The Devious, Seductive Older Woman Has Been Plotting to Get Me for a Long Time - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Wishing She Would Stay

Neon lights traced flickers of brilliance against the pitch-black night, from afar, the surrounding buildings were dotted with uneven, scattered lights.

As the weather turned chilly and gusts of cold wind whistled past, Xiang Shuxing couldn’t help but shrink her neck, subconsciously leaning toward Chu Yingqiu.

Strolling along the street, the body heat of the person beside her was transmitted through their pressed-together hands. Xiang Shuxing kept her head slightly lowered, feeling a long-lost sense of peace. At this moment, walking so closely, she couldn’t explain why, but she felt an inexplicable sense of trust in Chu Yingqiu.

This trust was so profound that she didn’t need to pay attention to her surroundings or worry about tripping. It was as if she could entrust her entire self to the person beside her.

Suddenly, Chu Yingqiu squeezed her hand, reminding her: “Look up. Get a feel for the route.”

“Oh.” Xiang Shuxing complied. In front of them was a mid-range residential complex. It was hard to see clearly in the night, but she could sense that the environment was excellent. Nearby, there were various supermarkets and malls.

It seemed very convenient for both commuting and shopping. Finding a place with this level of security and accessibility must have taken Chu Yingqiu quite a bit of effort.

Both the main gate and the apartment building required a security card. A few minutes later, Chu Yingqiu opened the door and led her inside.

“This is it,” she said, handing her a key.

Xiang Shuxing flipped the light switch in the foyer, and the entire apartment was revealed. The interior was minimalist, and after a quick tour, she saw that all necessary living facilities were present. It was clean and essentially move-in ready.

Chu Yingqiu stood by her side, her gaze lingering on Xiang Shuxing’s face, whether intentionally or not. “Someone comes to clean regularly, so it’s always kept quite tidy.”

After the tour, Xiang Shuxing didn’t say much, but the expression on her face was clearly one of total satisfaction. After a moment of silence, Chu Yingqiu took the initiative to ask: “What do you think of this place?”

“It’s great. I really like it,” she paused, whispering, “Thank you.”

After learning that Chi Jianqing couldn’t share the rent, Xiang Shuxing had resigned herself to searching for a new place, a process that might have taken days or even longer. She hadn’t expected someone to have quietly prepared everything for her behind the scenes.

From childhood, among the few people close to her, only her mother had been so meticulously thoughtful, always handling everything in advance. She never expected that after Xiang Yinghua passed away, she would once again experience the feeling of being so carefully looked after.

Feeling conflicted, Xiang Shuxing looked at the woman before her, unusually at a loss for words. “Why are you being so good to me?”

She had always assumed Chu Yingqiu took on the “messy” responsibility of the Xiang family, including her own education and daily life, solely out of her mother’s request. She had never been an easy child, only her mother had indulged her unconditionally, never rejecting her whimsical ideas and always supporting her silently.

She hadn’t expected Chu Yingqiu to do the same. They hadn’t seen each other for years and had little contact while Chu Yingqiu was abroad. By all logic, they should have grown distant. With these thoughts swirling, Xiang Shuxing stared at her, her curiosity far outweighing her expectations.

Chu Yingqiu replied calmly: “We are family. Isn’t it natural for family to be good to each other?”

It was a fitting and proper reason, leaving her with no grounds for rebuttal. Upon hearing the answer, Xiang Shuxing remained silent, only silently gripping the hem of her shirt.

Are they truly family? Although she didn’t know much about Chu Yingqiu, she had heard snippets. The Chu family had once been a cutting-edge enterprise, but they were implicated in a scandal and burdened with heavy debt.

Her mother, Xiang Yinghua, had been friends with Chu Yingqiu’s mother and, entrusted with a favor, had taken Chu Yingqiu into the Xiang family during the Chu family’s darkest hour. It was an adoption in name, but Chu Yingqiu was still, in reality, a member of the Chu family.

Putting those factors aside, Xiang Shuxing wanted to know: did Chu Yingqiu truly see her as family in her heart? She couldn’t guess, nor did she know what reason or opportunity would be appropriate to ask.

Her mind wandered uncontrollably until she heard the woman say: “All the toiletries are here. You can stay here tonight to get used to it. It’s getting late, so I’m going.”

As Chu Yingqiu turned to leave, Xiang Shuxing jumped up instinctively and rushed: “Wait! Where are you going?”

