Chapter 41

This was the first time since their falling-out that Chu Yunmiao had entered Yu Changning’s private space.

The house had only been bought back then as a convenient place to stay, and Yu Changning herself had not lived here in a long time. Fortunately, the housekeeping robot cleaned diligently every day, so the entire place stayed impeccably tidy, just a little too empty, lacking any sense of life. The interior decoration was Yu Changning’s usual minimalist, cool style; just like her, it felt a little cold.

Chu Yunmiao hugged her rabbit plush and took the initiative to settle onto the sofa.

Perhaps because of the close, inseparable time they had shared as children, she did not feel the slightest awkwardness about suddenly intruding into Yu Changning’s world. Privileged people were always fearless; deep down, she probably already regarded all of this as only natural.

That attitude actually made Yu Changning secretly relieved.

To hide her nervousness, Yu Changning loosened her collar and asked, “Are you hungry?”

She suggested, “I’ll make you something to eat before bed.”

Chu Yunmiao had originally wanted to say she wasn’t hungry, but when she turned around, she suddenly caught the feeling in Yu Changning’s eyes. She froze; for some reason, her cheeks warmed with the contagion of it, and she gave a vague reply. “...Mm.”

Yu Changning cleared her throat and asked again, “What would you like to eat?”

“Anything,” Chu Yunmiao said after a brief pause. “Whatever you’re having is fine.”

At that, Yu Changning looked at her deeply, nodded, and turned to the kitchen to prepare it.

After she left, Chu Yunmiao finally let out a breath.

She looked down at the rabbit plush in her arms and suddenly couldn’t help imagining it as Yu Changning; in an instant, she mauled it from all angles until the poor rabbit was almost no longer rabbit-shaped. But after venting, she felt bad again, and gently used her fingertips to smooth the fur back into place.

After that, she felt much lighter.

She put the rabbit plush on the sofa and had originally intended to go to the kitchen to see what Yu Changning was doing, in case there was anything she could help with. But halfway there, she unconsciously veered off and entered the corridor between the living room and kitchen. The house wasn’t big, and the layout was clear. There were three rooms along the corridor: the master bedroom, the guest room, and the study; the balcony and another bathroom were on the other side of the living room.

Chu Yunmiao had a rough idea of the layout. She opened the room that should have been the guest room, intending to take a look at where she’d be sleeping tonight, only for her brain to suddenly freeze up.

Yu Changning clearly had no intention of hosting guests here. The room that should have been the guest room was packed with training equipment, obviously remodeled into a gym.

So... Yu Changning’s place didn’t even have a guest room at all. Then when she came here to stay the night...

She turned and glanced at the sofa in the living room, confirming that Yu Changning had not cut corners there; the sofa was wide and soft. She quietly comforted herself that the two of them could simply sleep separately, one on the sofa.

Perhaps this kind of self-deception actually worked a little, because Chu Yunmiao’s tense nerves relaxed, and sleepiness surged up.

Today was a holiday, but she felt even more tired than she did on class days. Not only had she spent a long time accompanying the Lucy siblings around, but she had also worn herself out in the amusement park all afternoon.

She went over to the master bedroom and was pleased to find a massage bathtub in the shower room. Without thinking, she took one of Yu Changning’s outfits from the closet and went into the bathroom attached to the master bedroom.

A hot bath was enough to soothe the exhaustion in her whole body, but Chu Yunmiao didn’t dare indulge for too long. She still remembered Yu Changning making supper for her in the kitchen.

So when Yu Changning came out carrying two bowls of seafood noodles, she saw Chu Yunmiao in her shirt, sitting at the dining table and wiping it down.

Fresh out of the bath, there was a languid air about her, and the way she looked at Yu Changning was wet and soft. Because she couldn’t fit into Yu Changning’s pants, her legs were bare; she had simply worn Yu Changning’s already two sizes-too-large shirt like a dress.

When she saw Yu Changning come out, she pulled her feet back down from the chair and greeted her a little bashfully.

Yu Changning didn’t know how much effort it took to keep her from thinking of anything else and looking straight ahead as she walked to the dining table, setting the bowls down with steady hands.

Chu Yunmiao, oblivious to danger, asked, “Did you change the scent of your body wash and shampoo?”

She sniffed the half-dry ends of her hair. “I remember it didn’t smell like this before.”

“I didn’t notice.” Yu Changning’s mouth was a little dry. Looking at her, she asked, “You don’t like it?”

