One day earlier.
Qiao Jiao walked up to the doctor’s office door, ignored the noisy crowd around her, and knocked once.
Jiang Na looked up from behind her computer. “The busy bee has arrived? Come here, let me take a look at you.”
Qiao Jiao closed the door behind her and casually locked it.
“Starting last month, I’ve been feeling severe discomfort every day, and I haven’t been sleeping well at night.”
What Qiao Jiao didn’t say was that her body had also become much more sensitive.
Jiang Na put on her gloves and checked the condition of her pheromone gland. With just a slight touch, Qiao Jiao’s waist went weak, and her fair face flushed with a mist-like pink tint.
She frowned slightly and reached out to grab Jiang Na’s wrist.
Her gland condition had been poor all these years.
As an S+-grade Omega, Qiao Jiao’s demand for pheromones was naturally very high, but she was unwilling to find an Alpha for temporary marking.
Over time, her internal pheromone secretion began to disorder, her gland sac was at risk of rupture, and her heat cycles became increasingly frequent.
Because of this, she frequently came to the hospital for treatment.
Jiang Na and Qiao Jiao were friends and had known each other for many years.
After finishing the examination, Jiang Na’s brows furrowed tightly: “Your gland recovery was okay last month, why has it deteriorated again this month?”
The more she examined, the tighter her frown became: “Your condition is not looking good.”
“Did you secretly work overtime and push yourself again?”
Jiang Na was a top national authority on gland specialists and had been helping Qiao Jiao regulate her body for years.
Even with her expertise, she still hadn’t been able to stabilize Qiao Jiao’s persistently abnormal gland condition.
She couldn’t help feeling a bit frustrated.
“It’s fine,” Qiao Jiao asked softly, “Where is this month’s soothing agent?”
Her gland condition was too poor, to maintain high-intensity work, she basically had to rely on soothing agents to push through.
The so-called soothing agents were processed and formulated using Alpha pheromones that best matched the Omega, having a calming effect on the Omega’s glands.
Naturally, these Alpha pheromones all came from volunteer donations.
Jiang Na coughed a few times: “Forgot to tell you, that Alpha with a 98% pheromone match to you told the hospital last month that she doesn’t plan to donate pheromones anymore.”
“She didn’t come this month, and there are only three bottles of soothing agent left. Given your gland condition, they can hold out for a month at most.”
“She can’t donate anymore?”
“Her glands grow on her own body, so of course she can stop whenever she wants. We don’t have the right to force her.” Jiang Na said mysteriously: “She’s still in school, and I heard it’s because her girlfriend wants to mark her, so she stopped coming.”
Qiao Jiao understood.
Pheromone donation was inherently a difficult thing to ask of someone.
First of all, needles had to be used on the back of the neck to extract pheromones from the gland, which was not a pleasant experience, on the contrary, it was very painful. Moreover, for some unknown reason on the internet lately, a bunch of rumors had popped up claiming that donating pheromones might affect an Alpha’s sexual performance in bed.
Consequently, fewer and fewer Alphas were willing to donate their pheromones.
That Alpha’s pheromones had matched Qiao Jiao’s a long time ago.
The donor’s information was kept confidential, Qiao Jiao only knew that the person had been donating for five years and that the pheromones were stored in the hospital’s gland department.
After special processing, they had become Qiao Jiao’s exclusive soothing agents over the years.
“I told you long ago, soothing agents and the like can only maintain things temporarily, they treat the symptoms, not the root cause,” Jiang Na said. “To be honest, if it weren’t for our years of friendship, I really wouldn’t want to deal with you anymore.”
“…”
“There’s another option,” Jiang Na said. “You could privately contact that Alpha for a mark.”
Her response was a cold, freezing statement: “Unnecessary.”
“Isn’t the research institution overseas currently studying artificially synthesized pheromones? I heard results are coming out soon.”
“If you want to wait for that… of course you can, but artificially synthesized pheromones certainly don’t have the same effect as a real person’s mark.”
Thinking of Qiao Jiao’s gland condition, Jiang Na shook her head repeatedly while flipping through the medical records: “Are you still averse to Alphas?”
As her words fell, the ward suddenly grew quiet.
