My Virtual Wife Stepped Out of My Phone to Find Me - Chapter 25

Shi Yu followed Qi Ying out the door, neither of them sure where to go. Eventually, Qi Ying stopped under a tree and turned to face the person behind her.

Shi Yu’s expression was complicated. Her dark eyes, deep and sharp, were fixed intently on Qi Ying, as if she had already anticipated what Qi Ying was about to say and had braced herself for it.

“Why didn’t you reply to my messages?” Shi Yu was the first to speak. “Do you have some kind of problem with me?”

Qi Ying lowered her gaze. “No.”

“Then what’s your deal?” Shi Yu pressed. “Is it fun to keep me hanging like this every day? You know I’m pursuing you, that I like you—how could you treat me like this?”

“I’m sorry,” Qi Ying apologized, but still said firmly, “I just don’t think we’re compatible. It’s better if we stay friends.”

“Who wants to be your friend?!” Shi Yu’s eyes reddened with anger, her fists clenched. “Do you think I chased after you because I was short on friends?!”

Qi Ying looked at her and sighed softly.

She hadn’t meant to make Shi Yu cry.

But Qi Ying didn’t want to lead her on either—she truly felt nothing for her.

“I’m sorry,” Qi Ying said sincerely. “Feelings can’t be forced. You’ll find someone more suited to you.”

“But how do you know we’re not compatible if you’ve never even tried dating me?” Shi Yu stepped forward, her voice hoarse with unshed tears as she grabbed Qi Ying’s hand. “A-Ying, we’ve only known each other for a short time. Give me a chance—let’s date properly for a while. I know you’ll end up liking me… please?”

Qi Ying shook her head, pulling her hand free. Her gaze remained calm as she replied, “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Shi Yu burst into tears.

Qi Ying didn’t know how to comfort the sobbing girl. She didn’t understand why, after only meeting a few times, Shi Yu had become so devoted to her. She pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket, handed them to Shi Yu, and then walked away.

She didn’t even wipe her tears for her.

When Qi Ying reached the shop entrance, she saw Xia Ruoxin crouched by the display window, peering outside. Spotting Qi Ying, she hurried over, eager to stir the pot. “Hey, you just dumped that girl like that? Didn’t even give her time to process it?”

Qi Ying glanced at her. “Want to go comfort her instead?”

Xia Ruoxin shook her head vigorously.

She had no intention of getting involved in this mess.

Qi Ying went about her business, leaving Xia Ruoxin alone at the window. After about ten minutes, Xia Ruoxin lazily informed her that Shi Yu had left. Qi Ying paused, realizing she hadn’t even turned down the invitation to Shi Yu’s birthday party.

But it didn’t matter, right?

Given how things had ended, Shi Yu probably wouldn’t be foolish enough to still invite her.

The thought made Qi Ying quietly sigh in relief.

Over the next few days, Shi Yu indeed didn’t show up again. Qi Ying occasionally saw her updates on social media and was surprised she hadn’t been blocked. She felt a little guilty but helpless—after all, feelings couldn’t be forced.

No spark meant no spark.

Ding—

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Fishing her phone out from under the pillow, Qi Ying glanced at the incoming message before yawning and rolling over to get out of bed. After a quick wash, she entered the game without even combing her hair, half-squinting as she walked out of her bedroom to retrieve a package at the door.

Hearing the commotion, Xing Xiaochu emerged from the kitchen carrying breakfast. Seeing Qi Ying yawn while bringing in the package, she curiously asked, “Sister, what’s all this?”

“Your stationery and various workbooks,” Qi Ying replied, placing the box on the living room coffee table before sitting down to open it with scissors. Xing Xiaochu came over and sat across from her to help.

Aside from the stationery, there were also supplementary teaching materials sent by the teachers from No. 3 High School. Qi Ying had bought them all in one go, filling the box to the brim.

Kneeling on the carpet, Xing Xiaochu stared blankly at the books and stationery on the table. Small Milk Cat also came over to join the fun, its tiny tail upright as it meowed and scampered onto the table, batting at the pens with its fluffy little paws.

Qi Ying grabbed the little troublemaker by the scruff and set it down, saying to Xing Xiaochu, “I’m thinking of enrolling you in some after-school tutoring classes. What do you think?”

“Tutoring classes?” Xing Xiaochu tilted her head, her beautiful eyes looking confusedly at Qi Ying. She tapped the thick stack of study materials in front of her and hesitated before saying, “Aren’t tutoring classes expensive? Sister, you’ve already spent so much money on me. You don’t need to spend any more…”

She couldn’t possibly repay her.

Qi Ying gently reassured her, “I don’t expect you to repay me. As long as you study hard and do well on your exams, that’s all that matters.”

Xing Xiaochu looked up at her, still reluctant to let Qi Ying spend the money. She knew exactly how expensive tutoring classes were—she didn’t deserve it.

“Let’s not do it,” Xing Xiaochu lowered her head, her tone unusually firm. “I don’t need tutoring classes. Regular school lessons are enough. The teachers at No. 3 High School are excellent. I’ll just follow their lessons.”

Seeing Xing Xiaochu’s rare insistence, Qi Ying didn’t push her. After a moment’s thought, she said, “But you’re struggling in some subjects. If you don’t want tutoring, how about I just buy you a few more sets of practice problems?”