Chu Yunmiao shook her head. “Not really.”

Then she remembered that Yu Changning didn’t pay much attention to little details like this. Maybe she’d simply needed them at home, and the housekeeping robot had recommended a few options; Yu Changning had just picked one that looked pleasing.

Yu Changning sat down beside her. “Eat the noodles.”

Chu Yunmiao became a little interested.

She swept her wet hair back and picked up her chopsticks.

The shirt was indeed a little too big on her. Even though the cuffs had been buttoned, when she lifted her hand, the sleeve still slid down, revealing a stretch of smooth, pale forearm.

Yu Changning looked at her. She had meant to observe Chu Yunmiao’s expression while eating, to judge whether she liked the late-night meal, but as she looked on, her gaze seemed to stick to that strip of forearm.

When she finally came back to herself, she disguised it by lifting her own chopsticks and asking, “Is it good?”

Chu Yunmiao nodded. “I think your cooking’s improved again.”

Yu Changning could cook.

Now that she thought about it, Chu Yunmiao realized Yu Changning seemed to know everything. From childhood to now, in order to take care of her spoiled long princess, Yu Changning had done practically everything herself and mastered every skill that involved looking after someone.

The two of them each carried their own thoughts as they finished the late-night meal, and neither had any intention of finding another form of entertainment to pass the time. So the problem of where to sleep soon came up.

Yu Changning seemed not to have considered any other option. “You can sleep in the room; I’ll spend the night on the sofa.”

Chu Yunmiao thought about it. “I’m only here to stay the night as a guest. If the host ends up sleeping on the sofa... isn’t that a little inappropriate?”

Yu Changning had just been about to offer a few polite words when she saw the clothes on Chu Yunmiao and abruptly changed course.

“You used the master bathroom and wore my clothes without even discussing it with me. Why are you suddenly being polite here?”

Chu Yunmiao pouted angrily. “Are you blaming me?”

Yu Changning: “Hm?”

Chu Yunmiao: “Blaming me for using the bathroom and your clothes without your permission.”

Yu Changning hastily begged off. “How could that be... I didn’t mean it that way at all.”

Chu Yunmiao turned around and, while heading back toward the master bedroom, started settling accounts with her. “Not that way?

“If you didn’t mean it that way, why say I didn’t discuss it with you?”

She sat down on the big bed in the master bedroom, shoulders slumped, her eyes looking at Yu Changning with unmistakable grievance.

Yu Changning regretted the offhand remark she had just made.

After thinking for a moment, she soothed her. “Don’t be angry.” She took a deep breath and explained, “I was just joking with you. I also wanted you to know that with me, you can be a little freer.

“You can wear whatever clothes you like; you can use the bedroom however you want, as long as you’re happy.

“If I made you sleep on the sofa, that would be more unbearable to me than if I had to sleep on the streets myself.”

Chu Yunmiao didn’t want to admit that she was this easy to appease. She turned over and pulled the blanket up to cover the lower half of her face, not letting Yu Changning see her expression.

Her muffled voice came from under the blanket. “You really know how to make people happy.”

She seemed unaware of how alluring she looked like this; Yu Changning couldn’t help swallowing, and using the last of her reason, she straightened up and turned to take a set of clothes from the wardrobe. She didn’t dare look at Chu Yunmiao, walking toward the bathroom with her back to her. “Rest first. I’ll take a shower, then sleep on the sofa later.”

After speaking, she didn’t wait for Chu Yunmiao’s reply and fled into the bathroom as if she had pursuers behind her.

Only then did Chu Yunmiao finally emerge from under the blanket. Looking at the tightly shut bathroom door, she couldn’t quite make out what she was feeling. It wasn’t until the sound of water started hissing from inside that she seemed to wake up, and with a flushed face, she pulled her gaze back.

Thinking about it, she opened her light-brain terminal, but she had no idea what to look at to pass the time. By the time she came back to herself, she had actually typed, “What should I pay attention to when staying overnight at an Alpha friend’s house for the first time?” into the search bar.

Chu Yunmiao froze. She felt like she didn’t need the search results at all, because her relationship with Yu Changning was definitely much more than the word “friend.”

But since there didn’t seem to be anything else to do, she simply started browsing down the page.

The first reply under the entry was a comment with a very high number of likes.

