Alpha, Straight To The Crematorium - Chapter 10
10: Moving
Si Rong’s words were not a lie. The moment she saw Li Yuan at the entrance of the coffee shop, she felt that she resembled this little sheep plushie.
White and soft, with eyes squinting into a slit when smiling, and cheeks always blushing with a touch of red when shy.
Li Yuan held the little sheep plushie with both hands, her slender fingers sinking deeply into its soft fur.
She couldn’t help but curl her fingers, the soft sensation from her fingertips seeming to transmit straight into her heart, the plush fur tickling her heart’s core.
From head to toe, it was as if she had been electrified, tingling with numbness.
Li Yuan’s gaze seemed glued to the little sheep. She murmured, “Thank you… I really like this gift.” Then, she slowly lifted the sheep to her chest, burying half her small face into its fur.
Si Rong was very satisfied with her reaction—at least it showed that Li Yuan did not reject the gift she had given. It seemed that giving gifts was a very effective method, Secretary Chen could get a bonus.
Li Yuan was utterly delighted by the two gifts from Si Rong, her soul practically floating out of her body.
So it wasn’t until the two stood in the hallway outside their doors that Li Yuan suddenly remembered something. She turned and called out to Si Rong, who was opening her door. “Si Rong.”
“Hm? What’s wrong?” Si Rong had had a lot of fun that afternoon, buying all sorts of miscellaneous things, which had somewhat alleviated her anxiety.
Li Yuan shuffled forward a couple of steps hesitantly. “Um, when do you have time? For the housewarming party, I mean.”
Si Rong said, “Because of my susceptible period, I officially started my leave right after talking with you this afternoon. It’ll be about a month, but due to NPC issues, I’ll probably still work from home most of the time. Though since we’re so close, I’m free anytime.”
“Oh, okay.” Li Yuan bit her lower lip and added, “I don’t really have any friends in A City. My only friend is an artist manager who’s always busy and never touches the ground. So for the housewarming… it’ll probably just be the two of us. Should we eat out instead?”
Si Rong pondered for a moment and said, “If you’re not comfortable, we can eat out. But for a housewarming, it feels more authentic at home. I’m fine either way—you decide.”
“Th-then let’s eat at my place. It’s just the two of us anyway, cooking won’t be too much trouble.” Li Yuan finally smiled after hearing her words.
Si Rong nodded and teased, “Sure. You’re an Omega and you’re not afraid—what do I, an Alpha, have to fear?”
Li Yuan said nothing more upon hearing this. Instead, she quickly turned, opened her door, and said, “That’s settled then. I’ll let you know the time!” She shut her door in a flurry, as if someone were chasing her from behind.
Si Rong watched the figure disappear in the hallway, her maintained smile gradually fading. She exhaled, opened her own door, and turned to leave.
Back home, Li Yuan threw herself onto the sofa, her face flushed red like a cooked shrimp.
She had only stayed in this apartment for two nights, so her familiar throw pillows and small blankets from the sofa weren’t here yet. Though it was a fully furnished unit, it still lacked the breath of life.
Unable to hug her usual pillows, Li Yuan could only tightly embrace the little sheep she had brought home, burying her entire face into it and letting out a silent scream.
Only when she was nearly out of breath did she lift her flushed little face from the sheep’s belly—whether from embarrassment or suffocation, only she knew.
Li Yuan rummaged through her bag on the sofa for her phone, wanting to report today’s events to her best friend.
Li Yuan: Ah Qin, beep beep beep, free for a call?
Soon, her phone rang. She flipped over on the sofa, lying on her back to answer.
“Ah Qin~” Li Yuan’s call of “Ah Qin” was full of twists and turns, giving Jin Qin a layer of goosebumps.
Jin Qin said, “Let me say this first: no acting cute. Get to the point.”
Li Yuan fiddled with her fingers and giggled foolishly a couple of times. “Ah Qin, when are you free? Help me move, okay?”
“Moving? To where?”
“That apartment in the city.” Li Yuan hemmed and hawed, a bit embarrassed.
Jin Qin, of course, knew her friend’s personality—she would avoid moving if at all possible. For her to proactively bring up moving house was outrageous enough, so there must be something fishy.
Thus, Jin Qin asked, “Confess and be lenient. Spill it all.”
Li Yuan lay on the sofa at home, smiling with curved eyes. Since Jin Qin asked, she hid nothing and recounted everything that had happened over the past two days in detail.
Jin Qin frowned as she listened, her brows only slightly relaxing when she heard Si Rong say she would unconditionally support Li Yuan’s choices. Yet a strange feeling still lingered in her heart.
Jin Qin had entered the entertainment industry right after graduation—a big dye vat—and had seen no fewer than eight hundred if not a thousand shady people. So she habitually questioned Si Rong’s motives in her mind, though Si Rong’s words dispelled many malicious thoughts.
This was the first time Li Yuan had mentioned an Alpha to her with such excitement, like a little Omega in school sharing crush secrets with her best friend. As a friend, she shouldn’t pour cold water on Li Yuan.
So Jin Qin smiled and said, “So you have a good feeling about her now, right?”
Li Yuan rubbed her flushed ear. “Mm, I want to try spending time with her.”
“And her? How does she feel about you?”
“Um… I don’t know, but I guess she likes me a little too, or why would she give me the little sheep…”
“So are you going to pursue her?”
“I… can I?”
Jin Qin sighed inwardly but smiled encouragingly. “Of course you can. An unmarried A and unmarried O—what’s there to stop you?”
