Hard to Endure

Hua Yu pressed a hand to one temple, closed her eyes, and didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.

Hua’s mother thought of how thin and frail Wei Yin looked and grew anxious. “You’re still laughing? Hurry up and tell us, what exactly is going on between you two?”

“Could you at least give me a chance to speak?” Hua Yu let her arms fall to her sides. She was already grown; why were her parents still lecturing her like this? “We’re not dating. We’re not together.”

Hua’s father blew his mustache and glared. “Not together, and you’re living with her? Letting her be your housekeeper? She’s an omega...”

“Dad.” Hua Yu sighed. She didn’t feel very well right now; her temple throbbed in pulses, aching and dizzying, but fortunately she was used to it and could bear it. Her tone remained normal. “We really can’t say that.”

Bringing Wei Yin home had no other meaning. Otherwise she wouldn’t have chosen a day when her parents were out, and she certainly wouldn’t have forced herself to come over when she wasn’t feeling well.

There was sandalwood in the house; she’d thought of that and come. Then she saw Aunt Sun and remembered how good her cooking was. Wei Yin hadn’t tried it yet, so she’d wanted her to taste something nice.

That delay had led to her being blocked at the door by her parents.

She didn’t need to guess. It had to be Aunt Sun who told them. Hua Yu had expected Aunt Sun would tip her parents off; officially it was sharing good news, but in reality it was gossip. She just hadn’t expected her parents, both nearly fifty, to be this energetic; they had rushed back like the wind.

Hua’s father said nothing, only looked at Hua Yu and waited for her explanation.

Hua Yu pressed a finger to her brow and waited for the dizziness to pass. “Xiao Yin and I met at the hospital. She was my junior from university. I paid her medical expenses upfront, and one of the nurses on my ward let it slip. She wanted to pay me back, but she hadn’t found a place to stay, so I let her live here for a few days first. We’re just friends. Don’t go saying anything outside; she’s timid and it’ll scare her.”

Once she explained the cause and effect clearly, Hua Yu’s independence, which had come early, meant her parents no longer needed to worry about her. Hearing that much, Hua’s father and mother stopped pressing.

“That’s exactly why she should stay,” Hua’s mother said at once, nodding. “Just looking at that child, I feel sorry for her. What age is it now? One glance and you can tell she hasn’t been eating or dressing well.”

Hua’s father mused, “If she’s an old friend, then whether she pays you back or not is a small matter. I think that child is honest; she doesn’t want to owe anyone, and she hasn’t taken other people’s kindness for granted. She’s a principled good child.”

Seeing them soften, Hua Yu walked over and squeezed herself between them, one arm around each of them.

She kissed her mother first. “Exactly. Her mother also had a gland condition. Xiao Yin lost her mother when she was seventeen. These past few years, just to repay the money for her mother’s burial plot, she’s never been particular about food or clothes. She’s lived very frugally.”

Hua’s mother’s heart ached even more. “That child..."

Then she reached out and patted Hua’s father’s shoulder. “Xiao Yin’s character is very good. One year my pheromones got unstable, the suppressants failed, and I went into an induced heat at university. She was the one who saved me.”

Hua’s father nodded again. “Mm. She’s done us a kindness; treat her well.”

Thinking of what Wei Yin had said earlier, Hua Yu curved her lips. “I’m very good to my friends.”

This time Hua’s mother didn’t get worked up. She smoothed her skirt with a worldly air and replied perfunctorily, “Right, right. If you want to call her a friend, then call her a friend.”

Hua’s father chuckled. “She doesn’t fancy you?”

Hua’s mother chimed in, “Xiao Yin said you’re just friends. You’re never home anyway; it’s normal that nobody likes you.”

“She really doesn’t like me.”

“Xiao Yin is such a lovely child; she’s so well-behaved and can talk. Why would she need to like you.”

Hua Yu: ...Her own parents were such a nuisance.

With a blank expression, Hua Yu listened to the two of them take turns needling her, and finally couldn’t hold back. “Are you done? Can I make a request now?”

“No requests,” Hua’s father said with a smile. “You can make demands.”

