In the quiet study, the air was permeated with the fragrance of summer lotus, mingled with a hint of cold, crisp cedar. The two pheromone scents intertwined and clashed, heightening the atmosphere to the absolute peak of ambiguity.
In her hand, Bai Jinge tightly clutched a bottle of scent blocker. Her five knuckles turned faintly white from excessive force, the last traces of color draining from her skin.
“Miss Bai, you smell so sweet.” Ye Yunwan pulled her tightly into her arms, half-closing a pair of alluring phoenix eyes with the outer corners slightly upturned and slanted.
Quite naturally, in the presence of her own Omega, Ye Yunwan released her own pheromones. The cedar scent in the air gradually grew richer and more intense.
Mesmerized and immobilized by the other woman’s pheromones, Bai Jinge felt her limbs suddenly turn weak. As she nearly slipped to the floor, Ye Yunwan caught her firmly by the waist, spun around, and pinned her against the edge of the large desk.
“Miss Bai, may I mark you?” The woman’s hypnotic voice sounded beside her ear like an incantation.
“…” Bai Jinge’s mind buzzed blankly as a single tear of physiological reflex instantly welled up and spilled over.
During the years they had been apart, how could Bai Jinge not have missed the scent of Ye Yunwan’s pheromones? Yet, it was merely a physical, bodily longing rather than anything emotional. On this distinction, Bai Jinge remained entirely clear-headed. Consequently, the very next instant, Bai Jinge used all her strength to shove the woman away.
“No, you may not!” Red-eyed, Bai Jinge stared at Ye Yunwan, tears moistening the corners of her eyes. “Director Ye, our transaction ended long ago.”
With that, without bothering to check Ye Yunwan’s expression, Bai Jinge hurriedly aimed the blocker at the empty air and sprayed it frantically several times, before drenching her entire body from head to toe.
Clutching the bottle of blocker tightly, Bai Jinge fled the study without looking back. Descending the mountain, the silver Mercedes cruised at a steady speed along the winding mountain road, its headlights piercing through the mist-shrouded terrain.
Uncle Zhang, the driver, was a Beta and therefore unable to catch the scent of the blocker lingering on Bai Jinge.
Inside the car, it was only when Zhu Linshuang placed her second call that Bai Jinge finally answered. Because she usually kept her phone on silent while coaxing the child to sleep, she had missed the first attempt.
“Yes, that’s right, Ye Yunwan was the one who wanted to see me. Rest assured, I’m fine.” Holding the phone close to her ear, Bai Jinge patiently explained to Zhu Linshuang on the other end, her tone level and calm.
“There’s no need to worry, and you don’t need to come pick me up either. Uncle Zhang drove me here, and we’re already heading down the mountain.”
“It should take about another half-hour.”
Concluding the brief conversation, Bai Jinge hung up the phone. She felt profoundly grateful that she had not been seduced by Ye Yunwan’s pheromones, that she had resisted the temptation and preserved the very last shred of her rationality.
In the living room, Zhu Linshuang had not yet changed out of her outdoor clothes, sitting alone on the sofa as she waited for Bai Jinge’s return.
Her car keys were tossed carelessly onto the coffee table.
Just moments earlier, the exact second the car had pulled out of the garage, Zhu Linshuang had dialed Bai Jinge’s phone yet again. Fortunately, the call went through this time. Pouring out all her worries in one breath, Zhu Linshuang chattered away rapidly on the phone. Yet on the other end, Bai Jinge had appeared remarkably composed, openly admitting that Ye Yunwan had summoned her out in the middle of the night.
Listening to Bai Jinge’s unwavering composure, Zhu Linshuang’s nervous and anxious emotions finally settled, prompting her to obediently turn the steering wheel and head back home.
Upon returning, Zhu Linshuang had gone to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of cold water, deliberately adding several ice cubes. Gulping down the iced water, she finally felt slightly less furious.
Roughly half an hour later, a soft beep sounded from the front door as the fingerprint lock was unlocked, and the door swung open in response.
Standing there was Bai Jinge in a long white dress, the outer corners of her eyes still tinged with red. The scent of peppermint blocker radiating from her body was immediately detected by Zhu Linshuang.
“Why did you spray yourself with so much blocker? Jinge, you… did your heat cycle arrive early?” Zhu Linshuang looked Bai Jinge up and down. Seeing the remarkably calm expression on the woman standing before her, she didn’t look like someone currently experiencing a heat cycle.
Therefore, only one other possibility remained.
