Always Chasing My White Moonlight Omega - Chapter 3

“Miss Ruan Yang, why are you still standing there? Come and eat.” Aunt Chen reached out to pull Ruan Yang but touched her icy-cold hands in the sweltering heat of June.

“Oh my,” Aunt Chen exclaimed, “Miss, why are your hands so cold? Could you have caught a chill?”

Ruan Yang wasn’t fond of being touched by others and immediately withdrew her hand. She instinctively glanced at Xu Zhiyi, only to find her smiling and chatting with Zheng Tang, completely oblivious to what was happening here.

Looking down at her fingertips, Ruan Yang shook her head. “I’m fine.”

With that, she took a seat opposite Xu Zhiyi and began eating.

Ruan Qingyu had accompanied Xu Zhiyi’s father to a banquet, leaving only the three of them at the dining table.

The dining room felt vast and empty, making the voices from across the table particularly noticeable.

Zheng Tang seemed to be discussing a new drama with Xu Zhiyi, her tone enthusiastic as she went on about the script and character designs. Beside her, Xu Zhiyi wore a faint smile, eating slowly while listening quietly.

It was unclear whether Ruan Yang was paying attention. She kept her head down, eating in silence. By the time Zheng Tang finally realized she might have been talking too much, she noticed that Ruan Yang had already picked out all the chili peppers from a bowl of spicy diced chicken.

Zheng Tang was accustomed to Xu Zhiyi’s aloofness, but perhaps Xu Zhiyi’s sudden warmth since entering the house had emboldened her. Smiling, she asked Xu Zhiyi, “Zhiyi, is this your sister? Why haven’t you introduced her to me?”

Xu Zhiyi’s chopsticks paused almost imperceptibly. Her smile remained faint as she replied, “She’s not my sister.”

Seeing Xu Zhiyi respond, Zheng Tang’s mood brightened further. She thought Ruan Yang might be teasing her. “Not your sister? I just heard Aunt Chen call her your sister Ruan Yang, right? Why doesn’t she share your surname? Does she take after your mother?”

This remark made Aunt Chen, standing nearby, cast a glance in their direction. Although Miss Zhiyi usually seemed easygoing, any mention of the former Mrs. Xu could easily provoke her temper.

Sure enough, the smile vanished from Xu Zhiyi’s lips. She set down her chopsticks, about to say something, when Ruan Yang spoke first, “Aren’t you going to eat? The food’s getting cold.”

Since sitting down, Zheng Tang had been talking nonstop with Xu Zhiyi, not touching a single bite of the meal Aunt Chen had prepared.

Zheng Tang seemed to realize her oversight and hastily picked up her chopsticks, taking a few bites of vegetables. But she appeared to be the type who spoke her mind and asked questions on the spot. Noticing Ruan Yang still picking out chili peppers, she asked, “Yangyang, can’t you handle spicy food? I see you’ve been picking out the peppers.”

This was their first meeting, and Ruan Yang disliked such familiarity. She frowned slightly.

Softly, she replied, “Yes, I don’t handle spice well.”

With that, she swapped the now pepper-free spicy diced chicken with a plate of vegetables in front of Xu Zhiyi. The motion was so practiced it seemed as though she had done it countless times before.

Zheng Tang was visibly taken aback. Then she watched as Xu Zhiyi began eating the diced chicken from her plate. The natural ease between these two sisters left her utterly confused.

So, which one of them actually couldn’t handle spicy food?

She wanted to ask more, but the thought of the paparazzi the company had stationed outside made her feel she couldn’t waste precious time on such trivial questions.

Having made up her mind, Zheng Tang set down her chopsticks again and looked at Xu Zhiyi, her tone laced with weariness. “Zhiyi, I’m full. Where’s your room? I’m feeling a bit unwell, can I go rest there for a while?”

As she spoke, her hand had already settled on Xu Zhiyi’s wrist, deliberately or not, giving it a slight caress.

Thud.

The sound of Ruan Yang slamming her water glass down.

She lifted her head, her gaze landing on the table or perhaps on their overlapping wrists.

“We have a guest room,” Ruan Yang said, her hands never pausing as she picked out the chili peppers. “If you’re feeling unwell, Miss Zheng, you can rest there for a while.”

Zheng Tang seemed amused by Ruan Yang’s words. She chuckled. “Yangyang, you’ve never been in love before, have you? I get it, you wouldn’t understand. But this is just a little game between us. Zhiyi specially invited me to tour your home.”

“I’m full too,” Ruan Yang abruptly interrupted, standing up. Her eyes were dark and unfathomable, like a bottomless black hole. “I’ll head upstairs first.”

With that, she turned and walked toward the staircase.

Behind her, the two seemed to exchange a few more hushed words, but she no longer had the heart to care.

She entered her room. The undiscarded DVD resumed playback, somehow skipping to the scene she had fast-forwarded through earlier that afternoon.

On the screen, another woman was lowering her head to kiss Xu Zhiyi’s forehead.

Ruan Yang’s fingers dug into her palms.

An indescribable emotion swept over her like a bitter wind through the window.

