After Marking a Paranoid CEO [Transmigration] - Chapter 17

“Love me?”

During a break from work, Mu Huayue glanced at her phone. A message had arrived from a cat avatar wearing a moon collar. She tapped it open, her eyes immediately drawn to the bold red text on the emoji. Her gaze involuntarily drifted elsewhere, only to meet Wen An, who had come to the door to report. The diligent assistant promptly asked, “Is there anything else you need, ma’am?”

Mu Huayue waved her off. “No, it’s late. Go tell Wu Wei to go home and rest too.”

Wen An nodded. “Please take care of yourself. Call us if you need anything.”

Mu Huayue murmured in acknowledgment. Once the doorway was clear, she quietly pressed the remote to seal the room’s doors and windows. Picking up her phone again, she scrolled through the messages. “She even said she likes me.”

A faint smile tugged at her lips as she began to imagine Xia Youxi wearing that outfit. Her fingers tapped the keyboard, sending another message: Send me a photo.

Moments later, the typing indicator appeared, followed by a steamy selfie. Xia Youxi stood in a loosely tied bathrobe, strands of wet hair clinging to her face, still dripping water.

Probably still in the bathroom, she had hastily tied the robe, leaving it draped loosely and revealing a hint of her skin. Though the girl was a bit malnourished and didn’t quite measure up to her, there was still a certain private allure.

Mu Huayue swiped the photo away, her ears flushed as she tapped the keyboard: You’re not allowed to go out like that.

After a moment’s thought, she added: Who would even want a picture like that?

The chat window, displaying the nickname “House-Trained Silly Cat,” showed a reply: Understood. Followed by a confused cat emoji.

Mu Huayue chuckled. Remembering that the other girl’s hair was still damp and her eyes slightly shadowed, she decided not to tease her further.

With a rare display of mercy, she typed: It’s nothing. Go to sleep.

The opposite chat window remained in “typing” mode for an extended period. Mu Huayue anticipated receiving a lengthy message, but instead, she received only an emoji and a single sentence.

[Sad Cat]

Good night, Sister Mu.

Is she reluctant to end the conversation?

The corners of Mu Huayue’s lips curved upward again. This little thing is quite clingy, just like her Yousey.

I should visit her again soon.

She glanced at the marked dates on her calendar, a hint of melancholy darkening her eyes. The next Blossom Scattering Festival is drawing closer.

※

Setting down her smart wristband, Xia Youxi leaned against the wooden door and sighed. Sister Mu is so aloof. Why doesn’t she ever ask more questions?

And here I went to the trouble of taking a post-bath photo just to confuse her.

Looks like I’ll have to be more direct in the future. But given my current relationship with Mu Huayue, would it really be appropriate to ask CEO Mu to intervene in the competition fairness issue?

Xia Youxi glanced at her Green Chat nickname on her smartwatch: “Domesticated Silly Cat.” Just a pet, and a dumb one at that. What right do I have to bother her?

She rested her hand on her forehead and sighed again.

After two lifetimes, it’s still so hard for a nobody to fight against capital.

Life is tough, but as long as you’re alive, you have to hold onto hope. The next morning, Xia Youxi patted her youthful, dewy cheeks and threw herself back into rehearsals.

According to the competition schedule, there would be a live evaluation on Saturday. If she performed well, she could return to A Class and compete for the center position.

Xia Youxi poured all her energy into training, staying in the practice room until late every night. Having already debuted, she had mastered the choreography by midweek. However, Mentor Ying Feifei had inexplicably started trying to follow her back to the dorm, hinting at wanting to do things that Green Chat’s policies forbade. Left with no choice, Xia Youxi had to make excuses to stay late and avoid her.

Today, after finishing practice, Xia Youxi and Sibe, the husky she had motivated, were leaving when they noticed the lights were still on in the A Class practice room. Peeking through the glass, they saw a girl spinning furiously, her brow furrowed in anger.

“Damn, is dancing this painful for her?” Sibe asked, startled, shrinking back.

Xia Youxi was somewhat surprised. This privileged girl is actually working hard.

She pulled Sibe away. As they reached the middle of the room, the door suddenly swung open with a bang, and that furious face turned to glare at them.

“You two…” Guan He lifted her chin, glanced at Sibe’s raised eyebrow, then glared at Xia Youxi, who met her gaze directly. She suddenly scoffed. “Bad luck. People like you shouldn’t even be competing.”

Sibe, confused and furious, tilted her head back and demanded, “Are you picking a fight?”

Guan He sneered. “No professional ethics whatsoever. And you think you can get into A Class?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Sibe frowned, ready to argue. Xia Youxi grabbed her arm and smiled at Guan He. “Miss Guan, isn’t fairness the most important professional ethic in a competition?”

Guan He gritted her teeth, words choking in her throat until her face flushed a liverish red. Furious, she slammed the door shut, muttering “Bad luck” as she resumed her clumsy practice.

It was a pathetic display of impotent rage.

Xia Youxi didn’t want to waste any more time on her. She grabbed Sibe and dragged her out of the building. Sibe was still fuming. “Damn, that old hag must be the reincarnation of bad luck! All she ever talks about is bad luck. And she’s supposed to be smart? Her vocabulary is pathetic!”

Is that really the point? Xia Youxi thought, amused and exasperated.

Sibe tried to cheer her up. “Don’t let it get to you, sis. Next time we see her, we’ll tell her she’s cursed!”

Xia Youxi chuckled awkwardly. This is turning into a childish spat.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go home and get some rest.”

After waving goodbye to the goofy Miss Husky, Xia Youxi returned to her apartment alone. In a camera-free corner, she checked her smartwatch. The chat log was still filled with her own messages, Sister Mu’s aloof silence stretching on.

