Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 47

— To Pursue Xiang Shuhuai

But how should she go about it?

Yu Xiaoxiao pondered over this for a long time. In the end, she decided to ask Gu Wei, whom she had just parted with, for advice.

“It depends on what kind of person she likes. You should learn her strengths and show them off in a positive way,” the seasoned and beautiful alpha said on the phone. “But don’t just blindly cater to her. You also need to let your own unique charm shine through. The most important thing is not to force it—let her naturally be drawn to you.”

Learning Youyou-jie’s strengths wasn’t too difficult, but…

Yu Xiaoxiao hesitated. “…What unique charm do I have?”

Gu Wei let out a helpless sigh. “Xiao Yu, it’s not like I’m dating you. What good would it do to ask me?”

She added, “—You need to see what she likes about you.”

Before Yu Xiaoxiao could ask more, the call ended. Standing there, listening to the beeping sound, Yu Xiaoxiao was left confused.

…What would Xiang Shuhuai like about her?

She thought and thought but couldn’t figure it out. Deciding to set the issue aside for now, she went ahead and started organizing the groceries and food she had bought.

The colorful snacks went into the snack basket, which was placed on a shelf by the sofa. Bottled water went into the kitchen. The rest was various meats and vegetables…

Of course, the meat went into the freezer. As she stared at the big bundle of leafy greens in plastic bags, Yu Xiaoxiao made a face. She had planned to just throw them into the fridge. But as soon as she opened the fridge door and saw the light inside turn on, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

—If it were Youyou-jie, she would definitely take the vegetables out of the plastic bag, sort them carefully, and prepare them for later use, instead of just thinking, “I’ll deal with it later.”

Youyou-jie was like that—meticulous, patient. She was the kind of adult who was mature and gentle, the complete opposite of Yu Xiaoxiao.

Since Xiang Shuhuai liked Youyou-jie, didn’t that mean she probably preferred gentle, mature adults rather than someone childish like her?

—Fine then.

She would learn from her.

With this resolve, Yu Xiaoxiao walked away from the fridge, walked over to the kitchen island, and carefully organized the vegetables, sorting them according to their freshness. Anything she didn’t know, she’d just look up on her phone.

She was so engrossed in the task that she didn’t even hear the sound of the bedroom door opening. It wasn’t until she took a can of Coke out of the fridge and started organizing them by expiration date that she noticed the slender figure standing in front of the kitchen door.

“大冰块!” Yu Xiaoxiao smiled. “Are you done with work? Do you want something to eat? Aunt Zhao won’t be here until later. I bought some pre-made sandwiches, or I can heat something up for you—”

At that moment, Xiang Shuhuai was wearing an oversized T-shirt, the hem hanging loosely around her thighs, still looking a bit dazed as she stared at Yu Xiaoxiao.

Her skin was naturally pale, and there were bandages on her forehead and one wrist. The bright cartoon T-shirt made her look even more colorless, and her expression revealed a kind of softness and vulnerability.

—She was wearing Yu Xiaoxiao’s clothes because her own nightgown had been washed and was hanging out to dry on the balcony.

Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t find anything else for her to wear and didn’t want to wake her up just to ask where her clothes were. Since Xiang Shuhuai had worn a suit the day before, stained with tea and bl00d, and Yu Xiaoxiao knew she was a bit of a neat freak, she had decided to help the drowsy Xiang Shuhuai change into one of her own nightgowns.

It fit reasonably well—Xiang Shuhuai was taller than her, and Yu Xiaoxiao’s nightgown would have reached her knees, but on Xiang Shuhuai, it came to mid-thigh. Given its loose design, it only made Xiang Shuhuai look even more delicate and slender. It almost seemed like Yu Xiaoxiao could break her just by breathing a little too heavily.

Yu Xiaoxiao recalled how light Xiang Shuhuai had felt when she had carried her last night. She also remembered how her bones had felt sharp and rigid when she held her in her arms.

She wasn’t unattractive. But looking at Xiang Shuhuai like this made Yu Xiaoxiao’s heart ache.

…She was so thin, it was unsettling.

Yu Xiaoxiao silently made up her mind once again. She was going to make Xiang Shuhuai eat more and exercise properly to get her weight into a healthier range.

