Should She Stay Away from Them?

The instant Lin Meng heard that voice, her heart jumped into her throat. She didn't answer the person standing just on the other side of the door.

When Huo Yi woke up, she immediately noticed that Lin Meng, who had been lying beside her, was gone. Before coming to the bathroom, she had already searched every corner of the room. So now she was certain: Lin Meng was in there.

Lin Meng had been drawn in by her pheromones and slept with her on impulse. But if Lin Meng felt nothing for her, why had she seemed so aroused under the influence of her pheromones?

Lin Meng liked her. It was just that someone who had never experienced love didn't know how to express it. She didn't even realize that her own reactions were signs of liking someone.

Huo Yi knocked on the door a few more times. “Mengmeng... thank you for last night. I'm feeling much better now. Open the door, please. I swear I won't do anything to you again.”

After she said that, there was still no sound from inside.

A moment later, Huo Yi sighed helplessly. “Mengmeng... even if that kind of thing happened between us, we're still friends. You said it yourself—it's normal for people to have desires. So please, don't ignore me...”

At that, Lin Meng, still inside, was so ashamed she wanted to die. “Okay! I'm not ignoring you. I just feel awful all over, and I need to take a shower. Can you bring me the white nightgown from my wardrobe? Just hang it on the door handle!”

When Huo Yi heard Lin Meng's voice, excitement flickered through her eyes. She hurriedly dug out the nightgown as requested and hung it on the bathroom door handle.

Before that, she even pulled out a wet wipe and carefully wiped down the door handle.

“Then take your time in the shower. I'll go tidy up the bedroom for you.”

“...”

Lin Meng didn't answer her again, but she could hear the water gradually start running in the bathroom.

When Huo Yi returned to the bedroom, she noticed her clothes and Lin Meng's clothes tangled together, and the bedsheet she'd stripped off—still damp with a wet patch—draped over the wooden chair.

She thought back to that indulgent night. Although the scene would make Lin Meng deeply embarrassed, Huo Yi felt incredibly comfortable all over.

Huo Yi sorted the dirty clothes and bedsheets into the laundry hamper. She would wait until Lin Meng finished her shower before putting them in the washing machine.

She spotted a broom by the door. Never having cleaned a room in her life, she actually picked up that broom—which looked like it was covered in bacteria—and started cleaning for Lin Meng.

Actually, when she'd offered to clean for Lin Meng, she'd meant to have the steward send someone over to help. But after what happened between her and Lin Meng last night, how could she let outsiders learn about their private affairs?

Just as Huo Yi was slowly finishing up the living room, the water in the bathroom suddenly stopped. Then the bathroom door clicked open. Huo Yi instinctively looked over. There was Lin Meng—soaked all over—opening the door to grab the nightgown.

Lin Meng had asked Huo Yi to hang the nightgown outside precisely because she didn't want Huo Yi to see her after a shower. But when she opened the door and found Huo Yi's gaze fixed intently on her, the nightgown slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor.

Huo Yi saw the kiss marks covering Lin Meng's body. She hadn't realized last night that she'd bitten Lin Meng all over. Their eyes met for just a moment, and inexplicably, both blushed.

Lin Meng quickly bent down to pick up the nightgown, then slammed the bathroom door shut with a bang.

And in the instant she bent down to pick it up, Huo Yi saw the teeth marks on her waist, nearly reaching her hip.

Clatter—the broom fell from Huo Yi's hand. Her mind was now completely consumed by the bite marks on Lin Meng's body.

How had she become this perverted too?

“...”

Being covered in teeth marks and kiss marks wasn't new to Lin Meng, but this time the person was different from the previous two.

No matter how hard Lin Meng tried, she couldn't figure out why things had turned out this way.

She dried herself off and put on the nightgown, then stood frozen in front of the bathroom mirror for a long while. She knew the plot she'd been trying to maintain had already collapsed, and her wish to become ordinary friends with these people probably couldn't be fulfilled either.

If this kept up, sooner or later her world would fall apart.

So what was she supposed to do? Stay away from all of them?

But deep in her heart, there was always a faint reluctance. At first, she'd only hoped to hug a beauty like Yun Huaizhu. Then more and more women of different types appeared by her side.

Except those people had done far more than just hug her.

Maybe she should quit her job?

But if she quit and could never find another job like this one, where would she go?

In Jing City, she was just an ordinary person. If she lost even her job, she'd probably be even less able to escape these people. What was she supposed to do?!

Lin Meng agonized back and forth but couldn't come up with an answer. In the end, the air in the bathroom became suffocating. To breathe fresh air, she had no choice but to hesitantly open the door.

