In the dim space, the two embraced tightly, their long legs, shod in combat boots and high heels, intertwined, casting a distorted, overlapped shadow under the light.
Two distinct scents of pheromones pervaded the air, seamlessly blending and intertwining with one another.
It was the first time in the young Alpha’s life that she had been so intimate with someone.
Moist, warm sounds brushed past her ear, hot breaths spilled over her collarbone, and slender, lotus-root-like arms wrapped tightly around her neck…
She desperately wanted to slide her arms around Lu Qingli’s waist and pull her deeply into her embrace.
However, her rationality forced her to suppress her desires, raising her hands to separate the two of them.
Seeing the thoroughly dazed Omega leaning close to her once more, she lowered her voice and called out, “Sister, sober up.”
Lu Qingli’s body froze upon suddenly being called. A glimmer of clarity returned to her water-misted eyes. Gripping her own arms tightly, her breathing grew exceedingly heavy:
“I… why am I like this? I clearly took an inhibitor.”
Luo Xuan quickly extended her hands to steady her rapidly weakening body, speaking with certainty: “Sister, it’s not a problem with the inhibitor. I think there’s something strange about the scent in this room.”
As an S-rank Alpha, she was sensitive to both pheromones and ordinary scents.
The incense here carried an unusual tone.
She helped Lu Qingli sit to the side, then walked over alone beneath the rack holding the burning incense.
The metal cover was scorched hot by the flame and could not be touched directly by hand. Using a fork, she pried the cover open and extinguished the brightly burning incense in one move.
As the white smoke drifted away, the rich fragrance of bluebells mixed with an almost imperceptible scent diffused through the room.
A trace of the gas carrying a subtle toxin seeped into the Omega’s nose, causing her body to tremble slightly. She bit her lower lip hard, a fine sheen of scented sweat beading beneath her bangs.
On the other side, Luo Xuan looked at the bluebell incense candle, which seemed no different from ordinary incense, a flash of surprise in her eyes.
She then used her fingertip to feel the rapidly cooling interior of the cover before bringing it to her nose to smell it, her brow furrowing slightly.
It appeared the substance beneath the cover was indeed unusual.
Reaching a calm conclusion, Luo Xuan pulled out a piece of tissue with a trace of disgust, the powder clinging to her fingertip felt strangely sticky and revolting.
Just as she was carefully wiping her fingertip, a pair of snow-white arms wrapped around her waist, startling her completely out of nowhere.
“Sister, hugging me from behind like this is very dangerous.”
She turned around in exasperation and helplessness, only to see the utterly defenseless Omega, the depths of her eyes already flooded with a flushed hue.
The rose-scented pheromones hovered around her nose as scorching heat continuously brushed over her skin.
Seeing how severely affected she was, Luo Xuan couldn’t help but feel tense.
She had secretly guessed that this drug might only affect Omegas, which was why she, as an Alpha, was fine.
Right now, the most urgent task was to get Lu Qingli out of here and leave this place.
“Sister, can you still walk?”
She reached out to caress Lu Qingli’s cheek, feeling the scorching heat of her earlobe through her hair.
“No… I…”
Lu Qingli pulled her close, the light in her eyes shattering into a rosy twilight, with tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes.
Someone who usually appeared distant, noble, and unreachable on the surface became all the more heart-stirring when taking the initiative.
A moment of hesitation flickered in the cold, dark eyes beneath Luo Xuan’s long black hair.
“Sister?”
Only the Omega’s mind was suffering from the drug’s effects.
Lu Qingli slowly raised her hand to grasp her top, leaning upward to get closer, her amber pupils trembling continuously before she finally closed her eyes.
Just as their lips were about to touch, Luo Xuan’s movement came to a abrupt stop.
“We can’t.”
She pushed Lu Qingli’s shoulders away, her exquisite face turning suddenly cold.
Ignoring the bewildered Omega, she walked over to the window with an indifferent expression. Reaching behind the curtain, she plucked off a tiny black object that was reflecting a dim glint of light.
