Hua Zhi’s pheromones drifted in through the crack beneath the door.
To Xie Shimian, it was like a starving person suddenly catching the scent of a walking hamburger.
Every inch of her body radiated urgency and hunger.
She wanted so badly to take a bite.
The bitter lemon scent might have been tart and astringent to others, but to Xie Shimian at this moment, it symbolized something juicy and delicious.
It was unbearable her head throbbed with pain.
She was on the verge of passing out from the agony. This couldn’t go on.
“Zhi Zhi, are you out there?”
Xie Shimian turned off the shower, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, and staggered out, leaning against the wall. Her eyes were bloodshot, fixed on Hua Zhi with an obsessive intensity.
The bathroom door suddenly swung open before Hua Zhi, revealing a drenched woman inside.
Her long hair dripped with water, her upturned fox-like eyes glazed with a misty haze. Her slender fingers pressed against the doorframe.
The Alpha exuded an overwhelming aura of aggression.
Her gaze locked onto Hua Zhi unwaveringly, as if staring down prey.
Hua Zhi’s throat bobbed.
This wasn’t the first time someone had looked at her like this, but it was the first time she didn’t find it repulsive.
“L-Little sister, are you feeling unwell?” Hua Zhi coaxed softly, her legs so weak she could barely stand.
The woman’s hands bore no manicure, her nails trimmed neatly.
“Zhizhi, you’re an Omega.”
Xie Shimian suddenly pinned her against the wall, one hand gripping her waist.
The other pressed against her neck.
“Mmm!”
The eighteen-year-old girl’s body had a unique suppleness, like a toy that could never be played with enough.
A dark glint flashed in Xie Shimian’s eyes as she discovered a slightly raised area on the back of Hua Zhi’s neck.
Pressing down, it had a soft elasticity.
It hadn’t been there before.
An Omega’s gland, she had already begun to differentiate, but without a fever, no one had noticed.
“Sister, it hurts…”
Hua Zhi was pressed against the wall like a criminal, her nape roughly stroked by a thumb.
The girl let out a kitten-like whimper, as if trying to evoke the hunter’s pity or perhaps subtly urging them to hurry.
The temperature in the room rose steadily, the Alpha growing restless with desire.
“My Zhizhi, do you want cookies? I’ll bake some for you tonight, okay?” Xie Shimian’s husky voice whispered by Hua Zhi’s ear, sending shivers down her spine.
“You can have as many as you want tonight.”
Hua Zhi’s peach-blossom eyes were dazed, why was her sister suddenly talking about this now?
“Okay…”
“Heh, so eager. Our Zhi Zhi can hardly wait.”
Time seemed to freeze in that moment, stretching endlessly.
Nervousness brought sweat, dizziness, weakness, and trembling muscles Hua Zhi could barely breathe.
“Miss!”
The bedroom door suddenly burst open.
Ke Rong rushed in, frantic. “The alarm at the manor’s control center went off. You’re in your sensitive period and need immediate treatment!”
Along with Ke Rong came a gust of cold wind from outside.
Xie Shimian, clad only in a damp bathrobe, released Hua Zhi from the wall, her eyes rimmed red.
The girl collapsed weakly onto the carpet.
Ke Rong met the two’s less-than-friendly gazes. “Miss?”
Xie Shimian, “…”
Ke Rong scratched his head. “Did I interrupt something?”
Xie Shimian: “What do you think?”
Following protocol, Ke Rong helped Xie Shimian up. “The doctor is already here.”
Xie Shimian’s voice was hoarse as she muttered, “Yeah, I was reckless today. Sorry, Zhizhi, I scared you.”
Hua Zhi lay sprawled on the carpet, her gaze empty as she stared at her, fragile and helpless, her face still clouded with lingering confusion.
Xie Shimian suddenly felt like a heartless scoundrel who had abandoned someone…
Clearing her throat, Xie Shimian averted her eyes. “I’ll make it up to you.”
