Chapter 86: Jealousy

It was actually Ren Yue.

After not seeing her for many days, Ren Yue looked no different from before.

The moment Su Mi spotted her, she was pleasantly surprised and grinned. “Ren Yue, what a coincidence.”

But Ren Yue’s expression was a bit tense. She grabbed Su Mi’s wrist and pulled her into the safety passage next to the elevator.

There were hardly any people in the dorm building during the afternoon, let alone in the safety passage.

Su Mi looked at Ren Yue in confusion, wondering if she’d used too much white foundation that day.

Her makeup was still exquisite; it was just her face that looked rather pale.

Ren Yue asked, “Why did you lie to me?”

Su Mi: ?

Her thoughts snapped back. Not knowing what Ren Yue was talking about, she let out a puzzled “Hm?”

“Where did I lie?” Su Mi replied.

Ren Yue looked up at her, as if trying to catch every nuance of her reaction. “You said Shen Han likes Xu Nanqiao.”

Then, Ren Yue lifted the wrist she was holding, exposing the back of Su Mi’s hand.

There was a glaring lipstick mark on it.

Ren Yue stared at the lipstick mark, her lips pressing into a tight line. She held it up toward Su Mi. “What about this?”

Su Mi: “…”

So Ren Yue had been at the dorm lobby on the first floor earlier and saw her interaction with Shen Han by the car…

And back at the start of the semester, at the masquerade ball, she’d told Ren Yue that the person Shen Han liked was Xu Nanqiao.

With these two facts now laid bare, embarrassment welled up inside her.

Su Mi scratched the side of her face and coughed lightly. She explained honestly, “I really thought that at the time. I wasn’t trying to deceive you on purpose.”

Ren Yue pursed her lips and pulled a wet wipe from her pocket. She carefully wiped away the lipstick mark.

She wiped with particular seriousness. After cleaning the back of Su Mi’s hand, she flipped the wipe over and cleaned her fingers too.

“…”

Su Mi endured the itchy sensation and watched in bewilderment.

Her heart fluttered uncertainly. She had no idea what Ren Yue meant by this.

She wasn’t entirely sure what Ren Yue wanted, in fact.

Ren Yue’s mother, Madam Zhang, was close with Old Madam Shen and was dead set on introducing Ren Yue to Shen Han so she could marry into the Shen Family.

But did Ren Yue herself want that?

Su Mi wasn’t certain. Sometimes she felt Ren Yue was indifferent toward Shen Han—not like the cannon fodder in the stories she’d read, who schemed to get close and grind favor.

Yet Ren Yue would show outsiders an attitude of closeness to the Shen Corporation and Shen Han.

It gave Su Mi a contradictory impression.

As for Ren Yue’s attitude toward her… Su Mi didn’t know how to describe it.

Deep down, she quite liked being friends with Ren Yue. Ren Yue was beautiful with a sweet voice—the kind of pretty, refined girl Su Mi admired.

So whenever Ren Yue asked her out, Su Mi almost never refused.

But after starting university, aside from occasional run-ins, Ren Yue didn’t seek her out much. The last time she’d asked about Xu Nanqiao, it seemed Ren Yue was even closer to her.

Yet now, despite not seeking her out, here she was wiping her hand… Why?

Su Mi spaced out, her gaze following Ren Yue’s movements as she wiped her hand, until she tossed the wet wipe into the janitorial trash can in the safety passage.

Ren Yue ground her little leather shoe against the floor, walked back, and asked stiffly, “So now you’re together with… Shen Han? Aren’t you a Beta?”

Su Mi gave a dry laugh. “No, why would you think that? It was just an accidental smudge.”

Ren Yue wasn’t sure if she believed her or not. She asked again, “You were carrying a bunch of stuff out earlier. Are you moving out?”

Su Mi: “…Yeah.”

Ren Yue bit her lip, clearly harboring some inexplicable resentment. “You’re going to live together, and you’re still not?”

It was the first time Su Mi had seen Ren Yue show such an expression.

