Evolution - Chapter 146
Chapter 146
Sunlight spilled before the window, slipping through the sheer curtains and into the room, illuminating the faces of the two people sleeping in an embrace.
Yu Zhiyao frowned, gradually waking. Right, she’d been pestered for half the night and had forgotten to switch to the blackout curtains. She shifted, gently pushing the person wrapped around her, who had been radiating just the right amount of heat to keep the bed warm all night.
“Morning.” Ji Changqing, who had been awake and pretending to be asleep, opened her eyes. She gently rubbed against Yu Zhiyao’s still-naked body under the covers and invited her seductively, “How about some morning exercise?”
Yu Zhiyao was amused by her hedonistic air, as if she wanted to waste away in bed, and politely declined the invitation for “morning exercise.”
Thanks, but no thanks. She didn’t fancy having sex on an empty stomach.
She had already confirmed through personal experience that it was incredibly difficult to satisfy an energetic beast, so she wasn’t about to tire herself out by taking on such a high-level challenge again.
The rejected Ji Changqing lazily got up, being exceptionally considerate. “It’s only seven. You sleep a little longer. I’ll make breakfast and call you.”
After getting up, she looked around, a rare sense of confusion washing over her. When they had returned home last night, they hadn’t even had time to unpack their clothes before they were like dry wood meeting a raging fire, stripping as they went. And later, well, during that sort of thing, clothes weren’t necessary!
Her storage device was probably in the bathroom?
Yu Zhiyao clutched the blanket, seemingly aware of her predicament, and murmured drowsily, “Fourth door of the wardrobe. There’s a robe inside. The second drawer below has underwear I prepared for you.”
Ji Changqing opened the wardrobe, put on the clothes Yu Zhiyao had specially prepared for her, and loosely tied the robe. She bent down to pick up the messy bedsheet from last night that had been tossed on the floor, figuring she would throw it in the washer and dryer in a bit. Otherwise, she was afraid they’d run out of clean sheets.
As she continued picking up bath towels, hand towels, the coat, sweater, pants, and underwear they had taken off, her thought process changed. Hmm, looks like one load won’t be enough. It’ll take two.
After washing up, she opened the refrigerator and found it fully stocked with ingredients. It was clear Yu Zhiyao had gone shopping to restock it beforehand.
Ji Changqing felt a warmth spread through her heart. The clothes that fit her perfectly, the robe prepared just for her, and the fully stocked fridge were all proof that Yu Zhiyao held her carefully in her heart.
It wasn’t early anymore, so there wasn’t enough time for a Chinese-style breakfast. Ji Changqing fried two portions of seventh-rank xenobeast meat and two eggs, prepared bread and jam, and heated two glasses of fresh milk.
Just as she finished setting the breakfast on the table, Yu Zhiyao emerged, wrapped in a robe and toweling her hair, enveloped in steam.
Looking at Yu Zhiyao, who was all pink and tender from the steam, Ji Changqing swallowed hard. Her thoughts uncontrollably drifted to how this person had looked last night beneath her, utterly lost in ecstasy. Then, a certain part of her body underwent a subtle change.
“What’s the latest you have to go in?” She walked around the dining table, hugged Yu Zhiyao from behind, and whispered in her ear, her tone ambiguous and suggestive. The two were pressed tightly together. Yu Zhiyao’s hand paused. She gently broke free from the embrace, took half a step back, and cast a subtle glance at a certain someone’s lower body.
That certain someone was looking at her pitifully, her face screaming, “I’m innocent, it’s all your fault for being too beautiful.”
She rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. “I have to leave by nine-thirty at the latest.”
Ji Changqing, with a look of forbearance, attentively urged Yu Zhiyao to eat breakfast first.
Feeling like she had showered for nothing, Yu Zhiyao was furious. She finished her breakfast in a slow, deliberate manner, made a few calls to arrange her morning’s work, and said she’d be delayed by something and would arrive before ten.
After all, the ten o’clock meeting couldn’t be postponed.
After doing all this, she was pulled into a lap-sitting embrace and felt Ji Changqing’s passion in a very direct way.
Right there by the dining table, after having her own stomach filled, she had to turn around and satisfy a certain beast.
As an Alpha, Ji Changqing’s hip strength was astonishing, and her arm strength was also outstanding. Amidst the lifting and lowering, Yu Zhiyao dug her hands into Ji Changqing’s short hair, struggling to maintain her balance, and warned, “Just this once. Don’t let it become a habit.”
Ji Changqing gave a vague reply.
Around nine o’clock, Ji Changqing, who had been tormenting Yu Zhiyao for a good half hour, finally calmed down.
