The Poor Little Thing Was Brought Home by An Iceberg Omega - Chapter 3

No.

Shang Tinglan’s voice was usually as cold as the deepest winter in the far north, without the slightest trace of warmth.

It would never sound like this.

Soft, faint, weak.

But she was in heat!

An Qin snapped fully awake and bent down to look inside the car.

Rain blurred the window, making it impossible to see clearly inside. An Qin hurriedly wiped the water from the glass.

At that exact moment, a car passed by, its headlights sweeping across and illuminating the person inside.

An Qin froze.

The person inside really was Shang Tinglan, yet somehow she looked nothing like the Shang Tinglan An Qin knew.

The Shang Tinglan she knew was always dressed in immaculate white clothes, her eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses forever calm and indifferent.

But the woman inside the car now had her long hair disheveled, her face flushed and slick with sweat, loose strands plastered messily against her forehead and ears. The usual coldness in her eyes had become damp and hazy, as though the rain outside had somehow soaked its way into the car. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she panted and trembled, like a strawberry that had been crushed in someone’s hand.

It really was Shang Tinglan.

How could it be Shang Tinglan?

An Qin was stunned for only two seconds before she lunged for the door to rescue her, only to find it locked.

Where was the driver?

Why was Shang Tinglan here alone?!

“President Shang?”

An Qin pounded hard on the window and door.

“Unlock the door, President Shang! It’s me, An Qin. Open the door—”

There was no response.

An Qin kept pounding, the knocks coming faster and denser than the rain.

With a click, the lock finally popped open.

An Qin immediately yanked the door open and practically scrambled inside on all fours before locking it again.

The moment the door locked, the rear cabin light came on. An Qin collapsed to the floor, gritting her teeth as she curled in on herself and hugged her body tightly.

Too strong.

The pheromones of an S-rank Omega were far too strong.

An Qin’s blood boiled throughout her body, her gland burned, and her marking fangs ached terribly. She covered her mouth, feeling as though they were about to emerge.

“Mm…”

Shang Tinglan suddenly let out a sharp, breathy gasp.

She tugged hard at her collar until a button popped open, revealing a large expanse of flushed skin.

Then she raised a hand and rubbed forcefully at her own gland, as though she wanted to scrape it raw, broken gasps spilling from her lips.

“Don’t! You’ll damage your gland!”

An Qin lunged forward and caught Shang Tinglan’s hand.

Shang Tinglan’s breathing stopped for a moment. She stared at An Qin with reddened eyes, powerful, incomprehensible emotions surging within them.

“President Shang, don’t hurt yourself.” An Qin struggled to control her own affected body, forcing herself to calm down. She lowered Shang Tinglan’s wrist and said, “President Shang, I’m An Qin. Don’t be afraid. You’re safe now. The people outside can’t get in. I’m here with you… Can you hear me?”

Shang Tinglan lowered her lashes, which trembled faintly.

Her breathing remained rapid and weak.

At last, she let the strength drain from her body, blinked lightly once, and closed her eyes.

A sign that she could hear.

“Good. As long as you can hear me. Try to relax as much as you can. I’m going to do a basic examination.”

As she spoke, An Qin moved closer to check her pupils. Nothing abnormal. She checked Shang Tinglan’s pulse—astonishingly fast—then touched her forehead, which was damp and burning hot.

An Qin moved behind her to examine the gland at the back of Shang Tinglan’s neck. There was no suppressant patch. She undid the cuff of Shang Tinglan’s blouse and pushed the sleeve upward. There were no signs of suppressant injections on the outer side of her upper arm either.

Why did she have neither suppressant patches nor injections?

Shang Tinglan remained completely still as An Qin examined her, her gaze never leaving An Qin’s face. When An Qin pushed up her sleeve, she lightly bit her lower lip.

An Qin’s cool body temperature against her skin felt soothing.

An Qin leaned closer again and smelled Shang Tinglan’s breath, then her gland. There was no bitter medicinal scent.

She had not been drugged.

“Thankfully, it’s only your heat. Don’t be nervous. You’ll be fine.”

An Qin, however, was not doing nearly as well.

After examining Shang Tinglan this closely, she was already extremely uncomfortable.

She had inhaled far too much of Shang Tinglan’s pheromones. For one fleeting instant, she wanted to abandon all responsibility and sink her teeth straight into that swollen gland, rich with intoxicating sweetness.

The pheromones were too concentrated.

An Qin shut her eyes, clenched her teeth, and forced herself backward.

She took some candy from her crossbody bag. There were apple candies she had prepared for her sister and mint-honey candies she kept for herself whenever she got nervous.

