Diudiu had helped Xu Xintong find some part-time jobs nearby, and she had chosen a few that suited her best. Lately, she had been keeping busy with studying and working.
Several times she almost got caught by Mother Xu, but she managed to bluff and brush it off.
Today, after finishing up to go work at Wuli Restaurant, Xu Xintong changed her clothes and headed out.
The sun was bright, the breeze was gentle, and the blue sky was dotted with white clouds. Xu Xintong felt her spirits lifted by the weather.
“Sister Kui, I’m here.”
“Oh, Xiao Xu is here! Come, come quickly.”
“Try this new item and tell me how it tastes.”
As soon as she arrived, she was pulled over to taste this and that, and she couldn’t very well refuse.
This restaurant was a well-received upscale establishment, yet it lacked rigid rules and maintained a wonderful atmosphere.
Many young couples on dates, gatherings of friends, and company team-building events chose to come here.
After taking a short break and changing into her uniform, Xu Xintong prepared to start serving tables.
A diverse crowd of people began ordering and taking their seats, while the kitchen bustled with dishing out food. Everyone got down to their respective duties.
After serving food to the four tables on the left, Xu Xintong immediately picked up the order for the right side.
Right then, she bumped into Xiaoyou, a girl about her age who worked part-time just like her.
“Oh my gosh, let me tell you.”
“There’s a gorgeous big sister upstairs, and across from her is a tall, handsome guy. Such a well-matched pair.”
“I’m so jealous.”
Xu Xintong smiled. Young couples… she saw plenty of them.
“I’m serious, Xiao Xu. Why don’t you believe me.”
Seeing Xu Xintong’s expression of I-understand-and-I-know, Xiaoyou really wanted to drag her up to see the two people upstairs.
Her taste was top-notch, after all.
Even though she thought Xiao Xu’s face was also very pretty and captivating, the big beauty upstairs had a completely different vibe from Xiao Xu.
Aha! Xiaoyou had an idea!
“Xiao Xu, could you go deliver this order for table B20 for me?”
“I need to go to the restroom. I can’t hold it anymore.”
It was a clumsy performance. Xu Xintong found it amusing, but she decided it was better not to call her out.
“Alright, hurry back.”
Delivering one extra order was something she was more than happy to help with.
Xiaoyou scurried off and dashed straight into the restroom.
Needing the restroom was true; not being able to hold it was false.
After double-checking the dishes for that specific table, Xu Xintong went upstairs to find the location.
“B20.”
Xu Xintong quickly found it. She smoothed down her uniform, adjusted her expression, and put on a smile.
Providing customers with a wonderful dining experience was the restaurant’s employee code.
“Hello! Here is your meal, please.”
Lifting her gaze, she unexpectedly met a pair of immaculate eyes, losing her focus for a split second.
“Please enjoy your meal!”
Finishing quickly, Xu Xintong stepped back to the side.
Until the customers finished their meal, employees were required to wait at a distance before clearing the table.
Upon hearing the familiar voice of the waitress, Nong Wanshi didn’t even notice the faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
It was her.
Xu Xintong kept her head down, recalling what Xiaoyou had said earlier.
Well, I admit, she is a pretty big sister.
“Hmm?”
A single monosyllabic question popped out just like that.
“Hello. Is there something wrong with our dishes?”
With a single step forward, Xu Xintong hurried over to tend to them.
This startled her badly. Coming out with a question mark out of nowhere while eating—what was that supposed to mean?
Could it be that the chef messed up the dish today?
That’s impossible.
Looking at the flustered girl with her head bowed, Nong Wanshi felt the urge to tease her again.
“This dish.”
“It’s pretty delicious.”
Sister, please don’t pause your sentences like that.
Xu Xintong breathed a sigh of relief and earnestly began introducing the dish.
Listening to the professional explanation, the young man beside her actually grew interested.
“Thank you for the explanation. Please bring another serving of this dish.”
“Xiaoshi, if you like it, eat more.”
The young man’s sincere tone made Xu Xintong feel exceptionally uncomfortable.
“Understood.”
After noting it down, Xu Xintong went downstairs to inform another employee, and Xiaoyou happened to step in to continue serving.
Right then, she needed to use the restroom.
Anyway, she had no more orders to deliver and could take a break.
“Xiaoshi.”
“Hmph, calling her so affectionately.”
Xu Xintong muttered under her breath.
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, but she couldn’t remember this young man ever appearing by Nong Wanshi’s side in her past life.
What she didn’t notice was that her own pheromone index was climbing higher and higher, growing increasingly rich in scent.
How annoying.
“Are you calling me?”
