The Reborn Scummy A and the Sickly O Got Together - Chapter 46

Regarding the relationship between Feng Baiming and Luo Mingyue, Feng Baiming believed Luo Mingyue had a crush on her. During a phone call with her younger sister, Feng Shaoyang, she briefly mentioned her recent experiences.

With deep emotion, she told her sister, “Back when I was studying, I thought authors wrote lines like ‘Liking someone is wanting to reach out but pulling your hand back’ just for artistic flair. Now I realize that in reality, liking someone really does feel that way.”

“I should be gentler with her,” Feng Baiming said.

Feng Shaoyang couldn’t understand at all how her sister had jumped from the first statement to this conclusion.

So she asked bluntly, “Shouldn’t you politely but firmly reject Luo Mingyue?”

Feng Baiming replied, “But she looked so pitiful, like she was about to cry. Besides, she’s had a hard time, I should be nicer to her.”

Feng Shaoyang was even more confused. Was this really her sister, the untouchable “ice queen” who usually looked at everyone as if to say, “Stay away, mere mortals”?

Feng Shaoyang had to remind her, “If you don’t like Luo Mingyue, you shouldn’t give her false hope. Just look at what happened with Lu Jia. Sis, if you know someone likes you but still treat them differently from others, that’s no different from being a heartbreaker.”

Feng Baiming countered, “But the problem is, this is just an unspoken crush. Luo Mingyue hasn’t said anything. Should I just randomly blurt out, ‘Don’t like me’? Wouldn’t that make me seem incredibly conceited?”

Feng Shaoyang had to admit her sister had a point. There was also the risk that Luo Mingyue might deny having feelings out of embarrassment, leading to an unbearably awkward situation.

This conversation was a rare one where Feng Baiming was the one to bring up romance. Usually, it was Feng Shaoyang who urged her sister to enjoy her youth, warning that if she didn’t date now, she might end up in a loveless, politically advantageous marriage as an older omega.

Back then, Feng Baiming had said, “What’s wrong with marrying someone of equal status? If the statuses don’t match, you won’t even be able to hold a conversation. If you say you want to donate 100,000 to animal rescue, they’ll just ask why you’re wasting so much money on animals.”

Feng Shaoyang had thought her sister’s reasoning was impressively clear-headed.

But then, an alpha from an equally prestigious background pursued Feng Baiming. Upon learning she funded many animal rescue organizations, they confidently proposed packaging her image as a beautiful, kind-hearted socialite influencer.

That was when Feng Baiming realized that even among those of equal status, people could still think very differently. Individual differences didn’t disappear just because they belonged to the same class.

“People can be as different from each other as they are from dogs,” Feng Baiming remarked.

Feng Shaoyang, however, was convinced her sister had a high chance of remaining single for life. She couldn’t imagine anyone who could make Feng Baiming set aside her prejudices against humanity or her pickiness toward alphas.

And, for that matter, who could possibly endure her sister’s arrogance, pickiness, aloofness, and nitpicky nature long enough to spend a lifetime with her?

If such a person existed, they’d have to be truly extraordinary.

So Feng Shaoyang mused.

After about half an hour of casual chatting, Feng Shaoyang still ended the call by advising her sister: if the flowing water has no affection, don’t give the falling blossoms false hope.

Feng Baiming said she didn’t want to hurt Luo Mingyue, remarking, “For you to be this gentle with an alpha, the sun must be rising from the west.”

Finally, Feng Shaoyang asked her sister, “Do you also have some feelings for this fallen flower?”

The flowing water replied, “I just think she looks rather pitiful.”

“Luo Mingyue lacks for nothing, she excels academically, is beautiful, popular, the epitome of ‘someone else’s child’ that parents praise. What’s pitiful about her?”

Feng Baiming responded, “Happiness isn’t always tied to material comforts. The more sensible a child is, the more sorrow they may carry inside.”

Alarm bells rang in Feng Shaoyang’s mind.

Her sister continued, “She’s a good kid, so I can’t be too cold toward her.”

Something felt off to Feng Shaoyang. “You’re cold to humans, especially alphas, that’s your default. Have you been hexed, sis?”

After two seconds of silence, Feng Baiming said she’d recommend a book titled The Art of Speaking.

Their phone call ended there as both had matters to attend to.

