After Marrying the Cold Omega in Secret (GL, ABO) - Chapter 11
What Chu Jin didn’t know was that Chi Ye had been paying attention to her conversation with Xin Ning.
So when Chu Jin moved to sit beside Chi Ye, she suddenly heard an unexpected question.
“Do you like being called that?”
Caught off guard, Chu Jin paused.
But the camera had just turned toward her, so she quickly masked her confusion with a calm expression.
Only afterward did she slowly realize what Chi Ye meant.
She hadn’t expected Chi Ye to overhear her conversation with Xin Ning.
Once the camera cut away to show a quiet garden scene, Chu Jin lowered her voice and responded.
She pretended not to understand and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
Chu Jin’s mood had already improved. The moment Chi Ye spoke to her, the heaviness in her chest vanished.
It was strange. Their relationship was supposed to be nothing more than a contract, yet somehow, Chi Ye’s words could still affect her this deeply.
She rested her chin on her hand and glanced sideways at Chi Ye, her tone casual and drawn out.
“President Chi, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Chi Ye looked back at her, only to lose her composure under Chu Jin’s deliberately innocent expression.
Gritting her back teeth slightly, she mumbled two words.
“Jie… Jie.”
For some reason, when Xin Ning had called her Jie earlier, Chu Jin hadn’t felt anything. She had simply taken it as a younger girl being respectful.
But hearing those same words from Chi Ye, her chest tightened.
Looking into Chi Ye’s cool and distant eyes, Chu Jin felt something stir deep inside—something complicated and hard to describe.
It was a feeling of wanting to possess, to take, to conquer. It was the urge to pluck this proud and distant flower, and in doing so, keep it from being touched by anyone else. That emotion was possessive and irrational, almost dangerously intense.
And just then, the screen happened to capture her distracted expression perfectly.
“What kind of look was that?”
“She’s an Alpha. No doubt about it.”
“The reserved couple is back on top.”
“But wait, isn’t Chi Ye also an Alpha?”
“I think Chi Ye is an Omega pretending to be an Alpha.”
Before Chu Jin could respond, Xin Ning nudged her arm and brought her back to reality.
“Jie, look.”
Chu Jin snapped out of it and looked at Xin Ning’s phone screen.
The live broadcast was playing, just five or six seconds behind real time.
She noticed the comments scrolling by.
They were all talking about her and Chi Ye.
“You two are called the Reserved Couple. You’re number one on the couple rankings for this show,” Xin Ning said with a playful smile in her eyes.
What?
Chu Jin had never expected things to head in this direction. She tapped open the couple rankings, and sure enough, she and Chi Ye were in the top spot. Fans had even started compiling and sharing screenshots of their moments together.
How were two Alphas even shippable?
Chu Jin didn’t understand.
She remembered Chi Ye had joined the show to rekindle her relationship with Yan Sisi. Now their ship had taken the top spot instead. It was completely off track.
She began to worry that Yan Sisi would explode in anger and cut ties with Chi Ye altogether.
If that happened, it would not be good for Chu Jin in any way.
Fortunately, the couple ranking was still new, and popularity could shift easily. If she kept some distance from Chi Ye, other ships might rise to the top later on.
After seeing the comments, Chu Jin started quietly shifting away from Chi Ye, moving one centimeter at a time to put a bit more space between them.
Then dinner began as scheduled.
Chu Jin decided to eat in silence and listen to the others talk. She didn’t want to draw any more attention.
While she was quietly eating, Zhou Meng, who was sitting across from her, suddenly spoke up.
“What does everyone do for work?”
Since Chu Jin was sitting directly across from her, Zhou Meng naturally looked in her direction.
Left with no choice, Chu Jin put down her chopsticks and answered politely.
“I’m a model.”
The words had barely left her mouth when Wen Zhixue, who was sitting next to Zhou Meng, immediately jumped in.
“What a coincidence. I’m a photographer.”
Chu Jin feigned surprise, though she didn’t want to keep the conversation going. She quickly wrapped it up with a smile.
“Maybe we’ll get the chance to work together in the future.”
She thought someone else would speak next, but Zhou Meng brought the conversation right back to her.
With an exaggerated smile and a bright voice, she said, “I thought so. The moment I saw you, I felt your figure and vibe were perfect. You totally look like a model.”
While Zhou Meng’s words sounded like compliments, her gaze was clearly sizing Chu Jin up.
Chu Jin could sense the malice behind her smile. On the surface, Zhou Meng was polite and cheerful, but her eyes held a sharp, judgmental look, as if she were examining Chu Jin from above.
It felt like an unspoken competition between two Alphas.
Zhou Meng clearly saw her as a rival.
Chu Jin didn’t like this type of person, but she kept a pleasant expression and replied calmly.
“Thank you.”
Zhou Meng rested her chin on one hand, revealing the elegant Jaeger-LeCoultre watch on her wrist. She kept pressing.
“Miss Chu, what magazines have you shot for?”
Chu Jin showed no sign of discomfort. Her response was calm and poised.
“Just a few lesser-known publications. Nothing big.”
