Adult Alphas averaged one or two Susceptible Periods a year normally, and the pain wasn’t lighter than an Omega’s Heat Period—worse for S+ Grade Alphas.
And this was Xiao Mo’s second one this year.
It would only be harder than the first.
Yet she’d abandoned her when Xiao Mo needed her most, even injecting an Inhibitor in front of her the next day.
“Xiao Mo must have been in bad shape when she came to you, right?” Shi Youwan lowered her gaze.
She wanted to hear the doctor’s diagnosis of Xiao Mo, to punish herself with it. The physical and emotional pain she’d made Xiao Mo endure—she deserved to bear the same.
That would be fair.
Hearing Shi Youwan’s loaded question, Xu Yuan answered honestly. “About like you now. But she toughed it out better than you—joked with me, even flaunted your relationship, saying—’Sis will help me.'”
Because of that, she hadn’t said anything to Shi Youwan. Besides the Susceptible Period, Chi Yumo had no other issues.
Wait.
Could Chi Yumo not have been joking?
Did Chi Yumo know back then that Shi Youwan was going to get engaged to Yin Man? Had she been abandoned by Shi Youwan?
“What else did Xiao Mo tell you?” Shi Youwan wanted to know what kind of mood Xiao Mo had been in when she said, “Big Sis will help me,” after being left behind by her.
“Are you sure you want to hear it?” Even someone as slow on the uptake as Xu Yuan could guess that something had gone wrong between the two of them—and it was something big.
If the engagement trending topic wasn’t just hype, then this little lover, Chi Yumo, was probably useless now, right?
Xu Yuan had originally thought it was fake news, a smokescreen, the paparazzi’s usual trick to drum up attention. But this time, it turned out to be real?
Shi Youwan nodded. “Please tell me, Doctor Xu.”
“She asked me if I could treat psychological illnesses and whether a flower that had grown on her heart could be cut out.”
Xu Yuan regretted it deeply too. She regretted stabbing Chi Yumo in the heart and apologized to Shi Youwan. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know your situation at the time. I just thought she was joking and even teased her to go register at the psych department.”
A flower on the heart? A lotus flower, probably.
Xiao Mo wanted to cut her out from her heart, so she chose to leave without a word.
Xiao Mo, I’m no longer in your heart, am I?
Shi Youwan’s face went from pale to ashen. “Doctor Xu, it’s not your fault. It’s mine…”
“If I’d understood her hint back then, I should’ve drawn more of her gland fluid that day, diluted it to make some comfort agent. It could’ve helped you get through a few months of transition.”
Xu Yuan sighed at how things had changed. “But that said, since you already have an Alpha fiancée, your heat period could totally…”
The words “be handled by her” died in her throat under Shi Youwan’s icy glare.
“I have no fiancée.”
Xu Yuan was silenced by Shi Youwan for the first time, struck dumb. Fair enough—they weren’t engaged yet. What kind of fiancée was that? Her own slip of the tongue.
After a short pause, Xu Yuan continued, “When I drew her gland fluid, she asked if one vial was enough. I thought she was joking then too. Looking back now, she probably guessed a year ago that I wasn’t just drawing it every month for medical research. She must’ve thought it was for making comfort agent for you.”
It was normal for adult Alphas and Omegas to use artificial comfort agents, but using ones made from someone else’s gland fluid was pretty shameful.
“She was suffering so much herself, yet she was still thinking of me.” Shi Youwan gave a miserable smile.
But the arrow had already been shot; what was done was done. Right now, she just wanted to know if Xiao Mo was safe.
As long as Xiao Mo was safe, anything was fine.
“Doctor Xu.”
“I’ll get you the strong suppressant right now. I gave her some that day too…”
But Shi Youwan shook her head and pressed down on the back of Xu Yuan’s hand. “No rush. Help me finish another checkup first.”
…
After days of torrential rain and showers, Yinzhou City finally cleared up.
The endless expanse of deep blue sky was flawless. Sunlight poured down on the world, bringing endless warmth to the earth, and all things bathed in it burst with new life.
At seven in the evening, Shi Youwan finished work and walked out of the president’s office.
Qiao Ke followed silently behind her, as unobtrusive as air.
Before clocking out, she had changed into comfortable shoes. Anyway, President Shi always did the same these past few days before leaving.
In the elevator, Shi Youwan asked, “Still no one?”
“No one at the old house or the drama troupe. Kai Ge asked the neighbors on her floor—they all said they hadn’t seen Miss Mo come or go for days. The drama troupe side said they haven’t received any explanation from her about not showing up on time. If there’s no word by today, they won’t rehire her ever again.”
Aunt Han hadn’t found her that day either. From then on, Shi Youwan had Zhang Kai check the old house every day. Four days in a row, and nothing.
After coming back from the hospital, Shi Youwan had rested at home for an extra day.