Meanwhile, Xiang Shuhuai walked over in soft slippers, looking as though she hadn’t fully detached from her busy work, her eyes unfocused and her expression still holding a trace of exhaustion and confusion. Yu Xiaoxiao wasn’t sure if she had heard her, but she saw her walk up to her side and simply look at her quietly.

Yu Xiaoxiao put down the can of Coke and asked cautiously, “…Do you want a hug?”

In response, Xiang Shuhuai’s body moved closer.

Without hesitation, she collided with Yu Xiaoxiao, burying her face in the fabric of her shoulder and still holding onto the hem of her shirt. There was no flirtatiousness in the gesture, more like a child holding onto her favorite toy.

Yu Xiaoxiao gently wrapped her arms around Xiang Shuhuai’s thin back, offering comfort.

Like a big cat.

As Xiang Shuhuai rubbed against her shoulder, Yu Xiaoxiao thought to herself.

Perhaps she really was exhausted from their time apart, and yesterday had been such a difficult day for her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been acting so uncharacteristically for so long.

In the hug last night, Yu Xiaoxiao had been full of worry and hardly had the energy to focus on anything else. But now, in the quiet of this embrace, she suddenly realized she could faintly smell a delicate, cold fragrance.

…It was Xiang Shuhuai’s pheromone.

It was faint, barely noticeable unless she was very close, like a transparent, icy mist that made Yu Xiaoxiao’s face heat up.

Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t dare to move, quickly turning her face away to distance herself. But as she did, her eyes landed on a translucent, strikingly pale area.

—In this position, with Xiang Shuhuai’s face buried in her shoulder, her long hair flowing softly, her slender, pale neck was exposed just enough to be visible.

They were so close that Yu Xiaoxiao could see the fine hairs on her neck and the faint scar on her gland.

It almost seemed like glass, so delicate, yet so stunning and alluring. It almost seemed to be inviting her to lower her head and gently taste the pale skin, to leave a mark on that flawless neck…

Yu Xiaoxiao quickly turned her gaze away and closed her eyes, but the image lingered in her mind, not fading away. She stood there, her face flushed, desperate to erase the thoughts from her mind.

When the fantasies finally stopped, Yu Xiaoxiao realized she could no longer stay standing, afraid of the bad thoughts that might crop up again.

“Xiang—” she tried calling out softly.

Xiang Shuhuai answered, “…Pay up?”

Without thinking, she pulled herself away from Yu Xiaoxiao’s embrace and stood a step back, looking at her. It was as though she was recharged, still wrapped in the lazy weariness of her home clothes, but her dark eyes already had their usual spark.

“Not really… Ah.” Yu Xiaoxiao blinked, a thought suddenly flashing through her mind. “Hey—how about this, one wish. Big Ice Block, would you grant me one wish?”

—She hadn’t yet decided what the wish would be.

But since she was going to pursue Xiang Shuhuai, she’d probably need to ask her out sometime, and maybe the wish could come in handy.

Xiang Shuhuai paused for a moment, then replied, “…Sure.”

She had only come out to stretch a little and grab something to eat. After finishing most of the egg sandwich Yu Xiaoxiao had recommended, she wandered back to her room to continue working.

Yu Xiaoxiao stayed in the kitchen, continuing to organize the fridge while munching on the boiled eggs she had taken from the sandwich.

…That Big Ice Block. Yu Xiaoxiao grumbled to herself. She didn’t eat eggs, barely ever ate meat, nibbling on a few leaves like a rabbit. No wonder she was always sick.

—Fixing Xiang Shuhuai’s eating habits was urgent.

Yu Xiaoxiao had originally planned to take it easy that day, but she was soon caught up in work, influenced by Xiang Shuhuai’s relentless work ethic. Despite it being a day off, she opened her work laptop and got to work on a new product promotion plan for Fu Xiao, while Xiang Shuhuai was busy with her own company’s tasks.

During a break, while getting water, Yu Xiaoxiao ran into Xiang Shuhuai just as she was on the phone with a colleague.

“…Mm, okay, Xiao Xiang.”

Yu Xiaoxiao nodded, noticing that Xiang Shuhuai paused for a moment before heading back to her room.

Everything seemed fine during the day, but that night, as Yu Xiaoxiao lay in her own room, tossing and turning, a feeling of unease suddenly crept over her.

