Stealing Moonlight (Lily ABO) - Chapter 22

“If only there were vinegar.”

Even as Li Ling’er said this, she didn’t stop eating dumplings once she started. She devoured fifteen dumplings and the two cornmeal pancakes she brought herself, stuffing herself so full she couldn’t sit down.

She had to walk around, belly distended and burping. After a while, still worried about her bundle, she clutched it to her chest. She looked here and there, everything seemed new to her. Even the small ads for venereal diseases pasted on the pillars seemed fascinating. She tilted her head, examining them endlessly, and even stretched out a finger to trace the characters.

Yet, as far as Ruan Jing knew, Li Ling’er had never been to school and was illiterate.

“She’s already set on taking advantage of you! What do you mean, ‘just wants to leave our village’? Jingjing, you’re young, you don’t know the wickedness of human hearts. She’s tricking you! You absolutely must listen to your mother’s advice: find a place halfway and abandon her. Never take her to your school; if she goes, your life will be ruined!”

Ruan Jing sipped her hot water, watching Li Ling’er from afar, as Liang Fengying’s earnest words from the night before their departure echoed in her ears.

Ruan Jing didn’t want to do that. The fate of an unmarked Omega like Li Ling’er, abandoned in an unfamiliar place, was obvious.

As for her mother’s claim that “Li Ling’er ruining this lifetime was the end,” the proud Ruan Jing felt Liang Fengying was worrying for nothing.

No matter how many tricks Li Ling’er had, or how clever her schemes, she was ultimately uneducated and couldn’t cause major trouble.

Ruan Jing decided she would bring Li Ling’er to school, not a single hair missing. Ideally, she’d even find her a job at the school… Ruan Jing was pondering where to start when she suddenly heard a staff member announce over a loudspeaker that boarding for the train to City B had begun.

The surrounding people, as if hearing a starting gun, surged forward, jostling to get to the boarding gate. Ruan Jing only had time to grab her luggage bag before she was swept along by the crowd.

“Li Ling’er? Li Ling’er!” Ruan Jing shouted, but her voice was swallowed by the chaotic, noisy environment of the train station before it could carry far.

Li Ling’er couldn’t hear her at all. She was still foolishly standing by the train schedule, staring at something.

Ruan Jing tried to push her way out of the crowd, but she was going against the current. Every step forward pushed her back three, and she drew angry curses from those around her.

Ruan Jing was stepped on several times, her toes almost broken, yet she remained stuck in place.

She grew desperate and tore off her inhibitor patch, trying to release pheromones, but her body hadn’t recovered at all. Her pheromones had little deterrent effect on those around her and couldn’t even get Li Ling’er’s attention.

To make matters worse, within a minute or two, a man in black flared pants and pointed leather shoes appeared next to Li Ling’er. His dissolute demeanor immediately marked him as someone disreputable.

But Li Ling’er showed no caution, happily chatting with the man. After a few words, the rogue pointed to the east side of the train station, drew a circle, and then gave Li Ling’er a roguish nod.

What surprised Ruan Jing most was that Li Ling’er actually smiled and walked out with the man, clutching her bundle.

Ruan Jing stared, dumbfounded. Caught off guard, she was forcefully shoved, stumbling back several steps until her lower back slammed hard against the boarding gate’s railing.

“Hey, are you going or not? If not, get out of the way; don’t block the path here!”

The ticket checker impatiently urged Ruan Jing. He glanced at her neck and muttered disapprovingly, “Doesn’t even know how to put on an inhibitor patch properly. Where’d this country bumpkin come from?!”

“…Going.” Ruan Jing withdrew her gaze, smoothly put on her inhibitor patch, and handed her two train tickets to the checker.

“Two tickets? And one person?” the checker asked, punching holes in the tickets.

“It’s just me. She’s not coming.” Ruan Jing couldn’t help but look back again.

But there were simply too many people at the train station. Li Ling’er’s figure was completely out of sight. Only the faint, almost imperceptible scent of vanishing cream flirtatiously lingered before Ruan Jing’s nose.

Only then did Ruan Jing remember that Li Ling’er’s floral handkerchief was still tucked in her pocket.