After Mistakenly Marking My Ex’s Older Sister, the Disabled Alpha Stood Up - Chapter 48

“Take it off!”

That single word struck Yán Qīngruò’s ears like a thunderclap.

A flush of shame and anger tinged her exquisite face.

The infuriating Alpha before her spoke coldly, “Strip until there’s nothing left—then lie down on the desk.”

Shock. Shame. Rage.

Yán Qīngruò bit her lip. “Jìn Yúnxī, are you insane? What on earth are you trying to do?”

What else could she mean? The answer was obvious.

At their place in Yatran, they had done it in nearly every corner, indulging themselves without restraint.

Everywhere—except the office.

But in broad daylight, with voices bustling just beyond these walls… Jìn Yúnxī was clearly humiliating her.

Yan Qīngruò suspected this was revenge for how coldly she had cut things off at the airport.

She had come prepared to beg Jìn Yúnxī—but not for this.

Jìn Yúnxī gave a cold laugh. “What’s the matter, Miss Yán? Weren’t you here to plead with me? These are my terms. Either obey… or watch Shū Xīyuè and your Qingyue Corp sink to the bottom of the sea together.”

She spat out the name “Shū Xīyuè” with such venom that she exhaled heavily afterward, leaning back against the sofa, arms crossed, expression icy.

Humiliation flooded through Yán Qīngruò, submerging her whole body. Her fingertips turned white from clenching too hard.

Yes, she’d been reckless with Jìn Yúnxī during her amnesia. Yes, they had shared countless shameless nights. Yes, most of the time it had even been her who seduced Jìn Yúnxī.

But none of that meant she could accept doing this in an office.

Not here. Not now. Not with supervisors passing back and forth outside, and an assistant standing right at the door.

And on Jìn Yúnxī’s own desk?

No. She couldn’t.

She stood frozen, unwilling to move.

When she dared lift her gaze, she saw that Jìn Yúnxī looked almost amused.

“What’s wrong? In the end, you don’t really want to, do you?” the Alpha asked with a faint smile.

Good. At least she hadn’t lost her mind for Shū Xīyuè’s sake.

But to Yán Qīngruò, that smile was nothing but the mockery of a devil.

“Who said I didn’t want to?”

Her breathing grew ragged, chest rising and falling. She bit her lip until her rosy mouth glistened with wet imprints of her teeth.

Jìn Yúnxī’s eyes fixed on those lips, dragging up memory after memory of the kisses they had shared.

Suddenly, her throat was dry. She grabbed her glass, gulping down a mouthful of cold tea so bitter it nearly made her gag. Forcing it down, she feigned a frown.

Jin Yunxi was calm. She would not lose control as she had in the locker room that day.

And yet—

Yán Qīngruò raised her hand, slender fingers pale as jade, and reached for the top button of her blouse. She undid them one by one, like peeling tender lotus shoots.

Each snap of a button echoed through the empty office.

Her glare was like a blade—if looks could flay an Alpha alive, Jìn Yúnxī would have died a thousand deaths under that beautiful, furious gaze.

With a final pop, the blouse came open. Smooth white skin was bared, delicate collarbones, and beneath them, the faint crimson marks of past ravaging.

Jìn Yúnxī’s knuckles whitened around the teacup. The cold liquid in her belly burned like fire. Her eyes followed the movement of Yan Qīngruò’s hands, helplessly tracing the curves revealed.

Her breath hitched. She shot to her feet, stiff fingers yanking open the blinds to the outside.

When she turned back, her pupils widened. The sunset bathed Yan Qīngruò in a golden glow, as though she was a goddess statue gilded with divine light.

A goddess—yet willing to strip herself bare for Shū Xīyuè’s sake.

Her throat worked, the tea in her stomach suddenly icy.

“Why stop now, Miss Yán? Weren’t you going to strip completely and lie down on the desk?”

“…Fine.” Yan Qīngruò blurted.

Though her body trembled and her eyes reddened, Yan Qīngruò’s voice was steady—resolute, like someone burning her bridges behind her.

Her shaking hands reached for the skirt at her hips.

In the fading sunset, she looked both pitifully fragile and unbearably stubborn.