Why did Ren Yue care so much whether she lived with Shen Han or not?

Su Mi was bewildered but instinctively explained, “Really not. I’m moving out because my mental power is unstable. I need to use professional equipment in an off-campus apartment for treatment. You didn’t know, but I’ve already passed out twice before because of my mental power.”

The first sentence was the official explanation; the second was to bolster her credibility.

Ren Yue paused, hesitating. “You…”

She lowered her eyes, lost in thought, then suddenly turned and walked away.

She’d come abruptly and left just as abruptly.

All that remained was the click of the fire door closing, which suddenly triggered the lights on the floors above and below.

Su Mi stared blankly at the fire door, then looked down at her still slightly damp hand.

…Weird.

Su Mi stood there in a daze for a bit, unable to figure it out.

She pushed open the fire door and left, heading first to the bathroom to wash her hands and dry them, scrubbing away the scent of the wet wipe.

Preoccupied, Su Mi took her time coming out. She dawdled over to Shen Han’s car, put her bag in the back seat, and got into the passenger seat.

It was chilly inside the car.

It was already early autumn, and Su Mi had worn a thin jacket to school that day. Who would’ve thought the car would be even colder than outside.

She shivered belatedly and turned to look at Shen Han in the driver’s seat.

Shen Han was looking at her too. She dropped her gaze to Su Mi’s hand and said, “Why’d you wash it off?”

Su Mi felt that bringing up Ren Yue with Shen Han would definitely upset her.

After a moment’s hesitation, she made an excuse. “I passed by the bathroom.”

Shen Han: “How convenient.”

Her tone was icy, and though her upturned eyes held a calm expression, as if she really meant it was just a coincidence, Su Mi instantly sensed something was off with her mood.

She: “…I ran into Ren Yue.”

It was a straightforward, honest attitude.

After all, eighty percent of the time Shen Han was in a bad mood around her, it was because she was… jealous.

Saying those two words was tough. Su Mi thought numbly, how did it end up like this?

No matter how you looked at it, between her and Shen Han in front of an Omega, Shen Han should be the more desirable one.

Yet it was always this Alpha, Shen Han, getting jealous over her and an Omega.

Su Mi glanced at Shen Han, who was looking toward the dorm building from inside the car. The lobby had glass doors; with good eyesight, you could indeed see people coming out of the elevator.

Shen Han must’ve thought she and Ren Yue were getting all chummy somewhere, hence the low pressure.

Su Mi continued, “She was probably nearby earlier and saw you kiss the back of my hand, so she asked what was up. I didn’t tell her the truth. It took some doing to brush her off…”

Shen Han huffed. “She sure is concerned about everything.”

Su Mi took her hand and, struck by inspiration, cooed, “So next time outside, we’ll be more careful, okay?”

Shen Han sat ramrod straight, but as if making no effort to resist, when Su Mi tugged, her upper body shifted along with it.

Then Shen Han turned her face toward her. On that exquisite, aloof visage, her lips were pressed tight. “Last time at the Shen Family Banquet, her mother tried to introduce her to me, and she put on that cutesy voice talking about our childhood.”

Su Mi: “…” Ren Yue’s voice was naturally soft and delicate; maybe she wasn’t really putting it on?

She recalled that Ren Yue had said a few things back then, but Shen Han hadn’t responded to a single one.

Shen Han’s lashes fluttered as she said seriously, “When you’re close with her, remember she’s coveting your girlfriend.”

Su Mi: “…Oh.”

She reached out to touch Shen Han’s hand.

Shen Han didn’t pull away. Instead, she gripped Su Mi’s in return and asked, “You’re not jealous?”

Su Mi said, “I know you ignored her. I was pretty far away, but I saw it.”

Shen Han’s expression softened a bit. She added, “In two months, it’s Old Madam’s birthday. Something like this will happen again. Old Madam will try to introduce someone to me once more.”

Su Mi caught on—Shen Han probably wanted her to feel jealous too.

