Distance Formula - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Bai Biqing suddenly fell silent. Her hand loosened, and she lapsed into stillness; the sweat on her forehead felt as if it had been chilled. She took a breath and patted Su Yanshi’s shoulder, signaling for her to sit up.

Su Yanshi lifted her head with a dazed expression, suddenly realizing something. She hurriedly apologized: “I’m sorry, Teacher Bai, I didn’t mean to ask such a priv—”

“Yanshi, my pheromones have been gone for a while. Did you only just find out?”

Bai Biqing spoke abruptly, leaving Su Yanshi momentarily stunned. She stammered a bit, thinking she was being blamed for being unobservant. She touched her damp hair: “No, it’s not like that. I felt something was off about your scent before, but I thought maybe you were using some method to hide it, so I didn’t pay much attention. It wasn’t until I got close today that I realized the anomaly. I didn’t ignore you on purpose.”

The Alpha’s final sentence left Bai Biqing dazed as well. Sometimes she wanted to crack open Su Yanshi’s head to see what strange things were inside, yet she couldn’t help but feel her heart soften. Just how afraid was this girl that she might leave?

“But—” Seeing that she remained silent and her expression seemed okay, Su Yanshi grew bold enough to ask further, her voice carrying a hidden, joyful spark: “Teacher Bai, does this mean your illness is cured!?”

Bai Biqing snapped her head up, her eyes filled with undisguised shock: “What?”

“I mean, is your illness better? Being sick is such an uncomfortable thing. Why didn’t you tell me your health was improving? Once this movie finishes filming, I’ll treat you to a big dinner to celebrate.”

Su Yanshi’s eyes were full of smiles; she was genuinely happy for Bai Biqing. As a high-level Alpha, she was frequently exposed to pheromones; even if she didn’t fully understand the illness, she knew that for a Beta, a condition involving glands and pheromones must be difficult to treat.

Seeing her naked joy, Bai Biqing felt as if her heart had been suddenly seized and then ruthlessly torn apart.

She suddenly realized that she was the one who had trapped herself, making self-righteous assumptions about what Su Yanshi was like or what she thought. She had tortured herself into a mess, completely forgetting the Alpha’s actual attitude toward her: affection and reliance. It was she who had constantly used her own preconceptions to shackle Su Yanshi. Su Yanshi treated her as a friend—worrying because she was sick, and happy because she thought she was better. She would apologize cautiously, taking part of the blame even when it wasn’t her fault.

Every morning, she would wait earnestly for her breakfast, and the moment a scene finished, she would run to her side and ask, “How was my performance?” How could Bai Biqing have thought the way she did?

Bai Biqing’s pupils contracted as she suddenly remembered saying before that she couldn’t smell her own pheromones; Su Yanshi was telling her this now because she hoped she could be happy too.

The Beta had never felt such regret before. She wasn’t entirely sure what she regretted, but a sour ache hung in her stomach, swaying gently. Her throat felt parched. In that moment, she felt a strange hesitation: what was her purpose in doing all this?

It was for Su Yanshi’s pheromones, yet this “her”—this person, had burst into Bai Biqing’s world completely unannounced.

Bai Biqing couldn’t help but wonder: if Su Yanshi knew her motives were impure, what would happen? Would she feel sad or hurt? She felt the answer was inevitable.

The Beta closed her eyes briefly and thought: I’ll confess once this movie is finished filming.

Whether she kept her life or not didn’t matter anymore.

Seeing her prolonged silence and increasingly solemn expression, Su Yanshi grew worried: “What is it, Teacher Bai? Why aren’t you speaking? Did something happen?”

As if awakened by her words, Bai Biqing shook her head slightly. She reached out to stroke the Alpha’s hair and said softly, “The illness isn’t cured yet. The pheromones are just being suppressed because of the medicine I’m taking. Don’t worry.”

The Alpha still looked at her with concern several times before finally saying: “Okay. Just be careful, and you must tell me if you feel unwell!”

“Of course.” Bai Biqing’s fingertips brushed against her swollen cheek as she added, “Cui Xiaojiu will likely become very popular suddenly during this period. Tell Li Zhuonan not to worry; I will make her fall very hard.”

