The Unhinged O Has Designs On Me - Chapter 8

On the first official day of school, Shen Jingmian had a class scheduled. Yue Xing was extremely anxious about this.

That anxiety came from how impossible Shen Jingmian was to read.

But Shen Jingmian did not come to class. In fact, she took an entire week of leave all at once.

Yue Xing had stayed on guard for half the night, only for her punch to land in cotton in the end, missing completely.

“Is she sick? Or is there something else going on?”

Yue Xing rubbed her chin and discussed it with Ming Le.

Ming Le was also puzzled.

Shen Jingmian had clearly still been able to appear yesterday wearing a suppressant chain. Logically speaking, her condition should have been under control, so how could it have gotten worse?

“How about… I ask?” Ming Le was very hesitant.

Yue Xing had talked for ages precisely waiting for this sentence. Hearing it, she immediately pushed her into carrying it out.

“Ask her. Whether publicly or privately, we should care a little.”

Ming Le was convinced. With furrowed brows, she opened her StarNet contacts and searched for Shen Jingmian’s chat box.

“Let me think about how to send it.”

Ming Le’s expression was conflicted. She had not contacted Shen Jingmian in many years, and besides, she had promised her younger sister that she would no longer interact with Shen Jingmian in private.

Yue Xing had no contact information, so she naturally shrank to the side and acted as a quiet mute.

After Ming Le slowly typed for quite a while, the result was that a contact card popped up on Yue Xing’s StarNet.

“?” Yue Xing was stunned.

Ming Le lifted her head and smiled at her, clearing up her confusion.

“Done! Shen Jingmian said you should add her yourself to express your concern, so I’ve already forwarded her contact to you.”

“I’m adding her?!”

Yue Xing suspected her ears were broken. Besides, when had she ever shown any intention of wanting to add Shen Jingmian’s contact information?

Ming Le nodded and began explaining the motive behind her crime.

“Right. Didn’t you say that whether publicly or privately, we should care about her? So I told Shen Jingmian you were very worried about her health and asked if I could let you add her. Shen Jingmian was super willing and agreed.”

After saying this, Ming Le gave herself a thumbs-up.

“……”

Yue Xing felt a deep hatred like she had lifted a rock only to smash her own foot with it.

Besides, with the way Ming Le put it, Yue Xing simply could not imagine what sort of expression Shen Jingmian had on the other end when she had been “super willing” to agree and give out her contact information…

That kind of adjective, when placed on Shen Jingmian, was subtly terrifying.

“It probably isn’t very appropriate for me to add her contact.”

Yue Xing racked her brains, preparing to wriggle out of this.

She had a strange premonition that Shen Jingmian had buried a pit for her behind this contact information too, waiting specifically for her to jump in.

Ming Le blinked. “What’s inappropriate about it? Shen Jingmian already agreed, didn’t she?”

Yue Xing gripped the fabric over her thigh and refused again.

“No. Forget it. It’s better if we maintain our current distance.”

She lightly bit her lip and added with a slightly flushed face,

“It’s enough if you occasionally tell me things about her. Senior Shen… is better admired from afar.”

Ming Le understood. Yue Xing admired Shen Jingmian but did not dare approach her. She was shy.

Seeing Ming Le suddenly understand and stop persuading her, Yue Xing let out a breath of relief.

She was afraid Ming Le would suddenly get another whim and continue pushing the contact information at her, so she hurriedly said,

“Don’t mind me. Keep asking how she’s doing. If she isn’t feeling well, then don’t disturb her.”

Ming Le nodded, mm-hmming, then lowered her head to type.

[She said there’s no need. She prefers keeping some distance while admiring you.]

The reply came very quickly.

[?]

[She admires you but is shy.]

Shen Jingmian stopped replying.

Ming Le sent several more messages in a row, but all the later messages sank like stones into a deep well, without even an echo.

“She’s not replying to me anymore.”

Ming Le’s face was dejected. “She only replied with two sentences, and then there was nothing after that. I don’t even know if she’s sick.”

It seemed nothing could be learned from Ming Le’s side.

However, Yue Xing was still curious. Was Shen Jingmian truly extremely weak right now because of her pheromone disorder period?

If that was really the case, then this disorder period that had left her so weak she could not attend class was Yue Xing’s best opportunity to strike.