Chu Yunmiao looked closely and saw that it read:

【Congratulations on successfully getting into your heartthrob’s home; don’t beat around the bush, just boldly A up!】

“A up” was a gaming term. Because in keyboard games, A usually represents a basic attack skill, “A up” probably meant something like don’t be scared; just charge in.

Chu Yunmiao understood that much, but she didn’t know what “A up” actually meant in this context.

She wasn’t here to fight Yu Changning, so why would she need to “A up”?

Thinking that, she asked underneath.

Of course, the original replier wasn’t there, but this comment was being seen by people at every moment; a passerby replied to her almost immediately.

【Sweetie, you’re way too innocent. You don’t know this? ‘A up’ here basically means ‘go sleep with them.’】

Sleep with... sleep with who?

Chu Yunmiao’s mind was a mess.

When she finally came back to herself, she didn’t know why she felt both embarrassed and annoyed, and replied, “How can you hide thoughts like that when you’re visiting a friend’s home? And this kind of reply can get so many likes?”

To her surprise, the other person hadn’t left either, and quickly started chatting with her.

【Then what? Everyone’s an adult. If they just wanted sleep, wouldn’t they go to a hotel and get a room themselves? Of course they want to sleep with that friend.】

Chu Yunmiao: “...”

So reasonable; how was she supposed to refute that? Asking online!

She stared at the reply for a long time, then finally lowered her head a little dejectedly.

The water was still hissing in the bathroom. Looking at the warm light spilling out from inside, she suddenly felt a little dry-mouthed.

With just a few simple operations, the housekeeping robot could bring her a glass of cold boiled water from outside. Chu Yunmiao wasn’t in a hurry to drink it; her thoughts drifted everywhere.

She was thinking that she didn’t know how long Yu Changning would be in there, thinking about what time they should leave tomorrow morning, thinking that she had taken a suppressant before leaving today just to be safe, and it should still last for quite a while. Because of certain circumstances before, she hadn’t been able to take her suppressant in time, almost entering heat, and in the dormitory with Yu Changning...

Stop!

Chu Yunmiao’s cheeks were about to catch fire. She pinched the flesh on her thigh before she finally managed to pull her thoughts back.

When Yu Changning finished her shower and came out, she saw Chu Yunmiao sitting on the bed with a cup of water in her hands, lost in a daze.

Yu Changning stopped where she was and looked at her. “You’re not sleeping yet?”

Chu Yunmiao looked away. “A-almost.”

Yu Changning didn’t know what to say either; she made a low “mm,” then stepped toward the door.

The distance from the bathroom door to the bedroom door was only that much; even though she deliberately slowed her pace, she still reached the doorway quickly.

Just as she pressed her hand to the switch, suddenly, Chu Yunmiao’s startled cry came from behind her.

Yu Changning froze and turned back. She saw Chu Yunmiao hurriedly set the cup on the bedside table, but the shirt on her body had already been soaked across a large patch at the collar.

Today’s long princess seemed particularly clumsy. Even though she had spilled water on herself, she showed no awareness that she should get some tissue and wipe it off. She sat there in a daze on the bed, her pleading gaze fixed squarely on Yu Changning’s face.

Yu Changning didn’t know what she was thinking. She only remembered sighing and slowly walking over to her.

Bending over beside the bed, she looked at the damp patch on Chu Yunmiao’s shirt. “Want to change clothes?”

“Do I need to?” Chu Yunmiao seemed to have already lost the ability to think. “Mm... can’t I just wipe it off?”

She clearly knew she should wipe it, but she did nothing of the sort and continued looking at Yu Changning.

Yu Changning picked up the towel draped over her arm and hesitated for a moment before gently wiping at her.

As expected, with the water having been spilled for so long, wiping with a towel was barely useful. The shirt and the skin beneath it stayed wet no matter what.

Both of them noticed this, but Chu Yunmiao didn’t refuse, so Yu Changning didn’t stop either.

Then, all of a sudden, Chu Yunmiao leaned back a little.

Yu Changning looked up.

“Forget it, it won’t wipe clean,” Chu Yunmiao said.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she reached up and unbuttoned her shirt, opening it.

Yu Changning stared dumbly at her movements, only to hear her ask, “Could you get me another shirt from the wardrobe?”

Yu Changning came back to herself and straightened.

But she didn’t immediately do as Chu Yunmiao asked. Instead, she stood there stupidly by the bed. The towel slid from her arm to the floor with her movement, and she didn’t even look at it.

