After Dating the President O, I Turned Into a Puppy-Like Lover - Chapter 32

Zhou Yi snorted, “Tch,” and scooted to the wall, drawing a clear line between herself and Jiang He.

Jiang He slept deeply, only stirring when her arm grew sore from the pressure. She shifted, half-awake, eyes hazy, and thought she saw Yu Wei sitting opposite her.

She didn’t bother to respond. Sleep still weighed heavily on her. One glance, and she lowered her head back onto her arm, drifting again.

“Something happened on Maple Leaf Road.” Yu Wei, usually quiet, suddenly read aloud from her phone.

“What happened?” Zhou Yi asked, still hammering at her game screen without looking up.

“Pheromone riot,” Yu Wei said.

“What?” Zhou Yi chuckled carelessly, amused. “With all the safety systems these days, how could a pheromone riot still happen?”

“Exactly.” Yu Wei sighed. “Luckily it’s far from here. A friend of mine lives nearby—different street, but people around her were affected. She’s a Beta, so she’s fine.”

“Eh? Sister Wei,” Zhou Yi looked up suddenly. “Didn’t your little Omega girlfriend live on that Maple Leaf Road you just mentioned?”

“It’s Fengye, not Maple Leaf. Different places entirely. My girlfriend lives in Huahuaye. Honestly, no culture at all.” Yu Wei rolled her eyes, annoyed, and took a sip of tea. “Otherwise, do you think I’d still be sitting—”

“What did you say?” Jiang He suddenly lifted her head, still groggy, half-questioning, half-confused. “Where did it happen?”

Yu Wei and Zhou Yi exchanged baffled looks. Zhou Yi recovered first, teasing, “Oh? You’re awake? For the record, Sister Wei started it—I was just playing my game. And we were talking quietly.”

Jiang He ignored her. Now fully awake, she confirmed: they had said Maple Leaf Road. “How bad is it?”

Yu Wei gave her a subtle look, soothing. “Don’t panic. I only heard rumors. I can call my friend there and check.”

She pulled out her phone, dialing a video call. The ringtone chimed.

Zhou Yi even abandoned her game, leaning back theatrically, scanning her boss. “Damn, something’s up, isn’t it? Boss, you’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

Jiang He didn’t answer. Yu Wei’s call went unanswered, the ringing echoing. She sighed. “Forget it. No need to call.”

“I’m going out.” Jiang He rose, swift as wind.

Yu Wei’s hair fluttered from the draft as she watched Jiang He’s figure vanish at the door, lost in thought.

Jiang He hurried down the street, phone in hand.

She called Dan Sirou four times. No answer. At first, she only wanted to check in. Now, fear gnawed at her, had something happened?

Dan Sirou was an S-class Omega. Her pheromones alone could draw Alphas from miles away. If she went into heat without suppression, she could affect an entire district.

That explained why the riot had erupted on Maple Leaf Road.

The sixth call rang endlessly, still unanswered. Jiang He cut it off herself, stepping into the road to flag a taxi.

“Driver, to Xunfang Community.” She shut the door quickly, urgency in her voice.

The Beta driver hesitated, glancing at his phone. “That area, not good right now. Roads are jammed. Are you sure?”

“Go.” Jiang He snapped. “Please, as fast as possible. It’s urgent.”

“Alright.”

The ride from Xingwei Cottage to Maple Leaf Road was about twenty minutes. Jiang He’s heart refused to calm. At every red light she fidgeted, restless. Only the blur of scenery at high speed gave her slight relief.

She kept trying Dan Sirou’s number. Still no answer.

Beyond Fu Jiu, she had no ties to Dan Sirou’s circle.

Regret consumed her. She had hidden too much, never reached out, never tried. She didn’t know any of Dan Sirou’s close friends. Now, at the critical moment, she had no one to ask.

The twenty minutes dragged unbearably. Near Maple Leaf Road, traffic thickened. Two intersections away from Xunfang Community, the driver pulled over. “Miss, I can’t go further. Look ahead—gridlock. You’ll be faster on foot.”

Jiang He saw the truth. “Oh.” She paid quickly, then sprinted off.

She ran hard. At the next intersection, several fire trucks stood ready, firefighters preparing to disperse purification powder.

