After Mistakenly Marking My Ex’s Older Sister, the Disabled Alpha Stood Up - Chapter 20

Jin Yunxi rode her horse slowly back to the starting point with Yan Qingruo by her side. Her skill in horsemanship was undeniable—posture steady, movements swift and graceful—making her the immediate focus of the arena.

The crowd erupted in astonishment.

Jin Hua shot to his feet, his gaze dark as ink pooling in his eyes.

“Impossible!”

At some point, Jin Yunxi had become a source of unease for him.

After the death of his first wife—Jin Yunxi’s mother—his eldest daughter became someone he could no longer recognize.

He still remembered that day at the cemetery garden. A black umbrella shielded her head from the rain, hiding her face from him. A few loose strands of hair brushed against her pale skin; her lips, tinged red, were pressed tight. Sliding down her jawline—he couldn’t tell if it was rain or tears.

He raised his hand, wanting to call softly, “Xi’er…”

But Jin Yunxi cut him off coldly.

“I don’t want to see you.”

He would never forget the look in her eyes—like she was staring at an enemy.

Her lips curled in a mocking smile.

“You don’t deserve to be her husband, and you don’t deserve to be my father.”

From that day on, she vanished from his grasp. The once-obedient daughter slipped beyond his control.

When she returned to the country, she sat in a wheelchair. Her demeanor was colder than before.

Jin Hua looked at those thin, empty-looking legs and, absurdly, felt relieved.

If she couldn’t walk, then she couldn’t leave. She would have to remain under his authority, obedient as always.

The wheelchair had become his safety net. Feeling secure again, he loosened his grip on power, handing her a portion as though granting a favor. Jin Yunxi never refused—her face impassive, her silence unreadable.

Yet, with her own strength alone, she proved that the Jin Corporation could thrive without him.

When he finally tried to reclaim power, it just so happened that Jin Yunxi had already become the Empire’s Secretary-General. The shareholders refused to let her step down.

Though her title was “acting president,” her position was no different from the real thing.

And now, here she was again—riding with strong, unrestrained limbs, exuding the sharp vigor of a hunting hawk.

This—this was more terrifying than losing control. Those black eyes fixed on him with disdain, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that Jin Yunxi might one day kill him.

Crisis pressed in from all sides.

If her legs fully recovered, wouldn’t that mean he, the so-called “retired emperor,” would be forced into true abdication?

Jin Hua glanced toward his younger daughter, Jin Yunhan, her expression unreadable—was she pleased, or upset?

He sighed heavily. He had once intended to let the two sisters compete, but the younger one had grown up only to look to her elder sister for guidance.

“I’m fine,” Jin Yunxi reassured Yan Qingruo, who was hovering anxiously. She dismounted with elegance, helping Yan Qingruo down. Sunlight caught on her dark hair, brushing past her refined brows and eyes.

Her grip on the reins was steady. Yan Qingruo resisted the urge to throw herself into her arms.

I really want to hug Ah Yun, she told herself softly. Even with so many people around, it wouldn’t matter—so long as Ah Yun would allow it.

“Careful,” Jin Yunxi murmured, her voice low.

Yan Qingruo’s gaze melted at once; something warm and uncontainable seemed to spill from her eyes.

It struck her then—what she loved… was also this Jin Yunxi, standing tall and unbroken.

Cheers and shouts swelled around them, a sound long absent from her life.

Jin Yunxi’s emotions, however, were complicated. A familiar chill crept back into her chest.

Everyone admired the strong. Yan Qingruo was no exception.

Power attracts allegiance; weakness invites scorn. If she was not President Jin, not Secretary-General, not an S-class Alpha—would these people treat her this way?

Who truly loved Jin Yunxi, the woman stripped of all titles?

She could only maintain this façade for two hours. After that… would Yan Qingruo be disappointed? Or—simply disappointed?

Ha. What did it matter? Even if feelings grew, it wasn’t love.

She despised false adoration, and she had no need for it.

“Ah Yun, have your legs recovered?”

