After Saving My Cannon Fodder Omega - Chapter 2

Xie Yueyue and Feng Zhi had both been jolted awake by Chi Wei’s piercing scream. Not only had they failed to get a response after asking what was wrong for ages, but seeing Chi Wei suddenly collapse back onto the bed without warning sent them into an immediate panic.

Being closer to the bed and having not even taken her shoes off to sleep, Xie Yueyue flipped herself up and stood by the freshly cleaned bedside. She leaned over tensely to check on Chi Wei: “Sister Chui? Are you okay?”

Feng Zhi, who had been sleeping soundly huddled under a blanket on the sofa, was so flustered by the emergency that she put her shoes on the wrong feet. She hopped over to the bed: “Xiaoyu? What on earth is wrong? Don’t scare me like this—I’m a coward, I can’t handle a fright.”

As Chi Wei stared at the two faces hovering above her, her eyes momentarily lost focus as her mind drifted back to this exact day before her rebirth.

As someone who had already lived through it, looking back, it really hadn’t been that big of a deal. At most, she had been late for her first day of work and had been singled out and lectured by her CEO elder sister.

In all the years she had been alive, she had been scolded more times than she could count; it was nothing to make a fuss about.

—Unfortunately, that was just her way of comforting herself. In front of others, she actually cared deeply about saving face.

And this day happened to be the most humiliating moment of her entire life.

So much so that even after nearly two years had passed, the memory still filled Chi Wei with dread. To her, being scolded by her big sister in front of the company staff was equivalent to an ignorant primary schooler being pointed at and berated by the principal in front of the whole school—it wounded her self-esteem to the extreme.

Earlier, she could console herself that the day had passed. Recalling it today, however…

Forget it, forget it. It’s fate.

After some mental coaching, Chi Wei’s eyes regained their focus. She looked at Feng Zhi, whose head of purple hair she hadn’t seen in a long time, and the “fierce-but-cute” looking Xie Yueyue: “Sisters…”

“Yes, yes, go on,” Feng Zhi nodded repeatedly.

Xie Yueyue shot a glance at Feng Zhi’s odd expression before looking back at Chi Wei: “I’m here.”

Chi Wei struggled to say: “Could I trouble you to ask for a day off from Big Sister for me? I’m really in no state to go to work, right?”

Xie Yueyue looked troubled. She held up her phone and said, “Sister Chui, I cracked my screen last night.”

Feng Zhi froze. She took a step back as both of them looked at her simultaneously. She gave a forced smile and patted her clothes, which had no pockets, laughing awkwardly: “I forgot where I put my phone.”

Chi Wei propped herself up with her arms and pointed to the small sheepskin bag on the cabinet behind the ward door: “Don’t you usually keep it in your bag?”

Feng Zhi: “…”

“Oh, right. I forgot until you mentioned it,” Feng Zhi gave a sheepish laugh and turned to get it.

Among their group of sisters who had been friends for twenty years, only Chi Wei wasn’t an only child; she even had both an older sister and an older brother.

When they were young and just starting to understand the world, Feng Zhi, Xie Yueyue, and Ming Rui had been very envious of Chi Wei. They had followed her lead in calling them “Big Sister” and “Brother,” a habit that had stuck to this day.

The bond was so deep that it was a case of “not related by blood, but closer than family.”

Chi Wei’s elder sister, Chi Yu, did not disappoint them. She treated her sister’s friends with total impartiality, maintaining a perfect balance and treating them exactly as she treated Chi Wei.

Consequently, however much Chi Wei feared this elder sister, her friends feared her just as much.

There were three children in the Chi family. Chi Yu was the eldest, eight years older than Chi Wei. She was thirty this year and was an exceptionally outstanding female Alpha. She had started helping out at the company before even graduating and officially took over as CEO after graduation. Since then, Father Chi had become the first retired father among the four families (Feng, Xie, Ming, and Chi).

Chi Yu had been the CEO for seven years now. She had long since been tempered into someone cold-blooded, ruthless, and imposing. Her head and heart were filled with nothing but the company and business; she couldn’t think of anything else besides making money.

Oh, wait—she did still care for her little sister, Chi Wei. So, on the first day of the final month of this year, she had issued an official ultimatum: no matter what, Chi Wei had to start working at the company before New Year’s Day.

