“But we can’t,” Xi Xiaoyan said gently. “Did you forget, Sister Wu? I told you, lately we shouldn’t be doing that.”
She smiled so innocently, even while teasing someone, her face remained pure and lighthearted.
Meng Chuwu didn’t get upset. Honestly, this moment of playfulness was just what they needed. So much had happened in the past few days since she entered this world, everything had felt like a nonstop roller coaster, and she was still trying to keep up.
“You’re getting bolder,” Meng Chuwu said, lightly bumping her knee against Xi Xiaoyan’s.
Xi Xiaoyan giggled, her laughter as delicate as a flower swaying in the breeze. “I’m not being bold. If it were possible, I wouldn’t want to stop even if you kissed me until I couldn’t breathe.”
“You’re very direct.”
“Do you not like that?” Xi Xiaoyan blinked, genuinely curious.
“I do like it,” Meng Chuwu replied before she could think twice. Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t lied to Xi Xiaoyan, and she hadn’t lied to herself either.
It felt like she had accidentally admitted something deeply personal, and now she didn’t dare make a sound.
“Then I’m relieved.” Xi Xiaoyan stretched slowly, raising her right hand to hold her left above her head, her upper body leaning softly to the side as she relaxed with a small yawn.
“I have a question,” Meng Chuwu said, nudging her knee again.
Realizing she had just stretched lazily in front of Meng Chuwu, Xi Xiaoyan quickly lowered her arms. This time, she let her knee rest right against Meng Chuwu’s.
Through that quiet contact, it felt like the emotions they couldn’t say out loud were somehow being shared. Feelings like trembling affection, the desire to be closer, or words too sweet to speak were all passing between them, silently.
“Go ahead, Sister Wu.”
“Now that Jiang Tianyang has reached out to you, should I take that to mean she’s ready to be friends again?”
“Oh, that?” Xi Xiaoyan smiled, her eyes twinkling like stars under the light.
“What do you mean ‘that’?”
“You really are the jealous type, Sister Wu.”
“And what if I am?” Meng Chuwu said with a straight face, no longer trying to hide it.
“Actually, after we graduated, I only met Jiang once before our wedding. She gave me a gift and told me not to invite her to the ceremony.”
“So that means she still doesn’t want to be friends?”
“I don’t know exactly,” Xi Xiaoyan said, her smile fading. “And then the other night, we ran into each other outside the restaurant. I lied to you and said she liked me. What I really meant was that she confessed to me back in high school. I just wanted to see if you’d get jealous.”
“You lied about something like that?” Meng Chuwu bumped her knee again.
“I know I was wrong. That really wasn’t the right thing to do.”
“It’s not that serious,” Meng Chuwu said, holding Xi Xiaoyan’s hand and looking into her eyes. “But can you try not to pull those little tricks so often?”
“I will. Yesterday when I agreed to meet her, it wasn’t just because I was upset. I also wanted to gently let her know it’s not appropriate for us to keep meeting one-on-one.”
She paused, the meaning in her eyes was clear. She understood how painful that conversation would be.
“Jiang Tianyang is smart. I’m sure she understood what I meant. I just didn’t expect everything that happened afterward.”
“What did she ask you out for?”
“She said it was just to get coffee.”
“If it really was just coffee, that would’ve been fine.”
Even though Meng Chuwu couldn’t help feeling jealous after hearing their history, she didn’t want to be the kind of person who demanded someone cut ties. She didn’t have that right.
Besides, Xi Xiaoyan had already taken the initiative to create distance between them. Saying anything more would have only made her seem unreasonable.
Seeing her worry, Xi Xiaoyan added quickly, “Sister Wu, even if she invites me again in the future, I’ll try my best to say no.”
She didn’t want Meng Chuwu to be suspicious of Jiang Tianyang or to feel troubled because of her.
In her heart, Xi Xiaoyan had chosen Meng Chuwu before, and she was still choosing her now. No matter what happened later on, she believed that choice would never change.
This was something she had never felt unsure about.
A long time ago, she had known that Meng Chuwu was her dream for life.
She used to question herself, wondering if this kind of love was too intense or irrational. But now, she no longer cared why. Just being with Meng Chuwu made her happy, and that kind of happiness was something no one else could give her.
Still, she cherished her memories with Jiang Tianyang. That was why she had tried to defend her earlier.
