Pretending to Be a Submissive O: My Fiancee Is a Little Pup - Chapter 26

Inside the pitch black room, the soft bed held two intertwined bodies.

Liu Jiayan’s hands, wrapped around Yu Shi’s back, involuntarily tightened.

At the height of their passion, Yu Shi’s peripheral vision accidentally brushed past a faint mole just below Liu Jiayan’s neck.

Her movements suddenly stuttered.

In that split second, Ji Yaran’s body somehow flickered through her mind. Ji Yaran had a mole in the exact same spot, incredibly similar to Liu Jiayan’s.

Memory rippled out from that single mark, expanding into every detail of their past together, the way Ji Yaran used to follow her every word, the sweet nothings she whispered in her ear, the kisses left upon her skin, and that day at the Misha photo shoot, the cold and final attitude she had shown.

Feeling the Alpha gradually come to a halt, Liu Jiayan opened her dazed eyes and looked up into the darkness above. A low, husky sound vibrated in her throat, “Yu Shi? What’s wrong?”

Those words snapped Yu Shi back to reality.

The very body that had driven her to frenzy multiple times was trembling under her touch, yet she had actually spaced out because of a willful substitute.

The lingering, ambiguous air cooled by several degrees, and even the Alpha’s instinctive impulses began to fade.

“Nothing,” Yu Shi closed her eyes, forcing herself not to think of Ji Yaran, but her body was held back by a hand.

Liu Jiayan took a deep breath, “Yu Shi, if you don’t want to, then today…”

Before she could finish, her wrist was firmly pinned. The Alpha’s dominance allowed no resistance. The scent of wormwood, slightly intoxicating, mingled with the faint lemon fragrance emanating from the Omega. The rest of her words, along with the Omega’s voice, gradually vanished into the silent night.

***

The morning after, Yu Shi sat up in bed and pulled a cigarette from the pack, feeling an inexplicable surge of irritation.

The bedsheets shimmered with a pure glow under the moonlight.

She turned her head to see the woman beside her curled up on the bed. Her smooth back looked as if it had been through a ritual, graceful and strikingly beautiful. She kept her eyes closed, her breathing steady and peaceful, seemingly deep in a dream.

Yu Shi’s fingers stiffened, and in the end, she didn’t light the cigarette. After a long time, she leaned down to tuck the corner of the blanket around her to keep her from catching a cold, but once again, she uncontrollably thought of Ji Yaran.

Countless times in the past, Ji Yaran had lain beside her just like this, sleeping soundly. Back then, she only permitted Ji Yaran to sleep facing away from her, because only then could she fully pretend Ji Yaran was Liu Jiayan.

But she never expected that one day, she would look at Liu Jiayan’s back and miss the Ji Yaran who used to obey her every whim.

Lately, she constantly saw news about Ji Yaran online.

After leaving her, Ji Yaran gave up the leading role in her production. Not only did she audition for roles herself and join a new crew, but she also signed with Star Media. Recently, she had even gained a surge of popularity through a supporting role and picked up several endorsements.

The person by her side was no longer Yu Shi, but that Omega named Song Qingxue.

Ji Yaran stopped pestering her, which should have been a good thing. After all, Ji Yaran was just a substitute she found while Liu Jiayan was away. Now that Liu Jiayan was back, she should have been desperate to draw a clear line, yet she found herself thinking of Ji Yaran frequently.

She clearly still loved Liu Jiayan.

She clearly didn’t like Ji Yaran at all.

But…

A hand gently took hers, the temperature of the fingertips slightly cool.

“Yu Shi, why aren’t you sleeping yet?” Liu Jiayan’s voice was laced with sleepiness.

Earlier, while they were being intimate, she noticed Yu Shi seemed distracted. The fact that Yu Shi remained awake after they were finished only confirmed her suspicions.

Yu Shi was a decisive and rational person, rarely one to be burdened by heavy thoughts.

She had been abroad for three years. Upon her return, she thought they could finally be together, but she found that Yu Shi had changed.

When they were together, Yu Shi would often zone out. Sometimes, looking into Yu Shi’s eyes, she even felt like Yu Shi was looking at someone else through her.

So what was she?

Just a shadow of that person?

“It’s nothing, just a bit of insomnia,” Yu Shi explained, “Go back to sleep if you’re tired.”

“Is something on your mind?” Liu Jiayan pressed, “If there is, maybe you can talk to me about it…”

Yu Shi’s expression became unnatural as she denied it, “It’s nothing special, just that negotiations with the investors haven’t been going smoothly lately.”

Hearing that Yu Shi didn’t want to discuss the topic, Liu Jiayan fell silent.

There seemed to be an undercurrent in the air, calm when silent, but turbulent when emotions were stirred.

After a long while, Yu Shi heard her turn over in bed.

“Go to sleep.”

Hidden in the darkness was a cold and inscrutable gaze.

Ji Yaran politely declined the olive branch extended by the rival production crew.

She didn’t know what their motive was for inviting her to audition.

