After Differentiation, I Marked My Arch-nemesis - Chapter 40

The sky was so dark and heavy it looked like it was about to collapse.

The torrential rain poured down, covering the entire city of Jiangcheng.

Raindrops, like thousands of silver threads, smashed onto the ground, causing water to splash everywhere.

The wind was howling.

Lu Yaoyi was a bit slow to react after hearing what Jiang Youli said.

This was the first time she had seen Jiang Youli so humble.

Not only was she begging her in such a gentle tone, but she was also looking at her with such a pitiful and pleading expression. She felt like her heart was about to melt.

So cute.

Jiang Youli saw that Lu Yaoyi wasn’t saying anything and added, “Lu Yaoyi…”

“Please, I’m begging you…”

She thought that since she was begging Lu Yaoyi, Lu Yaoyi would probably agree…

She wasn’t too sure.

After all… she had always been so annoying and mean to Lu Yaoyi.

Lu Yaoyi was stunned for a few seconds. She collected her thoughts and quickly stepped aside, looking at the disheveled Jiang Youli. “You’re all wet, so don’t just stand at the door. Hurry and come in with the puppy. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t.”

She worriedly frowned. “Why were you still outside in such a heavy rain?”

Jiang Youli sighed. “It’s a long story. I’ll go back and change first.”

She was worried about getting Lu Yaoyi’s house dirty.

She didn’t want to go into Lu Yaoyi’s house without clean clothes on.

As she said this, she unzipped her school jacket and took it off, revealing her soaking wet white T-shirt. It was covered in mud and dirt. She wrapped the little white puppy in her jacket and was about to hand it to Lu Yaoyi when she suddenly realized that Lu Yaoyi was wearing clean clothes.

She then squatted down and placed the puppy, wrapped in her jacket, on the ground.

“Lu Yaoyi, I’ll put it here for now.”

“I’ll bring it back to your house to bathe after I go home and change.”

“Why are you putting it on the ground?” Lu Yaoyi lowered her gaze and looked at Jiang Youli in confusion. “Just give it to me. You can go straight back and change.”

“No, it’s wet, dirty, and smelly. It’ll get your clothes dirty. And my jacket is already wet, so I’ll just leave it here,” Jiang Youli said, standing up. “Wait here for me for a few minutes. I’ll be right back after I change.”

With that, she picked up the broken umbrella and ran off into the pouring rain.

Lu Yaoyi watched Jiang Youli disappear into the rain and mist. She then slowly lowered her head to look at the little white puppy wrapped in the jacket, her eyes filling with warmth and tenderness.

The rain was pouring down.

Jiang Youli ran back home with the small, broken umbrella. She first took the two large bags of vegetables off her bike’s handlebars, then opened her front door and walked into the entryway.

As she took off her shoes, she realized they were filled with water.

Her shoes and socks were soaked.

She had no choice but to take off her wet socks and stuff them into her shoes. After rubbing her feet dry on the entryway rug, she picked up the two bags and walked barefoot into the house.

After putting the vegetables in the kitchen, she ran to the balcony in the living room.

Rainwater was being blown in through the balcony windows.

The clothes on the balcony were indeed soaked from the heavy rain.

The floor was also covered in water.

“…”

She sighed.

She didn’t want Lu Yaoyi to wait for her at the door for too long, so she quickly closed the balcony windows without bothering to clean up. She then turned and sprinted upstairs to her room.

She changed into clean clothes and immediately ran back outside.

The sky was dark, and the wind and rain raged on.

Jiang Youli ran into Lu Yaoyi’s yard with her umbrella and saw that neither Lu Yaoyi nor the puppy was at the door. She went to the eaves and saw that the door was ajar.

She closed her umbrella, walked into Lu Yaoyi’s house, and placed it in the umbrella stand.

Then she gently closed the door and called out, “Lu Yaoyi.”

“I’m here,” Lu Yaoyi’s voice came from the living room. “I took out your slippers and put them on the floor. Just change your shoes and come in.”

Jiang Youli had her own pair of slippers at Lu Yaoyi’s house.

She looked down and saw the slippers.

After changing her shoes, she walked toward the living room. “Where are you?”

The next second, Lu Yaoyi’s voice came again.

“I’m in the bathroom.”

Jiang Youli walked toward the bathroom. As she stepped inside, she saw her wet school jacket on the sink. She then saw Lu Yaoyi sitting on a small stool next to the bathtub, holding the puppy wrapped in a towel.

In front of Lu Yaoyi was a basin with hot water running into it.

“Jiang Youli.”

Lu Yaoyi stroked the puppy’s head. “The puppy you found is so well-behaved.”

Her voice was so gentle it felt like it could steal a person’s soul.

Jiang Youli looked at the gentle Lu Yaoyi and was momentarily dazed. For some reason, she felt as if Lu Yaoyi was glowing with the light of a saint.

