Chapter 41: Awkward

“Heh…”

He Rou woke up very early.

On winter mornings, the sun always took its sweet time clocking in.

But the people living on Earth had to get up early from their beds and head to their workstations.

He Rou was no exception.

However, the silence around her left her mind somewhat unsettled.

These past few days, she kept feeling like something was off with her—why was she so exhausted?

But it wasn’t physical fatigue.

It was mental, emotional exhaustion.

It felt like there were two people using a single brain.

Something was definitely wrong.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

Today had an important schedule.

She absolutely couldn’t be lazy.

She couldn’t make Luo Yun angry.

After enjoying the warmth of the bed for a while, she stood up, washed up, and dressed herself properly.

Then she walked out.

Dawn was already beginning to break, the sky showing a faint fish-belly white.

Luo Yun had said the night before that she only needed to bring what was in the trunk.

So He Rou didn’t need to bother preparing anything.

But then again…

She stood outside Luo Yun’s room, unsure whether she should wake her.

Luo Yun had once said never to disturb her sleep.

So He Rou didn’t know what Luo Yun’s plan was—what time to get up, what time to leave.

Just as she was still pondering, Luo Yun’s door suddenly swung open.

With a dazed look, Luo Yun rubbed her eyes, and once she realized who was standing outside her door, she reached out and pulled He Rou in front of her.

Bending down, she buried her head into He Rou’s hair and neck.

He Rou smelled very good.

Besides her natural scent, she used the same toiletries and skincare products as Luo Yun.

Whether it was due to He Rou’s constitution or something else, Luo Yun had been holding herself back.

He Rou was just too fragrant—so fragrant that Luo Yun always wanted to devour her.

Luo Yun had tasted (*), and though she was satisfied at first, eventually she got bored of it.

But He Rou was different.

She always carried an irresistible charm, as well as an allure rivaling the finest ingredients.

But there was only one He Rou.

If she was gone, she was truly gone.

Luo Yun buried her head deeper.

Aiming at the soft spot near her collarbone, she gently it.

“Ah!”

The sudden stimulation made He Rou’s face flush deep red.

Although she had experienced this many times before, the sensation was always novel and exciting.

Gently turned into , then she lightly bit down, and finally applied force until blood came out.

After satisfying this sudden urge, Luo Yun casually pushed He Rou aside.

Then she left the room and went downstairs.

Having just been toyed with, He Rou leaned weakly against the doorframe, her legs giving out, bracing herself against both the door and the wall.

“Heh…”

Luo Yun’s room was very warm, and even with the door open, He Rou barely felt the cold.

There was no way around it; this was her position.

If she wanted warmth, she had to seek it from Luo Yun, but in the end, it usually left her battered and bruised.

After recovering a bit, He Rou staggered to her feet again.

Although the area under her collarbone still hurt, there was no helping it.

If she focused on every little problem every day, she would have died long ago.

He Rou closed the door and left the warm room.

Downstairs, on the dining table, breakfast had been thrown together.

Luo Yun was sitting there, shoving food into her mouth carelessly.

She had just had a delicious appetizer, and her appetite was already wide open.

So she was somewhat dissatisfied with the food He Rou had hastily prepared.

But dissatisfaction was all it was.

Today was important; there was no time for arguments or punishment here.

Meanwhile, He Rou, as she came downstairs slowly, never expected that Luo Yun would actually eat breakfast for once.

She had always assumed that the double portion she made was half for show and half for herself.

“I… I’ll do better next time.”

Standing before Luo Yun, He Rou bowed her head in apology.

Being sloppy was a mistake in her line of work.

Normally, there would be punishment, but having tasted something delicious early in the morning, Luo Yun didn’t make things difficult for her.

She just casually mentioned what she wanted to eat next time and dropped the subject.

After packing everything needed for the day, the two finally left the house.

The air outside hadn’t improved at all—if anything, it was even more polluted than before.

A black sedan was already waiting there.

Luo Yun got into the back seat, and He Rou, carrying a bag, first put the luggage in the trunk before carefully sitting down beside her.

The car started.

Streetlights sped past outside the window, like a horizontal version of a Van Gogh starry night.

He Rou leaned against the window, looking at her reflection.

She looked the same as always, but she had made a bit of an effort to dress up for this outing.

Closing her eyes, He Rou tried to doze off.

Luo Yun sat beside her, watching her sleepy face.

She reached out and stroked the exposed skin of her neck.

“Mmph!”

The cold hand jolted He Rou’s spirit back to reality, back to the present.

“Xiao Rou… you can’t sleep yet. I need to tell you something in advance.”

“Yes…”

He Rou blinked hard, trying to wake herself up.

“After this trip, I’ll be leaving here temporarily. I’ll be leaving your side.”

“Huh? Is… is there something I did wrong?”

Hearing this, He Rou felt something was off—was she being fired?

If she really was fired…

In this cold winter, homeless and with her only biological brother, who was more of a stranger than anyone else, there was no point even thinking about him.

“I said temporarily, temporarily. What’s wrong with your ears?”

“I’m sorry…”

Realizing she had overthought things, the tension in her heart eased considerably.

And actually, Luo Yun leaving her side was a good thing.

It meant no one would bully or hurt her.

“Also, during this time, you can attend school, you can study, you can learn like a normal person. But there’s one thing you absolutely must not do: you must never interact with strangers.”

“Yes… I understand.”

He Rou’s eyes lit up, and she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from rising.

Without Luo Yun’s interference, she could fully immerse herself in learning.

Without Luo Yun’s harm, she could return to a normal life again…

This sounded like an excellent thing.

“I’m looking forward to… the exam seven months from now…”

Luo Yun smiled, as if laughing at He Rou’s overconfidence.

“Huh? Six months—no, wasn’t it supposed to be two years…?”

“You really thought you’d get that long? This is already the biggest concession I’ve made.”

“Yes… thank you. I… I understand.”

A bucket of cold water was poured over her head.

The budding enthusiasm was instantly extinguished.