The Cold And Straight Alpha Is Always Being Flirted With By The Goddess Aunt - Chapter 37

“Why are you sad?”

“Because you aren’t.”

The young girl’s eyes were rimmed with a stubborn, cold redness from tears as she spoke directly. She turned away sharply, leaving no trace of lingering affection, finally agreeing to what Xi Zhaowan had said.

“From now on, I will keep to my place and mind the distance between us,” the girl gritted her teeth. “Rest assured… Aunt Wan.”

That cry of “Aunt Wan” felt incredibly piercing to Xi Zhaowan. The image of the girl laughing and talking with her just yesterday was still vivid in her mind.

She parted her lips slightly, but the words failed her. Her outstretched hand, reaching toward Yan Qing’s decisive departing back, fell desolately to her side.

Qing’er had waited so long when she arrived, yet left so urgently. Her thin, tall silhouette looked as if it could be scattered by a single gust of wind.

But after Qing’er left, that wind seemed to turn and attack her instead. A great hole was blown through her heart, and the wind whistled right through it.

The air grew thin. Xi Zhaowan returned to the house, lost in soul. She set down her bag and stood by the window, watching Yan Qing’s figure grow smaller until it vanished. She felt an increasing tightness in her chest.

Her mother had taught her to pursue love bravely, but she hadn’t taught her how to respond to such a heavy confession of love from someone dear.

Does love have to have so many shackles and certainties?

If Qing’er was too young to understand love, it didn’t matter; she would retreat back to the role of the relative Yan Qing wanted once she grew up.

If the world pointed fingers at their seniority and social norms, then as the elder, she had to be prepared to protect Qing’er, striving to ensure she wasn’t attacked by public opinion.

Qing’er could treat her however she liked.

But the world treating Qing’er poorly was unacceptable.

Even Yan Qing’s mother, her dear friend Yan Manxing could not do that.

If their love was to begin, she would be the one to block the smoke and fire of the future. She was the one who enticed Qing’er first, the one who provoked her.

She believed Yan Qing loved her now. The heartbeat when they were close didn’t lie, the drumming in her memory still pulsed in her palm.

She wanted to give her a chance and give herself one, too.

No matter the outcome.

I’m sorry, Manxing. Just let me be selfish this once.

She didn’t want to make Yan Qing sad, and she wanted to indulge her own private desires for once.

Xi Zhaowan pondered for a long time, biting her red lips. Finally, as if making a firm decision, she grabbed her car keys and drove toward the Yan residence.

Qing’er, this time, I will be the one to move closer to you.

Please don’t be sad. Just wait for me a little longer, okay?

On the open-air rooftop of the Yan house, Xi Zhaowan clutched her heart. She hadn’t seen Yan Qing anywhere inside the house until she found her lying there; only then did the burning anxiety in her chest subside.

The wind blew the red string bells. Under the rotating glow of the starlight sphere, the girl lay with furrowed brows and closed eyes, as if a thousand knots were tangled in her heart.

Xi Zhaowan remembered her promise to stay with her whenever the bells rang. She thought of the girl’s bright eyes and the meals she had cooked for her.

In the side-lighting, a single tear fell from the girl’s eye, soaking into Xi Zhaowan’s heart. Her chest tightened.

The Yan Qing who had been so sincere and brave toward her had been stifled tonight by her own cold words.

Xi Zhaowan took off her high heels and stepped carefully across the rooftop carpet. She gently cradled Yan Qing’s head, using a kiss, half-shy, half-apologetic to dab away the tear.

But the girl in her lap wasn’t comforted instead, she turned into a little crybaby, her tears falling even faster.

“Qing’er, be good. Stop crying, okay?”

Having never seen Yan Qing like this, Xi Zhaowan felt helpless and began to feel sad along with her.

The girl just kept her eyes closed and cried, refusing to even look at her.

She truly had no way to handle her.

Xi Zhaowan shyly closed her eyes, brushed away the girl’s hair, and kissed away the tears. After all, she was the one who had caused this heartbreak tonight.