Ugh, I wish Green Chat had a read receipt feature.

Xia Youxi tossed the watch onto the table and shuffled into her bedroom in her slippers. That night, she had a vivid dream. In it, she was Xia Weixi, the middle school version of herself—thin, frail, and even more vulnerable than she was now.

The school bullies resented the attention she received, the way everyone praised her beauty. After school, they cornered her with their gang, shoved her to the ground, and splashed mud on her. Just as they were about to press her face into the muck, a girl appeared, parting the shadows that had been looming over her.

The girl with the ponytail smiled and extended her hand. As the sunlight shifted, Xia Weixi recognized the face: it was Ying Feifei, or rather, the young Ying Feifei before her cosmetic enhancements.

Back then, Ying Feifei’s eyelids were still puffy and her nose slightly flat, but in Xia Weixi’s eyes, she was the most beautiful person in the world.

Xia Weixi grasped Ying Feifei’s hand and used the leverage to stand up. But before she could steady herself, she was shoved back down. The gang leader and her followers swarmed them both. Ying Feifei shielded Xia Weixi, fighting them off with one hand.

Enraged, the gang leader pulled out a knife. In the struggle, it slashed Ying Feifei’s forehead, drawing bl00d. Terrified, the gang members dropped the knife and fled. Xia Weixi panicked, trembling as she pressed her hand to Ying Feifei’s forehead, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ying Feifei tried to reassure her, “It’s okay. They say scars are an Alpha’s badge of honor, right? Pretty cool, huh?”

Xia Weixi sobbed, unable to speak. But in that moment, she knew this unfamiliar woman had found a place in her heart.

After their initial encounter, seeing each other again felt natural. Xia Weixi proactively cleaned Ying Feifei’s wounds, covered her medical expenses, and, when the scars healed, felt so guilty that she became utterly devoted to Ying Feifei. Back then, Ying Feifei harbored no ill intentions. She would pick Xia Weixi up from school, buy her delicious popsicles, and sit beside her watching the plump koi carp swim back and forth in the pond. Xia Weixi, younger than her, would call her “Sister Feifei,” and Ying Feifei would tease the little girl, saying she’d marry her when she grew up.

This looks like a perfectly normal childhood friendship, Xia Youxi thought.

They only held hands as kids. How did things get so confusing now, with all the inappropriate touching and mixed-up titles?

Is this the classic tale of the dragon-slaying hero becoming the dragon himself?

Xia Youxi couldn’t make sense of it immediately after waking up. She could only deduce that last night’s dream must have been the Mysterious Force transferring her original self’s memories. This confirmed that the Mentor named Ying Feifei indeed had a deep connection to her. She wondered what had happened between them later.

This Mysterious Force is so unreliable. No wonder it couldn’t become a more advanced system, she muttered under her breath.

Pulling herself together, Xia Youxi hurried to the practice room. Tonight was the night of the evaluation.

Before the evaluation, the Production Team released an edited version of the week’s dormitory life. Despite being the central figure in most of the key plot points, Xia Youxi was relegated to the sidelines. In the forty-minute montage, she appeared for only four minutes, mostly as background scenery.

Online, Yousey’s “mommy fans” were in an uproar: “No daughter to watch! My girl’s being bullied!”

When Mu Huayue finally had a moment to check her phone, that was the first comment that scrolled across her screen.

She’s actually gained a huge wave of mommy fans?

Looks like even if our relationship is exposed later, the silly girl won’t lose too many followers.

No, the silly girl is just my pet tool. What am I thinking?

But why is she being bullied again?

Mu Huayue quickly searched for the reason, her brow furrowing slightly. She then opened the ongoing live performance evaluation, enduring several mediocre acts before finally seeing her little kitten take the stage.

With a sweet smile and energetic dance moves, she was far more captivating than that deadpan performer who had come before. Yet they gave her a B?

She’s definitely being bullied.

“Hmph.”

Mu Huayue scoffed and instructed Wu Wei, “Contact Durian Video and tell them to stop these petty tricks.”

“Understood. The online sentiment is indeed unfavorable. It’s affecting our investment dividends.”

Hearing the analysis from the other end of the line, Mu Huayue’s mood suddenly calmed. She replied indifferently, “Mm.”

I’m not acting impulsively for the silly girl’s sake. I’m simply taking mutually beneficial measures based on the facts.

But why doesn’t that silly girl ever tell me when she’s being bullied?

Mu Huayue glanced at the docile cat emoji in the chat app, skipped past the child’s already-read report and complaints, and typed a simple message:

You can come to me if you need anything.

The words popped up in the chat window. Knowing Xia Youxi was currently live-streaming and wouldn’t see it, Mu Huayue hastily clicked “Undo.”

Her gaze returned to the live-stream video. The judges had just announced that everyone could compete for the center position tonight, with the top-ranked performer in the live broadcast earning the spot.

Her fingers traced the phone screen. After a moment’s thought, Mu Huayue used her personal account to make a massive donation. She reopened the chat window and retyped five words. Without waiting for the show’s results, she dove back into her work.

While Mu Huayue worked, Xia Youxi, far away at the talent show venue, was still brooding over the unfair treatment she had received. She had no idea that within an hour, this underdog contestant with minimal screen time would stage a stunning comeback through sheer voter support.

The stage erupted in cheers, and even after the live stream ended, Xia Youxi’s excitement hadn’t subsided. She rushed back to her dorm and headed straight for the bathroom, grabbing her smartwatch to share her joy with Mu Huayue.

To her surprise, the usually taciturn Sister Mu had already sent her a message, terse and to the point:

You can ask me.