After the System Called Me Mom, My Arch-Nemesis Omega Fell for Me - Chapter 45.1

Lu Lingzhi became an insomniac. For the first time ever, she couldn’t sleep because someone was beside her. Jiang Mingyue’s shallow, rhythmic breathing was right by her ear, like an invisible feather constantly brushing against her chaotic nerves.

Her relationship with Jiang Mingyue was now like a ball of yarn played with by a cat, hopelessly tangled. It could no longer be defined simply as friends, or even “good” friends.

Friends with benefits? The term felt like an insult to Jiang Mingyue. Jiang Mingyue was like her name: a bright, pure, and icy moon.

Lu Lingzhi couldn’t get past her own conscience. She couldn’t treat this as a purely physiological relationship and discard Jiang Mingyue when she was done. She couldn’t do it. Those cold eyes, which occasionally showed dependence and vulnerability, always appeared whenever she wanted to run away.

She had to take responsibility. But how?

In this past week, she had been intimate with Jiang Mingyue at least four times. The first time you could call an accident. But the second, third, and fourth? Twice were her needs, and twice were Jiang Mingyue’s. And Jiang Mingyue’s needs were triggered by her.

How could she make all this feel right? Should she do what they do in trashy novels, toss a contract and a huge sum of money at her? But her small savings only amounted to a few hundred thousand, likely not enough for that.

Actually, the best and most direct way seemed to be… a confession. Asking Jiang Mingyue to be her girlfriend.

But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. If she did, she felt she would be betraying her sister. What should she do?

Lu Lingzhi sighed silently and sat up in bed. In the darkness, her gaze fell on the quiet, sleeping face beside her. She hesitated for a moment, then once again carefully removed the white jade Pixiu pendant she had worn for years. The cool jade still held her body heat. She took Jiang Mingyue’s hand from outside the quilt, placed the pendant in her palm, and closed her fingers around it.

Since her pheromones became S-grade, her night vision had improved significantly. Her gaze accidentally brushed over the other woman’s shoulder, where a strap had slipped, revealing a large expanse of lustrous skin glowing softly in the night, with two round curves hidden beneath the quilt.

Lu Lingzhi’s face flushed “shua” in an instant, and her heart skipped a beat. She immediately looked away, quietly slipped out of bed, and stepped onto the soft carpet with bare feet. She gently opened the door and walked out onto the wide terrace.

Late-night Beijing was still ablaze with lights, like a river of stars on earth. The night breeze carried the chill of late autumn, fluttering her nightgown. She curled into a large egg shaped wicker swing chair, hugging her calico cat, Suisui, letting the wind rock the swing gently.

The swing swayed with her movements. She pondered the question that had always stood between them, one neither had dared to ask. The details of the kidnapping at her home, did Jiang Mingyue ever tell Jiang Mingzhao?

Back then, she and her sister had gone to a newly bought holiday villa in the suburbs. They were unexpectedly kidnapped. The kidnapper had posed as a servant. Her sister had pushed her behind her and led the kidnapper away first. She had watched as the kidnapper knocked her sister unconscious and carried her off.

By the time the kidnapper left, Jiang Mingyue happened to pass by. Sensing something was wrong, she decisively called the police. Lu Lingzhi had been terrified, convinced her sister was dead. Jiang Mingyue stayed with her until Xie Fuyun used all her power to find and bring her sister back after three days. Her sister never spoke of what happened during those three days.

Actually, the person the kidnapper wanted was her, the kidnapper had said they were looking for “the one wearing the crown.” Since that incident, Xie Fuyun became her live-in tutor. Since the kidnapping, she had always deferred to her sister and listened to her.

Then came the night of the coming of age ceremony. Jiang Mingzhao used the kidnapping mistake to humiliate the sisters and spread rumors about her sister’s reputation. Her sister then demanded she stop being friends with Jiang Mingyue.

On one side was her doting elder sister; on the other was the gentle, cold Jiang Mingyue who made her heart flutter. Even if her heart secretly favored Jiang Mingyue, she had to publicly favor her sister. Her sister had been perfect since childhood, she couldn’t find a single fault. How could she justify bringing Jiang Mingyue home?

Past memories flooded in like a tide. The wind remained, and the swing swayed. Suisui was soft in her arms but couldn’t give her a definitive answer. She just stared at the city’s neon lights, feeling her heart like the night view, a mix of brightness and gloom, with no clear way out.

