Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 10
What was her relationship with Xiang Shuhuai?
They definitely weren’t friends. But now that she was sitting here, constantly thinking about Xiang Shuhuai, they couldn’t be considered strangers either. So… roommates?
But for some reason, Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t really want others to know they had that kind of relationship.
She couldn’t figure it out. After a moment, she blinked and tried saying,
“—Rivals in love?”
Yi Anning looked a bit surprised. “Then you…”
Before she could finish, her phone buzzed with a new message. She glanced at it, then looked up and said,
“The boss is done now. I’ll take you to her office.”
In the hallway, the topic of their relationship didn’t come up again. Yi Anning walked ahead, occasionally nodding to coworkers who greeted her. It wasn’t until they stepped into the private elevator—just the two of them—that she spoke again, eyes on the rising floor numbers.
“I’m the boss’s personal assistant,” she said. “Secretaries for work stuff come and go pretty often. But I’ve been with her since the very beginning, when she first started the business. I followed her into the company after that.”
She paused, as if thinking about how to phrase her next words. Her gaze lowered, thumb gently rubbing the knuckle of her right index finger. After a moment, she continued.
“I don’t know what your relationship with the boss is. But since you’re standing here now… all I can really say is, her health isn’t great. It never has been. Every year… there’s always a tough stretch. But it usually doesn’t last too long.”
Her gaze flicked to the thermal container in Yu Xiaoxiao’s arms, then she looked up again and gave her a sincere, grateful smile.
“So, thank you.”
Yu Xiaoxiao was still confused and had more questions, but before she could ask, the elevator dinged.
They’d arrived.
Yi Anning didn’t say anything else. After showing her to the office, she left.
Still full of questions, Yu Xiaoxiao gently pushed open the slightly ajar door.
The office was spacious, with a long sofa. The wide desk was cluttered with documents, and a computer sat at the center.
Xiang Shuhuai was wearing a loose shirt, the right sleeve rolled up, layers of bandages wrapped around her forearm. She sat calmly, eyes on the screen, seemingly deep in thought.
Seated behind such a large desk, her frame looked especially thin.
When she heard the door open, Xiang Shuhuai looked up—and their eyes met.
Yu Xiaoxiao held up the thermal container. “Here.”
“…Ah.” Xiang Shuhuai’s gaze landed on the container. It took her a while to respond.
She probably still had a slight fever—her cheeks were flushed, and her dark eyes were a bit glassy. But the fragile look from yesterday was gone.
Now, she just seemed unsure how to react. She didn’t say anything else.
“It’s kelp and crucian carp soup,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “Auntie Zhao made it. She said it helps heal burns faster.
There’s also some cold pig liver underneath—no chili. Auntie Zhao said spicy food’s bad for wounds. I don’t really get it… Oh, and she said no tea for now.”
She walked up to the desk and placed the container next to Xiang Shuhuai’s hand.
“Oh, right,” Yu Xiaoxiao added. “From now on, when Auntie Zhao’s cooking, you should eat with me.”
Xiang Shuhuai gave her a puzzled look, and Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly felt awkward for some reason.
She quickly added,
“—Not like that. It’s just your hand’s not doing well, so Auntie Zhao figured she might as well cook for both of us… And besides, since Youyou-jie told me to look after you…”
At that, Xiang Shuhuai nodded in understanding.
“Okay,” she said softly, looking at her. “Thank you.”
“No big deal.” Yu Xiaoxiao looked away, uncomfortable under her gaze, and muttered,
“…It’s not like I made it.”
No one said anything else.
The room filled with a strange, awkward silence.
Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t know whether to stand or sit, or what to say. She snuck a glance at Xiang Shuhuai, who was cradling the container, her head slightly lowered, lips lightly pressed together. The wide neckline of her shirt had slipped off one shoulder, and from where Yu Xiaoxiao sat, she could just see the pale skin above her collarbone—so pale it almost looked like glass…
She looked away like she’d been burned, feeling her ears heat up too.
