The Movie Queen's Beloved Crybaby Alpha - Chapter 18

“Of course it’s your room. You two used to share the same bed all the time when you were little.”

“So, how’s your progress with Yunshu coming along?”

Ye Qinglan gave Lin Xuesong a hesitant look, but Lin Xuesong ignored it and pressed on.

“I’m talking to you.”

“Ms. Lin, you’re being way too nosy,” Ye Qinglan retorted irritably.

“What kind of talk is that? I’m just concerned about my own daughter, how is that nosy?” Lin Xuesong said with a straight face.

Ye Qinglan’s lips twitched. Fortunately, Ning Yunshu came out just then, and Ye Qinglan shot Lin Xuesong a warning glare, signaling her not to repeat the question.

But if Lin Xuesong actually listened, she wouldn’t be Ye Qinglan’s mother.

So, Lin Xuesong turned to Ning Yunshu and asked, “Yunshu, how have you been staying at Qinglan’s place lately? She hasn’t been bullying you, has she?”

Ye Qinglan: “???”

Seriously, what kind of person do you think I am?!

Ning Yunshu, however, smiled and said, “Aunt Lin, don’t worry. I’ve been doing great, and Sister has been taking good care of me.”

Ye Qinglan thought to herself, when had she ever taken care of Ning Yunshu? If anything, it was Ning Yunshu who had been looking after her.

Lin Xuesong chuckled. “Oh, don’t praise her too much. I know exactly how she is.”

Ye Qinglan deadpanned, “Could you at least consider that the person you’re talking about is right here?”

“Oh, I forgot,” Lin Xuesong replied breezily.

Ye Qinglan gave up on speaking altogether.

Seeing this, Ning Yunshu quickly intervened, “Aunt Lin, don’t worry about us. We know what we’re doing. You and Uncle Ye should just focus on enjoying yourselves dancing in the square, playing mahjong, and taking care of yourselves.”

Lin Xuesong was thoroughly charmed and laughed. “Alright, alright, Aunt Lin understands.”

Ye Wentao poked his head out from the kitchen. “Alright, enough chatting dinner’s ready!”

“Coming!” everyone responded, rushing to help.

Ye Wentao grinned at the two younger women. “So, who’s up for a few drinks tonight?”

Ye Qinglan reminded him, “Dad, one of us still has to drive later.”

But Lin Xuesong cut in, “Drive where? You’re staying the night. Going back and forth is such a hassle. Besides, it’ll be nice for you two to keep me and your dad company.”

Ye Qinglan countered, “And where are we supposed to sleep? There aren’t enough rooms.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Lin Xuesong said firmly.

Ye Qinglan couldn’t help but mutter to Ning Yunshu, “My mom is such a dictator.”

Ning Yunshu chuckled softly. “It’s fine. We’ll figure it out later. If needed, I can sleep on the sofa.”

Ye Qinglan frowned. “No way.”

“Stop whispering over there and come help with the dishes!” Lin Xuesong called.

“Coming!” they answered in unison, exchanging a smile before pitching in.

Once the food was on the table, Ye Wentao opened a bottle of wine, and the family enjoyed a lively dinner together.

After dinner, since Ye Qinglan was still trending on social media, Lin Xuesong abandoned her plan to take them out for a walk or square dancing. Instead, they settled for a game of mahjong at home.

Ye Qinglan had terrible luck and kept drawing bad tiles, but Ning Yunshu kept feeding her winning plays.

After two rounds, Lin Xuesong was indignant. “Hey, are you two teaming up against the old folks here?”

Ning Yunshu played dumb, saying, “Aunt Lin, I had no choice. The card I played just happened to be what sister needed.”

Ye Qinglan, on the other hand, was triumphant. “Ms. Lin, don’t blame others when you lose. Maybe you should consider whether it’s your own problem.”

Lin Xuesong sneered, “You’re just taking advantage of Yunshu spoiling you.”

Hearing this, Ye Qinglan glanced at Ning Yunshu, who was smiling at her, then quickly averted her gaze and said, “That’s just my skill.”

Lin Xuesong truly wanted to applaud her sheer shamelessness.

“I’m done playing. Let’s call it a night.” Lin Xuesong immediately got up to return to her room.

“Wait! Mom! Hold on!” Ye Qinglan hurriedly pulled her back.

“What is it?” Lin Xuesong turned to look at her.

“It’s just…” Ye Qinglan gestured toward Ning Yunshu and whispered, “Where is Ning Yunshu going to sleep tonight? You invited her to stay, so shouldn’t you arrange something?”

Lin Xuesong gave her a strange look. “Where else would she sleep?”

“Where?” Ye Qinglan had a vague suspicion but couldn’t believe it, so she stared nervously at Lin Xuesong.

“Your room, of course. The two of you used to share a bed all the time when you were kids,” Lin Xuesong said matter-of-factly.

Ye Qinglan felt her vision darken. She quickly pulled her mother into the kitchen and whispered urgently.

“Mom, are you trying to stir up trouble? You said it yourself that was when we were kids. It’s different now!”

“How is it different now?” Lin Xuesong raised an eyebrow at her.

Ye Qinglan grew flustered. “Mom, I’m an Omega, and she’s an Alpha. Of course it’s different!”

Lin Xuesong rolled her eyes. “So what? Yunshu isn’t the type to take advantage of someone.”

“I—” Ye Qinglan was at a loss for words.

“Or is it that you’re the one with ulterior motives?” Lin Xuesong scrutinized her.