As the door closed, Hua Zhi was left alone in the bedroom.
Her fingers brushed against her earlobe, no more warm breath lingered there.
Her chilled body no longer felt the embrace of long arms.
The brief contact with her savior felt like nothing more than a fleeting dream.
The little cat couldn’t help but cry.
She was already eighteen, why didn’t her savior want her?
Was she not pretty enough? Then why did Xie Shimian stroke her hair and whisper her to sleep?
Abandoned again, and in such an undignified way.
For an Omega, being left at the very moment before marking was nothing short of humiliation.
“So, have you figured out what’s wrong yet?”
Xie Shimian leaned back on the sofa, drenched in sweat, the bite marks on her wrist wrapped in bandages.
Ke Rong shook his head. “The toxin hasn’t been identified yet. I’m sorry.”
Xie Shimian let out a noncommittal hum. “Useless.”
Ke Rong and the other doctors lowered their heads. Xie Shimian had been poisoned before her secondary gender manifested. The Xie family had initially assumed it was just physical weakness, but after she presented as an Alpha, the symptoms flared up every time before and after her rut. The headaches came frequently, with no discernible pattern.
Just as Xie Shimian was enduring the feverish heat and throbbing pain, a soft, delicate body pressed against her.
Her palm suddenly met warm, pliant flesh, the tender skin of an inner thigh.
Ke Rong and the doctors silently retreated, the former hesitating. “What about Hua Zhi?”
The doctor shook his head. “Don’t disturb an Alpha in rut.”
“Young Mistress, please mark me.”
A maid with golden curls lifted her skirt and settled onto Xie Shimian’s lap.
Young Mistress?
In her dazed state, Xie Shimian instinctively responded, “Not calling me ‘sister’ anymore?”
“Sister?”
The maid on top of her flustered, blushing. “May I call you sister?”
The cloying scent hit Xie Shimian’s nose, jolting her awake. “What the hell are you? Get off!”
On the staircase, Hua Zhi stood wrapped in Xie Shimian’s coat, silently watching the scene unfold.
Her nails dug into her palms.
“Sister is with someone else…”
She had already thrown herself at her, yet Xie Shimian had only whispered sweet nothings before stopping.
The maid was shoved roughly to the floor by the Alpha, scrambling to explain in panic, “I was arranged by Madam and the Master, to help you with your pheromones whenever needed!”
Xie Shimian lowered her gaze in thought.
She lit a cigarette. “Not necessary. Get lost.”
Tears welled in the maid’s eyes as the overwhelming Alpha pheromones pinned her down, unable to rise, until the sharp-eyed butler dragged her away.
Noble families often kept high-grade Omega maids clean, discreet ready to serve at any moment.
Xie Shimian closed her eyes and took a deep drag, hoping the acrid nicotine would dull the pain.
Even before transmigrating into this novel, she had smoked to cope with migraines.
But nicotine couldn’t suppress pheromones.
Damn it.
Xie Shimian cursed under her breath, then opened her eyes and grabbed a syringe of sedatives, pressing it to her arm.
Before the expected sting could come, the syringe was tossed aside. Xie Shimian’s lashes fluttered as her body was suddenly enveloped in the scent of bitter lemon.
Hua Zhi was overjoyed to see her savior push the maid away.
Her savior hadn’t marked her, nor had they marked anyone else.
The cat nestled coquettishly in its owner’s arms. “Sister, would you give Zhizhi a birthday present?”
Zhizhi…
Xie Shimian realized she was acting cute.
The cat she had raised herself rubbed against her chest. “No one else knows Zhizhi is already ripe. Sister can come pick and taste anytime.”
The cigarette held between Xie Shimian’s slender fingers was taken for a puff by Hua Zhi.
Amid the swirling smoke, Xie Shimian tightened her grip on Hua Zhi’s shoulder.
Her voice was husky. “What gift do you want? Money? Gems? Or an internship at the company?”
Hua Zhi gathered her courage. “A kiss from sister.” Or something else.