Chapter 8

Characters had been carved into the bamboo discipline ruler, and the indentations along its edges had already been worn smooth and rounded by time.

It was actually the same one they had bought when they were deeply in love.

Back then, Song Yanyue would use it to correct some of Fang Zhi’s bad habits—smacking her palm when she made mistakes, tapping her back whenever she unconsciously slouched, striking the leg she carelessly propped up…

That ruler hurt like hell.

The memories were still vivid.

Almost instinctively, Fang Zhi raised both hands in surrender.

But back then, those punishments had been sweet. Fang Zhi had willingly accepted them.

What right did Song Yanyue have to hit her now?

Fang Zhi immediately curled her open hands into fists and tucked them behind her back along with the last of her backbone. She looked almost as though she were making some solemn pledge, every inch of her youthful frame stubbornly unyielding.

“What are you to me? Why should I tell you?”

Song Yanyue remained expressionless.

She simply raised the ruler.

“Hey!”

Fang Zhi panicked. She hurriedly hid both her fists—and all that precious backbone—behind her and answered obediently,

“It’s the Medical Control Center. I donated pheromones to them before for research and emergency use. The person in charge said they have plenty of empty rooms and could let me stay there for a while…”

She was still running a fever. The more she spoke through her muddled thoughts, the more righteous—and slightly aggrieved—she became.

If Song Yanyue hadn’t driven her into a corner, Fang Zhi wouldn’t have fallen so far that she had to trouble the person in charge for somewhere to stay.

They had worked together steadily for a long time. The Medical Control Center also checked in on her regularly and sent milk, rice, flour, and other necessities during holidays.

Even the person in charge cared more about her than Song Yanyue did.

And volunteering to donate was obviously something honorable.

Her younger sister suffered from a hereditary heart condition. As a family member, Fang Zhi understood better than most how important special medical resources like these could be.

She straightened her back proudly.

But when she met the increasingly dark and icy look in the woman’s eyes, she found not the slightest hint that Song Yanyue intended to praise her.

Song Yanyue said, “Which Medical Control Center? Full name. Which department does it belong to? Show me your donation certificate.”

“I want proof.”

Fang Zhi blinked, taking a moment to process it.

“You even suspect me over something like this?”

Her eyes began to burn.

Holding back a breath of anger, she immediately pulled up the old messages the Medical Control Center had sent her, along with every certificate and document she had.

The red honorary booklet bore a huge official seal.

She practically wanted to slap it onto her own face.

Having proven her innocence, Fang Zhi stared expectantly at Song Yanyue, waiting for an apology.

But after examining everything stolen content carefully, Song Yanyue’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Her tone remained sharp.

“Who gave you permission to donate your pheromones? I explicitly told you before—”

Fang Zhi felt even more wronged.

“We already broke up. And back then, you hadn’t bought exclusive rights to my pheromones.”

Smack.

“You still dare talk back?”

The cold ruler struck her palm.

Pain shot through all ten fingers straight to her heart, burning fiercely enough to bring involuntary tears to the girl’s eyes.

But Fang Zhi stubbornly refused to cry in front of Song Yanyue.

Her clear eyes brimmed with tears, shining with blatant defiance.

Song Yanyue’s face turned cold.

Fine.

Then she would punish her until she learned obedience.

“How much did they pay you?”

“Pheromone regulation has always existed in a legal gray area. Do you have any idea how many people are watching that gland of yours?”

The certificate clearly stated that the donation had been voluntary and unpaid.

Suspicion from someone who had once been her lover was the greatest insult of all.

Fang Zhi’s stubborn temper flared.

She bit her lip hard and refused to answer again.

Smack. Smack.

Two more strikes landed in quick succession, both hitting the exact same swollen red spot in her palm.

The woman lifted her chin slightly.

Still that same condescending, scrutinizing gaze.

The knuckles wrapped around the ruler had gone white. Her fingertips flushed faintly from the force she was using.

