One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 34

Xiao Shuangyu wore a gloomy face.

That gloomy face was adorned with a pair of gloomy “sanpaku” eyes, and beneath those gloomy eyes lay deep, gloomy dark circles.

With a gloomy expression and a gloomy gaze, she looked at the several people in front of her. A bizarre sense of pressure weighed on them so heavily they could not lift their heads.

As if they had seen a ghost, the several people shifted their chairs away guiltily, avoided her gaze guiltily, and said guiltily, “What… what’s the matter?” or “There’s nothing going on,” finding excuses to flee quickly.

In an instant, she was the only one left in the breakroom.

Xiao Shuangyu’s gaze tightly followed their guilty retreating figures out the door. A gloomy atmosphere moved viscously throughout the breakroom and diffused outward.

Her mood was terrible.

She stood up, left the breakroom, and returned to the sixth floor.

People walking on the road instinctively moved aside, then quietly cast puzzled glances.

She took no notice at all, returning to her seat shrouded in gloom.

Yang Shanhe happened to look up, was immediately startled, and quickly put down his keyboard to turn around. “Lian… Lian, your face looks so pale. Has your rut arrived?”

Several people in the office cast their gazes over. One looked nervous, one looked puzzled, and Bian Ya, who was further away, looked surprised. “Has it really come?”

Xiao Shuangyu shook her head. “No.”

Yang Shanhe sniffed and asked the person opposite, “I didn’t smell anything, did you?”

That person also shook their head. “You didn’t smell it, yet you said it was a rut?”

Yang Shanhe laughed it off. “After all, LianLian really looks quite unwell.”

Xiao Shuangyu spoke again: “I’m fine.”

Bian Ya had already walked over. She was a Beta and could not smell the scent of pheromones anyway; she only looked at Xiao Shuangyu’s complexion. “It indeed doesn’t look good. If you’re uncomfortable, take a leave of absence.”

Xiao Shuangyu nodded but didn’t move.

Bian Ya said nothing more and walked back.

Yang Shanhe stuffed an orange into her hand, smiling broadly. “Here, it’s very delicious.”

Xiao Shuangyu didn’t want it, but Yang Shanhe insisted on giving it to her. “Eat it, eat it. I brought two. You’ll feel happier after eating it.”

Xiao Shuangyu had no choice but to accept it, her voice dry. “Thank you.”

Yang Shanhe waved his hand, saying “It’s nothing,” and turned back.

Xiao Shuangyu also turned back.

She placed the orange on one side.

She did not like oranges.

That was the scent of Xiao Mingyi’s pheromones.

She had almost never smelled the pure scent of Xiao Mingyi’s pheromones; the unique citrus scent was always mixed with the pheromones of different Omegas.

Like a rotten orange.

She loathed that kind of scent.

She also loathed oranges.

Bian Ya suddenly spoke: “Xiao He, there seems to be a problem with Vance 3032. Put down what you’re doing and go do something else first.”

Yang Shanhe responded and muttered quietly, “Vance, Vance… ah, that’s the one from Teacher Ji.”

Xiao Shuangyu lifted her head.

Yang Shanhe whispered to himself, “Didn’t this just start a few days ago? What went wrong?”

Hearing this, Bian Ya replied: “It’s not certain yet. It should be a problem with the samples. I heard Teacher Ji has already gone out; she probably needs to check the site.”

But regarding the specific details, Ji Zhuozhou had no time to mention them, and Bian Ya didn’t feel the need to ask at this moment.

The office began chatting about the errors in the samples and did not mention Ji Zhuozhou again.

Xiao Shuangyu withdrew some of her attention. She opened her phone; Ji Zhuozhou had not replied to her messages.

It must… be truly chaotic.

Lunch break arrived, and Yang Shanhe asked if she was going to eat.

Xiao Shuangyu’s complexion had not improved at all; she still looked gloomy and pale to the extreme. In the eyes of Yang Shanhe and the others, she looked like she was forcibly enduring discomfort.

But she was just still feeling unhappy; she wasn’t unwell anywhere.

She rejected Yang Shanhe’s suggestion to bring something up for her, saying she would go down later.

After transferring positions, Xiao Shuangyu’s lunch had always been delayed by ten or twenty minutes so she could go down and eat with Ji Zhuozhou. For so many days, the people in the office had known this for a long time.