She unwrapped one and held it to Shang Tinglan’s lips. “President Shang, this is mint-honey candy. Open your mouth and hold it there. It’ll at least feel a little cooling. Better than nothing.”

Shang Tinglan lowered her lashes and looked at the candy.

“…It really is just candy. I wouldn’t dare lie to you,” An Qin said softly.

After a moment of silence, Shang Tinglan slowly parted her lips.

An Qin fed her the candy. Her fingertip brushed Shang Tinglan’s lips—soft, damp, and burning hot. It felt like an electric current shot from An Qin’s fingertip straight through her arm and down her back, making her jerk her hand upward as though burned.

Shang Tinglan watched her with the candy in her mouth, her tongue lightly circling it.

An Qin lowered her head, not daring to meet her gaze. Using the same gentle tone she used to coax the old madam, she carefully said, “President Shang, breathe slowly and deeply now. Try to relax. Nod or shake your head to answer me. Do you have any suppressants in the car refrigerator? Suppressant pills, suppressant patches, anything?”

Shang Tinglan’s pupils contracted slightly.

Then she slowly shook her head.

An Qin frowned.

She had some in her bag, but those were for Alphas and would be useless for an Omega. Suppressants were prescription medications, and Alphas and Omegas could not be prescribed the medication intended for the other secondary sex.

“Then what about a pheromone blocker? Is there one in the car?”

Shang Tinglan seemed to think about it.

More than ten seconds later, she lightly nodded and shifted her gaze, indicating that there was one in the trunk.

After another pause, Shang Tinglan forced a few broken syllables from her nearly parched throat. “Umbrella… door.”

An Qin blinked.

What umbrella?

She turned to look behind her and only then remembered that her folding umbrella was gone. She had let go of it earlier when she dragged that burly man away from the car.

A few seconds later, An Qin finally understood and tentatively asked, “President Shang means there’s an umbrella in the door? There’s one inside the door compartment?”

Shang Tinglan gave the faintest nod.

An Qin understood. She glanced toward the door but could not see any umbrella and had no idea how to get it, so she simply opened the door and got out.

Shang Tinglan’s brows immediately knitted together, and she called after her, “An Qin!”

But the voice that came out was actually hoarse and faint.

Even so, An Qin startled so badly that her whole body jerked. She did not understand what Shang Tinglan wanted and did not dare turn around. She shut the door and ran toward the trunk.

The rain had grown heavier.

Raindrops hammered frantically onto the ground and onto An Qin’s body. She raised both hands over her head, but they blocked almost nothing, and she was soaked through all over again.

When she opened the trunk, she found the pheromone blocker, along with a blanket and bottled water. An Qin gathered everything into her arms and rushed back into the car.

Once inside, she knew she was dripping wet and did not dare sit down. Fortunately, the car was spacious. She crouched on the floor, switched on the pheromone blocker, turned it to maximum strength, and set it aside.

Holding one corner of the blanket, An Qin moved closer to Shang Tinglan’s face and said softly, “President Shang, you’ve sweated a lot. Let me wipe some of it off.”

Shang Tinglan stared steadily at An Qin.

The girl in front of her was drenched from head to toe. Water still dripped from her face. Her hair was wet, her face was wet, even her lips had gone slightly pale. Yet her eyes remained so gentle and soft, as though she had not even realized how soaked she herself was, all her attention focused solely on taking care of Shang Tinglan.

Seeing that Shang Tinglan did not refuse, An Qin gently wiped the sweat from her forehead and face, then down across her collarbones, continuing farther down.

Suddenly, Shang Tinglan turned her head away and closed her eyes, as though avoiding her touch.

“S-Sorry.” Realizing what she had done, An Qin hurriedly pulled Shang Tinglan’s collar closed, draped the blanket over her, and retreated.

The car fell quiet for a moment, leaving only their uneven, intermingling breaths.

An Qin forced herself to stay calm. She twisted open the bottle of water and brought the opening to Shang Tinglan’s lips. “President Shang, this water is from your car. Drink a little, okay?”

Shang Tinglan did not open her eyes.

An Qin softened her voice even further. “President Shang, trust me. I won’t hurt you. Drink a little first and wet your throat. It’ll make it easier to talk too, okay?”

Her voice was so gentle it became impossible to refuse.

Shang Tinglan opened her eyes and lowered her gaze toward An Qin.

An Qin was looking up at her, like a drenched, soft little animal faithfully guarding her, as though she could feel Shang Tinglan’s discomfort herself. Her eyes were filled entirely with worry.