So gentle…

Is this the charm of an S-class Omega?

“…”

She quickly regained her composure and walked over. “Why did you come in without waiting for me?”

She then looked down at the water stains on Lu Yaoyi’s clothes and frowned unhappily. “I told you to wait for me so I could bring it in.”

“You didn’t listen.”

“Now look, you got your clothes dirty.”

Lu Yaoyi heard Jiang Youli’s slightly reproachful and guilty words and curled her lips into a smile. “It’s okay. If my clothes get dirty, I can just wash them. You’re so clean, but you weren’t afraid of it dirtying your clothes, so why would I be?”

She spoke in a soft voice, as if coaxing Jiang Youli. “It’s fine.”

Jiang Youli: “…”

Lu Yaoyi usually argued with her, so she was a little unaccustomed to her being so gentle. She walked over to Lu Yaoyi and looked down at her.

“Let me hold it.”

Lu Yaoyi gently wiped the puppy’s wet head with the towel. “It’s very cute and well-behaved. Let me hold it for a little longer. My clothes are already dirty anyway.”

Then, she looked up at Jiang Youli.

Jiang Youli had changed into a clean outfit, but her hair was still wet and stuck to her cheeks and scalp. Lu Yaoyi frowned and her voice changed.

“Why didn’t you dry your hair? Your hair is all wet. Hurry up and go dry it.”

“The hair dryer is on the sink over there.”

Jiang Youli said nonchalantly, “It’s okay, I don’t need to.”

Lu Yaoyi: “You can’t.”

Before she could finish, she heard Jiang Youli pointing at the basin. “The water’s ready.”

Lu Yaoyi’s gaze returned to the basin. The hot water had already overflowed the rim. She reached out and turned off the faucet.

She looked back at Jiang Youli. “I’ll bathe it.”

Jiang Youli immediately refused. “No way. I’ve already inconvenienced you by bringing it here. I can’t trouble you to bathe it, too.”

As she spoke, she squatted down and held out her hands to Lu Yaoyi. “Just give it to me.”

Hearing this, Lu Yaoyi had no choice but to hand the puppy to Jiang Youli.

She then moved off the small stool and stood to the side.

Jiang Youli looked down at the puppy nestled in her arms. The puppy was surprisingly obedient, not barking or acting up, but just shivering. It was probably freezing from being outside. She held the puppy and stroked its head as she sat on the stool.

The puppy stayed still.

Jiang Youli placed the puppy on her lap, then put her hand in the basin to check the water temperature. It was just right—not too hot and not too cold. It was very warm. She carefully used both hands to place the puppy into the basin. The puppy struggled for a moment when it first entered the water, but after it got used to it, it obediently let Jiang Youli wash it.

Lu Yaoyi saw that Jiang Youli was fine bathing the puppy by herself, so she went to the sink, picked up the hair dryer, and plugged it in. She then returned to Jiang Youli’s side and said, “Jiang Youli, you bathe it, and I’ll dry your hair.”

Jiang Youli was slightly taken aback.

Did Lu Yaoyi just say she would dry her hair?

No way…

However, before she could refuse, Lu Yaoyi had already turned on the hair dryer and started drying her hair. Lu Yaoyi’s voice rang in her ears, “I know you don’t want me to dry your hair, but it’s better to have it dry than to get a headache later.”

Jiang Youli didn’t say anything.

Actually… she didn’t exactly not want Lu Yaoyi to dry her hair.

She just found it very strange. Even though she was grateful that Lu Yaoyi had let her come and bathe the puppy, she and Lu Yaoyi weren’t close enough for this.

And their relationship…

She stopped thinking about it.

Instead, she focused on bathing the puppy carefully and seriously.

The puppy lay in her palm, looking very comfortable.

Lu Yaoyi watched Jiang Youli bathe the puppy while gently drying her hair. She and Jiang Youli had known each other for so many years, but this was the first time they had been alone in such a quiet and harmonious atmosphere. As she gently ran her hands through Jiang Youli’s soft hair, which was slowly drying, her heart felt incredibly sweet.

After a moment of silence, Lu Yaoyi suddenly spoke.

“How did your umbrella get so broken?”

Jiang Youli thought for a moment and said, “I ran into an old woman on the way back, and that umbrella belongs to her. I just traded umbrellas with her.”

Lu Yaoyi: “Why did you trade umbrellas with her?”

Jiang Youli: “Because I figured the old woman probably wouldn’t be willing to buy a new one. That one was broken, but she was still using it. Getting a new umbrella is an easy thing for me, so I just traded with her.”

She rubbed the puppy’s head. “It was nothing.”

Lu Yaoyi listened and curled her lips into a smile, not saying anything.

Jiang Youli was still the same Jiang Youli she had always known. She had never changed.

