Chapter 55 – Second Update

Chapter 55 - Second Update

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It's unclear whether it had anything to do with the pheromones Li Jia left behind, but after being enveloped by an Omega’s pheromones, all the discomfort and irritability in her heart was soothed away. Ye Chengxing slept very well.

After tidying up, Ye Chengxing prepared to go downstairs to make breakfast.

These past few days had been so busy, and their schedules didn't align, so she and Li Jia hadn’t sat down together for breakfast in several days.

However, as she walked downstairs and before she even entered the kitchen, she saw that breakfast was already laid out on the table.

Ye Chengxing paused, then saw the Omega emerge from the kitchen holding some utensils.

Meeting her gaze, Li Jia smiled and said, "I was just about to go upstairs to call you, Sister."

As she spoke, she reached out and pulled Ye Chengxing to sit down. "Sister, please taste it and see if it suits your palate."

The breakfast laid out before her looked delicious in every way; one could tell without even tasting it that it would be exquisite.

Ye Chengxing made a sound of acknowledgment.

Usually, she was the one cooking, and perhaps because she had grown accustomed to taking care of Li Jia, she suddenly felt a bit unaccustomed—or rather, a little embarrassed—to be on the receiving end of such care.

She didn’t say anything, but Li Jia seemed to read her thoughts from her expression.

The Omega chuckled softly, her words seeming to carry hidden meaning, yet also possibly just a listener’s misinterpretation: "Sister can’t always treat me like a child who needs looking after."

Ye Chengxing laughed and teased, "But Little Li is still a little one who needs to be taken care of in my eyes."

Upon hearing Ye Chengxing’s words, Li Jia’s expression froze for a second.

Recalling how she usually interacted with Ye Chengxing, she suddenly realized a serious problem.

She guessed that Ye Chengxing preferred obedient, harmless, and cute Omegas, so she had been trying to shape her image accordingly, thinking that with time on her side, she would eventually win Ye Chengxing over.

But what if Ye Chengxing truly saw her only as a sister, someone who needed constant care?

After Ye Chengxing finished teasing her, Li Jia didn’t respond and her expression grew stiffer. Ye Chengxing wondered if she had said something wrong.

But upon further reflection, she didn’t think so, so she asked with concern, "What’s wrong?"

In response, Li Jia looked at Ye Chengxing and tried to smile. "Nothing, Sister. Let’s eat."

Sister was a term she was used to using, and if she suddenly switched to another term, Ye Chengxing might find it strange. The person who always called her Sister suddenly stopped doing so.

"The trap I set for myself…" The Omega muttered to herself in a low voice.

Because her voice was so soft, Ye Chengxing didn’t hear clearly. She sensed that something was bothering Li Jia despite her assurances, so she instructed her earnestly, "If there’s anything, you must tell me. Don’t suffer alone."

Li Jia had already concealed her true feelings. Hearing Ye Chengxing’s words, she blinked. "Of course, I’ll tell you everything, Sister."

Ye Chengxing nodded, then tasted the exquisitely presented food on the plate and exclaimed in amazement, "Little Li, your cooking keeps getting better and better."

Seeing the sparkle in her eyes, the Omega smiled happily. "Our Little Li is so amazing."

...

Breakfast was quickly finished. Li Jia checked her phone and said she needed to leave soon, as her agent’s car had arrived.

Ye Chengxing spoke warmly, "Alright, go ahead. Take care of yourself."

Li Jia grabbed her coat and waved at Ye Chengxing. "I’m off then, goodbye, Sister."

Ye Chengxing smiled and waved back. Once Li Jia was out of sight, she called Xiao Bai over to tidy up the dining table while she went into the kitchen to prepare the items she planned to sell today.

But as soon as she entered the kitchen, she heard her phone ring.

Few people usually contacted Ye Chengxing on her personal number.

She picked up her phone and looked down at it.

To her surprise, it was a call from the Ye family.

This was unexpected.

Since Ye Chengxing had entered this world, she had never directly communicated with the Ye family. Their only interaction had been when the Ye family froze the original body’s card during her conflict with Linque. Otherwise, they had no contact.

From the original body’s memories, there didn’t seem to be any obvious issues within the Ye family.

Perhaps due to the original body’s mental state, many memories were hazy and disordered.

Ye Chengxing suspected something was amiss with the Ye family based on subtle details. On one hand, they appeared to pamper her, but in reality, they left her to fend for herself. There was also the matter of the inheritance, which the original body initially held, but ended up being gambled away under mysterious circumstances. Soon afterward, the inheritance was transferred to the custody of other members of the Ye family. It was too coincidental.

Ye Chengxing hesitated for a moment before answering the call.

