Adopting Myself from the Young Heiress - Chapter 1

Miss, could you please pick up Orange today?

Hearing her phone vibrate, An Chixu couldn’t resist pausing her busy work.

The text message made her even more anxious, her hand trembling as she gripped the mouse.

It was still more than two hours before the company’s official quitting time, but An Chixu’s mind had already fled the bustling office.

She had broken up with her ex-boyfriend, ending an eight-year entanglement.

The emptiness of her apartment now felt overwhelming.

About three months ago, unable to bear the cold solitude of her empty home, An Chixu decided to get a pet.

She worried about her ability to care for another living being, fearing she might fail to be responsible and then be unable to abandon it, trapped in a dilemma.

So she found a student who wanted to foster pets, asking them to care for her cat during the three-month period of final exams and summer vacation.

The cat was a long-haired golden shaded, its fur shimmering like molten gold. Its owner had named it Orange.

The owner described Orange as gentle, affectionate, and quiet. They also provided a detailed list of care instructions to address An Chixu’s concerns.

An Chixu had watched videos of the kitten, seeing it cling to its owner like it had no bones, nuzzling and kneading with soft, purring sounds that melted her heart.

From the day she agreed to take Orange home for three months, An Chixu had been eagerly anticipating their first meeting.

Today was finally the day.

With trembling hands, An Chixu closed the accidentally opened window and took a deep breath.

She couldn’t afford to leave work early, nor could she bear the thought of being stuck working overtime. She had to finish her work.

The assistant planning position at an entertainment company was far from easy.

With no real authority, it was pure grunt work, filled with countless trivial tasks.

After finishing editing and sending the video demo, An Chixu immediately began organizing the minutes from the morning’s meeting.

Earlier that day, she had been running around on location with the intern, following her team leader.

Now, after rushing back for the afternoon meeting, she was stuck writing the report.

The intern had classes in the afternoon and wasn’t likely to stay at Yan Xun Entertainment anyway. An Chixu lacked the authority to assign her tasks, so the job of organizing the meeting minutes fell back into her hands.

After two years at the company, she had grown accustomed to this relentless pace.

To survive in this fiercely competitive, fast-paced city, An Chixu knew she had to work twice as hard.

As she neared the end of the report, An Chixu noticed the distribution list for the meeting minutes. Her mouse hovered briefly over the name of the central director:

Yan Ciwei.

The direct supervisor of An Chixu’s department, and her ultimate superior several levels up the corporate ladder.

Though she rarely interacted with Yan Ciwei directly, the director’s name resonated throughout Yan Xun Entertainment—a legend known to all.

“Yan Xun Entertainment—guess why the company name includes the character ‘Yan’?” An Chixu asked her intern, Tian Ming, on her first day, immediately outlining the company’s key taboos.

“Does the founder like swallows? Is it a good omen?” Tian Ming replied, still carrying the naivety of a college student. Her answer made An Chixu chuckle.

“Our company’s surname is Yan. Yan Ciwei has a close relationship with the current chairman. Don’t gossip behind her back with colleagues about her sudden appointment, her management style, or anything else.”

After a moment’s thought, An Chixu added another warning:

“And don’t even think about making a move on her.” This reminder felt somewhat personal, but it wasn’t driven by An Chixu’s own feelings.

When she had first joined the company, her own team leader had given her the same warning.

Interns had only a slim chance of staying at Yan Xun Entertainment, making them even more vulnerable.

Every year, a few interns, presuming they had nothing to lose, would flirt with Yan Ciwei, only to be swiftly ejected from Yan Xun Headquarters.

After all, Yan Ciwei held the title of director and had ruthlessly reorganized the entire department after her sudden appointment, silencing even the most vocal critics with her results.

More importantly, she possessed a face and figure that rivaled those of the company’s own celebrities.

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

The mole at the corner of her eye was the most striking crimson in many people’s youthful dreams, and her butterfly-wing lashes had stolen countless hearts, a sin of profound consequence.

Tian Ming had been 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 earnestly…” Tian Ming texted An Chixu, sounding somewhat convinced, likely having been struck by Yan Ciwei’s breathtaking first impression.

An Chixu, her thoughts still tangled like wispy cotton by Yan Ciwei’s presence, saw the message but didn’t reply.

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

After finishing all the trivial tasks, An Chixu completed her weekly work report and organized her to-do list for tomorrow.

It was already eight in the evening, long past the official quitting time, yet the entire floor remained crowded with people, no different from the scene when An Chixu had received the foster cat owner’s message that afternoon.

She hid the package inside her coat, grabbed a pack of tissues, and pretended to go to the restroom.

Then, she swiftly slipped into the elevator heading downstairs.

This was her usual routine. Her team leader was obsessed with overtime and even more obsessed with making them work overtime with her. No one could “leave early” under her watchful eye.

But Orange’s owner needed to return to campus by 9:30 PM. Factoring in commute time, An Chixu should have left already.

