Marking My Arch-Rival [Rebirth] - Chapter 8

Gu Xiyue looked at the painting, remaining speechless for a long time.

In the twilight, she suddenly asked: “Did you really agree to date them just because of their face?”

Ji Shihuan couldn’t quite remember her mindset while playing around during college, so she nodded vaguely: “Probably.”

Gu Xiyue glared at her.

“There are so many good-looking people. Someone like you will never find true love.”

Ji Shihuan shrugged with a light laugh.

She had never had any expectations for true love. Reborn, her burdens had increased instead of lessened. If she truly had the free time, she’d rather spend it figuring out Jiang Boyan’s mind.

Gu Xiyue put the painting back and proactively pulled open the passenger door and got in.

Ji Shihuan frowned, walking over to ask: “Miss, haven’t you had enough fun yet?”

Gu Xiyue rolled her eyes.

She stared straight ahead: “In honor of the painting, I’ll set up a meeting between you and my uncle.” Immediately after, she named a restaurant and urged: “Let’s go. Don’t be late.”

Ji Shihuan was stunned.

Coming back to her senses, she walked around the car to the driver’s seat.

The brilliant neon sign of Venus hung not far away. Although she looked unhurried and unstructured, the scene was unexpectedly harmonious.

With Gu Xiyue personally connecting the dots, Ji Shihuan smoothly met Lu Xingguo. The two reached a preliminary cooperation intention during the meal and agreed to find time for a detailed discussion later.

A few days later, on the weekend, Ji Shihuan arranged to meet someone in the Yucheng residential complex.

The Yucheng complex was located in the heart of A City, where land was extremely valuable. Ji Shiqin and Shu Ni moved there after their engagement. Ji Shihuan remembered her brother spending a lot of effort to purchase the most luxurious flat there, which cost over 300 million yuan.

She arrived early and found a breakfast shop with a wide view near the intersection. She casually ordered a soy milk and bun set, which cost her 200 yuan.

Top-tier Alphas have a strong presence, let alone one with such a stunning, attention-grabbing face. The staff and many customers inside were secretly looking at her. Ji Shihuan, however, seemed lethargic. She barely touched her breakfast, resting in the sofa chair, gazing absently at the street scene outside.

But quickly, her previously scattered attention began to focus.

Traffic was busy at the intersection, and minor bumps were not uncommon. Less than 200 meters from the breakfast shop, a Maybach accidentally scraped a black Rolls-Royce.

The at-fault party was temporarily indiscernible, but after stopping, the Maybach owner, a portly middle-aged man, got out and roughly knocked on the Rolls-Royce’s window.

Ji Shihuan couldn’t hear what he was saying from a distance, but judging by his expression, he was likely cursing filthily.

Soon, the Rolls-Royce owner also got out.

She was remarkably calm. After assessing the situation, she ignored the man and immediately started making a call, likely contacting her insurance company or an assistant who could handle the situation.

It was a minor accident. Aside from the Rolls-Royce owner’s sheer beauty, which held Ji Shihuan’s gaze for a couple of seconds, there was nothing noteworthy about it.

But the middle-aged man was being unreasonable, continuously shouting and starting to shove the woman, which inexplicably irritated Ji Shihuan.

Perhaps having died once made her indifferent to everything, but she stood up and walked directly over.

“Can’t even drive properly, yet you dare to be on the road. I say women like you should just hire a driver. Just one look at your face and I know you’re a gold-digger. What, your sugar daddy didn’t give you…”

As the man yelled, he tried to shove Jiang Boyan for the third time.

But this time, he didn’t succeed—

His collar was seized by a tremendous force. The next moment, his face made a zero-distance intimate contact with the hood of the Rolls-Royce.

Ji Shihuan wasn’t done simply restraining him. She grabbed the back of the man’s neck and slammed his head fiercely against the hard steel of the car body with two loud “bangs.”

The man let out a pig-like howl, and passing pedestrians threw looks of alarm and confusion.

