The Second Fall - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: What to Do After Calling Your Boss “Mommy” by Mistake

Dead silence.

Lan Cixing’s breathing stopped; she even forgot to blink. Dazed, she momentarily lost control over her muscles, and her phone slipped from her palm. With a clack, it hit the floor, but even that failed to bring her back to reality.

She remained frozen in the posture of a wrongdoer caught red-handed, as if her punishment was to be turned into stone. Only a single drop of cold sweat was disobedient, sliding from her temple down to her neck.

Rong Yushu retracted her gaze. Being stared at by those affectionate emerald eyes was never easy to endure. Whenever a hint of a smile touched those fox-like eyes, the curve became cunning and dangerous. She had looked at Lan Cixing that way just now, quite leisurely, expecting a blush on her cheeks or a stuttering tongue—but she hadn’t expected Lan Cixing to fall into such a prolonged state of shock.

Even when Rong Yushu lowered her lashes, Lan Cixing didn’t relax. The moment the door opened, Lan Cixing’s heart had died, her soul flying toward the heavens to prepare for reincarnation. This person seemed even more like a block of wood than she was four years ago.

With a helpless sigh, Rong Yushu crouched down and picked up Lan Cixing’s phone. Lan Cixing finally reacted, crouching down alongside her so quickly she nearly fell into a kneel. Rong Yushu remained elegant and composed. With one hand holding the phone by her side, she used the other to hook Lan Cixing’s palm, sliding her finger upward.

The sensation of those sharp nails scraping her skin triggered a violent reaction in Lan Cixing. She trembled to a degree visible to the naked eye. Yet, her instinct compelled her to curl her fingers downward; her fingertips naturally rested on Rong Yushu’s fingers, allowing herself to be led upward as they stood.

With her hand rescued by Rong Yushu, Lan Cixing’s soul naturally returned. Rong Yushu pulled her into the lounge, locked the door, and pinned her against it. Lan Cixing turned her face away, her hair trembling with fear and her forehead drenched in cold sweat, not even noticing that her phone was still in Rong Yushu’s possession.

Rong Yushu, as expected, did not let her off. The screen hadn’t turned off yet; Rong Yushu had already scanned the entire conversation and tapped on the voice message that was the culprit. Lan Cixing’s “cutesy” voice played back clearly. With no one else in the room and excellent soundproofing, the two of them heard the shameful message in its entirety.

—I’m going to massage Shushu-mommy’s waist~ are you jealous?

Lan Cixing closed her eyes, wishing she could just faint and die. Why on earth did she send such a voice message to An Yu right at Rong Yushu’s door? Was she possessed?

Rong Yushu raised an eyebrow. Her gaze lacked pressure, instead carrying a trace of allure that Lan Cixing found hard to decipher, hooking Lan Cixing’s heart along with her words.

“Shushu-mommy?” she asked, a simple rhetorical question.

Lan Cixing opened her eyes. Sensing that she couldn’t escape this ordeal, she hardened her heart and met Rong Yushu’s gaze. Only now did she see how clear Rong Yushu’s green eyes were—as if she had just heard the most beautiful words in the world.

Lan Cixing froze, realizing belatedly that Rong Yushu didn’t seem angry anymore. She became even more cautious, looking up like a dog that had done something wrong but hadn’t been beaten yet, reflecting the light in her eyes back to Rong Yushu.

Rong Yushu let go. Lan Cixing unconsciously started to slide down. Just as she reached a height where Rong Yushu could completely look down on her, she was caught again. Their fingers interlaced.

Rong Yushu’s hands were not large; they were perfectly shaped, smooth and beautiful, yet incredibly domineering. She always preferred to clasp Lan Cixing’s hand entirely within her palm, seeking total control over her. Her dark green nails shimmered in the shadows, gently rubbing against the back of Lan Cixing’s hand.

Lan Cixing’s throat bobbed. Whether it was fear or anticipation, only she knew.

“Hmm?” Rong Yushu didn’t even need to say more. A single hum was enough to make Lan Cixing surrender.

