Adopting Myself from the Wealthy Heiress (GL) - Chapter 1

【Hey, could I trouble you to pick up Juzi today?】

An Chixu heard her phone vibrate and couldn’t help but pause the mountain of work on her desk.

The content of the message made her even more anxious, and the hand resting on her mouse began to tremble slightly.

There were still over two hours left before the company’s official closing time. Yet, An Chixu’s heart had already flown out of the busy office.

She had broken up with her ex, finally ending a protracted, eight-year entanglement.

But the room she now had to herself felt overwhelmingly empty.

About three months ago, An Chixu couldn’t bear the cold stillness of facing an empty apartment alone, so she decided to get a pet.

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to properly care for another life, and even more afraid of taking responsibility only to find she couldn’t keep it—a dilemma she couldn’t afford to be trapped in.

So, she found a university student who needed a temporary foster home for her pet. For the three months covering the final exams and the summer break, An Chixu agreed to look after her cat.

The cat was a long-haired Golden Shaded British Shorthair, its fur a smooth, brilliant gold. That’s why its current owner, the “scooper,” named it Juzi (Orange).

The scooper said the cat had a great personality, was clingy, and quiet. She even wrote a long list of care instructions to ease An Chixu’s worries.

An Chixu had seen videos of the little cat, who would stick to its scooper like a boneless creature, rubbing and kneading, its soft little purrs melting her heart.

From the day she finalized the plan to bring the cat home for three months, An Chixu had been eagerly anticipating their actual meeting.

Today was finally the day.

An Chixu quickly closed the unnecessary window she had accidentally opened, her hands still shaking, and took a deep breath.

She couldn’t risk leaving early, and the possibility of being forced to stay late was even worse—she had to finish her work.

*******

The role of Assistant Planner at an entertainment company was not easy.

She had no real power, she was purely an errand runner, and the tasks were endless and fragmented.

After completing and sending off a video demo edit, An Chixu immediately began organizing the minutes from the recent meeting.

This morning, she had been out running a field announcement with an intern, following her team leader.

This afternoon, she had rushed back for the meeting, and now, the report had fallen to her.

Her intern had an afternoon class and was unlikely to stay at Yanxun Entertainment anyway. An Chixu didn’t have the authority to assign her work, so organizing the meeting minutes naturally reverted to her.

Having been with the company for two years, she was more or less used to this work pace.

To establish herself in this high-competition, fast-paced city, An Chixu knew she had to redouble her efforts.

As she finalized the document, An Chixu paused her mouse over a name in the recipients list: the Center Director.

Yan Ciwei.

She was the direct director of An Chixu’s department, her boss several levels up the corporate ladder.

Though An Chixu rarely interacted with her, Yan Ciwei’s name was famous throughout Yanxun Entertainment—everyone knew it.

“Yanxun Entertainment. Guess why the company name has the character ‘Yan’ (Swallow) in it?” An Chixu had asked her intern on the first day, sharing a few company taboos.

“The founder likes swallows? It has a good meaning?” The intern, Tian Ming, still had the naïveté of a college student, and her reply made An Chixu chuckle.

“Our company is surnamed ‘Yan’—the ‘peaceful/sunset’ Yan. Yan Ciwei has a very close relationship with the current chairman. Don’t discuss her ‘airdrop’ status, her planning style, or anything else with colleagues behind her back.”

An Chixu thought for a moment, then added another piece of advice for the intern.

“And don’t try to get her attention.” This warning was somewhat personal, yet it didn’t stem from An Chixu’s own self-interest.

When An Chixu had first started, her own team leader had given her the exact same caution.

Interns only had a small chance of staying at Yanxun Entertainment, which made them particularly dangerous.

Every year, a few would assume they had nothing to lose and would flirt with Yan Ciwei, only to be promptly thrown out of the Yanxun headquarters building by her.

After all, Yan Ciwei had the authority of a director. Her decisive actions after her ‘airdrop’ appointment had quickly brought the entire department into line, silencing anyone who had been unhappy.

More importantly, she possessed a face and figure that easily rivaled the company’s own artists.

