No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 12

Wan Niang, exhausted, slept through the entire afternoon. When she woke up, her head was still in a daze.

She saw that she was in Yang Lulong’s bed and was wearing clean clothes. Wan Niang knew that she must have fallen unconscious and that Yang Lulong had probably taken care of everything for her.

Wan Niang was both shy and a little happy thinking back on everything that had happened with Yang Lulong. The bedsheets still had a faint scent of tea lingering on them.

She figured her estrus period was finally over, but… her relationship with Yang Lulong was now completely different. Something suddenly occurred to her, and in a panic, she reached back and touched the scent gland on her neck. Thank goodness they didn’t bond… Even though she genuinely liked Yang Lulong, she wasn’t ready to bond with anyone. The examples around her, like Sister Fang’s situation, filled her with fear. Even as a child, when her parents were still alive and their family lived in the capital, her mother had cried many times because her father was constantly involved with other Kun Ze. It was a widely held belief that Qian Yuan were unfaithful. In her entire life, she had never heard of a Qian Yuan who would stay loyal to just one Kun Ze forever. She believed her parents were in love at first, but… loyalty couldn’t withstand the test of time. The fear of the unknown made her hesitate to commit. She didn’t want to become like her mother, who could only hide in her room and cry in secret.

Wan Niang quickly slapped her cheeks, telling herself to stop thinking about it.

She looked out the window. The sun was about to set, and she still needed to prepare dinner.

Just as she stepped outside, she nearly bumped into Yang Lulong. Yang Lulong quickly moved the food she was holding to the side.

“You’re awake,” she said with a smile.

“What’s that?” Wan Niang asked, seeing Yang Lulong holding a plate up high.

“Dinner,” Yang Lulong replied, quickly showing her the meal she had made.

“What is this? Stewed rabbit with sweet potatoes?” Wan Niang had never seen such a strange dish before. “You know how to cook?” Yang Lulong was always full of surprises.

“I learned when I was bored. Since I lived alone, it was always a hassle to order takeout… or to go out and eat.”

“Well, then I have to give it a try.” Wan Niang brought out a small table, and soon a few dishes were laid out.

This was the first time Yang Lulong had ever cooked for someone else, and she looked at Wan Niang with anticipation.

Wan Niang picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, savoring it. “Mmm, it’s good. It’s tender and very delicious.” She took another piece. “How did you make it?”

The two of them began talking about cooking.

“Auntie Wan~”

As they were clearing the dishes, they heard a childlike voice. It was Xiao Hua. She ran in quickly, her face crumpled in a pitiful expression, followed by Zhang Sao’s daughter, Xiao Erni.

“Auntie Wan, please save it…” Xiao Hua’s voice was already shaky with tears.

Xiao Erni was holding a small puppy covered in bl00d.

“Waa… puppy……”

“Don’t cry, you’ll scare it.” Xiao Erni was much calmer than Xiao Hua. At her words, Xiao Hua immediately stopped crying. She pouted, holding back her tears, which were welling up in her big eyes.

“Auntie Wan, please look at it. It’s hurt.” Xiao Erni handed the puppy in her arms to Wan Niang.

“Let me see.”

The puppy whimpered, and its body trembled. Fresh bl00d stained its yellowish-brown fur.

“Yang Lulong, go get some water.”

Wan Niang naturally gave Yang Lulong a task, and Yang Lulong just as naturally went to do it. She brought a basin of water and followed Wan Niang into the medical room. Wan Niang took the basin. “I’ll handle it. There are some sugar pills in that box over there. Take some out for them and watch them.”

Following Wan Niang’s instructions, Yang Lulong figured she would just be in the way if she stayed. She obediently grabbed a handful of sugar pills from the box and went outside.

As soon as she went out, she saw Xiao Erni, who was wiping Xiao Hua’s tears despite her annoyed expression.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t cry. Auntie Wan will definitely heal it.”

“Want some sugar pills?” Yang Lulong came over and offered a handful of them to the two girls.