The calmest person in the entire scene was Ji Shihuan, the perpetrator of the assault.

After teaching him a lesson, she hauled the man up and faced him: “Do you need to request legal aid?”

“You, you…” The man was dizzy, his body shaking violently.

A few days had passed, and the pheromones Jiang Boyan used to bluff had long faded, but Ji Shihuan was different.

When she didn’t restrain herself, the compulsion of a top-tier Alpha felt palpable, weighing heavily on the man. The targeted man struggled to breathe, his mouth agape as he stared at her desperately, like a dead fish.

Ji Shihuan curved her lip and let go of him.

She asked again: “What about women? Was I enough to handle you?”

The man snapped out of it, supporting himself on the car and standing up shakily.

“She, she parked illegally. Are you saying you’re still in the right?”

Despite the rude treatment he had suffered, and with the perpetrator still standing before him, the man seemed to have lost all steam, starting to speak rationally. Before Ji Shihuan, his conviction was much weaker.

Ji Shihuan had seen too many weak-willed bullies like him. Too lazy to talk nonsense, she kicked his nearby car tire again.

With a loud “bang,” the man jumped in fright, hunching his shoulders, his eyes darting away.

Passersby continued to look, but their attention was fully focused on the two stunning women, whose beauty doubled when framed together.

Jiang Boyan stepped forward.

This was the second time Ji Shihuan had come to her aid.

Logically, she knew Ji Shihuan’s timing was always superfluous; she could have handled the situation perfectly well on her own. But her body wouldn’t obey her. The words she had prepared, telling the other woman not to meddle, wouldn’t come out. Meeting Ji Shihuan’s bright eyes, she said softly: “Thank you.”

Ji Shihuan shook her hand.

She didn’t accept the thanks, only looking at Jiang Boyan playfully.

“Your mouth is quite sharp when dealing with me, but why do you let people bully you in private without a word?”

Jiang Boyan said calmly: “There’s no need.”

She had reverted to her usual detached demeanor, appearing unaffected no matter what happened around her.

Ji Shihuan secretly cursed her in her mind: Faux purity.

Jiang Boyan looked at her, suddenly asking: “Why is Miss Ji taking the time to involve herself in my affairs?”

Ji Shihuan lifted her chin.

She made a strange excuse sound perfectly justified: “You are my opponent.”

Jiang Boyan was perplexed.

Ji Shihuan narrowed her eyes.

“Show some spirit! Don’t embarrass me!”

Jiang Boyan: “…”

For a moment, Jiang Boyan began to doubt her command of Chinese. She suspected the word “opponent” in Ji Shihuan’s mouth might conceal some meaning she was unaware of.

Otherwise, she truly couldn’t link the two sentences together.

Soon, the traffic police and insurance personnel arrived, taking over the accident handling. Points were deducted, and repairs were scheduled as necessary.

After issuing the fine, the traffic police looked at the man’s bruises and asked if there had been any physical altercation.

The man looked up at Ji Shihuan.

Ji Shihuan was the one who hit him, but since the other woman had stood up for her, Jiang Boyan had already decided to take full responsibility. She stepped forward, intending to explain the situation to the traffic police, but was suddenly blocked by Ji Shihuan.

Top-tier Alphas naturally have a height advantage, and Ji Shihuan, with her perfect model proportions, broad shoulders, and narrow waist, stood in front of her, almost completely enveloping her.

Jiang Boyan smelled the somewhat familiar pheromone scent coming from Ji Shihuan’s posterior neck gland. She turned her head and unexpectedly saw their overlapping shadows at their feet. Ji Shihuan’s shadow had almost swallowed two-thirds of hers.

Looking past the traffic police, Ji Shihuan stared directly at the middle-aged man.

She asked: “Was there some misunderstanding?”

The man trembled, shaking his head rapidly: “No, no misunderstanding, and no conflict.”

Finished, he dared not linger. He retreated into his Maybach and sped away.

