Chapter 2

[Detected—bzzt… Bo Xianyue’s pheromones are highly unstable… bzzt… atypical heat. Suppressants—bzzt… may be ineffective. Host, please exer—bzzt… cise cau—bzzt… tion when re—bzzt… sponding.]

Jin Yue could not tell whether the electrical sensation came from the system’s intermittent warning or Bo Xianyue’s breath brushing past her neck. A dense wave of numbness climbed up her spine and exploded along the tiny nerve endings beneath her skin.

Jin Yue did not know what “highly unstable pheromones” meant, nor did she understand what an “atypical heat” was. But when she heard that suppressants might not work, her mind went blank, and the alcohol nearly left her system.

What was she supposed to do in this situation?

With some rationality still intact, Jin Yue reasoned that a wealthy household like this must have plenty of servants and a family doctor available at a moment’s notice. As long as she escaped the circle of Bo Xianyue’s arms, the problem would be solved.

However, things did not go as she hoped.

The words Bo Xianyue had spoken beside Jin Yue’s ear had not sounded like a reproach, but more like a declaration.
The Omega’s slender arms slowly tightened, forcing Jin Yue to fall with her.

Books said the Himalayan poppy’s fragrance was so faint that it was almost nonexistent.
That scent, as if cleansed by an endless snowfield, lingered in Jin Yue’s nose—cool and delicate—only to erupt violently at a certain moment.

Unable to resist in time, Jin Yue was flooded with a mouthful of Bo Xianyue’s pheromones.
Her throat swallowed and tightened uncontrollably, bailiantales.comand she distinctly felt the Omega’s soft tongue pressing against hers.

An Alpha’s neck was more vulnerable than Jin Yue had imagined. Before she could even adjust to having a gland, the tiny organ had already begun manipulating her mind.
Every inch of skin touched by Bo Xianyue’s cold lips became unbearably hot. The Himalayan poppy’s cool fragrance was more potent than the warm liquor Jin Yue had swallowed, blazing with such clarity that it left her dazed.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
Jin Yue felt as if her blood had caught fire and her heart had transformed into a tiny drum.
The burning blood surged violently, pounding her heart again and again until it seemed ready to burst.

No, wait. Wasn’t something wrong here…?
…The system had never told her there would be a scene like this between her and Bo Xianyue today!

Just as her will was about to crumble, Jin Yue forcibly pulled her thoughts away and screamed for the system: [System! Come out! Stop hiding silently inside my head! What is going on right now?!]

[System!]

[System!!]

[Sys—]

Her cry for help changed pitch. Two patches of rosy red spread across Jin Yue’s cheeks, and her liquor-dampened lips pressed tightly together, instinctively preventing certain embarrassing sounds from escaping.

Someone tore the suppressant patch from the back of Jin Yue’s neck.

Jin Yue did not know how Bo Xianyue had managed it when she could not move her legs. By the time Jin Yue returned to her senses, Bo Xianyue was already sitting astride her thighs.

The woman who had originally been lying down now towered above her, while the woman who had been standing beside the bed was pinned down, unable to escape.

The neatly cut suppressant patch was small, moving from the Alpha’s neck to the Omega’s lips. Red lips closed over the white square like a flame burning a piece of ice in winter, leaving Jin Yue dumbfounded.

What… was she trying to do?
…Bo Xianyue was not supposed to be like this, was she?

Languid heat rolled back and forth along Jin Yue’s throat, making even her thoughts stutter.
Based on her vague impression of Bo Xianyue’s personality, she felt that something was distinctly wrong with her now.

What was an atypical heat?

Under what circumstances would an Omega experience one?

Illness? Drugs?

Jin Yue was not from this world and understood none of the system’s technical terminology.
Clinging to the thread of rationality that was about to snap, she could only reason that if Bo Xianyue would never do this while sober, then she should not simply give in and allow it to happen now.

“…Bo Xianyue.”

After parting several times, Jin Yue’s lips finally produced words. She reached out and grasped Bo Xianyue’s wrist.

“Something’s wrong with you. I’ll call someone.”

The light fell plainly across the pillow, lending Jin Yue’s gaze an air of depth and integrity.
Yet the room was now drenched in intimate ambiguity, making such a tone seem decidedly out of place. In that dazed moment, it seemed to pull someone’s self-abandoning thoughts back to reality.

Bo Xianyue’s gaze seemed to find a point of focus as she stared at the pair of amber eyes beneath her.

Half a second later, Bo Xianyue tilted her head.