She thought about the dark circles under Xiang Shuhuai’s eyes and the exhaustion she was carrying.

Last night, after finally feeling safe, she had slept soundly, like a child…

…If she thought Xiang Shuhuai couldn’t sleep well without her, it would be too arrogant of her. But Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t suppress her concern. She knew Xiang Shuhuai had always struggled with sleep, and she had seen the aftermath of her nightmares. Given how exhausted Xiang Shuhuai looked, she couldn’t help but worry. What if those nightmares came back?

She couldn’t stop thinking about it. After a while of sitting on her bed, she decided to get up.

She would just check on her. Just take a look.

If everything was fine, she’d go back. That would be enough.

The door to the guest room was tightly closed, with a faint yellow light seeping out from the crack. On the door was a small colorful note, with the date September 20th written on it.

Yu Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then realized that it was today’s date.

…It was the agreement she had made with Xiang Shuhuai.

Back then, their relationship had been strained, and Xiang Shuhuai had been as cold as ice. Looking back, it felt like such a long time ago.

So many things had happened between them, but here Xiang Shuhuai was, moving back in last night, and still keeping that agreement seriously.

So cute. Yu Xiaoxiao thought, feeling a strange softness in her chest.

She was always so cute in these little details, completely unaware of it. If she hadn’t spent so much time with her, how would she have known that the once fearsome genius, Xiao Xiang, could be this adorable?

She gently tore off the note, folded it, and carefully slipped it into the pocket of her nightgown.

Yu Xiaoxiao stood outside the door for a moment, but she still didn’t hear a sound. She figured Xiang Shuhuai must have fallen asleep and decided to leave. But just as she turned to leave, there was a loud “thud” from inside.

…What fell?

In an instant, worry flooded her mind. Yu Xiaoxiao anxiously called out, “Xiang Shuhuai…?”

There was a long silence before a faint, hoarse voice responded, still breathing lightly, “…Eh?”

“Can I come in?”

After a moment of silence, a soft voice came from inside the room: “Sure…”

So, Yu Xiaoxiao carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside.

—The situation in the room was much better than she had imagined it would be.

The only thing that had fallen on the floor was an alarm clock, and Xiang Shuhuai was still sitting on the bed, curled up in the light from the nightlight. She seemed to have just woken up, her black eyes misty with sleep, her fingertips trembling, and her expression still held a trace of fear.

…Was it those recurring nightmares again?

Noticing Yu Xiaoxiao’s gaze, Xiang Shuhuai awkwardly clenched her hand and hid her trembling fingers under the blanket.

“It’s okay, it’s fine,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, breaking the silence.

She walked over, crouched down, and picked up the little alarm clock from the floor, smiling at Xiang Shuhuai. “See? It’s perfectly fine, not broken at all. Want me to let it ring for you?”

Under Xiang Shuhuai’s slightly uneasy gaze, Yu Xiaoxiao gently tapped the alarm clock.

“Ding—” The clear sound echoed through the dimly lit room.

“See?” She looked up at Xiang Shuhuai, smiling, “It’s really sturdy.”

Xiang Shuhuai quietly nodded.

She looked up at Yu Xiaoxiao, as if wanting to say something, but hesitated, unable to speak.

Her black eyes were filled with mixed emotions that couldn’t be clearly read, like a calm deep pool disturbed by ripples, the shattered moonlight scattered into the water, forming fragments of light that seemed to struggle against the waves.

Yu Xiaoxiao probably understood what she wanted to say.

But after a moment of thought, she simply asked encouragingly, “What’s up, Big Ice Block? What do you want to say?”

“…I…”

Xiang Shuhuai hesitated, swallowing her words several times before finally asking softly, surprisingly honest,

“…Can I stay?”

“Of course,” Yu Xiaoxiao smiled. “I’ll stay with you. Xiang Shuhuai, do you need to charge up again?”

Xiang Shuhuai pressed her lips together and nodded slightly.

Yu Xiaoxiao sat on the edge of the bed, then lifted her hand, allowing Xiang Shuhuai’s tense body to lean gently into her.

—They completed that half-embrace.

Yu Xiaoxiao comfortingly patted her back with one hand, while the other hand quietly found Xiang Shuhuai’s, gently holding it.

