A Flirtatious Beauty Alpha Provokes a Crazy Omega - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Together

 

The sudden rain gradually weakened into a delicate drizzle after twenty minutes. The air, like a sponge soaked in water, seeped cool humidity into every pore.

 

Tan Zhaoxin lowered the car window. Raindrops slid like silver beads from the leaves of the plane trees, and the streetlights reflected the puddles into countless shattered mirrors.

 

Her car didn’t like to park underground—it felt stifling there. The driver drove into the residential complex, splashing water as the car rolled forward before stopping steadily.

 

Tan Zhaoxin tapped her knuckles on the leather armrest for a few seconds, ready to get out. The driver pulled a black umbrella from the door and quickly walked around to open it. The long-handled black umbrella bent backward in the wind, forcing the driver to hurry along the edge of the puddles to the right side of the car.

 

“I’ll do it myself. You can head back,” she said.

 

Tan Zhaoxin took the umbrella from him, cutting off the advice he hadn’t yet spoken. Her high heels landed in a shallow puddle, soaking her black suit pants. The cold moisture climbed up her calves.

 

As she walked between the buildings, her gaze casually swept to the side and noticed someone holding a pale yellow umbrella by the flowerbed. She didn’t pay much attention. But when she entered the elevator and heard footsteps behind her, she instinctively slowed the door from closing.

 

Their eyes met for a moment—both paused briefly. The elevator doors slowly shut. Reflected in the mirrored surface was the silhouette of a woman with droplets trickling from the ends of her hair.

 

Tan Zhaoxin was the first to look away. She suddenly remembered why the woman had looked familiar. Looking down, she pressed the button for the 13th floor and didn’t glance over again.

 

Jiang Yuying lowered her gaze, her arm brushing past the person beside her to press the button for the 15th floor. The air carried a faint trace of alcohol and a mature woman’s perfume—different from any scent she’d noticed before.

 

Of course, Jiang Yuying remembered being helped by this person downstairs last time. But she’d been in such a disheveled state back then that seeing her again now was inevitably a bit awkward.

 

Fortunately, the woman didn’t seem to recognize her.

 

When the elevator stopped, Tan Zhaoxin stepped out and took out her phone. The other party picked up quickly.

 

“What’s the name of the spokesperson your team chose for the R1 project?”

 

“She’s called Apple—Jiang Yuying.”

 

Tan Zhaoxin opened her apartment door. “Oh. Send me her file.”

 

“Got it.”

 

After entering, she tossed her coat onto the sofa. Rain clung to her body, and the chill from her wet legs made her feel uncomfortable.

 

The steam quickly filled the bathroom.

 

Ten minutes later, she came out wrapped in a bathrobe and opened the file on her phone, first glancing at the photo.

 

She had skimmed the R1 spokesperson materials sent by the project team a few days ago. No wonder the woman had looked familiar.

 

Tan Zhaoxin flipped through the two short pages, walked to the kettle, poured herself a glass of warm water, then opened her phone and sent a message:

 

“Change the spokesperson.”

 

Within seconds, her assistant replied:

 

“President Tan, may I ask why? The other party will need a reason when we negotiate.”

 

She took a sip of water:

 

“No reason.”

 

She simply felt the woman’s state last time was too poor. If there was a potential risk, the most efficient approach was to avoid it early.

 

Tan Zhaoxin put down her cup and prepared to rest.

 

Her phone buzzed on the couch, showing an incoming call. She paused before answering.

 

“Baby, will you come pick me up?” said the woman on the other end, her voice mixed with DJ music and chaotic noise.

 

Tan Zhaoxin frowned. “You’re drunk again?”

 

“Don’t be mad… I didn’t drink much. They insisted I have some… Baby, I miss you.”

 

Tan Zhaoxin held back her irritation. “I thought we agreed to part on good terms.”

 

“You were the one who said we should break up. I never agreed. I was wrong—I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Will you see me? Please?”

 

“I’m hanging up.”

 

“Tan Zhaoxin! You always used to pick me up. How can you stop loving me just like that? I want to see you, do you hear me? I want to see you!”

 

Tan Zhaoxin was silent for a moment. “Fine. Once you’re sober, we’ll meet.”

 

“I am drunk, Tan Zhaoxin! Were you really on a business trip a few days ago? Or were you seeing that Omega celebrity? Didn’t you buy that pair of enamel earrings from Sotheby’s last month—for her?! If you don’t come get me tonight, I’ll cause a scene—make sure everyone knows!”

 

Tan Zhaoxin narrowed her eyes. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

 

The woman seemed to fall silent for a second before crying again, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I just… I want to see you. We’ve been together two months. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

 

“Send me the address.”

 

She hung up immediately afterward.

 

At first, she had liked Maddy. Cute, lively, caring. But a month into the relationship, she caught her snooping through her phone.

 

Last week, Maddy had even followed her on a business trip to her hotel.

 

The breakup was inevitable.

 

In truth, two months had already exceeded the duration she usually tolerated for relationships.

 

It wasn’t that she felt nothing. There were emotions as long as one had invested—but she was simply tired. Love was just too exhausting.

 

Tan Zhaoxin changed her clothes and headed out. She pressed the elevator button. As it descended, the doors opened quickly. Her first impression: pale.

 

Beautiful, yes, but the woman’s face was unnaturally pale—frail, like she might collapse with a gust of wind. There was no vitality at all.

