It’s Not Okay to Kiss Me as Soon as We Meet (ABO) - Chapter 18

Lin Huaiyi didn’t know how long she had slept when her index finger twitched first.

Shen Li had been gripping Lin Huaiyi’s finger tightly, so even the slightest movement made her react right away. She hurried over to check on Lin Huaiyi.

Lin Huaiyi struggled to open her eyes and saw an enlarged beautiful face right up close, the eyes full of concern as they looked at her.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Lin Huaiyi’s sluggish brain felt like rusty gears that hadn’t been oiled in ages—she could even hear the rusty parts in her head creaking as she shook it from the motion.

But thanks to the pretty face before her, Lin Huaiyi finally remembered how she had dueled someone as an alpha, how she had brushed past death, and how she had overexerted her pheromones before blacking out.

Shen Li watched as Lin Huaiyi’s unfocused eyes gradually cleared, and she let out a sigh of relief in her heart. She had thought some clichéd amnesia plot was about to happen.

Lin Huaiyi had never seen such an open expression on Shen Li’s face before.

In the past, she had only seen worry hidden away, anger strongly suppressed, occasional pleasure, or quiet relaxation on Shen Li’s face. Whether positive or negative, Shen Li seemed to dislike showing emotions directly and chose to keep them bottled up inside. Because her facial expressions didn’t change much, she had earned the “iceberg” nickname at the company.

But now, Shen Li’s iceberg melted because of her waking up.

Lin Huaiyi had always known Shen Li was beautiful, but she hadn’t expected her smile to have such an impact.

Lin Huaiyi stared at Shen Li in a daze, unable to speak for a long time. Shen Li’s surprised exclamation broke the awkward atmosphere.

“Lin Huaiyi, you’re having a nosebleed!”

Lin Huaiyi’s face exploded in red. Ignoring Shen Li’s attempt to stop her, she yanked out the IV needle and rolled off the bed, rushing into the bathroom.

After splashing water wildly for a bit, she lifted her face and saw it was still red as a ripe tomato.

Lin Huaiyi thought: I’m done for.

Outside the bathroom, Shen Li knocked anxiously. “Lin Huaiyi! Lin Huaiyi! Are you okay? Do you want me to come in and check on you?”

Lin Huaiyi quickly said no need, no need. She rinsed roughly with water, then opened the bathroom door.

Shen Li saw Lin Huaiyi with messy hair, strands still flinging shiny water droplets, and she really looked like a big dog that had gone wild in the pond. Shen Li found her own thought amusing and let out a pfft of laughter. Lin Huaiyi’s heart bloomed with flowers too.

Lin Huaiyi grinned foolishly for a bit, then suddenly remembered. “Did Yamamoto Daisuke give you the authorization?”

Shen Li blanked for a moment, then said righteously, “I didn’t get around to it!”

Lin Huaiyi felt exasperated. “Miss, what did we come here for?”

Shen Li felt a surge of grievance out of nowhere—this Lin Huaiyi actually dared to glare at me! Lin Huaiyi dared to glare at me now, so would the next step be hitting me?

Lin Huaiyi wilted instantly. “My bad, my bad. Then let’s go get the authorization from Yamamoto Daisuke.”

Shen Li checked Lin Huaiyi all over—front and back, left and right—then nervously called the doctor in for another exam. Only when she was sure Lin Huaiyi could be discharged without issue did she relax.

The doctor smiled and said, “Her body’s strong as an ox right now—she’s fully recovered.”

Then he turned to the nurse beside him in Japanese. “Look how tense this omega is about her alpha’s health—unlike the one at my house, who wishes I’d stay out every day so she can have peace. People compared to people—it’s infuriating.”

Lin Huaiyi heard the doctor’s words, blushed, blinked her eyes, and wanted to hear more.

Shen Li asked Lin Huaiyi curiously, “What did the doctor say? You’re listening so intently.” She reached up and tugged Lin Huaiyi’s ear. “It’s getting longer.”

