Pair A? No Thanks! [Transmigration] - Chapter 8
Three days later, Shi Ning stood at the entrance of the old residential complex where Su Tianxue’s ancestral home was located.
The security guard, an old man, was diligent and dedicated. Seeing Shi Ning, an unfamiliar face, he blocked her at the entrance.
This old, dilapidated complex didn’t have strict main gate control; there was no mechanical equipment, relying entirely on visual recognition to open the door.
The security guard looked at Shi Ning suspiciously: “Who did you say you’re looking for?”
Shi Ning thought, she was having a bit of bad luck today, and this old man might be a little hard of hearing.
Shi Ning: “Su Tianxue.” She repeated Su Tianxue’s name, which she had already mispronounced once, syllable by syllable.
Guard: “I know, I know. That eldest Su girl, the one who studies stars every day. What do you want with her?”
Shi Ning really wanted to say, She’s my wife, I’m here to live with her.
But remembering the contract she signed with Su Tianxue, which stipulated not to disclose their relationship casually, she couldn’t just breach it. So she changed her answer: “I’m her friend.”
The guard looked unconvinced: “Friend?”
“I’ve never seen that Su girl with friends.”
“No, no, I can’t let you in.”
Shi Ning sighed helplessly: “Grandpa, how about I call Su Tianxue, and you talk to her?”
The old man thought that was a good idea.
Shi Ning had no choice but to call Su Tianxue.
Su Tianxue was probably busy; the WeChat call wasn’t answered.
Seeing this, the old man grew even more suspicious: “She doesn’t even answer your calls.”
The old man looked her up and down, “I say, lass, something’s not right here.”
Shi Ning had no choice but to make something up: “Alright, Grandpa, I’ll tell you the truth. Actually, it’s like this.”
In the afternoon, Su Tianxue emerged from the lab, took her phone from a locked cabinet, and, seeing Shi Ning’s call, frowned, puzzled, and called back.
The call connected, and Shi Ning’s voice was languid: “Hello. Who is it?”
Su Tianxue: “It’s me, Su Tianxue. Is something wrong?”
“No, can’t take it, you guys leave.”
Su Tianxue: “?”
Shi Ning: “I was just playing cards with the aunties. When are you coming back? I’m downstairs at your place.” She said pitifully, “I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Only then did Su Tianxue remember this. Today was the day Shi Ning was moving in.
She had been dizzy with busyness these past few days, dealing with her grandmother’s affairs had exhausted her, and she had been working on the recent fast radio burst research at the institute all day, without closing her eyes. She had forgotten to eat, let alone Shi Ning moving in.
She quickly said, “I’ll be right back.”
Shi Ning chuckled: “No rush. I’ll play a few more rounds, win us some living expenses, and treat you to dinner tonight.”
“Your sister has a little money, I can afford anything under two hundred.”
“Being your sister’s woman, don’t be too greedy.”
Su Tianxue was amused by her nonsensical tone. She hummed in agreement, actually forgetting to object to Shi Ning’s use of “us.”
Her junior colleague, seeing her, held a file and asked curiously, “Senior Sister, what happened? Why are you so happy?”
Su Tianxue froze with her phone in hand.
The junior colleague sighed: “Since you came back, Senior Sister, I haven’t seen you smile once. Today’s the first time. Did something really good happen?”
Su Tianxue shook her head: “Nothing.”
The junior colleague gossiped: “Then… a good friend?”
Su Tianxue thought for a moment and quietly replied: “Just an assh0le.”
She finished gathering her things, “Let’s go, off work.”
The junior colleague quickly said, “Senior Sister, our institute said we’re having dinner together tonight.”
Su Tianxue usually disliked such occasions: “I’m not going.”
“Have fun.”
The junior colleague looked suspiciously at her faster-than-usual pace, thinking, What kind of assh0le is this, who can make her happy and make her rush home?
When Su Tianxue arrived at her doorstep, the security guard looked at her several times and couldn’t resist chasing after her, earnestly advising her: “Xiao Su, there are some things, I know I shouldn’t ask about.”
Su Tianxue frowned, puzzled.
The security guard spoke earnestly: “Xiao Su, I’ve always thought you were a sensible good girl, even though you seem a bit aloof, you have a good heart. I think, about dating, you can’t just break up with someone because they can’t have children, right? I saw that girl, she truly loves you, she’s been waiting for you here for a long time. She just wants to see you.”
“Ah. Grandpa knows that the path for Alphas is not easy, but you can’t just give up, can you? If you can’t have children, you can always adopt!”
Su Tianxue’s fists clenched as she listened. She forced a smile to bid the old man farewell, then walked into the complex with a cold face. From a distance, she saw Shi Ning sitting under a large tree, playing cards with a group of aunties.
She had never seen such a lively moment.
Shi Ning was good-looking and easily noticeable in the crowd. The aunties also liked her very much. At this hour, they weren’t even dancing in the square; they were all gathered around her, some touching her face, others pinching her arm, and some standing behind her, guiding her, showing her the clear path to winning at cards.
As she got closer, she could hear the aunties’ voices.
“Xiao Shi, you, so young, so pretty, how can you be so bad at cards?!”
“Hey, Xiao Shi, do you have a partner? My granddaughter is a Beta, with a gentle personality. I think she’d be perfect for you.”