The moment Nong Wanshi stepped out of the restroom, she caught the familiar scent of pheromones in the air, tinged with a slight trace of a grieved aroma.
What on earth is going on.
Xu Xintong hadn’t even had time to wash her hands when she was so shocked she spun around.
“Ah, no.”
“Why are you here?”
“Using the restroom.”
Oh right, this was the restroom.
Where else would you go to use the restroom? She felt like kicking herself for being so silly.
Anxious to wash her hands and leave quickly, Xu Xintong accidentally tripped over a mop lying ahead.
Thud.
“Ugh.”
Without the expected wave of sharp pain, Xu Xintong opened her eyes.
A flash of white was right before her eyes, and she found herself enveloped in a soft embrace.
“Sorry, sorry!”
“Are you alright?”
Xu Xintong had no time to linger on the soft warmth she had just been enveloped in, quickly helping Nong Wanshi up as she collided with the wall.
“Let’s go get it checked out at the hospital.”
Xu Xintong’s mind was racing with anxiety; just that sound from earlier hurt to listen to.
Hearing Nong Wanshi let out a soft groan of pain, Xu Xintong regretted it infinitely.
“I’m fine.”
“Just help me up for a moment.”
“No way.”
“Let’s go to the staff area first. I’ll carry you.”
Without another word, Xu Xintong said she was just helping her, but she had already scooped her up in her arms.
She didn’t know why, perhaps because she had carried her plenty of times in her past life.
Out of sheer habit, seeing Nong Wanshi feeling unwell made her instinctively pick her up and walk.
In her past life, Nong Wanshi had been shy at first, but later she grew to love being carried by Xu Xintong. After all, Xu Xintong possessed considerable physical strength and could lift her effortlessly.
“Sorry, carrying you like this might feel a bit more comfortable.”
The moment she was swept off her feet, Nong Wanshi’s first instinct had been to cry out, but the moment she was encircled in those arms, the thought vanished.
So warm, so familiar, so deeply missed.
It brought the exact same comforting feeling as those embraces before, sinking her into an inescapable addiction.
The dizzying sensation from hitting her head made her want to linger in this exact moment, and her final shred of vigilance completely melted away.
Seeing her relax, Xu Xintong let out a sigh of relief.
She thought for sure she’d be angry.
Finding the ointment she had kept aside earlier, Xu Xintong carefully read through the instructions.
“Um, can you turn around. Let me take a look.”
Knowing she couldn’t apply the medicine on her own, Nong Wanshi didn’t think twice and turned around.
Yet the moment Nong Wanshi turned, Xu Xintong instantly regretted it.
Coming into view was none other than the back of Nong Wanshi’s neck.
The jade-white nape of her neck, with strands of dark hair tucked behind her ear, made her look playful and adorable, inviting some kind of mischief in that very spot.
Shaking off those wicked thoughts, Xu Xintong briskly spotted a swelling lump at the back of her head.
How much must that hurt.
The more she looked, the more Xu Xintong regretted not watching where she was walking.
As she earnestly began applying the ointment—the herbal woody-toned chemical coolant mixed with yet another note—
The scent of deep sandalwood.
Xu Xintong’s brain felt like it was about to explode.
That fragrance was impossible to ignore, making people linger and yearn, seeking out its primal source.
And right then, the person releasing this mysterious fragrance parted the fog, pointing the way for a lost traveler searching for an oasis.
“This hurts too.”
A frail voice, a delicate emotion—anyone who heard it would have no choice but to surrender.
Watching Nong Wanshi push aside the hair concealing her gland, Xu Xintong was so startled her hands trembled slightly.
However, she quickly noticed another bruise nearby.
Nong Wanshi hadn’t just been hit in one spot; a little lower down, she had also taken a blow from a box.
The two of them remained silent—one quietly applying medicine, the other quietly enduring the pain.
She had overlooked the fact that if Nong Wanshi was hurt here, she could easily have reached it herself.
Nong Wanshi also harbored her own private motives. The moment the other came close, her gland cried out, begging to be touched, to be gently kissed.
She secretly released more pheromones, alluring the other to sink down together into the abyss.
The heavy scent of ointment seemed to be masking something, yet both of them pretended nothing was amiss.
“Xiao Xu.”
Before the words could finish, the speaker was startled by the lingering, ambiguous atmosphere filling the room.
Quietly closing the door behind her, she left.
Xu Xintong looked awkwardly at Nong Wanshi. “She’s an employee here too. Sorry about that.”
“Mm, she’s quite pretty.”
Xu Xintong was completely baffled by that random remark.
Huh? Pretty? Who’s pretty?
Before a bewildered Xu Xintong could figure out the situation, Nong Wanshi opened the door.
Pulling it open, she ran straight into an eavesdropper.
