My Virtual Wife Stepped Out of My Phone to Find Me - Chapter 26

The cold injection entered her body, and Qi Ying instantly felt the burning sensation fade. Her pounding heart calmed down within a minute, and even her breathing steadied.

Xing Xiaochu crouched beside Qi Ying, carefully removing the needle and disposing of it in the nearby wastebasket. When she looked up, her eyes met Qi Ying’s.

“Jiejie,” Xing Xiaochu asked softly, “Are you feeling better now?”

Qi Ying’s pupils trembled slightly as she gazed at her. Though the faint scent of osmanthus still lingered in the air, it no longer triggered such an intense reaction. Still, Qi Ying found it awkward to maintain eye contact and averted her gaze.

“Much better,” Qi Ying replied, glancing at the tiny puncture mark on her arm before pulling her sleeve down. “Thank you for helping me.”

Xing Xiaochu shook her head. “It was my fault to begin with. I’m sorry, Jiejie.”

As she spoke, she touched the back of her neck, hidden beneath her long black hair, where a fresh suppressant patch now covered her scent gland. With it in place, Qi Ying shouldn’t have any more reactions.

But it was strange. Aside from a few unconscious instances in her sleep, Xing Xiaochu had always been careful about controlling her pheromones. She wasn’t even in heat—so why had Qi Ying reacted so strongly?

Could it be that their pheromone compatibility was unusually high? Even the slightest whiff might set Qi Ying off.

Xing Xiaochu lightly traced the edge of her suppressant patch, hesitantly glancing at Qi Ying but not daring to ask.

What if she was wrong? That would be beyond embarrassing.

Qi Ying didn’t notice Xing Xiaochu’s gaze. She leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling as she rested. Though the discomfort had faded, she was still drenched in sweat. Today’s incident had made one thing clear—in this world, alphas and omegas truly needed to maintain their distance.

Unlike with Xia Ruoxin, where they could be close without a second thought—changing clothes, bathing, even sharing personal space—here, she and Xing Xiaochu had to be careful.

Too much closeness was dangerous.

To avoid another incident, Qi Ying decided to keep a little more distance from Xing Xiaochu—just enough to stay within polite social boundaries, but no closer.

After resting for a while, Qi Ying made up an excuse and slipped away.

Xing Xiaochu stood at the door, watching as Qi Ying shut it behind her without a second glance. Her long lashes fluttered as she stared at the floor, a quiet ache settling in her chest. She had a feeling that after this, Qi Ying wouldn’t treat her with the same warmth as before.

The little kitten, bored and restless, padded over and curled up at Xing Xiaochu’s feet, keeping her silent company by the door.

Meanwhile, Qi Ying, now logged out of the game, hid in an alleyway and dialed customer support. The moment the call connected, her face burned red as she blurted out, “What kind of game is this?! Why would you—why would you include this kind of scenario?!”

The customer service representative responded gently, “Could you clarify what happened?”

Qi Ying’s face flamed even hotter, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

How could she admit that just smelling Xing Xiaochu’s scent had sent her into a frenzy?

So embarrassing. So, so embarrassing!

“Y-you don’t need to know what happened! Just tell me straight—is this game an adult game or a proper one?” Qi Ying demanded angrily. “This kind of interaction is way too weird! Isn’t this supposed to be a child-rearing game?”

The customer service representative remained gentle as they replied, “Please don’t be upset, Designer. We assure you our game is completely proper.”

Qi Ying grew even more furious. “So you’re implying I’m the improper one here?”

Customer Service: “…”

This customer was proving rather difficult to handle.

In the following days, Qi Ying logged in every evening before bed, making brief appearances in front of Xing Xiaochu before retreating to her room. Sensing Qi Ying’s growing distance, Xing Xiaochu would often gaze at her with sad eyes. Once, she even approached Qi Ying holding the cat, hoping to talk, but Qi Ying subtly avoided her.

After that incident, Xing Xiaochu no longer dared to get close.

But this situation couldn’t continue.

Sitting at her work desk, Qi Ying watched Xing Xiaochu spacing out in the study. The child had been listless these past few days—either staring blankly at the desk or fixated on Guazi’s cloth fish toy for hours on end.

It made Qi Ying feel somewhat guilty.

Admittedly, she had been too busy lately to spend much time with Xing Xiaochu. Fortunately, having a cat at home kept the child from feeling too lonely.

Tomorrow was Guazi’s vaccination day at the pet hospital. Qi Ying had already taken time off, planning to properly take Xing Xiaochu out shopping. They’d known each other for so long, yet she had never brought the girl to a mall before.

Watching the surveillance feed, Qi Ying couldn’t help but smile as she saw Xing Xiaochu pick up Guazi and rescue the little cloth fish from its mouth.

Her child was still adorable after all.

“Ugh, it’s so hot…”

Xia Ruoxin pushed open the door panting, fanning herself as she rushed to the air conditioner vent. “It’s almost September—why is it still this sweltering? Yesterday’s rain didn’t cool things down at all. Having to visit factories in this weather is torture!”

Closing her phone, Qi Ying poured Xia Ruoxin a glass of water. “How did the factory negotiations go?”

