After Dumping the Female Lead, It's My Turn to Cry - Chapter 36.1

The suspended dust settled quietly as the transparent air liquefied into a flowing, watery texture, condensing into ice crystals that smelled faintly of freesia. Though they should have been cold, as they drifted through this silent river, they felt boiling, a mysterious state suspended between gas and liquid.

As these tiny droplets of pheromones drifted past her nose, Ruan Yubai furrowed her brows and took a light sniff.

Pop. They shattered.

This was truly not a good time for a heat cycle to begin.

[After PE class ended, the boys emerging from the stadium were clearly still wound up, their expressions somewhat surly. The sour smell of sweat gathered like a cloud, and their sneakers left dirty prints on the freshly mopped floor. Accompanied by a few crude curses, several Alphas laughed and headed up the stairs, only to stop dead in their tracks after a few steps.

A light, gentle scent of Omega pheromones permeated the air, like a refreshing popsicle handed out in the sweltering heat of summer, faintly striking the glands at the back of every Alpha’s neck. They looked at each other, none surprised to see bloodshot streaks in one another’s eyes. Countless powerful pheromones clashed in the air; the crisp winter air was suddenly thick with the smoke of competition. Driven by this impulse, their logic was replaced by desire. Muscles tore through jerseys as they threw punches at their companions before bolting toward the source of that delicate scent.

In a deserted laboratory at the end of the third floor, Nan Zhuti put down a struggling white rat, clearly annoyed. The commotion below had disturbed his calm thoughts. Frowning, he pushed open the door, only to be hit by a gentle yet cold fragrance—a scent capable of making any Alpha lose their mind.

Could it be…

Nan Zhuti thought as he walked. Passing a rarely-visited iron door, he caught an even more distinct Omega scent through the cracked opening. The usually haughty beauty was there, eyes brimming with tears and cheeks flushed, helpless and pitiful. She reached out her slender arms and whispered, “Save me.”

It was the noble Young Lady of the Qing family!

At this moment, the President had none of her usual coldness. She stared at him with total trust, as if Nan Zhuti were her savior. Nan Zhuti adjusted his glasses and stepped into that dreamlike haze of pheromones.

Footsteps approached from behind as the murky Alpha pheromones nearly brought down the walls. Just as they were about to arrive—

Click. The iron door closed.]

Setting aside the exaggerated descriptions, Ruan Yubai was genuinely curious about what Qing Ling looked like when she was “eyes brimming with tears, helpless and pitiful.”

Looking out the window, PE had just ended. The Alphas on the playground were huddled together buying ice drinks, seemingly having no intention of coming upstairs yet.

She’d just take one tiny peek. It wouldn’t affect the plot!

With that thought, Ruan Yubai made her way to the third floor. After taking three wrong turns, she successfully located the iron door where the heroine was hiding.

You couldn’t blame her lack of direction; unlike Alphas, Betas weren’t sensitive to pheromones. She could smell the freesia, but that was it. She was like a happy bear in a candy shop—she liked the honey nearby, but she wouldn’t lose her mind over it, let alone use the scent to track someone.

As she stood before the iron door, faint footsteps echoed from the entrance of the teaching building. Ruan Yubai decided her effort shouldn’t go to waste. She pushed open the creaking, rusted iron door.

Dim light briefly chased away the shadows. The girl, with her back to the door, had her thick, beautiful hair down. As she turned her head, her soft eyes fixed on Ruan Yubai with a sharp, piercing gaze. A faint glow sat on the bridge of her elegant nose, and her dark pupils looked like polished agate—a cold, moist light emerging from icy waters.

Ruan Yubai froze. It was the first time she had seen Qing Ling like this. However, that hostile, indifferent look only lasted a second before vanishing as the heroine lowered her head.

For a moment, the only sound in the air was the heroine’s shallow panting. Paired with her exquisite voice, it acted like a Siren’s hook, making one’s heart itch for no reason.

Ruan Yubai awkwardly smoothed her hair, feeling that she had indeed gone too far. Just as she was about to apologize and leave, she heard the heroine’s cold question: “Why are you here?”

What do you mean, ‘why am I here’?

A spark of irritation rose in Ruan Yubai. Her suppressed anger flared up again. Unbelievable! Before she could say a word, the heroine was being more self-righteous than she was!

Stopping her turn to leave, Ruan Yubai looked back directly. “Who did you want here? Nan Zhuti?”

