Chapter 37

Learning that Shu Qingyou held her ex-wife in disdain had an effect akin to adrenaline. Lin Xu stayed wide awake all night, her dopamine levels sky-high, brimming with energy.

While heating up the rice balls, Doctor Xu happened to come by for water. Lin Xu didn’t deliberately provoke her and chatted with her for a bit, mentioning among other things that Shu Qingyou was her girlfriend and that she planned to be the child’s mom.

The other woman knew better than to linger and withdrew without much further exchange.

One rice ball wasn’t enough for Lin Xu, so she ordered some late-night snacks and offered some to Shu Qingyou, who politely declined.

The hospital offered foldable accompanying beds for caregivers, but Lin Xu absolutely refused. She insisted that Shu Qingyou straddle her lap and lean against her to sleep.

Such a position was normal for a child, but Shu Qingyou was an adult, several years older than Lin Xu.

Lin Xu pressed her head into the crook of her neck. Shu Qingyou’s softness pressed against her, and her lips brushed the raised bump of the gland. She instinctively drew in a sharp breath and turned her head away.

From her face to her neck, inside and out, Shu Qingyou burned with an unbearable heat, her breaths laced with an amorous sentiment.

“Just for a little while. What if Rongrong wakes up? How do we explain this?”

Compared to kissing, Lin Xu found that this skin-to-skin embrace brought her even more comfort. “Tell her Mommy’s been working really hard. She’s a big girl now and needs to learn to understand you.”

Shu Qingyou couldn’t help but chuckle. “She’s pretty understanding, more so than you.”

Lin Xu pretended to be jealous, furrowing her brows and saying coolly, “The word ‘well-behaved’ is for little brats. I’m Schrödinger’s adult—mature with a touch of childlike innocence. Haven’t you noticed?”

If teaching Shu Rong to play video games counted as childlike innocence, Shu Qingyou let out a soft laugh, her breath trailing inch by inch along Lin Xu’s jawline.

Shu Qingyou felt unusually exhausted that day. She wasn’t inexperienced with such situations before.

Shu Rong had been frail since she was little. In autumn, winter, or during seasonal changes, a slight negligence would lead to nighttime colds and fevers as a routine.

In the past, a quick injection at the clinic sufficed, but this time it was more serious—with blood draws, tests, sampling to identify the infection source, and most critically, checks for pleural effusion or consolidation in the lungs.

The part where Lin Xu pressed tightly against her itched. The itch spread through her limbs, teased by Shu Qingyou’s shallow breaths into a restless torment.

Lin Xu suppressed her pheromones and said in a muffled voice, “Give me a kiss.”

Shu Qingyou suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. Before Lin Xu came back into her life, she had sufficient control over it.

Single motherhood was common nowadays, with plenty of “widowed” parenting styles around.

She really is sick, Shu Qingyou chided herself inwardly. Alphas didn’t need to do much—just a little care and attention, and she couldn’t hold up.

Lin Xu was like a deep-sea virus. Once she got close, she reactivated old symptoms. The nicer way to put it was that; the cruder version was that her IQ dropped to zero, losing her mind for love.

It had already come to this, and with her left and right brain at war, she had no way to fight it. She might as well seize the moment for pleasure.

She hummed in agreement. Her lips parted lightly, brushing against Lin Xu’s from the curve of her neck, drifting like gossamer to Lin Xu’s mouth.

Lin Xu’s back jolted as a tingling electric current surged through her entire body.

“Mm… Qingyou, you’re so sweet.”

Lin Xu took the lead, licking at Shu Qingyou’s lips like a little beast self-medicating. She only took in the tiniest taste, careful not to hurt her.

Her legs went weak from Lin Xu’s kisses, but Shu Qingyou didn’t catch Lin Xu’s floral pheromone scent. She whispered, “Your pheromones aren’t reacting.”

“It’s not like I’m some beast in heat. I don’t want to wear you out,” Lin Xu said. “Maybe the hospital disinfectant clashes with me. Don’t worry—once we’re home, it’ll work just fine. I’ll mark you then.”

Shu Qingyou shot her a coquettish glare. “You’re hopeless.”

Lin Xu said innocently, “No one can fight their own desires forever.”

Shu Qingyou had been busy since morning, her eyes growing hazy, her body limp and soft. She didn’t argue.

Lin Xu held her tighter, patting her back gently like a mother soothing a child. “It’s almost three. Close your eyes for now—I’ll wake you before six.”

After six, the nurses would check on patients room by room.

Not long after she spoke, Lin Xu felt a weight settle into the hollow of her shoulder, a sweet orange scent spreading around her.

Shu Qingyou was so light and thin, with a small frame. Her weight probably didn’t even reach a hundred pounds—no matter how you looked at it, she wasn’t healthy.

This only strengthened Lin Xu’s resolve to improve her cooking skills.

What troubled her was her grandmother’s strong control. Showing up hand-in-hand with Shu Qingyou in front of the old lady would play out like a tragic script of star-crossed lovers torn apart.

She had rashly escaped, just as Gu Huaiyuan had said—self-deceiving. Her grandmother might even be monitoring her right now.

She could only take it one day at a time.

Lin Xu held her phone in one hand, browsing here and there, mainly searching things like “Why hasn’t my three-year-old started talking?” “Nutritious supplements good for all ages,” and “How to prevent pneumonia.”

The topics were too serious, so Lin Xu’s fingers twitched.

