Cocoon (Lily ABO) - Chapter 2

It was too much of a loss of composure.

The moment Ling Yu instinctively blurted out the denial, her heart instantly sank to the bottom.

When Han Jingman didn’t respond for a long time, Ling Yu almost thought her momentary lapse was an illusion. But the words had clearly been said. Is Han Jingman angry?

Ling Yu clenched her jaw and glanced at the pensive woman in front of her.

Han Jingman was wearing a casual, plain chiffon blouse today. The cuffs were rolled up just right to her wrists, and the inch of exposed, pale skin stung Ling Yu’s heart sharply.

Ling Yu cleared her throat awkwardly, unsure of what Han Jingman’s current silence meant. Anger? Disappointment? Or just astonishment at her sudden rebellious behavior.

“Professor Han, if there’s nothing else, I should head back. I have work scheduled in the lab tomorrow.” Ling Yu tried her best to make her tone sound casual. Heaven knows her heart was bouncing back from the bottom and now lodged in her throat, making her feel like she was putting on an Oscar-winning performance.

After speaking, Ling Yu turned and opened the driver’s side door, ready to leave Han Jingman behind and escape this feeling of helplessness and discomfort.

“Ling Yu~” Han Jingman’s voice was slightly trembling, soft and alluring.

Ling Yu shoved her backpack onto the passenger seat, hesitated, bit her lip, and turned back to look at her.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Ling Yu initially thought Han Jingman was shaking with anger because of her, but besides the uneven breathing and light gasps, Han Jingman’s body was also swaying slowly.

Ling Yu stared at the woman—whose face was flushed and whose breathing was ragged—and caught the faint scent of wine in the air. Damn it, a terrible thought almost exploded in her mind.

Seeing that Han Jingman was about to collapse onto the ground, Ling Yu quickly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her upright.

“Han Jingman, is your heat period starting?” Ling Yu asked, though her tone was almost a statement. Ling Yu paid more attention to Han Jingman’s heat period than her own; after all, she had to work incredibly hard to fend off all the eager Alphas for Han Jingman. Therefore, she clearly remembered that Han Jingman’s heat shouldn’t be starting right now. Unless…

“Han Jingman, what did you eat this afternoon?” With the sudden emergency, Ling Yu didn’t care about the so-called student-mentor hierarchy and simply called her by her full name.

Although Han Jingman’s body was weak at the moment and it was difficult to concentrate, especially with half her body leaning into Ling Yu’s embrace, the inescapable Alpha pheromones meant her sanity was about to crash. But she was clearly aware that she was in heat. Struggling, she bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, forcing her consciousness to return.

Food? She had processed data at school all day and simply ate a salad for lunch. It couldn’t be that. It could only be the dinner she just had. But she ordered creamy mushroom pasta and salad—none of those ingredients were her triggers.

“Pasta, mushroom,” Han Jingman squeezed out one word at a time. She felt awful, so distressed she wanted to cry. She had just been yelled at by Ling Yu, and now she was being forced into heat for no clear reason.

She suddenly remembered the oysters Fred had recommended to her during dinner. Unable to refuse his hospitality, she had symbolically tasted a little.

“And… and oysters,” she murmured, but her body didn’t reject those foods.

The hand Ling Yu used to support her shoulder trembled slightly, and her throat tightened.

“It’s rosemary.”

Ling Yu closed her eyes and sighed resignedly. She was almost certain that rosemary had caused Han Jingman’s current state.

Ever since Han Jingman differentiated into an Omega, Ling Yu had cautiously and carefully studied and thoroughly implemented every detail of her crush’s habits and lifestyle, treating it like a student conduct guide. All Omegas, after confirming their differentiation, routinely go to the hospital for a check-up and testing to see what elements, aside from their normal cycle, could induce their heat, thus helping fragile Omegas avoid risks.

Ling Yu had memorized the results of Han Jingman’s stress-induced heat test at the hospital word for word, knowing them better than Han Jingman’s doctor parents or Han Jingman herself.

Rosemary. This was Han Jingman’s No. 1 stress-induced trigger.

For all these years, Ling Yu had been subconsciously helping to eliminate elements detrimental to Han Jingman from every aspect of her life.

However, tonight, she had indeed seen Caleb add enough rosemary to that cheesy baked oyster to induce Han Jingman’s heat. After all, they were a legitimate Italian restaurant, and the chef was often heavy-handed with rosemary when preparing non-vegetarian dishes.

Who would have thought that the “friend” Fred was meeting tonight would be Han Jingman, and that Han Jingman would unluckily eat the oyster.

But she couldn’t blame Han Jingman. She was also extremely careful about her triggers and wouldn’t easily dine out. Even when ordering food outside, she would politely inform the server to ask the chef to avoid certain ingredients.

However, during dinner tonight, Han Jingman was clearly distracted. She was already confused by Ling Yu’s recent abnormal behavior, and Fred had conveniently given her a “jolt.”

Ling Yu? Working a part-time job? And getting close to an Omega at the restaurant? In her mental turmoil, Han Jingman didn’t remember what she ate. Furthermore, since she would never touch a high-risk element like rosemary herself, she was completely unfamiliar with its scent, and thus unknowingly ate the food Fred recommended.

A thin layer of sweat seeped onto Ling Yu’s forehead. Good, she finally figured out the cause of the forced heat. All she had to do was give her the corresponding suppressant.

“Han Jingman, wake up,” Ling Yu treated the Omega in heat with extreme gentleness. She softly called out to the dazed Han Jingman, helping to brush the sweat-dampened hair from the person’s cheeks behind her ears.

Ling Yu’s pheromones smelled so good. Han Jingman moaned and completely sank into the Alpha’s embrace. She desperately burrowed into Ling Yu’s chest. The smell of milk—clean and mellow. Wrapped in this clear, dense scent, her throat was now aching with thirst.

Ling Yu steeled her heart and shook Han Jingman. “Where is your car parked?”

She couldn’t see Han Jingman’s handbag, so she wanted to first ask where the car was, as finding the handbag would basically lead to the suppressant.

Han Jingman felt bitter. All she wanted was to rest properly, but this person kept shaking her and being noisy in her ear.

“I don’t know,” Han Jingman tightly clutched the corner of Ling Yu’s shirt, trying desperately to get closer to her to get more of the comforting pheromones.

She couldn’t delay any longer. Ling Yu knew she wouldn’t get any more information from Han Jingman. She simply picked up the woman in her arms and forcibly put her in the passenger seat of her own car, sat down, and buckled her seatbelt, all in one smooth motion.

Her arms were suddenly empty. Han Jingman restlessly tried to wrap herself around the passenger seat. Ling Yu shoved her own backpack into Han Jingman’s arms. “Hold this.”

Ling Yu hadn’t replaced her backpack in years, and the fabric was somewhat faded from washing. The moment her arms were empty, Han Jingman clutched the backpack, buried her face in it, and rubbed against it. So nice, it still smells like Ling Yu.

Ling Yu was truly relieved that she had a spare key to Han Jingman’s house. Plan B was now to drive straight there. She knew the location of the suppressants better than anyone.

Things were different abroad compared to back home. In China, suppressants were over-the-counter drugs for both Omegas and Alphas, easily bought at a regular pharmacy. But here, to get suppressants, you had to explain your situation to your doctor, then purchase them with a doctor’s note, and the prescription had to be updated regularly, which was a real pain.

“Be good, just a moment, and you won’t feel so bad anymore.”

Buckled up, Ling Yu started the car and drove straight toward Han Jingman’s house.