Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 12
The banquet was just that—an ordinary banquet. The supposed star of the night was a minor male alpha from the Xiang family’s extended branch. Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t remember his name, and probably no one else would either. At this coming-of-age party, no one was really paying attention to him.
What actually mattered was the Xiang family’s newest internet finance project—and more importantly, the person behind it: the heir to this vast and deeply intertwined family.
Xiang Shuhuai. Of course, it was Xiang Shuhuai.
Yu Xiaoxiao had never cared about things like that. She always brought a bunch of rowdy friends along and took over one side of the banquet, making a ruckus and having fun.
But honestly, there wasn’t much fun to be had tonight. Unlike some of her friends who were into messy flings with both guys and girls, everyone knew Yu Xiaoxiao had been secretly in love with Cong You for a long time. Since she hadn’t gone through her second gender differentiation yet, she could still play the part of a carefree kid, and over time, no one really tried to set her up with anyone anymore. She wasn’t really into drinking either—not that she hated it, she just enjoyed the lively atmosphere of being around friends.
Most of the young people here tonight were pretty young, and they all naturally followed Yu Xiaoxiao’s lead. Surrounded by them, she should have been having a blast, soaking in the attention. But for some reason, her mind kept drifting.
…She thought she saw that Big Ice Block again.
Xiang Shuhuai, the annoying one, was still at the center of the crowd, the clear focus of the whole event. People wanting to talk to her kept coming in waves. She held a wine glass effortlessly, chatting and laughing with ease, completely in her element.
Her expression was calm and confident, exuding authority. That commanding presence of hers—like she could turn clouds into storms with a wave of her hand—was nothing like the awkward, uncertain woman Yu Xiaoxiao had seen at her own house.
Every time Yu Xiaoxiao caught a glimpse of her from the corner of her eye, she felt a sharp stab of irritation.
“Xiaoyu-jie!” the younger girl who’d driven her here called out, “What’s up? You keep spacing out today.”
“Nothing,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied. “I’m just tasting the wine.”
The girl wasn’t too happy. “Seriously…”
But in Yu Xiaoxiao’s head, all she could think about was how that Big Ice Block was wearing a tailored suit again tonight, the cuff neatly covering her wrist. She still had an injury on her arm, didn’t she? Didn’t it hurt at all?
Her thoughts were a mess. She joked and laughed with her friends, but her eyes kept drifting toward that one figure she couldn’t stop thinking about.
“By the way, Xiaoyu,” one friend said while refilling her drink and giving her a nudge, “that person you mentioned in the group chat—who was that? You don’t like Cong You-jie anymore?”
That’s when Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly shot to her feet with a loud “Hah!” nearly knocking over her drink, startling everyone.
“Xiaoyu?” a friend called after her, “Where are you going—”
“Got something to do,” Yu Xiaoxiao said.
She set down her glass and strode straight toward the center of the crowd.
Just now, Xiang Shuhuai’s gaze had swept briefly in her direction. Their eyes met.
Then, that aloof Big Ice Block—despite having just written a sticky note that morning with a date on it and stuck it on the door at home, despite the thank-you note for Aunt Zhao that Yu Xiaoxiao had helped her write, despite agreeing to go out with her to help her quit drinking—had looked away without even a flicker of recognition. Her expression hadn’t changed at all. Those cold, dark eyes were completely indifferent.
Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t even know what she was angry about. But she felt a mix of injustice, hurt, and a strange panic. That Xiang Shuhuai—the one who got hurt, fell ill, and showed softness and vulnerability—now felt like she’d never existed. If Yu Xiaoxiao told anyone, they probably wouldn’t believe her.
But she had seen it. She knew that version of Xiang Shuhuai was real.
So why did Xiang Shuhuai act like they were strangers the moment she stepped out the door?
Fuming, Yu Xiaoxiao pushed her way through the crowd, reached out, and grabbed Xiang Shuhuai’s left wrist right as she was talking to someone else.
She called out stiffly, “Hey.”
The other woman turned in surprise, her eyes widening just a little. They looked at each other.
In those cold, clear black eyes, Yu Xiaoxiao saw her own reflection.
What should she say? “What’s your problem pretending not to know me?” “Cong You-jie said to remind you not to stay up so late.” Or maybe, “Are you coming home tonight?”
But in the end, all she said was:
“…Don’t forget to water the flowers at home.”
…What the heck?!
As soon as the words left her mouth, Yu Xiaoxiao froze. She immediately wanted to chew them up and swallow them. Where had that even come from?
Sure, there were plants at home, but Aunt Zhao was the one who took care of them. Yu Xiaoxiao just liked how green they looked. She had never asked Xiang Shuhuai to take care of them. She honestly wanted to crack open her own head and figure out how that sentence popped out.