Sure enough, Li Yuan responded crisply, “Mm!”
“Then in a few days, I’ll help you move. Since you’re neighbors now, proximity gives you the advantage—seize the opportunity.”
“Okay, thanks Ah Qin. I’ll make you delicious food later!”
“You can treat me after you successfully win Si Rong.”
“Okay!”
A few days later, Li Yuan had gradually moved some of her daily items to the city apartment. The larger pieces were moved upstairs that morning with Jin Qin’s help, but Jin Qin had to rush off after a phone call, leaving Li Yuan to unpack slowly alone.
So when Si Rong returned from her morning run and opened the elevator door, she saw several fully packed cardboard boxes piled in the hallway outside her door.
This building had one elevator per two households, and on this floor, besides her and Li Yuan, no one else came. So these boxes, if not hers, could only be Li Yuan’s.
Si Rong looked up at Li Yuan’s door—of course, it was left ajar. She stood there examining it carefully for a moment, then turned and went back home.
Soon after, Si Rong—dressed properly in loungewear with her curly hair loose—rang Li Yuan’s doorbell.
“Coming!” The girl’s crisp response came through the door crack to Si Rong’s ears.
Then came the patter of slippers from inside, the door opened, and a section of fair, jade-like wrist entered Si Rong’s view.
Li Yuan was wearing pajamas, her light tea-colored long hair pinned back with a paintbrush, the tip stained with a trace of red from prolonged contact with pigments.
When Li Yuan opened the door, a wave of everyday life enveloped Si Rong tightly. This was a feeling Si Rong had never experienced before, leaving her momentarily dazed.
“Si Rong? What’s up? Did I disturb you?” Li Yuan looked sweet all over, her light pink pajama set making her appear even softer and fairer.
Si Rong licked her dry lips and handed over the breakfast she was holding. “I bought this on my way back from the morning run. Want to eat together if you don’t mind? And these—” She pointed to the boxes piled outside the door.
“Need help moving them in?”
Li Yuan had just been worrying about how to get those boxes inside—they were indeed a bit heavy for her, or she wouldn’t have asked Jin Qin to help move them.
Now that Si Rong was offering proactively, and even to share breakfast, she couldn’t ask for more.
Li Yuan’s dark apricot eyes sparkled brightly. “Really? Thank you!”
“You take the breakfast. I’ll move the boxes in from outside.”
There weren’t many boxes—just three—and soon Si Rong had moved them all in for Li Yuan.
Li Yuan’s home had the same layout as Si Rong’s, but the homely atmosphere was much stronger.
Goose-yellow curtains covered half the floor-to-ceiling window, by the window was a lounge chair covered in a long-fur blanket and a floor lamp. Next to the chair was a small table stacked with several art books Si Rong had never seen. Not far opposite the table was an easel, but it was empty.
There was no TV in the living room, just a projector and screen. On the sofa was the little sheep she had given, the coffee table had some snacks and bedding, on the carpet lay a pillow and a blanket printed with little sheep patterns messily.
The open space held recently unpacked solid wood furniture—tables and shelves—along with a toolbox for assembly nearby.
Li Yuan’s was an open kitchen, the bar counter served as the dining area. Li Yuan went into the kitchen, put the slightly cooled breakfast in the microwave, washed some rice, and started cooking millet porridge in a pot.
“My place is a bit messy. Sit for a while, I’ll heat the breakfast and cook some porridge, then we can eat.”
Si Rong nodded and said softly, “Okay, take your time. I’ll assemble this shelf for you first.”
“Yes, yes, yes—this shelf. I’ve been trying for half a day and still can’t get it right.”
The two sat cross-legged on the floor. Si Rong picked up the instructions, studied them carefully for a bit, then took the tools nearby and started assembling.
Si Rong had showered after her morning run and come home, her hair was still loose, so when she bowed her head, it somewhat blocked her view. She looked up and asked Li Yuan, “Do you have an extra hair tie at home?”
Li Yuan paused, then pointed to the paintbrush on her own head. “Uh, it’s because I don’t have any that I’m using a paintbrush to tie my hair. Otherwise, you could use a paintbrush too? It’s very convenient.”
It really wasn’t her fault, she had lost too many hair ties, and even the one she used a few days ago had vanished into some corner.
“A paintbrush? I don’t know how. It’s fine, I’ll go back and get one.” Saying so, Si Rong started to stand up from the floor.
“Um… I know how. Let me help you!” Li Yuan’s words burst out almost involuntarily. Only after saying them did she realize what she had said.
The two said nothing. The room was so quiet that they could hear the gurgling of the pot in the kitchen.
Si Rong licked her dry lips, blinked, then sat back down on the floor, saying calmly, “Then, trouble you.”
“Oh, oh, okay.” Li Yuan dazedly stood up, went to her room to get a new paintbrush for Si Rong.
Soon, she returned to the living room with a new Picasso No. 6 paintbrush, then knelt behind Si Rong, gripping the brush tightly, her palms sweating finely.
She quietly exhaled, feeling a strange aura enveloping them both, making her fingertips tremble.
Li Yuan reached out with both hands, gently gathering Si Rong’s jet-black hair, then softly smoothing it straight. She wrapped the paintbrush into Si Rong’s long hair, wound it around a few times, and finally inserted the brush in the opposite direction into her hair.
Li Yuan’s skill came from long practice on her own head, so it was good—she didn’t pull Si Rong’s scalp.
She pursed her lips, knelt back on the floor, and said softly, “Done.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”