On the way home, the playlist in Zhong Xiu’s headphones had changed. The sweet “Law of Universal Gravitation” was highly inappropriate. What gravitational pull existed between a Beta and an Alpha? She was merely Lin Xi’s silent admirer.
Didn’t the saying go that you don’t necessarily have to own beautiful things? As long as it exists there, it is a happy thing.
Lin Xi was just such an existence for Zhong Xiu.
The streets were empty, lined with ancient, flourishing green trees, and the deserted bus stop wasn’t far away. The two of them walked quietly, their school bags on their backs.
The setting sun stretched their shadows. Zhong Xiu secretly reached out, keeping a distance from her, but on the ground, their shadows looked as if they were holding hands.
If only this road had no end.
But at the next corner, they would arrive at Lin Xi’s house.
“Here,” Zhong Xiu smiled and handed her the milk as usual.
“How did you heat it?” Lin Xi left the classroom with her and didn’t see her use any electric appliance. Moreover, this bottle of milk had been in her desk since morning.
“Secret.”
Reaching out to take the milk from her palm, Lin Xi’s fingertips touched her palm, which was also warm.
“I’ll be going now. It’s still early; you don’t need to walk me.”
She turned and left, without any hesitation, but Lin Xi grabbed the collar of her shirt.
“Where are you going?”
“Home, of course. Why do you Alphas all like pulling people’s collars?” Zhong Xiu gently brushed his hand away, a little displeased.
“Who else?” Lin Xi didn’t notice the drop in her tone.
“…No one. What’s wrong? Is there something else?” Zhong Xiu regretted speaking too quickly.
“Tutoring. Did you forget?” Seeing she didn’t want to talk about it, Lin Xi didn’t press.
“Tutoring?” Zhong Xiu looked up. “We’re not at school anymore. How can we tutor?”
“My house,” Lin Xi said concisely.
“I thought we’d start tomorrow.”
Doesn’t everyone make plans today and execute them tomorrow? Tomorrow and tomorrow… Zhong Xiu admitted she hadn’t taken Lin Xi’s plan seriously.
“Today’s work, finish today.”
When she said this, Zhong Xiu froze.
The last person who had said that to her was her mother.
— Xiu Xiu, don’t put off today’s tasks until tomorrow. Your body will become lazy. Today’s work, finish today.
When her mother was alive, she always found excuses to slack off and avoid practicing dance. Not until her mother passed away did she practice her basics diligently every night before bed, but her mother could never see it.
“Okay,” Zhong Xiu said softly.
I hope this time, I won’t repeat the same mistakes.
What’s wrong with her? Lin Xi noticed her mood had suddenly dropped.
“If you want to start tomorrow, that’s fine, but you need to change the dressing on your neck today.”
Surprised by the uncompromising Alpha’s concession, Zhong Xiu raised her hand to touch the back of her neck. “Starting today is fine.”
“Mm.” Lin Xi led her home.
Dinner was packed from the cafeteria. Zhong Xiu looked at the containers on the table, imagining Lin Xi eating alone here at night. She wondered how Lin Xi got used to cafeteria food after having meals specially prepared by an auntie at home.
The cafeteria food wasn’t inedible, but for Lin Xi, there must have been a significant drop in quality. Sometimes, Zhong Xiu would feel uncomfortable and lose her appetite if she didn’t eat her father’s cooking for a few days.
While the Alpha went upstairs to tidy up, she made a phone call to her father.
She always had many ways to deal with Zhong Ruilin. In less than a minute, Zhong Ruilin surrendered over the phone—
“Okay, okay, whatever you say.”
“You can come up now,” Lin Xi’s voice came from the second floor.
Zhong Xiu had only been to Lin Xi’s bedroom. This was her first time entering the study.
The space inside was vast. If she didn’t know this was her house, she would think it was a bookstore. A thick, soft geometric patterned carpet covered the floor, and almost the entire wall was lined with antique redwood bookshelves.
The window was also one whole surface. A row of desks was built into the window side, providing the best natural light source from outside. An adjustable metal floor lamp stood beside the ergonomic chair.
It was more modern than the C City Provincial Library.
Putting her school bag on the desk, Zhong Xiu roughly estimated that she and Lin Xi could sit side-by-side with plenty of space, enough even for two or three more people.
However, there was a strange thing about the study. Zhong Xiu hadn’t looked closely at the bookshelves at first, but now she turned back from the window.
There weren’t actually many books on the shelves. They were entirely filled with various trophies and certificates. The ‘Three-Good Student’ awards from the school only made up a small part. Most were for extracurricular competitions and talents, including the tennis championship.
Although she knew Lin Xi was excellent, seeing so many sparkling trophies appear at once was eye-opening for Zhong Xiu.
“These are all mine,” Lin Xi walked in, carrying her school bag. Her tone conveyed neither pride nor humility, as if she were stating something irrelevant.
One issue was that Lin Xi was only eighteen. With so many trophies, Zhong Xiu felt something was slightly off.
The phone showed an incoming call. Lin Xi took out her phone, and Zhong Xiu saw her frown.
“Xiao Xi?” The room was very quiet, and Zhong Xiu could hear the voice coming from the other end; it was a middle-aged man’s voice.
The only middle-aged man who would call Lin Xi at this hour was the one Zhong Xiu could think of, and Lin Xi did indeed call him.
“Uncle.”
“Ah, you see, Uncle has been so busy lately, I haven’t even had time to organize your birthday banquet. There are too many things to hand over at the company…”
The hand-over was, of course, her father’s presidential duties. Before the accident, Lin Keqin was the company’s second-in-command. Naturally, it was now up to him to take over the company affairs. Lin Xi lowered her eyes, listening to him continue.
“How about the end of this month? Uncle will invite many friends your age.” Perhaps fearing Lin Xi would refuse, he added, “They are the children of your mother and father’s friends. The ICU is inaccessible, so everyone wants to show you some concern.”
Is this concern? Lin Xi’s parents were still lying in the hospital, yet he was asking Lin Xi to host a birthday banquet. This was an execution.
If he genuinely wanted to celebrate Lin Xi’s birthday, would he have waited until now? Why didn’t he act sooner? Zhong Xiu couldn’t help but worry for her.
Lin Xi was thinking. It was useless for her to refuse what Lin Keqin wanted to do. He might just bring people to the house directly at the end of the month anyway. He hadn’t even consulted Lin Xi about the engagement with Zhong Xiu.
“Uncle, just arrange it.”
“Alright. Remember to bring Zhong Xiu. She is your fiancée and should attend with you.” The Alpha man on the other end laughed, his tone sounding very much like a caring uncle.
The call ended. Lin Xi looked at Zhong Xiu. “Are you going?”
“Do you want me to go?” Not as the fiancée’s duty.
“Yes,” Lin Xi nodded.
This was the only invitation she had for her eighteenth birthday.
“Sounds good,” Zhong Xiu smiled with curved eyes.