Jiang Manru closed her eyes, her breathing steady as if she were asleep.
But she was awake.
The lingering sensations of her body had not yet faded, and a tingling touch remained in certain places. Those techniques, those probes, and those cautious and meticulous touches were still fresh in her mind.
Jiang Manru smiled to herself in her heart.
Bai Yue’s technique was indeed excellent. If she were an Omega who had just tasted the forbidden fruit for the first time, she would likely have been moved to tears, believing herself to be the chosen one who had encountered a gentle, considerate, and perfect Alpha who cared about her feelings in every aspect.
Unfortunately, she was not.
Therefore, she could clearly feel what was missing from those techniques.
Bai Yue was very thorough, but that thoroughness felt more like completing a task rather than being driven by instinct and unable to control herself. Her fingers brushed over every inch of skin, precisely finding every sensitive point, but those touches lacked scorching heat, lacked the out-of-control shivers, and lacked that near-instinctive possessiveness an Alpha should have when facing an Omega.
She was like an excellent musician who had skillfully played a piece of music.
But her heart was not on the keys.
She could not help but wonder: if the one lying on this bed right now was the White Peach from the bar, and if Bai Yue knew she was the Omega who had left the tip and disappeared, would it still be like this?
Would she still be testing her so cautiously, walking on thin ice?
Or would she, like that night, pin her wrists above her head, stare at her with those bottomless eyes, and ask what the rules were?
Jiang Manru did not know.
But she wanted to know.
Extremely slight movement came from beside her. It was Bai Yue. Her breathing frequency changed, her body posture changed, and then there was the extremely careful, barely audible sound of her getting up.
The footsteps moved away from the bed, gradually walking further, and finally, there was the sound of the terrace door sliding open gently.
She was gone.
Jiang Manru opened her eyes.
The curtains were not drawn tight, and a sliver of sunset afterglow leaked through the gap, drawing a thin gold edge on the ceiling. She stared at that light for a long time before slowly sitting up.
Her body felt a bit sore, but she felt as if something was still missing in her heart.
She threw on a bathrobe, walked barefoot to the window, and pulled the curtain open slightly.
Downstairs, by the pool, was a figure.
Bai Yue was sitting on a lounge chair, a cigarette clamped in her fingers. The sunset gilded half of her face, while the other half remained hidden in shadows.
What was she looking at?
Jiang Manru followed her gaze. On the other side of the pool, several Omegas in bikinis were playing in the water. They had hot bodies, vibrant smiles, and their pheromones were boldly released, like flowers in full bloom.
Jiang Manru’s lips curved.
As expected.
Where could a domestic jasmine ever be as fragrant as a wild rose?
She watched for a while, then drew the curtain shut.
By the pool, Bai Yue exhaled a puff of smoke.
The sunset dyed the water orange-red, and the laughter of those Omegas carried over the water, crisp, hot, and carrying undisguised invitations.
One of the black-haired women glanced toward her side, said something to her companion, and the group burst into laughter.
Bai Yue looked away.
She knew what she was looking at, and she knew she should not be looking.
It was her honeymoon period. She had just served her wife, who was still asleep upstairs, yet she was sitting by the pool looking at other Omegas. If this got out, let alone both sets of parents, she herself would feel like a scumbag.
But she could not control her eyes.
Instinct had formed a habit. Like being hungry and wanting to eat, or thirsty and wanting to drink water. Upon seeing a beautiful, sexy, and proactive Omega, her body would automatically react.
Even if her heart knew she could not touch them.
“Hi!”
A voice sounded beside her.
Bai Yue turned her head. It was that black-haired Omega. She had already come out of the pool, wrapped in a bath towel, with wet hair clinging to her shoulders and a confident smile on her face.
“Alone?” Her Chinese was a bit stiff, as if she had just learned it.
Bai Yue glanced at her. “No.”
“Oh?” The black-haired Omega raised an eyebrow and sat on the lounge chair next to her. “Then where is your companion?”
“Sleeping.”
“Sleeping?” The Omega smiled meaningfully. “Sleeping at this hour? Did you play very hard?”
