Adopting Myself from the Young Heiress - Chapter 21

The night An Chixu drove Yan Ciwei away again, she stayed up late before finally falling asleep.

Sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, she instinctively reached for Yan Ciwei’s presence, only to find a cloth doll on the bedside table.

The doll, sewn by Yan Ciwei, had been rediscovered and placed back on the bedside table just a few days prior.

Back then, Yan Ciwei had wrapped her arm around An Chixu’s shoulder, kissing her with delight.

“You still have it,” Yan Ciwei had said, overjoyed, practically tugging at An Chixu’s clothes.

An Chixu, rarely in such a mood, had pushed her down and bitten open the buttons of her shirt.

“It’s from you,” she had replied. “Of course I’d keep it.” She had never hated Yan Ciwei, nor would she stoop to venting her anger on precious gifts like Yan Ciwei had.

They were separated now, but the memories remained vivid.

An Chixu couldn’t bear to part with Yan Ciwei’s gifts, keeping them stored away and periodically cleaning them to prevent mold.

She wanted Yan Ciwei’s gifts to remain as dry and pristine as their past love.

But now, a patch of green mold stained the corner of the doll’s dress.

An Chixu froze for a moment before snatching it up and rushing to the bathroom for soap and alcohol.

She scrubbed tirelessly, kneading Yan Ciwei’s doll into a round, flat shape in her hands.

She still couldn’t get rid of the mold.

The rainy season in S City was truly unbearable.

An Chixu removed the cloth doll’s clothes, thinking she would sew a new set next time, and then carefully sealed it back in its dustproof and waterproof box.

Inside lay several other damaged dolls of the same type, all meticulously wrapped—gifts Yan Ciwei had once given her.

An Chixu stroked the doll’s face, her heart finally clenching as she saw the identical beauty mark beneath its eye.

She bit down on her teeth, unable to stop them from trembling.

A chill crept up behind her as the rainy night stole the last warmth from the room.

And the scent of geranium.

That woman was truly cunning. She had switched back to her old perfume as soon as they grew closer, and even after leaving, she had left a lingering trace.

“Can you…?” An Chixu hugged the cloth doll tightly, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek.

She couldn’t finish the sentence. She had given Yan Ciwei too many chances, and Yan Ciwei had always disappointed her.

An Chixu’s tear was solitary.

After it fell, she sealed the doll away and began cleaning the room.

She aired out the space, hid the second set of toiletries she had found, and finally disposed of the food Yan Ciwei had left behind.

When she finished, An Chixu stared at the empty cat room, her head throbbing.

She would have to buy everything again… starting with the essentials: cat food and litter.

After finishing her online shopping, An Chixu calculated when the delivery would arrive tomorrow, picked up Orange, and collapsed onto her bed.

It was already three in the morning, and exhaustion pulled her into sleep.

Dreams never let her escape.

An Chixu had a rare spring dream, with Yan Ciwei as the protagonist.

In the dream, Yan Ciwei was still twenty years old, her smile radiant and captivating, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with autumn water.

Simply standing beside An Chixu, she embodied youth itself.

Love and vitality flowed from Yan Ciwei’s touch to An Chixu’s heart with a single tap.

And when Yan Ciwei embraced her, nuzzling her earlobes and cheeks…

“Tuantuan, do you want to try…?” Yan Ciwei produced a uniquely packaged item.

She handed it to An Chixu, whose face flushed crimson, as if she were the one about to be punished, not Yan Ciwei.

Yan Ciwei was indeed the dominant one.

Even lying down, she held An Chixu’s hand, guiding her on how to use it, how to play.

She also used words.

Her tone with An Chixu was always coaxing and seductive.

“Good girl, Tuantuan, you’re doing so well. You really love me, don’t you?”

“Just like that… Want to try my… waist?”

“Amazing, my Tuantuan. I’m so happy. You’re the cutest girlfriend, the most diligent, the most thoughtful…”

An Chixu, dazed and disoriented, kissed Yan Ciwei’s body in a hazy, clumsy display of youthful affection.