Ji Shihuan turned back to Jiang Boyan, her eyes holding an unconscious plea for credit. She was beautiful. Once she contained her aggressiveness, she was extremely deceptive, like a cat hiding its claws, looking dignified as she sought a reward with her gaze.

Jiang Boyan was momentarily stunned.

She struggled to imagine what she could offer the other woman as an interesting reward. As her thoughts drifted, the term “feeding the tiger with one’s own body” suddenly popped into her mind, and a jolt of electricity ran up her tailbone.

Seeing her silence, Ji Shihuan raised an eyebrow.

She reminded her: “Problem solved.”

“Mm,” Jiang Boyan nodded.

She didn’t offer any more thanks. Personal favors didn’t apply to her relationship with Ji Shihuan. With their families having been rivals for years, any exchange must be purely transactional.

So she got straight to the point: “What does Miss Ji want?”

Ji Shihuan lowered her head to assess her.

Her gaze briefly rested on the suppressor patch on Jiang Boyan’s neck, then moved away subtly. She narrowed her eyes in thought, a prelude to making an outrageous demand.

Jiang Boyan was outwardly composed, but she was mentally running through all the recent competitive projects between Huan Ji and Hongxin.

Just as she was about to preemptively emphasize her principles, Ji Shihuan spoke first.

She asked: “Do you have any water?”

Jiang Boyan: “Hm?”

“Preferably with some antiseptic hand sanitizer,” Ji Shihuan shook her hands, looking disgusted. “I touched that man just now. I’ve been holding it in for a long time.”

Jiang Boyan: “…”

Fortunately, Jiang Boyan was somewhat of a clean freak herself, and her car was fully stocked. The two moved to the nearby shrubbery. Jiang Boyan unscrewed the cap and slowly poured clean water over Ji Shihuan’s hands.

The spring sun was warm, and the water refracted the light into various colors.

Finally clean, Ji Shihuan accepted the handkerchief Jiang Boyan offered.

She frowned, complaining with dissatisfaction: “…Why do you buy freesia-scented hand sanitizer too?”

Jiang Boyan said calmly: “It’s convenient.”

No matter how many suppressants and suppressor patches she used, it was impossible to guarantee zero pheromone leakage. Jiang Boyan habitually used the same fragrance family, so if her pheromones were unfortunately detected, she had an excuse to offer.

Ji Shihuan glanced at her, then raised her hand to her nose to sniff.

After a moment, she lowered her hand and commented: “It doesn’t smell as good as yours.”

Jiang Boyan was startled.

“Have you smelled your own scent?” Ji Shihuan rubbed her nose. “It’s sweet, not like freesia, more like freesia nectar.”

Jiang Boyan recalled Ji Shihuan’s pheromone scent.

She struggled to find a real-world object that specifically corresponded to that scent, only certain that the clean, crisp aroma should be categorized as a composite marine fragrance. Furthermore, a top-tier Alpha like Ji Shihuan could release her pheromones to the extreme. At the height of their entanglement, Ji Shihuan had also broken out in a sweat. At that time, Jiang Boyan was firmly wrapped in her embrace and faintly smelled sea salt, stimulating her already sensitive senses once again.

She frowned.

“Miss Ji, you make it easy for people to misunderstand.”

Ji Shihuan asked: “Misunderstand what?”

Jiang Boyan gave her a cool side-eye.

“Are you savoring the memory?”

“…” Ji Shihuan licked her upper canine tooth with the tip of her tongue.

She hadn’t deliberately tried to recall the chaos of that night these past few days. Now, suddenly hearing the word “savoring,” certain memories automatically surged forward.

But Ji Shihuan wouldn’t show weakness.

“Ah, CEO Jiang can certainly think that.”

Jiang Boyan nearly stumbled.

“Is that not allowed?” Ji Shihuan loved to admire any expression other than calm on her arch-rival.

She supported Jiang Boyan’s arm, lifting it slightly, then politely withdrew her hand before feeling the other woman’s body heat through her clothing.

“CEO Jiang, watch your step.”

