After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 32

32: Lou Huaiche’s Reason Snaps

The two stood about a dozen steps apart, staring at each other from a distance.

It felt as if something unbearably tantalizing had sprouted from the ground, swaying its branches.

Jiang Youbai didn’t expect that the boss would turn out to be Lou Huaiche.

Several Betas sensed something was off.

Between this beautiful Alpha and their valiant leader, an indescribable atmosphere suddenly arose, isolating them from everything around them, as if connected by invisible threads.

Gradually, Lou Chuxue also noticed something unusual. She quieted down, tiptoed to Lou Huaiche’s side, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered with concern, “Boss? Are you okay?”

Lou Huaiche didn’t respond to Lou Chuxue. Instead, she stared blankly at the Alpha Lou Chuxue had brought back.

Jiang Youbai gazed at the dazed Omega before her.

It had been over half a year since they last saw each other, yet time seemed to have left no trace on Lou Huaiche.

She was as stunning as ever—her face as flawless as jade, breathtakingly beautiful, with peach-blossom eyes that carried a faint emotion. Her delicate features were almost lifelessly perfect, her figure slimmer and even more striking, like a rose dusted with snow.

It might have been an illusion, but her eyes seemed to shimmer with a faint tenderness and composure.

When Lou Huaiche saw Jiang Youbai, a flash of shock crossed her eyes, as if she hadn’t expected to see her. Her rosy lips trembled slightly, almost letting the word “Your Highness” slip out.

It felt like a dream—the person she had longed for day and night had stepped into her dream, standing in the warm, brilliant light, smiling gently at her.

Sunlight streamed in, casting Lou Huaiche at the boundary between light and shadow. Her hand lifted slightly, pushing Lou Chuxue’s hand away.

Lou Chuxue looked at her in confusion, pouting slightly. “Boss, what’s wrong?”

Lou Huaiche took a slow step back, her entire figure sinking into the shadows. She looked at Jiang Youbai, her eyes clouded with gloom.

A moment later, the corners of her lips curled into a cold smile. She abruptly pinned Jiang Youbai to the ground, her pale, slender fingers gripping Jiang Youbai’s throat tightly, her eyes flashing with murderous intent. Her voice was venomous: “Who are you?”

The Omega trembled as she exhaled, her body shaking uncontrollably from the overwhelming emotions surging through her.

She glared viciously at the Alpha beneath her, her eyes burning with a terrifying madness. “Speak!”

Jiang Youbai struggled to lift her head, reaching up to pull at Lou Huaiche’s hand. But Lou Huaiche was using almost all her strength, fueled by an unspeakable fury. For a moment, Jiang Youbai couldn’t budge her grip at all.

Jiang Youbai raised her eyes and noticed Lou Huaiche’s eyes were slightly red. “Miss, could you calm down a little?”

Lou Huaiche stared at the Alpha beneath her, meeting eyes that were almost identical to those in her memory. A sudden surge of emotion overwhelmed her.

She let go.

Too similar.

This Alpha looked far too much like her Highness. Their faces were about 70% alike, but that wasn’t the main issue. It was this Alpha’s eyes—they were 90% identical to Jiang Youbai’s.

She realized she simply couldn’t bring herself to kill her.

The torment of longing over the past six months had poisoned her, making it impossible to eat or sleep peacefully.

Jiang Youbai was a royal. As a member of the imperial family, she had left behind almost no photos or video recordings. Lou Huaiche could only cling to the notes and math problems Jiang Youbai had left her.

From the elegant, timeless handwriting, she tried to reconstruct Jiang Youbai’s image in her memory.

Jiang Youbai was like a sliver of moonlight hanging over her head, forever lingering in her heart—but forever out of reach.

She wandered endlessly through the past, searching for those fleeting, false moments of love in her memories to ease the despair.

Lou Huaiche clung to these brief, hazy memories, replaying them over and over.

From the moment she saw Jiang Youbai’s corpse with her own eyes, the gears of her emotions had been turning relentlessly.

She had accepted Jiang Youbai’s death in an instant, bypassing the initial stage of denial that most people struggled with and plunging straight into the subsequent agony.

At first, she would occasionally hallucinate Jiang Youbai sitting beside her. Later, she began combing through her memories for any shred of evidence that Jiang Youbai might have loved her, even for a moment.

If she was already dead, then having belonged to me for even a fleeting moment would be enough.