It was so cold. She could still feel the gauze wrapping around her wrist, the thin fabric tightly wound at the most delicate spot.

That spot…

Did Xiang Shuhuai sometimes hurt herself? The thought came to Yu Xiaoxiao’s mind as she touched it.

Just thinking about this possibility made her chest tighten with a sour, aching feeling.

What was it?

Yu Xiaoxiao wanted to understand.

What kind of sadness, what kind of fear, could make her so afraid that she’d harm herself, trapped in endless nightmares every night with no escape…

But for now, she just gently held Xiang Shuhuai’s fingers, exchanging warmth, letting the fragile, pale hand slowly warm up. Then, she gently squeezed her soft fingertips, tilted her head, and smiled reassuringly.

“It’s okay, Xiang Shuhuai,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, “I’m here. I’m with you.”

“—Everything is fine now.”

That night, they held each other for a long time, and in the softness of the embrace, Xiang Shuhuai’s broken breaths gradually calmed down, her body no longer trembling.

Those nightmares were really exhausting. After being comforted, Xiang Shuhuai lay back on the bed, clutching one of Yu Xiaoxiao’s shirt sleeves, and soon fell asleep curled up.

Once she was sound asleep, Yu Xiaoxiao quietly got up and returned to her own room.

Normally, after a night like this, and since it was a day off, she would have slept in late. But Yu Xiaoxiao had set an alarm on her phone to wake up early.

She was about to start the first step of her pursuit plan.

—Making breakfast!

A hearty and delicious breakfast could not only show off her mature and gentle charm, like Youyou Jie, but also provide Xiang Shuhuai with some nutrition. It was a win-win.

This was the first step she had carefully thought out after checking out many dating tips online last night, nibbling on her pen and pondering for a long time.

A lot of the things she found online weren’t very reliable. Like the “How to Pursue Your Girlfriend” tutorial videos, “Sweet Confessions to Say,” or “The Top 100 Gifts for Girlfriends That Will Make Her Cry.” Even Yu Xiaoxiao, with no experience, found them strange.

She tried asking Gu Wei, but that wasn’t much help either.

[Are you sure you want my experience? Little Fish?]

Gu Wei sent that. Yu Xiaoxiao could almost imagine the strange smile behind it, even through the screen.

[It could work, but for someone like you… isn’t it a little too intense? You sure you can handle it?]

When Yu Xiaoxiao saw that line, she quickly slapped the phone down.

…She could imagine it was definitely something inappropriate!!

She hadn’t even confessed yet, how could she…

For Yu Xiaoxiao, her concept of love was well-structured. Three stages of pursuit, then confession. After that, hand-holding, hugging, light kisses, and then deep kisses… And much later, much later, the more adult things.

In her planning, she completely forgot that she’d already kissed that Big Ice Block and hugged her multiple times.

…Anyway, first step: make breakfast.

Yu Xiaoxiao wasn’t completely hopeless in the kitchen, but to say she had amazing cooking skills would be an exaggeration. She could at most steam rice, make scrambled eggs with tomatoes, or toast a few slices of bread in the bread machine. Anything more complicated than that, she couldn’t handle. But for some reason, she had settled on a recipe that was way above her skill level.

Fruit smoothies were the simplest, but the juicer was too loud to use before Xiang Shuhuai woke up. Boiling corn was easy, but the real challenge was frying bacon and making potato egg pancakes.

She added diced carrots and luncheon meat to the egg pancakes and used egg whites, hoping the taste of eggs wouldn’t stand out too much. After all, it was breakfast, and she couldn’t make Xiang Shuhuai eat meat like usual. She wanted to try and get some protein into her in a different way.

It sounded great, but it was a lot harder to actually make. Yu Xiaoxiao burned ten slices of bacon, and while her mouth was stuffed with half-cooked food, she finally managed to fry up a perfect, golden-brown slice of bacon.

…But looking at it now, it seemed like there was too much oil.

She sighed and put the bacon on a plate, pushing it aside, thinking that Big Ice Block probably wouldn’t want to eat it.

The egg pancake recipe was more complicated and harder to make. Forget about getting it to look good or taste great; she either burned it, undercooked it, or one side was charred black while the other was still raw. Despite preparing enough for four servings, she only managed to fry enough for the two of them.

