Distance Formula - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Side Story

“Welcome everyone to the livestream of Who is Next?. I am your host for today, Su Shang.”

Su Shang appeared on camera dressed in sportswear. Standing before a door and holding the livestreaming equipment herself without any crew, this was her new variety show. Each episode featured a live broadcast, leading the audience into the daily lives of celebrities.

The viewership skyrocketed the moment the stream started. She greeted the audience and flashed a smile: “Guess whose house I’m visiting today?”

The comments instantly flew across the screen. Su Shang, having excellent eyesight, waited patiently for a while but didn’t see the name she was looking for. She wagged her finger: “You’re all wrong.”

She picked up the equipment and knocked on the door. After a moment, a woman dressed in casual clothes entered the public’s field of vision. Her hair was tied up messily; she wore no makeup and seemed to be in good spirits, though she looked quite impatient.

The bullet comments erupted:

“Holy crap, it’s Bai Biqing! Are we going to see Su Yanshi today?”

“Omg, I wouldn’t even dare dream of this, it’s really Little Boss Bai.”

“Teacher Su seems to be good friends with Baishi, but Baishi actually agreed to this? That proves Su Yanshi will be on camera too!”

“Fans are already crying, it’s been so long since we had news of Yanshi.”

“Is no one going to mention that Bai Biqing’s bare face is stunning? Her skin is too good!”

“Agreed with the person above, totally!”

Su Shang glanced at the scrolling comments and cleared her throat affectatiously. Before she could speak, Bai Biqing made a move to shut the door. The Omega was startled and jammed half her leg inside, laughing sheepishly: “I want to eat mousse cake.”

Bai Biqing looked down at her and let out a helpless sigh, stepping aside: “I’m making it.”

Familiar with the place, the Omega brought out a pair of slippers. She didn’t move the camera, keeping it pointed toward the bedroom doors. Before long, hundreds of thousands of people saw Su Yanshi walking out wearing dinosaur pajamas. She had finished washing up but was still sleepy; she gave Su Shang a simple greeting and walked straight into Bai Biqing’s embrace.

Both of them were prepared. They had nothing to hide, and their states were quite relaxed.

Bai Biqing’s hands were covered in water. She rubbed her head against Su Yanshi’s and whispered: “Still sleepy?”

The Alpha nodded: “A bit. It’s almost ten o’clock after that nap.”

The two voices carried clearly into the livestream, and the screen was instantly filled:

“Ahhh, I’m shipping this so hard! Why is she sleepy?!”

“I told you, the CP positions I ship are not reversed!”

“Why is Su Yanshi tired? Isn’t she an Alpha? Is her health okay?”

“I don’t believe it, I’m not listening, anyway it’s not like there aren’t Tops who wake up later than Bottoms.”

Su Shang scanned the comments, flicked her finger, and said nonchalantly: “Yanshi, does the wound still hurt?”

Su Yanshi stood up straight and pulled off her pajama hood, nodding obediently: “Mhm. It hurt so much in the middle of the night that I couldn’t sleep. It took a while to finally drift off.”

The Omega signaled her understanding and told her to recover well. Su Shang secretly peeked at Bai Biqing’s expression and caught a flash of heartache passing through her eyes.

Su Shang still remembered those few days when Su Yanshi was unconscious. Bai Biqing’s behavior had been perfectly normal, even calmer than usual; she hadn’t even hesitated when signing the critical condition notice.

But she also became merciless in her actions. The entire Bai Corporation underwent a massive upheaval during those days, and Cui Xiaojiu was rendered unable to ever make a comeback. On the night Su Yanshi fell back into a coma after initially waking up, the Beta invited her out for a drink. Bai Biqing slumped on the table and told her: “A person only lives for a few specific people in their lifetime. If Su Yanshi is gone, I won’t be able to live either.”

Fortunately, Su Yanshi was saved after emergency treatment.

However, an indelible scar remained on her gland.

She glanced at the bullet comments, and the direction of the conversation had indeed changed:

“Is it still because her health hasn’t recovered? I want to cry.”

“I saw that video recording, she was really too ruthless to herself, slashing it open just like that.”

“I’m still traumatized by it; she’s a top-tier Alpha.”

“It looks so painful just watching, Boss Bai must take good care of Yanshi.”

Bai Biqing couldn’t see the netizens’ comments, and Su Shang didn’t read them out. She led Su Yanshi to sit on the sofa. The Alpha instantly lost her strength and slumped over, staring blankly in a daze.

Su Shang patted her, deliberately livening up the atmosphere by picking out questions from the netizens: “Yanshi, don’t sleep. Get up and answer questions.”

Su Yanshi rubbed her eyes and sat up obediently, looking expectantly at Su Shang. The Omega’s “old mother” heart softened, and her voice became much gentler: “Someone asked if you’ll attend the Three Times movie press conference?”

The Alpha nodded, looking directly at the camera: “I will. My health is actually much better now, so everyone doesn’t need to worry. I’ll slowly resume working.”

A crowd of people in the comments shouted: “Don’t rush, we’ll wait for you.”

Su Shang repeated the sentiment, and Su Yanshi tilted her lips into a smile.

“So, between Yanshi and Boss Bai, who does more housework at home?”

Su Yanshi answered without hesitation: “She does more.”

She rubbed her hair sheepishly: “I’m a bit clumsy; I actually can’t do many things well. Teacher Bai handles most things personally.”

Su Shang continued: “I heard Yanshi has a little pet at home. Can we see it?”

Su Yanshi nodded: “Of course, wait for me a moment.”

She put on her slippers and trotted toward a room. The pajamas were still a bit too large, but she looked much better than when she was first discharged. The dinosaur tail behind her swayed from time to time.