Jiang Boyan turned to look at her.

It was still too early, but she invited: “I’ll treat Miss Ji to lunch today.”

She had thought a lot in recent days, but a rehearsal could never replace reality. Some matters were better settled sooner rather than later.

Ji Shihuan took out her phone and checked the time.

“Lunch?” she said casually. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time.”

She looked at Jiang Boyan, her eyes sincere with a hint of regret: “I have an appointment.”

Jiang Boyan didn’t want to postpone it again.

“Then when can Miss Ji spare the time?”

Ji Shihuan had a business trip next week. Hongxin had just poached a critical raw material supplier from Huan Ji, and Ji Shihuan had to find a way to plug the hole. After thinking it through, meeting Jiang Boyan could only be set for this weekend.

She asked Jiang Boyan if she had any urgent plans today. After receiving a negative answer, she signaled to her with a “wait for my contact” gesture.

“I’ll contact CEO Jiang as soon as I’m done.”

Jiang Boyan: “Understood.”

It was already past the time of her appointment with the other party. Ji Shihuan turned to leave, but after two steps, she looked back.

“By the way, do you live near here?”

Jiang Boyan: “Yangpan Road.”

Ji Shihuan raised an eyebrow: “Got it.”

She didn’t delay any further, waved her hand, and headed alone to the Yucheng complex.

The person Ji Shihuan was meeting was named Yang Rong, a private investigator.

Yang Rong’s studio had just opened and was currently unknown, but having been reborn, Ji Shihuan knew he would become famous in A City two years later. After careful consideration, she settled on him.

Yang Rong was a Beta man in his thirties with an unremarkable appearance, the kind of person you wouldn’t find if you threw him into a crowd. This was the biggest case he had taken on, and he took the cooperation very seriously. Long before today’s meeting, he had chatted extensively with Ji Shihuan online. Ji Shihuan was nearly ten minutes late, yet he hadn’t sent a single text message to rush her, waiting quietly at the Yucheng complex entrance. His assistant was already impatiently tapping his foot, but there was no sign of anxiety on Yang Rong’s face.

Ji Shihuan got out of the car, walked over, politely apologized, and led them into the complex—

Although she didn’t own property in Yucheng, Ji Shiqin, the doting brother, had long registered her, allowing Ji Shihuan to open all the apartment’s security locks with just a facial scan.

Ji Shiqin hadn’t installed cameras in his private areas. Ji Shihuan told Yang Rong: “There is only one camera at the entrance of the house.”

The three walked into the apartment. Everything was simple, with little change since Ji Shihuan’s last visit a few months ago. After Ji Shiqin’s death, Shu Ni hadn’t specifically cleared away his belongings. His shoes were still neatly lined up by the entrance, as if he still lived there.

Ji Shihuan found two bottles of Lamotrigine in the bedside table in the master bedroom, one unopened and the other half full.

She handed the items to Yang Rong. Even though she knew hope was slim, she said: “Perhaps they can be sent for testing to see if the tablets are real.”

Yang Rong accepted the pill bottles.

“You suspect the mood-stabilizing medication was swapped?” He looked at Ji Shihuan, musing to himself. “So, your current speculation is that someone intentionally exploited Mr. Ji’s illness, inducing a loss of emotional control while he was driving on a dangerous road section, thereby causing the tragic car accident.”

Ji Shihuan nodded: “Yes.”

Yang Rong: “I will attempt to investigate in this direction.”

Ji Shihuan rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“I realized too late. It’s highly likely the person has already destroyed all the evidence.”

Yang Rong nodded, his expression equally serious: “If it’s truly as you suspect… this method is highly sophisticated and would leave very few traces if done well.”

Ji Shihuan bent over, her hands braced on the bedside table.

Her expression was hidden in the dim shadow, her eyes fixed intently on the intimate photo of Ji Shiqin and Shu Ni on the cabinet.

“She will expose a flaw.”

Yang Rong: “Hm?”

“I will push her to a dead end.”