Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 35
…Sunlight.
Her vision slowly brightened.
“Mm…”
Xiang Shuhuai kept her eyes tightly shut, groggily turning her head, trying to bury herself deeper into the pillow to escape the chasing light—but it was no use.
Still too bright. And for some reason, there wasn’t the usual soft feeling of a pillow under her neck. It felt kind of uncomfortable. Her neck was also stiff and sore…
She tried to shift away again but suddenly tipped sideways and fell into the soft couch.
Thump. A soft sound, barely audible. But it woke Xiang Shuhuai up completely.
She opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling for a while before finally remembering where she was and what had happened.
…No wonder her neck hurt so much.
But despite crashing on the couch last night, she had slept really well. Her body was a bit sore when she woke up, but her mind felt unusually clear and refreshed. She hadn’t dreamed at all—not even with any sleep aids—and had enjoyed a rare, peaceful night of deep sleep.
…Where was Yu Xiaoxiao?
The thought drifted through her mind. Xiang Shuhuai looked up and saw the table had been tidied up, the now-cold snacks set aside neatly. The kitchen door was fully closed, and she could vaguely see someone moving around inside.
She called out, “—Yu Xiaoxiao?”
A strong, energetic voice came from the kitchen: “Yeah—! What’s up?”
Why is she so full of energy? Xiang Shuhuai wondered. It’s still morning.
I guess it’s okay to lie down a bit longer…
Thinking that, she lazily curled up in the blanket and burrowed into the space between the soft pillows, where it was nice and dim.
…And like that, with all the pillows piled on her head, she really did fall asleep again.
She had no idea how long that second nap lasted. Eventually, half-awake, she felt the pillows over her head being moved away, and fresh air slowly flowed in. Xiang Shuhuai started to wake up.
Too sleepy to move but curious about what Yu Xiaoxiao was doing, she decided to keep her eyes shut and pretend to sleep.
The person didn’t call her. Just gently and carefully removed each pillow from her face, one by one.
The second… the third…
Once all the pillows were gone, Yu Xiaoxiao stopped moving. Xiang Shuhuai didn’t hear any more sounds for a while.
After waiting a bit longer and unable to resist her curiosity, she finally opened her eyes, pretending she had just woken up.
—Yu Xiaoxiao was crouched by the couch, knees hugged to her chest, staring at her intently. Her big, round eyes were wide and bright, and her gaze seemed focused somewhere around Xiang Shuhuai’s cheek or neck. She hadn’t even noticed that Xiang Shuhuai had woken up.
Feeling a little self-conscious, Xiang Shuhuai shifted. “…Yu Xiaoxiao?”
“—Ah!” Yu Xiaoxiao jumped up in fright, eyes wide in panic as she stumbled and fell back onto the carpet. “Ah—I, I…”
…What the heck?
Xiang Shuhuai sat up, unable to hold back a laugh.
She lifted her hand and lightly rubbed the spot on her cheek where Yu Xiaoxiao had been staring. “Is there something on my face or… oh.”
That spot.
When they were thirteen, the very first time they met, Yu Xiaoxiao’s prank had accidentally injured her right there.
“…The Big Ice Block,” Yu Xiaoxiao muttered, looking guilty as she dropped her gaze. “That thing… I’m really sorry…”
She sat on the floor, head bowed like a sad little puppy. She looked so pitiful that Xiang Shuhuai suddenly felt the urge to reach out and touch her.
After all, Yu Xiaoxiao often acted like the older sister and would comfort her by patting her head. That was Yu Xiaoxiao’s way of showing care and affection. Maybe… maybe she could try doing the same?
On a whim, Xiang Shuhuai really did reach out and gently patted the top of Yu Xiaoxiao’s head, like she was petting a small animal.
It felt… new—fluffier than a real puppy, not as warm, with slightly coarse hair. A bit like Yu Xiaoxiao herself—stubborn. It was such a novel feeling that Xiang Shuhuai gave her head another pat.
“It’s okay,” she said, looking into Yu Xiaoxiao’s wide, guilty eyes. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“But… but it left a scar,” Yu Xiaoxiao said softly.
It wasn’t Yu Xiaoxiao’s fault. The scar came later—after Xiang Shuhuai returned to the Xiang household at the end of that break. Madam Xiang had slapped her, splitting the scab open, and a ring had made the wound even worse. That’s when the scar had formed.
Still, Xiang Shuhuai instinctively knew this wasn’t something she should tell Yu Xiaoxiao. It would only make her feel worse. And that wasn’t what friends should do.
