Chapter 14
Xu Jinnan had already checked.
Zhou Pei had shown her the security footage last night. There was nothing unusual. However, she was certain someone had helped Yin Xue. After getting out of the car, Yin Xue had received a phone call and then headed towards the staff entrance.
The only way to find out the truth was to ask Yin Xue.
She decided to let it go.
In Xu Jinnan’s opinion, Yin Xue and the original Xu Jinnan shared a certain trait: a tendency towards obsession. Recalling the few descriptions in the book of their relationship, and Yin Xue’s words last night…
There was likely something deeper between them.
It wasn’t that Xu Jinnan was afraid; she simply didn’t want to get entangled in their drama.
Shen Shu didn’t reply, closing her eyes and turning towards the window.
Xu Jinnan received a text message from an unknown number.
‘You didn’t reply to my WeChat message. I’ve arrived in Qucheng. There’s been some progress on the matter you asked me to investigate. I should be back next month.’
Qucheng.
The name sounded familiar. She remembered that among the people in the original Xu Jinnan’s circle, only her father, Xu Tao, was from Qucheng. He’d come to North City at twenty to start his business, met Lu Yun, and then divorced his estranged wife.
He’d brought his son and daughter from his previous marriage to North City.
What was the original Xu Jinnan investigating about Xu Tao?
Xu Jinnan didn’t know who this person was, so she simply replied, “OK.”
There were no other messages from this number. She opened WeChat. She’d logged out because of the overwhelming number of messages and hadn’t thought about it since.
The moment she logged in, her notifications exploded.
She finally found the contact that matched the text message, but there was no chat history.
The name was “Wang Zheng.” She had no recollection of him, and his Moments were empty.
With no further clues, Xu Jinnan leaned back against the seat, her long, bare legs crossed, and idly scrolled through her contacts.
Song Ronghui: [I picked her up. You’re insane to drive her to this point.]
Several group chats had tagged her, but she ignored them.
She continued scrolling.
She’d never paid attention to these messages before, not even bothering to look at who they were from. Now, the more she looked, the more disturbed she became.
Besides a few contacts with actual names and countless group chats with nonsensical names, the rest were a jumble of numbers and letters.
She clicked on a few randomly. There were live streamers, actors, and even celebrities.
16C, 37D, 44C, 90F…
She stared at the numbers, a realization dawning on her.
The numbers represented their sizes.
“…”
Seriously?
A quick glance revealed over three hundred contacts, not a huge number, but the majority were labeled with these codes.
She could meet a different person every day for half a year without repeating.
The original Xu Jinnan was truly despicable.
The sheer volume deterred Xu Jinnan from deleting them all. She decided to change her number instead.
The car was silent for a while.
Xu Jinnan glanced at Shen Shu, who was facing the window, probably just avoiding conversation. Her eyes were closed, her face bathed in the warm sunlight, her long lashes casting delicate shadows.
Her aloofness seemed to cool the intense heat of the day.
…
After a half-hour drive, they arrived at the Zijingyuan Villas.
Wei Wuqing was waiting at the entrance with two other people. Xu Jinnan tilted her head slightly. “Who are they?”
A flicker of something crossed Shen Shu’s face.
“What?” Xu Jinnan asked.
“My aunt and cousin, Chen Xiaxia,” Shen Shu replied.
Xu Jinnan noticed a subtle scrutiny in Shen Shu’s eyes when she said the name, as if she should know who this was.
Before they could approach, a young woman in a dress rushed towards them, linking arms with Xu Jinnan, and chirped sweetly, “Jinnan-jie, it’s been so long!”
So they did know each other, and seemed quite close.
Xu Jinnan disengaged. “I’m here with your cousin.” She put her arm around Shen Shu’s shoulders.
Shen Shu stiffened, then relaxed as Wei Wuqing greeted them warmly and ushered them inside.