“No.” Beads of sweat glistened on Jin Yunxi’s forehead, her jaw clenched tight.

Her strength was fading fast. The medicine’s effect ticking away—ten minutes, nine, eight… until the final second.

Then the pain crashed over her like a tide. Her body collapsed into Yan Qingruo’s arms. The last thing she saw was the panic in the woman’s eyes, her radiant face drained pale.

Jin Yunxi wondered—had Yan Qingruo ever worried this much… for that “white moonlight” from three years ago?

That was the final thought as she blacked out.

________________________________________

Later, when she was seated back in the wheelchair, Yan Qingruo insisted on caring for her. Jin Yunxi refused, but Yan Qingruo grew angry, saying that if she rejected her help, it meant she didn’t regard her as a wife.

Jin Yunxi relented, agreeing—but drew the line at bathing. Yan Qingruo, reluctant, kept her bright, watery eyes fixed on her in worry.

“I can’t walk, but my hands aren’t broken.” Jin Yunxi chuckled helplessly.

Night fell. The villa was quiet, save for the soft glow from the living room lamp.

Yan Qingruo sat on the sofa with a book, though her mind was far away. Her eyes lifted often, filled with worry for Jin Yunxi at her side.

“Ah Yun, are you feeling any better now?” she asked softly, setting the book aside.

The moment Jin Yunxi fainted earlier had nearly scared her out of her wits.

Still working on her laptop, Jin Yunxi didn’t look up. Her gaze flicked briefly at Yan Qingruo before returning to the screen.

“I worry about you,” Yan Qingruo said, resting her cheek in her palm. “If it wasn’t for saving me, Ah Yun, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“That kind of situation is dangerous. Even if it wasn’t you—if it was any family member—I would have done the same,” Jin Yunxi replied evenly.

After all, Yan Qingruo was not only her partner in the competition but also her contractual wife. Out of duty alone, she had to act.

That was what she told herself.

Yan Qingruo murmured in assent, though the words chilled her. She wasn’t a fool—she knew Jin Yunxi had been avoiding her in bed lately. She had even begun to wonder if it was just the “one-year itch.”

The warmth from Jin Yunxi’s rescue, still glowing in her heart, was extinguished by that explanation—leaving only ice.

She swallowed her disappointment and rose to pour a glass of water.

“Wait.” Jin Yunxi stopped her. “Help me get that book on the top shelf.”

She rarely asked for help. Did she realize how much that meant?

Yan Qingruo approached and reached up.

“Not that one.” Absentmindedly, Jin Yunxi shifted for leverage, accidentally knocking loose a heavy tome.

“Careful!”

In an instant, Yan Qingruo toppled into her, their bodies pressed tightly together.

Jin Yunxi had no time to savor the warmth of those curves.

“Hss—!” Pain ripped through her.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Qingruo scrambled up, but in her panic her hand pressed against Jin Yunxi’s thigh—then her stomach, and then even lower.

“Not there.” Jin Yunxi strained to lift her arm—only for a loud crack to sound.

Perfect. Now her arm was useless too.

The half-healed glands at the nape of her neck throbbed painfully. The sweet scent of night jasmine filled the air, heightening the allure of the woman before her.

Jin Yunxi clenched her fists against the pain—only for it to ease, as though massaged away by gentle hands.

Was Yan Qingruo here to undo her, or to save her?

________________________________________

The attendants Queen Lin Ruxi sent were ruthlessly turned away at the door.

Jin Yunxi’s cold refusal left them too intimidated to argue.

When Lin Ruxi heard, she frowned. She had intended to let matters rest, but unease drove her to visit in person.

Ever since the two had “shown affection” in front of her, a thorn had lodged in her throat. She had tried to cool her feelings, but after seeing Jin Yunxi’s stunning display on horseback through the Hawkeye broadcast, heat had surged uncontrollably through her veins.

Jin Yunxi had always held a strong sexual allure for her. And yet, precisely because she could not have her, that allure only deepened.

