Mistaken ‘O’ is a Crazy Gorgeous Boss - Chapter 14

The car door closed, and the fully raised windows blocked out all prying eyes.

Qu Zhen fastened her seatbelt. Even though she caught a whiff of that musky scent, she kept the question to herself and didn’t ask about its origin.

“Let’s go, sister.”

“Mm.”

The moment the car started moving, Qu Zhen felt a slight chill. The aura around the person beside her seemed to have grown even colder.

The honest and straightforward Qu Zhen still didn’t understand what was happening. Her first instinct was to share the good news with Shen Zhikou, to let her know that she was about to start working and would soon have the financial means to support their future life together.

This should be good news that would make her a little happier, she thought.

“Sister,” Qu Zhen looked at her, “I passed all my interviews and plan to join Shengcan Venture Capital. I’ve finalized everything with them and will start right after my classes end next month. Including various subsidies, my monthly take-home pay during the internship should be around 8,500.”

Shen Zhikou kept her eyes on the road, her expression unchanged. “Congratulations.”

“I’ll hand over my salary to you every month from now on.”

“Won’t you keep any for yourself?”

Qu Zhen’s gaze was clear, the corners of her eyes sparkling with tiny flecks of light. She shook her head. “No. My mom never keeps any private savings for herself. Every time she gets her salary, she transfers it to my mom. If we get married in a week, I’ll do the same, transfer everything to you.”

The innocent, romantic words of the young alpha as she envisioned their future caused the unhappy Omega’s eyes to flicker slightly. Her slender, jade-like fingers turned the steering wheel to the right.

“Keep a little,” she said. “New employees always have various expenses. I’m not six years younger than you, I’m six years older. It’s only natural for me to take care of you more. You don’t need to feel so much pressure.”

Qu Zhen, who had memorized the legal marriage age requirements, replied seriously, “Of course you’re not six years younger than me. If you were, we wouldn’t be able to get married.”

The Omega clearly hadn’t expected the alpha beside her to respond like that. The lingering unhappiness in her heart dissipated a little more. She didn’t dwell on the topic with the alpha and silently drove to their destination.

When they arrived at Xinyu Garden and got out of the car, Qu Zhen finally noticed the bouquet of flowers in the back seat.

Wrapped in cream-white packaging were pale purple irises, silver dollar eucalyptus, and baby’s breath, eye-catching and striking, accentuating the deepening autumn atmosphere.

She gazed longingly at Shen Zhikou, her eyes filled with confusion and a hint of grievance she hadn’t even realized herself.

Was this bouquet from some alpha who gave it to sister?

Standing by the car, she secretly speculated, her head drooping like a little puppy feeling dejected because its owner had petted another dog outside and ignored it.

Her ears seemed to droop, and her almond-shaped eyes looked as if they were about to mist over.

Shen Zhikou picked up the bouquet from the car, and the two of them went upstairs together without exchanging another word. She unlocked the walnut wood door with her fingerprint, motioned for Qu Zhen to enter first, and followed a few steps behind, still holding the flowers.

Qu Zhen changed her shoes, put down her backpack, and instinctively headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

But she had underestimated the effects of the temporary mark. As she stood in the kitchen making soup, her heart and mind were completely filled with thoughts of Shen Zhikou.

She wanted to know why Shen Zhikou carried the scent of another alpha on her, especially since just last night, Shen Zhikou had… had discussed such intimate topics with her and even held her to soothe her instinctual needs.

The more Qu Zhen thought about it, the more she couldn’t resist, and the more she couldn’t resist, the more frequently she turned to glance at Shen Zhikou.

Yet Shen Zhikou never once looked back at her, calmly sitting on the sofa trimming the broken ice-blue roses from the day before. The new bouquet of irises was placed at the edge of the coffee table, receiving none of her attention.

Qu Zhen both wanted Shen Zhikou to look at her and felt too embarrassed to meet her gaze, so she would steal a few glances before averting her eyes and returning to her tasks.

She didn’t quite understand why she was acting this way either. Before she could delve deeper, she attributed it all to the effects of the temporary mark. After all, it was widely known that S-class alphas often had an overwhelming possessiveness toward their mates.

This time, distracted and divided in her attention, she even ended up burning the scrambled eggs.

Qu Zhen hurriedly cleaned up the mess, forcing herself to focus and stop thinking about Shen Zhikou.

…

By the time she finished preparing the two dishes and one soup for dinner, Qu Zhen took off her apron and set the table. Just as she was about to call Shen Zhikou over to eat, she noticed that the other woman seemed to have fallen asleep sitting up.

Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall down to her waist, her exquisite face even more captivating than the broken ice-blue roses placed in front of her. The buttons of her shirt were undone to her collarbone, revealing skin so pale it seemed to shimmer under the light.

Qu Zhen tiptoed closer and picked up the small blanket from the nearby sofa cushion, intending to drape it over the omega.