Meeting those clear apricot eyes, Qing Ling blinked, stunned. Before she could speak, the girl walked over, slowly wrapped her arms around the heroine’s neck, and let her soft fingertips brush through her hair. Ruan Yubai tilted her head and smiled.

To be honest, Ruan Yubai could taste the familiar metallic tang of blood in her throat. She knew this behavior was a direct provocation to the original story, but she was simply too angry. The more she felt the blood rise, the angrier she became. She blinked against the pain, forced down the rising blood, and curled her lips:

“I’m going to mark you. Scared?”

The moment she said it, Ruan Yubai was stunned. The “villainess” vibe was so strong it actually scared her a little.

She wasn’t the only one. She clearly saw the heroine lower her lashes, those dark, beautiful eyes staring at her without blinking. Her expression was unreadable, but the scent of freesia grew even more crisp and intense.

Is she going to punch me?

Thinking back, Ruan Yubai realized her words were incredibly punchable. She timidly withdrew her hands. Seeing Qing Ling move slightly, she scrambled back a step. “I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please don’t hit me too hard!”

Ruan Yubai didn’t notice that the heroine also took a slight step back at the same time.

Ruan Yubai had read many melodramatic novels, and the thing she scoffed at most was the logic-defying “accidental kiss” tropes. For instance, turning around during an argument only for lips to meet, or falling down and somehow landing a perfect kiss.

However, Ruan Yubai swore she would never mock those plots again. As she tried to run, she tripped over Qing Ling’s leg. Just as she was about to fall, the heroine caught her. Under the momentum, Ruan Yubai slammed forward—and her lips landed directly against the soft, white gland on the back of the heroine’s neck!

At this moment, Ruan Yubai was piously apologizing to every novel protagonist she had ever judged. She was wrong. She shouldn’t have mocked these plots. She shouldn’t have failed to treasure the valuable experience provided by her predecessors.

“I’m a dead woman.”

Given the heroine’s SSS-rank mental strength, Ruan Yubai could already imagine being crushed into crumbs and spread on a piece of bread. She wasn’t the male lead; how did she dare do something so bold? She probably wouldn’t make it out of this building alive.

Just as Ruan Yubai was frantically trying to get up, she heard the heroine’s low, smiling whisper: “Help… I’m so scared.”

There wasn’t a trace of fear in her voice—only pure, light amusement.

Then, Ruan Yubai realized with horror that she couldn’t pull her head away. Qing Ling’s slender arms were resting on the girl’s back, seemingly to push her away, but Ruan Yubai knew better. Those “delicate” arms were holding her firmly in place, like a turtle flipped onto its shell, leaving her zero chance of escape.

In a flash of realization, Ruan Yubai understood.

The heroine didn’t just want her dead; she wanted her ruined! For an ordinary Beta to be caught “hallucinating” and attacking a heroine during her heat cycle, a jail cell was the best-case scenario. The heroine would likely team up with the male lead, throw her into a dark room for inhumane punishment, and she’d never get to eat earthworm gummies again.

She was finished. Curiosity really did kill the salted fish.

In her extreme grief, Ruan Yubai let out a tiny sob. Before Qing Ling could raise a surprised eyebrow, Ruan Yubai bit down on her neck with her teeth. She let out a muffled wail: “I’ll bite you to death!”

This bite was Ruan Yubai’s last stand. If she was going to die, she’d take her revenge as a “salted fish” and fulfill her dream of being a mid-tier villain.

Blinded by fury, Ruan Yubai didn’t notice that Qing Ling didn’t pull away. Instead, she quietly moved the hair covering her neck to make it easier for her to bite.

To be fair, the heroine’s gland was soft and smelled wonderful—like a piece of fragrant wood in humid, rainy weather. But she could only hold it in her mouth; she couldn’t actually mark her.

After the bite, her impulsive anger subsided. Ruan Yubai felt completely despondent, ready to accept the judgment of a cannon fodder villain. She let go and tried to pull away…

She still couldn’t get free!

Ruan Yubai was now truly exasperated. She had admitted her guilt and accepted her fate, but even a pig has a temper. She snapped, “Ms. Qing, what do you want?!”

The response was a thud. The iron door slammed shut with a despairing speed, locking out the approaching footsteps. Even Nan Zhuti, who should have emerged from the lab, was now just a bystander.

She had stolen the male lead’s role!

Ruan Yubai felt like she was actually going to cough up blood. But before she could clutch her head in madness, she heard the heroine’s gentle voice right against her ear:

“Keep biting, and I’ll forgive you.”

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