Seduced Me into a Deep Fall - Chapter 21.1

Song Yi saw the message on the screen, it was from Ling Xi.

Just a single “9.”

Her brows furrowed unconsciously as she pondered what Ling Xi meant by this.

Song Yi first replied with a question mark, then fell into deep thought.

This made the department head sitting across from her straighten her back like a student caught playing with her phone by the homeroom teacher.

Before Ling Xi could even search for precautions related to her rut, exhaustion overtook her, and she fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, when Ling Xi opened her eyes, not only did her head ache, but her neck also hurt as if she had been beaten.

She removed the towel and saw a faint trace of crimson.

Ling Xi stayed silent for two seconds. Once the dizziness and headache subsided slightly, she reached up to touch her scent gland.

It wasn’t bleeding, but it hurt when touched.

It should be fine, right?

Ling Xi got out of bed, her legs trembling.

Sweating nervously, she forced herself to walk to the bathroom to freshen up.

After washing up, she finally felt a little better. She wiped the sweat from her body and prepared to go downstairs to greet Song Yi, who was about to leave for work.

“Good morning…” Her voice was weak as she forced a smile upon seeing Song Yi.

Song Yi had already changed into fresh clothes.

Ling Xi tilted her head slightly to look, only for Song Yi to turn around and crook a finger at her.

“Is this pajama yours?” Song Yi’s expression was as calm as ever, her demeanor cool and unreadable, like ink.

“Uh, yeah.” How was she supposed to explain last night’s events to Song Yi?

And if Song Yi asked about the night before that, she wouldn’t have an explanation for that either.

Cold sweat trickled down Ling Xi’s back as anxiety gnawed at her.

Song Yi simply crossed her arms and stared at her for two seconds.

Her gaze followed a bead of sweat as it rolled from Ling Xi’s temple down to her collarbone.

Song Yi’s throat moved almost imperceptibly.

“Chairman Song?” Two minutes later, seeing that Song Yi still hadn’t uttered a single word in response to the report, the department head swallowed hard, feeling like she was one step away from being fired.

She had no choice but to grip her clothes and speak up.

Only then did Song Yi lift her eyelids. “We’ll stop here for today.”

Nine—help.

Could Ling Xi be in danger, signaling for her help?

How could Song Yi focus on the meeting now?

She hurried out of the conference room, leaving behind a room full of bewildered executives.

With their reports unfinished and the quarter’s situation being unusual, they had no choice but to look to the secretary for guidance.

Even the secretary was encountering this situation for the first time.

In the past, no matter how urgent things were, Song Yi would always see her work through to the end. The secretary had once accompanied her in the hospital, where Song Yi conducted a video conference while hooked up to an IV drip.

“I’ll let you know ahead of time. You don’t have to wait up for me tonight.” With just a few words, Song Yi had set another trap for Ling Xi.

“Who said I’d wait for you?” Ling Xi laughed, covering one ear that had turned bright red.

“You won’t?” Song Yi feigned disappointment.

“I will, I’ll wait.” Even if her hands were cold, the heat in her earlobes refused to fade.

Song Yi’s eyes were misty, soft and ambiguous.

How could anyone refuse waiting for someone like her to come home?

Ling Xi’s gaze swept over the string of prayer beads around Song Yi’s neck before she quickly averted her eyes.

“Ahem. If you’re free, do you want to watch a drama with me?”

Ling Xi quickly changed the subject, hoping to cool the atmosphere.

But with a human furnace like Song Yi beside her, how could the temperature possibly drop?

It was a miracle Ling Xi’s heart wasn’t set ablaze.

“Sure. What are you watching?”

“My friend recommended that fox spirit drama, it’s pretty popular lately. I’ll put it on.” Ling Xi saw Song Yi pick up the remote.

She reached for it, but Song Yi held it just out of reach, making Ling Xi tumble right into her arms.

Her face landed on the new cushion the butler Zhao had recently bought.

Why was she leaving early today of all days?

