Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 25

The next day.

It was noon, and the sky was clear, a brilliant, cloudless day. The August sun hung high, casting a blinding golden light on the ground.

Yu Xiaoxiao scowled, staring at the person beside Cong You.

… She had been told that Xiang Shuhuai wouldn’t come.

“Shuhuai had a last-minute change in her meeting schedule, so she’s free today. She actually wanted to come see the art exhibition.” Cong You smiled as she walked over and took her hand. “It’s okay, Xiaoxiao. Let’s go together.”

Cong You had gotten a little tan from her time abroad. She wore a tank top, and her reddish-brown hair was tied up high, showing off her beautifully sculpted arm muscles. With her crescent-shaped eyes that slightly lifted at the corners and a teardrop-shaped beauty mark, she looked gentle and captivating when she smiled, making anyone believe anything she said.

Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t say anything and allowed Cong You to pull her along.

Cong You asked, “What’s wrong, Xiaoxiao? Why the long face?”

“… I…” Yu Xiaoxiao opened her mouth and realized her voice was full of grievance. “I don’t want to see her.”

“Ah, Xiaoxiao.” Cong You couldn’t help but laugh helplessly, reaching up to rub her cheek like she was soothing a child. “It’s okay, don’t be upset. Sorry, okay?”

Despite Cong You’s gentle words in her ear, Yu Xiaoxiao felt her heart still a jumbled mess. It was as if her mind had stalled, and she didn’t know what she was feeling. She just instinctively didn’t want to let Xiang Shuhuai see her looking upset.

Under Cong You’s repeated comfort, Yu Xiaoxiao puffed up her cheeks and looked up, but all she saw was the cold-faced figure of Xiang Shuhuai, who was calmly watching the street, seemingly indifferent to what was happening.

It was just like the day they had parted ways—though the weather was hot, Xiang Shuhuai still wore loose long sleeves and long pants, covering her skin entirely, with her black hair tied casually at the back of her neck, leaving only a slender neck exposed. Her eyelids were lowered, and her expression was cold.

In the blazing sunlight, her pale skin, lacking color, gave off a fragile, almost translucent quality, like a delicate ice sculpture, making others feel an irresistible urge to care about her.

Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but think about the scar on her arm from that day… I wonder if it’s healed now…

Realizing Xiang Shuhuai was looking at her, she glanced at her with a cold, dismissive gaze before stepping aside, making enough space between them. The response was cold and decisive, offering no more than a brief look, not even a word of conversation.

… That Big Ice Block!!

Yu Xiaoxiao froze for a second, her eyes wide with disbelief.

She gritted her teeth, wanting to throw her canvas bag right at that annoying person’s head.

Fine, if she won’t care, then I won’t care either! Does she think I want to talk to her?

Fuming, she decided to snap out of it and refocus her attention on Cong You.

She ducked into the shade of Cong You’s umbrella and cuddled up to her arm, chatting about Cong You’s experiences abroad.

It was high noon, and the sun was so bright it nearly blinded them. The heat seemed to rise from the ground, and even in the shade, it didn’t feel much cooler.

Between their laughter, Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but glance back, peeking at Xiang Shuhuai, who was a few steps behind them.

She saw Xiang Shuhuai walking along, her head tilted slightly downward because of the bright sun, her face pale from the heat, and her lips colorless. She occasionally raised a hand to wipe away sweat, and her steps seemed unsteady.

The three of them used to walk like this. Today, perhaps because she knew Yu Xiaoxiao was upset, Cong You was being especially considerate, paying more attention to her and unintentionally neglecting Xiang Shuhuai.

Yu Xiaoxiao thought stubbornly, well, Xiang Shuhuai already said that her business has nothing to do with me.

Even if she passed out from the sun, it’s not my problem.

With that thought, she turned her gaze away.

But even as she continued chatting happily with Cong You, she couldn’t help but feel a little concerned and glanced back at Xiang Shuhuai again.

She remembered how, in the past, Xiang Shuhuai wouldn’t speak up if she wasn’t feeling well. Yu Xiaoxiao felt frustrated. Xiang Shuhuai wasn’t a robot, she could feel pain too.

… Annoying!

“Cong You.” She whined to Cong You. “It’s so hot out here, let’s go inside the mall. I know a place nearby with great milk tea. I’ll buy it, you wait for me inside!”

Cong You nodded, reaching out to mess with her soft hair. “Okay, okay. I’ll wait for you.”

Turning to Xiang Shuhuai, she said, “Xiao Shu, we’re going inside.”

When the two of them quickly entered the building, Yu Xiaoxiao crossed the street to buy the milk tea. The line wasn’t long, and she quickly returned with three cups of milk tea.

Cong You and Xiang Shuhuai were waiting for her by the corner, talking about something.

From a distance, Yu Xiaoxiao saw Xiang Shuhuai casually leaning against the wall, talking, and occasionally tucking stray hair behind her ear. A light, relaxed smile played on her face, making her deep black eyes look especially vibrant and captivating.

… When she was with me just now, she was cold as ice, not even saying a word. But now, with Cong You, she’s so relaxed, even smiling like that.

