Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 77

Xiang Shuhui didn’t really know what it was, but she always felt especially at ease when sleeping next to Yu Xiaoxiao.

Even though it was just a car ride a little over half an hour, she had fallen into a deep sleep, even dreaming while curled up in the passenger seat.

…But the dream wasn’t very pleasant.

It was a memory from high school, a time related to Gu Jiaxiao.

High school was probably the hardest time of her life. Xiang Shuhui had her first awakening of being omega at sixteen, in her first year of high school. At that time, she had just begun to mature into a young woman, her features developing, but still holding onto a slight childish innocence.

She was a very beautiful omega—slender, delicate, and charming in a way that captured everyone’s attention.

She was the type that alphas loved the most—but that only made Xiang Shuhui fearful.

She wasn’t even an adult yet, but in the eyes of her father, Xiang Hongshan, as his omega daughter, she was already grown up.

Every day at school, Xiang Shuhui had to figure out how to hide her secondary s3x traits. At the Xiang family, she had to remain tense, avoiding her father’s gaze, which always made her feel like a beautiful dessert ready to be handed over, and her stepmother’s open hostility.

It was probably because she resembled her biological mother, Liu Xiu, who had been a small model and an omega. Her stepmother viewed Xiang Shuhui the same way she viewed every “enemy,” with the same coldness. Xiang Shuhui knew well how cruel her stepmother could be.

…She never knew what they were scheming, but if she made even one wrong move, she would fall into a bottomless abyss.

At that time, Xiang Shuhui didn’t have any power. Even to protect herself, she had already exhausted nearly all her energy. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, fragile and about to collapse, until Gu Jiaxiao appeared.

During that time, Gu Jiaxiao would tease her. Sometimes, she would take Xiang Shuhui’s hand and drag her around, or in public, do so suddenly, leaving Xiang Shuhui too embarrassed to say anything.

But other times, she would refuse Xiang Shuhui’s attempts to hold her hand. When Xiang Shuhui tried to be affectionate, Gu Jiaxiao would just avoid her wordlessly, not even looking at her, running off to talk and joke with other friends, leaving Xiang Shuhui behind. It made Xiang Shuhui ponder for a long time.

…At that time, Xiang Shuhui told herself maybe, just maybe, Gu Jiaxiao didn’t want their relationship to be seen by others, so she acted like they weren’t close.

Until one day, Xiang Shuhui overheard Gu Jiaxiao chatting with her friends, casually saying—”That Xiang Shuhui is so boring, so reserved and old-fashioned. She really thinks she’s something special. When we date, she won’t even let me enjoy a little sweetness. If it weren’t for… who would want to be with her? Sometimes I even find her disgusting.”

“But,” Gu Jiaxiao continued, “seeing how she worries over the smallest things, thinking about it forever, teasing her is actually pretty fun.”

…Xiang Shuhui sat in the locked cleaning room, drenched in cold sweat, unable to speak. She stared blankly at the dim shadows outside, her body stiff, hardly feeling her heart still beating.

So, she didn’t cry out for help or struggle, only watching the figure leave, and then disappear.

What she dreamed about was that bone-chilling darkness.

In her memory, she had been trapped in the dark for a long time, until the next day when a teacher rescued her from the locked cleaning room. Xiang Shuhui shivered as she went to class, facing Gu Jiaxiao, who held her hand only to shrug it off, then collapsed during a long run in gym class, running a high fever for several days.

…But, she wasn’t trapped in that dream for long.

A warm force surrounded her, and she felt herself being lifted. Xiang Shuhui, groggy, opened her eyes and saw the bottom of an alpha girl’s chin, which shone brightly under the sunlight.

“Mm,” her voice was still a little fuzzy, unable to snap out of the dream’s dark grip. She instinctively clung to the girl’s neck, “Yu Xiaoxiao…”

“You’re awake, Big Ice Block,” Yu Xiaoxiao smiled, lowering her face to nuzzle Xiang Shuhui’s head, “Want to sleep a little longer?”

The sunlight was warm, and Xiang Shuhui, for a moment, even forgot to ask where they were going, instinctively replying, “Mm…”

“Then sleep some more,” Yu Xiaoxiao coaxed, her voice teasing. “It’s okay, Big Ice Block. Cats sleep fourteen hours a day, you know.”

Xiang Shuhui mumbled, “I’m not a cat…”

I’m not a cat, she wanted to say, but before she could, she fell back into a deep sleep.

Maybe it was the sun’s brightness, but this time, in her dream, she was no longer trapped in that cold, narrow storage room.

Gu Jiaxiao and the freezing darkness were gone from her dream. Perhaps it was because of the words she had half-heard while waking up, but Xiang Shuhui dreamed of being a cat in the sunlight, curled up with a fluffy, wet-nosed golden retriever puppy.

The puppy nudged her with its nose, licking her fur as she curled up, burying herself deeper into the little dog’s warmth, happily dozing off in the sun.

When she woke up again, Xiang Shuhui was confused for a while, only realizing where she was after a moment.

It was the backyard of the house, and she was curled up on a wobbly lounge chair, a thin blanket covering her. Yu Xiaoxiao had even placed the stuffed animal they bought in the mall beside her.

…The soft touch in her dream must have been from rubbing the little dog plushie she unconsciously held in her arms.