They were mocking Hua Yu with their mouths, but they were truly happy inside; not only because Hua Yu had finally brought someone home, but also because they approved of Wei Yin.

Wei Yin herself didn’t know it, but she was inherently a very good person, with a gentle aura that made people feel at ease. She wasn’t flashy or sharp; she was sincere and obediently cute in the way she treated people. In Hua Yu’s eyes as an alpha, she was practically stacked with buffs; impossible not to like.

Just as it happened, her parents had come home to intercept her, so Hua Yu adopted a serious tone and said slowly, “I didn’t plan to introduce Wei Yin to you. We really aren’t at any stage that can be called anything. But since you insisted on rushing back, and you just happened to take Xiao Yin’s pulse... can you help regulate her body?”

The two of them had been ready to start scolding her when they heard the earlier lines about not intending to see them and insisting on rushing back. But the final question, can you help regulate her body, shifted their attention away.

“Sure,” Hua’s mother said, thinking it over and finding it more and more feasible. She clapped her hands. “Wait here. I’ll write a prescription right now.”

Hua’s father also stood and followed behind her with his hands clasped behind his back.

Hua’s mother glanced sideways at him. “What are you following me for?”

Hua’s father coughed. “I’m helping keep an eye on things.”

“No need for you to,” Hua’s mother said proudly. “You’re not the one who took her pulse. Don’t go poking at my prescription.”

Hua Yu watched the two of them leave in light banter, and a trace of relief colored her lips. Soon after, she lowered her eyes; a nerve in her scalp suddenly jumped with pain, and she quickly tightened her expression.

The two people who had reached the doorway turned back again.

Hua Yu closed her eyes briefly, then looked up at them with an easy tone. “Anything else, my dear parents?”

Hua’s mother reached out to touch Hua Yu’s forehead. “Is your heat coming soon? Is it still a month away? How have you been feeling lately? Are you still taking your Chinese medicine? Are you keeping up with acupuncture?”

“I’ve been obedient,” Hua Yu said, touching her ear. “Mom, I’m already thirty this year. If I still can’t get through a heat cycle at this age, people will laugh at me.”

Hua’s father was more reassured than Hua’s mother. “Worry less; she’s a doctor herself. Modern medicine is so advanced; she knows more than we do.”

Hua Yu echoed him. “Mom, learn a little from Dad. Worry less; it’ll keep you from getting wrinkles.”

Hua’s mother scolded them both with a glare. “Just because you’re not in pain doesn’t mean it isn’t uncomfortable. Am I willing to worry? My daughter isn’t feeling well; how can I not think about it?”

Hua Yu stood up and pushed them toward the door. “All right, all right. I promise; if I feel bad, I’ll call you. Okay?”

Hua’s mother said nothing else, only muttering that Hua Yu had better take her medicine properly, before Hua’s father led her away.

Hua Yu’s heat cycle had shortened; it had gone from six months to five. But she hadn’t told her parents.

It was nothing more than years without omega pheromones soothing her, no balance of yin and yang, and she had never truly been balanced at all. Over time, the cycle would shorten. Hua Yu, being a doctor herself, understood this perfectly well; there was no need to say it and worry them.

After they left, Wei Yin was still sitting in the same place, unmoving; only now there was a fruit plate in front of her with toothpicks stuck into it.

“What did Uncle and Aunt say?” Wei Yin stood up at once when Hua Yu came out.

Hua Yu said as usual, “They asked me things; they didn’t say anything about you.”

“They may have misunderstood our relationship,” Wei Yin said nervously. “They thought I was your...”

Hua Yu curved her lips and cut in, “That’s normal. After all, you’re an omega, and there are almost no omegas around me.”

Hua Yu showed no awkwardness at all. There was no hesitation in her; she was far more at ease than Wei Yin.

Wei Yin froze, feeling that she really had been making too much of it. It took several seconds before she could speak again. “Right. Dr. Hua has never dated.”

“You know that?” Hua Yu raised a brow. “Been sneaking around asking about me?”

Wei Yin’s voice dropped. “Yu Qing told me..."

“There’s her too.” Hua Yu thought of Xu Ya Qing. “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve forgotten.”