After over an hour of struggle, she finally managed to make food that was at least edible and somewhat presentable, just in time for Xiang Shuhuai to wake up.

—It seemed like that Big Ice Block had slept well.

Hearing footsteps outside, Yu Xiaoxiao thought to herself. She quickly reheated the bacon and threw some fruit and yogurt into the juicer.

The unfamiliar smell of food in the kitchen clearly caught Xiang Shuhuai’s attention.

Her hair was still a bit messy, and even though she had already washed up, she looked like she hadn’t fully woken up yet. When she saw Yu Xiaoxiao preparing breakfast, she blinked in confusion.

“Eh…?”

“Big Ice Block!” Yu Xiaoxiao excitedly waved her hand, “I made breakfast! Want to try it?”

Xiang Shuhuai nodded.

She walked over and reached for a piece of the pale golden egg pancake. Seeing this, Yu Xiaoxiao smiled.

“The corn’s still warm, eat it while it’s hot?” she said. “This pancake is my first time making it! I just tried it, and I think it tastes pretty good—how is it, how is it?”

Looking into her sparkling eyes, Xiang Shuhuai took a bite, nodded.

“Mm.” She seemed to be infected by Yu Xiaoxiao’s smile and returned a small one of her own. “It’s really good, Yu Xiaoxiao.”

Hearing the compliment, Yu Xiaoxiao beamed with even more pride.

“I’m awesome, huh?” she said, puffing up a bit, even though she had planned to seem calm and mature. “There’s also a milkshake! You can wait here for me for a bit.”

Xiang Shuhuai nodded and sat down at the table.

“I did pretty well, right?”

Yu Xiaoxiao continued happily.

“Like Youyou Jie, right? I bet her breakfasts are like this too. I think my cooking is almost as good as hers! If she came to eat, she’d probably think—”

She pressed the button on the juicer to start mixing.

After a while, it seemed like Xiang Shuhuai had said something, but the blender’s noise was too loud, so Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t catch it.

She stopped the machine and widened her eyes, asking, “What?”

“I’m saying… my sister doesn’t have any schedule today,” Xiang Shuhuai repeated.

“If you want to invite her, maybe lunch or dinner would be better than breakfast… but then again, maybe not.”

Confused about why the topic shifted to Youyou Jie’s schedule, Yu Xiaoxiao stood there, slightly dazed.

She looked at Xiang Shuhuai and couldn’t help but notice that the faint smile from earlier had completely vanished, replaced once again by her perfect, cold mask.

Yu Xiaoxiao blinked, asking in confusion, “What?”

“But she likes Hui cuisine, and she’s pretty picky about cooking. You can try making it.”

Xiang Shuhuai continued, “I’m going to the company today, so I won’t be back until later. I might stay there tonight. Don’t worry about me disturbing you. Thanks for these two days, Yu Xiaoxiao, I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Why…”

“Since the food is still good, I won’t waste it,” Xiang Shuhuai said with a polite smile, standing up. “I’ve tasted it, and it’s really good. My sister loves carrots, so she’ll be happy.”

She turned to leave, “I’ve already touched this pancake, so I’ll take it with me. I haven’t touched the rest.”

“Wait, wait, Big Ice Block,” Yu Xiaoxiao quickly put down what she was holding, trying to stop her. “Don’t—”

But Xiang Shuhuai stopped and, meeting her gaze, added softly, “If you think it’s dirty, I can throw the rest away for you.”

“I didn’t mean that…”

“I understand.”

Xiang Shuhuai remained calm, her black eyes silently staring at Yu Xiaoxiao for a moment before she smiled gently.

“Anyway, thank you for letting me try, Yu Xiaoxiao.”

She said no more, took the pancake she had touched, and left the room, quickly changing clothes and heading out.

Yu Xiaoxiao was left standing alone in the kitchen, thoroughly confused.

She had tried to make breakfast like Youyou Jie, to act like a mature adult and show Xiang Shuhuai her tender charm. The first step of her pursuit plan.

…But why did it seem like Xiang Shuhuai wasn’t happy?

Yu Xiaoxiao stared at the closed door, feeling confused, and then remembered those eyes, filled with inexplicable emotions, quiet and dark.

Had she done something wrong?