CHAPTER 32

Clearly, they were just a few folded paper stars, but Li Jia felt as if her palm had been scalded by real stars.

The Alpha's voice still echoed in her ears.

"I'll be your star."

It sounded gentle, like a sweet confession.

But she was well aware that Ye Chengxing was simply trying to make her a little happier, to make her feel less sad about not being able to see the stars. She understood it clearly, yet her heart continued to race uncontrollably.

At a certain moment, she really wanted to ask Ye Chengxing if she knew what those words meant, if she knew that her heart was in turmoil because of what she had said. Li Jia's breath hitched, and it took her a while to pull herself out of that feeling. She maintained a tone that didn't cross any boundaries, not letting her inner turmoil show a bit: "Thank you, sister. I really like it..."

Ye Chengxing was already feeling embarrassed after saying those words, and hearing Li Jia's response made her even more embarrassed. Her face even involuntarily turned slightly red.

This way of expressing herself... it made her feel an indescribable sense of embarrassment.

But she had seen girls comforting their best friends like this in the hospital before.

Although she felt awkward using this method, she thought it might be effective if she tried it.

Dr. Xiaoye, who was focused solely on her work, didn't know that those were words used by girls to comfort their girlfriends. She half-heartedly imitated it and found herself in a state of teasing without making progress, thinking she was a genius.

Outside the car window, the rain continued to patter.

Although both of them had changed their clothes by now, they still needed to hurry home for a hot shower.

The wound on Li Jia's palm had already healed quite well under Ye Chengxing's care, and now it was hardly visible.

Whenever Ye Chengxing thought of taking a show, she would associate it with Li Jia. Fortunately, the wound in the Omega's palm had healed, or else she might not be able to resist the urge to hide.

She even started to think if she should really get to know someone she could develop a relationship with, but after thinking about it, she wasn't sure if she wanted to meet someone or if she just wanted to avoid Li Jia.

However, no matter from which perspective, her state of mind was not very stable.

One driving, the other sitting in the car, their facial expressions showed nothing, but their hearts were in a similar turmoil.

Li Jia held the few paper-folded stars, and inexplicably, she thought of Bai Tang.

She couldn't control it.

Unable to resist, Li Jia couldn't help but wonder if someone else had come to watch the stars with Ye Chengxing today, would Ye Chengxing fold paper stars for that person too, to cheer them up like she did for Li Jia?

Li Jia didn't dare to hold the paper stars too tightly, afraid that they would be squashed into flat pieces of paper. So in the end, she just circled them lightly in her hand, letting them sway in the gaps, their distinct edges occasionally brushing against her skin.

She pursed her lips and said, "Sister, don't be a star..."

Ye Chengxing, who was driving, heard Li Jia's words and subconsciously made a sound of not understanding. After realizing what she meant, she smiled and replied, "What do you mean by that? What does Xiaoli want me to be?"

Li Jia lowered her eyes and her voice became softer. "Not to be anything, sister... To me, you are like... the sun."

There are many stars, but there is only one sun.

She should be the only one.

Her one and only.

With unfinished words carrying thoughts that exceeded the boundaries, Li Jia ultimately didn't say it out loud.

Ye Chengxing had only casually asked, but when Li Jia didn't speak, she couldn't help but become curious and asked further, "What is it?"

After the Alpha's voice fell, Li Jia paused for a few seconds. Just when Ye Chengxing thought she wouldn't get an answer, she heard Li Jia's voice saying, "A benefactor, someone who has done me a great favor, someone very important to me."

It wasn't a very surprising answer, within her expectations.

After all, their relationship was indeed just that.

They could say they were close, but only to a certain extent.

She had helped her bathe, personally taken care of her in every aspect, and seen her at her most helpless moments.

They lived together and had meals together every day.

Ye Chengxing made a thoughtful sound and couldn't quite understand why she felt a sense of disappointment surging within her after hearing Li Jia's answer.

But upon reflection, it seemed to be the case.

For questions she couldn't understand, she didn't delve deeper. If it was a question with a predetermined answer, she would explore it. However, whenever she encountered Li Jia, every question seemed to lose its predetermined answer, becoming ambiguous and leaving her restless.

So she also paused for a couple of seconds and finally smiled in response, "I see." After all, besides this, what else could it be?

Li Jia lifted her eyes when she heard Ye Chengxing's voice. The Alpha's expression remained as gentle and shallow as before, with no change whatsoever.

She lowered her eyes again.

Ye Chengxing's gentleness was genuine, and her kindness towards her was also genuine. But beneath this layer of gentleness, Li Jia couldn't glimpse even a trace of her true thoughts.