Wei Yin asked, “Forgotten what?”

Hua Yu took out her phone and called someone, walking toward the balcony as she said to Wei Yin, “If you’re not in a hurry to leave, wait a moment. My mother is writing you a prescription. Their medical skills are pretty good; we might as well take a prescription home with us.”

“That’s too much trouble for Auntie.” Following Hua Yu with her gaze, Wei Yin watched as the balcony door closed and Hua Yu’s voice disappeared. She reached out and touched her swollen chest, muttering to herself, “Dr. Hua’s family is really so nice.”

How long had it been since she’d felt this kind of family atmosphere?

Wei Yin couldn’t even remember.

For Wei Yin, the concept of family was narrow. It meant her mother, the calico cat, and the aunt upstairs who taught her her craft; but all of them had gone away one after another over the years.

Long ago, her life had been left with only vast blankness and loneliness.

The way Aunt Sun looked at her was very much like the old lady next door: kind, warm, and hearty, as if in the next moment she’d grab your hand, split the hot steamed cakes she’d just made that morning with you, and nag you for being too thin and needing to eat more.

Hua’s mother was even more like her own mother—elegant, gentle, playful, with an interesting personality and very stable emotions; being around her felt extremely comfortable.

And Hua’s father... She had no experience with men, so she didn’t really understand that group, but from the fact that he always accompanied Hua’s mother out to have fun and came home to catch Hua Yu, at the very least he seemed like a father who wouldn’t spoil the mood and would support his family.

No wonder Hua Yu had grown up like this. A child raised in this kind of family atmosphere would be hard-pressed not to be excellent.

Thinking that Hua’s mother was writing a prescription for her, Wei Yin felt both anticipation and unease. She even forgot to eat the fruit; only when Aunt Sun reminded her did she pick it up again.

On the other side, Hua Yu dialed Xu Ya Qing’s number.

“Busy here. Keep it short,” Xu Ya Qing said.

Hua Yu went straight to the point. “Yu Tiantian asked me out. Tomorrow morning, Dehua Business Hotel. I’ll send you the private room number tonight.”

“Tomorrow morning?” Xu Ya Qing’s side was noisy; she had to raise her voice. “I might be a little late. I’ve got to buy breakfast for a client.”

“Yu Tiantian will wait,” Hua Yu said. “She has that much patience, and she knows how to fake it.”

Xu Ya Qing snorted. “Right. She can be flexible and stubborn whenever she wants. As long as it’s someone she wants to build a relationship with, she’s always got a way.”

Hua Yu said calmly, “Then you’d better watch out she doesn’t build a relationship with you.”

Xu Ya Qing laughed. “No way. She’s hated her since they were little. I’m done talking; I’m busy. The client’s messaging again. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Mm.” Hua Yu added casually, “You said last month you were going to quit. Why are you still dealing with clients every day?”

Xu Ya Qing wailed. “The project’s been delayed. This month; by the end of this month I’m definitely quitting!”

Hua Yu said lightly, “Oh.”

Xu Ya Qing told Hua Yu to shut up. Just as she was about to hang up, she suddenly thought of something.

“A few days ago I went out to eat with Wei Yin and ran into Pang Niu,” Xu Ya Qing said uncertainly. “She seemed to know Wei Yin. She said she looked familiar, and even asked Wei Yin if she knew her.”

Hua Yu’s hand rested on the balcony handle. She had already turned to go back inside; through the glass, she could see Wei Yin waiting on the sofa. Her voice cooled a degree. “What did Wei Yin say?”

“She said she didn’t know her. What else could she say? She doesn’t even remember you,” Xu Ya Qing said, and the more she talked, the more annoyed she became. “I think Pang Niu’s been drifting these past few years; she dares to provoke anyone now. Want to find a chance to scold her?”

Hua Yu frowned. “What can I scold her for?”

“Aiyo,” Xu Ya Qing clicked her tongue. “Why can’t you? You used to give her special treatment since you were little. I don’t think she’s even afraid of you; she just talks behind your back.”

“I didn’t take care of her.” Hua Yu’s gaze grew colder, her tone indifferent. “What she says has nothing to do with me.”