Xiang Shuhuai had never really had any friends before, but Yu Xiaoxiao had always done a great job of being one. She wanted to try learning from her—to be a good friend too.
So before Yu Xiaoxiao could fully recover from her shock, Xiang Shuhuai thoroughly ruffled her fluffy hair.
Yu Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the hand messing up her hair for a moment, then suddenly reacted.
She quickly widened her eyes and raised her hands to protect her head, trying to defend her older-sister dignity: “W-wait! Big Ice Block! I’m supposed to be the big sister—!”
Xiang Shuhuai calmly pulled her hand back.
“Later, Yu Xiaoxiao,” she said, “since Chairwoman Yu’s doing fine now, maybe you should think about heading back to your company too?”
—But instead of returning to her own company, Yu Xiaoxiao followed her to Xiang Corp.
Xiang Shuhuai stood in front of the coffee machine, staring at the full cup absentmindedly.
Yu Xiaoxiao hadn’t yet said no to learning about the company with her. Since her mom was fine now, her schedule didn’t have to be rushed. So Xiang Shuhuai had thrown together a new plan in ten minutes and handed over the prepared documents.
Right now, Yu Xiaoxiao was sitting obediently in her office reading through them, while she had stepped out under the pretense of getting coffee.
What could she… do for Yu Xiaoxiao?
Once Yu Xiaoxiao returned to Fuxiao and stopped tagging along, she’d have no use for Xiang Shuhuai anymore. But as a friend, she ought to be able to do something.
Like Yu Xiaoxiao bringing her sweet snacks? Or staying with her when she woke up from nightmares? Or chatting with her, cheering her up?
…But Yu Xiaoxiao liked visiting new dessert shops. She’d rather hang out with friends at the actual cafes than just bring food back to the office. She didn’t often have nightmares and didn’t need comfort. And she was rarely upset, while Xiang Shuhuai herself had no idea how to cheer people up…
What else could she do?
Xiang Shuhuai racked her brain, but her own limited experience gave her nothing to work with.
That time she let An Ning think Yu Xiaoxiao was already someone special, it made things awkward to ask for help again—which meant she’d lost a potential backup. Her sister was no help either. No matter how many times Xiang Shuhuai called and asked, her sister just laughed and said, “Xiao Shu, follow your heart.”
…If only she could hear what her heart was saying, she would’ve listened to it a long time ago.
Xiang Shuhuai sulked.
She glanced down at the watch on her wrist.
—Just about time.
Leaving her coffee on the machine, she took the elevator down to pick up the sweets and drinks she’d ordered for Yu Xiaoxiao—trying to copy the girls in the office and learn what people liked. It was a popular matcha brand, top of all the nearby best-seller lists. Shouldn’t be a bad choice.
It was her first time visiting the company’s food pickup lockers. Since it was during work hours, it wasn’t too crowded. Just a few employees darting out, grabbing their orders, and quickly running back inside.
Two girls in work uniforms were there, seemingly picking up coffee for their department. They squinted at the locker numbers and pulled out several large bags while chatting.
One said, “You’re not going to dinner with the others tonight?”
“Nope. I’m going to an art exhibit with a friend,” the other replied. “She helped me get the tickets. We’ll go shopping after. It’s rare for her to visit…”
“How about you?”
“Same idea,” said the first, lifting the bags. “I just want to finish early and head out. It’s the weekend tomorrow, so I’m catching a train tonight for a quick trip.”
“Oh? Where to?”
“The next city over. It’s not far. The weather’s nice—figured I’d check out the forest park—”
They were deep in conversation and didn’t notice Xiang Shuhuai approaching.
The first girl finally noticed someone coming and turned, ready to say hi—until she saw it was their big boss, the one they’d only ever seen in news reports and from afar.
She jumped, quickly nudging her still-chatting friend. “X-Xiang… Xiang President—!”
The second girl whipped around, caught a glimpse of Xiang Shuhuai, and instantly swallowed the curse word that had almost slipped out.
Xiang Shuhuai had only meant to walk a little closer and listen in quietly, but now that she’d been spotted, it was awkward.
She nodded in acknowledgment, hesitated, then looked at the two nervous girls—clearly around her age—and decided to ask, “…You’re going out with friends?”
“Y-yeah.” The one going to the forest park replied quickly, speaking fast to save face, “We’ve finished our work. Our department isn’t too busy right now, and our performance is good, so we just—”
“Art exhibit and park,” Xiang Shuhuai repeated. “Do you usually go to places like that with friends?”
