After Being Marked by the Popular Female Lead O (GL) - Chapter 24

Despite how apprehensive she felt, the scene arrived as scheduled.

Xie Qingshu had imagined countless scenarios, but when the moment actually came, no amount of speculation was enough to help her form a proper reaction.

When Zhou Que leaned in, Xie Qingshu looked calm on the surface, but internally, she felt like she was about to explode.

Deep down, she wanted to pull away, but her body was uncontrollably drawn closer—closer still. She had absolutely no resistance against the scent of blue water lily; it was no different from wanting to pull the other person close and inhale deeply.

Zhou Que was also struggling to endure, so she didn’t notice Xie Qingshu’s abnormality. Pretending to be an O came with a price; her ruts were more unstable and far more violent than others. If she wasn’t careful, she would lose control. She would often dig her nails into her own arm to force herself to stay conscious.

She was used to this endurance, but after tasting a little bit of sweetness, she found herself nearly unable to hold back.

Moreover, the other person was enticing her without even realizing it.

Zhou Que’s throat bobbed as she swallowed hard.

Behind the monitor, Deng Yue’s eyes were sparkling. The atmosphere and emotions were all perfect—much better than he had imagined. In fact, the tension was even stronger than before. However, he sensed something unusual flowing between them. This feeling made him want to call “cut,” yet he was reluctant to stop them. Finally, he gritted his teeth and let it continue.

Outside the Golden Palace, a row of attendants kept their brows lowered, their foreheads beaded with sweat. Ever since the previous Demon Lord was annihilated by the current one, the Demon Realm—which already followed the law of the jungle—had become a total autocracy. The current Lord’s methods were even more ruthless, making those who lived at her mercy increasingly terrified.

The new Demon Lord was easy to talk to, and under her leadership, she had frequently provoked the cultivation world, appearing to be on the verge of total hegemony. However, this place remained a forbidden zone; no one was allowed in, and no one left.

Intermittent sounds came from within—the sound of a newly delivered glazed cup being smashed, accompanied by the brutal sound of fabric being heartlessly torn, enough to make one’s heart race.

But no one dared to move. They remembered the last time a demoness stole a glance at the person inside; her eyes had been gouged out on the spot.

“What are you thinking?” Qin Yun said fiercely. Compared to a moment of pleasure, what she wanted more was to tear away the mask of the person beneath her.

Ju Zhan gritted her teeth, refusing to make a sound, as if doing so would preserve her last shred of dignity. This only invited even more brutal treatment from her opponent. A chill washed over her neck. She was surprised; she was born from the snow, so how could she feel cold?

Ju Zhan’s pupils lost focus for a split second, which Qin Yun caught. She curled her lips and leaned close to her ear. “Does Master regret saving me back then? Or… should I move faster?”

“Presumptuous!” Ju Zhan finally had a reaction, her water-like eyes reflecting the other’s face.

Qin Yun let out a soft laugh. There was no trace of a demon in her features; she looked entirely like a seductive spirit capable of enchanting the world.

“Didn’t Master want to run away last time? I could actually let you go.”

Ju Zhan’s eyelashes trembled. Would she be so kind-hearted?

Qin Yun’s long fingers brushed over Ju Zhan’s snow-white skin, reluctant to leave. “I never intended to trap you. But if Master goes out now, can you truly leave my body?”

“Hmm?”

This sentence completely enraged Ju Zhan. She abruptly pushed Qin Yun away, her legs trembling as she stood up and walked toward the exit. Her robes were half-off, and marks that were hard to explain lingered on her jade-like skin.

Who would have thought that the habitually cold and “ruthless” Venerable Master Ju would look like this?

Utterly captivating.

Qin Yun’s gaze darkened. She pulled Ju Zhan back with effortless strength. She harbored a wicked thought, positioning Ju Zhan’s nape toward herself, making it look as though the other was throwing herself into her arms.

Perhaps the previous movement had been too large; Xie Qingshu’s scent gland was red to a terrifying degree. However, with Zhou Que blocking it, the camera could only capture a rough outline—a hazy, lingering sight that was all the more seductive.

At this moment, Xie Qingshu felt parched. Taking small breaths of Zhou Que’s scent helped her stay calm for a moment, but she hadn’t forgotten she was acting. However, in her confusion, she felt a sudden heat on her scent gland, as if it had been bitten.

Initially, she thought it was an illusion caused by her discomfort, but she soon realized that wasn’t the case.

“!”

