The Fox Spirit Survived as an Alpha by Consuming Pheromones - Chapter 3

After a long while, Bai Muqin finally drifted back to consciousness from the feverish tides of her heat. The moment she realized she was locked in an intimate embrace with A-Li, she instinctively shoved the girl away.

Jiang Li, caught off guard, tumbled onto the carpet. Her eyes widened with sudden panic; she couldn’t understand what she had done wrong. In an instant, her eyes brimmed with tears, and she asked timidly, “Master… Do you hate A-Li now?”

Bai Muqin let out a frustrated sigh. She felt she was being far too indulgent with this girl; perhaps the lingering haze of her heat had softened her usually cold and distant nature. “No,” she replied flatly.

She stood up and extended a hand toward Jiang Li, her tone shifting back to a cool, detached professionalism. “Get up.”

Then, seeing how truly pitiful the girl looked, she added, “Are you hungry?”

Jiang Li placed her hand in Bai Muqin’s palm and let herself be pulled up. Hearing that cold voice, she shook her head. “Master, A-Li isn’t hungry. Actually… I’m a little too full.”

Bai Muqin’s tense expression softened at that, like a frozen stream melting in the winter sun—chilly, but carrying a hidden warmth.

“A little too full?” A faint smile touched her lips. She assumed A-Li was joking; from the moment they’d brought her here, she hadn’t eaten a thing. How could she be full?

Jiang Li nodded earnestly, resting a hand on her stomach. “Master’s pheromones are just too delicious. I couldn’t help myself and had a bit too much.” She followed this with a bashful smile, her clear eyes stealing a peek at Bai Muqin’s reaction.

Seeing that she wasn’t joking, Bai Muqin wondered if the girl had been traumatized into a state of delusion. While the fact that A-Li could stop a heat cycle by “sucking” pheromones was already beyond scientific explanation, the idea of pheromones acting as a meal was outside the realm of reason. She made a mental note to ask the doctor if the girl’s brain had been damaged by fear.

“Since you’re not hungry, stay in the room.” As she spoke, she realized she was the one who was starving.

She turned toward the door, but Jiang Li lunged forward and grabbed the hem of her clothes like a fish out of water gasping for its last breath. “Master, where are you going? Please don’t throw A-Li away!”

The moment Bai Muqin had turned to leave, an ancient, buried memory had slammed into Jiang Li’s mind.

“Another chicken was stolen from the village! I told you not to pick up just anything—bringing a fox home! If anyone sees it, they’ll make us pay for the birds. Throw it out, now!”

“I thought it was a puppy; how is it a fox? I don’t have any chickens for you. Go on, get out!”

“A-Li, run! Don’t let them catch you…”

She was so easy to take care of; she didn’t even need chickens to survive. Why didn’t Master like her anymore? They had just been holding each other so warmly moments ago.

Animals are acutely sensitive to shifts in human emotion. Jiang Li had easily felt the change in Bai Muqin’s demeanor, and the sight of her leaving the room triggered a primal terror, the fear of being abandoned once again.

Bai Muqin hadn’t expected A-Li to be this sensitive, or this… clingy. She cleared her throat and gently tugged her hem back, trying to make her voice sound softer, though it still came out a bit stiff. “I’m hungry. I’m just going out to eat. I’m not throwing you away.”

Meeting Jiang Li’s tear-filled eyes, Bai Muqin felt an odd pang of guilt, as if she were some world-class “Scum Alpha” who abandoned her partner the second the marking was done.

Jiang Li hesitated for a few seconds before slowly letting go. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and whispered, “Master, go eat. A-Li will wait for you.”

Bai Muqin gave a quiet “Mm” and stepped out of the room.

Downstairs, the lights were still on. Qin Nian was asleep on the sofa. Qin Nian’s mother, Qin Shuiyue, was the goddaughter of Bai Muqin’s grandfather, Qin Zun. Only a year younger than Bai Muqin, Qin Nian had followed her around since childhood; the two were closer than many biological sisters.