“Not always,” the other girl replied uncertainly, glancing at Xiang Shuhuai’s expression. “It depends what my friends are into. There’s an exhibit now, so…”
…Ah.
She might’ve figured it out.
And if she stayed any longer, these two girls were going to get even more uncomfortable.
“Alright,” Xiang Shuhuai said. “I understand. As long as the work gets done, it’s good to have a balance.”
She stepped over to the locker screen and, after a pause, added, “…Have fun.”
When she got back with the matcha, Yu Xiaoxiao was sprawled on a floor cushion reading.
She seemed to really hate sitting in office chairs—anytime she sat in one, she’d start dozing off. Every time Xiang Shuhuai left the office, Yu Xiaoxiao would be sitting properly at the desk. But when she returned, Yu Xiaoxiao could be on the floor, the couch, by the window, even curled up by the desk—anywhere but the chair. Honestly, coming back to the office felt like opening a mystery box.
And today, it was the floor cushion again. Xiang Shuhuai could only sigh helplessly.
…Well, at least she remembered to add a cushion.
After handing over the matcha milk, mochi, tea jelly, and towel rolls to the excited little one, she sat back down at her desk, her mind filled with thoughts, her brows furrowed in deep contemplation.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaoxiao quietly chose not to disturb her and continued reading documents by the coffee table while enjoying her desserts. Meanwhile, Xiang Shuhuai opened her laptop. After a moment of thinking, she pulled up a spreadsheet.
—As a friend, what activity should she do with Yu Xiaoxiao, something she would enjoy?
…This is difficult. So, Xiang Shuhuai decided to evaluate it based on five factors: “Yu Xiaoxiao’s level of enjoyment,” “Yu Xiaoxiao’s level of expertise,” “professional requirements of the activity,” “dependence on the number of participants,” and “communication frequency required by the activity.” This would help her make the right decision.
Luckily, she had finished most of her work yesterday when she was alone at home, so she wasn’t too busy and had time to deal with this.
Park, coffee shop, library, art exhibition, tennis, martial arts, golf…
After scoring and weighting each option, Xiang Shuhuai frowned, staring at the screen, unable to make a decision.
…Maybe, she suddenly thought, she should build a model and quantify it?
After calculations, the result showed—
Xiang Shuhuai stared at the highlighted result, feeling a bit indecisive. Just as she was trying to mentally prepare herself, she suddenly heard a voice:
“—Big Ice Block?”
She jumped, her heart racing as she straightened up, seeing Yu Xiaoxiao sitting there, leaning forward slightly with concern, her round eyes wide open as she stared at her, “What are you thinking about?”
“Hm?”
“Your face looks so troubled, and your brows are all furrowed,” Yu Xiaoxiao laughed. “Like this, a Big Ice Block.”
She raised her hand—gently squeezing the matcha mochi snugly packed in its box.
The soft, chewy surface of the mochi, covered in matcha powder, crinkled as it was squished, shaking inside the lid. Yu Xiaoxiao held up the mochi and smiled, a little silly. “Hehe.”
…That’s not the same.
But Xiang Shuhuai had no retort. She could only grit her teeth and glare weakly at the mischievous child.
“Exactly. Big Ice Block.” Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly said. “Isn’t that better?”
She set down the poor mochi and smiled with her crescent eyes, “Don’t furrow your brows. If you keep frowning, you’ll feel bad.”
Xiang Shuhuai froze for a moment at her words.
Then, Yu Xiaoxiao stretched out two fingers and gently pushed up her little dimples, “Just smile like this?”
Imitating her, Xiang Shuhuai stiffly curled the corners of her mouth. The child pouted, displeased, “What’s this—”
Looking at her lively expression, Xiang Shuhuai suddenly blurted out, “—Yu Xiaoxiao, let’s go swimming?”
Yu Xiaoxiao immediately nodded, “Sure!”
She blinked, then suddenly realized, “—Eh??? Swimming?”
…Anyway, after evaluating those five factors, the highest-scoring option was swimming.
Numbers are usually right.
Sitting in the back seat of the car, Xiang Shuhuai hugged her bag, her fingers nervously twisting, mentally preparing herself. Yu Xiaoxiao happened to know of a good swimming pool, so she drove them there.
She and Yu Xiaoxiao, going swimming together.
Xiang Shuhuai stared at the seat in front of her, her heart racing so fast that she didn’t even notice how tightly she was gripping her fingers.