Everyone Lin Ruxi ever desired had always come willingly to her bed. Jin Yunxi, however, had rejected her time and again.

“Your Majesty, are you… worried about her?” a gossiping maid asked.

“Of course not.” Lin Ruxi denied flatly. She only wanted to sleep with Jin Yunxi—perhaps one night would be enough to tire of her.

Jin Yunxi infuriated her. Anyone else in her position would have been dismissed from the Secretary-General’s post long ago.

The maid was unconvinced. “Then why did you summon so many top orthopedic experts?”

Indeed, following her was a veritable trainload of specialists.

Lin Ruxi, usually eloquent, faltered. “Just… a whim.”

In truth, she was simply curious—how could Jin Yunxi’s legs seem perfectly fine one moment, only to deteriorate even worse than before?

The doctors studied the medical records, and one after another, they frowned.

“Impossible!”

They even said Jin Yunxi would be crippled for life. Enraged, Lin Ruxi drove those useless people out.

In the end, it was Yaqi who arrived.

She stood before Jin Yunxi with a solemn expression, eyes filled with reproach.

“What’s the matter with you? You actually forced yourself to take that pill? Didn’t I tell you—it’s only for life-or-death situations. What on earth could be more important than your life?”

Her voice rose unconsciously, edged with frustration and bitter disappointment.

Jin Yunxi’s face shifted ever so slightly. Her gaze flickered away for a moment, landing instinctively on Yan Qingruo, before she said coolly, “Enough, Yaqi. Don’t say any more.”

Her tone was firm, brooking no argument, yet the whitened knuckles gripping the wheelchair betrayed the restraint in her emotions.

Those two brief hours of restored mobility had drained her immensely, and on top of that, Jin Yunxi was now showing signs of entering susceptibility. She couldn’t use a suppressant—not even her usual inhibitors.

Hearing this, Yan Qingruo’s heart jolted violently. She looked at Jin Yunxi in disbelief. So it was to save her that Ah Yun had taken such a dangerous pill with side effects.

But Jin Yunxi, as if reading her mind, cut her off.

“This has nothing to do with you. Don’t overthink it.”

A haze of mist welled in Yan Qingruo’s eyes. To cover her sudden loss of composure, she excused herself and stepped outside.

“Why are you so cold to your own wife?” Yaqi asked, baffled.

Jin Yunxi let out a quiet sigh. With this trusted friend, there was no need to conceal the truth.

The moment Yaqi understood, her eyes lit up. She leaned forward, excitement spilling over.

“So it’s not just her scent—you can actually feel it now?”

She whispered eagerly in Jin Yunxi’s ear, “Then why bother with the wheelchair at all?”

“What? You’re suggesting I…” Jin Yunxi’s pupils contracted, sharp disbelief flashing across her face. “You know perfectly well she’s a Beta. And my marriage with her is contractual.”

“But the pseudo-pheromones in her body have a remarkable effect on your glands and your leg injury.” Yaqi hurried to explain, her eyes brimming with anticipation. “I’ve been wanting to tell you how important this is.”

Healing her legs was only part of it—soothing her glands was just as crucial, especially with a pheromone scent uniquely matched to her.

Though Yan Qingruo had no Omega glands, the Omega maturative agent injected into her body allowed her to secrete fluids that could exchange with Jin Yunxi’s, greatly easing her condition.

“No wonder the reagent developed by Jiang Guo’s top research team is so powerful,” Yaqi added with awe.

The method she offered was straightforward. Even if Yan Qingruo couldn’t mark Jin Yunxi or be marked in return, the Omega essence infused into her body was already inseparable from her fluids.

“Simple kissing isn’t enough. You’ll need repeated fluid exchange and fusion,” Yaqi said, almost breathless with excitement.

“Is there no other way?” Jin Yunxi gripped her wheel rim, the tips of her ears tinged with pink.

“There is—find yourself an S-class Omega, spend a night together, and that will do it.”

