Jiang Tan looked at Jiang Yue with a touch of grief and indignation.
“Don’t think I didn’t understand your subtext!” Her grades might be average, but she still knew about that sort of thing!
Jiang Yue couldn’t help but smile, her eyebrows curving as she let out a soft laugh. Her voice was warm and gentle as she said, “I don’t have any subtext~”
The way she slightly elongated the final note actually gave off a tingling sensation, as if she were acting coquettishly.
Jiang Tan looked at her huffily. However, when Jiang Yue looked back at her with an innocent gaze, she couldn’t keep up the act and broke character, grumbling dissatisfiedly, “With the little money I have, besides using it for food, there’s nothing else I can do anyway.”
Besides, after working hard all day, not even having something good to eat would make her life seem quite miserable no matter how you looked at it!
“Then is there anything you like?” Jiang Yue slowly restrained the smile on her face and looked at Jiang Tan with some seriousness.
She wanted to understand Jiang Tan a bit more; she wanted to see what she was thinking in her heart while being pushed forward by life every day, and what she wanted most if livelihood were set aside.
Jiang Tan gradually fell silent. Finally, the corners of her lips tugged upward. “I don’t have anything I like. Anyway, those are just meaningless things.”
“How could they be meaningless? As long as you like it, that is the meaning,” Jiang Yue said softly while looking into her eyes.
Jiang Tan’s reaction made Jiang Yue disbelieve that she didn’t have anything she liked. On the contrary, it was that Jiang Tan didn’t believe the things she liked had any meaning.
Jiang Tan shook her head gently. “There’s nothing I like.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yue watched her quietly. Seeing her lower her head to eat in silence, Jiang Yue sighed inwardly and did not continue the topic.
She was clearly unhappy when facing these subjects.
“Eat more. You’ve been running deliveries all day too.” When Jiang Tan helped serve soup to the other woman, she ladled a large half-bowl of meat into it.
Watching her movements, Jiang Yue couldn’t help but tilt her head. “Are you like this with everyone?”
Even though she herself had been busy all day, she could still see the hard work of others and even did her best to give the other person the best things.
“Huh?” Jiang Tan didn’t understand her meaning for a moment. “Like what?” As she spoke, she looked down at the bowl in her hand that belonged to Jiang Yue. “Serving you soup? I guess so; after all, I enjoy helping others.”
At the end, Jiang Tan couldn’t help but praise herself.
Jiang Yue: “…”
She laughed in spite of herself. In the beginning, she hadn’t realized that Jiang Tan was actually such a self-praising person.
“Then thank you very much.” Jiang Yue took the bowl with both hands, feeling somewhat helpless.
“No need for thanks, just serving the people,” Jiang Tan followed up immediately.
Jiang Yue looked at Jiang Tan with a somewhat indescribable expression. Perhaps she could understand a bit more why Jiang Tan hadn’t found an Omega until now.
Sometimes this person’s actions were clearly very favorable, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she immediately shattered that “filter.”
Jiang Yue silently took a sip of soup and sighed, “Sometimes with that mouth of yours, you should speak a bit more sweetly. That way, it’s easier to find an Omega.”
If she didn’t even have the most basic emotional value of sweet talk, would someone really only be after her good looks?
“What are you saying? My mouth is already very sweet, okay?” Jiang Tan grumbled with some dissatisfaction upon hearing this. “Look at how much the elderly in the neighborhood like me, and how harmoniously I get along with my coworkers!”
Weren’t these things exchanged for precisely because her mouth was sweet!
Jiang Yue silently took another sip of soup.
Forget it. Anyway, it wasn’t as if no one was interested in Jiang Tan, so why should she worry about it?
The two finished their meal. They didn’t go out to run deliveries tonight. On the way home, they bought some fruit before taking Jiang Yue to knock on Grandma Wang’s door.
Because everything had been arranged in advance, the matter of Jiang Yue going over to sleep for a few days went very smoothly. After Jiang Yue finished washing up and packed some changes of clothes, Jiang Tan finally sent her over. She said to Grandma Wang and Wang Xiuya, “Grandma, Sister Xiuya, I’ll have to trouble you then.”