…

She smacked her lips and whispered, “You’ll turn her down, right?”

Shen Han said coolly, “Of course. I stick to the Alpha code, unlike some people.”

Su Mi blinked.

Shen Han talking like this was kinda cute.

Jealous at every turn, deliberately putting on airs to make her jealous too—it was all about confirming that she liked her back, openly and subtly.

Before, she’d found Shen Han snarky and moody.

Now that she knew Shen Han lacked security and liked her, it all made perfect sense.

She just didn’t know why Shen Han lacked security. Was it because her parents passed away early?

Su Mi recalled the crash course in dating advice she’d crammed that day: when your partner lacks security, respond constantly.

She let go of Shen Han’s hand. Under the other woman’s tangible stare, she activated the car’s strong privacy mode.

Then she braced against the seat, leaned over, and pecked Shen Han on the lips.

The position was awkward for Su Mi—like a puppy stretching its head to nuzzle another pair of lips.

She pulled back in an instant, felt it was good enough, sat back down, buckled her seatbelt, clapped her hands, and said, “Let’s go home. Mama Zhang said she made me pork rib soup!”

Shen Han paused, then turned and narrowed her eyes at Su Mi.

Su Mi looked back innocently.

Shen Han murmured, “You’re brushing me off.”

Su Mi mimicked her by narrowing her eyes too, then tilted her face up with a smile. “This is your reward for being so great.”

Shen Han raised a brow and huffed. “Fine.”

She turned back, started the car.

Su Mi tilted her head to watch her and noticed Shen Han wore a faint smile.

She was pretty easy to coax.

The two quickly dove into a bout of childish puppy love.

Shen Han planned everything in advance—daily surprises, weekend dates, occasional gifts.

Su Mi went from initial hesitation to gradually learning to accept them one by one.

At the end of the month, during the holiday, Shen Han even took her abroad for a few days. They skipped crowded attractions and found a scenic mountain village.

She took her skydiving too—holding her as they leaped from the heights. The roaring wind filled Su Mi’s ears; she felt like she’d brushed death in Shen Han’s arms.

After landing, Su Mi clung tightly to Shen Han, her legs so wobbly she couldn’t recover for an hour.

She really couldn’t understand why Shen Han loved these thrilling outdoor activities.

Shen Han carried her inside like a koala hugging a tree, settled her on her lap, rubbed her hands together, breathed warm air onto her palms until they heated up, then pressed them to Su Mi’s cheek. “That scared you so much?”

Su Mi felt the faint warmth on her face and sniffled. “I’m a total scaredy-cat.”

Shen Han scraped her nose and leaned down to kiss her, coaxing, “You’re clearly very brave. Don’t define yourself like that.”

At first, Su Mi heard such words as unrelated to her.

But Shen Han loved praising her, and Su Mi started taking it to heart more and more.

In a daze, she felt like she was indeed changing amid Shen Han’s day-after-day affirmations of love.

It was like an unreal fairy-tale dream.

Before, she’d thought her romance with Shen Han would mirror their past dynamic—being led along by Shen Han, timid and unlikable.

But in daily life, Su Mi discovered she was the one Shen Han needed.

Shen Han didn’t just give endlessly, leaving Su Mi passively receiving.

She demanded a lot too.

She wanted Su Mi to cook her the plain noodles from before at night, bought craft kits for Su Mi to make as gifts, always craved closeness and intimacy. She had her own petulant demands for love and intense needs.

She loved getting jealous over nothing, was possessive, often needing Su Mi to coax her with initiative kisses.

Once, Su Mi even forgot her goodnight kiss. Shen Han stayed mad and sleepless that night; the next morning, she wasn’t at the breakfast table. Su Mi rushed out for her early class.

That evening, when Su Mi realized something was off and went to coax her, she nearly gave up half her life and a grand slam on Shen Han’s big bed.

Over time, Su Mi realized that while it seemed like Shen Han, as the older, controlling one, was leading their romance at her pace…

She wasn’t entirely passive. On the contrary, Shen Han needed her—she was the real one in charge.

