After Being Marked by the Popular Female Lead O (GL) - Chapter 23

Xie Qingshu gave herself some time to calm down. Still afraid that her fears might come true, she went back and splashed her face with cold water. Only after confirming that her reason had returned did she open the door.

Zhou Que was leaning against the wall outside, wearing a simple red dress with only a cloak draped over her shoulders. A gust of night wind blew, fluttering a corner of her garment. She didn’t change her posture upon hearing the door open, but simply looked at Xie Qingshu out of the corner of her eye with an expression that was hard to decipher.

“Sister, I came to check on you.”

She was referring to the pheromone loss of control. She had been a little worried, and only felt relieved upon seeing Xie Qingshu in person.

Xie Qingshu nodded. In her flustered state, she sensed a change in Zhou Que. She couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but it felt as if a refined mask that had always been covering the girl’s face had been removed.

“Come in.”

Although the season hadn’t quite turned yet, the night wind was cold enough to bite. Zhou Que was dressed too lightly; it wouldn’t be good if she caught a cold.

Zhou Que’s movements paused slightly at those words. Before coming, she thought she would just listen for any movement, but standing at the door, she wanted to see her. Having seen her, she wanted to stay a little longer.

If I stay a little longer, what will I want after that?

Zhou Que didn’t know. Thinking about it even slightly made her afraid to delve deeper. For once, she felt a trace of fear—an emotion she hadn’t even felt back when she coldly watched Bai Chengming’s pheromone riot.

“No.”

Xie Qingshu frowned imperceptibly. She was indeed surprised, and a hidden sense of disappointment welled up in her heart. “Then rest early. Tomorrow…”

She suddenly cut herself off mid-sentence because tomorrow’s scene was an intimate one. According to the director, it was meant to be filmed in a single continuous take. She had done long takes before, but never for an intimate scene.

“Sister, if you find it difficult, I can go discuss whether we can delete this segment.” Zhou Que’s voice didn’t sound like she found it difficult at all; she spoke easily, but as if thinking of something, her voice softened. “After all, I am just Sister’s junior.”

Xie Qingshu didn’t catch the underlying meaning in those words. She thought Zhou Que was going to discuss it with Deng Yue, but she overlooked one thing: there were too many partners involved in this project for one person to have the final say—unless the person at the very top spoke up.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Xie Qingshu was afraid that if the girl stayed any longer, she really wouldn’t be able to resist hugging her and sniffing her. As she turned to go back into the room, her hand was grabbed.

Xie Qingshu turned around and looked at her in surprise.

“Sister, what’s wrong with your scent gland?”

Zhou Que narrowed her eyes. Although it was only for a moment, she hadn’t been mistaken; it was excessively red.

Xie Qingshu instinctively wanted to deny it, but Zhou Que was bold—she reached out directly and brushed Xie Qingshu’s hair aside.

As the heat approached, Xie Qingshu’s thoughts instantly went wild. Her body, which was extremely dependent on pheromones, gave her no chance to resist; she even involuntarily leaned into the touch.

Xie Qingshu: “…”

Utterly pathetic.

Xie Qingshu clenched her fists tightly to endure it, not daring to make a sound for fear that a moan might escape her gritted teeth.

It was rare for her scent gland to be touched. Perhaps because the movement was so light it was almost non-existent, the previous abnormalities actually calmed down.

A light flickered deep in Zhou Que’s eyes, somewhat dangerous. A certain desire, locked away and struggling, was starting to stir. She had originally only intended to confirm some suspicions; she hadn’t expected Xie Qingshu to actually allow the touch.

An Alpha’s nature cannot be erased, but what moved Zhou Que even more was Xie Qingshu’s trust. The beautiful neck was completely exposed, a posture that looked as if she were waiting for… her own Alpha’s marking.

A cool breeze blew past. Zhou Que was glad she was dressed lightly; her mind cleared, and her fingers left the scent gland with some reluctance.

“It seems fine. Sister, pay more attention to your rest.” Her voice was so hoarse she likely didn’t even realize it herself.

In the end, she didn’t choose to enter. Or rather, she didn’t trust her own willpower for what would follow. She fled the scene.

Zhou Que couldn’t help but think: I can barely restrain myself just by touching her scent gland. If we get to the set and I can’t control myself, what if I bite her?

She subconsciously touched her cheek, finding the two teeth that had been filed down. Xie Qingshu would probably cry from the pain.

The thought of those cold, aloof eyes filled with tears, her fair skin flushed red, enduring…

Zhou Que’s breathing quickened, and she stayed outside a little longer.

Xie Qingshu knew none of this. She gritted her teeth, sensing she couldn’t let this continue, and decided to visit Doctor Gu after tomorrow.

Song Mei found it strange but didn’t ask questions, simply adding it to the schedule.

As for the trending topics, Xie Qingshu checked them before bed. The narrative had completely reversed. The official PR was faster than she imagined, forceful and direct.

They had only released a video of less than ten seconds, but it was enough to whet everyone’s appetite—it was the scene of their first meeting.

[Holy shit, these two are incredible!]

[What kind of celestial being is Zhou Que? When she said ‘Save me,’ I wanted to rush in and hug her so bad.]

