After Marking a Paranoid CEO [Transmigration] - Chapter 2

Her body felt icy cold, the cold water trickling down her hair, sliding across her cheeks, and dripping onto her collarbone, sending shivers through her. But this was nothing compared to the sight that awaited her.

Mu Huayue stood before her, looking down at her with a gaze that seemed to regard her as mere trash. Xia Youxi instinctively recoiled, only then realizing she was bound to a chair. The backrest, lacking any padding, pressed against her with bone-chilling cold. Her wrists were shackled, firmly pinning her in place.

Beside Mu Huayue stood a stainless steel tray stand. The square tray was filled with surgical instruments: knife handles, blades, scissors, and suture needles.

Are they going to use all of this on me?

Trembling, Xia Youxi lifted her dripping head and cautiously glanced at Mu Huayue, the most beloved villain from her favorite novel.

Damn it, the great villain truly lives up to her reputation. As she looked up, she caught a hint of a smile playing at the corner of Mu Huayue’s lips. It wasn’t a warm smile, but rather one tinged with mischief and amusement, as if she were relishing Xia Youxi’s fear.

Just like a cat toying with a mouse, Xia Youxi thought, exactly as she had imagined while reading the novel. But she’s even more beautiful in person.

Xia Youxi thought that if she were just an observer, she would definitely screenshot this moment to savor later. But as the one being targeted, she had no such inclination. Her mind was consumed by one thought: How do I survive?

“Mu…”

Her lips trembled as she managed to utter a single syllable. Before she could finish the name, Mu Huayue cut her off.

“Shut up.” Mu Huayue lowered her gaze, her slender, pale fingers gliding across the tray until they settled on a scalpel. She gripped the handle and pointed the blade at Xia Youxi.

A drop of water slid down Xia Youxi’s forehead—whether sweat or the water Mu Huayue had splashed on her earlier, she couldn’t tell. She glanced at the approaching weapon, pressed her lips together, and stared at Mu Huayue. Fear made her blink rapidly, a thin mist veiling her large, round, deer-like eyes.

“Scared?” Mu Huayue moved the scalpel’s edge to Xia Youxi’s cheek. Watching the girl on the chair gasp and squeeze her eyes shut, Mu Huayue found herself amused by the pitiful sight.

“Open your eyes.”

Xia Youxi obediently opened her eyes, her large irises brimming with tears, glistening with a heart-wrenching vulnerability. Mu Huayue silently shifted the blade two inches away and scoffed coldly, “Such a coward. How did you even differentiate into an Alpha?”

Alpha?

Xia Youxi felt like she’d stepped on another landmine. In the original story, Mu Huayue’s mother had been obsessed with forcing her daughter to become an Alpha. From childhood, she had forced Mu Huayue to take medication and hormone injections, subjecting her to endless torment and leaving her with a host of health problems. Yet, despite her mother’s wishes, Mu Huayue had not transformed into an Alpha. Instead, she had become what her mother despised most: an Omega.

Xia Youxi had thought this cruel farce would finally end.

But her stubborn mother refused to let go. She forcefully concealed Mu Huayue’s true gender, publicly declaring that she had transformed into an Alpha and forcing her to continue the charade.

Mu Huayue, forced to pretend to be an Alpha, harbored a deep loathing for Alphas. In the original story, any Alpha who crossed her—except for the Male Lead—met a grim fate.

Seeing the way Mu Huayue was staring at her, Xia Youxi’s heart pounded in her chest. Is Sister Mu really going to stab me?

Better to admit fault than make excuses.

Attitude was paramount. Xia Youxi, her lips trembling, pleaded for leniency: “I… I was wrong, Sister Mu…”

Before she could finish, a flash of light filled her vision. Xia Youxi let out a soft whimper, a single tear tracing a path down her left cheek. Mu Huayue frowned slightly. “Wrong about what?”

Xia Youxi sobbed, “I… I shouldn’t have treated you like that.” The blade moved back, and tears welled in Xia Youxi’s eyes as she wept and confessed, “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t control myself. You smell so good… No, no, no… I’m sorry.”

Mu Huayue shot her a disdainful glare, her expression conveying disgust, but inwardly she was fixated on that word—fragrant.

Was she referring to her pheromones?

How could something so rotten and deathly be considered fragrant?

Even her own mother loathed the scent, claiming that even if she reverted to being an Omega, no Alpha would ever tolerate such a repulsive pheromone.

Was that detestable Alpha lying to her?

“Do you think a few apologies will make me spare you?” Mu Huayue asked coldly.

The scalpel sliced through a strand of hair near Xia Youxi’s temple, sending a wisp of black hair drifting past her eyes. The strand only intensified the terror in Xia Youxi’s eyes as she murmured, her voice trembling, “I… I genuinely regret my actions.”

“I don’t accept it,” Mu Huayue replied icily, cutting off any possibility of retreat.

Just as Xia Youxi thought she had lost her gamble, the silver blade moved closer again. Mu Huayue smirked, her expression ambiguous, and asked, “Give me one reason not to kill you.”

Was she trying to justify her actions?

Tears welled up in Xia Youxi’s eyes. Afraid she’d be interrupted before she could finish, she blurted out in a choked sob, “I-I’m obedient, I’m well-behaved, and… my fingers are exceptionally long. I can even tell fortunes! CEO Mu, your brow is tinged with darkness, your fate carries ill omens. Keeping me by your side is the only way to save your life!”

Mu Huayue glanced at Xia Youxi’s hands, bound to the chair. Her fingers were slender, with distinct knuckles, the tips slightly reddened from being clenched in constant anxiety.

