A Vicious Female Rival Omega is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 7

“Cough—cough, cough!”

Accompanied by a bout of violent coughing, Shen Qingran spat out all the river water she had choked on. Ye Yixi patted her back gently to soothe her. Both of them were completely soaked, with droplets of water clinging to their hair.

As an Omega, Shen Qingran had a rather delicate constitution. Having just been fished out of the water, she hadn’t yet regained her strength. At this moment, leaning limply against Ye Yixi’s shoulder, she gave off the distinct visual vibe of a fragile white flower battered by a rainstorm. She was already exceptionally beautiful, and the water droplets on her face and hair only heightened her look of vulnerability. Coupled with the tear mole beneath her eye, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe her as thoroughly pitiable and moving.

While Ye Yixi rather liked this soft, defenseless side of her—which felt similar to when she had fallen asleep drunk—she really hoped this kind of life-threatening situation wouldn’t happen again.

On the other side, Zhen Xiaobai wasn’t faring any better. The consecutive scares had left her completely drained of strength. Gu An supported her as she stood up. The costume she hadn’t had time to take off was entirely drenched, and overwhelmed by a mixture of fear and guilt, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

The security personnel arrived fashionably late, apologizing profusely to the actors and investors. This was no minor incident; with such inadequate safety measures, they truly wouldn’t have been able to shoulder the responsibility if a catastrophic accident had occurred.

“Miss Shen, I am so incredibly sorry…” Zhen Xiaobai said in a timid, guilt-ridden voice, a large towel already draped over her shoulders.

In reality, none of this could be blamed on Zhen Xiaobai. Ye Yixi knew perfectly well in her heart that this was entirely the fault of the dramatic, trashy plot. Whether it was the loose screw on the wire harness or this sudden drowning incident, it all existed purely to drive the story forward. It was nothing more than using the female lead’s safety as leverage to facilitate a romantic rescue by her love interest, thereby accelerating the emotional development of the main couple.

However, Ye Yixi was a bit confused. Was the “rescue the female lead” mission handed down by the System today supposed to be her acting as a human cushion, or the drowning incident just now? Or did today’s main story actually require her to complete both events?

Since the System hadn’t made a sound yet, Ye Yixi couldn’t say for sure, but she guessed those points were likely out of reach. The female lead’s rescue had been intercepted by her official love interest, and going by the original owner’s persona, it was completely impossible for her to have saved Shen Qingran just now. Such an OOC action was bound to result in a point deduction from the System… Ye Yixi suddenly felt like she had lost both the battle and her troops.

But the word “troops” was hard to define here. Ever since Gu An made her appearance, Ye Yixi’s progress in getting close to the female lead had grown slower and slower. The official love interest’s halo truly wasn’t something a piece of cannon fodder like her could contend with. After all her tossing and turning up to this day, she had only managed to exchange contact details. Later on, more competitors would likely show up one after another. Would she really be able to successfully romance the female lead in the end…? Ye Yixi began to harbor some doubts about the direction she had chosen.

That being said, Shen Qingran’s fundamental nature really wasn’t bad; in fact, one could even say she was quite kind. When Zhen Xiaobai fell into the water, her instinct had been to grab the female lead’s hand, only to be dragged down with her. Even when the female lead came over to apologize in the end, this woman didn’t get angry at all.

Ye Yixi grew thoughtful. Later in the plot, Shen Qingran would become a total “love brain,” sinking deep into the petty, toxic competition for affection before ultimately spiraling down to her ruin. To service such a dramatic plot, turning a beautiful, well-born young socialite into someone completely hideous was actually quite off-putting when she thought about it carefully. If she didn’t have to fall in love with Gu An, would she escape that fate…?

Shaking her head, Ye Yixi immediately dismissed these stray, messy thoughts. Right now, she was like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river—unable to guarantee her own destiny—so how could she find the spare energy to worry about other supporting characters?

Shen Qingran had recovered quite a bit. She was currently sitting on a low stool with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, sniffing her nose. Her clothes were still damp, faintly tracing her graceful contours. Her skin had always been porcelain-white, and having just suffered a fright, her face looked exceptionally pale. Her exquisite features carried a trace of aggrieved vulnerability, making her look like a little drenched cat that had been abandoned by someone—she looked remarkably pitiful.

Yet, she had come here entirely on her own today, without bringing a single personal assistant.

