“No, who’s pitiful?”
“Who’s bullying whom?”
“Who’s miserable?”
Pu Zhi snatched the phone back, her perpetually deadpan face carrying a trace of annoyance.
The woman chuckled, straightening up, and watched her expression with keen interest.
Pu Zhi pursed her lips, a hint of resentment underlying her tone, “Which of your eyes saw me.”
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly felt a warm liquid surge from her nasal cavity, sliding past her philtrum to her chin, blooming into bright crimson flowers on her white T-shirt.
“Head down.”
That beautiful hand entered her vision once again, fingers gripping a piece of pure white tissue.
Meeting her gaze, Pu Zhi’s cheeks burned inexplicably. She hurriedly took the tissue, mumbled a hasty thank-you, and frantically stuffed the tissue up her nose with her head bowed.
After giving her a steady look, the woman turned around in her high heels and left.
Pu Zhi’s gaze instinctively chased after her.
As the woman walked, her straight trouser legs fluttered slightly, and a flash of red at the soles of her shoes caught her eye, spreading like wildfire.
Just as she pulled the tissue away, her nosebleed surged forth once more. Pu Zhi instinctively wiped at it.
A handful of bright red.
It gradually overlapped with that flash of red in her mind.
After a long while, the bleeding finally stopped. Pu Zhi’s heated brain finally cooled down, and she belatedly realized something.
Did she hear everything that happened just now?
Then why did she still come up?
She is an Omega, after all.
Such a strong Alpha pheromone, even while wearing a suppression ring, wouldn’t be comfortable for any Omega.
If her pheromones were to go out of control, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Yet judging by her reaction just now, she didn’t seem affected in the least, acting even calmer than Pu Zhi, a mere Beta.
Even the highest-grade Omega wouldn’t be able to pull that off, right?
How strange.
While she was wondering, her phone suddenly chimed, the screen lighting up. A flicker of pleasant surprise crossed Pu Zhi’s eyes.
She hadn’t expected it to still work after shattering like that.
Yet the joy lasted barely a second before the phone screen went black, unresponsive to any attempts at rebooting.
Vaguely, she saw that the person who sent the message was Xie Yao, but unfortunately, she hadn’t managed to catch the content clearly.
Pu Zhi carefully tucked the phone into her pocket, thinking to herself that it should still be usable once she got it repaired.
The pheromones in the hallway had mostly dissipated. Pu Zhi stretched her limbs and stood up, walking toward the restroom at the end of the corridor.
The bloodstains on her hands had already coagulated, some seeping into her fingernails. It took quite a bit of effort to wash them clean.
The sound of rushing water poured on endlessly as Pu Zhi mechanically repeated the scrubbing motion.
The bright mirror reflected a face lost in reverie: thick eyebrows, a prominent nose, deep-set eye sockets, single eyelids, lower sclera visible, and an expression that screamed “strangers keep away” written all over her body.
Yet a single touch of peach red on her lips softened that aloofness just a bit.
Extreme pallor giving way to striking allure.
With blood smeared all over her face in a brilliant wash of red, she didn’t look wretched at all; instead, she carried a fragile kind of aesthetic.
Pu Zhi narrowed her eyes, and as if discovering a new continent, she lifted her chin and raised her eyebrows at herself in the mirror.
Not gonna lie, she actually looked pretty good.
After inspecting herself left and right, Pu Zhi skillfully pulled out her phone, striking a cool pose for a mirror selfie.
A moment later, she realized her phone had already gone on strike, forcing her to put it away crestfallen.
She looked and looked again in the mirror, unable to keep a trace of regret from flashing across the depths of her eyes.
It was right at that moment that the familiar footsteps sounded once more.
Tap, tap, tap.
High heels struck the floor, bringing up an involuntary mental image of the woman’s swaying posture and the bright splash of red on the soles of her shoes.
Could it really be such a coincidence?
Pu Zhi pressed her lips into a tight line, her gaze instinctively darting toward the doorway.
The second she turned her head, she locked eyes with the woman’s peach-blossom eyes brimming with smiles.
Caught completely off guard, her heart skipped a beat.
Pu Zhi parted her lips as if to say something, but her breath felt choked off, her throat tightening without a sound escaping for the longest time.
Realizing it was her, the woman raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
Their gazes intersected briefly in the air for a few seconds.
Pu Zhi hastily pulled back her gaze, lowering her head to stare blankly at her own hands.
The footsteps marched straight toward the sink, stopping beside her a few moments later.
Pu Zhi’s entire left side instantly tensed up, momentarily forgetting to move as the water flowed unheeded between her fingers.
The fragrance radiating from the woman stealthily invaded her nasal cavity, diluting the lingering scent of blood.
A moment later, a rustling sound came from beside her. Pu Zhi’s peripheral vision uncontrollably drifted toward the side.
Only then did she notice that the top two buttons of the woman’s shirt had been unfastened, the collar hanging open casually, revealing a fair, slender neck like a swan’s neck arched gracefully.
A few strands of chestnut-brown long curls drifted past her shoulder line, resting quietly against her chest.
Unaware, or acting as if she were, the woman uncaped her lipstick, her lips parting slightly. The moist cosmetic glided smoothly across her full, fleshy lips, first the lower lip, then the upper lip.
The messy red color spread across them, growing deeper and deeper.
Her pitiful cupid’s bow was exposed to the air, repeatedly ravished until it looked like a fully ripened cherry.
Pu Zhi’s nostrils flared, and in her daze, she truly felt she could smell that clear, sweet fragrance.