The two of them embraced tightly, panting heavily, and it took a while for them to catch their breath. Without even pulling out, Ji Changqing carried her straight into the bathroom.
Half an hour later, after a hasty cleanup of the evidence, changing clothes, and without even having time for makeup, a clearly glowing Yu Zhiyao hurried out. A sated-looking Ji Changqing hummed a tune and started washing the clothes and bedsheets, tidying up the kitchen and dining area on the side.
Yu Zhiyao wasn’t coming back for lunch, and she was too lazy to go out alone, so she decided to clean the house. Though “cleaning the house” was a bit of a stretch—this was the Academy of Sciences headquarters, full of advanced technology. She was really just responsible for turning on the cleaning robot, following it around step-by-step, and directing it to clean every nook and cranny.
She kept pestering it until the smart cleaning robot’s command error light started flashing red before she finally gave up.
She also diligently helped tidy the study and saw a digital photo frame on the desk. Most of the pictures inside were of her and Yu Zhiyao on Iris Star, with a few scattered solo photos.
This two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, with one bedroom and one study, revealed at every turn, in subtle ways, that its owner’s heart already belonged to someone.
Having completed her inspection tour, Ji Changqing couldn’t stop the smile on her face. As she smiled, she felt a little guilty. After all, her own single dorm was frighteningly spartan, looking for all the world like a single person’s place, without a single trace of a girlfriend.
While she was at home, bored and with nothing to do, Yu Zhiyao was speaking at a meeting, listing data on Blue Star’s previous gender inequality. “Based on the above, and in accordance with Star Alliance Act 1098, the Freedom and Equality Act, I propose that the Academy of Sciences add a restrictive clause to its cooperation with Blue Star. For the next five years, we should favor polities or companies where women hold power and the ratio of male to female employees is balanced, giving them priority in cooperation to promote gender equality and prevent the exacerbation of gender inequality.”
The Academy of Sciences’ cooperation with various planets, including the degree of openness and the speed of collaboration, depended on two things: the overall contribution of the planet’s members to the Star Alliance, and the work contributions of personnel from that planet within the Academy. The fact that cooperation with Blue Star had opened up so quickly was largely thanks to Yu Zhiyao.
Since the cooperation was initiated because of her, and she herself was from Blue Star, they would naturally consider her proposal carefully.
The reviewers conferred for a moment, then voted one by one.
“Resolution passed!”
Yu Zhiyao smiled faintly. If you have a score to settle, it’s best to do it quickly, lest you suffer in silence.
She was quite happy to become a stumbling block on Yao Huizu’s path forward.
Although she had been away from Blue Star for twelve years, she still loved it deeply! She was willing to contribute her own strength to its progress toward freedom and equality.
She didn’t plan to leave work early today. Ji Changqing had asked her early on what she wanted for dinner, preparing to show off her skills and cook personally. Naturally, she wouldn’t refuse her good intentions and unceremoniously requested her old signature dishes.
When it was time to get off work, He Yi called out for her to eat together. Yu Zhiyao politely declined, “I’m eating at home.”
“Are you cooking for yourself?” He Yi’s eyes widened as she tried to send out cute-vibes, her expression screaming “I want to freeload a meal,” but she was too embarrassed to say it. After all, who knew President Yu could actually cook? She had been lucky enough to try it once and was blown away.
Yu Zhiyao paused for a moment. “No.” I’m not the one cooking, Ji Changqing is.
He Yi assumed she was going home to order takeout. Having lost the chance to have a working dinner with the beautiful big sister, she dejectedly waved her hand and trudged off to eat in the cafeteria by herself.
Watching her walk away, Yu Zhiyao suddenly remembered that He Yi actually knew Ji Changqing, and they seemed to be on pretty good terms. But she decided against it. They hadn’t had enough of their world for two yet; no need to bring in a third wheel for now.
The moment she opened the door, warm yellow light poured out, accompanied by the hum of the ventilation and filtration system and the fragrant aroma of food. Ji Changqing, wearing an apron, heard the sound, poked her head out with a spatula in hand, and called out, “You’re back! It’ll be ready in a minute!”
Yu Zhiyao replied with a smile, bending down in the entryway to change her shoes before walking in. By the time she had changed her clothes and washed her hands, Ji Changqing was calling for her to help bring the food out.
The scent of a home-cooked meal is the most comforting thing to a mortal soul. The usually cool and quiet apartment had become warm and lively with the presence of another person.
To avoid a repeat of yesterday and being tormented by Ji Changqing again, Yu Zhiyao brewed some throat-soothing fruit tea after dinner, held her down to drink it with her, and continued recounting her past.
She had no desire to tell another bedtime story and was determined to make a long story short.
