After finishing moving Ye Xunshu’s luggage and returning to her own room, two sayings from the upper world immediately came to Fu Yi’s mind.
First, a woman’s heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea. Second, in a romantic relationship, whoever takes the initiative first has already lost.
Looking at the current situation, she had lost completely.
Ye Xunshu hadn’t spoken a single word to her during the entire process of moving the luggage. Even after the task was done, there wasn’t so much as a sweet “Thank you, Sister Fu Yi.”
Due to the physiological differences of the AO system and to prevent any unnecessary accidents during the program, the production team had arranged for the three Alphas to share one room and the remaining three guests to share another.
Fu Yi sat on her bed, watching Yun Manman, who was busy fiddling with her things. Meanwhile, Xu Lanxi sat at the dressing table, primping. It was obvious that without the service of her maids, she was a bit clumsy and all thumbs.
She was a “young mistress” who knew how to do absolutely nothing.
Ye Xunshu had essentially chased Fu Yi out as soon as the luggage was down. There was a Yun Manman in their own room, but on the other side…
Would those Zhou siblings team up to bully her little rabbit?
“Miss Fu, do you want me to help organize your things?” Yun Manman finished with her and Xu Lanxi’s belongings and, seeing Fu Yi dazing out, kindly came over to ask. “You look preoccupied. Is it because the travel today was too tiring?”
“No need,” Fu Yi stopped her. “I’ll handle my own things.”
She had never been comfortable with others touching her belongings.
That night, Fu Yi lay on her side in bed with her eyes wide open. She couldn’t fall asleep at all.
For one, Xu Lanxi was the type of lady who couldn’t sleep in a strange bed. She tossed and turned for a long time, making a racket that felt almost intentional.
Secondly, it was because of Ye Xunshu.
Fu Yi tried her best to put Ye Xunshu out of her mind. Hadn’t she seen it during dinner? Ye Xunshu was standing perfectly fine in front of her, and her walking seemed normal. Omegas were humans too; they couldn’t be that fragile, right? Could an O really not survive without an A?
Fu Yi flipped over in bed and pulled the quilt over her head.
Autumn had just arrived, and the chill was growing. It wasn’t as hot as summer, but under the covers, it felt stuffy. In a state of mild oxygen deprivation, she hoped to stop her brain from overthinking all this nonsense.
A few minutes later.
Fu Yi threw back the quilt, put on her coat, and tiptoed out of the room.
But the little rabbit really was that fragile!
The little rabbit wouldn’t say anything on the surface, but deep down, she was definitely bothered by the fact that Fu Yi had chosen Zhou Ying. How fragile was an Omega’s heart—or rather, Ye Xunshu’s heart? How low was her sense of security? Weren’t these things Fu Yi already knew?
Was the little rabbit like her right now, so annoyed she couldn’t sleep?
With these thoughts in mind, Fu Yi took advantage of the darkness to sneak outside.
“Miss Fu.”
Before she could even reach the Omega’s quarters, Fu Yi heard Yun Manman’s voice. She turned around to see Yun Manman waving at her. “Miss Fu, why aren’t you sleeping so late?”
Fu Yi froze for a second. “I…”
Without a word, Yun Manman grabbed her and started pulling her back.
Fu Yi: “…”
“Miss Fu, that way leads to where the Omegas are staying.” Yun Manman pulled her close and whispered cautiously, “If someone catches you sneaking into the O’s quarters at night, who knows what the rumors will say?”
“You don’t want people calling you a philanderer, do you?”
Hearing her say this, Fu Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Isn’t that what the outside world is already saying?”
The reputation of the Eldest Miss Fu had been cemented long ago. Even if such behavior were discovered, it would only reinforce what people already believed.
Yun Manman shook her head, however, and said firmly, “I don’t think you’re that kind of person.”
Fu Yi found this novel and let her continue.
“I can tell you truly like Miss Ye.”
Fu Yi was stunned. From where could she tell? Actually… it wasn’t quite like that.
Fu Yi lowered her eyes, her expression unreadable. Under the cover of night, Yun Manman didn’t notice the change and went on. “Everyone says you’re entangled with various Omegas, but from what I saw today, you didn’t overstep with Zhou Ying at all. On the contrary, it was she… as an O, she showed no restraint and repeatedly tried to get close to you.”
Fu Yi gave a distracted smile.
Yun Manman let out a long sigh and leaned against the railing.
“Since Miss Fu is already married to Miss Ye and the love is mutual, why bother talking about freedom of love?”
“‘The command of parents can hardly guarantee the mutual happiness of two people.’ Miss Fu, those were your words in the promotional video,” Yun Manman said. “I agree with your thinking very much.”
Fu Yi watched her in silence. Was she… starting a heart-to-heart? Did she really trust her this much?
“Compared to Betas, we Alphas actually have an easier time finding marriage partners, but as you said, that doesn’t guarantee we actually like each other.”
“My family sells pork. Perhaps because of my common background, many Omegas or Betas look down on me. Ah, my reason for coming here isn’t necessarily to find someone I like. After all, there are so few people here, right?”
Fu Yi was left speechless, unable to say a word.
She had thought Yun Manman simply had a carefree, boisterous personality, but it turned out she thought so deeply about things. In this place, she was the only one truly searching for love. For a moment, Fu Yi felt a twinge of guilt. She had dragged a girl like this into a “crematory field” masquerading as a romance show, a battlefield where there might not be much room left for her at all.