A moment later, Su Yanshi came out holding an orange cat. She cradled it gently in her arms and explained to everyone: “Teacher Bai found this in a trash can downstairs. Seeing that I liked it, we kept it. We named it ‘Little Wangcai’.”

Su Shang wanted to laugh every time she heard that name. Sure enough, a row of “Hahahaha” floated across the comments.

Su Yanshi didn’t think there was anything wrong with it: “We gave it many names, but Little Wangcai ignored them all. It only gets happy when called Little Wangcai.”

“Come, Little Wangcai, face the camera.” Su Yanshi held the cat’s paw; when she gave the pink pad a little squeeze, the claws extended. The cat was very cooperative, even tilting its head to lick the Alpha’s face.

As the two chatted, Bai Biqing brought over breakfast. Su Yanshi’s diet was still mainly light, so she had made some millet porridge. Su Shang and Bai Biqing were relatively casual, eating fried noodles.

The three of them chatted like old friends. Su Shang finished her bowl, slumped onto the sofa, and let out a long breath: “So comfortable.”

Bai Biqing glared at her: “Get up. Lying down right after eating—what kind of behavior is that?”

Su Shang sighed dramatically: “Look at this, look at this. This is the double standard of a married woman.”

The Beta ignored her and asked Su Yanshi if she wanted to sleep more.

Su Yanshi shook her head: “I’ll do the dishes. My body feels tired from lying down for too long.”

Bai Biqing didn’t refuse. She began cleaning the house. Su Shang didn’t dare disturb her; after getting permission, she took the livestream audience on a tour of the place.

The Omega pointed the camera at the wedding photo in the hall: “See this? This was originally a place for Bai Biqing’s artwork, but they changed it after getting married. Do you think it’s just a wedding photo? Wrong! This was painted by Teacher Baishi. They have one set of wedding photos they took, and another set of paintings. She painted every single thing Su Yanshi ever imagined.”

Someone asked to see them, but Su Shang refused: “I can’t. Our Little Boss Bai won’t agree.”

She continued panning the camera: “This house wasn’t originally this style, either.”

Su Shang turned around and pointed the camera at Bai Biqing, who was focused on her chores: “We’re all very curious why the house style was changed.”

Bai Biqing leaned on the mop with one hand and cooperated: “Because Su Yanshi likes it this way. I don’t mind either way; as long as she lives comfortably, it’s fine.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Su Shang looked like she was enjoying the spectacle. “See that? This is the magic of love.”

The Omega wandered around for several more turns until the two finished their tasks. Su Shang brought out the tools she had prepared and arranged the two of them: “This is clay. Let’s do an interview. Please mold what the other person looks like in your heart. You can look at each other while you mold.”

Su Yanshi looked at the tools before her with difficulty, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: “This is basically giving Teacher Bai free points.”

Someone in the comments also said it was unfair since Bai Biqing was an artist.

Su Shang winked at Su Yanshi with a look of deep mystery: “No, no, no. This is the test of your level. If you love her, please troll her properly.”

Su Yanshi couldn’t help but laugh out loud and compromised: “Alright, alright.”

The moment the Alpha looked up, she found Bai Biqing had already molded a rough shape. The Beta’s manual dexterity was very strong.

Su Yanshi recognized what it was at a glance and said expressionlessly: “Bai Biqing, if you insist on molding this animal, everything will be off the table.”

Hearing her full name, Bai Biqing’s hands paused for a moment. Instead of stopping, she speeded up. Soon, a dog wearing an anti-bite muzzle appeared. She held it up to the camera and asked: “Doesn’t it look like her?”

Sharp-eyed netizens recognized it immediately:

“Isn’t this the drawing she made of Yanshi when they first met?”

“Aww! I’m dying from the sweetness.”

“A real couple, real dog food.”

Su Shang nimbly turned the camera. Su Yanshi happened to look up with a face full of bewilderment, her eyes wide and filled with confusion. Even the Omega, who usually biased toward Su Yanshi, compromised: “It… really does look like her.”

Su Yanshi opened her mouth but remained speechless. She focused on her own molding as the camera stayed on her, and Bai Biqing’s gaze never left her side.

Half an hour later, the Alpha finally stopped. She held it up—it was a cat.

Su Shang asked in surprise: “Why a cat?”

Su Yanshi thought for a moment: “Because I like it very much.”

—Because I like it very much.

Bai Biqing’s heart felt a sudden jolt. She laughed silently, stood up, and brought over the cake: “Try some, consider it lunch. If you want to eat something else, say so quickly.”

Su Shang happily took a piece, showing off as she ate: “My good friend made this specifically because she knows I love it.”

Someone commented that they shipped the friendship too. Seeing this, Su Shang immediately switched to the front camera, pulled Su Yanshi into her arms, and said seriously: “You’re wrong. Bai Biqing already has Su Yanshi. I am their friend and can never be a lover. I’ll sue anyone who ships me with them!”

Su Yanshi laughed and handed Su Shang a tissue to wipe her mouth: “Thank you, Teacher Su.”

Bai Biqing also squeezed Su Shang’s shoulder. She didn’t enter the frame but simply said: “Mhm. I already have Su Yanshi.”

The three of them shared a look and clinked their cake cups in a silent understanding.

Just as they said, only Su Yanshi could be a match for Bai Biqing.

And only Bai Biqing could make Su Yanshi move forward without looking back.

The livestream continued until the end of dinner. Bai Biqing and Su Yanshi stood before the camera as it was time to end. The comments were flooded with people saying they didn’t want it to finish. The Alpha and Beta secretly hooked their pinky fingers together; they both smiled, their hearts fluttering.

It was as if they had declared all their love out loud.

They said:

“Goodbye.”

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