It was exactly as she had said.

The back of Mu Huayue’s neck flushed unnaturally hot. She shook off these thoughts and turned back to Xia Youxi. The girl was crying like a rain-soaked pear blossom, trembling at her gaze. Clearly timid as a mouse, yet she dared to suggest Mu Huayue keep her around?

Mu Huayue gripped the knife handle and scoffed coldly, “Then tell me now, where will my next strike land?”

Xia Youxi flinched away from the blade, forcing a nervous smile. “A doctor can’t heal themselves, and I can’t read my own fate. But I foresee a major calamity for you in two years. Beware your younger brother—don’t let him align with the Qin Group, or your position at Ba Feng Group will be in jeopardy.”

Mu Huayue stroked the hilt of her knife, lost in thought. The illegitimate son had always been her rival, clearly aiming to seize power. But the Qin Group primarily focused on overseas markets, and they had never crossed paths before. Could Mu Shengyang really have such influence?

She hesitated. “This is about something that might happen in a year or two. How can I be sure you’re not just making this up to save your own skin?”

Tears welled in Xia Youxi’s eyes as she looked up at the woman before her, her gaze brimming with sincerity. “How could I? I want your well-being more than anything.”

After all, in this fabricated novel, no one truly cares about you.

Mu Huayue was struck by those words. Her own mother had once said the same, but her expression had been filled with impatience. Yet this unfamiliar girl, despite her tear-streaked face, radiated genuine sincerity.

Her instincts warned her against trusting anyone based on mere words. Mu Huayue’s lips curved into a smile as she lowered her gaze to Xia Youxi. “Very well. Let’s see just how obedient you are.”

With that, she stepped back and pressed a hidden button. The shackles around Xia Youxi’s wrists vanished.

Her body instantly freed, Xia Youxi dared not move rashly. She remained frozen in her chair, staring blankly at Mu Huayue.

Mu Huayue crooked a finger at her. “Come here.”

Xia Youxi nodded, rose, and walked over. Mu Huayue, half a head taller, still looked down at her with a condescending gaze. The scalpel that had trimmed her hair flashed before her eyes, sending a cold sweat down Xia Youxi’s back as she nervously wrung her fingers.

Seemingly satisfied, Mu Huayue casually tossed the scalpel back onto the tray. Xia Youxi exhaled in relief, her stiff posture relaxing. Just as she thought the ordeal was over, Mu Huayue returned, her fingers threading through Xia Youxi’s still-damp hair to press against the nape of her neck, sending a shiver through her skin and heart. “Sister Mu…”

Mu Huayue’s fingertips stroked the back of Xia Youxi’s neck as she whispered into her ear, like a devil whispering secrets: “This thing of yours is disobedient. It’s useless to keep it. Better to get rid of it. Go on, pick a tool. I’ll help you.”

How thoughtful of her.

Xia Youxi’s hands trembled as she pleaded again, “Sister Mu…”

Mu Huayue smiled at her. “Hmm?”

Xia Youxi understood: Hurry up and go.

With no other choice, she went.

In the novels she’d read, there were Alphas who underwent Qiediao procedures and Omegas who had their glands removed. Surely this wouldn’t be fatal.

Closing her eyes, Xia Youxi took a deep breath and glanced at the tray. A scalpel would be too painful, scissors would take forever, and tweezers seemed inappropriate for the back of her neck—what if CEO Mu decided to play elsewhere?

Aha!

Xia Youxi grabbed a curved suture needle and, with the resolve of a warrior severing her own arm, handed it over.

“You certainly know how to choose,” Mu Huayue said with a mocking smile as she accepted the needle. “This thing won’t draw much bl00d when it’s pulled through the flesh.”

Pulled through?

Xia Youxi had assumed a single prick would suffice. Clearly, she had underestimated Mu Huayue’s depravity.

But she’d come this far. She might as well keep gambling.

Trembling violently, Xia Youxi closed her eyes, shaking like a leaf, and stubbornly refused to beg for mercy.

Icy fingers brushed aside the long hair draped over her shoulder. A cold scoff sounded in her ear as the suture needle pressed against her neck.

“Eep.” Xia Youxi’s body shook even more violently. She felt a chill on the back of her neck, but as she gradually adjusted, she realized there was no pain. When she glanced sideways, her breath caught in her throat.

She saw a face of transcendent beauty, beyond gender. Thick eyebrows arched over sharp, downward-sloping eyes with upturned corners. Thin lips curved slightly, and even those aloof, phoenix-like eyes softened with warmth as they crinkled at the corners.

This smile was different from before, lacking any mockery or disdain. It radiated genuine joy.

So beautiful, Sister Mu.

The smiling face seemed to notice her gaze, instantly reverting to its cold indifference. Mu Huayue tossed aside the sewing needle and teased her, “Even a kitten has more courage than you.”

Xia Youxi blinked her large eyes, her expression one of wounded innocence.

Mu Huayue chuckled again, amused. “You should feel lucky. I just happen to need a cat by my side. Come along, little kitty.”

Xia Youxi nodded and followed closely behind Mu Huayue, her footsteps echoing hers. From behind, they looked like a noble lady leading her obedient servant. But from the front, in Mu Huayue’s blind spot, Xia Youxi secretly curled her lips into a triumphant smile, celebrating her first victory.

Just as the book described, she thought. Mu Huayue softens when she sees a delicate beauty crying, and she craves the security of control. Playing the part of a fragile, obedient girl really paid off.