After Saving My Cannon Fodder Omega - Chapter 13

The mother-in-law’s reply was quite formal. Chi Wei gave it a cursory glance, but her fingertips—trembling with joy—obediently tapped on Xuan Nian’s avatar first to accept the request and reply to the message.

Chui A Chui: General Manager Xuan, hello!

Xuan Nian, who was personally inspecting the kitchen for the restaurant’s reopening, had just added the contact as requested by her mother. She hadn’t expected the other party to be so idle; not only did they accept the request in a split second, but they replied instantly as well.

She glanced at the message and, almost by reflex, replied with two words: Hello.

To her surprise, as soon as the message sent successfully, the “Chui A Chui” at the top of her screen changed to “Typing…” Her brow furrowed slightly, and she quickly sent a pre-saved shortcut reply from her input method.

“Sorry, I’m busy with something right now. I’ll get back to you later—” Chi Wei read the last bit of the sentence with extra emphasis in her head, deducing that this was likely Xuan Nian’s standard phrase for clients. She looked at her half-edited text message, deleted it character by character, and obediently replied with an “OK.”

Regardless, having her on WeChat was a win!

Chi Wei read and re-read Xuan Nian’s reply. The more she looked at it, the more beautiful her mood became, and a smile she couldn’t suppress spread across her face.

When Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue stepped out of the elevator, they were both stunned by the sight of her foolish grinning.

“What are you looking at? Is the watch Ming Rui sent really that much to your liking?” Feng Zhi hooked the paper bag from Chi Wei’s hand, looking curious about the contents inside.

Xie Yueyue had been considering picking out a watch for Sister Chui during lunch, only to find someone had beaten her to it. She felt a complex mix of emotions regarding the item in the box—mostly a sort of “melancholy curiosity.”

Chi Wei forcefully pressed down the corners of her mouth and pushed her racing heart back into place. Waving her hand, she said, “I haven’t looked at it yet, but I bet it’s the rainbow-colored one. You like it? I’ll give it to you as a regift.”

Feng Zhi declined decisively: “No need. I was just curious.”

Chi Wei had only been joking. Noticing the look of helplessness in Xie Yueyue’s eyes, she patted her shoulder and said, “Don’t take it to heart. If you’re really feeling uneasy, how about getting me a workstation for my study upstairs? I happen to be missing one.”

Xie Yueyue’s eyes lit up, finally finding something to give: “Easy! Consider it done. Leave it to me.”

Chi Wei smirked: “Good sister, you really are sincere.”

Xie Yueyue didn’t argue. She glanced back at the watch box Feng Zhi was opening, gave Chi Wei a look, and left ahead of them with her car keys.

Feng Zhi’s curiosity had halved the moment she heard Chi Wei’s guess. Upon seeing it was indeed the rainbow model, her interest vanished completely. She casually closed the box, packed it up, and shoved it back into Chi Wei’s hands.

Looking up, she suddenly realized it was just the two of them left. She asked blankly, “Where’s Yueyue?”

“Gone to pick out a workstation for me,” Chi Wei answered offhandedly, taking the keycard and car keys back from Feng Zhi.

Feng Zhi wasn’t surprised by the answer: “She’s good at picking out that sort of thing.”

Chi Wei hooked an arm around Feng Zhi’s shoulder and asked, “I’m heading home. How about you?”

“I’m heading home too, obviously.” Feng Zhi shot Chi Wei a look and patted her hand away. “When I went back for dinner last night, Uncle Feng and Auntie Chen also gave me an ultimatum. I have to start working at the company after New Year’s.”

Chi Wei was surprised: “So soon?”

Feng Zhi smiled bitterly: “Soon? You’ve already started working. I’m an only child; my parents letting me play for this half-year was already a blessing.”

Chi Wei thought about it and realized it made sense. However, in her past life, she remembered Feng Zhi didn’t go back to work until after the Spring Festival. Why was it so much earlier this time?

As she thought, her gaze fell on the paper bag in her hand. She shook her head with a chuckle. Enough changes had happened over the last two days; one more didn’t matter. After all, she hadn’t even received this watch in her previous life!

Sigh. Her journey felt exactly like those novels she used to read, yet aside from the rebirth itself, she couldn’t find any other similarities.

Could it be because I’m just an inconsequential passerby in this book world?

…So I don’t have any halos or buffs? No system to bind to, and the information I can use is pitifully scarce?

Forget it. In the grand scheme of things, variables arise naturally.

Feng Zhi and Chi Wei muttered to themselves while facing each other before sighing in unison. They waved, got into their cars, and headed to their respective homes to find their respective mothers.

The blue R8 and the black GTR drove out of the underground garage one after the other. After exiting the apartment complex, they turned left and right, heading in completely opposite directions.

The Chi family villa was due north of the apartment, while the Feng family was due south. Watching the black car disappear from her rearview mirror, Chi Wei recalled the distances between their four homes and suddenly realized something.

—If the apartment is the center point, the Xie family is due west, and Ming Rui is due east?

Good grief. When the adults decided to buy houses for the four of us back then, did they choose using a map?!

She had never noticed this before!

Hahaha, no way—she had to share this major discovery with the other three.

The more Chi Wei thought about it, the funnier it became. She stopped at a red light and pulled out her phone to message the group. However, before she could press the screen to send a voice note, the screen flashed. A voice call request from Xuan Nian popped up.

Chi Wei: “!!!”

The phone that had been held steadily just a second ago performed a brief juggling act in her hands. It wasn’t that it was hot; the invitation was just too sudden. In her shock, Chi Wei nearly hit the “decline” button, her face twisting with tension.

Finally regaining her grip on the phone, Chi Wei glanced at the sixty seconds remaining on the red light, decisively plugged in her earphones, and answered.