Lou Huaiche imagined Jiang Youbai was still alive, conversing with her in her mind. Day after day, she envisioned Jiang Youbai’s every movement, constructing a fictional version of her in her heart.

But in less than half a year, Lou Huaiche realized with horror that she was already starting to forget Jiang Youbai’s voice.

This fictional version was becoming increasingly inaccurate. Jiang Youbai, once a living, breathing person, had turned into an illusion in Lou Huaiche’s mind—one she could no longer correct for inconsistencies. Even she herself had become part of the illusion.

Lou Huaiche began mimicking Jiang Youbai’s every move. Whenever she did something, she instinctively wondered: How would Jiang Youbai do this? What expression would she have? And then she would copy it.

At night, her sobs gradually turned into wails, each one carrying a wet, bloody bitterness.

Lou Huaiche could no longer distinguish between herself and Jiang Youbai. She had taken parts of Jiang Youbai to shape herself and given parts of herself to Jiang Youbai.

In this chaotic state, her mind had turned her into Jiang Youbai and Jiang Youbai into her.

She searched for herself in Jiang Youbai, constructing herself—and Jiang Youbai—from her memories of her.

She raged vividly. She despaired bitterly.

Gradually, Jiang Youbai was no longer like a sliver of moonlight. She had transformed from the moonlight that bathed Lou Huaiche’s room into the shadow that weighed on her heart.

Lou Huaiche had turned herself into a living ghost—and this ghost was named Jiang Youbai.

She often wondered in a daze: Did she truly love Jiang Youbai? Or did she love the version of herself that Jiang Youbai had once loved, projecting those brief moments of happiness onto Jiang Youbai?

She couldn’t tell.

Her tangled, blackened mind could no longer distinguish these things. Whether she loved Jiang Youbai, whether she missed her—none of it mattered anymore. She was desperate to hold onto Jiang Youbai, even if it was just a shadow, to fill the void and holes in her chest.

Now, when an Alpha who looked almost identical to Jiang Youbai stood before her—

Lou Huaiche could tell almost immediately that this wasn’t Jiang Youbai. But in that fleeting moment of confusion, it felt as if Jiang Youbai had come back to life.

She stood up, drew her gun from her waist, and pointed it at the Alpha on the ground, her finger on the trigger. Her eyes were icy with menace, but her fingertips trembled slightly.

This person couldn’t stay. Two people looking so alike—it could be a trap set by enemy forces, or perhaps the curse that should have descended in August had finally arrived.

Either way, Lou Huaiche should shoot this person dead.

But looking into the Alpha’s eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger.

Those eyes were so similar. She couldn’t even tell the difference between them and Jiang Youbai’s. The memories that had been fading in her mind suddenly came alive again.

If she killed her, where else could Lou Huaiche go to find those memories?

From all directions, cold winds howled. There was no past left for her to take refuge in.

Jiang Youbai sat up, casually crossing her legs on the floor, facing Lou Huaiche with a faint smile. “Even if you’re going to execute me, shouldn’t I at least get a reason?”

She smiled on the surface, but her mind was coldly analyzing the situation.

This lunatic Lou Huaiche couldn’t have gone from vague, ambiguous feelings for her to outright hatred, could she? The murderous aura the moment she saw her face didn’t seem like the reaction of someone who wanted to see her.

Lunatics lived by their emotions. They wandered through their madness, oblivious to everything around them. Anything could trigger their fury or suddenly soothe their twisted obsessions.

Jiang Youbai couldn’t figure Lou Huaiche out. She wasn’t a lunatic herself. Compared to the deranged walking a path of madness, she was more like a vengeful ghost.

Lou Huaiche stared fixedly at Jiang Youbai. After a long silence, she fired a shot at the ground. The gunshot echoed through the room. She turned her head and coldly ordered Lou Chuxue, “Lock this Alpha up.”

The sudden turn of events caught Lou Chuxue off guard. Thinking Lou Huaiche meant to imprison Jiang Youbai, she scratched her head and asked, “Boss, where should I lock her up? The dungeon or the interrogation room?”

Lou Huaiche’s red lips parted, uttering three words: “My room.”

The ambiguous phrase slipped from Lou Huaiche’s lips as coldly as if she were discussing an execution, sharp as a gleaming blade.

Jiang Youbai: “…” Has my memory failed me? I don’t recall having such a deep grudge with Lou Huaiche.