They might also harbor the thought that one must never get close to Ji Zhuozhou, but they refrained from saying it to Xiao Shuangyu.

Security guards had much more free time than they did, and more opportunities to gossip. Xiao Shuangyu should have known what she needed to know a long time ago. The fact that she was acting this way now meant she didn’t care; there was no need for them to invite trouble.

Yang Shanhe and the other two had also discussed it a few times when Xiao Shuangyu wasn’t around. They didn’t quite understand why Xiao Shuangyu would want to provoke Ji Zhuozhou, and jokingly said Xiao Shuangyu might be a severe “face-con” someone obsessed with looks.

Well, today Ji Zhuozhou was away, so Xiao Shuangyu certainly wouldn’t be able to eat with her.

Yang Shanhe said: “Teacher Ji probably isn’t back yet. How about…”

Xiao Shuangyu interrupted her: “I know. I’ll go in a bit.”

Yang Shanhe raised an eyebrow, nodded, said “Oh,” and left.

The others had already left separately, and the office was soon left with only Xiao Shuangyu.

Her gaze moved from her phone screen, which still had no messages, to the desk, looking at that bright orange.

The distinct orange fragrance wafted over in waves. Taking advantage of the absence of people, Xiao Shuangyu grabbed it, stuffed it into her canvas bag, and placed it in the cabinet by her feet, planning to dispose of it later.

Although it was indeed a pity to waste Yang Shanhe’s kindness, she truly could not bring herself to open and eat it with a good mood.

She would be even unhappier in that scent.

Later, she would bring something else to compensate Yang Shanhe.

Unfortunately, her concealment did not remain effective for long.

As soon as the afternoon began, Yang Shanhe, who was beside her, peeled another orange.

Xiao Shuangyu rejected the orange segments Yang Shanhe offered but could not escape the scent sprayed into the air.

Furthermore, Yang Shanhe left the orange peels on the workstation.

Yang Shanhe wore an expression of happiness while smelling the orange peels. “If LianLian hadn’t thrown the peels away, the scent would probably be even stronger and better to smell.”

When Yang Shanhe came back from lunch, he hadn’t seen the orange on her desk and didn’t smell any orange in the air, so he assumed she had taken it down to eat.

He even asked Xiao Shuangyu if it was delicious and if she felt a bit happier after she returned, which Xiao Shuangyu answered vaguely.

And now, hearing Yang Shanhe’s words, the corner of Xiao Shuangyu’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly.

She absolutely did not want that.

Near the end of the workday, the message Xiao Shuangyu had long awaited finally appeared on her screen.

The moment the peripheral light flickered, she flew to pick up her phone.

Sailboat: A small problem, it’s already been resolved. I am in the parking lot now. LianLian, come over after work, and we will go straight home.

Xiao Shuangyu hesitated for a moment but, in the end, asked nothing and replied with “Okay.”

At six o’clock, Xiao Shuangyu shut down her computer at lightning speed, quickly said goodbye to the others, grabbed her canvas bag, and rushed out.

She caught the first elevator.

She rushed out of the elevator.

She ran into the underground parking lot, looking around everywhere.

A pair of car lights turned on.

Xiao Shuangyu immediately changed direction, got into the car, fastened her seatbelt, and looked at Ji Zhuozhou beside her. “I’m ready.”

The movements were done in one smooth motion.

Ji Zhuozhou had watched her entire sequence of actions from the side and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Good.”

Ji Zhuozhou started the car and glanced at her again. “LianLian… are you not doing well today?”

Xiao Shuangyu’s complexion had not improved slightly upon seeing Ji Zhuozhou; she still looked grumpy.

She shook her head. “No.”

As the car gradually drove out of the underground parking lot and gradually left the Huari building behind, Xiao Shuangyu spoke.

“Did Sister go to fix the mess the assistant made?”

Ji Zhuozhou quickly glanced at her.

Before she could speak, Xiao Shuangyu continued, “Ming Yi?”

She stopped after saying this, facing Ji Zhuozhou’s profile directly, looking at that face which hadn’t become unusual despite resolving a problem, trying hard to observe every second of Ji Zhuozhou’s expression.

“Mm.”

