After the Nerd Marked the Top Omega - Chapter 38.2

After receiving the call, her heart had been hanging in suspense. It was like being caught in the act, constantly worried about the other person misunderstanding.

Her eyelashes fluttered faster than a butterfly’s wings. She didn’t know why she was so nervous.

Pei Yunci didn’t press the matter. “Maybe I was mistaken.”

Before Fang Xu could sigh in relief, she heard the other person ask, “Does an ex-girlfriend also count as your friend?”

She felt as if that question carried a subtle implication.

But looking into Pei Yunci’s eyes, she couldn’t see anything unusual. She could only shake her head. “It’s better not to keep in contact.”

Fang Xu wasn’t good at relationships, but she knew that after a breakup, it was better to maintain distance.

Pei Yunci was quite satisfied. She curved her lips into a smile. “That makes sense.”

As the two walked towards the kitchen, Fang Xu’s thoughts drifted for a moment.

Did the other person say that because she had an ex-girlfriend too?

Logically, that was perfectly normal. But emotionally, it felt a little uncomfortable.

She wondered what kind of person Pei Yunci would fall for.

Pei Yunci noticed her gaze. “Do you have something you want to say?”

She couldn’t speak her true thoughts, so Fang Xu changed the subject. “How is your body?”

Pei Yunci replied, “It’s fine. I’m using the imitation pheromone and inhibitor.”

When she first switched to the Alpha imitation pheromone, she chose the unscented type, but she still felt a sense of unfamiliarity and discomfort.

She planned to try a citrus scent when she returned to Jiangcheng.

Hearing this, Fang Xu was relieved. She then remembered, “I brought the agreement back. Do you want it now?”

Pei Yunci looked at her.

She was well-behaved, yes, but sometimes her silliness could be quite irritating.

She didn’t refuse, simply saying, “Sure.”

“But I only have a bank card with five million yuan on me right now. Should I give you this one?”

Fang Xu blinked. “The agreement was for one million.”

Pei Yunci said, “You saved me in the parking lot. The remaining four million can be a thank you gift?”

“No need,” Five million was far too much, and Fang Xu was reluctant to accept it. After thinking, she said, “Let’s talk about it at a more suitable time.”

Pei Yunci acknowledged this and took a step closer to her.

The kitchen was small. With the distance reduced, there was no way to avoid her. The two were practically standing right next to each other.

Ribs were simmering on the gas stove, bubbling and steaming loudly in the kitchen.

Those sounds slowly faded away in Fang Xu’s ears, leaving only the frantic thumping of her heartbeat, each beat louder than the last.

“You…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Pei Yunci interrupted her, saying, “Don’t move.”

Fang Xu stayed rooted to the spot, even closing her mouth. Only her clear, pure eyes followed the movements of the person in front of her.

Perhaps she had accidentally brushed her face while kneading the dough, but there was a streak of flour on the girl’s cheek. It wasn’t obvious in the living room, but here in the kitchen, with the window light shining through, it was clearly visible.

Pei Yunci raised her hand and, applying slight pressure with her fingertip, helped her wipe it away.

Just as she was about to speak, a voice burst out: “I didn’t see anything! You two carry on, alright!”

Yi Yi had been in the room for a while and wanted to come out to grab a fruit plate and help with the cooking.

Who knew that when she got to the kitchen door, she would see the two of them standing so close, with Pei Yunci’s hand on Fang Xu’s face, looking like she was about to kiss her.

Yi Yi immediately covered her face.

Her voice was so loud that it brought the two in the kitchen back to reality completely.

Pei Yunci withdrew her hand, her expression natural, showing no major change from her usual demeanor. But Fang Xu’s face instantly turned crimson.

Her ears and neck felt hot. She felt as though the fire on the stove was burning her. She looked at the child, who was still covering her eyes, and said, “Yi Yi, put your hands down.”

The child obediently put her hands down, looked at them, and coughed. “Sis, I suddenly remembered that there’s a second way to solve that math problem. I’m going to go tell my classmate.”

