Chapter 2: Her Lover, the Deceiver Part 1

Grandma Zhen actually wanted to go to Jia Hua’s house for dinner; after all, they were all neighbors. But it was precisely because of these neighbors that her granddaughter Zhen Yan would resist so strongly.

In the past, whenever Zhen Yan walked alone, neighbors would tease her, “Why isn’t your wife walking with you?”

Now that Zhen Yan was older, it happened less, but it still occurred. Zhen Yan was never too happy about it.

As the sky darkened, it was finally Grandma Zhen who spoke up, saying that since it was Jia Hua’s mother’s birthday, they had to go join the fun no matter what. Zhen Yan could only silently agree. The three of them stopped skewering and headed to Jia Hua’s house.

Jia Hua supported Grandma Zhen towards her own home. Zhen Yan closed the shop door properly, shoved her hands in her pockets, and followed with her head down.

As soon as they arrived at the Jia family’s doorstep, they could hear various voices chatting inside through the security door.

Just as Zhen Yan had said, Jia Hua’s house didn’t lack liveliness.

Jia Hua had just taken her keys out of her backpack and was about to open the door when she heard Zhen Yan’s voice from behind: “Grandma, you go eat by yourself, I won’t go.”

Grandma Zhen quietly tried to persuade her: “Yanyan, please go. Your Auntie Hui specifically invited both of us, old and young. How can you not go?”

Zhen Yan was utterly unwilling: “Then I’ll come tomorrow instead, there are so many people today…”

Hearing the whispers in her ear, Jia Hua directly unlocked the door quickly, then spun around and grabbed Zhen Yan’s arm, forcefully pulling her into the house.

Caught off guard, Zhen Yan was yanked in, stunned for a second, and when she came to her senses, she wanted to run, but she had already been spotted by the people inside, who loudly teased: “Sister Jia, your daughter brought the son-in-law home to celebrate your birthday too! Come out and see!”

The hearty laughter of Jia Hua’s mother, Jia Hui, immediately came from the kitchen: “Hahaha, did Yanyan come?”

Daughter Jia Hua, “son-in-law” Zhen Yan, both were rooted to the spot in extreme awkwardness.

These adults and their gossipy mouths, really.

Jia Hua slowly turned her head to look at Zhen Yan, her throat moved, wanting to say something, but in the end, she just silently reached out and closed the door, leaning her back against it to prevent Zhen Yan from running.

Jia Hua: “Adults love to joke around, don’t take it to heart.”

Zhen Yan: “…”

Grandma Zhen beside them was all smiles. She took the lead into the living room. When the neighbors saw her, they made a center seat for her on the sofa.

The kitchen door opened. Jia Hua’s Omega Mommy, Song Qiaoyi, came out carrying a large bowl of steamed pork belly with preserved mustard greens. Seeing Jia Hua and Zhen Yan standing at the entrance, she waved with a smile: “Yanyan is here! Huahua, take Yanyan to your room to hang out. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Hearing this, Jia Hua turned and looked at the expressionless Zhen Yan, asking with a slight smile: “Would you like to wait in the living room for dinner, or wait in my room?”

Zhen Yan glanced towards the kitchen. “Both Aunties are so busy, and you’re not going to help out?”

Jia Hua was startled. Help out?

Before she could say anything, she saw Zhen Yan glance at her, then stride towards the kitchen, push the door open, and walk inside.

Seeing Zhen Yan walk into the kitchen, Jia Hua also followed, but just as she pushed the door open, Jia Hui inside pushed her back out: “You don’t know how to cook anyway, don’t get in the way. It’s enough that Yanyan comes to help.”

Jia Hua: “I can cook.”

“Bang—” The kitchen door was shut. Clearly, the one who closed it, Jia Hui, didn’t believe her.

It was only then that Jia Hua belatedly remembered: the original owner couldn’t cook, only eat.

Through the glass window, Jia Hua saw Zhen Yan in the kitchen smiling briefly, exchanging simple greetings with Jia Hua’s mothers before expertly helping wash and chop vegetables, coordinating seamlessly with Jia Hui and Song Qiaoyi inside.

Jia Hua: …Although the kid always has a cold face, she still takes the initiative to help cook when visiting someone’s house for dinner. Not bad.

Jia Hua quite liked people who knew their place. Zhen Yan’s behavior scored points in Jia Hua’s book.

Jia Hua glanced at the kitchen, then at the lively atmosphere in the living room, and finally chose to carry her backpack to her room.

The neighborhood gossips talked too much. Of all stratagems, retreat is best.

As soon as she walked into the room, Jia Hua looked at the not-very-large space, and a sudden sadness welled up from within. Her immense fortune, her peerlessly beautiful face, her life as a rich woman—had they truly abandoned her?