“I… if I said I wasn’t calling you that, would you believe me?” Her response was a blatant excuse. She lifted her lashes to steal a glance upward at Rong Yushu.

This was the posture they were most accustomed to in the past. When Lan Cixing first met Rong Yushu as her martial arts double, she was only eighteen. Just having secondary gender differentiation, the young Lan Cixing hadn’t finished her growth spurt and was less than 170cm tall. Back then, Rong Yushu was already twenty-one, fully grown at 174cm. Relying on those few centimeters of height difference and heels that were always higher than Lan Cixing’s, Rong Yushu loved looking at her like this.

Who would have known that over the next two years, Lan Cixing would shoot up every summer? By the time she officially entered the industry as Rong Yushu’s acting partner, Lan Cixing had grown to 182cm, and Rong Yushu could no longer look down on her.

Yet, no matter how much time passed, the feeling of their first meeting remained etched in both their hearts, becoming a wordless habit. Standing before Rong Yushu, Lan Cixing would always unconsciously feel a head shorter.

At this moment, she actually recalled that summer when she was eighteen. She was drenched in sweat from training, exhausted on the school field, when a bottle of water was pressed against her face. Rong Yushu’s water—chilled to the perfect temperature, mixed with a faint floral scent.

The child-star-turned-mega-celebrity appeared before her just like that. Carved like pink jade, her eyes shining like the moon and stars; she clearly looked like a fox, yet she possessed a cold, ethereal aura. Back then, Lan Cixing was just as dazed, staring foolishly for a long time. Such impolite behavior, yet Rong Yushu only took out a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat.

Rong Yushu’s hands were the hands of an actress. They didn’t touch raw meat or do hard labor; they were flawless and beautiful, belonging to a world different from Lan Cixing’s. She gently wiped the grimy “little pitiful” back to a clean state. From the forehead to behind the ears, every inch was handled with care.

“From tomorrow, you are mine. I’ve spoken to your Colonel about the training here; you can resume it later.” With those words, Rong Yushu took away the little dog that had been left by the roadside by the instructors.

The heartbeat of memory gradually overlapped with reality. Lan Cixing’s eyes were full of moisture—sweat and tears blurred together, making it hard to tell if it was nervousness, anxiety, excitement, or sorrow.

“Mommy…” She always failed to hold it back. Rong Yushu’s fans had loved calling her that over the past year. But a long time ago, that title had clearly been hers alone.

Lan Cixing had no place to reveal her jealousy. She couldn’t even mention Rong Yushu to any friends or relatives. The incident four years ago was so massive. Except for Lan Cixing herself, everyone hated Rong Yushu. It was a revenge-by-proxy from the Rong family’s enemies that harmed Lan Cixing, and it was the Rong family’s indifference and instigation that destroyed Lan Cixing’s future.

Lan Cixing could only convince herself: She didn’t love Rong Yushu anymore. She hated her.

Rong Yushu heard her extremely quiet call and gave a light scoff. “I didn’t hear you clearly.” She had heard it perfectly. She heard it once out loud, once on the phone, once through the door, and now once more. So many times, yet it still couldn’t fill the four-year void.

Lan Cixing bit her lip and refused to answer. She was blushing the color of a ripe persimmon—actually a bit pinker than that, very similar to Rong Yushu’s lipstick shade today. If Rong Yushu were to kiss her now, the lip print wouldn’t even be noticed.

“You can call others that. Why not me? Your voice was so cute. You’re clearly trying to… seduce me, aren’t you?” Rong Yushu really wanted to lick her lips. She stared at Lan Cixing’s face like a fox staring at its rabbit. A weak rabbit, a delicious rabbit. With the next blink, this predator would pounce.

“N-no…” Seduce? Being spoken to and looked at like that, Lan Cixing felt like she was about to melt. This summer seemed even hotter than the one eight years ago. Lan Cixing hadn’t done any exercise, yet sweat had nearly soaked her back. She wanted to slip away from Rong Yushu’s palm.

Rong Yushu simply let go of her hand and switched to wrapping her arm around her waist. Lan Cixing was forced to stand straight; the place where Rong Yushu touched was as stiff as a stone slab, while the rest of her body melted at a touch. Even so, Rong Yushu had to stand on her tiptoes for her lips to brush against Lan Cixing’s ear.