Bai Yue did not speak, only took a puff of her cigarette.
The Omega did not mind her coldness and continued to speak for herself: “My name is Coco, from Los Angeles. And you?”
“Chinese.”
“I know you are Chinese.” Coco smiled. “I am asking what your name is.”
Bai Yue extinguished her cigarette and stood up.
“Sorry, I should be going back.”
She did not look at Coco’s expression and walked straight toward the hotel building.
Behind her came a light chuckle and a low English whisper: “Shy.”
Bai Yue’s steps did not stop.
It was not shy. It was that she could not.
She stepped into the elevator and pressed the floor button. The elevator doors closed slowly, cutting off the sunset and laughter outside.
The elevator walls reflected her face. She was expressionless, but there was an indescribable irritability in her eyes.
She wanted to eat but could not.
She wanted to touch but could not.
Because she was married.
Even if she was confident she could hide it from Jiang Manru, she could not go too far.
The elevator doors opened.
Her footsteps toward the room paused. Then she turned and headed toward the elevator in the other direction.
She did not want to go back.
She did not want to face that bed, that room, and that person.
At least not right now.
Bai Yue wandered aimlessly through the hotel.
She passed through the lobby, through corridors, and through doors that led to nowhere. The hotel was huge, like a maze. She walked past the bar, the restaurant, the souvenir shop, and the spa.
The sky gradually darkened.
The lights turned on one by one, turning the hotel at night into another world. Guests in various clothes came and went, laughing, causing trouble, and pairing up.
Bai Yue walked alone.
She walked to a building in the deepest part of the hotel. It was quieter than the main building, with few rooms; it must be the high-end suite area. The corridors were covered in thick carpets that absorbed all the sound of her footsteps.
She was just about to turn back when she suddenly stopped.
A familiar scent drifted in the air. It was very faint, so faint it was almost undetectable. If that scent had not left such a deep mark in her memory…
White peach.
Sweet but astringent, astringent but cold.
The scent from that night.
Bai Yue’s breathing skipped a beat.
She followed the scent, walking slowly, each step feeling like she was walking on cotton. The scent grew closer and clearer. It was here.
She stopped in front of a door.
Room number: 520.
Bai Yue stared at the numbers, her heartbeat suddenly becoming very loud.
Could it be her?
The White Peach Omega from that night?
Why was she here?
Was she alone, or with someone else?
A series of questions exploded in her mind.
Bai Yue stood at the door, as if pinned there. Her logic told her to leave now, as this had nothing to do with her, and she was married. She should go back now, back to her newlywed wife.
But her body would not listen.
Her hand raised and knocked on the door.
Silence.
A voice came from inside: “Who is it?”
That voice was vigilant, full of arrogance and impatience. Muffled through the door panel, it was a bit distorted, but that tone…
Bai Yue could almost confirm it.
It was her.
“Bai Yue,” she said, her voice steadier than she had expected.
The room went quiet.
A long silence.
Bai Yue stood at the door, her heart pounding like a drum. She was waiting, waiting for the other person to open the door, or waiting for them to tell her to get lost.
She did not know how much time passed before the lock turned.
A soft click.
The door opened a crack.
No light shone through.
Bai Yue stared at the gap for a second, then reached out and pushed the door open.
Behind the door was thick darkness.
The curtains must have been drawn, as there was not a single ray of light. Bai Yue stood at the door, her eyes needing time to adjust. She could only vaguely see the outline of the room and a blurry figure.
That person stood in the darkness, not moving.
Bai Yue stepped into the room, and the door behind her closed automatically, locking with a click.
It was pitch black.
She smelled that white peach scent, ten times stronger than it had been in the corridor.
Was she also in a heat cycle?
Bai Yue’s eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. She saw that person standing a few steps away. She could not clearly see what she was wearing, only an outline—slender, delicate, and standing very straight.
She reached out to turn on the light, only to find the card slot for the power was empty.
The room had no electricity.
The other party did not want to turn on the light.
Bai Yue smiled.
As expected of her.
“Long time no see,” Bai Yue said, her voice sounding a bit hoarse in the darkness.
