Transmigrated as the Scum Alpha in a Farming Novel (GL) - Chapter 8
While facing off with Yu An earlier, Liu Huaixu suddenly felt something was amiss.
Her neck was a bit itchy and warm, and then she caught a faint, cold scent in the air. She didn’t bother arguing with Yu An and went directly to her room to apply the inhibitor cream.
Her estrus period was almost over, and she absolutely couldn’t let Yu An find out at this time.
When she was entangled with Cao Guan, Yu An had been so close, making her nerves incredibly tense.
Taking out the small porcelain bottle and gently opening it, Liu Huaixu pulled back her clothes slightly and swept aside her dark hair. Her movements were a bit rushed, fearing that Yu An might burst in at any moment, so she didn’t hear Yu An calling her for dinner.
Just as she scooped out some inhibitor cream from the small porcelain bottle and was about to apply it to the back of her neck, with a creak, the door was opened by Yu An.
Liu Huaixu trembled all over, gripping the small porcelain bottle tightly in her hand, and spoke coldly: “Get out.”
Yu An said something else, but Liu Huaixu’s mind wasn’t focused on that at all. She didn’t care what Yu An said, only that she was terrified of them being in the same room.
“I said get out, didn’t you hear me?”
Only after Yu An had completely left did Liu Huaixu finally breathe a sigh of relief.
If Yu An had found out, it would have been unimaginable.
Scenes from the beginning of the year flashed through Liu Huaixu’s mind, and a trace of fear and disgust appeared in her eyes.
But she quickly composed herself, hid the small porcelain bottle, and opened the window before leaving the room.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Yu An sitting on a small stool, staring at her unblinkingly.
Meeting such clear eyes, Liu Huaixu felt a little dazed and somewhat uneasy in her heart.
Could it be… that Yu An found out?
Then she quickly thought, no.
If Yu An had found out, she would definitely not be staring at her with such eyes. She had seen Yu An’s crazed look before, as if she wanted to devour her.
But such clear eyes shouldn’t appear on Yu An either.
For a moment, Liu Huaixu didn’t know what to do about this “acting” Yu An.
For the first two days, she was convinced that Yu An was just putting on a show for her, surely wanting to get something from her again. But today, she wavered for a moment, and now she could only constantly warn herself to be careful.
She must not be soft-hearted and fall into Yu An’s trap.
Thinking this, her mind settled quite a bit, and she sat down.
As soon as she sat down, Yu An handed her chopsticks and bowls, and then pushed the two dishes in front of her.
“Pushed” was more accurate; the dining table wasn’t large, just a small low table, perfect for two people.
But Yu An’s actions clearly showed an intent to please.
Yu An, unaware of Liu Huaixu’s many thoughts, was still introducing her dishes: “I saw some pickles in the jars over there, so I used them to stir-fry with the meat.”
Yu An casually pointed towards the stove area. Liu Huaixu followed her gaze, nodded silently, and then quietly began to eat.
Yuanze Village, where they lived, belonged to Linyang County and was in the north, where winters were exceptionally harsh. Crops could only be planted once a year, so every household had the custom of pickling vegetables.
For example, the cabbage Liu Huaixu planted was stored for eating in the winter.
So, stir-fried pork with pickles wasn’t a rare dish, but Yu An’s version tasted somewhat different.
It seemed especially fragrant.
Initially, Liu Huaixu just thought the dish tasted a bit different from how she made it, then she suddenly remembered.
Yu An had been pampered since childhood; when did she learn to cook?
The two of them had grown up together, so Liu Huaixu knew whether Yu An could do something or not.
Yu An, who had been waiting for praise, saw Liu Huaixu’s furrowed brow and felt a little uneasy. She extended her chopsticks and took a bite.
The taste was quite good, no problem at all.
Just a little less oil.
“Is the dish not tasty?”
Liu Huaixu looked up, seeing the expectant look on Yu An’s face, nodded, and then asked, “How did you learn to cook?”
Seeing her approval, Yu An’s lips had just curved into a small smile when the next sentence made her stop.
Oh right, the original owner was not the type to be in the kitchen. How could she have forgotten?
With a “slap,” Yu An slapped her thigh. Liu Huaixu had been waiting for her answer, but she was startled by the sudden sound.
After slapping her thigh, Yu An put down her chopsticks, sat up straight, and said to Liu Huaixu with a serious expression: “These past few days, I’ve reflected deeply, determined to turn over a new leaf and be a new person. Today’s dish is my first attempt. How is it? Do I have some talent?”
Her words startled Liu Huaixu, who was wondering if there was something off about what Yu An said. Then Yu An continued: “I’ve worried you a lot before, but don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”
Yu An believed she had spoken with enough sincerity, but in Liu Huaixu’s eyes, it was a completely different scene.
She felt that Yu An’s acting had reached a new level.
After her impassioned speech, Yu An saw that Liu Huaixu had no reaction and was still eating, making her a bit uneasy.
“You… don’t believe me?” After saying this, Yu An felt guilty herself. If she were Liu Huaixu, she wouldn’t believe the original owner either.
But on the other hand, she felt she had been doing well recently, at least not as rotten as the original owner. Even if she didn’t believe her completely, at least she would give her a chance, right?
But she overlooked one thing.
Liu Huaixu was almost done eating. She put down her bowls and chopsticks and said seriously: “What trouble did you cause in the county town? Why did Second Madam personally come to find you?”
“Uh… that…” Yu An scratched her head, unsure how to answer Liu Huaixu for a moment.
She stammered for a long time, frowning as she recalled her jumbled memories.
To Liu Huaixu, this meant Yu An simply didn’t want to tell her.
