After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Catching the Fox

Unlike her reaction to Fang Ziyue’s first confession, this time Ling Qiu unconsciously gripped the fabric over her heart. Her heart was racing; a faint sweetness welled up, only to be masked by a lingering bitterness.

The person outside was still waiting for her response. Unable to overcome the other’s persistence, Ling Qiu could only lean forward and firmly pinch Fang Ziyue’s cheeks. She pinched the beautiful fox into a round “steamed bun” face.

The steady, cold Head of House narrowed her eyes, rubbed the reddened cheeks she had just squeezed, and said, “Little kid, focus on your work. No ‘early dating’ allowed.”

“What do you mean, ‘early dating’!” The beautiful woman’s eyes widened as she pulled back tactically. She was twenty-four or twenty-five; how could it possibly count as early dating?

“So much fuss. Get a bit more mature first.” Ling Qiu turned over, burying half her face in the quilt, closing her eyes and not daring to look at Fang Ziyue again.

Having had her smooth, soft face pinched only to be rejected, the woman covered her face in frustration. She felt she had lost out—losing both the “wife” and the battle. But seeing Ling Qiu resting with her eyes closed and breathing evenly, seemingly about to fall asleep, Fang Ziyue didn’t have the heart to trouble her further. She merely whispered a “sweet dreams” and left the room quietly.

The room fell silent again, curtains drawn tight. Outside, the sky grew gloomier as rain tapped incessantly against the window. At a time like this, as long as one didn’t make a loud noise, those outside wouldn’t hear.

The woman who had been faking sleep sat up. She pulled back the quilt and looked at her two legs. Despite daily massages, nothing could stop the muscle atrophy caused by long-term inactivity. Ling Qiu had seen Fang Ziyue’s legs: fair, slender, straight, and powerful. There was even a tiny, round, red mole near her ankle small and cute.

Ling Qiu lowered her eyelashes and pulled up her loose trouser legs. Her hands were shaking; even clenching them together couldn’t stop the tremors. The legs, which hadn’t seen light for years, showed an unhealthy pallor. The shrunken, thin limbs were quite ugly.

Ling Qiu bit her lip, using her hands to maneuver her legs to the edge of the bed. Ever since she confirmed she would never stand again, she had ordered the rehabilitation equipment removed from her room. For ten years, she had never entertained the thought of throwing away the wheelchair and trying to stand.

But today…

Her hands gripped the edge of the desk so hard that veins bulged, her nails digging into the wood with a stinging pain. Using the strength of her arms to support her sensationless legs, Ling Qiu gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and let go.

Thump!

The sound of flesh hitting the floor was muffled. Fortunately, the rain outside was loud enough that it didn’t attract attention. Ling Qiu’s shoulder slammed into the desk leg, and the pain made her vision go dark. She fumbled to grab the bedframe, dragging her body to lean against the side of the bed.

She was in a wretched state. Ling Qiu leaned her head back against the bed, listening to the rain. It hammered against her heart, bringing frustration and anxiety. Can’t stand up… can’t stand up. Why can’t I stand up!

Her pale pink lips were bitten until they bled. Ling Qiu’s eyes were dark and unreadable.

“Sister Yue… the clothes over here…” The maid’s voice drifted through the door.

“Okay, I’m coming.” Fang Ziyue’s distinct, low, and pleasant voice moved from near to far.

Ling Qiu covered her eyes with her hand. In the darkness, she imagined the other woman walking with a steady, swift gait. Her long, obedient hair would sway behind her back, the ends swinging in a beautiful arc as she turned a corner, like a nimble butterfly gliding past.

A woman who walked with such stability carried an aura of composure and power in every step. Such a person would dominate the room regardless of the occasion. Perhaps when she wore black high heels, with bright silver metal straps buckled around her slender ankles, one might catch a glimpse of that small, cute red mole in the gaps between movements.

After losing the right to stand, Ling Qiu would always subconsciously observe other people’s legs. Fang Ziyue’s legs were the most beautiful she had ever seen.

