Chapter 43

The chat interface with Mi Rui'an has been silent for a long time.

“I…” Mi Rui’an had just started to speak when she was interrupted by Wei Jiangxue’s voice.

"I remembered I need to prepare some things for tonight's live stream, so I'll head out first." Wei Jiangxue didn't care that Mi Rui'an was still leaning against her; she jumped up and hurriedly reached for the wall, wanting to leave.

But Mi Rui'an clearly wasn't going to shut up: "Hey, there's no rush, is there? I mean..."

Wei Jiangxue walked out nervously, her mind a complete blank. She could only vaguely make out a few simple words, something like "program auditions" or "helping you register."

It wasn't what she thought...

Unable to pinpoint whether the sudden surge of emotion within her was disappointment or relief, Wei Jiangxue stopped in her tracks: "Register?"

“Hmm, I recently received news about the music program ‘The Voice of Heaven.’ They’re about to announce the registration channel for the first round of auditions. Are you interested? Don’t worry about Mi Feng; I’ll help you with those little troubles. If you want, I’ll find someone to register you.” Mi Rui’an explained patiently.

She did try to take things further, to ask Wei Jiangxue for a kiss, or even to confess her feelings, but Wei Jiangxue's reaction...

Mi Rui'an blinked. Why did he look so flustered? It couldn't be that he didn't like her, could it? She quickly dismissed that terrible guess. She figured Wei Jiang was just too shy.

Looking at the conflicted expression on the person in front of her, Mi Rui'an said tolerantly, "Think about it first, and give me an answer before the end of this month."

Wei Jiangxue breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; she was indeed very interested. However, this information came from Mi Rui'an, and if it came from Mi Rui'an, it would seem as if she owed Mi Rui'an something again.

The information from 233 Search confirmed Wei Jiangxue's idea: the deadline for the preliminary selection registration was the middle of this month, but Mi Rui'an said she could consider the end of the month. This extra time definitely required Mi Rui'an to mediate.

Wei Jiangxue nodded nervously, "Then I'll be going now."

She left Mi Rui'an behind and fled in panic.

Wei Jiangxue locked herself in her room for three whole hours. She sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers tapping the sheets absently, her mind replaying everything that happened when she and Mi Rui'an were listening to the radio drama.

The ambiguous sound effects, Mi Rui'an's overly fluent explanation, the heart-stopping plot in the headphones, and her own utterly defeated escape at the end—the more she thought about it, the more chaotic her mind became.

But Mi Rui'an hadn't explicitly said anything. What if she had just misunderstood? Wouldn't that be awkward and hurtful? But what if her guess wasn't just wishful thinking?

Just as she was in a state of utter confusion, almost tearing a hole in the bedsheet, a soft knock sounded at the door.

"Jiang Xue?" Mi Rui'an's voice came through the door, very calm, revealing no emotion. "May I come in?"

Wei Jiangxue released her grip abruptly as if burned, took a deep breath, and tried to make her voice sound normal: "...Come in."

The door was pushed open, and Mi Rui'an walked in.

She didn't approach, but stood by the door, looking at Wei Jiangxue sitting on the edge of the bed with her head down.

“I just remembered…” Mi Rui’an began, her voice low but clear enough to reach Wei Jiangxue’s ears, “There’s something else I haven’t told you yet, is now a convenient time?”

Wei Jiangxue's fingers twitched slightly, but she remained silent.

Mi Rui'an sighed softly, taking it as an admission that Wei Jiangxue was available. She took a few steps forward and stopped a few steps away from Wei Jiangxue.

“Jiang Xue, look at me,” she said.

Wei Jiangxue subconsciously raised her head and looked in the direction of her voice. Although she couldn't see, this action showed that she had focused all her attention on Mi Rui'an.

“There are some things I’ve thought about for a long time, and I feel I should make them clear.” Mi Rui’an’s voice was steady, even carrying a kind of do-or-die calm. “Not as a roommate, nor as a ‘patient who needs your care’.”

Wei Jiangxue's heart suddenly raced.

“You may find this sudden, or you may have already sensed it but have been avoiding it,” Mi Rui’an continued, each word striking the silent air clearly. “Wei Jiangxue, my feelings for you are not simply dependence, nor are they a physiological inertia after being marked.”

She paused for a second, as if gathering her courage, or as if giving Wei Jiangxue time to react.

Then, she said, word by word:

"I like you."

"I want to be with you, not just as a roommate, not just as a friend, and not in that kind of temporary, bound Alpha and Omega relationship."

"It's the kind of liking where I want to be special to you, and I want you to treat me as special too."

Since Wei Jiangxue was shy, Mi Rui'an couldn't give her any more time to overthink. He directly expressed his feelings and forced Wei Jiangxue to give an answer.

"There's only one possible outcome anyway," Mi Rui'an said confidently, waiting for Wei Jiangxue to speak.

“…No, I think you might have some misunderstanding about me.” Wei Jiangxue squeezed out the words with difficulty. The 233 in her brain seemed to be broken, only able to scream wildly, and Wei Jiangxue herself had almost lost the ability to think.

"You're a really nice person! As my roommate, you're gentle and tolerant, and you're also very talented. You helped me with my makeup and styling for my live streams, and you're from a wealthy family. I'm sure you've met many people more outstanding than me. You must be mistaken. Temporary markings between AOs really can affect the brain. Why don't you go to the hospital for a checkup? Don't let the mark I gave you damage your brain..."

Wei Jiangxue spoke incoherently, and as she spoke, she stood up and reached for Mi Rui'an's hand, as if to lead her away: "Quick, let's go to the hospital quickly, or the doctors will be off work!"

But Mi Rui'an didn't move. In fact, she gripped Wei Jiangxue's hand tightly. The two struggled against each other for a long time, but neither of them moved.