“That’s right, good daughter. You should save it…” The first sentence made Lan Cixing’s brain explode. “…for calling me at night.” The added ending was even more of a bombshell, sounding like actual firecrackers in Lan Cixing’s mind.

Even with her waist being held, Lan Cixing couldn’t hold herself up. She slid down, her pupils shrinking to tiny points. Rong Yushu, however, stopped caring about her. Like countless times before, she teased her until she completely lost her composure, then turned and left. She tossed the phone back into her arms, hitting her hard enough to sting.

Tease and run, never taking responsibility. This was the true face of Rong Yushu. Lan Cixing knew it, and she should hate it. Yet her damn heart wouldn’t stop thudding, and the buzzing in her head made her nose sting.

Meanwhile, Rong Yushu had gone to the sofa to get her bag. She checked her own phone, replying to Lan Cixing first before seeing the content sent by her subordinates. With her back to Lan Cixing, she didn’t hide her emotions; her gaze turned cold.

“Good job blocking it. Don’t let it spread; no more people can know her identity. Check who leaked it. Then prepare a trending topic for Mu Huai’s acting skills.” This Mu Huai’s heart was surprisingly malicious. Fortunately, the people Rong Yushu raised had long since received her instructions: no trending topics related to Lan Cixing could be released without her review.

Rong Yushu took a deep breath and put her phone back in her bag. She put on her gold-rimmed monocle and a pair of gloves. Having adjusted her emotions, she turned to face Lan Cixing. Lan Cixing was still sitting by the door. Her kneeling posture was quite cute; the necktie around her neck looked like a collar, making her resemble a guard dog.

Rong Yushu smiled, her fox-like eyes flickering with both cunning and a trap-like allure. She walked over to Lan Cixing and reached out. In her hand was a shirt. Rong Yushu’s shirt—one she had worn this morning.

Lan Cixing must have truly been dazed by the teasing; she even reached out her hand while asking foolishly, “What for?”

Some people just don’t learn. Rong Yushu hooked Lan Cixing’s hand, pulled her up into an embrace, and casually draped the shirt over her back to block the wind. She gave her a meaningful look.

Once they left the room and the wind cleared Lan Cixing’s head, she suddenly understood. Rong Yushu’s eyes were saying: We’ll do it back home.

Lan Cixing was taken to the car by Rong Yushu. The car was hot too. Lan Cixing’s neck felt uncomfortably dry, and the shirt on her back still carried Rong Yushu’s scent, burning her skin with a crackling pain. Rong Yushu beside her was like a massive furnace, roasting half of Lan Cixing until her internal organs felt cooked.

Rong Yushu wasn’t looking at her; she was playing on her phone, her nails clicking against the screen. But the white tea scent kept tugging at Lan Cixing’s nose. Lan Cixing had to shift her attention. She took out her own phone, remembering that An Yu had sent a message she hadn’t replied to yet. An Yu would surely be improper. But since she couldn’t see An Yu and An Yu couldn’t see her, Lan Cixing felt much more at ease.

“B-boss…” Lan Cixing spoke tremulously.

“We were just so intimate, and now you’re back to ‘Boss.’ How distant.” Rong Yushu was oblivious to Lan Cixing’s state and didn’t look at her. Only her tone remained provocative.

“…Sister.” Lan Cixing knew what she wanted to hear. She couldn’t say the other thing, so she settled for second best.

“Good girl. Speak.” Rong Yushu scraped Lan Cixing’s cheek with her nail as a reward.

“I need to call Baian to check on her today.” Lan Cixing steadied herself and shrank further to the side.

“Call her then. Perfect, I wanted to see how Baian is doing lately too.” Rong Yushu started to lean over.

Lan Cixing held her phone away, refusing to let her see. “You can’t be on camera. If Baian sees you, she’ll be angry.” Lan Cixing was already hard to coax; if Lan Baian made a scene with their aunt, she’d be finished.