Only after finishing her tasks did Feng Shaoyang realize what was amiss. This didn’t seem like Luo Mingyue having a crush on her sister, it seemed more like her sister was fond of this pretty little alpha! All this hesitation and reluctance to distance herself from Luo Mingyue. Feng Shaoyang concluded: So her sister liked this type!

She admitted this variety of alpha was rare, but her first thought was still that they weren’t well-matched.

But upon reflection, what kind of alpha would suit Feng Baiming? The smirking, domineering type from romance novels where no matter how capable the omega is, the alpha must always be more formidable? Some CEO tycoon?

Her sister would probably scoff at such absurd tropes.

Then she thought,  Luo Mingyue and Feng Baiming might actually complement each other.

Feng Shaoyang wasn’t alone in this view. Several children from the Lu family also felt Feng Baiming and Luo Mingyue were just one confession away from becoming a couple.

Even Lu Jia noticed Luo Mingyue’s promises to her were paper-thin, whenever Feng Baiming beckoned, Luo Mingyue would walk over with a smile.

The moment that truly stung Lu Jia to the point of jealous frenzy came on an ordinary August morning.

Rising early, she entered the open kitchen to see two girls by the counter, one tall, one petite.

The taller girl had pushed her three-quarter sleeve pajamas to her elbows, revealing fair, delicate skin as she halved cherry tomatoes with a knife.

Beside her, the shorter girl held a salad bowl, having squeezed dressing into it. As she offered the bowl, the taller girl added the sliced tomatoes.

It should have been simple teamwork, but then, the bowl-holding girl said something. Luo Mingyue’s hair, now slightly past shoulder-length, was tied back with a ribbon, her fringe long enough to brush forward as she tilted her head to listen to the much shorter girl.

Lu Jia watched as the girl effortlessly balanced the bowl one-handed while naturally tucking Luo Mingyue’s stray hair behind her ear with the other.

Luo Mingyue’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled in the morning light. Feng Baiming leaned against the kitchen counter, popping a tomato into her mouth.

Lu Jia heard her say, “A bit sour. This batch of tomatoes must have plenty of vitamin C, but they lack sweetness.”

Luo Mingyue remained slightly tilted forward, listening with rapt attention, her smile brighter than the dawn.

At that moment, Lu Jia’s heart twisted into knots. The domesticity of the scene stabbed at her so sharply that she turned and left immediately.

Otherwise, she feared she might lose her composure and demand aloud was Feng Baiming’s upbringing all about teaching her how to play hard to get, how to flirt with alphas, how to be a manipulative tease?

Both women caught a glimpse of a familiar pale blue nightgown hem, recognizing that Lu Jia had come and gone.

Right now, Luo Mingyue couldn’t be bothered to think about Lu Jia. With Feng Baiming by her side, she always found her heart settling into peace. The hatred that usually coiled inside her would dissolve entirely in Feng Baiming’s presence, replaced by genuine joy.

Sometimes she wondered if this would dull her thirst for vengeance. But standing beside Feng Baiming, just seeing her exist, Luo Mingyue couldn’t help but feel that maybe the world wasn’t so terrible after all.

One sleepless night, she suddenly logged into her long-dormant Weibo account and wrote a single line:

Because you exist, I feel happy too.

No matter how wretched, how absurd, how laughably unfortunate Luo Mingyue’s life had been, Feng Baiming’s presence made her believe that fate might have spared her some mercy after all.

“Does Miss Feng not like sour things?” Luo Mingyue asked. “Then I’ll wash a few darker cherry tomatoes.”

Feng Baiming replied, “I’m not picky, it’s just.”

Luo Mingyue blinked, focusing intently on the girl before her. “Just what?”

Feng Baiming said delicately, “You could just call me by my name. ‘Miss Feng’ feels so distant.”

A big question mark seemed to float above Luo Mingyue’s head. “But don’t you often call me ‘Miss Luo’ too?”

Feng Baiming responded by stuffing half a cherry tomato straight into her mouth. Luo Mingyue chewed, the juice bursting tart on her tongue, and wrinkled her nose, this batch really was too sour.

Squinting, she watched as the petite Miss Feng held a bowl with a faint, mischievous smile. Her vivid, radiant beauty made Luo Mingyue imagine she could smell the most soothing pheromones.

“Xiao Yue,” Feng Baiming enunciated clearly.

Luo Mingyue froze.

