To Sink Into You - Chapter 15

C City was over 600 kilometers from the Imperial Capital, a three-hour high-speed train ride.

On August 4th, around noon, Wen Yuxi emerged from the train station and hailed a taxi to Xiangyi Homestay.

The meeting place was a quiet café near the homestay. Wen Yuxi pushed open the door and immediately spotted Wen Qingcheng sitting by the window.

“Hey~” Wen Qingcheng greeted her with a bright smile, dressed in a casual vacation style with a tank top, shorts, and sunglasses clipped to her chest. “Come on in! What can I get you?”

Wen Yuxi sat down across from her. “Black coffee with ice.”

“You’re so devoted,” Wen Qingcheng chuckled. “How can you drink something even more bitter than traditional Chinese medicine?” She called over a waiter. “One iced lemon tea and one iced black coffee, please.”

“I don’t find it bitter,” Wen Yuxi said, pulling a medicine box from her bag and handing it over. “Here.”

Wen Qingcheng opened the box to find a stack of folded banknotes filling it to the brim.

“Thanks,” she smiled.

“This is all the cash I have,” Wen Yuxi explained. “If it’s not enough, you can use my card directly through the payment app. The password is my birthday plus Sister Ming Qian’s birthday.”

Wen Qingcheng didn’t stand on ceremony. “Got it.”

Wen Yuxi: “Have you encountered any of Grandpa’s people these past few days?”

“No, I switched to a new phone and I’m only staying in one place for two days before moving on. They won’t find me anytime soon.”

“Good. Every day you can stay hidden is a victory.”

“Mm.”

As they spoke, a server brought their drinks. Wen Qingcheng pinched the straw and took a sip of her lemon tea. “How’s Sister Ming Qian doing?”

Wen Yuxi leaned back in her chair, raising an eyebrow. “My wife is doing great.”

“Tsk.” Wen Qingcheng made a face of disgust. “Your smug attitude is so Alpha-like. No one’s coveting your wife, thank you very much.”

Wen Yuxi savored her black coffee and sighed. “That’s because you’re blind to my wife’s virtues.”

Wen Qingcheng: “……”

Wen Qingcheng rolled her eyes. “You should be thanking me. If I had truly seen your wife’s virtues, Sister Ming Qian wouldn’t be your wife now.”

Wen Yuxi pondered this for a moment, then agreed. “You’re right. Thank you for being blind.”

Wen Qingcheng: “……”

Wen Qingcheng grew curious. “What would you have done if I had actually gone through with the marriage and gotten a marriage certificate with Sister Ming Qian?”

Wen Yuxi shrugged nonchalantly. “What’s the big deal? Marriages can be annulled.”

“What if I refused to annul it?” Wen Qingcheng pressed.

Wen Yuxi narrowed her eyes, a dangerous edge to her smile. “I have many ways to make you want to annul it.”

Wen Qingcheng was startled by her sister’s cold, piercing gaze. She clicked her tongue. “Good thing I don’t like Sister Ming Qian, or you’d hate me to death. I might end up a corpse in the wilderness one day.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Wen Yuxi said, setting down her cup. “We’re still sisters, after all. I’d at least give you a proper burial.”

“Thanks for that,” Wen Qingcheng glared at her, biting her straw. “Sister Ming Qian is like a central air conditioner, except it only blows cold air. She’s nice to everyone, but if you try to get closer, she doesn’t reciprocate. Don’t you get tired of liking someone like that?”

Having grown up showered with affection, Wen Qingcheng was assertive, proud, and willful. She preferred lovers who were proactive and passionate, unable to appreciate the allure of a distant, unattainable beauty.

“Different strokes for different folks,” Wen Yuxi replied calmly. “Liking her only brings me fulfillment. I’ve never felt tired.”

“Secret crushes are so pathetic,” Wen Qingcheng gloated, showing off. “It’s much better with Linlin and me. We’re mutually in love, our hearts perfectly aligned.”

Wen Yuxi raised her eyebrows. “Linlin? Your girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Who chased whom?”

“Of course, she chased me.”

“How long have you two been together?”

“About half a year, I think.”

“That long?” Wen Yuxi chuckled, a hint of amusement in her voice. “You’ve kept her well hidden. Not even a proper introduction? After all, I did help you two star-crossed lovers.”