But Shen Jingmian was not replying to Ming Le’s messages, so Yue Xing had no way to confirm whether she was currently weak because of pheromone disorder.

If she absolutely had to confirm it…

Yue Xing propped up her chin, her fingertips tapping back and forth into Shen Jingmian’s contact card.

Her gaze shifted, and Yue Xing asked the other person in the room,

“Ming Le, do you think I…”

A special pinned notification sound rang out almost simultaneously with Yue Xing’s voice.

[Sister, you went behind my back to look for her.]

Ming Le sucked in a sharp breath and instantly sat up straight. She raised a hand to stop Yue Xing, her expression becoming proper. “Wait before you say anything! I need to reply to my sister!”

Yue Xing was stunned in place by the seriousness on Ming Le’s face, and the words she had originally wanted to ask were swallowed back down.

She had already heard about the younger sister in Ming Le’s words twice. From Ming Le’s solemn expression, Yue Xing could tell how much care and importance she placed on this sister.

Yue Xing silently drew back her thoughts and did not disturb her, continuing to tap Shen Jingmian’s chat card with a faint, dark gaze.

The opportunity was right in front of her, and the risk was there too.

Food and traps had always appeared together since ancient times. It only depended on whether the prey dared eat.

Yue Xing narrowed her eyes. Even by the time Ming Le hurriedly went out, she still had not been able to make up her mind.

Once she took the initiative to add Shen Jingmian’s private contact, combined with how she had actively tried to act close to Shen Jingmian yesterday, Shen Jingmian could casually say one word later and push her straight into the fire pit.

Yue Xing did not want to become Shen Jingmian’s helper.

But aside from this contact card, what other way did she have to know Shen Jingmian’s physical condition?

Yue Xing switched back and forth through StarNet, and her gaze suddenly froze.

She opened the course schedule and found the teacher contact under Combat Confrontation—her eyes lit up.

As expected, Shen Jingmian had a work account.

Yue Xing added the work account without much hesitation.

She was not sure whether Shen Jingmian would accept, but this was the best solution for her.

A notification sounded. Yue Xing lowered her eyes and saw a bright, obvious rejection.

The reason was—work does not involve personal feelings.

“……”

Yue Xing was certain Shen Jingmian had done it deliberately.

She was blatantly forcing Yue Xing to add that private contact herself and hand over a weakness.

Black-hearted thing.

Yue Xing was so annoyed that she tugged at her hair until several strands fell out. In the end, she still tapped on that contact card she had already looked at until she was tired of it.

Your request has been submitted.

That was it.

Nothing else.

The two applications had been sent less than an hour apart, but Yue Xing waited a full five days without any movement.

No rejection, and even more so, no acceptance.

At first, Yue Xing drafted several versions of what she would say as her first sentence to Shen Jingmian.

In the end, she never even got the chance to send it.

Finally, that request became like bait, hooking her like a fish and making her lick at it every day.

She asked Ming Le, but Ming Le had no news either.

Shen Jingmian neither appeared at school nor left any trace of appearing on StarNet.

It was as if she had evaporated from the world, completely disappearing.

After this incident, Yue Xing finally understood.

Even if Shen Jingmian’s private contact was clearly a thorny branch, she still had to pluck it down.

Otherwise, she simply could not find Shen Jingmian!

An enemy hidden in the dark and preparing to draw a blade was the most terrifying kind of enemy.

A week of classes ended.

After showering and tidying herself up, Yue Xing rubbed her aching arm and was just about to apply medicine.

Her room door was knocked on, and Ming Le asked whether she was asleep.

Yue Xing put away the cotton swab before replying, “I’m not asleep. Just open the door and come in!”

Ming Le leaned her shoulder against the door and poked her head in, smiling. “Tomorrow is Saturday. Do you want to come with me to the Shen family to visit the patient?”

Yue Xing’s eyes shifted. “Is it okay for you to take me? Will it trouble you?”

Over this past week, she had already gained a rough understanding of the power held by the Shen and Ming families.

Chicheng was the imperial capital, with many noble families. But even noble families differed from one another, and among them, the Shen and Ming families stood at the top.

Seeing that there was hope, Ming Le hurriedly walked in. “Of course there’s no problem! You’re my friend, and besides, we’re both her students. It’s very normal for us to visit when she hasn’t come for a week.”

