One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 56

Before Tuesday noon, Wan Qiyan arrived downstairs at the budget hotel where Xiao Shuangyu was staying. The moment she saw Xiao Shuangyu, she asked where they were going for lunch, claiming she was starving to death.

Xiao Shuangyu had a strange feeling of “as expected,” but because she had anticipated this, she had already asked around after waking up to find out which places nearby were good.

She named several restaurants, and Wan Qiyan asked with a face full of emotion, “Wow, so Lian Lian specifically asked for me?”

Looking at her expression, Xiao Shuangyu suddenly didn’t really want to admit it.

Regardless of whether she admitted it or not, Wan Qiyan happily chose a shop, and the two took a taxi there.

In the interval while waiting for the food to be served, Wan Qiyan stared at her face. “Lian Lian, haven’t you decided where to go yet?”

Xiao Shuangyu shook her head. “I’ve thought it through.”

She said, “I want to go to Qiong Province.”

Qiong Province, the southernmost tip of the country.

Surrounded by the sea on all sides, warm and humid.

She wanted to go a bit further away, so she planned to visit the farthest point first. If she couldn’t adapt, she would then head to the farthest point in another direction.

Wan Qiyan raised an eyebrow imperceptibly but said, “Qiong Province is good. It’s not too hot this time of year, and the weather here is getting cold anyway.”

Wan Qiyan opened her phone. “Then I’ll book the flight and hotel right now.”

Xiao Shuangyu stopped her. “I’ve already booked the flight. As for the hotel… I wasn’t sure where exactly I wanted to stay yet, so I haven’t booked one.”

Wan Qiyan looked deeply moved again. “Wow, after all this time, LianLian actually still remembers my ID information. It’s okay, we’ll look at hotels together.”

As she spoke, she began scrolling through her phone. “Where should we go to play? We’ve never been that far together before. I’m so looking forward to it.”

Xiao Shuangyu watched her movements, feeling that today’s Wan Qiyan was very easily “moved,” possessing a faint, disguised sense of exaggeration.

Perhaps Wan Qiyan had already guessed everything.

Everything she was doing now was an attempt to take her out to clear her mind without making it obvious.

Xiao Shuangyu lowered her gaze and looked at the phone Wan Qiyan handed over.

She didn’t call her out.

She also didn’t want to mention Ji Zhuozhou.

Halfway through the meal, Wan Qiyan had already shifted the topic, talking about her rut. “Supposedly, when an Alpha is in their rut, they become irritable and angry and stuff, and their possessiveness over their Omega explodes. Didn’t you have any impulses?”

It wasn’t just a sense of exaggeration anymore; it was a clear probe.

Xiao Shuangyu did not answer, but asked back, “Where did you hear that?”

Wan Qiyan leaned forward a few inches. “What do you mean ‘where did I hear that’? There’s a scientific basis for it.”

Xiao Shuangyu gave an “oh.” “Is there enough food? Do we need to add anything?”

Wan Qiyan laughed, putting on a posture of having seen through everything. “Science is about seeking truth from facts.”

Xiao Shuangyu didn’t respond.

The back of her neck was still aching—a hidden, dull pain mixed with occasional sharp throbbing—making it impossible for her to tell if it was just the rut or if something was wrong with her gland.

But, does a rut really change a person’s heart so unreasonably?

Could it be that her pain and her struggles were all just a result of the strong possessiveness during a rut?

She didn’t understand.

The swollen gland beneath the scent-blocking patch didn’t understand either.

After eating, the two went straight to the airport and boarded a plane to Qiong Province.

Before dinner time, the plane landed.

The two didn’t even go to the hotel first; they went straight to eat a meal of local specialty dishes.

The next day, they left the hotel with Wan Qiyan as the main force, wandering around and eating everywhere.

The wheat-skinned Wan Qiyan blended perfectly with the local residents. Her mouth never stopped as she ate one wave of food after another.

She surprised Xiao Shuangyu time and time again.

However, they were having a very good time.

Until her dark eyes subconsciously chased after a silhouette that looked a few points similar to Ji Zhuozhou. Xiao Shuangyu was suddenly startled and retracted her gaze.

