After Saving My Cannon Fodder Omega - Chapter 19

Stepping out of the tavern, a blushing Chi Wei dove headfirst into the business van waiting at the entrance. Once settled, she pressed a hand to her chest and let out a long, lingering breath.

However, the expression on her face was as jittery as it could possibly be.

Uncle Jin, with one hand on the steering wheel, was leaning over to adjust the navigation on the center console. Hearing a sudden, excited “Yes!” from the back following the heavy breathing, he took a moment to glance in the rearview mirror.

In the reflection, Chi Wei’s cheeks were as red as ripe apples, and her crescent-moon eyes held a faint mist—it was hard to tell if it was just reflected light or actual tears.

Uncle Jin, who planned to work for the Chi family until retirement, understood the three Chi children quite well. Compared to the eldest’s maturity and the second’s quick-wittedness, the youngest was much more vivid. At the very least, she didn’t habitually hide her emotions—happy meant happy, and unhappy meant unhappy.

Seeing that heartfelt, joyful smile, he basically knew what was going on. He didn’t pry about their next destination and simply turned at the intersection as previously agreed, heading toward a shop Chi Wei didn’t visit often.

Uncle Jin drove exceptionally steadily. It wasn’t until they had traveled two kilometers that Chi Wei, who had been brandishing the lipstick like a victory trophy, realized the scenery outside was no longer the gates of Xuan’s Tavern.

She looked at the black metal casing, now warm from her palm, and twisted it open to peek at the red paste inside—a shade deeper than Xuan Nian’s own lips. She flipped down the vanity mirror in front of her, mimicked the motion of applying it in the air, and finally, carefully twisted it back down, capped it, and tucked it away.

The lighted vanity mirror was still on. Chi Wei leaned against the seatback, looking at herself in the mirror with her hands pressed against her burning cheeks. Her mind was entirely filled with Xuan Nian’s flawless face.

Xuan Nian was simply too beautiful! So beautiful that just thinking about her made Chi Wei’s breath feel scorching.

Chi Wei moved her palms across her face. Recalling the handshake with Xuan Nian before she left, her burning cheeks didn’t cool down under the pressure of her warm hands; instead, they grew hotter.

It was quite strange. Chi Wei herself was good-looking, and she was surrounded by beauties. A large part of the reason she hadn’t dated all these years was that she had seen too many beautiful women and become desensitized.

Case in point: Feng Zhi, Yueyue, and Ming Rui—any one of them was a stunning sight. Because her family’s primary business was jewelry, she had seen plenty of A-list female celebrities, but Xuan Nian was truly the first one to make her lose her soul at first sight.

No, to be more accurate, the only one.

Her grandmother used to say that for people to meet, they need “fate.” Thinking about it now, Xuan Nian must be her fate.

The car window lowered. Chi Wei leaned toward it to catch a bit of the cold draft. After some physical cooling, she snapped the mirror shut, leaned back again, and closed her eyes to rest with a smile on her lips.

On the other side, Xuan Nian sat in her office, appearing less composed than usual.

Her reflection in the darkened computer screen showed her biting her lower lip. If it weren’t for her eyes being too sharp, that expression of blushing and lip-biting would have been incredibly seductive. Coupled with the inherent delicacy of an Omega combined with her own strong aura, she was a blend of softness and edge—the kind that easily invited wandering thoughts and a dangerous desire to “conquer.”

Staring at the closed office door for a while, Xuan Nian—belatedly realizing she had been played—clicked her tongue. She pulled open a drawer, took out an individually wrapped “suppressant patch,” tore it open, lifted the long hair draped over the back of her neck, and skillfully applied it to her fair, smooth skin.

—She hadn’t expected that as someone approaching thirty, she would be flirted with by a baby-faced “Little Tiger Tooth” today to the point of needing a suppressant patch.

Clearly, being single for too long was a problem; she could barely even remember her original goal of finding a perfect Alpha.

Chi Wei, unaware that she had already been marked with an “X” by Xuan Nian, had just steadied her heart and stepped out of the car with joy.

Originally, she had thought about grabbing some sleep in the afternoon, but the thought of having dinner with Xuan Nian and then sitting together for a movie made her too excited to sleep. Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she might as well head over early to tidy herself up. After all, this was the “first date” of this life; she had to take it seriously.

Three hours passed. In an office, it feels like an eternity; in a shopping mall, it’s a blink of an eye.

Twilight gathered, and the city lights began to glow.

Having changed her clothes, washed her hair, and had a professional apply a “no-makeup” look, Chi Wei appeared punctually at the entrance of Xuan’s Tavern.

When Xuan Nian received the voice call, she was debating whether to take “Little Tiger Tooth” to another restaurant or eat at her own. After Chi Wei left in the afternoon, she had specifically looked at the dishes Chi Wei ordered for lunch and realized she could handle spice very well. In F City, without bragging, her family’s spicy dishes were the best.

The only downside was that she, the boss, wasn’t a big fan of spicy food. It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle the heat, but spicy food always made her break out.