Just looking at that face, anyone could imagine how popular she must have been during her student days.

A tiny mole at the corner of her eye was the most striking red in many people’s youthful dreams, and a single sweep of her butterfly-wing lashes was enough to hook countless souls.

Tian Ming was initially slightly annoyed by An Chixu’s warning, but that awkwardness vanished when she met Yan Ciwei in person that afternoon.

“Sister An, now I understand why you warned me so seriously…” Tian Ming was messaging An Chixu even now, sounding impressed—clearly, she had been stunned by a single glimpse of Yan Ciwei.

An Chixu’s thoughts, which had been scattered into light, cottony wisps by the mention of Yan Ciwei, did not reply.

She typed in Yan Ciwei’s work email address and sent the meeting minutes.

After handling all the miscellaneous tasks, An Chixu finished her weekly work report and organized her to-do list for the next day.

It was now eight o’clock in the evening, long past closing time, yet the entire floor was still packed with people, no different from when An Chixu had received the message from the cat’s owner that afternoon.

She hid a small bag beneath her coat, picked up a pack of tissues, and pretended to head to the restroom.

Then, she quickly scurried toward the downstairs elevator.

This was her usual tactic. Her team leader loved working overtime and, more importantly, loved having them work overtime with her. No one could “leave early” under her watchful eye.

But Juzi’s scooper had to be back at her university by 9:30 PM. Accounting for commute time, An Chixu needed to leave now.

After confirming her team leader hadn’t followed, An Chixu let out a sigh of relief.

The elevator numbers slowly ascended, about to reach the 17th floor where the planning department was located, but it didn’t stop.

An Chixu’s heart fluttered.

The elevator smoothly continued its ascent from the 17th floor, flowing effortlessly all the way to the top floor, the 23rd, where it finally paused.

An Chixu thought of one person.

She lowered her head, which had been raised stiffly, and blinked her dry eyes.

She should have taken the stairs, or waited for another elevator, or even gone back to her desk right now to make her bathroom excuse believable.

An Chixu lifted her leg to leave, the motion slow because of her halted breathing.

With a soft “ding,” the elevator doors opened.

Unable to retreat in time, An Chixu turned her head and met the face of Yan Ciwei inside the elevator.

Yan Ciwei.

Her childhood friend of ten years, her ex-partner of eight.

She raised her pale, clean chin, her gaze challenging as she looked directly at An Chixu.

“……”

The silence was thick and viscous, much like the night outside the building.

Early summer’s overcast rain had swallowed the clear moonlight, painting the corridor in a heavy mist. The light in the elevator flickered for a second, making Yan Ciwei’s exquisitely defined face look ghostly.

Her long lashes veiled the light in her eyes, creating an obscure, even malevolent look. The red mole near her eye seemed like a smear of bl00d. Everything about this director that people admired was blurred, turning into its stark, inverse opposite.

She remained silent in the depths of the elevator, gazing at An Chixu for an extended moment.

An Chixu stiffly turned, intending to walk away.

In all of Yanxun Entertainment, throughout their middle school and university campuses, among everyone who knew Yan Ciwei. An Chixu was the only one who had the nerve to be so blatantly disrespectful to her face.

An Chixu thought Yan Ciwei would understand her momentary awkwardness and let this pitiful lamb go.

Instead, Yan Ciwei tilted her head, transforming her pallor into a pure, creamy smoothness, touched with a hint of life’s pink.

“Not coming in?” Yan Ciwei pressed the elevator’s door-hold button, a gesture that felt like she was squeezing An Chixu’s throat.

The crimson floor number seemed to be held in perpetual, agonizing waiting for the 17th floor.

Resigned, An Chixu closed her eyes, turned back to Yan Ciwei, and stepped into the elevator.

She kept her head down. Aside from the initial eye contact, An Chixu didn’t give Yan Ciwei a second glance.

The two stood on opposite sides of the elevator, separated by an invisible barrier.

The air around them remained stagnant. An Chixu couldn’t smell the usual geranium scent that clung to Yan Ciwei.

