One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 12

Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t sleep.

Or rather, in this situation, how could she possibly sleep?

Her heart was pounding so loudly it was deafening, and her entire body temperature was rising, like a crackling, roaring furnace.

The Omega holding her felt something was off. The hand resting behind her reached up to feel the side of her neck to check her temperature. Seeing nothing unusual, the hand dropped back down.

Xiao Shuangyu was completely unaware of this; her brain was reeling from the impact of being pulled into the covers by Ji Zhuozhou to sleep together.

Even though she was nearly a head taller than Ji Zhuozhou, at this moment, she was held lower by her. Her blurred vision fell upon a section of Ji Zhuozhou’s collarbone exposed by her pajamas, and she forgot to look away.

Ji Zhuozhou’s collarbone was distinct and beautiful, with soft, gentle lines that were equally elegant. Set against her delicate, smooth, snow-white skin, it looked like the exquisite frosting on a cream cake.

She stared blankly, not daring to move an inch. Her breathing nearly stopped, fearing that the warmth of her breath on that soft skin would wake Ji Zhuozhou.

They remained in this posture for a long time.

The faint moonlight gradually receded, and the pale light of dawn slowly rose. It was morning.

Suddenly, Ji Zhuozhou rolled over and moved away.

The hand that had been draped over her was abruptly withdrawn, and the person beside her suddenly distanced herself. Xiao Shuangyu’s gaze followed blankly, feeling an immediate sense of emptiness.

After waiting a moment and sensing that Ji Zhuozhou hadn’t planned to wake up yet, she quietly shifted a few inches closer.

Maintaining the same rigid posture for a long time hadn’t been easy; moving now felt like being a rusty piece of machinery, with every part of her body screaming for retirement.

Xiao Shuangyu ignored it completely. Her heart, which had somewhat settled, began to accelerate again.

As the sun rose, the light passing through the gaps in the curtains became clearer, gently shimmering with brightness, making that gentle and beautiful face increasingly distinct.

It told her clearly that the person lying next to her last night, the person who had held her in her arms for half the night, the person who had stroked her head and told her to go to sleep, was indeed Ji Zhuozhou.

It really was Ji Zhuozhou.

Her hands and feet curled up instinctively. She carefully pulled up the thin quilt beside her, holding it in front of her face so that only her dark, distinct eyes were visible.

Those eyes were excessively dark, but a faint spark flickered in the depths that usually lacked light. Her gaze was fixed viscerally on Ji Zhuozhou’s sleeping profile.

Quite suddenly, she remembered that dream.

In the dream, the kiss was deep and lingering, but the scent of misty rain in her delusions was far less real and tangible than this moment.

This is so good.

So…

Xiao Shuangyu froze suddenly. At the focus of her gaze, Ji Zhuozhou turned her head and looked over.

Those emerald-like eyes shone brilliantly in the faint morning light, reflecting a cold, sharp glint. “You…”

Xiao Shuangyu panicked and immediately blurted out an explanation, “You were the one who let me.”

Her voice was muffled, lacking confidence or strength, sounding cowardly and even a bit aggrieved.

Ji Zhuozhou’s gaze moved up from the dark circles under her eyes and her pale complexion, having heard Xiao Shuangyu’s reason for being there in full.

Those ears, mostly buried in the quilt, were bright red. This time, she didn’t run away.

After a moment, Ji Zhuozhou nodded.

Though in Xiao Shuangyu’s eyes, it seemed a bit forced.

On the nightstand, the alarm Ji Zhuozhou had set on her phone went off. Xiao Shuangyu jumped, quickly grabbing the phone and holding it out in front of Ji Zhuozhou.

The time waiting for Ji Zhuozhou to take it felt exceptionally long. Thus, the moment Ji Zhuozhou withdrew her gaze and took the phone, Xiao Shuangyu bound off the bed.

Just then, Ji Zhuozhou’s voice rang out, asking again, “Lianlian, do you still feel unwell? Do you need to take the day off?”

Before the words had even finished falling, she saw Xiao Shuangyu jump down energetically, as if she had already shown Ji Zhuozhou the answer.

Xiao Shuangyu had only just jumped down and hadn’t had time to run yet. Hearing this, she turned around awkwardly, her gaze cast very low. “I’m all better now. I can go to work.”

She then hesitated, “Thank you for taking care of me. I… I have to go now.”

Her work start time was an hour earlier than Ji Zhuozhou’s, and the subway took over an hour. According to Ji Zhuozhou’s alarm, she might already be late.

Ji Zhuozhou lifted the covers and stood up, waving her phone at her. “No need to rush. I set it according to your schedule.”

She walked up to her, her voice soft. “Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?”

Xiao Shuangyu looked up, her eyes filled with confusion.

A moment later, she reacted. Remembering the kitchen she hadn’t been able to enter during the night, she said softly, “I’d like some congee.”

After the two of them finished breakfast together, Xiao Shuangyu still got into Ji Zhuozhou’s car.

With her stomach full of warm, delicious vegetables and lean meat congee, comfortable new shoes on her feet, and soft, dry clothes on her back, Xiao Shuangyu was in a very good mood.

Even the intense jealousy triggered by seeing Ji Zhuozhou turn to look at that black-and-white photo of Xiao Mingyi before leaving the room had faded.

