Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL) - Chapter 3

“Are you sick?”

At the sound of the voice, Xiang Shuhuai looked up from her screen, calmly closed her laptop, and got up. Her voice was flat: “It’s not contagious. Don’t worry.”

“Who asked you that—hey, you—” Seeing that Xiang Shuhuai was about to leave the moment she saw her, Yu Xiaoxiao got angry. “Why are you walking away? You’re living in my house, eating my food, and that’s your attitude toward me?”

“It’s in the rules,” Xiang Shuhuai glanced at her, her tone still calm. “Rule number three: don’t make noise, don’t appear in front of you, and ideally, act like I don’t exist. I’ll go back now.”

“You—”

Seeing her glare, Xiang Shuhuai just continued, “Rule fifteen: You have full priority over all shared spaces. Rule two, section three: shared spaces include the living room, kitchen, and attic. In case of disputes, your interpretation takes precedence. And then there’s rules seventeen and nineteen.”

This was truly a case of being hoisted by her own petard. There were over twenty house rules—Yu Xiaoxiao herself didn’t even remember all of them, just vaguely had an impression. But now, hearing them recited one after another, she was completely speechless, left standing there dumbfounded while Xiang Shuhuai stood up and began tidying the papers on the desk.

Who even memorizes all that?! Yu Xiaoxiao was furious. Xiang Shuhuai was such a robot!!

Seeing that her glaring wasn’t getting a reaction, and watching Xiang Shuhuai quietly sort the last stack of papers, Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She reached out and grabbed Xiang Shuhuai’s wrist.

“You’re not allowed to leave,” she said stubbornly. “I never said you could go.”

Sure enough, Xiang Shuhuai stumbled from the tug and couldn’t shake off her grip. Her expression showed a flicker of surprise.

…So thin.

That was Yu Xiaoxiao’s first thought.

Xiang Shuhuai was slightly taller than her, but her wrist was so slender it felt fragile in her hand, cold to the touch. Even though Yu Xiaoxiao had used some force, she still couldn’t get her to break free—it made the word delicate come to mind.

Yu Xiaoxiao had barely felt the satisfaction of gaining the upper hand when she saw the surprise on Xiang Shuhuai’s face fade completely, replaced once again by that same unreadable calm.

Her lashes lowered, and in those dark, dim eyes, Yu Xiaoxiao saw her own reflection—quiet, expressionless.

Then, with the face Yu Xiaoxiao hated most, Xiang Shuhuai said, “I’m busy.”

Yu Xiaoxiao wanted to be angry, but there was nothing in her eyes—no spark of life at all. Just like the nickname her haters had given her: an ice sculpture, or a robot made to look human. Just a hollow shell, with nothing inside.

She looked at Yu Xiaoxiao that way, face so pale it almost looked transparent, except for the long, shallow scar across her cheek that marred the stillness of her features.

…She’d caused that scar when they were kids. A prank gone too far.

Realizing this hit Yu Xiaoxiao like a burn. She immediately let go.

She opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word. Xiang Shuhuai just lowered her eyes, picked up her things, and walked past her without another glance.

The door to the guest room closed with a quiet click, and the once-empty living room fell completely silent again. Yu Xiaoxiao stood alone in that bright corner, feeling like she was still trapped in the gaze Xiang Shuhuai had just given her, unable to step out of it.

Her dazed thoughts only lasted a moment before turning into frustration.

That girl… that awful, annoying girl!!

Five sticky notes had already been changed on the door.

Sitting at her desk, Xiang Shuhuai folded the old note and carefully wrote a new one. June 13.

Yu Xiaoxiao probably wouldn’t read it. But a promise was a promise, so she kept doing it every day.

—Since that night they ran into each other in the living room, they hadn’t seen each other again.

Yu Xiaoxiao had given her a key. Most days she went out with friends or sometimes took classes. When she was gone, Xiang Shuhuai would use the kitchen, clean up every trace afterward, and take out the trash or buy supplies. The two of them got along peacefully for a whole week without incident.

