One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 22.2

Because she had gone to pack her suitcase first, she arrived later than usual. Just as she sat down, A-Nan walked in.

A-Nan was still laughing and talking to someone outside as she opened the door, but when she turned her head and saw Xiao Shuangyu—and then spotted the conspicuous suitcase in the corner—she immediately said goodbye to the person and rushed over.

“LianLian, you’re finally here!”

A-Nan excitedly grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, chair and all, as if trying to make her dizzy. “That suitcase is yours, right? Why do you have a suitcase? Where are you going?”

The air of gossip in her voice was impossible to hide.

This wasn’t the first time Xiao Shuangyu had been spun. She pulled her legs in familiarly. Her hands hadn’t had time to pick anything up yet, so she didn’t need to be careful; she just listened to A-Nan babbling while spinning.

By the time Nie Siyu came in, A-Nan had already spun herself into a bit of a daze. She stopped, one hand clutching the armrest of Xiao Shuangyu’s chair. “Ah, I can’t do this anymore.”

The two of them had their backs to the door. Nie Siyu knew what was happening at a glance. She also noticed the suitcase out of the corner of her eye. She stepped forward to stand behind them, but just as she was about to ask, she saw something else.

“Is LianLian in her rut?”

The two of them turned their heads together to see Nie Siyu sniffing the air with a suspicious look on her face.

Xiao Shuangyu became inexplicably nervous.

A-Nan spun back around again, wanting to check the back of her neck.

Xiao Shuangyu instinctively followed A-Nan’s gaze and turned her head, drawing a laugh from A-Nan. “Oh, don’t move. Let me see.”

Xiao Shuangyu regained her composure and indeed stopped moving. She looked at Nie Siyu again, and seeing that Nie Siyu hadn’t smelled anything, she breathed a sigh of relief.

However, her concern was truly unnecessary. Ji Zhuozhou hadn’t leaked much pheromone at all, and that tiny bit of scent had long since dissipated over the course of the day; she didn’t even need to use a neutralizing agent to cover the smell.

Before leaving Ji Zhuozhou’s house, Ji Zhuozhou—who couldn’t find a neutralizing agent now—had told her the same thing. Ji Zhuozhou was not just an Omega but also a perfumer; her nose was much sharper than Nie Siyu’s. She trusted Ji Zhuozhou.

Xiao Shuangyu relaxed, and A-Nan successfully spotted a blocker patch hidden under the hair at the back of her neck.

A-Nan was a Beta, so her sensitivity to pheromone-inhibiting products was naturally not as sharp as that of Nie Siyu, an Alpha; she hadn’t noticed it just now.

Now suddenly realizing something, she whipped her gaze back to the suitcase, then turned back in shock. “Ah, you… ah?”

Xiao Shuangyu didn’t know what she was talking about, but she simply answered Nie Siyu’s question. “No.”

A-Nan snapped her mouth shut and nudged Nie Siyu with her elbow, looking for all the world like she thought their “cabbage” was still young and didn’t understand those things.

A-Nan was small, and Nie Siyu was quite tall; the nudge landed almost on Nie Siyu’s hip bone.

Nie Siyu looked down at A-Nan, shook her head helplessly, and didn’t defend herself by saying she hadn’t said or thought anything. Although Xiao Shuangyu did carry a faint scent of pheromones that didn’t belong to her—it was just too faint to tell if it was from an Alpha or an Omega—perhaps something had happened? After all, Xiao Shuangyu wasn’t in her rut, yet she was using a blocker patch, right?

But regarding the suitcase, Xiao Shuangyu’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “I’m moving.”

Nie Siyu’s eyelids lifted, and she immediately adjusted her glasses. “That’s a good thing. Is it closer to Huari?”

Xiao Shuangyu thought for a moment; it seemed so. She nodded, her smile remaining.

Nie Siyu wasn’t a high-energy person; when it came to commuting, she believed in keeping it as short and close as possible. When she heard Xiao Shuangyu worked at Huari, she was shocked by the commute time.

A-Nan had heard Nie Siyu talk about the commute time, and she also worried when she saw Xiao Shuangyu’s dark circles. Hearing this now, she immediately felt happy for her.

They were so busy being happy that they didn’t notice Xiao Shuangyu was secretly showing off.