Unawares, her cautious peeking turned into blatant surveillance.
As she watched, Pu Zhi suddenly felt that the woman beside her looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
While she was pondering, she completely missed the fact that the woman’s movements paused for a fraction of a second, the corners of her mouth curving upward into an extremely faint arc.
Until those light golden pupils rolled and shifted toward her direction.
Pu Zhi was startled, pulling her gaze away as swiftly as a frightened rabbit.
The person in the mirror was still a bloody mess, looking utterly foolish.
Pu Zhi hurriedly scooped up a handful of water and buried her face in it.
The bloodstains were rinsed away by the running water, leaving her eyes wet and watery, making it hard to keep them open.
The tissues she carried with her had run out. Out of habit, Pu Zhi yanked up the hem of her shirt and quickly wiped her face.
A short, gorgeous slice of waistline flashed by in an instant.
Her lower abdomen was flat, lean muscle wrapped tightly under firm skin, with a clear, straight mermaid line running straight down into the waistband of her trousers.
The most eye-catching feature of all was a small red mole on the lower right side.
It rested quietly against the porcelain-white skin like a drop of blood splattered across snow.
Pu Zhi opened her eyes, locking gazes directly with the reflection in the mirror.
The woman wore a calm expression with an open, unperturbed gaze, entirely devoid of the guilt of being caught snooping.
For a moment, Pu Zhi felt her lower abdomen contract, sending a tingling numbness through her.
The woman smiled faintly at her, her freshly painted lips full and glossy. Opening and closing, her low, husky voice flowed slowly out: “What are you planning to do about the allowance matter? Relying solely on that recording?”
As expected, she had heard everything!
Pu Zhi’s expression instantly turned guarded, “What does that have to do with you?”
Carrying an obvious probe.
Also, who even are you?
She didn’t voice those words aloud, simply staring fixedly at the woman’s face.
She didn’t look like a bad person.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when her mouth automatically spilled out her entire plan: “Of course not! I originally only wanted to use the recording to make them agree to a re-evaluation, preferably forcing them to hand over the embezzled quota, but now that doesn’t seem viable. So, I plan to hand the evidence directly over to.”
The woman listened quietly, occasionally letting out a soft hmm, her gaze casually falling on the hands Pu Zhi had braced against the countertop.
Her five fingers were slender and well-proportioned with distinct knuckles, pale blue veins clearly visible beneath the translucent skin.
Her nails were neatly rounded, glowing with a healthy pink.
Prominent tendons stretched all the way from her wrists to the base of her fingers like tight guitar strings, brimming with a powerful sense of strength.
Pu Zhi felt her skin crawl under that intense stare, forcing her to swallow dryly as she asked in puzzlement, “What is it?”
The woman looked away, “What’s your major?”
“Huh?” Pu Zhi blinked in bewilderment. Although she had no idea how the topic had veered in this direction, she answered honestly, “Swimming.”
Hearing this, the woman arched an eyebrow slightly, drawing out her tone just a fraction, “No wonder.”
“No wonder what?”
The woman curved her lips without answering, only saying, “Go on.”
“Oh, right.”
With the conversation pulled back on track, the woman stopped interrupting. She waited until Pu Zhi finished before saying, “There’s an even simpler and more effective way. Want to hear it?”
Pu Zhi licked her slightly dry lips and asked bluntly, “What is it?”
The woman opened her exquisite handbag, retrieved a business card, held it between her fingertips, and pushed it slightly toward her.
“Find this person directly to help you.”
Pu Zhi reached out to take it. After seeing the name printed on it, she froze, her brow furrowing slightly as she stammered, “Are you sure? She, she doesn’t even know me, why would she help me?”
Is this business card even legit?
The woman smiled meaningfully, “Hand out.”
“What for?”
While she asked in confusion, her hand moved out on pure reflex.
Pu Zhi looked at herself somewhat ruefully, could she at least wait for her to finish speaking?
Amidst her self-reproach, the woman had already closed in. At arm’s length, her fingertips grasped Pu Zhi’s wrist.
“What are you doing?!”
Pu Zhi gave a start. From childhood on, aside from her grandmother who depended on her, she had never had such intimate physical contact with anyone else.
Her hand shrank back like it had touched an electric current. The moment she made a move, she was pinned in place by the woman’s effortless glance.
Pu Zhi sheepishly rubbed her nose.
She behaved herself.
Only then did she notice that the woman was holding a slender pen in her other hand. The cap was unscrewed, the bare nib pointing straight down.
Soft bristles lightly brushed against her equally soft palm, cool, wet, and slick, followed a moment later by a surge of restlessness.
A sensation of tingling itchiness made Pu Zhi’s fingertips curl inward, and half of her arm began to go numb.
Compared to her discomfort, the woman appeared far more composed and at ease.
Her spine remained straight throughout, wielding a few simple numbers with the imposing momentum of a sweeping brush, writing them out fluidly as if signing an important state document.
Looking down, she would occasionally lift her eyes to glance at her, her gaze containing ripples of playful amusement.
“That was then, not now, isn’t that right, cute little Beta?”
The woman winked at her, her fingertip tapping lightly against her palm.
Her slightly firm nail inadvertently brushed past the soft flesh, making the tactile sensation even sharper.
What was that supposed to mean?
Pu Zhi stared at the string of pale brown numbers that took up nearly half her palm, completely baffled.
It took her half a beat to realize the woman was answering her previous question.
Pu Zhi’s pupils shrank slightly as she looked back down at the name on the business card.
Ji Mingyu.