Meanwhile, Huo Yi had been waiting outside. The moment she saw Lin Meng emerge, she immediately carried the laundry hamper over. “Mengmeng, you're finally out! You took so long in the shower—I was worried you'd fainted. If you hadn't come out soon, I was going to knock.”

Seeing how much Huo Yi cared about her, Lin Meng felt a faint, inexplicable pang of guilt. She wanted to distance herself from Huo Yi—not because she hated her. It was all her own fault; she could no longer accept any closer relationship.

Lin Meng lowered her head, looking a little downcast. “I'm fine. Thank you.”

Seeing Lin Meng like this, Huo Yi assumed she was still agonizing over last night.

Although Huo Yi had felt wonderful last night, she didn't want Lin Meng to distance herself because of it. So she spoke with deliberate generosity, her voice gentle. “Mengmeng, last night was just an accident. Let's both forget about it, okay? I want to keep being good friends with you. Don't push me away because of this.”

Lin Meng snapped back to attention at that.

Huo Yi's instincts really were sharp. Hearing those words, the balance in Lin Meng's heart tipped a little again. Since Huo Yi said to forget it, did that mean the two of them could still be just “good friends” like before?

Lin Meng tried to imagine it, but she couldn't.

What's done is done. You can't simply forget it and pretend nothing happened.

Maybe right now she was still agonizing over whether to quit and distance herself, but someday, to escape these relationships, she would still leave.

After hearing Huo Yi's words, Lin Meng managed a somewhat dry smile. “Mm, I understand.”

“Forget what happened last night”—those words had come from Huo Yi's own mouth, but when she heard Lin Meng agree to it personally, an inexplicable bitterness welled up in her heart.

She put on her usual fake smile. “Mm, then I'll go do the laundry first.”

The moment she turned her back to Lin Meng, her face went cold.

She didn't know why, but her mood was just... bad.

“...”

After Su Yutang returned, she rested for only one night before rushing back to the company to handle all sorts of affairs.

Su Yurong had actually had people secretly following Su Yutang this whole time. When she learned that Su Yutang had done nothing out of line during her two days back, her suspicions gradually eased.

Su Yutang had cut off contact with the outside world for half a year, yet within days of returning she could handle things so beautifully. Su Yurong felt her daughter could still be saved.

She'd only had a one-year open marriage with that S-rank omega; she'd spent her entire life as a member of the noble Su family. In other words, she had never experienced the taste of love.

She was born with everything. Whatever she wanted, she didn't even have to say it—countless people would present it to her on a platter.

Su Yurong had been raised with this education since childhood, so she warned her child based on her own past experiences.

Love was worthless in the face of power. As long as you climbed to the top, whatever you wanted, you would get.

Su Yutang was like her, yet not like her. Su Yutang seemed as though she had never been tamed by the Su family's rigid rules. There was always a trace of something wild in her bones—something that wanted freedom. Su Yurong had been the same when she was young.

Back then, young Su Yurong had always wondered: why did her mother arrange for her to have a child with someone she didn't even love? And that person didn't love her either. She was the most prominent figure in Jing City's future—everyone should love her.

Then that omega said something to her—“What makes you think that just because you have power and wealth, I have to like you? I'm having your child only because I like your money. Someone as low-status as me—if I weren't an S-rank omega, you wouldn't give me this much money—you wouldn't even look at me. A transaction should look like a transaction. Don't flatter yourself.”

So money and power couldn't buy everything in this world. At least, she couldn't buy that person's willingness.

From then on, Su Yurong sealed off her heart and stopped loving. She loved only power and profit, and she devoted everything she had to raising her only daughter.

Su Yurong sat alone playing Go. In her youth, she had won first prize in the national youth Go tournament, but after inheriting the family business, she'd been busy maneuvering among all sorts of businesspeople and gradually had no time for such things.

When a person possesses both power and family, they want the two to complement each other. But in the end, Su Yurong discovered that family was challenging her authority.

Su Yutang was her only child. What could she do?

Perhaps a Go game could end in a draw, but life couldn't.

This child was quiet now, but she always felt Su Yutang was brewing an even bigger “surprise” for her.

At the thought, Su Yurong summoned Ji Quanying. “Have people keep a close eye on the Young Miss. No slacking without my orders.”

Hearing this, Ji Quanying uncharacteristically tried to dissuade her. “Madam, in my view, the Young Miss has already reformed during her six months on Xia Island. You really don't need to do this.”

Su Yurong sighed helplessly. “You still don't understand her. Tangtang may seem more obedient on the surface, but the stubbornness in her bones is still there. One day she might turn around and bite me. I'm getting old now; my methods aren't as iron-fisted as before. While I can still control her, I'll manage her one more day if I can. Otherwise, once I can't hold her down, she'll definitely do something to overturn this whole family.”

