When the plane landed, it was already dusk.
The setting sun dyed the entire city in orange-red. Looking out through the cabin window, the familiar clusters of buildings quietly spread out in the twilight.
Bai Yue leaned against her seat, looking out the window, feeling as though a lifetime had passed.
After collecting their luggage and coming out of the arrivals exit, they immediately spotted the driver holding a name sign in the crowd.
Old Zhou, a veteran driver who had worked for the Bai family for twenty years, hurried over the moment he saw them, his face crinkling into a broad smile.
“Eldest Miss, Young Madam, you’ve had a tiring journey!”
Jiang Manru blushed slightly at being addressed as Young Madam and lowered her head.
“Uncle Zhou, where’s my mom?” Bai Yue asked casually.
“Madam is waiting at home.” Old Zhou took the luggage and spoke as they walked.
Stepping out of the terminal, the evening breeze blew against their faces, carrying the city’s unique warmth and scent, heavy and stifling, much like Bai Yue’s mood at the moment.
The car was already waiting at the entrance.
A black business van, clean and gleaming. Old Zhou opened the car door, Jiang Manru got in first, and Bai Yue followed behind.
The car door closed, shutting out the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
Jiang Manru leaned against Bai Yue’s shoulder, her hand resting gently on the back of Bai Yue’s hand, and closed her eyes as if she were tired.
Bai Yue looked at the street scenes flashing past the window.
Her phone in her pocket was as quiet as a decoration.
Those three messages were still sitting in the chat box.
No reply.
When the car drove through the main gates of the Bai residence, it was pitch dark outside. The lights in the living room were on, and the warm yellow glow filtering through the windows appeared exceptionally cozy in the night.
Mother Bai stood at the entrance, grinning from ear to ear, and waved her hand to greet Jiang Manru: “You’re back! Manru, you must be starved, right?”
Jiang Manru obediently called out Mom, and was immediately grabbed by the hand and looked up and down by Mother Bai.
“You’ve lost weight. Did Yueyue not take good care of you?”
“No,” Jiang Manru quickly said, “Bai Yue has been really good to me.”
Only then did Mother Bai cast a satisfied glance at Bai Yue: “That’s more like it.”
Bai Yue rolled her eyes and carried the luggage inside.
The dining room.
The long dining table was packed full with six dishes and one soup.
Mother Bai kept serving food onto Jiang Manru’s plate, chattering away as she did: “Manru, eat more. This fish is steamed, not fishy at all. And this sparerib, I braised it for two hours, have a taste. This black chicken soup is great for building up your health, best for young girls.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
Bai Yue sat opposite them, watching this scene and thinking that her own biological mother had never been this attentive to her.
Still, it was fine.
With Jiang Manru handling her, it saved her mother from interrogating her with endless questions.
She lowered her head to eat and casually took out her phone to take a look.
A new message.
Sender: That number.
She tapped it open.
[Miss me that much?]
Bai Yue stared at those four words, the corners of her mouth slowly curving upward.
Inadvertently, she raised her head and locked eyes with her mother’s gaze, which held a trace of suspicion. She followed her mother’s line of sight down and saw the phone in her own hand.
The screen was still lit.
That message was glaringly resting right there on the screen.
Bai Yue’s heart skipped a beat.
Yet on her face, there was not a single expression.
She didn’t even put away her phone. She simply lifted her eyes, met her mother’s gaze, and lightly twitched the corner of her lips.
That smile was lazy and nonchalant, as if saying: So what?
Mother Bai’s expression shifted for a fraction of a second, and she subconsciously glanced at Jiang Manru beside her. Jiang Manru was looking down at her soup, seeming not to have noticed anything at all.
Mother Bai glared at Bai Yue.
In that look were warnings, reprimands, and the threat of telling her to behave herself.
Mother Bai quickly withdrew her gaze and casually picked up a piece of food, placing it into Jiang Manru’s bowl: “Manru, eat more of this.”
