Seduced Me into a Deep Fall - Chapter 20

Ling Xi couldn’t quite calculate when her rut would arrive, only having a vague impression.

It came every six months, with the last one likely around late March. Now it was already late September.

If things went badly, her rut might hit tomorrow.

But she had no suppressants. The staff at Song Yi’s house were mostly betas, with some omegas.

After staying for two days, Ling Xi hadn’t seen any other alphas.

Song Yi’s household probably didn’t have any.

She’d have to go out first thing tomorrow to buy some.

Ling Xi soaked a towel in cold water and pressed it against the back of her neck, where her swollen, feverish scent gland pulsed.

The sudden chill made her shiver violently.

It had been so long since her last rut that she barely remembered how to handle it.

She lay back down, barely managing to lower her body temperature.

“Then, where are my pajamas?”

“In my room…” Ling Xi realized her voice sounded unnaturally weak and quickly cleared her throat, forcing herself to sound more alert.

“Did I force myself on you last night?” Song Yi frowned.

When they’d parted, Ling Xi had been fine, even strong enough to carry her back to the bedroom.

Yet after just a few hours apart, she now seemed sick?

“No, no!” Ling Xi startled at the question.

“Then explain?” Song Yi tilted her chin up expectantly.

“Why am I wearing your pajamas? Why are my clothes in your room? Did we… do something? Did you see anything?”

“No, cough. You knocked on my door drunk, soaked from head to toe. I just gave you a change of clothes. You changed yourself.”

Ling Xi omitted the details to avoid complications.

“Why would I knock on your door when drunk?” Song Yi’s skepticism was justified.

But Ling Xi had no answer.

“Probably just… the alcohol?” If only she knew.

Being tormented by Song Yi two nights in a row left her with complicated feelings.

Song Yi didn’t say whether she believed it. She just pretended to ponder, staring blankly at a spot.

Internally, though, she was fixated on the details Ling Xi had skipped their interlaced fingers, the intimate embrace.

For a moment, she spaced out.

Even though Song Yi wasn’t looking at her, Ling Xi still felt the pressure mounting.

Nervous, she stumbled, nearly losing her balance.

“Ling Xi? Ling Xi! Why are you burning up… Aunt Zhao, bring cold water and a fever patch, please!”

The scalding heat radiating from Ling Xi’s skin shattered Song Yi’s usual composure.

She clung to Ling Xi desperately, as if afraid she’d vanish, fingers trembling as she checked for breath beneath Ling Xi’s nose.

She also gripped her wrist, assessing her pulse.

Elevated heart rate, rapid breathing. She must have passed out from rut-induced fever.

So the odd behavior this morning was her rut approaching.

Why didn’t she say anything? Suppressants aren’t easy to administer, collapsing alone in a room, how heartbreaking.

Song Yi traced the red mark on Ling Xi’s forehead from the fall, nearly frantic with worry.

Before housekeeper Zhao could return with the cooling patch, Ling Xi stirred awake.

Her vision blurred as she opened her eyes, unable to recognize who held her with such urgency.

Her mind was hazy. She’d long surrendered control of her scent gland, her body now flooded with rut hormones, gradually restoring her strength.

And her desire.

Ling Xi transformed into a hunger-driven beast controlled by instinct in an instant. She pounced into Song Yi’s embrace and immediately sank her teeth into her neck.

Song Yi’s arms around her involuntarily tightened for a brief moment.

What an intimate kind of thrill…

“Let’s sit first.” Song Yi released her, and the unbearably tense atmosphere lingering in the air abruptly dissipated.

Ling Xi exhaled and sat on the sofa.

Another layer of cold sweat broke out on her back.

Her glands were definitely acting up… Was she about to enter her rut soon?

So damn frustrating… She couldn’t even tell which reactions were precursors to her rut whether this level of pain was normal or abnormal.

“Aunt Zhao, did I… do strange things when I drank before?” Song Yi finally snapped out of her thoughts and called out to the housekeeper.

Aunt Zhao, who happened to be passing by, nearly had a question mark floating above her head.

Upon seeing Ling Xi, she immediately straightened her posture and pulled out the rehearsed explanation she and the other servants had prepared. “Yes, Miss Song has poor drinking etiquette. When drunk, she likes to pull us into storytelling and even gets really into role-playing. She… also dances wildly at home.”

The last part was something Song Yi had instructed them to say.

After speaking, she glanced at Song Yi.

Song Yi gave her an inscrutable look.

Aunt Zhao was nervous, but Ling Xi relaxed a little.

At least Song Yi hadn’t deliberately come to make things difficult for her.

She was just drunk and happened to stumble upon her.