Lou Chuxue was equally baffled. She walked over, helped Jiang Youbai up, and half-dragged, half-pulled her out of the meeting room.

Lou Huaiche swept a frosty glare over the remaining Betas in the room, her murderous aura palpable. “If I catch you causing trouble for Lou Chuxue again, I’ll shoot you all dead.”

The Betas were terrified, scrambling out of the room in a panic.

Before leaving, they thoughtfully closed the meeting room door for Lou Huaiche.

Lou Huaiche watched as the sliver of light from the doorway gradually vanished. She turned back to her paperwork, her back straight as she busied herself with documents.

Jiang Youbai glanced back through the window and saw only the Omega’s slender, upright figure, engrossed in her work.

She didn’t see Lou Huaiche’s hands trembling slightly, nor the tears that dripped onto the wooden desk.

—

Lou Chuxue led Jiang Youbai deeper into the building, walking while voicing her confusion. “What’s going on? Do you know my boss?”

Jiang Youbai smiled faintly. “Before you kidnapped me, I’m pretty sure I’d never met your boss.”

She lied effortlessly. After all, Lou Chuxue had never met the deceased royal.

“Oh.” Lou Chuxue guiltily rubbed her nose. “I just thought you were good-looking. Who knew the boss would react like that? I was scared to death—the way she looked at you, it was like she wanted to tear you apart. I thought bl00d was about to spill. And then suddenly she tells me to lock you in her room? So weird.”

Jiang Youbai sighed softly. “Yeah. So weird.”

Internally, she thought: Lou Huaiche probably assumed the royal had come back from the dead, wanted to kill her on the spot, then realized it wasn’t her and let her go.

Lou Chuxue poked her. “Hey, what do you think of our boss? Isn’t she stunning, enough to make you lose your mind?”

Jiang Youbai smirked. “I don’t know about losing my mind, but she’s definitely capable of making me lose my life.”

Lou Chuxue retracted her finger. “…” Guilty.

She changed the subject. “Originally, I thought if the boss didn’t want you, you could be mine. But she didn’t say she didn’t want you, nor did she say she did. Sigh, I guess we’re just not meant to be.”

Jiang Youbai sneered. “Who said we’re not meant to be? The fact that you managed to kidnap me out of all the people in the Lower District is fate in itself.”

Lou Chuxue was speechless. “Let bygones be bygones!”

The building’s interior was clearly divided. The left side was living quarters, the right side functional areas. At the right staircase entrance, a sign briefly listed the purpose of each floor.

Jiang Youbai skimmed it, memorizing only two lines.

Lou Chuxue led her to the left building. Most of the people they passed were Betas, with a few Omegas and almost no Alphas.

When they saw Lou Chuxue, the mercenary-looking individuals greeted her: “General Lou, morning! Finished your mission?”

Some stopped her to tease: “General Lou, did you kidnap someone for the boss again?”

“Which dorm is this ‘wife’ being sent to?”

Whenever someone called her “General Lou,” Lou Chuxue visibly brightened, enthusiastically answering their questions. “Yep! Today’s mission was easy!”

“Yeah, another wife for the boss. But she’s not going to the dorms—she’s being locked in the boss’s room.”

The mercenaries nodded. “Ah, another new wife… Wait, you said locked where?”

Jiang Youbai kindly repeated, “Locked in your boss’s room.”

The mercenaries stared at Jiang Youbai as if she were a ghost, then laughed awkwardly and walked away. “Oh, okay. Go ahead then. We’ll be off.”

They tried to act composed, but one of them started walking with his limbs out of sync.

Lou Chuxue scratched her head sheepishly. “Ah, they’re all a bunch of jokers. Don’t mind them!”

Jiang Youbai smiled. “Of course not. The biggest joker here is you.”

Lou Chuxue: “You’re so annoying.”

Lou Huaiche’s room was on the top floor, the fourth level. The innermost three dorm rooms had been combined into her quarters, with three more dorms across from hers.

Jiang Youbai glanced over and noticed signs on the dorm doors reading “Wife Dorm 1” and “Wife Dorm 2,” each adorned with two red hearts. Clearly, Lou Chuxue’s handiwork.

Hearing the commotion, the door to Wife Dorm 2 cracked open. A male Alpha stepped out, glaring at Lou Chuxue. “General, why did you bring someone back again? Doesn’t the boss have enough wives already?”

