sufficient. Wen Zhiqing didn’t hesitate to transfer a substantial fee to the private investigator, ordering her to find even more concrete proof.

She hated betrayal and deception most of all. This mercenary liar Lin Wantang actually dared to do it a second time. Upon first seeing the evidence, Wen Zhiqing was so angry she nearly released her cold galbanum pheromones uncontrollably.

“Yes, I took a new role.” Since Wen Zhiqing was asking, it meant she already knew, so Lin Wantang didn’t hide it. “Is there a problem?”

Lin Wantang’s gaze was open and direct, but it was devoid of any warmth. Her blind, surging feelings for Wen Zhiqing had long since been exhausted. In the standoff, she saw Wen Zhiqing’s gaze darken further; those ink-black eyes were like a frozen sea surface—deep and beautiful, but unsettling.

Ultimately, Wen Zhiqing said nothing. She simply snapped her laptop shut and stood up to leave, the metallic click sounding jarring in the overly quiet living room.

She wouldn’t let Lin Wantang have her way, Wen thought. Their pheromone compatibility was 100%; they were meant to stay entangled and torture each other. She would not allow a liar like Lin Wantang to seek more after getting what she wanted—even hooking up with her best friend, surely just to spite her.

She had to teach Lin Wantang a devastating lesson, one so painful that she would never dare to betray her so casually again.

If Lin Wantang would just change her mind and stop being so fickle, she wouldn’t mind intervening in the entertainment industry to set up a project specifically for her. She would let this short-sighted, uncultured liar see what a real shortcut looked like.

Qi Yishu had a reputation in the industry, but could those empty titles truly compete with hard capital?

Thinking of this, a stunningly brilliant smile slowly bloomed on Wen Zhiqing’s downcast face. In the dim light, it was startlingly obsessive.