Ever since she had been allowed that slight intimacy last time, Lin Xu had lived like a fairy for the past half month, with Shu Qingyou willing to ease her burning restlessness.
But Lin Xu showed signs of insatiable greed. Breaking through from zero to one only took once; once it started from one, there were countless times ahead.
Even more so after she accidentally kissed Shu Qingyou’s cheek one time—Shu Qingyou didn’t think much of it; physical contact wasn’t too excessive.
In contrast to Shu Qingyou’s clear conscience, Lin Xu replayed it from daytime into the middle of the night, her mind twisting through nine bends and eighteen turns, wondering if she could kiss her once more.
She would have to thank Buddha—no, heaven’s blessing. Shu Qingyou was her living female Bodhisattva.
Half a month ago, when that A came to deliver the clay, Lin Xu had greeted her coldly. Anyway, the other woman thought she wasn’t too bright, so as a dimwit, not saying hello was only natural.
Shu Qingyou watched as Lin Xu energetically hauled the large bag of clay to the backyard.
“You didn’t even offer her a cup of tea?”
Lin Xu looked utterly indifferent. Was she supposed to create an opportunity for a rival in love? She wasn’t really stupid.
“Shu-jie, am I that rude? She was just too polite; I didn’t want to trouble her.”
A bit green tea, but no flaws—after all, Shu Qingyou had warned her classmates beforehand that Lin Xu wasn’t a normal human.
To Lin Xu’s delight, Shu Qingyou’s work kept her at home like a total homebody, allowing them to spend entire days together.
She observed Shu Qingyou’s work process: after throwing pots and hand-molding clay, there was still drying, bisque firing, glazing, and glaze firing.
It took at least six days of fussing around. Due to the electric kiln’s capacity, gaps had to be left between cups, so Shu Qingyou planned to run two batches.
The half month passed quickly.
Lin Xu learned to read the temperature curves—supposedly learning, but really just finding a high-sounding excuse to get closer.
Meanwhile, in her spare time, Shu Qingyou smoked a cigarette in the courtyard. Lin Xu somewhat rejected her smoking and fanned away the smoke, her face full of worry.
Deep down, Shu Qingyou felt a hidden thrill of revenge.
She probed Lin Xu’s micro-expressions—no change—which only confirmed the doctor’s bad prognosis had come true.
Nearly a month had passed, and Lin Xu showed no signs of recovering her memory. Bad news.
Worse still, her heat period was disrupted; she had to inject a suppressant first thing in the morning.
Lin Xu was happily scrolling through short videos that made her brain melt.
【Day N of quitting my job: Freeloading and still not kicked out…】
The blogger was an A who, after quitting, moved into her ex-girlfriend’s place. The captions matched other videos: recording from waking up to lights out, nothing but playtime. Comments were all envy.
Lin Xu was no exception; she got hooked. Except it wasn’t an ex-girlfriend—otherwise, she and the blogger were the same. Plus, she felt too embarrassed to spend Shu Qingyou’s hard-earned money on gifts for others.
Better to just tap that little heart with her own hand.
That night, watching the live stream, the screen was filled with likes, sports cars, and massive rockets flashing in rainbow colors.
Lin Xu’s heart raced. Why not film her own Vlog? Shu Qingyou’s home had a simple, unique style; add a pastoral filter while shooting, and it’d be stunning—perfect footage.
Shu Qingyou had a bit of a headache. Ever since Lin Xu got addicted to videos, Shu Rong—close to vermilion gets red, close to ink gets black—sat happily beside her watching.
It felt like she was the breadwinner, but the kids at home were all hopeless.
The urgent matter at hand wasn’t this, though. Until the light in front of her was blocked, Lin Xu looked up, grabbed Shu Qingyou’s hand—cool to the touch—and simply refused to let go.
She wanted to warm it with her own body heat. “Shu-jie, do you think I could make Vlogs like that, like them?”
Shu Qingyou had grown used to her touchy-feely ways, as long as there was no further escalation; she could reluctantly accept hand-holding.
“Forgot? Your family thinks you’re…”
Lin Xu slapped her forehead in realization. “Oh right, they think I’m dead as a doornail. I can’t go wandering everywhere, especially surfing online.”
For some reason, hearing Lin Xu casually self-deprecate about death left a sour taste in her heart.
“Doctor’s tomorrow.”
Lin Xu resisted the hospital, whining and shaking Shu Qingyou’s hand.
“I don’t wanna go to the hospital. I’m fine—eating well, climbing five flights of stairs without panting.”
She often acted childish, making it hard to judge morally; possessive to the extreme, never prioritizing others.
Analyzing it, Shu Qingyou grew more worried.
“No.”
“Shu-jie, I don’t want a physical checkup. Don’t force me.”
Shu Qingyou was nearly shaken dizzy but still firmly stated,
“A few days ago, you told me yourself: the car accident was chaotic, someone in the car burned to a crisp. You need a follow-up.”
No news had broken about such a major incident, proving someone in Lin Xu’s family was targeting her—hiding the truth, intending to let her die.
By not sending her back, Shu Qingyou sighed that she’d perhaps done a good deed.
Her concern was obvious. Last time, Lin Xu had proactively played truth-telling with her, recounting her conversation with Gu Huaiyuan word-for-word.
To boost Shu Qingyou’s favor toward her—this hospital trip was unavoidable.