She repeated the motions—licking, caressing—until she jolted awake mid-kiss.

Like a drowning person surfacing, she gasped for air, water burning her lungs and snapping her back to reality.

It was seven o’clock.

An Chixu pressed her hand to her chest, forcing down the bitter ache.

She couldn’t understand why she was having such dreams. They had only just separated, again.

Or rather, they hadn’t even reconciled in the past week. They had simply grown closer, their hearts stirring with restless longing.

During that week, she could have indulged in such dreams, waking up to cling to Yan Ciwei, who only indulged her in such matters, turning fantasy into reality.

Even in the past two years, she had occasionally been plagued by hormonal surges, dreaming of exes she’d rather forget.

But tonight’s dream was different. It shouldn’t have happened.

How painful, she thought. I pushed Yan Ciwei away myself. Why must I still yearn for her?

An Chixu purged the contents of her stomach and reluctantly applied makeup to avoid questions from her colleagues.

That afternoon at work, her department was summoned to a meeting.

There, she learned of Yan Ciwei’s latest scheme:

Yan Ciwei wanted An Chixu as her direct subordinate, the newly appointed team leader.

An Chixu looked up, but Yan Ciwei didn’t meet her gaze.

In the most public of settings, where eye contact should have been paramount, Yan Ciwei lowered her gaze, flipping through documents and sipping her tea as if she were on her own balcony, enjoying afternoon tea with a lover, rather than in the midst of a tense meeting.

A commotion erupted around her.

“An Chixu? Who’s that?”

“The one over there? What did she do?”

“Shen Jibai… isn’t she just a peripheral member of Pei Luochen’s team? The company never gave her any resources. This character designer must be bottom-tier too.”

“And Tang Shu was the former team leader and lead planner! She was just an assistant. Why…”

“Shen Jibai has been doing well lately, like she suddenly got the hang of things. The company must have recognized her potential. Didn’t you see all the roadshows, the viral videos, and the army of online trolls controlling the narrative? But I don’t understand—if they really believe in her, why only promote her to this?”

An Chixu lowered her head, avoiding even Yan Ciwei’s gaze, shrinking her presence to the bare minimum.

She could make herself almost invisible to those around her simply by holding her breath.

Even Tian Ming, who was standing beside her, was so distracted that she only belatedly realized someone was there.

“Sister An, have you heard?” Tian Ming whispered, her voice barely audible above the surrounding chatter.

A sharp thump silenced the room instantly.

Yan Ciwei, seated at the head of the table, set down her teacup and swept her gaze across the crowd.

Yan Ciwei’s greatest strength lay in her gaze. Without needing to try, she could effortlessly control the emotions and aura in her eyes.

The person who had been arguing most vehemently earlier felt a prickling sensation on their back, as if being stared at by a predator.

The others dared not make further trouble. While opportunities for advancement were rare, the consequences of angering their direct superior were far more severe.

An Chixu remained motionless, her head bowed.

She had once considered ousting Tang Shu and taking over as team leader herself.

But not now, and not like this.

Her plans had once again come to nothing.

Yan Ciwei was the ultimate authority figure, capable of effortlessly erasing An Chixu’s best efforts.

“Team Leader Tang Shu has personally nominated her. Does anyone have any objections?” Because she held such power, Yan Ciwei could silence all dissent with a single sentence.

An Chixu’s heart felt colder than the moment she had realized she was having a lewd dream.

She was on the verge of disappearing into the crowd, becoming just another symbol in the discussion.

But how could Yan Ciwei possibly overlook her?

Yan Ciwei rose from her seat, took the team leader’s badge, and approached An Chixu.

Ignoring the watching eyes, she reached out.

She brushed aside the stray strands of hair that had fallen across An Chixu’s face as she bowed her head.

She smoothed the loose strand into place.

Then, she personally replaced An Chixu’s nameplate.

This was the ritual of transferring power.

