After Signing a Marking Agreement with the Abstinent Omega - Chapter 3

Jiangcheng was by the sea. At the Gland Research Institute.

“You’re saying that you were marked by an Alpha last night?” Lin Wumo pushed the glasses on the bridge of her nose, the lenses reflecting the light.

“Mm.”

Yun Wangqing took a specially made suppressant patch from the drawer and placed it on the back of her neck. Even though half a day had already passed, there was still a faint lime scent lingering on her body, following her like a shadow.

Just that tiny bit of lime scent had disturbed her mind from morning until now.

When her fingertips touched that special patch of skin, it easily stirred up a blaze. Her movements paused for a moment, and she bit her lip tightly, restraining her breathing.

Lin Wumo noticed nothing. She was still excited. “Your gland can actually be marked!”

No matter what, she insisted on pulling her into the examination room immediately.

The examination process was very quick. Yun Wangqing was already thoroughly familiar with every step. The machinery in the research institute was the most precise equipment available today, and in just over ten minutes, the results came out.

“This is too amazing.” Lin Wumo stared at the report, marveling for the nth time.

“Your pheromone stability actually increased by ten points. Did you really only let that Alpha mark you once?”

The normal stability value of Alpha pheromones was generally above 80. This was an important factor in maintaining a stable rut and heat cycle. The lower the stability value, the easier it was to trigger a heat period.

Generally speaking, this was not a serious illness and could be slowly resolved through suppressant injections.

But the problem was that Yun Wangqing suffered from pheromone rejection disorder.

When a normal Omega came into contact with Alpha pheromones, it would induce heat. But when someone with pheromone rejection disorder came into contact with Alpha pheromones, not only would heat be triggered, it would also be accompanied by an allergic reaction in the gland. In serious cases, it could lead to shock, or even death.

Yun Wangqing’s condition was even more severe. She rejected not only Alpha pheromones, but also suppressants that used substitute pheromones.

In order to find a suppressant Yun Wangqing could use, the Yun family spent millions every year researching new types of suppressants.

But now, her body had gradually started to reject even the new suppressants.

This was nearly unsolvable. The only way was to find that one exception who could mark her.

Lin Wumo had thought that, with odds of one in a million, Yun Wangqing might have to rely on the endless financial support of her family to survive on a continuous supply of new suppressants for the rest of her life.

But now, that exception had appeared.

Before this, Yun Wangqing’s stability value had always been between 5% and 10%. At that level, as long as an Alpha appeared near her, her heat could be induced, which was extremely dangerous.

But now, that nameless Alpha had only marked her once, and her stability value had already increased by ten points.

In Lin Wumo’s heart, the Alpha who had marked Yun Wangqing was now like a giant in the field of medicine. She grew more and more curious about that person.

She had been with Yun Wangqing ever since Yun Wangqing differentiated at eighteen. The two of them had known each other for more than ten years. Now that a turning point had appeared when Yun Wangqing’s condition was at its most serious, Lin Wumo was so excited that she almost forgot she was working.

“Who is it?” She leaned closer and asked excitedly.

Yun Wangqing’s tone was calm. Compared to the excited Lin Wumo, she seemed more like the one standing outside the matter. “Someone from the Xie family.”

“The one who wanted to arrange a marriage with you as soon as you returned to the country? Isn’t that perfect? There’s hope for treating your illness now!”

Yun Wangqing sat in the chair. She was still wearing the clothes she had left the hotel in. They were a little wrinkled and had been dampened by rain, making her look somewhat disheveled, but none of it affected her beauty.

On the contrary, against this gloomy weather, her beauty appeared broken yet moving. Lin Wumo stared at her and even lost focus for a moment.

She shook her head hard. “Don’t weaponize your beauty. Hurry up.”

Yun Wangqing did not answer. She reached out and took the report back, her fingertips trembling slightly.

“It wasn’t her. I came to you because I want you to help me wash off the mark. The sooner, the better.”

“Of course, no problem. How many years have we known each—wait! What are you trying to do?”

Yun Wangqing’s expression remained unchanged. She repeated it again, as if reading it aloud to herself. “Wash off the mark. This was only an accident.”

Lin Wumo shot up from her chair. “Are you joking with me? You must be joking. How could this mark be washed off? This is the only pheromone that can mark your gland.”

Yun Wangqing lifted her head and sighed. “I’m not joking. I still have something to do this afternoon. It would be best to solve this before noon.”

