Heartbeat - Chapter 24

Shen Xun waited until Su Jianyue and the others had finished cleaning up the dining room and kitchen.

Seeing Shen Xun still there, Su Jianyue hurried over to her, like a Samoyed puppy eager to find its owner. “Sister, you didn’t go upstairs yet?”

“No, I was waiting to go back with you. Let’s go.” Shen Xun glanced at the little puppy, her mood finally lifting a bit.

She reached out and took Su Jianyue’s hand, leading her upstairs. Su Jianyue didn’t mind at all, obediently following Shen Xun’s lead.

Yu Lin, watching from behind, took note of their interaction. It was clear Su Jianyue was still closer to Shen Xun. I’ll have to work even harder, she thought.

Su Jianyue obediently followed Shen Xun upstairs. Just as she was about to say goodnight, Shen Xun stopped her. “Want to come to my room for a bit?”

Su Jianyue nodded eagerly. “Mm-hmm! Can I?”

“Of course.” Shen Xun pinched Su Jianyue’s cheek, turned, opened her door, and pulled Su Jianyue into her room.

Zheng Tianming and Yu Lin, heading to the third floor, happened to pass by the staircase and witnessed the scene.

Zheng Tianming hissed, “No way! They’re already taking their conversations into their rooms? Leave it to Shen Xun.”

Yu Lin’s expression darkened. Seeing Su Jianyue so cheerful as she was pulled into the room sent Yu Lin’s spirits plummeting again. Still, she reminded herself that she had only known Su Jianyue for two days, while Su Jianyue and Shen Xun had been friends for over a decade. It was only natural they’d be closer.

She sighed, resolving to be more proactive in the future. Otherwise, she’d truly have no chance.

Meanwhile, Su Jianyue had already entered Shen Xun’s room. “Sister, where did you all go today?”

“Just a café, mostly chatting. What about you? Where did you take Yu Lin?” Shen Xun asked, guiding Su Jianyue to sit in a chair.

Su Jianyue obediently sat down and looked up at Shen Xun. “I thought it would be you. We started at a local breakfast stall, then went to the Pottery Studio. I originally wanted to make cute little things with you, but since Yu Lin was there, I went with her. I wanted to go to the snack street for lunch, but I didn’t know Yu Lin well enough to suggest it, so we ended up having barbecue.”

Su Jianyue obediently told Shen Xun everything she had done that day.

Shen Xun nodded slightly and reached out to pat Su Jianyue’s head. “What about the afternoon? Where did you two go?”

“We went back to the Pottery Studio. The pieces need to be fired once before they can be painted, and then fired again. So we won’t get the finished products until tomorrow morning,” Su Jianyue replied dutifully.

Shen Xun nodded again, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind Su Jianyue’s ear. She looked at Su Jianyue and asked softly, “Next time, I’ll try to get first place so I can take you out to play. How does that sound?”

“Mm-hmm!” Su Jianyue’s eyes lit up. It wasn’t that she disliked Yu Lin, but they weren’t very close. Of course, going out with her sister would be much more fun.

“Come here for a moment. I want to talk to you about something,” Shen Xun said, heading toward the bathroom.

Su Jianyue thought for a moment, realizing her sister probably had something she didn’t want the live stream cameras to pick up, which was why she was being called over.

She obediently followed. Once they were inside the bathroom, Shen Xun closed the door securely.

Turning around, Shen Xun immediately switched off both Su Jianyue’s and her own microphones. Now, the live stream viewers could neither see the two of them nor hear what they were saying.

Ahhh, Shen Xun, where are you taking our Xiao Yueliang?

Don’t be so formal! What could you possibly be saying that we viewers can’t hear?

Waaah, Director, Shen Xun and Xiao Yueliang are being mean! We’d pay to listen! Ahhh, I’m dying of curiosity! What are they doing?

Gasp Who gets it? Shen Xun was so cool when she said, “Come here for a moment.” Is she really not an Alpha?

Hahaha, dying of laughter! Our Xun Yue CP is all about that weak Alpha, strong Omega dynamic!

Xiao Yueliang is so obedient! She does whatever Shen Xun tells her to.

Inside the restroom, Shen Xun reached out and pinched Su Jianyue’s cheek. “How was spending the whole day with her?” she asked.

Su Jianyue, delighted by her sister’s touch, took Shen Xun’s hand and swung it gently. “It was okay. We’re not close, but I’m glad I chose the Pottery Studio. Having something to focus on with our hands kept things from getting too awkward.”

“Mm.” Shen Xun seemed satisfied with Su Jianyue’s answer, but she still pressed, “Did you have any… intimate contact?”

Su Jianyue scratched the back of her neck. “When we were making pottery, my hand accidentally brushed against hers a few times. Does that count?”

Su Jianyue couldn’t explain why she felt guilty, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong.

The smile gradually faded from Shen Xun’s face. She gently pinched Su Jianyue’s fingertips between her own, playing with them as she pressed, “Anything else? Tell me everything yourself. Don’t make me drag it out of you.”

Seeing her sister’s displeasure, Su Jianyue felt like she was facing a formidable enemy. Sweat broke out on her back.

“There’s… there’s…” Su Jianyue racked her brain, desperately trying to recall the day’s events. Finally, she remembered something else.

“Oh, and at lunch, when we were having barbecue, I was busy grilling the meat. Yu Lin wrapped a piece of grilled meat in lettuce and fed it to me. I didn’t really want to eat it, but since the cameras were rolling, I thought it would be rude to refuse, so I ate it.” Su Jianyue’s voice grew softer with each word. She stole a glance at Shen Xun’s expression, only to find her sister’s face completely impassive.