It was quiet outside the bedroom—no sound at all. Yu Xiaoxiao must have gone out with her friends again tonight. She probably wouldn’t be back until two or three in the morning.

Xiang Shuhuai gathered the used bandages and syringe from the table, tied the garbage bag, and got ready to go out.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

…A week had gone by, and she still didn’t understand why her sister had put the two of them together.

She knew she wasn’t in a good state to live alone. Going back to the family estate would be worse. But living with Yu Xiaoxiao, this child—

Xiang Shuhuai herself didn’t mind. She wasn’t someone who liked going out. She ate only enough to survive, was always busy, and didn’t mind staying in her room all day.

Besides, even if she didn’t like her, Yu Xiaoxiao hadn’t been deliberately mean or difficult. Those twenty-six house rules were reasonable enough—as long as they didn’t run into each other, there’d be no problems.

But Yu Xiaoxiao was different. Xiang Shuhuai knew how much she hated her. Whether it was because of Cong You or everything else. She was still childish, probably got upset just thinking about her. It was only to act mature in front of the sister she adored that she was forcing herself to put up with it.

She’d have to talk to her sister again. Xiang Shuhuai thought.

Maybe a care facility would be better, as long as it was private enough… She really should find another place to live and move out.

With that in mind, she picked up the trash and walked toward the door.

The living room was dark. Outside the tall windows, a few stars flickered in the night sky. The whole room seemed to be drifting in that starlit darkness, making it feel calm and peaceful.

Xiang Shuhuai stood at the entrance for a moment, quietly taking it in—until the silence was suddenly broken.

The clatter of keys jingling—then the door swung open, and Yu Xiaoxiao burst in.

A strong wave of alcohol hit her. Xiang Shuhuai was startled and instinctively took a few steps back, bumping hard into the shoe cabinet.

BANG!

The loud noise made Yu Xiaoxiao look up in confusion. Her expression was dazed, like she didn’t recognize who was in front of her. Her big round eyes were glassy, and her cheeks flushed—clearly drunk. Very drunk.

…Drinking again, Xiang Shuhuai thought. It’s only been a week.

She had been wondering what her sister expected her to “take care” of in Yu Xiaoxiao. Now it seemed the answer was her lifestyle.

Xiang Shuhuai tried to speak. “…Yu Xiaoxiao?”

Yu Xiaoxiao frowned, staring blankly at her for a long moment—then suddenly stepped forward and leaned against her like her strength had run out.

“Ugh…” she whined softly, like she was whining or cuddling up. “My head hurts…”

Her face was burning hot. She seemed to like the coolness of Xiang Shuhuai’s neck and kept rubbing against it, completely unaware of the way the body she was leaning on had tensed up.

“Wait… aah, Yu Xiaoxiao—”

Her hot breath brushed against the edge of the gauze covering that hidden part of her neck, sending a shiver through her and a painful sting in its wake.

The skin there quickly turned red, and heat spread through her body. Xiang Shuhuai’s legs nearly gave out, but she still couldn’t shake Yu Xiaoxiao off.

Thankfully, Yu Xiaoxiao wasn’t an alpha, or an omega, or even a beta—just an undeveloped kid with no secondary gender. Even so close to that spot, none of the horrible symptoms kicked in. Xiang Shuhuai’s body just locked up, completely at a loss.

That fuzzy, drunken head kept nuzzling against her neck, sniffing like a little dog.

“Mmm…” Yu Xiaoxiao murmured, “you smell nice…”

“…Yu Xiaoxiao,” Xiang Shuhuai said, trying to keep it together while being clung to like a koala. “Yu Xiaoxiao.”

Even drunk, she still responded to her name. She lifted her head, glassy eyes looking up at Xiang Shuhuai in confusion.

Seeing that, Xiang Shuhuai let out a small breath of relief. “Let’s go sit on the couch.”

Yu Xiaoxiao mumbled, “Okay…”

She agreed, but still clung to Xiang Shuhuai, refusing to let go. Thankfully, she could still walk, so Xiang Shuhuai didn’t have to carry her.