…Can she really do this?
In making the decision, she had forgotten one thing: whether she could accept doing this activity with Yu Xiaoxiao.
If they went swimming, she’d have to wear a swimsuit.
…But her body isn’t exactly good-looking.
Her pale skin was covered with scars, her limbs and torso too thin—none of it could be called attractive. Once she put on a swimsuit, all that would be exposed. Xiang Shuhuai didn’t know why, but instinctively, she felt resistance—she didn’t want Yu Xiaoxiao to see it.
Her fingers tightened further, her teeth biting into the soft flesh of her cheek, her breath becoming shallow.
But…she had suggested this herself…
They were already on their way. If she backed out now, would Yu Xiaoxiao be upset?
Thoughts raced through her mind, and Xiang Shuhuai gritted her teeth, trying to breathe more easily.
She began to sweat, feeling a growing sense of panic as the scenery outside sped by, the destination drawing closer.
As they entered a quieter road, Yu Xiaoxiao glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed her expression.
“—Xiang Shuhuai?” She softened her voice, trying to ask, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
It seemed like Yu Xiaoxiao had fully accepted Xiang Shuhuai’s “cat” persona by now. Seeing Xiang Shuhuai looking down, unresponsive, her lips pale as if losing color, she naturally guessed, “…Big Ice Block, are you afraid of water?”
Hearing this, Xiang Shuhuai looked up in confusion, “…Eh?”
“Really,” Yu Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. “Your lips are completely white. Are you scared?”
“Ah, I…” Xiang Shuhuai hesitated. After all, she had suggested going in the first place. To say she was afraid now would be too…
“If you’re afraid of water,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, “then we don’t have to go swimming.”
Xiang Shuhuai whispered, “…Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Yu Xiaoxiao smiled casually.
She checked the map on her phone and suddenly remembered, “Ah, we’re already here! My house is really close. Since we’re not going swimming…”
“—How about we go to my house?”
Xiang Shuhuai nearly dropped her bag in shock.
Bang.
At this, her face drained of color. “…Huh???”
“Really,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, smiling brightly. “Let’s go to my house and hang out. Since we’re already here. I’ll just call my dad—”
In the spacious villa, the light in the living room was perfect, and the air conditioning was quietly humming. Sitting in a rocking chair, with a light blanket over her legs, she was leisurely reading a peaceful book. She took a sip of warm milk coffee, letting out a relaxing sigh.
—Such a peaceful and leisurely afternoon.
Until the sound of her phone notification suddenly rang, one after another, getting faster and faster, breaking the precious calm.
Cong You closed her book and picked up her phone. A series of messages popped up quickly.
The sender was Xiang Shuhuai.
Silly Younger Sister #1: Sister.
Silly Younger Sister #1: Sister, help me.
Silly Younger Sister #1: Sister.
Seeing that the other side was so frantic that there were no punctuation marks, Cong You realized that something serious must be going on.
She stared at the screen and quickly typed: [What happened, little Shu?]
Silly Younger Sister #1: Sister, can you visit President Yu’s house now?
Silly Younger Sister #1: In fifteen minutes.
Silly Younger Sister #1: It’s really urgent.
[No problem.] After replying, Cong You stood up, tying her loose hair while still looking at the screen. [I’ll leave now. What’s going on?]
There was a short silence on the other end, and just as Cong You was about to urge her, another message came through.
Silly Younger Sister #1: Yu Xiaoxiao is taking me to her house.
Cong You was stunned: “—Huh?”
She read the message twice, then moved her eyes to confirm that it was indeed Xiang Shuhuai who was speaking.
Silly Younger Sister #1: What should I do, sister?
Silly Younger Sister #1: We’ll be there in twenty minutes.
Silly Younger Sister #1: Sister, what should I do?
Cong You couldn’t help but type: […Are you two meeting the parents?]
[Yeah.]
Her silly little sister replied without hesitation and quickly asked again.
Silly Younger Sister #1: Sister, do I need to have my assistant send a gift? Anything extra I should bring?
Cong You: …That’s not what I meant.
Silly Younger Sister #1:?
Before she could ask “What do you mean,” Cong You had already helplessly replied: [No need to bring gifts.]
Silly Younger Sister #1: Oh…
Silly Younger Sister #1: So, should I—
…This silly child.
Cong You sighed in resignation.
This was supposed to be her rare day off.
[Nothing else, little Shu.]
She typed back.
[Just bring yourself.]
[—I’ll be there soon.]