CHAPTER 31

The deep greed and possessiveness in her heart appeared on her face, but quickly returned to a sweet and obedient smile.

Li Jia could feel the scent belonging only to Ye Chengxing beside her, and she spoke softly, "Sister, you don't have to be so good to me..." If things continued like this, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to resist turning her swirling thoughts into reality.

Knowing it was impossible, but just the thought of that scene made her uncontrollably excited.

Thinking that Li Jia was once again doubting her own worthiness, Ye Chengxing quickly spoke, "It's not like that at all. Your future will only get better."

The discomfort caused by the rose-colored dream was overshadowed by the tenderness of this moment, and Ye Chengxing instinctively avoided thinking about that dream.

She understood now that the reason she had such dreams was probably because Li Jia was the only one she faced day and night. It was probably normal for such thoughts to arise.

A person must face their own physiological needs with acceptance.

Anyway, in reality, it was impossible for her and Li Jia to be in this kind of situation. Dreams were always the opposite.

The more Ye Chengxing thought about it, the more she felt that was the case. The long-standing question that had been bothering her temporarily faded away.

Just as Ye Chengxing was about to retract her hand, Li Jia raised hers and their fingertips touched in the same manner an Alpha would retract its hand.

Ye Chengxing was taken aback, not yet realizing what was happening, but she felt Li Jia's fingertips hook onto her sleeve and gently rub it a few times.

"Sister, I don't want to go home right now."

Thinking that Li Jia was excited because she could finally terminate the contract, Ye Chengxing smiled and agreed, "Alright, then we won't go home."

"Where do you want to go?" Ye Chengxing allowed Li Jia to hook onto her sleeve and turned to ask her, not feeling displeased by her sudden idea, even though it was already late.

Li Jia lowered her eyes slightly. "I don't know, I just want to stay outside with sister a little longer..."

Ye Chengxing made a sound of agreement, but for a moment, she didn't think of a good place to go. "Then let's drive around for now."

She wasn't very familiar with the places around here that could be visited. The original host's memories contained many entertainment venues, but they were all places focused on indulgence, none of which were suitable for reference.

Ye Chengxing turned on the car's music and drove around the area with Li Jia, accompanied by soothing and gentle melodies.

If it weren't for Bai Tang today, she probably wouldn't have come here, or rather, she hadn't frequented this area much and hadn't observed this world carefully.

As she carefully looked around, this unfamiliar environment seemed quite novel to her.

Highly developed world architecture, cars flying in the sky, dazzling lights—it's simply not like the beauty of the night.

However, after looking at it for a while, Ye Chengxing couldn't help but start to miss her world before transmigration.

The level of technological advancement in her previous world may not compare to the current one, but there were lively food streets in the evenings, emitting heat and aroma. She could hear the hustle and bustle of night market pedestrians, instead of this kind of beauty that, while beautiful, felt extremely cold.

Li Jia sensitively captured the nostalgic and desolate expression in Ye Chengxing's eyes.

Following Ye Chengxing's gaze, she only saw a distant skyline of buildings of varying heights and dazzling night lights.

What was she longing for? What was making her feel desolate?

After Ye Chengxing looked for a while, the car gradually veered off course. Li Jia didn't say anything, and by the time Ye Chengxing realized it, those lights and buildings were already far away, leaving only the twinkling stars in the nearby sky.

...She didn't know where they had driven to.

However, upon seeing those stars, Ye Chengxing felt a bit surprised. She stopped the car and turned her head towards Li Jia, her voice carrying a playful tone, as she suggested, "Xiaoli, how about we go stargazing?"

Li Jia looked into her eyes and felt that her eyes, when she spoke those words, were even more beautiful than those myriad stars.

And within those beautiful eyes, at this moment, only her figure was reflected.

After a pause, Li Jia finally snapped out of her dazed state and replied, "Okay."

The night was deep.

It should have made her feel like another sleepless night, but on this night, Ye Chengxing was once again by her side.

She was still holding her hand, wanting to take her to see the stars.

Li Jia thought of the inexplicable distance Ye Chengxing had shown towards her a few days ago and discreetly held the Alpha's hand even tighter.

She almost thought that Ye Chengxing had sensed her thoughts, which was why she had been avoiding her like that.

But...

With this thought in mind, Li Jia pursed her lips.

Until now, she still couldn't quite figure out the reason why Ye Chengxing had been avoiding her.

She should be more cautious in the future.

If Ye Chengxing only liked her obediently harmless facade, then she could continue pretending as long as her gaze remained on her.

Ye Chengxing didn't feel the mixed emotions in Li Jia's heart. As the night breeze blew, she only felt a deep sense of relaxation.

