Marking My Arch-Rival [Rebirth] - Chapter 6

When Ji Shihuan woke up, she turned her head and met a pair of profound eyes.

It was a beautiful spring day. Birds chirped outside the window, and sunlight squeezed through the gaps in the blackout curtains, casting a bright yellow streak across the foot of the bed. The evidence of the two bodies intertwined last night lingered miserably in the air, the heavy scent of pheromones refusing to dissipate.

Ji Shihuan, however, felt a chill run down her spine.

She launched the first attack: “Are you plotting to murder me to silence me?”

Jiang Boyan looked away.

Ji Shihuan propped herself up on her arm. Without warning, she flipped over and pressed down onto Jiang Boyan again.

Jiang Boyan’s eyes instantly widened, and she pressed her palms against Ji Shihuan’s shoulders.

The bite mark on her posterior neck gland was still vivid and throbbed faintly. Her waist was terribly sore, her legs shook with the slightest movement, and her entire body lacked strength. If Ji Shihuan were to engage in any more beastly behavior now, her voice, already hoarse from shouting all night, might not even be able to let out a protest.

Ji Shihuan leaned down, rubbing her chin against Jiang Boyan’s collarbone.

Jiang Boyan seized the only opportunity, moving her hand to Ji Shihuan’s neck and gripping her vulnerable throat.

“Don’t move…” she warned.

Ji Shihuan paused, then casually moved aside.

The warm body retreated, and Jiang Boyan slightly lowered her guard. But the scent of Alpha pheromones at her nose was too distinct. Her legs, hidden under the quilt, gently clenched, and certain physiological reactions came on abruptly.

Ji Shihuan lifted her arm, showing the tip of a bra strap hooked on her finger, her expression a mix of smiles.

“What did you think I wanted to do?”

Heat rushed straight to her head. Jiang Boyan’s face was as red as a cooked shrimp.

Ji Shihuan didn’t linger, getting out of bed to pick up her gown. The silk dress was badly wrinkled, but fortunately, a quick shake restored it somewhat. She walked naked toward the bathroom. Her waist-length hair protected her back, and her long, straight legs swayed gracefully underneath.

Jiang Boyan caught an unintentional glimpse and secretly cursed the woman’s shamelessness. But the image of the woman’s slender waist and long legs played repeatedly in her mind, and another voice emerged to defend her, saying Ji Shihuan had the assets to be so brazen.

Only when the sound of running water started in the bathroom did Jiang Boyan snap out of her daze.

She had only just woken up herself. Before she could do anything, Ji Shihuan had opened her eyes. Now that Ji Shihuan was gone, she forced herself to move to the other side of the bed, enduring the lingering heat of Ji Shihuan’s body on the bedding beneath her, and called the front desk using the hotel’s communication device.

Twenty minutes later, her assistant, carrying her lost clutch bag, knocked on the door.

Jiang Boyan, wearing the hotel-provided bathrobe, opened the door.

She didn’t intend to let anyone in, taking the bag and pausing at the doorway to give a few instructions. Unexpectedly, this pause caused trouble. Before she could finish, three relatives spilled out of the elevator.

“Jiang Boyan!”

Her second aunt, who usually looked down on her the most, arrived aggressively but suddenly stopped about a meter away from the door.

Her expression changed rapidly, and the words she was about to say were completely blocked in her throat.

Jiang Boyan was confused. Based on her understanding, the other woman would have already started yelling by now.

But the next second, her second aunt covered her nose and stepped back two paces.

She said: “Did you let some indecent Omega climb into your bed? Do you know how much Hongxin’s stock will drop if this gets out?”

Jiang Boyan: “…”

Ji Shihuan happened to come out of the bathroom, drying her hair, and watched the drama unfold with composure.

Her second aunt stomped her foot, unable to bear the pressure of the Alpha pheromones leaking through the door. She left behind one final instruction: “You need to sort this out immediately,” and spun around to leave.

Jiang Boyan looked thoughtful, turning to meet Ji Shihuan’s eyes.

She dismissed her assistant, took the clutch bag, and returned to the room.

“An indecent Omega?” Ji Shihuan asked.

