“Have you had enough?” Not wanting the two children to come downstairs and see something they shouldn’t, Yu Keqing dragged Lin Sheng back into the master bedroom.
Lin Sheng shed her cumbersome long dress. Her voluptuous body tumbled toward Yu Keqing, her snowy skin was as tender and smooth as milk-flavored jelly. Her fiery red lips sought Yu Keqing’s in a thirsty, desperate kiss, eager to offer herself up. The heat of her estrus period hadn’t passed yet, she felt as if her entire body was on fire.
Yu Keqing frowned and dodged, grabbing Lin Sheng’s arms and throwing her onto the bed. She said coldly, “It’s late. You should rest.”
Lin Sheng lay on the bed, biting her fingertip while watching her. Her gaze was direct and bold, like a fire burning toward Yu Keqing. Startled, Yu Keqing took a step back, a flash of panic in her eyes. she lowered her gaze, not daring to look at the woman opposite her. This beautiful woman with a mature body was like an aphrodisiac, almost no one could resist such a fatal temptation, and Yu Keqing was especially prone to being led away by her.
She couldn’t stay in this room any longer. Turning on her heel, she headed for the door.
Crash! The loud sound of something shattering came from behind her.
Her heart skipped a beat. She turned to see that Lin Sheng had smashed the glass ornament on the nightstand and was currently gesturing toward her wrist with a shard of broken glass.
“What are you doing?” Her pupils constricted, she heard her own voice trembling.
Lin Sheng let out two drunken chuckles, looking at her obsessively. “Nothing. I just want to see if it hurts.”
Yu Keqing could no longer take a step toward the door. She stared tensely at the glass shard in Lin Sheng’s hand and swallowed hard. Lin Sheng was currently not of sound mind, any dangerous action could be fatal. She knew she shouldn’t be soft-hearted. Lin Sheng could cut herself wherever she wanted but her education and conscience made it impossible to sit idly by. Lin Sheng could be hurt, she could be anything, but not in front of her. She couldn’t watch it happen, or she would never be at peace for the rest of her life.
She tried to persuade her: “Calm down. Put the glass down.”
Instead of listening, Lin Sheng pressed the glass shard down further. The sharp edge pierced the skin, and a drop of bright red blood welled up.
Yu Keqing’s pupils snapped shut. She rushed forward, snatched the glass shard away, and threw it aside, her blood boiling with frustration.
“Are you crazy? Is this something someone like you would do!” She was truly being driven to death by Lin Sheng’s antics.
Lin Sheng looked at the glass shard on the floor, then at Yu Keqing’s hands. These hands were so beautiful, with fingers as long and slender as scallion stalks.
She let out a wine scented hiccup, her cheeks flushed with intoxication. With misty eyes, she grabbed Yu Keqing’s hand, pulled it to her chest, and leaned down to nuzzle it. She said heartbreakingly, “I was just scaring you. I wouldn’t really do something so stupid… it’s too foolish. How could I do that? Keke, it’s so dangerous. Why did you use your own hand to grab the glass? What if you got cut? Keke, don’t go, okay? Stay and accompany me. I feel so bad, everything hurts. Just the thought of you saying you don’t love me anymore makes me feel like I’m going to die.”
Yu Keqing took a deep breath and forcefully pulled her hand back. She said, “I’ll go call Auntie Fang to take care of you.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Lin Sheng clung to her again, threatening her even while drunk. “Auntie Fang’s granddaughter is sick and needs a lot of money for surgery. If you call her up here, I’ll fire her immediately.”
Yu Keqing was shocked. “Lin Sheng, you are absolutely shameless!”
Lin Sheng looked up at her and admitted it openly. “Yes, I’m not a good person. But you’re the one who liked me back then. You fell in love with a shameless person, so you’re destined to never leave me for the rest of your life, you know? If you leave me, I’ll go crazy. I’ll use every means necessary to find you.”