Rong Yushu clearly hadn’t expected to be blocked. She narrowed her eyes, her tone remaining languid, but Lan Cixing could tell she was a bit unhappy. “Am I that shameful to be seen? Didn’t you always say I was beautiful? Could it be that A-Ci is just pretending to be a scum Alpha to deceive me?”

Rong Yushu was referring to a long time ago. When they first met, Lan Cixing was always behind her, like a little tail. Other doubles were never that close to their principals. When Rong Yushu turned to ask if something was wrong, she would just praise Rong Yushu for being beautiful. The young Lan Cixing was very sweet-talked and not at all awkward—much cuter than this “stupid dog” version of her. Time was cruel. No matter how much Rong Yushu reminisced, they couldn’t go back.

“N-no, that’s not the issue.” Thanks to An Yu, Lan Cixing was sensitive to the topic of scum Alphas lately and hurriedly cleared her name. “Anyway, she doesn’t want to see you. If you come over and I’m exposed, I’ll have to terminate my contract with you.”

Lan Cixing didn’t want to explain the details. Regarding the events of four years ago, she was always speechless. In the end, it always came back to hate. And no matter how much Lan Cixing hated it, she didn’t want to say it to Rong Yushu.

“I’m making the call. Don’t lean over.” To hide her emotions, Lan Cixing hurriedly dialed the video call to Lan Baian. She focused on the screen to distract herself and thus didn’t notice how lonely Rong Yushu looked beside her.

Her emerald eyes were covered in a layer of snow. Desolate as if frozen for ten thousand miles, with no living thing left under heaven and earth. One look would be heart-wrenching. But until the call connected, Lan Cixing didn’t turn her head again. Rong Yushu closed her eyes. It was better this way—not being seen. She didn’t want her to feel bad.

Lan Baian quickly answered the call, pretending to be a good student at her desk. “Sister! You’re off work?” She deliberately pointed the camera at the problems on the desk.

Lan Cixing scanned them; there were indeed traces of work. “My boss is off. I’m taking her back to her place now, and I might stay overnight.” This was what she had agreed on with Rong Yushu. Lan Cixing didn’t go back on her word.

“I see… is your boss beside you? Is she from the entertainment industry?” Lan Baian was curious about this mysterious boss who was taking her sister—who was in her prime, single, and had great looks and pheromones—home. Her gossipy eyes were practically poking out of the screen.

“Have you eaten? There are pre-portioned dishes I made yesterday in the fridge. Enough for the week.” Lan Cixing pretended not to hear.

While speaking, she saw An Yu’s message and tapped in to reply. After thinking it over, Rong Yushu had seen her chat with An Yu and had no reaction; it probably wasn’t her. Then An Yu might be a relative of He Lanli. Lan Cixing wanted to test her, but she saw the message first.

“Good daughter.” It was the same address Rong Yushu had used. Lan Cixing put a question mark in her mind. A coincidence? Must be. “I know you’re going to your dream to give your Shushu-girlfriend a massage.” An Yu had even provided the excuse for her. It seemed Lan Cixing’s identity defense from the afternoon had succeeded. But the following words made her speechless. “If you could call me that too, I’d be very happy. After all, I’m Shushu’s double; it wouldn’t be too much for Sister-baby to call me that once, right?”

While listening to Lan Baian’s guilty description of her day, Lan Cixing replied to An Yu. “You didn’t reply instantly. Also, you used to send voice messages calling me ‘baby’ every day; why haven’t you sent any lately? Afraid I’ll notice your voice changed?” Lan Cixing only regretted not saving An Yu’s earliest voice messages; otherwise, she could have compared them. She noted the time An Yu went offline. How strange—it overlapped once again with when Rong Yushu was teasing her.

Lan Cixing stole a glance at Rong Yushu. She wasn’t playing on her phone right now; if An Yu replied instantly, the suspicion would be cleared. The next second, An Yu sent a link.

“…” Lan Cixing knew it was that “Dual Cultivation Space” without even looking. She decisively exited the chat and returned to the video call.

“Anyway, Sister, everything is fine with me today! I studied for a long time too! I’ll take the certification exam next week!” Lan Baian just finished her report.