Ye Qinglan bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “No! That’s not it at all! Don’t make things up!”

“Really?” Lin Xuesong arched an eyebrow.

“Of course!” Ye Qinglan hastily replied.

Lin Xuesong nodded, then added, “Then why are you making such a fuss?”

Ye Qinglan: “…”

This was exhausting. There was no reasoning with her!

“If you dare kick her out tonight, I’ll kick you out onto the street. And no sleeping in the living room, if I wake up before you two and accidentally disturb you, you’ll just blame me again,” Lin Xuesong added.

Ye Qinglan: “???”

Before she could react, Lin Xuesong walked out of the kitchen and called, “Old Ye, time for bed. Let the kids have some time to themselves.”

“Alright, alright.” Ye Wenhao chuckled and followed Lin Xuesong into their room.

Ye Qinglan emerged from the kitchen and looked at Ning Yunshu, the only one left in the living room, with a complicated expression.

Ning Yunshu blinked and asked, “Sister?”

Ye Qinglan took a deep breath and resignedly said, “You’re sleeping in my room tonight.”

Ning Yunshu immediately stammered, “No, I mean, I… I can sleep in the living room.”

Ye Qinglan watched as a blush spread from Ning Yunshu’s neck all the way to the top of her head, turning her as red as a boiled crab.

Adorably so.

Seeing her like this, how could Ye Qinglan say anything harsh? This was all Lin Xuesong’s impulsive idea, what did Ning Yunshu have to do with it?

With that in mind, Ye Qinglan looked at her and said, “You don’t want me to end up on the trending list tomorrow for being kicked out of my own house, do you?”

Ning Yunshu’s lips trembled slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she held back.

Ye Qinglan sighed inwardly before speaking, “Alright, let’s go back to the bedroom. I’ll get you a blanket from under the bed.”

“Okay.”

At least they could be grateful that Ye Qinglan’s bed in the courtyard house was a decent one-and-a-half-meter size. With both of their figures, lying flat wouldn’t feel cramped.

If it had been a one-meter-two bed, she would have insisted on sleeping in the living room tonight.

Back in the room, Ye Qinglan pulled out a set of bedding from under the bed and glanced at Ning Yunshu. “Do you want to sleep on the inside or the outside?”

“I, I’ll take the outside,” Ning Yunshu stammered, still not quite recovered from her earlier fluster.

Ye Qinglan thought for a moment. “Fine.”

At least if she slept on the inside, she could face the wall and avoid looking at Ning Yunshu. Otherwise, she had no idea how she was going to sleep tonight.

“Go wash up first,” Ye Qinglan said, sizing her up before taking out a set of pajamas from the wardrobe.

“Tsk, I remember you weren’t much taller than me before. Now you’re half a head taller these might be a bit small, but make do.”

Ning Yunshu finally regained her composure, clutching the pajamas as she obediently agreed and headed out to the bathroom.

Her steps were still light and unsteady clearly, she hadn’t fully recovered.

By the time they had both finished washing up and finally turned off the lights to lie down, they both lay stiffly on the bed like boards nailed in place.

This was torture. They were too close, how were they supposed to sleep like this?!

Ye Qinglan lay on her back, eyes wide open as she stared at the ceiling. Ning Yunshu beside her stayed silent, but Ye Qinglan knew she wasn’t asleep either.

“Qinglan-jie,” Ning Yunshu suddenly spoke.

Ye Qinglan tensed up instantly, replying stiffly, “What is it?”

“Are you sleepy?” Ning Yunshu asked.

Ye Qinglan wasn’t sure how to answer. If she said yes, it might seem like she was completely unaffected by Ning Yunshu’s presence. If she said no, it would sound like she was overthinking things.

So, she agonized for what felt like half an eternity without responding.

Then, a faint rustling sound came from beside her as Ning Yunshu shifted. Ye Qinglan instinctively turned her head and, under the moonlight from the window, saw Ning Yunshu lying on her side, gazing at her with sparkling eyes.

Ye Qinglan nearly forgot how to breathe from sheer nervousness.

Ning Yunshu parted her lips slightly and whispered, “I can’t sleep either. How about we play a game for a while?”

Ye Qinglan didn’t know how to describe her emotions at that moment relief, yes, but also something inexplicably complicated.

Still, since Ning Yunshu had offered her this distraction, she wasn’t about to pass it up.

So, Ye Qinglan abruptly sat up and declared, “Let’s play!”

Ning Yunshu couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.

“What’s so funny? Hurry up and turn on the light,” Ye Qinglan scolded half-heartedly.

“Okay, okay.” Ning Yunshu got up and switched on the light, then picked up her phone and looked at Ye Qinglan expectantly.

“Keep it down, my parents might already be asleep,” Ye Qinglan reminded her.

“Got it.” Ning Yunshu nodded.

Ye Qinglan opened the game, invited her into the party, and thus began their climb up the ranks for the night.

They played like this for a while, occasionally whispering to each other, until Ye Qinglan finally grew tired enough to lie back down and rest.

This time, Ye Qinglan turned over and fell asleep with her back facing Ning Yunshu, who glanced at her silhouette with a smile that never left her lips.

She simply closed her eyes, savoring this rare opportunity to share a bed with Ye Qinglan.

A comforting warmth spread through her heart, a sense of peace she hadn’t truly felt in seven years.

With her eyes shut, she quietly drifted off to sleep.

And so it was until dawn the next day.

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