Xu Ya Qing laughed. “You still won’t admit it. When you were kids, there was a whole bunch of little brats in the compound, and you only treated her specially. Nobody else could touch your things, but Pang Niu could. She used to brag about it all the time.”

Hua Yu frowned. “I don’t remember that.”

“You’ve got a terrible memory when you’re well-off,” Xu Ya Qing said offhandedly, not taking it seriously. She laughed a few times. “Fine, I’ll find time to beat her up once. Talk tomorrow.”

Pang Niu, Li Leran?

Hua Yu hung up and searched her memory for the person.

Hua’s father and mother had married early; they had Hua Yu before they were twenty, and the group of children after that were generally four or five years younger than her.

Hua Yu didn’t like to play, and she disliked taking care of younger children even more; however, she had quite a bit of patience and a good temper. Add in the fact that Xu Ya Qing was her own cousin, and Hua Yu had known since childhood that she needed to look after her little cousin. When she took Xu Ya Qing along, she would also bring the others along.

Li Leran should be that chubby girl.

When she was little, her health had been poor and she had been treated by Hua’s mother. Hua Yu knew that she had gained weight because of medication, and had never looked down on her; she had even been a little more patient with her.

But that was only a doctor’s care for a patient.

As for Yu Tiantian, she had covertly stirred people up in childhood to isolate Li Leran; the nickname Pang Niu had been her idea.

Come to think of it, at first Li Leran got along best with Xu Ya Qing. They went everywhere hand in hand, but later she somehow grew close to Yu Tiantian and gradually drifted away from Xu Ya Qing.

Hua Yu rubbed her brow, too lazy to think further. In any case, it had nothing to do with her, and even less with Wei Yin.

At that thought, a dark look flashed through Hua Yu’s eyes.

Wei Yin’s condition was getting better and better; her life and her future should never again have someone like Yu Tiantian in it.

“What is Dr. Hua thinking about?”

Wei Yin saw that Hua Yu had hung up long ago but still hadn’t come out, and was standing behind the glass door in a daze, so she walked over and asked.

Her gaze was timid and pleading; it made people want to protect her.

“Come here.” Hua Yu beckoned.

Wei Yin pushed the door open and stepped onto the balcony.

From here, one could see the large flowerbeds in the back garden. It was early summer; the colors were rich and brilliant, and there were many flowers at a glance.

Hua Yu walked closer, lifted an arm, and drew her into her arms.

“Hm?” Wei Yin didn’t resist at all; she went limp in Hua Yu’s embrace.

Buried against Hua Yu’s shoulder, Wei Yin wrinkled the small lines at the bridge of her nose and sniffed. “So fragrant.”

“That’s the smell of flowers,” Hua Yu said, her voice a little hoarse. “Which flowers do you like? I’ll bring some back for you.”

Wei Yin muffled against her chest, her voice dull. “We can grow them ourselves.”

Hua Yu’s palm suddenly came down lightly on the back of Wei Yin’s neck, touched once, and left immediately; it was like a dragonfly skimming the center of a lake.

Turning her head, Hua Yu’s nose brushed lightly past Wei Yin’s ear. She inhaled Wei Yin’s scent deeply, and after a long while let out a breath that sounded almost like a sigh.

“Okay,” Hua Yu said hoarsely. “We’ll grow them ourselves.”

After saying that, Hua Yu stepped back and let go of Wei Yin.

“What’s wrong with Dr. Hua?” Wei Yin had not resisted this whole series of actions, but she still didn’t know what had happened.

Darkness spread through Hua Yu’s eyes. She lowered her gaze. Her voice was completely normal. “Nothing. I just suddenly missed you very much.”

The news about Yu Tiantian and Li Leran had stirred an indescribable irritability in her.

An irritability she couldn’t quite pin down.

Her heat was surging fiercely. The moment she had just seen Wei Yin, her gland had swelled hot; stars had burst across her vision, and she had nearly been unable to stand steady.

She had already smelled Wei Yin’s pheromones before. They were very pleasant, wonderful, sweet, and thirst-quenching.

Right now, Hua Yu was desperately missing that scent.