Chapter 4
Madam Ji was discussing new handbags with her daughter when she suddenly heard the elevator. Turning around, she saw Ji Qiulin emerge from it, accompanied by three suitcases.
“Why are you taking so many things? Are you going on a business trip?” Madam Ji asked.
Ji Qiulin nodded without explaining.
Sitting on the sofa with her arm linked through her mother’s, Ji Lianlian said, “You wouldn’t need that much stuff for a business trip, would you? I remember you didn’t have that many belongings to begin with.”
“I’ll need all of them this time.” Ji Qiulin didn’t look at either of them and headed straight for the door.
Seeing this, Ji Lianlian said, “If you’re bringing that much luggage, you must be going away for quite a while. Why didn’t you tell us in advance?”
As though she hadn’t heard her, Ji Qiulin opened the door. When the servants outside saw her, they hurried over to help carry her suitcases.
Madam Ji pushed Ji Lianlian aside, stood up, and walked over to her biological daughter. Her tone was gentle. “Qiulin, where are you going on this business trip? Can’t you wait until tomorrow morning to leave?”
“No.” Ji Qiulin stepped outside. “I’m not going on a business trip. I’m moving out.”
She had originally planned to tell her mother after settling into her new place, but now that the words had slipped out during their conversation, she didn’t regret saying them.
Madam Ji’s expression changed slightly. “Why are you moving out? Isn’t living at home good enough?”
“There’s nothing wrong with home, but living elsewhere will be more convenient,” Ji Qiulin replied.
“If you think we’re too far from the company, we can move to another house,” Madam Ji immediately offered.
Ji Qiulin said, “That would be too much trouble. It’ll be easier if I move out on my own.”
“What’s so troublesome about that…”
“Mom.” Ji Lianlian interrupted Madam Ji. “Little Sister has always wanted to move out. You shouldn’t stop her. Otherwise, she’ll only feel uncomfortable.”
Although her words sounded like an attempt to persuade their mother, they were actually implying that Ji Qiulin felt uncomfortable living at home, deliberately sowing discord between mother and daughter.
Ji Qiulin understood her intentions perfectly well, but she didn’t bother arguing. She simply stepped out of the house.
Her actions conveniently reinforced the impression that she felt uncomfortable at home. Madam Ji’s expression darkened.
“Qiulin!”
Ji Qiulin stopped in the courtyard and turned to look at Madam Ji, waiting for her to continue.
Madam Ji hurried after her, but before she could reach Ji Qiulin, she heard a sudden noise. Ji Lianlian had dropped to one knee, clutching her chest and looking as though she were in terrible pain.
Without the slightest hesitation, Madam Ji turned around to check on Ji Lianlian first.
Ji Qiulin watched them indifferently. A few seconds later, she took her suitcases and left.
The Ji family had once been the subject of much gossip among wealthy families because of an incident involving a real and a false heiress.
Ten years earlier, Madam Ji had suffered acute liver failure and needed a liver transplant. Ji Lianlian had voluntarily donated part of her liver, an act of filial devotion that should have been a touching story.
However, the incident ultimately led Madam Ji to discover that Ji Lianlian wasn’t her biological daughter. An investigation uncovered the truth that the children had been switched at birth, allowing her to find her real daughter, Ji Qiulin.
From then on, the Ji family had two Omega daughters.
Although Ji Qiulin was her biological daughter, she was poor at expressing affection and rigid in the way she did things. Ji Lianlian, on the other hand, was talkative and knew how to act spoiled. She had shared more than a decade of memories with Madam Ji and had even donated part of her liver to save her mother’s life, so naturally, Madam Ji was more fond of her.
At first, Ji Qiulin thought this was perfectly normal and could accept it. After all, Madam Ji treated her well too. Not only did she compensate her generously with material things, but she also showed genuine concern for her emotional well-being.
With Madam Ji’s encouragement, eighteen-year-old Ji Qiulin tried to integrate into the Ji family and become sisters with Ji Lianlian.
But things didn’t go as she hoped. Ji Lianlian pretended to be friendly on the surface, while privately rejecting her. She believed Ji Qiulin had come to steal what belonged to her and repeatedly created difficulties for her.