“As long as you know what you’re doing. I transferred your living expenses; you should have received them today?”

Just as Lan Baian was about to reply, she heard a voice from her sister’s side.

“Good cub.”

Mature, full of charm. It had a hint of allure, yet strangely, a sense of righteousness suppressed that seductiveness. This must be an Omega sister! Maybe the one her sister had been talking to with a lowered voice lately! Lan Baian suddenly understood something, her eyes burning with the fire of gossip. Wanting to leave the “couple’s space” to her sister and sister-in-law, she decisively said goodbye.

“Ahhh! Sister, I knew it! I knew you went to cough cough… I won’t disturb you! Have fun with my sister-in-law!!!! Mua love you, everything is great here!” Lan Baian quickly hung up.

Only after hanging up did she sense something was off. That beautiful voice just now sounded a bit familiar. It was a bit like… Rong Yushu?

Lan Cixing had the call on speaker. Lan Baian’s words were heard perfectly by Rong Yushu. By the time Lan Cixing wanted to hang up, Lan Baian had already finished and ended the call first.

“…” Lan Cixing gripped her phone, her fists tightening. Thanks a lot, Lan Baian. This was her second social death in front of Rong Yushu today. Although it didn’t compare to “Mommy,” she still wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

“Sister-in-law, huh…” Rong Yushu tapped the back of her phone. Only she knew how unhappy she was right now. She was An Yu, always wanting to entice Lan Cixing to reply. Yet in front of Lan Cixing, she had to watch her being unwilling to talk to her while replying to “someone else.”

The questioning voice carried a bit of suppressed anger. Hearing it, Lan Cixing’s heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed hard. “My sister doesn’t know; she’s talking nonsense…” No matter what, Rong Yushu was just teasing her; she couldn’t possibly want her to be her “wife.”

Lan Cixing hurriedly “slid to a kneel,” practically raising her hands in surrender. Unexpectedly, Rong Yushu’s gaze turned even colder, making Lan Cixing’s skin crawl. She made a mental note against Lan Baian—why was this kid always obsessed with her love life?

The car stopped. They had reached Rong Yushu’s residence. Rong Yushu retracted her gaze. The pressure vanished instantly, and Lan Cixing breathed a sigh of relief, though her legs were a bit weak. She was shaky as she got out of the car. Rong Yushu ignored her and walked far ahead.

Lan Cixing swallowed her anxiety. She could never understand this woman, yet she was instinctively attracted and wanted to explore her. Gripping her bag, she had to hurry to catch up. She was an employee living in someone else’s house; she didn’t have time for idle thoughts.

But Rong Yushu was hard to chase. Even though Lan Cixing was half a head taller, Rong Yushu’s pace was extremely fast. As if she didn’t want to be caught, she vanished in a couple of flashes. When Lan Cixing finally caught up, Rong Yushu was standing in front of a bedroom door.

“You’re sleeping here tonight.” Rong Yushu opened the door, signaling her to enter.

Lan Cixing took one look. Just by the scent, she knew this was Rong Yushu’s room. The Omega’s body fragrance came from the incense in the room, which reflected Rong Yushu’s mischievous side. If her perfume only held a part of her pheromones, the incense in this room completely replicated them.

Three parts were the most familiar white tea scent. Sandalwood subtly covered the sweetness of the white tea upon closer inspection. The final part was a scholarly air that couldn’t be tasted without familiarity—like fine dust, or late jade.

Lan Cixing jolted. She didn’t dare sleep in such a place, truly afraid her recently passed rut would return.

“That’s right.” Rong Yushu happened to put her arm around her shoulder. Her tone made the posture anything but innocent. “Didn’t you want to ‘do it’?” Rong Yushu suddenly turned her head, blowing hot air against Lan Cixing’s ear.

While it turned red from the itch, Lan Cixing’s pocket vibrated with another message. Rong Yushu pressed her hand down, preventing her from grabbing the phone. She sent the message, yet she wouldn’t let Lan Cixing see it. She was right here. Lan Cixing wasn’t allowed to think about or look at anyone else.

“Naturally, we must…”

“…share the same bed.”

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