Refusing was indeed not something Yue Xing would do, but she did not understand why Ming Le had specifically invited her to go together.

Logically, Ming Le and Shen Jingmian had known each other since childhood. There should be no situation where she felt too embarrassed to visit.

After hearing the question, Ming Le’s eyes drifted left and right guiltily. She unconsciously rubbed the bite mark on her wrist that still had not faded even now.

“I was just thinking that you care about her too, so we might as well go together… Do you want to go?”

Yue Xing could tell she was lying, but that was harmless.

Yue Xing agreed.

Ming Le jumped up from the side of the table and clapped in cheers. She patted Yue Xing’s shoulder and smiled.

“Then I won’t bother you. Rest early. We’ll leave at nine tomorrow.”

Yue Xing nodded for her to bring the door closed. Only after the door was completely shut did her tense expression finally relax.

The shoulder Ming Le had patted had happened to hit her injury. The alpha’s unrestrained slap made her grimace from the pain.

“Ji Chen, Yang Yu, Du Xi.”

Yue Xing frowned and swept her eyes over the long string of bruises on her arm. The obedience in her eyes faded, and rage turned cold and dark.

She had known that being the only one Shen Jingmian had not punished that day would draw everyone’s anger. These past few days, she had hidden her presence as much as possible, but she had not expected those three to join forces and attack her during combat practice.

Yue Xing had guarded against them as much as she could, but in order to hide her strength for the elimination match, she had still been unable to avoid getting injured in the end.

“Sooner or later, I’ll settle this account with you.”

Yue Xing applied the medicine. The ointment spread over the wound with a cool sensation, and the pain gradually faded.

She had used this ointment all year round. It was inexpensive, good quality, and effective. After the two-day weekend passed, she would be healed.

Before sleeping, Yue Xing checked her StarNet contacts as usual. The message she had sent still showed no activity.

Tomorrow, she would know exactly what Shen Jingmian’s condition was.

The next day. The Shen family.

“Misses, please wait here for a moment. I will go report to Eldest Miss right away.”

Ming Le nodded faintly and sat down beside Yue Xing.

Yue Xing lowered her eyes quietly and waited. Along the way, as she had followed Ming Le in, a small corner of the Shen family’s map had gradually pieced itself together in her mind.

The Shen family estate was very large. Just at the outer perimeter, there were two rounds of inspection: one to verify identity and another to check the items on their bodies. Their vigilance was very heavy.

Aside from that, there were also quite a few guards along the way. The situation in the shadows was still unknown, but out in the open alone, there was one person every ten meters and one sentry every hundred meters.

Just based on what was visible, if she wanted to sneak in and assassinate Shen Jingmian, it was almost impossible.

For now, Yue Xing listed this as the last resort among last resorts.

Footsteps landed soundlessly. A servant bowed and walked to the side of the table, lowering her eyes. “Eldest Miss.”

Shen Jingmian said lightly, “Let them wait.”

The servant did not say more. She only lowered her head, answered quietly, and withdrew.

She did not raise her head, nor did she smell the camellia fragrance surging madly inside the room. It was bound within this place.

Shen Jingmian sat quietly. Over a hundred large screens unfolded before her. Every corner of the Shen family estate, large and small, was displayed before her eyes without omission.

The enormous screen embedded in the center clearly displayed the two people in the reception hall.

Shen Jingmian narrowed her eyes slightly. Her body sat perfectly straight, her gaze shifting lightly across the screen before finally fixing on one point.

Yue Xing’s fingertips were pressed against the side of her trousers, currently moving very lightly in circles.

Who knew what she was plotting now.

The girl still had a trace of immaturity now, unlike the sharpness in Shen Jingmian’s memories.

Her simply tied ponytail was as quiet as those eyes of hers. Her delicate, fair features could easily make people think she was an obedient person.

“Very obedient, is she…”

Shen Jingmian lowered her eyes and let out a low scoff.

How could she not know what Yue Xing’s nature was like?

Her fingertips tapped lightly. Shen Jingmian carelessly sent a text message.

Afterward, Shen Jingmian stood and slowly walked to the large screen.

Her fingertip drew a steady line through the air, finally stopping with perfect precision in the middle of Yue Xing’s lifted black eyes.

