You Are My Omega - Chapter 52

This might have been the first time Xu Shijiu ever had so many friends. She had accepted all thirty-five classmate requests on her messaging app and now stared at the growing list of contacts on her phone, frozen in disbelief.

“Miss?” The bodyguard who had come to pick her up noticed her staring blankly at her screen and grew concerned. “Miss, are you alright? Did something happen?”

Since Lin Xinyi wasn’t by Xu Shijiu’s side most of the time, Xu Manyue believed that if she wanted Xu Shijiu to make friends, the bodyguard shouldn’t stay too close. Instead, she funded the installation of an audio monitoring system. The bodyguard would drop Xu Shijiu off at the classroom and then wait in the car, watching the monitor.

It turned out to be a great decision. The proof was right there in Xu Shijiu’s contact list, now filled with thirty-five names.

When Lin Xinyi got home and saw Xu Shijiu grinning from ear to ear, she couldn’t help but smile too.

“Shijiu, did something good happen?”

“Look.” Xu Shijiu handed her the phone, her tone filled with excitement.

Lin Xinyi leaned in. “Whoa, that many?” She reacted just as Xu Shijiu had hoped, then followed up, curious. “What happened?”

“I helped some classmates with their questions, and then they asked to add me,” Xu Shijiu explained calmly, but Lin Xinyi could easily see the pride shining through. Despite her even tone, she was clearly proud and happy.

“Wow, that’s amazing.” Lin Xinyi praised her sincerely.

Fantuan wobbled over and clapped her hands. “Auntie is amazing!”

“You’re amazing too, Fantuan, for speaking so clearly,” Xu Shijiu said, picking her up and setting her on her lap. She tapped the little girl’s nose affectionately. Fantuan had recently differentiated into an Omega, and as Xu Shijiu held her, she noticed the distinct sweet scent of cherry blossoms.

It was light and fragrant.

Speaking of scents, Xu Shijiu realized she had never smelled Lin Xinyi’s pheromone before. Nor had she smelled her sister-in-law’s, but that made sense—her sister-in-law was her sister’s Omega, and that scent was only meant for her sister. Still, she couldn’t help being curious about what Lin Xinyi’s scent would be like.

Lin Xinyi felt deeply comforted seeing such a change in Xu Shijiu. Their class was full of students focused solely on academic success, so someone like Xu Shijiu, who was ranked first in the grade, naturally attracted admiration. As long as she reached out and showed kindness, her classmates would surely return it with warmth.

Xu Manyue had done her research. Since this was an elite class that admitted students purely based on academic merit, she had also taken the extra step of checking each student’s background to prevent troublemakers like Mo Jinlan from disrupting Xu Shijiu’s peace again.

Lin Xinyi knew about this. Xu Manyue had even shown her all the student profiles. What neither of them expected was that Mo Jinlan would also be enrolled at the same school.

The first thing Lin Xinyi heard when she dropped by campus was from Lin Zhiling, who casually mentioned that Mo Jinlan was in the class next door.

Lin Xinyi instinctively looked toward the group of students gathered around Xu Shijiu, who was helping them with questions. Seeing that she hadn’t noticed anything unusual, Lin Xinyi breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned closer to Lin Zhiling and whispered, “She hasn’t caused trouble for Xu Shijiu, has she?”

“She tried once, but I sent her away,” Lin Zhiling said frankly. Then she added, “But I think something’s off. Mo Jinlan used to avoid her completely, and now suddenly she’s getting close again. It’s strange.”

Lin Xinyi’s brow tightened. “That’s a change. Got it.”

“You should probably look into it.” Lin Zhiling had considered doing it herself but figured Lin Xinyi would handle it.

Lin Xinyi nodded and gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Zhiling. If you hadn’t been watching, I might not have known.”

And if she hadn’t known, Xu Shijiu might have been hurt again by Mo Jinlan.

That was something Lin Xinyi never wanted to see happen.

The car accident years ago had hurt so many people and left behind deep scars. Back then, the people who knew the truth had no intention of telling Xu Manyue or Liu Lingyan anything. But somehow, that so-called truth had been exposed. Even if it was one-sided, it still came out.

Today was Liu Lingyan’s birthday. Xu Manyue and Fantuan had planned a big surprise for her. Xu Manyue had expected a joyful, unforgettable day. But in reality, it turned out to be a day full of shock and anxiety.

A mysterious envelope arrived from an anonymous sender. A sealed document. No name. Just harsh, crushing facts.

“Sister?” Xu Shijiu looked up nervously as she watched Xu Manyue come out of the study, her face pale and expression grim. She rolled her wheelchair closer. “Sister, are you okay? Did something happen?”