As she spoke, Lin Sheng lowered her head again, her eyes turning red. Her face showed a helpless, aggrieved expression, and her voice grew quiet.
“But now I’m afraid. I’m afraid if I push too hard, you’ll be angry. You can’t get angry right now, your health isn’t good. The doctor said the thing you must avoid most is getting angry. So… don’t be angry, okay? I’ll change everything from now on, I’ll change until you’re satisfied. Whatever you want, I can give you, money, power, resources. As long as you want it, I can provide it. I can even let you use everything I have as a stepping stone. If you want to open a shop, we’ll open one, the biggest one, okay? Just don’t leave me.”
The scent of sandalwood on Yu Keqing was faint but pleasant. Lin Sheng was like a lost traveler in a desert who had begun to hallucinate from thirst, clutching onto Yu Keqing as her life-saving straw. She hugged Yu Keqing’s narrow waist, feeling the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her clothes. It was warm and fragrant, making her feel comfortable.
Yu Keqing only found it laughable. Who exactly was the one constantly making her angry? Now that she was drunk, she could just deny it and act even more unreasonably.
She pulled away the head that was pressed against her abdomen and looked down. “Can you really give me anything?”
Lin Sheng was overjoyed and nodded vigorously. “Mhm! Just say it. Whatever you want.”
“Freedom,” Yu Keqing’s eyelashes fluttered. “I want freedom. Can you give me that?”
Lin Sheng pursed her lips, looking troubled. “I haven’t restricted you from going out. You can go wherever you want. Isn’t that freedom?”
She felt she had already achieved this, for Yu Keqing to mention this requirement felt redundant.
Yu Keqing looked at her and said, “I want to take Xiao Bao and move out. I want a world without you. To me, that is true freedom. Lin Sheng, how many times do I have to say it for you to understand? It’s impossible for us. Let’s get a divorce. Let me go.”
A flash of hostility crossed Lin Sheng’s eyes, but she restrained herself. She began to act like a rogue. “I don’t want a divorce. It’s been ten years. I looked for you for ten years and finally found you. I won’t divorce.”
Yu Keqing was neither angry nor sad because she had already expected this reaction. She didn’t expect Lin Sheng to be able to communicate with her as an equal with respect. For Lin Sheng to be able to humble herself to this extent today was already her limit; she was surely miserable and wouldn’t be able to keep up the act for more than a few days before her true colors showed. Thus, from the beginning, she held no hope that Lin Sheng would agree.
Seeing that she wasn’t speaking, Lin Sheng thought she wasn’t angry anymore and said with a bit of pride. “Didn’t you say you don’t love me anymore? Then why did you come running just because I crooked my finger? Hmph, you clearly still have me in your heart. Why won’t you admit it? What’s wrong with admitting it now? I won’t laugh at you. I like you too. I can’t leave you anymore.”
The corners of Yu Keqing’s mouth twitched into a sarcastic sneer. “Please, don’t say that.”
She considered herself a good tempered person who had never lost her cool with anyone, but now she was being pushed to the breaking point by Lin Sheng. She found it impossible to communicate properly with her. Facing a madwoman like Lin Sheng, no one could probably keep their temper.
She tidied her messy clothes. The scent of roses and the smell of alcohol filled the room, making her feel uncomfortable.
“Can you not leave tonight?” Lin Sheng pulled at her, pleading pitifully.
Yu Keqing responded only with coldness. This made Lin Sheng’s expression twist, the unwillingness in her eyes turning palpable. She used to mock Yu Keqing for being her “licking dog” (devoted follower) who wouldn’t leave even if beaten or scolded. Now it was her turn. She could pretend to be a good person, pretend to be gentle, but her love for Yu Keqing was twisted and deformed. She liked it when Yu Keqing was obsessed with her as before, she couldn’t wait to be played with by Yu Keqing. She wanted Yu Keqing to look down on her, to see her lose her mind and act “wild,” and she wanted to hear Yu Keqing cry with guilt and panic as she said sorry, yet unable to stop.