An oppressed sigh echoed in the darkness. Propping herself up against the bed to move back onto it, Ling Qiu rubbed her two useless legs. Although they were ugly and worthless, they were still a part of her body. She never took her anger out on them. To hate and lash out at one’s own wounds was to live a life that was too much of a failure and too cowardly.

“Hmm? No… I’ll go check on the Head of House…” Someone outside was whispering; it seemed they would push the door open soon.

After Ling Qiu’s injury, her room had become non-soundproof. Especially after Fang Ziyue arrived, a small crack was left whenever the door was closed. Fang Ziyue feared that if something happened to Ling Qiu in the room, she wouldn’t be able to hear it or rush there in time.

Ling Qiu skillfully picked up the book by her bedside and began to flip through it calmly. When Fang Ziyue pushed the door open quietly, she saw her wife sitting on the bed reading seriously. The dim yellow light of the lamp nearby made Ling Qiu’s features look soft and her lip color vivid; her complexion looked much better.

Fang Ziyue frowned in disapproval. She stepped forward and placed her hand over the pages, her voice full of helplessness: “Do you not want your eyes anymore?” Reading in such dim light her wife was practically asking for nearsightedness.

“No, I was just browsing.” Ling Qiu closed the book smoothly; she had only been putting on an act. She reached out and placed her hand on Fang Ziyue’s arm, allowing herself to be helped into the wheelchair.

Covering her with a blanket, Fang Ziyue said, “I’ll apply another hot compress for you later. I have to go out for something around four o’clock.”

After her confession was rejected, Fang Ziyue had thought it over and concluded that her wife probably felt she wasn’t successful enough in her career. Why else would she call it “early dating”? The woman, having completely misunderstood the point, threw herself entirely into her work. She loved work, she loved her wife and only through work could she win her wife over! This was a train of thought Ling Qiu could never have predicted.

Naturally, Ling Qiu, knowing nothing of this, nodded calmly to indicate she should go ahead and be busy. Although the other woman was the Ling family’s housekeeper, she was also a free person. Once her primary duties were finished, she could do other things. Moreover, Ling Qiu looked forward to the surprises Fang Ziyue might bring her cracking the eerie “luck” surrounding Qu Haoyu and Ling Nianyao.

Ling Qiu’s attitude made Fang Ziyue even more certain her theory was correct. She dove so deep into work that her little assistant couldn’t pull her out.

“Boss? Why don’t you… go back and rest?” The money-grubbing assistant, who had worked overtime eight out of the last ten days, held a bag of coffee beans with a face full of worry. Her boss had been working like a madwoman for a month straight.

She was literally competing with the moon to see who stayed up later and with the sun to see who rose earlier. This “007” (24/7) work state would break even an iron man. After a month of this, the company was growing larger, but her illness was growing heavier too.

“Cough, cough…” The woman, coughing into her hand, hadn’t returned to the Ling house for two days. Her cold was getting worse, and she didn’t dare show her face in front of Ling Qiu for fear of infecting her. Furthermore, her resource war with Qu Haoyu was reaching a fever pitch. Without her here to oversee things, Qu Haoyu would easily win by relying on “Fate.” Let the meat she had nearly caught be handed to Qu Haoyu for nothing? Hmph, in his dreams.

“It’s fine, I’m okay. Hurry and brew me a cup of coffee,” Fang Ziyue said with a pale face, waving her hand. “Make it strong.”

The assistant gripped the bag in her hand, fuming. Coughing like this and she won’t take medicine, but she’ll drink coffee? “I bought medicine for you. At least take it once.” No matter how hard she pushed, she shouldn’t ruin her body.

Fang Ziyue’s fingers tapped away at the keyboard. The medicine the assistant bought sat by her hand; it had been there for two days and a night, yet she had no time to take it. Nor did she dare to. “Cold medicine contains antihistamines; the side effect is drowsiness,” Fang Ziyue looked up at her mountain of work. She sighed inwardly; she had no time to sleep that long. If she didn’t work harder, who knew when she would finally earn her wife’s recognition?