“The Young Miss doesn't seem like that kind of person. No matter what, the blood tie between you and her is there.”

Su Yurong couldn't help but sneer. “Blood tie? After all this, how much of a blood tie is left between us?”

Seeing her faint discouragement toward Su Yutang, Ji Quanying stopped trying to persuade her. “Yes, Madam. I'll have people watch the Young Miss closely.”

Su Yurong sighed wearily. “Mm.”

Just as Ji Quanying was about to leave, Su Yurong seemed to remember something and called her back. “By the way, that Yun family girl I had you investigate last time—did you look into her thoroughly?”

Ji Quanying turned back and reported, “It's all been cleared up. Miss Yun Jinping did indeed appear there by coincidence, not on purpose. I heard she was very worried about her niece and rushed over at once. As for the rest of her information, I'll send it to your study.”

Hearing this, a relaxed expression flickered across Su Yurong's face. “No need. I thought as much. That person is timid—not at all like her sister. If her sister had been an A-rank omega, perhaps she wouldn't have met such an end. Fate really is unfair.”

At that, Ji Quanying's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

From the way Su Yurong spoke, it seemed she knew Miss Yun Jinping quite well.

That day, Ji Quanying had been in the passenger seat. When she saw Su Yurong get out of the car herself and help that person put on her shoes, she'd been momentarily shocked.

Ji Quanying had been by Su Yurong's side since she was a girl, yet she'd never heard of any connection between Su Yurong and that woman.

“All right, go rest now.”

Hearing this, Ji Quanying came back to herself. “Yes, Madam.”

“...”

As for when and where Su Yurong had first met Yun Jinping, she'd forgotten that too.

At that time, Ji Quanying hadn't even been assigned to her side by her mother yet. From childhood, she had been strictly groomed according to the standards of an heir.

Socializing among the young ladies of the Jing circle was essential. She remembered once playing a rather nasty game with a group of people. The rules were simple—like a spinning wheel.

Some of the tasks on the wheel were hidden; whoever it landed on had to perform the task unconditionally.

Things like making A kiss B. Of course, Su Yurong could participate, but she wouldn't carry out any game punishments.

Everyone present knew this—except one little girl, out of place among their age group, who walked over and pointed at her. “Everyone else who lands on a task has to do it. Why is it that when you land on one, you don't? It says here you have to kiss a stranger.”

Su Yurong frowned and looked down at the girl. Before she could even speak, countless people spoke for her: “Whose child is this? How does she not know any manners?”

“The little sister is quite cute, though.”

“Little sister, this is an adults' place. You should go upstairs to the children's play area and play with my little sister. Don't cause trouble here, understand?”

The child put her hands on her hips and glared at the people who'd spoken. “My sister said you're not much older than me. I'll be as tall as you soon. Since she doesn't follow the game rules, what's the point of playing this game?”

The innocent child didn't even know yet—rules are made by those with the most power.

At that moment, Su Yurong wiped the confusion from her face and smiled. She crooked a finger at the little girl. “Come here and I'll follow the game rules.”

The girl hesitated. “Really?”

Su Yurong nodded with a smile. “Yes.”

The girl's eyes lit up. She walked over quickly, like someone eager to watch a young lady kiss someone on the spot.

Su Yurong thought to herself then: if only this person would crawl over instead of walking.

When the girl reached her, she quickly pinched the girl's cheek and planted a kiss on it with a “smooch.” “Little sister, does this count as following the rules?”

The little girl snapped back to her senses, covered her face, and burst into loud sobs. Dodging as if escaping a monster, she cried, “Sister, Sister—someone's bullying me!”

Meanwhile, Yun Jinyu—who refused to associate with those young ladies with nasty fetishes and was outside playing with the younger children—heard her sister's cries and rushed over.

The little girl was trembling with fear. “Sister, a pretty tigress bit me! I'm so scared!”

Yun Jinyu doted on her only sister most of all. Without a second thought, she ran into the villa where the party was being held to confront the person who'd bullied her sister.

Su Yurong still hadn't spoken; the people around her had already explained the whole sequence of events. Even so, Yun Jinyu glared viciously at the girl sitting high and mighty. “I want to hear you say it yourself. Is what they said true?”

Su Yurong had been absolutely domineering even as a girl.

A family like the Yun family—the Su family could crush them with a flick of the wrist. Yun Jinyu had been outside playing with those young ladies' little sisters the whole time. What was she pretending to be so high and mighty for?

She looked down on this person and warned her, “So what if it is, so what if it isn't? As an older sister, if you came to this party, you should look after your own sister. Or did you come here because you like playing with everyone's little sisters? Has Miss Yun not grown up yet?”