Two years after breaking up with Ji Changqing, she reached a preliminary marriage agreement with Yao Huizu. She didn’t know if he was overconfident in his own charm or simply determined to have her, thinking she would one day fall at his feet. In any case, after reaching a consensus on the marriage alliance, the two of them were as serious and formal as if they were negotiating a business project, repeatedly discussing and deliberating, finding solutions for any disagreements, and confirming everything point by point.
The prenuptial agreement they signed, besides notarizing premarital assets and dividing post-marital assets, also stipulated non-interference in each other’s lives and mutual cooperation in maintaining their public personas on various occasions. They even signed a divorce agreement in advance, with the divorce date set for five years later.
In reality, under Blue Star’s legal system at the time, signing a divorce agreement in advance was merely a show of good faith in their cooperation. If one party backed out later, it would be invalid all the same.
After both parties reached an agreement and signed countless marital contracts, their parents met to prepare for the engagement.
After the engagement, both families’ company stock prices rose slightly.
Nine months after the engagement, at Yao Huizu’s insistence, they held the wedding.
Only after the wedding did Yao Huizu fully assist her in kicking Chairman Yu out of the Yu Corporation, forcing him into early retirement.
During that time, the old Chairman Yu, furious and humiliated, cursed at the young Chairman Yu every day, throwing the entire Yu residence into chaos. Blinded by rage, the old Chairman Yu also blurted out many secrets the young Chairman Yu didn’t know.
For example, the ruthless tactic of cutting off funding for her new project to pressure her—pulling the rug out from under her—was a heartfelt contribution from Yao Huizu.
On one hand, he magnanimously expressed that he really liked Yu Zhiyao and hoped the old Chairman Yu would give him some opportunities to interact with her more, allowing her to gradually accept him, and for this, the Yao family was willing to pay any price. On the other hand, he fanned the flames and stirred up trouble, subtly hinting that only by holding onto power tightly could one treat all one’s children equally and fairly.
Every point hit the muddle-headed old Chairman Yu’s weak spot.
Yu Zhiyao listened with great interest, feeling that Yao Huizu had truly opened her eyes.
Later, a year after the marriage, both families, for whatever reason, started pushing them more and more to have children. Every time, she would good-naturedly deflect, saying they had no plans for children in the next two years. It was around this time that Yao Huizu’s attitude began to change.
Not only did he fail to take some of the heat for her as stipulated in the agreement, but he also transformed into a master manipulator, playing the innocent, supportive husband. All sorts of things like, “I listen to her,” “We must respect her choice,” “Whether she wants to focus on her career first or have children, I support her…” He’d shirk all responsibility, with plenty of grand performances of “It has nothing to do with me, I listen to her.”
After seeing too many of these performances, she became vigilant.
What’s this guy’s deal? Weren’t the terms of the agreement clear enough? Why is he getting all sincere and emotional now?
To avoid future trouble, she spent a year preparing in secret until she had leverage he couldn’t ignore. When he gradually shed the labels of “partner” and “respectful of women,” began to act as a “husband,” and repeatedly expressed deluded notions like “a woman should act like a woman, and since she’s married, she should focus more on the family,” she decisively demanded a divorce.
Hearing this, Ji Changqing blurted out, “Why didn’t you come to me back then?”
Yu Zhiyao looked at her with a half-smile, her gaze somewhat terrifying.
Ji Changqing counted on her fingers, then silently shut her mouth. She looked left and right awkwardly, not daring to look at Yu Zhiyao.
Oh my god, help! I’m really digging my own grave!
At that point in time, hmm, she had just started a new relationship.
Seeing her reaction, Yu Zhiyao knew she understood. An inexplicable anger flared up inside her, and she mercilessly pinched the soft flesh of her waist.
Ji Changqing sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, her face scrunching up, but she didn’t dare cry out. She bravely reached out to hug Yu Zhiyao, rubbing her face against her and burying it in her chest. Acting weak and coquettish? She could do it all! She put on a soft voice and humbly begged for mercy, “I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong…”
As she begged for forgiveness, the two of them ended up tangled together on the sofa. Yu Zhiyao, who had been furious just a moment ago, was now kissed until her whole body went soft, her face flushed crimson, her clothes half-off. Ji Changqing seized the opportunity and forcefully pushed her way in.
Yu Zhiyao let out a short nasal sound and adjusted her position to make herself more comfortable. She wrapped her arms tightly around Ji Changqing, making it easier for her to conquer the territory.
Her mind was hazy as she thought, Is the ultimate meaning of evolution just to give everyone abundant energy so they can satisfy each other’s needs in this department? She lamented with some distress that Ji Changqing, having differentiated into an Alpha, had far too many tools of the trade. After a full rotation, she had no idea when this sweet torture would ever end.
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