He glanced at Jiang Youbai and scoffed disdainfully. “And such a weakling, too—like an Omega.”

His tone dripped with contempt for both Omegas and Jiang Youbai. Lou Chuxue didn’t get angry, instead explaining sweetly, “No, no! The boss said this wife is staying in her room. Maybe she’ll disband the harem soon!”

She flashed the male Alpha a bright, innocent smile, showing off her little fangs. “Alphas who aren’t good-looking just can’t keep the boss’s heart!”

Without waiting for Jiang Youbai or the male Alpha to react, she unlocked Lou Huaiche’s door, shoved Jiang Youbai inside, and chirped, “Go on, pretty A! Wash up and wait for the boss tonight!”

She pushed Jiang Youbai in, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Turning back to the fuming male Alpha, she said cheerfully, “Hey, don’t be upset! Even if you’re not pretty enough for the boss to favor you, you can still work hard and climb up from the bottom!”

From inside the room, Jiang Youbai heard the male Alpha storm back into his dorm and slam the door furiously.

Jiang Youbai: “Heh.”

She had thought Lou Chuxue was exaggerating to tease her, but it seemed Lou Huaiche’s “wives” really were fighting for her affection.

A faint sense of awkwardness crept into Jiang Youbai’s heart.

Technically, she was Lou Huaiche’s unofficial original partner…

Now, she was just another member of the “wives.”

Life was truly unpredictable. Standing at a crossroads, you never knew whether the next turn would bring a truck or the title of “wife.”

Shaking off these random thoughts, Jiang Youbai surveyed Lou Huaiche’s room.

There were three rooms total. The bedroom and study were locked—not with the old-fashioned locks like the front door, but with high-tech doors and DNA iris scanners, the kind only found in the Upper District.

The living room was simply furnished but cozy: two sofas, a coffee table, a kitchenette with a dining table and cabinets. The cabinets were stocked with alcohol and snacks.

Jiang Youbai rummaged through the cabinets and noticed many of the snacks were close to expiring, while the alcohol was all freshly stocked.

It seemed Lou Chuxue or someone else had prepared these for Lou Huaiche, but she didn’t eat snacks—only drank, and frequently at that.

Jiang Youbai’s fingers lingered over the snacks. These were all junk food. In her past life as a royal, she had strictly adhered to etiquette and status, never touching such things.

But Chi Ruo ate them—crunched on them loudly, in fact. The third-floor coffee table at Fontainebleau was piled with all kinds of snacks, and Chi Ruo would open a couple of bags during every meeting.

Jiang Youbai took a bag of chips, deciding she’d just try one bag—just a taste, nothing more.

Ten minutes later, she nonchalantly grabbed two more bags.

This stuff was delicious. No wonder Chi Ruo loved it so much.

Her twenty years as a royal had been such a deprived existence!

Jiang Youbai sat on the sofa, opened a bottle of alcohol, and booted up her personal terminal to review the original owner’s records. She took a sip of alcohol between bites of chips.

The terminal’s original owner was named Li Sisi, a 21-year-old orphan who had survived by working odd jobs at scrap shops and similar places.

Jiang Youbai wrote a quick program to tweak the records, adding some fake work history, savings, and a three-month hospitalization for injuries three months ago.

If anyone checked online, the forgery would be obvious, but it was enough to fool a cursory inspection. Otherwise, an Alpha with no background who looked like the royal would be killed on sight by Lou Huaiche.

Once the records were faked, Jiang Youbai took another sip of Lou Huaiche’s alcohol and began pondering her next steps.

Ning Yunze had said Lou Huaiche had been missing for a long time. How had she ended up here, building a small mercenary group?

Jiang Youbai knew the Lower District’s pipeline layouts and tax systems like the back of her hand but had little insight into the actual situation on the ground.

The Upper District’s nobility had erected heavily guarded barriers to keep the Lower District’s poor from entering their glittering world. Only during the annual Fireworks Festival would a handful of Lower District residents be randomly selected to attend.

This rule was less an act of benevolence and more a way for the Upper District’s elite to flaunt their power and amuse themselves.

Watching the Lower District’s poor fight tooth and nail for a mere glimpse of the fireworks, they looked down from above, thoroughly entertained.

Jiang Youbai had heard from Chi Ruo that the Lower District’s mayor actually lived in the Upper District and didn’t truly govern the area. The Lower District was lawless, and officials sent down rarely returned—either dead or forgotten by the Upper District’s power centers.

