Faced with the contemptuous or furious gazes of the alphas, it was impossible for Yun Chuji to remain completely calm. In fact, her heart rate had been consistently high.
Half from nervousness.
Half from excitement.
In her sixteen years of life, Yun Chuji had, for the first time, made a choice that was her own, not one demanded by others.
She chose to stand in opposition to the alphas and did not shy away from her stance.
This undoubtedly violated the code of a virtuous woman, but the books Yun Chuji had been reading recently had already made her question the very concept of a so-called virtuous woman. Coupled with the movies Tang Jianxi recommended, which gave her a deeper understanding of the customs of the ABO era, Yun Chuji recognized with immense clarity that this was a completely different world. If she continued to hold herself and others to the standards of the past, she would seem utterly foolish.
After all, if she couldn’t even have a husband, what value was there in being a virtuous woman?
Besides, no one else mattered!
As long as Jianxi approved!
Yun Chuji glanced at Tang Jianxi with a hint of apprehension and, as expected, saw a joyful expression. But surrounding that beautiful flower of joy were specks of troubled dust.
Tang Jianxi helplessly took her hand and led her outside, her gentle voice tinged with both amusement and the same trouble. “Xiao Ji, you’ve really made a scene.”
Yun Chuji’s face flushed slightly as she said modestly, “It wasn’t much of a scene, just a few dozen people.”
Although, for someone as inexperienced as her, it was quite a grand spectacle.
“No.” Tang Jianxi turned her head, the hint of trouble in her eyes growing more pronounced. “Someone was live-streaming just now—probably about a dozen people—so what you said is now known throughout the entire Empire.”
Huh?
Yun Chuji froze, her eyes wide, her gentle and amiable face taking on the adorable look of a small animal.
The… the entire Empire.
Yun Chuji urgently searched her mind for information and had to come to the painful conclusion that the population of the Empire was greater than the grains of sand in the river next to Qingling County.
Alright, since it was like this, Yun Chuji tried to calm herself. That was fine too. Let more alphas get angry if they wanted to. What she said was the truth, and if even one alpha changed their ways of treating omegas because of it, it would be a meritorious deed.
Yun Chuji stiffened her neck, forcing out an extremely awkward, impassioned posture. “Let them know then. I’m not afraid to fight them, and I’m not afraid to reason with them.”
Hearing this, Tang Jianxi gave her a look of fond pity, then led her to the window and pointed at the dense crowd below. “The problem now isn’t how many alphas hate you, but how many omegas are infatuated with you.”
She paused, her tone subtly shifting. “Especially after what you said, at least in the eyes of the freedom-seeking omegas in the first five rings, you’ve become their ideal partner.”
Gazing at the surging crowd below, Yun Chuji subconsciously stepped back from the window.
To be honest, she was a little scared. It was only human. One could strike back against unacceptable malice, but unacceptable affection was terrifying.
“What should we do now?”
Yun Chuji looked at Tang Jianxi helplessly. She could only rely on her now. She didn’t want to be drowned in the affection of so many omegas; it would make her extremely uncomfortable, as she couldn’t accept such baseless love with a clear conscience.
She suddenly understood that Tang Jianxi’s appearance today was likely because of this matter. Yun Chuji couldn’t help but feel annoyed with herself; she always seemed to be causing trouble for Tang Jianxi.
Their hands were still clasped together. When it came to Tang Jianxi, the rules of distinction between alphas and omegas that Yun Chuji had just established always seemed to fail. Tang Jianxi squeezed her hand, looking at Yun Chuji’s anxious face. If the other’s display of insecurity made her feel even more fond, it should have been a very strange thing, considering her own omega nature that craved security. But that was indeed how she felt at this moment.
Perhaps everyone’s feelings had their own deformities. Tang Jianxi didn’t dwell on it. She had come here today partly to comfort Yun Chuji, and partly for a more subtle reason—she wanted to display her ownership.
After all, the frantic declarations of love for Yun Chuji on the star-net had truly annoyed her.
Tang Jianxi raised their joined hands and said with considerable vexation, “Originally, I thought just showing them you’re taken would be enough, but in this situation, doing that would be like adding fuel to the fire. We might not even be able to get out.”
Then she sighed at the suspiciously numerous hover cars flying around outside the window. “It’s not safe to take a car from the top floor either.”
“What a pity. You’ve already told others I’m your omega, but I can’t tell others you’re my alpha.”
Yun Chuji was mortified. Being caught red-handed by the person she was boasting about was utterly shameful. She stammered an explanation, “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that they all thought you were my omega, and I never specifically corrected them before, so I used it to shut them up.”
After saying that, she added with careful remorse, “I should have properly corrected it before.”
Tang Jianxi squeezed her hand and gave a mischievous smile. Such a smile on that face was practically a love potion. At least, Yun Chuji was so mesmerized that she could only let the other woman make the arrangements.
