After the System Called Me Mom, My Arch-Nemesis Omega Fell for Me - Chapter 28

“Little Mommy.” Lu Lingzhi’s voice was raspier than ever. “I, I… I’m at the Cloud Summit Hot Spring Hotel, Room 2020 on the 20th floor. Come help me, quickly. My rut has been triggered, and it’s severe.”

The other end of the line was clearly caught off guard by this sudden plea for help, falling into a brief, heavy silence. “…”

“I… I suspect someone… has set me up.” She swallowed hard, her eyes snapping toward the empty milk glass on the low table, the one delivered by a hotel waiter this morning. “I’m afraid someone is about to… burst in…”

“Save me, Little Mommy.”

Gathering a sudden surge of strength from nowhere, she stumbled toward the empty glass. Her fingers trembling, she grabbed a spare transparent airtight bag nearby.

She brought the rim of the glass to her nose, fighting through waves of dizziness to sniff it. A sickeningly sweet, nauseating fragrance was laced within the lingering scent of milk.

A familiar formula.

It was a hallucinogen! And…

She had smelled it somewhere recently. Where? Yes, on Jian Cheng. The scent of Datura!

Lu Lingzhi’s pupils shrank. Datura.

It was a potent drug specifically used to rapidly induce heat in Omegas while simultaneously igniting the primal desires of Alphas.

She quickly shoved the glass into the airtight bag and sealed it tight. Lacking the strength to hold on, she watched the glass roll toward the door as she sank to her knees. “I suspect… the two people are… Jian Cheng and… Jiang… Mingzhao…”

The voice on the phone asked, “What did you call me?”

Beep, beep, beep…Click.

The crisp electronic chime echoed. Someone was swiping a master key card at her door. Danger was closing in.

The Medical University

The bell rang, and the teaching building instantly transformed into a sea of people.

Jiang Mingyue followed the crowd out of the classroom when her phone rang abruptly. Almost simultaneously, Jian Cheng’s face, wearing a fawning smile, leaned in. He held a cup of milk tea: “Junior Jiang, class is over. This is for you.”

Jiang Mingyue glanced at him briefly. Into the phone, she said softly, “Wait for me.” Without a second look at Jian Cheng, she walked briskly toward the parking lot.

Jian Cheng choked on her cold gaze but refused to give up, chasing after her with a mask of fake concern. “Junior Jiang? Who was that on the phone? You seem in a hurry. Where are you going? I can drive you!”

He had clearly heard the terrified scream of a woman and a faint “Save me, Little Mommy” over the phone.

Could it be Lu Lingzhi? Doubts flickered in her mind.

Jiang Mingyue asked, “What did you call me?”

“Little Mommy, Little Kitty, Kitty.”

She had actually called out “Mommy” to save herself.

She’d rather call a stranger than call me.

Jian Cheng was confused, he thought he heard something about a kitty.

Jiang Mingyue didn’t stop, not even looking back. “The kitten at home is sick. I’m rushing it to the hospital.”

“The kitten is sick? Then you definitely need someone with you.” A glint of calculation flashed in Jian Cheng’s eyes as he pressed closer, even trying to grab Jiang Mingyue’s arm. “I’ll go with you. Two sets of hands are better than one.”

Jiang Mingyue violently shook off his hand and turned her head. For the first time, those usually calm eyes flashed with unmasked danger. “I think not.”

They had reached Jiang Mingyue’s Panamera.

She quickly unlocked it and sat in the driver’s seat. Jian Cheng immediately reached for the passenger door handle, it wouldn’t budge! Locked!

He pounded on the window. “Junior Jiang, open up!”

The passenger window rolled down a crack, revealing Jiang Mingyue’s cold profile. Her voice drifted through the gap: “Jian Cheng, did I not make myself clear last time?”

Jian Cheng froze. “What?”

“I said, I already have an Alpha I like. Stop harassing me.”

Jian Cheng’s face stiffened, but he forced a laugh. “Junior Jiang, your brother told me himself that you’ve never even been in a relationship! Where would this ‘Alpha’ come from…”

“Heh.” Jiang Mingyue let out a mocking cold laugh, cutting him off. Her eyes locked onto his hand still gripping the door handle. “Jian Cheng, you don’t believe my words, yet you believe my brother’s. Is he a psychic living in my head, or a surveillance camera watching my every move? I’ll say it again: I’ve not only kissed my Alpha, I’ve drag-raced for her.”

Jian Cheng’s heart skipped a beat at the madness in her eyes. “Huh?”

Then I’ll race for her again.

“Let go.” Jiang Mingyue tapped her finger on the steering wheel. “Or face the consequences.”

The more she thought about it, the more she felt Jian Cheng was an utter fool, nothing more than the dim-witted son of a wealthy landlord.

From Lu Er’s phone call, she could tell Jian Cheng and Jiang Mingzhao were behind this. Though she wasn’t sure how Lu Er connected Jiang Mingzhao to the plot.

As for Jian Cheng’s involvement, it was certain.

