Marking My Arch-Rival [Rebirth] - Chapter 9

It was already past 4 PM when Ji Shihuan saw Yang Rong off. She sat alone in the empty, luxurious apartment until the evening sun filled the room. She stood up, stretched, and called Jiang Boyan.

They arranged to meet at a French restaurant nearby, a place Ji Shiqin had mentioned to his sister but never had the chance to take her to.

During the meal, Ji Shihuan was lost in past memories, her brow heavy, clearly in low spirits. When the waiter brought dessert, she looked up and was surprised to find Jiang Boyan across the table also wearing a cold expression.

But unlike Ji Shihuan, Jiang Boyan’s state was clearly directed at her, looking poised and ready for a confrontation.

There was probably no better way to alleviate a bad mood than to turn around and find that your arch-rival was also preoccupied.

Ji Shihuan tapped the table with her fingers.

“How is the taste?”

This was the first exchange between them since they sat down.

Jiang Boyan saw that she was finally ready to discuss terms. She put down her fork and pressed a napkin to the corner of her lips.

She didn’t take the polite opening question seriously, casually replying, “It’s alright.”

Ji Shihuan glanced at the plate in front of her. For some reason, she frowned slightly: “Such a small appetite?”

Jiang Boyan: “It’s a habit.”

Ji Shihuan looked thoughtful: “Eating so little, no wonder you’re so skinny.”

Jiang Boyan slightly pursed her lips, her heart feeling a little erratic.

She repeatedly chewed on the sentence, secretly reminding herself to tread carefully—Ji Shihuan wouldn’t just say polite small talk. Was she setting a precedent, warning her that her appetite was huge, and she was about to demand an exorbitant sum for hush money?

Unexpectedly, the other woman’s move was completely outside her prediction. Ji Shihuan fluttered her beautiful eyes, and her next sentence was: “You’d bruise me when I hold you.”

Jiang Boyan: “…”

CEO Jiang was confused, CEO Jiang was surprised, CEO Jiang blushed. She finally realized she had been flirted with again.

Her expression was truly amusing. Ji Shihuan almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Before Jiang Boyan could react, she leaned closer and reached out her hand toward her.

From Jiang Boyan’s perspective, Ji Shihuan’s bewitching face gradually magnified as the distance closed.

A split second before the other woman could touch her cheek, she seized Ji Shihuan’s wrist and glared at her with a frown.

“Miss Ji?”

“Ah.” Ji Shihuan remained composed. “You have something on your face…”

She pointed to the corner of her own mouth with her other hand: “It looks like you got something on it.”

Jiang Boyan snapped back to her senses, released her, and let go.

She suppressed her displeasure, conveyed a small thanks to Ji Shihuan with her eyes, and then tried to wipe her mouth with a napkin but couldn’t find any smudge.

“Is it here?” she asked Ji Shihuan for confirmation.

Ji Shihuan took the chance to close the distance, leaning in front of her.

The atmosphere in the high-end French restaurant was excellent. Each booth provided enough privacy for the guests. Waiters moved around outside, their deliberately subdued footsteps never overshadowing the live piano music. Tonight’s piece was “Für Elise in D minor.” The piano sound was soft and lingering, and under the warm lighting, it spontaneously generated a touch of ambiguous atmosphere.

Ji Shihuan smelled freesia, a pure scent, unmixed with any pheromones. She guessed it was a perfume Jiang Boyan was wearing.

She felt a vague sense of dissatisfaction. She tilted her head to look at the scent gland on the side of the other woman’s neck. The suppressor patch torn from her skin had long been replaced. The new patch was working perfectly, completely blocking Jiang Boyan’s Omega pheromones.

Feeling the body heat from the other person, Jiang Boyan felt a little uncomfortable.

Perhaps sensing the threat, her hand was already braced against Ji Shihuan’s shoulder, preventing her from leaning in further.

“…Did you see it clearly?”

Ji Shihuan returned to her senses and sat back properly in her seat.

She picked up a silver fork, crushed the candied cherry on the chocolate dessert, and then spoke slowly.

“I was mistaken.”

Jiang Boyan’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

Before she could feel any anger at being teased, Ji Shihuan scooped up a piece of cake with the fork and offered it to her lips.

“Want to try?”