Hearing movement, Qin Nian sat up immediately. Seeing Bai Muqin looking like her usual self, she let out a sigh of relief. “Sis, you okay?”

Bai Muqin walked down the stairs, her expression softening at the concern. “I’m fine. Go back to your room and get some sleep.”

“Can’t sleep.” Qin Nian shook her head and followed Bai Muqin into the kitchen with a grin. “I’m hungry too. Luckily, I had Auntie Zhao leave some food out.”

They heated the food in the microwave, and soon the kitchen was filled with a savory aroma.

Bai Muqin took a plate, portioned out some food, and set it aside before starting her own meal with slow, deliberate movements.

Qin Nian raised an eyebrow, pointing at the extra plate. “For her?”

“Yes,” Bai Muqin replied. Before Qin Nian could probe further, she continued, “Her name is A-Li. She seems to have lost her memory. Take her to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow; I suspect she’s been abused.”

Qin Nian nodded, her expression turning serious. “Abused? You mean her gland?”

“Not just the necrotic gland,” Bai Muqin added. “Something seems wrong with her head, too. She’s… a bit simple.”

Qin Nian paused, setting her chopsticks down to wipe her mouth. “Simple? And here I was worried sick, nearly crouching outside your door to eavesdrop. But wait, could she be faking it? I see this in ‘Scum Alpha’ novels all the time. Sis, what if she was a total villain who did horrible things, got her gland cut out as revenge by her victims, and was left to die? In those stories, they usually end up being eaten by stray dogs. Think about it: wandering the streets, ruined gland… she fits the ‘fallen villain’ trope perfectly!”

Bai Muqin rolled her eyes. “You have quite the imagination. Are novels really that dramatic? If she were some notorious ‘Scum Alpha,’ why hasn’t our investigation turned up a single lead? Someone hated enough to be mutilated would leave a paper trail.”

“Still, keep digging into her identity, just to be safe.”

“And for the record: don’t eavesdrop again.”

Qin Nian agreed, realizing her novel-inspired theories were a bit theatrical for real life. She laughed sheepishly. “I was just worried! Every other Alpha you’ve tried was kicked out within five minutes. This A-Li stayed in there so long my legs went numb from crouching.”

She leaned in, lowering her voice. “But seriously, if she’s ‘simple,’ does she even know how to… you know? She didn’t try to… mark you, did she?”

At Bai Muqin’s sharp look, Qin Nian immediately covered her mouth, though she couldn’t help a final quip: “Actually, impossible. You’ve kicked out the most stunning Alphas in the city. Someone like her, with just ‘average’ looks, wouldn’t stand a chance with you.”

Bai Muqin’s mind flashed to Jiang Li’s face. It’s a mixture of heartbreaking fragility, raw innocence, and an accidental, fox-like allure. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. Maybe not ‘stunning’ in the traditional sense, she thought, but certainly more than ‘average.’

She cleared her dishes. “Stop fishing for gossip. Dr. Zhou’s hypothesis was correct, as were the rumors from Huayin Alley. A-Li can indeed stop my heat.”

With that, she picked up the plate of food she’d prepared and headed upstairs, ignoring Qin Nian’s excited muttering behind her.

Pushing the door open, she found Jiang Li curled on the carpet like a well-behaved pup. At the sound of the door, the girl looked up and gave her a silly, bright smile. “Master, you’re back.”

Bai Muqin gave a subtle nod and placed the plate in front of her. “Eat.”

Jiang Li leaned in to sniff the food and swallowed hard, but then she pushed the plate back toward Bai Muqin. Meeting the woman’s questioning gaze, she said with pure innocence, “A-Li isn’t hungry. Master, you eat.”

It was obvious she was hungry, but she was choosing to give her food to her “Master.” Bai Muqin’s heart gave a little tug, and her gaze softened even further. She pushed the plate back and used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef, holding it to Jiang Li’s lips. “I’ve already eaten. I’m not hungry. Be good and open your mouth.”