Clean, focused, eyes that were loyal only to her.

Shen Jingmian exerted a little force, and even the base of her finger tensed.

She closed her eyes. The hard screen seemed to soften, and she seemed to touch something too.

Soft, moist, crying in a way that made her heart tremble…

A dark shadow curved along Shen Jingmian’s neck. Her suppressed breathing sank into one deep inhale, and her gray eyes trembled faintly.

In the end, her fingertip only tapped the screen twice.

“Don’t disappoint me.”

Shen Jingmian murmured.

She had very, very high expectations of Yue Xing.

Now she had entered the thieves’ den alone.

Yue Xing looked at the spacious reception hall before her and felt helpless.

The two of them had originally been waiting here just fine, but after Ming Le answered a call, her expression changed, and she sprang up from the sofa in a rush.

“Yue Xing, something happened to my sister. I have to go home right now. Tell Shen Jingmian on my behalf that I’ll visit another day.”

Ming Le explained everything in one breath. Before Yue Xing could even ask whether she should simply leave with her, Ming Le had already left behind an anxious apology and run outside with a flushed, frantic face.

Her figure vanished in an instant, and in the blink of an eye, only Yue Xing remained in the spacious reception hall.

The servant who had disappeared for a long while bowed and arrived, just happening to pass Ming Le.

“Miss Yue, this way, please.”

Yue Xing had no path of retreat.

“…Please lead the way.”

What had originally been a two-person visit had now become her alone. She could only be doubly careful.

Yue Xing steadily followed behind the servant, the painted walls on both sides being left behind them.

The interior decor of the Shen family estate was elegant. Unique famous paintings and celadon porcelain pieces were placed with particular care. One could call it a scene with every step, excessively meticulous.

Yue Xing glanced over everything in her peripheral vision, silently memorizing the order and locations.

During the walk inward, Yue Xing smelled a clear, chilly camellia fragrance, covering the entire passage in wisps and strands.

At first, Yue Xing did not take this seriously. But the longer and stronger she smelled the fragrance, the more an inexplicable discomfort began to spread through her body.

Not long after she first smelled it, Yue Xing had even felt her senses become clear. But after smelling more of it, an even deeper, stronger craving for that fragrance unexpectedly rose faintly in her heart.

A strange craving was a terrifying thing.

“Miss Yue, what is it?”

The servant stopped and turned back to ask.

Yue Xing’s steps paused where she stood. Her long eyes narrowed. As her body turned slightly, a slanted figure stretched long across the floor.

The figure shifted aside, swaying faintly as if shaken.

The servant quietly waited for her decision.

Yue Xing tilted her head and looked toward the end of the long corridor. The lights were bright, dutifully guiding those who came and went. But the corridor was too empty and too long. Its end was bottomless, making it impossible to see truth from illusion.

The lingering floral fragrance wrapped around her nose, faintly hooking her forward.

It was clearly an elegant camellia scent, yet it was terribly like a dangerous poppy, luring her step by step into a deep trap.

Yue Xing half lowered her lashes. Her heart felt as if it were being lightly scratched by a feather pen, itching so badly that she was torn between choices.

The servant suddenly spoke. “Miss Yue.”

Yue Xing raised her eyes. “Mm?”

The servant pointed at her ear, relaying the order.

“My young lady says she does not like being refused.”

Yue Xing’s lashes trembled. Hearing the meaning behind those words, she straightened herself again.

“Please continue leading the way.”

After that, wherever Yue Xing’s steps passed, bulbs went out one by one, and the path behind her sank into complete darkness.

Shen Jingmian made no attempt to hide her displeasure, nor the domineering fact that she would not accept Yue Xing turning back now.

Yue Xing half lowered her lashes. After confirming that Shen Jingmian was watching every movement on this side, she became even more careful.

The servant led her to the end of the long corridor. Yue Xing’s nose moved lightly, and the tightly shut door slowly opened to her. “Please.”

The rich scent of camellias behind the door bared its teeth and claws as it扑ed at her face, no longer hazy, but truly and solidly wrapping around her.

Did Shen Jingmian really like camellias that much?

Thinking this, Yue Xing slowly walked into the room. In the next second, the door closed soundlessly behind her.

The camellia fragrance quietly pushed her forward. Yue Xing indulged its behavior. After all, a guest followed the host’s convenience.