She ducked into a pharmacy, buying high-dose blockers and Alpha-grade inhibitor syringes. Injecting herself, she pushed the dosage to the limit—almost beyond what her body could bear.

While workers redirected crowds, she slipped inside.

The deeper she went, the more her brows furrowed.

Reality was worse than she had imagined.

Blockers shielded her gland, but couldn’t stop the stench flooding her nose and mouth. Scents mixed—pleasant and foul, overwhelming like carbon monoxide. Not lethal, but devastating to the senses.

Her stomach churned. Legs heavy, steps faltering. She covered her nose and mouth, forcing herself forward.

Even maxed-out blockers weren’t invincible. As pheromone density rose, Omega scent seeped through, brushing against her gland.

Her hair stood on end. Waves of pheromones battered her, trying to break through. Sweat beaded her forehead—whether from exertion or strain, she couldn’t tell.

A few hundred meters, once effortless, now left her gasping. She nearly collapsed, but the sight of a familiar high-rise spurred her on. Clinging to that hope, she reached Dan Sirou’s building.

Bent over, hands on knees, she gulped air.

Her legs felt like cotton. Wiping sweat, she forced her numb limbs up the stairs.

At Dan Sirou’s door, she knocked lightly.

“Dan Sirou.”

No answer. She knocked harder, calling her name.

Still nothing.

Despair sank in.

Her strength drained, she slid down against the door, crouching. Sweat or tears blurred her lashes, droplets clinging.

Suddenly, the door opened.

In her hopelessness, it was like finding an oasis in the desert. Her eyes lit up. She sprang to her feet. “Dan Sirou!”

But it wasn’t her.

A dignified woman held the handle, gaze cool. Jiang He froze, disappointment crashing down.

Shu Wan, rarely shaken, let her eyes soften with emotion. “You’re here for Xiao Rou?”

Her voice was slow, gentler than her expression.

“Yes. I’m worried. Is she home?” Jiang He’s eyes were weary. She already knew the answer. If Dan Sirou were inside, she would have opened the door herself. Still, she asked, unwilling to give up.

“She left two hours ago. I’ve been trying to call her, but none of the calls go through.” Shu Wan murmured.

It was the first time she had spoken so much since the incident began.

Before Jiang He arrived, Shu Wan had sat on the sofa, dialing her daughter’s number again and again. Sometimes it rang unanswered. Sometimes there was no signal at all.

She had long grown numb to the chaos of the world. But now, instinct as a mother drove her to keep trying.

“Did she tell you where she went?” Jiang He asked calmly.

“The supermarket,” Shu Wan replied.

It had to be the one across the street. Jiang He’s heart sank again.

She had just come from there—it was already packed, impossible to move.

Dan Sirou must still be somewhere in that area. But—

Jiang He couldn’t bear to imagine it. An Omega of her level would be the prime target for frenzied Alphas, fighting over her. And she had been gone for two hours already.

A sour ache rose in Jiang He’s chest.

The answer was obvious.

It felt like a progress bar stuck at ninety-nine percent, the last one percent nothing but false comfort.

But no matter what, she had to find her.

Drawing in a breath, Jiang He steeled herself. This time, she injected an even higher dose into her veins, reckless but resolute.

“I’m going to look for her,” she said.

Shu Wan’s eyes flickered with worry. She wanted to say it was too dangerous, but her ability to form words had not yet recovered. All she managed was a murmur as she watched Jiang He descend the stairs.

“Be careful.”

Now that she knew Dan Sirou had only gone to the supermarket, the search area was smaller. It was within the cordoned zone. Jiang He quickly mapped out the possible routes.

She knew Dan Sirou’s pheromones well. If they lingered anywhere, she would find her.

Earlier she had taken the main road, but found nothing. This time she tried another path. She wasn’t familiar with the area, but any road would lead to the same destination.

The first alley she crossed opened onto a gap between buildings, revealing the supermarket across the street. She sighed and turned back.

She feared not finding Dan Sirou. She feared finding her.

Each time her thoughts grew too heavy, she stopped herself, wiped sweat from her brow, and pressed on.

Hope and despair tangled together as she combed every alley.

Unknowingly, she circled back near Dan Sirou’s neighborhood. Jiang He prepared to change direction again.