The secretary could only jot down the reports from the others, planning to relay them to Song Yi as soon as she was free.

Song Yi left in a hurry.

She took nothing but her phone.

She called Butler Zhao to ask about Lingxi.

It took Butler Zhao a while to recall the rather inconspicuous girl, she had gone out to buy a few things earlier but had been home ever since.

Once in the car, Song Yi told the driver to speed home as fast as possible.

She checked the surveillance around the house and confirmed Ling Xi had returned at 8:16 p.m.

Fast-forwarding through the footage, she saw Ling Xi hadn’t left again and let out a small sigh of relief.

Then Butler Zhao sent a message, and Song Yi’s heart clenched once more.

[I just knocked on Miss Ling Xi’s door, she didn’t respond.]

Song Yi gripped the hem of her clothes, a thin layer of sweat forming.

Ling Xi had seemed off this morning, she’d had low blood sugar before. Could she have passed out?

Song Yi told Butler Zhao to try calling out again and to unlock the door.

Five minutes later, she arrived home, kicked off her heels, and rushed toward Ling Xi’s room.

Before she even got there, a crisp, subtle fragrance reached her like a certain type of tea.

But not overpowering, just a faint trace, like moonlight spilling onto the ground.

Frowning, she took a deeper breath, but the scent vanished in an instant, replaced by something akin to the crisp freshness of a mountain spring.

It dawned on Song Yi belatedly that was the scent of alpha pheromones.

Seeing Butler Zhao had already fetched the master key and was unlocking Ling Xi’s door, Song Yi exhaled, nearly holding her breath to keep from slowing down.

Even though she was an S-rank omega and Ling Xi’s pheromone level was unclear, this concentration could still affect her.

After all, her heat had just ended not long ago.

And with the frequent inhibitor injections lately, her hormones were somewhat unstable.

Why was Lingxi, suffering like this, still trying to keep her distance?

Song Yi couldn’t take it anymore.

Just then, Butler Zhao brought in cooling patches and water for the fever. Song Yi motioned for her to leave them and not disturb further.

Once the door was locked, Song Yi struggled, fighting the urge to suppress her own pheromones.

But Ling Xiweakly raised a hand, steadying herself before speaking in a voice hoarse with feverish delirium.

“I can’t… hurt you. Stay away, please…”

As she spoke, Ling Xi kept shuffling backward.

Her fingers brushed against a syringe on the floor. She picked it up, barely registering it, and moved to inject herself.

There was no way she could successfully administer the inhibitor while torn between two instincts.

Song Yi finally snapped out of it and snatched the syringe from Lingxi’s hand.

“Don’t do something so reckless.” She was already dizzy enough to lose her bearings, yet she still thought of injecting herself.

And the reason she pushed her away? Just to avoid hurting her.

Song Yi blinked, a tear falling to the floor.

As she spoke, she avoided looking at Ling Xi,perhaps not wanting to add to her burden.

After all, if Song Yi employed the tactics she used against business tycoons, the newly socialized Ling Xi would be no match for her.

Ling Xi kept searching her eyes, trying to discern how much of those words were true and how much were false.

The offer was too tempting.

It was practically effortless gain. Instinctively, Ling Xi sensed something amiss but couldn’t pinpoint what.

Logically speaking, it was perfectly normal for the scions of prominent families to be pressured into marriage.

And Song Yi just happened to meet her, with so many coincidences between them.

Given Song Yi’s aloof and indifferent personality, it made sense that she wouldn’t want to bother with others and would rather settle for a quick marriage certificate to appease her family.

“If you’re still hesitating, you can think of it as helping me out by sacrificing your romantic freedom for the next few years. In return, I’m compensating you with money, fair and square, isn’t it?” Song Yi finally composed herself and turned to look at Ling Xi.

Her phoenix eyes, usually sharp, now shimmered with sincerity, devoid of their usual edge.

“But I wasn’t planning on dating anyway,” Ling Xi murmured, still deliberating.

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over her. She blinked, and somehow, she was back in Song Yi’s embrace.