She had checked the map in the car; this apartment was close to her internship, but not close to the Yingxing branch in Luancheng. It was nearly eleven o’clock. At such a distance, surely Chu Yingqiu wasn’t going back to the company? The woman stopped as requested and turned back, asking, “What’s the matter?”

“I checked earlier,” Xiang Shuxing moved her lips, hesitating for a moment before speaking her mind. “The branch is quite far from here. Are you going back?”

Perhaps it was her imagination, but a glint of amusement seemed to flash in the woman’s eyes. “Do you want me to go back?”

“I…” Xiang Shuxing bit her lip. In her heart, she certainly didn’t want her to. Aside from anything else, making Chu Yingqiu travel back and forth so late was unkind. But there was only…

The woman seemed to guess her thoughts. “You saw it yourself just now. There’s only one bedroom.”

Xiang Shuxing tried to maintain her composure. “That’s fine. I don’t mind. When I used to go out with Fu Jin, we often slept in the same bed.”

“You often sleep in the same bed with her?” Chu Yingqiu frowned.

Not noticing the increasingly cold expression on the person beside her, Xiang Shuxing walked toward the room, continuing, “She’s my childhood friend and my best friend. What’s the big deal about sleeping in the same bed?”

“Not anymore.”

“What?” Xiang Shuxing was in the middle of plugging in her phone when she caught the remark.

Chu Yingqiu repeated coldly: “From now on, you are not allowed to sleep in the same bed with anyone else.”

“But Fu Jin is my best friend since childhood…”

“No one is allowed.” The woman’s tone was rarely firm. It was absolute, leaving no room for argument or refusal. Xiang Shuxing felt baffled by this sudden regulation and couldn’t help but ask: “No one is allowed—then what about you?”

There was only one room. If Chu Yingqiu stayed, they would definitely be sleeping together tonight. If no one was allowed, then what did this make them?

After a moment of silence, the woman’s tone softened: “Except for family, no one else is allowed.”

Family again. Xiang Yinghua had had very little contact with other relatives, and after her death, the only family Xiang Shuxing had in name was Chu Yingqiu. That sounded nice, but didn’t it just mean she could only be with Chu Yingqiu?

Xiang Shuxing was stunned. Before she could press further, the woman walked past her without saying where she was going. Assuming Chu Yingqiu was leaving, she grabbed her wrist without a second thought. “Don’t go.”

The woman stopped as requested but remained silent, waiting for her to continue. Xiang Shuxing lowered her voice, feeling embarrassed as she spoke: “Stay.”

“What?” Chu Yingqiu turned to face her, as if she truly hadn’t heard.

Despite her embarrassment, Xiang Shuxing had to repeat herself to prevent Chu Yingqiu from leaving: “I said, I want you to stay.” This time, her voice was loud enough to be heard clearly. After saying it, she felt unnatural and turned her head away.

It didn’t take long for her to hear the reply: “Okay.”

Xiang Shuxing looked up and locked eyes with the woman’s gentle gaze. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the coldness she had shown earlier seemed to have faded away completely. After a few seconds of eye contact, she took the initiative to look away, her face burning. “Go wash up.”

Chu Yingqiu noticed her awkwardness, smiled faintly, and left the room.

Once she was alone, Xiang Shuxing finally felt her heart calm down. The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt, she suspected the woman was doing this on purpose just to see her flustered. Forget it, don’t think about it.

Xiang Shuxing smoothed out her chaotic thoughts and looked at the room’s layout. Her eyes caught a plush toy on the table, and she walked over to pick it up and stroke it. Its fur was soft and warm, and it felt very comfortable.

She had loved such cute toys since childhood, there was one at home in Lucheng, and she had bought another for her dorm in college. She hadn’t expected to find one here, and she didn’t need to guess who had prepared it in advance.

Xiang Shuxing curled her lips, hugging the toy as she waited for the woman to return with a joyful heart.

About fifteen minutes later, a familiar voice sounded from the doorway: “It’s late. Stop looking at your phone.”

Xiang Shuxing looked up. When her gaze landed on the figure leaning against the door frame, she froze for a moment. Chu Yingqiu was wearing an oversized white T-shirt.

Having just washed up, her face still carried a light flush from the steam, and the aloof, distant quality of her usual self had vanished. When those beautiful eyes turned toward her, her gaze was gentle and affectionate.