But it was only “secretly.” When the two asked where she was moving or how the progress was and offered to help, she remained vague.

This was also a secret. It had to be kept a secret.

Her eyes, which lacked much luster, curved deeper. Her pupils were excessively black.

The three of them talked and laughed as they sat down at their respective vanity mirrors. After all, they still had to perform on stage; they couldn’t let themselves chat indefinitely without restraint.

It was the same familiar process: full eyeliner and heavy eye makeup, dark lipstick, and reflective studs.

As she tied her well-behaved bob into high twin tails, A-Nan suddenly stuck out her foot and spun her chair around toward Xiao Shuangyu. “Oh right, regarding that part of the song you mentioned, Lian Lian, do you want to try changing it first?”

Xiao Shuangyu looked up, suddenly realizing she was being asked about the half-finished new song A-Nan had posted in the group chat.

After deciding on directions, Xiao Shuangyu had tried to compose a little. Perhaps because she was thinking too much of Ji Zhuozhou at the time, she felt the result had deviated somewhat from the theme they had set. However, after she sent it to the other two, they both felt it was fine and that they could try writing the lyrics.

During today’s rehearsal, Nie Siyu and A-Nan tried singing along to the drum beat Xiao Shuangyu had sent earlier, modifying it as they sang. They changed quite a few parts.

While in the taxi, Xiao Shuangyu listened to the different versions they sent. She felt that according to the modified lyrics, the melody could also be changed, and then the complete song could be composed based on those changes.

But Xiao Shuangyu had been practically forced into joining the “Rainy” band; she was completely self-taught and could only sense that changes were needed without being able to explain the “why.” Even this half-finished new song had used the tone she set, with A-Nan and Nie Siyu adding a lot of material to make it listenable.

However, the two of them trusted her very much. They felt her ideas were quite unique and might have a very good effect. Of course, over the past long period of time, the parts of their original songs that were changed based on Xiao Shuangyu’s ideas had ended up having good popularity.

Xiao Shuangyu nodded. “Okay.”

On A-Nan’s other side, Nie Siyu was also fixing her curly hair. Hearing this, she also turned her head. “Don’t feel burdened, LianLian. Just do it boldly.”

Xiao Shuangyu nodded again, but then she suddenly felt that back then, she was waiting every day to be needed by Ji Zhuozhou, and now, she had already moved into Ji Zhuozhou’s home. Could she really do it “boldly”? Her emotions would be completely different, wouldn’t they?

Just thinking about it made Xiao Shuangyu unable to resist curling her lips again.

That would be too unusual and might make them notice something was wrong. Xiao Shuangyu tried her best to hold it back, her expression tightening into something strange.

Fortunately, she had already finished her makeup. The heavy, dark colors applied to her eyes and mouth provided some cover, so the other two didn’t notice.

Speaking of the song, A-Nan’s excitement rose. She spun her chair back to the mirror and continued the topic.

Right up until they changed and went on stage, the three were chirping incessantly about the new song. Even on stage, their enthusiasm remained high.

Having not sat on the stage for two consecutive weeks, Xiao Shuangyu held the drumsticks and inexplicably felt a sense of unfamiliar emotion. It should have been unfamiliar; so much seemed to have happened in these two weeks, yet it also seemed like only two things had happened: waiting for Ji Zhuozhou, and the arrival of Ji Zhuozhou.

She was in a very good mood.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she was already matching the high spirits of A-Nan and Nie Siyu, playing the drums intensely.

Only the mood was unfamiliar; it didn’t include her movements.

Playing drums with such intensity was a real workout.

Even though Xiao Shuangyu, out of sheer worry for Ji Zhuozhou, had worked hard to negotiate finishing today’s performance half an hour early, the muscle lines on her arms became clear as if from the rush of blood.

A-Nan and Nie Siyu followed behind her. They didn’t deliberately try to catch up with her somewhat hurried pace. “So tired,” A-Nan said quizzically. “Don’t we usually not listen to that black-hearted boss? Why did we go along with Sister Xunxia again?”

Expecting them to work with an intensity beyond their limits was the goal and expectation of the bar owner, Ji Xunxia, for the “Rainy” band. Although Ji Xunxia wasn’t actually some kind of demon who insisted they achieve it, she had mentioned it more than once, which was still intimidating.

