Chapter 37

“So you do like me, right?” Having finally gotten clever, Li Yuanxi took Wei Shu’s hand pleadingly and held it in both of hers. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at Wei Shu, who had her eyes closed and was ignoring her.

After waiting for an answer for a good while and getting nothing, Li Yuanxi started playing with Wei Shu’s fair, delicate fingers, intertwining them with her own, occasionally tracing circles on her palm.

Still not getting a response, Li Yuanxi encouraged herself silently. If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain. Her long lashes fluttered as she recalled the past. “The first time I saw you, I thought, how could there be such an aloof child?”

Wei Shu heard her voice, her eyelids fluttering, but she didn’t open her eyes. She continued listening to Li Yuanxi’s story.

“A tiny thing, but you could coldly talk back to that bully of an older kid, not scared at all. I thought, if he’d tried to hit you, I would have kicked him flying for sure.”

Li Yuanxi turned on her side, her warm breath landing on Wei Shu’s face. Her palm was already pressed against Wei Shu’s.

Wei Shu moved her fingers, interlaced with Li Yuanxi’s. The corners of her lips lifted. Her face was soft and beautiful. “Oh, really? I remember you hiding behind a flower pot back then. You didn’t come out.”

“Hehe, I was just waiting for him to make a move. Who knew he’d just be scared off by your glare?” Li Yuanxi lifted Wei Shu’s hand and placed it under the blanket so she wouldn’t get cold.

“Hmph.” Wei Shu gave a soft snort, neither confirming nor denying her words. Li Yuanxi lay on her side, her gaze resting on Wei Shu’s face. A thousand things she wanted to say surged in her heart.

But she didn’t dare speak. She was afraid of scaring Wei Shu. But if she didn’t say them, she feared it would become a knot in her heart.

Li Yuanxi’s tangled, melancholy look made even Wei Shu’s face feel hot. She had to open her eyes and look at Li Yuanxi, who was full of confusion, a little wronged, and quite humble.

Wei Shu: ………How can your mood as an alpha change so frequently?

“What’s wrong?” Wei Shu reached out and pinched Li Yuanxi’s cheek. Li Yuanxi pouted and rubbed against Wei Shu’s hand.

Li Yuanxi’s eyes dimmed. She thought of her own body, of her pheromone gland, and the unspeakable issues she still couldn’t fully accept.

Li Yuanxi lifted her hand and held Wei Shu’s, rubbing her cheek against it. She asked tentatively, “What if I can never get better? Would you mind?”

“Are you better now?” Wei Shu asked. Li Yuanxi shook her head, looking wronged as she held Wei Shu’s hand and rubbed it against her own face.

Hearing Wei Shu’s answer calmed her down a bit. After thinking for a long time, she heard Wei Shu say, “Before you presented, you already hated alphas who used their pheromones to harass omegas.”

Li Yuanxi was stunned. It was true. Before she presented, she had beaten up quite a few alphas. Those guys didn’t have her family background. They had to be careful when they fought back, but she didn’t.

Several of her school fights were because some newly presented alpha couldn’t control their pheromones and kept trying to get close to omegas. She never let those people get away with it.

She beat up the sons of officials and the grandsons of the wealthy alike. The school turned a blind eye to her, constantly reminding everyone not to do anything illegal.

Small fights between kids were one thing, but legal issues or school bullying were something no school could tolerate.

“Back then, you were already averse to alpha pheromones. We all thought you’d present as a beta. That you eventually became an alpha was a bit unexpected.”

Wei Shu opened her heart and spoke candidly with Li Yuanxi. She wanted to know the real reason Li Yuanxi hated being an alpha so much.

She might never imagine that Li Yuanxi was from Earth, not a native of Blue Star. She had experienced a world of equality, a world where only two sexes existed.

On Blue Star, the biological sexes were divided into six: male/female alpha, male/female omega, male/female beta. Alphas and omegas were attracted to each other through pheromones and could mark each other.