Seeing the thumbnail-sized object in her palm, a cold sneer curled up at the corner of Luo Xuan’s lips.
They dared to play such a cheap trick on her?
A flash of mockery crossed her eyes. She casually tossed the object onto the floor and crushed it under her boot.
When Luo Xuan crushed the device, Lu Qingli had already realized that none of this was an accident.
Someone had deliberately added an Omega aphrodisiac to the incense and set up a camera, attempting to capture scandalous evidence of them.
Only after seeing the camera crushed to powder did Luo Xuan relax slightly. She turned back to look at Lu Qingli behind her.
“Sister, can you hold out?” Her sweet voice was filled with concern as her fine eyebrows knitted together tightly. “I’m sorry for pushing you just now,” she added apologetically.
“…It’s fine,” Lu Qingli replied with her eyes lowered, struggling to answer.
“I’m not sure if there are other cameras around. Let’s leave this place first.”
Luo Xuan helped Lu Qingli up while helping her tidy her clothes.
She had relied on her sharp intuition to sense the lens over there, but if there were other, more hidden cameras, she might not necessarily detect them.
She then pulled a scent-blocking patch out of her bag to apply it for Lu Qingli.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Lu Qingli felt a bit embarrassed, she had already relied on Luo Xuan’s care so much today.
“No.”
Luo Xuan cast aside her usual gentle demeanor, applying the scent-blocking patch for her with a firm and unyielding attitude.
This was her second refusal tonight.
Lu Qingli gradually came to realize that the young Alpha before her occasionally revealed a level of maturity and steadiness that belied her age.
After tidying up swiftly, Luo Xuan put her mask and hat back on, extending a hand to her: “Let’s go.”
*
In the underground parking garage.
Luo Xuan helped Lu Qingli into the car, fastened her seatbelt, and prepared to drive her away.
After placing the other woman in the passenger seat, the young Alpha looked down at Lu Qingli. She reached out to gently stroke her crimson-flushed cheek, her lips curving into a faint smile.
This teasing gesture caused Lu Qingli to glare at her with dissatisfaction, though her fragile, panting appearance carried no real intimidation whatsoever.
“I’ll take you home first.” Luo Xuan turned, intending to close the car door.
However, her jacket was pulled sharply. Following the hand, Lu Qingli was gazing at her with alluring eyes as she said: “First… a temporary mark.”
Luo Xuan froze for a moment, then remembered how Lu Qingli had clearly grown even more uncomfortable after opening the incense cover.
It would take nearly half an hour to drive back home, and there might be traffic along the way…
After a moment’s hesitation, Luo Xuan bent down, lifted Lu Qingli in her arms, and placed her on the back seat before sliding into the car herself.
Fortunately, the back seat of this car was fairly spacious, so lying down side by side wasn’t overly cramped.
In the confined space, the two clung tightly to each other. Since the car interior wasn’t long enough for both of their pairs of long legs, they kept their knees slightly bent.
Lu Qingli curled up in Luo Xuan’s embrace like that. The rose pheromones on her body were gradually wrapped in the scent of sea salt, the underlying desire growing increasingly potent.
“Sister, I’m going to mark you now.”
Dummy, you don’t need to say it out loud.
Lu Qingli merely complained in her heart, hiding her face that was so red it practically dripped water, whispering in a muffled voice: “Okay.”
Luo Xuan gently kissed her moon-white nape, sensing the warmth of the person in her arms through her soft lips.
“Mm…”
The Omega’s soft moan carried a slight tearful tone. The heat induced by the aphrodisiac brought her close to losing consciousness.
Luo Xuan finally bit into the hottest source with her canines, liberating her from her body’s primal constraints.
The scent of roses inside the car gradually faded.
Lu Qingli felt herself drifting into a vast expanse of white. Her body grew as light as a feather, and unable to hear Luo Xuan’s soft calls, she promptly lost consciousness.
*
The next day, when Lu Qingli woke up, she was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling.
