Willing to Be for Her - Chapter 5

Luo Xuan reread the note Ning Yiqing had left her several times, subconsciously ignoring the faint bitterness in her chest.

She told herself it wasn’t a big deal; Ning Yiqing was simply very busy with work. She shouldn’t act like a childish brat, harboring baseless resentment.

The gap between them had been clear to Luo Xuan since their marriage. Ning Yiqing was the heir of a prestigious family, groomed from childhood to be a dazzlingly brilliant successor, surpassing all others in appearance, ability, and strategic acumen.

And herself… she seemed to lack any ambition beyond her desire to keep sculpting. She couldn’t think of any other redeeming qualities.

Luo Xuan scoffed at herself, slowly rising to her feet. Feeling the burning heat in her veins, she coughed as she walked.

Standing before the mirror, she saw a pale-faced girl with heterochromatic eyes and faint traces of bl00d at the corners of her mouth.

Combined with her almost translucent complexion, she looked like thin snow melting in the sunlight.

The doctor had once said she wouldn’t live to adulthood. But to care for her mother’s botanical garden, she had stubbornly clung to life.

Now, the doctor warned that her days were still likely numbered.

Yet, unlike before, she now had another reason to live.

In recent days, Luo Xuan’s thoughts had been in turmoil, immersed in the overwhelming joy of having her secret crush reciprocated. Like a kitten who had finally gotten its can of food, she felt as if she could ask for nothing more.

Yet, a small, extravagant wish still lingered: *If only I were healthy, so I could spend more time with him.*

She wondered if she would be like a summer cicada, clinging to a branch to witness a single season’s moonlight before silently withering away in an unnoticed corner.

If that were to be her fate, wouldn’t it be terribly unfair to Ning Yiqing?

Wearing a black nightgown, Luo Xuan walked back to her bedroom without a shred of dignity and sat on the floor, which was covered with a diamond-patterned blanket.

The gray carpet and the girl’s clear, beautiful skin evoked the image of an alpine meadow, its pristine beauty veiled in a misty, ethereal glow.

Luo Xuan tapped her phone screen repeatedly, deliberating carefully before typing out a message to Ning Yiqing:

Ning Yiqing, my illness… it might be very difficult to cure. You might need to prepare yourself. I mean, aren’t you worried that my condition might… affect you?

After sending this disjointed message, she received no reply from the woman for half an hour.

Just as Luo Xuan was regretting her impulsive words, her left pinky vibrated.

The caller ID read “Chi Li.”

“Xuanxuan, your work is getting attention again! That piece called ‘Otherworldly Planet’—so many people have been messaging me privately, wanting to buy it. Someone even offered a seven-figure sum!”

As soon as Chi Li finished speaking, Luo Xuan’s mind immediately flashed to the artwork.

She had meticulously glued together shards of shattered glass, creating a sculpture that resembled both jagged rocks and frozen ice.

The glass fragments were encased in intricately carved rosewood, like a collapsing moon preserved in its most radiant moment by starlight—not dazzling, but undeniably beautiful.

“This piece isn’t for sale,” Luo Xuan said, rubbing her hair. Her curly black strands fell across her eyes, revealing a rare hint of gentle confusion. “It reminds me of Ning. Besides, I’m not selling it anyway.”

Chi Li’s voice on the other end was soft and exasperated.

“Xuanxuan, do you realize how many people you’ve turned down? Someone even offered to host an exhibition for you, and you refused! Even a romantic, pure artist like you needs to eat, right? Have you checked your bank account lately?”

“But that last person didn’t appreciate my work at all. They just wanted to make money off it. I refuse to entrust my art to someone like that.”

Chi Li: “……”

When Luo Xuan got stubborn, there was no reasoning with her. *Damn romanticism.*

“A collector contacted me, claiming they want to discuss a collaboration with you. I got a good vibe from them, so you absolutely have to meet them with me.”

Before Luo Xuan could refuse, Chi Li rattled off the time and place and hung up abruptly.

Staring at the quickly disconnected call, Luo Xuan shook her head with a wry smile, then noticed Ning Yiqing’s reply:

Xiao Xuan, are you worried about me becoming a widow?

Don’t worry, I’ll hire the best doctors to cure you.

The slightly teasing tone of the first message made it hard for Luo Xuan to imagine a woman in an expensive suit, radiating natural elegance, saying such a thing. Thankfully, the second message returned to Ning Yiqing’s usual serious tenderness.

Before Luo Xuan could put her phone down, several more messages arrived:

Luo Xuan, this is Luo Guoren. Rush to the City Hospital to see your sister, Luo Wei. She’s woken up from her coma after the car accident. As her sister, you should visit. Don’t let outsiders laugh at the Luo Family.