Xu Manyue forced a smile and chose to comfort her first.

“I’m fine, Xiaojiu. Don’t worry. We still have that last bit of the surprise for Yanyan to prepare, right? Let’s go finish that together.”

“Okay.”

Xu Shijiu couldn’t guess what had shaken her sister so much. She noticed the dark expression on Xu Manyue’s face but said nothing, choosing to remain silent.

The study door closed behind them, but not before Xu Shijiu caught a glimpse of the document on the desk. Even though the rest of the desk was piled with files, that one stood out. She couldn’t explain why, but she had a strong feeling it was important. Very different.

She also noticed how rushed her sister had been, leaving the document behind without even trying to put it away. It was like she was in a hurry to find someone.

Still, all of this was just her guess.

Liu Lingyan had sensed something wrong too. The moment she saw Xu Manyue after coming home, she noticed the complex and heavy emotions in her eyes. They were difficult to understand and weighed heavily on her heart.

She wanted to ask right away, but the timing wasn’t right. After the birthday cake was eaten and their daughter was tucked into bed, Liu Lingyan finally had a chance to talk to Xu Manyue alone.

“What happened?” Liu Lingyan asked directly as she sat down beside Xu Manyue. Resting in her Alpha’s arms, she felt as if all the exhaustion of the day had suddenly melted away.

Xu Manyue didn’t answer. She simply looked at the person in her arms, and in that moment, it felt like her heart was being torn apart. Her eyes, hidden from Liu Lingyan’s view, were filled with anguish and struggle.

Should she tell Liu Lingyan? Or should she not?

Just making that decision was painful enough. She didn’t know how to choose. If she told her, would Liu Lingyan be able to accept it? Of course not.

Her eyes reflected suffocating pain.

Xu Manyue had heard Liu Lingyan speak many times about her mother and younger brother, who had passed away in an accident. Every time she talked about it, there was regret in her voice. Regret that she never got to see them one last time.

“Yanyan, how did your mom and brother pass away?” Xu Manyue asked softly. Just uttering that question had taken everything she had.

“A car accident. My mom was driving and collided with someone else. She passed away in the crash. I heard the people in the other car were also seriously hurt, but I never met them. At the time…” Liu Lingyan fell into her memories, completely unaware of the change in Xu Manyue’s expression. Her eyes dimmed. “At the time, I locked myself in my room. I couldn’t accept it. They had to force me into therapy before I started to get better.”

Xu Manyue didn’t know whether to feel relieved that Liu Lingyan didn’t know the full story of the accident or more disturbed by that fact. Either way, she had to admit that hearing Liu Lingyan speak so honestly about her ignorance brought a moment of breathless relief.

She even tried convincing herself that maybe the contents of that anonymous envelope were fake. Maybe everything inside was a lie. Right now, all she could do was wait for her team’s investigation.

“Are you alright, Yueyue? Did something remind you of my mom?” Liu Lingyan asked gently as she came back to herself. She looked up at Xu Manyue with concern. Why else would she suddenly bring up this topic?

Xu Manyue gave a slow nod. “Yes.”

She had no better answer.

She had never liked the woman who doted only on Xu Shijiu and showed no affection toward her. But today, for the first time, Xu Manyue felt something deeper than dislike.

She felt hate.

If her mother didn’t love her, then why rush over the moment she got a phone call from her? Why speed? If she hadn’t been speeding, none of this would have happened.

Even though Liu Lingyan had told her that their mother loved her, and that she had come to understand that from both Shijiu and other family accounts, Xu Manyue simply couldn’t believe it. The woman who always cupped Shijiu’s face with affection had never once touched hers. The mother who always hugged Shijiu avoided her like she carried some kind of disease.

How could she possibly have loved her?

And yet, no matter how you looked at it, the entire tragedy had started with that one phone call. It was all because she had asked her to come.

She hated it. She hated herself.

All this time, Xu Shijiu had been wondering what her sister had seen that caused such a drastic change in her mood. It wasn’t until Xu Manyue had been gently led away by her wife that Xu Shijiu decided to sneak into the study and find out for herself.

“Xu Shijiu?”

She was just hesitating outside the door, about to push it open, when she heard Lin Xinyi’s voice behind her.

Xu Shijiu flinched and quickly pulled her hand back from the doorknob. She didn’t realize that Lin Xinyi had seen her hesitation and every subtle move.

Turning her wheelchair, she tried to act natural. “W-what is it?”

“Why are you standing outside your sister’s study?” Lin Xinyi asked.

Xu Shijiu immediately turned away. “It’s nothing.”

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