Li Yuanxi could accept all of that. What she couldn’t accept was the heat period. When it came, a person would be swept away by desire. Uncontrollable, overwhelming desire left her feeling helpless.

She didn’t want to be in heat like an animal. Especially after her body had a part replaced, she had an unbreakable knot in her heart. She was afraid of becoming someone who hurt others.

Before her first presentation, Li Yuanxi had a premonition. Under extreme inner resistance, she presented as an alpha. She was only sixteen then.

Besides Wei Shu, who saw her inner turmoil and resistance, she hid it well from everyone else.

When she was eighteen, her pheromone gland matured. Just as she was about to develop her unique pheromone, the gland refused to open.

Later, after a doctor’s examination, she was diagnosed with a problem with her pheromone gland. An alpha without a pheromone, who couldn’t get an erection, was considered useless.

Li Yuanxi was relieved by this result. This way, she wouldn’t have strong possessiveness. Even if she loved Wei Shu, she never actively showed it.

At that time, Wei Shu had a ‘let things be’ attitude towards Li Yuanxi. She was satisfied that Li Yuanxi kept her distance from all omegas and didn’t mess around with the social circle.

Except for a series of events that happened later, Wei Shu had been waiting for Li Yuanxi to make a move. She had never minded any of Li Yuanxi’s physical issues.

To her, love was infinitely more important than sex. As for marking, it was completely optional.

Who knew this annoying woman would run away first? A complete coward. Wei Shu would never admit she had cried and been heartbroken over a coward.

“I heard what you said at the hotel,” Li Yuanxi whispered in Wei Shu’s ear.

“What hotel?” Wei Shu was confused. “When someone asked if you wanted to marry me, and you just stayed silent,” Li Yuanxi said, looking into Wei Shu’s dark pupils, her voice dropping to almost a mumble.

Wei Shu rolled her eyes wordlessly. She pinched Li Yuanxi’s cheek hard, her eyes practically spitting sparks. “Did you stay to hear the end of it?”

“Ah?” Li Yuanxi blinked, looking at Wei Shu uncomprehendingly. She waited for several minutes, but heard nothing. Even though her face was being pinched red, she didn’t pull back. “Was there more?” she asked eagerly.

Wei Shu recalled that day’s party. Yu Liu’s contemptuous laughter still made her narrow her eyes coldly. She knew many people, like Yu Liu, looked down on Chuyi, but no one dared say it to her face.

Even later, after she had dealt with Yu Liu, she still felt unsatisfied.

“If you don’t know, then forget it.” Wei Shu closed her eyes again, not wanting to say more.

Li Yuanxi tugged at Wei Shu’s hand, pouting and begging, “Tell me, tell me.”

Wei Shu remembered the scene. Yu Liu had raised a glass to apologize. She had looked at him coldly and proudly. “Who said I wouldn’t marry her?”

Her sharp, icy gaze made even Yu Liu break out in a cold sweat. Wei Shu’s aura completely suppressed him. After she said it, she got up and left.

The others at the table put down their chopsticks, saying nice things like Wei Shu wouldn’t hold a grudge. But in their hearts, they had already drawn lines and decided not to socialize with Yu Liu anymore.

No matter how much Li Yuanxi begged or acted cute, Wei Shu didn’t tell her about it. She just closed her eyes, ready to sleep.

“I like you. I like you so, so much,” Li Yuanxi suddenly leaned close to Wei Shu’s ear, her lips brushing against it as she confessed.

Her warm breath all poured into Wei Shu’s inner ear, like a feather brushing heavily, tickling all the way to her heart.

“Mm, I know,” Wei Shu said, the corners of her mouth lifting in a very calm response.

“And you?” Li Yuanxi tugged at Wei Shu’s hand, urging her to speak. Wei Shu turned over to face the cave wall and didn’t answer.

Li Yuanxi wouldn’t let it go. Not hearing Wei Shu’s answer, she pressed her whole body against Wei Shu’s back, locking her in her arms. “Tell me, tell me!”