Zhou Que had been debating whether to follow Hu Li’s advice, still possessing a shred of reason. But when the choice was laid bare before her, she realized she had no way to retreat.

The faint scent of milk candy radiated a quiet sweetness that was impossible to resist.

Xie Qingshu couldn’t find the words to stop her. She felt a sharp pain in her scent gland; it must have been pierced by teeth. After the pain came a dense, tingling relief. The itch that had tortured her for so long stopped instantly. It wasn’t unpleasant; she even felt a faint desire for it to continue.

A sudden surge of coolness instantly calmed her previous parched heat. This felt completely different from the sensation brought by an inhibitor.

Xie Qingshu’s usually cold eyes were shot with red, a stark contrast to her normal self. Step by step, she felt an urge to drag such a clean person into hell with her. But she quickly realized what that coolness was.

It was Zhou Que’s pheromones.

Zhou Que strictly remembered Hu Li’s words—”only a little.” She withdrew from the scent gland with great difficulty. She had restrained herself for many years, so this bit of control was nothing to her.

The scent gland had returned to its original state, though the very tip was tinged with pink. The tooth marks weren’t deep, but they had left a trace.

It would likely take several days for them to fade.

For some reason, Zhou Que’s lips felt dry. She almost couldn’t stop herself from taking another bite, but she knew the consequences of doing so would be irreversible.

Xie Qingshu was in no better state. She didn’t have the energy to analyze the dark look in Zhou Que’s eyes. As soon as she heard Deng Yue call “cut,” she didn’t even look at the footage; she fled the set like she was escaping.

In the eyes of others, this looked as though Xie Qingshu disliked Zhou Que so much she didn’t want to see her for a second after finishing the scene.

Deng Yue, rarely encountering such a situation, naturally didn’t see the state of Xie Qingshu’s neck. He frowned. What happened?

Over the next few days, Xie Qingshu didn’t return. Zhou Que couldn’t hold back and went to ask Deng Yue, only to be told she had taken leave.

Any other director might not have agreed, but Deng Yue was different; the current progress was so fast he felt a bit light-headed with success.

“Her manager called and said something happened with her scent gland. They were vague, but it sounded quite serious.”

Zhou Que immediately thought of her biting Xie Qingshu’s scent gland that day and quickly found Hu Li.

“President Zhou, you play quite wild, don’t you? Tsk tsk, I never would have guessed you were this kind of person.” Hu Li winked, not forgetting to guess that the Alpha was Xie Qingshu.

She couldn’t be blamed; on the surface, Xie Qingshu was indeed different from the descriptions.

“Just tell me what will happen,” Zhou Que said succinctly, her voice deep.

Seeing this expression, Hu Li didn’t dare joke further. “Actually, it’s fine. Without sufficient pheromone support, it won’t form a permanent mark unless the two are highly compatible—then it would be a temporary mark. If it were an Omega, they might be fully marked. But since the other party is in a heat or rut, you know how pheromones work… maybe they will especially want to be close to you.”

She dragged out the last sentence.

Zhou Que was willing to believe about twenty percent of her words. Recalling that Xie Qingshu didn’t seem uncomfortable at the time, her heart stirred. “Specifically, what kind of ‘closeness’?”

Hu Li raised an eyebrow. “All sorts. Mild cases involve ‘nesting’ with the partner’s clothes. More severe cases…”

Although she didn’t finish the second half, Zhou Que’s ears turned red.

“By the way, Madam Bai can’t sit still and wants to ask Doctor Gu for treatment, but he refused,” Hu Li added.

Zhou Que snorted coldly. “It must have been hard for her to pretend for so long.”

Bai Ting’s methods were aggressive and not tolerated by the “old foxes” on the board. Zhong Shang was isolated and helpless. Their current plan relied solely on Bai Chengming, who was already hollowed out in the nursing home, while they still put on an act of being a devoted, loving couple.

“What should we do if Bai Chengming actually wakes up?”

Zhou Que shook her head. “Before they can get Doctor Gu, I’ll make sure the Bai family is firmly in my pocket. Once I’ve secured my position, it won’t matter if Bai Chengming wakes up; he won’t be able to do anything to me.”

It was too risky.

But Hu Li couldn’t say no. After a long pause, she uttered an “Okay.” Then, her eyes darted around as she suddenly realized a very important question.

Which Alpha would Zhou Que mark in the film crew?

A name surfaced in Hu Li’s mind, and she felt a sudden shock.

It couldn’t really be Xie Qingshu, could it…?

Zhou Que was quite the “tiger”.