Marked by My Omega Rival After Moving In (GL, ABO) - Chapter 9

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

The person on the bed looked at her, body tense and guarded. She trembled at the sound of her name, and her face, full of hostility, showed a hint of fear. She no longer looked like a leopard now—more like a wounded stray cat, still arching its back and hissing at strangers despite being hurt.

After a moment of delayed recognition, she seemed to realize who Yu Xiaoxiao was, and her wariness gradually faded.

Xiang Shuhuai loosened her fingers. Her voice was hoarse. “I…”

“—Don’t apologize,” Yu Xiaoxiao cut in.

Xiang Shuhuai fell silent, as if suddenly unsure what to say.

“What’s wrong with you?” Yu Xiaoxiao studied her. “Is it your stomach again? Did you take the medicine on an empty stomach? Or is it your fever acting up? Do you want to eat something? There’s bread at home, or I could ask Aunt Zhao to come make you some porridge—”

Xiang Shuhuai shook her head.

“…Help me get something,” she said with difficulty, her voice rough. “Medicine. It should be in the second drawer of the desk. There’s a small medical box…”

“Okay.” Yu Xiaoxiao nodded and quickly found the box.

It was quite a large “small medical box”—looked like it even had a cooling feature, and it was heavy. She handed it to Xiang Shuhuai and stood there, watching as she opened it with practiced ease, pulling out pills one by one and placing them neatly beside her. The sight made Yu Xiaoxiao even more uneasy.

“Are you really okay?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked, worried. “That’s a lot of medicine… Are you sure you’re fine? Let me call a doctor to come over.”

“—Don’t.” Xiang Shuhuai took the pills and replied quickly. “Don’t call a doctor.”

“But—”

Yu Xiaoxiao saw her look up. Her lips, pale and pressed into a thin line, gave no sign of the pain she’d shown just moments ago. Her expression was calm.

“I’m fine,” Xiang Shuhuai said softly.

As if trying to comfort her, she gently curved her eyes into a faint smile.

…It was a smile so soft, it could almost be called tender.

The sharp edges of her face had vanished. Her lashes drooped slightly like soft feathers. Sitting there, Xiang Shuhuai seemed like an iceberg melting—only delicate, crystalline snowflakes remained, stunningly beautiful and gentle.

With that smile, she said, “Thank you, Yu Xiaoxiao.”

Yu Xiaoxiao hadn’t even realized she was holding her breath.

She stared blankly for a moment before nodding dazedly. “Okay…”

Even as she left the room, Yu Xiaoxiao still felt a little out of it. Just as she closed the door, she caught a glimpse of Xiang Shuhuai biting down on a cotton swab and holding a syringe in her hand, injecting medicine into her upper left arm—awkward but practiced.

The needle pierced her pale, thin skin. When she pulled it out—roughly—a string of bl00d beads followed. But from her expression, she seemed completely used to it.

…Which only made Yu Xiaoxiao even more worried.

What was going on with Xiang Shuhuai?

That question lingered in her mind.

That soft, vulnerable side of Xiang Shuhuai seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared. The next morning when Yu Xiaoxiao woke up, the person wrapped in blankets sleeping in the house was gone. She checked her phone and found a message—Xiang Shuhuai said something came up at work and she’d be back later.

…And Yu Xiaoxiao had even asked Aunt Zhao to come and make a meal for a sick person.

The porridge and dishes were still warm on the stove. As soon as she lifted the lid, the fragrant steam filled the kitchen.

If she’s well enough to be out and about, Yu Xiaoxiao thought, then what was with all that sickness yesterday?

She didn’t even realize why she felt so annoyed. She just glared at the pot for a while, then took out her phone, snapped a picture of the food, and sent it to Xiang Shuhuai. She told her it was a special sick-day meal Aunt Zhao made just for her—if she didn’t come back soon, Yu Xiaoxiao was going to eat it all herself.

The reply came quickly: [Want to come to my office?]

…Huh?

—Which was how Yu Xiaoxiao ended up sitting alone in a quiet meeting room, with a thermal lunch container at her feet that she had never used until now.

The room was warm and silent, decorated in a clean, minimalist style. A simple vase on the table held a single fresh sunflower, dew still clinging to its golden petals under the soft white light.

