“Hey, we can’t be the only ones eating. Lao Ning, you’re practically family, come join us.”
Completely oblivious to the shift in atmosphere, Director Ji Yun, after a few bites of his bland food, suddenly brightened up and called out to Ning Manqing, who was sitting next to him.
A rough voice came from the side, snapping Li Chu back to reality.
“Teacher Ning wasn’t deliberately eating crayfish in front of me, so she doesn’t need to eat any. Teacher Ning, do you want to go rest for a bit?” Li Chu scoffed at Director Ji’s attempt to drag Ning Manqing down with them. Looking at Ning Manqing’s tired face, she suggested she go rest.
It was evident how busy Teacher Ning had been recently. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her bare skin looked good, but the exhaustion was undeniable.
Ning Manqing rubbed her temples. “I just got off a red-eye flight. I’ll go rest for a while.”
“Your room is two doors down. Li Zi, go show her the way.” Director Ji mumbled through a mouthful of vegetables. Li Chu nodded and pushed her chair back to stand up.
The two elegant figures left one after the other. Zhao Zhichun nudged Director Ji, giving him a knowing look.
“Director, why did you let Li Zi and Lao Ning go out together?”
“Duh, if they didn’t leave, how could I eat this?” Director Ji, with lightning speed, made a beeline for the remaining crayfish. He decisively poured the spicy crayfish sauce onto his low-calorie meal and even snuck a few crayfish onto his plate.
San Qiu, as his long-time partner, had already moved in sync with him. The assistant director and Zhao Zhichun, seeing this, immediately followed suit, thinking to themselves, ‘A director is a director indeed.’
Outside, Li Chu led Ning Manqing to the room reserved for her. Qin Mu’s residence in the script was in an old residential complex, and many scenes were to be shot here. So, the production team had booked this entire floor for the actors with more significant roles.
The room had been cleaned beforehand, and the door was open. Ning Manqing’s two assistants were inside; one was cleaning again, while the other was hanging clothes.
Ning Manqing beckoned Li Chu over and poured her a glass of water.
“Teacher Ning, it’s a good thing you arrived on time. Otherwise, I might have been tortured to death by their cravings today.” Li Chu took a sip of water, still amused by what had just happened.
“I’ll treat you to a big meal after we finish filming.” Ning Manqing said with a smile, leisurely untying her long hair and running her fingers through her slightly wavy strands.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Li Chu said, her gaze involuntarily following Ning Manqing’s movements, from her fingertips to her jawline, and then to the curve of her body as her hair fell forward.
The faint scent of pheromones, which she hadn’t smelled in a long time, suddenly drifted from her senses to her brain, swaying gently in the air like a thin veil, settling and draping over Li Chu.
“Teacher Ning, you should rest well. I won’t disturb you any longer.” Even though the door was open, Ning Manqing’s two assistants were in the room, and the crew was just outside, and their interaction was perfectly normal, Li Chu still felt an unshakeable tension, even a slight panic when she met those seemingly captivating, calm eyes.
Watching Xiao Tao Tao’s somewhat hasty retreat, a smile touched Ning Manqing’s eyes. She sniffed the air, catching the faint, almost imperceptible scent of peach pheromones, feeling a tinge of regret.
Back from Ning Manqing’s room, Li Chu immersed herself in memorizing her lines. She had been living here for over a week and, as Director Ji had requested, had already familiarized herself with the surroundings. Besides immersing herself in the role, Li Chu also had to get those lines down pat.
The room Li Chu was staying in was the master bedroom. The set design was already in place, every inch bearing the traces of Qin Mu’s life.
Qin Mu was a woman with a freesia-like exterior, her pheromones carrying the same fragrance. Her clothes were mostly in light, elegant colors, but Qin Mu herself didn’t actually like them. Those light-colored clothes were all bought for her by her mother, Qin Zhiyuan. After that, she had become accustomed to buying those colors, but in reality, Qin Mu preferred darker colors, like black.