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

The elevator numbers slowly climbed, nearing the 17th floor where their planning department was located, but the elevator didn’t stop.

An Chixu pressed her hand against the bag hidden inside her coat, tilting her head back to watch the scarlet numbers flicker upward.

The elevator only came to a halt on the 23rd floor, the building’s top floor.

An Chixu’s heart skipped a beat.

The elevator smoothly glided back down from the 23rd floor, as fluid as flowing water.

A person came to An Chixu’s mind.

She lowered her heavy head and blinked her dry eyes.

She should take the stairs, switch elevators, or even return to her desk and stick to her bathroom excuse.

An Chixu lifted her leg to leave, but her labored breathing made the movement sluggish.

With a ding, the elevator doors slid open.

An Chixu, caught off guard, glanced sideways and met Yan Ciwei’s gaze.

Yan Ciwei.

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

Yan Ciwei tilted her fair chin upward, her eyes fixed on An Chixu with a challenging glint.

“……”

The silence was as thick and viscous as the night outside the building.

Early summer rain shrouded the night sky, stealing away the crisp moonlight and turning the corridor into a misty haze.

The elevator lights flickered briefly, casting Yan Ciwei’s delicately sculpted face in an eerie, ghostlike glow.

Her long, slender eyelashes veiled the light in her eyes, darkening them into a sinister, shadowy gaze. The red mole at the corner of her eye seemed like a drop of bl00d.

Everything that made Yan Ciwei beloved had blurred into its polar opposite.

Deep within the elevator, she stood motionless, her gaze fixed on An Chixu.

An Chixu stiffly turned to leave.

Throughout Yan Xun Entertainment, across middle and high school campuses, even among those who knew Yan Ciwei, only An Chixu dared to show such disrespect in her presence.

An Chixu had hoped Yan Ciwei would understand her awkwardness and release this poor lamb.

Instead, Yan Ciwei tilted her head, transforming her deathly pallor into a pure, porcelain-like complexion, tinged with a hint of rosy blush.

“Not coming in?” Yan Ciwei pressed the elevator button, as if gripping An Chixu’s throat.

The crimson number likely remained frozen at the 17th floor, eternally.

An Chixu closed her eyes in resignation, turned toward Yan Ciwei, and stepped into the elevator.

She lowered her head. After their initial glance, An Chixu didn’t give Yan Ciwei another look.

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

The air between them remained stagnant; An Chixu couldn’t detect Yan Ciwei’s usual geranium scent.

The elevator’s jerky, uneven descent made the interior lighting flicker erratically.

An Chixu glanced sideways, unwilling to look at the ghostly figure on the other side. She simply emptied her mind and closed her eyes to rest.

Her hand subtly adjusted to better conceal the bag hidden beneath her coat—an instinctive gesture of concealment.

She didn’t look at Yan Ciwei.

But Yan Ciwei never stopped watching her.

Yan Ciwei’s gaze was light and gentle, like fine rain—cool, continuous, and persistent.

The former An Chixu had grown accustomed to this kind of attention.

She had been under Yan Ciwei’s gaze for eight years, until that gaze suddenly broke.

Now, An Chixu couldn’t feel that slightly possessive gaze, just as she couldn’t smell the deep, sweet, yet irresistibly bitter perfume when her nasal congestion flared up.

The elevator’s descent felt agonizingly slow. An Chixu closed her eyes, not even thinking about the kitten she had been looking forward to seeing in less than half an hour.

She just wanted the elevator to reach the ground floor quickly.

“I remember the time you get off work…” Yan Ciwei suddenly spoke.

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

The cool, clear voice was like a snow lotus—pure, crystalline, and dazzling.

It sent a shiver down her spine.

An Chixu bit her tongue to suppress any sign of weakness.

Fortunately, the elevator doors opened.

Without checking the floor, An Chixu hurried out.

Yan Ciwei’s gaze remained fixed on her, following her every step.

It seemed to match her pace, like the rhythmic drumming accompanying her dance.

Yan Ciwei was right behind her.

An Chixu heard the distinct sound of her footsteps. Yan Ciwei’s thick-soled shoes clicked against the floor, even without force, like the steady drip of water from a stone bamboo fountain.

Though the office building buzzed with nighttime activity, Yan Ciwei’s footsteps remained strikingly loud, reverberating against An Chixu’s eardrums and gradually drowning out all other sounds.

An Chixu didn’t turn back.

Stepping out of the main entrance, An Chixu took a deep breath, restoring the world around her from Yan Ciwei’s suffocating silence to its usual clamor.

Yet behind her, the lingering aura of a water ghost clung persistently.

The icy chill felt starkly out of place in the early summer night, a deliberate coldness that divided An Chixu’s world into yin and yang.

Yan Ciwei hadn’t followed her in ages, making this sudden terror feel like a long-forgotten sensation.

Thankfully, the old thrill was gone.

As An Chixu entered the bustling subway station, she finally lost the feeling of being watched.

She glanced back, but of course, Yan Ciwei was nowhere to be seen.