Yun Jinyu pointed at her viciously. “You dare bully my sister—no matter who you are, I will never let this go!”

With that, she stormed off.

After that, that person never attended similar gatherings again. The Yun family's rise was entirely because that person was strong.

As Yun Jinyu left with her timid, weeping sister, Su Yurong watched her retreating figure the whole time. At first she'd provoked her to defend the Su family's dignity, but later it turned into admiration for a competitor.

The little sister was still crying as she walked. “Sister, let's not come here anymore, okay? The tigress is so scary...”

“Jinping, don't worry. Even if Mom forces me to come in the future, I won't. Your sister will get stronger and protect you.”

That was the first time Su Yurong had ever heard someone call her a “tigress.”

How could a twelve-year-old girl endure such humiliation? But if the other party was a little sister several years younger, then it was understandable.

Back then, dating young within the circle wasn't anything novel. Someone saw Su Yurong staring at Yun Jinyu's retreating figure and teased her, joking, “Rongrong, it's your first time meeting her, so you probably don't know her. She's from the Yun family in Jing City, same age as you. She's famous at our school as a great beauty—she's been voted school beauty several times, but she's so aloof she never accepts the title. Really, she doesn't know how to take a compliment.”

Su Yurong's interest was piqued. “Is that so? I think she's the best-looking in our Jing circle. If she were willing to be my plaything, I might toss the Yun family a bone.”

Su Yurong had never liked talking about feelings. Hearing her say this, the crowd quickly swarmed around her. “Want us to help you?”

Su Yurong gave a contemptuous laugh. “Too bad I don't like people who are too aloof. The ones who stay quiet like that bite the hardest. Her little sister, though—she's quite cute.”

At these words, everyone around her wore complicated expressions.

Su Yurong rolled her eyes. “What are you all thinking? I'm not that perverted. If she grows up a bit more and still has that timid, cute personality, then maybe.”

Everyone could tell she was joking. After some laughter and chatter, the party continued.

Later, that day's misunderstanding was resolved after the Yun family paid a visit, and Su Yurong became an outstanding heir. In the blink of an eye, ten years passed. When she saw the two Yun sisters again, Yun Jinyu had become someone extraordinary, and she, too, had to clink glasses with Yun Jinyu in a show of friendliness.

If Yun Jinyu hadn't suffered what she did, perhaps Yun Jinping would have lived a sweet life under her protection.

Truly, fate was fickle.

“...”

These past few days, every time Yun Huaizhu messaged Lin Meng asking if she could come over, Lin Meng's reply was always that she was working overtime at the company.

One or two days of overtime, Yun Huaizhu could understand. But that company had been acquired by Su Yutang.

To make Lin Meng's work easier, Huo Yi had even sent her cousin to serve as director at that small company. How could she stand by and watch Lin Meng work late into the night without doing anything?

Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.

But these past few days, she'd been monitoring Lin Meng's phone and hadn't found any intimate communication with anyone else. What was strange was that while Lin Meng was supposedly working overtime, she was also scrolling her phone intensely. Sometimes right after Yun Huaizhu greeted her, Lin Meng would start playing on her phone.

Lin Meng did slack off at work sometimes, but she'd never been so brazen about it.

Could it be that Lin Meng wasn't at work at all, and the overtime was just an excuse she'd made up to brush her off?

Once suspicion took root in Yun Huaizhu's heart, she became anxious and restless. Today she couldn't even properly handle her documents. After all, her new company had been performing excellently, but today its stock had suddenly dropped two percentage points—that was abnormal. And rumor had it that a product even more powerful than her company's had appeared on the market.

She'd only launched her new product less than a month ago. Which competitor could possibly have such strength?

For now, Yun Huaizhu couldn't recover the falling stock price, and she'd already sent people to investigate the market rival.

What worried her most right now was Lin Meng, so today she had to go to Lin Meng's home.

“...”

Huo Yi had been staying at Lin Meng's place for nearly a week now. Today, Huo Yi suddenly replaced her fridge with a large double-door one, then bought lots of groceries to fill it. The snacks she'd given Lin Meng had already stuffed the sofa and table full.

Lin Meng had originally wanted to ask when she was leaving, but seeing what Huo Yi was doing, she was somewhat dumbfounded. “Yiyi, what are you doing?”

Huo Yi laughed when she heard this. “Keeping the promise I made that night.”

Promise?

Lin Meng vaguely remembered that before she'd fallen asleep that night, Huo Yi had told her that once her heat was over, she'd buy her some groceries and snacks.

But... this wasn't “some”—this was a mountain!

Just as Lin Meng was about to say she didn't need this much, someone suddenly knocked on the door. Seeing this, Huo Yi smiled enthusiastically. “I'll get it.”