What to Do if You Mess With an Omega? - Chapter 40

Ning Hanzhu had not held out much hope at first, but then she looked at the half table of dishes and worried whether the three of them could finish them all.

Buzz buzz.

[Half an hour away.]

Ning Hanzhu’s heart leaped with joy, but suddenly she felt the half table was not enough. Qianqian was still young and growing fast. She had turned into a big eater now, and Brother Lu went out for fights every time, expending both energy and stamina.

Definitely not enough.

She immediately dashed to the kitchen and opened the fridge to scan the ingredients from top to bottom. Her gaze finally settled firmly on the box rustling away inside.

You it is.

Just say Xu Yuqing loves it.

Xu Yuqing wore a black long dress adorned with diamonds that evening, draped in a little tweed jacket outside. The shimmering light made her glow in the night, accentuating her exquisite figure to the fullest. Her waist-length hair was woven into a low ponytail, draped lazily.

Ning Hanzhu watched her without blinking.

Xu Yuqing’s outfit would more than suffice for an important banquet.

“Wow, pretty sister is the most beautiful princess.”

“Thank you for the praise, Qianqian.” She stepped forward and ruffled Ning Qianqian’s fluffy head. “Our Qianqian is a sweet little princess too.”

Ning Hanzhu looked down at her own white T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers— the very picture of a maid carrying skirts for two princesses, big and small.

“You two princesses, the meal is ready. Shall we serve it now?”

“Serve.”

“As you command.”

The group bustled and laughed as they entered the house.

Xu Yuqing took the seat of honor. Ning Hanzhu had prepared a napkin for her, lest she accidentally spill food on her clothes— though the chance of that happening to Xu Yuqing was slim.

Xu Yuqing saw her bustling about without so much as a glance her way. When she leaned down, she whispered softly in her ear, “Am I not beautiful enough? Why have you not complimented me tonight?”

Back on Elfa Star, this person’s little mouth had spilled praise effortlessly. But since coming to the capital star, the compliments had dried up.

Ning Hanzhu’s breath hitched.

Where was she not beautiful enough?

She was beautiful beyond measure, like a full moon in the sky— distant and unattainable.

“Hm?”

“How could that be? You look stunning tonight. The starry sky pales beside your radiance.”

Xu Yuqing’s lips pressed together slightly. Only when Ning Hanzhu straightened and headed to the kitchen did her mouth curve upward, unable to suppress it. In a fine mood, she savored the meal with extra relish.

“Mm, why does this thorny shrimp taste even more delicious than last time? Did you make some changes?”

“Of course. I finally gathered all thirteen spices.”

When it came to her forte in gourmet food, Ning Hanzhu lit up entirely. She did not forget to peel for Ning Qianqian too, piling the peeled ones onto a plate and passing it over.

One peeled, one ate.

The two carried on as if no one else existed, in perfect sync.

Lu Yutang, at the same table, glanced at Ning Hanzhu now and then, blinking until his eyes twitched, but received not a single look from her. He could not help clearing his throat. “Zhuzi, that thorny shrimp looks good. I want a taste too.”

Ning Hanzhu pushed another basin right to him. To ensure everyone ate their fill, she had bought thirty jin of thorny shrimp this time— plenty to go around.

Lu Yutang, “??”

He usually just crunched them shells and all, swallowing the heads too. Ack, ptoo ptoo ptoo.

Ning Qianqian did not eat spicy food and watched enviously from the side, but she had other things to eat and dug in with focus.

Ning Hanzhu had prepared a family-style meal, and they knew one another too well. With everyone eating, she focused on watching Xu Yuqing. “Is not it especially fragrant? Next time, I will make you the garlic version. That tastes great too.”

The thirteen-spice thorny shrimp was spicy and numbing, with a mild heat that went down smoothly.

Xu Yuqing praised it lavishly. “The flavor is exquisite. The only flaw is how fiddly the thorny shrimp is to eat. It would be nice if there were a special shelling tool.”

Omega hands were even more delicate than most. A moment’s carelessness could draw bl00d. Unless one was a true foodie, few Omegas would touch thorny shrimp, no matter how delicious.

But if served by a dedicated Alpha, or with a specialized shelling tool, then this once-despised dish might become a hit.

In that brief moment, Xu Yuqing grew convinced it could work. She even thought of ways to promote it.

Ning Hanzhu had not pondered the issue deeply. She was used to shelling them and found it no trouble at all. Snap off the head, pull the sides, and the whole shrimp meat emerged. “Who would bother making a shelling tool just for this?”

After all, it would only pair with shell-on thorny shrimp— far too limited.

Xu Yuqing dropped the topic and focused on savoring the table of dishes made specially for her. But after the thorny shrimp, the other flavors tasted odd in her mouth.

Ning Hanzhu immediately served her a drink to cut the spice, a homemade lemon honey water. “I know you like lemon tea. This time, I added some honey. Try it.”

Ning Qianqian raised her hand. “Sister, I want some too.”

Ning Hanzhu fetched her a cup right away. “Drink it slowly.”

Lu Yutang wrestled with the thorny shrimp, mimicking Ning Hanzhu’s peeling on two. Neither came out whole. She had made it look so simple, but his ended up with one headless and one tailless. Still, he finally tasted it.