The rattling and jolting of the elevator made the interior lighting unstable.

An Chixu momentarily lifted her peripheral vision, choosing not to look at the specter on the other side. She simply cleared her mind and closed her eyes to rest.

Her hand discreetly secured the bag hidden inside her coat, a subconscious act of concealment.

She never looked at Yan Ciwei.

Yet, Yan Ciwei did not stop watching her for a single second.

Yan Ciwei’s gaze was light, soft—like fine, cool silk—a constant, continuous drizzle.

An Chixu used to be accustomed to that stare. She had been watched by Yan Ciwei for eight years before the line of sight abruptly snapped.

Now, An Chixu felt none of that slightly invasive attention, just as someone suffering from hay fever couldn’t smell the deep, sweet, yet irresistibly bitter fragrance of her perfume.

The elevator was descending too slowly. With her eyes closed, An Chixu couldn’t even think of the kitten she had been anticipating for so long and would meet in less than half an hour.

She just wanted the elevator to arrive quickly.

…

“I recall the official closing time…” Yan Ciwei actually spoke.

An Chixu’s eyes snapped open. It had been a long time since she had heard Yan Ciwei’s voice in such a confined space.

The cool timbre was like a snow lotus, so clear, so brilliant.

It made her shiver.

An Chixu bit her tongue, refusing to betray any fear.

Fortunately, the elevator doors opened.

An Chixu didn’t see which floor it was, but she quickly stepped out and hastened away.

Yan Ciwei’s gaze was locked on her, following her movements, up and down.

It seemed to track her perfectly, like a drumbeat matching her rhythm.

Yan Ciwei was right behind her.

An Chixu heard the distinct clack-clack of her steps. Yan Ciwei’s shoes had thick soles, and even without force, her steps on the floor made a definite sound, like falling carnation petals.

Although the office building was bustling at night, Yan Ciwei’s footsteps were still loud, vibrating An Chixu’s eardrums and gradually overriding all other sounds.

An Chixu did not look back.

She exited the main door and deepened her breath, forcing the world, which had grown silent except for Yan Ciwei, to become noisy again.

But behind her, that clingy, spectral presence remained.

The coldness was intensely palpable on the early summer night, a deliberate chill that seemed to divide the space around An Chixu into light and shadow.

Yan Ciwei hadn’t followed her like this in a long time, and the fear was a long-forgotten sensation for An Chixu.

She was glad, however, that the old thrill was no longer there.

After entering the crowded subway station, An Chixu finally stopped feeling that gaze.

She turned around and, of course, didn’t see Yan Ciwei.

…After all, Yan Ciwei was the chairman’s daughter. She was chauffered to and from work every day in a luxury car. How could she possibly squeeze onto the subway?

An Chixu pressed a hand to her pounding heart, thinking.

Maybe it was all her imagination.

Yan Ciwei, her ex-partner, after their terribly ugly breakup… she certainly hadn’t followed her out of the elevator, hadn’t shadowed her every step.

Everything was just her own overreaction to hearing Yan Ciwei’s voice, confusing the past with reality.

“Thank you for bringing Juzi over. I just got off work, I’m sorry.” When An Chixu arrived downstairs at her apartment complex, Juzi’s scooper, Pei Yuxi, was already waiting with the carrier bag.

“It’s no problem, honestly.” Pei Yuxi was a sophomore, and her family appeared to be wealthy. She didn’t live in a dorm and had gotten the cat out of loneliness.

However, she was hiding the cat from her family, who were allergic to cat hair, so she couldn’t take it home for the holidays. That’s why she had reached out to An Chixu to board Juzi at her place.

Pei Yuxi didn’t immediately hand the carrier to An Chixu. She looked at An Chixu expectantly, wanting to pet Juzi for a little longer.

An Chixu thought for a moment and agreed, taking Pei Yuxi upstairs with her.

“Do you work at an entertainment company?” Pei Yuxi chatted with An Chixu in the elevator.

“Something like that. My position doesn’t involve much direct contact with artists.” This was An Chixu’s usual line.

