Just as she was at a loss for what to do, a voice suddenly chimed in.
“Three thousand!”
The voice came at such a timely moment that Lu Zhiyuan seemed to be jolted awake, immediately picking up the thread: “Right, three thousand.”
As she answered, she turned her head towards the source of the voice, only to see Grandma Luo standing behind her like a ghost, craning her neck to eavesdrop on their conversation, her face maintaining that typical fangirl smile.
Shen Qiaoyi: “???”
Lu Zhiyuan: “!!!”
Shen Qiaoyi finally snapped out of her frozen state and asked, “Grandma, how did you know?”
Grandma Luo lied without batting an eye: “Your Alpha told me herself. She often comes here to buy pancakes, and during our chats, I heard her mention it, hehe…”
Lu Zhiyuan’s expression stiffened slightly: “Grandma, weren’t you going to the restroom?”
“Oh right, right…” Grandma Luo backed away, her two thumbs hidden at her waist, bending a few times to make an “intimate” gesture.
“I’m going to the restroom, you two chat, you chat…”
“…” Lu Zhiyuan helplessly scratched her forehead. Seeing Grandma Luo walk away, she turned and walked towards the shade of the trees.
Shen Qiaoyi followed her stickily, her chin lightly resting on her shoulder, but she didn’t control her strength well and ended up falling directly into her arms.
Lu Zhiyuan instinctively made a protective move, and the two suddenly found themselves in an embrace.
Lu Zhiyuan’s breath caught, her heart like a fledgling bird, fluttering as it broke out of its shell.
Seeing that she didn’t push her away, Shen Qiaoyi decided to play the rogue, wrapping her arms around her slender waist and cooing softly: “Zhiyuan… do you want to… move in and live with me?”
Lu Zhiyuan: ???
Did she look that harmless? Was she really so trusting as to invite her into her home?
Lu Zhiyuan slowly lowered her long lashes, smiling faintly as she asked in return: “Live together?”
Shen Qiaoyi tugged at a corner of her clothes, twirling it around her fingertip: “Yes, if you move in, you can save on rent, and my apartment is closer to your workplace, which would be more convenient for commuting.”
A tingling sensation rippled through her waist. Lu Zhiyuan freed her right hand to press down on Shen Qiaoyi’s restless one, her voice low: “But we’re… after all, an Alpha and an Omega. If the neighbors see… it’s not good, they’ll gossip about you.”
Shen Qiaoyi paused, then looked up at her, her gaze both brazen and alluring: “I don’t care what others think. Zhiyuan, you’re my Alpha, I only care about your thoughts.”
Lu Zhiyuan could barely withstand this eye contact. She wanted to look away, but the little fox’s eyes were like a spring, reflecting her own image. She drowned in her gaze, unable to move away even slightly.
Although Lu Zhiyuan came from a good background and was of high rank, she had never been in love before.
Her Alpha mother’s betrayal of her Omega mother had deeply hurt the young Lu Zhiyuan, making her aware of human greed too early, and preventing her from easily trusting any feelings, especially—
Love.
She slowly pushed Shen Qiaoyi away, her movements gentle and soft, something seeming to struggle in her eyes: “I think… we’d better not.”
Shen Qiaoyi hadn’t expected her to refuse. More than embarrassment, she felt dejected. She pretended to be nonchalant and smiled, but her voice was tinged with melancholy: “It’s okay, if you don’t want to, forget it. It’s getting late, I need to go to work. Goodbye.”
Shen Qiaoyi walked towards the alley entrance with her head down, her hair falling on both sides of her face, looking desolate and pitiful.
Lu Zhiyuan watched her walk away, her heart feeling as if it was being squeezed, aching dully.
She hesitated for a second, then quickly caught up, stopping in front of Shen Qiaoyi.
“Shen, Shen Qiaoyi…”
Shen Qiaoyi slowly raised her long lashes, her eyes misty: “What is it?”
The closed little dark room in Lu Zhiyuan’s heart quietly lost a rafter when she saw that faint red in the Omega’s eyes.
She seemed a bit at a loss: “Shen, Shen Qiaoyi… you… give me a week, I’ll pack my things and… move to your place.”
Shen Qiaoyi raised her head joyfully, her expression still somewhat doubtful: “But didn’t you… didn’t you just say you didn’t want to live together?”
Lu Zhiyuan looked at her softly, her cherry-colored lips curving into a small arc: “I changed my mind.”
“Hm?” Shen Qiaoyi didn’t quite understand her change of attitude.
“Because…” Lu Zhiyuan gazed into her eyes, her gaze gentle and focused: “Because I don’t want to try hard anymore.”
Shen Qiaoyi burst into laughter, her tears turning to smiles, the gloom in her heart dissipating with it.
What the heck!
She actually made “freeloading” sound so righteous and stern.
But, how come she was moved by it?
Shen Qiaoyi had been working at the styling studio for over four years, and in her spare time, she also worked part-time at a photo studio, saving quite a bit of money. She had the freedom to support a little milk Alpha.
Moreover, she was extremely satisfied with Lu Zhiyuan’s appearance.
“Then… shall I come to ‘Wu Jiu’ to pick you up on Sunday?”
Lu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile: “Okay.”
Just as Shen Qiaoyi was about to ask what time she got off work, her phone rang in her bag.
She hurriedly took out her phone to answer: “Hello, Siya, where am I? I’m at Grandma Luo’s buying pancakes. Yes, I got them. What? The boss is looking for me? What for?”
Lu Zhiyuan stood quietly to the side listening to her phone call, watching as the smile on Shen Qiaoyi’s face gradually faded, finally freezing into frost.
“What? Song Yin said that? How shameless… Siya, is there no other way? I really don’t want to be alone with Song Yin…”
Song Yin?
Isn’t that the Alpha who mocked her for “carrying plates” in the booth at “Wu Jiu”?
Lu Zhiyuan’s eyes unconsciously darkened. When she looked at Shen Qiaoyi again, she noticed her profile was very tense, and she could even see her clearly clenched jaw muscles.
Then she heard Shen Qiaoyi grit out three words: “Let! Her! Crawl!”
Lu Zhiyuan’s tightly pressed lips relaxed, amusement spreading in her eyes.
This little fox was really fierce, but also…
So cute!
But in the next second, Lu Zhiyuan couldn’t smile anymore.
She saw Shen Qiaoyi’s shoulders slump as if all strength had left her, her lips turning white from biting them, even her voice lowering.
“Siya, stop… I don’t agree with you making such a big sacrifice for me. Go tell Song Yin that I agree to join her team. It’s just three months, I can endure it…”
Hearing this, Lu Zhiyuan had almost guessed what had happened, her brows gradually furrowing, showing a sharp aura.
“Zhiyuan, I’m sorry, there’s a problem at the studio.”
Lu Zhiyuan hadn’t noticed when Shen Qiaoyi had hung up the phone. When she came back to her senses, Shen Qiaoyi was looking at her with a slightly apologetic expression: “I have to go back now, we’ll keep in touch via WeChat if anything comes up.”
Shen Qiaoyi hurriedly walked away down the stone path at the entrance of Shunzi Lane. As Lu Zhiyuan pondered her next move, she turned and her peripheral vision caught sight of Su Jintao busily making pancakes at the food cart. The corner of her lips suddenly curved upward.