Chapter 152: Ch 152: Heavy and Note

While the two of them were still nestled together under their shared makeshift bedding—the living room carrying a quiet, lived-in warmth—Mo Yan slept deeply in her stroller a short distance away. And the sofa, Shen Guoxing lay with one arm flung across her face, breathing slow and even.

Then, Mo Xingxue shifted slightly against Su Wanyan’s side, the movement small enough that it didn’t disturb the quiet and peaceful atmosphere surrounding them. After a moment she murmured, almost to herself, "Should I go do my task too?"

The question had barely left her mouth before Su Wanyan reacted. She pulled back just far enough to look at her properly, then gave a firm shake of her head.

"No."

The single word was soft, yet the refusal underneath it left almost no room for argument. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Mo Xingxue let out a quiet chuckle at the absolute certainty in that tone. "Why? You’re already finished with yours. Doesn’t that mean I should catch up and finish mine?"

Su Wanyan shook her head again, more slowly this time. "No. Rest more~" She settled her cheek back against Mo Xingxue’s shoulder as if the matter were already decided. When Mo Xingxue’s body language suggested she might actually try to sit up—Su Wanyan committed fully. She shifted her upper body across the omega’s and pinned her carefully to the blankets: not enough weight to hurt, but enough to turn leaving into a project that required negotiation.

Mo Xingxue laughed under her breath, the sound caught somewhere between fondness and disbelief. She wondered, not for the first time that morning, when the other woman had decided to become this stubborn. "Look—if I finish early, we’ll have more free time afterward." She braced a hand against Su Wanyan’s shoulder, then she gave a gentle push, the smile on her lips soft and a little teasing. "And get off. You’re heavy."

Su Wanyan answered with a theatrical whine for maximum appeal, the particular sound she reserved for arguments she was losing and still intended to win. "Don’t wanna." She tipped her face up as she said it, mischief and plea braided together, watching Mo Xingxue’s expression for any crack that cuteness might widen.

Mo Xingxue shook her head and pushed lightly at the alpha’s face, as if saying, I heard you and I am unmoved. "Get off. You’re heavy." The words were the same, but the tone made it clear she wasn’t serious.

Su Wanyan held the pout for a beat longer, then released a long, exaggerated sigh. "Fine, fine." She rolled to the side, finally freeing Mo Xingxue, and immediately buried her face in the bag she had been using as a pillow. The picture of dramatic sulking was complete; she refused to look up.

Mo Xingxue sat up slowly, stretching the stiffness from her shoulders before covering a yawn with the back of her hand. She glanced down at the alpha still face-down in the bag and raised an eyebrow. "What is with you now?"

A muffled "hmph" was the only reply at first. After a few seconds Su Wanyan turned her head just enough to speak, voice carefully laced with manufactured sadness, trying to appeal to pity. "You don’t want to rest because I’m here." Having delivered the line, she buried her face again—only to lift it a moment later so she could check whether the strategy was working.

Mo Xingxue watched the entire performance with an expression that sat somewhere between doting and dry amusement. "You’re not fooling anyone with your acting skills, Yanyan."

Su Wanyan went completely still. Her whole body tensed for a second before she slowly raised her head, staring in genuine disbelief. "How come? This trick always worked before."

Mo Xingxue only chuckled and shook her head. I was just playing along before, she thought, and kept the admission carefully behind her teeth. Saying it aloud would upgrade a performed sulk into a real one, and the morning was too early for that particular Su Wanyan.

Instead of explaining, she rose to her feet, brushing imaginary wrinkles from her clothes. "I’ll just wash my face, then we’ll go finish my task." A small, mischievous smile curved her mouth as she added, "Though you’ll just be watching."

She started toward the bathroom without waiting for an answer, but Su Wanyan’s voice caught her at the doorway.

"Who’ll look after the kids if we leave?"

Su Wanyan had sat up and was looking between the stroller where Mo Yan still slept and the sofa where Shen Guoxing remained peacefully unconscious.

Mo Xingxue paused, one hand already on the bathroom doorframe. She glanced back over her shoulder with an easy smile. "Call PD Xu Cui."

Then she disappeared into the bathroom to start the day, the sound of water soon following.

Out of habit, Su Wanyan nodded at the empty doorway, already reaching for her phone. Her thumb hovered over the call button for a second—then stopped. An awkward little smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as a far more basic problem surfaced.

She scratched the back of her head, frowning at the quiet room.

...Hold on.

Where did PD Xu Cui and the staff even rest last night? No. Did they even have a place to rest?

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In a well-maintained guest room, PD Xu Cui was still deeply asleep.

