Her mind was a whirlwind of stray thoughts. Because of that faint, hidden worry, Jiang Yue found her breakfast somewhat tasteless.
“What are you spacing out for?” Jiang Tan looked at her curiously. As Jiang Yue ate, it seemed as if her soul had suddenly drifted away.
Coming back to her senses, Jiang Yue pursed her lips, ultimately deciding not to voice her question.
If Jiang Tan herself hadn’t realized it, wouldn’t asking about it be like pointing it out to her?
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking that I should be mostly done by tomorrow,” Jiang Yue told a small lie.
“Oh, probably. Usually, by the third day, I don’t feel that miserable anymore,” Jiang Tan mused. On the third day, after taking the inhibitors, she would feel exceptionally sleepy—but at least wanting to sleep was better than wanting to go to bed with someone.
Therefore, when going through her rut, the third day was Jiang Tan’s favorite.
Jiang Yue looked at her, pursed her lips again, and finally asked, “When is your rut?”
Jiang Yue felt she needed to do a bit of mental preparation beforehand. Jiang Tan’s pheromone concentration was already prone to making Omegas go into heat; not to mention, she had already been marked by her. When the time came, she feared it would be all too easy for those pheromones to trigger another heat.
Two people simultaneously falling into that special period where it was extremely easy to lose one’s sanity…
If something were to happen, it wouldn’t seem like much of a surprise.
Furthermore…
Jiang Yue did not want to experience another heat cycle anytime soon.
In such a short span of time, she had been stimulated into a heat by medication, and then she had ushered in another one immediately after. If this continued, Jiang Yue felt like her body was going to be completely drained.
“Um…”
Jiang Tan dithered for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed. She felt it was somewhat shameful to talk about such things with someone else, but since Jiang Yue was living under the same roof now, certain things had to be said.
“My ruts are usually very punctual. For this month, it should start around the 25th,” Jiang Tan whispered, biting her lip.
Hearing this, Jiang Yue nodded slowly. Today was the 20th; she still had five days to prepare herself mentally.
“I’ll discuss it with Sister Xiuya when the time comes to see if you can stay across the hall during my rut,” Jiang Tan suggested. After all, if Jiang Yue were still here during her rut, it would be extremely inconvenient for both of them—especially since she stayed in the living room, meaning Jiang Yue would have to face her every time she moved about.
Jiang Yue looked toward her upon hearing this.
“It’s safer that way,” Jiang Tan said unclearly while eating her noodles.
Mainly, she was afraid of an accident.
For a moment, Jiang Yue didn’t know what to feel—she felt a sense of relief, yet also a trace of melancholy.
She gave a low “Mm” in response.
Following that, Jiang Tan finished her noodles quickly and said, “I’m going to work now. Take good care of yourself at home.”
Jiang Yue nodded and put down her chopsticks, standing up to see her out. Watching her trot all the way down the stairs, a faint smile played on her lips.
Are all Alphas like this? Even though they were exhausted to the point of collapse the day before, they immediately regain their vitality the next day.
Closing the door, Jiang Yue finished the noodles in her own bowl. After washing the dishes, she put her and Jiang Tan’s clothes into the washing machine. With nothing else to do, she took a rag and began mimicking Jiang Tan, wiping down the cabinets and tables in the house.
On the other side, Jiang Tan was in an exceptionally good mood today.
Her delivery payout was being issued today!
Once the money arrived, she didn’t want to pay off the online loan immediately. She wanted to keep it for emergencies; after all, she wasn’t the only one spending money now, which led to many expenses she hadn’t anticipated.
Anyway, the online loan had a thirty-day interest-free period. She could just pay it back on the thirtieth day.
Jiang Tan thought to herself, though she couldn’t help but calculate if there were any faster ways to make money while she worked.
As soon as the household expenses increased, Jiang Tan felt a lot of pressure.
After all, Jiang Tan truly did not want to experience the predicament of repeatedly running out of money like she had the past couple of days.
After work, she went to buy groceries again. The old ladies sitting at the entrance of the stairs chatting saw her coming back with groceries two days in a row and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Little Jiang, how did your personality change? Didn’t you used to eat out all the time?”
Jiang Tan: “…”
“Eating out is too expensive,” Jiang Tan said, feeling a bit bashful.
“Oh my, you finally know how to be stingy with your money,” one old lady laughed so hard her missing teeth were visible. “Weren’t you coming in and out with a young girl a couple of days ago? How come we haven’t seen her these past two days?”
Jiang Tan wanted to say she had always cared about money; it was just that when she ate alone, cooking wasn’t very cost-effective.
“Um… she’s sick and needs to rest well,” Jiang Tan replied.
These elderly people could be considered the information center of the neighborhood. Since they gathered downstairs to chat and sunbathe whenever they were free, they probably knew exactly how many people lived in the complex. It wasn’t strange that they noticed a sudden new face like Jiang Yue.
“Oh dear, if she’s sick, she needs to rest. What’s the illness? Did she go to the hospital?” Hearing she was sick, the old ladies followed up with concerned questions.
In their eyes, Little Jiang was a good kid, and by association, they wanted to look out for Little Jiang’s friend—not to mention the girl was so handsome, looking like a star on television.
“It’s not a big problem, just a fever. She’s much better now.” Jiang Tan patiently chatted with them for quite a few sentences, knowing that these elderly people were lonely sometimes and just liked talking to young people.
“That’s good then. Grandma has fever medicine here too; come and get it if you need it.”
“Mm-hmm.” Jiang Tan agreed. Just as she was about to say she had to go upstairs to get busy, an old lady suddenly asked mysteriously, “Little Jiang, tell Grandma the truth—is that girl your girlfriend?”
Jiang Tan had never brought anyone home before. Now that such a beautiful girl had suddenly appeared and they were living together, most people would naturally think of them as being in a relationship.
Jiang Tan opened her mouth, finally saying somewhat stiffly, “No, she’s my sister. Her name is Jiang Yue; you can call her Yueyue from now on.”
“Eh? A sister…”
As soon as these words came out, for some reason, Jiang Tan felt as if they looked a bit disappointed.
“I thought Little Jiang had finally found someone to live her life with,” the old ladies muttered softly. After all, Jiang Tan wasn’t that young anymore; it was time to consider these things.
Jiang Tan: “…” Does getting old automatically make you care about the marital status of the younger generation?
“But Little Jiang’s family member is truly handsome. This family’s genes are really top-notch,” someone couldn’t help but praise.
Jiang Tan felt a bit guilty listening to this. She didn’t know if she was technically lying, but she certainly hadn’t said they were blood-related!
“Grandma, I won’t chat anymore. I’m going up to cook,” Jiang Tan hurried to make her escape.
“Yes, go on. Someone who is sick needs to eat something nutritious.”
Jiang Tan hummed in agreement repeatedly, her footsteps quickening as she went upstairs.
With this group of elderly people guarding the downstairs area, they would be very alert to any strangers appearing in the complex. This was a good thing, but similarly, she was very likely to become the central figure of their gossip…
Jiang Tan returned home. Looking at the obvious traces of the house having been cleaned again, she said, “In your condition, you should just rest and not move around so much.”
“I’m just staying home anyway; I’ll do what I can.” Jiang Yue came forward to meet her, reaching out to habitually brush a speck of dust off Jiang Tan’s shoulder.
Jiang Tan felt as if half of her body had gone weak and tingling from that single pat.
It was too sudden!
She was completely unprepared!