After a moment, Ji Zhuozhou acknowledged it. “It wasn’t entirely her fault. She copied a piece of data wrong, and I failed to notice it.”

And that data, during the process of increased production, affected the results.

The client’s side couldn’t find the reason, and when feedback reached Ji Zhuozhou layer by layer, she finally discovered it.

Ji Zhuozhou said: “Fortunately, the impact wasn’t very large. We apologized, and it’s fine now that it’s been adjusted.”

Ji Zhuozhou had gone with Ming Yi; Xiao Shuangyu was not surprised.

She looked at Ji Zhuozhou’s face, confirming whether the “not very large” Ji Zhuozhou mentioned was forced.

But it seemed that for Ji Zhuozhou, this was indeed a very simple small matter. She had already handled it and could easily turn the page.

Taking advantage of a red light, Ji Zhuozhou turned to look at her. “If LianLian were doing data, your sensitivity to numbers would probably be higher. If I worked with LianLian, perhaps this kind of problem wouldn’t occur.”

Xiao Shuangyu lowered her gaze and, contrary to her usual behavior, nodded without hesitation.

If she worked by Ji Zhuozhou’s side, she would never cause such trouble for her, she thought.

But compared to a sensitivity to numbers, she was currently more sensitive to Ming Yi.

She lifted her head. “Ming Yi’s name is so similar to my sister’s.”

She said: “When Sister calls her, does she think of my sister?”

She also said: “Did Sister let her stay by her side because of this name?”

The topic Ji Zhuozhou had tried to shift away from circled back.

“Ming Yi” and “Mingyi” were actually not the same in pronunciation; the difference was distinct.

However, when this name fell into the middle of a long sentence, would the boundary between “Ming Yi” and “Mingyi” truly remain so clear?

Ji Zhuozhou fell silent for a moment, then responded: “Don’t think too much; she is just very talented.”

Perhaps it was a plain explanation, or perhaps it was a forced excuse.

Xiao Shuangyu shrank back into the backrest of the seat and said gloomily, “Mm.”

She didn’t continue to ask too much; she didn’t dare ask too much.

The “Ming Yi” whose name was like Xiao Mingyi stayed by Ji Zhuozhou’s side as an assistant because her talent was very good.

What about her, who looked like Xiao Mingyi? Because of what could she stay by Ji Zhuozhou’s side?

She followed Ji Zhuozhou behind into the house, casually placing the canvas bag in her hand on the small stool nearby.

A bright orange rolled out of it silently, wedged itself straight into the door crack, and with the unnoticed closing of the door, it burst open on the spot with a splat.

The scent of sweet orange instantly filled the small entryway. Ji Zhuozhou turned her head. “Isn’t this…”

It was the scent of Xiao Mingyi’s pheromones.

Xiao Shuangyu had forgotten to dispose of that orange.

She forcefully closed the door, stepped forward, and kissed Ji Zhuozhou’s lips, swallowing all of Ji Zhuozhou’s unfinished words.

Amidst her rising breath, she asked Ji Zhuozhou, “Can Sister… need me today?”

Ji Zhuozhou leaned against the edge of the entryway counter, her softening body already unable to support itself.

Ji Zhuozhou nodded unclearly.

Xiao Shuangyu kissed Ji Zhuozhou’s moist lips gently and moved downward through the pervading scent of rain and mist, seeking a kiss elsewhere.

Ji Zhuozhou could no longer stand.

Xiao Shuangyu held Ji Zhuozhou’s waist, trying her best to give her support, yet there was no sign of slowing down. For the first time, she tried to kiss deep inside.

The tip of her tongue was full of a sweet scent. Xiao Shuangyu’s mind began to feel chaotic, as if she were about to drown in the rain and mist scent Ji Zhuozhou emitted.

The discordant orange scent entered her nose, and Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t help but furrow her brows.

That orange squeezed into the door crack, that rotten orange from her memory mixed with Omega scent, that dead orange that Ji Zhuozhou missed so dearly.

Did that loathsome orange also lick here? Did it also lick deep inside?

Countless oranges fell into her mind, making her want to drive them away, to drive them all away.

The back of her neck grew increasingly hot, and the gland there became abnormal.

The Alpha’s pheromones leaked out.