The receptionist who led her in had left quickly after. Yu Xiaoxiao sat for a while, bored, and ended up pulling out her phone to search:

[What illness requires a lot of medication]

[What illness requires frequent injections]

[What does it mean to take many different kinds of pills]

[Injecting medication at home]

…

Her search history quickly filled with variations of the same thing. But none of the results seemed trustworthy. She scrolled through messy webpages, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

Diabetes? But insulin needles didn’t look like that. High bl00d pressure? Xiang Shuhuai seemed too young for that. Thyroid removal? High cholesterol? Anemia?

…Or a heart condition?

Was it serious or not?

A sudden thought popped into her head, and Yu Xiaoxiao startled herself.

N-no way…

She shook her head, trying to get rid of that idea—but for some reason, more memories started coming back.

Youyou had said her friend wasn’t in good health and shouldn’t live alone, that she might need a period of rest. Xiang Shuhuai always looked pale, her lips lacking color. Her voice at home was always so soft and low, like she had no energy…

…Back then, Youyou said that “Big Ice Block” shouldn’t live alone. Was it because she was worried a heart condition might flare up and there wouldn’t be anyone around to help in time?

Yu Xiaoxiao remembered she had a classmate in elementary school with congenital heart disease. That girl had been thin and quiet, with lips that looked slightly bluish, always wearing her hair in a neat ponytail. She couldn’t do any physical activities and would just sit under the trees during gym class, watching the others. By fourth grade, she’d dropped out, and Yu Xiaoxiao never saw her again.

Now she suddenly realized—Xiang Shuhuai reminded her of that girl.

Just as skinny. Just as pale. Just as soft-spoken…

The more Yu Xiaoxiao thought about it, the more nervous she got. She sat up straight without realizing it, her whole body tense.

And lately, that Big Ice Block had been so… kind. There’s that old saying, something about how…

—No, no, no, no.

Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head hard, forcing herself to stop imagining worst-case scenarios. It couldn’t be that bad. Maybe she just had a weak immune system. Yeah, that had to be it—

Just as she calmed down and opened her eyes, she realized someone else was standing in front of her.

She jumped. “—Whoa!!”

The person in front of her only straightened slightly, then nodded politely and smiled. “Hello.”

—She looked a lot like Xiang Shuhuai.

That was Yu Xiaoxiao’s first thought.

The woman was wearing a simple, casual suit, short hair, rimless glasses, serious expression, straight posture—young, and very much like a copy of Xiang Shuhuai. But unlike her cold and distant boss, this woman had a polite smile and an approachable manner. She looked more like a top student than an Big Ice Block.

“Yi Anning, Special Assistant to President Xiang,” she said, handing over a business card. “The boss is tied up at the moment and asked me to receive you on her behalf.”

Yu Xiaoxiao took the card. “Ah… I’m Yu Xiaoxiao.”

“Ms. Yu,” Yi Anning said. “I know who you are.”

That sounded… odd. Yu Xiaoxiao got goosebumps. The way Yi Anning stood there so properly made her feel even more uncomfortable.

…She really wasn’t used to this kind of environment.

She scooted over on the couch to make room and smiled up at the woman. “Don’t call me Ms. Yu. Call me anything else, that just sounds weird—don’t just stand there, either. I’m fine waiting a bit. Go do your thing.”

Yi Anning nodded and sat down beside her.

…Now that she was up close, she didn’t look that much like Xiang Shuhuai after all, Yu Xiaoxiao thought.

If it were that annoying Big Ice Block, she would’ve stared disdainfully at the spot she had to sit in, then sat stiffly on a different sofa.

But if it were yesterday’s version of Xiang Shuhuai… maybe not.

Just thinking about that smile from yesterday made Yu Xiaoxiao’s heart start to beat faster again. She coughed lightly to cover it up and put away her phone, deciding to chat with Assistant Yi instead.

True to her appearance, Yi Anning was quiet, serious, and very much like a model student. She answered every question exactly, not a word more, like some sort of census taker.

After a few exchanges, Yu Xiaoxiao hesitated a bit, then finally asked the question that had been bothering her: “Um… your boss, is she not doing well? Like, health-wise?”

She noticed the assistant’s expression shift slightly. Feeling guilty, Yu Xiaoxiao added quickly, gesturing awkwardly, “—Ah, you know, it’s just, she had a fever yesterday, right? And I feel like she’s always sick… I was just wondering if she’s okay…”

The question seemed to break through the assistant’s formal exterior. The polite distance in her manner softened a little. Yi Anning’s brows drew together slightly in concern.

She looked Yu Xiaoxiao straight in the eye, her tone sincere. For the first time since they started talking, she asked a question of her own:

“—What exactly is your relationship with the boss?”

Yu Xiaoxiao froze.

“Ah, we…”