By the nth time her lips touched the girl’s cheek, the girl finally stopped crying. Like a startled young deer, she opened her wet eyes.

She seemed unable to believe she was really there.

“Fine, Xi Zhaowan. You won’t even let me go in my hallucinations.”

Hearing Yan Qing call her by her full name, Xi Zhaowan felt slightly amused. “Who is Qing’er calling for?”

Seeing that the “hallucination” actually interacted with her, Yan Qing snapped angrily, “You! Xi Zhaowan! Don’t tell me you, a mere hallucination, want me to call you Aunt Wan?”

In the Continent of Light, this Master is 67 years older than you, Yan Qing thought defiantly, ignoring the fact that the two worlds calculated age differently.

She also ignored that in the Continent of Light, being 100 years old was essentially just reaching adulthood.

“Which little one called me ‘Sister Wan’ during her confession today?”

Seeing the hallucination talk back, Yan Qing’s mind cleared, and she realized something was wrong. She was looking up, her head resting on Xi Zhaowan’s lap. Under the starlight, the woman’s exquisite jawline and smiling eyes created an ethereal, painterly blur.

Maintaining the posture, Yan Qing reached up and pinched Xi Zhaowan’s face. It felt as smooth and fine as jade.

Realizing she was pinching the real person, she awkwardly withdrew her hand. She sat up and said softly, “Why did Sister Wan come here?”

Who said I confessed to her? I didn’t.

Does she want to see me in this pathetic state of heartbreak? I don’t believe it.

Her voice was a bit stiff. She didn’t realize that her attempt at a cold expression was completely unconvincing given her tear filled eyes. Xi Zhaowan ignored her coldness.

“I was worried about you,” the woman answered honestly.

“And I was afraid that if I didn’t comfort you, Qing’er would go run off to write in her diary again.”

“And then fill a whole book with bad things about ‘Aunt Wan’.”

“I was also afraid that from now on, you would only see me as Aunt Wan, and not Sister Wan… or just Xi Zhaowan.”

Yan Qing sniffed. “You came to check on me because you were worried about a ‘family member’?”

She emphasized the word “family” heavily.

Xi Zhaowan felt a pang of regret. Seeing the girl sit further away after getting up, she moved closer to her side.

“More than just a family member.”

“Then what?” Yan Qing wouldn’t stop until she had an answer.

Xi Zhaowan felt heated under the girl’s direct gaze. “Someone I want to be close to. Qing’er, are you willing to let me get close again?”

Yan Qing was delighted to hear this, but she still wasn’t satisfied with the answer.

She granted Xi Zhaowan’s request and actually moved closer to her, which made the woman feel a bit relieved. Yan Qing took Xi Zhaowan’s hand, and she wasn’t rejected.

Yan Qing’s empty heart finally felt a bit more solid, but she needed more certainty.

“Fine. But you have to tell me: what am I to you?” Yan Qing persisted, shaking Xi Zhaowan’s hand slightly.

“Whatever Qing’er considers me to be, I shall consider you the same,” Xi Zhaowan countered skillfully.

Yan Qing stopped smiling. Aunt Wan is still a bit green. From pinching to shaking, she finally gripped the other’s slender fingers firmly.

“In my heart, I consider you the one I love.”

“If Sister Wan feels the same as me, then I know.”

So….

“I am Sister Wan’s beloved. You are fond of me.” The girl grew confident and bold.

Yan Qing knew she was stating the obvious; otherwise, Xi Zhaowan wouldn’t have come to find her in the middle of the night and kissed her face.

Xi Zhaowan’s earlobes turned slightly red. She didn’t deny the answer instead, she gripped Yan Qing’s hand back. “Qing’er, the moonlight is beautiful tonight.”

Yan Qing became a “straight shooter”: “The moon has hidden away; there are only stars now.”

Seeing her romantic hint go over the girl’s head, Xi Zhaowan sighed inwardly. It seemed she would have to read more books with Qing’er to help her “catch up.”

