After Signing a Marking Agreement with the Abstinent Omega - Chapter 13

Early Tuesday morning, the anonymous investment from Yun Wangqing was transferred into Xie Queyou’s company.

Wan Yanyu rushed into the office like she had gone mad and gave Xie Queyou a solid bear hug. “Eight million! Xie Queyou, you’re simply amazing! Hurry up and tell me, who exactly did you bewitch at that banquet?”

Her face was full of joy, and even going to work seemed much more pleasant now.

Xie Queyou was shaken until she felt dizzy. She still was not used to the other woman being so intimately close, so she quietly pushed her a little farther away. Her tone carried a protectiveness even she herself did not notice. “There was no bewitching. She took a liking to the script.”

Wan Yanyu narrowed her eyes and looked at Xie Queyou’s calm, unrevealing appearance. “Fine. Then one day, I definitely have to meet this investor with excellent taste!”

Xie Queyou returned to her office and sat down. She opened her phone and sent Yun Wangqing a message.

[The investment has arrived. Thank you.]

The other side quickly replied: [It’s nothing. I’m only fulfilling the agreement.]

A businesslike tone, just like the first impression she gave people—distant.

Xie Queyou stared at the word “agreement,” and for some reason, a faint ripple similar to grievance rose in her heart, so slight that even she herself barely noticed it.

This emotion slowly grew stronger during the work that followed.

The film poster and synopsis produced by the operations department used a very novel format, attracting many eager actors.

Auditions were a very long process. As the chief producer of the project, Xie Queyou personally handled everything.

She considered herself very patient, but for some reason, during today’s auditions, she kept feeling as if a fire were burning in her chest. She could neither swallow it nor spit it out.

On top of that, the audition room was very enclosed, and the ventilation system was not particularly good. Several people were gathered together—the scent of Alpha pheromones, the breath of Omega pheromones.

All kinds of pheromones tangled together, making her already sensitive nose feel as if it had been heavily wounded. It was difficult to breathe.

It also made her mood somewhat irritable. Her appearance was naturally on the sharp side. Usually, she was always smiling, and her slightly drooping eyes made her look a little dazed.

But now, that gentleness had disappeared from her face. In its place was a deadpan expression that seemed to say strangers should stay away.

She sat behind the long table, her back straight, her entire body covered in a gloomy, oppressive air.

The actors who came to audition were frightened into silence one after another, all thinking their acting had been so bad that they had angered the producer.

Wan Yanyu also noticed that something was wrong with her. She waved her hand to pause the auditions and told the actors to go rest for a while.

Xie Queyou nodded apologetically to everyone and pushed open the door to get some air.

Wan Yanyu followed her out. As they left, she wanted to pat Xie Queyou’s shoulder to comfort her. But the moment she got close, the faint Alpha pheromones on her body touched Xie Queyou, and Xie Queyou immediately frowned.

A feeling of wariness rose inside her, as if she had been provoked.

It was a very unfamiliar feeling.

What was wrong with her today? Xie Queyou could not understand it no matter how she thought about it. She hurriedly dropped a few words of apology and fled to the bathroom in a sorry state, splashing several handfuls of cold water onto her face.

The cold water chilled her face, and she temporarily regained some clarity. Looking at her face in the mirror, she breathed a little rapidly.

This was already the thirtieth time today that she had thought of that cedar scent that made people yearn for it.

While working, while reading the script, while explaining scenes to actors—at every moment, that fragrance seemed to be deeply rooted in her gland, impossible to ignore.

But now, when she wanted to search for it carefully, that faint cold fragrance disappeared without a trace.

As if teasing her, it only allowed her to see it, not truly touch it.

It felt awful, and she even felt a little wronged.

“Could your rut period be coming soon?” Wan Yanyu leaned against the door, her expression complicated.

Xie Queyou turned around. Water droplets slid down her face and dripped onto the floor. Her eyes looked a little blank.

“Is this what rut feels like?”

Her heart felt empty. A sour ache of longing spread through her, tormenting her. Every breath made her crave the Omega’s pheromones.

“Looking at you, you seem like you want to treat every Alpha in the world as a love rival, while also wishing you could crawl into some Omega’s arms and cry.”

Wan Yanyu raised her brows knowingly. “It’s definitely a sign before rut.”

She tossed an unopened suppressant syringe to Xie Queyou. “Use this first. An Alpha’s first rut period will feel very strange. If something feels wrong, call me anytime.”

Xie Queyou blankly caught the plastic packaging and pressed her lips together.

