Chapter 23 Part 2

An apology should be the first step.

When would be a good day?

She would wait until the weekend, until her sister had cooled off a bit, and then go apologize in person.

…

Nightfall quietly descended, and the lights of countless homes on streets and alleys intertwined, illuminating every corner of the city.

Chi Yumo sat in the taxi heading home, happily reminiscing about her moments with Shi Youwan. Every footprint they had left together and every memory was incomparably precious.

Qiao Ke called, speaking even before Chi Yumo could answer. “Xiao Mo, you’re not home?”

“Hm? No, I’m on my way back.” Had Qiao Ke gone to find her again?

“Oh, how much longer? I’m waiting downstairs.”

That morning, as soon as Qiao Ke got up, she had seen the message Zhang Kai sent her at dawn: [Miss Mo arrived at the apartment at nine last night, President Shi left at nine-thirty, looking unwell. The fireworks were approved by President Shi to go off on time.]

Fireworks weren’t allowed casually in the city, and Qiao Ke had handled the permits for the plaza display. Shi Youwan had told her to keep it secret so Chi Yumo wouldn’t know the fireworks were also part of her birthday gift.

But Qiao Ke, who loved gossip and shipping couples, had recently been tortured by the two of them.

Originally, she had planned to wait until the main couple reconciled, then secretly tell Chi Yumo that the half-hour fireworks show on her birthday had been put on by President Shi for her, to help her boss rack up some extra affection points with her little lover.

Unexpectedly, not only had the boss’s romance fallen through, but her own little scheme had too—and it had even stirred up a massive scandal!

With the boss staying aloof, she, the little assistant, was left terrified and had to secretly help coax the little lover on her behalf.

“About twenty minutes,” Chi Yumo said, glancing at the navigation on the central screen ahead. She asked uneasily, “Sister Qiao Ke, did you come tonight because Sis—”

“No.” Qiao Ke cut her off. “It was your birthday yesterday, and I didn’t say happy birthday, so I wanted to come after work today…”

The phone suddenly beeped, and Qiao Ke’s voice cut off.

Chi Yumo brought it close and saw that the battery was dead and it had shut down automatically.

It had started the day before with 75% battery and held out until now—not bad.

She noticed the data port on the driver’s cable matched hers. “Sir, could I borrow this to charge?”

“Sure, here.” The driver cheerfully handed the cable to the back seat passenger.

“Thanks.”

After thanking him, Chi Yumo plugged it in and waited a minute before turning it on.

As soon as the system booted, it vibrated several times in a row. When she opened it, they were all messages from Qiao Ke.

In everyday socializing, she was the passive type. If there was no reason, she absolutely wouldn’t initiate contact with classmates. When classmates reached out, she got straight to the point.

She had nothing to do with lively banter.

Her classmates of four years all knew her personality, and over time, anyone who tried to befriend her gave up without success.

In her WeChat, the longest chat records were with Cheng Xiangxiang and Qiao Ke.

Qiao Ke mostly followed orders.

She would only chat idly after getting to business, rarely contacting her out of the blue to chat about nothing.

Seeing messages in the chat box unrelated to “business,” Chi Yumo couldn’t help but overthink again.

Had Shi Youwan said something to Qiao Ke?

Told her they had “fought”?

Said she no longer needed this lover?

Was Qiao Ke worried she might do something drastic and had found an excuse to comfort her?

Unsure how to reply, she exited the chat with Qiao Ke, but messages kept popping up from the class group she had muted.

In a glance, a message with “Shifeng Group” flashed quickly across the screen.

She tapped in.

[First there was the alliance marriage between Shifeng Group and Shen Group, now Shifeng Group and New Yin Green Energy. Shifeng Group’s ambitions are huge—taking over Jinhuai and expanding nationwide.]

[Do you think Shi Youwan and Yin Man’s wedding will surpass Shen Munian and Shi Youran’s back in the day?]

