Pei Yujang: "…?"
Was their relationship progressing this fast?
She had heard of whirlwind romances, but she and Yu Zhiwan had just confirmed their relationship. This didn't feel quite right.
As the heat in her face continued to rise, Pei Yujang felt as though every cell in her body was on fire, leaving her weak and uncertain. She leaned against the door, unsure of what to do.
A hidden anticipation grew from deep within her, and her panic and sense of morality could no longer suppress it. After all, it was Yu Zhiwan who had invited her—it wasn't like she had decided on her own to eavesdrop. So maybe…
Maybe it wasn't so wrong after all.
Pei Yujang rationalized this to herself.
She leaned in closer, hearing Yu Zhiwan's footsteps from inside. The bathroom door was well-insulated, so Pei Yujang could only faintly hear the glass door inside being opened, followed by the sound of the shower. The sound of hot water cascaded down, washing over the Omega's delicate back.
Pei Yujang tried to keep her breathing steady, her nails digging into her palms, though she didn't feel the pain.
But after a few minutes, all she could hear was the continuous sound of running water—no strange noises at all.
Twenty minutes later, Yu Zhiwan emerged from the bathroom, freshly washed. She found Pei Yujang sitting nearby on a small stool. She called out to her, but Pei Yujang didn't hear, so she walked over and noticed that Pei Yujang had earplugs in both ears.
"Are you done with your shower?"
Yu Zhiwan couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her.
"Why are you still sitting here?"
"Didn't you ask me to keep you company?" Pei Yujang responded, feeling a bit guilty.
She had initially thought Yu Zhiwan might have meant something else, but now she realized that wasn't the case. After all, these things should be consensual.
In the end, she had acted overly concerned, even giving her a magic wand, mistakenly thinking that Yu Zhiwan might use it while Pei Yujang listened from behind the door!
Thinking about it now, Pei Yujang wished she could find a hole to crawl into, her ears burning with embarrassment.
Luckily, Yu Zhiwan was a good-natured, open-minded Omega and probably wouldn't say anything to her. Pei Yujang forced a smile, reached out, and gently pinched Yu Zhiwan's cheek.
The Omega's skin, freshly washed, was soft and smooth. Her touch followed the curve of her cheek down to her neck, where Pei Yujang stopped, bending down to press her face against Yu Zhiwan's and taking a deep breath.
"It's late, so I'll head home now. See you tomorrow?"
Technically, it was already "tomorrow," as it was past 2 a.m. Pei Yujang was still too excited to sleep, but staying any longer felt strange, and she wanted some time alone to process everything.
Yu Zhiwan hummed in agreement, watching as Pei Yujang left. But before she reached the entrance, Pei Yujang suddenly turned back, squatted down in front of Yu Zhiwan, and carefully examined her face as if she couldn't get enough. She tilted her head slightly, studying her with her eyes.
Finally, she gave Yu Zhiwan a quick kiss on the left cheek.
"This is your goodnight kiss."
Then, she kissed the right cheek.
"And this is to celebrate your vision returning."
**
Only heaven knew how happy she was.
Pei Yujang had been suppressing her excitement until she returned home. Standing barefoot on the sofa, she felt like jumping up and hitting her head on the ceiling just to clear her mind.
She had experienced many joyful moments—winning battles, saving lives, sending an Omega who had nearly been bullied back home safely, and receiving a thank-you letter the next day… But never had she felt such pure, honey-like happiness as she did now.
The Omega she liked had actually become her girlfriend.
Pei Yujang repeated the word "girlfriend" over and over in her mind. While showering, she lost grip of the showerhead, and it hit her foot, but she didn't feel any pain. Her mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of Yu Zhiwan in the shower.
As she applied body wash, her fingers brushed against her skin, but all she could think about was the warmth of another woman's body. She had brought a Bluetooth speaker into the bathroom, and it was playing love songs. Pei Yujang felt like every song was singing her feelings, and she couldn't help but hum along.
That night, Pei Yujang had a dream.
In the dream, she and Yu Zhiwan were both students again. Pei Yujang hadn't attended school properly like students nowadays—she had been tutored privately. But she had seen enough school dramas to imagine the general environment.
