As a Scummy Omega, I Ran Away with the Baby - Chapter 46

Gu Yining left with such resolute decisiveness, forcing herself to straighten her spine, her hair tips fluttering in the wind from her haste.

It seemed that over these five years, what she had learned best was not only how to forget, but also how to stop looking back.

This was a scene Bai Qingqiu had seen countless times since their reunion.

Bai Xia pouted and raised both arms, asking Bai Qingqiu to pick her up—probably so she could be higher and watch Gu Yining leave. Bai Qingqiu lowered her head and lifted her into her arms. Bai Xia craned her neck, staring intently as Gu Yining walked away.

“Mom.” Bai Xia tugged at her arm. “If you don’t go over there, I won’t be able to see Aunt anymore.”

Bai Qingqiu seemed not to hear her and remained motionless.

Bai Xia was never a willful child. She could only cling tighter, straining to look.

Only when that figure completely disappeared into the night, leaving no trace behind, did Bai Qingqiu slowly withdraw her gaze. The evening breeze lifted the hem of her impeccably tailored silk blouse, bringing with it a faint chill. Her cool, composed expression did not waver in the slightest—only the depths of her eyes churned with obscure, turbulent emotion.

She had not missed that final glance Gu Yining cast back before turning away.

She had seen it clearly.

“Mom?” Bai Xia stirred in her arms, sensing her low mood. She tilted up her small face, clutching the fabric at Bai Qingqiu’s chest, and called out softly in a milky voice. Her daughter’s clear eyes were like a mirror, reflecting Bai Qingqiu as she was in that moment.

Bai Qingqiu snapped back to herself and quickly gathered all her leaking thoughts. Lowering her head, she brushed a hand over her daughter’s soft hair. She had meant to hand her directly to Aunt Han, but Bai Xia’s gaze lingered heavily in her heart. Bai Qingqiu let out a quiet sigh and pressed a kiss to the child’s smooth forehead.

Bai Xia’s eyes immediately lit up, and she broke into a wide grin.

Her emotions were always so direct, so radiant.

Bai Qingqiu tried to return that affection, curving her lips into a smile before steadily passing the child to Aunt Han beside her.

“Aunt Han, I may need to go out for a few days. I’ll have to trouble you to take extra care of Xiao Xia.”

Having been by her side for so many years, Aunt Han naturally understood what this so-called “going out” meant. She nodded at once in understanding.

“Don’t worry, Miss Bai. You have me at home.”

Bai Qingqiu relaxed slightly, inclining her head in acknowledgment. She then turned to Bai Xia and gently reminded her to listen to Aunt Han, to eat and sleep on time. Bai Xia nodded, half-understanding. All she grasped was that Mommy wouldn’t be with her. Her small hand reached out reluctantly to clutch Bai Qingqiu’s coat hem, unwilling to let go. Bai Qingqiu lowered her gaze and gently pried her fingers open one by one, then shot Aunt Han a look, signaling her to keep an eye on the child.

Aunt Han responded with a soft “Mm,” carrying Bai Xia toward the block tower she had just built, chatting with her about how she had stacked it earlier, successfully diverting her attention.

Only then did Bai Qingqiu finally manage to free herself and head upstairs alone.

Her heels echoed hollowly and clearly against the polished floor, each step striking like a blow against her taut nerves.

The study door closed behind her, shutting out the last trace of warmth from the outside world. The desk was piled with documents awaiting attention. She pulled out a chair and sat down, opened her laptop, drew out a folder, and forced herself to focus on work. Her slender fingers slid over page after page; the various clauses of the contracts flowed into her mind, and almost instinctively, she began analyzing their key points.

Bai Qingqiu tried to use this familiar rhythm to suppress the chaos surging in her heart.

But it wasn’t long before an inexplicable heat began to rise from deep within her body, thread by thread. This heat did not come from her skin, but seeped outward from inside, carrying an indescribable, urgent craving to be filled. At first, it was only a faint itch, like a spark licking at her nerve endings, but it quickly gathered into a searing undercurrent, racing through her limbs and bones.

As an Omega who had been single for five years, whether pheromone imbalance or increasingly intense heat responses were all expected consequences. Her doctor had warned her long ago that long-term use of suppressants would cause irreversible damage to her body. The best solution was to find a sufficiently compatible Alpha for a temporary mark—or to be permanently marked.

Clearly, neither option was something Bai Qingqiu could speak of now.

The relentless undercurrent battered her resolve. A bone-deep exhaustion with no hope in sight seized her. In this room where she was alone, Bai Qingqiu gave up resisting her instincts. The beautiful face that was always calm and self-possessed was now filled with helpless vulnerability.

She closed her eyes and pressed her burning forehead against the cold tabletop, trying to quell the restless heat within. The chill of the glass surface seeped through her skin, bringing a fleeting moment of clarity. Bai Qingqiu took a deep breath. In this corner where no one knew, no one saw, and no one disturbed her, she endured everything alone.

As the time drew closer, the reactions grew more intense. Last night, Bai Qingqiu had temporarily moved into this familiar hotel suite to get through the coming days.

Three days—that was the deadline she had set for herself, and also the soonest time she could arrange to see Bei Nanyan.

In truth, today was already the end of her rope. Leaning back against the sofa, Bai Qingqiu flipped through the documents in her hands while forcing herself to endure the increasingly distinct heat threatening to burn her reason to ashes.

In the air, her white magnolia pheromones—no longer entirely under her control—drifted faintly. Cool and aloof, yet tinged with the sweetness of arousal, contradictory and alluring.

The safest course would, of course, be to wait until her heat passed before meeting Bei Nanyan. But she didn’t want to delay—and she couldn’t.