The call connected. Chi Wei’s voice came through—notably, it wasn’t as… “serious” as the last call, though it was still a bit different from how she sounded in person. Xuan Nian felt that if she didn’t see the person, she would never associate this cool, crisp voice with a baby face, dimples, and tiger teeth.

The contrast was quite large.

On the other end of the line, Chi Wei stepped into the tavern while asking into her phone: “Boss Xuan? I’m here. Are you still on the third floor? I’ll come up to find you.”

The tavern was empty, still lacking customers. Xuan Nian stood up from a table in the center of the first-floor hall and replied with a smile: “No, I’m on the first floor. Look to your left.”

Chi Wei already had one foot on the stairs. Hearing this, she turned left, saw Xuan Nian in her white down jacket, immediately hung up, and waved.

Seeing the wave, Xuan Nian nodded understandingly and walked over to ask: “What do you want to eat?”

Chi Wei, looking much more spirited than at noon, familiarly hooked her arm through Xuan Nian’s and led her toward the exit: “I want Western food.”

Xuan Nian looked down at the hand gripping her arm, then looked back: “You certainly are bold, asking the owner of a Chinese restaurant to take you out for Western food.”

Chi Wei laughed: “Not that bold, just average. Don’t believe me? Want to feel my pulse?”

“…” Xuan Nian was so shocked she immediately stated: “No need, no need. I believe you.”

Seeing her belief, Chi Wei didn’t press the issue.

Even so, Xuan Nian couldn’t snap out of it for a while. This was unbelievable—what was up with this girl? While the location of the gallbladder (boldness) isn’t particularly sensitive, it’s still on the abdomen; was that something one could just “feel” casually?

What exactly is she thinking?

Stepping out of the restaurant doors, Xuan Nian took advantage of an opening in the conversation to pull her arm back under the guise of reaching for her phone.

Chi Wei noticed but didn’t dwell on it. She thoughtfully opened the car door for her, shielding the top of the door with her hand until Xuan Nian sat down before getting in herself.

The seats in the business van were individual, with a gap in between. Chi Wei realized this only after the car started and shook her head in regret.

—Careless. I brought a business van to pick up Xuan Nian for a date; how am I supposed to close the distance now? I must remember for next time.

Xuan Nian watched Chi Wei shake her head silently. Puzzled, she followed her gaze to the gap between the seats and asked: “What’s wrong?”

One second Chi Wei looked melancholy; the next, her dimples were blooming again: “Nothing.”

“…” Seeing her radiant smile, Xuan Nian couldn’t very well keep a cold face, so she smiled back. “I agreed to treat you to dinner, but now I’ve let you pick me up and book the restaurant. I’m truly sorry.”

Chi Wei waved it off: “We agreed at noon that I’d pick you up. Don’t take it to heart.”

Xuan Nian didn’t want to dwell on the awkwardness of the afternoon, so she nodded and stopped being overly polite.

Chi Wei, finally having the chance to sit with her, wasn’t content with silence. She said shamelessly: “Boss Xuan, we’re about to eat together at the same table. Isn’t calling you that a bit too formal?”

Xuan Nian’s heart skipped a beat. What is she up to now? All the bosses she’d worked with for years addressed her that way. But she maintained a proper smile: “Not at all.”

“Is that so?” Chi Wei clearly disagreed. She turned to study Xuan Nian’s profile and said: “Maybe it’s just me who isn’t used to it.”

The hint was obvious. Xuan Nian hadn’t been a restaurant owner for two years for nothing; she caught the subtext, but she couldn’t guess what the person sitting next to her actually wanted.

After a moment of silence, Xuan Nian said: “Really? I felt like ‘Director Chi’ was calling me that quite naturally and practicedly…”

Chi Wei clapped her hands with a pa, clearly refusing to let Xuan Nian find more excuses. She laughed mischievously: “I found the reason! It’s that I’m not used to hearing you call me ‘Director Chi’!”

Xuan Nian: “…”

Chi Wei put on an expression of sudden realization and said seriously: “From now on, Boss Xuan, just call me Chi Wei. Or if you think using my full name is too stiff, just call me Xiaoyu (Little Rain).”

“Xiaoyu?”

“Yep!” Chi Wei answered happily. Before Xuan Nian could react, she added: “And since you’re calling me Xiaoyu, I can’t keep calling you Boss Xuan. I heard your mother call you ‘Niannian’ at the hospital, right? Is that your nickname? Can I call you that too?”

Xuan Nian looked at Chi Wei, whose tongue was as slick as a stand-up comedian’s. She frowned: “You want to call me Niannian?”

Seeing Xuan Nian’s face change, Chi Wei immediately took a step back to gain two: “Is that a bit presumptuous?”

Xuan Nian finally figured out what this girl was doing. The smile remained on her lips, but the look in her eyes was cold: “What do you think?”

Chi Wei answered solemnly: “I think it’s a little bit.”

Xuan Nian’s smile faded slightly at her seriousness, thinking: At least you know.

However, before she could say it, Chi Wei dropped a bombshell: “Then how about I call you Sister Xuan? Sister Nian? Hmm… sounds a bit too ‘gangster.’ How about just… Sister?”

“Sister, what do you think?”