Seeing “Luo Family,” Luo Xuan scoffed softly. *A man who abandoned his wife and daughter after having an affair still cares about what others think? The nerve!*

After tidying up, Luo Xuan decided to visit her so-called sister, Luo Wei, at the hospital.

She didn’t care about the Luo Family, even hoping for their downfall. But she was married to Ning Yiqing now and didn’t want her own actions to affect Ning Yiqing’s reputation.

Taking the bus to the city hospital, Luo Xuan was startled to see Ning Yiqing’s vintage car. She chuckled at her own wishful thinking; Ning Yiqing was far too busy to have time for chance encounters with her.

Just as she pressed the button for the seventeenth floor in the elevator, a sultry voice called out, “Wait for me!” Luo Xuan hurriedly pressed the door-open button, and a woman with bold, sensual style, wavy red hair, and crimson lips slipped inside.

“Thank you… you,” Qin Shiyi instinctively flashed her signature seductive smile, then her eyes lit up when she recognized Luo Xuan’s face.

“You’re welcome.”

Sensing Qin Shiyi’s excitement, Luo Xuan retreated two steps, standing in a corner of the elevator with her bangs quickly falling to obscure her eyes.

“Hello, visiting family?” Qin Shiyi asked, noticing the fruit basket in Luo Xuan’s hand. She casually struck up a conversation while discreetly texting Ning Yiqing.

Your little girl is stunning. Up close, she looks like a pale, melancholic vampire from a manga. If Luo Xuan were an S-Class Alpha, you’d truly have it all.

Luo Xuan, who rarely interacted with others at school, seemed visibly awkward. She replied with lukewarm enthusiasm, “Sort of.”

As the elevator reached the seventeenth floor, Qin Shiyi walked beside Luo Xuan, growing increasingly convinced that Ning Yiqing was missing out on something extraordinary.

In terms of appearance alone, Luo Xuan was no less striking than Luo Wei. Even if she were just eye candy, having her around would be a feast for the eyes.

Unfortunately, Ning Yiqing, to put it kindly, was responsible; to put it bluntly, he was rigid. He valued the family’s growth and power above all else.

For the sake of the group’s interests, he was willing to sacrifice everything, including herself.

Looking at Luo Xuan’s pale, translucent face, Qin Shiyi shook her head, momentarily unsure whether Luo Xuan’s ignorance was a blessing or a curse.

The woman beside her alternated between fawning smiles and headshakes. Luo Xuan unconsciously fell a step behind, only to see the woman push open the door to the VIP room 1704 first.

Two nurses emerged from the room, initially stunned by Luo Xuan’s beauty before whispering and giggling.

“So aesthetic! Both the A and O are gorgeous.”

“Right? I’m shipping them so hard! Who wouldn’t be moved by this?!”

*This woman is here to see Luo Wei too? Do they know each other?*

Luo Xuan’s brief confusion was interrupted by the nurses’ chatter. Walking behind Qin Shiyi, she heard her greet the occupants of the room familiarly.

“Yi Qing, still watching over Luo Wei? Aren’t you tired?”

Luo Xuan carried the fruit basket, her long hair swaying in the gentle breeze. Her gaze fixed on the two figures in the room.

The thin winter sunlight illuminated Ning Yiqing’s noble and elegant profile.

Her expression was gentle and ethereal as she sat by the window, her gaze lowered to the book in her lap.

Perhaps to conceal any marks, she wore a high-necked cashmere sweater beneath her outer layers. The camel-colored, plush fabric accentuated the pale, slender line of her neck.

She occasionally glanced at the IV drip to check its progress. Outside the window, the lake lay still and silent, its surface reflecting the soft glow of the lamps. Before the bed, a bouquet of roses bloomed, their petals glistening with dew-like freshness.

*No wonder people say she’s beautiful,* Luo Xuan thought. *Who wouldn’t be mesmerized by such a sight?*

Rooted to the spot, Luo Xuan lowered her gaze, completely unsure how to react. She couldn’t quite grasp why Ning Yiqing was here too.

It wasn’t until Ning Yiqing set down her book and beckoned Luo Xuan over with a casual wave that Luo Xuan finally moved.

“Xiao Xuan, come here.”

Luo Xuan obediently stepped forward, positioning herself in the same sunlight that bathed Ning Yiqing.

The warm, clean scent of White Sandalwood filled the air, soothing Luo Xuan’s earlier anxiety.

Ever since their intimate encounter, Luo Xuan had passively gained the ability to detect Ning Yiqing’s pheromones.

Perhaps due to her illness, she had never felt a strong urge to mark an Omega. At times, she even suspected that her condition had damaged her glands, causing this lack of drive.

Yet she was instinctively drawn to Ning Yiqing, her mind and body in perfect harmony, like a kitten gnawing on dried fish or a puppy chewing on a bone.

