The True Record of a Flirty Omega's Failed Balancing Act - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

◎The damp, cold wind instantly poured in from outside the door.◎

“No, no, I’ll do it,” Just as Ning Chanyue got up, her mother held her wrist. After Ning Chanyue turned her head, she continued, “Mom will make you her specialty, spicy rabbit cubes. You’re so grown up, and you’ve never had a meal made by me.”

But how could Ning Chanyue let her aging mother work so hard? She naturally quickly declined, but she couldn’t win against her mother’s repeated insistence. In the end, Ning Chanyue gave in, saying, “Okay, then I’ll be your assistant.”

So Ning Chanyue bought some ingredients her mother needed on Meituan. When the ingredients arrived, her mother looked through the chilies she bought and said, “This chili is thick and straight. You can tell it’s not spicy at all. The chilies from our Yuxian County are grown the best.”

Ning Chanyue had been living in the city since she could remember. Her mother’s words piqued Ning Chanyue’s interest. She asked, “Mom, do you still farm now?”

Ning Chanyue just asked casually, not expecting her mother to get excited. While carrying the ingredients into the kitchen, she said, “Of course I do. But I don’t plant a lot anymore. I just do it as a hobby for fun. But I don’t just plant chilies. I also plant melons, corn, and grapes. The past few days I’ve been in Nancheng, my eldest daughter and son-in-law have been helping me take care of them. When the harvest comes this fall, I’ll bring some for you.”

As her mother spoke, she also broke out into a smile. She stood up straight, with a look of pride on her face. Although when she smiled, her yellowed and chipped teeth seemed particularly out of place in this luxurious house. But for some reason, Ning Chanyue couldn’t look away from her mother’s face at this moment.

Unconsciously, Ning Chanyue had already led her mother into the kitchen. The kitchen utensils were all new. Ning Chanyue cut the chilies and rabbit meat according to her mother’s instructions. But after just two chops, she heard her mother say from the side, “How do you turn this stove on?”

Ning Chanyue turned her head and saw that her mother had been pressing the button on the stove but had never turned it. It was obvious that she was not familiar with these appliances.

Ning Chanyue suddenly remembered the TV shows she watched when she was a child, where people in the countryside had to make a fire to cook. But Ning Chanyue had been exposed to gas stoves since she was a child. Making a fire seemed like something from the last century to her.

As if to confirm her thoughts, Ning Chanyue asked her mother, “Mom, what do you use to cook there?”

“Firewood. You build a platform with mud, and there’s a big pot on top. It’s easy for cooking.”

Yes, that’s right. It was similar to what she saw on TV when she was a child. Ning Chanyue tilted her head and remembered the endless farmland, the rows of scattered houses, and the muddy dirt roads that the TV shows often showed in the countryside.

Was her mother’s village like this too?

Ning Chanyue hadn’t been to the countryside much since she could remember. After she taught her mother how to turn on the gas stove, she said to her, “Mom, when I have some free time, I’ll go and see the village where you live.”

When she heard this, her mother immediately broke into a smile. The wrinkles on her face instantly became tighter, but anyone could see her joy at this moment. As if afraid that Ning Chanyue would go back on her word, she nodded quickly and said, “Good, of course, that’s good.”

The mother and daughter chatted and busied themselves in the kitchen for almost an hour before the meal was ready. Only when the last rays of sunlight had lingered and faded from the room did Ning Chanyue put the dishes on the dining table.

Ning Chanyue picked up her chopsticks, took a little of her mother’s specialty dish, and put it in her mouth.

When she looked up again, she saw that her mother was also holding her chopsticks, but she hadn’t picked up any food. She was just staring at her, her lips tightly pursed, looking a little nervous.

After Ning Chanyue had finished chewing and swallowing, her mother leaned her head slightly toward Ning Chanyue and asked her softly, “Is it delicious?”

Perhaps because she liked spicy food, or perhaps because her mother’s cooking was delicious, Ning Chanyue immediately nodded after she finished eating. She said without any pretense, “It’s delicious.”

Her mother’s expression then relaxed, and she said to her with a smile, “Then I’ll make more spicy rabbit cubes for you to try these next few days.”

Her mother seemed extremely happy. The smile on her face never faded during the meal. She also kept looking at Ning Chanyue while putting food into her mouth.

Ning Chanyue obviously noticed this. She asked her mother, “Mom, why do you keep looking at me?”

Her mother said, “I’m afraid that if I don’t look at you for a moment, you’ll get lost again.”

Hearing this, Ning Chanyue’s hand holding the chopsticks tightened. She suddenly remembered that You Zhuoqing had also said something similar to her, but she only felt a sense of being monitored and disgusted by You Zhuoqing’s words. But when these words came from her mother’s mouth, for some reason, she felt a little warmth in them.

Perhaps seeing that Ning Chanyue hadn’t spoken for a long time, her mother added, “If you don’t like me looking, I won’t.”

Ning Chanyue shook her head slightly and said with some emotion, “I won’t get lost again, Mom. I’ll stay with you from now on.”

