Chapter 78
Last night, Zhuang Chi had this thought more than once.
It was as if her brain had become excited on its own. Her gaze would involuntarily fall on Gu Ximian's lips, making Zhuang Chi flustered, and she could only force herself not to look too much. It was the same when she leaned over Gu Ximian; she had almost kissed her, only managing to avert her gaze a second before leaning down. Yet, she couldn't help but look at Gu Ximian's gland—truly, she was looking at all the problematic places, just like a hooligan.
The memory wasn't very clear, but she could still recall what she had done to Gu Ximian. She could remember the smooth delicacy of Gu Ximian's lower back, the slight heat of the gland her lips touched, like a sweet piece of candy she almost couldn't resist biting down on.
...There were many things she had thought of doing to Gu Ximian last night. If she were to be honest, wanting to kiss Gu Ximian was probably the most harmless of them all.
But the other thoughts were not so easy to speak of. Zhuang Chi confessed to Gu Ximian with an attitude of admitting her mistake, but she heard no response for a long time. She thought this was quite normal; she must have scared her. Perhaps Gu Ximian would finally understand the severity of the situation this time. She might even leave her place, which could be considered a good thing...
Even though she thought this, she couldn't feel happy about it at all. Zhuang Chi lowered her head and softly added, "...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me last night, my mind wasn't very clear..."
As she spoke these words, which couldn't really be called an explanation, Zhuang Chi's mind was in turmoil. Gu Ximian finally moved, this time walking towards her. Under Zhuang Chi's astonished gaze, she silently sat down beside her—right next to her.
Zhuang Chi wanted to scoot aside, but she was already huddled in the corner of the sofa, with the armrest right next to her. Just as she was about to stand up, she was silently stopped by the gaze Gu Ximian shot at her as she suddenly turned her head. A familiar scent wafted over. Zhuang Chi pressed her lips together in forbearance and heard Gu Ximian speak, her voice soft, "Yes, you really didn't seem very clear-headed at that time."
Her tone sounded very calm, Zhuang Chi thought, feeling like the next sentence would be something like, "So it can't be helped that you had wild thoughts, let's just pretend it never happened." And indeed, she then heard Gu Ximian say, "...So, that sentence shouldn't have been said at a time like that. Do you understand what I mean?"
It was a little roundabout, but it was probably similar to what she had just been thinking. Zhuang Chi nodded slightly and said in a small voice, "I understand. I know it was wrong to think that, it was very offensive to you. From now on, I'll—"
"You don't understand at all, do you."
Before she could finish, Gu Ximian interrupted her, a trace of impatience in her voice, her earlier composure gone. She leaned towards Zhuang Chi, and when Zhuang Chi turned her head, she saw Gu Ximian's exquisite face pressing closer. She subconsciously wanted to dodge, but realized that her hand resting on the sofa was being held down by Gu Ximian—she didn't know if it was intentional or not. And those beautiful eyes looking directly at her now seemed to hold unspoken words, the light in them trembling minutely, revealing that Gu Ximian's current state of mind was not calm.
"...What I mean is," Gu Ximian began again, her hand tightening slightly as she grasped Zhuang Chi's stiff hand, "that thought you just mentioned came to you when you weren't clear-headed. It's... mixed with many things, it's hard to explain."
"If I were to ask you, did you think that way because of an Alpha's instinct towards an Omega, or was it simply because Zhuang Chi wanted to do that to Gu Ximian? Can you give me a definite answer?"
Zhuang Chi's breath hitched. She followed Gu Ximian's question and thought about it. She felt she could give a definite answer, but as the words reached her throat, she was struck by the realization that saying it would be a confession. In the end, she remained silent for a long while. Gu Ximian seemed to have anticipated this and sighed softly, "You see? I knew it."
"So... we should wait until your susceptible period is over, and then..."
Gu Ximian paused for a long time, then sat up straight, turned her head away slightly, and said softly, "...and then we'll talk."