“I just haven’t had the chance. She’s coming to pick me up soon.” Wen Qingcheng glanced out the window, her eyes lighting up. “Speak of the devil—there she is.”

Wen Yuxi’s lashes fluttered as she turned toward the door.

The girl who entered was slender and graceful, dressed in a simple T-shirt and skirt. Her long, tea-brown hair was tied in a ponytail beneath a baseball cap, and a mask covered her face, leaving only her clear, bright eyes visible.

Her aura was strikingly unique, as if she possessed an invisible magnetic field that effortlessly drew attention. She exuded an alluring air of mystery, her charm seemingly boundless.

Wen Qingcheng waved her over. “Linlin, over here.”

The girl walked straight to them without a glance to either side, settled beside Wen Qingcheng, looped her arm through hers, tilted her head, and removed her mask. In a sweet, coquettish voice, she murmured, “It’s so hot outside.”

As she spoke, the gland on the girl’s neck was exposed to Wen Yuxi’s view, releasing a refreshing lemon tea scent—clearly an Omega’s pheromones.

Wen Yuxi showed no surprise, her lips curving into a smile. “Linlin?”

Xia Lin turned her head, her pupils contracting sharply, a dimple appearing on her cheek as she exclaimed in delight, “Xixi!”

Wen Qingcheng paused in feeding her girlfriend water, frowning in disbelief. “You two know each other?”

Xia Lin smiled. “We’re classmates from the same year. We met in the dance club during our freshman year.”

Wen Yuxi chuckled lazily. “And during the summer break that year, we even worked on the same film set. I did all her makeup.”

“How amazing!” Wen Qingcheng laughed, her eyes sparkling. “My goodness, after all this, we’ve never run into each other before? What are the odds?”

“More surprising than that,” Wen Yuxi said meaningfully, “is the fact that you two are in an Omega-Omega relationship.”

“What’s wrong with that? Who decided Omegas can only be with Alphas?” Wen Qingcheng retorted dismissively. “Why should I live by outdated social norms?”

Wen Yuxi chuckled.

From childhood, Wen Qingcheng had always been synonymous with rebellion.

Just like her pheromones—a passionate, fragrant red rose blooming defiantly in the storm, never bowing to the world.

At that moment, a girl stood before them, her voice trembling slightly. “Hello…”

The three women stopped talking and turned to look at her in unison.

“You’re Xia Lin, right?” the girl asked shyly. “I’m a huge fan! Could I get your autograph?”

Xia Lin, accustomed to such requests, smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

“Thank you!” The girl handed over a pen and paper, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “I love you so much! I’ve watched A Thousand Miles to the Bright Moon countless times!”

“Thank you for your support,” Xia Lin replied, signing her name with practiced ease. “Is there anything else you’d like me to write?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you write ‘Wishing Li Ren great wealth’? Li Ren—the ‘Ren’ from ‘time passes swiftly.'”

Xia Lin couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure.”

After the girl left, Wen Yuxi teased, “Being a female celebrity must be so popular.”

“Give it a rest,” Xia Lin said with a wry smile. “I’m just an unemployed drifter now.”

Xia Lin debuted at 17, signing with Chu Entertainment. She skyrocketed to fame as the third female lead in the historical drama A Thousand Miles to the Bright Moon, her market value soaring and film offers flooding in.

But her success was short-lived. At 19, Xia Lin was tricked by her manager into attending a drunken gathering. In a fit of youthful defiance, she slapped her lecherous superior across the face, leading to her being blacklisted by the company. She was relegated to playing minor, disposable roles just to make ends meet.

“The entertainment industry moves too fast,” Xia Lin sighed. “People might remember me now, but in a couple of years, I’ll be forgotten.”

“That bastard Chu Ling,” Wen Qingcheng sneered. “If I ever get my hands on him, I’ll beat him to a pulp.”

Wen Yuxi murmured, “Your situation isn’t much better than Linlin’s, is it?”

Wen Qingcheng was a signed singer with Morning Star Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Wen Group. After fleeing her arranged marriage, Wen Shilin, her father, flew into a rage and ordered the company to completely blacklist her, leaving her unable to earn a single penny.

This down-on-their-luck couple had survived this long solely thanks to Wen Yuxi’s financial support.