The pearl cufflink at her wrist shifted slightly with the movement, exposing a small section of skin where bluish-purple veins wound beneath the surface.

She clearly wasn’t holding back.

Only pain could make someone sober enough to recognize their mistake and reflect on it.

Song Yanyue had always been cold by nature. Her brows and eyes were perpetually composed, even her smiles carrying a trace of distance.

Now her face was completely expressionless, yet even the ice and snow that never melted seemed edged with sharp fury.

Fang Zhi didn’t understand why she was so angry.

Nor did she understand why Song Yanyue was punishing her.

She hadn’t done anything wrong.

Her gaze unconsciously lowered and traveled from the bulging veins in the woman’s wrist upward.

Fang Zhi hated always having to look up at her.

But the moment her gaze touched the sharp disgust in Song Yanyue’s eyes, the burning pain in her palm seemed to be covered by something else.

All that remained was the dense, inexplicable itch in her chest—

She couldn’t tell whether it was resentment, hatred, or hopeless yearning.

It spread from the gland at the back of her neck and burned upward until even her fingertips went numb.

Some people were simply born beyond reach.

Even looking directly at them felt almost blasphemous.

But Fang Zhi refused to retreat.

She stared straight at the beauty mark trembling faintly beneath the corner of Song Yanyue’s eye.

Like a young wolf whose wings had not yet fully grown.

No longer the obedient, admiring cub from their days of passionate love, waiting meekly to be fed.

One day, once grown—

It would suddenly pounce upon the sternest and coldest older disciplinarian.

Her palm was already swollen and red.

But no matter how fierce a wolf cub acted, it was still only a cub.

The tears she could no longer suppress fell one after another.

Through tear-blurred eyes, she looked unbearably pitiful.

Song Yanyue frowned impatiently.

For some reason, Fang Zhi crying silently like this still felt incredibly noisy.

Fang Zhi had never looked at her this way before.

Song Yanyue rebuked her sarcastically,

“Stop it. Why do you cry so much?”

“You don’t look like an Alpha at all.”

Fang Zhi didn’t want to cry either.

She had always been strong.

The number of times she had cried could be counted on one hand.

Even on the rainy night when her mother left, she had only hidden quietly behind the door.

So why did she become such a crybaby whenever she encountered Song Yanyue?

Pathetic!

Her fever had already left her dizzy and confused, yet she was still being treated like this.

The girl’s eyes reddened as she thought bitterly:

It’s because I like you!

Otherwise, why would I care so much about what you say?

Fang Zhi obediently swallowed her sobs.

The cold air fell silent for a moment.

Song Yanyue lowered her gaze to the girl’s red, swollen palm and quietly clicked her tongue.

Fang Zhi lifted that hand and swiftly undid her buttons, revealing her young, athletic body.

A tear still rested on her beautiful collarbone.

Song Yanyue: “…?”

Seduction?

Song Yanyue pressed down against the throbbing between her brows.

When she had struck Fang Zhi’s palm earlier and heard the girl’s low gasps, her body had already reacted on instinct.

She had quietly crossed her legs.

Had Fang Zhi noticed?

Was she taking the opportunity to seduce her?

Going to such lengths—

Shameless!

But Song Yanyue didn’t stop her.

She only watched coldly, curious to see exactly how low Fang Zhi’s moral bottom line could sink.

She had paid money.

It was only natural that Fang Zhi should please her.

If she was going to worship money, then she should at least behave accordingly.

Not like that night at the auction, pretending to be noble and aloof, driving up the price, acting reluctant while humiliating and disgusting Song Yanyue—

Then soothing her with pheromones without permission.

No.

That probably hadn’t been soothing at all.

Perhaps that too had been part of Fang Zhi’s plan.

A cheap trick to attract her attention.

The girl’s burning gaze carried an almost aggressive edge.

Even a wolf cub could bare its fangs.

It was completely different from the gentle, harmless facade Fang Zhi usually put on.

A look like that could easily set a restless night ablaze.