Yun Manman let out a laugh, showing no signs of disappointment. She patted Fu Yi on the shoulder and smiled. “Miss Fu, to be honest, before I came here and heard the rumors about you, I expected all the Omegas and Betas would eventually fall into your hands.”
“But now, I suddenly have confidence.”
Fu Yi twitched the corner of her mouth. “What?”
So that was what she originally thought.
Yun Manman patted her chest and said confidently, “Since Miss Fu likes Miss Ye so much, it means I have a chance to experience interacting with Omegas and Betas, and then… the feeling of falling in love.”
“The feeling of falling in love…?” Fu Yi murmured the words back.
Yun Manman said she liked Ye Xunshu.
How was that possible?
The next day, the residents of the small house split into three groups for their respective dates. After traveling for quite some time, the carriages stopped near the Yangzhou market.
Fu Yi stepped down from her carriage and looked into the distance, seeing Ye Xunshu steadying herself against the side as she stepped out of her own. Fu Yi frowned, thinking to herself that the “Great Miss Xu” was just standing there like a statue instead of offering a hand.
She noticed, however, that the crabapple hairpin was missing from Ye Xunshu’s head today. Yesterday, on the way to the house, wasn’t she touching that hairpin as if she wanted to say something?
“Sister Fu Yi, are we visiting the market today?” Zhou Ying looked around. The area was densely packed with people, many of whom were already staring in their direction. Zhou Ying suddenly grew shy, covering her face with a handkerchief. “Sister, is it too ostentatious for us to date so… publicly?”
Fu Yi: ” ”
In truth, she had only followed along because she couldn’t stop worrying about Ye Xunshu. She had only interacted with Xu Lanxi’s “spoiled lady” personality for a short while yesterday and already found it unbearable. She really didn’t know if something would happen to Ye Xunshu. If the little rabbit was bullied by Xu Lanxi and burst into tears on the street, there probably wouldn’t even be anyone around to comfort her.
In short, she just couldn’t put her mind at ease.
Yun Manman said she liked Ye Xunshu, but Fu Yi had thought about it before sleeping last night. To her, Ye Xunshu was just a little rabbit who needed protection. Her feelings were born out of sympathy and pity for the status of Omegas in the lower world, not love.
Of course, the same applied to Zhou Ying. It was just that Ye Xunshu seemed to need that protection much more.
Zhou Ying was busy tidying her clothes. The bumpy ride had nearly ruined her meticulously styled hair. Fu Yi gave her a flat look and said, “Let’s go for a stroll.”
It was a rare occasion to show her face in public, especially for a filmed program, so Xu Lanxi had applied rouge and powder and wore a bright, flamboyant red dress.
Ye Xunshu’s silent evaluation: Not as good as Fu Yi without makeup.
Because the popularity of Gravity continued to rise and Xu Lanxi’s outfit was far too eye-catching, Ye Xunshu kept her head down the entire way, feeling like an animal being put on display.
Halfway through, she heard a sneer from Xu Lanxi. “Sister, you must rarely go out. Why are you keeping your head down even while walking the streets?”
Xu Lanxi didn’t like Fu Yi, and naturally, she didn’t like Ye Xunshu either. She couldn’t bully Fu Yi, so bullying Fu Yi’s Omega felt like a roundabout way of getting one over on her rival.
“I heard long ago that the Ye family’s upbringing was extremely strict. Look around; which other Omega is like you, truly never stepping past the threshold? Those old rules left by the ancestors should have been abolished long ago.” Xu Lanxi grew more excited as she spoke. The cameraman beside her gave frantic hints for her to stop, but she ignored them all.
“However, looking at Sister’s face, I can understand the reason for not letting you out,” Xu Lanxi continued. “It’s just a pity. Having good looks is your advantage, but if you don’t add makeup and adornment, you will be overtaken by others.”
“Your Sister Fu Yi doesn’t even know to take you out to buy some good rouge and powder.”
“People who don’t know better might think Fu Yi doesn’t like you.”
The conversation was going south fast, so the cameraman quickly shut off the water mirror. The viewers in the live stream were watching intently when the screen suddenly went black, automatically switching to the broadcast of Yun Manman and Zhou Zhou’s group.
[What’s going on? I want to see Ye Xunshu and the Great Miss Xu!!] [Hey! What’s wrong with your program? Why are you hiding stuff?!]
[Can’t handle the heat, can you?]
[Let me jump in, what is Yun Manman doing? Performing a pig slaughter for Zhou Zhou? Did Zhou Zhou just roll his eyes?]
[How does Xu Lanxi feel even more arrogant than Fu Yi?] [When was Fu Yi ever arrogant? She just likes to flirt with everyone.]
[Heh, Miss Xu’s upbringing is ‘so good’… Sister Xunshu is keeping her head down; she must be on the verge of tears from those words!!!]
[The little rabbit is clearly brewing a counterattack!]
[Someone does something! Is this a date? This is blatant humiliation!]
[I checked Fu Yi’s stream; she seems to be also at the market?]
[Fu Yi, come and take your little Omega home!]
[Fu Yi is busy with Zhou Ying; where would she find the time for the little rabbit?]