If it was anyone else, that coquettish, drawling voice would have given them goosebumps. But Wei Shu was the exception.

Leaning against Li Yuanxi’s chest was like lying on a warm stove, gentle and lingering, just a little noisy.

The two tussled on the bed. For the first time, Li Yuanxi openly wrapped her arm around Wei Shu’s slender waist. Her little heart started pounding again. The sound was so loud Li Yuanxi was sure Wei Shu must have heard it.

“So, are you my girlfriend now?” Li Yuanxi asked pitifully, her head resting on Wei Shu’s shoulder. She wanted to be officially named. She was Wei Shu’s now.

“It depends on your performance,” Wei Shu said, not giving a definitive answer. But Li Yuanxi felt she had gotten the right answer. Her face lit up as she nuzzled against Wei Shu’s shoulder.

Like a kitten that had eaten catnip, she was so excited she felt like dancing.

“Hahahahaha~~, I have a girlfriend, hahahahahaha~~”

Li Yuanxi grinned, threw her head back, and roared with laughter. Her wild laughter startled Wei Shu. She had to open her eyes again helplessly, feeling Li Yuanxi kicking her legs on the bed in excitement.

“Do you want to get down and dance?” Wei Shu asked, holding her forehead. Li Yuanxi let go of her hand and jumped off the bed, hopping and skipping around the room. “Hahahaha, I have a girlfriend~”

Wei Shu was amazed. She sat up cross-legged on the bed, watching Li Yuanxi bounce around the floor, her face beaming with irrepressible joy, happiness written on her brow.

“La la la la la la la la la~”

“There’s a girl from our village, her hair is black and long~”

“Stop singing. You’re giving me a headache.” Wei Shu rubbed her temple and called Li Yuanxi back to the bed.

Li Yuanxi immediately scrambled back onto the bed and hugged Wei Shu completely. Her tea-brown pupils were full of Wei Shu’s reflection. Her deep gaze, like autumn water, seemed ready to swallow Wei Shu whole.

“Shu Shu, hehe~ Shu Shu~” Li Yuanxi buried her face in Wei Shu’s shoulder and rubbed vigorously, not wanting to stop.

“Mm.” Wei Shu stroked Li Yuanxi’s hair. The short hair felt good under her fingers. She kept smoothing it down until Li Yuanxi finally calmed down.

“The geese and swans have started flying south one after another. We have about thirty-five goose and swan carcasses, and seventeen smoked sea fish. But we’ve run out of taro. It’s all wild vegetables now to help with our fiber intake.”

Wei Shu held Li Yuanxi’s head, massaging her scalp. She counted their supplies. There was still too little.

Li Yuanxi thought for a moment. “We still have half the venison. If we keep eating it, it’ll last another ten days or so. Tomorrow, we should explore the island further, see if there are other edible plants.”

“We’re also running low on salt. I need to prepare more before winter comes,” Li Yuanxi said, thinking of their salt supply, which was down to just a few spoonfuls.

“After tonight’s smoking is done, we can let the meat air-dry. I’ve already cleaned the big iron barrel. Once it’s air-dried, I’ll store it all in the barrel. No need to worry about spoilage.”

Li Yuanxi picked up Wei Shu’s beautiful hand and rubbed it against her own face. She acted like she had a bone disease that could only be cured by being close to Wei Shu.

After they finished planning what to do for the next few days, they were ready to sleep. This time, Li Yuanxi finally openly pulled Wei Shu into her arms.

“What are you doing?” Wei Shu asked, lying on Li Yuanxi’s arm and looking at her. “Hehe, since we’re going to fall asleep anyway… I’ll make the first move and get you into a comfortable position,” Li Yuanxi said shamelessly.

Wei Shu rolled her eyes at her, but didn’t pull away from Li Yuanxi’s arms. Li Yuanxi just held Wei Shu properly, without any small, extraneous movements.

They soon fell asleep. The white mist outside the cave kept rising, never ceasing.