Fresh white gauze was still wrapped around Fang Zhi’s shoulder.

The wound—the obstruction hiding what lay beneath—somehow added a wild sort of allure to her.

Her muscles were lean but defined.

After two years apart, Fang Zhi had shed much of her original youthful awkwardness.

She now stood somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, still ignorant of the sophisticated games grown-ups played.

She simply shrugged off her shirt in a straightforward, completely uncalculated motion.

The ice-cold woman tightened her grip on the ruler.

Her throat moved faintly.

She closed her eyes deeply, allowing her contempt and disgust to show without restraint.

Pale fingertips dug into the edge of the table.

If Fang Zhi dared use pheromones to bewitch her again—

Then Song Yanyue would use that ruler to teach her, properly and thoroughly, exactly what shame and propriety meant.

The girl dug a wrinkled white work T-shirt from the very bottom of the storage bag.

She struggled to pull it on with one hand, along with an ill-timed pair of teal autumn trousers.

These two pieces were clothes Fang Zhi had bought herself.

They were several years old now and slightly too small.

The white T-shirt clung completely to her skin, outlining a resilient, graceful build.

Thin fabric.

Reckless movements…

Who had taught her to do this?

Song Yanyue’s gaze turned obscure, then darkened despite herself.

Fang Zhi walked straight toward her.

She radiated the presence of an aggressor.

Song Yanyue refused to yield even half a step.

The ruler sliced through the air with a sharp swish—

But before it could strike skin, the girl caught it with her swollen hand.

Her palm hurt.

But her heart hurt more.

“Song Yanyue…”

The young Alpha’s voice was hoarse.

“I already gave you this month’s pheromones. I’ll provide next month’s supply on time too.”

“I’m returning all of these things to you.”

Including the love and tears you once gave me.

“Beyond that…”

“You have no right to control me.”

The hot-blooded young Alpha’s scent nearly broke through the suppressant patch.

Eyes red, Fang Zhi pulled the ruler away.

She gripped it with both hands and exerted force.

Crack!

She snapped it cleanly in half.

Then she turned, pushed open the door, and left without another word.

Song Yanyue remained frozen in place.

Her fingertips clenched tightly.

Disbelief drew her brows together.

A few minutes later, the security system lit up.

One of the bodyguards hesitantly asked,

“President Song, Miss Fang still has a fever. Should we…?”

“Let her go.”

Bracing herself against the table, Song Yanyue stared through the surveillance screen and threatened coldly,

“Fang Zhi, if you walk out that door today, don’t ever think about coming back!”

For the first time in a long while, something had slipped beyond Song Yanyue’s control.

The first thing that ignited inside her was rage.

How could Fang Zhi—

How dare Fang Zhi defy her?

Who did she think she was?

Nothing more than a plaything bought with money.

Song Yanyue had already been merciful enough to bring her home.

Did Fang Zhi really think these pathetic little tricks could manipulate her?

They had been passionately in love [Read on BaiLianTales]for two years, yet Fang Zhi had never once stepped into this house.

A luxury residence in the heart of the city, where every inch of land was worth a fortune.

A location Fang Zhi could work her entire life and still never afford.

Fang Zhi looked back.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, she voluntarily walked away into the rain.

Within only a few days of their reunion, she had been driven from the apartment where she had lived for two years—

And now from Song Yanyue’s home.

She did still care about Song Yanyue.

But she had dignity of her own.

Otherwise, two years ago, she wouldn’t have needed such a clumsy lie to break up with her…

But what was the point of saying that now?

She didn’t want anyone’s sympathy.

Even more than that, she feared being questioned by Song Yanyue again.

Her crumbling life was held upright solely by that thin, stubborn pride.

Once, that had been the quality Song Yanyue admired most about her.

But now she was merely a liar full of falsehoods, someone unworthy of trust.

The bodyguard nervously reported that Fang Zhi had gotten into a car with a white-background license plate.

Song Yanyue was swallowing a pill with an icy expression.

