You Are My Omega - Chapter 104

Out of respect for Lin Zhiling, Xu Shijiu ultimately chose not to retaliate against the Lin family. However, she also didn’t have the kindness in her to help Lin Zhiling resolve the issue of the arranged marriage. Choosing not to take revenge was already the most she could offer.

Xu Shijiu had assumed Lin Xinyi was asleep. But when she returned to the room after sending the Lin family away, she saw Lin Xinyi sitting on the bed, looking disappointed and disheartened.

“You heard everything, didn’t you?” Xu Shijiu asked gently. When she had opened the door earlier, she hadn’t closed it completely, leaving it slightly ajar.

Lin Xinyi reached out her hand. Xu Shijiu quickly walked over, careful not to touch her baby bump, and leaned in to hold her. “I’m here.”

“I woke up as soon as you left,” Lin Xinyi whispered. The strong citrus scent of Xu Shijiu’s alpha pheromones wrapped around her, making her feel safe again. She met Xu Shijiu’s worried eyes and smiled softly. “I can’t sleep without you by my side.”

Xu Shijiu smiled back, feeling comforted. “Alright. From now on, even when you’re asleep, I’ll be right here with you.”

“Am I being too clingy?” Lin Xinyi asked, a little worried that her dependence might trouble Xu Shijiu.

“Silly girl. Are you overthinking again?” Xu Shijiu lightly tapped her forehead.

“Ouch.”

“I barely touched you.”

Xu Shijiu looked completely innocent.

“Xu Shijiu…”

“Yes?”

Lin Xinyi paused for a while before finally speaking. “Can you help her? The Lin family would never dare offend that alpha’s family, but he really isn’t a good person. I heard he already has an Omega outside and maybe even a child. If Lin Zhiling marries into that family, she’s going to suffer.”

“If that’s how you feel, I’ll take care of it,” Xu Shijiu agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

“Thank—”

“No thank yous allowed.”

Xu Shijiu silenced her gently. Lin Xinyi smiled helplessly, her heart full of warmth.

“Alright, everything’s settled now. Time to sleep. If we wait any longer, our little one might start causing trouble again.”

The two of them lay down together. This time, Lin Xinyi fell asleep peacefully. Xu Shijiu kept her eyes open for a while, but eventually, sleep took her too.

When Liu Lingyan returned home from the Liu estate with Fantuan, the housekeeper came up to her as soon as she walked through the door.

The housekeeper looked worried. After Fantuan ran off to play, she walked up to Liu Lingyan and said softly, “Madam, earlier this afternoon, Miss Ling from the Ling family and some people from the Lin family came to visit. The master wasn’t in a good mood. She didn’t eat lunch and has been in her room ever since.”

“She skipped lunch? That’s not good for her health,” Liu Lingyan said with concern. “Is there still any food kept warm?”

“Yes, Madam. I kept track of the time and reheated some porridge before you got back. It’s still warm now.”

“Good. I’ll take it.”

Liu Lingyan carried the bowl of porridge into the room. As she entered, she saw Xu Manyue sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the floor.

“I heard from the housekeeper that you didn’t eat lunch?” Liu Lingyan placed the bowl on the table in front of her.

“Hm?” Xu Manyue looked up, not having heard what she said.

“You skipped lunch. Have some porridge now to settle your stomach. It won’t be long before dinner anyway.” Liu Lingyan sat down at a short distance from her, pointing at the bowl.

“Alright.”

Xu Manyue nodded and began eating slowly, spoonful by spoonful. She didn’t ask where Liu Lingyan had gone that day, whether anything interesting had happened, or if she had met anyone along the way.

There was a quiet distance between them.

That phrase perfectly described their relationship since moving back in together. There was still an invisible wall between them. You couldn’t see it or touch it, but it was undeniably there.

“Did something happen today? I heard the housekeeper say there were a lot of visitors,” Liu Lingyan asked, breaking the silence.

“Ling Mian came by. She came to say goodbye. She’s going back to the Ling family and leaving the entertainment industry for good.”

Xu Manyue shared everything that had happened at home that day — except for the details about her relationship with Ling Mian.

Ling Mian’s name came up many times throughout her explanation.

A strange feeling rose in Liu Lingyan’s heart. She didn’t fully understand why Xu Manyue was so concerned about Ling Mian. Earlier in the day, she had seen a couple made up of two alphas, and it sparked a thought in her mind.

Could it be…

Xu Manyue was in love with Ling Mian?

She couldn’t help but suspect. Xu Manyue’s concern for Ling Mian seemed too much. Usually, Xu Manyue never paid this kind of attention to anyone who wasn’t family.

“Do you… like Ling Mian?”

Liu Lingyan hadn’t meant to say it out loud. But when she saw Xu Manyue’s expression change instantly, she realized she had accidentally spoken her thoughts.