"You...don't like me?" The answer that Mi Rui'an had personally rejected many times came to mind, and she didn't even react at first.

After fully understanding the meaning behind Wei Jiangxue's words, Mi Rui'an actually laughed. A huge sense of absurdity enveloped her, and her originally anxious and expectant mood was as if it had been doused with a bucket of water.

Embarrassment and embarrassment threw Mi Rui'an's thoughts into a jumbled mess, so all along, it had been wishful thinking and overthinking on her part...

Wei Jiangxue didn't mean it that way at all!

Mi Rui'an's face turned pale and then flushed, and her breathing became rapid.

Wei Jiangxue couldn't see her expression, but she knew that Mi Rui'an seemed to be in a very unstable emotional state.

Oh dear, Wei Jiangxue felt like she was about to faint. She clutched her clothes, her face filled with anxiety. What if Mi Rui'an started crying? She didn't have any tissues on her, and she'd have to go through a lot of trouble finding some. How should she comfort her if she was upset?

"...You, no, I'm sorry, I'll go calm down by myself. You go ahead and do your work."

Mi Rui'an took a few deep breaths, and when she spoke again, her emotions seemed to have calmed down, which also put Wei Jiangxue's anxious heart at ease.

Before Wei Jiangxue could stop her and say anything more, Mi Rui'an walked past Wei Jiangxue, leaving a fragrant breeze around her.

As the door slammed shut, the faint scent of roses gradually dissipated.

Wei Jiangxue turned her head away in a lost and dejected manner, her fingers curling slightly as if she wanted to grasp something.

As long as she didn't get angry, cry, or make a fuss... If it were anyone else, Wei Jiangxue could refuse without any guilt, but it was Mi Rui'an.

If we're talking about the person Wei Jiangxue feels most sorry for in this little world, it's Mi Rui'an.

She pondered her past actions. Even if they didn't invite a beating, they certainly made people dislike her. Which step went wrong? Why was the process code following the task instructions exactly the same, yet the result was completely nonsensical?

Even more distraught than Wei Jiangxue was System 233: 【Why?! I just ship you two, I don't actually want you two to be together! The last marking was an accident, why the confession this time?!】

Wei Jiangxue just shook her head helplessly: "How should I know? You watched me do the mission with your own eyes, and you didn't say you were secretly shipping us. How did you even start shipping us?"

The host and the system talked past each other for a long time before they finally calmed down.

[System 233: Hey, you mean you two have officially broken up, right? So, can you still stay here?]

“I don’t know…” Wei Jiangxue’s face was full of confusion. She tried to leave the bedroom, but after searching around several times, she could not find Mi Rui’an and the other servants in the house.

Xiao Dong was working normally, but Wei Jiangxue asked her where Mi Rui'an had gone. Xiao Dong only said she didn't know, but Mi Rui'an had left instructions for Xiao Dong to continue taking care of Wei Jiangxue.

This likely means that Wei Jiangxue can continue to stay here.

Mi Rui'an did not return to her apartment until evening.

At first, Wei Jiangxue thought she was just "going out for some fresh air" and would be back later. But after nightfall, she was still alone in the house. She tried texting Mi Rui'an, asking when she would be back and if she needed the door left open, but the message went unanswered.

It was time for makeup and styling, so Wei Jiangxue and 233 decided to go for a natural, unpretentious live stream this time. But just a few seconds later, they could faintly hear the doorbell ringing outside, followed by Xiaodong's voice as she opened the door and greeted them.

Wei Jiangxue quickly stood up. Was it Mi Rui'an who had returned?

She walked out, but unfortunately, it wasn't Mi Rui'an she saw, but a group of unfamiliar women. They claimed to be the stylist team that Mi Rui'an had booked to do Wei Jiangxue's makeup and hair, and said that the Miss Mi who hired them had already settled the bill.

Although she couldn't see it in person, Wei Jiangxue felt she could smell the professional aura emanating from them.

This was definitely not a service team she could hire herself for a few thousand yuan a month. Wei Jiangxue looked worried, thinking that she had troubled Mi Rui'an again.

Even though she had rejected him, he was still helping her take care of everything, which made Wei Jiangxue feel even more ashamed.

"What did she say? Was it just for today? Or later...?"

"Miss Mi has purchased our schedule for the next month and asked us to follow your arrangements, Miss Wei. Please feel free to call us if needed."

A month... Wei Jiangxue ignored the slight disappointment in her heart and smiled: "Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

The next day, the third day... Mi Rui'an still did not appear.

Wei Jiangxue found herself unconsciously paying attention to the sounds at the door, unable to resist looking for any signs of Mi Rui'an's presence. It wasn't a deliberate search, but an involuntary attentiveness. She would open social media platforms she almost never used, searching for Mi Rui'an's name, trying to find any recent activity. She would subtly inquire with the occasional cleaning lady if she had seen Miss Mi.

Unfortunately, she gained nothing.

Along with Mi Rui'an, Mi, a user in Wei Jiangxue's live stream, also vanished without a trace.

Mi hasn't been online to reply to Wei Jiangxue's messages for five days, and hasn't appeared in other live streams either.

This is both good and bad news. It means Mi wasn't poached by another streamer, but it also suggests that Mi may be experiencing problems in her real life, which explains her prolonged absence from the internet.

As usual, Wei Jiangxue sent her greetings and words of concern, and also sent a few probing messages to Mi Rui'an.

Her chat with Mi Rui'an had been silent for a long time. She didn't expect a response, but just wanted to express her concern and apology, and persuade Mi Rui'an to come back and have a proper talk.

As for Mi, after Wei Jiangxue sent her a message this time, Mi actually replied to her half an hour later.