She refused to let Yu Keqing leave the room, using every trick in the book. Yu Keqing, having reached the end of her patience, dragged her into the bathroom.
The bathroom, which had been a mess after being trashed last time, had been restored to its original state. Yu Keqing turned on the shower and drenched Lin Sheng with cold water. Lin Sheng flailed about in the icy stream; she sobered up significantly, and her feigned pretenses mostly fell away.
Yu Keqing dropped the showerhead and stood aside, speaking coldly. “Are you awake now? Lin Sheng, besides seducing me and forcing me, do you know how to do anything else? Yes, I used to be infatuated with you, but now I have absolutely no interest in you. Do you understand? I am not interested. No matter how good your figure is, how beautiful your face is, or how charming your pheromones are, I am no longer interested. So, stop doing these things. The more you act shamelessly, the more I will loathe you.”
After speaking, she gave a cold look to the disheveled Lin Sheng. Her hair was wet and clinging to her chest, all her pride and arrogance seemed to have been washed down the drain with the water.
Yu Keqing slammed the bathroom door, choosing not to listen to the sounds of Lin Sheng’s exasperated cursing and the crashing of objects behind her.
She straightened her back and forced herself to return to the guest bedroom. She collapsed onto the bed, wrapping herself tightly in the quilt. Only after creating a small, safe space for herself did she dare to take a breath.
Her mind was a mess, filled with the image of Lin Sheng drenched and miserable.
She didn’t know if what she did was right, but she really couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t stand Lin Sheng using extreme measures to blackmail her, she couldn’t stand those promises of “I can give you anything” that came with the hidden condition “except for leaving me.” Most of all, she couldn’t stand the fact that even though she should hate this person to the core, her heart still skipped a beat over a single drop of blood.
She buried her face in the pillow, comforting herself that it would be better when dawn came.
The next morning, Yu Keqing came out of the guest bedroom and bumped into Lin Sheng in the hallway.
Her footsteps paused for a moment, and then she looked away as if nothing had happened, walking toward the stairs.
Lin Sheng opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but the words died in her throat.
What could she say? Say sorry? Say she drank too much? Say that those words were sincere but the delivery was wrong?
Lin Sheng stood in the hallway, watching the direction where Yu Keqing had disappeared, her fists clenched tight.
Xiao Bao and Wen Ning were already up. After breakfast, they had to go to school. Xiao Bao was used to school life and didn’t find it difficult, but Wen Ning was different, she spent every day thinking of how to fake an illness to skip class.
Yu Keqing told the two children to eat quickly. After they finished, she would take them to school and then go to work on the way.
Xiao Bao sipped her orange juice and peeked at Lin Sheng, thinking that Lin Sheng’s expression looked terrifying.
Wen Ning felt the same way. Moreover, it wasn’t just Auntie Lin who was strange, last night when she called her mom to say she was staying at Auntie Yu’s house, her mom asked which “Auntie Yu” it was. After she said the name, her mother’s reaction was very strange.
“Auntie Yu, I really want to stay at your house forever,” Wen Ning sighed mournfully. “But my mom is coming back at noon. She said she’ll pick me up from school for lunch and I’ll sleep at her place tonight.”
Wen Ning called Jiang Shuang “Mom,” but she had many nicknames for Wen Man. Mom, Old Mom, My Dear Biological Mother, Mother Superior, Empress Dowager, etc. This also showed that she was more comfortable with Wen Man.
Perhaps it was because of her profession. Jiang Shuang wasn’t very approachable and was strict with Wen Ning. Wen Ning was very restrained in front of her, so it was normal that she didn’t want to live at Jiang Shuang’s place.
Yu Keqing didn’t have much of a position to judge this. Jiang Shuang was Wen Ning’s biological mother, and if she wanted to pick up her daughter, Yu Keqing couldn’t stop her. That would seem too meddlesome and inappropriate, so she could only smile and offer Wen Ning a few words of comfort.