Her long hair, carrying the fragrance of perspiration, cascaded past the side of her face like a waterfall. It grew thicker as it fell, so black that no light could penetrate it. Only scattered rays slipped along her lashes, revealing a hint of disgust spilling from eyes whose color could no longer be distinguished.

“Miss Jin is acting so respectable?”

Jin Yue could not properly understand Cantonese, but from Bo Xianyue’s ​read the original at bailiantales.com​cold, disgusted tone, she could vaguely tell that Bo Xianyue was mocking her.

That only made Bo Xianyue even more incomprehensible to her.

The disgust hidden in her eyes was real, and so was her abnormal heat.
Then why, after Jin Yue noticed something was wrong, would Bo Xianyue stop her from leaving to find someone? Was this not the perfect opportunity to avoid being marked by someone she detested?

Wait. Bo Xianyue’s mockery was meant to stop her from leaving to find someone, right?

What if Bo Xianyue merely thought this bastard of a spoiled heir had finally begun behaving like a human being and casually mocked her for it, when she was actually waiting for Jin Yue to get up and leave on her own?

Jin Yue hesitated, wondering whether she had misunderstood.

Given the choice between being a decent person and a scoundrel, Jin Yue still chose to be decent. With that thought, she withdrew her hand and tried to rise—

Unexpectedly, Bo Xianyue pressed down even more firmly.

Moonlight enveloped Bo Xianyue. The satin slip hung from her body, evenly bathed in a dim golden glow, making her resemble a burning white candle.
Jin Yue was her candleholder.

Melted wax slowly rolled down the candle’s long, slender form, bailiantales.com releasing a cool fragrance into the air before gathering at its base in a smooth, watery pool of burning heat.

“……”

An Alpha’s primal instincts seemed even more difficult to restrain than Jin Yue had imagined. Her rationality had barely awakened her before it began to sway once more, and not a single breath passing her lips remained steady.

She was not straight!

Jin Yue’s path toward becoming a decent person was destined to twist and turn in the strangest ways. At one point, she nearly veered straight toward becoming a scoundrel.

She wanted so badly to bite Bo Xianyue’s neck…
…What did an Omega’s pheromones taste like?

The Himalayan poppy’s scent was too faint, luring her to explore deeper.

Her gland throbbed, and her body moved against her will. The spoiled heir’s base instincts clamored for Jin Yue to respond to Bo Xianyue’s movements, demanding that she mark this Omega.

No. She could not let Bo Xianyue continue…

Jin Yue struggled desperately, determined to be a decent person and give read the original at bailiantales.com her mission a good start.
Although she and Bo Xianyue were already legally married and doing such a thing would not be unlawful, Bo Xianyue was clearly not herself. How could Jin Yue muddleheadedly indulge her own desires?

This was not the first time Jin Yue had chosen another person’s interests over her own.

When forced to choose between being “decent” and being a “scoundrel,” Jin Yue was destined to choose decency.
She had chosen to be a “scoundrel” once before, and that one time, she had caused someone’s death…

“Bo Xianyue!”

Jin Yue cried out, almost losing her composure.

Bo Xianyue seized Jin Yue’s wrist and guided it toward the candle’s base.
A glistening pool of warm water touched the fingers pulled toward it, scalding them so fiercely that they jerked away as Jin Yue’s ears flushed bright red.

The original Jin Yue had a habit of working out and was far stronger than Bo Xianyue, who had spent more than half a year in the hospital. With a single instinctive movement born of panic, Jin Yue easily pulled Bo Xianyue down, causing her to lose her balance and fall into Jin Yue’s arms.

In the moonlight-filled room, no one’s breathing remained calm.

Bo Xianyue’s hair wound around Jin Yue’s shoulders and arms. She had fallen with her back against Jin Yue, leaving her gland fully exposed to the heat of Jin Yue’s breath.

If Jin Yue’s instinctive reaction, when her hand was about to be guided somewhere unspeakable, was to trap the out-of-control Omega firmly in her arms, then Bo Xianyue’s instinctive resistance was to bite down on the Alpha’s arm the instant she realized her gland might be touched.

It was like abruptly awakening from a dream.

The bite was forceful enough that a sharp pain immediately shot through Jin Yue’s wrist.
Her skin had probably broken, for the fresh scent of iron drifted into the air.

Jin Yue had never expected Bo Xianyue’s reaction to be so extreme.

When she committed those excessive acts just moments ago, had she not considered that Jin Yue might embrace her?