Shang Tinglan looked at the hand An Qin was using to hold the bottle. After being soaked in rain for so long, her skin had gone pale, and her fingers trembled faintly.

The mint taste of the candy in Shang Tinglan’s mouth had faded, replaced by honeyed sweetness pouring from the center like a flood.

Shang Tinglan slowly opened her mouth.

An Qin’s eyes brightened, and she immediately fed her the water carefully, cupping her other hand beneath Shang Tinglan’s chin.

Shang Tinglan’s deep, dark gaze locked onto An Qin’s face for two seconds before she lowered her eyes and drank.

One sip.

Then another.

Her dry throat was gradually moistened, bringing some relief.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Hearing that Shang Tinglan now had enough strength to speak, An Qin hurriedly asked, “President Shang, where is your driver? Did the driver go get suppressants for you?”

“No.” Shang Tinglan paused. The water had indeed eased the dryness in her throat somewhat. She turned her head to look outside the window, the hoarseness in her voice slightly reduced. “I was driving myself. The car broke down.”

“It’s okay, President Shang. I’ll call an ambulance.” An Qin took out her phone from her crossbody bag while gently reassuring her. “There isn’t anything seriously wrong with you right now. It’s only your heat. Don’t panic.”

She punched in the number and was about to make the call when sudden heat wrapped around her wrist.

Shang Tinglan had grabbed her.

An Qin felt no pain.

But she could not move.

She raised her head.

Shang Tinglan stared at her.

Her gaze was fathomless.

As though she had recognized An Qin moments ago, but now no longer did, and was confirming her identity all over again.

“You’re an Alpha? S-rank?”

Shang Tinglan’s voice was very quiet and still trembling from her heat, but the force of her presence remained powerful.

“No, I’m not. I’m a C-rank Alpha. I don’t know why that happened just now either…”

“…”

Shang Tinglan said nothing, but her eyes narrowed subtly.

An Qin immediately looked panicked. “President Shang, I’m not lying to you. I really don’t know why. Maybe it was adrenaline… President Shang, don’t worry. I absolutely won’t tell anyone about what happened tonight. I promise. I’ll call an ambulance right now, and as soon as it arrives, I’ll leave.”

Shang Tinglan still said nothing.

She simply kept staring at her.

Her dark gaze rested on An Qin’s beautiful face, then slowly traveled over her rain-soaked hair, her straight nose, the water running from her chin, her drenched shirt and pants, and finally the posture that had somehow shifted from crouching to kneeling.

At last, Shang Tinglan slowly parted her lips.

“I can’t go to the hospital. Grandma would find out.”

“Then… then I’ll send you home?”

As she spoke, An Qin prepared to use her phone to call a car.

Shang Tinglan said, “Mark me.”

An Qin snapped her head up in disbelief, certain she must have heard wrong.

Shang Tinglan closed her eyes and said hoarsely, “Doctor An, either mark me, or go outside and find me another Alpha.”

The more she spoke, the rougher her voice became, and the thinner the air around them seemed to grow.

“Or get out of the car and leave me to endure it alone.”

An Qin’s entire body went rigid.

Half a minute passed.

An Qin clenched her wet clothes so tightly that droplets squeezed from the fabric. “I-I’ll give you a temporary mark.”

She lifted her face and pleaded, her voice trembling. “President Shang, could you please not fire me? I really need this job.”

They were very close.

Close enough to see the beads of sweat on each other’s faces.

Close enough to feel each other’s breath.

Their clothes, soaked through with sweat and rain, clung tightly to their bodies, and the curves of their rising and falling chests were almost touching.

Shang Tinglan’s throat moved.

Her mouth inexplicably filled with liquid even sweeter and richer than the candy.

She closed her eyes and made a very soft sound.

“Mm.”

An Qin’s hand suddenly loosened, only then realizing that her fingers had been clenched so tightly they ached.

She moved closer to Shang Tinglan and gently lifted her long hair, exposing the gland at the side of her neck.

The gland was red and swollen from Shang Tinglan’s rubbing, releasing the fragrance of overripe strawberries and aged liquor.

An Qin’s eyes instantly reddened.

Her own gland pulsed wildly. Her marking fangs emerged, and her strength surged out of control. She could no longer care that her drenched clothes might brush against Shang Tinglan. She raised one knee and straddled Shang Tinglan’s thighs, pinning Shang Tinglan’s slender wrists tightly beneath both hands.

She did not know what consequences this would bring her.

She only knew she needed stability.

She could not afford to lose this job too.