One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 51

Xiao Shuangyu’s pheromone level was so low that the rutting period had always been practically nonexistent for her. The intervals were long and irregular, and she almost never showed any reaction; her glands wouldn’t even swell, let alone leak pheromones.

This was the first time she clearly felt the arrival of a rut.

After experiencing several days of intermittent throbbing in the glands at the back of her neck, an number of pheromones exceeding what her level should have possessed was released continuously, and she couldn’t fully control it.

Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t say exactly what kind of feeling it was; she only felt that her heart, which had already been empty for days because she couldn’t see Ji Zhuozhou, was becoming increasingly hollow.

She hadn’t known that an already empty heart could continue to be hollowed out, as if there were no end to it.

She missed Ji Zhuozhou.

Xiao Shuangyu curled back into the quilt bit by bit, breathing deeply in its depths, trying hard to drink in Ji Zhuozhou’s scent.

These past few days, she had been sleeping in Ji Zhuozhou’s room, on Ji Zhuozhou’s bed, falling asleep accompanied by Ji Zhuozhou’s scent.

But as time passed, the scent of “clouds and rain” on the quilt had long since dissipated, and the scent of “mist” was also fading little by little. It felt as if a tight embrace was loosening—stepping back, and then back again.

The sweet, slightly bitter fragrance of chamomile gradually filled the small space inside the quilt, crowding out the scent that originally belonged to Ji Zhuozhou. Dejected, Xiao Shuangyu crawled out.

She looked for a scent-blocking patch and also used an inhibitor. After a moment of hesitation, she still didn’t use a neutralizer.

She was afraid that while the neutralizer would eliminate the smell of her pheromones, it would also wipe away Ji Zhuozhou’s scent.

Moreover, she harbored a selfish motive that was far from innocent.

She wanted her own scent to mark Ji Zhuozhou’s room and her belongings, as if she were marking Ji Zhuozhou herself.

Dark and base thoughts secretly swelled and expanded during this abnormal rut. Xiao Shuangyu opened her phone and sent a morning greeting to Ji Zhuozhou.

Next, she went out normally, squeezed onto the subway for work normally, kept her ears pricked up normally, and scouted for information normally—well, perhaps it wasn’t quite normal.

In short, she was paying close attention to news regarding Shengjing.

Ji Zhuozhou had told her to inform her of any developments at any time; she had to be serious about it.

It was just that she increasingly felt her head becoming heavy, and the glands at the back of her neck were swelling with pain. The inhibitor had clearly taken effect, yet it also felt as if it hadn’t worked completely.

Or perhaps the special period was supposed to be like this, and she had simply never experienced it properly before.

She stared at her phone, her mind confusedly wondering if Ji Zhuozhou also felt uncomfortable during her heat, even though she had only witnessed Ji Zhuozhou’s heat once.

Ji Zhuozhou’s heat intervals seemed to be very long as well.

That had been several months ago.

There was no movement on the phone; Ji Zhuozhou had not yet replied to the message.

A lonely “Morning” was pinned to the bottom of the screen. Xiao Shuangyu turned off the screen once more.

Not long after, while she was unconsciously scratching the back of her neck again, the people from Shengjing arrived.

Upon hearing the news, Xiao Shuangyu immediately drifted outside.

Unfortunately, Xiao Shuangyu’s timing wasn’t very good. By the time she came out, the Shengjing people had already gone upstairs; she didn’t see them.

But it wasn’t a total loss.

In the pantry, several people were gathered together screaming with excitement. One of them, a girl wearing glasses, had run into the people from Shengjing.

Xiao Shuangyu turned her steps and simply approached them.

The group paused inexplicably, their eyes falling on Xiao Shuangyu with a hint of cautious suspicion.

She currently had a “notorious” reputation, and the incidents reported several times were all related to gossip; it was no wonder they were nervous.

Xiao Shuangyu seemed completely unaware. She blinked. “I’m curious too. Who came?”