A few days ago at the gland research institute, Lin Wumo had indeed told her that because too much of her pheromone had been extracted, it might trigger her rut soon.

But she thought what she needed probably was not this.

It was that cold, elegant woman hidden within the cold fragrance. Just one frown or smile from her had the power to soothe Xie Queyou’s emotions.

But there was still one day before Wednesday. Thinking of the post she had seen not long ago, Xie Queyou decided to endure it for now.

There was still work in the afternoon, so she had no choice but to inject herself with a suppressant first.

The cold medicine was pushed into her gland, forcibly suppressing the restless lime.

Although it hurt a little, the effect was immediate. She no longer felt uncomfortable, and she returned to being the lively and energetic Xie Queyou.

At dusk, the auditions ended, leaving only the two of them in the office.

Wan Yanyu collapsed in her chair and began indulging in wild fantasies.

“So tired. Why is choosing actors so exhausting? Can’t some extraordinarily talented actor suddenly descend from the heavens?”

“If only Yun Wangqing could come act in this. She wouldn’t even need to act. Whatever kind of person the character in the script is, that’s who she would become just by standing there.”

Xie Queyou agreed in a small way. Because someone was praising Yun Wangqing, she herself felt a tiny bit happy. “Her acting skills are indeed very good.”

Wan Yanyu shrugged. “But that’s just wishful thinking. With her status, coming to a small production like ours would be lowering herself. She’d never come.”

“However…” She swung her legs and suddenly turned her head to look at Xie Queyou. “You might actually be able to get connected to her.”

The fingertips Xie Queyou had pinching the script suddenly tightened. A faint ripping sound followed—the script had actually been torn at the corner by her.

Xie Queyou’s gaze did not fall at all on the poor paper she had damaged. Her whole heart was lifted, as if a pair of large hands were kneading it hard.

“How could that be? How could I have anything to do with her? What nonsense are you saying?” She laughed awkwardly twice, making it seem like she was trying to cover something up.

Wan Yanyu: “…What are you thinking? I’m talking about Yun Jewelry and Xie Group.”

Xie Queyou froze, then heard Wan Yanyu continue.

“Of course you have nothing to do with Yun Wangqing. If anyone has something to do with her, it would be your disgusting sister. Xie Group and Yun Jewelry have recently started cooperating, and there are rumors that it’s for the future marriage alliance between the two.”

“If this really is a precursor to the marriage alliance, then wouldn’t Yun Wangqing become your sister-in-law? Wouldn’t you have more film and television resources? Then we’d be saved.”

Wan Yanyu, a woman whose heart was entirely devoted to her career.

Xie Queyou felt as if her heart had been pierced several times by a sword. She did not know whether she should feel fortunate that Wan Yanyu was so careless, or sad that the gap between her and Yun Wangqing was so large that, in other people’s eyes, even a scandal between them was impossible.

She weakly refuted, “There could still be some connection, right?”

For example, some things that only she and Yun Wangqing knew.

—

Elsewhere, the weather was clear and bright. In the suburbs of Jiangcheng, on a mountain called Qifeng Mountain, there was a temple called Qifeng Temple.

Rumor had it that Qifeng Temple had been built a thousand years ago. After many generations of change, it still remained resplendent and magnificent. Those who sincerely prayed for blessings would surely receive them.

Even on a workday, incense still burned strongly in the temple. Smoke curled and drifted with the breeze. Yun Wangqing, dressed in simple, plain clothes with an ancient charm, walked out through the lingering smoke.

Yun Wangqing turned around. The temple behind her merged into the afterglow of the setting sun, reflected in her dark pupils.

Every month, she would set aside one day to come to the ancient temple and burn incense, praying for the prosperity of her family.

She did not like the smell here. It was solemn and deep. But at some unknown point, even distaste had become a habit.

Yun Wangqing’s family was a common marriage-alliance family among wealthy households: an Alpha and Omega who did not love each other entered a marriage alliance and together produced a child to inherit the family.

After her grandmother died, her grandfather inherited the Yun family’s assets and brought back the son of his illegitimate child—someone of the same generation as Yun Wangqing, a nominal grandchild.

Yun Wangqing’s Alpha mother had been an outstanding figure in the family. Once, the family had also placed their hopes on Yun Wangqing, until she was diagnosed with a terminal illness that was difficult to cure.

Yun Wangqing’s gaze gradually settled along the sunset glow at the horizon. She turned and was about to leave.

Suddenly, voices came from behind her, along with the impossible-to-ignore, repulsive scent of an Alpha.

“Miss Yun, what a coincidence.” Xie Rong’an stood by the temple and politely inclined herself toward her.