[I see something else. Did you notice Zhou Que’s smile at the end? So Alpha-like. I really want to see Xie Qingshu get suppressed.]

[My face hurts from being proven wrong. A strange new CP has been added.]

Xie Qingshu had intended to log out immediately, but she accidentally clicked on something else. Below, people were letting their imaginations run wild, writing fanfiction and even playing “finish the story” games.

[Zhou Que raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of allure. Xie Qingshu seemed bewitched but quickly snapped out of it, wanting to escape…]

[“Did you think I was who you imagined?” Zhou Que’s voice was seductive. She unceremoniously tore off her mask and used all her strength to pull the woman back by the waist, causing the latter to flush a deep crimson.]

[…]

Xie Qingshu watched in dazed shock. As if escaping something, she exited the webpage.

Why am I always the one being bewitched? Although… it’s not entirely wrong.

Deng Yue cleared the set early in the morning, so there were even fewer people present than Xie Qingshu expected. For a moment, even the sound of breathing felt exceptionally clear. However, she was surprised to see someone who shouldn’t have been there.

Deng Yue happened to notice her confusion and mentioned casually, “That’s the actor playing Shao Yun. You’re from the same company, so you should know her. She was with Group B the past two days and just arrived.”

Xie Qingshu lowered her head and gave an “Mhm,” not looking at the two people standing together. She certainly knew her. This wasn’t because of descriptions in the original book, but because with Zhou Que staying on set, the chances of her encountering scum Alphas were low—and even if she did, Xie Qingshu could nip it in the bud.

The person was Hu Li, a B-level artist at the company. However, her focus had always been on business rather than acting, so it was strange that she had suddenly taken this role.

Xie Qingshu was looking at the script to find her rhythm, but she was observing them out of the corner of her eye. She lowered her brow; they were too far away for her to hear what they were saying.

Although she didn’t care much for company affairs, she had heard of Hu Li—an Alpha who had reportedly marked countless Omegas.

On the other side, Hu Li was completely unaware. She grumbled, “President Zhou, while you’re off acting, all the company business is dumped on me. The new little Omega I met is almost ready to dump me…”

She knew Zhou Que wasn’t normally this passionate about acting. Soaking in the film crew every day was clearly abnormal. Judging by her recent reactions, she was likely in love. However, Hu Li had scanned the entire crew and couldn’t find a suitable candidate. Xie Qingshu looked good enough, but she was the first to be ruled out.

Zhou Que coughed twice, ignoring one of her questions. She asked with a hint of bewilderment, “I… I mean, if someone’s scent gland is especially red, what should be done?”

Hu Li’s eyes blinked, becoming even more certain of her suspicion. “Then her heat is probably coming. You just need to inject pheromones into the scent gland.”

Zhou Que wanted to point out that Xie Qingshu wasn’t an Omega and it would be a rut if anything, but she knew about the situation with the other woman’s scent gland; it was likely more serious than she guessed.

“An Alpha works too. Just a small amount is fine; it won’t form a permanent mark,” Hu Li thought for a moment, assuming Zhou Que had no experience in these matters and thus wouldn’t know. She offered the helpful tip.

But she forgot one thing: once passion is ignited, it isn’t something one can easily control.

Zhou Que was thoughtful. Would there really be no problem?

Filming officially started half an hour later. Deng Yue confirmed the set was cleared, removing a few more people from the original list. Hu Li was also excluded, though she felt it was quite a pity as she left.

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Zhou Que asked.

Xie Qingshu stiffly avoided looking at her. “Nothing.”

“That’s not right. You missed two lines during rehearsal just now,” Zhou Que shook her head, then suddenly realized something. “Sister, is your scent gland still bothering you? How does it feel?”

It was red enough to make one’s heart skip a beat.

Xie Qingshu nodded in a daze, letting that be the reason. As for the feeling, she didn’t want to recall it at all—it only made her think of what the “50th Floor” said yesterday.

Zhou Que pursed her lips. Maybe I should just listen to Hu Li this once…

The two confirmed their lines one last time. Xie Qingshu couldn’t hold back: “What is your relationship with Hu Li?”

She didn’t want the girl to get involved with another scum Alpha.

Zhou Que blinked. “We met while filming.”

She wasn’t lying. She had helped Hu Li once, and since then, Hu Li had been helping her handle tasks she couldn’t attend to personally.

Xie Qingshu gave a dry “Oh.” “I heard her conduct is problematic.”

She almost had “don’t get too close” written all over her face.

Zhou Que had never experienced this before. Her eyes filled with a subtle smile. “Then who does Sister think is suitable for me?”

“At least someone of upright character, who respects others, and most importantly, knows how to protect you,” Xie Qingshu blurted out.

Those scum Alphas aren’t worth a damn.

Zhou Que’s smile deepened. “Then isn’t that you, Sister?”

Xie Qingshu was stunned, unable to react for a moment.

But Zhou Que’s eyelashes lowered slightly, her smile becoming somewhat forced. “I was joking. How could such a person exist? Sister only treats me as a junior.”

Precisely because I understand this, I never dare to hope.

Xie Qingshu frowned. Why do those words sound so familiar?