In the dream, they were kissing in the classroom, whispering sweet nothings to each other, hiding in the corner when the class monitor went to take out the trash. The curtains were drawn, and even though Yu Zhiwan was standing, she was still half a head shorter than Pei Yujang. Without needing to lower her head, Yu Zhiwan stood on tiptoe, while Pei Yujang held her waist to keep her steady.
The Omega's waist was as soft in the dream as it was in reality, like a pool of spring water. But perhaps because it was a school setting, dream Pei Yujang only felt a vague happiness and the thrill of breaking the rules, without any deeper thoughts.
When she woke up, Pei Yujang still had a smile on her face.
As she brushed her teeth in the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror and felt a bit silly, so she adjusted her expression. It was now 11 a.m., and she had slept for about eight hours, feeling fully refreshed.
She sat in the living room for a while, and when Yu Zhiwan woke up and messaged her, Pei Yujang made a call to the police.
That afternoon, the two of them were at the police station when Liu Huanran was brought in.
Liu Huanran's hair was disheveled, and she glared at Pei Yujang and Yu Zhiwan. Her sharp gaze swept over the Omega, whose face was now glowing with health after some rest. Yu Zhiwan instinctively shrank back, clutching Pei Yujang's sleeve.
Pei Yujang instinctively grabbed Yu Zhiwan's hand and pulled her, wheelchair and all, behind her.
"Officer, she still seems very aggressive and has a strong hostility toward my girlfriend."
Even if it were another Omega, Pei Yujang wouldn't tolerate Liu Huanran behaving like this in front of her. Let alone the fact that the target of her aggression was Yu Zhiwan, which was absolutely unacceptable.
The police, already disgusted with young people like Liu Huanran who chose the wrong path, were further irritated when they saw the slight mist in Yu Zhiwan's clear almond eyes. They immediately yelled at Liu Huanran:
"Behave yourself!"
Liu Huanran: "Mmph!" (I didn't!)
Her tongue was still numb, and she couldn't speak, but that didn't stop her from glaring fiercely at Pei Yujang and Yu Zhiwan. Especially after hearing Pei Yujang refer to Yu Zhiwan as her "girlfriend," Liu Huanran's eyes seemed to shoot sparks.
These two women were clearly doing this on purpose, trying to ruin her. Liu Huanran was furious. She had no idea when they had started colluding, and Yu Zhiwan had been pretending all along.
Yesterday, Yu Zhiwan's legs and eyes had clearly healed—she didn't look like a disabled person at all. Liu Huanran had pitied her in the past, but now she felt like a fool. She hadn't taken any drugs before she arrived, but her body had tested positive for a small amount of narcotics. The urine test didn't lie, and the police wouldn't conspire with the hospital against her, so it must have been Yu Zhiwan.
It had to be Yu Zhiwan who injected her with some strange substance!
Liu Huanran struggled angrily: "Mmph mmph mmph!" (You bitch!)
Seeing that she still wasn't behaving, the older police officer didn't hesitate to add a note about her "poor attitude" before strapping Liu Huanran into a chair designed for restraining criminals.
Although Liu Huanran couldn't speak, she could still write. The police instructed her to write a statement, and she hurriedly scrawled something down. When they handed it in, the officer glanced at Yu Zhiwan, then at Pei Yujang, who was beside her, and clearly wasn't convinced.
Still, the officer nodded responsibly at Liu Huanran:
"The police will investigate the scene. If it's proven that the other party injected you with drugs, they will be sentenced accordingly. But if you're framing that Omega, you'll face additional charges. Understood?"
There was no surveillance from that night, but it was clear that Liu Huanran had conspired with someone else to kidnap Yu Zhiwan, a fact Liu Huanran admitted to. She even readily gave up the identity of her accomplice.
The police realized that this wasn't a simple kidnapping case. Under
the governance of Xiangcheng's mayor, the city's law enforcement was quite effective. The police were thorough and, after taking both parties' statements, allowed Pei Yujang and Yu Zhiwan to leave while keeping Liu Huanran in custody for further investigation.
Yu Zhiwan wasn't worried about getting caught—she had been meticulous, leaving no fingerprints behind, and there was no surveillance to prove that a seemingly weak Omega like her had done anything.
Moreover, she hadn't actually poisoned Liu Huanran. The drugs in her system were likely from the water she had drunk, or some other slow-acting method. It would take time to trace the source, but with modern technology, it wasn't impossible.