Over time, the Lower District became the shadow of the Upper District’s gleaming facade—a place where the capital’s most direct desires and filth were laid bare.

For gathering the most rudimentary forces, the Lower District was a decent choice. But Jiang Youbai couldn’t figure out why Lou Huaiche had come here.

Surely not to start a harem!

After much deliberation, she gave up and started wandering around Lou Huaiche’s room.

Her personal terminal’s functions were limited—even reading a novel was a laggy ordeal. Lou Huaiche’s room had nothing but furniture.

Jiang Youbai had no choice but to explore.

It was still early. She didn’t know when Lou Huaiche would return or how she planned to deal with her.

Judging by Lou Huaiche’s earlier reaction, it probably wouldn’t be friendly.

While rummaging through the cabinets, Jiang Youbai discovered some vegetables and meat in the freezer.

The Lower District was resource-scarce. Most shops on the streets were tiny nutrition-stick vendors, offering bland, uniform flavors.

Fresh produce was a luxury here.

Jiang Youbai lowered her gaze, thinking for a moment before picking up a leafy vegetable and weighing it in her hand.

—

That evening, when Lou Huaiche entered her room, she found the Alpha Lou Chuxue had brought back standing in the entryway, wearing an apron and smiling gently at her.

The aroma of food wafted from behind her.

“Leader, you’re back?” The Alpha greeted her warmly, deftly helping Lou Huaiche remove her coat. When she reached for the items at Lou Huaiche’s waist, her fingers paused near the gun. Seeing no objection, she took the dagger, small knife, and gun, placing them on the entryway cabinet.

Lou Huaiche silently watched the Alpha’s eyes, her own emotions unreadable.

Jiang Youbai stepped aside, softening her voice. “Leader, I made dinner. Would you like to try it?”

Lou Huaiche gave a faint “Mm” and went to change into comfortable clothes. When she sat at the dining table, Jiang Youbai stood behind her, ready to serve.

The Alpha was a skilled cook. Two dishes and a soup, all aromatic and visually appealing. Lou Huaiche touched the soup bowl—still warm.

This Alpha didn’t know when she’d return, so she’d made dishes that could be reheated repeatedly. Once cooled, she’d warm them again.

Thus, whenever Lou Huaiche entered, the meal would be hot.

Such meticulous attention to detail…

The food smelled enticing. Lou Huaiche picked up a bite and tasted it.

Suddenly, a faint, warm breath brushed her neck, and the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against her throat.

The gentle Alpha smiled faintly. “Leader, where’s your sense of caution?”

Lou Huaiche frowned slightly.

While she’d been changing in the bedroom, the Alpha had somehow taken the gun without her noticing.

She hadn’t heard a sound.

Lou Huaiche pushed her chair back, intending to turn and snatch the gun, but the Alpha anticipated her move and pinned her hand down. Pressing the gun to Lou Huaiche’s neck, she spoke softly, like a lover’s whisper.

“Leader, I don’t mean any harm. Killing you might let me walk out alive, but it wouldn’t end well for me. I just want to know—why did you try to kill me on sight?”

Lou Huaiche’s voice turned cold. Jiang Youbai, who hadn’t seen her in so long, thought she sounded softer now, more delicate.

“This isn’t the posture of someone who wants to talk things over.”

“Fine.” Jiang Youbai lowered the gun and tossed it onto the table. “How about now? Can the leader explain? After all, staying by your side with my life constantly at risk is a bit stressful.”

Lou Huaiche turned and found herself lost in a gaze as gentle as a sea of stars.

It was like stepping into a dream she’d never had, where the boundaries between past and present blurred.

Lou Huaiche forced herself to look away and asked the young, somewhat flippant Alpha, “What’s your name?”

Jiang Youbai smiled. “Li Sisi.”

Lou Huaiche reached out and took her personal terminal. “Unlock it.”

Just as Jiang Youbai expected, Lou Huaiche would check her terminal first.

She obediently unlocked it and let Lou Huaiche browse.

Go ahead. It was all fabricated. Unless someone cross-checked externally, the records were flawless.

Lou Huaiche skimmed through and found nothing amiss. She returned the terminal. “You were hospitalized three months ago?”

Jiang Youbai hummed. “Head injury. My memory’s a bit spotty, but I think I got caught in some gang crossfire.”