She had declared: “The Chi family doesn’t belong to her alone. Even if she failed her differentiation and became a Beta who isn’t particularly outstanding at anything, she shouldn’t dream of being a useless person at home!”

Since the deadline was “before New Year’s Day,” and excluding rest days, Chi Wei’s original plan had been to stall for as long as possible—it wouldn’t be too late to go on the 30th.

But during the family dinner on Christmas Eve, Chi Yu had set a hard date: if she didn’t show up at the company by the 26th, she would be sent abroad for “further studies.”

None of her friends were abroad, so what was she supposed to study out there?

Choosing the lesser of two evils, Chi Wei had wisely agreed to go to work rather than wander alone far from home.

But she had agreed most reluctantly and couldn’t help but want to court disaster.

Feng Zhi moved sluggishly to the cabinet. She pretended to rummage through her bag for ages, finally steeled herself, pried up the tempered glass film from the corner of her phone, and pressed down hard with her fingertip. The stiff screen protector shattered instantly.

She let out a sigh of relief, turned around, and held up the screen: “Xiaoyu, my phone seems to have broken from the fall too.”

Chi Wei: “…”

She wasn’t an idiot. How could it be such a coincidence that both their phones were broken? She didn’t need to think hard to know they were simply unwilling to provoke the “demon” elder sister of her household.

Now that she already had one foot dragged into the company, the fun-loving and freedom-seeking Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue probably felt their good days were coming to an end. How would they dare to plead for her at a time like this?

Wasn’t that just walking straight into the line of fire?

Sigh. With a long sigh, Chi Wei checked the time again. She thought, forget it. There was no escaping it anyway, and since she had given her word, she had to go.

With this realization, Chi Wei asked, “Where’s my phone?”

Feng Zhi was stunned for a moment. When she had found the unconscious Chi Wei under the hotpot table last night, her mind had gone blank and she couldn’t remember anything. How could she have cared about material possessions? If the habit of grabbing her phone and bag hadn’t been hardwired into her DNA, she probably wouldn’t even have known where her own phone was.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have just claimed she couldn’t find her phone.

Xie Yueyue actually had a decent memory, but as an Alpha with a physical constitution far superior to Feng Zhi’s, she had been too busy carrying a person to the hospital last night to have a spare hand for a phone.

The three of them looked at one another until finally, Xie Yueyue said, “I think it’s in my car? Let’s go check. I can give you a lift to the company while we’re at it.”

Chi Wei looked at Xie Yueyue and instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she thought that since she was already late, being a bit later wouldn’t change much. She nodded helplessly.

Feng Zhi had originally wanted to advise Chi Wei against taking Xie Yueyue’s car. Unfortunately, she had been drinking last night and had come by taxi. Her own car was still parked in the underground lot of the Haidilao restaurant, less than three streets away from Siren Hospital. It wasn’t impossible to go back and get it, but her breath still smelled of alcohol; if she ran into a traffic cop, it would be no laughing matter.

After thinking it over, she bit back the urge to speak up.

Seeing the two of them had reached an agreement and were heading to the bathroom to wash up, she thought for a bit and said, “You guys go ahead. I’ll handle things here at the hospital, then head back to the hotpot place to check. We can’t let that fake alcohol thing slide. If you have time tonight, shall we meet up?”

Chi Wei, walking toward the bathroom door, knew full well she would be dragged home by her big sister for a lecture tonight. She waved her hand feebly: “I have plans tonight, don’t count me in.”

Xie Yueyue followed behind Chi Wei and hesitated for a moment before saying: “I also…”

Chi Wei, catching Xie Yueyue’s profile in the mirror as she pushed open the door, could tell she wanted to refuse. She immediately turned and covered her mouth, answering for her: “She’s free. If there’s anything going on tonight, feel free to call her.”

Xie Yueyue looked at Chi Wei in total bewilderment, her eyes full of confusion.

Feng Zhi, bringing up the rear, recalled their mutual accusations from the night before and sneered: “I’m not bringing her along.”

Xie Yueyue: “…”

Chi Wei pretended not to hear and leaned into the ear of Xie Yueyue—who was almost exactly her height—whispering a reminder: “We’re sisters, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Feng Zhi’s ‘peach blossom’ luck (romantic prospects) is very strong lately. If you don’t keep a close eye on her, watch out for someone stealing her away.”