After all, An Chixu thought, pressing a hand to her racing heart, Yan Ciwei is the chairman’s daughter. She has a chauffeur-driven luxury car to take her to and from work every day. There’s no way she’d be crammed onto the subway with me.

Maybe it was all just my imagination.

Yan Ciwei, my ex… after such an ugly breakup… she definitely didn’t follow me out of the elevator or trail behind me like that.

It was just my nerves acting up after hearing her voice, mistaking the past for reality.

“Thank you for bringing Orange over. I just got off work, sorry for the inconvenience,” An Chixu said as she arrived at the apartment building. Pei Yuxi, Orange’s owner, had been waiting with the cat carrier for a while.

“No problem at all,” Pei Yuxi replied. A sophomore in college, she seemed to come from a wealthy family. She didn’t live in the dorms and had adopted Orange out of loneliness.

However, she was secretly keeping the cat, hiding it from her family, who were allergic to cat fur. This meant she couldn’t take Orange home during the holidays, which led her to ask An Chixu to foster the cat.

Pei Yuxi didn’t immediately hand over the carrier. She gazed at An Chixu with a hopeful expression, clearly wanting to pet Orange a little longer.

After a moment’s thought, An Chixu invited Pei Yuxi upstairs.

“Do you work at an entertainment company?” Pei Yuxi asked casually in the elevator.

“Sort of. My role doesn’t involve much direct contact with the artists,” An Chixu replied, using her standard explanation.

She worried the younger girl might be a fan who would ask for autographs or something similar.

“I see…” Pei Yuxi murmured thoughtfully, but didn’t press further.

The two weren’t particularly close to begin with. An Chixu, accustomed to her quiet nature, didn’t find the silence awkward.

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

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

“I’ll pay you later,” she said, her eyes fixed on Orange, completely focused on the cat.

Orange seemed much more at ease than Pei Yuxi, displaying a remarkably friendly temperament. The cat showed no fear of strangers.

Stepping onto An Chixu’s floor, Orange proudly raised its tail and began sniffing around, showing no signs of trembling, flattened ears, hissing, or fear.

“Good. The room I prepared for her is this way. I’ve bought everything you asked for,” An Chixu said, watching Orange’s adorable antics. She refrained from making any sudden movements and led Pei Yuxi to the cat’s room first.

“You’ve really put a lot of thought into this, Miss,” Pei Yuxi exclaimed after inspecting the room.

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

The litter box was automatic, and there were three cat beds scattered in different corners.

An Chixu’s apartment was quite spacious, meticulously clean and neatly arranged, reflecting her careful and gentle nature.

She had truly struck gold.

“Remember to send me Orange’s daily updates on my alt account! I’ll send you the handle later!”

Pei Yuxi had to rush back to handle student council matters, unable to linger with her beloved Orange.

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

The cat room had originally been a guest room, rarely used.

Last week, when An Chixu was cleaning, she had spent extra time on it, even replacing the spare bed with a scratching post.

Now, watching the kitten proudly explore its new territory, An Chixu felt it had been worth the effort.

“Orange,” An Chixu called out softly.

The kitten had just finished scratching the post, making a crackling sound. Now, hearing a stranger’s voice, it remained motionless in its bed, showing no reaction.

“…Never mind. We’ll get used to each other slowly,” An Chixu said, pouring out some cat food.

Pei Yuxi sent over her alt account handle and the payment.

An Chixu accepted the money and added the account.

The profile picture looked vaguely familiar. As she sent the friend request, An Chixu drifted into a momentary daze.

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

It was already 8:12 PM, more than two hours past the official quitting time.

Yan Ciwei walked into An Chixu’s usual office. Seeing that almost no one had left their desks, her eyelid twitched.

She knocked lightly on the door, the sound soft yet enough to draw attention.

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

“Go home,” Yan Ciwei said, her voice clipped and authoritative.

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

She glanced at the team leaders and left with her arms crossed.

The employees scrambled to pack up their belongings in complete silence.

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

Her mother had instructed her to choose a department, start as a director, and gradually take over Yan Xun Entertainment and eventually the entire group.

Yan Ciwei had strategically chosen the busiest department for her “parachute landing,” and no one suspected her ulterior motives.

When the work became particularly frustrating, Yan Ciwei reached into her pocket and pulled out an e-cigarette.

She activated it, and a fruity aroma filled her mouth. As she exhaled clouds of vapor, the image of An Chixu, head bowed low, drifted through her mind, easing her fatigue.

The memory was so vivid, it felt as if it were carving a shadow into her skull.

She already is, Yan Ciwei thought absently, as memories flooded her mind like a rising tide.

Her phone vibrated.

Yan Ciwei impatiently opened it to find a new friend request.

I’m here to deliver oranges.

A nonsensical request. Yan Ciwei initially assumed a mischievous friend had leaked her personal WeChat to another blind date and nearly blocked the contact.

But then her gaze landed on the profile picture.

Yan Ciwei paused, then tapped “Accept.”