Gu Qingqiu froze. She turned around hesitantly, not daring to look Zhang Xin'ai in the eye. "Mommy, I..."
Zhang Xin'ai pointed at the back of Gu Qingqiu's neck and roared, "Who did this?"
Gu Qingqiu had never seen Zhang Xin'ai so hysterical before. Putting herself in Zhang Xin'ai's shoes, she realized she might not be able to handle it, and she subconsciously apologized, "I'm sorry, Mommy..."
Zhang Xin'ai cried and hugged Gu Qingqiu tightly, tears streaming down her face with guilt. "Nannan, it's Mommy's fault for not protecting you. Mommy is so sorry!"
"No!" Gu Qingqiu quickly patted Zhang Xin'ai's back to help her catch her breath, and tried to recount what had happened that day in a calm tone, "I... I didn't expect my heat to come early. I didn't bring any suppressants with me, so..."
Zhang Xin'ai's expression changed drastically. Omegas in heat can indeed do things they can't control. She only regretted that she hadn't instilled ABO physiological knowledge in Gu Qingqiu from a young age and hadn't made her realize the importance of carrying suppressants with her.
Zhang Xin'ai couldn't even imagine what an omega who went into heat on the street would encounter. Her face paled, and she cautiously probed, "Nannan, tell Mommy, where did you go into heat? Which passing Alpha temporarily marked you today? Do you remember any of this?"
Gu Qingqiu said somewhat awkwardly, "I went out to eat with Ji Xingqiao today."
Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Xin'ai seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but her expression remained somewhat dazed. She murmured, "Oh... Xing Qiao... Xing Qiao..."
Gu Qingqiu waited for Zhang Xin'ai to continue, but to her surprise, Zhang Xin'ai seemed to have nothing more to say. She didn't speak until Zhang Xin'ai had dried Gu Qingqiu's hair, and finally only said, "Go and rest, goodnight."
"...Goodnight, Mommy." Gu Qingqiu felt that Zhang Xin'ai really needed some time to calm down, after all, this was indeed a very shocking piece of news.
Back in her room, Gu Qingqiu sat down at her dressing table, turning slightly to examine the back of her neck. Although she couldn't see it completely, there were more than one set of teeth marks on her neck and shoulders, especially around the glands. "Is Ji Xingqiao a dog?! Why does he bite so much? No wonder Zhang Xin'ai reacted so strongly when she saw it."
Gu Qingqiu sighed, turned off the light, lay back down on the bed, and slept soundly through the night.
Gu Qingqiu, who had forgotten to close the curtains, was unable to sleep well early in the morning due to the sunlight. As she tossed and turned in bed trying to fall asleep again, she vaguely heard people talking in the living room.
Are there guests at home? Who would come to visit so early?
Gu Qingqiu stretched and opened the bedroom door a crack to peek inside. However, from her angle, she could only see a pair of feet in suit pants and a pair of fair and delicate calves. These were... Ji Xingqiao's parents?
Before she could react, Gu Qingqiu was caught. Uncle Ji's calm voice rang out: "Little Gu is awake? Come out and sit down."
It would be impolite to hide any longer, so Gu Qingqiu awkwardly opened the door and found that Ji Xingqiao was also there, sitting opposite Uncle Ji and Aunt Jiang. He hadn't made a sound, which was why she hadn't seen him.
"Good morning, Uncle and Auntie." Gu Qingqiu greeted them somewhat awkwardly, still wearing her cartoon-patterned pajamas. "...Maybe I should change my clothes before coming out."
"No need, we're all family, no need to be so formal." Aunt Jiang smiled and beckoned to Gu Qingqiu, "Come, sit next to me."
Upon hearing the words "family," Zhang Xin'ai's eyes seemed to flicker, but she did not refute them.
Gu Qingqiu could only nod and sit down next to Aunt Jiang, but as soon as she sat down, she felt Ji Xingqiao's gaze from across the table, and her ears immediately turned red.
Why is Ji Xingqiao completely oblivious to his surroundings this time? There are so many people here!
Aunt Jiang peeled an orange for Gu Qingqiu and was about to feed her, but Gu Qingqiu was too embarrassed to agree and quickly took the orange and ate it herself.
Uncle Ji continued speaking after Gu Qingqiu sat down. Gu Qingqiu understood their purpose after only a few sentences: they had come to propose marriage.
Gu Qingqiu listened to the conversation for a while, suppressing her embarrassment. She realized that Ji Xingqiao's parents seemed unaware of what had happened yesterday, because Uncle Ji's speech still revolved around the pheromone compatibility between her and Ji Xingqiao. He said that they would objectively be a suitable couple, and that Gu Qingqiu and Zhang Xin'ai would receive top-notch treatment and would definitely not mistreat them.
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingqiu's tense nerves relaxed a little. She looked up and met Ji Xingqiao's deep gaze again.
Zhang Xin'ai clearly noticed their flirtatious exchange, and she suddenly spoke up, asking directly, "Nannan, what do you think of Xingqiao? Do you like him? Do you want to marry him?"
Suddenly called out, Gu Qingqiu was immediately stared at by four pairs of eyes. A little nervously, she stammered, "I...I like him..."
Upon hearing this, Ji Xingqiao's gaze softened somewhat, and Aunt Jiang's smile became more genuine.
However, Gu Qingqiu immediately added, "But I've only just graduated from high school! Isn't it a bit too hasty to settle down so soon? We should at least get to know each other better over time..."
Uncle Ji seemed about to say something, but Aunt Jiang stopped him. Although Aunt Jiang's attitude was gentle, what she said was...
"That's natural. It's good that you like Xingqiao, Xiaoqiu. Xingqiao also likes you a lot. How about this, you two get engaged during the summer vacation, and then get to know each other better. After you go to university, Xiaoqiu will definitely be very popular. As her fiancé, Xingqiao can better protect you, right?"
If Gu Qingqiu were truly a young girl who had just come of age, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist and would have agreed immediately. But having experienced so many worlds, how could Gu Qingqiu not hear the firm attitude beneath Aunt Jiang's seemingly gentle tone?
Ji Xingqiao's parents played the good cop and the bad cop quite well, but in reality, their goals were indeed the same as Gu Qingqiu's to some extent.
Gu Qingqiu glanced at Ji Xingqiao, who hadn't spoken since, and suddenly her acting instincts kicked in. Her eyes welled up with tears. "Uncle and Aunt, thank you for liking me. Although I like Ji Xingqiao very much, he doesn't seem to like me that much. Did you force him to be with me?"
Aunt Jiang's smile faltered, and Uncle Ji's brows furrowed even deeper. They had indeed been the ones actively pushing things forward. Although Ji Xingqiao hadn't refused, Gu Qingqiu was truly a perfect match for their son, otherwise Ji Xingqiao's illness might never have improved.
Aunt Jiang coughed lightly and winked at Ji Xingqiao, meaning—son, this is your chance to shine, hurry up and seize the opportunity!
Ji Xingqiao received a hint from his mother's eyes, but his next words made everyone present gasp and the atmosphere instantly freeze, because he said—"Gu Qingqiu, I said I would take responsibility for you."
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