“What?” Xu Manyue looked stunned, as if her entire worldview had just been shaken.

Liu Lingyan said nothing.

It was then that Xu Manyue realized Liu Lingyan was being serious. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “What makes you think I like Ling Mian?”

That possibility felt as unlikely as the Earth crashing into Mars.

“You care about her. Don’t you feel that yourself?” Liu Lingyan asked. Her tone was calm, but her reasoning clear. She had noticed for some time that Xu Manyue treated Ling Mian differently.

“I do care about her, but that doesn’t mean I’m in love with her.”

If Ling Mian hadn’t been Xu Shijiu’s biological sister, she wouldn’t have paid her much attention at all — not even if she was from the Ling family.

“That’s a relief,” Liu Lingyan said softly. She believed her and finally felt at ease.

Night fell, and the two of them went to bed. Each had her own blanket. There was no actual dividing line between them, yet both stayed strictly on their own side, as if one existed.

As expected, Liu Lingyan couldn’t sleep again.

She had lost count of how many sleepless nights she had had.

She had thought that, over time, things between them would naturally improve. That they would return to the way they used to be. But the reality was, even after living together again for so long, they remained polite and distant, with no intimacy at all.

She didn’t want things to stay this way, but she didn’t know how to change it either.

Xu Manyue wasn’t doing much better. Because of her medication, she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. But when she was awake, the awkwardness between them always made her sigh inwardly.

Liu Lingyan didn’t know how to take the first step.

And Xu Manyue was too afraid to.

What they needed was a turning point.

Liu Lingyan needed a reason to take the initiative.

Xu Manyue needed the courage to do the same.

But when that moment finally came, it nearly scared them both half to death.

In the name of keeping Lin Xinyi in good spirits, Xu Shijiu handed the company over to Xu Manyue and took Lin Xinyi to stay at a villa in the suburbs.

It was a convenient excuse, and Lin Xinyi played along. But Xu Manyue wasn’t so easily fooled. She could clearly see that Xu Shijiu and Lin Xinyi were deliberately making room and time for her and Liu Lingyan to be alone together.

“I have an interview today. It’s local, and I’ll be going with another artist from the company. I should be back by lunchtime at the latest.”

Liu Lingyan explained her schedule. Xu Manyue had never asked her to, but she had developed the habit of letting her know anyway.

“Alright. Be careful when you’re out,” Xu Manyue said. She didn’t know why, but she felt uneasy. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to stop Liu Lingyan from working just because of a vague feeling.

Liu Lingyan was briefly caught off guard. Xu Manyue’s concern seemed more obvious than usual today.

“I’ll be careful. You remember to eat on time and take your medicine properly.”

“I will.”

These words had been exchanged countless times, yet Xu Manyue never seemed to grow tired of hearing them.

Liu Lingyan had said she would be back by lunchtime, so Xu Manyue waited to eat lunch together with her.

But afternoon came, and the front door remained silent.

“Madam is probably still working. You should eat something first,” the housekeeper said gently, trying to persuade her.

“I just have this uneasy feeling,” Xu Manyue murmured. She couldn’t calm herself down.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

The sharp sound of the ringtone made her heart race.

She pressed the answer button. The voice on the other end barely finished speaking before Xu Manyue bolted out the door.

At the hospital, Liu Lingyan was clutching the bleeding wound on her arm. Her eyes were blank as she listened to the doctor say with regret, “I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”

She looked at the hospital bed being wheeled out, already covered with a white sheet. Everything felt unreal.

Just this morning, the young actress from the same company had been joking around with her, asking for acting advice and techniques. And now…

She was gone.

Liu Lingyan had stood outside an emergency room once before, during the car accident that claimed the lives of her mother and younger brother. But back then, her father had held her close, shielding her eyes and staying by her side.

This time, she had lived through the crash herself.

She had watched the young woman suffer her injuries. It was only thanks to the quick reaction of her bodyguard that Liu Lingyan had survived with relatively minor wounds.

She was terrified. It was only after experiencing it firsthand that she fully realized how fragile life truly was.

She had so many people she cared about in this world. In the moment of impact, the first people who came to her mind were Xu Manyue and Fantuan. She thought about what it would mean for them if something really happened to her. What if she had died right then and there? How much would it hurt them?

Xu Manyue always blamed herself for everything. Liu Lingyan thought, if something had happened to her, would Xu Manyue blame herself for not stopping her from going out that day?

Liu Lingyan began to realize how fragile life could be. With so many unexpected accidents happening every day, was it really worth holding on to the awkward distance between her and Xu Manyue? If something happened, would she be left full of regret?

Only now did Liu Lingyan truly understand how her father must have felt when he tried to convince her back then.

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