What surprised her even more was that Xiang Shuhuai’s look of surprise faded almost instantly. She returned to her calm self and simply nodded.
“I know,” she said.
Her expression gave away nothing. Under everyone’s curious eyes, Yu Xiaoxiao found herself stuck—no reason to keep holding onto her wrist, but no reason to let go, either.
Just then, the friend who’d followed her over quickly caught up and grabbed her shoulder, blurting out, “Whoa, Xiaoyu, what’s going on? You and President Xiang live together?”
“No, no…!” Yu Xiaoxiao said instinctively. “It’s just… I gave Cong You-jie those flowers! Since she went abroad, she asked Xiang Shuhuai to look after them, and I was worried she might kill them, so I reminded her…”
Xiang Shuhuai looked at them and calmly backed up the sloppy excuse. “Mm, that’s right.”
Hearing her cool voice, Yu Xiaoxiao reflexively let go of her hand.
She awkwardly laughed a few times, said something random about plant care, then practically dragged her friend away at lightning speed.
The well-dressed guests quickly gathered around Xiang Shuhuai again.
For her, it was clearly just a small interruption. As soon as Yu Xiaoxiao left, she returned to her graceful, unshakable self—leaving Yu Xiaoxiao to be surrounded by her nosy friends.
They swarmed around, firing questions from all sides:
“Xiaoyu-jie, how long have you known her? Are you close with President Xiang?”
“What kind of flowers? I didn’t know you were into flowers…”
“If Cong You-jie trusted her with your flowers, are you jealous?”
“Xiaoyu—”
Yu Xiaoxiao answered them as best she could, her face getting hotter and hotter. After finally escaping the questions, she made an excuse to duck into the lounge nearby.
She hid in a private room for quite a while, waiting for her heartbeat to calm down. Just as she finally pulled herself together and opened the door to leave, she saw Xiang Shuhuai walking toward her—alone.
She blinked in surprise. “…Xiang Shuhuai?”
“Mm,” the other woman replied softly.
Seeing Yu Xiaoxiao standing in her way, not moving, she hesitated a moment before lifting her arm slightly and explaining, “I just… need to take care of something.”
“I’ll help you,” Yu Xiaoxiao said.
Xiang Shuhuai stayed quiet for a moment, then didn’t refuse.
The two of them went into the lounge together. After closing the door, Xiang Shuhuai took off her suit jacket and draped it over the back of a chair.
Yu Xiaoxiao looked closely and saw a faint bloodstain on the right sleeve of her blouse. On the pale silk fabric, it stood out sharply. Her sleeve was rolled up, revealing bandages soaked with bl00d. It looked pretty bad.
“Whoa, seriously?” Yu Xiaoxiao blurted out. “It’s been over two weeks. You haven’t gone back to the hospital to change the dressing?”
Xiang Shuhuai nodded slightly.
“You’ve been that busy?” Seeing her awkwardly try to undo the bandages with her left hand, Yu Xiaoxiao stepped in. “I’ll do it. What about a private doctor? Doesn’t your company have enough money to hire one? If people find out you’re doing this yourself, they’ll think your family’s going bankrupt because of that new project. That’d be big news. Why are you being so dramatic?”
“…I’m not really suited to use the company’s doctors,” Xiang Shuhuai said. “Personal reasons.”
Her words were cold and stiff, but her tone wasn’t—it was soft and gentle, like when they were at home. Yu Xiaoxiao had wanted to say more, but when she glanced up and saw how pale Xiang Shuhuai looked, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
In the end, all she said was, “…You put on lip gloss?”
“Mm,” Xiang Shuhuai said. “I looked too pale.”
That’s because you’re not taking care of your health.
“If you don’t look good, then take care of yourself,” Yu Xiaoxiao snapped. “Putting on lip gloss won’t help if your body’s still a mess.”
Xiang Shuhuai didn’t say anything.
The lounge had a first aid kit. Yu Xiaoxiao soaked a cotton swab with iodine and carefully dabbed it on the bandage to loosen it. The room filled with the sharp smell of disinfectant.
Even though she was as gentle as possible, removing the bandage still tugged at the wound. Xiang Shuhuai sat stiffly, holding back any sound, her fingertips tense from the pain. She looked kind of pitiful, like she was being bullied.
…It really was Xiang Shuhuai, Yu Xiaoxiao thought.
The same Xiang Shuhuai who, just moments ago, had been the calm, confident business genius—sharp, cold, perfect. The kind of person who would never lower her proud gaze to look at someone like Yu Xiaoxiao.
She was supposed to be that kind of person.
“…Hey, Xiang Shuhuai,” Yu Xiaoxiao said suddenly. “Why did you pretend not to know me out there?”