Nie Siyu felt A-Nan’s words lacked any conviction—specifically regarding the “so tired” part. This tiny Beta was incredibly energetic; she looked no different from Xiao Shuangyu, who was bursting with energy because of something unusual. Forget staying on stage to finish the set; she probably could have done another entire show.

Only Nie Siyu herself was so tired she felt like she could lie on the floor.

Despite this, regarding A-Nan’s question, Nie Siyu had a lot to say. Her gaze fell on Xiao Shuangyu, who was almost running ahead, and she felt even more helpless. Their enthusiasm wouldn’t have sustained them for so long; it was their drummer who had been in a state of hyper-excitement the whole time.

And the drums mostly determined the band’s tempo. Once caught up in it, it was hard not to follow Xiao Shuangyu’s excessively passionate rhythm.

They didn’t know what Xiao Shuangyu was hiding from them, making her so excited and energized.

Look at that—Xiao Shuangyu quickly removed her makeup and changed her clothes, hiding the muscle lines on her arms under loose-fitting clothing. She picked up her suitcase and was ready to go, her pitch-black eyes blinking as she said goodbye to them.

On her pale, bloodless face, a smile tried to show through, but Xiao Shuangyu tightened her expression into something strange.

Xiao Shuangyu had typical “sanpaku” eyes; the pupils were positioned slightly high, revealing a distinct strip of white at the bottom. This eye shape often produced striking beauties. But in Xiao Shuangyu’s case, these eyes seemed clumsy and dull, even more lackluster than eyes after continuous overtime.

Of course, that was before.

Now, Nie Siyu watched A-Nan very kindly stuffed a small bottle of liquor into Xiao Shuangyu’s arms, saying that if they couldn’t drink together, she should just drink it alone. Nie Siyu suddenly sighed silently.

She intercepted the bottle from A-Nan’s hand and looked at Xiao Shuangyu, who was debating whether to take it. “If you have things to do, don’t drink.”

Xiao Shuangyu froze for a moment, then withdrew her hand.

After seeing Xiao Shuangyu off, A-Nan unscrewed a bottle of liquor, poured it into a glass, and handed it to Nie Siyu. “Why did you stop me? LianLian clearly needs it.”

Nie Siyu took it and downed it in one go, then held out her hand to A-Nan for more. “Perhaps, in the future, she won’t need it anymore.”

A-Nan gave a heavy sigh and said nothing.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Ji Zhuozhou remembered Xiao Shuangyu’s strong palms for no reason. Those hands had either held her waist or gripped her wrists, and the sensation still seemed to linger on her body.

As expected, letting Xiao Shuangyu go out was the right choice. If Xiao Shuangyu had been at home, Ji Zhuozhou could hardly guarantee she wouldn’t have coaxed her back into bed. Xiao Shuangyu might have been able to continue, but her own body wouldn’t have been able to take it.

Ji Zhuozhou lit up her phone screen. It was past midnight, but not yet twelve-thirty. Before she could turn the screen off, a new message appeared at the top of the page.

Xiao Shuangyu (Smile): I’m back

The message appeared clearly before her eyes. Ji Zhuozhou checked the time again, paused for a moment, and then clicked in to reply with a single word: “Okay.”

Then, when Xiao Shuangyu walked quickly out of the elevator, she saw Ji Zhuozhou leaning against the door frame waiting for her.

The bright light fell on her body and her long lashes. Shadows were cast into those deep green eyes, and the scent of rain and mist wafted over—the alluring colors were almost demonic.

Ji Zhuozhou spoke softly. “LianLian.”

Her heart suddenly felt hollow. Unconsciously, she lowered her gaze and hurried forward with her suitcase. “I’m back.”

She added, “Go inside quickly.”

She dodged Ji Zhuozhou’s hand, tried to help with the suitcase, but after a moment’s hesitation, she lightly took that hand. It was soft as if it had no bones, with a distinct warmth.

Her heart began to beat violently. Xiao Shuangyu kept her head down, quickly leading Ji Zhuozhou and the suitcase inside. She let go of the suitcase and closed the door.

She still didn’t look up, trying to act naturally and pretend that their joined hands didn’t exist. But she was stiff—extremely stiff. It was because the lights were on in the room, because Ji Zhuozhou had been waiting for her at the door, and because of the hand in her palm that hadn’t pulled away. It felt just like a dream.