Chapter 27 Part 2

This isn’t the same thing, Shu Qingyou wanted to argue. Yesterday was yesterday; today was today.

But Lin Xu was used to deciding unilaterally. When she scolded coldly, Shu Qingyou just went along.

Slender fingers wandered at the gland, then pressed together.

She couldn’t tell how much longer it would take. Shu Qingyou roughly ruffled Lin Xu’s soft hair, biting her lower lip to stifle any loud noises. Even though the soundproofing was good, it was still daytime after all.

Her skin was thin, and she faced the floor-to-ceiling windows without curtains drawn. Everywhere she looked were financial office buildings—people came and went without needing binoculars.

It wasn’t raining outside, but the sound of water echoed trickling through the room.

With the water, the teasing thoughts fragmented. It finally ended after much difficulty.

Shu Qingyou’s breathing was unsteady, and she didn’t rush to take a shower right away.

The troublemaker was full of mental energy. “Can you stand? Let me carry you to the sofa to rest.”

Shu Qingyou slowly waved her hand, waiting until her breathing stabilized. She still remembered Lin Xu’s stomach and urged her to brush her teeth.

“It’s dirty. Go rinse your mouth first, okay?”

“You’re dirty but still kissed me. How come you don’t mind the dirty stuff getting into your mouth?”

Shu Qingyou couldn’t be as unabashed as Lin Xu, speaking these things without any shame. She tugged at Lin Xu’s pinky finger.

“Go wash up.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll go. You’re really nitpicking about your own stuff.”

Shu Qingyou endured the sticky feeling on her skin, leaning against the wall as she bent down to rummage through the bag for food. Her fingertips trembled as she unpacked the cake.

Moments later, a fresh phlox flower scent enveloped her from behind, bringing a slight sense of oppression.

Shu Qingyou picked up the spoon with the cake and brought it to Lin Xu’s lips.

“I just ate.”

Lin Xu wasn’t too willing and turned her face away, refusing to eat.

“Have you forgotten? Last time you skipped breakfast, your stomach hurt, and I had to buy medicine for you.”

“Be good. Open your mouth.”

Only with coaxing like this did Lin Xu reluctantly eat the cake.

The allergic reaction came quickly. Red spots ravaged Lin Xu’s fair face and neck.

Shu Qingyou didn’t know then that Lin Xu was allergic to it—the cake had walnuts, that is, nuts.

Having experience with her own alcohol allergy, Shu Qingyou grabbed Lin Xu’s wrist, both worried and guilty.

“Don’t scratch! I’ll take you to the hospital right now!”

She drove fast, but in reality, Lin Xu’s allergic reaction wasn’t too severe. Still, she looked pitiful as she poked at Shu Qingyou’s stern face.

“Don’t drive so fast. It’s dangerous. I’m worried about you.”

Her peripheral vision dropped to 86 km/h. Shu Qingyou was deeply moved—Lin Xu was suffering like this but still spared a thought to care about her safety.

She freed one hand to grip Lin Xu’s tightly. Lin Xu’s fingers stiffened noticeably, unsure how to grip back.

But she said, “Qingyou, you’re so good to me. No one’s ever truly cared for me from childhood to now.”

Lin Xu’s youthfulness showed fully on her features. She lowered her eyelids, blinked a few times, her mouth pulled down in a wilted expression—like the little match girl from the fairy tale…

Lonely, in need of a hug.

It was enough to fool Shu Qingyou, filling her with extra guilt. “It’s all my fault for deciding on my own. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Sure. I want lunch, dinner, and midnight snacks.”

“Then when you’re at the hospital later, I’ll buy you food.”

“Qingyou, I mean that.”

The road ahead suddenly blurred and swayed. Shu Qingyou steadied her mind.

She wanted to say something but nearly bit her tongue. The amorous scenes seemed right before her eyes, so she shut her mouth about it.

In the end, they accomplished nothing that day. She stayed by Lin Xu’s side at the hospital all afternoon for check-ups, registration, payments, seeing the doctor, and buying medicine—handling every little detail, unwilling to let Lin Xu tire herself.

No meal was made because Lin Xu used a legitimate excuse, saying the incident had given her PTSD, so she rarely ate Shu Qingyou’s cooking afterward.