...The meaning was a bit vague, Zhuang Chi thought. Did "we'll talk" mean they would discuss this matter again, or did it mean... she wanted her to say those words again?
She wanted to ask Gu Ximian, but before she could, the other girl suddenly stood up, her voice muffled. "...Also, what happened to you suddenly last night was because I released too many pheromones. It's not your fault. You've already done well enough."
Before Zhuang Chi could react, she saw Gu Ximian lean over slightly, reach out to touch her face, and say in a warm voice, "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful from now on. Don't be angry with me, okay?"
...Who could possibly say "no" to that? The collar of Gu Ximian's pajamas wasn't very modest, and Zhuang Chi didn't even dare to glance down, just nodded stiffly and rapidly. Gu Ximian's lips curved into a slight smile, and the hand stroking Zhuang Chi's face accidentally brushed against her burning hot earlobe, retracting as if it had been scalded.
"Thank you," Gu Ximian said, straightening up again and putting her hands behind her back as if she were a little uncomfortable. "...I'll go wash up first, then."
With that, she quickly walked into the bathroom. Zhuang Chi couldn't help but raise a hand to rub her earlobe where it had been touched, only now belatedly realizing—not only did Gu Ximian not hate her, but she also planned to continue staying here.
The next day passed rather peacefully.
Perhaps because of the lesson from last night, Gu Ximian's comforting work today was done exceptionally well. By her side, although Zhuang Chi still had various symptoms of her susceptible period, she was doing much better than before. It was just that when a wave of heat came, she still couldn't help but draw close to Gu Ximian. Gu Ximian would easily notice something was wrong with her and would hug her directly. Zhuang Chi would dazedly nuzzle against the other girl's neck, occasionally having the thought that she was like a cat obsessed with catnip.
In their state, they couldn't go out to eat. Both lunch and dinner were delivered by Ling Jing and the others. Zhuang Chi obediently followed behind Gu Ximian to open the door, still feeling a little bad about having apparently scared them yesterday. Fortunately, the Alphas were very understanding of the current situation and didn't hold a grudge. They consciously handed the things to Zhuang Chi instead of Gu Ximian, and their words were hesitant. It was just that several pairs of twinkling eyes sized them up from head to toe. Zhuang Chi could practically read their minds from their gazes. She tried hard to suppress the displeasure rising in her heart (quite unreasonably) because they were looking at Gu Ximian. To prevent their imaginations from fermenting further, she mumbled an explanation, "...Nothing happened between us."
"Eh... Really...?" Even after the explanation, they didn't believe her. Ling Jing was the first to cast a suspicious glance, furtively avoiding Gu Ximian to whisper in Zhuang Chi's ear, "Zhuang Chi, you haven't become, uh, chaste and ascetic because of your damaged gland, have you...?"
She definitely didn't mean to use that word originally! Zhuang Chi was too angry to speak and resentfully slammed the door. But after a few seconds, she opened it again. Under the Alphas' varied gazes, she said with a taut expression, "Do you guys know of anything that can prevent me from biting Gu Ximian?"
The Alphas looked at each other. Lou Che took out his phone to search and said with difficulty, "The nearest pet supply store is more than ten kilometers away."
"..."
Even though she knew they were trying to help her, Zhuang Chi couldn't help but clench her back teeth.
What she ended up with was a surgical mask that looked like it had very low defensive capabilities. Zhuang Chi wordlessly put it on. Leaning against her, Gu Ximian held back her laughter and pulled it down a little so she could expose her nose and breathe properly, not forgetting to comfort her, "It's similar to what you wanted. That thing is also worn, right? If you wanted to take it off, you could do it in an instant."
"...Is that so?" Zhuang Chi didn't know much about it and asked sullenly, "Aren't there types that can be locked, or that require someone else to open?"
Gu Ximian was silent for a long moment, then lowered her gaze subtly and said softly, "...That's probably not something you can buy at a pet supply store."
Not quite understanding, Zhuang Chi looked at Gu Ximian blankly. However, the other girl didn't want to linger on this topic and quickly changed the subject. "I just received a message from An Chen. He said not to worry about school tomorrow. He's requested leave for both of us and also extended the hotel stay."
