Chapter 63

“Wah wah wah, so pitiful. This Alpha penguin traveled to the ends of the earth for his wife…”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Bad penguin, stinky penguin. Wasn’t that penguin stupid? The Omega penguin wasn’t coming back—it was gone—and it still foolishly went looking.”

“Aren’t you heartless…”

Lin Xu was drawn in by the conversation between a young couple nearby. The Alpha was sharing a documentary and crying uncontrollably. It went something like this: after the Omega penguin laid an egg, the Alpha took over incubating it.

The Omega went out to hunt and replenish the nutrients lost after giving birth, planning to return later for a shift change. But the Alpha waited months without seeing it return, so it set off in search of its wife.

The flock had already begun migrating, but the Alpha penguin missed its wife deeply and resolutely ventured alone into the icy wilderness.

Lin Xu returned to her seat with the drinks and set down a cup of heated orange juice. “Qingyou, to warm your stomach.”

Shu Qingyou snapped out of her daze. Her eyelashes were still misty with undried tears, and her right hand clutched a soaked tissue tightly.

She didn’t lift her gaze for a long time, keeping her eyes fixed on the table.

“What happened?” Lin Xu saw she wasn’t moving and reached out to brush the hair from Shu Qingyou’s forehead. Her fingers touched dampness, and she asked with concern, “I was only gone a moment, and you’re this upset?”

“No, it’s not…”

Shu Qingyou turned her face away. She choked after just a few words, took a deep breath, and suppressed the urge to keep crying in public.

She barely swallowed the sob back down.

With a dry laugh, she said, “You forgot your phone.”

Who cared about the phone? Lin Xu stuffed it into her pocket. Her wife was inexplicably crying, though she had no idea why.

Lin Xu sternly ordered Shu Rong to sit still and drink her beverage. Her tone was quite fierce, and Shu Rong tensed up, not daring to shift her bottom.

Earlier, Shu Rong had eyed the colorful fish plush in someone else’s hands and wanted her mommy to buy one. She burrowed into her mommy’s arms, but got no response. Feeling wronged, she lifted her head and saw her mommy’s eyes ringed red.

Shu Rong panicked, at a loss. It was all her fault for bothering her mommy.

With things as they were, Shu Rong had no choice but to drink her beverage. She bit the straw, wanting to cry but unable to look at her mommy, guilt filling her little heart.

“Something must have upset you out of the blue.” Lin Xu stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They were slim and still trembling slightly. She pulled Shu Qingyou’s upper body against her own abdomen.

“Lean on me. It won’t feel so bad, right?”

Shu Qingyou’s hands still shook uncontrollably—her old habit acting up again.

How ridiculous. She’d lived in lies for so long, received more than one warning, yet she’d let desire blind her. She’d kept brainwashing herself that Lin Xu’s actions were just an expression of love.

Disgusting. Did she really have to keep pretending?

“Mm.” Shu Qingyou bit her lip and forced out the sound.

Just wait a little longer. Once they got home, she’d take her medicine first…

Lin Xu sensed something was off. She cupped Shu Qingyou’s face in both hands. Tear tracks lingered at the corners of her eyes, and the skin around the little brown mole had been rubbed raw, making her look utterly pitiful.

“What exactly happened? You won’t tell me.” Lin Xu lowered her eyelids, leaned down, and pecked the corner of her eye tenderly. “I hate when you do this—swallowing your broken teeth every day. Tell me, and I’ll help you figure it out.”

“There’s nothing we can’t share between us.”

Lin Xu grumbled on and vented a bunch, though not entirely sincerely.

The speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart. Shu Qingyou couldn’t process the outside noise, blocked by her numb thoughts. Lin Xu’s voice sounded distant, as if coming from thousands of miles away.

But the word “hidden” echoed in Shu Qingyou’s mind. How long had she hidden it from me? From the start, her intentions toward me were obvious. It was my fault. I deserved it.

Lin Xu’s soft lips pressed one after another onto Shu Qingyou’s pale cheeks, heedless of onlookers.

The server arrived with a tray of food and stood awkwardly for a long time. Before it got cold, she spoke softly, “Ms. Lin, your lunch is ready…”

Lin Xu didn’t turn around. She pulled a red bill from her pocket, held it between her fingers, and handed it back coldly. “Just leave it.”

Customers were supposed to pick up their own food—the oceanarium didn’t offer delivery. A colleague had tipped her off earlier that a VIP from the list had arrived here.

The server happily pocketed the tip and kindly comforted them on her way out. “Our exhibit also has sea otters—they’re very healing.”

Lin Xu stroked Shu Qingyou’s face and probed, “Should we head home, or go see the sea otters?”

Shu Qingyou raised her arm and pushed her away. If she could, she didn’t want Lin Xu so close.

“Let’s eat first…”

Iron needs rice, after all. Lin Xu had accompanied the mother and daughter through most of the exhibits—they’d been pressed chest-to-back without exaggeration.

Women just needed a little coaxing—that was Lin Xu’s life motto. For her own Omega, she could muster endless patience.

“Want me to feed you?”

Shu Qingyou shook her head and mechanically picked up the stainless steel spoon, scooping tomato-egg rice into her mouth. The acidity stimulated her taste buds.

She furrowed her brows, fought back the nausea, and barely swallowed the chewed food.