Yan Ciwei’s movements were as gentle as that lewd dream. Her slender fingers guided the new identity, lingering for a moment against An Chixu’s chest.

The gesture was subtle, yet carried a strange ambiguity that made everyone hold their breath.

An Chixu followed Yan Ciwei’s movement, lifting her head to meet her gaze. She couldn’t discern any emotion in those eyes.

But as Yan Ciwei turned to leave, An Chixu caught the scent of geranium—a bitter fragrance.

“Meeting adjourned. Team Leader An, come to my office to hand over your duties.”

This was An Chixu’s third visit to Yan Ciwei’s office in recent days.

Each time, the feeling was different from the last.

She took a deep breath, and the office door opened on its own.

Yan Ciwei stood behind it.

She hadn’t turned on the main light. With her back to the overcast gloom, her face was as dark as ink.

Only her eyes gleamed faintly, a dim yellow light tinged red by the mole beneath her eye.

It seemed she had been standing behind the door, watching through the narrow crack, waiting for An Chixu to appear.

“Little President Yan,” An Chixu said, adopting a professional tone and burying all her emotions deep inside.

She turned on the light.

Perhaps the sudden change in brightness stung Yan Ciwei’s eyes.

Her eyes instantly welled up, and two tears fell like lightning strikes.

“Tuantuan…” Those gentle, affectionate peach blossom eyes turned red.

An Chixu watched her quietly.

The erotic dream from the night before, mixed with the nightmare from her illness a week ago, gradually merged with the face before her.

Whether in her erotic dreams or nightmares, it was always Yan Ciwei.

But in reality, Yan Ciwei was now humble, no longer requiring An Chixu’s admiration.

She merely tugged at the corner of An Chixu’s sleeve, never crossing the line into intimacy by even an inch.

An Chixu lowered herself, tilting her head to look up at Yan Ciwei. Her eyes were filled with pleading. She wanted to return to Yan Ciwei’s side. This submissive posture felt both foreign and painful.

An Chixu turned her face away, not stopping Yan Ciwei’s hand from gently gripping the corner of her sleeve.

“I know what you want to say.” She understood Yan Ciwei better than anyone; Yan Ciwei’s excuses didn’t even need to be spoken aloud.

“You want to say that if I can’t even take care of myself, how can I possibly care for a cat?”

“You think I can only live properly with you by my side. I need your approval, or only if you deem it feasible, will you allow me to make any new moves.”

“No…” Yan Ciwei’s face paled at the raw truth, and she rushed to speak, but the words caught in her throat.

“But, Sister…” An Chixu closed her eyes, thinking this might be the last time she ever called Yan Ciwei “Sister.”

Yan Ciwei’s heart clenched violently.

“If I can’t take care of myself, that’s my own problem. Can you understand that?”

An Chixu dared not admit she had harbored a sliver of hope. She had hoped to see a different reaction, whether regarding the cat or Tang Shu.

She hadn’t completely lost touch with Yan Ciwei. They had been so close just a week ago.

She simply wished… that Yan Ciwei would have discussed things with her.

But Yan Ciwei merely stood frozen, her mouth agape, her eyes filled with nothing but tears and regret.

Forever assertive, she never understood why An Chixu had suffered so much that she needed to break up with her. Her self-righteous “good intentions” had ultimately wounded herself.

An Chixu no longer looked at Yan Ciwei.

Her gaze turned icy, as if she had painted the sun blue-white.

Yan Ciwei tried desperately to change things, but she could only stand there, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

“Let’s get down to business, Little President Yan,” An Chixu said, standing beside Yan Ciwei’s desk.

She gestured for Yan Ciwei to return to her seat.

Yan Ciwei made no other move, silently walking to her office chair.

She pulled out the documents she had prepared in advance.

Her hand covered the phone lying on the corner of the desk.

The phone screen remained lit, displaying a flickering message:

From Yan Ciwei: Bring your cat over. I’ll look after it during the holiday.

The recipient was Pei Yuxi.