The Paranoid Female CEO’s Contracted Beauty (Omegaverse) - Chapter 10
“Showing mercy to your enemy is being cruel to yourself.”
“What?” Li Ge looked confused.
Xu Qingyan stepped forward, her gaze locking tightly onto Li Ge’s eyes. She repeated herself, slowly and firmly.
“Showing mercy to your enemy is being cruel to yourself. Chen Xin already resents you. Even if you spare her now, she will come back for revenge. That’s human nature. The only way to prevent future trouble is to remove the root entirely.”
Hearing this, Li Ge suddenly pushed Xu Qingyan away and instinctively raised her arms in defense. In that moment, she felt that Xu Qingyan was not someone she could afford to feel soft toward. On the contrary, this alpha was terrifying.
To completely eliminate someone to avoid future consequences. That kind of heartless thinking was something Li Ge had only ever read about in books. She believed people in today’s world, especially those living privileged lives, were no longer in a primitive society or a life-or-death battlefield. There was no need to destroy someone completely. Even if Chen Xin hated her, Li Ge believed she still deserved a chance to change.
Even if she did not deserve a second chance, at the very least, she shouldn’t be permanently ruined. Being blacklisted from the entire entertainment industry would mean Chen Xin would never find work again. With Xu Qingyan’s influence, who would dare hire her?
That would cut off all of Chen Xin’s future.
“You cannot do that!” Li Ge shouted with all her strength.
Xu Qingyan paused, startled by her outburst. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, she noticed the slap mark on Li Ge’s cheek.
Earlier, she had been too focused on the manager to notice. Li Ge had been standing behind her most of the time, and Xu Qingyan hadn’t looked at her face closely. But now, face to face, the mark was clear. Slight swelling and a faint purplish hue. Likely from the night before. The red had already faded into a bruise.
Xu Qingyan’s confused expression shifted instantly to one of deep concern. She instinctively reached out, wanting to touch the injured side of Li Ge’s face.
But as soon as Li Ge saw her hand approaching, she stepped back in panic. She kept retreating until her back hit the door and she could go no farther.
“What are you doing?”
Xu Qingyan came back to her senses. Her hand froze in midair, then slowly dropped to her side.
“Your face…” she said softly.
She raised her eyes, her tone serious. “Who hit you?”
Li Ge quickly raised her hand to cover the bruise, looking like a frightened rabbit caught in the open.
“Who hit me has nothing to do with you, Chairwoman Xu.”
“It does matter to me.”
“This is my personal business. It’s none of your concern.”
Xu Qingyan ignored her protest and asked again.
“Was it Li Dahai?”
Li Ge’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of her father. The place where she had been struck seemed to burn with fresh pain.
“You know who Xu Qingyan is? You know what the Xu family is? You know what kind of power Xu Group holds? I raised you all these years and this is how you repay me?”
“Your privileged life right now is all because of me. If I hadn’t kept you, if I hadn’t fed you and raised you with my own two hands, you would’ve died in some alley a long time ago.”
“Let me make this clear, Li Ge. In this house, I make the rules. These slaps were just a reminder that you need to know your place. When I say go east, you don’t dare go west. And if there’s a next time, don’t blame me for forgetting you’re my daughter.”
Li Ge had long known the real reason why Li Dahai kept her around. He had only planned to use her once she grew up, to trade her for benefits. Even so, she had still clung to hope and stayed in the Li household. She had convinced herself that after more than ten years of raising her, even a rock would grow feelings.
She was, after all, his only bl00d relative.
She couldn’t believe Li Dahai could be that cruel.
But clearly, she had been terribly wrong. Just as the saying goes, a dog cannot stop eating filth. People do not change. Li Dahai was the kind of person who would sacrifice anyone, even family, for profit.
“Whoever hit me has nothing to do with you.” Li Ge did not want to have anything more to do with Xu Qingyan. S-class alphas like her were completely out of reach for omegas like Li Ge.
More importantly, she genuinely disliked these high-ranking alphas. In her eyes, they always saw omegas as lesser beings, as property meant to be owned, never truly respected.
Xu Qingyan frowned deeply. She wanted to ask what had happened after Li Ge went home the previous night. Had Li Dahai hit her because of the rejection? But she sensed Li Ge would hate being interrogated like that, so she stopped herself.
“An omega’s face is something to be cherished. If a scar is left behind, it will be very hard to fix.”
That sentence hit a nerve.
Li Ge’s already shaky emotions collapsed in an instant. She shouted at Xu Qingyan, furious and overwhelmed.
