My Ex’s White Moonlight Omega Has a Crush on Me - Chapter 23

Walking softly to the dining table, Chao Wan sat opposite Ji Tanyue and cautiously studied the woman as she lifted her gaze.

Ji Tanyue had changed out of the long coat she wore outdoors, revealing a thin, pale green base layer that accentuated her graceful figure.

She tidied her long, wavy hair, her slender, pale fingers threading through the strands, the sandalwood bead bracelet on her wrist faintly visible.

Once dinner was served, Ji Tanyue kept her eyes lowered, holding her knife and fork with elegant precision as she ate.

From start to finish, she didn’t spare Chao Wan a single glance.

The questions Chao Wan had intended to bring up at the table instantly died on her lips. Clenching her fingers and biting her lip uncertainly, she felt a wave of helplessness.

It seemed… Ji Tanyue really was in a bad mood.

For some reason, Chao Wan couldn’t shake the feeling that the woman before her felt entirely different from the one she had encountered the night before.

Last night, in the cramped confines of the car, though her memories were hazy due to her feverish state, she could still recall Ji Tanyue’s restrained, gentle tone as she leaned over her.

The way she had tucked stray strands of hair behind Chao Wan’s ear, the teasing dispute over the soft wool shawl, and finally, the two of them nestled together in the backseat, falling peacefully asleep.

In that moment, the woman had felt incredibly close, yet it now seemed like a fleeting illusion, a scene conjured by her own imagination.

The Ji Tanyue sitting across from her tonight was the real one.

Chao Wan had almost forgotten, Ji Tanyue had always been an enigma, impossible to read.

Her emotions never showed on her face; she appeared gentle and refined on the surface, yet behind the scenes, she was assertive and domineering.

Especially since the woman had some unspeakable preferences.

Picking up her chopsticks, Chao Wan pushed the rice around her bowl, taking small, hesitant bites.

An inexplicable unease, tinged with fear, began to rise within her.

The dining table was large and long, with Chao Wan and Ji Tanyue seated at opposite ends, quietly finishing their meal in silence.

Dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin, Chao Wan kept her head lowered, her spirits sinking further with each passing moment of quiet.

All the words she had meant to say vanished, buried deep within her.

“Did you call the housekeeper?” the woman across from her suddenly spoke.

Chao Wan looked up in surprise, meeting Ji Tanyue’s amber eyes, which seemed to hold a depth of unspoken emotions, leaving her momentarily speechless.

“Yes,” she replied, her gaze dropping again.

“You wanted to ask about the contract, didn’t you?”

Ji Tanyue picked up the paper document beside Chao Wan’s hand. As she stood, her figure blocked the cold gleam of the crystal chandelier overhead.

Her tone betrayed no particular emotion, remaining so calm that the earlier chilliness felt almost fabricated.

Unable to decipher her intentions, Chao Wan nodded cautiously.

“Come to my room,” Ji Tanyue said, glancing at the wall clock before parting her lips lightly.

She offered no further explanation, ascending the spiral staircase and leaving only her retreating figure in Chao Wan’s view.

With a click from the remote control, the room that had been locked all day automatically opened.

Chao Wan’s heart raced as she followed Ji Tanyue into the bedroom.

This was her second time entering this space.

The decor remained unchanged, cold gray tones dominated the room, like an unfinished sketch, empty and silent.

Ji Tanyue sat in a chair, placing the contract on the desk. She glanced at Chao Wan, signaling for her to take a seat as well.

With no other choice, Chao Wan nervously settled on the edge of the large bed.

Looking down, she noticed the bedspread was impeccably smooth, without a single wrinkle, as if it hadn’t been used recently.

Where had Ji Tanyue slept last night, then?

As the thought crossed her mind, Chao Wan’s cheeks inexplicably warmed.

She suddenly remembered the soft wool shawl she had woken up holding that morning, the one that belonged to the woman.

“Chao Wan.”

Ji Tanyue flipped through the contract and suddenly spoke, “Have you read through the entire contract?”

Chao Wan was pulled back to reality by the voice and flusteredly murmured an acknowledgment.

She touched her flushed face, steadied her mind, and carefully recalled the details.

It was a long-term contract, spanning a full ten years, but the benefits specified were exceptionally generous. Even when she was at Qin Siyu’s company, the profit split had never been so favorable to the artist.

However, the contract also contained a performance condition she had never seen before.

“What does ‘pheromone soothing’ mean in the contract?” Chao Wan asked, somewhat bewildered, as she looked at the woman seated in the armchair.

She had never encountered such a requirement in any artist contract before.

Moreover, the contract drafted by Ji Tanyue didn’t even specify the object of the “soothing.”

Ji Tanyue’s expression remained unchanged. Upon hearing the question, she lowered her gaze and lightly pinched the edge of the contract paper, as if restraining something.

She replied, “You did very well last night.”

Last night.

Involuntarily, Chao Wan shivered.