“It’s no trouble. We’re all neighbors, and you’ve helped us plenty,” Grandma Wang said with a smile. However, she still said worriedly, “Can you take care of yourself at home alone? Should we make some food and bring it over to you?”
Hearing her mother’s words, Wang Xiuya also looked at Jiang Tan. She was also somewhat worried that Jiang Tan wouldn’t be able to take care of herself during this period.
“No need, I’m already an adult, how could I not take care of myself?” Jiang Tan laughed helplessly. “You guys don’t need to worry. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Jiang Yue, get along well with Grandma and Sister Xiuya. I’ll come to pick you up in a few days.”
Jiang Yue: “…” What was with this appearance of treating her like a child being sent to a relative’s house?
“Don’t worry, we will take care of her,” Wang Xiuya said warmly.
“Mm-hmm, thank you Sister Xiuya. Then I’ll head back first.” Jiang Tan gave her a bright smile, waved to them one last time, and turned to go back into her unit.
Watching that closed door, Jiang Yue stood at the entrance of the Wang residence carrying the clothes she needed for the next few days. For some reason, her heart felt a momentary sense of emptiness.
“Yueyue, come in,” Grandma Wang greeted.
Jiang Yue snapped back to reality, looked at Grandma Wang and the others, gave a soft response, and followed them into the house.
Grandma Wang’s little granddaughter was still sitting on the living room carpet playing with toys. When she saw her enter, she looked up and showed a bright smile, calling out sweetly, “Sister.”
“Mm, hello Nannan.” Jiang Yue also gave her a faint smile.
“For these few days, we’ll have to trouble you to share a bed with me and Nannan.” Wang Xiuya looked at the tall and beautiful Omega before her. She had seen a bit more of the world than Grandma Wang; in fact, she could vaguely see that this person’s background was likely not that simple. She always felt that she and these people were not from the same world.
She didn’t seem to be from the same world as Jiang Tan, either.
“It is I who am bothering you instead,” Jiang Yue said apologetically. After all, they had to accept the fact of squeezing into a bed with a stranger.
Wang Xiuya smiled and did not continue that topic, ushering her into the room to put away her change of clothes.
It couldn’t be helped; Grandma Wang’s house had the same layout as the one Jiang Tan rented—both were two-bedroom, one-living room units. Grandma Wang had one room, and Wang Xiuya lived in the other with her daughter. There were no extra rooms for Jiang Yue to sleep in alone, and it wouldn’t be right to let her sleep on the living room sofa.
On the other side, Jiang Tan returned to her apartment. Looking at the house that had suddenly become much quieter, she was lost in thought.
How much time had passed? She had actually already started to become accustomed to Jiang Yue’s presence.
Jiang Tan lay on the hard sofa as if discouraged. Perhaps it was truly because her Rut was approaching that even she was being influenced to become sentimental.
She couldn’t help but start thinking wildly.
If she continued to adapt to Jiang Yue like this, what would happen when Jiang Yue recovered her memory or her family found her later? Moreover, no matter how one looked at it, there would come a day when the two would have to separate. In the end, wouldn’t she be left all alone again?
Jiang Tan lay half-prone on the sofa. With an unidentifiable mood, she flicked at the folds and ripples on her blanket. She suddenly began to regret meeting Jiang Yue.
Jiang Yue was like a swift that had suddenly burst in and disrupted her originally peaceful life, only to quickly disappear into the sky, leaving her waiting in place all alone.
It felt so desolate.
Jiang Tan let out a long sigh. Maybe it was because she hadn’t had family around for too long; she had started treating Jiang Yue as family.
She wasn’t someone who could stand being lonely that much to begin with.
Perhaps it was truly because her state of mind tonight was too complex; Jiang Tan could already faintly feel her gland becoming restless. A secret longing gradually emerged from the depths of her body.
There was also a…
Stronger desire for plunder than usual.
It was the instinct of an Alpha—the instinct to want to take the lingering scent of night-blooming cereus in the air for her own.
Jiang Tan lowered her head and buried her face in the pillow, trying to use this method to prevent her “dog nose” from smelling that damn night-blooming cereus scent.