As she moved, the distance between them narrowed. Just as the warm yellow blanket was about to settle over her, the omega seemed to sense it and suddenly opened her eyes, gripping Qu Zhen’s wrist firmly.

With a slight tug, the tall alpha was pulled down to sit between her legs.

In an instant, the molecules in the air seemed to accelerate violently, and an internal alarm only Qu Zhen could hear blared inside her body.

!!!

Sister is awake!

Sister is holding her hand!

She’s sitting on Sister’s lap now!

The internal alarm screamed deafeningly, and the delicate scent of lily of the valley filled her nostrils. Blushing furiously, Qu Zhen sprang up as fast as lightning.

If she had been any slower, she would have crashed into a state of operational failure.

Her wrist was still held by Shen Zhikou. Her eyes darted around nervously, avoiding Shen Zhikou ‘s gaze at all costs.

“Sorry,” Shen Zhikou released her grip, her downcast eyes resembling a cat that had been denied affection. “I was just…”

Hearing the apology, Qu Zhen felt utterly unsettled, reminded of what Z had said.

Be more proactive.

Make the omega feel secure.

The best way is…

All her previous worries were cast aside in that moment. As if her system had rebooted into a blue screen, she gripped Shen Zhikou ‘s hand in return and whispered, barely audible.

“Are you not feeling well, Sister?”

“Mmm, a little.”

Qu Zhen finally understood. When it came to matters of the heart, she was often incredibly naive. After sitting back down and holding Shen Zhikou ‘s hand, she thought for a moment and decided to voice her confusion quietly.

“Sister, can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“This afternoon… did you happen to run into another alpha?”

If she couldn’t read between the lines by now, Shen Zhikou wouldn’t have come this far. The little alpha’s awkward behavior was gradually starting to make sense.

“Before I came to pick you up, I ran into a mother and daughter downstairs at the company. The little girl, about twelve years old, suddenly presented her secondary gender when she walked past the flower bed.”

With the rapid advancement of technology today, genetic testing for secondary genders has become increasingly diverse, and the age at which people present has been getting younger. Relevant studies have shown that earlier presentation is beneficial for future estrus or sensitivity periods, as the suffering and pain endured are lighter compared to those who present later, conversely, the later one presents, the more severe the symptoms.

“The girl had just presented, and her pheromones were so faint they were almost imperceptible. Besides, I only passed by briefly.” Shen Zhikou pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think this through properly and made you angry.”

She had directly addressed the double meaning, and Qu Zhen was overjoyed, stammering in explanation: “Sister, I’m not angry.”

Their fingers were interlaced, and Shen Zhikou’s thumb gently stroked the back of the alpha’s hand as she tilted her head. “Alright, not angry. But now it’s your turn to explain, why do you smell of an omega’s pheromones?”

Hearing this, Qu Zhen sniffed her own scent. She could guarantee she hadn’t picked up any omega’s pheromonal fragrance except for Shen Zhikou’s.

“Sister, there’s no scent on me.”

“White peach fragrance,” Shen Zhikou said softly. “Are you sure there’s none?”

Those three words made Qu Zhen pause. She knew this was Su Qi’s pheromonal scent.

Presenting as a Grade A omega had always been a point of pride for Su Qi, as S-grade omegas were an extremely rare one-in-ten-thousand minority, and achieving A-grade was already quite commendable. The school required alphas and omegas to wear pheromone-blocking patches or bracelets, and Su Qi usually complied. However, she loved wearing expensive, high-end white peach perfume, which was very similar to her natural pheromonal scent almost indistinguishable without careful sniffing.

Qu Zhen traced back through her memories and explained in detail about brushing past Su Qi at the south gate and her guess that the scent was likely from perfume.

Even someone as decisive and assertive as Shen Zhikou, who never allowed herself to be in a passive position, was momentarily stunned by this answer.

Detachment brings strength; concern breeds confusion. She had already reached this point.

“Mm.” Shen Zhikou suppressed the dark surge in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood you.”

“There’s no need to apologize.” Qu Zhen remembered that Shen Zhikou was leaving on a business trip tomorrow. “Sister, are you still feeling unwell?”

“A little.”

After learning the whole story, Qu Zhen was very worried about Shen Zhikou, as her current discomfort might have been triggered by encountering the little girl who presented earlier that afternoon. Patients with pheromonal dysregulation syndrome often experience symptom flare-ups when exposed to pheromones from alphas other than their compatible match.

The omega beside her was as pale as snow, and Qu Zhen was so concerned that she forgot to ask about the bouquet of irises. All that remained in her mind were the suggestions and documents provided by Z.

Driven by guilt over the misunderstanding, the shy little dog tentatively reached out a paw, tilting her head and wagging her fluffy tail as she asked.

“Sister, can I… do it like before?”

The well-behaved little dog wasn’t very good with words, only expressing her worry and care through actions, her tail wagging as if it could stir up a small hurricane.

“Is that okay? Sister.”

She restrained her shyness, her face flushed as she said, “I mean, the other way around, you sit on my lap, and I’ll comfort you.”