For a moment, the two cast aside all worldly worries, simply enjoying the sweetness of their shared feelings.

Then, Yan Qing thought of something and lost her calm.

“So, Sister Wan, you didn’t accept Wei Weizhi, did you?”

“Wei Weizhi proposed a partnership. Lately, we’ve only had business dealings,” Xi Zhaowan said.

“Then why did you hug her?”

Xi Zhaowan felt helpless. She couldn’t very well tell Qing’er that she did it specifically to make her leave in a fit of jealousy.

“I’m very angry.” Yan Qing truly was angry, it was the second time in her life she felt this level of displeasure.

“Hmm? What is that smell? It smells a bit sour.” Xi Zhaowan smiled.

“Where is it sour? I don’t have a smell on me.” In the Continent of Light, there was no term for “jealousy” (literally “eating vinegar” in Chinese). Yan Qing was confused and sniffed herself. Since coming to this ABO world and losing her semi-immortal body, she had started bathing quite frequently.

Xi Zhaowan really wanted to pry open Yan Qing’s little head.

“It’s not on Qing’er, it’s on Sister.”

Yan Qing didn’t believe her. She leaned in to hug her and sniffed. It wasn’t sour. However, with her sensitive sense of smell, she did pick up a faint trace of another Alpha’s scent.

Because Wei Weizhi had spent so much time with Xi Zhaowan lately, plus that final superficial hug, some scent had rubbed off.

A normal person couldn’t have smelled it, but Yan Qing had already ascended to the “Golden Light Stage,” and her senses were heightened.

“From now on, you’re not allowed to hug anyone else, okay?”

She hugged Xi Zhaowan tightly. Even though the woman’s bright eyes and tender gaze were currently fixed on her, she still wanted to be closer.

Yan Qing broke the embrace and pushed the woman down onto the carpet. Looking down at her, she traced her finger from the woman’s smooth face downward, touching her as if she were a piece of fine porcelain, cautiously and with great treasure.

The beautiful nose, the moist red lips, the bead on her upper lip, the exquisite chin.

Finally, she stopped at the hollow of her collarbone…

Xi Zhaowan was watching her, looking ready to be “plucked,” with a beautiful, clever smile.

Under that gaze, Yan Qing’s heart warmed so much she couldn’t say the words she intended.

She simply covered the woman’s eyes with her hand, her warm breath approaching her ear as she whispered.

With her vision blocked, Xi Zhaowan could only nod in obedience.

After a while, she felt the warmth move away, brushing against her forehead, nose, and chin, before finally stopping at her collarbone.

A tingling sensation and a slight sting from a light bite followed. “She hugged you. You hugged her.”

“And she passed by this spot,” the girl said persistently.

“I want to buy this plot of land. Sister Wan, from now on, this belongs to me.”

“Once I’ve bought it, no one else is allowed to touch it.”

Yan Qing named it “Yan Qing’s Exclusive Territory.” In the Continent of Light, as someone of high status, her possessiveness had always been top-tier.

Xi Zhaowan could hardly take it. In the darkness, all her senses were magnified.

As she blinked, the girl removed her hand. Her head rose from the woman’s neck, though her fingertip still teased that spot, her gaze looking at her seriously.

Xi Zhaowan caught that restless hand to move it away, steadying her slight breath, and teased softly, “I’m afraid Qing’er doesn’t have the transaction authority or the entry ticket yet.”

“I do.”

“Minor. You don’t have the qualification to purchase territory, that is the authority.” Xi Zhaowan tapped Yan Qing’s forehead.

Yan Qing pouted in protest.

“Also, you need the entry ticket. Wait until you’ve filled four diaries.” Xi Zhaowan stood up quickly, smoothing her slightly disarranged clothes to maintain her composure. The diaries were the entry tickets.

“And remember, not a single mention of Ji Qianqian is allowed in those four books.”

She could only write about her. Since there were three books mentioning Ji Qianqian, Qing’er would just have to write one extra for her. That didn’t seem like too much.