Lin Wumo’s expression darkened. “I won’t do it.”

Yun Wangqing frowned. “You’re a doctor…”

“It’s precisely because I’m a doctor that I can’t do it.” Lin Wumo grew anxious and walked straight over.

“Do you have any idea how fragile your gland is? Other Omegas’ glands can still recover after having marks washed off a few times, but you? If you wash it off once, your life will be gone. Do you know that?”

Yun Wangqing’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and her tone became forceful. “You’re the doctor the Yun family hired to treat me.”

Lin Wumo puffed out her cheeks, took off her white coat, and sat down angrily in the chair with her arms crossed. “Then I’m not a doctor right now. I won’t do it. Go find whoever you want to do it.”

“Anyway, the most authoritative gland specialists in the country are me and my teacher. My teacher has retired. Let’s see who you can find.”

Yun Wangqing frowned. “Lin Wumo.”

Lin Wumo knew that once Yun Wangqing called someone by their full name, it meant she was truly angry.

Her brows were tightly furrowed. She stared at Yun Wangqing for a long time, but in the end, she only let out a deep sigh.

“You’re such a stubborn person. Once you make a decision, no one can change your mind.”

Her hands tapped across the keyboard, and she printed out a list.

“Do these examinations first. I’ll prepare the machine. Removing the mark requires three consecutive injections of cleansing fluid. If you can’t even endure the first one, you are not allowed to mention this to me again.”

This was not Yun Wangqing’s first time lying on a cold operating table. Nothing had changed. The cold lights were still dazzling.

Along with the buzzing of the machinery, in a daze, she seemed to smell that lime fragrance again, the one that could make her feel at ease.

But no matter how comforting it was, in the end, it was not hers.

Yun Wangqing closed her eyes, waiting for the lime scent to be completely stripped from her body.

The buzzing sound around her ears grew closer and closer, closer and closer, until—

“Ah!”

A heart-piercing, bone-deep pain spread from her gland throughout her entire body. Yun Wangqing instantly collapsed weakly on the operating table, her whole body drenched in cold sweat.

Lin Wumo quickly moved the instrument away and applied the prepared emergency medication to her gland.

“I set it to the lowest level, with the smallest needle tip. Your gland can’t even withstand this. How are you supposed to wash off the mark?”

Yun Wangqing’s face was as pale as paper, and her entire body trembled violently. That pain still lingered inside her, its aftershock refusing to fade.

She could not say a single word. Only her heavy breathing remained in the operating room.

Lin Wumo fed her painkillers and waited a while before helping her sit up.

“I didn’t expect your gland to have become so fragile that it can’t even be pierced by any suppressant now. If your next heat arrives and we still haven’t found a solution, even I won’t know what to do.”

Lin Wumo put on a stern face. “Why exactly do you want to wash off the mark? Is there something wrong with that Alpha? Or does she already have a family?”

Yun Wangqing’s face was pale. She breathed faintly, and her body, still unrecovered from the pain, remained limp.

She shook her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito’s hum. “It’s my problem.”

She could not accept the scent of any pheromones on her body. It had reached an almost obsessive degree.

—

In the end, the meal was not finished peacefully. Xie Rong’an’s words were far too arrogant and belittling, making Xie Queyou feel extremely uncomfortable listening to them.

Even though she knew in her heart that she could not provoke the protagonist, she still could not resist snapping back at Xie Rong’an a few times.

In the original plot, the original owner was the true daughter of the Xie family who had been lost outside. She had only been found and brought back in recent years. The only thing that connected her to the Xie family was the blood flowing through her veins.

Ever since the original owner returned, Xie Rong’an had never liked her. In Xie Rong’an’s words:

Xie Queyou was a reckless and rude ordinary person who had suddenly become her younger sister and wanted to compete with her for authority over the Xie family. She looked down on her and was unwilling to spare her even a glance.

After staying in the Xie family for two days and sleeping in the original owner’s bedroom for one day, Xie Queyou was woken up early the next morning by the butler knocking on her door and was forced to move to a room in the side villa.

Fortunately, the original owner had not often lived at home before, so no matter how the Xie family had people move her things, it did not take long.

These past few days, Xie Queyou had nothing to do. As she sorted out the plot and thought about what to do next, for some reason, that cold cedar fragrance kept appearing and disappearing in her mind.

During naps, while zoning out, she would always think of it.