 

Her second reaction was familiarity.

 

Of course it was familiar—they had just seen each other thirty minutes ago. Tan Zhaoxin raised an eyebrow slightly.

 

Jiang Yuying looked surprised this time too. She had changed her clothes and now wore a cap. Upon seeing her, she quickly took out a mask she hadn’t yet put on.

 

They stood alone in the air-filled space. Tan Zhaoxin took a breath, catching a faint trace of something intimate.

 

Shower gel.

 

Peach.

 

She rubbed her nose. Her own absurdly keen sense of smell often exasperated her. As soon as the doors opened, she strode out.

 

CTA Bar.

 

Jiang Yuying stood at the entrance, wearing a mask. The crowd was thick. She called Chen Qiao a second time before the line was picked up.

 

“I’m here,” she said nervously.

 

“I’ll come get you.”

 

Soon, Chen Qiao appeared and waved her over. As she got close, Chen Qiao threw an arm over her shoulder and whispered, “Later, just drink a few with President Chen, and we’ll lock down our work for the next half of the year.”

 

Jiang Yuying hunched her shoulders. When she stepped into the deafening sound of the bar, she suddenly felt like she didn’t exist at all.

 

Like she wasn’t herself.

 

Standing amidst the crowd, even the people nearby blurred from her view.

 

She thought she heard someone calling her.

 

By the time her senses returned, she was holding a glass of alcohol. A familiar voice murmured beside her:

 

“Our Apple can really drink. President Chen, you better keep your promise—our company’s business depends on it.”

 

Jiang Yuying tasted something sharp and unfamiliar.

 

But she couldn’t stop her hands. One cup after another, she downed everything Chen Qiao handed her.

 

She wanted to die.

 

Dying would be better.

 

Tan Zhaoxin dragged Maddy out of the private room. The woman was drunk beyond reason, clinging to her while slurring about Tan Zhaoxin’s “cruelty.”

 

“You cheated first, Tan Zhaoxin, so I followed you and—I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have doubted you—I…”

 

“I love you. Don’t break up with me…”

 

“Tan…”

 

Tan Zhaoxin ran out of patience. She shoved Maddy into the arms of the driver behind her.

 

“Take her to the hotel.”

 

She lit a cigarette in the hallway. The advice she’d given to Yan Wei earlier tonight was laughable now. Physical connection was far simpler and more pleasurable than emotional ones.

 

The DJ’s rhythm pounded around her. She walked toward the exit, frowning at the loud noise from the VIP room nearby.

 

She glanced in—and froze.

 

That woman, Jiang Yuying, was being pushed toward someone by another woman with short hair.

 

In this circle, nothing was surprising.

 

She turned away, but the image of tears on that woman’s face under the colored lights stayed in her mind.

 

So boring.

 

Tan Zhaoxin took a deep drag from her cigarette, hesitated for two seconds, then pulled out her phone and dialed.

 

The other party took a moment to answer.

 

She walked to the VIP door, unfastening her pearl cufflinks. Just before opening the door, her voice turned cool and clear:

 

“Yan Wei, want a favor?”

 

Yan Wei sounded a little stunned on the other end. “What kind of favor?”

 

“Help me take someone home,” said Tan Zhaoxin, her voice calm.

 

She opened the VIP room door. Smoke and alcohol swirled inside, with a woman’s laughter echoing faintly over the thudding bass. The smell was unpleasant.

 

A woman with short hair was holding up a glass. “Come on, Apple, one more and we’re done.”

 

Jiang Yuying had her head lowered, tears smudging the makeup at the corners of her eyes. Her lips moved slightly, but she didn’t speak.

 

Tan Zhaoxin didn’t hesitate. She walked in, reached out, and grabbed the glass from her hand, setting it down on the table with a sharp clink.

 

The woman beside her looked up in surprise. “Who are you?”

 

Tan Zhaoxin’s eyes were cold. “I’m her agent.”

 

The short-haired woman was taken aback. “Agent?”

 

“She’s under my company now,” Tan Zhaoxin said, then looked down at the person in the chair. “Get up.”

 

Jiang Yuying didn’t move. Her eyes were glazed over. She’d clearly drunk too much.

 

Without a word, Tan Zhaoxin bent down and lifted her up by the arm.

 

Her body was cold. Not the kind of chill that came from air conditioning, but the kind that came from being completely soaked through—from the inside out.

 

The people in the room were stunned, uncertain if this was a joke or a power play.

 

Tan Zhaoxin didn’t explain. She carried her out the door, half dragging her.

 

At the bar entrance, Yan Wei was already waiting, wide-eyed.

 

“President Tan?” she blurted out.

 

Tan Zhaoxin ignored her and passed Jiang Yuying to her arms. “Take her home. Make sure she rests. And keep her away from people like that.”

 

Yan Wei nodded dumbly. “Yes. Got it.”

 

Just as she turned to leave, she heard Tan Zhaoxin’s voice behind her—

 

“Also. From today on, she’s signed under me.”

 

Yan Wei froze. “Huh?”

 

Tan Zhaoxin didn’t say anything else. She just lit another cigarette, turned, and walked into the rain.

 

That night, the drizzle continued.

 

And somewhere behind the blur of neon lights, someone was silently rescued from the brink.

 

Whether she knew it or not.

 

Whether she remembered it or not.