Jiang Mingyue was actually not asleep. Every subtle movement of Lu Lingzhi’s reached her ears. She heard her sit up slowly and felt those eyes watching her in the dark. Then, she felt the jade pendant placed in her palm.

She heard the faint sound of the door opening and closing. In the weak moonlight filtering through the curtains, the jade glowed with a warm, soft luster. Her fingertips stroked the smooth surface, as if she could still feel the residual body heat and a faint scent of cherry pheromones, which stirred her heart.

She stared at the jade, dazed. Finally, she too lifted the quilt and got out of bed. She crept to the bedroom door, peeking through a small crack. The living room was dark, with only the night breeze occasionally lifting the floor to ceiling curtains, letting in the hazy moonlight and city glow.

She saw the silhouette of the white egg swing moving slightly on the terrace. Suisui, who had been on Lu Lingzhi, noticed her, jumped down, and ran to rub against her ankles.

Jiang Mingyue bent down to pet the cat, then picked up a soft thin blanket from the sofa. Walking onto the terrace, she saw Lu Lingzhi curled in the swing, her silhouette looking exceptionally thin and even a bit lost against the backdrop of the night and neon.

Jiang Mingyue stood quietly for a moment, then gently unfolded the blanket and draped it over Lu Lingzhi, tucking it in to ensure she was wrapped in warmth. Her movements were so light, it was as if she were afraid of disturbing a fragile dream.

Lu Lingzhi snapped her eyes open, unexpectedly meeting eyes that reflected the moonlight. Jiang Mingyue was standing quietly before her, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. The cold moonlight poured over her like liquid silver, outlining a slender and enchanting black silhouette. She looked unrealistically beautiful.

All the complex thoughts that had been churning in Lu Lingzhi’s mind for half the night suddenly stuck in her throat, turning into a “unreasonable but confident” bratty scolding: “Jiang Mingyue, give me a way down. No, I’ll give you one, no, whatever. Just a ‘step’ (exit strategy).”

It’s so cold out here, I’m miserable. Jiang Mingyue, hurry up and coax me back. I want to sleep in the bed; I don’t want to sleep here.

Jiang Mingyue stood still.

“A-choo!” Lu Lingzhi faked a sneeze. She curled deeper into the swing, wrapping the thin blanket tighter, her voice muffled but stubborn. “If I catch a cold, you’re the first person I’m infecting.”

Looking at her, the one who ran out herself but was now blaming the cold and demanding to be coaxed, a very faint smile flickered in Jiang Mingyue’s eyes.

Playing along, she asked cooperatively, “It’s so cold out here, shall we go back to sleep?” She leaned in slightly and reached out as if to pick her up. “Shall I carry the Little Princess back to bed?”

Lu Lingzhi immediately tilted her chin up. Even wrapped like a silkworm cocoon, she maintained a “lofty” posture and huffed, “Hmph! This is, of course, your honor.”

She emphasized again, “You’ve definitely never princess-carried an S-grade Alpha as powerful as me! Let this make your ‘Omega Life’ more magnificent. I’m very light, only 86 pounds (43kg) of meat.” Her tone made it sound as if being carried was a grand prize.

Her Omega Life really is magnificent, Jiang Mingyue thought. She had carried her when she was an A-grade Omega. She had kissed her as an A-grade Omega, her first kiss. She had slept (non-sexually) with her as an A-grade Omega. She had slept with her as an A-grade Alpha. And she had slept with her as an S-grade Alpha. Now she was going to princess carry her as an S-grade Alpha. It was like she was leveling up in a game. No other Omega could claim such an honor.

Jiang Mingyue finally couldn’t help but let out a low laugh. Her cool voice was softened by the night, sounding exceptionally pleasant. As she carefully lifted the “silkworm cocoon” from the swing, she said dotingly, “Yes, yes, our Second Sister Lu is truly delicate. Do you want to be a ‘delicate girl’ or a ‘soft girl’?”

Lu Lingzhi wrapped one arm around Jiang Mingyue’s neck, her eyes sparkling like crushed diamonds. She hooked the other arm around too and rested her chin on Jiang’s shoulder. “Can’t I be that in private?”

“Then call me ‘Sister’ (Jiejie).”

Lu Lingzhi pinched her earlobe and said triumphantly, “Have you heard the saying? When the younger one calls you ‘Sister,’ her intentions are a little wild.”

Holding her “little package of air” steadily in her arms, Jiang Mingyue turned and walked toward the warmth of the bedroom.