She moved like a machine, numb to fatigue, following her mental map, trying every route. She encountered other crazed Alphas, but her rank was high enough that even in madness they dared not provoke her.

Then suddenly—her spine stiffened. She thought she smelled Dan Sirou’s pheromones.

But was it real? Or just her senses, overwhelmed by the chaos? She stepped back, inhaling carefully, straining to separate her scent from the storm of odors.

Finally, she was sure.

Dan Sirou was nearby.

There were three alleys in the area. Jiang He searched each one, but the scent was faint, impossible to pinpoint.

She wandered back and forth like a headless fly, ten times, twenty times, all in vain.

Returning to the corner where she had first caught the trace, exhaustion hit her. Her strength was nearly gone. Sweat streamed down her forehead, stinging her eyes until she could barely open them. She rubbed them over and over, forcing them clear.

When she looked again, she saw a cat darting through the alley. Her gaze followed it mechanically. The cat slipped into a patch of grass. Jiang He realized she hadn’t checked that spot.

But she didn’t want to move anymore.

So many fruitless attempts told her it would be useless.

Yet her legs betrayed her, carrying her forward.

She had already drained an entire vial of blockers.

Dan Sirou felt her body burning hotter.

Her gland throbbed erratically, releasing floral pheromones she herself could sense.

Before the heat consumed her, she clung to one last shred of clarity. She picked up half a red brick from the rubble, gripping it tightly.

Suddenly, a commotion outside shattered her plan.

A surge of Alpha pheromones struck. Her legs nearly gave out.

Her last clarity was stripped away. Like a flower on the verge of bloom, she began to release her scent.

She bit her lip, clutching the brick, ready to act. But before she could, another crash outside. A body hitting the ground.

Alphas must have been fighting each other.

It didn’t matter who won. Dan Sirou knew her power. If she went fully into heat, the riot would not end quickly. Better to end it herself than be marked and consumed.

Footsteps drew closer. The barrier would not hold.

She raised the brick. But just as she lifted it, a figure appeared, one that stunned her.

“Dan Sirou!” Jiang He’s eyes lit up.

The sight of her unharmed filled Jiang He with wave after wave of joy.

Half an hour of desperate running, searching, finally rewarded. She forgot the place, the danger, the distance between them. In three strides she pulled the girl into her arms.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” Her voice trembled, relief and disbelief mingling.

She hadn’t cried through all the hopeless searching. But now, tears spilled freely.

Dan Sirou froze in her embrace, mind blank.

Jiang He held her so tightly she could hardly breathe. Her arms pressed against her back, her hair caught painfully.

“It hurts,” Dan Sirou whispered.

At once Jiang He loosened her hold, reluctantly stepping back. The suffocating Alpha aura around her eased.

Only then did Dan Sirou take in the sight of the girl before her—face flushed, sweat dripping from her temples, damp strands of hair clinging, eyes reddened and wet. Her whole face streaked with moisture, whether sweat or tears she couldn’t tell.

She must be exhausted.

The sight stirred unexpected tenderness.

Relieved she was safe, Jiang He still felt shaken. She checked her quickly, scanning her face, her body, even gently turning her to look behind.

Her concern was so earnest that Dan Sirou, at first bewildered, soon cooperated.

But when Jiang He’s gaze reached her back, it froze. Through the folds of her clothes, beneath her dark hair, she glimpsed a faint flush, radiating a scent that tugged at her instincts.

Jiang He’s lips parted, trembling.

Dan Sirou noticed her change. Her body stilled, her eyes locked, no longer the gaze of a girl but of an Alpha.

She followed her line of sight, glancing back.

Her cheeks flamed. “What are you doing? Don’t tell me you.”

Jiang He understood instantly, waving her hands. “No, no! I’m fine. I took a lot of blockers before coming!”

Her words calmed Dan Sirou. She lifted her eyes to Jiang He’s face.

Jiang He faltered under her gaze, unable to meet it.

Dan Sirou studied her, voice soft but serious. “Jiang He, did you come here just to find me?”

Jiang He: “…”

Jiang He couldn’t answer. She deflected instead. “You’re close to heat. It’s dangerous, you’ll draw other Alphas. Let me help you.”

Dan Sirou’s lashes fluttered. Warm breath brushed Jiang He’s cheek. She whispered, “How will you help?”