After Being Marked By A Love Rival - Chapter 42

Xie Rong’s first reaction was to refuse. “No need, I can do it myself.”

Qi Musi wasn’t anxious or angry about being refused. She merely sat on the edge of the bed, tilting her head to look at Xie Rong’s exposed shoulder blade and neck, a warm smile gracing her lips. “But it must be very inconvenient to lift your arms while wrapped in a bath towel, and you might accidentally rub it off… so doing it yourself isn’t as easy as having someone help. Or, is it that Xiaorong doesn’t trust me to help you?”

Xie Rong glanced at her sideways.

Qi Musi pointed to her own hair, which was coiled up. “Xiaorong, look, I coiled mine very well too.”

Xie Rong paused, sighed inwardly, and then gave up on arguing with Qi Musi, simply saying in a flat voice, “Fine, you do it.”

Qi Musi’s eyes widened slightly, seemingly surprised at how smoothly things went, but she quickly restrained any unnecessary emotion on her face, patting the spot next to her. “Xiaorong, sit down, I’ll help you.”

This time Xie Rong didn’t say anything more, sitting on the edge of the bed with her back facing outwards.

Qi Musi stood up, then gently brushed her hand over the other person’s hair she unconsciously held her breath, and even when her hands truly touched it, she still felt like it wasn’t really happening.

The slightly cool strands of hair ran through her fair fingertips and then fell, bringing an indescribably smooth sensation.

Qi Musi only felt that the three thousand strands of hair beneath her hands were like a spiderweb, trapping her person and her heart.

She composed herself, then gathered Xie Rong’s hair, gently combing it upwards with her hand.

The faint scent on the other person slowly drifted to her nose. Qi Musi’s eyes darkened, but her movements remained unchanged.

As the hair was gathered, Xie Rong’s nape was also exposed to the air, and the gland, previously hidden beneath the hair, naturally came into view.

Qi Musi’s gaze swept over the pink, soft flesh. She unconsciously pressed her lips together, her teeth rolling against her lower lip.

She felt a powerful urge.

Although she was affected by the medicine that day and her mind and reason were unclear, the feeling of her teeth sinking in was still etched in her mind, and even in retrospect, that sensation remained unforgettable.

Qi Musi knew this had little to do with it being her first time marking someone; the reason she kept recalling it was simply because the person she marked was the one she loved, Xie Rong.

A long time had passed since that day, and Qi Musi thought she had calmed down. But only now, standing so close to Xie Rong, knowing that her gland was openly exposed right before her eyes, did Qi Musi realize that she had never forgotten the feeling of that day.

She even missed it very much.

And even now, she felt a powerful impulse.

Qi Musi’s throat moved. She closed her eyes, truly using all her strength to calm herself down, rather than impulsively biting down in a heat of the moment.

Heaven knew that while maintaining this posture, her mind was filled with entirely different thoughts.

Especially with Xie Rong sitting on the bed dressed like this…

Qi Musi genuinely wanted to tightly embrace Xie Rong from behind, then push her onto the bed, have her turn her back to her, and then press herself against her, brush away her hair, let her teeth graze Xie Rong’s gland, and then watch Xie Rong tremble slightly beneath her before finally sinking her teeth in.

The moment Qi Musi allowed herself even a little fantasy, she completely lost control.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the trembling in her fingertips. She had lost count of how many times she had mentally warned herself before she could maintain a façade of calmness.

After helping Xie Rong tie up her hair, she almost couldn’t wait to step back, moving away from the range of the other person’s pheromones, and then took a breath of un-scented air.

Xie Rong didn’t notice. Hearing the task was done, she simply turned her head indifferently and thanked Qi Musi.

Qi Musi curved her eyes into a smile, not daring to get closer again.

She had enjoyed the benefit, but couldn’t eat the meat. She decided not to easily challenge her self-control again.

When everyone went outside, the sudden rush of cold air was indeed quite chilly.

Zhao Rongrong shivered, “Hot spring, hot spring, hot spring.”

The hot spring was entirely covered in rising steam. Even without touching the water, they could feel the warmth.

Zhao Rongrong first sat down and tested the temperature with her feet, then couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s really so warm.”

Qi Musi sat down nearby, settled into the water, then turned her head and waved at Xie Rong, smiling warmly with no hint of other intentions. “Xiaorong, come sit over here.”

Xie Rong indeed didn’t notice. She naturally walked over and sat down next to Qi Musi.

Although the scent of another alpha nearby couldn’t truly make Xie Rong relax, the person was her roommate for a long time, so Xie Rong simply ignored the discomfort.

She stretched her feet down, cautiously touching the water below.

Qi Musi lowered her gaze to watch her movements, placing one hand over her lips.

The sight of pearly white toes gently touching the water surface… was truly not something everyone could handle.

Qi Musi coughed once, then slid into the water and slowly sat down.

She looked up at Xie Rong, “Xiaorong, are you going to get in too?”

Xie Rong nodded, held the edge of the pool, and stepped down.

The two were not far apart, nor were they too close. After all, this small hot spring pool wasn’t very large, and with four people getting in, it was impossible to keep as much distance as in a big hot spring.

If they occasionally stretched out their arms, they could easily touch.

Xie Rong carefully leaned back, then let out a sigh of relief. Within a few minutes of getting in the water, her cheeks had already turned pink, flushed by the rising steam.