A vein still pulsed at her temple.

She raised a hand and snapped,

“Don’t tell me this useless nonsense.”

When it came to Fang Zhi, she didn’t want to hear another word.

The room was saturated with rich violet fragrance.

The Omega was clearly already on the verge of losing control.

The bodyguard stood outside the bedroom, not daring to speculate about what had happened.

She could only lower her gaze respectfully.

“Yes.”

Song Yanyue had severe mysophobia.

Especially when it came to her bedroom.

Her territorial instincts were exceptionally strong, and very few people were ever allowed inside.

She had already made an exception for Fang Zhi.

How dared Fang Zhi be so ungrateful?

If Fang Zhi thought she could exploit her illness to make Song Yanyue chase after her, she was gravely mistaken.

Who exactly was Fang Zhi going to meet?

And why had she just happened to faint right in front of Song Yanyue?

Would an adult truly fail to notice that she had a fever of forty degrees?

She had clumsily used her own body to protect those belongings from the rain—

Yet now she had abandoned them without hesitation.

Fang Zhi had to be gambling on Song Yanyue softening.

Trying to force her to yield through such an extreme method.

Song Yanyue’s eyes darkened.

She would never tolerate tactics this despicable.

Nor would she forgive Fang Zhi so easily.

Young people were always so self-righteous.

This time, Fang Zhi needed to suffer a little.

Only then would she learn to lower her head, admit her mistake—

And come back begging.

Song Yanyue switched her phone to silent, tossed it aside, and entered the bathroom.

Amid the intermittent sound of running water, the understated black car drove farther and farther from the luxurious villa.

Halfway up the mountain, greenery twisted wildly in the midnight gale.

Darkness gradually swallowed the lights.

It seemed as though this rain would never end.

Behind the car window, Fang Zhi bit her lip so hard it hurt and buried her face in the crook of her arm, refusing to let herself cry aloud in front of strangers.

She hadn’t managed to find the wooden puppy Song Yanyue had casually thrown away.

And now even she had left it behind…

It had been the keepsake symbolizing their love.

Fang Zhi didn’t know whether Song Yanyue still remembered the story behind that puppet.

If she had already forgotten—

Then it meant she had never truly treasured it.

But if Song Yanyue did remember…

Then she had still thrown it away so cruelly.

Because she hated her.

Fang Zhi hadn’t even felt this hopeless when they broke up.

The pain she had suppressed for so long seemed to erupt belatedly only after their reunion.

Yet she didn’t even have a place where she could cry freely.

Like a stray dog wandering from place to place—

Only to be driven away again.

The director sat in the front passenger seat, having personally come to pick her up.

A shrewd gaze studied Fang Zhi steadily through the rearview mirror.

“What happened? Had a fight with your friend?”

“It’s already so late. You really shouldn’t stay outside and make people worry about you.”

The tone was patient and coaxing.

The probing beneath it was perfectly concealed.

“Enemy.”

Fang Zhi coughed and lowered her voice.

The tearful whimpering she had shown in front of Song Yanyue was already gone.

She merely pressed a hand silently against her aching chest.

“I’ve already returned everything I owed her.”

“I’ll never come here again.”

This was never somewhere she should have come in the first place.

Why keep humiliating herself?

Wearing ill-fitting clothes, thrown out of a home on a rainy night—

The girl looked extraordinarily miserable and destitute.

The director of the Medical Center quietly curved her lips.

Beneath the white coat still lingered the scent of alcohol from the decadent social event she had just left.

The final trace of wariness in her heart vanished completely.

“An enemy…”

She repeated it softly.

That makes things much easier.

Of course.

How could a poor, powerless crybaby Alpha like Fang Zhi possibly know one of the all-powerful figures who lived in this villa district?

Born at the bottom of society, guilty only of possessing a treasure—

Fang Zhi carried pheromones this precious and rare.

Without money.

Without power.

All she could do was—

Let others carve her up however they pleased.