Whenever Jiang Shuang was mentioned, the gaze Lin Sheng cast toward Yu Keqing became cold and sharp, a complete departure from her drunken behavior the night before.
Yu Keqing ignored it. After delivering the two children safely to school, she went to work at the shop.
Today, bakers from other branch stores were coming to learn.
Seven or eight unfamiliar faces were gathered around the prep table in the back kitchen. When Yu Keqing pushed the door open and entered, they all turned their heads.
An older student greeted her with a smile. “Hello, Teacher Yu. We’ve come to learn this time, sorry for the trouble.”
Yu Keqing had taught others before. She had been a bit stiff at first, but now she was mostly adjusted.
She nodded with a slight smile. “No need to be so polite. We are all learning from each other.”
Yu Keqing had also worn a T-shirt and jeans when she left the house today. Now she had changed into her work uniform, her hair tied back and hidden under a hat. The ties of her apron accentuated her slender waist.
Her features weren’t particularly striking. Her slightly upturned round nose gave her an innocent, cute look. The color on her lips was very pale. Overall, her appearance was quite ordinary, not the type to stun someone at first sight.
However, her voice was very soft, like a spring breeze, and the look in her smiling eyes was gentle, like warm water flowing over. She was like a piece of jade warmed by the sun, mild, gentle, and quiet, emitting a faint scent of sandalwood that made people instinctively want to get closer.
As she spoke, one gaze among the students fell on her differently from the others.
She shifted her gaze and caught the source.
It was a very young Omega, probably only eighteen or nineteen years old. She was fair skinned and clean looking, with eyes that were round and bright, as if filled with light. She was also wearing a work uniform, her shoulder length short hair tied behind her head, looking neat and fresh.
Seeing her look over, the girl didn’t hide. Her eyes curved slightly, revealing two shallow dimples.
Yu Keqing was stunned for a moment before returning a friendly smile.
This group of students was coming to the main store for Teacher Yu’s class for the first time, so they were all strangers to each other. Yu Keqing had them do a simple self-introduction, re-introduced herself, and then began the lesson.
That fair Omega was named Yang Jingzhe, nineteen years old. She had just joined the C City branch last month.
Teacher Yu Keqing… Yang Jingzhe silently repeated the name in her heart.
The entire morning, Yang Jingzhe listened seriously to the lesson, but she also used the lesson as an excuse to look seriously at Yu Keqing.
Yu Keqing stood at the prep table giving a demonstration. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, revealing a section of her forearm. Her wrist was so thin it looked like it would snap with a gentle grip. Her fingers were long with distinct joints, her movements were light and steady when kneading dough, and the dough seemed very obedient in her hands.
She explained the key points while demonstrating. When she finished, she would gently ask the students if there was anything they didn’t understand. If there was, she could say it again. Then she let the students try it themselves, going down to guide them individually. She was very patient, always soft-spoken, and never treated any student differently.
Yang Jingzhe originally understood everything and remembered the key points, but as soon as Yu Keqing stood beside her, she became nervous. Consequently, she appeared clumsy. She was only supposed to pour in a third of the egg liquid, but she poured it all in at once.
“Ah.” Panicking, she tried to save it but became even more flustered, stumbling toward the side and stepping on Yu Keqing.
Yu Keqing used her arm to block her, preventing her from falling over.
“Careful.”
The delicate and gentle voice fell into Yang Jingzhe’s ears. Her face turned red, and she hurriedly apologized. “I’m sorry, Teacher Yu. I stepped on you, didn’t I? I’m really sorry, I…”
The more anxious she got, the easier it was for her to stutter. Her fingers were clenched tight, as if she had caused a catastrophic disaster.
A faint smile curved the corners of Yu Keqing’s eyes, her voice remaining gentle. “It’s okay. Don’t be nervous. Just take it slow.”
She was just a child, she mustn’t be frightened.