“Xiao Xuan, put down the fruit basket. Aren’t you tired of holding it?” Ning Yiqing chided gently, as if suddenly remembering something. A faint blush rose on her jade-like cheeks, and she subtly hid the fountain pen behind her back.

The midday sun shone directly on the pen’s dark gold patterns. Luo Xuan immediately recognized the small wooden tiger charm dangling from the cap.

It was the one she had given Ning Yiqing six years ago.

The pen was clearly well-maintained, without a single scratch or dent.

In Luo Xuan’s mind, an old projector seemed to replay the scene over and over:

*That encounter, which still shone brightly in her life even after all these years.*

*— Aren’t you afraid of me, with my bloodied face from fighting and these scary eyes?*

*— No, your eyes are like stars. They’re beautiful.*

*— You escaped after being kidnapped by bad people. Here, take this little wooden tiger. It’s my lucky charm. It’ll protect you.*

*— Thank you. I love it.*

*— You’re leaving… Sister, can you tell me your name?*

*— Ning Yiqing.*

That name had been etched into her memory for six years, hanging like a radiant moon in her pale, listless life, as if imbued with magic.

And so, she preferred to call her Ning Yiqing, even though few others did.

“Xiao Xuan, what are you daydreaming about?”

Snapping out of her reverie, Luo Xuan realized Ning Yiqing had already stood up and was standing very close to her.

She quickly closed her eyes, afraid to look too long at the gentle woman before her, who was as elegant as the moon, lest she commit some sacrilegious act.

After carefully putting away the fountain pen, Ning Yiqing pushed up her glasses and gently brushed a stray strand of hair from Luo Xuan’s temple.

“Could you watch over Luo Wei for me? Her mother will be back soon. Qin Shiyi and I need to go to the company’s reed laboratory.”

“What? Yi Qing, we’re leaving now? Not staying with… her?” Qin Shiyi had been hoping to see Luo Xuan throw a tantrum at Ning Yiqing, since Ning Yiqing had come to see Luo Wei behind her back.

But to her surprise, Luo Xuan, that stubborn girl, seemed to trust Ning Yiqing completely. A few gentle “Xiao Xuan”s had the child utterly mesmerized.

*Well, it’s true that Ning Yiqing has a knack for bewitching people with every move she makes.*

Casting a cold glance at Qin Shiyi, Ning Yiqing’s voice turned icy. “Or did you have something else in mind?”

The woman usually exuded warmth and elegance, but beneath that veneer lay a ruthless, cold-blooded detachment. Qin Shiyi couldn’t withstand that frigid aura and reluctantly raised her hands in surrender.

“Alright, let’s go, let’s go. But next time, I’m treating you and Luo Xuan to dinner!”

Qin Shiyi trailed slowly behind Ning Yiqing as they walked out of the hospital room. Just as she turned her head, she caught a glimpse of Luo Xuan’s beautiful, youthful profile. Her right eye gleamed like gold, blazing with fiery intensity.

“Wait, Ning Yiqing, do you remember… this little wooden tiger carving?” Luo Xuan asked.

*A wooden tiger carving?*

Qin Shiyi’s gaze darted between the two women, her expression puzzled. In a flash of insight, she suddenly recalled that after Ning Yiqing had been kidnapped and returned, she always wore a small pendant to class.

The pendant seemed to be a wooden tiger carving.

*Could it be that Luo Xuan gave the tiger to Ning Yiqing?* Qin Shiyi felt like she had stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip.

Luo Xuan noticed the sunlight illuminating her fingers, revealing the blue veins pulsing with hot bl00d as it flowed into her pounding heart.

She didn’t know why she had blurted it out.

Luo Xuan had had countless opportunities to ask Ning Yiqing if she remembered her: at their wedding, upon Ning Yiqing’s return from business trips, even yesterday.

But she had never asked, perhaps because her current happiness left her wanting nothing more.

No wonder Chi Li always said she appeared brave on the surface but was fundamentally weak, like a sea snail forever hiding within its hard shell.

Ning Yiqing remained silent for a long moment.

Qin Shiyi was astonished to see Ning Yiqing, usually so composed and self-possessed, display a hint of hesitation, as if the question were difficult to answer.

*There’s definitely something fishy going on.*

Seeing this, Qin Shiyi immediately wanted to jump up and expose Ning Yiqing. After all, this woman had always maintained a stern, aloof demeanor since childhood, rarely losing her composure.

How could she possibly let this opportunity slip away?

“Yi Qing, is it really that hard to answer?”

“The little tiger wood carving… I don’t remember it. I must have bought it a long time ago,” Ning Yiqing said, turning to face Luo Xuan. The cold lenses of her glasses reflected a faint light, obscuring her expression. “Xiao Xuan, if you like it, I’ll give it to you.”