The stuffed toy was warm in the sunlight, and Xiang Shuhui gently stroked its soft fur, her ears turning red from her childish actions.

In the open space of the little garden, Yu Xiaoxiao had already set up the barbecue grill. The electric grill looked perfect, and she was sitting under the shade of a tree, preparing the ingredients, chopping potatoes with a steady rhythm.

“—Big Ice Block!” Noticing Xiang Shuhui had woken up, the alpha girl looked up and teased her, “You’re awake! It’s already the next day!”

…Such a childish joke.

Xiang Shuhui shot her a glare but said nothing.

Yu Xiaoxiao, however, was delighted, grinning mischievously in her childish way.

She looked carefree, her hair tousled in the sunlight, resembling the golden retriever puppy in Xiang Shuhui’s dream, making Xiang Shuhui want to bury her face in her shoulder and take another nap, just like in the dream.

So, she went to wash her hands and walked over to help Yu Xiaoxiao prepare the ingredients for their barbecue.

They mostly bought ready-to-cook items. The meat for grilling filled a whole bag, and the vegetables were mostly pre-washed. There were only a few things left to do, like cutting bell peppers and skewering the vegetables according to the recipe Yu Xiaoxiao had found. The only remaining task was to season the ingredients.

Yu Xiaoxiao was very particular about this task, claiming that she had a secret family recipe, which was especially delicious and unlike anything others could make, and insisted Xiang Shuhui had to try her cooking.

“Don’t you dare steal from me, Big Ice Block,” she said in a bossy tone, “It’s really, really delicious!”

Xiang Shuhuai looked at the round, bright eyes that sparkled with the persistence of a child. In the gaze that was both shiny and determined, she couldn’t help but give a helpless nod.

She slowly finished chopping the green peppers, and saw Yuyu Xiaoxiao, who was hunched over by the spices, carefully measuring honey with a small bowl and spoon, adding it one spoonful at a time. With her brows furrowed and her focus so intense, she almost looked like she was about to use a little beaker to measure it.

Xiang Shuhuai found her serious yet childish demeanor so cute that she couldn’t resist a little mischief. She quietly set down the knife and snuck up behind Yuyu Xiaoxiao, who was unaware.

Then, she suddenly shouted, “Wow!”

Yuyu Xiaoxiao jumped in shock, almost leaping out of her skin. She accidentally shook the spoon and poured all the honey into the spices.

“Big Ice Block—”

She turned around, clearly furious, only to see Xiang Shuhuai grinning mischievously, her eyes sparkling with a playful gleam.

Seeing Yuyu Xiaoxiao staring at her, Xiang Shuhuai raised her eyebrows innocently, lowered her face slightly, and looked at her with big, glistening eyes, her expression so pure and soft, as if she didn’t understand why Yuyu Xiaoxiao was glaring at her.

She looked just like a mischievous cat, pretending to be innocent after playing a prank.

“…Big Ice Block!”

Yuyu Xiaoxiao widened her eyes, and since her hands were covered in spices, she couldn’t directly grab her. Without another weapon to use, she raised her hand and wiped the honey from the spoon onto Xiang Shuhuai’s cheek.

The cool, sticky sensation landed on Xiang Shuhuai’s face, and she was momentarily stunned, blinking her eyes in confusion.

“What’s this…” She instinctively reached out and lightly touched it, then saw the golden, translucent color on her fingertip. “…Honey?”

Her dazed expression was so adorable that Yuyu Xiaoxiao’s heart melted, and she leaned in to gently kiss the honey off her fingertip.

“Don’t touch it, Big Ice Block,” she said, “Or your hands will get sticky too.”

Xiang Shuhuai, still a little confused, nodded reflexively. “Okay…”

Yuyu Xiaoxiao tilted her head and smiled, suddenly leaning in, and a warm, soft kiss landed on her cheek.

…It took Xiang Shuhuai a while to realize that it was Yuyu Xiaoxiao’s lips.

Yuyu Xiaoxiao was slowly, carefully kissing the honey from her cheek, her movements slow but gentle, and the warmth of her breath brushed against Xiang Shuhuai’s ear.

She was so focused, as if savoring the taste of her own skin.

A sudden thought popped into Xiang Shuhuai’s mind, and her cheeks flushed even more with embarrassment.

Although Yuyu Xiaoxiao hadn’t kissed her lips, Xiang Shuhuai’s ears burned, and she found herself almost melting in this awkward embrace under the sunlight spilling onto the grass.

Finally, Yuyu Xiaoxiao had kissed away all the honey and pulled away from the embrace.

“All done, Big Ice Block,” she said with a satisfied smile, looking into Xiang Shuhuai’s eyes. “It’s all gone now.”

Xiang Shuhuai just stood there, staring at her in a daze.

…She couldn’t stop looking at Yuyu Xiaoxiao’s lips, which were now so red and moist from the kiss, glistening with a little honey. They must be sweet.

The heat in her ears was getting stronger.

She wondered, would she kiss me?

The thought of a long, deep kiss, one where Yuyu Xiaoxiao completely took the lead and Xiang Shuhuai could only float in the heat of it, filled her mind.

Why didn’t Yuyu Xiaoxiao kiss her?

A soft, burning thought, like it might ignite, swelled in Xiang Shuhuai’s heart. She pulled at the corner of her shirt and quietly spoke.

“Yuyu Xiaoxiao,” she whispered, “Could you…?”