Being objective, Jiang Boyan felt the other woman was suffering this unwarranted accusation because of her, and she whispered: “I apologize.”

But she hadn’t anticipated Ji Shihuan’s audacity; she wasn’t feeling insulted at all. The Alpha, now back in her evening gown, stood in front of the mirror and casually tossed her long hair.

“Could she possibly be talking about me, this enchantress?”

Jiang Boyan: “…”

“CEO Jiang, an objective assessment?” Ji Shihuan looked at her through the mirror.

Jiang Boyan took a deep breath.

“No time.” She avoided Ji Shihuan’s gaze. “I need to deal with my excess sympathy first.”

Ji Shihuan’s eyes curved, and she let out an undisguised laugh.

Jiang Boyan: “Is this funny?”

“Ahem.” Ji Shihuan cleared her throat.

She said pointedly: “I always thought CEO Jiang’s upright and proper appearance was just an act.” As she continued to observe her: “It seems I’ve misunderstood CEO Jiang.”

Jiang Boyan looked confused: “Before? Have we interacted before?”

Ji Shihuan realized her slip of the tongue, but her expression remained flawless.

“I have yearned for CEO Jiang for a long time.”

Jiang Boyan was taken aback.

She controlled herself from overthinking Ji Shihuan’s words: “Then how do you know I’m not acting now?”

“Perhaps because I’ve seen CEO Jiang’s most genuine self.” In this regard, Ji Shihuan seemed to be naturally lacking in shame; she said whatever came to mind.

“When CEO Jiang wears a mask, she isn’t as…”

Jiang Boyan had a hunch that the next descriptor wouldn’t be complimentary. Just as she was about to stop her, Ji Shihuan found the appropriate word.

“Cute.”

Dignified as Jiang Boyan was, she was completely blindsided by those two words.

She couldn’t let it go: “This is also my first time witnessing Miss Ji’s savage behavior. It truly contrasts with the public opinion outside.”

Ji Shihuan didn’t mind her privately biased evaluation, especially since thinking about last night made even her blush secretly.

She was more curious about: “What is the public opinion of me outside?”

Could it be that the Ji Shihuan that Jiang Boyan had heard about was actually gentle and approachable?

Jiang Boyan curled her lips into a cold smile.

“No good.”

Ji Shihuan froze: “What?”

Jiang Boyan parted her lips and repeated boldly: “No, good.”

“Pfft—” Ji Shihuan understood, laughing instead of getting angry.

“That’s why rumors aren’t reliable.” She found a suppressor patch, applied it to her reddened neck gland in the mirror, and said: “Next time you hear it, please clarify on my behalf, CEO Jiang.”

Jiang Boyan narrowed her eyes: “Clarify what?”

“As the only person who’s ‘test-driven’ it, aren’t you the clearest one on the matter?”

“Heh.” Jiang Boyan crossed her legs. “I can’t guarantee that Miss Ji’s reputation won’t become worse than it is now.”

“It’s better than ‘no good’,” Ji Shihuan shrugged, walking up to her.

She leaned down, trying to meet the seated Jiang Boyan’s eyes: “But it sounds like you’re not very satisfied with the service last night, CEO Jiang?”

Jiang Boyan gritted her teeth: “Would you be satisfied with service that leaves you needing to stay in bed for two days?”

“I apologize.” Ji Shihuan raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

She was uncharacteristically blushing: “It was my first time… I didn’t get the hang of it.”

Jiang Boyan took a deep breath.

Ji Shihuan’s gown had spaghetti straps. She tugged on the strap, making Ji Shihuan lean closer.

“By ‘didn’t get the hang of it,’ do you mean you couldn’t even understand human language?”

She couldn’t recall how many times she had screamed “no” and “slower” in the latter half of the night, driven by a desire that had been fully sated. But her shaking body was like a small boat in a storm, the tide of passion rising higher and higher without any sign of subsiding.

Ji Shihuan was like a cruel deity who particularly enjoyed watching her drown in the waves. Jiang Boyan was drenched in sweat—or perhaps more than just sweat—left looking utterly pathetic, as if she’d been pulled from the water, all while having to comply with Ji Shihuan’s various wicked instructions and striking one shameful pose after another.