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll have to announce it to outsiders sooner or later anyway.”
“To be honest, I really think this is a great opportunity to go public, sensational enough. A pity it’s a bit too sensational right now.”
Tang Jianxi turned and led Yun Chuji back into the building, coming face to face with the group of alphas who had followed them. Yun Chuji subconsciously released a bit of her pheromones to envelop Tang Jianxi. The smile on Tang Jianxi’s face grew more pronounced. Ignoring the bizarre expressions of the alphas, she continued, “For now, we can only stay here for a while.”
“But…” Yun Chuji looked at the surroundings. This was a commercial building, with no suitable place to rest or work. Was Tang Jianxi supposed to just sit and wait?
Yun Chuji pressed her lips together. “You should go back first. I’ll wait here until they leave.”
Tang Jianxi glanced at her in surprise. “Why should I leave? This building is mine.”
Silence fell around them. Even the breathing of the group of alphas seemed to have stopped.
Yun Chuji once again witnessed the vast wealth of the second young lady of the Tang family and understood why Gu Qing was so deferential to her.
In fact, it was precisely because she was the landlord that Tang Jianxi knew there was a famous alpha training camp here. In the past, she couldn’t be bothered to inquire about anything related to alphas.
So, after a brief word with Feng Ling, the two of them, along with three AI bodyguards, leisurely made their way to an apartment on the top floor.
Closing the door and confirming there were no more optical computer cameras around, Tang Jianxi immediately said apologetically, “What I said just now might have a negative impact on your image if it was live-streamed, but…”
Yun Chuji wasn’t surprised and interrupted her, “I know. We discussed it before. I need to create an image that Glory can trust.”
“A hypocritical, greedy person who despises omegas is more likely to gain their trust.”
Tang Jianxi stared at Yun Chuji, her eyes filled with amazement. “You’re growing up fast.”
Yun Chuji let go of Tang Jianxi’s hand, her expression wistful as she gave a wry smile. “After seeing such a tragedy, one should grow up, no matter what.”
Only then did Tang Jianxi realize that the innocent yet stubborn look that had always clung to Yun Chuji’s face had now mostly vanished, and the remaining parts had mutated to varying degrees. Tang Jianxi knew this was all because of her. She had dragged Yun Chuji into a world she never needed to be involved in. A dull ache spread through Tang Jianxi’s heart—the inevitable self-reproach of a kind person who discovers they have altered another’s destiny.
She took a step forward and cupped Yun Chuji’s face. The action was quite strenuous for her; she had to stand on her tiptoes. Maintaining this difficult posture, Tang Jianxi said with great solemnity, “You don’t always have to try to make yourself look hypocritical and cunning, Chuji. You are different from most, or rather, all people in this world. No one can truly understand you. We can only speculate based on our own perceptions, and a hypocritical person will see hypocrisy.”
“Just be yourself. There’s no need to make things difficult for yourself, to do things you don’t like.”
Yun Chuji was stunned, looking at Tang Jianxi’s earnest expression. She steadied Tang Jianxi’s waist and bent down to make it less strenuous for her, then had a sudden realization. “This is why you said I was sick before, isn’t it, Jianxi?”
Tang Jianxi gritted her teeth, not understanding how she could interpret a warm reassurance in such a way.
She immediately tightened her grip, and Yun Chuji’s lips puckered into a comical pout.
“You’re not sick at all, you’re wonderful!”
“Don’t listen to what I said, and don’t listen to what they say.”
“You are just wonderful!”
Hearing these “fierce” words, Yun Chuji’s eyes curved into crescents, her smile warm and gentle. She found it incredibly cute how Tang Jianxi would suddenly get angry while praising someone.
Faced with this smile, Tang Jianxi belatedly felt a sense of embarrassment. She quickly let go of Yun Chuji, coughed, and said, “Let’s just stay here for today. They should leave after a while.”
Yun Chuji had no objections. She found a place to sit and prepared to start reading.
However, Tang Jianxi didn’t work as she usually did. She paced back and forth awkwardly, her gaze frequently darting toward Yun Chuji.
Yun Chuji put down the book she had barely started and asked curiously, “Jianxi, is something wrong?”
Tang Jianxi fiddled with her fingers and said with feigned composure, “What I said before wasn’t an act.”
So, I was serious about acknowledging you as my alpha.
Yun Chuji didn’t think much of it. Her mind, which had opened up recently, hadn’t yet expanded into this domain. She just smiled and said, “Me too.”
Tang Jianxi saw this and couldn’t help but pout in frustration before running off to the study to work.
After a while, she came out again and sat opposite Yun Chuji, seriously handling matters related to Helen Moran, Glory, and the Tang Group.
Yun Chuji would glance at her from time to time, but she didn’t understand why she was doing so.
Perhaps, it was because Jianxi was just too beautiful.
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