It seemed to be a desolate place detached from the city, but it was well taken care of, as if it hadn't been developed yet.

Ye Chengxing parked the car and walked with Li Jia by the roadside for a while. They found a clean spot and Ye Chengxing pulled Li Jia to sit down together.

Because it hadn't been developed yet, this place was quite spacious. With a single glance, they could take in the starry sky.

It was the most direct, beautiful gift from nature.

Ye Chengxing looked at it attentively, and Li Jia once again captured the nostalgic expression in her eyes.

Li Jia's heart tightened slightly, and she couldn't help but ask softly, "Has Sister ever watched the stars with someone else before?"

"Yes." Ye Chengxing seemed to remember something, and there was a deeper smile and reminiscence in her eyes.

Hearing her response, Li Jia's fingertips tightened slightly.

Before she could ask further, Ye Chengxing continued, "Actually, I was young back then, and I can't remember many things from that time. But I remember the scenes of going to watch the stars with my family for a long time. I still remember them clearly to this day."

As Li Jia listened to Ye Chengxing's words, she felt a sense of unease for some reason.

Could it be that the family dynamics of this Ye Chengxing in this life were different from the previous one?

She remembered that it wasn't like this in the previous life...

After Ye Chengxing finished speaking and Li Jia didn't respond, she suddenly realized that she had been too relaxed and had said something she shouldn't have.

Although she hadn't come into contact with the original owner's family in this world, according to her memories, she could guess that the relationship wasn't good and that there was no such thing as watching the stars together with her during her childhood.

Ye Chengxing's first reaction was that she messed up and was careless. However, she observed Li Jia's expression and couldn't see any changes.

...Perhaps she didn't notice?

Thinking like this, Ye Chengxing realized that Li Jia had little contact with the original owner and therefore probably didn't have much knowledge about her family either.

However, this incident made Ye Chengxing feel a bit regretful.

She did act more openly because she knew that Li Jia had little contact with the original owner. However, she still needed to be cautious and careful, especially to avoid saying something that didn't fit the character. If Li Jia noticed, how would she explain it?

She needed to be more careful in the future.

With that in mind, Ye Chengxing calmly changed the topic.

Li Jia did notice the momentary unease in Ye Chengxing's expression and the discrepancy between her words and her memories. However, she ultimately didn't ask about it. Instead, she pretended not to have noticed and leaned naturally against Ye Chengxing's side.

Ye Chengxing realized that Li Jia probably hadn't noticed anything, and the topic had already shifted. However, just as she let out a sigh of relief, she suddenly felt a cool raindrop fall on her face.

She lifted her head, and another drop fell.

Ye Chengxing glanced sideways and saw Li Jia looking up as well.

As if sensing her gaze, Li Jia shifted her gaze back and met Ye Chengxing's eyes. "Sister, it's raining."

The rain came suddenly, and unfortunately, neither of them had any shelter. The area around them was all open ground, without even a place to take cover. Moreover, they had walked a considerable distance to find a clean spot since their parking location was quite far away.

The rain was gradually getting heavier, and it looked like it would pour down soon.

Ye Chengxing realized they couldn't just wait there, so she took off her jacket and used it as a makeshift umbrella, holding it up above both of them.

She looked at Li Jia, her voice sounding slightly urgent due to the intensifying rain. "Come closer to me."

After saying that, Ye Chengxing noticed that Li Jia still hadn't reacted, so she moved closer on her own.

Li Jia felt the sudden warmth of Ye Chengxing's body pressed against her back, and the scent of black tea from an Alpha enveloped her.

Unable to find shelter from the rain, it fell onto their clothes, leaving wet marks and seemingly seeping into her heart.

Li Jia's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Ye Chengxing held onto the jacket, afraid it wouldn't be enough, and moved even closer to Li Jia.

However, Li Jia didn't immediately step forward. Instead, she spoke softly, with a touch of vulnerability in her voice. "Sister, can you come even closer? It seems like it's still not enough to block the rain."

Upon hearing her words, Ye Chengxing didn't think too much about it.

But their proximity was already as close as it could get, and Ye Chengxing hesitated for a moment.

In those few seconds of hesitation, Li Jia seemed to sense her dilemma and leaned into her embrace. "It's alright, sister. This is enough."

With this action, their bodies were completely pressed against each other, and Ye Chengxing's raised arm also touched Li Jia.

It felt like they were embracing each other.

But they couldn't afford to think too much about it at the moment.

Ye Chengxing half-embraced Li Jia, and they slowly made their way back to the car.