Chu Yunmiao blinked her innocent eyes. “Mm?”

Yu Changning finally couldn’t hold back.

She felt the reason struggling frantically inside her die under the other girl’s wet gaze; instinct stepped on the corpse of reason and announced that it had already taken control of this body.

So she dropped to one knee on the bed, lowered her body, and pressed the seated Chu Yunmiao back into the mattress.

For a moment, Yu Changning thought that if Chu Yunmiao resisted, if she even slightly pushed her away, then she would leave the master bedroom, close the door, and spend the night calming herself down in the living room.

But Chu Yunmiao didn’t.

She was very compliant, and after understanding Yu Changning’s intention, she even took the initiative to lie back into the bed.

The quilt dipped under the weight of the two of them, forming a comfortable hollow. At last, Yu Changning’s lips landed on the corner of Chu Yunmiao’s mouth. She started cautiously, each step careful and restrained, giving the person beneath her more than enough time to reconsider. But from beginning to end, Chu Yunmiao remained extremely cooperative.

With the other girl’s tacit permission, the spark gradually swelled and soon set both of them ablaze.

Yu Changning could no longer restrain herself. She caught Chu Yunmiao’s lips and took everything she could, as if she wanted to swallow that teasing little enchantress whole. Chu Yunmiao was a little overwhelmed; at first, she still thought in a distracted haze about where Yu Changning had learned to kiss so skillfully, but later her brain grew hazy from lack of oxygen, and she no longer knew anything at all.

At long last, their lips parted.

Yu Changning stared at Chu Yunmiao’s lips, reddened from her kiss, and her thoughts, unusually, turned clear.

She said, “You did that on purpose.”

“...” Chu Yunmiao didn’t know how to explain. Her whole body was light and dizzy, as if she were lying on a cloud with nowhere to land.

Looking at Yu Changning, she suddenly asked, “Are you in heat?”

An Alpha’s heat was similar to an Omega’s heat period; both involved pheromones leaking out and an inability to control oneself.

Yu Changning ground her back teeth. “I only took a suppressant last week.”

“I just took one today.” Chu Yunmiao propped herself up and sniffed at the side of her neck, then started to doubt the other girl’s words. “Are you sure? Last week? Then why do you smell so good?”

There probably wasn’t an Alpha who could withstand the person they liked saying something so teasing right in front of them; Yu Changning was no exception. More than that... they were in the private property she had bought, the room quiet all around them, and Chu Yunmiao was lying obediently on the bed where she had once slept alone.

Everything was just right.

Everything was falling naturally into place.

“You smell even better.” That was all Yu Changning said in reply. She didn’t waste any more time and bent down with rare care.

In the living room, the adorable housekeeping robot had already, according to its previous owner’s instructions, turned the sofa into a makeshift bed for the night. It had carefully checked everything and confirmed that it met human comfort standards, so it stood quietly by the side, waiting for its owner to arrive and for the mission to be completed with a favorable review.

But it waited alone through the night and received nothing at all; its dear owner had more important matters to attend to and had completely forgotten about it.

——

Far away on the Imperial Star, in the Imperial Palace.

Chu Yu finished the day’s work and was just about to rest properly when she suddenly sneezed several times in a row, unable to stop.

Shu Yan’yan was very worried. “Have you caught a cold?”

She handed over a cup of warm water. “You’ve been too busy these past few days; be careful you don’t wear yourself out.”

Chu Yu shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m still young; how could I wear myself out?”

She rubbed her nose and said a little uncertainly, “I just keep feeling like something bad has happened...”

She couldn’t quite explain it, only that she had a vague sense of foreboding.

Shu Yan’yan laughed at her. “Since when do you believe in things like intuition?”

She stood by her view. “Look at you; you’re probably sick from being too busy, but you’re still refusing to admit it like a child. That’s called avoiding treatment, you know? If your body isn’t feeling well, you need to face it in time.”

“Not feeling well?” Chu Yu raised a brow. “Are you sure my... body isn’t feeling well?”

She temporarily set aside her chaotic thoughts, stepped forward, and lifted Shu Yan’yan into her arms.

Shu Yan’yan’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

Chu Yu curved her lips. “Proving to my Empress whether my body is unwell. Ah—achoo—”

Shu Yan’yan was helpless, but she only smiled and looped her arms around the other woman’s neck, not saying anything more to spoil the mood.