After Being Marked by the Popular Female Lead O (GL) - Chapter 26

Hu Li almost thought it was an illusion. When she looked at Zhou Que again, the other woman appeared perfectly composed, showing no trace of anything unusual.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” Hu Li couldn’t find a reason, so she stopped dwelling on it. She straightened her expression and spoke in a serious tone, “Old Man Bai has likely suspected something and is already investigating. Should we scale back our movements? If even a little is discovered, the Bai family will start to guard against us.”

Given Zhou Que’s reputation and persona in the entertainment industry, it had indeed provided a lot of convenience. No one would have expected that the “little white flower” who allowed everyone to bully her back then would actually reach this point today.

Hu Li’s suggestion didn’t receive an immediate reply, but she wasn’t in a hurry. She pulled out a lady’s cigarette and bit onto it. “Do you want one?”

Zhou Que instinctively said, “No need—”

“Hmm?” A hint of confusion appeared in Hu Li’s eyes, and her movements paused. She remembered that Zhou Que smoked; although the addiction wasn’t heavy, she would subconsciously have a cigarette when facing certain issues. What was going on?

“I quit.” Zhou Que pursed her lips.

Hu Li understood inwardly but didn’t believe a single word. She looked up and noticed Zhou Que’s gaze drifting toward Xie Qingshu—or rather, she had been monitoring Xie Qingshu’s reaction the entire time. Zhou Que even spread her hands toward the other woman, as if desperate to draw a clear line between herself and Hu Li.

Hu Li: “…”

All these years of friendship were ultimately paid to the wrong person.

Zhou Que didn’t intend to hide from Hu Li either. When she moved her gaze away, her eyes immediately filled with a layer of frost. A strange look flickered in the depths of her pupils, and her tone dropped several degrees. “No need. It’s time to show our hand. The Bai family isn’t the only one with cards to play.”

Hu Li put the cigarette away. She naturally knew what Zhou Que meant; the other woman had been dormant for this day for far too long.

In fact, when she asked the question, she thought Zhou Que wouldn’t make a decision easily—at least not now. She had even wondered if Zhou Que would live in the shadows forever, without the possibility of exposure.

“As long as you’ve decided. With caution, a comeback is not impossible.”

Hu Li was suddenly curious about what had made Zhou Que suddenly want to step into the sunlight.

Zhou Que gave a faint “Mhm,” her breathing showing no sign that she had just decided on such a major matter.

“The director is calling me.”

“Alright, I’ll go prepare.”

This is definitely a tough nut to crack. Thinking of this, Hu Li’s blood couldn’t help but boil.

Without Zhou Que blocking the way, Hu Li was about to leave when she accidentally caught sight of Xie Qingshu standing in the sunlight. Her footsteps paused.

The light seemed exceptionally gentle toward her; the illumination made her fair skin look almost transparent. Her smile was faint, but a chill flowed between her brows—polite yet resistant. However, she suddenly smiled, and the chill abruptly vanished—that was because of Zhou Que.

And this coldness did not belong to Zhou Que.

Hu Li pinched the bridge of her nose, suddenly beginning to understand. But then that familiar sensation rose behind her. This time she was smarter and found the source.

Zhou Que was glaring at her with a hidden warning.

Fine, turns out I’m the third wheel.

Hu Li pondered for a moment and decided not to make a move on Xie Qingshu. Whether she could succeed was one thing; it would be bad if she offended the future “boss’s wife.”

The filming progress was past the halfway mark, but Deng Yue was becoming increasingly strict. Looking at the situation, they would likely have to film for another two months.

“Sister, how is your scent gland?” Zhou Que harbored doubts. Last time, it certainly didn’t look like nothing was wrong. She wanted to brush aside the hair covering Xie Qingshu’s scent gland, but her hand was subtly avoided.

“I’m fine.” Xie Qingshu bit her lip. She suddenly understood what Doctor Gu meant by “excessive closeness.” she was losing control of her urge to sniff Zhou Que’s pheromones, wanting to catch even a single trace.

Zhou Que’s eyes darkened. In fact, if one looked closely, they would see that Xie Qingshu wasn’t as calm as she appeared. At the very least, her proximity caused the other woman’s breathing to quicken. “Is Sister still angry?”