If the lead role had already been internally decided for Liu Jiayan, the whole thing became even more suspicious.

Song Qingxue had some connections in the industry and managed to look into that production. She discovered that the drama wasn’t invested in by Yu Shi, but by a company with deep ties to Liu Jiayan. This project was something Liu Jiayan had set her heart on right after returning to the country.

Could it be that Liu Jiayan was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes?

Was she afraid of Ji Yaran rekindling things with Yu Shi?

She suddenly recalled the meeting with Liu Jiayan a month ago, and that look in her eyes that carried a hint of hostility.

No one would feel good about a romantic rival, let alone one who looked so much like them.

If the trending topics were truly orchestrated by Liu Jiayan’s team, she likely wouldn’t let things go so easily.

The smear campaign against Ji Yaran lasted for three days. It evolved from comparing their looks to accusations of Ji Yaran interfering in someone else’s relationship. It wasn’t hard to see that the goal was to ruin Ji Yaran’s character, destroy her reputation, and leave her with no work in the industry.

Fortunately, Star Media took a tough stance. They stepped up to clarify things for Ji Yaran and decided to take legal action to protect her reputation, which finally silenced the anti-fans.

As a well known major player in the industry, Star Media’s PR was top tier. Upon learning that Ji Yaran had received an audition invite for The Cold Jade Flute, they quickly realized who was behind the trouble. Over the following period, they gradually leaked evidence of Liu Jiayan’s team intentionally misleading public opinion. This caused Liu Jiayan to face rare scrutiny and allowed Ji Yaran to gain a wave of fans instead.

Lately, Ji Yaran’s film offers had been non-stop. She finally settled on a Republican era drama with dual female leads titled Moonlight Rose. She would play Wen Ying, a newspaper reporter who had returned from overseas, characterized by her elegance and porcelain skin. The other “Red Rose” lead remained a mystery, rumored to be either a top-tier starlet or a popular award winning actress.

Once this news broke, it sparked a major debate online.

[Ji Yaran is way too perfect for this role!]

[I just want to see two beautiful women together.]

[What kind of backing does Ji Yaran even have? Why is she always latching onto artists more famous than her?]

[Another lead role. Is she that obsessed with boosting her status?]

[Hilarious. By that logic, only people with the exact same status can act together? Your idol never worked with anyone more famous?]

[Stop being bitter. Do you think your boss doesn’t want lead roles?]

[Ji Yaran has great acting skills and she’s beautiful, why wouldn’t she be worthy?]

[Liu Jiayan fans, stop the forced hate. At least delete your interaction history in the fan forums first.]

Since moving from the hotel back to her apartment, Ji Yaran had been busy digesting the script, having no time for the online drama. Song Qingxue stayed at home to accompany her, and the two enjoyed a rare period of undisturbed time.

“Sister, take a break if you’re tired.” Song Qingxue placed a bowl of red date soup on the table and sat down beside her.

Since this afternoon, she felt Ji Yaran’s complexion looked poor. She suspected she was overworked and hadn’t rested well. After all, Ji Yaran’s last project had only just wrapped up, and she had been rushing through several commercial shoots these past few days.

“Alright.” Ji Yaran put down the script and took a sip of the fragrant, sweet red date soup.

It wasn’t too hot or too cold, the temperature was just right.

Lately, she felt like her stamina couldn’t keep up. She was often listless, frequently felt aches in her waist and weakness in her legs, and a restlessness stirred within her, as if a fire were buried deep inside.

“Sister, I noticed you haven’t looked well lately. Red dates nourish the blood and vital energy, it should help you,” Song Qingxue said.

“Thank you.” As soon as Ji Yaran spoke, she felt a sudden weakness in her fingers. The bowl she was holding slipped from her grasp, nearly crashing to the floor.

“Sister!” Song Qingxue was quick, catching the bowl just in time and setting it aside. She reached out to support her, “Are you oka”

Before she could finish, Song Qingxue’s expression shifted drastically. A flash of disbelief crossed her eyes, and the way she looked at Ji Yaran grew complicated.

A faint, fresh fragrance permeated the air, much like the scent of sunflowers, making one feel wrapped in sunlight, warm and comfortable.

Song Qingxue’s breathing suddenly became hurried. A bottomless darkness pooled beneath her long eyelashes, and her fingers, which were supporting Ji Yaran’s body, unconsciously tightened their grip.

“Qingxue, what’s wrong?” Ji Yaran sensed her odd behavior and couldn’t help but ask.

“Sister,” Song Qingxue swallowed hard, her voice turning raspy, “Do you… feel like anything is wrong?”

“Just a bit tired, I should be fine after some rest,” Ji Yaran rubbed her temples and closed the script, “I’ll go sleep for a bit,”

“Sister,” Song Qingxue’s face was serious, “I think… you should go to the hospital.”

“Huh?” Ji Yaran thought she was overreacting, “It’s not that serious, is it?”

“Just go,” Song Qingxue insisted, her voice deliberate, “I think your situation… might not be very good.”

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