Chapter 68

Ye Chengxing held Li Jia tightly.

She figured she was probably beyond saving too. Even so, the first emotion that hit her was heartache.

But Li Jia surely didn’t want things this way either.

How had it come to this between them?

Or had it all been a superficial facade of bliss from the start, and now she was finally peering into the unhealed rot at its core?

Despite her earlier resolve not to leave, in that moment, a profound realization sank into Ye Chengxing’s heart—

She couldn’t walk away.

No matter what, she could never leave.

How could she possibly leave?

“Keep looking at me. Possess me.” The Omega leaned in again for a kiss, her words tumbling down alongside it. “Will you love me? Please love me. Don’t hate me.”

Ye Chengxing didn’t dodge the kiss this time.

“I love you.”

“Right here, by your side. I’m not going anywhere.”

She knew Li Jia still didn’t quite believe her, but she responded with endless patience, her words seeming to melt into the air around them.

Their heartbeats had blurred into one, impossible to tell whose was whose.

…How could anyone be like this—both so dangerously alluring and so heartbreakingly fragile?

She wasn’t crying, but the corners of her eyes held a faint pink flush like early spring cherry blossoms, and her misty gaze resembled a serene lake shrouded in fog.

With every motion, the pale golden chain rubbed against her skin. She tilted her head back, only to be tugged down once more.

Their gazes met in midair, intertwining, caressing.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

It wasn’t just the glistening trails sliding from her fingertips. Ye Chengxing felt as though the haze in Li Jia’s eyes had turned into an inescapable downpour, drenching her as well.

Yet no sooner had the words left her lips than the Omega’s hips bucked forward with even greater eagerness than before.

“Don’t get distracted…”

She lowered her eyes to meet Ye Chengxing’s, the mist condensing into uncontrollable physiological tears that spilled down her cheeks. Her lips parted and closed repeatedly, her voice slowing to a whisper by the end, her face flushed deep with rapturous abandon.

“And like this… the feeling of being possessed by my sister is so much clearer.”

Her words were fracturing, barely coherent beneath it all, yet they tempted Ye Chengxing to plunge even deeper.

Oolong tea and white peach pheromones mingled freely in the room now, blending into a subtle, intoxicating fragrance that belonged to them alone.

Ye Chengxing’s breath caught.

It really was…

Her other hand clamped onto Li Jia’s waist, yanking her forward.

The sudden pull caught Li Jia off guard. By the time she realized what Ye Chengxing was doing, she nearly collapsed atop her.

It was almost too much stimulation.

But with that grip on her waist, she couldn’t move.

Outside the window, the moonlight gleamed bright, veiled by heavy curtains.

Inside, splashes of water erupted.

Ye Chengxing narrowed her eyes slightly and eased her hold.

She drew back her hand, lifting a fingertip to wipe it before realizing her palm was slick too.

“Your mood’s improved, huh? You soaked me.” She licked a droplet from the corner of her lips and teased her with a bright smile.

Li Jia’s body trembled harder at her words. Ye Chengxing assumed it was from embarrassment, but the next instant, Li Jia murmured in a tone thick with adoration, “I love it.”

The Omega leaned down closer, staring at her without blinking, as if committing this exact image to the depths of her soul. “I’ve imagined you like this for so long. You have no idea—countless times, I’d listen to your voice through the necklace and pleasure myself in this room with toys drenched in your pheromones…”

Ye Chengxing paused mid-breath, then let out a soft chuckle. “Little pervert.”

She tilted her head and nipped at the tip, removing the thoroughly ruined finger cot before unpacking a fresh one.

“Want to go again?” Holding Li Jia close, she rose to her feet. “This time, help me tie my hair back.”

From then on, Ye Chengxing made a point of steering clear of any talk about going out.

She knew even the most innocent phrasing could be twisted into something ominous in Li Jia’s mind.

Li Jia was deeply suspicious and sensitive, veering into the extreme when it came to those subjects. She couldn’t rein in her anxiety at all.

It bordered on panic—the fear that Ye Chengxing would flee her clutches. She clung with desperate ferocity, as if gripping her sole source of light, terrified that the slightest release would make it vanish forever.

Sometimes, Ye Chengxing wondered if the root of it was Li Jia’s awareness of her limited time left, prompting this ceaseless, day-and-night attachment.

The villa lacked for nothing, and with the intelligent robot on hand, they never needed to venture out for supplies anyway.

They lived like any ordinary couple shacking up together.

But the pleasant weather after the big snow didn’t last long.

Fresh flakes began to fall again over the next few days—not heavily, but steadily enough to blanket everything in a thick, fluffy layer.

On a whim, Ye Chengxing dragged Li Jia out to the back garden to build a snowman.

The indoors were toasty as midsummer, so the garden’s chill hit them all the sharper upon stepping out.

Ye Chengxing bundled Li Jia up first, slipping on her gloves and scarf and straightening her coat before getting to work.

“As a kid, I loved heavy snowfalls,” she said while packing snow, the activity stirring old memories. She found herself chatting with Li Jia without realizing it. “I’d build snowmen all day. Mom and Mother would join me sometimes. Once, right after I’d finished one, Mom swooped in like a thief in the night, knocked its head clean off, and bolted while laughing at my dumbfounded face. Mother snatched the head back from her, reattached it for me, and told me not to mind that overgrown child.”

Now that Li Jia knew she wasn’t from this world, Ye Chengxing spoke freely, with far less restraint than before.