Xie Qingshu was about to say no—truthfully, if it weren’t for Zhou Que, she wouldn’t have discovered her differentiation so quickly.

But she looked up and suddenly saw Zhou Que’s exceptionally beautiful neckline, tightened in a way that carried an unintended provocation and a certain kind of sexiness.

The grace between her brows was enough to make one’s heart flutter. The curled arc of her hair didn’t hang obediently behind her but half-shrouded her. Her voice was lazy, trailing off at the end.

“If Sister is angry, you can bite me back.”

It was clearly a posture of complete submission, where one only had to lower their head to taste the sweet fruit. Yet for some reason, Xie Qingshu felt as though she was the one being controlled.

Before she could say anything, an overwhelming wave of blue water lily pheromones converged on her. She felt as if she were being held tightly by Zhou Que.

For once, Xie Qingshu wanted to curse. Damn it, she actually didn’t hate this feeling at all. What made her heart skip a beat was that her body wanted even more.

Too little, it’s still too little. Her inner depths were shouting, yet she herself couldn’t explain exactly what she wanted.

Xie Qingshu’s nerves were on the verge of snapping before she managed to restrain herself. Her tone sounded no different from usual—even a bit stern—but in reality, she was like a string that was about to break, unable to withstand any further stimulation.

“An Omega should not expose their scent gland so casually.”

Zhou Que curled her lips, displaying all her advantages without reservation. “I’ll listen to Sister. I won’t show it to anyone else.”

Her obedience made one’s heart tremble.

To others, the interaction between the two looked like a horror movie. Several staff members exchanged glances and immediately saw the same emotion on each other’s faces.

“Is something wrong with my eyes?”

“Could it be that Zhou Que is seducing…”

“Shh, don’t say it. It’ll be bad if the director hears. They’re probably practicing for a scene. To be honest, the two of them are truly beautiful.”

“You think so too!”

Deng Yue didn’t see it; otherwise, it would have led to another round of speculation.

In the night, the red candles flickered intensely, the glare making the eyes ache. The silk curtains were half-drawn, and the thin quilt couldn’t hide the grace of the person above.

Ju Zhan had fallen into a deep sleep, with tear marks even at the corners of her eyes. Half of a rounded shoulder was exposed, inviting endless imagination.

Qin Yun had been dormant in the darkness for too long. Now her eyes were full of light, high-spirited. She twirled a lock of Ju Zhan’s hair around her finger, her movements gentle, an indescribable, lingering whisper. She grew bored of the game and, seeing a layer of pink covering Ju Zhan’s earlobe, her fingertip instinctively wanted to touch it.

Ju Zhan was half-awake, but she instinctively dodged, only to be met with even more brutal treatment. She woke up instantly, her eyes bewildered.

The breath approached. Although they had done the most intimate things in the world, Ju Zhan still felt unadapted to it—especially since that person was the apprentice she had raised herself.

Perhaps she wasn’t anymore; that was the demonic star.

“Does Master still feel uncomfortable?” Qin Yun smiled meaningfully, the darkness in her eyes instantly masked by something more frantic. Her thin lips pressed close, inducing a wave of tingling. “But your body doesn’t say so.”

The red candles dripped one by one, forming waxy flowers—an incredibly ambiguous atmosphere. Ju Zhan’s voice produced broken syllables in her throat, yet she could sense it.

Qin Yun had clearly obtained everything, yet she felt a sense of emptiness, as if she hadn’t been able to keep anything. She was naturally mad, torturing Ju Zhan with ease, asking over and over: “Speak? Do you like me?”

Ju Zhan didn’t utter a sound. Now the situation was reversed; she was the one without spiritual power, at the mercy of others.

The camera panned away, and only then did Xie Qingshu dare to relax for a moment. The tingling sensation never left, and that person continued to provoke her.

Taking an inch and wanting a mile.

Even after being teased so much, this was the only impression Xie Qingshu had in her heart.

She didn’t dare turn around to look at Zhou Que at all.

An inexplicable trace of regret rose in her heart; she shouldn’t have accepted this role in the first place.

Xie Qingshu’s gaze was dazed, which benefitted Zhou Que behind her. Zhou Que’s thin lips pressed out a trace of blood-red. Her gaze landed precisely on Xie Qingshu’s scent gland. The original bite mark could no longer be detected; it was back to its original state, looking very much like something one would want to bite.