But S-class Omegas were rarer than phoenix feathers. Those who existed were tightly hidden and carefully raised by the most powerful families. None would ever be offered up to sleep with Jin Yunxi for treatment.

“So only S-class will do? Then let me pick one out for you, little Yun.” Lin Ruxi’s eyes glimmered with intrigue as she spoke, with Yan Qingruo trailing closely behind her.

Yaqi only then realized the Queen was present and immediately bowed. Yan Qingruo stood frozen, staring blankly at Jin Yunxi.

The Queen’s offer was irresistible. Would Ah Yun agree?

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Jin Yunxi said.

Yan Qingruo hurriedly stepped forward, her pace betraying a trace of urgency.

Lin Ruxi’s smile deepened. She was the S-class Omega, though no one knew her secret. If Jin Yunxi was the one, she was willing to share it.

To present such a secret willingly was the highest form of favor the Queen could grant Jin Yunxi.

She wanted to sleep with Jin Yunxi—yes. But more than that, she wanted to heal her.

The perfect outcome.

“But there’s no need,” Jin Yunxi said firmly. “I have a wife. I won’t accept intimacy with another Omega.”

She took Yan Qingruo’s hand—her wife, who had lost her memories, who still carried a white moonlight in her heart.

“Ah Yun…” Yan Qingruo’s eyes softened, lashes lowered like the petals of a narcissus bowing to the water.

But the moment the Queen departed, her hand was suddenly wrenched free—too roughly. The pull landed on the arm she had injured the day before.

Yan Qingruo: …

That night, Yan Qingruo stared at her pale palm, the sting of that release lingering still. Slowly, she set a tiny clay figurine into it.

She curled her fingers around it, as though folding lotus petals around a tender bud.

Even if it was only to make Jin Yunxi better, she would give everything without hesitation.

Later, she took the worn-out Couple’s Diary, and without another thought, fed it into the living room furnace until it was burned to ash.

Her lips curved faintly. If the book was full of lies, then why not begin writing the truth herself?

Jin Yunxi, with her arm still injured, could hardly manage bathing alone. Yan Qingruo’s voice floated from outside the bathroom.

But Jin Yunxi still refused.

Steam swirled thick in the room, blurring everything into haze.

Soon, within that drifting mist, a graceful silhouette emerged—Jin Yunxi reclining in the tub, and in the mirror, the reflection of Yan Qingruo entering in a sheer, silky nightdress, bare skin glowing faintly in the heat.

Jin Yunxi’s cheeks burned. “Didn’t I say I could manage on my own?”

The faint fragrance of tuberose drifted in. The moment of danger had already begun earlier—at that fleeting glance. The heat in Jin Yunxi’s chest rose like wildfire, surging into her nerves, screaming at her to bite, to taste, to devour.

The water rippled lightly at her legs as Yan Qingruo stepped into the tub, settling gracefully in front of her naked body. Through the veil of steam, her gaze shimmered, soft as spring water.

“Mmm, I know Ah Yun is very capable.”

Capable of holding up the vast Jin Corporation on her own.

Capable of risking side effects to ride into danger just to save her.

Capable of, even after her amnesia, making her heart dangle precariously on a single thread.

“Capable of making my heart cling to you alone, Ah Yun… you really are remarkable.”

Each tender word was like a feather teasing Jin Yunxi’s heartstrings, yet also like poison poppy, tugging her toward ruin. In the water, Jin Yunxi retreated step by step, until her back hit the edge of the tub.

No way back.

She turned her face aside, refusing to look at the two pale, full curves so close they nearly brushed her. Droplets slid from damp brown strands at her jawline, trailing across her collarbone—the distance was unbearable.

Yan Qingruo leaned closer, her breath warm against Jin Yunxi’s lips. Her own lips grazed against hers, hovering, teasing, before pausing in place.

“But I really want to know—can Ah Yun truly do anything?”

She bit lightly on that word, then paused deliberately. Her moist eyes hooked into Jin Yunxi’s, each syllable a siren’s call.

“For example… making love.”