Li Jia watched her roll the snow for a moment, then joined in.

She’d seen people building snowmen before but never grasped the point. Why brave the winter cold for that, especially in groups, all grinning like fools?

Perplexed, she’d tried it solo one snowy day. The result was a lopsided mess that barely qualified.

Utterly pointless.

But listening to Ye Chengxing’s fond recollections, Li Jia pictured the scene in her mind’s eye. Vaguely, she sensed the appeal. It wasn’t really about the snowman itself… but somehow, it was.

Ye Chengxing worked fast. Soon enough, the snowman took rudimentary shape.

She embedded black buttons for eyes and stuck a small carrot in for a nose.

Patting the snow from her hands, she beamed. “Cute, right?”

Li Jia’s gaze lingered on her. After a long pause, she nodded. “Cute.”

She held the look for two beats longer, then added, “What were your mom and mother like? Tell me about them. I’m curious.”

She truly was.

In that instant, she realized just how profoundly different she and Ye Chengxing were—not merely in temperament, but on a deeper level.

Ye Chengxing’s eyes crinkled with a smile at the question. “Oh, they’re wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. They’d adore you if they met you.”

She didn’t even notice how her voice softened instantly, brimming with warmth.

But as the words left her, Ye Chengxing realized she’d overstepped. The topic might dredge up Li Jia’s painful past.

Before she could pivot, Li Jia pressed on. “What was the world you came from like?”

It made for a natural segue anyway.

Ye Chengxing considered it and replied, “My world… it was like this one in some ways, different in others. The tech wasn’t as advanced—no Alphas, Betas, or Omegas, no pheromones. Street vendors and restaurants everywhere, and the food? Out of this world delicious.”

Li Jia watched her eyes light up, words pouring out with joy and a touch of longing.

“But the biggest difference? We celebrated New Year.”

“New Year?” Li Jia echoed.

“Yeah… It’s a holiday marking winter’s end and spring’s arrival. Saying goodbye to the old year, hello to the new. Families gather to stay up late, make dumplings, hang spring couplets, share a reunion dinner. Adults give kids lucky money, and everyone exchanges New Year greetings with friends and relatives. Super lively.”

Li Jia blinked slowly at the description.

It wasn’t long, but several terms eluded her.

Before she could ask, Ye Chengxing unpacked them one by one.

“Lucky money symbolizes safety and peace in the coming year for the kids.”

“Staying up late is basically ringing in the new year—spending the last night of the old one awake until dawn breaks on the first day of the new. Folks used to launch fireworks back then; they were gorgeous. Not so much anymore.”

All the while, she tweaked the snowman’s posture and flaws.

“There! Snowman’s done.” She stood back, admiring her work with satisfaction.

As she turned, her eyes locked straight onto Li Jia’s.

The Omega had been watching her the whole time, her expression a tangle of emotions Ye Chengxing couldn’t quite read.

“What’s wrong? Getting bored?” Ye Chengxing realized she’d gotten carried away building. She’d meant to include Li Jia, but here she was, hogging all the fun.

She cleared her throat. “It’s cold out here. Let’s head ba—”

Li Jia shook her head before she could finish. “I’m not cold. Not bored either. I’m happy just being with you, sister. It’s only…”

She bit her lip. “Doesn’t sister want to go back to her own world?”

Back to her own world?

Ye Chengxing froze for a split second, then burst out laughing.

She leaned close to Li Jia, wanting to stroke her hair, but then remembered she was still wearing gloves. She took off one glove and gently ruffled it: “Our Xiao Li in this world.”

Li Jia felt her touch, but deep down, she grew increasingly bewildered and helpless.

Before, she had only thought about keeping Ye Chengxing by her side, because nothing was more terrifying than losing her.

But at this moment, her mind was filled with the affectionate expressions from Ye Chengxing’s memories.

It seemed like she hadn’t considered Ye Chengxing’s feelings at all, only that she couldn’t lose her.

But what did Ye Chengxing think?

Wen Qingxi’s words echoed in her ears again:

“Li Jia, do you know what love is?”

“You don’t know at all. Yes, I did deliberately wear the jammer while staying by her side, but have you ever treated her like a person? Listening in whenever you want, tracking her location whenever you want, disrupting her social interactions whenever you want—she’s a person, not your possession. If you really like her, you should respect her.”

Li Jia suddenly felt a surge of intense panic.

“Sister, do you hate me?”

“Hm?” Ye Chengxing met Li Jia’s gaze, a bit caught off guard by the question, but after spending this time together, she knew how insecure she was inside.

So Ye Chengxing’s gaze softened even more: “How could I hate you? I love you.”

After saying that, Li Jia fell silent, so Ye Chengxing continued on her own: “But calculating the time, it should be almost New Year’s in my world right now… Xiao Li, do you want to ring in the New Year with me?”

She curved her lips, her eyes filled with a gentle, radiant smile.

Li Jia met her gaze and, for a moment, felt like she was already drowning in it.

She thought she should refuse her and let her go home, just as Ye Chengxing had said—New Year’s was a time to go home and reunite with family.

She had no family, only Ye Chengxing, but Ye Chengxing had many family and friends.

But, but…

Just let her be selfish one last time.

After this, she would definitely let her go.

After a long while, Ye Chengxing heard Li Jia respond very softly: “Okay, let’s ring in the New Year together.”

—She really only wanted this last bit of time.