The other party did not speak. But Bai Yue could feel those eyes watching her in the darkness.
Just like that night.
Like a hunter sizing up its prey.
“Why are you here?” Bai Yue asked.
A light chuckle came from the darkness.
Very light, very short, like the night wind brushing past.
“And you?” that voice said. “Why are you here?”
The same voice as that night—clear and cold like mountain spring water striking pebbles. But at this moment, it was pressed lower, carrying a hint of hoarseness, like someone who had just woken up or had just done something else.
“Honeymoon,” Bai Yue said, not even knowing why she had told the truth.
Silence returned to the darkness.
“Me too,” that voice said.
Bai Yue froze.
Honeymoon? She was married?
Her heart felt as if it had been gripped by something, then released. The feeling was strange—not disappointment, not jealousy, but a complex sensation that was hard to define.
But the next second, that voice added: “Just kidding.”
Bai Yue…
The other party laughed again, this time longer, with the triumph of a successful prank.
“I am single,” she said. “Here for a vacation.”
Bai Yue did not know why she felt a sense of relief.
“What about you?” the other party asked back. “Really here for a honeymoon?”
Bai Yue was silent for a second.
“Arranged by my family; I had no choice,” she said, her tone aggrieved.
There was a moment of quiet in the darkness.
That voice said: “What a coincidence. We are in the same situation. Though I am here to hide from someone.”
“Hide from whom?”
“A blind date arranged by my family,” that voice said nonchalantly. “It is so annoying, so I ran out for a few days of peace.”
Bai Yue laughed.
So that was it.
They were all the same. Arranged by their families, urged by their parents, forced into relationships they did not want. The only difference was that she chose to accept, and she chose to run.
“I am so envious of you,” Bai Yue sighed, then asked curiously, “Did you manage to hide successfully?”
“So far, I have not been caught,” that voice carried a smile. “What about you? How is your performance?”
“It is okay,” Bai Yue thought about it. “It is just a bit tiring.”
“Tiring?”
“I have to act serious, act gentle, act considerate,” Bai Yue leaned against the wall and spoke the truth for once. “It is very tiring to act.”
A soft laugh came from the darkness.
“I understand,” that voice said. “I have acted, too. Acted well-behaved, acted pure, acted like I do not know anything.”
“How was the effect?”
“What do you think?”
Bai Yue recalled that night. Those hands, those eyes, those effortless provocations.
“I guess it did not look very convincing,” she said.
The other party laughed.
“And you?” she asked back. “Do you look convincing?”
Bai Yue thought about her performance this afternoon—cautious, walking on thin ice, her hands even trembling while she unbuttoned a button.
“No,” she answered honestly.
The other party seemed to hear something in that, and her laughter carried a bit more playfulness.
“Sounds like you have a story?”
Bai Yue did not say.
That would be too embarrassing!
In the darkness, Bai Yue felt that figure moving closer.
One step. Two steps.
The scent of white peach grew closer and closer.
It stopped at a distance of one step from her.
“Then tonight,” her voice was right by her ear, low and hooking, “do we still need to act?”
Bai Yue’s heart was pounding like a drum. She could feel the other person’s body temperature, right there within reach.
That white peach scent was completely enveloping her.
Just like that night.
“What about the rules?” Bai Yue heard herself ask.
“My rules remain the same.” Then, a hand rested on her shoulder, and her fingertips brushed across the back of her neck.
Bai Yue reached out, wrapped her arms around the other person’s waist, and pulled her into her embrace. “Tell me your name.” Her voice had an urgency of something lost and found.
The person in her arms did not hide, but instead raised her arms to wrap them around her neck, laughing as she warned: “A name represents the past.”
“I do not want the past,” Bai Yue said earnestly. “I only want a name.”
That person was silent for a second. She leaned to her ear and whispered softly: “What is your newlywed wife’s name?”
Bai Yue was stunned.
Why bring her up at a time like this?
“You can call me by her name,” the Omega’s voice was pressed against her ear, her breath brushing over her sensitive skin. “That way, it will not be considered cheating.”