Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL) - Chapter 2

Midday, the next day.

It had been a full twenty-four hours since Yu Xiaoxiao’s least favorite love rival moved into the guest bedroom of her home. She had absolutely no intention of seeing Xiang Shuhuai, but after so much time had passed and the room stayed completely silent, the weird quietness started getting to her.

…She’d eaten several meals already, and that door had never once opened.

Could it be that the person inside hadn’t come out even once?

Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but wonder. Even if the guest room had its own bathroom, what about food? Not even one meal? Was Xiang Shuhuai seriously a robot or something—just charging in there and not needing to eat or drink?

Whatever, it didn’t matter whether she came out or not. It had nothing to do with her. That’s what Yu Xiaoxiao kept telling herself, but as more time passed, she couldn’t help paying more attention to that door.

Not long after lunch, she came out again to have a fruit parfait. With a spoon in her mouth, she quickly scribbled down a rough draft of some “housemate rules,” then sat in the living room and spaced out, staring at the door to the guest room.

…After all, Sister Youyou had asked her to look after the other girl a little, hadn’t she?

Thinking that, Yu Xiaoxiao hesitantly grabbed the housemate rules and walked to the guest room door—but she couldn’t bring herself to knock.

One little devil in her head said, That annoying ice cube? Yu Xiaoxiao, why do you even care? Maybe she really is just a robot that charges. No human acts like that anyway.

Another devil said, This is your house! What are you hesitating for? The door’s not even locked—just push it open. Who cares? Yu Xiaoxiao, go go go—

Click.

The door opened.

Yu Xiaoxiao, lost in her thoughts, was startled and took a few steps back. When she looked up, she saw that cold, expressionless face.

Compared to the day before, Xiang Shuhuai had changed into casual clothes: a clean, long-sleeved nightgown that hung loosely on her tall, slim frame, the hem swaying softly as she moved. It made her look almost too skinny. Her exposed skin was deathly pale, her joints colorless, and she was barefoot—

Xiang Shuhuai seemed just as surprised to see her. She opened her mouth and said, “You—”

“I-I was just checking if you were dead,” Yu Xiaoxiao blurted out, for some reason feeling a little guilty seeing her like that. “This is my house! If you died in here, I wouldn’t be able to live in it anymore. And I couldn’t sell it either—it’d be considered haunted. I—”

“I understand,” Xiang Shuhuai said calmly. “I’m not dead.”

“You’re just standing there—I can’t tell if you’re dead or not!” Yu Xiaoxiao snapped. “You went in and never came out. It’s been forever, and there hasn’t been a single sound…”

She kept nitpicking, but Xiang Shuhuai didn’t seem bothered. She just looked at her calmly, her clear dark eyes quietly watching Yu Xiaoxiao without a hint of emotion, patiently waiting for her to finish.

…Compared to how she was outside, there was something a little different about her now, but Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Being stared at like that made her uncomfortable, and soon she couldn’t keep talking.

Still unwilling to back down, she quickly pulled out the housemate rules she’d written, shoved them into Xiang Shuhuai’s hands, and lifted her chin bossily. “Rules. Read them.”

Xiang Shuhuai unfolded the long piece of paper and looked down at it.

There were about twenty or thirty lines, scribbled and crossed out here and there. No wearing Yu Xiaoxiao’s slippers, no eating her fruit, no strong-smelling food, and so on. The overall message was basically: Don’t show up in front of Yu Xiaoxiao. It’d be best if she could forget you even exist.

Xiang Shuhuai skimmed through it quickly and nodded. “Alright. Got it.”

She folded the paper and kept it, then reached for the door handle. Just as she was about to close the door, Yu Xiaoxiao stuck her foot in the gap, stopping her. Xiang Shuhuai looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Yu Xiaoxiao hadn’t really thought it through before sticking her foot out. Seeing the other girl’s confused look, she suddenly got flustered—then quickly puffed up with confidence again. “Well… well, if you make no noise at all, how am I supposed to know if you dropped dead in there? What if Sister Youyou asks me about you, huh?”

The rules had been entirely one-sided, so it didn’t really make sense for her to interrogate Xiang Shuhuai like this. But Yu Xiaoxiao sounded so sure of herself that Xiang Shuhuai didn’t argue. Instead, she reacted like she was humoring a child.

“I’ve got sticky notes in my room,” Xiang Shuhuai said after a moment of thought. “I’ll write the date on one each morning and stick it on the door. I’ll change it every day. Just check the date.”

“…Fine.” Yu Xiaoxiao reluctantly agreed and pulled her foot back. “That works.”

Xiang Shuhuai nodded silently. As Yu Xiaoxiao turned to leave, the sound of the door closing behind her made her feel oddly annoyed.

What, in such a hurry to shut the door on me? she fumed. She’s living in my house, and I haven’t even said I don’t want her here! Why does this annoying ice block act like I’m the problem? Seriously—

Grumbling to herself, Yu Xiaoxiao flopped down onto the soft couch, shook her head to clear her mind of irritating thoughts, and picked up a nearby sketch draft to look at. Before long, her phone rang.

It was the special ringtone she’d set for Sister Youyou!

Yu Xiaoxiao scrambled to her feet and excitedly answered the call.

“Sister Youyou!”

Cong You’s warm voice came through, with a smile in her tone. “Xiaoxiao.”