This realization excited Su Mi…

She did like being needed, liked how every bit she gave earned just the right amount of Shen Han’s affection.

Unbeknownst to herself, she slowly learned how to enjoy and give love.

Instead of fleeing or denying it, like when she first noticed Shen Han’s feelings.

As Shen Han said, she felt herself becoming much braver.

She thought about it for the first time, truly wondering if she could have a long, long, stable future with Shen Han.

The only drawback was that during such interactions, the Blackening Value always dropped very slowly.

More than half a month had passed, and it had only dropped 8 points.

Su Mi was not anxious about it. She had now learned Shen Han’s mindset and had become much more at peace with herself, believing that the task would definitely be completed if she just let things take their natural course.

Xu Nanqiao’s part-time job of reading to Shen Han was still ongoing. It no longer caused Shen Han to lose any Blackening Value points, but since Shen Han had not mentioned stopping it, Su Mi did not want to cut off her good friend’s source of income from this gig.

The location had changed to Su Mi and Shen Han’s apartment. Su Mi worried that Xu Nanqiao would see how she and Shen Han interacted and discover their relationship, so she deliberately had Shen Han choose a time when she had class, allowing Xu Nanqiao to come over to read.

At the end of the week’s reading sessions, Shen Han sent Su Mi a message and told Xu Nanqiao that she happened to have some errands to run and dropped her off at school.

With a turn of the steering wheel, she headed to the bottom of the academic building to pick Su Mi up and take her home.

Su Mi pushed her way out of the crowd leaving the academic building and spotted Shen Han’s car at a glance. Her eyes lit up, and she happily walked over and got in.

She had just finished a class quiz. As soon as she sat down in the car, she began chattering nonstop about how the exam had gone.

When she left the classroom earlier, she had compared answers with a familiar classmate and discovered that her approach to the last major question had been wrong.

While checking the answers on her Light Brain, Su Mi muttered to herself about how she could have gotten that knowledge point wrong. She also turned to Shen Han and told her about the weird things the classmate in front of her had been doing during the exam, and how the teaching assistant had caught them, leading to a hilarious scene…

She herself had not fully realized how relaxed and at ease she was now in front of Shen Han.

She was like a little sponge that had slowly absorbed love and swelled up.

And it bubbled back with little bubbles of love.

After Su Mi finished talking about the exam, she noticed that the car was not heading back to the apartment. She asked, “Where are we going?”

Shen Han stopped at a red light at the intersection and turned her head, pursing her lips.

Su Mi understood and leaned over for a smooch. When she tried to return to her seat, Shen Han pinched her earlobe and kissed her for a good while.

When they finally parted, Su Mi let out a breath and grinned at Shen Han. “I just ate some green grape-flavored candy.”

Shen Han licked her lips. “I can taste it.”

Even after kissing many times, Su Mi still found Shen Han’s slow, deliberate lip-licking motion so ambiguous and erotic that it made her heart itch.

Su Mi covered her eyes and said righteously, “Don’t tempt me.”

Shen Han chuckled and answered the earlier question. “A Southern City Cuisine restaurant opened on Multitude Peace Street. I heard it’s really good, so I’m taking you there to try it.”

The two finished their meal at the restaurant. The food was indeed delicious. Su Mi carried a takeout box of little cakes as they left through the main entrance.

On the way back, she received a message from Fu Shixing.

Fu Shixing: 【Picture】

Fu Shixing: You and Shen Han?

The picture showed Su Mi and Shen Han leaving the restaurant together, taken from a corner of the restaurant.

Su Mi: Were you eating here too?

Fu Shixing: Yeah, I’m in Prime City on a business trip for a project. I have to stay here for a while. I was planning to give you a surprise.

Fu Shixing: How do you know Shen Han? On a date? Aren’t you a Beta?

Su Mi was puzzled and tapped back quickly: What’s wrong with being a Beta?

Why did everyone act like a Beta shouldn’t be with Shen Han?