Gulping down the cool water, Xia Ruoxin gave a thumbs-up. “Went great! They loved your designs and agreed to trial a batch first. I’ll contact our previous retail partners to gauge the response. If it works out, we’ll sign a long-term contract.”

Qi Ying nodded and returned to her seat.

Noticing Qi Ying’s indifferent reaction, Xia Ruoxin sidled closer. “Hey, A Ying… has Shi Yu been asking you out lately?”

Qi Ying looked up. “What? You interested in her?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m just curious.” Xia Ruoxin sat beside her. “You weren’t in the shop the past few times, but I saw her lingering by the display window several times. When I tried inviting her in, she refused.”

With a sigh, Xia Ruoxin added, “In this scorching heat, that girl comes almost daily just to catch a glimpse of you. Doesn’t that move you at all?”

Qi Ying studied Xia Ruoxin with amusement until the latter grew flustered.

“W-why are you looking at me like that?” Xia Ruoxin averted her eyes. “I’m just making conversation.”

Qi Ying knew that Xia Ruoxin was completely heartless and probably just wanted to see her in a miserable state, which was why she was so invested. With some resignation, Qi Ying said to Xia Ruoxin, “Next time you see her, tell her to go back and stop wasting her time on me.”

Xia Ruoxin nodded. “Got it. I’ll do as you say next time.”

After discussing some work matters and seeing that there were no more customers in the afternoon, Qi Ying decided to close the shop early and rest. She tidied up the first floor before heading upstairs to take a bath and get ready for bed.

The sound of running water echoed from the bathroom. Qi Ying had been so busy the past few days that she could only take quick showers, so she was glad to finally have time for a proper soak. She sighed contentedly as she lay in the bathtub.

Despite the attic’s small size, it had all the essentials, especially the bathroom, which was not only designed with a wet-dry separation but also had a bathtub Qi Ying particularly liked.

Though not very large, it was more than enough for her to soak in.

After over half an hour, Qi Ying finally stepped out of the bathroom. As she changed clothes, she suddenly noticed something on her forearm. Upon closer inspection, she saw a tiny puncture mark.

Qi Ying: “?”

Why would there be a small hole on her arm for no reason?

The mark was extremely small—had she not taken a bath today, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all. And the location… wasn’t it exactly where Xing Xiaochu had injected her with the suppressant?

Qi Ying rubbed the tiny hole and found it had already healed. She guessed it might have bled slightly due to improper handling during the injection, scabbed over, and now the scab had come off after soaking in the bath. It would probably heal completely in a couple of days.

Wait a minute.

Qi Ying froze. Why had she so naturally assumed this was from a suppressant injection?

Couldn’t it just be an insect bite?

Besides, how could a mere game cause any physical damage to her real-world body?

Shaking off these random thoughts, Qi Ying decided to get some sleep.

Meanwhile.

Xing Xiaochu sat on the carpet with her knees hugged to her chest, watching as the now noticeably chubbier Small Milk Cat wobbled over with a tiny cloth fish in its mouth. The kitten placed the fish on Xing Xiaochu’s foot and pawed at it lightly.

“Meow—”

The kitten’s voice was still soft and milky. Xing Xiaochu glanced down at the little blue cloth fish and picked it up, saying, “This is mine.”

“Meow— meow—”

Thinking Xing Xiaochu wanted to play, the kitten dashed to the side with its tail held high, round eyes fixed on her, its little rump wiggling as if ready to pounce the moment the fish was thrown.

Xing Xiaochu sighed and tossed the cloth fish away. The kitten leaped but missed, tumbling onto its back before scrambling up and trotting over to the floor-to-ceiling window. It picked up the fish again and tiptoed back, proudly parading around Xing Xiaochu.

“Big Sister abandoned us. How can you still be so happy?” Xing Xiaochu tried to snatch the blue cloth fish, but the kitten shook its head and swished its tail, attempting to walk away. Quick as lightning, Xing Xiaochu grabbed its hindquarters and pulled the little troublemaker back.

“Meow—”

Though its back legs were restrained, the kitten refused to let go of the fish, its muffled meow accompanied by a firm grip from its tiny white teeth.

Xing Xiaochu wanted the fish, but the kitten stubbornly held on, even pushing at her with its paws, clearly unwilling to give it up.

In the end, it was Xing Xiaochu, who had snatched the small cloth fish, who gave in first.

“What was I even sulking about with you…” Xing Xiaochu looked dejectedly at the kitten in her arms, sighed, and returned the small cloth fish to it. But Small Milk Cat was clearly upset—it grabbed the fish with its mouth, immediately jumped off her, and went to stay in its own bed.

With red-rimmed eyes, Xing Xiaochu lay on the sofa and soon drifted into a hazy sleep.

Her rest was far from peaceful. The living room air conditioning was a bit too strong, and Xing Xiaochu hadn’t covered herself with a blanket. When she heard the sound of the front door opening, her mind was completely foggy.

Guazi meowed and ran to the door to greet the newcomer. Qi Ying’s voice also came from the entrance, muffled as if through a layer of film, making it hard to hear clearly.

Sister was back.

Xing Xiaochu wanted to get up, but her head felt too heavy. She tried a few times without success, her whole body weak and limp—as if… she had fallen ill.