Seeing her about to turn and leave, Fang Xu knew what the child was thinking. “Don’t overthink it. I had something on my face just now, and your Sister Pei just helped me wipe it off.”

Hearing this, Yi Yi looked at Pei Yunci again.

“Flour,” Pei Yunci confirmed. “We’re about to wrap dumplings. Do you want to join, Yi Yi?”

In a single sentence, the awkward atmosphere effortlessly vanished.

Seeing the divided portions of dough, Yi Yi knew she could stay in the kitchen. She nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll join! I’m best at wrapping dumplings!”

With the three of them together, Fang Xu organized the tasks.

Pei Yunci and Yi Yi would wrap the dumplings after washing and chopping the vegetables. Fang Xu would handle the rest of the stir-frying herself.

Pei Yunci had never wrapped a dumpling before. She watched the child wrap two before attempting it herself.

Yi Yi saw it and couldn’t help but laugh. “Sister Pei, have you never wrapped one before?”

“No, I haven’t.” Pei Yunci was very honest about such things.

Fang Xu also overheard their conversation and realized this. Someone who couldn’t distinguish salt from sugar probably hadn’t wrapped dumplings either.

But then she thought, for all these years, had Pei Yunci spent every New Year’s alone?

When she came to this conclusion, Fang Xu felt a little sorry for her.

She put the finished cake base into the oven, then specifically came out, took a dumpling wrapper, and demonstrated in slow motion: “Put a bit more filling, then pinch it tightly.”

“Mhm mhm!” Yi Yi also said, “If you wrap more, you’ll get a lot better. I couldn’t wrap them before, and my sister and I ended up drinking a pot of dumpling soup.”

She was young back then, but her idea was bold. She insisted that the two of them must make the New Year’s Eve dinner together, so she moved a small stool over and began learning to wrap dumplings.

They looked acceptable on the outside, but once they were put into the pot, they fell apart after boiling for a while, with no chance of saving them.

Fang Xu smiled, watching her. “You still remember that?”

“I can’t help it,” Yi Yi pouted, aggrieved. “It tasted too awful.”

Pei Yunci followed Fang Xu’s instructions and tried wrapping one again. It was much better than the first. “Like this?”

Fang Xu nodded. “Yes. Put a little more filling, and the dumpling won’t topple over.”

Yi Yi looked at the second dumpling she had wrapped. “Sister Pei, you’re amazing! It took me a whole year to get to that level.”

She had an unyielding personality. After failing to make dumplings that year, she practiced every time the family wanted to eat them.

After practicing for a period, wrapping dumplings became easy for her.

Pei Yunci gave a slight smile. “I’ll strive not to drink the soup-with-exploded-dumplings.”

It was evening by the time the New Year’s Eve dinner was finished.

Yi Yi helped carry the plates. She glanced at the time and even took a moment to turn on the TV.

Fang Xu looked at the screen. “The Spring Festival Gala is about to start.”

“Yup,” Yi Yi went back into the kitchen and brought out the last dish, tofu soup.

Fang Xu looked up. “Is it hot? Let me take it.”

“I can do it,” Yi Yi felt the need to remind her sister. “I’m almost an adult.”

Fang Xu acknowledged this, turned up the volume on the TV to make the room feel more lively. “It’s not like you’ll immediately turn eighteen after tonight.”

“Sister Pei,” Yi Yi set down the soup and immediately went to Pei Yunci’s side to complain. “Look at my sister.”

Pei Yunci was looking at the dumplings in the pot. They were in three different shapes, easily distinguishable, and none of them had broken. They were rolling with the boiling water. “She’s right.”

Yi Yi: “…”

That was not right!

Fang Xu chuckled, going along with the conversation. “Did you hear that?”

“No,” Yi Yi set the bowls and chopsticks, pretending not to hear, and drew out her words. “I think someone is singing on the Spring Festival Gala. It sounds quite good.”