She was afraid the young woman might be a fan who would ask her for signatures.

“I see…” Pei Yuxi pondered this but didn’t say anything more.

The two weren’t very familiar, and An Chixu, being naturally reserved, didn’t mind the silence.

When the elevator doors opened, she walked straight to her front door and unlocked it with her fingerprint.

“Juzi…” Pei Yuxi reluctantly opened the cat carrier.

“I’ll send you the money in a bit.” Her eyes weren’t even on An Chixu as she spoke, focused completely on Juzi.

Juzi was far more relaxed than she was. With its excellent personality, it wasn’t shy at all.

It stepped onto An Chixu’s floor, raised its tail proudly, sniffed around, and showed no signs of shaking, “airplane ears,” meowing, or fear.

“Alright. The room I prepared for her is right here, and everything you listed has been bought.”

An Chixu found Juzi adorable but didn’t dare to make any sudden moves, opting instead to show Pei Yuxi the cat room she had prepared.

“You really went above and beyond,” Pei Yuxi exclaimed after inspecting the room.

The setup was even better than the room she had prepared for Juzi herself.

She had an automatic litter box, and there were three cat beds scattered throughout the corners.

The apartment itself was quite spacious, clean, and organized, suggesting a meticulous and gentle person lived there.

She really had hit the jackpot.

“Remember to send me daily updates of Juzi on my secondary account! I’ll share the ID with you in a minute!”

Pei Yuxi had to rush back to deal with student council matters and couldn’t linger with her beloved Juzi.

“I’ll take good care of her. Be careful on your way back.” After seeing Pei Yuxi out, An Chixu found a spot to sit in the cat room.

The cat room was originally a guest room that was rarely used.

An Chixu had spent a long time cleaning it last week and even replaced the idle bed with a giant cat scratching post.

Seeing the little cat proudly wandering around its new territory, An Chixu felt it was worth the effort.

“Juzi,” An Chixu tried calling the little cat.

The cat had just been scratching the post, making a loud crackle sound. Now, called by a stranger, it didn’t react, choosing to stay nestled in the cat bed without moving.

“…Well, we’ll get used to each other slowly.” An Chixu went to pour the cat food.

Pei Yuxi pushed her secondary account and sent the money.

An Chixu accepted the money and added the account.

The profile picture looked vaguely familiar. An Chixu paused in thought as she sent the friend request.

*******

Yan Ciwei returned to the company and went back to the 17th floor.

It was now 8:12 PM, more than two hours past closing time.

Yan Ciwei walked into the office where An Chixu usually worked. Seeing the office nearly full of people, her eyelid twitched.

She knocked on the door. The sound wasn’t loud, but it was enough to capture everyone’s attention.

All the employees working overtime looked up at their department director.

“Go home,” Yan Ciwei said, using only two words.

It wasn’t even a sentence, just a command.

She glanced at the team leader, crossed her arms, and walked away.

The employees scrambled to pack up their things in silence.

Yan Ciwei left the company again, her heart heavy, and got into her car to go home. She opened her tablet to continue working.

Her mother had told her to choose a department and start as a director to prepare for taking over Yanxun, and eventually the entire group.

Yan Ciwei had deliberately chosen the busiest department for her ‘airdrop.’ No one else knew she had an ulterior motive.

When she felt particularly irritated by the work, Yan Ciwei reached into her coat pocket, where an electronic cigarette lay.

She turned it on, and a fruity scent filled her mouth. As she exhaled the vapor, her exhaustion lessened, along with the image of the person in her mind.

An Chixu’s bowed head was imprinted in her memory.

It was etched there, as if carving a shadow into her mind.

She already was her shadow.

Yan Ciwei thought distractedly, memories surging like a tide.

Her phone vibrated at that moment.

Yan Ciwei opened it impatiently and saw a new friend request.

[I’m here to send Juzi]

A seemingly random friend request. Yan Ciwei briefly thought a malicious friend had given her private WeChat to a blind date and almost blocked the person.

Until her gaze fell upon the other party’s profile picture.

Yan Ciwei paused her hand and tapped Accept.