Her voice dropped an octave, whispered at a volume the audio equipment couldn’t capture, “Sister, an Alpha’s scent gland shouldn’t be casually shown to others either.”

Xie Qingshu was already struggling with her endurance. She gave a casual “Mhm,” likely agreeing to anything the other party said at this moment.

This was also the first time she experienced the unique constitution of an Omega.

Facing Zhou Que, who is also an Omega… would I be like this too?

Xie Qingshu thought in confusion. Her intuition told her she couldn’t let this continue; something would eventually happen.

As soon as they finished the scene, Xie Qingshu hid in a corner, unlike her usual self. Zhou Que thought she had discovered something and was about to chase after her when she was called away by Deng Yue.

Only after distancing herself from those emotions did Xie Qingshu feel she could breathe a little. After a moment of thought, she searched for keywords related to her feelings. She had originally wanted to ask Song Mei, who had more experience, but if she let Song Mei know that the person was Zhou Que, the sky would fall.

After weighing it over, Xie Qingshu decisively searched: [What to do if I want to be close to a certain person too much?]

The search results were unexpectedly numerous, but the more Xie Qingshu read, the more unreliable they seemed, and her expression grew increasingly solemn.

1st Floor: You must be an Omega who was just marked.

2nd Floor: I feel the same way! My compatibility with my Alpha is simply too high.

3rd Floor: It’s actually pheromone dependency after marking. Of course, other possibilities exist. You can use your Alpha’s clothes to build a nest.

Xie Qingshu subconsciously ignored the word “Alpha.” Her fingers trembled slightly. Using clothes Zhou Que has worn…

Her heart was suddenly burned; her thoughts were repulsed, but the reaction rising in her body couldn’t lie.

She was anticipating it.

Xie Qingshu took a deep breath and then exhaled, finally suppressing the strange sensation. She quickly skipped those posts about nesting and continued reading, eventually finding one that seemed a bit more reliable.

Floor X: I had this feeling on a business trip before. I bought a bottle of perfume on the way that smelled a lot like my Alpha’s pheromones.

Xie Qingshu felt she had found the root cause. It must be because Zhou Que’s pheromones smelled too good that she was acting like this.

After a while, Xiao Zhu received a message from Xie Qingshu requesting a bottle of blue water lily perfume.

She looked up and saw that she was less than five meters away from Xie Qingshu.

It’s just a bottle of perfume, so what is this all for?

The perfume arrived quickly; there were plenty on the market. Xiao Zhu didn’t know which to pick, so she simply bought every kind available. That night, Xie Qingshu saw her room filled with perfumes.

They came in every color.

Xie Qingshu chose one at random and sprayed it into the air. The next second, she frowned. It wasn’t as good as Zhou Que’s, but it was better than nothing.

Xie Qingshu was desperate to prove something, and the room was soon filled with the scent of blue water lily, yet it was completely different from Zhou Que’s.

Xie Qingshu gritted her teeth; even the thought of stealing clothes had popped up, but she quickly suppressed it.

Xie Qingshu didn’t plan to unbox the rest. While she was tidying up, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Zhou Que watched as only a tiny, minimal gap opened in the door. She narrowed her eyes. “Is Sister not welcoming me in? Or is there something you’re hiding?”

Xie Qingshu wasn’t sure if Zhou Que could smell anything and only dared to open a tiny crack. She indeed had something to hide right now. “I—I’m going to sleep soon.”

Zhou Que didn’t even need to judge to know Xie Qingshu was lying. The corners of her lips dipped slightly. “Director Deng scolded me just now… the Bai family is bothering me again…”

With every sentence, the gap grew wider and the light shone deeper.

As the faint fragrance drifted out, Zhou Que’s smile deepened instantly. By the time Xie Qingshu realized, it was too late.

“Sister, if you think my pheromones smell good, you can come find me. Is that perfume better, or am I?”

She took a step closer as she spoke, their breaths intertwining. Behind her was the starry sky, and the familiar, dominant pheromones aggressively swept out and filled the air.

Xie Qingshu wanted to say no, but her body traitorously took a sniff, and she swallowed hard.