She didn’t want to know anyway.
Standing up, she washed her own bowls and chopsticks, then turned and walked towards her room.
Seeing her return to her room, Yu An quickly took a couple of bites, then said, “It’s still early, shall we chat for a while?”
For the past few days, both of them had been exhausted, finishing their meals quickly and then going back to rest. But now that the work was done, Yu An’s energy was abundant again, so she wanted to cultivate some feelings with Liu Huaixu.
But Liu Huaixu had no desire to chat with her; she just wanted to return to her room quickly.
As she reached the doorway, Yu An sniffed again and caught the familiar cold scent. Unconsciously, she spoke to Liu Huaixu: “These past few days, I keep smelling a faint cold fragrance. Did you smell it?”
Liu Huaixu’s hand on the door froze, her body stiffening. She instinctively wanted to reach back and touch the back of her neck, but remembering Yu An staring at her, she dared not.
She said coldly, “No.”
Then she opened the door and went directly into the room.
She was a bit rushed and flustered, closing the door with some force. Yu An was startled by her unusual behavior and mumbled softly: “If you didn’t smell it, you didn’t. Why are you fierce again?”
Liu Huaixu, who had closed the door, didn’t share her cheerful mood. She hastily took out the small porcelain bottle and applied more inhibitor cream.
After applying it, Liu Huaixu clutched her clothes tightly and sat on the kang, feeling somewhat melancholic.
In the past, when Yu An wasn’t so well-behaved at home, she worried that Yu An would cause more trouble.
But now that Yu An was home every day, she felt very inconvenient.
After several days of work, she had only managed to quickly wash her body with cold water. Liu Huaixu felt incredibly uncomfortable and wanted to take a bath.
But Yu An was next door, and with her estrus period, she truly didn’t dare.
…
Late at night, after hearing Yu An’s rustling sounds of washing up, Liu Huaixu finally mustered up the courage. She got out of bed, peeked through the door crack, and after seeing Yu An enter her room, she cautiously opened the door, intending to add some firewood to heat water for a bath.
But when she opened the pot lid, she saw a steaming pot of water.
A little surprised, she glanced at the closed door of Yu An’s room, then looked away.
In the past, Yu An would never have thought of so much.
Liu Huaixu clearly felt a strange sensation in her heart, but she didn’t want to dwell on it.
She told herself not to hold out hope; this might just be a coincidence, or Yu An might have just heated too much water.
After carrying a few buckets of water into the room, Liu Huaixu enjoyed a satisfying hot bath.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Yu An had been paying attention to the sounds ever since Liu Huaixu came out.
These past few days, she had noticed that Liu Huaixu always simply washed up and never properly took a bath.
The environment here was poor, incomparable to Yu An’s previous life, but after working all day, feeling sticky and not bathing was just uncomfortable. Yu An couldn’t sleep without bathing.
She bathed every day, but she had never seen Liu Huaixu bathe. Occasionally, she heard faint sounds that didn’t seem like bathing, probably just simple washing.
At first, she didn’t react, but later, she figured it out: Liu Huaixu was probably embarrassed.
Her world had no Qian Yuan or Kun Ze. Even if her sexual orientation was female, she wouldn’t think that women needed to avoid each other to this extent. She had even been to public bathhouses, let alone bathing in a room separated by just one wall.
Yu An didn’t mind. In the following days, she would always leave some water for Liu Huaixu after her bath, but she would find the next morning that Liu Huaixu hadn’t used it at all.
Now, hearing the sounds from Liu Huaixu’s side, Yu An felt much more at ease.
Her good intentions, Liu Huaixu had finally accepted them, right?
Even if she didn’t accept other favors, bathing was nothing. Anyway, she had to bathe, it was just a small effort, but Liu Huaixu was just too tense.
Are all Kun Ze this shy???
Thinking of Kun Ze, Yu An suddenly sat up in bed.
Qian Yuan, Kun Ze, pheromones?
So the faint, cold scent she had been smelling these past few days was actually Liu Huaixu’s pheromones, right?
Yu An remembered the setting of this world: Qian Yuan and Kun Ze both had estrus periods…
Then… what she saw Liu Huaixu applying to the back of her neck was probably the so-called inhibitor cream, right?
No wonder she was so nervous. Who would have thought that her usually cold demeanor would be replaced by trembling fear? Thinking about pheromones and estrus, Yu An couldn’t help but curiously touch the back of her own neck…
Liu Huaixu’s cold scent smelled like mint. What about the original owner… oh, now it was her.
What would her pheromones smell like?
Yu An tried hard to recall from memory how to release pheromones, but she was sweating from the effort and still couldn’t manage it.
Suddenly, she felt bored, pulled up the covers, and went to sleep.
The work was done, and she had taken a hot bath. Yu An slept exceptionally soundly that night, much better than her first night here. That day, the heated kang was warm, but the bedding was damp, making her feel incredibly uncomfortable while sleeping.
Now, after waking up and stretching, she even wanted to linger in bed for a while.
But the faint smell of alcohol made her puzzled.
How could there be a smell of alcohol so early in the morning?
She stumbled out, vaguely noticing that the smell grew fainter and fainter as she walked, as if it was only in her own room. When she opened the door and saw Liu Huaixu’s gloomy yet flushed face, she suddenly realized something.
This… could it be her own pheromones?
A faint scent of peach wine.
Liu Huaixu’s face was extremely pale, and she looked at Yu An as if she were guarding against a thief, her body still feeling weak.
After realizing what was going on, Yu An was anxious to explain: “Um… I…”
“Niece-in-law, is Yu An home?”
Before she could finish explaining, a slightly aged but steady voice interrupted.