“To be honest, with your current gland condition, just getting by on soothing agents isn’t a long-term solution. As for taking my medicines, the damage to your body is too severe. Getting auxiliary treatment from a professional Alpha marking specialist is the most effective medical method.”
Jiang Na had advised her many times before, but helplessly, Qiao Jiao turned a deaf ear to all of it.
Jiang Na knew that Qiao Jiao loathed Alphas to the extreme, if she had gotten a temporary Alpha mark much earlier, her glands wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent.
What did Qiao Jiao need an Alpha for?
What she needed was a emotionless robot that would mark her the moment a switch was pressed, or a mutant who was biologically an Omega but could secrete Alpha pheromones.
Qiao Jiao lowered her head to look at her phone, replying to work messages.
The light and shadow fell across her face, making her skin look as white as snow. She had a rather detached appearance, but her pitch-black eyes curved at a skewed arc, just right to soften her sharp aura.
Qiao Jiao tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“If nothing’s the matter, I’ll be leaving first.” Qiao Jiao stood up.
“Don’t act like you didn’t hear me,” Jiang Na asked. “You’ve worked for so many years, haven’t you met a single pleasing Alpha?”
Qiao Jiao: “Are you being a bit too nosy?”
She turned back to look at her.
Meeting the woman’s cold, ripple-less eyes, Jiang Na shuddered and dared not say any more.
Qiao Yi’s glands were uncomfortable.
Her glands had never been marked by anyone before. After breaking up with Duan Jinwei, she had a marking session with her newly made girlfriend, which caused her glands to experience a mild allergic reaction, red and swollen.
After enduring it at home for a few days, Qiao Yi still came to the hospital.
The woman’s voice on the other end of the phone was soft yet alluring, carrying a hint of elusive indulgence: “Baby, I went to University A the other day, guess what?”
“I saw your ex-girlfriend.”
“What era is it now, and she’s actually wearing clothes like that? I remember those clothes were styles from over ten years ago. She was riding a bicycle and looked so pitiful.”
“Xiao Yi, it’s a good thing you broke up with her. Being with someone like that, I’m worried you’d be wronged.”
The Alpha on the other end was named Lin Xi, her newly found Alpha girlfriend during her heat cycle.
The eldest daughter of the Lin family, rolling in wealth, she was a proper second-generation affluent heir.
Yet Qiao Yi didn’t really want to discuss Duan Jinwei in front of Lin Xi.
Perhaps out of a sense of lingering guilt, she kept thinking of Duan Jinwei’s tear-reddened eyes recently.
Qiao Yi: “Come keep me company, I don’t feel well.”
“Alright baby, your place tonight?” Lin Xi pressed her lips close to the phone, letting out an ambiguous sound: “I miss you too.”
Qiao Yi instantly blushed with shyness.
At that moment, she felt once again that breaking up was the right choice.
Summing up the years she spent with Duan Jinwei, it was a giant capital letter of boring. Duan Jinwei didn’t understand romance, nor did she know how to flirt with her the way Lin Xi did.
Seeing Qiao Jiao walking toward her, Qiao Yi was terrified. She had just hung up the phone, still immersed in Lin Xi’s sweet talk, and her mind went completely blank.
Qiao Jiao smelled a very strong, thick scent of pheromones radiating from the girl. She frowned and instinctively took a step back.
“Sister, why are you at the hospital?” Qiao Yi put on a surprised expression and said obediently: “My heat started, and I wasn’t feeling well, so I came to the hospital to register and get checked.”
Qiao Yi’s small face was sallow and she looked very weak.
A wave of sudden discomfort surged in Qiao Jiao’s heart: “You’re not feeling well, didn’t your girlfriend accompany you to the hospital?”
Qiao Yi instinctively blurted out: “Duan Jinwei didn’t have time.”
Qiao Jiao reached out and touched Qiao Yi’s forehead, it was ice-cold and covered in sweat.
Even though it felt a bit strange, Qiao Jiao still said: “Make a call and ask her to keep you company for a bit.”
Didn’t she just see her at the hospital earlier?
There should at least be an Alpha accompanying her, especially since she was Qiao Yi’s girlfriend and Qiao Yi had been marked by her.