She only wore those colors when she transformed into Qin Chao. She didn’t wear them usually, afraid of accidentally revealing certain feelings and exposing herself.
Li Chu pushed open the window. It was already dusk outside. This coastal city had a cool evening breeze, so it didn’t feel too hot. The balcony of the family downstairs was blooming with flowers, which were also part of the set.
Li Chu also knew that someone on the third floor of this building had a silver chinchilla, someone on the fourth floor had an Alaskan Malamute, and there was a Golden Retriever on the same floor as her.
During the days she had been here, Director Ji hadn’t asked her to do anything but observe. Li Chu observed, and then integrated.
She walked through this building as if Qin Mu was walking through her own building, as familiar with the surroundings as a fish in water, yet maintaining a natural demeanor.
Qin Mu seemed to have lived in that building for a long time, but in reality, it was only her fifth year in that city.
Qin Mu was born in a remote, impoverished, and backward place. She hadn’t lied to Li Rui; there was indeed a saying in her hometown that giving birth to twin girls was inauspicious. But it wasn’t because of gender discrimination. It was because there was once a family where the beta mother, while pregnant, was tormented by her in-laws and husband. After giving birth, her mental state became extremely unstable. One day, she killed everyone except her twin daughters. Ten people in the family, seven died, and finally, she committed suicide.
She said she would rather her children become orphans than let them live in such a family. When others arrived, the twin baby girls were in a pool of blood, giggling, oblivious to their surroundings. But some busybodies disguised the truth with superstition, saying that twin girls were inauspicious and would bring disaster. As the story spread, it became what it was.
Although Qin Mu hadn’t experienced any misfortune associated with being a twin, her early life was indeed difficult.
Poverty was one aspect, and the malice from those around her was another.
Qin Mu’s mother, Qin Zhiyuan, was an omega and a widow. Qin Mu’s father died when she was four years old, in an accident while working away from home. A fellow villager brought back his body and a few tens of thousands of yuan in compensation.
This money wasn’t so little that it would make life too difficult for the widowed mother and daughter, but in this poor place, it also attracted the attention of many.
When thieves broke into their home, Qin Zhiyuan, as an omega, had no power to fight back and could only watch as their money was looted. Fortunately, she had divided the money into several portions and hidden them, and one portion hadn’t been found. But this was enough to make her despair.
Qin Zhiyuan was beautiful, and many betas had their eyes on her. Although the place was poor and remote, everyone had some understanding of the law. Qin Zhiyuan was a registered omega, and officials would visit from time to time, so those people didn’t want to end up in jail.
Although they couldn’t really do anything, verbal harassment and mental abuse were not uncommon. Qin Zhiyuan was always frightened by the stones thrown at her door at night and the looks from passersby. Qin Mu had been sensible since she was young and could chase people away with a broom, hands on her hips, cursing at them.
Qin Zhiyuan didn’t want her daughter to live in such an environment. This somewhat weak omega decided to muster the courage to leave her familiar hometown and take her daughter to another city.
Qin Mu moved from the countryside to the city, crammed with her mother in a cramped rental room. But she didn’t feel bad, even feeling that it was much better than before. Although she was only seven years old, she could already do housework and cook simple meals, striving to take care of herself while her mother was at work.
Both Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Mu believed that as long as they worked hard, they could take root in this unfamiliar city. But some malice was like a shadow, always following them.
Qin Zhiyuan was almost raped by a familiar colleague. Although the man didn’t succeed, Qin Zhiyuan wanted to call the police. But the man, in a desperate attempt, threatened her, saying, “You have a daughter, right? If you dare call the police, I’ll take her to hell with me.”
Qin Zhiyuan didn’t dare to gamble. She seemed even more desperate than when she was in her hometown, her mental state on the verge of collapse. During that time, facing her mentally unstable mother, the pressure on young Qin Mu was unimaginable.
But it was also during this time that Qin Mu and Qin Zhiyuan encountered a turning point and salvation in their lives.
In order not to burden her mother too much, Qin Mu took on the job of selling flowers at a flower shop. She was pretty and cute, and there were always customers willing to buy from her.
