Seduced Me into a Deep Fall - Chapter 28.1

Jiang Yuyang stepped out of the library and sat on a nearby bench, more than just a little surprised. “Say that again?”

“It’s just how do you know who you like? How do you confirm that feeling is love?” Ling Xi’s voice still carried a slight tremble.

Even though she was alone in her room, she instinctively lowered her voice, as if afraid someone might overhear, speaking cautiously.

“Well simply put, you feel they’re different. You and Ling Yue are both alphas and sisters, but I don’t see you getting nervous or your heart racing around her. You even leisurely follow Qing Mo just to tease her.” Jiang Yuyang replied while sensing that Ling Xi must be hiding something.

Just a few days ago, she had claimed she didn’t like anyone.

She knew it that “not liking” was a lie. Otherwise, why would she draw that person every single day?

She had never seen Ling Xi draw Tan Nijing.

Back then, Tan Nijing had even been voted the department’s beauty queen.

“Thanks for that.” Ling Xi was a little exasperated. Jiang Yuyang really was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“Ahem. Then there’s wanting to be with them all the time, sharing every little thing with them, wanting to give them everything good you come across.”

“Anything else?” Ling Xi compared Jiang Yuyang’s words to her own feelings and resignedly realized this was exactly how she felt about Song Yi.

Even if those kinds of thoughts weren’t always strong.

“Of course. Finding them beautiful, wanting physical contact. Actually, the best way to tell is through physical contact. Xiao Xi, who do you like?”

Jiang Yuyang finally revealed her true motive, she didn’t want to explain further, just fish for information from Ling Xi.

“I’m hanging up!” Ling Xi urgently needed to calm her emotions and sort out her feelings for Song Yi.

Before the call ended, Jiang Yuyang shouted one last thing. “Dinner tomorrow night, no refusing, or I’ll drag Qing Mo and Sister Tan all over the city to hunt you down.”

Ling Xi pressed the end call button, then buried her head under the covers.

More than the fear of her friends discovering she wanted to fall in love, Ling Xi was troubled by her feelings for Song Yi.

This was love, wasn’t it?

Wanting Song Yi by her side, wanting to know everything about her, wanting to.

Whether searching “signs of a crush” or comparing notes with Jiang Yuyang, her unusual reactions all pointed to one answer.

The skin touched by the prayer beads still didn’t burn, but the rest of Ling Xi was already scorching.

“How is it?” Song Yi deliberately waited two minutes before speaking.

Ling Xi abruptly raised her head, her fingers no longer tracing the beads.

“It’s very fragrant.” She snapped back to reality, her mind blank except for that thought.

The scent of agarwood was subtle yet lingering.

And so much like Song Yi just as captivating to Ling Xi.

Except without the sweetness of bergamot, sparing Ling Xi from losing her composure on the spot.

“Right? It just took a fall not enough to make me splurge on a new one.”

Song Yi reached out again, but this time she didn’t move further, simply resting her hand on Ling Xi’s shoulder. “Should I help you take it off, or ?”

She used to squeeze into bed with her sister, sometimes waking up halfway off the edge the next morning.

But since starting university and sleeping alone, that hadn’t happened again.

“It’s fine. I probably won’t be able to sleep anyway.” Song Yi had already pulled back the covers.

“I can’t sleep without you here.” Another soft sigh.

So soft Ling Xi almost thought she’d imagined it.

She took off her outerwear, leaving only a thin nightgown, and carefully lay down on the other side.

Upon reflection, they had indeed shared a bed before.

But that time, both of them had been completely unconscious, simply too exhausted to stay awake.

The rustling sounds beside her stopped, and Song Yi tilted her head slightly to see Ling Xi, visibly nervous, her expression softening unconsciously.

Sleeping beside Ling Xi brought Song Yi an inexplicable sense of peace.

Who knew how many afternoons she had spent resting against Ling Xi’s legs?