“No, don’t bother her.” Qiao Yi’s heartbeat was so fast it felt like it would leap out of her chest.
Qiao Jiao looked at her for a moment and held out her hand: “Give me your phone, I’ll talk to her for you.”
Qiao Yi panicked: “I, I broke up with her!”
Qiao Jiao was stunned.
Biting the bullet, Qiao Yi began to complain in front of Qiao Jiao: “Many days ago, I noticed something was wrong with her. She was always busy and wouldn’t reply to my messages. Because she’s pretty and has quite a few people chasing her at school, I felt insecure.”
“She loves using the silent treatment, and she’s done it many times. I couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to break up, but I was afraid of hurting her. That day was my birthday, and I felt it was a great opportunity to propose a breakup, so I asked her to come…”
“Who knew that on the second floor of the hotel, when I proposed the breakup, she flew into a rage and actually… actually…” Qiao Yi’s mind went blank, spinning lies off the top of her head: “She marked me.”
Unable to go on, Qiao Yi covered her face and began to cry.
After accompanying Qiao Yi to finish registering and seeing her into the consultation room, Qiao Jiao left the hospital.
Her assistant had already driven the car to the hospital entrance to wait for her.
Returning to the car, she slammed the door shut with a thud.
Qiao Jiao looked out the window, her hand resting on the windowsill, her fingertips tapping unconsciously.
Cui Yi’an sensed her bad mood: “Sister Qiao, are we heading to the company?”
Qiao Jiao: “Mhm.”
With that, the car started driving toward Xinghuan Media.
Qiao Jiao lowered her eyes, turned her phone over, lit up the screen, and scrolled through her contacts to find a number she had never called before.
“Sister, I’m Xiao Yi’s girlfriend. If you have anything to do in the future, you can contact me.” The girl had looked at her, smiling timidly.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” The girl had looked at her, her eyes red like a rabbit’s.
Qiao Jiao stared at the phone number for a long time before dialing it.
Not long after, the other end answered.
Just like in her memories, the girl’s voice came through the receiver, softer than ordinary Alphas, carrying a hint of doubt, and speaking at a slow pace: “Hello, who is this?”
“I’m Xiao Yi’s sister. I heard about you and Xiao Yi.” Qiao Jiao didn’t have the mind to exchange pleasantries, tapping lightly against the car window: “Let’s meet up.”
As soon as Qiao Jiao finished speaking, both ends of the phone fell into silence.
She only heard the other side humming and hawing for ages, completely unable to utter a word.
Qiao Jiao: “Is that alright?”
Duan Jinwei: “Okay, okay…”
On the other end of the line, Duan Jinwei felt as though she had plunged into an icy abyss. She thought something was wrong with her throat, as if something was blocked inside it, making it impossible for her to voice what she wanted to say for a long time.
Qiao Jiao: “The location is Nimbus Hotel, is that okay?”
Duan Jinwei: “Okay, okay, I…”
Since the other party agreed, Qiao Jiao didn’t want to listen to the kid hum and haw anymore and hung up the phone directly.
Thinking of the scent she had smelled on Qiao Yi at the hospital earlier, Qiao Jiao still felt a sense of nausea rising in her stomach, wondering how much force and how much pheromone had been injected during the marking.
That Alpha is quite good at putting up a front, Qiao Jiao thought to herself.
“Sister Qiao, these are the schedules for the next few days.” Cui Yi’an respectfully handed over the tablet.
Having been away on business for several days, many matters required Qiao Jiao to make decisions.
Upon returning to the company, Qiao Jiao met with numerous people and, without having time to finish a meal, went straight to the dressing room for makeup.
While getting her makeup done, she was still rapidly skimming through the documents in her hand.
At six in the evening, Qiao Jiao entered the studio.
Her pace was neither fast nor slow, her high heels tapping against the ground with a soft, rhythmic cadence. Her expression was indifferent, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
Someone greeted her: “Sister Qiao.”
Qiao Jiao curved her peach-blossom eyes slightly and nodded lightly.
She wore a black suit skirt, her skin fair and lips red, a silver brooch adorning her chest, and long raven-black hair draped over her shoulders. The high heels accentuated the slenderness of her ankles. Under the lights, her skin shone with a translucent glow.