“Didn’t you want a mark?” Song Yi released her pheromones.

What better way to help Ling Xi than to let her mark her once?

As for suppressants those things with side effects that would only make Ling Xi suffer, Song Yi couldn’t bear to use them on her.

“Yes, but I can’t just…” Ling Xi’s limbs felt weak, her movements sluggish.

Trapped in Song Yi’s arms, her hands instinctively circled Song Yi’s waist.

The softness felt achingly familiar.

A flicker of awareness returned to Ling Xi as she gazed at Song Yi again.

“You’re not being reckless, and I’m not unwilling,” Song Yi interrupted her thoughts.

“Not unwilling?” Ling Xi repeated the words, dazed.

Song Yi had had enough. She took Ling Xi’s hand and guided it to her own body.

Pulling Ling Xi closer, she pressed a kiss to her burning earlobe.

“You can… mark me,” Song Yi whispered against her ear, her breath warm.

Ling Xi’s fingers twitched.

Her senses were overwhelmed by the sweet scent of bergamot, clouding her judgment.

All she knew was that the omega in her arms was the long-awaited nectar she craved, the remedy she had sought for miles.

The prey she coveted, soon to be caged in her grasp.

“Really, you want me to do this?” Ling Xi asked, her voice thick with confusion, as if she half-recognized the woman before her.

But she could no longer hold back.

The burdens of the mundane world were cast aside, discarded on the floor.

Hormones and fragrance heightened their senses.

A euphoric, intoxicating sensation filled Ling Xi’s mind.

It gave her the strength to complete this dance yet kept her from sobering leaving only the primal instincts of an alpha.

That Ling Xi could still ask such a question in this state earned Song Yi’s reluctant admiration.

“What more do you want me to say?” Song Yi guided Ling Xi’s hands to explore untouched territory.

“I want your mark… is that enough?”

“Or… please, won’t you mark me?”

Song Yi’s voice was low, almost trembling, as if pleading with Ling Xi.

Ling Xi, clearly inexperienced, was led and tempted into moving her hands and lips.

At those words, Ling Xi’s breathing grew heavier.

“I just want permission.” She struggled to prop herself up and kissed Song Yi’s throat.

Capturing her prey, targeting that most vulnerable flaw.

“Just give me permission.”

Song Yi was quite adorable when drunk anyway. Helping her could be considered… a mutual agreement.

“How long have I been clinging to you?” Song Yi had no intention of returning this outfit.

After all, this was the first “gift” Ling Xi had left her since their reunion. She had already accepted it, why would she give it back?

“Maybe over half an hour?” Ling Xi hadn’t been keeping track.

The last time she checked the time was when submitting her work to a client. By then, an hour and a half had already passed since she ended her livestream.

“I think it was pretty late. If you don’t take it, I’ll feel guilty.” Song Yi used her decisive tone, leaving Ling Xi no room to refuse.

Just two sets of clothes, if they were exchanging, Song Yi would probably give her pajamas in return, nothing too extravagant.

“Fine, you’re too kind.”

Only when Ling Xi nodded did Song Yi’s expression soften slightly.

Her sharp phoenix eyes no longer looked as imposing, giving Ling Xi the illusion of facing the drunken Song Yi again.

Kinda cute.

Ling Xi’s mind wandered, the lingering sensation of Song Yi’s earlier caresses resurfacing, her glands heating up again, forcing her to clench her fists.

“Send me your measurements. Or…” Song Yi wiped her palms, nervously extending an invitation for the first time.

“I’m going shopping in the next couple of days. Want to come with me?”

Please say yes.

Ling Xi calculated the time, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Song Yi’s eyes.

In them, she caught a glimmer of hope.

Giving her a reason to be reckless, indulging her, spoiling her.

Letting her drown in it, never sobering up.

“I give you permission. You can do whatever you want to me.” And Song Yi had waited far too long for this day.

This dreamlike moment.

Senses soaring, as if taking flight but Ling Xi wasn’t the only one.

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