"...Ah," now that she mentioned it, tomorrow was already Monday, but it looked like her susceptible period wouldn't end today. Zhuang Chi lowered her head, feeling a little guilty. "I've troubled all of you..."
"This is a proper leave approved by the school, how is it any trouble? At worst, we'll just stay here a few more days." Gu Ximian patted the top of her head. "Normally, it should end tomorrow... or the day after at the latest. But even if it takes longer, I don't mind."
She paused, then added, "...In any case, it's more relaxing than going to class."
Zhuang Chi felt that Gu Ximian was saying this to be considerate of her feelings and not let her feel pressured, but this made her feel an even greater sense of responsibility. When she went to sleep that night, she prayed hard that her susceptible period wouldn't last too long. Perhaps her prayers worked. The next day, when Zhuang Chi opened her eyes from her sleep, her first reaction was that her gland didn't seem as hot as yesterday. Her second reaction was that she seemed to be holding something in her arms—a warm and soft armful.
She wasn't fully awake yet and her hands moved subconsciously, but she felt the bundle in her arms tremble slightly. Although the movement was small, it was enough to make Zhuang Chi's eyes fly open. She abruptly lowered her head and met Gu Ximian's gaze.
The person, who had been awake for who knows how long, was lying in her arms. The suspicious pink on her face could have been from the heat of the blanket or something else, and the corners of her eyes and brows held a shy embarrassment. She spoke first, preemptively, "...You were the one who suddenly came over and hugged me in your sleep."
Zhuang Chi's throat was terribly dry. She just felt that Gu Ximian, having just woken up, was so beautiful she couldn't look away. It took a great deal of effort for her to painstakingly scoot back a little and apologize hoarsely, "...I'm sorry. I must be a bad sleeper."
She had never slept in the same bed with anyone else, so she had no way of verifying if her sleeping habits were bad enough to make her hug people randomly. Usually, when she slept alone, she was quite well-behaved. But the current situation left no room for argument. Zhuang Chi hastily scrambled up and fled to the bathroom to wash up. Only after washing her face did she belatedly realize again that her susceptible period seemed to be getting better.
It wasn't an illusion. The feeling became clearer in the afternoon, and eventually, the heat dissipated completely. Zhuang Chi had never felt her thoughts be so clear. She wholeheartedly thanked the heavens for letting her end this dreadful susceptible period within two days, and without anything irreversible happening.
...But then again, should she be thanking the heavens... or something else? For example, the Notebook?
The first thing she thought of after her susceptible period ended was the problem that had been hastily set aside. Zhuang Chi frowned slightly. Meanwhile, Gu Ximian, having confirmed that she was truly out of her susceptible period, was leaning against her, showing no signs of pulling away yet. She maintained this posture and said softly, "Congratulations. So... it looks like we can go back to class tomorrow."
Zhuang Chi turned her head to look at her, her eyes meeting Gu Ximian's, who was also looking at her. Their bodies were still touching, as if they had both grown accustomed to each other's warmth during this susceptible period, and now the thought of separating felt unsettling.
Gu Ximian's gaze was deep and lingering. She didn't speak, yet it was as if she had already said a great deal. Zhuang Chi felt that with just one glance, it was difficult to look away. The ambiguous factors in the surrounding air were suddenly stirred, hovering on the verge of ignition, both close and distant.
Zhuang Chi was the first to look away, feeling a strange thirst. She randomly picked up a water glass and took a couple of sips, only to find it had no effect. It seemed it wasn't her throat that was thirsty, but something else.
It seemed there were many things they needed to talk about. For example... about their relationship.
Even though nothing that crossed the line had happened, Zhuang Chi thought that if Lou Che were to ask her now as he had before, she would probably feel guilty trying to say "innocent" as candidly as she had that day.
But before that, she had to race against time to go to the museum again, to first have a good talk with the Notebook, which was probably watching them right now and was equally concerned about their relationship.
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