A White Cloud (GL ABO) - Chapter 12

The rain of early spring came quickly and left quickly.

Dripping raindrops fell on the grass and branches, moistening the entire soil, and the neighborhood outside regained its prosperity.

The house, though old, had a good location near the hospital, so Shen Zhiqing moved from home to live here alone.

The room was so quiet that the sound of raindrops crawling on the window glass could be heard clearly.

Tomb Cheng lay flat on the bed with her eyes closed.

Shen Zhiqing rested on her chest, tracing her face with her fingertips.

Warm breath fell on Tomb Cheng’s chest, sinking into her skin with the rise and fall of her breathing.

Both wore complete clothes and had clean appearances.

Shen Zhiqing’s hand traced Tomb Cheng’s eyebrows and eyes, feeling an uneven spot on her brow bone.

A closer look revealed a faded scar hidden there.

“How did you get this injury?”

Shen Zhiqing looked lovingly at the closed-eyed person and asked.

It was a long time ago, and Tomb Cheng could barely remember.

She thought for half a second before answering, “A girl who was almost assaulted.”

At that time, the situation was urgent.

The criminal’s hand had already reached for the girl’s neck.

Though he was later subdued, the world collapsed for the girl.

Tomb Cheng was the only female Alpha present.

While approaching, she was accidentally cut by broken glass in the girl’s hand.

The wound was small and had long since scabbed over.

After hearing her description, Shen Zhiqing touched other scars on her body, asking about each one.

Tomb Cheng answered patiently, thinking that since the rain outside kept her awake, chatting was fine.

When her fingertips touched the deep, long, and gruesome knife scar on the outer side of Tomb Cheng’s lower abdomen, Shen Zhiqing couldn’t ask.

She knew why it was there.

Tomb Cheng didn’t know or want to comfort her at that moment, so she stayed silent.

The rain grew softer. The faint, sweet cherry scent mixed with a hint of alcohol filled the dream with a hazy beauty.

Tomb Cheng drifted into a dream, vaguely hearing someone call her.

“Mu Mu.”

“Mu Mu.”

It was a very gentle voice, and others surrounded it.

“Come here, Mu Mu. You can do it, Mu Mu.”

***

The hospital called urgently.

Shen Zhiqing stopped the ringing, carefully climbed off Tomb Cheng, and answered the phone softly.

“Hello.”

“Dr. Shen, the patient in bed five isn’t doing well. Please come back,” the caller said.

Shen Zhiqing turned to look at the sleeping person and replied, “Okay.”

After hanging up, she leaned down, kissed Tomb Cheng’s face, and said goodbye, “Goodnight, Mu Mu.”

Before leaving, Shen Zhiqing released some pheromones to let Tomb Cheng sleep well under the comfort of highly compatible pheromones.

She worked at the hospital all night.

By dawn, the patient in bed five was slightly better.

Exhausted, Shen Zhiqing instructed the nurse, “Add a little haloperidol for him. I’ll write the order later.”

“Okay, Dr. Shen. Thank you for your hard work,” the nurse replied.

Shen Zhiqing gave the on-duty nurse a friendly smile and said, “You worked hard too. Remember to complete the handover before leaving.”

Back in her office, Shen Zhiqing rubbed her sore arms.

She and Su Jue didn’t usually have to be on call, but recently, a few unstable patients required her to return occasionally.

Shen Zhiqing napped briefly at her desk until sunlight woke her.

During morning rounds, soft light beams warmed the corridors of the psychiatric department.

At the research institute, Yuan Jin, who hadn’t slept all night, collapsed after setting down a test tube.

“Teacher Yuan!”

“Teacher Yuan!”

***

In the following days, Shen Zhiqing knocked on Tomb Cheng’s door every evening.

Tomb Cheng opened it and initially refused strongly, but Shen Zhiqing’s firm, commanding tone made Tomb Cheng obey.

The familiar pheromones from the Omega relaxed Tomb Cheng’s mind.