Under Ling Xi’s gentle touch, drowsy and content, she had cast aside years of unease and fear, slowly sinking into tranquil dreams.

“Do you have trouble sleeping?” Song Yi turned to ask once Ling Xi had settled in.

Ling Xi mirrored her movement, turning to face her. “Not really. I usually fall asleep instantly. Unless, there’s too much on my mind.”

“That’s enviable.”

Her fingertips brushed lightly, almost imperceptibly, against the nape of Ling Xi’s neck.

Ling Xi’s scent gland stirred in response.

“I can handle it myself,” she managed with difficulty, barely daring to move, avoiding Song Yi’s touch.

Even if it was just a B-grade pheromone, she didn’t want to release it so carelessly.

Seeing Song Yi withdraw her hand, Ling Xi exhaled in relief.

Had Song Yi done that on purpose, or was she genuinely trying to help?

Ling Xi returned the prayer beads to Song Yi, inching a few centimeters closer while turning her face away, not daring to meet her gaze.

She knew, deep down, that the answer didn’t matter.

Even if Song Yi had done it deliberately, she would have accepted it willingly.

Only after returning home did Ling Xi snap out of her daze, retreating to her room to check the other message she had just received.

Like, like.

Could Song Yi possibly like her back?

After hanging up the phone, Song Yi finished the last of her work, picked up the flowers she had bought, and left the office building with her bag.

Opening the front door, she found Ling Xi sitting on the sofa, looking in her direction.

“Just picked them up on a whim.” Song Yi could tell Ling Xi was nervous, as if they had just met all over again.

“I’ll find a place for them.” Ling Xi was already on the verge of suffocating.

With that, she quickly distanced herself from Song Yi, leaving her standing there, bewildered.

Ling Xi’s behavior today was strange.

Song Yi felt a pang of unease.

Was Ling Xi still hung up on Yun Fengzhi?

She hurried after her.

Ling Xi placed the flowers in front of the TV, dissatisfied no matter how she arranged them, then moved them to the coffee table.

Suddenly, warmth pressed against her back, startling her so much she nearly jumped.

“What’s wrong?” Song Yi caught Ling Xi before she could stumble.

“N-nothing!” Her nervousness was palpable.

“Are you afraid of me? Or still angry?” Song Yi’s brows furrowed unconsciously.

“I’m not!.” Ling Xi’s eyes welled up with tears.

“I’m not angry with you, and I’m not afraid of you. Please don’t think that way, okay?”

Ling Xi was hypersensitive to Mu Xie’s footsteps. Whenever Mu Xie approached, she had always pretended to be asleep, fully aware of everything Mu Xie had done.

She didn’t know what Mu Xie used those bodily fluids for.

But needles, suppressants anything resembling medication triggered a visceral fear in her.

Ling Xi took a deep breath, her entire body trembling from the feverish heat of her rut, and from sheer terror.

But she couldn’t afford to let her rut go unchecked.

Leaving it untreated, her pheromones would saturate the room, then seep beyond its walls.

Apart from the unaffected betas, everyone around Song Yi were omegas.

Song Yi felt choked up by the tears at the corner of her eyes.

“Hey, don’t ask, I’m sorry. I really don’t dislike you.”

Ling Xi pulled her hand out of Song Yi’s embrace.

Tear stains from excessive distress streaked her face. “I need to calm down first, I’m sorry!”

She fled upstairs as if escaping.

Song Yi stared at the bouquet before her, unable to muster any semblance of a good mood.

Her expression turned subdued as she sat on the sofa, arms crossed, lost in thought over the day’s events.

In the end, she couldn’t make sense of it and could only sigh in quiet sorrow.

Love was truly mysterious. When had Song Yi ever been so troubled over anyone before?

All because she was trying to distance herself.

The cook finished preparing dinner, but Ling Xi still hadn’t come downstairs.

By now, Song Yi had mostly calmed down and went upstairs to knock on Ling Xi’s door.

