Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 11

After that day, Xiang Shuhuai really did get busy, just like she’d said. For almost half a month, Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t catch a single glimpse of her. The only signs of her presence were the few small bowls that Auntie Zhao left in the pot, which would always be used, cleaned, and returned to their spot. And the sticky note on the guest room door—it changed every day.

Today was no different.

Orange today, Yu Xiaoxiao noted to herself as she casually peeled off the new note marked “July 5” and tucked it away as a sign that she’d seen it.

So that meant Xiang Shuhuai must’ve come back sometime in the early morning again.

Information was so advanced these days, yet somehow they still stuck to this strange, old-school way of keeping in touch.

She yawned, her hair a complete mess from sleep, and shuffled to the kitchen to check things out. As expected, the bowls had been cleaned and were now neatly stored in the sterilizer.

Eating in the middle of the night again—does she even sleep? was Yu Xiaoxiao’s first thought. Xiang Shuhuai was a normal human being, not a bat or something…

Seriously. She puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. This is the “model young exec” that Mom, Dad, Yaoyao, and even Youyou-jie are always raving about?

Honestly, Xiang Shuhuai’s lifestyle wasn’t any better than her own. If Yu Xiaoxiao dared to follow that kind of schedule, her dad would’ve scolded her to no end, saying stuff like “You’re too young to be staying up like this, it’ll ruin your health…”

Health.

A sudden thought flashed through her mind.

Wait a minute—wasn’t that annoying person supposed to be sick?

According to Assistant Yi, it sounded pretty serious. If it really was a heart condition, and she was still pulling all-nighters like this…

Yu Xiaoxiao blinked.

Technically, the woman was just temporarily staying at her place. Her sleep habits weren’t really any of her business. But still— still—

She suddenly remembered Xiang Shuhuai’s soft smile from that day, the one that was as gentle as moonlight.

Well… well, it’s not like I’m being nosy. Youyou-jie did ask me to keep an eye on her, didn’t she? As long as it was under Youyou-jie’s name, paying a little attention didn’t seem wrong…

Now that she’d come up with a perfectly reasonable excuse for herself, Yu Xiaoxiao dropped the matter.

She quickly typed out a message to Youyou-jie, half tattling, and sent it off. Then she poured herself some milk, stuck it in the microwave, and strolled off to the bathroom to wash up while it heated.

There was some bread in the fridge. Technically, she could’ve tossed it in the toaster, but she was too lazy to bother. She just grabbed a cold slice and nibbled at it, finishing her brunch in no time.

Afterward, she sat down at the clean dining table, rolled out a long piece of sketch paper, and started working on the storyboard for her picture book. She’d had a lot of free time lately—not going out drinking with her friends meant she’d made great progress on the drawings.

In her story, the little golden bird wanted to see the snow in the north. But it couldn’t bear to leave its mother, who loved it dearly, so it joined the other birds in their migration.

But along the way, they ran into a storm. When the golden bird opened its eyes again, it was all alone, lying by the water in a strange forest.

Its wing was hurt. It couldn’t fly, so it limped along beside the stream, stumbling forward.

The little bird walked for a long, long time. Eventually, it reached the end of the stream, where there was a large, abandoned plaza surrounded by lush trees. In the center of the plaza, under a night sky filled with stars and moonlight, it saw a crystal-clear statue.

It was a lifelike statue of a young girl.

The golden bird raised its head, flapped its wings, and said, “Hello, pretty statue!”

But the beautiful and proud statue only tilted its chin up toward the moon, not saying a word.

…

Yu Xiaoxiao gripped her pen tightly, carefully drawing the statue’s elegant and aloof face under the moonlight. But just as she was adding detail to the statue’s moonlit eyes, her hand suddenly slipped.

Those cold, clear black eyes…

For some reason, she thought of Xiang Shuhuai again.

Once the thought popped up, she couldn’t shake it. The more she looked at the statue, the more it resembled that annoying Big Ice Block. Frustrated, she picked up an eraser, thinking to rub it out—but she hesitated.

She sat up straight, then shoved the drawing aside and tossed her pen down. Before she realized what she was doing, she’d already pulled out her phone.

Youyou-jie still hadn’t replied to her earlier message. Yu Xiaoxiao stared at the chat window for a moment, debating whether to ask what exactly Xiang Shuhuai was sick with. In the end, she didn’t send anything. That assistant had already told her enough. Snooping around behind someone’s back felt a little too shady… But asking directly? That’d probably earn her a frosty “What does that have to do with you?” from Big Ice Block herself.

Just imagining it made Yu Xiaoxiao even more irritated.

While she was still sulking over a version of Xiang Shuhuai that only existed in her head, a call popped up on her screen. It was from her friend’s younger sister—probably inviting her out again.

She couldn’t focus on drawing anyway, and being home alone was boring. Without thinking too much, Yu Xiaoxiao picked up the call.

“Hello?”

“Xiaoyu-jie!” the girl chirped. “There’s a party tonight—wanna come?”

“It’s a birthday banquet hosted by the Xiang family, just for the younger crowd in our circle. Hardly any adults are going. Xiaoyu-jie, come with us! My sister’s not going, and if you don’t come either, it’ll be so boring…” She added quickly, as if afraid of being turned down, “Oh! And I checked—Manager Yu won’t be there.”

The “Manager Yu” she meant was Yu Xiaoxiao’s cousin, Yu Yao. If Yao-yao was around, she’d definitely keep a close eye on her—forcing her to socialize properly and forbidding her from goofing off. So Yu Xiaoxiao usually tried to avoid events where she’d be present.

But that wasn’t what caught Yu Xiaoxiao’s attention.

She asked, “A birthday party hosted by the Xiang family?”

“Yeah, it’s for some boy from a side branch of the family. Nothing exciting about him,” the girl replied. “But apparently it’s connected to some business stuff, so they’re going all out. Are you interested? If you are, I’ll drive you and bring you an invite…”

Business stuff. That must be what Xiang Shuhuai had been so busy with lately. So… would she be there too?

“…Okay.” Her mouth moved faster than her brain. Before she even realized it, she’d already agreed. “I’ll go.”

“Awesome!” The girl sounded thrilled. “I’ll come pick you up tonight, Xiaoyu-jie!”

Why did I—

Yu Xiaoxiao let out a regretful sigh. She had no idea why she thought of that annoying woman and even agreed to go because of her. But taking it back now would just make her look wishy-washy.

So all she could say was, “…Okay. Thanks.”

“C’mon, we’re like family,” the girl said breezily. “See you tonight, Xiaoyu-jie!”