After her injury, she finally slept well a few times.

Fortunately, Shen Zhiqing never complained.

Otherwise, Tomb Cheng wouldn’t know how to explain waking up each morning with Shen Zhiqing tightly in her arms.

In the morning, soft sunlight shone.

Dewdrops on tree branches leaped onto passersby’s hair as they yawned. Rustling leaves and the breeze played spring’s melody.

The phone on the nightstand vibrated tirelessly.

Buzz—buzz—buzz.

Tomb Cheng, eyes closed, reached out and grabbed the phone, saying, “Hello?”

Her voice carried a hazy sleepiness.

“Mommy!” Xu Yiyi’s clear, childlike voice came through the phone.

Tomb Cheng woke instantly.

She cleared her throat, glanced at the woman nestled on her chest, and prepared to get up to take the call.

But sleepy-eyed Shen Zhiqing grabbed her shirt.

[ I’m going to take the call. ]

[ Take it here. ]

After exchanging looks, Tomb Cheng lay back down, letting Shen Zhiqing pull her hand to rest her head on Tomb Cheng’s arm.

Tomb Cheng felt uneasy, hoping Shen Zhiqing hadn’t heard.

“Is the phone broken?” Xu Yiyi’s confused voice came through.

As she was about to ask Dean Luo, Tomb Cheng responded.

“It’s not broken,” Tomb Cheng said softly into the phone.

“Good morning, Yiyi.”

Tomb Cheng lowered the call volume.

Shen Zhiqing couldn’t hear the other side but sensed Tomb Cheng’s mood lift.

“Okay, I’ll pick you up,” Tomb Cheng said.

Calculating the time, today was Xu Yiyi’s follow-up visit, explaining her excitement.

Shen Zhiqing snuggled closer, pressing her forehead against Tomb Cheng’s chest, circling her waist with her hands, and pretending to sleep with closed eyes.

Tomb Cheng chatted with Xu Yiyi, her hand instinctively stroking Shen Zhiqing’s soft, long hair. In just a few days, she had accepted Shen Zhiqing’s presence.

The mutual attraction of Alpha-Omega pheromones was truly powerful.

Dean Luo, worried, insisted on handing Xu Yiyi to Tomb Cheng in person.

After agreeing to meet at the bus station, Tomb Cheng prepared to get up without delay.

But the woman in her arms didn’t move, as if asleep again.

Tomb Cheng said helplessly, “I need to get up.”

Shen Zhiqing hugged her waist and hummed, “Mm.”

Her hands didn’t let go.

“I really need to get up,” Tomb Cheng said again.

Shen Zhiqing lifted her head from her arms and asked, “Do you really want to get up?”

What did she mean?

Tomb Cheng raised an eyebrow.

Shen Zhiqing’s bare face showed a sly smile.

She grinned like a little fox in Tomb Cheng’s arms, stirring an itch in her heart.

Shen Zhiqing tilted her chin up and said, “Then kiss me, and I’ll let go.”

…

Was this woman really the distant senior from before?

Had something strange possessed her?

Tomb Cheng hadn’t contacted her in years.

What if she was an imposter?

But a face could be faked, a personality could be mimicked, yet pheromones couldn’t be replicated.

Everyone’s pheromones had a unique scent, never identical.

Tomb Cheng smelled the faint cherry wine scent in the air.

It was the intoxicating aroma from her memory.

“Are you thinking I’m fake?” Shen Zhiqing poked her chest with her chin, displeased.

Without letting Tomb Cheng speak, she continued, “I thought the same before.”

Shen Zhiqing’s clear, bright eyes reflected her youthful, shy self, slowly merging with her current resilient image.

Shen Zhiqing leaned up and kissed her lips, saying, “No, I just understood my heart.”

The gentle kiss, wrapped in a soft breeze, brushed through Tomb Cheng’s heart.

The timid hand the girl once extended across time finally received a response.