Feng Baiming tilted her head thoughtfully, then tried again, “Ah Ming?”

Luo Mingyue snapped out of it slightly. “That’s,  never heard anyone call me Ah Ming before.”

Feng Baiming chuckled. “It’s a bit too plain. Not as nice as Xiao Yue.”

Luo Mingyue’s heart was pounding so hard she wondered if she had a cardiac condition. “No, it’s not plain at all!” she rushed to say.

Feng Baiming arched a brow. “How so?”

With absolute conviction, Luo Mingyue declared, “When Miss Feng says it, it’s special. Your voice is so clear and pure, Ah Ming sounds wonderful too.”

Feng Baiming couldn’t help but think, This girl really is too smitten with me. If my little sister Shaoyang were here, she’d pity Luo Mingyue for being so silly.

But later, when Feng Shaoyang heard about this, she’d only roll her eyes internally, Big sis, what right do you have to call Luo Mingyue silly? You’re not much better yourself.

She felt an unexpected tenderness towards Luo Mingyue, who was clearly an alpha and stood several centimeters taller than her.

Then, moved by some inexplicable emotion, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and called out, “Luoluo?”

For some reason, even before the words left her tongue, she felt an unprecedented shyness. When she actually spoke them aloud, even Feng Baiming felt somewhat embarrassed.

Luo Mingyue was completely stunned and asked blankly, “What did you call me?”

Feng Baiming had no choice but to repeat, “Luoluo.”

Luo Mingyue said, “No one has ever called me that before.”

“What do people usually call you? Do you have a nickname?” Feng Baiming asked curiously.

Luo Mingyue replied, “Just Mingyue, or sometimes Xiao Luo. I don’t have a nickname.”

Feng Baiming said, “My family calls me A-Ming.”

Luo Mingyue smiled. “I’m A-Ming too.”

“Two A-Mings,” Feng Baiming continued naturally. “So to tell you apart, I should call you Luoluo.”

The first time was awkward, but the second time came easily. Soon, Feng Baiming was calling her Luoluo without hesitation, though in public, she still mostly used Xiao Yue.

Even such a simple change in address didn’t escape the ears of Lu Xi and the others.

Luo Mingyue had been away from home for several days, called by her high school teacher to participate in an offline volunteer event at an orphanage. She asked Feng Baiming if she wanted to come along, but Feng Baiming was about to ask her to help build shelters for stray cats, their volunteer activities happened to clash in timing.

Lu Xi thought these volunteer activities would be perfect for crafting Feng Baiming’s image as a kind-hearted internet celebrity. She planned to join Feng Baiming in building cat shelters first, then go with Luo Mingyue to the orphanage for a few staged photos.

Just then, she heard Feng Baiming call out, “Xiao Yue, take these picture books with you. They’re perfect for the kids.”

Lu Xi paused mid-step and waited until Feng Baiming had left before subtly asking Luo Mingyue, “How far have things progressed between you and Feng Baiming?”

Luo Mingyue replied seriously, “Feng Baiming and I are just friends. Don’t view an AO friendship through tinted glasses.”

Lu Xi thought their daily interactions standing close, speaking only to each other were textbook examples of flirting, yet both insisted they were just friends. She shared this gossip with Lu Le, Lu Ping, and Lu Jia.

Lu Ping, who had recently gone through a poetic phase, replied profoundly, “What do you know? Many romances begin under the guise of friendship. The first step in love is always the hardest.”

Lu Le snorted. “Backup plans, keeping options open, playing the ambiguity game fine, whatever. Respect and blessings.”

Only Lu Jia seemed agitated, gritting her teeth with a mix of resentment and grievance. “Maybe they really are just friends. Sister Lu Xi, don’t overthink it.”

That afternoon, Luo Mingyue left with a suitcase full of gifts for the children. When she ran into Lu Ping, he called out, “Xiao Yue, heading out?”

Luo Mingyue thought Lu Ping had lost his mind.

At dinner that evening, Lu Xi also called, “Xiao Yue, pass me the chopsticks.”

Lu Jia added cryptically, “Sister Mingyue, ‘Xiao Yue’ is such a nice name, isn’t it?”

Feng Baiming smiled at Lu Jia and nodded. “It’s a shame you’re younger than Xiao Yue. Calling her ‘Xiao Yue’ isn’t appropriate, you should address her as ‘sister’ to be polite.”

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