After dinner, Ning Chanyue took her mother to the bedroom. She found new sheets and bedding for her and made the bed. She also stayed with her mother in the room for a while. When she saw her mother yawn a few times, she knew she was tired. After telling her mother to call her anytime if she needed anything, she came out of the room.

She closed the door and walked a few steps forward, arriving at the door of the bedroom she usually stayed in.

Ning Chanyue opened the bedroom door and then closed it again.

Ning Chanyue’s bedroom was very small. She had strongly requested You Zhuoqing to convert the storage room into a bedroom. The entire bedroom could only fit a bed that was a little over one meter wide and a closet. Even the aisle was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through.

Perhaps it was because she had stayed in You Zhuoqing’s bedroom, which was larger than the living room, too much. Although this bedroom was out of place with the overall luxurious and extravagant style of this house, Ning Chanyue inexplicably felt a sense of security.

Ning Chanyue took a few steps forward and sat on the bed. The world became quiet again. She was all alone.

After a long day of traveling, she seemed a little tired. She took off her shoes, ready to get into bed and rest. But when she was about to take off her shirt, she was suddenly stunned. Her gaze froze and moved inch by inch to the shirt.

This was Xu Guiyi’s shirt.

As if she had remembered the catastrophic memory from the morning, Ning Chanyue took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions that were starting to fluctuate again. But in the next second, the lingering scent of Xu Guiyi’s pheromones on the shirt rushed into her nostrils again.

But this time, the scent of sandalwood on the clothes was much fainter than when she had first put it on in the morning. It was probably because she had worn it all day, and the clothes had been stained with a lot of her own jasmine pheromones. The two scents were mixed together, but for some reason, Ning Chanyue felt that this scent was a little familiar.

As Ning Chanyue sniffed, her breathing suddenly caught.

Isn’t this the scent of her and Xu Guiyi’s pheromones entwined during the marking period?

Although she had been with her mother for half the day, as soon as she was alone, the name Xu Guiyi came to her mind again and wouldn’t go away. She remembered this time yesterday, she and Xu Guiyi were still hugging each other, watching the fireworks she had carefully prepared.

But now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

They hadn’t seen each other all day. Is Xu Guiyi still thinking about her?… If they really never see each other again, will Xu Guiyi forget about her?

Ning Chanyue’s heart plummeted.

Will she and Xu Guiyi really never see each other again?… Although before yesterday, Ning Chanyue had never even considered this possibility.

In a daze, Ning Chanyue remembered the message Xu Guiyi had sent her at noon. She quickly took out her phone and skillfully opened Xu Guiyi’s message thread. Their conversation still ended with the message Xu Guiyi had sent at noon.

As long as they could meet, there would definitely be a chance to reconcile, right?

Ning Chanyue thought for a moment and replied: I’ll come get my luggage tomorrow afternoon, okay? Can you please open the door for me?

She typed these words into the chat box, but after she was done, her hand paused on the send button on the right for a few seconds.

That’s right, she was anxious.

She was afraid that after Xu Guiyi’s decisive words this morning, she had already decisively deleted her from WeChat.

The moment her fingertip touched the send button, Ning Chanyue’s eyes unconsciously narrowed a little. But in the next second, seeing that there was no red exclamation mark next to the newly sent message, Ning Chanyue let out a small sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Xu Guiyi had still left a way for their relationship to survive.

But even if there was a way to survive, perhaps because she was busy traveling and taking care of her sister, or perhaps because she was deliberately ignoring her, Xu Guiyi didn’t reply immediately.

If Xu Guiyi really agreed for her to go over tomorrow afternoon, what should she say when she saw Xu Guiyi? What could she do… to save this seemingly broken relationship?

Thinking of this, Ning Chanyue’s eyelashes inexplicably trembled.

She suddenly remembered that two weeks ago, when she rashly appeared downstairs at Xu Guiyi’s place, before she “ran into” Xu Guiyi, she was also thinking about these things.

At that time, she was clearly determined to win her back.

But what about this time? Ning Chanyue sighed.

She was no longer sure.

After all, a few years ago, she was forced to be separated from Xu Guiyi, so she firmly believed that she and Xu Guiyi were just going through some emotional hardships, and no matter what, they would still end up together.

But now, she had really found Xu Guiyi, but she realized that what was hindering them was not distance, nor was it that misunderstanding.

It was their identity, their class… and so much more.

But if it were only these things, she could actually accept them. The most important thing was that Xu Guiyi had personally pronounced a death sentence on this relationship.

A clear tear suddenly slid down from the corner of Ning Chanyue’s eye. Her hand clutching the shirt also tightened suddenly. She unconsciously tugged down on the shirt, but before she could struggle out of the pain, she heard a “rip” sound by her ear.

She quickly let go and took off the shirt. As if she were protecting their relationship, she meticulously checked the shirt for any tears, inch by inch.

But when her gaze moved up to the collar, Ning Chanyue’s gaze suddenly froze.

