Xie Chengcheng sped off with her new girlfriend. Cheng Ying returned to her seat, and after exchanging a few pleasantries with the celebrity beside her, the awards ceremony officially began.
Xu Ning wore a white, backless gauze dress and, as a nominee, sat in the very front row. From Cheng Ying’s perspective, she could only see her fair back and her perfectly neat updo.
The distance between them couldn’t dampen Cheng Ying’s good mood. She had chosen Xu Ning’s entire outfit, her makeup was done according to her instructions, and her speech and demeanor were all things she had taught her.
Xu Ning might be thousands of miles away for work, but Cheng Ying’s mark was forever etched upon her.
This made Cheng Ying feel secure.
The celebrity beside her noticed her gaze and teased, “Hey, Boss Cheng, your eyes are practically popping out of your head. If you’re that concerned, why did you let sister-in-law dress like that?”
Cheng Ying just smiled, offering no comment.
In fact, after she became the Vice President of Cheng’s Media, she had originally planned to continue her life of debauchery, just to put her uncle more at ease.
But things rarely go as planned. Once, when she was representing the company at a wrap party for a film crew, she encountered the then-unknown Bai Ruo.
The Omega, who was like a delicate white flower, was being plied with alcohol until she was completely drunk. The director, who looked sleazy at a glance, already had his hand inside her clothes.
Cheng Ying chewed on a steak that wasn’t cooked quite right, listening to the whispers of those around her.
“Tsk, tsk. Look, the director’s going to get some action tonight.”
“Sigh, poor Omega. From now on, she’ll just be the director’s plaything. Once he gets tired of her and has had his fill, she’ll be all but ruined.”
“What’s there to pity? You have to be prepared for this when you enter the industry. Besides, isn’t that all Omegas are good for? They’re so frail, you don’t expect them to fight wars, do you?”
Cheng Ying casually pushed a nearby bottle. The full wine bottle spun on the table before crashing to the floor beside the speakers. It shattered with a bang, and shards and wine vied to splash all over them.
The two men glared at the culprit, but Cheng Ying just smiled sweetly. “My hand slipped. My apologies.”
“Not at all, Boss Cheng. You’re being too polite.”
Realizing she was someone they couldn’t afford to offend, the two men quickly adopted a magnanimous, unbothered expression.
Physical bravado can’t save a withered spirit, Cheng Ying thought.
She walked over to the director and put on a disgusting, lust-filled smile. “I’ve taken a particular fancy to Miss Bai. Would the director mind parting with her?”
Cheng Ying tossed Bai Ruo onto the sofa, planning to tell her the next morning that she had suddenly lost interest, that Bai Ruo had narrowly escaped, and that she should leave immediately.
However, the execution deviated from the plan.
Miss Bai Ruo grabbed her sleeve, tears streaming down her face. “I can be with you. Please, help me.”
If Bai Ruo hadn’t looked so pale and fragile, if her pheromones weren’t that faint scent of orchid…
Cheng Ying would have stormed off without a second thought.
Countless people in the world suffered every day, whether from natural disasters or man-made calamities.
But it always came down to one thing: All life is suffering, and what the hell does it have to do with me?
Cheng Ying couldn’t be bothered with other people’s problems. What little kindness she was born with had long been exhausted in her protracted battle with Cheng Mo.
But as she looked at Bai Ruo’s tear-streaked face, something else came to mind.
Her mother had never cried like that in front of her, even though what she had endured was enough to make one cry a river dry.
She hadn’t been able to save her mother. She hadn’t been able to do anything for her; in fact, she had cost her her life.
This was the greatest and only irreparable regret of Cheng Ying’s life.
This regret had forcibly torn a fissure in her heart—a heart tightly guarded by reason and ruthlessness—leaving behind a single, soft scar.
Maybe… I should just save her.
“The winner for Best Actress is—Miss Xu Ning!”
The host’s resounding announcement snapped Cheng Ying out of her thoughts.
Amid the applause, the magnolia-like Omega rose, gave the crowd a demure nod, and walked onto the stage.
Cheng Ying watched her with a gentle expression.
Finally holding the award, Xu Ning was understandably emotional. Her voice trembled slightly, and a film of moisture misted her beautiful eyes.
“Receiving this award today… the person I want to thank the most is my agent, Cheng Ying.”