Shen Jingmian sat sideways to her, her gaze fixed ahead, looking at something with serious focus. Blue light lightly covered her face.

The room’s light and shadow had been deliberately dimmed, and the objects placed on the floor were not especially clear.

Yue Xing did not expect Shen Jingmian to take the initiative to call her, so she spoke first.

“Senior… Shen, sorry to disturb you.”

Whether to call her Senior or Teacher, Yue Xing hesitated for a moment. Then, remembering the reason her request had been rejected, she decisively chose Senior.

Shen Jingmian’s figure swayed lightly, and Yue Xing was finally able to glimpse those indifferent gray eyes.

“Aren’t you here to care about me? Can you see clearly from standing there?”

Yue Xing pressed her lips together. She was not stupid. She could hear the mockery in Shen Jingmian’s words.

The words she had said in order to avoid adding Shen Jingmian had now circled around and been smashed back onto her by Shen Jingmian.

She had brought this on herself.

Yue Xing shortened the distance between them.

Shen Jingmian narrowed her eyes, quite satisfied with Yue Xing’s initiative. Condescendingly, she lifted a hand and crooked her finger. “Come here.”

Yue Xing measured the distance between them. There were only two meters left. Any closer, and it would pass the safe distance.

She had already come here alone. If she got any closer, she was afraid there would be no room left for anything.

Seeing Yue Xing lower her eyes and remain motionless for a long while, Shen Jingmian’s gaze darkened slightly.

When she spoke again, Shen Jingmian’s voice lowered, faintly carrying the tone of an order.

“Come here.”

Yue Xing’s spine went numb. By the time she reacted, she had already walked to Shen Jingmian.

Shen Jingmian sat in a wide leather chair. Yue Xing lowered her eyes to look at her. At this moment, the distance between them was only an arm’s length.

Yue Xing’s face could not help trembling. How could she have obediently listened?!

In her haste, she could only attribute it to Shen Jingmian’s powerful mental suppression.

But she was a beta.

Shen Jingmian lifted her eyes. Her gray gaze was deep, the shadows beneath her brows pressing down slightly. Every word she spoke was noble and cold.

“Can you see clearly now?”

Yue Xing had not seen anything, but since the question had reached her, she could only nod.

Shen Jingmian let out a low scoff. “Liar.”

Yue Xing chose to remain a liar.

But Shen Jingmian had no intention of indulging Yue Xing’s repeated deception.

In the corner of her eye, Shen Jingmian stretched out her body and leaned back, extremely relaxed. Even seated, her long, slender figure was not concealed.

The moment Shen Jingmian moved, Yue Xing had already lowered her head.

She met Shen Jingmian’s fair lower leg.

Yue Xing’s ear suddenly twitched, and a flash of shock quickly swept through the depths of her pupils.

Why was Shen Jingmian wearing this kind of skirt to see her?

Yue Xing had no time to think deeply. In her field of vision, the torn fabric shifted faintly, and fair skin appeared without warning.

“Come here.”

This was the third time Shen Jingmian had said those words to her today.

This time, Yue Xing did not stay silent. Her foot shifted backward, clearly refusing.

“This isn’t appropriate.”

Shen Jingmian propped her cheek and looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

Her silver hair spilled loose. Shen Jingmian’s brows and eyes remained indifferent, a touch of cold light in her gray eyes carrying a casual chill.

Yue Xing could not see through what she was thinking at this moment.

She did not dare lower her head, but speaking without looking at someone was rude. In the end, she could only look straight into those bottomless gray eyes.

“Omegas and betas need to keep a distance.”

Shen Jingmian blinked, as if she had heard a joke. The normally flat tail of her eyes actually curved slightly.

“What do you think I’m asking you to do?”

Yue Xing shook her head. “I don’t think anything. It’s just…” Her index finger bent and tapped downward. “If I get any closer, I’ll touch Senior’s skirt.”

Shen Jingmian’s skirt was strangely short, as if it had been torn apart by someone. With the slightest movement, the hidden white skin beneath appeared faintly.

Shen Jingmian nodded, barely agreeing with her explanation. However, she also gave another option.

“Fine. Stand there and bring your face over.”

“……?”

Yue Xing understood even less what Shen Jingmian wanted to do.