The air went uncannily quiet for a moment, but ultimately, the gossiping heart could not be suppressed, and the atmosphere began to boil again.

“You’ll never guess who came from Shengjing. It was Luo Wen! That President Luo—she came in person.”

“I just got off the elevator, and they were right outside the door. I locked eyes with President Luo instantly, and she even smiled at me. Heavens, she’s simply too handsome.”

“She’s much more handsome in person than in the news photos. Really so young and beautiful, with more temperament than a movie star. I almost felt my legs go weak on the spot. I feel like she must be at least an S-class Alpha…”

Huarui and Shengjing had no business cooperation or connection—one could even say they were completely unrelated. If it were an ordinary employee or an ordinary manager, these words would definitely be confusing.

But Luo Wen was different. This CEO, who had taken office steadily before the age of twenty-five, was resolute and vigorous, with ruthless methods yet a personable manner. In just a few short years, she had pushed Shengjing to a higher level.

Now in her early thirties, she was publicly recognized as the “best” of the younger generation: the youngest, the most outstanding, with no rivals and no comparison—simply the only one.

News, reports, gossip, controversy—Luo Wen was the object of intense focus for all kinds of reporters and paparazzi. Basically, anyone who followed finance and economics knew of her.

However, the description from the girl with glasses gave Xiao Shuangyu a faint sense of familiarity. That face, which was seventy percent similar to her own, was just about to emerge in her mind when she immediately shook it off.

After hearing Wan Qiyan mention Shengjing before, Xiao Shuangyu had gone to search for it again, so she had seen some reports about Luo Wen and wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with her.

Only, listening to the others join in to discuss Luo Wen’s appearance, personality, and ability, Xiao Shuangyu felt that they were deviating from her purpose for coming over.

Her head wasn’t just heavy anymore; it was starting to feel dizzy. She didn’t want to continue listening to this meaningless content.

Taking advantage of a pause, Xiao Shuangyu quickly spoke up. “Then what is she here for?”

Several others chimed in with “I wonder,” and then all looked at the girl with glasses together.

The girl shrunk her neck. “How could I know? I didn’t go up with them. I just heard they were going to see the people from the head office.”

This felt like it had a lot of “insider” potential.

Several people began discussing it again, but no one had any special intelligence. After a while, the talk circled back to who the general manager was.

Xiao Shuangyu withdrew from them and turned to walk toward the office.

Seeing that there was nothing left to chat about and that time was almost up, the others also dispersed behind Xiao Shuangyu.

Returning to the office, Xiao Shuangyu felt her head grow heavier and dizzier, and the back of her neck was both swollen and itchy. She sat listlessly in her chair; there was still no message from Ji Zhuozhou.

In the afternoon, the people from Shengjing had long since departed. Xiao Shuangyu still hadn’t managed to see them, but it seemed Shengjing indeed intended to cooperate with the Huarui head office, and the two sides had talked very cordially.

However, it was heard that both sides only showed an inclination to cooperate and had not discussed specifics; they would likely come again later.

After Xiao Shuangyu had scouted out everything clearly, she briefly told Ji Zhuozhou about the matter.

Sister, the people from Shengjing have been here. It seems they want to talk about cooperation with the head office, but it hasn’t been finalized yet.

The message she had sent just before the lunch break still had no response.

Furthermore, her condition was becoming increasingly poor. By the time it was noticed by the people in the office, she had unconsciously curled herself into a ball.

Under her hoodie, she was wearing the high-necked base layer Ji Zhuozhou had given her. Rather than saying she was curling into a ball, it was more like she was clinging to this garment.

The only item on her body that belonged to Ji Zhuozhou.

She had a fever.

The temperature wasn’t high, but with the rut added to the fever, she was no longer fit for work.

Yang Shanhe looked at her and was somewhat worried. “Lianlian’s rut seems a bit off. It’s safer to seek comfort from your girlfriend.”

Several others agreed, and Bian Ya also told her not to push herself and to rest well over the weekend.