Ye Yixi’s assistant had already rushed over to find a blanket from the car trunk and drape it over her boss. Ye Yixi took in every detail of Shen Qingran’s appearance. Her weakened state stirred a sense of tenderness in her chest. Ultimately unable to bear it, she shot her assistant a meaningful look, signaling her to place the blanket over Shen Qingran instead.

Catching her drift instantly, the assistant complied, even brewing a cup of hot water to hand to her. Shen Qingran nodded and offered a soft, quiet, “Thank you.”

Now, Ye Yixi felt slighted. An imbalance cropped up in her heart: I literally just saved your life, and you don’t have anything to show for it? Restless, she began clearing her throat repeatedly and making deliberate noises to catch Shen Qingran’s attention. Sure enough, the woman looked over.

In truth, Shen Qingran also understood that since someone had risked their own safety to rescue her just now, she ought to offer a few polite words no matter what. However, she and Ye Yixi had been rivals for so long that suddenly speaking to her in such a good-natured manner felt incredibly awkward.

They locked eyes just like that, as if time had frozen solid. It wasn’t until Ye Yixi let out a light cough that Shen Qingran snapped out of it, awkwardly pulling her gaze away. Ye Yixi stared at the back of her head for a long time without receiving a response. Letting out a sigh of self-deprecation, she decided to stop making a fool of herself, casually packing her things to head home.

Just as Ye Yixi stood up, a slender hand suddenly extended from the side, catching the edge of her jacket and tugging downward gently.

Shen Qingran tilted her head up, her eyes brimming with a touch of bashful embarrassment. Finally, biting her lower lip, she spoke to Ye Yixi in an incredibly obedient, soft tone:

“Thank you for today…”

Oh my, that was so sweet…

Ye Yixi suppressed the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, her heart already blooming with pure delight. On the surface, however, she maintained a neutral expression, casually straightening her clothes as she spoke with total nonchalance: “Ah, just a regular act of bravery. I would have saved anyone else in that situation too, so Miss Shen needn’t be too polite.”

Ye Yixi was still immersed in her own smugness, completely failing to notice that the moment she uttered those words, Shen Qingran’s expression instantly dimmed.

After a tiring day, she finally made it back home. Ye Yixi immediately hurried to take a hot bath, feeling thoroughly sticky and gross. To prevent catching a cold, she also had Auntie Zhang brew a cup of ginger tea for her.

While soaking comfortably, Ye Yixi finally remembered the System. This creature hadn’t popped up once the entire day; could it have malfunctioned?

Usually, if her persona went even slightly OOC, it would blare warnings non-stop. Today, she had been so friendly toward Shen Qingran—wasn’t the System going to wipe out every single point she had painstakingly accumulated?!

Thinking of this, Ye Yixi could no longer remain calm, calling out to the System several times. No response. She kept shouting, refusing to stop, her voice growing louder and louder until her echoes filled the bathroom. By the forty-third shout, that familiar mechanical electronic voice finally deigned to answer her.

“Host, stop, stop, stop! Quit shouting, you’re about to short-circuit my brain!”

“007, where on earth did you vanish to? Why didn’t you show up at all today? What exactly is the situation with my mission points right now?” Ye Yixi questioned it with irritation. Running around like a headless chicken during today’s mission had kept her heart suspended in mid-air; if 007 were online at all times, she could at least find some peace of mind.

“Oh, I was off-duty and recharging today, I completely forgot about that! My apologies, Host! Updating your point interface right now!”

Following a few sounds that resembled a tin can being tapped, the point interface popped up. Ding-dong—

【 Congratulations to the Host for completing the special mission: “Saving a life excels building a seven-story pagoda.” Reward: 5 Points. 】

What?! What does this mean?!! Ye Yixi was so thrilled she nearly leaped straight out of the bathtub!

“Host, stay calm! Although you failed to complete the main story mission, you unintentionally triggered and completed a special hidden mission, thereby earning a high point reward! In the face of a life-and-death situation involving human life, the concept of OOC simply does not exist!”

So she had actually turned a misfortune into a blessing? She had to admit this System was designed in quite a humanized manner. Ye Yixi felt a wave of appreciation. She hadn’t expected this book to contain so many hidden elements; if her luck struck gold in the future, could she perhaps unearth some hidden items too?