There was a tear.

Ning Chanyue stared blankly at the tear for a few seconds.

How could she not even take care of a piece of clothing?

After a very long time, Ning Chanyue took another breath. The scent of shattered sandalwood filled her nostrils again.

Her breathing trembled violently.

…

But perhaps she was truly exhausted. As Ning Chanyue was thinking, her eyelids became heavier and heavier. When she opened her eyes again, the already dark room had gotten a lot darker. Looking at the narrow bedroom, for a moment, Ning Chanyue was in a daze. She suddenly turned her head to look at the other side of the bed. But when she saw the empty bed, her gaze froze, and her eyelids drooped.

As if she had thought of something, Ning Chanyue picked up her phone again. Her eyes first focused on the middle of the lock screen… There were no new messages. Then she glanced at the time at the top of the screen. It was almost eleven… Xu Guiyi still hadn’t replied.

Ning Chanyue, unwilling to give up, clicked on Xu Guiyi’s WeChat chat box. After a few seconds, she slowly put down her phone. She propped herself up and leaned against the headboard, letting out a sigh of disappointment.

Is this what it feels like to have a broken heart?

Now, whenever she was alone, she would be haunted by the thought of Xu Guiyi and every little thing they had experienced together.

Ning Chanyue suddenly remembered when she was reading a script before, she had played a character who was in a state of despair after a breakup. At that time, she still couldn’t fully understand why the character would be so distraught. She just relied on the acting skills she had acquired over a long time to technically perform those heart-wrenching scenes.

But now, she had fully experienced and understood what a broken heart felt like.

Of course, it didn’t necessarily have to be desperate and heart-wrenching, but it was definitely a slow burn, subtly and quietly seeping in.

But… thinking of this, Ning Chanyue bit her lip again. She hadn’t felt such intense sadness when she was with her mother this afternoon. So why did the emotions she felt in the car at noon come rushing back as soon as she was alone?

Ning Chanyue’s thoughts paused. She remembered that those characters would always find things to do to distract themselves when they wanted to escape sadness… Should she also do something else so she wouldn’t drown in this surging emotion?

Thinking of this, Ning Chanyue hesitated and looked around, as if to see if there was anything she could do at night to escape her sadness. But the surroundings were very dark.

So she stood up and turned on the light switch outside the bedroom door. The bright and abrupt light suddenly came on. Ning Chanyue immediately squinted her eyes and subconsciously turned her head away from the light. But she happened to see herself in the mirror on the wall next to the door.

Her hair was a little greasy.

After all, she had been on the road for two days in a row, and Ning Chanyue hadn’t washed her hair in a while. She stared at herself in the mirror for a while, then turned around, ready to open the closet.

Maybe she should take a shower first. It would be a way to keep herself busy and find something to do.

Ning Chanyue thought.

But when Ning Chanyue opened the closet, she pursed her lips. In the closet, there was only a set of winter clothes she had put in when she came here last winter. Everything else was empty.

Seeing that she didn’t have any suitable clothes to change into, she simply closed the closet door again, picked up the shirt she had just been sleeping with. Although it had a small tear, it didn’t affect wearing it. So she put the shirt on and opened the bedroom door.

The area outside the bedroom was also very dark. The furniture looked elegant in the dark gray and black of the night. But when Ning Chanyue turned on the light outside, the flamboyant red and purple colors on the dining table and cabinets glared back at her.

These colors and styles were very consistent with a certain person’s personality. Although they were very different from what she liked.

But perhaps she was used to them, or perhaps the person had brought her too many unpleasant things. Ning Chanyue just glanced at them, without even an expression of disgust, and walked to the bathroom door.

But when her hand touched the bathroom doorknob, Ning Chanyue’s movements paused. Then, she didn’t open the bathroom door. Instead, she let go of the doorknob, took off her shirt, and put it on the chair outside the bathroom.

She couldn’t let the scent of the body wash contaminate the scent of the pheromones on the shirt.

Although this thought seemed a little incredible, it had to be admitted that this was exactly what Ning Chanyue was thinking at that moment.

Before long, the sound of water could be heard from the bathroom. After a while, the sound of water seemed to be mixed with the faint sound of knocking.

Perhaps afraid that she had misheard, Ning Chanyue even turned off the shower. But the knocking sound became even more obvious.

Who is it?

Ning Chanyue’s hand holding the showerhead unconsciously tightened.

Is it a bad person? But this was a high-end neighborhood after all, with tight security. The probability of a bad person getting in was minimal…

…Then it could only be You Zhuoqing, that thing that was even worse than a bad person.

Thinking of this, Ning Chanyue’s expression darkened.

She really did come back, no matter how late it was. She was like a ghost, lingering around.

Obviously, Ning Chanyue had no intention of responding to that distant and unpleasant sound. She turned the shower back on. But the person outside the door was still stubbornly knocking on the door. Slowly, Ning Chanyue’s previously furrowed brows relaxed, and she pursed her lips without any trouble.