“Sister Youyou,” Yu Xiaoxiao was so happy she couldn’t sit still—she started pacing around the living room. “It’s morning over there, right? You’ve got class today, don’t you? How come you’re calling?”

“I suddenly missed you two,” Cong You said. “Not many classes today, so I thought I’d call and check in. How have you been?”

Yu Xiaoxiao conveniently ignored the word ‘two’, grinning stupidly as she chatted with Cong You, talking about her design work, then about the picture book she was making. Eventually, the topic circled back to Xiang Shuhuai, who was now living in her home.

“Shuhuai’s been there for a day now, right?” Cong You asked gently. “How’s it going, Xiaoxiao? Are you two getting along?”

That annoying ice block’s face popped back into Yu Xiaoxiao’s mind.

“Me and that… that person,” she mumbled, trying to brush it off. “It’s whatever.”

“You’re at home now, right, Xiaoxiao?” Cong You asked. “Can I speak to Shuhuai?”

Yu Xiaoxiao sulked. “…She’s not here.”

“Be good, Xiaoxiao,” Cong You chuckled. “Let her take the call.”

Yu Xiaoxiao had no choice but to grumble and pout, then finally walked over to knock on Xiang Shuhuai’s door.

“Xiang Shuhuai, come out,” she called grumpily. “Sister Youyou wants to talk to you.”

The door opened. Xiang Shuhuai glanced at her and took the phone. Her expression noticeably softened as soon as she looked at the screen.

“…Sister,” Xiang Shuhuai said softly. “Mm, I’m here.”

Her voice was tender and gentle—completely different from usual. Hearing it made Yu Xiaoxiao’s skin crawl. She scowled as she watched Xiang Shuhuai nod solemnly while speaking, then head back into her room and gently close the door.

All of Yu Xiaoxiao’s earlier excitement vanished. Her expression darkened as she glared at the guest room door, staring so hard she almost wanted to burn a hole through it.

Finally, the door opened again. Xiang Shuhuai handed the phone back to her.

Her face had returned to its usual blank, unreadable state, showing nothing at all.

“What did Sister Youyou say to you?” Yu Xiaoxiao demanded, clearly unhappy. “Why did you have to avoid me to say it?”

Xiang Shuhuai replied, “She said you’re the little sister. She asked me to look after you more in daily life, so she won’t have to worry.”

“I’m not a little sister!” That line immediately made Yu Xiaoxiao even more annoyed—Sister Youyou clearly saw her as a childish kid, while treating Xiang Shuhuai like an equal.

She snatched her phone back. “You’re born in November, right? I’m half a year older than you.”

“Oh,” Xiang Shuhuai raised her eyebrows slightly. Her tone stayed flat, but the disbelief was clear. “Really?”

Yu Xiaoxiao practically exploded. She glared at Xiang Shuhuai’s infuriating face, then spun around and stormed off.

The sound of the door closing echoed behind her.

So annoying!!!

Fuming, Yu Xiaoxiao pulled up her group chat with her friends and started angrily typing away on her phone.

[Anyone wanna go out for drinks tonight?]

Late at night.

Yu Xiaoxiao stumbled out of the car, waved lazily at the friend who’d driven her, and grabbed the railing to climb the outdoor stairs.

There were a lot of people out tonight. They’d only played some boring drinking games, and no one dared push her to drink too much. She hadn’t had many drinks—just enough to feel a little tipsy. Her face was flushed, and everything around her looked like it had a soft, glowing haze.

Her fingers were a little weak from the alcohol, and it took some effort to turn the doorknob. As she stepped into the entryway, she saw a bright light shining in the corner of the living room, like a little island of moonlight in the dark.

It took her a moment to remember—she was living with Xiang Shuhuai now.

…So that annoying girl must be out there.

Her body moved before her brain caught up. Before she fully realized what she was doing, she had already wandered toward the light.

The living room had floor-to-ceiling windows. A round table and soft chair sat in the corner—the perfect spot for reading or enjoying the sun. Right now, Xiang Shuhuai was curled up in the chair, wearing a jacket and working on her laptop. She had earbuds in and didn’t even notice Yu Xiaoxiao entering.

She sure knows how to pick a spot, Yu Xiaoxiao thought. This was definitely one of the coziest corners of the home.

…Under the soft, warm light, that annoying ice cube’s lowered gaze and focused face actually looked kind of gentle. With her black hair falling over her cheeks, her pale face looked like the moon—nothing like how she was during the day.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered what Sister Youyou had said earlier.

She mentioned that this friend of hers wasn’t in great health, and asked Yu Xiaoxiao to look out for her…

Wait—Xiang Shuhuai? Sick?

Yu Xiaoxiao thought, Really?

She couldn’t help but stare at that face.

Was she… looking kind of pale?

But then again, Xiang Shuhuai always looked like that. Pale skin, light lips, always cold and aloof, looking down on people like she was above it all—totally emotionless, always acting tough and decisive. She was like an annoying, unyielding rock.

…But right now, she looked more like a block of ice. Cold, fragile, and transparent…

What ice? Even a little drunk, Yu Xiaoxiao still had her common sense. She quickly stopped herself from going any further with that ridiculous thought. Her? More like a mental case.

She took a few steps forward and deliberately dropped her keys on the table with a loud clunk.

“Hey, you.” Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Sister Youyou told me to look after you. Are you sick or something?”