Xie Shimian recalled the growth trajectory of Hua Zhi from the original novel’s plot.
She knew very little of the original story, only vaguely remembering that Hua Zhi had lacked love in her childhood, which led her to grow up obsessive and violent.
In the grand manor’s library.
A general education textbook lay open before Xie Shimian, a caramel latte resting by her hand.
Just as her fingers turned a page, a sudden headache struck, causing her to knock over the rich latte.
With a crack, the cup shattered on the carpet.
The spilled caramel latte left a stain on the rug, and along with the aroma of coffee, the scent of an Alpha’s pheromones spread through the air.
The fragrance of fruity rum instantly filled the entire library.
Xie Shimian was the only one in the library. The ceiling was a glass dome, through which white doves could be seen flying outside.
Xie Shimian clutched her head, “It hurts so much.”
The pain was as if someone behind her was splitting her brain in two with an axe, every nerve stretched taut.
In real life, she suffered from migraines from overtime work, and now, transmigrated into a book, she still had to endure headaches.
Damn it! Xie Shimian clenched her fist and slammed it onto the desk.
The pain at the back of her head intensified without warning.
Her heart began to pound violently her body couldn’t tolerate caffeine, and she had drunk too much too quickly.
This frail, broken body of hers.
“Miss Xie!”
The heavy library door was pushed open a crack. Hua Zhi, catching the scent of the Alpha’s pheromones, rushed in immediately.
At a glance, she saw her benefactor slumped over the desk, eyes red.
The pheromones were so strong was she entering her rut?
Without a second thought, Hua Zhi rushed forward. “Miss Xie, I’m here.”
Would it help if her benefactor marked her?
The little orphan didn’t know.
But she knew she had to deal with this overwhelming pheromone scent, it couldn’t be ignored.
Suddenly, a soft, delicate girl appeared in Xie Shimian’s arms, her fingers brushing against the girl’s slender waist.
Xie Shimian’s pupils constricted sharply. Though her mind resisted, her body’s craving for the other only grew stronger.
She couldn’t.
Absolutely couldn’t.
Bullying a child would leave a criminal record, disqualify her from political vetting, and ruin any chance of becoming a civil servant.
In her hometown, the ultimate goal in life was to pass the civil service exam.
Even in her dreams, Xie Shimian was taking interviews.
For the sake of becoming a civil servant, she could give up anything even her investments.
“Miss?”
Hua Zhi’s voice brought Xie Shimian back to some semblance of rationality. The pain in her head and the instinctive urge to bite sharpened her awareness.
She had transmigrated into a book, becoming the only daughter of a wealthy merchant family her parents were the patrons of all civil servants.
Hua Zhi watched nervously as Xie Shimian’s expression shifted unpredictably.
She looked like her mind wasn’t quite right.
“Miss?”
The headache eased slightly, and Xie Shimian managed a pale smile.
“Zhi Zhi, are you afraid of pain?”
The girl in her arms shook her head, wrapping her arms around Xie Shimian’s neck.
If anyone saw them in this position, they would assume something indecent was happening in front of these sacred books.
Xie Shimian’s breaths were filled with Hua Zhi’s soft, sweet scent. Her gaze fixated on the exposed nape of the girl’s neck.
So pale, so tender.
“I’m not afraid of pain.”
Any pain given by her benefactor, she would welcome gladly.
Hua Zhi hadn’t presented yet marking her wouldn’t alleviate the pain.
But the genetic compatibility and impulse drove Xie Shimian to sink her teeth into Hua Zhi’s neck.
I’m sorry.
Someone like her deserved to be killed by Hua Zhi in the future.
The delicate young girl trembled in her embrace, the nape of her neck flushed red from the bite.
It didn’t hurt as much as she’d expected.
Like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck by its mother.
Hua Zhi’s eyes widened, tears streaming from the corners down to her chin.
(Moderator, this contains no descriptions of sensitive areas, bowing respectfully.)
What a strange sensationm, she didn’t dislike it at all.
Xie Shimian held back her strength, careful not to draw blood, only pressing her teeth gently against the skin to ease the urge.
This went on for over ten minutes.
Xie Shimian’s pain gradually faded, and she wiped the spot on the Omega’s neck where a scent gland should have been with a disinfectant wipe.
A futile bite.
Not even the skin was broken.
Even though Hua Zhi hadn’t presented, Xie Shimian’s pain had miraculously subsided.
Who knew if there was any connection between the two?
Hua Zhi asked urgently, “Feeling better?”
Xie Shimian touched her small fangs. “Like a rebirth?”
Hua Zhi: “…?”
“Let me get the disinfectant spray. Stay put.” Xie Shimian lifted Hua Zhi onto the desk and turned to rummage through the drawer for the first aid kit.
“No need.”
Hua Zhi stopped her, her face flushed as if she’d just gone through something indescribable.
“Saliva disinfects. No need for extra spray.”
Xie Shimian’s hand trembled slightly. “Still, it’s better to—”
Hua Zhi clutched a book on the desk tightly, wanting to keep her savior’s scent on her.
Even if it was just lingering on the surface of her skin.
A maid knocked and entered. “Miss, here’s the class schedule you requested.”
It was Hua Zhi’s school timetable, Xie Shimian had enrolled her in an exclusive private academy with exceptionally high standards.