“Fine.” Song Yi sighed in resignation.

She was somewhat satisfied with Aunt Zhao’s explanation.

“Are you sure you’re telling the truth?” She then turned to Ling Xi.

Ling Xi nodded. Omitting a few details shouldn’t count as lying, right?

“Then I really owe you an apology. As for these clothes… I’ve already worn them. I’ll get you two new sets to make up for it.”

The weight in Ling Xi’s chest finally lifted.

She always knew Song Yi was a good person, how could she be unreasonable or difficult?

Even when drunk, she wouldn’t give her a hard time.

At most, she’d just ask her to keep her company for a while.

“No need, no need! I don’t mind at all.” She quickly waved her hands in refusal.

But when she looked closely, she no longer saw the expectant glimmer in Song Yi’s eyes only a deep, inky darkness, unexpectedly profound and mesmerizing.

Ling Xi found herself utterly captivated by those eyes.

Even though she still had deadlines to meet… she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

“I should be free the day after tomorrow.” Guess I’ll have to pull an all-nighter to finish my work. Ling Xi sighed internally.

Today, she wasn’t as nervous around Song Yi.

But it was as if she’d been enchanted, completely led around by her.

Was this also a sign of her impending rut?

After Ling Xi left with her bag, Aunt Zhao whispered, “Miss, were you satisfied with my answer today?”

Song Yi stroked the pajamas, her fingertips overflowing with something akin to tenderness.

It was just a shame, these pajamas were brand new. Ling Xi had never worn them.

Hearing the question, Song Yi nodded. “Passable. Eighty points.”

A little unnatural, but Ling Xi didn’t seem to notice.

“Then I’ll have the others say the same.” Having received approval, Aunt Zhao immediately sent a message to the servants’ group chat.

Song Yi waved her off, signaling her to attend to her duties.

During breakfast, Song Yi mulled over Ling Xi’s earlier odd behavior and made a mental note.

After buying suppressants, Ling Xi returned home.

Locking herself inside, she sent her usual messages to her mother and sister before opening her laptop to continue working on her drafts.

However, less than two hours after returning home, Ling xi felt a wave of heat wash over her.

After three surges of fever, Ling Xi was completely drained, her sweat soaking the seat. She had no choice but to put down her pen.

She could no longer tell whether her glands were producing pheromones.

The back of her neck was numb with pain, losing all sensation only heat, saturated with hormones, flooded her entire body.

Yet her pheromones were faint, barely detectable.

Her elder sister, Lingyue, once said her scent resembled spring water flowing over thawing glacier snow.

But Ling Xi herself could only catch a hint of cold, nothing more distinct.

Right now, she couldn’t smell anything, but her body’s reaction was undeniably abnormal.

Wasn’t this the time for an inhibitor shot?

Thankfully, she had bought some in time.

Their eyes met, and after three seconds, both smiled.

Ling Xi’s ears immediately flushed red at Song Yi’s smile.

Pursing her lips, she looked shy.

“I’m back.” More than one heart was racing.

Song Yi changed her shoes and brought out the flowers she had hidden behind her back.

They seemed like a real married couple.

Waiting for her lover to return from work, only for the lover to come home with a gift.

Ling Xi had already moved to Song Yi’s side.

“This is…” A bouquet suddenly filled her hands.

“Brought them for you.” Song Yi’s voice was soft,

as if afraid of startling Ling Xi.

Ling Xi looked down at the flowers in her arms,  roses, hibiscus, accented with baby’s breath and lilies.

The color palette was thoughtful, yet Ling Xi’s gaze still drifted back to Song Yi.

Song Yi’s phoenix eyes, devoid of sharpness, met hers, the tenderness in them more beautiful than the flowers in her hands.

Ling Xi could hear her own heartbeat.

“Thank you!” She was so nervous her entire body tensed.

Ling Xi shuffled toward the plastic bag and pulled out a box of inhibitors.

At the sight of the slender needle, she shuddered involuntarily, and the inhibitor slipped from her grip.

Once, Mu Xie had ordered her tied down, pressing her into the mattress every month to plunge a long, thin needle into the back of her neck, draining the pheromones she had painstakingly produced.

Sometimes, he’d even steal a bit of her blood while she slept.

Ling Xi refused to let this affect them especially Song Yi.

Gritting her teeth, she picked up another inhibitor and jabbed it toward herself.

After breaking the third one, she no longer had the strength to continue.

Struggling, she grabbed her phone, her vision swimming as she tapped open a chat.

She managed to type only a single number before sending it and collapsing to the floor.

In the middle of a meeting, Song Yi’s phone lit up.

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