Lin Huaiyi panicked for an instant but soon recovered her usual demeanor. “Nothing much—he’s just praising how healthy I am.”

To prove the doctor right, Lin Huaiyi even bounced in place a couple of times.

Shen Li smiled faintly and stopped Lin Huaiyi from acting foolish anymore. “Let’s go find Yamamoto Daisuke. His son is in the next room.”

Mentioning Tsuna Yamamoto made Lin Huaiyi’s expression darken. That scum had actually coveted Shen Li’s beauty—she should have hit him harder back then.

Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li found the Yamamoto family housekeeper and asked to see Yamamoto Daisuke.

It was almost magical—after just a few hours apart, seeing Yamamoto Daisuke again, he looked like he had aged ten years. The poised elegance was gone, replaced by a weathered face.

Seeing Shen Li and Lin Huaiyi push the door open, Yamamoto Daisuke forced a smile. “Miss Shen, Miss Lin, you’ve come.”

Lin Huaiyi wanted to know Tsuna Yamamoto’s status, but for the sake of continuing the cooperation, she still asked politely. “How is Mr. Yamamoto doing now?”

Yamamoto Daisuke was advanced in years. When he heard Lin Huaiyi’s question, his Adam’s apple bobbed. The skin on his neck was loose, so you could only see the joints moving inside while the outer skin wrinkled and sagged.

If the man they had seen that morning was still the wise image of the Yamamoto family head, plotting from the shadows and winning from afar, the one standing before Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li now was just a frail old man on his last legs.

Yamamoto Daisuke: “A Tsuna’s gland is ruined. The doctor checked and said it was because he clashed with an alpha way above his level and got backlashed by the pheromones. The doctor says A Tsuna can only be a beta for the rest of his life now.”

Tsuna Yamamoto was Yamamoto Daisuke’s only alpha child. In this place that still held feudal ideas, losing the alpha heir meant Yamamoto Daisuke’s branch was doomed to decline, and his position as clan head might get replaced soon.

“This is the patent authorization document I promised you two—I’ve already signed it. Please take it with you.” Yamamoto Daisuke handed a file folder to Lin Huaiyi, then turned away and said no more.

Lin Huaiyi was about to speak when Mieko Yamamoto suddenly burst in, tears in her eyes, shouting loudly. “You two, get out now! Never show up in my sight again. You don’t know yet, do you? Brother broke the law by using pheromones in the duel—the security team already got the tip-off. They say once Brother’s injuries stabilize, they’ll arrest him, and after that, he’ll face charges and might go to prison.”

“I hate you! Because of you, Brother’s no longer an alpha and has to go to jail—don’t ever come back to Japan!!!”

After Mieko Yamamoto yelled, she threw herself into Yamamoto Daisuke’s arms and sobbed.

Yamamoto Daisuke nodded apologetically to them, then focused on comforting Mieko Yamamoto.

Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li exchanged a glance and tacitly understood the meaning in each other’s eyes. They quietly left the room.

Shen Li was curious. “Someone actually reported Tsuna Yamamoto for abusing pheromones in the duel—but everyone there was from the Yamamoto family. Who would report it? I was all focused on you at the time and didn’t pay any attention to Tsuna Yamamoto.”

Lin Huaiyi didn’t catch much else, but her ears perked up at a few words—”all focused on you”—and her mood soared instantly. She smiled and said, “The wicked get their due from heaven. He probably doesn’t act like a decent person usually and offended a lot of people. Now that someone’s caught his mistake, of course they’d rush to report it.”

Actually, Lin Huaiyi had her own suspicions in her heart but didn’t tell Shen Li.

In general, big families handled this kind of thing internally and wouldn’t call the police to bring in outside forces. The unwritten rule of the game was to air no dirty laundry in public. Fight however you want inside, but calling the cops meant openly opposing everyone in the family.