Her red lips parted slightly, her gaze shimmered, full of dependence and gentleness.
Under the knowing gazes of the crowd, Cheng Ying blew Xu Ning a kiss as light as a feather.
In return, she earned a tearfully beautiful smile from the “Jade Maiden.”
Such vivid, intense emotion.
Cheng Ying leaned back slightly into the soft chair, an irrepressible smile playing on her lips.
This was something she had discovered after becoming Bai Ruo’s agent: she liked being needed, and she liked leaving her mark on others.
Not a primitive thing like a mating mark, but a mark on their achievements, their actions, even their very souls.
Those were the true materials for shaping a person in modern society.
She supposed she was only human, after all. Unable to let go of her childhood regrets, and incapable of facing death with an unburdened heart.
If she really were to die in her struggle against Cheng Mo, at least someone would remember her, in one way or another.
Like a tombstone before a grave.
After the ceremony, Cheng Ying parked her car in the underground lot of the Fengyun Awards venue.
A moment later, another car pulled up beside her. The person who hopped out walked briskly to her car and tapped on the window with a knuckle.
“It’s Miss Xu. Master, open the door!”
Without Cheng Ying needing to look up, Cheng Mantou had already identified the visitor. Out of a bored, gossipy impulse, Mantou always made a point of “taking over” the surveillance and main control console of their destination whenever she went out with Cheng Ying.
Cheng Ying opened the door and, as if anticipating it, reached out to steady Xu Ning as she hopped in, gently guiding her into the seat. “Be careful.”
This “Jade Maiden,” who was as cold as ice in public, had pheromones to match—the scent of snow orchids.
Now, however, she took off her sunglasses, her eyes filled with a proud smile as she shoved the heavy trophy into Cheng Ying’s hands.
“I told you I could win it.”
She tilted her head up slightly, looking at Cheng Ying like a child showing off a certificate and demanding praise from a grown-up.
The object of her anticipation curved her long, beautiful eyes and stroked Xu Ning’s long hair, which was draped over her shoulders.
“As expected of our Ningning. No diet meal tonight. Tell me what you want to eat, my treat.”
Xu Ning furrowed her brow, deliberating for a long moment before looking at Cheng Ying cautiously. “How about… we cook at my place? I went to Bianhai City a couple of days ago for a fresh food platform commercial, and the client gave me a huge bluefin tuna.”
Cheng Ying’s hand, which was reaching for the route-setting screen, paused. She didn’t refuse outright, just smiled. “We’ve been running around so late, and you still want to eat at home?”
Xu Ning seemed to throw caution to the wind. She pursed her lips, tugged on Cheng Ying’s sleeve, and said in a voice that was half-coaxing, half-pleading, “Besides, there’s the robot butler.”
Xu Ning wasn’t stunningly beautiful; hers was a more elegant, enduring kind of beauty. The outer corners of her eyes drooped slightly, making her look like an unapproachable ice queen when she wasn’t smiling. But now, her voice soft and her expression pleading, she looked just like a child begging for candy.
Cheng Ying didn’t have the heart to spoil her mood on such a happy occasion, so she could only set the destination to Xu Ning’s home with a resigned sigh. “As you command, Miss Xu.”
Unless there was a special reason, Cheng Ying never went to her artists’ homes. She had no real intention of getting involved with any Omega and thus preferred not to get too close. A mark was for life, and it would be terribly unlucky for a beautiful Omega to spend the rest of their life bearing the pheromones of a dead person.
Besides, she had something of a… trauma when it came to visiting her artists’ homes.
With autopilot engaged, the car sped along the sky-track, blurring the brightly lit new district outside the window into a vibrant streak of light.
Cheng Ying closed her eyes to rest. The bands of light slid across her sharply defined features, creating a strange and mesmerizing beauty.
Her woody-scented pheromones slowly filled the car.
Alpha pheromones, when not deliberately released in high concentrations, were essentially like perfume—neither aggressive nor unpleasant.
This woman possessed a scent that was completely at odds with her appearance—an almost ascetic, woody fragrance.
Perhaps her pheromones were a truer reflection of her real self.
Xu Ning quietly tightened her grip on the syringe in her handbag. The label on the glass plunger read:
Omega Heat Inducer.
