One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 10

Xiao Shuangyu finished her shift.

The rain was falling heavily.

While she was changing her clothes, Wang Ran seemed to be saying something to her from the other side—something about staying at the company for a while to play and snag some overtime pay, waiting until the rain stopped before leaving.

This kind of rain usually came quickly and left just as fast; it wouldn’t hold them up for too long.

Xiao Shuangyu’s head felt dizzy. The sound of these words buzzed in her ears as if falling through a thick barrier that prevented her from hearing anything clearly. She only nodded subconsciously and said OKAY.

Turning around, Xiao Shuangyu walked straight out, failing to catch Wang Ran’s attention.

She left the Huarui Building. Behind her, the receptionist called out to her loudly several times but failed to get even a flicker of a reaction.

She felt as if the world in her ears consisted only of a hum—at once noisy and silent.

Massive raindrops smashed densely against her body, enough to cause a distinct sense of pain.

Xiao Shuangyu was completely unaware. Her head was simply too dizzy and too painful, as if her every sense had been severed; even her memories were becoming blurred.

She didn’t even know when her condition had taken a turn for the worse; her state had clearly improved a lot after her afternoon nap.

The dense rain splashed against her face, making her already difficult breathing feel even more stifled. Her slow-moving steps wavered in the wind and rain.

In a world so silent she was the only person in it, the rich scent of rain and mist suddenly intruded.

A hand grabbed her.

Deep green eyes crashed into her own. Beautiful lips opened and closed, calling out her name.

“LianLian!”

Xiao Shuangyu blinked, coming back to her senses for a fleeting moment. “I’m here.”

Ji Zhuozhou did not speak again. Turning around, she led her into a run.

Xiao Shuangyu’s footsteps followed uncontrollably.

The rain poured down. She looked at the woman’s face, drenched by the rain, at the woman’s disheveled hair from running, and at the woman’s elegant skirt sagging heavily in the rushing puddles.

It was strange.

Even though the rain was so heavy, in the midst of it all, she could distinguish the scent that belonged to Ji Zhuozhou.

Huh? So it’s raining?

They returned to the lobby of the Huarui Building.

The distance of over ten meters had been a struggle for Xiao Shuangyu to walk, but running back with Ji Zhuozhou was quick.

The receptionist, who had failed twice to hand out an umbrella, had already put the umbrella away and gone to get towels. In the empty lobby, the sound of two people’s light panting became obvious.

Ji Zhuozhou did not pause; she immediately turned to face her. The normally exquisite and elegant Omega was currently soaked to the bone, not even pausing to wipe the rain from her face before reaching out to touch Xiao Shuangyu’s forehead.

A warm touch met her forehead.

They were very close. Wrapped in the scent of rain mist, Xiao Shuangyu stared blankly at Ji Zhuozhou’s water-drenched eyelashes and the wet strands of hair clinging messily to her fair face. Even though she was in a state of utter disarray, she was so beautiful it made one afraid to look directly at her.

Xiao Shuangyu unconsciously lowered her eyes.

“You’re all wet…”

“As I thought. Do you know you have a fever?”

Ji Zhuozhou lowered her hand.

Hearing the simultaneous words, Xiao Shuangyu was stunned for a moment. Just then, the receptionist brought over the towels. Ji Zhuozhou said a word of thanks, took a towel, and immediately wrapped it around Xiao Shuangyu’s head. “Don’t worry about me, dry yourself off quickly.”

The towel was large. Ji Zhuozhou wrapped it around once casually and left it be, then took another towel to wipe her own face. “How do you feel? Is it your susceptibility period?”

Xiao Shuangyu was dazed for a moment. She reached up to touch the back of her neck. The smooth skin felt hot to the touch, but the gland showed no abnormalities. She shook her head sluggishly. “No.”

She then habitually held the towel and began to rub her completely soaked hair. Her movements were slow, and her whole being seemed wooden.

It wasn’t just their hair that was soaked. Ji Zhuozhou wiped herself down casually, feeling that she couldn’t just let Xiao Shuangyu stay like this. “LianLian, do you have spare clothes? You have a fever; you can’t keep wearing wet things.”

Xiao Shuangyu thought about it quite visibly and nodded.

The two returned to the security lounge. Wang Ran was laughing and talking with several others when she suddenly saw Xiao Shuangyu return dripping wet, accompanied by an equally dripping Ji Zhuozhou. She stood up with a start.

“Where did you two go? How did you end up like this?”

Ji Zhuozhou only said, “She has a fever. She needs to change her clothes.”

Wang Ran was startled. After all, she had been the closest to Xiao Shuangyu all day and hadn’t managed to notice anything unusual. She didn’t say anything more and called over an Alpha to help Xiao Shuangyu change, while also asking someone to find medicine and pour water, quickly turning off the air conditioning in the lounge.

Ji Zhuozhou was also pressed into a chair by Wang Ran, a cup of cold-relief medicine that was just at the right temperature to drink pushed into her hand.