Is it really that bad? Lin Xu hadn’t started eating yet, watching Shu Qingyou closely. “If it’s not good, don’t eat it. Toss it—I’ll get you a new one!”

“How dare they serve something this awful!”

Lin Xu angrily gripped Shu Qingyou’s wrist, stopping her from eating more.

“No need, I can manage.” Shu Qingyou paused, then offered a lame excuse. “I was reminded of my grandma—got a bit emotional.”

What kind of nonsense was that? Seeing animals made her think of her grandma? Was her grandma an animal turned human? Lin Xu pressed, “Did your grandma bring you here before?”

Shu Qingyou pursed her lips and nodded.

“You should’ve said so earlier. You had me worried sick.” Lin Xu’s suspended heart finally settled. She scooped up a spoonful of chicken thigh rice and dug in. “So, shall we still go see the sea otters later?”

“Sure.”

Meanwhile, Shu Rong was still immersed in sadness, a huge pot of blame weighing on her tiny body, making it hard to breathe.

While Lin Xu focused on filling her stomach, she felt something wet on her arm. She looked down.

She nearly groaned in despair—the little one was crying again.

Her quiet lunch turned into total chaos.

Wife cries, then daughter takes over. Wow, her life was full of promise.

After lunch, Lin Xu kept reminding Shu Qingyou to go home and rest if she felt unwell, not to push herself. But Shu Qingyou seemed to defy her, insisting on seeing the sea otters.

Lin Xu indulged her. To cheer up her Omega, she brought up the Alpha penguin’s search for its wife, gradually recounting the documentary to Shu Qingyou.

Halfway to the Sea Otter Pavilion, Shu Qingyou stopped, head lowered in thought. Lin Xu held her hand firmly, nearly sweating from the heat.

She asked softly, “What do you think?”

“The penguins?” Lin Xu pondered briefly, then scoffed. “I think the Alpha penguin was too stubborn. There are so many Omegas in the world—plenty more to find.”

“For the Alphas I know, girlfriends come one after another. As long as the heart’s still pumping, emotions can shift and replicate.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Validated, Lin Xu perked up. The Sea Otter Pavilion was one of the oceanarium’s highlights. Two sister sea otters playfully frolicked in the water nonstop.

Shu Rong didn’t dare look at her mommy and hung glumly on Lin Xu, half happy, half sad as she watched the sea otters surface and crack shells.

Sea otters also liked rubbing their faces to clean wet fur, which looked like adorable antics to humans.

“They’re pretty cute and healing,” Lin Xu said. “Qingyou, do you like them?”

She really wanted to ask if her mood had improved. For some reason, Lin Xu wanted to give Shu Qingyou all sorts of expensive rarities—as long as Shu Qingyou liked them.

Buying what she liked would lift her spirits, right? Money made the world go round.

“They’re very cute…” Shu Qingyou stood before the massive glass. The light outside was dimmer, casting a half-shadowed, cool profile on her face.

“It’s not about liking or not,” Shu Qingyou said. “No matter how much you like it, it might just be a false illusion from surging hormones.”

Since it was an illusion, the bubble would burst under the sun eventually.

In the car, Lin Xu mulled over Shu Qingyou’s words repeatedly. Her simple “like” became “fake” in Shu Qingyou’s mouth.

If “like” was divided into true and false by hormones, what did that have to do with them? Was Shu Qingyou saying their feelings were propped up by hormones?

Absurd. Lin Xu hesitated, wondering if she should ask a friend.

She opened the chat and saw a string of read messages from Gu Huaiyuan—no unread dots…

Her vision went black. She was about to curse Gu Huaiyuan for meddling when she paused, suddenly remembering.

【You forgot your phone.】

The words hit like thunder from the sky, slamming into her ears. Her heartbeat slowed half a beat, time stretching infinitely.

So long that Lin Xu forgot to breathe. Her scalp prickled, pupils contracted, lips parted, and her spine stiffened painfully.

It all made sense now—why Shu Qingyou had cried and subtly avoided her affection.

Lin Xu’s mind replayed the damning messages.

She saw them. She knows. It was all me. I destroyed her family.

No, I’m not the main culprit.

She’ll listen to my explanation… There’s still a chance to salvage it.

Lin Xu quietly turned her face, planning to test the waters first.

But Shu Qingyou stared straight at her, expressionless. Every move reflected in those cold eyes, like unchanging Antarctic ice.

Lin Xu was that penguin, frozen in minus-fifty-degree depths.

Damn it…

She hesitated, then forced out, “Qingyou… let’s go home and rest first, okay? You’re tired.”

Still lying. Lies. Shu Qingyou mocked herself with a lip curl and lowered her gaze. “I’m very tired.”

Back in familiar territory, Lin Xu hurriedly tried to shoo Shu Rong away. But Shu Rong wouldn’t listen and finally broke down, hugging her mommy’s leg.

Shu Qingyou froze, looking down. Her tiny daughter, eyes blurry with tears, fluffy hair—personality like hers, but brows and eyes like Lin Xu’s.

What had her daughter done wrong? It was her choice to give birth—a one-sided product.

She bent down, hugged her daughter, her heart aching like it was being carved out.

“Rongrong, it’s okay. Mommy’s fine. Go play nicely.”

“Mommy’s a bit tired. Mom will take good care of you. Be good…”

Without checking if Shu Rong was truly okay, she steeled herself and shoved her into Lin Xu’s arms.