Yu Xiaoxiao was furious.

She stormed over, deliberately positioning herself between the two, and shouted, “—Cong You, I’m back!”

“This one’s yours, Cong You, three parts sugar,” she said, inserting a straw into one of the cups and handing it to Cong You. “The other two—”

After inserting straws into the other two cups, she deliberately glanced at Xiang Shuhuai, taking a sip from her own cup with her left hand, then taking a sip from the right-hand cup as well.

She announced:

“—I’m drinking both of these.”

Xiang Shuhuai raised an eyebrow, looking at her with surprise, before letting out a soft chuckle. “… Ha.”

Yu Xiaoxiao smirked, turning away with satisfaction, feeling like she’d won a small victory.

Cong You called out helplessly, “Xiaoxiao…”

“Sis.” Xiang Shuhuai spoke her name softly, shaking her head lightly. “It’s fine. I don’t like sweet things.”

That’s not true. Yu Xiaoxiao thought immediately.

She had brought sweets for her before when they went to the company, and she always ate them all.

“—Let’s go, jie.”

The way she said “jie” was so soft and affectionate, so intimate and tender, it made Yu Xiaoxiao shiver involuntarily.

She felt a wave of disgust, thinking, how come when I call Cong You “sis,” it doesn’t sound like that?

Xiang Shuhuai continued, “The exhibition doesn’t open until noon, jie. Let’s just walk around the mall.”

For the rest of the time, it seemed like Xiang Shuhuai was deliberately calling Cong You “jie ” more and more.

She no longer had the pitiful look she had earlier, but walked beside Cong You, leisurely chatting and laughing, making it seem like they were a couple.

And no matter how much Yu Xiaoxiao clung to Cong You and rejected Xiang Shuhuai, she was still seen as the innocent and capricious little sister.

Once again, in a jewelry store, the sales clerk assumed they were a couple, with one of them bringing along their younger sister. Yu Xiaoxiao clenched her teeth in frustration.

She stood there, watching Xiang Shuhuai select a necklace, talking to the clerk about which color of gem would suit Cong You’s skin tone, exchanging a knowing glance with Cong You at the clerk’s playful teasing. Yu Xiaoxiao wanted to rush up and grab the ice-cold woman by the collar and demand to know what she meant. She also wanted to pull Cong You away and leave…

But what was she really thinking?

“… Cong You.”

Eventually, Yu Xiaoxiao dropped her head and said to Cong You.

“I just remembered I have class this afternoon… I’m not going to the exhibition. I’ll leave now.”

She tossed the two cups of overly sweet milk tea into the trash with a loud “thud.”

Yu Xiaoxiao turned around and fled.

By the time Yu Xiaoxiao left the bar, it was already evening.

She came alone, not having fun at all, just sitting there drinking. When she came to her senses, she realized the table was full of empty bottles. She had drunk quite a bit.

In a drunken haze, Yu Xiaoxiao leaned against the car, calling a driver to take her home.

… I was supposed to quit drinking.

But the annoying person who promised to quit with me already cut ties.

Frustrated, Yu Xiaoxiao thought, what kind of situation is this?

Maybe it was because she had drunk too much, but the bar was warm, and she felt a strange, unfamiliar heat burning inside her.

And around her, there was a sweet, unfamiliar scent that almost overpowered the alcohol.

It was so strong, it felt like it was suffocating her.

Yu Xiaoxiao breathed deeply, trying to suppress the strange desire growing in her chest, feeling like she was about to burst into flames.

The hot, searing sensation surged inside her, and yet she felt strangely empowered. There was something she had to let out, something that had to be released, no matter what it took.

She staggered up the stairs, fumbling for the key to unlock the door.

—The cold fragrance hit her face.

In an instant, it felt like a tide had washed over her body, leaving her mind completely blank.

It took a while for Yu Xiaoxiao to realize—this was the scent she had vaguely noticed on Xiang Shuhuai before. Clear, light, almost like melted moonlight, the cool, transparent smell of mint.

So, this was Xiang Shuhuai’s pheromone.

… It smells so good.

The burning desire inside her seemed to ease for a moment.

Then, in her hazy, drunken mind, the desire to possess, to destroy, surged once more like an instinct deep in her bones.

It was demanding, screaming for her to open the door, grab the alluring source of pheromones hidden inside, silence her resistance, tightly grip her fragile neck, bite her gland, and then… then—

Yu Xiaoxiao was terrified of herself.

She shouldn’t be like this.

She gripped her own hand tightly, her lips nearly biting through her skin, just to make herself stay still.

Her mind was clouded with desire, and she could almost feel the tears welling up.

… She couldn’t do this.

No. She wouldn’t do this. Not to anyone. Not to Xiang Shuhuai. Not like this.

Yu Xiaoxiao was trapped in the heat of her own body.

No.

She gripped her wrist tightly, trying to suppress the craving running through her veins, her breathing shallow, body trembling, drenched in sweat.

Finally, Yu Xiaoxiao realized.

She had just experienced her first heat as an alpha.

—Because of Xiang Shuhuai.

Because of the one she hated most.