Qi Musi turned her head to look at her, asking with a light smile, “Can Xiaorong adapt to this?”

Xie Rong replied, “I’m fine.”

Qi Musi then said, “That’s good.”

She sat there quietly, but her peripheral vision was constantly focused on Xie Rong. Occasionally glancing at the other person’s neck exposed above the water, and her face flushed pink by the hot water steam, her heart began to tingle.

It wasn’t the kind of tingling sensation one gets from seeing a cute small animal, but another kind… a more adult tingling, coupled with a tickle in her throat.

Qi Musi was waiting for an opportunity.

It would be great if her relationship with Xie Rong could be more intimate, ideally like best friends. That way, she could naturally move closer to her, touch Xie Rong’s arm… or something similar.

But unfortunately, even if Qi Musi and Xie Rong had such a relationship, given Xie Rong’s personality, she probably wouldn’t like this kind of skin contact.

As for Xie Rong… she would probably maintain a distance from everyone.

Thinking of this, the corner of Qi Musi’s mouth curled up.

At this moment, Zhao Rongrong was about to stand up to pour a glass of water, and Qi Musi knew a small opportunity had arrived.

She stood up and said to Zhao Rongrong, “Let me do it, I’m closer.”

Zhao Rongrong didn’t think much of it and thanked Qi Musi with a nod.

After handing the water to Zhao Rongrong, when Qi Musi returned to sit down, she moved one step to the side, getting closer to Xie Rong.

She slowly sat down. Now, with just a slight reach, she could touch Xie Rong.

Fortunately, Xie Rong was deep in thought at the moment and didn’t notice Qi Musi’s approach.

When Xie Rong slowly came back to her senses, she realized the person next to her had unknowingly moved quite close. Their arms were touching, and the scent of the other person’s pheromones filled the air around them. Xie Rong couldn’t even tell whether the temperature of the spring water was higher or if Qi Musi’s body temperature was higher.

She subtly frowned, wanting to move away, but at that moment, Qi Musi suddenly leaned closer.

“Speaking of which, Xiaorong is truly very fair.”

Xie Rong’s body stiffened for a moment, and she glanced towards the other person. “What?”

Qi Musi curved her eyes. “I was discussing the topic of our skin tones with Zhao Rongrong. She said I was fair, but in my opinion, the fairest is undoubtedly Xiaorong.”

“It’s not that I’m being sexist… but Xiaorong is so fair, she really doesn’t look like an alpha.”

Xie Rong twitched the corner of her lips, her smile neither cold nor warmly friendly. She raised her eyes. “Do you think I look a lot like an omega?”

Qi Musi chuckled. “Not at all, especially since I’m very clear about Xiaorong’s gender.”

As she said this, her smile was alluring, the corners of her eyes slightly upturned. Her naturally flirtatious ‘peach blossom’ eyes now held an added touch of tenderness and romance, appearing exceptionally soft and charming.

Xie Rong paused slightly, then averted her gaze from that smile, feeling an inexplicable emotion…

Xie Rong couldn’t help but frown. She wondered if it was her imagination, but she always felt that Qi Musi’s presence had been strangely different lately.

But she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange.

Suddenly, her shoulder felt a tickle, bringing Xie Rong back to the present.

She looked to the side; it was Qi Musi’s finger tapping her.

Xie Rong strongly resisted the urge to swat the other person’s hand away, simply asking, “What are you doing?”

Qi Musi curved her eyes into a smile, restraining the movement of her fingers and the impulse to cover Xie Rong’s shoulder with her entire palm, and teasingly laughed, “I didn’t realize Xiaorong’s skin was so delicate, so smooth.”

Xie Rong furrowed her brow. “Go feel your own.”

Qi Musi laughed. “Mine isn’t this smooth.”

Before Xie Rong could express her cold impatience, Qi Musi actively took her hand and gently moved it to touch her own shoulder, then asked, “What do you think? Am I right?”

Xie Rong felt as if her wrist and fingers had been scalded. She immediately shook off Qi Musi’s hand and said coldly, “Move away.”

Zhao Rongrong stopped what she was doing and cautiously looked over. “What’s wrong, Xiaorong?”

Xie Rong paused, closed her eyes, and for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.

Maybe because this kind of thing… how to put it, it wasn’t easy to talk about.

This kind of…

Xie Rong pursed her lips, then stepped out. “I’ve been soaking for long enough, I’m going in first.”

With that, she got out of the pool and returned to the room without waiting for Qi Musi to say anything.

Qi Musi remained sitting in the small hot spring, looking at Xie Rong’s receding back and smiling brightly.

Zhao Rongrong moved next to Qi Musi. “Uh, Musi, did you do something just now?”

Qi Musi smiled with an expression of pure innocence. “Nothing at all.”

Zhao Rongrong: “Then why did Xiaorong suddenly leave?”

Qi Musi propped her chin on one hand, smiling innocently and alluringly. “I don’t know.”

However, she also knew that her actions just now had crossed a line. If it were someone else who had done that to her, Qi Musi definitely wouldn’t have just let them swat her hand away.

But…

If she didn’t push the boundaries a bit, it would probably be impossible. Otherwise, how long would it take for Xie Rong to realize that her actions towards her were not the measure of a simple roommate?