Lifting the blanket, she found her clothes were still on, though she was wearing a pair of blue silk polka-dot pajamas that were a bit too large for her.
Her makeup had been meticulously removed, and even her undergarments had been changed for her…
Recalling the series of events from last night, a delayed wave of embarrassment crept up her spine like climbing vines, the tips of her fair ears gradually staining crimson.
She had let that young Alpha mark her again and had even fainted into unconsciousness.
Don’t cross the line anymore.
Lu Qingli warned herself silently in her heart.
A gentle knock sounded on the door, followed by a soft, sweet voice from outside.
“Sister, are you awake?”
Last night, after seeing her faint in the back seat, Luo Xuan had brought her home to care for her.
When her manager, Gu Shuyun, saw Luo Xuan carrying Lu Qingli back, she was completely stunned. Thinking they had gone out drinking, shenagged a bit.
After explaining what had happened at the restaurant, Gu Shuyun pondered seriously for a few seconds before telling Luo Xuan that she would have someone look into the matter.
Afterward, Gu Shuyun asked if she needed help taking care of her, but Luo Xuan politely declined with a smile and told her to head off work first.
At the dining table, the two ate breakfast together.
“So… who helped me change my clothes…” Lu Qingli held her water cup, pretending to ask casually, the base of her ear under her loose golden hair blushing slightly pink.
The young Alpha looked at her silently, her bright smile radiant than the morning light outside the window.
Her cloud-black, wavy hair tumbled over her shoulders. Without makeup, her face lacked a bit of maturity and looked a bit more youthful, yet it remained breathtakingly beautiful.
She didn’t say a word, but she had already answered this obvious question.
A trace of shyness flickered in Lu Qingli’s eyes. Didn’t that mean she had been completely seen by her?
Luo Xuan lowered her eyes casually: “Does sister mind that?”
She reached out with her chopsticks, picked up a dumpling for herself, and dipped it in some rose sauce.
“Not really… It’s just that I caused you a lot of trouble.”
“It was no trouble at all. Sister is as light as a feather…”
Luo Xuan took a bite of the dumpling and held her cheek with a delighted expression, practically radiating pink flowers.
“Sister, try this quickly! This sauce is amazing.”
“Okay.”
Seeing how utterly unbothered she was, Lu Qingli suddenly wondered if she was being overly sensitive.
Just as she was savoring the food, Luo Xuan’s next sentence nearly made her choke.
“Though… sister seems a bit too thin. Could you be on a diet?”
“Cough, cough…” Lu Qingli choked.
“Sister, are you okay? Quick, drink some water.” Luo Xuan hurriedly handed her the water cup.
Lu Qingli took the cup, took a sip, and finally caught her breath before glaring slightly: “It’s all because you were talking nonsense.”
“My bad~” Luo Xuan said with a gentle tone, lightly patting her back.
As her long fingers brushed gently over the Omega’s thin spine through her clothes, her movements seemed to slow down.
From an angle Lu Qingli couldn’t see, Luo Xuan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and an icy coldness flickered for an instant in her dark eyes beneath the shadow of her hair.
“Sister, I have to go to the company to record songs today. I’ll have Shuyun drive you back in a bit,” Luo Xuan said gently after sitting back down.
“That’s alright, I can head back on my own,” Lu Qingli declined with a hint of polite distance.
“It’s no problem at all, Shuyun will be very happy to do it,” Luo Xuan insisted firmly. “Besides, sister’s car is still parked at the restaurant’s parking lot and hasn’t been driven back yet, right?”
“Then… thank you two for the trouble.”
Afterward, the two parted ways. Gu Shuyun drove Lu Qingli home, while another driver drove Luo Xuan to the company.
Inside the black vehicle, Luo Xuan casually gazed at the scenery outside the window, a gentle breeze coming through the window fluttering the black strands of hair by her pale cheek.
Recalling Lu Qingli’s near loss of control state from yesterday, her fingers tightened slightly. A gaze as cold as a glacier leaked from beneath her half-lidded eyes.
This must be investigated.