[Waiting over a decade, best friends to lovers—I don’t even know who has the “better fate.”]

[Tycoon weddings are always century weddings!]

[They just announced an engagement, and you’re already talking about a century wedding that’s not even set in stone?]

The barrage of messages hit like thunderbolts crashing in Chi Yumo’s mind.

Her hand shook uncontrollably, and the gland bulging at the back of her neck acted up too. Just as her pheromones were about to break free, she dropped her phone and frantically pulled out a Strong Suppressant from the plastic bag.

One shot had no effect, so she gave herself two.

The Inhibitor and Inhibitor Patch were from Xu Yuan, for emergencies. She hadn’t expected to need them less than a day later.

After calming down for a few minutes, Chi Yumo picked up her fallen phone and opened the social app to see the exploding hot search: #ShiYouwanYinManBestFriendsToLoversEngagementSoon#

Shi Youwan, Xiao Yi, Yin Man—which one was the next to replace her?

She gave a self-mocking smile, then dialed a number she knew by heart.

The call was picked up just before the ringtone ended.

“Where are you, Sis?”

“Old Mansion.”

“I’m coming to you.”

Chi Yumo hung up hurriedly and immediately shut off the phone, afraid Shi Youwan would say “Don’t come.”

She changed the destination and had the taxi head straight to the Old Mansion.

The car stopped a kilometer away. After getting out, she ran through the night filled with chirping insects and croaking frogs, making her heart pound and her blood boil.

“Miss Mo is here. The young lady is waiting for you in the upstairs bedroom.”

Chen Han had no idea yet of the uproar the news about her young lady had caused online. Hearing Shi Youwan say Xiao Mo would come over, she prepared a hot towel as usual and handed it to Chi Yumo to wipe her hands and face upon entering.

Panting heavily, Chi Yumo took the towel and wiped, her sweat and flushed face masking her dishevelment.

“Why run here yourself? You could’ve called me to pick you up.” She had waited left and right for half an hour without a call from Chi Yumo.

Chi Yumo changed shoes, wiped her face, ruffled her messy hair. “Aunt Han, I’m heading up.”

Each step on the dark solid wood stairs felt as heavy as if she were stepping on her own heart—suspended heavily in midair, unsupported, on the verge of collapse.

The third-floor bedroom door was half-open.

Chi Yumo raised her hand, clenched her fingers tight, then released them.

She pushed lightly and closed it softly.

Shi Youwan sat on the recliner by the window, holding a tablet and looking at something. After Chi Yumo entered, she turned it off and set it on her lap.

“Sis,” Chi Yumo stood at the entrance, no courage to go further, “are you really getting engaged?”

Perhaps the pressure in her palm was too much, making the skin pain briefly override the ache in her heart.

Her voice was unusually calm, flat.

“Yes.” Shi Youwan’s answer was resolute. “And not just engaged.”

Not just engaged…

Not just.

What did that mean? Marriage?

The uncontrollable trembling from the car reignited, afflicting her body, and her voice naturally trembled too.

“Do you have to marry?”

A wave of intense Alpha pheromones surged forth, carrying rare aggression, making Shi Youwan dizzy.

She gripped the armrest, her fine brows furrowed, and scolded with authority, “Xiao Mo, rein in your pheromones, or I’ll have someone throw you out.”

The deeply aggrieved Alpha could no longer suppress her emotions, which hit rock bottom and rebounded.

She strode forward with legs apart, knelt humbly at Shi Youwan’s side, wrapped her arms tightly around her, and burst into tears.

“Shi Youwan, why are you doing this? Why? What did I do wrong? Can’t I change?”

“I won’t be willful anymore, won’t turn on the lights, I’ll listen to you, do whatever you say, take whatever you give, I won’t go against any of your wishes. Can we go back to how we were?”

“Sis, say it—say yes, say yes, okay…?”

She didn’t care about being a stand-in or not—as long as she could stay with Shi Youwan, hug and kiss her, being a stand-in was fine.