Was she truly incapable of controlling herself?

Confusion and pain gradually forced their way into Jin Yue’s mind, seeming to wash away the desire Bo Xianyue had just stirred within her.
The crisp chill of the autumn night squeezed through the room’s windows, finally finding an opportunity to devour the heat entrenched inside.

Bo Xianyue bit down harder and showed no intention of releasing her.

Jin Yue’s brows knotted tightly. Enduring the pain, she said, “Bo Xianyue, I know you don’t want this. Neither do I.”

“I won’t mark you. Trust me.”

Jin Yue knew Bo Xianyue understood Mandarin.
—She could speak Mandarin, so there was no reason she would not understand it.

But even after Jin Yue said so much, Bo Xianyue still did not release her.

Eventually, Jin Yue nearly resigned herself to her fate and attempted to negotiate. “Bo Xianyue, would you rather bite my gland or my wrist?”

They were both glands. If an Omega’s gland could withstand an Alpha’s bite, then an Alpha’s gland should be able to withstand one too, right?

Please stop tormenting her wrist. It truly hurt.

But Bo Xianyue did not seem willing to accept the offer.

She did not want to let go.

Sweet, metallic blood slowly flowed past the tips of her teeth and into her mouth. In her daze, Bo Xianyue was startled that she had truly bitten through the Alpha’s skin and flesh. An indescribable flavor spread through her mouth.

It tasted like countless types of alcohol blended together, as though she were standing [stolen content]inside a storm.
There were fruits and botanicals, all of them charging wildly down Bo Xianyue’s throat. The forceful flavor made her frown, yet also left her strangely reluctant to let it go.

Bo Xianyue could feel the restless, rioting pheromones inside her being crushed through her nerves and blood by Jin Yue’s scent with almost tyrannical force.

They tangled and merged.
Softness and warm currents of air wrapped tightly around Bo Xianyue’s fragile back, making her feel safer than she had when she held control moments ago.

Yet the storm should have been the most unsettling presence of all.

Why…?

No more incomprehensible Cantonese sounded inside the room, and the stream of Mandarin had also fallen silent.

By the end, Jin Yue had gone numb from the pain. Perhaps pain made people clearheaded, because she could even sense that Bo Xianyue’s pheromones were no longer as violent and no longer affected her.

It could not be an illusion. As a complete outsider to the ABO world, Jin Yue attempted to construct a reasonable explanation.

She believed it was because she was an S-class Alpha. Even in her blood, the concentration of her pheromones was high enough to soothe an Omega’s heat.

“Whew…”

A soft exhalation sank into the hair at the back of Bo Xianyue’s head as Jin Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

Gradually, Jin Yue realized that she could move her wrist again.

But it hurt terribly. Even the slightest movement made her grimace, so she ultimately gave up trying.

What were Bo Xianyue’s teeth made of? How could she bite so hard?

With a trace of complaint, Jin Yue raised her eyes and secretly glanced at Bo Xianyue.

She had fallen asleep. Her tightly closed eyes were completely covered by her lowered lashes. Her faded lips held only the faintest trace of color, and she had finally returned to her cold daytime appearance.

Once the Omega’s heat had been soothed, the Alpha’s wrist became a discarded pawn.

Yet at some unknown moment, a clear tear slipped from the corner of Bo Xianyue’s eye. It flowed into the hollow beside the raised bridge of her nose, forming a tiny, shallow pool.

Jin Yue’s breath caught. The question in her heart dipped itself read the original at bailiantales.com into Bo Xianyue’s tear and wrote down an answer.

—The disgust in Bo Xianyue’s eyes had not been directed solely at Jin Yue.

.

The following morning, the sunlight was brilliant.

Warm sunlight filled the room, leaving no trace of the previous night’s turmoil.

Bo Xianyue awoke.

Her head felt somewhat heavy, and for the moment, she had forgotten what happened the night before.

But when she lowered her gaze, Bo Xianyue inevitably saw the two arms wrapped around her.

Realizing that someone was holding her, Bo Xianyue frowned and immediately struggled to sit up.

Her movements quickly received a response.

“Mmph… Stop squirming and stay still!” Jin Yue was sleeping soundly and had completely mistaken the person in her arms for a large body pillow. When Bo Xianyue continued struggling, Jin Yue simply lifted one leg and pressed it over Bo Xianyue’s legs.

But apparently, that was not enough.

Jin Yue raised her hand and gave Bo Xianyue a smack on the bottom.

“Smack!”