So upset she became sleepy. She closed her eyes. The only arguably good thing before she drifted off was that she no longer had to suffer under the system’s control and oppression. She was free.

At least she was free…

“Knock knock”

At some point, a knock sounded on the door. Jia Hua groggily woke from her bed, got up, and opened it.

“Dinner’s ready.” Zhen Yan stood outside, saw that Jia Hua had just woken up, glanced at her faintly, then turned and left.

Jia Hua: “…”

Jia Hua walked to the dining table and found the large round table crammed with many neighborhood folks, chatting and laughing boisterously. Jia Hui spotted Jia Hua and immediately told her to sit next to her. When Jia Hua went over, she noticed Zhen Yan in the kitchen, scooping rice for everyone.

This Zhen Yan was truly diligent.

Zhen Yan came out carrying the last two bowls of rice. There was only one empty seat left, next to Jia Hua. Everyone looked at her, so she had no choice but to sit next to Jia Hua, handing one of the bowls to her.

Seeing this, the neighbors teased: “Look how attentive Xiao Yan is. Such an obedient and sensible Alpha is rare to see. And I heard she’s always the top student in her grade, too excellent! And Xiao Hua is also pretty. These two kids have been together for so long, shouldn’t your two families officially confirm this matter soon?”

Grandma Zhen and Jia Hui, as well as Song Qiaoyi, all beamed nearby.

Jia Hui laughed heartily: “Hahaha, our family has had our eyes on Yanyan as our son-in-law for a long time. They grew up together from childhood and know each other’s backgrounds well. Being together would be for the best.”

Grandma Zhen kindly said, “As long as Yanyan likes her, I like too.”

Jia Hua silently ate her rice, too afraid to speak, because she saw Zhen Yan’s hand, the one not holding chopsticks, placed on her lap and clenched tightly.

Jia Hua laughed awkwardly: “It’s not like that. Zhen Yan and I are just sisters. Don’t overthink it.”

Zhen Yan was stunned by these words and turned her head to look at Jia Hua sitting beside her.

What is she saying?

A neighbor laughed: “Tsk, you two are quarreling again? Hahaha, never mind, small quarrels and fusses make feelings deeper!”

Jia Hua: “…”

After dinner, everyone chatted casually for a while before dispersing.

Jia Hua returned to her room and sent a text message to Zhen Yan: 【Don’t take the adults’ words to heart. They were all joking.】

After a moment, Zhen Yan, who had seen the message, replied with a single word: 【Okay.】

At the barbecue stall, Zhen Yan’s brows were slightly furrowed.

Why was Jia Hua so strange today? In the past, whenever she heard these elders deliberately teasing, Jia Hua would even eagerly accept it. Today, not only did she explain, but she also sent a message telling her not to take it seriously?

Strange… but if Jia Hua could have this change, Zhen Yan was more than happy. Striking while the iron was hot, she sent another message: 【Can we go to and from school separately from now on?】

Whenever this was brought up before, Jia Hua would send a barrage of messages, sternly refusing, crying and making a fuss, but tonight, Jia Hua was very calm, only sending her a two-word message.

【We can.】

–

The first rays of dawn were faint; weak light filtered through the not-quite-closed window, illuminating the small bedroom.

The girl on the large pink bed’s eyelids trembled, and suddenly the corner of her mouth slightly curled up. She murmured softly, “A night without dreams, how wonderful.”

She flipped over and got out of bed, starting to wash up. Today, as a student, Jia Hua needed to go to school.

Jia Hui, having had her birthday the day before, had been granted consecutive days off by the company. Meanwhile, Song Qiaoyi had work at eight and usually slept until seven-thirty before getting up.

When seven o’clock came, Jia Hui climbed out of bed, planning to wake her daughter, only to be astonished to find the bed neatly made and the room very clean, not cluttered like usual.

Jia Hui instantly woke fully, incredulous. She rubbed her eyes; the bed indeed had no trace of Jia Hua. Excitedly, Jia Hui ran back to the master bedroom and flopped onto the bed, shaking her wife awake.

“Darling, darling, our precious daughter actually got up early to go to school on her own!” Jia Hui said excitedly.

Eyes tightly shut, Song Qiaoyi gritted her teeth and slapped Jia Hui in the face. “Stop dreaming. Don’t you know how lazy your daughter is? Piss off right now! If you disturb my sleep any more, I’ll kill you!” Saying this, she pulled the covers over her head and went back to sleep.

But how could Jia Hui still sleep? When a child was about to study diligently, parents were the happiest of all.

And the daughter she was thinking of so fondly was, at this moment, already sitting in the completely empty classroom, flipping through books.

In her previous missions, there had never been an ABO world with six types of people. Her understanding of this world came entirely from the original owner’s memories, but those memories were too shallow. She planned to get a deeper understanding of this world from books and also learn about this world’s college entrance exams.