After the Top Idol Omega and I Started Living Together - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The wind pushed the clouds to cover half of the sun, and the sunlight lost its earlier blinding glare.

Lu Zhao’s mother, Lu Xu, spoke with the natural gentleness of an Omega. Her brows were soft, and her refined face showed no traces of age or aggression.

Si Liaoliao looked almost identical to her, as if carved from the same mold.

But Lu Zhao’s temperament was the complete opposite of Lu Xu’s.

She looked at the woman educating her and coldly rejected Lu Xu’s reminder: “Mother, Grandmother is right here. I think calling her Sister is inappropriate.”

“Grandmother never acknowledged that person in life. Could she acknowledge her after death?”

Old matters were brought up.

Lu Zhao’s words carried a sting, unmasked and aimed straight at Lu Xu’s sore spot.

The gentleness in the woman’s eyes instantly hid a trace of aggression. She called out in a warning tone: “Lu Zhao, do you think you should speak to Mother like that?”

Lu Zhao wasn’t afraid of such warnings. Instead, she reminded Lu Xu: “Mother, you know better than I do what day it is today. You also know better than I do what kind of person Grandmother was. On a day like this, if you spoil her mood, the old lady would find it bad luck.”

No one wanted cherished things tainted by someone they despised, nor was there any reason to cheerfully swallow a fly that was forced upon them.

Shameless people deserved to have the fly thrown back at them, so they could see the disgusting things came from themselves.

The sunlight fell from the edge of the clouds, impartially dividing the distance between Lu Zhao and Lu Xu.

The mother and daughter stood facing each other, eyes locked, tension thick in the air.

At that moment, Si Liaoliao walked over.

She lowered her head, her calm voice filled with guilt: “Mother, don’t be angry. It’s my fault. I thought since today is Grandmother’s birthday, old people like to have loved ones around, so I…”

Lu Zhao couldn’t stand Si Liaoliao’s act and coldly interrupted: “You’re wrong. Old people like to have children they love around.”

The hand clinging to Lu Xu’s arm stiffened slightly, looking frail as if struck.

Lu Xu gently stroked Si Liaoliao’s hand, tender and distressed, then scolded Lu Zhao: “Lu Zhao, don’t go too far!”

“Who went too far first, Mother?” Lu Zhao shot back, her amber eyes hiding countless emotions.

She was no longer an immature calf.

The Alpha’s oppressive aura poured out with her words, and even Lu Xu, her biological mother with a natural bl00d barrier, struggled to withstand it.

Lu Xu stumbled, her eyes filled with disbelief and anger at her authority being challenged.

Si Liaoliao reacted quickly, hurrying to support Lu Xu and劝说: “Mother, don’t argue with Ah Zhao.”

Then Si Liaoliao’s Alpha mother, Si Yuyun, quickly approached: “Ah Xu, I think I’ll take Liaoliao home. Don’t trouble yourself over the two of us.”

One on the left, one on the right, they painted a perfect picture of a loving couple and filial daughter.

Lu Zhao stood opposite, looking like the villain ruining this beautiful scene.

She coldly watched Si Liaoliao and Si Yuyun’s gentle concern for Lu Xu, her proud head never lowering to please anyone.

She thought some things she was destined to never learn.

“You guys keep acting here,” Lu Zhao said, unwilling to watch any longer. She stepped to leave, then glanced at Grandmother’s tombstone and shook her head. “I wonder if the two old ladies now want to reach out from the ground and move their tombstones away.”

“What nonsense are you saying!” Lu Xu erupted in anger again. Si Yuyun quickly held her back: “Ah Xu.”

Si Yuyun looked at Lu Zhao, who was about to walk away, and signaled to Si Liaoliao: “Liaoliao, go after your Little Sister.”

Si Liaoliao nodded obediently and jogged after Lu Zhao.

Finally, at a distance where normal voices wouldn’t be heard by Lu Xu, Si Liaoliao shouted: “Ah Zhao!”

Lu Zhao stopped: “What?”

Si Liaoliao said: “I heard from Brother Chen that you’re also preparing to join Hear Your Voice?”

The word “also” was quite interesting.

Lu Zhao looked at Si Liaoliao standing before her and suddenly smiled: “I knew such a good opportunity wouldn’t be just for me.”