There was a lady who bought flowers from her every day, sometimes trying to give her as much money as possible. Qin Mu refused, but she said she couldn’t bear to see a child suffer.
She was a gentle, kind, and somewhat melancholic omega, who brightened the lives of Qin Mu and her mother.
After learning about Qin Zhiyuan’s situation, she took Qin Zhiyuan to the hospital for treatment, arranged for Qin Mu to go to school, and even sent the man who threatened Qin Zhiyuan to the police station, covering Qin Zhiyuan’s medical expenses and Qin Mu’s tuition fees. When Qin Zhiyuan was so panicked that she didn’t know how to repay her, she waved her hand, saying that no repayment was needed.
She was an omega who couldn’t conceive, which was practically an anomaly for omegas. She desperately wanted to be a mother, but she couldn’t. She had an adopted child at home, and she loved him, but she was still depressed about not being able to have her own biological child.
She said she liked Qin Mu very much, as if she saw the child she couldn’t have. From then on, Qin Mu stopped calling her “Auntie” and started calling her “Godmother.”
She didn’t stay in Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Mu’s lives for very long. Six months later, she moved to another city with her husband due to a job change.
But they still kept in touch. Qin Mu learned to use email, and they often chatted, sharing their lives with each other. Her godmother would occasionally send them delicious food and fun things, and bring Qin Zhiyuan some health supplements. For Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Mu, even though she wasn’t by their side, they could still feel the warmth she brought.
When Qin Mu was in sixth grade, Qin Zhiyuan received a letter.
The familiar handwriting carried a depressing gloom. She said she felt like her life was a joke. Her husband didn’t love her, he fooled her, and even her physical condition was inextricably linked to her husband. The letter was signed, “Fang Ying.”
No matter how many emails Qin Mu and Qin Zhiyuan sent or how many calls they made, they couldn’t reach Fang Ying. Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Mu took time off and rushed to the other city in a panic.
When they arrived, they could only attend a funeral.
For Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Mu, it was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue. The warmth and salvation in their eyes had now become a cold corpse. The cause of death was a drunk driver, a freak accident.
Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Mu initially believed it. They couldn’t accept that the perpetrator was only sentenced to two years. Qin Zhiyuan’s mental state was already unstable, and Qin Mu’s personality became even colder. They were determined to avenge Fang Ying properly.
The perpetrator was released from prison early for good behavior, but fell into the hands of Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Mu. Under the threat of death, she hurriedly revealed the truth: she had been instructed, she was just paid to do it.
The real culprit was Fang Ying’s husband, Li Sudong.
That year, Qin Mu was in her first year of high school. She began a seven-year plan targeting Li Sudong.
Because in that year, she discovered that Li Sudong’s adopted son had been admitted to the police academy.
Fang Ying had mentioned countless times in her emails that Li Sudong doted on this adopted son like his own. In the letter Fang Ying sent before her death, she wrote that she had discovered an embarrassing fact: Li Rui might be the child of someone Li Sudong truly loved.
Qin Mu and Qin Zhiyuan confirmed this fact. Qin Mu rejected her mother’s radical revenge methods.
Wasn’t Li Sudong most concerned about this child? Then she would make his most beloved child approach him, suspect him, and expose him. Just thinking about the ending of this father and son’s estrangement made Qin Mu smile in her sleep.
However, she didn’t intend to let Li Rui send Li Sudong to prison. She still wanted to end Li Sudong’s life with her own hands.
She was ready to leave for the other side of the ocean after everything was over, to live under a new identity.
If she hadn’t met Xi Yiyun, everything would have gone that way.
Li Chu held the script, looking at the flowers downstairs, thinking of Xi Yiyun, and also of Ning Manqing.
Come to think of it, Xi Yiyun’s pheromones were completely different from Teacher Ning’s. They smelled like sunshine, a scent that was perceived differently by everyone.
Li Chu thought that, for Qin Mu, Xi Yiyun’s pheromones must have been scorching hot, and freesias were not heat-tolerant.
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