Shen Xun gave her a cool look and released Su Jianyue’s hand. “This is a dating reality show. Refusing intimate contact would imply you have feelings for her. If that’s the case, there’s nothing more for me to say. You can go now.”

Hearing Shen Xun’s words, Su Jianyue grew anxious. She reached out to grab Shen Xun’s wrist, but Shen Xun evaded her touch.

“Sister, don’t be angry,” Su Jianyue pleaded urgently. “I won’t do it again. If something like this happens next time, I’ll definitely refuse. Please don’t ignore me.”

“You’re free to choose your friends. Who you like is your right, and I have no right to interfere,” Shen Xun replied calmly. With that, she reactivated her microphone, rose, and left the bathroom without hesitation.

Su Jianyue wanted to say more, but her sister had already left.

Looking pitiful, she turned on her own microphone and followed Shen Xun out of the bathroom.

“It’s getting late. I’m going to shower and rest now. You should go back too,” Shen Xun said flatly, her expression still impassive.

Su Jianyue was now truly panicked. This was the first time she had ever seen her sister angry. Though Shen Xun hadn’t said anything harsh, Su Jianyue could clearly sense her sister’s anger and her refusal to acknowledge her.

Su Jianyue felt like crying. If she had known participating in this reality show would make her sister angry, she would have refused to come no matter what!

“Sister~” Su Jianyue called out obediently, but Shen Xun didn’t even glance at her.

“You should go back and rest too. I’m going to take a shower,” Shen Xun said, removing her microphone and heading to the bathroom with a change of clothes.

Su Jianyue knew this was her cue to leave. She sniffled, glancing toward the bathroom, and wandered out of Shen Xun’s room, returning to her own.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Su Jianyue felt utterly lost, as if her soul had been stolen. Does Sister think I have no boundaries? she wondered. Will she stop liking me because of this?

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. She wanted to apologize to Shen Xun, but she was afraid of making her sister even angrier.

Like a little puppy abandoned by its owner, she sat dejectedly on the bed, staring blankly into space.

The bullet comments had already exploded.

What’s going on? Did they have a fight?

It seems like it. Su Jianyue hasn’t said a word to the camera since she got back, just sitting there in a daze.

Yeah, yeah, yeah! I might be imagining things, but Su Jianyue’s eyes look a little red.

What did they say in the bathroom? Director! I’ll pay! Just tell me! Aaaah!

+1! I’d pay to see it too! Why did our Little Puppy suddenly wilt like this?

Xunxun Baby’s expression was also off just now. She usually smiles at Su Jianyue, so her sudden coldness was really noticeable.

Waaah, no! Please don’t let our Xun Yue CP have a bad ending!

The viewers in the live stream were anxious, and Su Jianyue herself was even more frantic. She wanted to apologize but was afraid her sister would find her annoying.

Her eyes felt hot, and fearing the camera would capture her tears, she turned her back and sat on the bed, leaving only her back and the back of her head visible.

After a moment’s thought, Su Jianyue picked up her phone. Wasn’t tonight the night to send messages to your crush? She quickly typed a message to Shen Xun, eager to see how she would respond.

With that, she began tapping away on her phone.

Su Jianyue: Sister, I was wrong. I’ll never do it again. Please don’t be mad, okay? Look, a dog wagging its tail! (Samoyed wagging tail.jpg)

After sending the message, Su Jianyue clutched her phone, waiting anxiously. Meanwhile, the production team had already displayed Su Jianyue’s message on the live stream screen. By the time Shen Xun finished showering, the viewers had already seen Su Jianyue’s message.

OMG, she’s apologizing right away! Did they really have a fight?

“No way! Shen Xun doesn’t seem like the type to argue with people.”

“But what could they have argued about? They were getting along fine during dinner.”

“Duh, it’s obviously about today’s date. Shen Xun is definitely jealous.”

“To be fair, Xiao Yueliang’s interactions with Yu Lin today did go beyond the bounds of friendship. If I were Shen Xun, I’d be pissed too.”

“But Su Jianyue and Shen Xun aren’t even dating. Isn’t Shen Xun being a bit overbearing?”

While netizens were busy gossiping, Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing were also following the drama. The two women had been tuning into their daughter’s reality show live streams whenever they had time.

After finishing work and dinner, they would settle down in the living room with fruit, watching their precious daughter on screen.

Mo Yuxin couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sight of their daughter’s pitiful, back-to-the-camera pose.

Su Yubing glared at her. “Xiao Yueliang is about to cry! What’s so funny?”

“Our little moon is so clueless!” Mo Yuxin exclaimed, speaking with the air of someone who’d seen it all. “It’s obvious Shen Xun is jealous! And she hasn’t even seen the scenes of Xiao Yueliang with Yu Lin. If she had, the jealousy jar would have shattered instantly! Our baby just lacks experience…”

Su Yubing scoffed lightly. “Really? Your own ‘level’ wasn’t exactly impressive back then, was it? I remember when we first met, you were trying to be my friend. I recall that time at the bar when I was being harassed, and you rescued me, took me to a hotel, and even bought me breakfast the next morning. Then you had the nerve to ask me to pay you back for the breakfast! When I didn’t have any cash, you ‘thoughtfully’ made me scan a QR code to transfer the money.”

“Heh heh.” Mo Yuxin chuckled dryly, unable to bear looking back at her past self. “Did that really happen? I’ve completely forgotten. Yubing, your memory is truly remarkable.”

Su Yubing shot her a withering glance, her smile strained. “Hmph, of course I remember. I’ll never forget it. And you’re mocking Xiao Yueliang? You weren’t much better than her back then. No wonder you two are mother and daughter.”

“Heh heh, my daughter naturally takes after me,” Mo Yuxin said proudly, oblivious to her wife’s exasperated eye roll.