Shi Youwan had given her so many signals of “love” that she held out hope for Shi Youwan’s hidden “true heart,” cherishing even a tiny bit like treasure.

So she had never imagined parting ways with Shi Youwan over the hurdle of being a “stand-in lover.”

But marriage was different.

Once married, Shi Youwan would be someone else’s wife, with marital obligations.

Then, permanently marked by her Alpha wife, Shi Youwan could no longer be temporarily marked by her, nor be her Omega.

She and Shi Youwan would have nothing to do with each other.

“Why won’t you say anything?” Chi Yumo looked up, eyes blurry with tears at Shi Youwan. “Sis, just say you want me, okay?”

“I’m healthy, high gene grade—you like my pheromones, don’t you?”

“And that day, at the school gate, that Omega and I are really just classmates. I didn’t get close to her on purpose to make you mad.”

“Sis, I like you, only you. I won’t like anyone else, won’t spend the night with others. Don’t be mad, okay?”

“Sis, you’re all I have. Don’t abandon me. You told me to chase my dreams, and I listened. But I’ve only reached the Provincial Drama Troupe, not the Capital Drama Theater yet, not become the star by the moon… and you’re abandoning me?”

“I know my family background is poor, no money, no power. I can’t help you with anything, not even knowing how I was born. But I, but I…” Chi Yumo sobbed uncontrollably.

“Xiao Mo.” Chi Yumo’s tear-streaked face softened Shi Youwan’s heart.

She leaned down to block those self-deprecating lips, tasting something beyond sweetness on her little Alpha for the first time.

Bitter tears flowed between their lips as Shi Youwan’s hands slid from bottom to top to Chi Yumo’s neck, pecking lightly at her lips.

“What if I said Yin Man and I are just a marriage of convenience, in name only? I won’t have any intimacy beyond friendship with her, and I won’t let her mark me.”

Hearing this, drowning Chi Yumo grasped a lifeline. She struggled to the surface, gasping for air.

The candle of hope flickered and danced in the wind, threatening to go out.

Chi Yumo went wild with joy at this momentary light, propped herself on the armrest, chased Shi Youwan’s lips, and pressed her into the recliner for a deep kiss.

Learning from last night’s lesson, her hands and teeth didn’t dare cross the line.

The non-aggressive coconut scent with morning dew sweetness enveloped the lotus fragrance nurtured in mountain spring water, luring the frenzied Alpha and Omega into a sweet dream together.

“Sis, you like me too, right?”

“Sis, don’t drive me away. Let me stay by your side.”

“Sis, do you want it?”

The Alpha’s lips took enough of the Omega’s saliva, moved past the corner of her mouth, past the earlobe, to the Omega’s vulnerable gland.

Shi Youwan couldn’t help but moan softly.

The tablet on her lap had slid to the floor unnoticed, and the bathrobe belt at her waist hung loose.

How could she not want it?

She tilted her head, gripped Chi Yumo’s small arm tightly. “Mm, Xiao Mo, slow down.”

With permission, Chi Yumo bared her sharp gland teeth but hesitated before marking to ask carefully, “Do you have to ally through marriage?”

Wasn’t Shifeng Group powerful enough?

Did it really need benefits from the smaller New Yin Green Energy?

At the beginning of the month at the Old Mansion, she had clearly overheard Shi Youran tell Shi Youwan that their family wouldn’t interfere excessively in her choice of partner or require her to marry for alliances.

“Yin Man has been my friend for over a decade. She needs this marriage. And it’s nothing but beneficial for Shifeng Group.”

Her canine teeth ground chaotically against the swollen, painful skin, signaling the Alpha’s dissatisfaction with this answer. “But Sister, I don’t want you to become someone else’s wife—not even in name.”

With the final syllable, the canine teeth pierced the skin. Yet Shi Youwan pulled away coldly once more, just like the previous night.