The marks on her neck and shoulders still ached faintly. The woman’s misty eyes in the dim light, her soft, guiding voice, and the irresistible movements.

And the overwhelming, almost tangible, scorching floral scent that had nearly consumed her.

“Ms. Ji.” Chao Wan abruptly stood up, her cheeks flushed crimson, her voice barely a whisper. “This… this condition… I can’t…”

She finally understood. “Pheromone soothing” was one of the terms of being kept.

If she agreed, it would mean repeating what had happened in the car with Ji Tanyue every day.

That kind of unbearably shameful act that always stirred a raging heat within her.

It was something only lovers would do.

She didn’t want it at all.

Chao Wan glanced back toward the door, biting her lips until they turned pale, carefully considering how to find an excuse to escape.

But her subtle movements clearly didn’t escape the woman’s notice.

Click.

Ji Tanyue pressed a button on the remote, and the door automatically locked.

Panicked, Chao Wan rushed to the door, putting as much distance as possible between herself and the woman.

Her eyelashes trembled uncontrollably, revealing fear and fragility. She bit her lip and desperately twisted the doorknob.

This time, no miracle occurred, the door was firmly locked.

The scene was reminiscent of the time at the audition hotel, but now, the woman was deliberately trapping her, making escape impossible.

And Chao Wan had no way out.

Behind her, the cool, soothing scent of tuberose began to spread, its fluctuations erratic, betraying its owner’s displeasure.

“Chao Wan,” the woman said calmly, “I’ve already announced that you’ll be signing with Sijin, as a female Alpha actress.”

A threat.

Chao Wan’s face drained of color as she turned to look at Ji Tanyue.

The woman’s expression was unusually unfamiliar. She remained seated, but the curve of her lips was tense, and the usual gentleness in her aura was almost imperceptible.

“So, you can think it over again,” she said, placing the contract on the table.

A chill ran through Chao Wan’s body.

Her back pressed against the cold, unyielding doorknob, she lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She should have realized it sooner. After all, she was in Ji Tanyue’s territory. Even if she escaped this room, where could she hide?

From the moment she was brought here last night, there was no way out.

The wall clock pointed to 10 p.m.

Suddenly, a faint buzzing sound echoed in her ears, and a cold voice abruptly resounded in her mind:

[“Caged” mission deadline: 10 minutes remaining.]

Chao Wan’s eyes reddened as she stared blankly, wide-eyed.

“Mission…?”

She had heard it mentioned in the morning, but the system had glitched, failing to inform her of the specifics.

Soon, however, the relentless system alerts, each louder than the last, and the rapidly dwindling life balance left Chao Wan nearly breathless.

[Account balance: 2450H.]

[Account balance: 2350H.]

In the brief moment she froze, her life was draining at a rate of one hundred hours per second.

At this rate, she had only… about twenty seconds to think.

After twenty seconds, she would die.

Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly, the warmth drained from her body, and even breathing became difficult.

[Account balance: 1550H.]

Fifteen seconds left.

Chao Wan’s ankles went weak, her vision blurred with unshed tears as she locked eyes with the woman in the room.

“What’s wrong?” A faint ripple of emotion stirred in Ji Tanyue’s eyes, the earlier chill completely gone.

Ten seconds.

Chao Wan forced herself to stand steady, biting her lip as she stumbled to the desk and grabbed a fountain pen from the pen holder.

Her fingers trembled uncontrollably as she unscrewed the cap. Her usually neat handwriting was now a messy scrawl, ink bleeding through the contract.

She didn’t want to die.

When the countdown hit five seconds, her vision had nearly faded to black, and all sound vanished from her ears.

After signing her name, an eerie silence enveloped her.

“Teacher Ji…” Chao Wan took a shaky breath, her voice choked with sobs, trembling beyond recognition. “I’ve signed it.”

Deprived of her senses, she could no longer see Ji Tanyue’s face or hear her voice.

Panicked and helpless, in the darkness, she felt the soft touch of a back against hers, and her hand was gently held by a cool yet warm grasp. Her entire body sank into the woman’s embrace.

A soft sigh reached her ears. “Good girl.”

Chao Wan’s senses had yet to return, her body still limp, held firmly in the woman’s arms with no strength to push away.

The faint, now-familiar floral scent suddenly turned scorching hot.

Ji Tanyue watched her quietly.

After a long moment, the corners of her lips curved slightly, her eyes swirling with emotions Chao Wan couldn’t decipher.

Holding Chao Wan, she moved past the desk, stepped over the soft rug, and finally stopped beside the perfectly smooth bed.

Straightening her skirt, she sat primly at the edge of the bed, her other hand still holding the dazed little Omega, who remained oblivious to her predicament.

Leaning against the bedside, Ji Tanyue smoothed the wrinkles in the clothes of the one in her arms, her voice soft yet laced with a hint of temptation.

“Good girl, come sit here.”