Xiao Shuangyu froze for a moment, but eventually nodded.

Even though Ji Zhuozhou was away on a business trip, was not her girlfriend, and would not allow her to seek comfort.

Ji Zhuozhou would not leak pheromones in front of her.

The “girlfriend” she had vaguely agreed to before did not exist.

Xiao Shuangyu didn’t say anything, planning to go back and try to sleep it off.

She didn’t squeeze onto the subway but took a taxi directly home.

The house was empty and very cold. Xiao Shuangyu sniffled. In the familiar scent of mist, she felt a sour, bitter fluid overflowing from her increasingly empty heart.

She burrowed into Ji Zhuozhou’s quilt, wrapped in Ji Zhuozhou’s scent. Her head hurt badly, but she didn’t want to sleep.

She was waiting for Ji Zhuozhou’s message. Ji Zhuozhou hadn’t sent her a single message today.

This was abnormal. In previous days, Ji Zhuozhou had been slow to reply, but she wouldn’t go a whole day without a single message.

She was a little worried.

Just then, a message suddenly popped up.

Xiao Shuangyu got excited, only to find it wasn’t from Ji Zhuozhou, but from Wan Qiyan.

Wan Qiyan said she was back, exhausted and going to rest immediately, and would see her in a few days after recovering.

She even sent a photo of herself sitting in a car.

Xiao Shuangyu felt a bit dejected but still sent a reply.

Fortunately, before long, Ji Zhuozhou finally sent a message.

Sailboat: Okay, I should be home on Sunday.

Xiao Shuangyu’s nose felt sour, and she felt inexplicably aggrieved.

Aggrieved that Ji Zhuozhou had been gone for so long, aggrieved that Ji Zhuozhou had only replied to her at this time today, aggrieved that she couldn’t see Ji Zhuozhou and couldn’t smell Ji Zhuozhou’s scent.

She missed Ji Zhuozhou even more.

But she couldn’t trouble Ji Zhuozhou; perhaps she hadn’t finished her work yet.

She said she would wait for her sister to come home, and after Ji Zhuozhou gave an “Mhm” in response, she put down her phone.

Must… get well quickly.

Must wait for Ji Zhuozhou to come home in high spirits.

The back of her neck was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but tear off the scent-blocking patch. The inhibitor injected in the morning was still in effect, and no pheromones leaked out.

But the gland she touched was already distinctly swollen, and just being exposed to the air made her shudder.

She unconsciously bit the pillow she held in her arms. Saliva mixed with pheromones dampened the fabric, yet the scent that could reach her nose could not be “tasted” at all.

She wrapped herself into a cocoon, wrapping Ji Zhuozhou’s scent around her body, pulling the quilt tight against the back of her neck, her panting irrepressible.

Xiao Shuangyu was unconsciously nesting.

This was a unique behavior that existed during special periods, usually appearing in Alphas or Omegas who had stable partners.

Generally speaking, when unable to obtain comfort and companionship from a partner, they would use the partner’s commonly worn clothing to wrap themselves, drawing the partner’s scent from the clothes to make themselves feel secure.

Ji Zhuozhou was not her stable partner; they hadn’t even performed a marking, yet she still exhibited nesting behavior.

This was also her first time.

Her groggy mind made her unable to make judgments. She didn’t know what was wrong with her; she only knew she missed Ji Zhuozhou so much, and wanted just a little more of Ji Zhuozhou’s scent.

She closed her eyes, suppressing the urge to go to Ji Zhuozhou’s walk-in closet or to rummage through the nearby drawer for Ji Zhuozhou’s underwear, telling herself to sleep obediently.

Only by sleeping obediently could she see Ji Zhuozhou faster.

It was only Sunday; it would arrive soon.

By then, Ji Zhuozhou would be back.

Little did Xiao Shuangyu know that shortly after Wan Qiyan left the airport, another flight had already brought back Ji Zhuozhou—and another person walking arm-in-arm beside her.

The two of them together headed elsewhere.