Did everyone really think Lu Er was just a “brainless beauty”?

She was just too lazy to use her head.

She was in her rut; if it wasn’t agonizing, she wouldn’t have called. She must have been drugged. Datura has aphrodisiac and hallucinogenic effects.

Jian Cheng’s pheromones were Datura.

And why did she think Jian Cheng was a fool? Why was Jiang Mingzhao involved?

Her brother wasn’t an idiot. Jiang Mingyue didn’t participate in the Jiang family’s hotel business, but she wasn’t completely out of the loop. She had looked at the contract details with the Jian family a couple of days ago.

The price the Jian family offered was so high.

How could her brother be stupid enough to be the “sucker”? He would find any way to drive the price down.

Her brother was cunning, he wrote into the contract that the first payment wouldn’t be made for two weeks. This was to keep the Jian family steady. If something happened at the hotel, the Jian family would have to pay a massive breach of contract fee to the Jiangs. At that point, who would want the hotel?

Her brother would take it over effortlessly.

He must have provoked Jian Cheng. As for when… likely the day he asked her to go to the bar.

Lu Er had stopped her then.

However, Lu Er didn’t know the Jiang family planned to acquire the Jian family’s hotel.

Yet Lu Er said, “Jiang Mingzhao is hurting me.”

There were things happening between the two of them that no one else knew about.

So, all that talk from her brother over the last year or two about “being generous” and “getting along with Lu Er” was a lie.

He never wanted her to make up with Lu Er at all.

Before he could react…

VROOM!!! The Panamera’s engine let out a deafening roar. The scorching exhaust gas distorted the air instantly.

WHOOSH!!!

The sheer force threw Jian Cheng back violently. He cried out as he tumbled onto the concrete, milk tea splashing all over him, his meticulously styled hair ruined.

The white Panamera was already a bolt of lightning, disappearing with a screech of tires and the roar of the engine.

Cloud Summit Hot Spring Hotel

Tian You quietly swiped the master key card for Room 2020.

The moment the door opened, a wave of cold, deathly darkness hit him, accompanied by the powerful 16°C blast from the air conditioner. It sent a shiver down his spine.

He instinctively reached for the light switch/power slot near the door.

However, as he fumbled against the wall, he suddenly tripped over something and fell. An intense, acidic Alpha pheromone crashed over him.

Tian You’s chest tightened, making it impossible to breathe. His legs went weak, and even lifting his arm to insert the key card became an monumental struggle.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

Was this really that pretty Omega’s pheromone?

No! This was clearly the violent aura of an Alpha on the brink of an out of control rut!

He had to run.

The moment he turned to leave, a cold wind swept through the room.

Thud.

The door was closed.

Tian You: “…”

Tian You felt an icy grip around his ankle. A hand had grabbed him, and an eerie, terrifying nursery rhyme began to play in the room.

His scalp tingled. Who was the predator here?

He was the prey.

Tian You: !!!

The moment he looked down, he saw a flickering ghost-blue flame burning in the room.

Looking again, he saw one of the other person’s eyes seemed to change color before shifting back.

From black to blue, then back to black.

Why? Does secondary differentiation come with eye color changes?

Before he could think, an even more powerful surge of pheromones slammed into his psyche. His consciousness snapped like a broken kite string, and he was dragged into total darkness, his body slumping to the floor.

Fighting the searing heat in her body, Lu Lingzhi used the last of her clarity and Alpha willpower to find the toy handcuffs she had prepared earlier. She had gotten them for herself, fearing she might lose control and hurt someone.

She never expected to use them like this.

Breathing heavily, she shoved a towel into Tian You’s mouth to ensure he couldn’t make a sound. Having finished this, she was nearly spent. Gritting her teeth, she dragged the intruder into the icy bathroom.

The heat… it was so hot, so stifling, so painful.

Endless, incinerating waves of heat crashed through her.

Her gland felt like a red-hot iron. Her vision began to spin and blur. Darkness rushed in like a tide from all sides, but then, a sliver of sunlight appeared. Two pale fingers pinched her cheek.

At the very moment her consciousness was about to sink into the abyss…

“Lingzhi.”

Immediately after, a pair of hands steadily caught her swaying body.

Lu Lingzhi lifted her heavy eyelids. Through her blurred vision, she saw Jiang Mingyue’s anxious face. Then, a pure scent of tulips like melting snow on a mountain, tenderly enveloped her.

This pheromone effectively soothed her agony.

Jiang Mingyue asked, “What happened?”

Lu Lingzhi struggled to focus her scattered mind. She was practically hanging off Jiang Mingyue, burying her face in the crook of her neck. She squeezed out broken words: “He used… a master card… tried to… hurt me.” She gasped for air, pointing at the camera on the table. “Recording… is on.”

Lu Lingzhi’s body was terrifyingly hot. Just by holding her, Jiang Mingyue knew she was close to a total breakdown. Her rut was about to explode.