Si Liaoliao gave a faint smile, her words polite but her eyes lacking sisterly affection: “Brother Chen meant that this time, like when we joined the talent show before, we can hire one vocal teacher. If you have any questions, you can come to me, and I’ll definitely…”

This wasn’t in front of the group, so Lu Zhao had no need to hide her dislike for Si Liaoliao.

She heard the familiar scheming in Si Liaoliao’s words and bluntly interrupted: “No need. I have a teacher.”

Si Liaoliao paused, completely unprepared for this development.

She maintained her calm, innocent look, like a harmless rabbit, and probed: “Who is it?”

Lu Zhao saw through her.

The sunlight fell into her eyes, amber like gold.

She spoke coldly, her voice even icier than before: “Someone you can’t steal.”

With that, Lu Zhao left without glancing at Si Liaoliao.

The blazing sunlight shone on the earth, and the noon world felt unreal, as if the light was splitting apart.

Memories drifted back in reverse with the light.

The grudge between Lu Zhao and Si Liaoliao wasn’t just between them but involved three families.

Lu Zhao’s two mothers’ marriage was a product of a family alliance. Before Lu Zhao’s mother, Qin Xi, Lu Xu had an Alpha first love—Si Liaoliao’s mother.

If an arranged marriage lacked love, Lu Zhao’s mothers were the most loving couple she had seen before she turned fifteen.

Lu Xu was gentle with Qin Xi, remembering her allergy restrictions better than her own susceptible periods. Qin Xi was considerate of Lu Xu’s ten-month pregnancy hardships and didn’t let Lu Zhao take her surname but instead the surname of the woman who gave birth to her.

On countless blissful evenings, they would linger together, dancing gracefully to piano music.

Lu Zhao once secretly thought that her future love would be like this—harmonious and deeply affectionate.

But then Si Liaoliao was born.

And she was only half a year older than Lu Zhao.

Female Alphas didn’t lose their reproductive organs after differentiation. Qin Xi later realized that during the early days of their marriage, when Lu Xu went on a half-month business trip, she was actually pregnant and had gone abroad to transfer the embryo into Si Yuyun’s body.

This child was well-protected by Lu Xu. Only after Lu Xu’s two mothers passed away and she inherited all the Lu family’s assets did Lu Xu bring her out.

Lu Zhao would always remember that day, a morning with impossibly perfect weather.

She was in the backyard discussing a weekend trip with Qin Xi to take Lu Xu to the suburbs for a break. Then Lu Xu walked in, holding Si Yuyun and Si Liaoliao’s hands, bringing them before Lu Zhao and her mother.

Lu Xu’s recent mood swings weren’t due to the consecutive losses of her mothers.

She simply didn’t want to pretend anymore.

She had a lover and a cherished child.

But it wasn’t Qin Xi, nor was it Lu Zhao.

…

“Miss, Miss?”

The taxi driver’s repeated calls pulled Lu Zhao from her memories.

She looked at the familiar mansion outside the window, paid quickly with embarrassment, and got out of the car.

The scorching sun blazed, and the resurfaced memories stirred restlessly in Lu Zhao’s mind.

Whether it was the mask and hat she wore tightly or the anger under the blazing sun, Lu Zhao felt something was off as soon as she got out of the car.

Her head spun, and her steps felt unsteady.

Lu Zhao frowned, shook her head, and walked toward the bathroom without changing her shoes.

She wanted to splash cold water on herself to cool down and clear her mind, hoping not to actually get heatstroke.

Cold water poured out, and Lu Zhao rolled up her sleeves, scooped a handful, and splashed it on her face.

But as the water touched her skin, Lu Zhao felt her heart skip erratically, and her whole body collapsed to the floor.

Her long hair covered the back of her neck, and a stifling heat gathered bit by bit.

The inhibitor patch reached its maximum limit. The sea breeze carried the flowing water, threading through her hair and blowing out from Lu Zhao’s gland.

Her trembling arms tried to support her to stand, but Lu Zhao realized it wasn’t heatstroke.

Her susceptible period had come early.

Her heightened nerves stood on edge, but that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst was that Lu Zhao heard footsteps approaching the bathroom.