Ji Shihuan clearly hadn’t forgotten, either.

A blush spread to her ears. She muttered stubbornly: “Isn’t CEO Jiang being too strict on a beginner?”

Jiang Boyan was so angry she pushed the woman away.

Ji Shihuan endured the embarrassment, picked up her bag, and prepared to leave. Just as she turned around, she was called back.

She turned around and asked: “What is it?”

Her emotions had calmed down. The rational Jiang Boyan began to consider the next steps.

She asked: “Do you have any extra suppressor patches?”

“Mm,” Ji Shihuan nodded.

She took a new one from her bag and handed it over: “But this is an Alpha kind… Can you use it too?”

Jiang Boyan didn’t take it. She beckoned for Ji Shihuan to lean down.

Ji Shihuan bent over again. As she leaned in, she realized that she was acting like a well-behaved dog in front of Jiang Boyan—one instruction, one action.

Before she could feel any rebellious sentiments, the suppressor patch on her gland was suddenly ripped off by the other woman.

Ji Shihuan recoiled in surprise, covering her neck and looking at Jiang Boyan. But the other woman’s expression was unchanged. She took the patch she had just torn off and placed it directly over her own scent gland.

“You, I… that…”

Ji Shihuan’s mind was a mess; she couldn’t form a complete sentence.

Jiang Boyan gave her a cool look, adopting the heartless indifference of someone who gets their fill and then refuses to recognize the person.

“You can go now.”

She used synthetic Alpha pheromones applied near her gland to fake her gender. The effect of the synthetic pheromones was limited, but long-term application still caused issues, making Jiang Boyan’s heats more frequent and intense than that of an average Omega.

Last night, she received a temporary marking from Ji Shihuan. Ji Shihuan’s pheromones would only have a soothing effect on her, with no negative side effects. Coupled with her second aunt’s reaction at the door moments ago, the astute CEO Jiang clearly saw which plan was more cost-effective.

Since the deed was done, not using it would be a loss.

But as an Omega, she had no idea what this action meant to an Alpha.

Even during a passionate relationship, most Omegas would never allow themselves to be covered in Alpha pheromones. This was essentially proclaiming to the world—

I have been marked by someone. I belong entirely to the Alpha who marked me.

Ji Shihuan’s eyes went wide. She covered her mouth, staring blankly at her.

At a moment she herself was unaware of, her heart pounded fiercely, threatening to burst from her chest.

Jiang Boyan, enveloped in her pheromones, took out a specialized perfume and sprayed the patch twice to mask the original scent of Ji Shihuan’s pheromones.

She looked at Ji Shihuan, who remained rooted to the spot, confused: “Is there anything else?”

“No, nothing.” Ji Shihuan turned around, forgetting to even apply a new suppressor patch to herself. She grabbed her bag strap and fled out the door as if running for her life.

That afternoon, she made an excuse not to go to the airport to see Shu Ni off, hiding at home to paint, completely unaware of how Jiang Boyan was using her pheromones to assert her authority at the company.

Under the suppression of top-tier Alpha pheromones, her previously defiant relatives didn’t dare utter a sound. Jiang Boyan took the opportunity to fire several company parasites who had crept in through nepotism, her triumphant mood often overpowering the physiological aches in her waist and legs.

After handling company affairs, Jiang Boyan leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes to rest.

“Phew—” Her younger cousin, Jiang Chengchuan, let out a sigh of relief, complimenting her: “Sister Yan, you were so decisive just now. I thought they were going to fool us again.”

Jiang Boyan opened her eyes at the comment.

She seemed to recall something and asked: “Where did you go after I left last night?”

“Ah?” Jiang Chengchuan had a baby face and looked completely harmless. “I was helping you entertain guests at the banquet. Second Aunt wanted to transfer my cousin back to headquarters, and she wouldn’t listen to any explanation.”

Jiang Boyan hummed.

She seemed to believe him, not pressing the matter further. She picked up her phone and sent a message to her close friend, asking her to arrange a full physical examination as soon as possible.

Her close friend, one of the few who knew her true gender, replied: [What happened?]

Jiang Boyan rarely spoke with emotion, but the words she typed now were sparking with anger.

[Bitten by a dog.]