“Okay, I understand.” Jiang Mingyue’s voice was steady and reassuring. She carefully supported Lu Lingzhi, but her foot kicked a piece of glass. She looked down to see the glass cup inside the sealed bag.

She knew it was important.

However, as Jiang Mingyue leaned forward to pick up the glass, her center of gravity shifted. Her silk-like black hair fell to one side, exposing her mysterious gland.

The Alpha factors in Lu Lingzhi’s body were triggered once more. Her eyes, hazy from the fever but burning with intense desire, locked onto her from inches away.

Hot breath puffed against Jiang Mingyue’s cheek and neck, carrying a heavy Alpha aggression. Lips moved to cover her soft ones.

Lu Lingzhi gripped her wrists, skillfully parting her lips to tease her tongue.

Alpha pheromones surged in the surrounding air, compressing the space.

Yet, the crushing oppression Jiang Mingyue expected didn’t come.

Instead, Lu Lingzhi gave her a kiss as sweet as cherries, mixed with the scent of sunshine, slowly sweeping through her senses. This sweet invasion was a bizarre contrast to her chaotic, violent rut.

Sensing no resistance and even a response. Lu Lingzhi let go of her wrists and cupped her face, her burning palms pressing against her cool skin.

Lu Lingzhi pulled back briefly, giving her a sliver of breathing room, before pressing in again.

Over and over, the entanglement of their tongues grew deeper and more lingering, as if she were trying to drain the very essence of fragrance from her soul. This beauty collided with Jiang Mingyue’s logic.

She was nearly drowning in it.

“To the bed…” Jiang Mingyue managed to squeeze out the broken words between their locked lips. Lu Lingzhi released her, hands resting on her shoulders.

Jiang Mingyue looked into Lu Lingzhi’s eyes filled with lust and pain. “Wait, let me get the glass. The evidence… we must have it. I’ll have someone test it immediately and find out who hurt you. I promise, I won’t let you suffer…”

“…I won’t give it to you.” Lu Lingzhi whispered. She stepped on the glass with her foot. “You will… protect that person.”

Which person?

Does she mean Jiang Mingzhao?

Jiang Mingyue explained urgently, “I won’t.”

She intended to put Jian Cheng and Jiang Mingzhao behind bars.

“Liar.”

You will. He’s your biological brother.

You won’t be like the version of you in my dreams, the one who takes my side no matter what.

Helplessly, Jiang Mingyue handed the glass to Lu Lingzhi. Lu Lingzhi gripped it tightly. Jiang Mingyue gave her a comforting kiss on the forehead and pointed outside. “Let’s go to the room across the hall, okay?”

Jiang Mingyue didn’t hesitate. She placed one of Lu Lingzhi’s hands over her shoulder, letting the other woman’s face rest against her neck. Lu Lingzhi’s body was frighteningly hot, trembling violently in her arms as they walked toward the presidential suite across the hallway.

The moment the door opened, warm, bright light poured out. But Lu Lingzhi used the very last of her strength to shove Jiang Mingyue who was about to follow her in, violently out of the room.

BANG!!!

“Why?”

The heavy door slammed shut in front of Jiang Mingyue’s stunned eyes. Lu Lingzhi used her body to brace against the door, sealing herself off from the outside world and from the only Omega who could save her.

Inside, Lu Lingzhi could no longer stand. She couldn’t even manage to lock it, her body slid down the cold door panel until she was slumped on the floor. She gasped for air. “I hate you.”

She asked: Why?

I answer: I hate you.

“Please, just get out.”

Her vision blurred again. The luxury crystal chandelier above spun and fractured until it dissolved into a chaotic halo of light.

Jiang Mingyue asked why?

Why did there have to be a why?

In her dreams, the things Jiang Mingyue said to her were just her own inner desires words meant to please her.

In her dreams, she could do whatever she wanted to Jiang Mingyue.

But in reality, she couldn’t.

How could Jiang Mingyue ever cut ties with Jiang Mingzhao? How could she fight for the Jiang family hotel for her sake, eventually ruining Jiang Mingzhao and kicking him out of the family?

I can’t be the reason for your sibling rivalry.

I have to send Jiang Mingzhao to prison. I can’t have a relationship with you, that would be too messy.

Outside the Door

“Lingzhi, open the door.” Jiang Mingyue took a step back, stunned by the heavy slam of the door. She stood frozen in the hallway, her palms still lingering with Lu Lingzhi’s scorching body heat, and her lips still haunted by the sweet scent of cherries.

Confusion and helplessness tightly wound around her heart.

“Why?”

Why?

They were just so intimate, so reliant on each other, why did she push her away so violently in the blink of an eye? Every time their relationship seemed to show a sign of thawing, it fell apart at the critical moment.

From inside the room came a voice: “I hate you. Please, get out.”

This was the second time she told her to “get out.”

Did Lu Lingzhi have any idea how much it hurt every time she said that?

They had known each other for twelve years. Twelve years, 4,380 days.

In their short twenty years of life, for as long as they had memories, the other person was the most enduring presence outside of their parents and family.