Although they were already very close, for Ye Chengxing in this lifetime, there probably wasn't anyone as intimate with her as Li Jia.

But why did the more they grew closer, the more anxious and unsatisfied Li Jia felt in her heart?

Li Jia moved her lips, wanting to say, "Sister, let's take a bath together later." but her palm wound had already healed, and she had no excuse or reason to seek closeness with her.

There was silence in the car for a while, except for the sound of the raindrops, returning to tranquility.

Ye Chengxing also noticed that the atmosphere in the car seemed to have changed slightly after she responded with a simple "Hmm."

This atmosphere persisted until she drove the car back to the villa, and the two of them returned home.

She glanced sideways at Li Jia.

The car had stopped, but the Omega hadn't moved yet, her gaze somewhat lost as she looked out the window.

--- It seems like she's thinking about something.

It wasn't until Ye Chengxing called out, "Xiaoli," that Li Jia turned her head, saying, "Oh, we're already home."

Li Jia looked different from usual, speaking less since she met Bai Tang.

Could it be that because of her avoidance in the past few days, there was already a rift between them?

Almost as soon as this thought appeared in her mind, she immediately dismissed it.

She didn't want to consider this possible reason.

Ye Chengxing looked at Li Jia with some concern and asked, "Xiaoli, are you okay? Is there something bothering you?"

Upon hearing her voice, Li Jia's eyelashes trembled ever so slightly, and she vaguely replied, "I don't know... I should be fine. Let's go inside first."

Hearing her response, Ye Chengxing instinctively felt Li Jia's hand temperature and lightly touched the Omega's forehead.

Li Jia's hands were always cool throughout the year, and when she touched her forehead, she couldn't tell if it was warm or hot, making it difficult to judge.

Ye Chengxing tightened her coat for her and buttoned it up one by one, saying, "Maybe you caught a cold from the rain. Let's go inside, take a hot bath, and then I'll make you some brown sugar ginger tea to warm you up."

The Omega let Ye Chengxing button up her clothes, as if she didn't want to worry her, and she smiled, like a little white flower whose petals were still trying to bloom despite being wilted by the rain.

Ye Chengxing hurriedly took Li Jia home and prepared hot water for her.

After everything was settled, she looked at Li Jia hesitantly and asked, "Can you manage on your own?"

Li Jia's smile, though weak, became even more evident as she pretended to be strong. "It's just a little rain. I'm fine, Sister, there's nothing wrong."

She even moved her body slightly to indicate that she was really healthy and there was nothing to worry about.

Seeing her like this, Ye Chengxing became even more worried.

Li Jia might not be aware of her own physical condition, but Ye Chengxing knew that even a little rain could potentially make her develop a fever.

At this thought, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

If she hadn't suddenly said she wanted to go stargazing, Li Jia wouldn't have gotten caught in the rain today.

Li Jia seemed to sense her inner thoughts and smiled again. "It's alright, I can take a bath by myself. If there's anything, I'll call you from inside."

Seeing Li Jia's insistence, Ye Chengxing didn't know what else to say. "Alright then, if there's anything, make sure to call me."

Under Ye Chengxing's worried gaze, Li Jia walked into the bathroom.

The bathroom door closed automatically.

But her smile didn't fade away, on the contrary, it became even more apparent.

The opportunity for closeness was right in front of her, but what she wanted was not just this one moment of intimacy.

She could see Ye Chengxing's guilt and self-blame. Although she felt more despicable by taking advantage of Ye Chengxing's guilty feelings, she had no other choice at the moment.

... She didn't want to avoid Ye Chengxing like she did in the past few days, didn't want to feel distant and unable to speak more than a few words in a day.

Li Jia adjusted the water temperature, which had already been set, to an almost icy cold temperature. She slowly took off her clothes and immersed her body in the water.

The water was bone-chillingly cold, but her mood became more exhilarated.

Cold water droplets dripped along her hair strands.

Causing a physiological reaction of shuddering.

Li Jia opened her legs slightly and, under the extremely cold water, tilted her neck slightly, fantasizing about the caresses that only existed in her imagination.

The Omega leaned her head against the wall, and her warm breath exhaled mist-like flowers on the wall. Her already damp hair was cooler than the water, and droplets formed under her fingertips.

Those droplets were rubbed and crushed with her movements.

Just like the name that dared to be boldly spoken only at this moment, overflowing between her lips and teeth.

......

After Li Jia entered the bathroom, Ye Chengxing went to the kitchen with the intention of making some brown sugar ginger tea to warm her up.

Brown Sugar Ginger Tea is easy to make. Just cut some ginger into thin shreds, add some brown sugar, and simmer it together. Ye Chengxing remembered that when she was little and got caught in the rain, her family would make brown sugar ginger tea for her to drink. Looking at the tea now, it brought back warm memories.