Xie Yueyue: “!!!”

Feng Zhi was too far away to hear Chi Wei’s whispering. She frowned at them: “What are you two whispering about? You’re not treating me as one of your own, are you?”

Chi Wei waved her hands dismissively, then bit her lip as she unpacked the disposable toiletries on the counter to brush her teeth and wash her face.

After the three had finished washing up, they parted ways at the hospital entrance as planned.

Xie Yueyue drove her white McLaren 720S slowly away from the hospital gate.

Xie Yueyue had only gotten her driver’s license this summer. Usually, she either had a driver or hitched a ride. After getting her license, she hadn’t driven for several months until she finally bought a car on Double Eleven (Nov 11).

So, as of now, her actual driving experience was barely a month.

Compared to “veteran drivers” like Feng Zhi and Chi Wei, who had been cruising around in sports cars since the moment they became adults, she was naturally a terrifying novice.

However, she wasn’t exactly unreliable—just a bit slow. After all, her personality was one that sought stability in everything.

Sitting in the sports car that was crawling along like a tortoise, Chi Wei looked at the scenery moving slowly past the window and remained silent.

She thought to herself: Slow is fine. I’m already late anyway. There’s not much difference between being one minute late and an hour late; Big Sister is going to be furious regardless.

Xie Yueyue gripped the steering wheel with intense focus. She came to a steady stop behind the line at a red light but quickly glanced at Chi Wei: “Sister Chui, how did you know?”

“Huh?” Chi Wei, whose heart and mind were as messy as a recent tsunami, was still thinking about her rebirth. She turned her head blankly, clearly not following.

Xie Yueyue furrowed her brows with an unnatural expression, though her tone remained normal: “I mean, about me liking Feng Zhi.”

“Ah!” Chi Wei understood and said as if it were obvious, “Isn’t it plain as day? Anyone with eyes can see it.”

“Really?” Xie Yueyue suddenly laughed, her tone carrying a hint of self-mockery. “But she can’t see it.”

Chi Wei looked at the suddenly crestfallen Xie Yueyue and the car that was abruptly gaining speed. She immediately grew tense: “W-well, Yueyue, stay calm. Now isn’t the time for romance. Focus on the road! Safe driving! Don’t get distracted!”

Xie Yueyue looked straight ahead. She took the advice, sighed at the rear of the black car in front of her, and the speed slowed down again.

Chi Wei gave a sigh of relief and praised her: “Good, very good. Keep it at this speed.”

Xie Yueyue sighed again, her heart in a muddle. After much internal debate, she couldn’t help but say the words she hadn’t had a chance to say last night: “Sister Chui, in the future, you really shouldn’t drink Baijiu when you’re having hotpot. Putting all that spicy food together is really bad for your stomach.”

“Yes, yes, I have to be careful,” Chi Wei replied repeatedly.

Originally, she had eaten that way hoping to make herself sick so she could stay home and avoid the company. Who knew her dream would only half come true?

—Her stomach really did hurt, but she didn’t escape work. In her past life, she had spent several days hunched over her office chair clutching her stomach and groaning.

Whenever she remembered it, she had to sigh about her own self-inflicted misery!

What should have been a twenty-minute drive was stretched to forty minutes by Xie Yueyue. Seeing that it was already an hour past the start of the workday, the belated Chi Wei opened the car door, ready to sprint. To her surprise, Xie Yueyue got out of the car as well.

“What are you doing coming down?” Chi Wei turned back in surprise.

Xie Yueyue looked up with concern: “I’ll go with you to explain to Big Sister. She knows I drive slowly…”

Chi Wei immediately raised her hand: “In the company, she recognizes no family. Don’t come with me and go to your death. Hurry back and find Feng Zhi. She’s gone to kick up a fuss all by herself; she might come out the worse for it. You go keep an eye on her. I’ll be fine!”

Seeing Chi Wei’s determined look, Xie Yueyue hesitated. Finally, she gave a solemn nod, turned around, hopped back in the car, and sped off.

Chi Wei: “…”

She really was just being polite! What are “plastic sisters” (fake friends)? This is it!