“Hello? May I ask how to address you?” Xuan Nian’s voice came through the earpiece. It still sounded cool and distant, but her tone was much friendlier than when they met at the hospital elevator.

Chi Wei opened her mouth but no sound came out. She covered her mouth and cleared her throat: “General Manager Xuan, hello. My… my surname is Chi, given name Wei. The ‘Wei’ with the water radical, like the ‘Wei’ in ‘slight rain’…”

Xuan Nian hadn’t originally intended to call. But she was truly busy today. While worried about being presumptuous, she was also worried that replying to messages hours apart would exhaust the client’s patience. After much thought, she looked at the screenshot her mother sent and, knowing this new friend wanted to book a table, decided it was best to get straight to the point.

But she never expected that after the call connected, the other party would speak to her in a heavy, formal “broadcasting voice.” It was so awkward her eyelid actually twitched.

“Alright, Miss… Miss Chi, hello. You would like to pre-order a table, correct? What specific time were you looking for, and approximately how many people will there be?” Xuan Nian hurriedly cut her off, seeing the other person was already introducing her nickname.

Hearing Xuan Nian’s question, Chi Wei realized her self-introduction had been a bit too detailed. She pinched her fingers in annoyance and answered with a red face: “One table at noon on the 30th for four people. If there are no large private rooms, a small one is fine. For the 31st, there will be more people; it’s not finalized yet, but at least nine. If possible, I hope General Manager Xuan can reserve the largest room in the tavern for me.”

Xuan Nian listened to the voice that sounded like a national news anchor, smiled, and agreed. Finally, she couldn’t help asking: “Excuse me, are you a professional broadcaster?”

“No, I’m not.” Chi Wei’s voice, which had just relaxed, pitched up again.

Xuan Nian awkwardly rubbed her ear while holding the phone, offered a few polite pleasantries, and hung up in a hurry.

Chi Wei was still saying “okay, okay” and didn’t even notice the light had turned green. Only when the car behind her honked did she take off her earphones and continue driving.

When she arrived home, it was exactly time for her mother, Xiang Jieqiu’s, afternoon tea. Sitting opposite her mother was none other than Ming Rui’s mother, Zhang Qing.

Seeing Chi Wei return, the two women smiled in unison and waved her over: “Xiaoyu is back! Come here…”

The voices were perfectly synced. Zhang Qing and Xiang Jieqiu looked at each other and laughed behind their hands.

Xiang Jieqiu continued waving: “Your Auntie Zhang said she hasn’t seen you in forever and missed you. She came over today specifically to see you. Why are you just standing there? Greet her.”

In her past life, Chi Wei had a happy family, and her return was so seamless that there was no gap in her feelings. Facing Mrs. Xiang now felt entirely natural.

Hearing her mother’s call, she responded effortlessly. As she walked over, she quickly recalled information about Auntie Zhang. Upon reaching her, she followed the old custom of leaning down to give Zhang Qing a hug: “Auntie Zhang, weren’t you traveling abroad? When did you get back?”

Zhang Qing patted Chi Wei’s shoulder and smiled kindly: “I’ve been back for several days. Haven’t seen you in months, and Xiaoyu has become even prettier. Before I left, I heard you saying you wanted to fall in love. How is that going? Has your wish come true?”

Xiang Jieqiu hadn’t expected her friend to be so direct after not visiting for so long. She let out an “ai,” but Zhang Qing ignored her.

Chi Wei looked into those eyes, which hadn’t been dulled by the river of time. Her heart hammered in her chest, but she remained calm on the surface: “Auntie Zhang really dotes on me. A casual remark of mine stayed with you for so long. Well, I can’t let you down then! Almost, almost—the girl of my dreams has appeared, and I’m currently pursuing her!”

“Oh? For real?” Zhang Qing smiled, but the smile clearly didn’t reach her eyes.

Chi Wei nodded: “Of course it’s real. How could I talk nonsense to you? When it’s official, I’ll bring her over to see you.”

Xiang Jieqiu and Zhang Qing had been friends for half a lifetime. Even if she didn’t get it at first, she understood by now. Knowing her friend’s visit had an ulterior motive, she forcefully pushed a porcelain plate with cake toward Chi Wei: “Wei, here’s the cake you like. Try some?”

Chi Wei immediately picked up a fork, stabbed the center, and stuffed the entire small cake into her mouth.

Xiang Jieqiu frowned in disapproval: “Oh dear, look at those table manners. In the future, you…”

Chi Wei swallowed the cake with some of the black tea Xiang Jieqiu had been drinking. She wiped her mouth casually with a tissue and interrupted: “Mom, haven’t I told you? You don’t need to worry about my mother-in-law giving me a hard time over my table manners. I’m a Beta, but my favorite people are Omegas. A mother-in-law looks at her daughter-in-law and only sees her getting better and better!”

“Alright, alright. Your brother told me you’ll be turning in a design draft to him every week. It’s almost Friday—is your draft finished?” Xiang Jieqiu smiled dotingly, stealing a secret glance at her friend beside her.

Chi Wei knew her mother was covering her retreat. She bragged: “Not yet, but with my skills, it’s a piece of cake. I’m going to go draw it now; there’s still time.”

This time Xiang Jieqiu didn’t say anything, she just gave Chi Wei a look.

Mother and daughter were of one heart; Chi Wei understood immediately. She said a few polite words to Zhang Qing and made a quiet exit, quickly heading up the stairs.

How could Zhang Qing not see that the mother and daughter were performing a double act? She shook her head with a helpless laugh, thinking: Ruirui, Mom really can’t help you anymore.

If the young ox refuses to drink, she couldn’t exactly force its head down!