Better to seek fortune in danger than resist.
Lin Xu sniffled defeatedly twice, clutching Shu Qingyou like a lifeline.
“I won’t go for nothing. I want a reward.”
“What kind?”
“Kiss on the cheek.”
Lin Xu rubbed against the back of Shu Qingyou’s cool, pale hand, leaving faint red marks on the delicate skin.
She lifted her eyelids hopefully. “I noticed you kiss Rongrong goodnight every day. Why not me?”
Before, Lin Xu’s clumsy acting would have been obvious, and Shu Qingyou would refuse. Rongrong was three; Lin Xu was twenty-four. Comparable?
She’d only heard of wealthy family intrigues; abandoning Lin Xu now was nearly impossible.
“Fine, once.”
Lin Xu hooked her pinky with Shu Qingyou’s before she could regret it, beaming. “Deal!”
The next day, Shu Qingyou had to push Lin Xu out of bed. She claimed a perverse attachment to it, reluctant to get up.
Shu Qingyou’s brow twitched, ignoring her nonsense.
In neurology, the doctor had scans on the computer screen, glasses reflecting the light. Lin Xu tensed like doomsday, leaning hard on Shu Qingyou for support.
“You’re a grown adult; what are you scared of?” The doctor adjusted his glasses. This Omega had it rough—her daughter sat obediently waiting, but the big one clung to the Omega in public.
Lin Xu grumbled miserably, “Doctor, this is serious.”
“Fine,” the doctor said unhurriedly, explaining slowly.
“I suspected before: your brain took some damage from the crash. Not a big issue—recovery’s good. Mainly affected the memory area, hippocampus. Physiologically stable, but no memory progress involves emotional trauma or psychological defense mechanisms.”
He looked at Lin Xu. “Got it?”
So severe—Lin Xu was stunned, frozen, then slowly opened her mouth. “Kinda. Means I have serious psychological trauma.”
“I can’t specify,” the doctor said, glancing at the Omega’s cool, snow-melting brows. “You’re her wife, right? You need to help her recover her memory.”
Shu Qingyou’s lips were pale and shapely; her voice calm and clear.
“Okay.”
One word, and Lin Xu inwardly cheered for ages—no more sadness. Trauma it was; being alive was enough.
Crucially, the doctor called her her wife—Lin Xu wanted to leap for joy.
Time for a thank-you banner: divine healer, saving my romance.
The doctor nodded, professionally reassuring.
“You can do cognitive stimulation training: revisit familiar people and places, relive strong emotions like love, hurt, betrayal. That way, you won’t avoid reality for emotional compensation. You’re maintaining this relational field now; we need to break it.”
Back in the car, foggy-headed, Lin Xu moped, glancing at Shu Qingyou—no comfort? She wailed and hugged little white dumpling Shu Rong.
“I’m ruined for life! Rongrong, will you support me when you grow up?”
Shu Rong panicked, her little face paling. So young—could she support big sis?!
“Don’t scare Rongrong. I can support you.”
Shu Qingyou was helpless. Lately, Lin Xu and Shu Rong were like best sisters—sisters who vied for parental favor.
Whatever Shu Rong ate, Lin Xu wanted too—double portions.
Shu Qingyou had searched online: these emotional crises on Lin Xu might stem from subconscious belonging or imbalanced “love-brained” attachment.
Causing triangular conflict.
It baffled Shu Qingyou—where did Lin Xu’s love brain come from? Too absurd.
This was one reason she urgently brought her to the hospital.
“But you’d be busy from dawn to dusk just supporting me—I couldn’t bear it. How about we make couple videos for money?”
“What are you saying? This is my work…”
Shu Qingyou suddenly recalled yesterday’s phone notifications.
“I haven’t asked—what did you buy last night?”
Lin Xu panicked. Shu Qingyou never questioned small spends—under five hundred yuan.
Blame the streamers’ sweet talk; she’d impulse-bought, still thinking it reasonable after.
“Shu-jie, eating soft rice is trendy now—living off an ex’s place with compounding emotions. I’m not that; I’m just a freeloading cat.”
Shu Qingyou sensed something off was about to be revealed. She gripped the wheel, brow furrowing.
“Speak properly. List the items.”
No escaping. Lin Xu confessed, planning to persuade Shu Qingyou anyway.
“Tripod, ring light, microphone, cat ears, tail, JK uniform.”
Shu Qingyou: ???
The first three were understandable; the last required imagination. Scenery blurred past the window into afterimages.
She glanced at Lin Xu from the corner of her eye, knuckles curling slightly, chest heaving before banishing the mental image.
After a while, she squeezed from her throat, “Don’t wear those.”
“Huh?” Lin Xu was puzzled—she hadn’t planned to. Innocently, “Of course not for me. I bought them for you.”
Shu Qingyou: !!!
Her pretty lips twitched; a crack finally split the frost in her eyes.
The imagined figure now starred her, collapsing under the lens—just thinking made her break.
What was she in Lin Xu’s mind? The question lingered unanswered.
Shu Qingyou felt hot inside and out, quietly lowering the AC. “A bit hot.”
Hot? Lin Xu wondered—the car AC was only level one, mild warm air.
But Shu Qingyou did look flushed, neck red. Lin Xu asked guiltily,
“Oh, should I return them? Those.”
“…No need. Just like that. Come with me to A University first.”