The assistant, unable to persuade her, gritted her teeth. She couldn’t help but blame the Head of the Ling family. She didn’t know what kind of love potion that woman had given her boss to make her risk her life like this.

The subject of her complaints, Ling Qiu, was currently spacing out by the flowerbed. After displaying their most vivid colors, many flowers in the bed had reached the stage of withering and seeding. But Fang Ziyue had designed it well; she had interplanted flowers with different blooming periods.

As long as Ling Qiu wanted to look, she could always see flowers in bloom. The previous batch of flowers had fallen and been packed into the mud by the recent rain, revealing faint hints of color but obscuring their full shape.

This made Ling Qiu think of Fang Ziyue. That person hadn’t come home for two days, and she had been busy all month, elusive as a dragon. Being busy with work and having ambition was a good thing. According to reports from subordinates, Fang Ziyue had made Qu Haoyu trip up again. Qu Haoyu and Ling Nianyao, supported by “Fate,” were repeatedly suffering losses at the hands of that “fox” Fang Ziyue, which brought Ling Qiu great satisfaction.

Fang Ziyue was the only one who could break the deadlock. She had the methods, the brains, the tenacity, and the ambition. This made Ling Qiu unable to stop her eyes from following her.

Fang Ziyue, acting as a cat-teaser, had no idea that her every move affected Ling Qiu the proud and cold cat. She thought she was still just a familiar passerby in Ling Qiu’s life and that she needed to work harder.

By a strange twist of fate, Fang Ziyue’s absence made Ling Qiu realize something was wrong with herself. Wrong… very wrong. Ling Qiu admired Fang Ziyue, and she liked her thoughtfulness, her intelligence, and her strength. But she hadn’t wanted to become her partner.

A cripple, no matter how capable, was still disabled. Fang Ziyue was a good fighter and loved to travel and go on adventures. Ling Qiu could see that. But she could do nothing. She couldn’t even stand, let alone accompany her on adventures.

Having reached her position, Ling Qiu saw everything clearly, which was why she had rejected Fang Ziyue’s confessions from the start. Ling Qiu felt she hadn’t left Fang Ziyue any hope. But time and again, Fang Ziyue simply wouldn’t give up. Like water wearing away stone, Fang Ziyue’s constant, flowing offensive had softened Ling Qiu—who was never a stubborn rock to begin with until she abandoned her resistance.

While there was still a hazy mist between them, Fang Ziyue’s two-day absence became a sudden wind that blew away the last trace of confusion in Ling Qiu’s heart. She was certain she wanted to hold that excellent woman in her hands, just as the woman didn’t mind her disability. Since Fang Ziyue hadn’t given up, she was willing to try.

Unlike the doctor who had drugged her years ago, Fang Ziyue’s tenderness was hidden beneath fangs and claws. The sharp weapon she would swing at outsiders at any time would obediently retract in her presence. Every day when the little fox came home, she would stretch out her paws, longing for the serious and cold Head of House to rub her little paw pads. But every time, she would leave with her ears turned back in disappointment, muttering to herself.

Ling Qiu let out a long breath, her features sharp and cold. But now that she had finally figured it out and wanted to rub the fox’s paws, the little fox had run away.

Ling Qiu ordered her subordinates to investigate what Fang Ziyue was doing. Not coming home for two days has my fox forgotten the way?

She reached out and plucked a flower in full bloom. The green sap flowed over her slender fingers and past her knuckles, making her hand look even fairer. Ling Qiu brought the pale blue flower to her nose. After a sniff, there was a light floral fragrance sweet but not cloying. But unfortunately, this flower grown by Fang Ziyue couldn’t carry Fang Ziyue’s own scent. Her scent should be intense and fiery, carrying wildness and pride, a reckless invasion to imprison her prey.

A trace of a smile appeared on the Head of House’s lips. She tossed the flower aside and sent people to catch the lost fox. The weather was turning cold; it was time to hold a fox for warmth.

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