One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 11

Xiao Shuangyu wanted to wash up before sleeping, so Ji Zhuozhou led her directly to the bathroom. She took out brand-new, unopened toiletries one by one and handed them to her.

After leaving and returning, she brought a set of brand-new pajamas, which Ji Zhuozhou claimed were her own.

Xiao Shuangyu failed to grasp the deliberate emphasis on Ji Zhuozhou’s words; her mind was simply dazed with a sense of happiness.

In her lightheaded state, Xiao Shuangyu took a quick shower, hurriedly blew dry her roots, and collapsed into the spare room that Ji Zhuozhou had briefly prepared.

Seeing her lying comfortably with her eyes closed, Ji Zhuozhou got up and left the room for a moment.

The living room was cold and quiet. After a thought, Ji Zhuozhou went to the kitchen.

She had already messaged the cook telling her not to come today. Fortunately, the lady hadn’t left her house yet and quickly replied with an “okay.”

Since no one would be coming over today, she had to prepare the food herself.

She started some porridge, and the fragrance slowly wafted through the air. Half an hour later, Ji Zhuozhou added chopped greens and lean meat into the pot.

After simmering for a while longer, she tasted it and found it just right. She set the rice cooker to “keep warm” and returned to the room where Xiao Shuangyu was sleeping.

Xiao Shuangyu was deep in sleep. At some point, she had curled her limbs up, hugging herself into a small ball. There seemed to be a trace of tears at the corners of her eyes, and she looked quite pitiful as she gripped the quilt.

Ji Zhuozhou parted her lips but didn’t make a sound. She leaned in gently and used a thermometer gun to check her temperature; it hadn’t gone down at all.

Perhaps not enough time had passed. Ji Zhuozhou didn’t rush and decided to let Xiao Shuangyu sleep a bit longer.

About an hour later, Ji Zhuozhou entered the room again to measure her temperature. After three consecutive readings showed it had dropped by half a degree, she finally felt somewhat relieved.

However, as she put the thermometer away and prepared to leave, she paused inexplicably. Xiao Shuangyu before her eyes looked no different from an hour ago, not having moved an inch.

It was a very well-behaved sleeping posture.

Since there were no other toiletries in the house, Xiao Shuangyu had used hers. The scent was faint, almost fragrance-free.

Yet, before her eyes, that faint scent felt so distinct.

It was as if her burning body temperature was diffusing the fragrance.

Ji Zhuozhou turned and left the room. She ate something simple herself, keeping the porridge warm.

Xiao Shuangyu never woke up, but her temperature continued to drop. By the time Ji Zhuozhou was ready for bed, it had returned to normal.

Ji Zhuozhou measured it a few more times to confirm everything was fine before returning to her own room to sleep. Just as she hadn’t closed Xiao Shuangyu’s door, she didn’t close her own either.

Even though Xiao Shuangyu said she wasn’t in her susceptibility period, it wasn’t impossible for complications to arise due to the fever. Therefore, from the start, she hadn’t let Xiao Shuangyu apply a scent-blocking patch to her nape.

If Xiao Shuangyu suddenly entered her susceptibility period during the night, the scent of pheromones would reach her immediately, and she would notice.

Around three in the morning, Xiao Shuangyu woke up slowly. She felt well-rested and energetic, though her mouth was as dry as a parched desert.

She propped herself up. Looking around, her eyes immediately landed on the nightlight set to its lowest brightness on the bedside table, beside which sat a glass of water and the thermometer gun.

Seeing the water made her mouth feel even drier. She instinctively reached for it.

The water in the glass had long since lost its warmth, but she didn’t care, gulping down more than half of it in one go.

Putting the glass down, Xiao Shuangyu’s gaze drifted through the wide-open door, past the pitch-black living room, and into the faint moonlight.

This wasn’t the villa at home, nor was it the small apartment she rented near the school. The room was large, the environment was unfamiliar, and while the air had no specific scent, it was permeated with the atmosphere of rain and mist.

It wasn’t a dream.

She had truly come to Ji Zhuozhou’s home.

The home she had stood on the street watching time and time again.

She was no longer satisfied with such voyeurism. She stood up, put on slippers, and slowly walked out of the room, curiously taking in her surroundings by the dim moonlight.

Her impressions of this place were few.

When she appeared here over a year ago, her gaze had been fixed on the beautiful new wife, driven mad with jealousy.

Appearing here again over a year later, she looked at the warmly decorated living room that bore the traces of only one person’s life—and lacked any wedding photos. She felt a sense of relief.

From the living room to the entryway and back again, Xiao Shuangyu finally noticed a sticky note left on the coffee table. She walked over slowly to read it; it was left for her by Ji Zhuozhou.

There is warm porridge in the rice cooker in the kitchen. You can have some when you wake up. —Ji

The handwriting wasn’t very clear in the dim moonlight, yet the elegant script was etched clearly into her eyes.

Her dark eyes stared intently at the single-character signature. She couldn’t help but reach out, gently tracing it with her fingertip.

For a long time, she carefully tucked the sticky note into the pocket of her pajamas, deciding to find her phone later and keep the note inside the phone case.