She knew Bei Nanyan’s temperament too well: impulsive, guided by emotion. Decisions made in the moment could be overturned within days, or even by a sudden new idea.

Bai Qingqiu was used to strangling every possible variable in its cradle.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound at the door shattered the silence.

Bai Qingqiu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil of heat, set the documents aside, and walked to the door. Only after confirming the visitor through the peephole did she open it, her face expressionless.

Standing outside was, of course, Bei Nanyan.

Today, Bei Nanyan wore a sharply tailored black suit that accentuated her upright figure, making her face—seven or eight parts similar to Gu Yining’s—appear even more cold and calculating.

The moment she stepped inside, Bei Nanyan’s elegant brows knit in alert suspicion. Her nose twitched, accurately catching the faint white magnolia scent in the air—subtle, yet lethally attractive to an Alpha.

She immediately understood. Bai Qingqiu was not the kind of person who would casually leak pheromones in front of others—unless she had already reached the edge of losing control.

Bei Nanyan set down the document pouch in her hand, her gaze sweeping unreservedly over Bai Qingqiu’s unnaturally flushed cheeks and slightly damp eyes.

“Your heat’s here?” Though phrased as a question, her tone left no room for doubt.

Bai Qingqiu shot her a cold glance, took the document pouch straight from her hand, and turned toward the desk.

“That has nothing to do with you.”

“No need to check. Everything you want is in there—nothing missing.” Bei Nanyan strolled over, crossed her arms, and leaned leisurely against the edge of the desk.

Her unabashed scrutiny bore straight into Bai Qingqiu.

Bai Qingqiu ignored her, pulling out the documents page by page for careful review. Photos secretly taken over the years—whether by hired hands or paparazzi—transcripts of recorded calls, and detailed lists and background information on everyone involved in spreading those materials. Only after confirming everything did she look away. She opened a drawer, took out a check she had prepared long ago, and held it between two fingers as she passed it over.

“One million,” Bai Qingqiu said evenly. “In exchange for all the materials you have on Gu Yining and me, as well as the names and contact information of everyone involved. From this point on, we’re even.”

With that, control returned entirely to her hands.

Bai Qingqiu disliked ticking time bombs. Any hidden danger—what she wanted was absolute control.

Bei Nanyan accepted the check, casually flicking it with a fingertip. The paper made a crisp sound as she glanced at the number, clicking her tongue in mock admiration.

“President Bai is still so generous. To protect your Gu Yining—you really spare no expense.”

“Get out.” Bai Qingqiu’s voice turned cold. Her goal had been achieved; she wanted no further contact with this person, and certainly no complications.

But Bei Nanyan acted as if she hadn’t heard the warning, deliberately stepping closer. She didn’t touch her, but the distance between them closed instantly—close enough for Bai Qingqiu to clearly smell the familiar, aggressively invasive Rhodes rose pheromones on her. That scent, both familiar and foreign, surged into her nose and invaded her body, making her jaw tighten in discomfort as instinctive resistance flared.

“Out of consideration for our past, let me give you a friendly reminder.” Bei Nanyan tucked away the check, lifted one brow, and smiled with amusement. “When you do a good deed, you should let people know. Wasn’t it the same five years ago? You cleaned up such a huge mess for her, and she was kept completely in the dark—she even thought it was all my doing. She was grateful to me. Don’t you think you suffered a mute loss for nothing?”

Bai Qingqiu naturally knew who that “people” referred to, and only felt a surge of irritation. Years after the breakup, this person was still haunting her like a ghost. She didn’t understand her intent, but it was certainly not goodwill.

“Bei Nanyan,” Bai Qingqiu snapped, finally losing patience. Her eyes—glossy with heat—fixed on her with naked loathing. “What exactly do you want? You were the one who asked for the breakup back then, and now you’re sticking close again. Do you think this is interesting?”

“Of course it is.” Bei Nanyan met her gaze head-on. Her smile gradually faded, replaced by a twisted expression mixing resentment and unwillingness. “I hate you too much, Bai Qingqiu. I hate your need for control, hate the suffocating way you had to manage every detail. I hate that after we broke up, you made me look like someone who betrayed sincere feelings in front of all our friends and classmates. You ruined my reputation—it was you, not anyone else! You!”

She paused, then, as if to prove her words, deliberately released a wisp of her overpowering Alpha pheromones.

The rich scent of Rhodes roses instantly enveloped Bai Qingqiu, who was already on the brink of heat.

Her body went weak against her will; her knees nearly buckled, unable to support her weight. Her breathing faltered. Instinctively, she reached out to brace herself against the desk, her knuckles turning white with force.

Bei Nanyan watched with obvious satisfaction.

“But after all these years apart, I realized something,” she continued. “The more I hated you, the more I couldn’t let you go. After leaving you, I couldn’t find that same feeling in any Omega. Only then did I understand—there will never be another person in this world who loves me the way you once did.”

Staring into Bai Qingqiu’s eyes—now visibly damp from arousal and shock—Bei Nanyan slowly bent down, drawing close to her face, so near to her ear that her breath brushed it. In a low, morbidly tender voice, she whispered:

“Bai Qingqiu, I love you.”

Bai Qingqiu’s thoughts collapsed into chaos. The clarity she had always taken pride in ceased to function at this moment. The domineering lure of Alpha pheromones, the most primal cravings buried deep within her Omega body, and that long-delayed, twisted confession of “I love you” tangled together into an inescapable web, leaving her mind utterly blank.

The past churned madly through her head—sweet moments, arguments, the final rupture—until everything froze on the familiar face before her. The face she had once loved, and once hated.