The two stopped talking.

A short while later, Lu Yaoyi finished drying Jiang Youli’s hair.

She walked to the sink, put the hair dryer back in its place, and then left the bathroom for the kitchen. A moment later, she returned to the bathroom.

She took a new, dry towel from the cabinet under the sink.

She then walked over to Jiang Youli. “Jiang Youli.”

Jiang Youli: “Huh?”

Lu Yaoyi held the new, dry towel out to Jiang Youli. “When you’re done bathing it, use this towel to dry it off. It’s a new, clean towel.”

Jiang Youli took the towel and placed it on the side of the bathtub. “Okay.”

Lu Yaoyi didn’t disturb Jiang Youli anymore.

She just stood next to her, watching her every move.

A smile remained on her lips.

A little later.

Jiang Youli finished bathing the puppy, put a towel on her lap, and began to dry the wet puppy on the towel. The puppy was very obedient and cooperative. It seemed to really enjoy Jiang Youli’s gentle touch.

Lu Yaoyi walked over, wanting to help pour out the water.

Jiang Youli quickly grabbed Lu Yaoyi’s wrist. “You don’t have to.”

Lu Yaoyi: “…”

The smooth, delicate touch and warmth of Lu Yaoyi’s skin felt like it was scorching Jiang Youli’s palm. She immediately let go of Lu Yaoyi’s wrist and said awkwardly, “I mean, I’ll clean up. You don’t have to.”

Lu Yaoyi was a little surprised. “It’s fine, I’ll do it.”

“No,” Jiang Youli held out her hand to stop Lu Yaoyi. “Lu Yaoyi, I’m the one who caused this mess. I’ll clean it up.”

“You don’t need to do anything.”

Lu Yaoyi was stunned for a moment, then she curled her lips into a smile. “Okay.”

Jiang Youli took back her hand and finished drying the puppy. She then stood up and said to Lu Yaoyi, “You hold it for a moment. I’ll clean this up.”

Lu Yaoyi took the clean puppy and held it in her arms.

Jiang Youli bent down to grab the basin, ready to pour out the water. She suddenly noticed Lu Yaoyi standing still next to her. She looked at her. “Why don’t you go outside first? I’m about to pour the water out, and I don’t want to splash your slippers.”

Hearing this, Lu Yaoyi took two steps back. “I’ll wait for you.”

Jiang Youli: “…”

Why did Lu Yaoyi suddenly seem so clingy? She was standing next to her as if she was guarding her. But she quickly dismissed this unrealistic thought and gave in to Lu Yaoyi’s request. “Okay, fine. I’ll clean up quickly.”

A short while later, after she had finished cleaning the tools used for bathing the puppy, Jiang Youli looked at Lu Yaoyi and said, “It’s all done. Let’s go out.”

Lu Yaoyi: “Mhm.”

With that, she walked out of the bathroom with the puppy in her arms.

Jiang Youli followed behind her.

However, just as she stepped out of the bathroom and took a few steps, her feet suddenly slipped. She lost her balance and stumbled forward, instinctively grabbing the back of Lu Yaoyi’s shirt. Unfortunately, she still couldn’t steady herself, and she pulled Lu Yaoyi down with her. Her slippers slid out, leaving two wet marks on the clean floor.

“…”

Jiang Youli fell backward and landed hard on the floor. She then saw Lu Yaoyi falling on top of her. Ignoring the pain, she opened her arms to catch Lu Yaoyi. She managed to catch her, acting as a human cushion, but the sharp pain from her lower body made her cry out in agony.

“Oof—”

When Lu Yaoyi fell on her, she had hit that one spot…

It felt like she’d hit her tailbone…

Tears instantly filled her eyes from the pain.

Lu Yaoyi quickly climbed off Jiang Youli with the puppy in her arms.

Jiang Youli immediately curled up in pain, clutching her lower body. The veins in her neck bulged, her cheeks turned crimson, and her face was contorted in pain.

It really hurts…

Lu Yaoyi looked back at Jiang Youli, about to ask if she was okay. She then saw Jiang Youli curled up and clutching her lower body, looking incredibly pained. She immediately understood what had happened.

She looked at Jiang Youli and asked worriedly, “Jiang Youli… are you okay?”

Jiang Youli was in too much pain to speak, with tears streaming down her face.

Lu Yaoyi knelt next to Jiang Youli, unsure of what to do. She hadn’t meant to accidentally hit Jiang Youli’s sensitive area. She knew what it meant for an Alpha to be injured there. Seeing Jiang Youli in so much pain, she started to panic. She said with a mix of heartache and guilt, “Jiang Youli… I’m sorry…”

“I didn’t mean to… Jiang Youli… you… you’re not broken, are you…?”

Jiang Youli: “…”

She was in so much pain she could barely speak. “Can you not curse me…?”