Xiao Shuangyu had taken leave again.

In the lounge behind the TH bar, A-Nan rested her chin on the dressing table, clutching her phone and sighing.

Nie Siyu didn’t even need to look to know that A-Nan still had the photo sent by Xiao Shuangyu open. It showed two coconuts placed facing each other, with a corner of the beach visible at the edge of the table.

Xiao Shuangyu had gone out to play.

A-Nan originally thought it was Xiao Shuangyu and her sister, thinking that their face-to-face talk had yielded results and the two had gone on a sweet vacation.

But when A-Nan excitedly asked who she was with, Xiao Shuangyu said it was a friend.

A-Nan instantly sensed something was wrong and hurriedly called Nie Siyu to ask what was going on.

Neither of them got any news, but it was clear that Xiao Shuangyu and her sister must have had a falling out.

After the fallout, Xiao Shuangyu hadn’t said a word to them and had gone out to clear her head with another friend.

A-Nan sighed again. Seeing Nie Siyu wasn’t reacting, she let out several loud sighs in a row.

Nie Siyu was annoyed by her sighing and finally spoke up. “What’s the plan? Should we ask where LianLian is and go there too?”

A-Nan shook her head rapidly. “Of course not. We don’t even know that friend of hers. Forcing ourselves into the mix might make things awkward for LianLian.”

Nie Siyu nodded, wearing an expression that suggested she thought A-Nan was being quite sensible.

A-Nan lifted her chin; she knew at least that much.

But, “But we can ask LianLian to come back. We have to sign the contract first, right?”

A-Nan’s round eyes curved into smiles. “And then, during the time before filming starts, we should obviously go for some intensive training!”

Nie Siyu looked into her eyes. After a moment, she also started laughing.

The two let out a series of “jie jie jie” strange laughs.

Of course, the prerequisite for all of this was that Xiao Shuangyu, who had sent the photo in the afternoon, had also expressed her willingness to participate in that program.

And because of Xiao Shuangyu’s agreement, Nie Siyu had instantly said they should all go together.

They didn’t know it was because Xiao Shuangyu had already decided to resign and no longer needed to consider Ji Zhuozhou; she didn’t want the Array Band to miss this opportunity because of her own reasons.

But overall, it was perhaps precisely because of Xiao Shuangyu’s decision that they finally finalized their participation.

Two days later, on Friday, the entire Array Band took leave.

A-Nan and Nie Siyu left Nancheng together for Haishi. There, they met up with Xiao Shuangyu, who had just parted ways with Wan Qiyan. The three of them went to the program crew’s headquarters to sign the contract together, and then flew together to the distant Yicheng.

When the magnificent snow-capped mountains appeared in the airplane window, A-Nan woke the lightly sleeping Xiao Shuangyu without a word, held up her phone, and snapped a photo.

The two faces occupied most of the photo; in the background, the scenery in the small cabin window was blurred.

However, the dazed Xiao Shuangyu in the photo looked at A-Nan with equal confusion. “What are you doing?”

A-Nan was already adjusting the angle again. “Taking pictures! It’s rare to come out and play, so of course we have to prepare photos for Moments. Quick, give me a smile.”

Xiao Shuangyu obviously knew A-Nan was taking photos, but hearing her say so candidly that they should take a photo together and post it made her heart tighten inexplicably, as if she were deprived of oxygen.

She strangely remembered those group photos by the riverside that had been completely deleted.

Even though she had decided not to think about anything anymore, she couldn’t bring herself to smile, and even the back of her neck throbbed faintly.

Fortunately, Nie Siyu also woke up to A-Nan’s voice. Seeing the two of them having fun taking photos while excluding her across the aisle, she couldn’t help but speak up, “What about me?”

A-Nan didn’t notice the tension and shifted her attention, intentionally teasing Nie Siyu. She was quickly “sanctioned” and obediently handed the phone to Nie Siyu.

She let Nie Siyu, who was the furthest away, take a group photo of the three of them.

Sunday afternoon, Ji Zhuozhou returned home.