Yes, Ruan Yang everyone thought she hated Xu Zhiyi.

But the truth was, she was madly, desperately in love with her.

So much so that just seeing her stand beside another woman made her breath hitch.

Made her ribs ache.

Zheng Tang found Ruan Yang’s final glance rather odd, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

Remembering her earlier question and noticing Xu Zhiyi’s prolonged silence, Zheng Tang tightened her grip slightly, her fingertips tapping twice as if prompting something.

“Zhiyi, you still haven’t told me where your room is.”

Xu Zhiyi glanced upstairs, her radiant eyes shimmering with light.

Then she looked out the window, silent for a moment before suddenly smiling like a bewitching imperial consort from ancient times, the kind who brought kingdoms to ruin.

“Go ahead, then,” she said nonchalantly, raising her voice to call for Aunt Chen. “Aunt Chen, take her to my room.”

Aunt Chen was taken aback. “Miss…”

The young lady usually never allowed anyone into her room, only Aunt Chen herself was permitted brief entry for cleaning.

And now she was letting someone in so casually?

But it was the young lady’s decision, so Aunt Chen said nothing more and headed upstairs. “This way, Miss Zheng.”

Zheng Tang seemed unwilling to give up. Stubbornly, she pressed, “Zhiyi, what about you?”

If she went alone, how would the paparazzi get anything worthwhile?

“I’ll be up soon,” Xu Zhiyi replied, picking up her chopsticks to resume eating the spicy diced chicken from earlier.

Thinking of how Ruan Yang had painstakingly picked out each chili pepper for her, her voice dropped slightly. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise to the company.”

Only then did Zheng Tang seem satisfied, following Aunt Chen away.

Walking up the stairs, Aunt Chen pointed out Xu Zhiyi’s room to Zheng Tang before heading back down.

Zheng Tang moved forward but had only taken two steps when she bumped into Ruan Yang, who was holding a cup and heading out to get some water.

Since Zheng Tang was intent on pursuing Xu Zhiyi, she also wanted to build a good relationship with Ruan Yang, Xu Zhiyi’s younger sister.

She smiled and greeted Ruan Yang, “Yangyang.”

Ruan Yang didn’t actually want to engage with this person, but when she noticed the direction Zheng Tang was heading, her eyes widened as if suddenly jolted awake. “You’re going to Zhiyi’s room?”

At this, the smile on Zheng Tang’s face couldn’t be contained.

Though she noticed Ruan Yang had directly called Xu Zhiyi by her name, she didn’t dwell on it and instead replied cheerfully, “Yes, Zhiyi specifically invited me to her room.”

How was that possible?

Ruan Yang felt something twist inside her. How could Xu Zhiyi possibly invite someone to her room?

The shock in her eyes only made Zheng Tang happier. “Yangyang, I really like your sister. Could you tell me what she usually likes to eat or what her hobbies are?”

The question drained all emotion from Ruan Yang’s eyes. Her fingers, gripping the cup, turned white as if she might crush it at any moment.

The pheromones of a top-tier Alpha suddenly erupted. Zheng Tang immediately sensed the dense scent of pinewood in the air and felt the sharp, knife-like hostility radiating from Ruan Yang.

Even though she was also an Alpha, she couldn’t help but feel a momentary fear and urge to retreat under such overwhelming, high-level pheromones.

Hostility?

Zheng Tang was momentarily confused. Why would Ruan Yang feel hostile toward her?

She wanted to take a closer look, but when she blinked, Ruan Yang had already returned to her previous demeanor, and the pinewood scent in the air had completely vanished.

As if everything just now had been her imagination.

“If you’re asking me, you’ve asked the wrong person.” Ruan Yang locked eyes with Zheng Tang. Those eyes held admiration and affection for Xu Zhiyi, but more than that, they were filled with calculation.

Suppressing the disgust in her heart, Ruan Yang curled her lips into a smile that could have been either mocking or self-deprecating. “Zhiyi and I don’t get along. I don’t know the answers to any of your questions.”

This clearly took Zheng Tang by surprise. How could biological sisters not get along?

Besides, from what she’d just seen, the two of them didn’t seem to have a bad relationship at all.

Just as she was about to say something, she noticed Ruan Yang pressing her lips together and lowering her gaze to her cup, a clear signal that she didn’t want to continue the conversation.

Assuming Ruan Yang might be in a bad mood, Zheng Tang decided not to push her luck. She shrugged with a smile and walked straight toward Xu Zhiyi’s room.

Only when Zheng Tang had completely disappeared from sight did Ruan Yang finally loosen her grip, her nails having dug deep into her palms inside her sleeves.

She stood there for a long time, unmoving, until the dryness in her throat made it itch. Only then did she finally take a step.

But as she turned around, she found Xu Zhiyi leaning lazily against the stairwell, a smirk playing on her lips, as if she’d been standing there for who knows how long.

Not the least bit flustered at being caught, Xu Zhiyi sighed dramatically and arched a delicate brow. One hand drifted idly over the still-fading love bites on her neck, her tone teasing.

“Don’t get along?”

“After what we did, it must’ve been hard for you to say that with a straight face.”

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