“How to give an Omega double pleasure, body and soul…”

Sleep fled entirely as Lin Xu browsed the forums gleefully.

“How many fingers are best?”

“During sex, recite the multiplication table…”

Lin Xu’s pupils gradually contracted unconsciously, her eyes reddening from the all-nighter.

To cover her embarrassment, she set the phone aside and focused on holding Shu Qingyou, their upper bodies pressed fully together as her mind wandered.

Shu Qingyou’s… yeah, they’re really big.

Envious of Shu Rong, she glanced at the little kid on the bed and suddenly locked eyes with her.

Shu Rong woke up groggily, her throat dry and sore. Her mind worked slowly as she recognized Lin Xu’s changed hairstyle, slowly sitting up.

Lin Xu put a finger to her lips in a shush, then pointed at Shu Qingyou.

Shu Rong nodded as if she understood, allying with her, then obediently burrowed back under the covers, peeking out with two bewildered big eyes.

She’d had a fun day, but her tummy hurt, making Mommy cry.

Better not disturb Mommy’s sleep.

Lin Xu could reach the chocolate balls directly. Shu Rong’s gaze shifted from her mom straight to the chocolates, her eyes lighting up.

She rolled over, her little hand snagging a chocolate ball. Lin Xu wasn’t sure if Shu Rong’s stomach could handle snacks, so she typed on her phone.

Only one.

Shu Rong could read. Her little tongue lapped at the chocolate ball over and over, so delicious that her eyes curved happily, and her tummy stopped gurgling.

Out of affection by extension, she found Shu Rong more pleasing. Their eyelashes even looked alike—maybe this was fate.

After finishing the snack, Shu Rong rested again, her little chest rising and falling steadily, with no mishaps. Lin Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

At five-thirty, Lin Xu whispered in Shu Qingyou’s ear, “Wake up?”

Shu Qingyou felt the embrace so warm and secure, filled with a toasty floral scent.

She burrowed deeper, humming softly, her voice trailing off with a nasal whine.

It made Lin Xu’s heart heat up. She was witnessing Shu Qingyou’s first act of coquetry, tinged with a bit of grievance.

She wanted to bundle Shu Qingyou up and tuck her in her pocket.

She really should chug a whole bottle of water to tamp down her rising pheromones.

Lin Xu coaxed her gently, voice husky. “How about ten more minutes?”

Faint footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.

Shu Qingyou suddenly remembered where they were and bolted upright like a startled cat. Before Lin Xu could react, she stood from her lap, said thanks, and dashed into the bathroom in a few steps.

Cold water splashed on her face. Looking at her unnatural expression in the mirror, she inwardly berated herself.

It had been years since she’d slept with Lin Xu.

Back then, Lin Xu always hugged her after falling asleep, like a little furnace warming Shu Qingyou’s perpetually cold feet.

From luxury to frugality was hard. After the breakup, Shu Qingyou suffered insomnia for a long time, eventually getting used to sleeping pills every night.

Lin Xu knocked worriedly. “Rongrong woke up. She’s doing better, fever’s down.”

“Mm, good. Thanks.”

“Open the door.”

Shu Qingyou paused, then turned the handle. As soon as a crack appeared, Lin Xu wedged her leg in.

In the one-square-meter bathroom, she was squeezed by the sink, trapped.

Lin Xu lowered her gaze and kissed her water-dotted face, then rolled up her sleeve and pushed her out.

“I thought you didn’t sleep well. I need to splash my face too—the nurses will be here soon.”

Besides the nurses, Doctor Xu came by for a basic check on Shu Rong. Coolly and professionally, she wrote up the discharge orders: oral antibiotics, no strenuous activity, observe for a week.

After handling discharge, Shu Qingyou asked Lin Xu in the car, “Did you say something to Doctor Xu?”

Lin Xu had Shu Rong on her lap, chatting with her about the passing scenery.

“No, I don’t know her,” Lin Xu lied without drafting. “What are you suspecting me of?”

“Just asking.”

Lin Xu glanced sideways at Shu Qingyou, then quickly looked away. Good, Shu Qingyou didn’t mind.

But Shu Rong raised her hand and patted the window, making it go pat-pat.

Strange—nothing outside but greenery. Lin Xu wrapped Shu Rong’s soft little hand. “What do you see?”

Shu Rong bumped her head against Lin Xu’s chest and nodded emphatically.

“Sister Shu, pull over, please.”

The two followed Shu Rong’s directions and found an oval object hidden in the dense greenery.

If you didn’t look closely, you’d think it was a discarded rag, balled up flat.

Lin Xu raised her phone and approached cautiously alone, recording a video.

The object had two big ears, fur fluttering in the wind, body motionless.

She called out in wonder, “Wow, Sister Shu, it’s an animal!”

Pocketing her phone, she squatted to observe the palm-sized creature. Its fur was matted with mud. Lin Xu looked around, snapped a twig, and poked it.

The creature shifted back, still curled up—clearly sick or injured. Visually, no bleeding.

Shu Rong grew restless, endlessly coquettish with her mom. Shu Qingyou patted her daughter’s head.

“Lin Xu, take it with us.”

Lin Xu complied, tossing the twig and shrugging off her bloodstained suit jacket to swiftly wrap the unknown creature.

As expected, trouble followed. The creature thrashed wildly in her clothes, emitting shrill, piercing shrieks.

It sent chills down their spines.

Lin Xu clamped down hard on the bundle, shouting, “Don’t scream, don’t move! I’m saving you!”