Since returning on Monday and failing to see Xiao Shuangyu, she hadn’t come back for an entire week.

She had been extremely busy this week. Even though things were almost coming to a close, during the process of finishing up, Huarui Headquarters and the main family were still holding on tight.

She had made them angry, and they turned that anger into useless obstructions; even the inspectors from Huarui Headquarters hadn’t left yet.

Of course, busy as she was, Ji Zhuozhou didn’t actually live at the company.

It was just that compared to Xiao Shuangyu, someone else needed her company more.

But tomorrow was Monday, and Xiao Shuangyu’s leave was about to end. She came back, preparing to go to work with Xiao Shuangyu tomorrow.

The house was very cold and quiet.

It carried the atmosphere of a place that hadn’t been lived in for several days.

Xiao Shuangyu wasn’t there.

Ji Zhuozhou stood in the foyer, her gaze falling on a spot not far ahead—the position where Xiao Shuangyu often crouched and waited for her. It was empty.

She lifted her gaze; no sound came from the living room either.

With a hint of doubt, Ji Zhuozhou looked into every room one by one: the study, the bedroom, the guest room, the drum room, the kitchen. Every place seemed to have remained exactly as it was when she left on Tuesday morning.

Xiao Shuangyu hadn’t come back?

Even though she hadn’t taken anything with her?

She walked to the study. On the computer in the study, she unlocked a hidden software and looked at the records for each day.

Her unlocked phone sat nearby, showing the chat interface with Xiao Shuangyu.

On the interface, the last message was from almost a week ago, dated Tuesday—a monotonous

Mhm from Xiao Shuangyu.

She had been on the road then. After glancing at it, she didn’t reply to Xiao Shuangyu, and Xiao Shuangyu never sent her another message.

This long interval felt foreign to Ji Zhuozhou.

She sent some messages to Xiao Shuangyu, but Xiao Shuangyu didn’t reply.

The next day, Ji Zhuozhou appeared on the sixth floor.

Despite a week having passed, the Huarui employees still hadn’t fully adapted to her identity as General Manager. Passing employees called her “President Ji” with a sense of unfamiliarity and awkwardness.

Ji Zhuozhou nodded in response and walked straight to the data analysis group.

It was well past the start of working hours, but Xiao Shuangyu’s workstation was still empty. The screen was pitch black, like Xiao Shuangyu’s eyes.

Those gloomy eyes that were always chasing after her.

But Xiao Shuangyu hadn’t returned to the suburban villa, and the music program Xiao Shuangyu mentioned hadn’t started recording yet. Where had Xiao Shuangyu gone all these days?

After looking, Ji Zhuozhou glanced at Bian Ya. Bian Ya had already noticed her and proactively came out. “Does President Ji need something?”

Ji Zhuozhou pointed at Xiao Shuangyu’s seat. “Not here?”

Bian Ya nodded and said she had taken leave.

Seeing Ji Zhuozhou’s eyes narrow slightly, Bian Ya added that it was an extension of her leave.

Instead, she asked Ji Zhuozhou where Xiao Shuangyu had gone and if something was wrong.

Ji Zhuozhou did not answer and turned to leave.

She didn’t return to the General Manager’s office on the top floor but went to the perfumery department.

The remaining matters were being watched over by Manager Li. If no accidents occurred, perhaps there was no longer a need for her to do anything.

But that didn’t mean a General Manager who had been absent for several years and had handled official business almost exclusively on weekends and after hours had nothing else to deal with.

However, as a perfumer, she still had some urgent tasks at hand.

Different spices were mixed into various scents in her hands, yet Ji Zhuozhou inexplicably picked out a few smelling strips, feeling they were a good match for Xiao Shuangyu.

That’s right—the perfume she promised to make for Xiao Shuangyu still hadn’t taken shape.

After 3 PM, Mingyi went out for a while and came back, approaching her with some hesitation.

“Teacher Ji, do you know what happened to LianLian? She’s been on leave for so long.”

Ji Zhuozhou suddenly looked up and stared at Mingyi’s face.

An inexplicable sense of annoyance spontaneously arose.