Then finally, Xiang Shuhuai broke the silence.
“Yu Xiaoxiao, about going out with you,” she said. “When do you want to go?”
Yu Xiaoxiao was caught off guard. “Huh?”
“As thanks for letting me stay at your place—I said I’d take you out. Yesterday. Do you still want to go?”
She explained softly,
“I… might be really busy soon, with work and everything. So if we go, it’d have to be in the next few days.”
Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t seem to mind. “It’s not urgent. You do your thing. We can figure it out later.”
“Then…” Xiang Shuhuai hesitated, “maybe I should move out after all.”
Yu Xiaoxiao blinked.
“—Just because of that?” She looked at the woman in disbelief. “Seriously?”
Xiang Shuhuai nodded. “…Yeah.”
When she said it, she didn’t meet Yu Xiaoxiao’s eyes. Her lips twitched slightly—maybe trying to stop herself from saying more—and the pale lips turned a bit redder from the movement.
Yu Xiaoxiao realized, for the first time, how many small gestures Xiang Shuhuai had.
…And that they were kind of cute.
She quickly shut down that dangerous thought. What cute? It’s just that annoying Big Ice Block again. She was definitely seeing things…
“Thanks for these past few days,” Xiang Shuhuai said. “Once work picks up, my schedule’s going to be a mess. I don’t want to bother you.”
“I don’t know about that.” Yu Xiaoxiao said deliberately. “I’ll have to ask Youyou-jie.”
At that, Xiang Shuhuai instinctively opened her mouth to stop her, but no words came out.
For the first time, Yu Xiaoxiao saw a flicker of real confusion in those always-calm black eyes—eyes that hadn’t wavered even when she was sick or in pain.
She suddenly realized:
Just mention Youyou-jie, and she’d gain the upper hand with this Big Ice Block.
“Youyou-jie’s the one who asked me to take care of you. I agreed because of her,” she said. “If you’re planning to move out, I need to let her know.”
Xiang Shuhuai went quiet for a moment. Then she said,
“I’ll talk to my sister about it later.”
“So you’re not moving?”
“…Yeah.”
There we go. Yu Xiaoxiao felt like she’d won the round and puffed up her cheeks proudly as she sat down.
Seeing her settle in, Xiang Shuhuai didn’t say anything else. She didn’t seem like she planned to eat at her desk, but she didn’t put the container down either. She just kept looking at her computer, her expression back to the composed one she usually wore.
Yu Xiaoxiao watched her for a bit, then got bored and asked,
“—Hey, do you have to work overtime too? You’re the CEO. I thought once you reached that level, you could just work whenever you felt like it.
My mom’s pretty chill. She only goes to the office ‘cause she doesn’t want to deal with us at home.”
Xiang Shuhuai replied calmly, “President Yu knows how to delegate.”
“So you don’t?” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “And you’re still sick! You came to work right away the next day. What, the company can’t run without you? That’s not normal, is it?”
“You’re right,” Xiang Shuhuai said mildly.
Her half-smiling, half-serious tone gave Yu Xiaoxiao chills.
…What the heck.
She didn’t know why she felt so unsettled. For a moment, they just stared at each other in awkward silence, neither saying a word.
Then suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Three quick, even raps.
Yi Anning walked in with a stack of files in her arms.
“Boss—oh.” She paused when she saw Yu Xiaoxiao. “I’ll come back…”
“No no no.” Yu Xiaoxiao jumped up from the couch, relieved. “You two work. I’ll get going.”
She bolted toward the door like she was afraid they’d stop her. At the doorway, she turned back to say,
“I’ll ask Auntie Zhao to set your meals aside from now on. You can just grab them when you get back!”
Without waiting for a reply, she quickly shut the door.
Her chest was full of strange, fluttery feelings.
Without daring to glance back at the office, Yu Xiaoxiao fled the scene.