“Xiao Shi, your skin is so good. How do you take care of it? Tell your auntie.”
Su Tianxue realized that this person truly captivated everyone, from ninety-nine to just learning to walk, no one could resist her.
“Won?” Su Tianxue leaned in and asked.
Shi Ning had smelled her pheromones long ago. In the scorching summer, Su Tianxue’s scent was like a cool breeze, appearing and instantly calming her emotions. She held her cards, smiled, and looked up: “You’re back.”
Su Tianxue nodded.
Shi Ning quickly said, “Help me see what I should play.”
Su Tianxue couldn’t resist her eager gaze. She leaned closer, her long black hair brushing Shi Ning’s shoulder and falling onto her collarbone, tickling like feathers. Shi Ning subtly ruffled Su Tianxue’s hair, just as that hair had stirred her heartbeat.
Su Tianxue was very serious. She glanced at the cards on the table, then at Shi Ning’s cards, played a pair, blocked others’ paths, and then quickly cleared Shi Ning’s hand.
Su Tianxue got up: “Won.”
Shi Ning praised: “Our Ah Xue is still the best.”
This messy nickname made Su Tianxue’s ears flush slightly. She quickly got up: “Let’s go, home.”
Shi Ning bid farewell to the aunties, who were reluctant to see her go. One of them even asked: “Xiao Shi, what’s your relationship with this person?”
Even though Su Tianxue had been a permanent resident here for over twenty years, she hadn’t gotten close to the aunties.
Her only close contact was the security guard.
Shi Ning, however, immediately became the aunties’ darling upon her arrival.
Shi Ning nudged Su Tianxue’s arm: “They’re asking you, what’s our relationship?”
Su Tianxue thought about the conversation she’d just overheard, about someone wanting to set her up, and then about how popular Shi Ning had been among the aunties just now. She pursed her lips, turned, and said: “Family.”
After uttering these two words, she quickly walked away.
Shi Ning smirked triumphantly behind her, then turned and shouted to the stunned aunties: “Aunties, my family is calling me home, so I’m leaving now!”
She chased after Su Tianxue, who shot her a side-eye. To Shi Ning, that glance was a captivating play of emotions, full of charm.
She laughed: “Why are you glaring at me?”
Su Tianxue: “You did that on purpose.”
Shi Ning feigned innocence: “What did I do?”
Su Tianxue: “That last hand of cards, you clearly could have won, but you deliberately pretended not to know how to play. Were you also doing that on purpose when you lost so many rounds before?”
Shi Ning rubbed her neck: “The aunties play cards for fun. It wouldn’t be appropriate for a young person like me to compete fiercely with them, would it?”
Su Tianxue: “Hmm.”
Shi Ning teased her: “Are you jealous?”
Su Tianxue shot her a look that plainly said, Are you dreaming?
Shi Ning: “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to make it public? Why did you say I’m your family?”
Su Tianxue: “Because I don’t want aunties coming to my door every day for the next three months to set me up on blind dates,” she said flatly. “And I don’t want the security guard to think I’m heartless.”
Shi Ning burst into laughter, “Too bad I didn’t win enough for living expenses today, so I can’t treat my family to a big meal.”
Su Tianxue: “I’m not hungry.”
Shi Ning: “But I am.”
Su Tianxue: “…Order takeout.”
Shi Ning: “First day of moving in, just settled into our future love nest, how can we celebrate with takeout?”
Su Tianxue: “Then what do you want to do?”
Shi Ning darted forward, stepping onto the stair above Su Tianxue, and smiled as she looked down at her: “Wife, make me a meal.”
Su Tianxue ignored her, turned sideways, and went upstairs past her.
It was an old complex with stairs; her apartment was on the third floor.
Shi Ning clung to her, whining: “Wife.”
“Wife~~”
She pouted: “You’ve tasted my cooking, why can’t I taste yours?”
Su Tianxue rubbed the goosebumps on her arms: “Be normal.”
Could you please stop using that cutesy voice?
Also—
“When did I taste your cooking?”
Shi Ning chuckled, extended her hand, and wiggled her five fingers: “Hm-hm?”
Su Tianxue’s face flushed, and she immediately turned away.
Perhaps feeling that such a hasty departure was a loss of face, she quickly went up the stairs, then came back down, stood in front of Shi Ning, and said haughtily, “So, you want to taste my cooking too? Tonight, you can.”
Being Alphas, that competitive spirit was clear to both. Su Tianxue also wanted to get even and make Shi Ning beg.
Shi Ning curved her lips: “Su Tianxue, you can try.”
She took a step forward, placed her hand on the railing in front of Su Tianxue, and leaned close to her ear: “Let’s see who begs first in the end.”
When Shi Ning became serious, her presence was formidable, and her pheromones and dominance washed over them.
The ocean isn’t always gentle; the ocean in the dark night is terrifyingly still, seemingly possessing the power to devour everything. Su Tianxue took a small step back, dropped two words, and left: “Dinner.”
Shi Ning tilted her head and asked: “A proper meal?”
At this, Su Tianxue shot her a sidelong glance. Shi Ning smiled and shook her head, following her, ready to enter the house.
Author’s Note:
We proper people only eat proper meals.