Most of the members of the security team were around forty years old and generally had young children at home. Seeing Xiao Shuangyu and Ji Zhuozhou now, they looked at them as if they were their own children, each one showing extreme concern.

Consequently, by the time Xiao Shuangyu walked out, before she could even sit down, she had already been coaxed into drinking a large cup of medicine. It was so bitter that she couldn’t help but frown.

Ji Zhuozhou suddenly stood up. “The rain has eased up now. I’ll take her back first.”

Even though she had changed her clothes, Xiao Shuangyu’s body wasn’t entirely dry. It was better for her to get back as soon as possible. Whether she went to the hospital later or just washed up and went to sleep, anything was better than staying here.

Besides, Xiao Shuangyu had spare clothes to change into, but Ji Zhuozhou didn’t.

Ji Zhuozhou went upstairs to grab some things. When she came down, Xiao Shuangyu had already been wrapped completely in a disposable raincoat, blinking her eyes in a daze.

Taking the raincoat handed over by Wang Ran and putting it on quickly, Ji Zhuozhou swapped her own umbrella for the large one Wang Ran offered. Amidst their watchful gazes, the two stepped into the gradually thinning rain.

In the underground parking lot, watching Ji Zhuozhou take off her raincoat, Xiao Shuangyu’s still dizzy and aching brain turned slowly, and she followed suit.

Ji Zhuozhou finished taking hers off, glanced back, and reached out to help tug a few times, peeling Xiao Shuangyu out.

Having been drenched by the rain and then wiped down in various ways, the foundation covering Xiao Shuangyu’s eyes had fallen away in patches. The dark circles under her eyes were revealed—dark, bluish rings that made her pale face look even more bloodless.

A flicker passed through the depths of Ji Zhuozhou’s deep green eyes. She folded the raincoat in her hand casually, walked to the front of the car, stepped forward, and pulled open the passenger door. “Get in. I’ll take you home.”

Xiao Shuangyu, who had been following Ji Zhuozhou step-for-step, immediately stood still. Her lowered eyelashes blinked slowly, and she spoke in a muffled voice. “Not going home.”

She looked up slightly, her dark pupils resting on the other woman, her voice carrying a few hints of a plea. “Can you take me back to school?”

Ji Zhuozhou was slightly stunned.

Xiao Shuangyu had already graduated; there was no dormitory for her at school anymore.

It seemed she was muddled by the fever.

Ji Zhuozhou spoke again, making the final decision. “Then come to my place. You can’t be left alone like this.”

Xiao Shuangyu lowered her gaze again, nodded dully, and slowly sat in the car.

Ji Zhuozhou placed the raincoat in the trunk, got into the driver’s seat from the other side, and started the car to head out. “Why don’t you sleep for a bit?”

Beside her, Xiao Shuangyu leaned weakly against the seat. Despite her terrible complexion, she kept those beautiful sanpaku eyes wide open.

Xiao Shuangyu’s reactions were a bit slow. Her dizziness and headache meant any movement was a heavy drain on her spirit, but she wasn’t as completely senseless as she appeared.

She was slowly thinking she was once again in Ji Zhuozhou’s car, sitting in Ji Zhuozhou’s passenger seat.

And she was about to enter that house, the house where Ji Zhuozhou lived.

She hummed a slow “Mhm,” but she didn’t close her eyes. In fact, she didn’t even blink, staring intently at the faint reflection on the windshield, overlapping with the gentle profile in her peripheral vision.

The rain grew lighter. The water that had quickly accumulated on the city streets hadn’t had time to drain away yet; everywhere was wet.

It wasn’t rushing hour. From Huarui to enter the neighborhood, it only took less than half an hour—nearly half the time it usually took.

Xiao Shuangyu didn’t have a car. Usually, her commute was by subway, and she always lagged Ji Zhuozhou, only able to catch a late glimpse of the lights coming on in that home.

The buildings of the neighborhood gradually became clear. Xiao Shuangyu’s heavy heartbeat began to accelerate, faintly pulling at her head, making her feel dazed with pain.

The rain increased again. Fortunately, the parking lot of the neighborhood corresponded to the basement of each building. Ji Zhuozhou parked the car and brought Xiao Shuangyu upstairs without catching a single drop of rain.

Standing half a step behind Ji Zhuozhou, Xiao Shuangyu watched blankly as Ji Zhuozhou opened the door, her mind a total void.

The last time she had stood before this door, the character for “Double Happiness” in bright red had filled her vision. Her ears had been filled with the noisy chatter of congratulations for the newlyweds and curiosity about the new household of which had anything to do with her.

The door opened. Her gaze followed Ji Zhuozhou as she crouched and stood back up, watching as Ji Zhuozhou handed her a pair of unopened slippers. She failed to notice the corner of a photo frame hidden behind Ji Zhuozhou.

Xiao Shuangyu held back a yawn and stepped forward obediently to change her shoes.

The medicine was taking effect.

Ji Zhuozhou, however, noticed the glint of tears in the corners of her eyes. She glanced back at the photo frame directly facing the door and continued to stand in place, blocking it.