Neither of them spoke.

After a while, as if noticing her silence, the caller reluctantly spoke up, "Chengxing, come to tonight’s banquet. Remember to bring that Omega, Li Jia, with you. Sigh, everyone is disappointed by your recent behavior."

Ye Chengxing narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone tinged with laziness. "You want me to come, so I should? No."

The caller seemed taken aback by her abrupt tone but didn’t say anything, adopting the demeanor of a concerned elder. "You...you child..."

Ye Chengxing didn’t listen further and hung up the call, cutting off the caller’s words.

People who hadn’t bothered to contact her for ages suddenly calling and specifically mentioning that she should bring Li Jia along—it was as if they were all but saying there was a problem.

There was no way she would go.

Ye Chengxing turned off her phone screen and continued preparing the food she planned to sell today.

******

A few days had passed since Ye Chengxing made that call from the Ye family.

Nisshin Gourmet Shop's reputation had now spread far and wide, and more and more people came to visit the shop.

Ye Chengxing expanded the Gourmet Shop.

The food street was still in preparation, but the custom-made kitchen utensils had already been delivered and installed, and the kitchen was all set up. In the past, she didn't allow customers to dine in because she was the only one working there, and she couldn't manage taking orders. But now, with Xi Yue and the others, they could start this new model. This meant that starting today, the Gourmet Shop's customers could stay and dine in the shop.

After receiving the menus, the customers were all shocked.

Before this, no one had ever heard of a Gourmet Shop allowing customers to dine in.

On the first day of implementing this new model, the Gourmet Shop's sales broke new records, with revenue skyrocketing several times compared to usual days.

Due to the sheer number of customers dining in, even with Xi Yue and the others helping out, Ye Chengxing was still swamped with work.

Finally, the day's business came to an end. Ye Chengxing stretched her shoulders and neck, smiling at Xi Yue and the others as she discussed their salaries.

After finishing, she looked at the silent group and said gently, "Do you have any objections about your salaries? I estimate that the workload will be similar to today's going forward. If you think the salary I set is too low, we can raise it."

Upon hearing this, the girls shook their heads vigorously, almost like rattles, and started speaking one after another.

"Chengxing, honestly, it's fine if you don't pay us. You've given us a place to live, money, and taught us how to cook. You've already helped us so much."

"That's right, Boss. This salary feels too generous. Please don't pay us."

"You've really helped us too much..."

"We haven't even paid tuition for learning, so we shouldn't take your money."

Ye Chengxing chuckled. "Salaries should be paid, so let's go with the numbers I mentioned earlier."

She picked up her coat from the side, took out her phone, and checked it. "I need to leave now. You must be exhausted today. After cleaning up, go back and rest well."

As Ye Chengxing walked out of the shop, the girls watched her, their eyes moistening.

******

Today's closing time wasn't particularly early.

Ye Chengxing took her usual detour and removed her disguise before returning to where she parked her car.

She got into the car, and the irritation she had been suppressing surged up instantly.

Over the past few days, she had been feeling this way occasionally. Ye Chengxing guessed that her susceptible period might be approaching. An Alpha's susceptible period was always irregular, without any specific predictable timing. Some might experience it every month, while others might only have it once every four or five months, or even half a year. Even with this premonition, taking suppressants in advance wouldn't help.

However, she was already feeling this way, so it was likely close.

Therefore, Ye Chengxing had been carrying suppressants with her these past few days, just in case her susceptible period suddenly arrived when she didn't have any on hand.

Ye Chengxing unlocked her phone.

Li Jia had sent her several messages half an hour ago, saying that she had finished filming for the day and could return to the hotel arranged by the production team. There were also other casual daily updates, such as what she had eaten for dinner and photos of a small flower in a corner.

Looking at the last message with a happy, cutesy cat emoji, Ye Chengxing couldn't help but smile, and the irritation dissipated significantly.

Her fingers tapped on the screen as she began to reply, "I'm done too, just saw my phone."

After explaining, Ye Chengxing chose an emoji of petting a cat's head and sent it over. Then, she started replying to each of Li Jia's messages from top to bottom.

"Good job, Little Li. You ate dinner properly today. Kudos."

"This little white flower looks so cute in the photo."

...

After replying to the last message, Ye Chengxing's smile hadn't faded when Li Jia's call suddenly popped up on the screen.

She answered the call, and just as she said "Little Li," an urgent voice rushed out from the other end.

It wasn't Li Jia's voice, but a stranger's, sounding very anxious—

"Hello, are you Miss Ye? Li Jia was stalked and attacked by a fanatic. She's in the hospital now. Can you come here?"

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