As for Pei Yujang, she admitted to throwing Liu Huanran into the dirty water but maintained that it posed no serious threat to her life. It was summer, so at worst, she might catch a cold. The water was shallow and couldn't drown an adult woman.
The police didn't dwell on that and let her off easily. After all, if Pei Yujang hadn't done something in response to her girlfriend being treated that way, it would have been strange.
After leaving the police station, Yu Zhiwan was in high spirits, looking up at the bright sun as if she wanted to hum a tune. Pei Yujang helped her into a sun-protective shirt, then bent down and softly asked if she wanted to eat something.
They hadn't eaten much since the incident, only drinking some water. Their stomachs were long empty. In her good mood, Yu Zhiwan suggested having some barbecue.
Pei Yujang smiled warmly.
"Sure, let's go to the place at Huayuan Kou. The meat there is great, and the dipping sauces are delicious. I'll grill it for you."
Yu Zhiwan squinted and responded with a happy "okay."
At this hour, the barbecue restaurant was still fairly empty. Pei Yujang and Yu Zhiwan had eaten there a few times, so the owner recognized them and seated them in a cool, well-ventilated spot, even offering them two complimentary drinks.
They had shared many meals together, but this time was different. Pei Yujang was now grilling for her girlfriend, and as she flipped the meat, her heart swelled with a warm joy.
Thinking of the relationship expert, Pei Yujang took out her phone midway through the meal, snapped a picture, and sent it to her. The photo included Yu Zhiwan's hand, with a little heart added in the corner.
The expert replied almost instantly: "Out for another meal?"
Pei Yujang confidently responded:
"I did it—I won her over!"
Ji Laoban: "?"
Did I read that right, or did the sun just rise in the west?
Unable to contain her curiosity, she messaged Yu Zhiwan:
"Weren't you planning to stay single for a while, to make her anxious, exhausted, and desperate before agreeing? Did you give in to her good looks and end up taking the initiative with Pei Yujang?"
Yu Zhiwan didn't reply.
Instead, she looked up, her bright, beautiful almond eyes fixed on Pei Yujang, making her a bit embarrassed.
"Who are you chatting with?"
"A friend!"
Pei Yujang thought Yu Zhiwan was jealous, so she waved her phone in front of her, showing that she had the expert saved as "workshop."
Yu Zhiwan glanced at the familiar name and stifled a laugh before asking seriously:
"Does this friend of yours have a significant other?"
Pei Yujang hadn't heard the expert mention anything about her love life, but Yu Zhiwan's question sparked a bit of curiosity in her.
As she thought about it, Pei Yujang began to wonder why she felt like the expert's advice hadn't been all that helpful.
She had won over her girlfriend entirely on her own!
Pei Yujang quickly typed out:
"Master, do you have a significant other?"
Ji Laoban was about to ask for the final payment when she saw the question and hesitated for a moment before admitting that she didn't.
Pei Yujang responded sincerely:
"I think I know why you're still single. Those methods you taught me didn't really work. How about I teach you how to find someone instead?"
"When you meet someone you like, just tell me, and I'll teach you how to win her over. We'll call it even for the final payment, since we're friends now. I'll even give you a discount. What do you think?"
Ji Laoban: "…?"
Yu Zhiwan left it at that, pretending not to know what Pei Yujang was doing as she sat across from her, slowly enjoying her barbecue.
The grilled pork belly was golden and slightly crispy, melting in her mouth with the perfect flavor when dipped in the sauce. Yu Zhiwan ate several pieces in a row, then sipped some mango pomelo sago, feeling sweet from her mouth to her heart.
"Oh, by the way," she said, reminding Pei Yujang, "I bought you a gift as a token of our relationship. You'll see it soon."
Pei Yujang laughed and agreed, sending a final message to the relationship expert: "I'm going to eat now," only to receive a notification that her message had been blocked.
"So petty."
She muttered to herself, but still obediently confirmed receipt and paid the final payment. After all, she had won over Yu Zhiwan, even if the expert's methods hadn't been particularly helpful. The expert had still put in some effort.
A few days later, a package arrived. Pei Yujang opened it to find a brightly colored marriage certificate.
Ji Laoban, now an unwilling participant in their play, decided to swiftly distance herself from these lovestruck fools.