Lou Huaiche fell silent. Three months ago was when she’d first arrived in the Lower District. She had indeed stirred up trouble in Zone A. It was plausible Li Sisi had been collateral damage.

Her tone was flat. “No family?”

Jiang Youbai nodded. “Nope.”

“How much do you remember from before?”

“Not much. Most of it’s gone.” Jiang Youbai smiled. “I’ve got nowhere else to go. Staying with the leader is my best option. But your attempt on my life was… unsettling.”

Lou Huaiche stared at her impassively.

Again—that illusion, born from how much she resembled Jiang Youbai.

The longing and desire festering in her heart threatened to spill over, driving her toward destruction.

Kill her.

She looked so much like Jiang Youbai—even her speech and mannerisms were identical. She couldn’t be allowed to exist. How dare anyone resemble Jiang Youbai?

Lou Huaiche’s fingers twitched slightly. It took all her willpower to suppress the urge to kill the woman before her.

Coldly, she said, “You resemble an old acquaintance of mine. I lost my composure for a moment and wanted to kill you. It won’t happen again.”

Pausing, she recalled her earlier order to house Jiang Youbai in her room and added, “Tomorrow, you’ll move to the dorm across the hall. For tonight, sleep in the living room. I’ll get you a blanket.”

Jiang Youbai suddenly asked, “Leader, this old acquaintance of yours—did you want to kill her badly?”

Lou Huaiche froze, not expecting the question.

Did she want to kill Jiang Youbai badly?

Perhaps.

In countless nightmares, amidst sobs and agony, she had detached herself and inserted Jiang Youbai into her place. Yes, she had very much wanted to kill Jiang Youbai.

Not the pale, tattered Jiang Youbai in a soaked blue dress, lying lifeless on the ground.

It had to be the vibrant, tender Jiang Youbai.

Strangling her with her own hands might have ended the torment.

Lou Huaiche nodded faintly. “Something like that.”

She had no interest in discussing Jiang Youbai with this Alpha, nor in baring her bleeding wounds. Silently, she fetched a blanket from her room and said, “I’m going to sleep. Make do for tonight.”

Jiang Youbai lowered her eyes obediently. “Alright. I won’t disturb the leader’s rest.”

Her submissive demeanor, though it made her delicate face only 30% similar to Jiang Youbai’s, stirred something in Lou Huaiche.

On impulse, Lou Huaiche said, “Don’t act so docile in the future.”

Jiang Youbai blinked but still replied meekly, “Understood.”

Lou Huaiche found it dull. She grabbed a few bottles of alcohol from the cabinet, noticing several missing snacks. This further cemented the distinction between Li Sisi and Jiang Youbai in her mind.

They were truly two different people.

Just startlingly similar in some ways.

Lou Huaiche carried the alcohol into her bedroom, leaving the Alpha to arrange the bedding in the living room.

Her bedroom was sparsely furnished. The curtains were open, the lights off. Twin moons cast silvery light through the window, spilling across the floor like water.

Lou Huaiche sat on the carpet, opened a bottle, and began drinking—one after another.

Normally, she wouldn’t drink so much. But today, after encountering Li Sisi, she couldn’t help thinking of the person haunting her heart. The sorrow refused to be contained.

But tonight… she’d indulge.

Perhaps Jiang Youbai would appear in her dreams.

Time passed. Lou Huaiche grew drunk, her body warming from the alcohol.

The heat was faintly reminiscent of her heat cycle. Her mind foggy, she imagined Jiang Youbai before her—eyes brimming with intoxicating affection, every curve of her face soft as spring, offering her a rose symbolizing hope.

Her consciousness wavered, the line between reality and dreams blurring. She felt as if she were in heat.

Heat… she was in heat now.

Why wasn’t Jiang Youbai here to mark her?

Lou Huaiche swayed to her feet and opened the door to fetch another bottle.

If Jiang Youbai wouldn’t come to her, she’d drink instead.

But when she turned on the light, she saw Jiang Youbai sleeping peacefully on the sofa—slightly different from before, immediately opening her eyes at the noise and looking at her with clear, phoenix-like eyes.

Jiang Youbai sat up, the blanket sliding off to reveal smooth, pale shoulders like polished jade. Under Lou Huaiche’s intense gaze, she furrowed her brows slightly, her voice deep and infinitely tender. “What’s wrong?”

The last thread of Lou Huaiche’s reason snapped.