“There was a last-minute project, so your father and Shen Jun are out of town. They won’t be back until next week. I invited my sister and Xiaxia over so the house wouldn’t be so empty.” Wei Wuqing fussed over Xu Jinnan, placing the best dishes in front of her.
“It’s fine. We’ll have plenty of time to see each other,” Xu Jinnan replied.
“Of course, of course. Here…” Wei Wuqing ladled a bowl of soup for her. “This is fresh scent gland nourishing soup. It’s very invigorating, specially made for you. Try it.”
Xu Jinnan took the soup and tasted it. It was delicious, exactly to her liking.
Wei Wuqing smiled. “Have some more. This soup is excellent for Alphas.”
As Xu Jinnan swallowed, her brow furrowed slightly. Something about that comment felt off.
Invigorating soup?
She looked at the empty bowl. It was just soup; it couldn’t be that bad, right?
Wei Wuqing continued, “Nannan, we’ve set a date for the post-wedding banquet. We can discuss the details when you’re feeling better.”
“Just let Shu Shu decide,” Xu Jinnan said.
Shen Shu paused, then a delicate, pale hand appeared in her field of vision, placing a shrimp in her bowl.
“Eat more,” Xu Jinnan murmured.
After a while, Xu Jinnan picked up another shrimp and offered it to Shen Shu, who gave her a look, silently telling her to stop.
Xu Jinnan was partly putting on a show, but she also genuinely wanted to be kind to Shen Shu. She knew how poorly she was treated in this family. Although Chen Xiaxia was her niece, Wei Wuqing clearly favored her over Shen Shu.
Chen Xiaxia looked back and forth between them. “Cousin, you seem to be ignoring Jinnan-jie.”
Shen Shu glanced at her.
Xu Jinnan swallowed her food and said, “I like her just the way she is.”
Shen Shu: “…”
Chen Xiaxia pursed her lips. “Jinnan-jie is so good to you, Cousin. I’m so envious you have such a wonderful wife…” She trailed off, noticing Xu Jinnan was whispering something to Shen Shu, seemingly oblivious to her comment.
Chen Xiaxia’s face fell.
Wei Wuqing coughed, trying to cover the awkward silence. After being ignored twice, Chen Xiaxia gave up, and the only sound at the table was the clinking of cutlery.
Xu Jinnan continued eating, her phone buzzing several times. On the fifth buzz, she checked the screen.
The top message:
85D: [Jinnan-jie, why are you so mean to me?]
Xu Jinnan stared at the message, then looked at Chen Xiaxia, who was staring at her with a hurt expression.
“…”
You scumbag.
After dinner, Xu Jinnan excused herself, pulling Shen Shu into her room and closing the door. The curtains were half-drawn, letting in the orange glow of the setting sun.
Turning around, they were suddenly close.
Xu Jinnan smelled Shen Shu’s sweet vanilla scent.
“Your cousin just messaged me.”
Shen Shu stepped back, staring at her for a few seconds. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I thought you should know.”
“I already know.”
“…”
Shen Shu and Chen Xiaxia had never gotten along. Whatever Shen Shu liked, Chen Xiaxia would try to take. Their family favored Chen Xiaxia’s cheerful and affectionate personality. Since entering the entertainment industry a couple of years ago, Chen Xiaxia had become even more spoiled, and Shen Shu always ended up giving in.
Soon after meeting Xu Jinnan, Chen Xiaxia had started contacting her, even flaunting their relationship in front of Shen Shu.
Shen Shu watched Xu Jinnan’s reaction. “Didn’t you like her before?”
Xu Jinnan paused. “That was before.”
“I told you I wouldn’t touch anyone close to you. Besides, you know I’m an Omega.”
“Aren’t you bisexual?” Shen Shu paused. “She’s just like you. She’s interested in both Alphas and Omegas.”
“…”
Should she remind Shen Shu that she supposedly had multiple personalities? What did the past matter?
“I’m not interested in every Omega,” Xu Jinnan said.
No, that wasn’t right. She corrected herself.
“I’m not interested in Omegas.”
Leave a Reply