—”President Shi, I’m sorry. I have to admit my mistake too. Before the graduation performance, Miss Mo was sick for a few days. She said it was just a cold. I visited her, saw her taking her medicine properly, and her complexion wasn’t too bad, so I didn’t pay extra attention or report it to you. I didn’t know it was her susceptible period. If I had, I definitely wouldn’t have kept it from you. It was my oversight, my negligence.”
On the way back to the old mansion, Qiao Ke apologized to her too, mentioning something she had overlooked.
But the one at fault wasn’t Qiao Ke, nor Xu Yuan—it was her. Those days, she had deliberately avoided contacting Xiao Mo and ignored anything related to her. She thought that by not looking, not asking, not thinking, she could get through it unscathed.
It was she who had hurt Xiao Mo again and again.
July 6th was the day Chi Yumo was supposed to report to the Provincial Drama Troupe.
Shi Youwan had Qiao Ke go to the troupe to scout. When Chi Yumo didn’t show, she went to Cheng Xiangxiang as the landlord to inquire about her whereabouts.
—”I can’t reach Yumo either. Did she owe rent? How much? I can pay it for her.”
—”No, just wondering if she needs to renew the lease.”
—”I saw you backstage at the graduation performance. You brought flowers for Yumo. You’re not the landlord, are you? You’re that Omega big sis who’s been helping and looking after her these two years?”
Qiao Ke froze and didn’t deny it right away.
—”To be honest, I like Yumo. I’ve confessed to her twice, and both times she rejected me. I know the one she likes is that big sis she mentions with a smile tugging at her lips. If you’re that big sis, and if you don’t like her, please don’t look for her anymore. What if she’s hiding just to avoid you?”
Qiao Ke relayed Cheng Xiangxiang’s words to Shi Youwan word for word.
It wasn’t impossible.
But what Shi Youwan least wanted—and most feared—to see was Xiao Mo giving up the dream right within reach just to avoid her.
As for love, as for partners—whether Cheng Xiangxiang or some new person she didn’t know—they all should come after her dreams.
For days, she had people search for Xiao Mo very discreetly, afraid of startling her.
The notice for completing onboarding procedures was from the 6th to 8th. Today was the deadline, meaning that starting tomorrow, Xiao Mo, who had given up reporting, would forever lose her chance to join the Jinhuai Provincial Drama Troupe.
Xiao Mo, didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t let anyone else shake or sway your dreams?
In the garage, Shi Youwan headed straight for the trash can.
She hadn’t eaten dinner yet; there was nothing to throw up.
These past few days, her psychological and physical discomfort had reached unprecedented levels. But in front of others, no matter how bad she felt, she had to hold it together and pretend nothing was wrong.
Too many people at the company were waiting to see her, too many decisions needed her input. She couldn’t collapse, couldn’t slack off, couldn’t neglect work for personal matters.
“President Shi.” Qiao Ke caught up, raising her hand but letting it drop before touching her.
Seeing the situation, Zhang Kai grabbed a bottle of water from the car, handed it to Qiao Ke, and signaled her to give it to President Shi.
Qiao Ke unscrewed the cap. “President Shi, have some water.”
“Thanks.”
Seeing Shi Youwan tormenting herself to the point of looking inhuman, Qiao Ke took the half-finished bottle and said, “President Shi, you might’ve forgotten—you have the key to the old house. Miss Mo gave it to you on your birthday last year.”
Shi Youwan muttered to herself, “Do I?” She stood by the trash can, racking her brain to remember.
The office building had strict garbage sorting, and the cafeteria had its own food waste station and transport chute, so the bin nearby didn’t stink.
But the president standing dazed by a trash can was a bit undignified.
“It should be. President Shi, let’s get in the car first. You can think about it there.”
Qiao Ke supported Shi Youwan’s arm and led her to the car like a child.
Shi Youwan’s birthday was in winter.
December 26th, the day after Christmas.
Last year, her 35th birthday, Shi Youran had thrown her a small dinner party. She didn’t get back to the old mansion until after ten at night.
Afraid Shi Youran would insist on going back too, Shi Youwan hadn’t had Chi Yumo wait there that day. Instead, after returning, she sent Zhang Kai to pick her up.
Shi Youran and the others had plied her with drinks; she was about seventy percent drunk.
Qiao Ke, worried Aunt Han couldn’t handle it, waited in the living room until Chi Yumo arrived. Seeing the Christmas tree keychain in Chi Yumo’s hand with a key attached, she teased her.
—”Miss Mo, is this your birthday gift for President Shi? The key to your heart? Or the key to hers?”
—”It’s the key to my home. It’s also all of me.”
But Qiao Ke hadn’t seen what happened next with her own eyes, so she wasn’t a hundred percent sure Chi Yumo had given the key to President Shi.
“Qiao Ke, how did you know? Did she tell you?”
After some recollection, Shi Youwan had a vague memory.
That night, she waited for Xiao Mo on the first-floor sofa. When Xiao Mo arrived, she pulled her into her arms and nestled in.
Chi Yumo kissed her brows and eyes, stuffing a small item into her hand. “Big Sis, happy birthday.”