Li Jia likes it sweet, so Ye Chengxing intentionally added a bit more sugar. After cooking it, Ye Chengxing tasted a bit and found the flavor to be quite good. She set it on the keep-warm mode and waited for Li Jia to finish her hot bath before drinking it.

Today, Li Jia seemed to be taking a bit longer to shower, much slower than usual. Just as Ye Chengxing hesitated whether or not to call out Li Jia's name, the bathroom door opened.

Despite having taken a hot shower, the Omega looked even weaker, coughing twice.

Ye Chengxing brought the brown sugar ginger tea in a bowl and brought it out, asking, "Are you done?"

After saying this, she reached out and touched Li Jia's hand.

It was still a little cold.

Li Jia allowed her to feel her body temperature, leaning close to her in full cooperation. Besides the sweet scent of white peaches, there was also the fragrance of the shower gel Ye Chengxing was used to. "I'm done showering, and I've even blow-dried my hair."

Ye Chengxing took another look and noticed that apart from the ends of her hair being slightly damp, it had indeed been blow-dried. However, she still felt a bit uneasy and used the hairdryer to blow-dry the ends of Li Jia's hair.

As she blow-dried Li Jia's hair, Ye Chengxing thought to herself that Li Jia's hands were still so cold after taking a hot shower. Her condition of being cold seemed more severe than she had imagined, especially considering that she got caught in the rain today...

With these thoughts, Ye Chengxing felt even more guilty.

She touched the already dry ends of the Omega's hair and picked up a comb nearby. While gently combing her hair, Ye Chengxing leaned forward slightly and spoke softly, "Let's have some brown sugar ginger tea once you finish tidying up. I've already made it for you."

They were sitting in front of a wall with a full-length mirror, which presented their figures incredibly clearly in the mirror—

One standing, one sitting, Ye Chengxing holding a comb in her slender and beautiful hand, her long hair cascading down as she patiently and delicately combed the Omega's hair. A few strands of her own hair fell onto the Omega's shoulder with her movements.

Li Jia looked at the image in the mirror and, in a trance, felt that she and Ye Chengxing had already developed a different and more intimate relationship.

But... obviously, they hadn't.

She blinked, suppressing her delusions deep inside, and raised her eyes slightly, naturally picking up on Ye Chengxing's topic. "Brown sugar ginger tea? I haven't tried it before."

Ye Chengxing wasn't surprised by this. The recipes in this world were truly scarce, and many seemingly simple things were monopolized and controlled by the higher-ups, discouraging people from trying them.

"That's perfect. I'll try it later. If I find it tasty, I'll let you know." Ye Chengxing said hesitantly. She wasn't sure if the taste of brown sugar ginger tea would be strange to Li Jia. "But we'll have to wait until you've tried it to know for sure."

Ye Chengxing had made a considerable amount of brown sugar ginger tea, but she only poured out one bowl for now. It was sitting on the table, still steaming hot. The ingredients used to cook the brown sugar ginger tea were not many, but the resulting color was unexpectedly dark.

Ye Chengxing thought about how Li Jia had never tried it before and how the dark color of the tea might make it hard to swallow. She was about to say something when she saw Li Jia pick up the bowl and take a sip without any suspicion. She drank it so quickly that Ye Chengxing didn't even have a chance to say a word.

Ye Chengxing also remembered the time when she first arrived here, a few days ago, and how cautious and alert Li Jia was towards her. Even though Li Jia seemed to trust her on the surface, there was still a deep-rooted instinct to protect herself.

Thinking about all of this, Ye Chengxing couldn't help but smile and jokingly said, "Aren't you afraid that I might have added something to the tea when you see its color?"

Li Jia heard her question but showed a complex expression that Ye Chengxing couldn't understand. 

Ye Chengxing's statement was actually correct. If it had been the Ye Chengxing from a long time ago, she probably wouldn't have understood her current actions. But now... there was indeed a person she didn't think would exist in this world, someone who had broken through her defensive walls and made her let go of her guard and try to trust.

This complex and emotional look only lasted for a few seconds before Li Jia suppressed it again. She moved her lips and said a few words, but her voice was very soft.

It was so soft that Ye Chengxing couldn't hear clearly. She instinctively asked, "What did you say? I didn't catch that."

Li Jia looked at the bowl of brown sugar ginger tea but didn't repeat herself. The Omega raised her gaze again, smiled at Ye Chengxing, and answered a different question, "I didn't say anything. I just said that the brown sugar ginger tea made by my sister is very sweet and delicious... I really like it."

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