Too delicious.

Then he focused on battling the shrimp before him.

The meal stretched over two hours.

Xu Yuqing had clearly overeaten and overdrunk. The thirteen-spice thorny shrimp’s spicy tang lingered in her mouth. “I am going to wash my hands.”

With that, without needing directions from Ning Hanzhu, she found the bathroom easily.

Ning Hanzhu had not yet mentioned their move. Seeing Lu Yutang slumped in his chair, she nudged the stool with her foot. “Qianqian’s belly is round from eating. Brother Lu, take Qianqian out for a walk to digest.”

Lu Yutang, “Zhuzi, you have changed.”

Favoring beauty over friendship.

Ning Hanzhu rolled her eyes. “Otherwise, you stay to entertain Miss Xu, and I will take Qianqian for that walk.”

Lu Yutang, “!!!”

Fine, fine. Stuck in a room with Xu Yuqing, they would just stare at each other in endless awkwardness.

“No, no. For the sake of this delicious dinner you made, I will take Qianqian out to play for a few hours and come back later. Seize the opportunity well.”

“??”

Seize what?

Oh, right— she definitely needed to mention the rental tonight.

If not for mistaking it as Second Miss Luo’s house, they might have moved out by now.

Ning Hanzhu teamed up with the nanny robot to clear the table mess, doubling their efficiency. She tidied the kitchen too while at it.

Then she checked the time.

Over forty minutes had passed.

Xu Yuqing still had not emerged.

Ning Hanzhu paced back and forth outside the bathroom door three times, curling her fingers twice. Forty minutes squatting in the toilet counted as normal, right?

Her old dorm mate back then loved lingering in the bathroom— at least half an hour each time, enough to drive waiting people mad.

Once, Ning Hanzhu had seen her take a manga in there…

Could Xu Yuqing be surfing the net in the bathroom?

No, no.

She could not think that.

She hurriedly shook the fanciful image from her mind, cleared her throat, and knocked lightly on the door. “Um, are you all right?”

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Ning Hanzhu heard no response. She waited patiently— perhaps a few seconds, perhaps minutes. “I… am intruding.”

She extended her senses and soon detected no one behind the door. Not even faint breathing. Still, she pushed it open and glanced inside. Xu Yuqing was indeed not there.

Ning Hanzhu scratched her head in confusion. “Strange, where did she go?”

She extended her senses over the entire house and even dozens of li around. All sorts of noisy sounds flooded in at once. Ning Hanzhu’s gaze suspiciously flicked upstairs. Lu Yutang had taken Ning Qianqian out to play. By rights, only she and Xu Yuqing remained at home.

Mm.

Why was there breathing upstairs?

She crept up the stairs on tiptoe, grabbing a stick from the corner landing. Then she followed the quick breaths that suddenly turned to gasps… She approached the room with the sounds step by step.

Good grief.

She had actually gone into her room.

Ning Hanzhu even wondered if her room held anything valuable. The two sets of self-shrinking clothes she had brought from Elfa— nothing else, really.

Her most valuable items were in her light brain account. Besides, the heirlooms from her original mother’s side that she had reclaimed from the Ning family, she had stored all under Ning Qianqian’s name in the capital star’s most secure vault, waiting for her to inherit upon adulthood.

Good thing she had acted fast.

Otherwise, if this thief emptied the place, she truly would cry.

Ning Hanzhu took a deep breath. “You thieving, sky-high-daring house— hold on.”

When she made out the little thief in the room.

Clang.

The stick dropped.

Xu Yuqing lay on her bed. Somehow, that beautiful long dress had slid up to her thigh roots, her sexy upturned rear facing her directly. Her long, pale legs gleamed like jade, nearly blinding her.

Holy crap.

Was this something she could look at?

Ning Hanzhu whipped around at once. See no evil, see no evil. “You, you— did you mistake my room for the bathroom?”

Ack, definitely a wrong turn.

It could not be that Xu Yuqing had climbed into her bed on purpose.

Xu Yuqing was drenched all over, sweat soaking the sheets beneath her. If Ning Hanzhu could smell even a trace of pheromones, she would detect the room filled with that premium woody fragrance— so thick that one whiff hooked you, mingling with the lingering traces on her body. The two scents intertwined, blending seamlessly.

Xu Yuqing rubbed against the comfortable sheets beneath her. The cool touch eased her body’s heat well enough, but far from sufficient.

She lowered her head and sniffed. Here lay the scent that made her feel utterly safe.

Ning Hanzhu stood with her back turned, wholly unaware of the good she had done.

Xu Yuqing’s hazy eyes fixed on that silhouette. Sensing the person at the door seemed about to flee, she spoke softly. “Come in. Close the door.”

Ning Hanzhu had one foot out the door. Subconsciously, she felt staying was unwise. But at Xu Yuqing’s words, she retracted it instinctively. By the time she realized, the door had shut before her.

!!!

What was wrong with this door.

It had closed on its own.

Ning Hanzhu absolutely refused to admit her hand had done it. But the enclosed room suddenly made her tense. The air inside seemed thick with an ambiguous aura.

Lone girl and widow.

Alone in one room.