It was precisely this interlude that later made Shu Qingyou soften irreparably whenever Lin Xu acted unreasonably or got angry over small things—she’d remember Lin Xu’s helpless, aggrieved look.

Looking back now, Lin Xu was a thorough scoundrel, clueless about building healthy, intimate relationships.

First make her fall in love, then torment her.

What was the point? Shu Qingyou didn’t know. She just chalked it up to Lin Xu’s pure maliciousness, toying with emotions.

She even openly deceived her about not knowing the allergy source. In fact, Lin Xu had her own private hospital at home and the most professional doctors.

After leaving Lin Xu, she didn’t hate her to the bone. Of course, such self-PUA thoughts would never be mentioned to anyone, not even her family, including her sister.

“So, Sister Shu, when will you take me to eat fried chicken again?”

A clear voice reached Shu Qingyou’s ears, sounding carefree. Shu Qingyou kept her eyes on the road ahead, wondering if Lin Xu had split personality or her IQ had regressed to childhood.

Whatever. These weren’t things she had to worry about.

“Can’t you just order takeout? Are your limbs lazy or do you not know grains from chaff?”

Why pick on her suddenly… Lin Xu was baffled and hung her head woodenly. “Okay, I’ll handle it myself when I get back.”

The car bumped along to their destination.

The door clicked open lightly. Shu Qingyou only told her they’d arrived.

Lin Xu glanced at the rolling mountains ahead, where several huge smokestacks rose from factory buildings.

Gray smoke rose continuously.

She resignedly stepped on the gravel and yellow dirt, taking the initiative to care for Shu Rong.

The closer they got, the thicker the smoky aura became. She followed Shu Qingyou closely.

Only then did Lin Xu clearly see the sign: Chai Kiln Factory.

This was Shu Qingyou’s workplace. She felt relieved but also thought such a smoky, polluted environment would be uncomfortable to stay in for long.

Young people came and went outside the factory buildings, wearing tank tops as waves of heat poured out.

Lin Xu’s inherent arrogance lingered; she didn’t like this environment and frowned the whole time, lips pressed tight.

A young person wiped sweat with a towel hung around their neck and approached Shu Qingyou cheerfully. “Shushu, you’re here so early.”

Instantly, Lin Xu’s heart tightened inwardly. So enthusiastic toward Qingyou. And Shushu? What kind of nickname is that? Way too over the line.

What was their relationship?

Shu Qingyou gave a perfunctory friendly reply.

“Not early. Have you fired the kilns?”

“Yeah,” the young person noticed Lin Xu’s darkened face beside her. “This is your sister and Rongrong, right?”

Shu Qingyou had mentioned beforehand that she’d bring her daughter, but hadn’t said her sister would come too.

“I’m not—”

Lin Xu wanted to refute, but Shu Qingyou cut in first, introducing her as her cousin.

Li Ci grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth, and told Lin Xu to call her Big Sis Li Ci.

This made Lin Xu extremely uncomfortable, but she didn’t dare defy Shu Qingyou and stiffly called her “Sis.”

Lin Xu was like a little nanny, holding Shu Rong and unable to chime in.

They reached the spacious factory backyard, filled with fired ceramics. Li Ci invited them to sit and chat, chugging half a bottle of water.

“Sigh, Shushu, last time I saw you, you had opened a pottery studio.”

Shu Qingyou had received Teacher Yue’s text yesterday: if she needed clay, just contact Li Ci.

She figured it wasn’t urgent. Li Ci was her classmate, an Alpha, and they got along well—though she’d pursued her for a while.

She hadn’t agreed to date, and Shu Qingyou felt it improper to bother her rashly even after all this time.

Unexpectedly, Li Ci contacted her that very day, and they’d chatted a bit on the phone.

“It closed down early.”

Shu Qingyou uncomfortably glanced at Lin Xu, who stared blankly at Li Ci, lost in her own thoughts.

“Normal. Some friends I know couldn’t keep theirs going either. Business is tough these days.”

“Yeah, it is.”

She still wasn’t good at initiating topics. Li Ci looked at the increasingly beautiful Shu Qingyou and sighed with emotion.