Jiang Manru looked up and smiled obediently: “Thank you, Mom.”
Watching this unfold, Bai Yue’s smile deepened.
She placed her phone directly on the table, screen facing up, right out in the open. Then she picked up her bowl and continued eating.
That smile lingered at the corner of her lips, carrying a hint of unruliness.
Miss?
Yes, missed you like crazy.
Wondering when you will show up again.
Wondering how much longer you can hide.
Wondering when you will obediently walk right up to me.
After dinner, Mother Bai pulled Jiang Manru into the living room to chat, talking continuously. By the time they left the Bai family home, it was already close to nine o’clock.
As soon as they got into the car, Jiang Manru habitually leaned against Bai Yue’s shoulder. Her breathing was very light, and the scent of jasmine drifted past faintly, mixed with the light leather odor inside the car.
Bai Yue glanced down at her.
She didn’t speak.
It wasn’t until the car drove into their new home that Bai Yue woke her up: “We’re here.”
Jiang Manru stirred, opening her eyes in a daze. She sat up straight, rubbed her eyes, and wore the innocent confusion of someone who had just woken up. Looking like that, she resembled a little kitten just crawling out of its nest.
Seeing this, Bai Yue felt her heart skip a beat.
“You go on inside first,” she said. “I have some things to take care of at the company.”
Jiang Manru nodded and pushed open the car door.
The night wind poured in, carrying a chill. She stood by the car and looked back at Bai Yue.
“Come back early.”
There was wifely concern in Jiang Manru’s voice, and those amber eyes looked exceptionally clear in the night, so clear that Bai Yue almost wanted to take back what she had just said.
But the next second, Jiang Manru smiled. That smile was so gentle it seemed capable of encompassing everything. She bent down and pressed a light kiss on Bai Yue’s cheek.
Watching that figure disappear behind the door, Bai Yue leaned back against her seat and slowly let out a breath.
The driver looked at her through the rearview mirror: “Eldest Miss, where to?”
Bai Yue looked at the closed door outside the window and was silent for two seconds.
“Lost.”
Lost Bar.
The moment she pushed open the door, the familiar aura washed over her in a wave.
Alcohol, perfume, and pheromones, various scents blended together, fermenting into a unique atmosphere under the dim lighting. The music was low, the drumbeats striking her heart one by one.
Bai Yue stood at the entrance, her gaze sweeping across the crowd.
Just like every other time she came.
Yet this time, she wasn’t here to pick someone up.
She wove through the crowd and walked over to the bar counter.
The bartender was a young Beta with ash-blue dyed hair and a row of silver studs along the cartilage of his ear. When he saw Bai Yue, his eyes lit up.
“Well, look who it is, a rare visitor.” He put down the cup in his hand and smiled ambiguously, “Miss Bai is back from her honeymoon? Happy new wedding.”
Bai Yue sat down opposite him.
“Xiao K,” she said, “let me ask you something.”
Xiao K raised an eyebrow: “What is it, so serious?”
Bai Yue pulled something out of her pocket and placed it on the bar counter.
A silver badge.
The edges showed slight wear, and the surface was engraved with an abstract bird with a single unfolded wing and sharp lines.
The top-tier membership badge of Lost Bar. Limited to fifty pieces.
Xiao K’s gaze fell on the badge, and he froze for a moment.
“A month ago,” Bai Yue said, “I took an Omega away from Lost. She dropped this.”
Xiao K picked up the badge, turning it over to examine it.
“A month ago…” He frowned. “The Omegas you’ve taken away from Lost number at least eight or ten. Which one are you talking about?”
Bai Yue looked at him.
There was no mockery on that face, only matter-of-fact honesty.
She had indeed taken many people away. One after another, night after night. So many that even she couldn’t remember who was who.
But that night, she remembered.
“White peach,” she said. “Her pheromone was white peach. Sweet with a hint of astringency, cold beneath the surface, with a woody base note.”