“Auntie Wan said… we can’t eat too much sugar…” The sensible Xiao Erni reached out her small hand and took one for herself and one for Xiao Hua.

“…” Xiao Hua had stopped crying, but her eyes were still fixed on all the sugar pills. She sniffled.

“Just a little more… it’ll be okay…” Seeing how greedy Xiao Hua looked, Xiao Erni grabbed a few more and put them in Xiao Hua’s hand.

Wan Niang was still in the room treating the injured puppy, and Yang Lulong was outside with the girls.

“Are you Auntie Wan’s other half?” Xiao Erni asked, chewing on a sugar pill and pulling on Yang Lulong’s clothes.

“What?” Yang Lulong couldn’t hear her clearly, so she squatted down to listen.

“My mom calls my dad her ‘other half.’ Are you Auntie Wan’s ‘other half’?”

“Mmm…” This stumped Yang Lulong. For a moment, she didn’t know how to answer. In this era, there was no concept of a boyfriend or girlfriend. People got married directly, and only after they became husband and wife would they do that kind of thing.

“No, she’s not. She just lives with Auntie Wan,” Xiao Hua said, her mouth full of sugar.

“But you’re not a relative of Auntie Wan’s. My mom said only a husband and wife can live together.”

“Then why does Auntie Xiao Wen live with us?”

“That’s different. Auntie Xiao Wen has to take care of your mom.”

The two little girls chattered on and on.

“My mom said Qian Yuan are very strong. Can you lift both of us with one hand?” Xiao Erni asked suddenly, her face full of anticipation.

“That’s too dangerous…” Yang Lulong said helplessly.

“But my dad said you can carry a lot of big logs when you’re helping out, so you must be really strong.” Xiao Erni insisted.

Just as Yang Lulong was at a loss, Wan Niang came out just in time.

“It will have to stay with me for a while, but it will be fine. It just needs some time to recover. It’s getting late, so hurry home. Otherwise, Zhang Sao and Sister Fang will be worried. You can come see it again tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Auntie Wan.” The two girls were relieved to hear the puppy was okay and went home.

“These pills…” The handful of sugar pills in Yang Lulong’s hand had become sticky from her sweat.

“You grabbed so many, you should eat them yourself.”

Wan Niang had told her to grab a few, but she had taken so many that when Wan Niang went to check, the box was only half-full.

“You won’t have any?” Yang Lulong looked at her pitifully, hoping she would share the burden.

“…” Wan Niang couldn’t resist. The two of them sat in the courtyard and ate the entire pile of sugar pills, one by one. Yang Lulong, who didn’t usually like sweets, found the overwhelming sweetness to be unbearable. From that day on, she couldn’t stand anything sweet. The same went for Wan Niang.

When night fell, sleeping became a problem. The bedding on Wan Niang’s bed was still wet from being washed. Since she was sleeping in Yang Lulong’s bed, there was no place for Yang Lulong to sleep.

At first, Yang Lulong was embarrassed, but Wan Niang couldn’t bear to let her sleep on a hard plank, so they naturally ended up sharing the same bed.

They lay with their backs to each other for a long time.

“Yang Lulong…”

“Yes?”

“Can’t you sleep either?”

“No.”

As if by telepathy, they both turned to face each other at the same time. They were so close they could almost kiss.

Yang Lulong stared into Wan Niang’s eyes. Even in the darkness, her downcast dark eyes were so captivating.

She couldn’t help but compliment her. “Your eyes are beautiful…”

Wan Niang was so shy at his random words. “Don’t say such strange things.” She turned her back to Yang Lulong again. Although she was shy, she was very fond of the compliment, especially since it came from Yang Lulong.

Then, she secretly snuggled closer to Yang Lulong.

Yang Lulong had thought she might have angered Wan Niang, but when she felt her leaning into her arms, she understood that Wan Niang was just shy.

Since they had already confessed their feelings, she thought it wouldn’t hurt to put her arms around her. With that thought, she slowly wrapped her arms around Wan Niang’s slender waist.

She felt the breathing of the person in her arms and the faint scent of jasmine. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.