“No, thank you.” Jiang Boyan turned her face away. “It’s too rich.”

“It is, indeed,” Ji Shihuan agreed with a nod.

But before leaving, she still ate the dessert on the fork, licking the utensil completely clean.

The bitterness of the chocolate combined perfectly with the sweet and sour cherry jam. After swallowing, a sweet aroma lingered in her mouth.

She decided that this cherry chocolate cake deserved to be promoted to her personal TOP 1 dish at the restaurant.

When settling the bill, Jiang Boyan realized they hadn’t discussed any serious business.

The two left the restaurant, each preoccupied with her own thoughts, and began aimlessly strolling down the street. Neither suggested ending the walk.

The night view of the city center was bustling and beautiful. It was spring, and the breeze brought a fresh coolness.

Ji Shihuan consciously walked on the outer side of the pavement, protecting Jiang Boyan from being jostled by passersby. The top-tier Alpha didn’t need to do anything; just standing there with her jacket casually draped over her arm, she commanded attention. The crowd wasn’t overly dense, but people instinctively made way for them, making the two appear somewhat intimate.

Jiang Boyan looked down when she felt something unusual near her feet, seeing the loose hem of Ji Shihuan’s suit trousers brush against her bare calves.

Her gaze traveled up.

“What are you looking at?” Ji Shihuan’s hand rested on her waistline, her body proportions exaggeratedly good.

Jiang Boyan withdrew her gaze and said softly: “…Stay away from me.”

“Hm?” The surrounding noise was loud. Ji Shihuan leaned in closer. “What did you say?”

Jiang Boyan answered with action, but after taking two steps to the side, Ji Shihuan pulled her back.

“Stay close,” Ji Shihuan’s eyes were like those of someone dealing with a disobedient young girl, warning, “You’ll get lost.”

Jiang Boyan was stunned.

She rarely had such an experience in her monotonous life. Although this was a walk with no destination that could be interrupted at any time, Ji Shihuan’s tone gave her the illusion that they would walk side-by-side for a long, long time.

She wondered where she could possibly go with Ji Shihuan.

If Ji Shihuan knew her thoughts, she would probably just think Jiang Boyan was overthinking things.

She wouldn’t consider such a boring question. She simply felt the night breeze was comfortable, and the surrounding scenery was pleasing to the eye because it framed Jiang Boyan’s aesthetically pleasing face.

Therefore, when a zealous street vendor handed them a copy of the “AO Marking Safety Handbook,” her momentary confusion quickly turned into a sense of perfect appropriateness.

Because the product being promoted was a new model of barrier patch for Omegas, the vendor spared no effort in introducing it to Jiang Boyan.

“…The Rita brand barrier patch is specially developed for Omegas. It works better than all the suppressor patches currently on the market!” The young vendor said while demonstrating. “Just peel it off and stick it over the scent gland, and it immediately achieves perfect coverage. After use, even the most sensitive Alpha nose nearby won’t catch the scent. They’ll just think you’re a Beta!”

Jiang Boyan had a need to conceal her Omega gender, so she actually listened intently for a moment, even picking up the product to examine it.

Ji Shihuan secretly chuckled inside. Not one to let things go, she leaned in: “What do you think?”

Jiang Boyan was about to speak, but her keen senses detected the mockery in the other woman’s expression.

Having learned her lesson, she wisely swallowed her words.

Sure enough, the next moment, she heard Ji Shihuan say coolly: “You’re an Alpha, so why are you so interested in an Omega barrier patch?”

Jiang Boyan realized her mistake and instantly dropped the item on the table as if it had burned her hand.

“Huh?” The young vendor, who had just spent a lot of effort talking and thought she was about to make a sale, was also hit hard.

She looked at Jiang Boyan in disbelief: “You, you’re an Alpha?”

CEO Jiang nodded with a blank expression.

“But, but you two…” The vendor looked at Jiang Boyan, then turned to Ji Shihuan, feeling her brain short-circuiting. “Aren’t you two a couple?”

Jiang Boyan was about to object, but Ji Shihuan beat her to it: “That’s right.”

She put her arm over Jiang Boyan’s shoulder, leaned down to the young vendor, and smiled dazzlingly: “AA relationships deserve to be celebrated, too, don’t they?”