One does not refuse food offered by a Master. Jiang Li swallowed the beef and, under Bai Muqin’s encouraging gaze, finished the entire plate. She followed it with a glass of water and a loud, involuntary burp.

But a second later, her face went pale. Her stomach began to churn violently, and her body started to shake. “Master,” she cried out, her voice breaking, “A-Li needs to throw up!” She slapped her hands over her mouth in sheer terror.

Bai Muqin rushed her to the bathroom, her heart aching with a mix of pity and slight revulsion.

Jiang Li clung to the toilet and emptied her stomach. When she was done, she hung her head miserably. As the toilet flushed, her face burned with shame. “Master, I’m sorry… A-Li couldn’t control it.”

Bai Muqin sighed and pulled her up, helping her rinse her mouth. She led her back to the room, her voice gentle. “This was my fault. You told me you weren’t hungry, and I made you eat anyway. It won’t happen again.”

She stroked Jiang Li’s hair. “Let’s call it a night. I’ll take you to the doctor tomorrow.”

Seeing Jiang Li still tugging anxiously at her clothes, Bai Muqin felt a mounting headache. Normally, she would have sent any Alpha packing the moment they became a nuisance, but A-Li had this way of looking at her that made her, an Omega, want to protect her. She chalked up her unusual patience to the lingering effects of her heat.

“You sleep here tonight. I’m going to the guest room next door.” Before Jiang Li could react, she added firmly, “I’m not leaving the house. I’ll be right next door. Don’t give me that look.”

Jiang Li let out a tiny whimper but let go of the fabric. As Bai Muqin left, the girl curled back up on the carpet, never even considering the bed.

In the dead of night, Jiang Li followed the scent of passion fruit into the room next door. It wasn’t the master suite, and the floor wasn’t carpeted, but she stubbornly lay down on the hard floor right beside the bed. She only felt safe near her Master.

Back on the bed, a wave of restless heat began to wash over the sleeping Bai Muqin. But suddenly, the air around her seemed to cool. The stifling heat receded, and she drifted into the most refreshing sleep she’d had in years.

At 7:00 AM, Bai Muqin woke up to her internal clock. It was rare to feel this energized during her heat without the aid of heavy medication. She was in a wonderful mood.

However, as she stepped out of bed, her foot landed on something soft. Startled, she pulled back and looked down. It was A-Li. The girl was sleeping in a disheveled state, her clothes slipping to reveal a glimpse of a pale, smooth shoulder and the curve of her chest. Remembering the soft sensation under her foot, Bai Muqin felt a flush of heat rise from her soles. But her morning grumpiness soon pushed the stray thought away.

When did she come in here? Did I sleep so well because she was here all night? The thought actually made her annoyance fade.

October wasn’t exactly freezing, but sleeping on a bare floor all night wasn’t good for anyone, especially not a fragile Alpha with a ruined gland. Bai Muqin’s temples throbbed. How can someone be this stupid?

But then the girl looked up at her and beamed with pure, unadulterated joy, like a kitten tilting its chin up to be scratched.

It was both ridiculous and infuriating. Bai Muqin took her foot and gave A-Li a playful, light nudge—careful to avoid the softer parts of her skin this time.

“You’re awake? Why didn’t you listen to me? Wasn’t the floor cold?” Bai Muqin asked tonelessly, masking her emotions.

But Jiang Li sensed the irritation. She reached out and hugged Bai Muqin’s feet, her voice full of self-reproach. “Don’t be angry with A-Li, Master. It’s just that A-Li is greedy… I was lured here by Master’s sweet scent. The floor was cold, but as long as I’m near Master, I don’t feel the chill at all.”

Her words confirmed Bai Muqin’s suspicions. She couldn’t bring herself to be angry; if anything, she owed A-Li for absorbing the pheromones that would have kept her up all night. Still, she looked at the girl with new scrutiny. When they first met, the girl could barely string a sentence together. Now, she was dropping flirtatious lines like a pro.

Was she truly this simple, or was she playing a very clever game?

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