“Hehe, big sister, hello!”
“You’re so pretty!”
Sparkling eyes stared right at her, devoid of any discomfort.
“Don’t you think so, Xiao Xu?”
Xiaoyou had originally only planned to use delivering food as an excuse to let Xiao Xu witness a beauty, but she never expected this girl to be so capable.
She had even hooked up with her.
So when Xiao Xu had spoken earlier, she was talking about herself.
The corner of Nong Wanshi’s lips ticked up by a pixel, and her inner flutter could no longer be contained.
“I’m heading back.”
“I’m leaving first.”
Xu Xintong just wanted to escape this right-and-wrong territory as fast as possible.
“Remember to come to class tonight.”
Xu Xintong felt goosebumps erupt all over her body at that call. Was this really the Nong Wanshi she knew?
So terrifying!
Seeing the person in front of her get startled into a jump and quickly march away,
Nong Wanshi wanted to laugh even more. She really wasn’t able to take a tease.
Meanwhile, Xiaoyou felt an increasing wave of admiration for Xiao Xu. Not only was she so capable, but she also had such a gorgeous girlfriend.
Girlfriend?
Wait?
Then who was that guy from earlier?
Xiaoyou didn’t want to untangle the complex relationship between them; she just wanted to admire beauties.
Everything else didn’t matter.
Lately, going to Nong Wanshi’s house every evening for tutoring seemed to have become a habit, just like in her past life.
Moreover, Nong Wanshi deliberately arranged for her to arrive right around mealtime, calculating that she hadn’t eaten yet.
Such profound consideration.
As a friend, Nong Wanshi treated her exceptionally well. It was like that in her past life, and it remained like that in this lifetime.
Friends, huh?
In this lifetime, are they really only destined to be friends?
Actually, right now they probably couldn’t even be considered friends.
Ding.
Just like usual, even though the two of them didn’t exchange many words, they inexplicably added a touch of home to this house.
“You’ve improved a lot lately, and your rank has climbed fast.”
Hearing Nong Wanshi praise her, Xu Xintong felt a sliver of surprise.
“Mm. It’s all thanks to Teacher Nong’s good teaching.”
She meant it sincerely; Xu Xintong wasn’t exaggerating on purpose.
Without Nong Wanshi, she wouldn’t have learned this well.
“That wasn’t flattery.”
There was no follow-up. Both of them knew each other’s temperament well.
One was taciturn and silent, while the other wanted to speak out but turned timid and cowardly.
It wasn’t that Nong Wanshi didn’t want to talk; she was simply still listening to Xu Xintong speak.
A continuous stream of words poured into her ear canal, all reflecting Xu Xintong’s shyness.
Oh dear, I shouldn’t have said anything.
Well, now neither of us is talking.
My mouth really is incapable of saying anything nice.
Nong Wanshi listened with rapt interest to Xu Xintong’s rambling, a nameless tenderness rising in her chest, though her expression remained as cold as ever.
Well, but this is the Nong Wanshi I know!
What she called me earlier was still way too terrifying.
How could she possibly be that gentle?
Xu Xintong shuddered slightly at the memory of remembering to come to class tonight.
“Alright, class is over.”
“You should head back. The driver is waiting.”
Huh?
Why did her mood sour so suddenly? Who pissed her off?
“Oh, alright.”
Xu Xintong didn’t dare show any discontent. Reaching back to touch the nape of her neck, she obediently went to pack up her things.
It was precisely this touch that made her realize her suppression patch was missing.
Could it have fallen off before she ran over here?
No, no, no. She needed to rush back and slap a new one on right away.
Of course Nong Wanshi had heard it. No wonder she kept catching that scent of deep sandalwood; she had assumed the other still didn’t quite know how to control her pheromones.
“Mm.”
“Wait a second. I feel a bit uncomfortable.”
“You…”
If you call this acting, it wasn’t entirely fake.
After all, the desire that had been stirred up was like a fire, and the more fuel added, the fiercer it burned.
Enduring it indefinitely wasn’t a solution. Who told her not to put her suppression patch on properly in the first place?
Seeing Nong Wanshi’s complexion growing increasingly flushed, Xu Xintong hurriedly halted what she was doing.
She wrapped her arms around her, soothing her as best as she could.
A steady, calm sandalwood entwined with a delicate, gentle white musk, dancing beneath the white cedarwood. The warmth in her embrace felt as though it would last forever.
Neither of them noticed that the door had already been pushed open.
The man standing there wore a resolute face that seemed to crack open with a hint of a fissure, his eyes filled entirely with scrutiny and condemnation.
His arrival and his departure were both entirely within Nong Wanshi’s grasp.