Jìn Yúnxī’s eyes stung. A heat surged in her chest, only to be doused by a bucket of cold water.

She had thought Yan Qīngruò would resist, would refuse. But no—she truly would sacrifice her dignity for Shū Xīyuè, for Qingyue Corp.

The realization left Jìn Yúnxī hollow, disgusted with herself. A cruel joke.

“Enough.”

Darkness flashed in her eyes as she shoved Yan Qīngruò back onto the sofa, caging her in with both arms.

Yan Qīngruò was caught beneath her. “What—here, on the sofa?”

Jìn Yúnxī’s expression was sharp, cold. She leaned down until only the thin space of a leaf separated their lips.

But her breath was icy. Cold, pained—like a lone wolf, wounded and wandering a frozen wasteland.

“Yán Qīngruò… you win.”

Yan Qīngruò’s lashes trembled. In the depths of Jìn Yúnxī’s eyes, she glimpsed a flicker of struggle and pain.

Something in her chest seized, pierced by countless invisible needles.

With a sharp flick, Jìn Yúnxī tossed Yan Qīngruò’s discarded clothes back over her.

Dangling from her finger was a bra—different from before, reinforced, designed for “safety” and defense.

“So guarded, are you? Do you really think I’m some starving beast?” Jìn Yúnxī laughed bitterly. “Miss Yán, would you like me to dress you myself? So afraid of me? So determined to save yourself for Shū Xīyuè?”

Yan Qīngruò closed her eyes. How could she explain that she feared herself—feared losing control?

Ever since the locker room, even in dreams across oceans, the mere memory of this Alpha pressed against her was enough to unravel her.

All because of pheromones. All because she was an S-class Omega.

And Jìn Yúnxī, her equal in rank, had once marked her.

She had gone to the hospital to erase the temporary mark, even though the doctor had said it would fade on its own.

But she had wanted to be clean—to dream without Jìn Yúnxī, to wake without chaos.

That night, she had been relieved… until the spring-dreams came, over and over, her body betraying her mind, replaying their nights in Yatran—skin against skin, heat against heat.

Yan Qīngruò’s torment was endless.

They were just dreams, she told herself. Just hormones, just pregnancy. Nothing more.

But in the locker room, the moment Jìn Yúnxī pressed against her, her body had betrayed her all over again.

Damn Jìn Yúnxī. Cruel Jìn Yúnxī. Unforgettable Jìn Yúnxī.

Misunderstood time and again, Yan Qīngruò could only defend herself:

“I’ll say this once, Jìn Yúnxī. Believe it or not—I’m doing this only for the company. For my mother.”

“Is that so?” Jìn Yúnxī’s gaze flickered with the faintest hope. She took Yan Qīngruò’s hand. “Then come with me.”

Neither of them noticed the short-haired woman in a car outside, watching as Jìn Yúnxī wrapped an arm around Yan Qīngruò’s waist, draping her in her jacket.

A mocking smile tugged at the woman’s lips as she started her engine, following behind.

The bug planted long ago in Jìn Yúnxī’s office finally activated in her car. The faint music and heavy silence between the two women made the listener grind her teeth in irritation.

She slammed her fist against the wheel before forcing herself to calm and keep following.

The evening glow burned across the glass like phoenix fire as Jìn Yúnxī switched on a soft melody—“In Springtime.”

They had once played it together, four hands over one piano, turning wildness into stillness, winter into spring—fingers interwoven with love.

“Where are we going?” Yan Qīngruò asked.

“You’ll know when we arrive,” Jin Yunxi replied calmly.

The car stopped by a river. Familiar, yet strange. So beautiful it made her heart quake.

Yan Qīngruò’s pupils contracted. This river…

The Rhine’s source lay in A-country, flowing into F-country. This was not the main river—but it was born from the same origin.

“Do you recognize it?” Jìn Yúnxī asked softly. “Beautiful, isn’t it? Yán Qīngméi told me—this was where she first saw me.

“At the time, I was blind. In dream and in waking, the person I first met gradually took on your face.”

Her voice trembled. “Yán Qīngruò, tell me—was it all just my imagination?”