The lights turned on, the camera locked focus, and Qiao Jiao sat down to adjust the microphone, doing a few lines of sound testing.
The director looked at the stunning, near-perfect woman through the lens and made an OK hand gesture.
“Ah, President Qiao.” A suit-clad man walked in from outside, looking at Qiao Jiao with a fake smile: “Good evening, wishing us a pleasant cooperation tonight.”
The male anchor collaborating with Qiao Jiao tonight was Lu Yang.
Lu Yang was an Alpha and one of Xinghuan’s gold-tier news anchors. His handsome looks and magnetic voice gave him quite a bit of popularity within Xinghuan.
As he sat down beside Qiao Jiao, Lu Yang released his pheromones.
Lu Yang and Qiao Jiao were professional rivals.
Lu Yang knew that Qiao Jiao was an Omega and he was an Alpha, that was his advantage. Therefore, every time he collaborated with Qiao Jiao, he would release his pheromones.
It would be fun if Qiao Jiao happened to have some kind of incident during the live broadcast.
Lu Yang stared at Qiao Jiao with malicious intent.
Qiao Jiao didn’t look like an Omega at all.
Her mastery over pheromones could be called precise, nobody had ever smelled her pheromone scent. Even when holding meetings in conference rooms full of Alphas, she could maintain an expressionless composure.
Qiao Jiao ignored Lu Yang entirely, lowering her head to flip through the script in her hand and signaling an OK to the director’s side.
The live stream began. Qiao Jiao looked into the camera, and in an instant, revealed a gentle smile, seamlessly shifting her state.
Lu Yang frowned.
Half an hour of broadcasting concluded, and Qiao Jiao walked out, only to be blocked by the man.
“President Qiao is truly impressive,” Lu Yang said with a fake smile. “Would you like to grab dinner together tonight?”
The Alpha’s pheromones still lingered in the air, gasoline-scented, stomach-turning.
Qiao Jiao looked at him indifferently. Indifferently looked at him.
The heels of her high heels struck the ground, making crisp sounds as she stepped closer and closer to him.
Lu Yang retreated in apprehension.
A faint fragrance drifted into the air.
In an instant, Lu Yang’s pupils drastically contracted. His pheromones erupted wildly like an open floodgate, completely uncontrollable no matter how hard he tried to pull them back.
The man slumped miserably onto the floor.
Qiao Jiao: “Keep a lid on your pheromones, and don’t act like a dog in heat.”
The pheromone alarm went off. Qiao Jiao glanced at him indifferently and strode away.
Staff members quickly rushed over.
“Excuse me, Young Master Lu, your pheromones are over the limit. Please head to the isolation room.”
Lu Yang: “What? Wait, I still have a meeting and a live broadcast tonight.”
Staff member: “Your spot will be temporarily filled by someone else.”
The broadcasting industry was always ruthless, missing a core live stream meant losing camera resources and audience reputation.
Lu Yang glared furiously, pointing at the retreating figure of Qiao Jiao: “She framed me! She’s the one who made me lose control, you guys should check her pheromones!”
Staff member: “No, President Qiao doesn’t have a trace of pheromones on her. But as for you, can you still contain yours?”
Returning to her office, Qiao Jiao felt deeply unwell, her glands stinging sharply.
Cui Yi’an looked at her with worry: “Sister Qiao, are you alright?”
Qiao Jiao: “I’m fine.”
Having followed Qiao Jiao for so many years, Cui Yi’an knew her stubborn personality best and wisely refrained from asking further.
“Sister Qiao, this is your dinner.”
Qiao Jiao checked the time, first turning on her computer to browse documents while eating her meal.
Before she had taken a few bites, the stinging sensation at her glands grew increasingly intense. Qiao Jiao raised a hand to massage the spot, habitually reaching for the Alpha soothing agent stored under her chair to take a hit, when she suddenly remembered something.
“She didn’t come this month, and there are only three bottles of soothing agent left. Given your gland condition, they can hold out for a month at most.”
Her schedule was packed tight, and the next few days promised to be a grueling grind of high-intensity work.
She had to conserve them.
Frowning once more, Qiao Jiao put the Alpha soothing agent back down.