Ji Qiulin tried to tell Madam Ji about it, but Madam Ji placed more trust in the daughter she had watched grow up.
As this continued, Ji Qiulin inevitably grew disheartened. Her relationship with Madam Ji became increasingly distant, while Ji Lianlian grew even closer to their mother.
Ji Qiulin lived in the dormitories during university and only stayed at home during winter and summer vacations. She also spent much of her daytime at the company. After graduating from university, she proposed moving out on her own.
Back then, the move had been put on hold because Ji Lianlian had interfered, and because Ji Qiulin still held on to the hope of receiving her mother’s love.
But reality had proven that she shouldn’t have clung to such hopes.
Madam Ji didn’t treat her badly, but she didn’t treat Ji Lianlian badly either. Ji Lianlian constantly did things to disgust and hurt her, only to act innocent and vulnerable afterward. She was also skilled at pleasing their mother, making it difficult for Madam Ji not to take her side.
In her previous life, Ji Qiulin hadn’t moved out until after the accident, when she married Du Qingyue. Only then had she finally had a home that truly belonged to her.
In this life, she wouldn’t be together with Du Qingyue. She had no intention of marrying anyone else either, and she no longer wanted to endure this kind of life.
What was wrong would always remain wrong. A life built on mistakes wouldn’t become better simply because it continued for a long time, just like her marriage to Du Qingyue.
*
Her new home had three bedrooms and a living room, yet Ji Qiulin’s belongings weren’t even enough to fill a single room.
After unpacking, she couldn’t resist taking out her phone and opening her conversation history with Du Qingyue.
The last message was still Du Qingyue’s voice message. She hadn’t replied.
But she had already listened to it countless times today.
Her finger hovered over the voice message. After two seconds, she moved it away, scrolled upward, and opened the photo of the dumplings.
Du Qingyue had once made dumplings for her.
They had spent their first New Year’s Eve as a married couple at the Ji family villa. Madam Ji and Du Qingyue had made dumplings together.
They had prepared beef-filled and seafood-filled dumplings.
The fillings were made using recipes taught by a renowned chef, and both the beef and seafood were fresh. The dumplings were delicious, and Du Qingyue clearly enjoyed them, eating an entire bowl more than usual.
But after the reunion dinner and a period of lively celebration, when the newlyweds returned to the suite reserved exclusively for them, Du Qingyue went into the small kitchen, prepared a fresh filling, rolled out the wrappers, and made more than twenty three-delicacy dumplings especially for Ji Qiulin.
Du Qingyue said she had noticed Ji Qiulin hadn’t eaten much and was worried she would get hungry while staying up to welcome the New Year, so she had prepared a little extra meal for her in advance.
“I learned the recipe online, so it can’t compare to a famous chef’s cooking. I hope the young lady won’t turn her nose up at it.” When Du Qingyue said this, she wore a bright smile, and her tone was cheerful.
Outside, magnificent fireworks lit up the sky in dazzling colors. Ji Qiulin looked at the Alpha before her and secretly dug her nails into her palm, refusing to let her emotions show.
Ji Lianlian liked beef filling, while Madam Ji preferred seafood.
During her first year with the Ji family, Ji Qiulin had said she was fine with any filling. Every year afterward, they had continued making only those two flavors.
But in the first year of her marriage, there had been a third flavor, one that the person she loved had prepared especially for her.
Back in the present, perhaps because of her rebirth, Ji Qiulin couldn’t quite remember how she had reacted at the time. All she remembered was that Du Qingyue’s eyes had been even more dazzling and beautiful than the fireworks outside.
She wanted to see that sight again.
She also wanted to eat the dumplings Du Qingyue had made for her one more time.
But that was clearly impossible now.
Ji Qiulin’s eyes dimmed slightly. Just as she was about to exit the conversation, a new message appeared on the screen.
Du Qingyue: [Good night.]
So it was already eleven o’clock.
Ji Qiulin typed the words “Good night,” then deleted them. She exited WeChat and ordered a serving of three-delicacy dumplings through a food delivery app.
She didn’t realize that when she saw the words “Good night,” the corners of her lips had lifted for a brief moment.
*
It was difficult to cancel engagements scheduled for the immediate future, so Du Qingyue remained busy for about a week. Once she finally had some free time, she cooked herself a proper meal and started a livestream.