“Are the dumplings ready?” Fang Xu went over to Pei Yunci.

Pei Yunci said, “I think so?”

She couldn’t actually tell.

“Almost,” Fang Xu looked at the pot. “Yi Yi is still a child. Don’t take what she says seriously.”

Pei Yunci smiled lightly. “She’s quite cute.”

Fang Xu turned her head and looked at the child secretly snacking on chicken strips. A smile also crossed her face. “Don’t let her hear that.”

Pei Yunci asked, “Why?”

“She’ll take advantage of it,” Fang Xu knew her sister too well. “If she hears it, she’ll be asking you to officiate fairness for her all night.”

Just as she finished speaking, Yi Yi spoke up again, whining, “Sis, I want to drink a cola.”

Seeing the two in the kitchen, she was worried about a repeat of the afternoon’s scene, so she only spoke from the living room.

She certainly wasn’t going to be a third wheel.

Fang Xu replied, “I put the room-temperature cola in the cabinet. Go get it.”

Pei Yunci turned off the heat and began scooping the dumplings out.

She had never done this before, but the first time felt novel.

Yi Yi asked again, “Sis, I want an iced one.”

“It’s snowing outside,” Fang Xu disagreed. “The last time you drank a cold drink in cold weather, you coughed for a week and cried to me about how bitter the medicine was.”

“Last time was because I was out in the cold wind, not because I drank an iced drink,” The child rearranged the plates on the table, clearing space for the dumplings, and pleaded, “Sis, and it’s New Year’s today.”

Fang Xu: “No.”

“Sister Pei…” The child switched targets.

Pei Yunci’s eyelashes moved. She looked at the person next to her and said, “It’s New Year’s today. Can I share a can with her?”

“…Fine.” Fang Xu could refuse her sister, but she couldn’t refuse the person in front of her. “Yi Yi, come get it from the fridge yourself.”

In less than two seconds, the person was there. She didn’t forget to say, “Sister Pei, I love you.”

Once the child left, Fang Xu whispered, “Don’t spoil her.”

“I’m not,” Pei Yunci smiled faintly. “I want one, too.”

On ordinary New Year’s Eves, when night fell, her apartment would feel a bit desolate. She would usually sit by the bar counter. Sometimes she would drink the cocktail she made, and sometimes she would just leave it there. Neither the lights nor the liquid would move.

It wasn’t like now, where a pot was boiling beside her, and she could hear the sound of the child singing outside the door—loud and noisy, but not irritating. It only made her feel safe.

Fang Xu was helpless and took a can for herself as well. “…You should also drink less.”

Coughs and sickness wouldn’t care if a person was a CEO.

Pei Yunci slightly raised an eyebrow. “Got it.”

Although there were only three of them, they had cooked a lot of food, completely filling the table.

Yi Yi took the ring pull off the can and raised it. “Happy New Year’s Eve!”

“Happy New Year’s Eve,” Pei Yunci and Fang Xu echoed.

The Spring Festival Gala officially began. Several hosts spoke simultaneously, and the program started, serving as background noise.

Yi Yi was happy with her iced drink and was ready to eat when she suddenly remembered something. She said, “Sis, Sister Pei, don’t touch your chopsticks yet.”

Fang Xu looked at her. “What is it?”

Yi Yi’s eyes sparkled. “Let’s take a picture!”

She had been thinking about this before, and now was the perfect opportunity.

Fang Xu also remembered and turned to look at the person next to her.

Pei Yunci naturally agreed. “Okay.”

As soon as she spoke, Yi Yi rushed over to the two of them. “Let’s switch places so we can get the New Year’s Eve dinner in the shot.”

“Sis, you stand in the middle.”

“Come on,” Yi Yi held the phone far away. “Three, two, one.”

Outside the window, many clusters of fireworks suddenly rose into the sky, bursting into a myriad of vibrant colors that brightly lit up the night, captured perfectly in the frame.

“Happy New Year’s Eve!”

“Happy Birthday.”

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