She could have hired tutors for home lessons, but Xie Shimian preferred Hua Zhi to interact with more people, hoping to correct some of her warped perspectives.
The moment the maid stepped in, she saw the shattered coffee cup and scattered papers on the floor, with Hua Zhi sitting improperly on the expensive desk, clothes disheveled, hair tousled.
The maid’s face reddened instantly. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Hua Zhi turned her face away shyly.
Xie Shimian loudly clarified, “No interruption! We weren’t doing anything just now.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how ambiguous they sounded. She didn’t need to explain anything at all.
The maid nodded quickly. “Of course, Miss did nothing. I saw nothing.”
So intense, she even carried her to the desk.
And bit her neck red.
So this is the kind of lover the young mistress likes.
Taking advantage of a girl who hasn’t even presented yet how outrageous.
Xie Shimian, flustered and angry, snapped, “Nothing happened!”
The maid: “Yes, absolutely nothing.”
Xie Shimian covered her face. “This is how rumors start.”
“Go fetch some anti-inflammatory ointment. Not a word about today leaves this room.”
Hua Zhi gazed at her savior with cat-like eyes, whispering timidly, “We can’t let others know?”
Xie Shimian watched as the maid bent down to pick up the shards of the coffee cup one by one.
“What?”
Hua Zhi blushed furiously, like a newlywed bride who’d just been bullied.
“About how you held me and did things for over ten minutes.”
Xie Shimian: “!”
What ‘things’, you don’t even have a scent gland yet!
The headache Xie Shimian had just rid herself of came surging back.
After the maid left, Xie Shimian applied ointment to the reddened spot on Hua Zhi’s neck, only relaxing once the swelling had completely faded.
“Zhizhi, I’m your sister. What we have is a pure sibling bond,” Xie Shimian said with her eyes closed, spouting nonsense. “Biting your neck earlier was an uncontrollable action during my episode. I apologize to you here.”
Hua Zhi was placed on the high table while Xie Shimian leaned back in her chair.
One of Hua Zhi’s feet inevitably brushed against Xie Shimian’s knee.
The room was too quiet so quiet that even the sound of white doves flapping their wings across the dome could be heard clearly.
“Sister.”
Hua Zhi bent down and wrapped her arms around Xie Shimian’s hand, mustering all her courage and strength. “Can I call you sister?”
Xie Shimian lifted her gaze and stared deeply at her.
“Zhizhi sees me as family?”
Then, in the future, could she refrain from killing her?
In the future, when you hold all the power, will you still remember the kindness I once showed you?
Hua Zhi immediately replied, “Of course!”
No one in this world had ever treated her as well as her benefactor.
She indulged in a wild thought, if only her benefactor had her alone by her side. If she presented, she would definitely become a high-ranking Omega.
She would use every possible method to make her benefactor mark her.
To bear her benefactor’s child.
That way, her benefactor would have only her.
A dark, obsessive notion rose in her heart, if her benefactor ever took a liking to someone else, she would make sure to kill that person.
She wanted her benefactor to look only at her, to be kind only to her, to let this light shine solely upon herself.
Xie Shimian relaxed slightly upon hearing Hua Zhi’s confirmation.
“I’ll accompany you to pick out your school uniform. Come, hold your sister’s hand.”
Unconsciously, Xie Shimian ruffled the catgirl’s long hair.
The way her kitten looked at her was just like when she used to feed dried fish to her ragdoll cat.
Focused, persistent, even a little cross-eyed.
Before heading out, Xie Shimian spotted her assistant and the butler huddled together in the distance.
The butler whispered, “Wow, have you heard? The young miss and Hua Zhi got really intense in the study.”
Ke Rong perked up. “Really?!”
Butler: “Absolutely! They smashed a coffee cup, papers were scattered everywhere, and that table, tsk tsk tsk.”
Ke Rong: “Wow!”
Butler: “This seems to be the young miss’s first time too. She’s finally grown up.”
Ke Rong ventured: “Become a proper young lady?”
Xie Shimian: “…”
What kind of logic is that?!
Damn it, “proper young lady”?!
Xie Shimian couldn’t take it anymore was gossiping a tradition in the Xie family?!
“Both of you, shut up!”
Ke Rong and the butler instantly straightened up. “Young miss.”
The butler lowered his head. “We are sincerely happy for the young lady.”
Xie Shimian: “.”
They left and boarded the luxurious aircraft.
Hua Zhi scooted closer to her. “Are you angry?”
The kitten rested her head on Xie Shimian’s lap, purring softly for pets.
Her deep blue eyes gleamed with contentment, like a cat lazily basking after a full meal.
Xie Shimian: “Once you’re at the academy, don’t go around saying nonsense. Outside, I’m just your sister.”
Hua Zhi shrank her shoulders. “I don’t want to stay in the dorms. I’m scared outside. I lost my parents when I was little, in a storm.”
Xie Shimian cut off her lament. “You won’t stay in the dorms.”
Her kitten seemed to know she was both beautiful and pitiful.
Hua Zhi’s blue eyes suddenly brightened. “Can I sleep with you at night?”
Xie Shimian: “Of course!”
Hua Zhi’s eyes sparkled even more.
“Of course not.”
Hua Zhi looked despondent. “Has your hidden ailment not yet healed?”
Otherwise, how could you resist not touching her.
Xie Shimian: ?