“Really? That’s a shame. With your looks and figure, I thought you’d be a regular for top fashion magazines.”
She sighed and looked Chu Jin over again before raising her chin slightly.
“I have a friend who works at WF. I could put in a word for you if you’re interested.”
Before Chu Jin could respond, Chi Ye cut in without warning.
“Miss Zhou, what do you do for work?”
Chu Jin hadn’t been bothered by Zhou Meng’s attitude. She was just waiting for her to finish talking so she could get her friend’s contact info. After all, more connections meant more opportunities.
But then Chi Ye interrupted everything.
Hearing Chi Ye’s question, Zhou Meng let the subject drop and smiled as she introduced herself.
“I’m a lawyer. I work at Fengyuan Law Firm in Linhe.”
Fengyuan was the top law firm in Linhe City. Its team of attorneys was known for their exceptional skill, and their success rate ranked among the best in the country, with a consistent 98 percent win rate.
Anyone who worked there had to be among the best of the best.
No wonder Zhou Meng carried herself with such confidence.
After finishing her introduction, she radiated self-assurance, clearly expecting admiration and praise from everyone at the table.
However, Chi Ye continued the conversation, just as Zhou Meng had done earlier. Her tone was calm but direct, as she began to dig deeper.
“Miss Zhou, how long have you been working at Fengyuan Law Firm?” Chi Ye asked, her eyes glancing over Zhou Meng briefly. In her right hand, she casually held a silver fork and slowly pierced a piece of steak.
Zhou Meng did not answer directly. Instead, she tilted her head slightly and replied, “Why do you ask?”
Chi Ye set down her fork. A subtle smile curved her lips.
“I have a friend at your firm. He leads a team at Fengyuan. I was just curious if you might know him.”
Zhou Meng’s expression froze for a brief moment, but she quickly recovered, flashing another confident smile.
“I’ve been there for five years. I get along well with everyone.”
The message behind her words was clear. She did not need introductions from anyone.
Chu Jin watched the exchange closely. Though their words remained polite, the undertones were sharp. With her skill at reading facial expressions, Chu Jin quickly saw the truth beneath the surface. While Zhou Meng kept smiling and appeared composed, her confidence had already started to crack.
The conversation ended there, but it was clear that Zhou Meng had been shaken. She became noticeably quieter, like a deflated balloon. The bold energy from earlier was completely gone.
This entire exchange was broadcast live, and the comment section had already gone wild.
“Did you see that? Chi Ye stood up for Chu Jin!”
“What’s with Zhou Meng acting so fake?”
“Wait a minute. Is Chi Ye implying Zhou Meng might not actually work at Fengyuan?”
“My friend works there. She just told me that Zhou Meng isn’t even a full employee. She never passed probation.”
“What? Five years and still not permanent?”
“I don’t care. The Reserved Couple is real!”
After that, the others began introducing their own jobs.
Bai Xuqing, with her gentle and ethereal aura, turned out to be a doctor. The quiet and aloof Chen Mo was a painter. Yan Sisi and Chi Ye both gave vague answers, claiming to be ordinary office workers.
But after what Chi Ye had just done, it was unlikely that anyone truly believed her story.
Rumor had it that before joining the show, Chi Ye had already wiped all public records of her background from the internet.
So no one would suspect that the Chi family’s heir, one of the most influential names in Linhe City, was now part of a dating reality show.
The youngest member of the group, Xin Ning, was still a college student in her fourth year studying sculpture.
Just as Chu Jin had guessed earlier, Xin Ning and Chen Mo attended the same university. Chen Mo had graduated two years ago and was technically her senior.
Dinner continued until it neared the end. That was when the production team brought out eight small folded paper hearts.
“Everyone, please pick one. Inside is a number. The two people who draw the same number will be cooking partners for the next few days. We’ll start from group number one.”
Remembering how tense the last flower draw had been, Chu Jin silently prayed that she would not end up paired with Chi Ye.
After carefully choosing, she picked a small blue paper heart.
When she opened it, she saw the number one.
She secretly glanced at Chi Ye’s paper and saw the number three.
Chu Jin let out a breath of relief.
When the full list of pairings was revealed, she found out her partner was Bai Xuqing.
As soon as the results were announced, Yan Sisi turned to Bai Xuqing and said, “I’ll help you tomorrow, just in case the two of you get overwhelmed.”
Bai Xuqing smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”
Chu Jin, however, was not too thrilled. She highly doubted Yan Sisi could actually cook. She just hoped she would not get in the way. At this point, she could only pray that Bai Xuqing had real culinary skills. Chu Jin herself could barely manage to cook instant noodles, and even that was hit or miss.
As she was silently stressing about it, Chi Ye suddenly spoke.
“I’ll help you too.”
Chu Jin was stunned.
You? The president of multiple companies, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, helping in the kitchen?
She stared at her in disbelief for a moment before the truth hit her.
So that was it. President Chi was chasing love with everything she had. Normally, she wouldn’t even touch dishwater. But for Yan Sisi, she was willing to step into the smoke and grease of the kitchen without hesitation.