Rumors about Shi Youwan keeping lovers had circulated more than five or ten times—far more often than the gossip claiming she had a child. Every few days, someone stirred up baseless, absurd scandals, but Xiao Yi had grown accustomed to such nonsense.
But Chi Yumo, this little lover, was different.
She had fought with Chi Yumo and was the one who had brought her into Shi Youwan’s world.
When she saw some photos online—photos of Shi Youwan being held in the arms of a bodyguard who sheltered her with an umbrella—alarm bells rang in her head.
She zoomed in on the images, scrutinizing every detail, and realized the figure bore an uncanny resemblance to Chi Yumo, the girl she had fought just recently. She promptly went to the bar where the conflict had started and paid to find out Chi Yumo’s school.
In a fit of impulse, she tracked her down to the school and beat her up. But Shi Youwan insisted Chi Yumo was just a bodyguard and told her to leave Chi Yumo alone.
Back then, she was still underage—a half-grown kid in Shi Youwan’s eyes. But things were different now. She was eighteen, an adult.
The affections she had harbored in the shadows for six years had grown increasingly uncontrollable since Chi Yumo’s appearance.
Unfortunately, she came across the post that propelled Chi Yumo onto the hot search trends.
Though no recent scandals linked to Shi Youwan had surfaced online, Xiao Yi knew Shi Youwan had been on a business trip out of province over the weekend. And there was Chi Yumo, conveniently appearing at an airport in the same province, her face bruised and battered. It sparked all sorts of associations in Xiao Yi’s mind.
Last night, when she called to check on Shi Youwan, she avoided mentioning Chi Yumo or prying into anything she shouldn’t. Yet Shi Youwan saw right through her.
“—It’s not too late to start the procedures for studying abroad.”
“—Aunt Shi, I don’t want to study overseas. You could ask me ten or a hundred times, and I still wouldn’t change my mind.”
“—The teaching style abroad suits you better. Once you’re there, you’ll still have people taking care of your daily needs—Chinese food, Western food, nothing you want will be missing.”
“—Aunt Shi, you’re so eager to ship me off abroad. Do you think I’m a burden, or am I getting in the way of your relationship, your marriage?”
“—Xiao Yi, you’ve grown up. You’re an adult now, and after university, you’ll need to be independent. I’m just paving the way for you, as your mother asked.”
“—All these years, haven’t you ever been kind to me even once just because of who I am?”
“—I’m your elder. Of course it’s natural for me to be good to you.”
“—Aunt Shi, why? Why can Chi Yumo do it, but I can’t? I’m an S-Grade Alpha too. I’ve trained in Sanda for two years—I can protect you now. Let me be your personal bodyguard, okay?”
“—No. Achieving success in your studies is the best way to repay me. If you don’t want to study abroad, then go travel overseas to clear your head.”
Shi Youwan’s coldness, her perfunctory responses, her ruthlessness, her dominance—they piled up like an ancient glacier, chilling Xiao Yi to the bone, draining every bit of warmth from her body.
Six years. She had been the perfect student for six years. Her two most rebellious acts had both involved fighting Chi Yumo.
If one day she was consumed by darkness, Chi Yumo would be the source of that evil.
“Long time no see, Chi Yumo.”
Seeing the person who pushed open the door, Xiao Yi lounged lazily on the sofa, her expression one of smug certainty: I knew you’d come.
“Tell me, what does it feel like to meet me again in this private room of the bar where we first crossed paths?”
That’s right—the bar where Xiao Yi had arranged to meet was the very same one where they had fought and become acquainted.
After that brawl, the manager had bluntly told Chi Yumo she didn’t need to come back.
Returning to the scene of the crime stirred up old memories, and Chi Yumo wasn’t sure whether to thank Xiao Yi or despise her.
If Xiao Yi hadn’t lost her temper and started that fight, how would she have ever had the chance to climb into the world of a noblewoman as refined and elegant as Shi Youwan?
“Nothing special.”
Even with her mask on, Chi Yumo caught the scent of Xiao Yi’s S-Grade Tequila Pheromone.
Xiao Yi was provoking her.
But she stayed calm, refusing to take the bait.
“Have a seat. Drink with me until these bottles are empty, and I’ll tell you what you want to know.” Xiao Yi pointed to the ten bottles of whiskey on the table. “I’m of age now—this is all above board. Surely Miss Chi won’t try to stop me?”
Chi Yumo’s alcohol tolerance was average. That afternoon at the shop, two cans of beer had left her mind fuzzy.
She took a cab home, crashed on the sofa, and slept until she woke up around nine o’clock.
Unable to sleep off the booze? Clearly, it was a sign from above.
So she gave in to her most honest impulses, freshened up, and headed out to keep her appointment with Xiao Yi.
“I don’t drink. You’re free to drink if you want—I won’t stop you. But if you don’t get to the point, I’m leaving.”
She had seen Xiao Yi’s arrogant swagger in front of outsiders and her harmless, docile side in front of Shi Youwan.
Xiao Yi was a wolf, but also a dog.
Her dog-like loyalty showed only to Shi Youwan.
Her wolfish ferocity, without a doubt, would bare its fangs mercilessly at her the moment she provoked it.
“Chi Yumo!”
Xiao Yi shouted, grabbing a glass and hurling it at her. “You’re just a stand-in—what are you so smug about?”
The glass flew past Chi Yumo and shattered against the wall by the doorframe.
Shards of glass scattered, some landing on Chi Yumo, but she had come prepared in long sleeves and pants.