“Host, there is a side quest the day after tomorrow. Will you accept it?”

“What’s it for?”

“Just rescuing a cat.”

“Accept, accept, accept!”

Ye Yixi was in an excellent mood right now, willing to do just about anything. Humming a cheerful tune, she turned herself into a bathroom vocalist, later scrolling through short videos without paying mind to anything else.

What Ye Yixi didn’t know, however, was that at this very moment, the major online forums had quietly exploded into a frenzy again, all of them passionately discussing the incident that had occurred with their film crew today.

An anonymous insider had leaked a post, complete with a few blurry snapshots featuring Zhen Xiaobai and Shen Qingran falling into the water, as well as Gu An and Ye Yixi executing the rescues.

The moment the thread was posted, it immediately attracted a massive influx of replies. Some slammed the crew for inadequate safety measures, and Gu An’s fans expressed all kinds of heartache for their idol, but the vast majority of the attention settled firmly onto Shen Qingran and Ye Yixi.

“I knew it! Those two definitely have a thing going on!”

“Look at that daughter of the Ye family—she’s incredibly scum and flirts everywhere, but this time she really risked her life to chase Shen Qingran, hahaha.”

“Rich socialites cherish their lives more than anything. For her to do that, I bet she’s caught real feelings!”

“Hey, don’t say another word—just looking at their appearances, these two really are a perfect match.”

…………

Ye Yixi slept exceptionally soundly over the next two days. Having rested well, her energy was fully restored. She applied a layer of exquisite makeup, standing before the mirror to admire herself. Sigh, truly gorgeous enough to kill. Changing into a sharp, capable outfit and spritzing some perfume, Ye Yixi prepared to head out.

This time, the side quest was quite unique. She wondered exactly what kind of rescue this cat required? She felt like she had been constantly saving one thing or another these past few days…

Following the location provided by the System’s prompts, Ye Yixi drove along the map route. After an hour or so, she found her way into a small public park. Stepping out of the car, she surveyed the area with a bit of bewilderment. It was entirely unfamiliar, and her memory database held no record of it; it seemed the original owner had never visited this area either.

The park wasn’t particularly large. Ye Yixi walked several laps around the perimeter, peering thoroughly into various patches of bushes, but far from spotting a cat, she barely saw a few flying insects. Though she had arrived full of excitement, the search had left her a bit drained. Fortunately, the weather was lovely today, the sunlight warming her face comfortably. Ye Yixi stretched her body and found a bench to sit down and rest for a moment.

People drifted past before her eyes, quite a few of them bringing children here to play. The air was filled with laughter and cheerful voices, looking thoroughly pleasant. Ye Yixi possessed bright, stunning features, and her beautiful face was bound to attract attention anywhere. Quite a few people couldn’t resist stealing extra glances at her. Fortunately, the park during a weekday was mostly populated by elderly folks; had it been replaced by young people surfing the web on a 5G connection, they would likely have recognized her.

The relaxing scenery reminded Ye Yixi of her real self, back when she constantly complained about how difficult the agricultural planting industry was and how immense the pressure felt. Ever since coming to this world, she had instead achieved the financial freedom of her dreams, and her idle days had multiplied.

As Ye Yixi sat there letting her mind wander, a few faint meows suddenly drifted out from somewhere. The sound seemed quite close to her, so it was immediately caught by her ears. She scanned her surroundings as the meowing continued. Following the source of the sound, she stepped across a few bushes and walked into a relatively secluded section of the park where no one else was around. Looking up, she spotted a large orange tabby cat half-perched on the trunk of a massive tree, shivering all over, looking as though it had been pinned down by a branch.

It seemed this was today’s side quest.

Ye Yixi stood up to evaluate the tree. By her estimate, it stood roughly seven or eight meters tall, with lush green leaves and a very sturdy trunk. If I could get a bunch of these saplings to implement greenery projects in heavily smogged regions, it would be truly excellent… Right, sidetracked again.

So, was she supposed to climb up and rescue this orange cat herself? Wouldn’t that be a bit too dangerous? She hadn’t brought any assistive tools with her today, but the cat’s cries sounded entirely too pitiful. Ye Yixi decided to give it a shot first; if it didn’t work, she would look for another solution.

She quickly positioned herself beneath the tree, looking up as she rolled up her sleeves. Alright then, let’s get to work!