Moonlight Allure - Chapter 11

“Why should I hide?” Jiang Xueyin let out a soft, cold laugh, her eyes sharp with a biting chill. “I haven’t even settled the score with them yet.”

When Song Siyuan’s Omega mother burst into the room, Jiang Xueyin was sitting on the sofa with an air of complete indifference. She glanced up, a faint arch to her brow. “Only you? From the noise you were making, I thought you’d brought an entire army.”

Though in her late forties, Song Siyuan’s mother was exceptionally well-preserved; time had left almost no trace on her face.

“I went to the station to see Siyuan. He said you were the one who framed him.” She pointedly ignored Jiang Xueyin’s sarcasm, glaring down at her with poorly concealed malice.

“Oh? Is my dear Aunt questioning the results of a police investigation?” Jiang Xueyin stood up, letting out a sudden, mocking laugh. “Instead of interrogating me, you should probably spend your energy finding your Alpha son a better lawyer.”

“That is none of your concern. I will naturally do everything in my power for my son—” Before she could finish, Jiang Xueyin stepped into her personal space and pulled a voice recorder from her bag, waving it in front of her with a playful smile.

Aunt Song’s chest tightened.

“What are you so nervous about, Auntie? You haven’t even said anything worth recording yet.” Jiang Xueyin clicked the device off and leaned in close, whispering into her ear like a phantom. “I wonder if you’ve heard the saying the dog that bites doesn’t bark.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Aunt Song looked at her warily.

“Butler Zhou, show our guest out,” Jiang Xueyin said, her tone suddenly devoid of warmth.

She was done wasting words on these people. She preferred direct action, ensuring that everyone who had ever harmed Xiao Nianru received exactly what they deserved.

Seeing that threats weren’t working, Aunt Song immediately shifted to the “soft” approach. With a heavy thud, she dropped to her knees in front of Jiang Xueyin, clutching her leg and wailing. “Xueyin, he’s your cousin! You two used to be so close! He just lost his way for a moment! Please, just forgive him this once, sign a letter of leniency! Whatever you want, the Song family can pay!”

Jiang Xueyin scrutinized the woman’s face. “The acting is terrible. How can you wail like that without a single tear? You’re going to win a Golden Raspberry at this rate.” Compared to Niannian, she’s an amateur, she thought.

The wailing stopped abruptly. Aunt Song stared at her. Who critiques acting at a time like this?

“Let go.” Jiang Xueyin’s voice turned icy, her gaze becoming a bottomless abyss.

A chill ran down Aunt Song’s spine, and she reflexively scrambled back.

“You waited until my parents were out to come here and throw a tantrum because you thought I was an easy target, didn’t you?” Jiang Xueyin rubbed her wrist, her tone indifferent. “You thought wrong. My parents might care about maintaining appearances, but I don’t.”

Jiang Xueyin looked down at her, her dark eyes reflecting the older woman’s growing fear. She enunciated every word: “I will never let Song Siyuan off. And if you don’t leave right now, I won’t let the Song family off, either.”

“The Song and Jiang families are bound together,” Aunt Song stammered, trembling. “You can’t.”

“The Song family has only ever been a parasite to the Jiangs. There is no ‘bound together’ here.” Jiang Xueyin leaned down, her lips curling into a taunting smirk. “Cutting off a tail to save the body is a better strategy. Otherwise, why do you think my Uncle didn’t come here with you?”

Aunt Song’s pupils shrank, her lips quivering in realization.

Jiang Xueyin sat back on the sofa, a mocking smile playing on her lips. Butler Zhou, sensing the conversation was over, moved in smoothly. “Madam Song, please stand up. The floor is quite cold.”

Aunt Song pulled herself up by the wall, shooting one last venomous look at Jiang Xueyin. “You’re a lunatic!” she spat before fleeing the house.

Jiang Xueyin ignored her. Everyone had a bit of madness in them, didn’t they? She knew all too well that being “kind” only invited others to trample over you. Whether in school, family, or society, weakness only emboldened the bullies.

“Going crazy” was simply an effective deterrent.

“Uncle Zhou,” Jiang Xueyin asked as she watched the door. “Are my parents on a business trip? They won’t be back for a while?”

“They should return by tonight,” Butler Zhou replied. “However, I’ve informed the Young Master. He should be on his way back now.”

Jiang Xueyin nodded and spent some time scrolling through Xiao Nianru’s Weibo. The last post was a lipstick advertisement from a week ago. Staring at the lip print on the screen, she felt a wave of dizziness, her mind flashing back to the gentle way Xiao Nianru used to kiss the original host. She shook her head, a sharp pang of jealousy and longing hitting her. She wished she couldn’t remember anything.

Just then, Jiang Jue walked in. He scanned the room and asked sternly, “Is she gone?”

“I chased her out,” Jiang Xueyin said flatly.

“Auntie has always been difficult. How did you manage it?” Surprise flitted across Jiang Jue’s eyes.

Jiang Xueyin twirled a lock of her wavy hair around her finger, smiling carelessly. “I just poked her where it hurt.”

“I see.” Jiang Jue sighed with a mix of resignation and relief. “Don’t worry about the case. I’ll handle the fallout with Uncle.”

“Thanks, Brother,” she said, her eyes curving into a smile. It’s nice to have someone clean up the mess after I go crazy.

Once Jiang Jue left and got back into his car, he adjusted his glasses, staring into the rearview mirror with a complex expression. Three years away had fundamentally changed his sister. An alarm bell began ringing in the back of his mind.

Safe in the knowledge that Song Siyuan was going to rot in prison, Jiang Xueyin sat on the garden swing, breathing in the scent of the blooming flowers.

Suddenly, her heart rate spiked. Her chest began to feel feverish. She reached up to touch the gland at the back of her neck; even through the scent blocker, she could feel a radiating heat.

Based on the original host’s memories, she knew exactly what was happening: The Rut (Susceptibility Period) was starting.

Unlike an Omega’s monthly heat, an Alpha’s rut occurred only once every six months. The timing was disastrous. She hurried out of the garden and found Uncle Wang, the Beta driver, to take her to the “safe house” in her memories.

In the car, she injected herself with a dose of suppressants. Her racing heart cooled slightly, but the interior of the vehicle was quickly overwhelmed by a thick, heavy scent of oranges.

“Open the windows,” Jiang Xueyin breathed out, leaning back. “I need some air.”

“Of course.” Uncle Wang lowered the rear windows halfway.

Jiang Xueyin grabbed her phone and messaged Xiao Nianru: [My rut has started. We’ll have to postpone the divorce until at least next week. I’m so sorry.]

She dropped the phone and pressed the back of her hand against her burning cheeks. Ten minutes later, she reached the safe house and stumbled inside. It was a place kept clean by staff who didn’t know whose it was.

By the time she reached the bedroom, her vision was swimming. Her footsteps were unsteady, her hand sliding against the wall for support. Thirsty beyond belief, she downed a bottle of water, but the ice-cold liquid did nothing to quiet her mind.

A massive, aching void opened in her heart. An unspeakable, primal hunger flooded her brain, the most basic instincts of an Alpha beginning to throb in her veins.

She collapsed onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling light, whispering to the empty room: “So, this is what a rut feels like?”

It was only the beginning.