Whether it was a joke played by the rain or not, as soon as they got into the car, the rain, which had been moderate until then, started to lessen, leaving Ye Chengxing both amused and exasperated.

She just draped her jacket towards Li Jia's side, so her own back was soaked in a large area. But she didn't care and looked at Li Jia first, asking, "Are you wet? How extensive is it?"

Even though she had used her jacket to shield Li Jia from the rain as much as possible, there was still wind, and Li Jia's clothes underneath were slightly damp.

"I'm fine, but what about you, sister..." Li Jia shook her head, looking at Ye Chengxing with a concerned expression, mixed with a touch of tender distress.

Indeed, why did she block all the rain on Li Jia's side? Wasn't she afraid of getting wet herself?

Upon hearing her words, Ye Chengxing smiled and replied, "As long as you're fine, I'm fine too."

While saying that, Ye Chengxing suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I just remembered, there are spare clothes in the car that we can change into. They're all clean."

She had prepared them in the car earlier in case of any unexpected situations, and now they came in handy.

Ye Chengxing took out the spare clothes she had placed in the smart storage compartment in the car and handed them to Li Jia, suggesting she change into them.

She swiftly took off her own clothes and changed into the dry ones. Seeing that Li Jia hadn't moved yet, she was about to ask when she heard Li Jia speak in a somewhat despondent tone.

"It's just a bit of a pity. We haven't looked at the stars for long," Li Jia held the clothes Ye Chengxing had just handed her and looked through the car window at the sky not far away. "There are no stars now."

The thick clouds covered the sky after the rain, making it even darker.

Due to the rain, the sky had become increasingly dim, and there were no longer any visible stars.

The Omega's expression seemed quite saddened, and the hem of her pants was still dripping with water.

Ye Chengxing paused for two seconds.

"The stars can't be seen tonight... but it's okay, we can watch them another time. You should change your clothes first and avoid catching a cold." After Ye Chengxing finished speaking, she noticed Li Jia's expression becoming even more sorrowful. She suddenly realized that stars in this world seemed to rarely appear, and an occurrence as vivid as today was extremely rare.

She looked at Li Jia with some distress, wondering what to do.

But they really needed to change their clothes quickly, and they still had to take a hot bath when they returned.

Ye Chengxing sighed, leaned forward, and opened up the clothes that Li Jia held in a bundle. "Listen to your sister and let's change our clothes first."

Li Jia still seemed a bit down, but upon seeing Ye Chengxing's actions, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed. "It's okay, I can do it myself."

Ye Chengxing looked at her and said, "...Let me help you."

Mainly, she had become accustomed to taking care of Li Jia now. She couldn't help but start to wonder, if she were to leave this world in the future, would Li Jia be able to take care of herself? Li Jia doesn't eat properly and often had thoughts of self-harm. 

Although the situation had improved considerably, she still couldn't help but worry.

When Li Jia saw Ye Chengxing reach out her hand, she really wanted to obediently get closer to her, but she remembered that she shouldn't show her intentions too clearly. So she rarely refused, saying, "Sister, I'll do it myself..."

"Alright," Ye Chengxing was worried that Li Jia would feel embarrassed. Although they had taken baths together before, it still felt awkward. "Then change your clothes properly."

She turned around and didn't look.

During the time Li Jia was changing clothes, Ye Chengxing recalled the sad and regretful expression on Li Jia's face earlier. After thinking for a while, she tore off a piece of paper from the memo she had in the car. She had a habit of jotting things down and always kept these notes with her. Ye Chengxing remembered and tore the paper into strips, folding them into several small, cute, pure white stars.

Ye Chengxing looked at the neatly folded stars and thought about what she wanted to say later.

The rain outside the car was still falling, and she could hear the faint sound of rain through the window.

After a while, Li Jia's voice came through the sound of the rain, "I've changed my clothes, sister, you can turn around now."

Ye Chengxing responded and turned around.

She gently held the newly folded stars and suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Nevertheless, she still held Li Jia's cold hand and placed the small white stars in her palm, using her fingertips to touch Li Jia's fingers until the Omega held onto those paper-folded stars.

Ye Chengxing cleared her throat and awkwardly met Li Jia's eyes.

She didn't know if this method would work, but she still wanted to give it a try. Perhaps it would make Li Jia a little happier. After all, they had come to see the stars with great enthusiasm, only to have their plans ruined by the rain, which was indeed a bit distressing.

In the quiet car, the Alpha's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, "Don't be sad anymore."

Li Jia held the paper-folded stars in a daze, listening to Ye Chengxing's sincere and earnest words, "From now on, I'll be your star, a star you can see anytime you want. How about that?"

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