“Could it be… that you were temporarily marked by that person surnamed Ye again?” Zhu Linshuang widened her eyes, staring at Bai Jinge with an expression of disbelief mixed with heartache.
“I knew it! Nothing good ever comes from that woman surnamed Ye summoning you in the middle of the night. As a top-tier Alpha, casually releasing her pheromones to forcibly lure a nearby Omega in order to carry out a temporary marking—it’s utterly despicable!”
“Linshuang, it’s not what you think.” Slipping off her high heels and stepping into soft slippers, Bai Jinge calmly interrupted Zhu Linshuang.
Zhu Linshuang froze, her lips parting slightly. “If it’s not what I think, then what is it?”
“It was me.” Dragging her exhausted body toward the sofa, Bai Jinge slumped sideways against the cushions, speaking with a listless lack of energy.
“I was the one who failed to control myself and released my pheromones in front of Ye Yunwan. Affected by my scent, she indeed wanted to mark me, but I refused her. That’s how the whole thing happened. Rest assured, I didn’t get the short end of the stick.”
Zhu Linshuang cast a suspicious look up and down at Bai Jinge lounging on the sofa. Knowing Bai Jinge as well as she did, her friend would never lie about a matter of this nature.
Bai Jinge had deliberately understated the event because she knew how fiercely partial Zhu Linshuang was toward her, which was the very reason behind her deep animosity toward Ye Yunwan. Bai Jinge herself, however, harbored no great resentment, remaining far more rational about the whole affair.
In the dim and desolate study, the woman sat quietly in the executive leather chair. Her raven-soft hair half-masked the side of her face, the delicate strands gliding past the bridge of her high nose.
Turning her head to gaze at the moonlight outside the window, the woman remained motionless, resembling a pristine white porcelain sculpture.
Her clothing still retained the scent of Bai Jinge’s pheromones—a faint, lingering fragrance of summer lotus that made Ye Yunwan feel profoundly reluctant to let go. Bai Jinge was as cold, pure, and sacred as the moonlight itself, making someone wish to crush her ruthlessly, only to possess her completely, over and over again.
In the quiet air, the woman willfully released her own pheromones, letting the scent of cedar wash over and dilute the fragrance of the peppermint blocker.
Ye Yunwan disliked the smell of that peppermint blocker because it was precisely what had brought everything back to an abrupt, calm halt.
Even after all these years, upon finding herself alone with Bai Jinge once more and catching the scent of her pheromones again, Ye Yunwan still lost control.
In truth, the rumors regarding Ye Yunwan’s alleged addiction to bizarre fetishes had been fabricated by circles within the same social elite purely to maliciously smear her name.
In earlier years, individuals wishing to curry favor with the Ye Corporation would covertly send young, attractive Omegas to Ye Yunwan. Yet whether male or female, every single Omega was invariably returned untouched, completely pristine. Finding themselves unable to gain any leverage or benefits, those sycophants began spinning narratives, deliberately manufacturing public opinion to claim that Ye Yunwan not only possessed bizarre fetishes but also suffered from severe tendencies toward violence.
The actual truth was that Ye Yunwan simply felt no affinity for their pheromone scents—whether they carried the sweet aroma of peaches or the seductive, alluring scent of roses, she appreciated none of them. Later on, her personal physician informed her that she exhibited classic symptoms of asexuality, which explained why she remained utterly indifferent to Omega pheromones and devoid of the seven primary passions and six desires native to a normal Alpha. In layman’s terms, she possessed no craving to mark anyone else, let alone the capacity to fall in love.
If she truly was an asexual individual, why, then, did the mere presence of Bai Jinge awaken such fierce desires within her?
Bathed in the moonlight, the woman used her right index finger to lightly stroke her pale, thin lips. The fingertip still retained the residual scent of Bai Jinge’s pheromones, the ethereal fragrance of summer lotus lingering around her nose and sinking deep into her lungs.
Slowly, her slender, strong fingertip parted her lips and slipped inside her mouth.
Visualizing it as Bai Jinge’s finger, her smooth, soft tongue wrapped around the tip, gently licking it while tracing slow, lazy circles.
The woman leaned back into the executive chair with an expression of intense gratification, her stunning phoenix eyes half-closed. Her amber pupils were veiled beneath a misty, vaporous layer of moisture, the outer corners of her eyes slightly upturned and slanted.
The small dark mole beneath her left lower eyelid caught and refracted the pristine moonlight, while a flush of intoxicating crimson gradually blossomed across both her cheeks.