Lin Huaiyi suspected the reporter was connected to the Lin family—after all, Lin Corporation and the Yamamoto family had cooperated for years, so having an inside line wasn’t surprising.

Now, with the Lin family heiress nearly killed by Tsuna Yamamoto’s pheromone sabotage in the duel, if no one had reported it then, following up afterward would just be a muddled account. Out of fatherly love, Yamamoto Daisuke could dodge a bit, offer some gifts, and it would be hard to give Tsuna Yamamoto the punishment he deserved.

But now, with solid evidence, even the Yamamoto family’s young master couldn’t escape legal sanction.

Shen Li was still indignant. “Letting him rot in prison for a few years is going easy on him. If the police hadn’t gotten involved, I’d go back and talk to my dad to make them see that Shen Corporation people aren’t to be messed with.”

Lin Huaiyi muttered under her breath, “Is it Shen Corporation people or Shen Li people, anyway.”

Shen Li didn’t catch it. “Lin Huaiyi, what are you mumbling quietly?”

Lin Huaiyi immediately smiled ingratiatingly. “I’m praising you—praising how the Shen Corporation young miss has a heroic spirit, a true chivalrous woman.”

Shen Li laughed. “What are you saying? All weird. Just call me Shen Li—no need for Shen Corporation young miss or anything.”

Their laughter and talk got interrupted by the hospital’s seven o’clock chime. Both suddenly remembered something important they had overlooked.

Oh no—they were going to miss the flight back home. If they didn’t bring the documents to the company before midnight, who knew what Shen Yan would stir up.

They both ran out at the same time—passports and such were on them. There was an eight o’clock flight; if they caught that, there was hope to get back to the company before midnight.

It was evening rush hour now. Though the hospital wasn’t far from the airport, the stop-and-go traffic still took nearly twenty minutes. They rushed through the VIP channel for security, leaving less than ten minutes until boarding closed.

Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li sprinted. Lin Huaiyi suddenly heard Shen Li cry out in pain and slowed down, stopping quickly to ask what was wrong. Shen Li endured the pain and said, “I think I twisted my ankle up front.”

The overhead airport announcement blared, “Ms. Lin Huaiyi, Ms. Shen Li, your flight X3245 international has five minutes until the gate closes. Please board as soon as possible.”

Sweat poured down Lin Huaiyi’s face—they were still about 800 meters from the gate by eye. Seeing Shen Li’s face pale from the twisted ankle pain, Lin Huaiyi steeled herself. “Forgive me for this.”

Before Shen Li could react, Lin Huaiyi bent down, scooped up Shen Li’s legs, and lifted her into a horizontal carry, then sped toward the gate.

Shen Li felt the world spin. By the time she came to, she was already in Lin Huaiyi’s arms. In her panic, her hand unconsciously grabbed Lin Huaiyi’s collar, nearly yanking off a button from her shirt.

Lin Huaiyi looked down and coaxed softly. “You can hold onto my neck—this way you’re almost choking me.”

In such a public place, being carried by an alpha while running forward—Shen Li had never experienced it before. She was in a state of shock, her brain not turning over, and her hands followed Lin Huaiyi’s instructions unconsciously.

She clasped her hands together, wrapping around Lin Huaiyi’s neck. When her mind cleared a bit, she realized she was nestled in Lin Huaiyi’s arms, letting her run through the airport, and she felt at a loss, not knowing how to handle it.

Brain frozen, Shen Li simply buried her head into Lin Huaiyi’s chest like an ostrich. Out of sight, out of mind—she let Lin Huaiyi settle her into the first-class seat on the plane.

Special Assistant Yang had been summoned to the conference room, where a row of executives sat inside. He could only stand by the side as punishment.

Special Assistant Yang teared up. “CEO Li, you absolutely have to get back on time. If you don’t make it, I’m afraid General Jun will call the cops and have me arrested.”