Chapter 49: You Don’t Love Her

The two of them entered the bath together.

Xia Yao sank into the water and leaned against one side. The surface of the water shimmered, and her graceful figure was faintly visible beneath the ripples.

“Xiao Xia, you have a nice body~” Lin Xiaojue’s gaze was bold and unscrupulous, as if she had long since forgotten her past identity as a man.

‘Maybe she was meant to be a cute girl?’

A faint red blush spread across Xia Yao’s pretty face. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide her full breasts.

“Aww, don’t be a stingy person~”

Lin Xiaojue pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, her cheeks puffing out, but a mischievous smile flickered in the depths of her eyes.

She moved closer to Xia Yao until their shoulders touched, allowing them to feel each other’s body heat from inches away.

Xia Yao instinctively tried to move away, thinking that doing so would make her predecessor give her some space. Instead, the other woman pressed closer with every step until Xia Yao was backed into a corner.

The water splashed loudly. Xia Yao curled up in the corner, clutching her knees as her vision was dominated by the imposing presence before her.

Lin Xiaojue’s figure was truly too eye-catching; Xia Yao found it impossible to look away. Those beautiful curves caused her imagination to run wild.

‘Truly.’

‘Why do I have these kinds of thoughts about my predecessor?’

Xia Yao shook her head. Being able to take care of her predecessor was already more than she dared to ask for. She was immensely satisfied that the woman now treated her as the person closest to her.

If they were to get even closer… she seemed to crave that as well.

But this…

Xia Yao felt a spark of joy in her heart, but she felt even more unease. She reached out to cover her lips, the movement accompanied by the sound of splashing water.

“Oh? Does Xiao Xia want it?”

Lin Xiaojue’s wicked voice echoed in the bathroom, ringing in Xia Yao’s ears.

In the next moment, before she could guard herself, Lin Xiaojue pulled her hand away and kissed her without hesitation.

She was completely defenseless. Everything was unexpected, and reality was always full of the unknown. Even after they left the bathroom, Xia Yao could not forget that kiss.

She couldn’t say for sure what time it was when they returned to the inn; she only remembered that her head was spinning.

Dragging her heavy footsteps, she pushed open the door and saw her predecessor sitting on the bed with a mischievous grin.

They truly looked like a couple in the middle of a honeymoon phase.

That was how they looked to outsiders, and that was how they looked to the current Lin Xiaojue, but it wasn’t how it felt to Xia Yao.

Watching Lin Xiaojue bounce on the bed, watching her flowing hair, and watching her joyful smile, Xia Yao felt a layer of sorrowful gloom cast over her heart whenever she thought about it while lying on her pillow.

Her predecessor should have been able to spend this time much more happily.

However, that gloom had at some point turned into heavy snow pressing down on her heart.

In the depths of winter, it grew heavier and heavier, crushing her until she didn’t know how to struggle or how to pull her feet out of the deep snow.

Eventually, on a day Xia Yao couldn’t quite remember because she had been so busy hiding the truth, something changed.

It happened to be a sunny day, just like the day she and Lin Xiaojue had first arrived in Anyin City.

A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared before them. She wore a baseball cap, the brim pulled low to hide her delicate features and her expression.

Perhaps if one looked down, they would see her trembling lips and the tear stains of regret.

But Xia Yao did nothing. Her hand was held tightly by Lin Xiaojue, their fingers interlocked.

Pedestrians came and went on the bustling street, the crowd full of life. They seemed out of place in the sea of people, and passersby cast curious glances at them.

“Can we talk?”

When the woman spoke, Xia Yao had no choice but to let go of Lin Xiaojue’s hand. She sent her back to the inn and followed Su Yaqing, who had been missing for a long time, onto a deserted rooftop.

Su Yaqing leaned against the railing, watching the clouds roll across the sky. Xia Yao huddled in the shadow created by the stairwell. The two of them remained silent for a long time.

“Thank you for everything during this time.”

Finally, Su Yaqing spoke.

Xia Yao clenched her hands. The unease she had anticipated was finally coming.

She knew these days wouldn’t last forever, but she was satisfied. More than that, she wanted to know what Su Yaqing had actually done.

She tried to summon her courage, cheering herself on in her heart over and over to face this head-on. She stepped out into the clear blue sky, standing beside Su Yaqing’s fluttering blonde hair.

“Sister Yaqing, can you tell me what you did to her?”

“I…” Su Yaqing stuttered, her pupils shrinking suddenly.

When she arrived here, she had even prepared herself to be beaten. “Aren’t you going to ask what I was doing before? Aren’t you going to ask why I didn’t save you?”

“I’ve already been saved.”

That short answer forced Su Yaqing to swallow the words back down her throat.

“Compared to you, Sister Yaqing, I care more about Xiao Jue’s current situation. As for what happens to me, it doesn’t matter.”

“Xiao Jue? You really do love her…”

“Tell me what you did.”

Xia Yao’s forceful questioning caused Su Yaqing to stumble back a few steps. Once upon a time, this weak-hearted girl had needed the protection of both her and Lin Xiaojue to grow.

She used to lose control easily and often failed to manage her emotions; whenever that happened, it took both of them to pull her back.

Xia Yao’s sudden stubbornness left Su Yaqing silent for a long time. She knew she had done something wrong—a mistake that could never be undone.

No matter how anxious she felt after learning the truth, it was useless. Even if she truly helped Lin Xiaojue recover her memories, it would only bring her pain.

But what about before? Since she had forgotten her, should they just let everything become a new beginning?

Would Xia Yao accept that? Would Lin Xiaojue?

If both sides could accept it, what would the “complete” Lin Xiaojue think? Su Yaqing had no way of knowing, but in her eyes, letting Lin Xiaojue remain in a state of memory loss was the optimal solution.

Was it?!

How could this situation be considered an optimal solution?

“I… I caused her memory loss.”

Su Yaqing remained silent for a long time before giving an answer she herself wasn’t satisfied with.

“Not that! Tell me, what exactly did you do to her?!”

A sudden gust of wind howled across the rooftop. Xia Yao’s voice was drowned out in Su Yaqing’s ears and her consciousness.

She didn’t want to remember how lowly and disgusting she had been. She had mistaken someone’s forced compliance for affection and an inability to refuse for acceptance.

Playing hard to get—that was what Su Yaqing had thought. So, she had foolishly acted according to her own assumptions.

“I… in the restroom, I for — “

*Slap!*

The crisp sound of a slap rang out in the wind. Su Yaqing clutched her burning cheek, keeping her head down and pulling the brim of her hat even lower.

“Sister Yaqing, I always thought you weren’t like this. You have no idea how much you hurt her. Do you really consider yourself her lover?!”

Su Yaqing lifted her face, only to be met with another slap.

*Slap!*

Both of her cheeks burned with pain. Su Yaqing had never felt such a stinging sensation before. As the wind howled across the rooftop, she wondered what she should do.