“You mentioned yesterday you wanted to buy a batch of prepared clay.”

Li Ci pointed to a pile on the ground, various sizes.

“Look over there. The recent firing results are decent.”

She had to admit the wares were of good quality.

Shu Qingyou: “Yes, regular clay and talc powder mix is fine. I’ll add some plant ash later.”

“Sure, old classmates. I’ll drive it over to you in a few days.”

“Thanks. Just send the price to my phone.”

Since it was an Omega she’d once pursued, Li Ci said bluntly, “Old classmates, and Teacher specifically asked. Money would be too distant.”

With that, she pulled out a cigarette case and shook out a cigarette. “Here.”

With her daughter nearby, Shu Qingyou didn’t smoke and told Lin Xu to take Shu Rong outside. Lin Xu’s anger flared; she glared fiercely at her feet.

Cowardly, she took Shu Rong out. She had to act weak.

Though the air was fresher, Lin Xu was about to burst. She vented nonstop to Shu Rong.

“What does your mom mean by that?”

“First a Beta, then an Omega in the middle, now an Alpha. Not to speak ill, but she’s too much of a flirt. Why not just eat up men, women, young, and old?”

“That person even said she’d deliver to our house—clearly fishing for the address. Her guard is way too low.”

Unknowingly, Lin Xu already treated Shu Qingyou’s home as her own, overlooking Shu Qingyou’s earlier denial that it was hers.

Shu Rong didn’t understand but listened earnestly.

“See, that female Alpha’s led your mom astray into smoking,” Lin Xu shook Shu Rong’s arm unhappily. “When you grow up, no touching cigarettes, got it?”

Shu Rong nodded, thinking of the fiery cat from cartoons. Big Sis now looked like that blue cat.

She wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.

Lin Xu wandered a big circle outside the factory, forcing Shu Rong to listen to her grumbles, shocking her greatly. Big Sis sure can talk.

She tugged Lin Xu’s sleeve, her big eyes round.

“That A has no manners… What are you doing?”

Not done venting, interrupted midway by Shu Rong pointing.

Shu Qingyou had rolled up her right sleeve, her fair arm draped with a thin trench coat.

She chatted easily and naturally with Li Ci, a faint smile on her lips.

Lin Xu was about to explode. Why can she laugh and chat with that A? Lin Xu rushed over, squeezing between them and shoving Li Ci aside.

Feeling a bit better, she ignored Li Ci and attentively took Shu Qingyou’s coat, pulling tissues from her pocket.

“Sis, it’s too hot inside. You’re sweating. Why didn’t you come out sooner? Let me wipe it for you.”

Shu Qingyou turned her head away, not letting Lin Xu touch her, and just took the tissue. “Thanks.”

Then she turned to ask Li Ci, “Want to grab lunch together?”

Since Li Ci was delivering the clay for free, treating her to a meal was only right. Shu Qingyou didn’t want to take advantage and had already paid the deposit at market price.

The rest when it arrived home.

What! Eat with her too? Lin Xu’s sense of crisis spiked again.

Li Ci smiled back. A beautiful classmate treating? Only a fool would refuse.

“Sure. I know a decent restaurant, but not sure if you can handle spicy now.”

“I can’t eat spicy,” Lin Xu hurriedly refused. “My sis can’t either. She likes bland food.”

The other two froze momentarily. Shu Qingyou didn’t handle heavy flavors well; she’d only tried spicy before.

But what right did Lin Xu have to speak for her?

Li Ci scratched her head awkwardly but wasn’t offended, graciously picking up. “Japanese then. Shushu, we went to a Japanese buffet together in college.”

Her eyes darkened. Shu Qingyou spoke softly and slowly, sounding gentle yet chillingly cold. “Lin Xu, do you need me to drop you home first?”

Lin Xu froze at her iciness and stammered, “N-No, let’s just do Japanese.”

“And?”

This jealousy was killing her, but she swallowed it. Shu Qingyou’s beautiful phoenix eyes stared indifferently, as if piercing through her.

Admitting fault quickly, she bowed her proud head. “Sorry, Big Sis Li Ci, and Sis.”

“No big deal. Food’s food.”

Li Ci didn’t mind, seeing Lin Xu only as a little sister. What was there to quibble?