Unlike last time, Ling Xi didn’t ignore her and opened the door though only a sliver.

“Dinner’s ready,” Song Yi said, meeting her timid gaze.

“Ah! I haven’t cooked anything.” Ling Xi nearly fainted from her own stupidity.

How could she embarrass herself like this in front of the person she liked? Worse, she’d made Song Yi think she was disliked.

“So, you won’t eat with me?” Song Yi pressed her lips into a thin line, her eyes dim.

“Is there a portion for me?” Ling Xi finally opened the door fully, stepping out from the shadows where she’d hidden.

“Of course.” Song Yi took Ling Xi’s hand. “Don’t hide from me.”

“I wasn’t.” Ling Xi desperately wanted to pull the other woman into her arms.

But she didn’t dare. How could she possibly admit she was afraid of going too far?

“Then why did you lock yourself in your room? Earlier too, it was like you didn’t want to be near me.” Song Yi caught sight of the tear tracks on Ling Xi’s face, her heart clenching again.

“Ling Xi is something bothering you? Does it have to do with me?”

Ling Xi shook her head frantically, the denial too obvious to be convincing. “I’m just not in the right state today.”

“I definitely don’t dislike you, really.” She liked Song Yi more than anything, why did Song Yi keep thinking otherwise?

“Busy.” Song Yi cut off her rambling.

“Let’s talk business. My wife, how does Ling Xi have your sister’s contact info?”

“You succeeded in moving up?” Yun Fengzhi was floored.

Last time they spoke, this woman had sternly corrected her not her wife, don’t call her that, it’d cause misunderstandings.

And then sourly admitted it was just her crush.

“For now, it’s just a contractual marriage.” Song Yi’s mood lifted at the thought of the red marriage certificate they’d obtain in a month.

Tan Nijing, listening on the other end, was heartbroken. She whispered to He Qingmo,

“Listen to this, does this sound like a normal progression from friends to lovers? Right from the start, she was gentle, considerate, helpful did so much for her.”

He Qingmo was at a loss for words.

Finally, she said, “But it doesn’t sound bad, either.”

“What if she has ulterior motives toward Xiao Xi? Just like Mu Xie, who knew she’d turn out so vile? At first, she was always giving Xiao Xi gifts, sending flowers, even using her student council position to help with volunteer hours.”

“It’s all too unnatural.” Tan Nijing remained suspicious of Ling Xi’s beloved.

“Then at least don’t say it in front of her.” He Qingmo thought Tan Nijing had a point but still advised caution.

“Doesn’t she look like that thing now?”

He Qingmo subtly gestured with her chin toward Ling Xi, who was wiping her tears while chattering to Jiang Yuyang about how wonderful the person in her heart was.

“What thing?”

“Love·struck·fool.” He Qingmo said it succinctly and firmly.

“I heard that.” Ling Xi finally stopped her tearful tone.

The two across from her froze. It had been too long since they’d whispered in front of Ling Xi they’d forgotten how sharp her hearing was.

“Whatever you say, I won’t change my mind.” Ling Xi looked at Tan Nijun.

She admitted she was a love-struck fool.

“Only you could pull this off. If Mu Xie knew you achieved so effortlessly what she couldn’t even beg for, she’d probably lose it,” Yun Fengzhi remarked with a click of his tongue.

Only someone like Mu Xie, lacking strategy and desperate for quick success, would resort to force and coercion to make the person she liked submit.

“Mu Xie won’t have the time.” Song Yi traced the rim of her teacup, her gaze lowered.

She had used some tricks.

Her feigned drunkenness, her influence, even that one intimate moment during a vulnerable time.
Perhaps she wasn’t so different from Mu Xie.

Except Mu Xie was too sharp, too selfish her methods carried not a shred of love.

Song Yi, on the other hand, was gentle, like sweet poison. She lured Ling Xi in with beautiful moments.

That was the only difference between them.

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