“Yanshi,” she called her name again after speaking.

Su Yanshi took a step forward, bringing them closer. The different scents of their shower gels blended together subtly.

“What is it?”

Bai Biqing looked at her quietly, shadows falling across Su Yanshi’s face. After a long time, she asked: “Yanshi, do you think it’s wrong of me to do this?”

Su Yanshi frowned in confusion, staring intently into Bai Biqing’s eyes: “Teacher Bai, I am extremely grateful to you for helping me—truly, truly grateful. For someone like me in this circle, I ultimately cannot manage to just film and ignore the world. I know exactly how many people envy or hate me; I just didn’t have the power to refute them.”

“I’m not willing to participate in things like ‘unspoken rules,’ so I can only keep climbing. The higher I climb, the less I’ll get hurt. But that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to take a shortcut. I’m a very pragmatic person, not some saintly, noble soul. Cui Xiaojiu bullied me and hit me. In my eyes, even if she sincerely repented, I could never let her off.”

A look of disgust gradually crept into her eyes: “The harm she did to me is still there; I cannot forgive her. You vented that anger for me—I couldn’t be happier, so how could I think you’ve done something wrong?”

Su Yanshi suddenly stepped forward. She took a deep breath but didn’t reach out to hug Bai Biqing. Her voice sounded slightly unsteady: “Teacher Bai, you did very well. I like it very much.”

“Tomorrow we’re going to the foot of the mountain to film. Do you want to go explore the deep sea with me? I haven’t visited many of the scenic spots yet.”

Bai Biqing gazed at her fixedly. The Alpha’s eyes were always bright and incomparable. The Beta had thought of many adjectives, but felt none were worthy. In this moment, she realized she had no way to refuse a puppy full of expectations.

Bai Biqing could not refuse Su Yanshi.

So, she answered quickly: “Okay.”

Su Yanshi visibly brightened. Bai Biqing didn’t speak again, instead letting her turn around so she could carefully blow-dry her hair.

At first, Su Yanshi was a bit reluctant, feeling a sense of embarrassment. But Bai Biqing just sat there on the table, saying and doing nothing, yet easily making her yield.

In the end, she turned around obediently: “Okay then, sorry to trouble you, Teacher Bai.”

Bai Biqing’s fingers were quite long; she had lost some weight these past few days, making her joints appear more defined. Her technique was very skillful. Su Yanshi went from feeling uneasy to being completely natural, bowing her head to scroll through her phone to find places to visit.

She didn’t dare look for places with too many people, fearing she would be recognized and cause an unnecessary commotion.

“Hey, Teacher Bai, how was the food at that restaurant you sent me a link to last time?”

Bai Biqing said it was alright and smiled: “Why, do you want to go?”

“I’ll take you tomorrow. My treat.”

Su Yanshi protested: “How can that be? I’ll treat you. I can still afford a meal.”

Bai Biqing put down the hairdryer and tidied her hair: “That’s not how it works. Consider this a gesture of sympathy for our lead actress’s young soul. Besides, isn’t that interview being announced tomorrow? Let’s have a small celebration.”

The Alpha tilted her head back: “Then when will I finally be able to treat you to something delicious?”

Bai Biqing patted her shoulder: “The days are long; there will always be a chance.”

She checked the time; it was almost eleven. Without realizing it, the two had talked for a long while. Bai Biqing urged: “It’s late, Yanshi, you should go back and sleep. I’ll wake you up tomorrow morning, so be ready.”

Su Yanshi touched her hair, which still held some warmth, and gripped the doorknob: “Okay, I’m going back now. Sleep well, Teacher Bai. Goodnight.”

Bai Biqing tilted her head: “Goodnight.”

As soon as the door locked, Bai Biqing’s smile vanished. She turned around, grabbed her phone, and dialed a number. The call was answered quickly: “Get me the surveillance footage from XX Hotel for tonight, from eight to nine PM.”

“Yes, all of it.”

Bai Biqing’s expression was more ruthless than ever before: “Destroy it. I don’t want anyone else to see it.”