A light, sweet, and slightly bitter chamomile scent—the grade was not high, and the scent was not strong. Even with her best efforts, it seemed unable to overpower the orange scent in the air.

D-grade was truly too low.

It didn’t even reach the C-grade that ordinary people could easily achieve, let alone Xiao Mingyi’s S-grade.

Even if she overpowered the scent of that orange at the door, how was she supposed to overpower the scent of Xiao Mingyi in Ji Zhuozhou’s memory?

The hem of the skirt blocked her upward gaze, but it could not block the slightly stagnant breath falling into her ear.

Xiao Shuangyu hugged Ji Zhuozhou’s waist tightly and inhaled deeply.

The scent suddenly surged into her mouth, almost too fast to swallow.

Ji Zhuozhou grabbed her hair, trembling uncontrollably.

Ji Zhuozhou’s voice carried gasps, tremors, and a weak plea: “Come out.”

Her powerless fingers pulled at the roots of her hair, her shaking hands trying to pull her away.

Xiao Shuangyu froze for an instant, withdrew her tongue, licked the surroundings clean bit by bit, and then left the hem of Ji Zhuozhou’s skirt.

She tilted her head up and looked at Ji Zhuozhou’s face.

That face was flushed a beautiful red, her expression dazed. The moment her gaze fell upon it, it collapsed downward along with her body.

Xiao Shuangyu quickly stood up and supported Ji Zhuozhou.

Ji Zhuozhou leaned limp in her arms. “Who… who told you to go in…”

It was a reprimand.

Not a reprimand at the beginning, nor in the middle, but at the end.

Xiao Shuangyu pursed her lips; a soft fragrance still seemed to overflow from the tip of her tongue.

Ji Zhuozhou didn’t dislike it, but Ji Zhuozhou had scolded her.

Is the inside… the exclusive property of that orange?

Was Ji Zhuozhou’s reaction so large because it had been too long since anyone entered there?

The light in her dark eyes grew deeper. Xiao Shuangyu tightened her hold on Ji Zhuozhou in her arms.

She spoke, her voice low and hoarse: “I want to make Sister comfortable.”

She asked: “Did I make Sister comfortable?”

The chamomile scent drifted and filled the air. Ji Zhuozhou in her arms did not respond, only breathing heavily.

After a moment, those deep green eyes lifted slightly, failing to meet her gaze. “In the future… you’re not allowed at the door…”

Xiao Shuangyu blinked. The door was closed, the cooking auntie had already left, and there was no one else in the room besides the two of them. Why couldn’t it be at the door?

She thought.

She would do it at the door, she would go deep inside, and she would make Ji Zhuozhou so comfortable she would tremble and lose her voice.

Whatever Xiao Mingyi had done or hadn’t done, wherever she had been or hadn’t been, she would overwrite it all.

She leaned down and scooped up the crooks of Ji Zhuozhou’s legs, carrying her to the sofa in the living room and placing her down gently, about to kneel low again.

Ji Zhuozhou blocked her head. “No more.”

Her dark pupils fell into those deep green eyes. Ji Zhuozhou said: “I’m thirsty.”

Xiao Shuangyu looked at her, lowered her eyes, and released the hand resting on Ji Zhuozhou’s knee. She stood up and brought a glass of warm water.

Ji Zhuozhou took it and spoke amidst the increasingly diffusing chamomile scent, “The pheromones, are you going to leave them alone?”

Neither of them was in a special period, and Ji Zhuozhou’s pheromone grade was much higher than hers. The small number of D-grade pheromones was not enough to affect Ji Zhuozhou.

Xiao Shuangyu had discovered this when Ji Zhuozhou leaned on her shoulder and failed to notice them.

Ji Zhuozhou did not respond with even a bit of pheromones; that elegant, soft, and sweet freesia scent and the fresh, distant white tea fragrance showed no sign of wanting to be secreted.

Until this moment.

She shook her head, but turned around, found a trash bag, and packed up the crushed orange at the door. Standing by the door, she let her pheromones cover the remaining orange scent.

Ji Zhuozhou could not see her movements from afar; she only lowered her eyes in the faint chamomile scent, lifted the water glass, and lightly touched it to her lips.

The warm liquid rolled down into her stomach bit by bit.

Deep within her lower abdomen, there still seemed to be an unfamiliar throbbing.