Xiao K thought about it.
“White peach…” He reminisced. “That pheromone isn’t very common, but I see so many people every day, I really don’t remember.”
Xiao K looked at the badge again.
Made of silver and exquisitely crafted, it was indeed the top-tier membership badge issued by the bar. Every single one was identical, with no serial number, no name, and no traceable information whatsoever.
“Miss Bai,” Xiao K handed the badge back to her, “these badges are all the same. Even if this were your own, I wouldn’t recognize it if I were holding it.”
Bai Yue took the badge back, spinning it at her fingertips.
Of course she knew.
She was just here to try her luck.
“Fine.” She put the badge back into her pocket. “Thanks.”
Xiao K looked at her, hesitating as if he wanted to say more.
“Miss Bai,” he lowered his voice, “is there something going on with you looking for this person?”
Bai Yue raised her eyes to look at him.
“Why?”
“Nothing, it’s just…” Xiao K deliberated, “if this badge belongs to her, she should be a regular. I have an impression of all the regulars. But this white peach scent, I really don’t have any impression of it.”
No impression.
Either she didn’t come often.
Or the times she came happened to miss her own schedule.
Or—
“I know.” Bai Yue stood up. “The usual, a glass of whiskey.”
Xiao K nodded and turned to mix the drink.
Bai Yue leaned against the bar counter and took out her phone.
She opened that chat box and began typing.
[You left something behind with me.]
After waiting a few seconds, she typed another line.
[Brought it back to you, Lost bar counter.]
She placed her phone on the counter, picked up the drink Xiao K had just mixed, and took a sip.
The liquid slid down her throat with a familiar burning sensation.
She leaned against the counter, her gaze lazily sweeping over the crowd.
Figures moved on the dance floor, and guests sat in twos and threes by the bar. Someone recognized her and cast an ambiguous glance her way.
Bai Yue turned a blind eye.
Her phone vibrated.
Bai Yue looked down.
[What thing?]
Bai Yue curved the corners of her lips.
[A badge that can prove your identity]
The other end fell silent for a few seconds.
Then came the reply: [I was wondering why it went missing. Since you like it, keep it]
Bai Yue raised an eyebrow.
[Don’t want it back?]
[Gifting it to you. Consider it interest for those two hundred bucks]
Bai Yue stared at this line of text and almost laughed out loud.
Interest.
Two hundred bucks of interest was a limited-edition bar membership badge?
She typed: [This interest is a bit low]
[Think it’s low? Then return it]
[Sure,] she replied, [but you have to come and get it in person]
The other end went silent again.
Bai Yue looked at the screen, patiently waiting.
[Your fishing technique is way too crude]
Bai Yue stared at these words, her smile pausing for a second.
Crude?
She typed: [Crude? I’m doing you a favor by returning your stuff]
[A favor?] the other replied. [Lost bar counter, you sitting there waiting for me to walk right into the trap? Do you take me for someone who’s out on the town for the first time?]
Bai Yue stared at the screen, the curve of her mouth slowly expanding. She picked up her glass and took a small sip.
Xiao K, watching from the side, couldn’t help asking: “Found her?”
Bai Yue glanced at him.
“Who knows.”
Xiao K smiled ambiguously and didn’t ask further.
Her phone vibrated again.
[Considering you performed not too badly those two nights, next time you’re in rut, I’ll help you out too]
Bai Yue stared at these words, dumbfounded.
She rapidly typed: [What do you mean?]
The reply came leisurely.
[The Alpha arranged by my family is too useless, but thankfully I met you in the Maldives, so you know.]
Bai Yue stared at the screen, a buzzing sound ringing in her head.
She typed: [So, I was used as a tool?]
The other end sent a smiling face: [Don’t make it sound so harsh. You were selected as the optimal solution.]
Bai Yue stared at those four words, the optimal solution, and felt a rush of air block her chest.