No matter what, she was the one who ate breakfast with Ji Zhuozhou. The congee was specifically made for her by Ji Zhuozhou. The sneakers—the same model as the ones that might not have dried in time—were bought for her by Ji Zhuozhou. Even her clothes were washed and dried by Ji Zhuozhou.

She could be happy.

Happiness aside, sitting in Ji Zhuozhou’s passenger seat for the first time with a relaxed body and mind, Xiao Shuangyu remained as silent as she had been the previous two times.

She carefully positioned her feet in the new shoes and gripped her phone tightly.

Her phone, which had run out of battery long ago, hadn’t even been able to sound its alarm. Yet, hidden behind the phone case was a treasure ten thousand times more precious than the phone itself, a treasure as precious as the new shoes.

It was a sticky note.

It wasn’t something tossed away or accidentally dropped; Ji Zhuozhou had written it specifically for her.

Even though Ji Zhuozhou had looked around for it in the living room earlier, Xiao Shuangyu hadn’t said a word, carefully hiding it as if she had never seen it.

With these things, Xiao Shuangyu’s lingering attachment to the pajamas she couldn’t take with her was successfully suppressed into the depths of her heart.

The car pulled into a parking space. Xiao Shuangyu withdrew her gaze from the windshield, unbuckled her seatbelt, and prepared to get out, but in her peripheral vision, Ji Zhuozhou was looking at her without moving.

Xiao Shuangyu hesitated for a second before turning her head back, her gaze questioning.

Those deep green eyes narrowed slightly, as if curling into a faint smile. Her voice was crisp, yet the end of her sentence was soft. “Lianlian, you go up first.”

Xiao Shuangyu froze in place, staring blankly into Ji Zhuozhou’s beautiful eyes, then suddenly bowed her head and nodded quickly.

She didn’t ask anything, but her heart suddenly felt as though it was puffing up with air, feeling bloated.

Ji Zhuozhou is drawing a line between us, she thought.

Her knuckles were white from gripping the phone so hard, Xiao Shuangyu fled the parking lot and hurried toward the nearby Huarui Building.

Because it was according to Xiao Shuangyu’s schedule, few people had started entering the company yet. The security guard at the door who hadn’t finished his shift yet grabbed her and asked about her health.

Xiao Shuangyu answered vaguely, not mentioning that she had spent the night at Ji Zhuozhou’s place.

Ji Zhuozhou letting her leave first, was probably out of concern for that.

She left her colleagues and went to the security breakroom to change into her uniform for work. Perhaps because of yesterday’s incident, Wang Ran paid particularly frequent attention to her today.

It was so obvious that Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t help but notice. She eventually spoke up, “Sister Ran, I’m really okay. I took medicine this morning, nothing will happen.”

Wang Ran laughed twice. “I know, I know. Don’t mind me, just watch the path.”

The two of them were doing their routine patrol. Originally, Wang Ran was in front and she was behind, but Wang Ran insisted on testing her level of familiarity and let her lead the way.

She had been at Huarui for half a month now and was basicially familiar with everything. Wang Ran’s arrangement was logical, so Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t argue.

But Wang Ran was clearly mindful of her recovering from illness and significantly increased her break time.

Xiao Shuangyu could only accept her kindness. During the lunch break, she piled her tray with food, intending to let Wang Ran see her good appetite so things could return to normal.

As usual, Wang Ran took her to sit at a table with the cleaning staff. They chatted and laughed. Xiao Shuangyu mostly couldn’t join in the conversation and didn’t feel right taking out her phone, so she just listened silently, occasionally responding when her name was mentioned.

She didn’t hate it, but after half a month, she still hadn’t gotten used to eating with so many people.

After finishing the meal, Wang Ran excitedly went ahead with one of the cleaners to get some flower tea they had just discussed, leaving Xiao Shuangyu to head back alone.

After putting her tray at the return station, Xiao Shuangyu turned around and nearly crashed directly into an elegant long dress.

Looking up, it was Ji Zhuozhou.

It wasn’t yet the lunch hour for Huarui employees, so the cafeteria was almost empty except for the security and cleaning staff eating at staggered times.

Ji Zhuozhou appeared before her so abruptly, her deep, forest-colored eyes scanning her. Her voice was soft. “How is your body?”

Xiao Shuangyu nodded. “It’s fine.”

There was clear doubt in her eyes, but she didn’t ask, just like this morning.

Ji Zhuozhou nodded slightly, looking into those excessively dark eyes and speaking up of her own accord, “That’s good. I was in a meeting outside this morning and just got back.”

Xiao Shuangyu lowered her gaze and nodded. She didn’t speak, or rather, she didn’t know what to say.

Unconsciously, she substituted these words as the “reason” for this morning, and the frustration that had been clogging her heart all morning suddenly dissipated.

She blinked and spoke without any warning, “I… can I still go stay there?”

As the words landed, both of them were equally stunned.

Xiao Shuangyu was momentarily dazed, then regained her senses in a panic, stammering nonsense, “That place… has Sister’s scent.”

Even so, the word “Sister” was spoken through gritted teeth.

In Ji Zhuozhou’s ears, it seemed to become a sign of difficult endurance.

Ji Zhuozhou didn’t press further and gave a straightforward answer. “Of course.”

Xiao Shuangyu seemed to have gone mad; instead of quitting while she was ahead, she became even more demanding.

She raised her eyes, peeking cautiously. “Is tonight, okay?”

In the center of that thick gaze, the dark green eyes suddenly dropped slightly.