It was one thing to be the scent of night-blooming cereus, but it even had to have a frosty, cold aura, making it so clear and sweet.
Jiang Tan bit her lip, feeling her body grow hotter and hotter. The distress of it made her nose tingle and her eyes turn slightly red.
Remembering something, she hurriedly got up again. She injected the suppressant she had bought well in advance into her body, then rushed back to lie down and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket.
She didn’t want to let herself become excessively violent or irritable. If she broke or damaged anything, it would all have to be solved with money in the end.
But… why was it even more painful than before!
Damn suppressant manufacturer, did they sell her a fake!
The next morning, worried about Jiang Tan’s condition, Jiang Yue used Wang Xiuya’s phone to send a message to Jiang Tan. However, after quite a while, there was no reply from Jiang Tan.
Jiang Yue pursed her lips and told herself to calm down. Thinking it was still too early and that Jiang Tan might not be awake yet, she decided not to disturb her, lest the sound of the message affect her.
Since the phone was with Jiang Tan, Jiang Yue had no way to continue running deliveries. Since it was Saturday and Nannan didn’t have school while Wang Xiuya still had to go to work, Jiang Yue stayed behind to help look after the child and assist with her homework.
Grandma Wang was old, after all. When she helped with homework, there were times she couldn’t even see the words clearly.
Jiang Yue sat cross-legged on the living room carpet with Nannan. Looking at Nannan’s figure as she leaned over the coffee table to do her homework, she couldn’t help but be lost in thought.
Nannan also liked Jiang Tan very much.
All three generations of the family liked Jiang Tan very much.
“Nannan, sit up straighter. Don’t lean over the coffee table, it’s bad for your eyes,” Jiang Yue said, gently patting Nannan on the waist.
“Oh, okay.” Nannan’s posture straightened significantly. She turned her head to look at Jiang Yue and asked, “Sister, isn’t Little Sister Jiang coming over?”
“She has things to do, so she won’t be coming over,” Jiang Yue said warmly.
But as time ticked away, there was still no movement from Jiang Tan’s side. Especially when Wang Xiuya came back from work at noon and Jiang Tan still hadn’t replied to the message, the sense of unease in Jiang Yue’s heart grew stronger.
Reasonably speaking, even during a special period, there should be a period of clarity; it shouldn’t be this long without a reply.
“I’ll bring some food over to Jiang Tan,” Jiang Yue said, pursing her lips.
It was a bit abnormal; she wasn’t very at ease.
Hearing her say this, Wang Xiuya froze for a moment before slowly nodding. “Okay.”
Jiang Yue carried the separated portions of food and opened the door to Jiang Tan’s rental. Wang Xiuya, who had followed behind her because she was worried, immediately covered the back of her neck and took several steps back. Her face was tense as she said, “Miss Jiang, you…”
However, her voice quickly cut off. She discovered that when facing these pheromones that carried extreme pressure amidst the frenzy, Jiang Yue showed even more endurance than she did.
Jiang Yue saw her state and immediately understood the situation. “Sister Xiuya, you should go back first.”
If Wang Xiuya continued to stay—even if she just stood at the doorway—she could easily be induced into heat.
Wang Xiuya gave Jiang Yue a look filled with complexity, nodded, and went back to close her door.
Sniffing the manic and unstable pheromones in the air, Jiang Yue took a deep breath and tried her best to calm her rapidly beating heart. She stepped into the house and closed the door.
Jiang Yue placed the tray on the table. Not seeing Jiang Tan in the living room, her gaze couldn’t help but fall on the half-closed bedroom door.
Jiang Yue touched the suppressant patch on the back of her neck. Finally, she walked toward the bedroom.
Raising her hand to gently push the half-closed door, a more violent and intense scent of licorice instantly submerged her like an avalanche.
Jiang Yue quickly grabbed the doorframe, her legs so weak she could hardly stand.
“Jiang Tan…” She looked at the scene inside the room, murmuring Jiang Tan’s name. Her heart suddenly felt as if it had been pierced by something, both aching and numb.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I can’t control it.”
Jiang Tan, who was huddled under the covers and covered in every piece of clothing and item Jiang Yue had ever worn or used, spoke with a pained expression of self-reproach and shame.