As if possessed, Xie Queyou went to that hotel again, hoping to try her luck. At the very least, she wanted to apologize to that lady again.

These past two days, she had crammed knowledge on the subject and learned that after an Omega washed away a mark, they would be very weak, and it was best to have an Alpha by their side to accompany them.

The more Xie Queyou read, the more guilt she felt.

She stood blankly outside the hotel for a long time. Even when the sky, which had only just cleared, began to rain again, she still did not see that trace of pure white.

Her heart felt a little empty. She had no choice but to admit that this had been their first and last meeting.

One absurd night, mutually consensual. No contact information, not even a name.

They truly would not have any further interaction.

When she returned to the Xie family by car, she had just entered the gate when she saw the courtyard full of bustling vitality. All the servants in the house had come out to decorate.

Xie Queyou stopped a housekeeper who was hanging lights. “Auntie Li, what’s going on?”

The woman she called Auntie Li smiled so widely her teeth nearly disappeared. “Second Miss, you still don’t know? Tonight, the Omega that Eldest Miss was engaged to since childhood is coming to attend the family banquet. Madam specifically told us to tidy everything up properly.”

Something flashed through Xie Queyou’s mind. “Is the Yun family coming? Is the Omega she’s going to be engaged to called…”

“Yun Wangqing.” Before she could finish, a cold voice came from behind her.

Xie Queyou turned around and saw that Xie Rong’an had appeared behind her at some point.

“Didn’t I say not to come to the front courtyard if you had no business here?” Xie Rong’an raised a hand and told Auntie Li to go back to work. She was wearing a proper women’s suit, looking as if she had just returned from work. Xie Queyou smelled a faint, sweet pheromone scent.

It was not the peach scent she had smelled yesterday.

Her nose was sensitive, and she felt somewhat uncomfortable, so she quietly moved farther away from Xie Rong’an.

Xie Rong’an did not notice her. She also had no time to place her attention on this younger sister of hers. She only said,

“Since it’s not evening yet and the Yun family hasn’t arrived, go back to the rear residence.”

“Yun Wangqing just returned from abroad recently, and her health has always been delicate. You haven’t learned social etiquette, and you came from a place like that. If you offend her, and the Yun family discovers that the Xie family has someone like you, it will bring shame upon the Xie family.”

Xie Queyou gave a smile that did not reach her eyes. “Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll go back after the banquet.”

Want her to miss the plot? Dream on.

Tonight was a major plotline. If Xie Queyou did not carefully observe this newly appointed “sister-wife” of hers, how was she supposed to avoid her later?

Xie Rong’an swept her gaze over Xie Queyou’s outfit and frowned, revealing a very pitying look. She casually called over a housekeeper. “Take Second Miss to change into something presentable.”

Xie Queyou lowered her head to look at what she was wearing. A loose T-shirt and long pants. Very presentable.

Still, she was pulled by the housekeeper to the Xie family wardrobe, where she chose a diamond-studded water-blue gown. Then she spent more than an hour getting her makeup and styling done before she was finally brought to sit at the dining table in the front hall.

At the moment, only Xie Wanyue was seated at the table. When she saw Xie Queyou sit down, she spoke.

“Tonight, the Yun family’s daughter, Yun Wangqing, will be coming. Your sister should have told you.”

Xie Queyou nodded. “She told me.”

Xie Wanyue said, “This young lady of the Yun family has been working abroad all this time and only recently returned to the country. Tonight is the first formal contact between our two families. Don’t say anything improper and make people think we lack manners.”

Xie Queyou felt helpless inside, but she could only nod.

Just as they were speaking, footsteps sounded outside the door. Xie Wanyue said,

“They’re here.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the servants opened the main door. Beneath the light outside, two figures appeared.

One was sharp and imposing. The other was gentle.

During the two days since Xie Queyou had transmigrated into the book, she had not paid attention to the original plot and had not searched for what Yun Wangqing looked like. To her, this meeting was the first.

This was the woman who would decide whether she lived or died.

For some reason, her heart had been pounding violently all this time, faintly uneasy.

Until a faint wisp of cedar scent drifted across the distance and landed at the tip of her nose.

She froze, then raised her eyes to look at the woman who had already stepped out from the backlight.

A pure white formal gown made her skin look even more like reflected snow. Her brows and eyes were as cold and clear as the pheromones on her body, overlapping with the dazed expression and slightly reddened eyes from that night.

Their gazes collided.

Xie Queyou froze in place.