“Yanyan, you…” Meng Chuwu reached out with her right hand, leaning forward and gently cupping Xi Xiaoyan’s cheek. “It’s not that I’m convinced Jiang Tianyang did it. I’m just scared you’ll get hurt. What happened yesterday, I don’t want that to happen again. So maybe I’m being a little overcautious.”
“I understand.” Xi Xiaoyan lifted her hand and placed it gently over Meng Chuwu’s.
Their eyes met. Suddenly, Meng Chuwu’s heart began to pound, and it felt like something inside her had been awakened.
“Um…” She pulled her hand back quickly. “I think I need a suppressant.”
“Oh,” Xi Xiaoyan said, realizing that Meng Chuwu might be entering her susceptible period. “Where is it? I’ll go get it for you.”
“I can handle it myself.” Meng Chuwu got up and headed to where she kept the medication.
She opened the drawer, picked a tablet, and placed it in her mouth.
“I’m going to step outside for some fresh air,” she said, her voice slightly muffled by the suppressant.
“Come back soon,” Xi Xiaoyan said, standing up to see her off.
Meng Chuwu nodded and waved her hand, gently motioning for her not to follow. She didn’t want to risk triggering another heat episode.
Downstairs, the house was silent.
She remembered that Chao Zhi and Xiao Chi were still with Chen Lanying.
The case involving the Tengyun drug seemed to have some leads, but they were still just guesses.
She had shared her suspicions with Xi Xiaoyan, but she had kept quiet about the look in Jiang Tianyang’s eyes. There was something there she didn’t fully understand. Was it jealousy? Or was something else going on?
She didn’t know.
The suppressant made her feel heavy and a little dizzy. Her mind wasn’t clear.
Once she stepped outside into the cool night air, her head began to clear.
She walked toward the front garden and, almost without thinking, raised her right hand. The light on her palm, which had been green the night before, was now faintly glowing red.
The change startled her. It felt like she was on another emotional roller coaster.
“Axi, Axi!” she called out, panic pushing away the dizziness.
“Meow,” Athena responded immediately, as usual.
Not watching her step, Meng Chuwu nearly tripped over the chubby little Scottish Fold cat.
“Why is the light on my palm turning red?”
“There’s danger,” Athena said calmly.
“What kind of danger?” Meng Chuwu felt herself spiraling into panic. She tried to stay calm.
The cat kept weaving around her feet, making her feel like she might fall, so she bent down and scooped Athena into her arms.
“Meow… meow!” Athena squirmed a bit before finally settling into a comfortable position in Meng Chuwu’s arms.
“Is this an aftereffect of the Tengyun drug from yesterday?” Despite feeling slightly anxious, Meng Chuwu still noticed that Axi had changed her neck scarf again. That cat really never repeated the same accessory twice.
“Probably not,” Athena replied, rubbing her head against Meng Chuwu’s chest as if scratching an itch.
“What do you mean probably not? Can you be a little more certain?”
“The Tengyun drug situation seems to be over. But according to the monitoring system, there might be a new danger approaching.”
“This never ends, does it?” Meng Chuwu didn’t quite believe the Tengyun issue was resolved.
“The system only issues warnings. It can’t predict details before things happen. I told you before, the will of the original novel is very strong. Even though your life was reset, the cannon fodder gene is still there. And you didn’t sign the contract when I told you to, which probably triggered some of the cannon fodder storyline.”
“Axi, can you say something helpful for once?”
“Trust your instincts. Be extra cautious around Jiang Tianyang. In the original story, she wasn’t supposed to appear so early. Just like you, I think she’s the most suspicious.”
“Can you not say ‘I think’ at a time like this?” Meng Chuwu’s instincts were usually spot-on. Jiang Tianyang didn’t seem as sweet and harmless as she appeared.
“That’s because the Book-Piercing Bureau can’t be completely sure. I can only speculate.”
“Axi, what if Jiang Tianyang’s real target is me?”
“Huh?”
“If she wants to be with Yanyan, then wouldn’t I be the biggest obstacle?”
“That woman seems a little two-faced. Meng Chuwu, what are we going to do?”
“We wait and watch.”
Suddenly, Meng Chuwu stopped walking.
“Axi, didn’t Jiang Tianyang say the other night that she also has a Scottish Fold cat? Could you try to lure her cat and see if you can get any useful information?”
“Meng Chuwu, are you really that sneaky? You want me to seduce her cat?”
“Athena, if I’m in danger, doesn’t that affect you too?”
“Meow!” Athena leapt down from Meng Chuwu’s arms and disappeared into the night.