Xing Xiaochu glanced up at Qi Ying before lowering her head again.

Being so weak in certain subjects was really embarrassing.

Qi Ying chuckled and ruffled the girl’s hair, telling her to take everything to the study.

The spacious study was now packed with belongings. Guazi’s cat bed had been moved from the balcony to the study, and the floor was littered with little fabric fish Qi Ying had made for it from leftover school uniform fabric. The little furball adored them, carrying them everywhere before scattering them around.

Half the bookshelf, originally filled with books, had been cleared to make space for Xing Xiaochu’s textbooks and workbooks. The desk was now exclusively hers, covered in stationery and scratch paper.

Qi Ying surveyed the study’s arrangement—half fashion magazines, half high school study materials on the bookshelf—and found it oddly harmonious.

Xing Xiaochu was currently stuffing a stack of books onto her half of the shelf. Being short, she had to stand on tiptoe to reach the top layer, her arms raised high enough to reveal a sliver of pale lower back.

The waist was slender and pale, and when she raised her arms, the faintly visible dimples at the small of her back could even be seen, shimmering almost dazzlingly in broad daylight.

Today, Xing Xiaochu was wearing smoke-gray sweatpants and a short-sleeved shirt. When she stood on her tiptoes, her waist and hips tensed, the thin fabric of her sweatpants outlining the delicate lace beneath. Qi Ying’s heart tightened, and she averted her gaze as she stepped forward, reaching from behind to slide those books onto the highest shelf for her.

“Why are you so clumsy? If you can’t reach, why didn’t you call me?” Qi Ying casually helped, but as soon as she lowered her head, she caught the intense scent of osmanthus.

Xing Xiaochu was trapped between the bookshelf and Qi Ying, the tips of her ears already burning red, yet she didn’t dare move a muscle.

The person behind her radiated heat, and Xing Xiaochu could even smell the faint fragrance of shower gel on her, along with the gradually intensifying aroma of plum wine—her alpha pheromones. Gripping the bookshelf nervously, her fingertips trembled involuntarily as she felt Qi Ying slowly lower her head, gently inhaling the scent of her hair.

Xing Xiaochu squeezed her eyes shut in fear.

If Qi Ying tried to take advantage of her… should she refuse?

Qi Ying had been so good to her—not only taking her in but also helping her enroll in school. But… didn’t Qi Ying already have a peach-scented Omega and a rose-scented Omega?

Could it be… she wanted to add an osmanthus-scented Omega to her collection too?

Xing Xiaochu knew alphas had no conscience. Unlike Omegas, they loved whomever they pleased, marked whomever they wanted, and could even walk away after a night together without a second thought—utterly shameless.

But Xing Xiaochu still found it hard to believe Qi Ying was that kind of person…

“You… why do you still have this scent on you?”

The voice behind her suddenly spoke up, startling Xing Xiaochu into a full-body shiver. After a long pause, she turned her head in confusion to look at Qi Ying standing behind her.

Qi Ying’s face was inexplicably flushed, her breathing slightly ragged. She frowned faintly, pressing a hand to her chest as she took a step back, steadying herself against the desk before saying to Xing Xiaochu, “Right now, the moment I smell your scent… I feel unwell…”

Qi Ying didn’t understand what was happening to her. Now, every time she caught Xing Xiaochu’s pheromones, her entire body ached with discomfort.

It was like placing a piece of osmanthus cake in front of someone starving.

Soft, pale, and exuding an irresistible fragrance—it tore at Qi Ying’s self-control.

It felt like dying.

Leaning on the desk with her head bowed, Qi Ying panted heavily. Alarmed, Xing Xiaochu hurried over to help her sit on the study’s sofa. But the moment Qi Ying inhaled her scent again, her head spun, and when she saw Xing Xiaochu about to leave, she immediately grabbed her wrist, lifting her gaze to demand, “Where do you think you’re going?!”

Perhaps her voice was too sharp, because Xing Xiaochu flinched again. Her dark pupils trembled slightly before she explained, “I’m going to get you suppressants.”

Suppressants?

Qi Ying didn’t know what those were, but right now, she didn’t want Xing Xiaochu to leave. Tightening her grip on the girl’s hand, she pulled her into her arms, wrapping one arm around her waist and burying her face against Xing Xiaochu’s abdomen.

She took a deep breath.

Sweet.

Xing Xiaochu looked down at Qi Ying, whose entire face was flushed red. The skin gripping her wrist was frighteningly hot. She knew Qi Ying was reacting to her pheromones and needed an inhibitor injection immediately.

“Big sister…”

Xing Xiaochu raised her other hand to gently stroke the head of the person in her arms. Watching Qi Ying bury her face against her stomach, she said, “I’ll go get the medicine for you. One injection and you won’t feel so terrible anymore. Can you let go of me first, big sister?”

Though reluctant, Qi Ying released her grip, allowing Xing Xiaochu to leave the study.

Leaning back on the sofa, Qi Ying felt like her entire body was on fire, as if she’d taken some sort of aphrodisiac. She narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing blankly at the ceiling above.

Damn it, was this some kind of adult game she’d stumbled into?