She hadn’t announced the livestream in advance and originally assumed there wouldn’t be many viewers. Unexpectedly, in just ten minutes, the number of viewers climbed from zero to more than two hundred thousand.
“Ahem.” Du Qingyue cleared her throat. “There’s no particular reason for today’s livestream. I just have some free time and thought I’d chat with everyone.”
“And while I’m at it, I’d like to ask everyone for some advice on pursuing an Omega.”
Her words caused an immediate uproar.
Most of the viewers in the livestream were her fans who had rushed over after hearing the news. The rest were mainly people there to admire her looks or marketing accounts hoping to clip footage for videos.
The screen, which had previously been filled with compliments, jokes, and cheerful chatter, instantly became flooded with comments.
[What do you mean? Do you have an Omega you like?]
[Are you playing someone who’s pursuing a love interest in a new drama?]
[So you’ve got a girlfriend now, huh?]
[Congratulations! Congratulations!]
[Yueyue, say something! You’re killing me with suspense!]
Watching another wave of viewers flood into the livestream, Du Qingyue admitted openly, “You guessed right. There really is an Omega I like. I’m currently pursuing her, and she’s still considering whether to accept me.”
[Hahaha, today must be April Fools’ Day.]
[You’re so young and you’re already dating? Don’t you care about your career anymore?]
[What kind of Omega doesn’t know how lucky she is? How could she reject even Yueyue?]
“Everyone.” Du Qingyue put down her chopsticks. “I’m twenty-four this year, so yes, I’m still fairly young. I wasn’t originally in any hurry to get married, but fate brought her into my life. She’s a wonderful person, and I don’t want to miss my chance with her. I also don’t want to hide this from my fans, which is why I started this livestream to explain things to everyone.”
“I hope you’ll give me your blessings. As for my career, if you’ve been a fan of mine but can’t accept me being in a relationship, then I suggest you stop following me as soon as possible, because it’s only a matter of time before I have a partner.”
Her words had been rather serious. Du Qingyue paused, then raised her tone slightly to lighten the mood.
“Right now, I’m feeling very confident about my chances.”
[Wow, she’s so bold.]
[That’s some serious confidence.]
[Now I’m kind of curious who the person you like is.]
[Is it xxx?]
[It’s definitely xxx.]
“She’s not in the entertainment industry. Until she agrees to be with me, I won’t reveal any of her private information.” Du Qingyue picked up her chopsticks again and took a bite of food. “So if you want to find out, share more tips with me on how to pursue an Omega.”
On the screen, the young Alpha was dressed in casual loungewear, her hair simply tied back. Her tone was relaxed, and a hint of tenderness shone in her eyes.
Ji Qiulin’s heart was pounding so rapidly that she could almost hear her own heartbeat.
A year ago, she had registered an alternate account and joined Du Qingyue’s fan group. She had also enabled special notifications for all of Du Qingyue’s social media accounts.
That was why she had entered the livestream almost as soon as Du Qingyue started broadcasting today.
Originally, she had only wanted to see Du Qingyue and hear her voice. She hadn’t expected to hear something like this.
Over the past week, Du Qingyue hadn’t messaged her particularly often. Most of the messages were updates about her schedule, along with funny videos and good morning and good night greetings.
Ji Qiulin knew Du Qingyue hadn’t given up on pursuing her, but she had never imagined that the Alpha would publicly announce it.
She was far too impulsive.
Just like in their previous life, when Ji Qiulin had proposed marriage and Du Qingyue had agreed without raising any objections.
On the surface, Ji Qiulin seemed to have everything going for her, but what she possessed wasn’t what Du Qingyue truly wanted.
She wasn’t the kind of Omega Du Qingyue imagined her to be.
If things continued like this, regardless of whether Ji Qiulin managed to stay true to her original resolve, Du Qingyue would inevitably end up hurt.
And the longer she delayed, the deeper and more painful that hurt would become.
Ji Qiulin closed her eyes briefly and steeled her heart.
She picked up her phone and sent Du Qingyue a message.
[Stop wasting your efforts. I’ve already moved out of the Ji family home. I won’t be able to give you any resources from now on.]
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