—But honestly, a drunk person was heavier than a corpse, especially when they were intentionally hanging on and refusing to cooperate. Xiang Shuhuai, who was already weak, broke into a sweat just getting her to the couch, and then couldn’t even relax because of the arms around her neck.

Yu Xiaoxiao, still reeking of alcohol, lay on her shoulder like a dog, sniffing again. Then she suddenly wrinkled her nose and looked up seriously.

“You smell like bl00d…”

…Is she really a dog? Xiang Shuhuai thought. Her nose is that good?

She said, “Let go of me, and the smell will go away.”

That seemed to upset Yu Xiaoxiao a lot. Her eyes went wide in protest. “No way…! I don’t—”

Xiang Shuhuai had no way to fight back. She couldn’t pry her off, so she just sat there quietly, letting the drunk girl act out and watching to make sure she didn’t bump into anything.

Fine, she thought. It’s okay. When she sobers up tomorrow, she’ll realize what she did.

Yu Xiaoxiao stared at her for a long moment, her blurry eyes fixed on her face.

Those light brown eyes were so clear, so pure that they almost seemed to shine—like they could see into the deepest parts of a person’s soul.

Xiang Shuhuai felt uncomfortable under that gaze and tried to turn her face away, but Yu Xiaoxiao grabbed her hand.

“Pretty girl,” Yu Xiaoxiao said.

Her voice was soft, like she was afraid of scaring the person she was talking to. Her big watery eyes looked up at Xiang Shuhuai like a baby animal. Her grip was gentle. “You’re so pretty… pretty girl, why don’t you ever smile?”

Those amber-like eyes, misted over as if soaked in sunlight, were so sincere it left Xiang Shuhuai momentarily stunned.

What the hell.

It struck her as so ridiculous she almost laughed.

…She really is just a kid.

She asked, “Do you even know who I am?”

“Of course I do…” Yu Xiaoxiao’s gaze was still hazy, but she focused on Xiang Shuhuai’s face with effort and finally said, “You’re that—Xiang Shuhuai! Ah… Xiang Shuhuai, that ice block, that annoying girl…”

Halfway through, she seemed to confuse Xiang Shuhuai for someone else and started ranting about her most hated rival, puffing her cheeks out in protest, “That annoying ice block robot—she even tried to steal Yoyo-jie from me…”

What kind of nickname is that? Xiang Shuhuai thought. Compared to other people, honestly…

Such childish nonsense. Just like Yu Xiaoxiao herself.

“You hate her that much?”

“Mm…” Yu Xiaoxiao sounded so wronged it was like she’d been bullied to death. If Xiang Shuhuai wasn’t the person in question, she’d have thought this girl was describing some evil villain. “She’s awful… I drank because of her…”

She looked like she was about to cry.

“…It’s okay,” Xiang Shuhuai tried to comfort her. “She’ll be moving out of your house soon. It’s okay.”

But Yu Xiaoxiao still looked miserable and didn’t seem to hear a word. Suddenly, she had an idea and sat up, pulling out her phone.

“I wanna… mm, I wanna tell on her to Yoyo-jie! Let’s see if she dares bully me again.”

“Wait—”

Xiang Shuhuai tried to stop her, but even drunk, Yu Xiaoxiao’s reflexes were lightning-fast. She yanked the phone out of reach, and then accidentally dropped it at the other end of the couch.

Before Xiang Shuhuai could grab it, the call connected.

The phone lay out of reach, and from it came Cong You’s voice, light and cheerful: “Xiaoxiao? What’s up?”

But after the phone slipped from her hand, Yu Xiaoxiao seemed to completely forget about the call and went back to her drunk rambling, clinging to Xiang Shuhuai again.

“Xiaoxiao?”

With no response, Cong You’s voice grew more anxious. “Xiaoxiao? What’s wrong? What happened? Xiaoxiao—”

Hearing her sister’s growing worry, Xiang Shuhuai had no choice but to speak.

“…Sister, it’s me.”