“A scar on my face is my own problem. Whether I look ugly or not is also my own problem. What does any of it have to do with you? Or is it that you alphas think, if an omega has a scarred face, she’s not worthy of your attention anymore? Is that it? No wait, let me guess. Once we omegas are no longer beautiful, we lose the right to be bought, to be favored, and to please you alphas. Is that what you mean?”
Xu Qingyan was completely stunned by her outburst. She had never thought that way. She always believed omegas were meant to be cherished. She had only said it because she sincerely thought a facial injury would be unfortunate. She had never imagined it would trigger such intense pain and anger.
She tried to explain, but before she could open her mouth, Li Ge spoke again in a cold and bitter tone.
“I know. To people like you at the top, omegas like us are nothing but goods. If you like us, you buy us. If you don’t, you toss us aside. We’re nothing to you.”
“I don’t think that way…” Xu Qingyan tried to speak.
“You do!” Li Ge cut her off sharply.
“I…”
“You’re just like Li Dahai. All of you alphas are the same.”
Li Ge became more and more emotional. Her voice trembled as she looked at Xu Qingyan with a cold, mocking smile.
“Chairwoman Xu, I don’t care what you think of me, and I don’t care what kind of deal you made with Li Dahai. I’m going to make myself very clear right now.”
“I already have my alpha. We’re in love. We care deeply for each other. No matter what happens, we will not be separated.”
Xu Qingyan’s fingers curled into a tight fist. The look on her face could no longer hide her disappointment. Even though she had already prepared herself for the possibility, hearing those words come directly from Li Ge’s mouth still made her heart ache. It felt like something was pressing heavily on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
“I…” Xu Qingyan tried to change the subject, wanting to explain herself. But when the words reached her lips, she didn’t know what else to say. Any explanation now would feel weak and meaningless. With how Li Ge was feeling, she would not believe anything Xu Qingyan said. In the end, she could only give up and quietly said, “I understand.”
Li Ge saw that Xu Qingyan made no move to stop her, so she turned around, opened the door, and left without hesitation.
The office was now silent. Xu Qingyan remained standing alone, her head lowered, her body stiff like a statue. She looked just as fragile and out of place as the pens scattered across the floor.
People walked past the office. Some noticed her and paused to look, but once they saw the serious expression on her face, they quickly walked away, afraid to get involved.
When Secretary Su returned after finishing her task, she found Xu Qingyan still in the same place. The helplessness in her eyes had shifted into something softer but sadder. She looked hurt.
“Chairwoman Xu, what happened?”
Secretary Su glanced around and didn’t see Li Ge. She asked, “Miss Li already left?”
Xu Qingyan felt another sting in her chest. Her voice was quiet and muffled as she replied, “Yes.”
“She left by herself?”
“Yes.”
Secretary Su studied her carefully. Xu Qingyan’s expression looked so vulnerable that anyone would feel sorry for her. Trying to understand, she asked gently, “But you helped Miss Li with something so serious. Why do you still look upset?”
Xu Qingyan slowly lifted her head. She didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, she said, “Xiao Ge didn’t like what I did.”
Secretary Su was puzzled. “Why not? That manager was clearly targeting her. If you didn’t step in, it would have been hard for her to keep working in the entertainment industry. You got rid of a huge problem for her. Shouldn’t she be happy?”
Xu Qingyan shook her head. “I thought the same. I really believed Xiao Ge would feel relieved. But she didn’t. Xiao Su, do you think I did something wrong?”
Secretary Su had a feeling she knew what was going on. She could understand why Li Ge reacted the way she did. The adult world can be cold, and for someone like Li Ge, who had only just stepped into it, things like this might feel too harsh and difficult to accept.
“Chairwoman Xu, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But Xiao Ge is angry with me. And I don’t know how to make her feel better.”
Thinking about the words Li Ge had said made Xu Qingyan’s heart ache all over again. She had never felt this kind of sadness before. It felt like something important had been taken from her, leaving her feeling hollow and alone.
“She thinks I made a deal with her father.”
Secretary Su was surprised. “You didn’t explain it to her? Besides, the real problem came from her father. Shouldn’t she be confronting him, not you?”
Xu Qingyan had thought that too. But she understood Li Ge far too well. Li Ge was idealistic and deeply insecure. Even if she tried to explain everything clearly, Li Ge would still believe her own assumptions.
If words were not enough, then Xu Qingyan knew she had only one choice left.
“It’s alright,” she said softly. “One day, I’ll make her believe me.”