The soft fabric gently enveloped her body, feeling velvety against her skin. Xiao Shuangyu paused, suddenly remembering that the pajamas she was wearing were also given to her by Ji Zhuozhou.

Ji Zhuozhou had said they were hers… Could she, could she take them with her?

She stood up, intending to go eat all the porridge Ji Zhuozhou had left for her.

At least the porridge was definitely meant for her.

Looking up, she saw another wide-open door.

The room she had come out of was right next door, but she had walked in the opposite direction and hadn’t noticed that this adjacent door was open.

Before she realized it, she was standing outside the door, staring deeply at the figure lying on the large bed, covered by a thin quilt.

A sliver of moonlight spilled through a gap in the curtains onto the headboard, but Xiao Shuangyu, standing outside, couldn’t see the face bathed in that light.

She wanted to get closer.

She wanted to be very close.

Just one look. She just wanted to see if Ji Zhuozhou was sleeping well.

Her footsteps would be very, very light; Ji Zhuozhou wouldn’t find out.

Yes, she would be careful.

Moving step by step, Xiao Shuangyu eventually stood before Ji Zhuozhou’s bed.

Ji Zhuozhou’s face became clear bit by bit. The moonlight fell faintly on her face, her porcelain skin emitting a soft glow.

Her hair, usually tied back, was now draped down, cascading like a waterfall along the pillow. Her light makeup had been removed, and on her small, exquisite face, her raven-feather lashes were closed, casting a small shadow over her high nose bridge.

So beautiful.

Her body blocked the moonlight.

Her downward gaze was sticky and thick, enveloping the sleeping Ji Zhuozhou in the shadow she created.

So beautiful.

A faint reflection pierced her eyes like a warning.

Dissatisfied, Xiao Shuangyu looked up to find the source, then suddenly froze.

It was a photo frame.

Inside the frame, a black-and-white Xiao Mingyi stood beside Ji Zhuozhou, staring deathly at her.

The moonlight caught the small mole on the left side of Xiao Mingyi’s nose—identical to the one on Xiao Shuangyu’s own nose.

But that mole on Xiao Mingyi’s face was charming; on Xiao Shuangyu’s face, it was a flaw.

Dark emotions instantly broke free from her eyes, thumping onto the ground and clawing their way forward.

Xiao Shuangyu lowered her gaze to look at Ji Zhuozhou.

So, it wasn’t that there were no traces of Xiao Mingyi in this house; it was that Ji Zhuozhou had kept those traces right at her bedside.

At the bedside of Ji Zhuozhou and Xiao Mingyi.

Why!

Why!!

That woman was with her lover when she died in that car accident! Why does she get to be placed at Ji Zhuozhou’s bedside!

Why!

Xiao Shuangyu clenched her fists, wanting nothing more than to grab that frame and smash it to pieces.

Even if… even if she just turned the frame face-down.

Then Xiao Mingyi would no longer be looking at Ji Zhuozhou, and Ji Zhuozhou wouldn’t see Xiao Mingyi the moment she opened her eyes every day.

She was so jealous.

She suddenly wanted to stand there until dawn, to lean in the moment Ji Zhuozhou opened her eyes. That way, the first thing Ji Zhuozhou saw would be her.

Then today would belong to her.

Her dark gaze was almost tangible, wrapping around the peacefully sleeping Ji Zhuozhou with a heavy intensity.

Those deep green eyes opened at that moment, looking toward her as if sensing something.

Xiao Shuangyu’s heart panicked. Before she could look away and flee, a soft, shallow voice spoke.

“Why are you standing here?”

Xiao Shuangyu froze. Ji Zhuozhou didn’t seem angry.

Not only was she not angry, but Ji Zhuozhou added, “It’s still early. Come here and sleep.”

Xiao Shuangyu remained stiff, slowly reaching up to touch her own face.

This face was seventy percent similar to Xiao Mingyi’s.

Perhaps because the light was dim, or perhaps because she was dazed from sleep, had Ji Zhuozhou… mistaken her for Xiao Mingyi?

Xiao Shuangyu’s head buzzed. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be jealous or delighted.

Things Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t do, Xiao Mingyi could.

Perhaps she could just go along with it…

While she was dazed, Ji Zhuozhou shifted inward onto the bed, pulled back half of the thin quilt, and patted the spot next to her.

Xiao Shuangyu snapped back to reality. Looking at the empty space Ji Zhuozhou had made, she climbed up brazenly.

Ji Zhuozhou had already closed her eyes again. Her breathing was even and long, as if she had fallen back into a deep sleep.

Lying down stiffly, Xiao Shuangyu was instantly enveloped by Ji Zhuozhou’s warmth and scent. She stared straight at Ji Zhuozhou, not daring to even blink for fear that the dream would suddenly end.

The next moment, Ji Zhuozhou suddenly moved closer with the quilt, pulling her into a tight embrace.

She even stroked her head. “Go to sleep.”

Her breath was inches away, her soft body provided warmth, and the scent of rain and mist almost merged with her own.

Xiao Shuangyu’s eyes widened. Her body was stiff and helpless, unable to suppress her frantic heartbeat.