A White Cloud (GL ABO) - Chapter 10

“I don’t like eating cake,” a young girl’s clear, bell-like voice echoed in Tomb Cheng’s ears.

Tomb Cheng paused, pursed her lips, and looked down at the hands wrapped around her waist.

The knuckles were clean, the palms delicate.

She recalled that surgeons’ hands often looked attractive.

“Why?” Tomb Cheng asked her.

Shen Zhiqing pursed her lips, quickly composed her emotions, and pretended not to understand, saying, “What do you mean, why?”

“Why are you doing this?” Tomb Cheng said, her tone flat, as if discussing mundane matters, but Shen Zhiqing could hear the faint anger in her voice.

She was asking why Shen Zhiqing kept seducing her repeatedly.

Feeling the grip on her waist tighten through her clothes, Shen Zhiqing’s voice came, saying, “What about you?”

Tomb Cheng responded, “What?”

Shen Zhiqing licked her lips, slid around Tomb Cheng’s waist into her arms, tilted her head, and saw her reflection in Tomb Cheng’s eyes, asking, “Why did you come back?”

She had many guesses in her heart, but Shen Zhiqing wanted to hear it from Tomb Cheng herself.

Since learning Tomb Cheng would stay, she had waited eagerly, anticipating the doorbell, picturing her standing at the door.

Tomb Cheng didn’t know how to answer.

She lowered her head, meeting Shen Zhiqing’s gaze.

Her eyes, hidden behind glasses, seemed to probe for something.

She was searching for Shen Zhiqing’s intentions.

Shen Zhiqing let her look openly, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Tomb Cheng’s lips lightly, saying, “Can’t you tell me?”

“I retired,” Tomb Cheng said, almost impulsively.

Shen Zhiqing looked at her, asking, “Why?”

The question circled back to the start.

Tomb Cheng didn’t want to dwell on it, saying, “No reason.”

She broke free from Shen Zhiqing’s embrace, walked to the fridge, and rummaged through it.

She took out a box of shrimp and a few eggs to cook, ignoring Shen Zhiqing completely.

The Omega watched her movements, following behind.

She lacked the serious, meticulous demeanor she had at the hospital.

If Su Jue saw her fawning like this, she’d be shocked!

“I said I missed you so much,” Shen Zhiqing said.

Because she missed her, she quietly followed Tomb Cheng from the party.

Because she missed her, she was overjoyed when she learned Tomb Cheng would settle in the city.

Because she missed her, she counted the days until Tomb Cheng moved into the empty apartment.

Her efforts paid off.

When Shen Zhiqing learned Tomb Cheng moved across the hall, she rushed over immediately.

Tomb Cheng cracked eggs into a bowl, stirred them with black chopsticks, and whisked the liquid.

Stationed at the border, supplies were scarce, but locals’ generosity allowed small feasts.

Helping often, she learned to cook simple dishes.

Tomb Cheng glanced at her, then resumed her task.

Seeing Shen Zhiqing standing nearby, watching eagerly, her heart suddenly felt heavy.

She turned away, saying, “Have you eaten?”

Shen Zhiqing shook her head, saying, “No.”

After finishing outpatient and ward duties, she hurried back, with no time for the cafeteria.

“I bought the cake you like,” Shen Zhiqing said softly behind her, twisting the hem of her coat.

“Hmm,” Tomb Cheng replied, rinsing a few shrimp and adding them to the egg mixture for steaming.

“Go sit for a bit. We’ll talk after eating.”

The well-reputed doctor recognized this as Tomb Cheng’s compromise.

She obediently retreated, exploring the apartment.

The layout was similar to her own.

When she decided to move here to avoid trouble, she bought Tomb Cheng’s rented unit too.

By chance, it became Tomb Cheng’s first stop after returning.

She hoped it would be her last.

The apartment retained its original state, with basic renovations and furniture.

Tomb Cheng hadn’t decorated, leaving it as empty as Shen Zhiqing’s.

Shen Zhiqing stepped onto the small balcony off the living room, where two pieces of clothing, clearly not Tomb Cheng’s, hung to dry.

A light pink girl’s dress.

“Come eat,” Tomb Cheng called, carrying two bowls of plain noodle soup from the kitchen.

Shen Zhiqing walked to the small dining table, sat down, and took the chopsticks, saying, “Thank you.”

Tomb Cheng nodded, took the paper bag Shen Zhiqing brought, and placed the small cake in the fridge.

A few drops of soy sauce on the steamed shrimp eggs released a savory aroma.

Tomb Cheng pushed the eggs toward her, saying, “Eat.”

Steam from the noodle soup fogged her glasses.

Tomb Cheng removed them, setting them aside.

Seeing Shen Zhiqing unmoving, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Zhiqing stirred the noodles with her chopsticks.

The bowl held a few greens and a poached egg, lightly seasoned.

The aroma made her stomach rumble.

She bit her chopsticks, shook her head, and silently ate the noodles.

At the table, both were lost in thought.

Tomb Cheng squinted, spooned some egg custard for her, and smiled when their eyes met—a pure smile, free of her military sternness, saying, “Eat.”

After finishing the small bowl of noodles, Shen Zhiqing felt a light sweat.

The apartment had no air conditioning.

The long-vacant unit’s old equipment was removed.

Shen Zhiqing hadn’t bought it to live in, so she didn’t bother fixing it.

Tomb Cheng took two tissues, placed them on the table, and slid them over silently.

In the military, she was used to no air conditioning.

At its hottest, her dorm had only a scavenged fan and breezes from distant mountains, carrying the rustle of leaves.

Sleepless then, she’d join comrades on watchtowers, gazing at boundless expanses and war-torn ruins.

“Don’t you want to go back?” a comrade once asked.

How had she answered?

Xu Yiyi hadn’t entered her life yet, and Tomb Hua was still alive.

Tomb Cheng carried only a wound waiting to heal.

“I’ll stay where I’m needed,” she replied.

After dinner, Tomb Cheng cleared the dishes to the kitchen.

When she returned, Shen Zhiqing was half-reclining on the sofa, eyes half-closed, resting.

Shen Zhiqing’s figure stood out among Omegas, her face stunning.

Tomb Cheng glanced at her, her heart pounding wildly.

She didn’t approach, leaning against the TV cabinet by the wall, and called, “Senior Sister.”

Shen Zhiqing’s lashes fluttered.

She opened her eyes, looking at Tomb Cheng, who had put her glasses back on.

The eyes that once showed love were hidden behind lenses, unreadable.

Shen Zhiqing’s lashes drooped.

She sat up, patting the spot beside her, inviting Tomb Cheng.

Tomb Cheng refused, saying, “No, Senior Sister. Say what you need to say like this.”

They kept their distance, as they had agreed before.

Shen Zhiqing tugged her lips into a strained smile, asking, “Say what?”

“Say why,” Tomb Cheng replied.

Facing Tomb Cheng’s question, Shen Zhiqing’s heart tightened.

She lowered her head, clutching her clothes in silence for a moment, then looked at Tomb Cheng and said, “Will you marry me?”