She lightly rubbed her fingers: “Also, tell Liu Sheng that he can start doing what he promised me. I hope he follows the rules. After all, I’m the one who set the rules—tell him not to change them at will.”

“I’ll wire the money to your account afterward. I trust your work.”

After the call, Bai Biqing’s expression relaxed considerably. She pre-booked the restaurant, recalling if there were any dishes on the menu that suited Su Yanshi’s tastes.

After spending these days together, she had picked up on some of Su Yanshi’s small habits—like her dislike of milk, her love for sweets, her decent tolerance for spice, and her fondness for fish and cilantro. But because she had to control her diet, she rarely got to eat properly.

She thought about it; this place had good desserts, so that was a clear goal for tomorrow.

Bai Biqing threw her phone onto the bed and was about to sit down when she let out a hiss; her mind was entirely filled with the image of Su Yanshi looking up at her earlier.

The Alpha’s appearance was actually quite pure, yet her eyes held an ambition that she liked. It was impossible for Su Yanshi to be devoid of schemes; on the contrary, besides having a personality that didn’t go looking for trouble, she never failed to treat people to food and never showed impatience toward others.

But that gaze just now… Bai Biqing felt it was very clean.

She suddenly wanted to paint it.

And in fact, she did just that.

She didn’t hesitate with her brushstrokes; a complete image had already formed in her mind.

The magical pen fell upon the white paper, endowed with the power of creation. Her features relaxed, carrying a faint smile; for her, painting was a source of great happiness.

Her sensitivity to color was high; different hues transformed into jumping lives under her mixing. Bai Biqing kept her back straight, thoroughly enjoying the process. She polished the painting without blinking.

On the canvas was a mermaid in the deep sea. The blue of the tail seemed to radiate charm within the ocean; the drifting fins were transparent yet added a mysterious touch. The mermaid was facing away, and upon a pair of beautiful butterfly bone-blades, a bright red thread wound around her entire body like an ancient curse.

Her black hair was fine and soft, draped around her like an ocean elf. Her head was tilted slightly back, showing only a profile partially hidden by her hair, but her eyes seemed filled with the starry sky, making one fall in unknowingly.

The ocean around her was filled with interweaving colors of jellyfish and fish, all dancing for the child of the sea. Above the painting were butterflies falling toward the ocean; the mermaid reached out her fingertips as if trying to touch them, with large patches of light and shadow falling across her fingers—tranquil and sacred.

By the time Bai Biqing finished, it was already past four in the morning. She considered her speed quite fast for this painting, yet it had still dragged on until this late hour.

She rubbed her dry eyes and collapsed onto the bed, ignoring everything. There were still over two hours until her alarm; she could rest for a bit.

Before falling asleep, Bai Biqing decided to give this painting to Su Yanshi.

The night’s labor had left her exhausted, so much so that she didn’t notice her phone vibrating several times.

Su Shang: [Link]

Su Shang: “As expected of the power of beauty. That interview with you and Su Yanshi has already exploded; it’s trending on the Hot Search right now. The CP fans are already shipping it hard.”

Su Shang: “But honestly, the way your eyes were glued to her like syrup… you didn’t have this planned all along, did you?”

Su Shang: “I’m heading back in a couple of days. Should I start preparing the wedding gift money?”

And several hours earlier, a comment had already rushed to the top of the Hot Search:

“Uuuu, am I the only one who thinks they ship so well? Teacher Baishi’s gaze is so ‘thirsty,’ I feel like our Yanshi can’t handle it!”

Below that, the comments piled up instantly:

Yanshi’s Little Wife: “Yes, yes, yes! Why does Yanshi look so ‘submissive’? My big Alpha husband suddenly became a wife.”

A Melon-Eating Contestant: “And this Baishi is so good-looking! I heard her background isn’t simple.”

An Ordinary Sweet Omega: “Teacher Baishi, I can! But I feel like I’m not worthy, d*mmit!”

The original poster commented again: “Teacher Baishi’s eyes were fixed on Yanshi the whole time! I feel like I’ve discovered something incredible!”

Support