He lay on his stomach, left arm stretched above his head, right arm tucked neatly along his side, face pressed firmly into the pillow as if the fabric itself were responsible for keeping the world away. Under that same pillow, his phone vibrated once—a short, insistent buzz that tugged at the edge of his consciousness.

A frown crossed his sleeping face. He shifted, rolling onto his side in a slow attempt to put distance between himself and whatever insisted on existing at this hour. When the vibration stopped, the frown eased, then sleep took him back.

A short while later the phone buzzed again.

Longer and more insistent. Even with the extra space he had put between his head and the pillow, the vibration still reached him.

PD Xu Cui’s eyes snapped open. The frown returned at once, sharper now that wakefulness had nowhere to hide.

"Who is it this time?" The words came out thick with sleep and already loaded with grievance. "I swear, if it’s Gu Chengze’s team again....!"

Last night rose in an unwelcome flash: call after call, demands for compensation, polished accusations that the production had damaged their CEO’s image, the particular tone of people who believed money and pressure could rewrite a whole broadcasted footage. Irritation settled into his shoulders as he yawned, slid a hand under the pillow, and answered without checking the screen.

"What?" PD Xu Cui asked sharply, every ounce of the morning’s annoyance fit into the single syllable.

A short pause answered him from the other end.

"Eh? Did I call at the wrong time?"

Su Wanyan’s voice came through small and careful—the verbal equivalent of a dog that had been scolded for something it had not done and was already trying to make itself smaller on the line.

Recognition landed. PD Xu Cui sat straight up so fast the sheets protested.

"Oh! I didn’t know it was you, Su Wanyan." An awkward laugh escaped him as he scrambled to strip the edge from his tone. "Sorry—force of habit."

A quiet sigh of relief traveled through the speaker. "Oh, good. I thought I was in trouble." She gave a soft chuckle of her own, the sound loosening now that the danger of an angry superior seemed to have passed.

He chuckled with her, the last of the sleepiness burning off under the simpler fact of who had called. A glance at his watch reminded him that filming would start soon.

"Anyway—did you need something?"

"Oh, right. I was going to ask if you could look after the kids for a little while." Another small, embarrassed laugh followed. "I know it’s a bit much to ask.... Especially since you’re my direct superior."

PD Xu Cui tilted his head. The change in him was immediate and visible even with no one in the room to see it. My angelic granddaughters? The lingering residue of annoyance cooled the instant the children entered the equation. He nodded hard, before remembering she could not see the gesture.

"Of course. I’ll be there. Send me the location." He was already reaching under the bed for his shoes, one-handed, phone still pressed to his ear.

"Oh—hold on. Thank you so much, PD!"

"Just send it. I’ll be there in a sec."

They exchanged quick goodbyes. The moment the call ended he was on his feet, crossing the guest room with the focused energy of a man who had been given a better reason to be awake than any alarm.

As he moved through the quiet house, his gaze snagged on the closed door of the owner’s room. Is he still asleep? The question passed through. It was still early. Perfectly reasonable if Jingxue had not woken up yet. PD Xu Cui left the closed door alone and continued toward the entrance.

He was almost past the dining table when a folded note stopped him.

His own name sat on the outside in neat, unhurried handwriting. Confusion flickered across his face as he picked it up.

For me?

He unfolded it and read:

A pleasant day to you, PD.

I am now headed to the fields. I am sorry if I cannot properly take care of you as a guest, as I am lacking in this area. But as a consideration, I left breakfast in the fridge for you. I hope you like it.

— Jingxue

PD Xu Cui let out a short laugh. Even the man’s written apology carried the same cool, slightly distant tone he used in person—polite, precise, and somehow still a step removed from ordinary warmth. A small smile tugged at the corner of PD Xu Cui’s mouth anyway. Then, he slipped the note into his pocket.

The refrigerator opened under his hand a second later. Inside, a neatly wrapped sandwich waited, the kind of careful assembly that looked nothing like production catering. He took it out, bit into it at once, and headed for the door, only remembering at the last moment to lock it behind him.

Outside, he checked the location Su Wanyan had sent and set off at a brisk pace, sandwich still in his mouth. The earlier stress—the night’s angry calls, the legal noise, the particular headache of a guest who treated every consequence like an attack—had already been pushed to the back of his mind. What remained was simpler: a sweet pair who needed help, two children who needed watching, and a morning that had, against modest expectations, decided to behave.

What a surprisingly decent morning, he decided, and kept walking.

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OML! I SERIOUSLY NEED TO FIX MY SCHEDULE TvT!