“The truth is, Shi Youwan has been single for years not because she’s emotionless or ignorant of love, but because there’s someone she can’t forget buried deep in her heart.”
Xiao Yi spoke to Chi Yumo’s back. “A lover, a love she keeps hidden away. Don’t you want to see what that person looks like?”
A photo?
Another lover’s photo?
Chi Yumo’s fists clenched tighter in her pockets, her neatly trimmed nails digging into her flesh.
As she turned back around, Xiao Yi lit a cigarette and scoffed, pulling a photo from her handbag and placing it on the table.
The room’s dim yellow light made it hard for Chi Yumo to make out the faces clearly.
But a faint, elegant lotus fragrance seemed to emanate from the photo, drawing her closer step by step.
In the picture, two people sat side by side at a piano, their fingers intertwined in a duet. Both wore simple dresses—one black, one white.
They were captured in profile, heads slightly bowed. Shi Youwan, in the white dress, looked young and innocent, like a teenage girl. The other woman, half a head taller, appeared somewhat more mature.
The woman’s sharp features, her shoulder-length hair, the sleeveless black dress—they all strikingly resembled Xiao Yi’s outfit that day.
“Surprised? Shocked?”
“You’re not wrong. The woman in the black dress is my mother.”
“I bet you’re thinking Shi Youwan looks after me out of friendship with my mom.”
“Use your brain. If they were just ordinary friends, why would Shi Youwan keep it hidden? Why not clarify to the media that I’m the daughter of her late friend when they smeared her with rumors of an illegitimate child? Clearing it up would earn her goodwill and kill two birds with one stone.”
Chi Yumo’s stunned disbelief and shock gave Xiao Yi a rush of satisfaction. She took a deep drag of her cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke toward her.
“And that’s not all. There’s something even crueler.”
With that, she picked up her phone from the table and fiddled with it. “I think the main reason Shi Youwan keeps you around is this.”
“—Xiao Yi, when you hear this recording, Mommy will have already left this world. I’m sorry. Mommy gave you life but couldn’t give you a mother’s love. But you don’t have to be scared anymore, because the person Mommy trusts most will take care of you for her. She’s an extraordinary woman. Mommy believes she can make sure you’re never mocked or bullied by classmates again. So please forgive Mommy for being irresponsible, for being weak and useless. Mommy’s life has been too painful; she’ll go on ahead. From now on, follow Aunt Shi’s words, grow up safe and sound, and live happily.”
The minute-long recording ended, and Chi Yumo’s face turned ashen.
Her hands stayed buried in her pockets, her lips hidden beneath her mask.
Hot, metallic blood welled up in her palms and between her teeth, like boiling magma scorching her from within.
“So, what do you think? Doesn’t it sound just like your voice? Or rather, your voice sounds just like my mother’s.”
Her cigarette burned out, and Xiao Yi lit another.
Clutching the cigarette in one hand and the photo in the other, she stood up and twisted the knife deeper. “Why do you think she chose you?”
“Chi Yumo, wake up. Stop dreaming of flying up to become a phoenix. A pheasant is a pheasant—you can’t chase after something that soars in the sky when you’re meant to run on the ground.”
She smacked the photo against Chi Yumo’s shoulder. “To Shi Youwan, you’re at best a convenient Inhibitor. It’s not you she wants—it’s your voice. You’ll never win her heart or her love because she doesn’t like Alphas at all. She likes Omegas—that’s why she’s over thirty and still unmarried, childless.”
As an outsider, Xiao Yi had no idea about the intimacies between Shi Youwan and Chi Yumo. But her wild guess struck home, piercing Chi Yumo’s heart.
—Xiao Mo, talk to me.
—What does Sister want to hear?
—Anything.
—Is Sister afraid of the dark?
—No.
—Then is Sister… shy?
—Don’t, don’t say that.
No wonder, from the very first time, Shi Youwan always forbade her from turning on the lights during their encounters but loved hearing her whisper sweet nothings.
—Sister, you feel so good, you need me, right?
—Yes, I need you. I want you.
—I feel good too. I need Sister. Sister, can I keep loving you like this forever?
—Xiao Mo, I told you, once you’ve soared high enough, seen enough of the world…
—Sister, stop. I won’t ask anymore. I won’t.
No wonder Shi Youwan wouldn’t let her fall in love—there was no room left in Shi Youwan’s heart for her love.
“Open your eyes wide and look closely.” Xiao Yi held the photo up next to her own face for comparison.
“As an adult, I look more and more like my Omega mother. I’m the perfect replacement. And I’m an S-Grade Alpha too—perfect for producing superior heirs with an S-Grade Omega. In the future, I’ll be Shi Youwan’s Inhibitor and love her properly in place of my mother. Chi Yumo, you imperfect stand-in—it’s time for you to step aside.”
Chi Yumo stumbled out of the bar in a daze and returned to the Old House. She lay down in her grandmother’s old room, clutching the quilt her grandmother had used, resting her head on the pillow her grandmother had slept on, swallowing her sobs and tears.
So, the reason she had so easily breached those locked gates, scaled those high walls, and witnessed the midnight blooming of the pure lotus was simply because she had borrowed someone else’s light.
She had thought it was a fated encounter.
But it was a beautiful mistake, blooming in the fireworks of early spring. A melancholic tale, yet one brimming with allure.
The flower’s one-sided pursuit couldn’t withstand the river’s relentless erosion.
How could she love now? On what grounds?
Pathetically, even basking in a dead woman’s glow, she could only steal moments of pleasure in the dark.
