The Second Fall - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Heh, Such a Pretender

There were precedents for an Omega reverse-marking an Alpha. They were not uncommon, and some Omegas even underwent a secondary differentiation into Enigmas because of it.

Lan Cixing didn’t mind if Rong Yushu reverse-marked her. If it could be done, she would consider it repayment for the mark she had left years ago.

Lan Cixing’s arms trembled from the emotional volatility of her rut. Relying on the last shards of her rationality, she reached up to brush away the curly hair draped over her body. Her swollen scent gland was conspicuous, unexpectedly drawing Rong Yushu’s gaze.

But Rong Yushu had no interest in that. She didn’t need to mark anyone to gain a sense of control, yet she craved Lan Cixing’s pheromones. Seeing Lan Cixing so rare and vulnerable, Rong Yushu truly felt a sense of restlessness.

Rong Yushu leaned forward, her cheeks slightly squeezing her fox-like eyes, revealing a hint of ill intent. She was on top, still possessing plenty of logic; she hadn’t been pulled into a heat yet, keeping the helm of the ship firmly in her hands. Lan Cixing was beneath her, with little strength left, even proactively welcoming her—handing her own leash to Rong Yushu in a posture of near-total surrender.

It’s coming. Lan Cixing kept her head tilted, exposing her gland to the air as much as possible. She was waiting for Rong Yushu’s transgression to achieve her atonement. She rarely did such things. Including the accident four years ago, this was only the second time. Lan Cixing was inexperienced, instinctively afraid, yet forced herself not to dodge.

The smell of flint in the air thickened. It was like caramel roasted to its darkest shade, smelling bitter. Only Rong Yushu didn’t mind such a stimulating pheromone. She couldn’t even resist taking a deep breath; the Alpha’s scent made her heart vibrate.

A sharp fingernail touched the base of Lan Cixing’s ear.

Lan Cixing began to tremble visibly—a sharp jolt at first, followed by a continuous, soft shivering. Like a drizzle. Lan Cixing looked as pitiful as if she had been caught in the rain.

Rong Yushu’s nail scraped downward, following the sweat trails on Lan Cixing’s neck, tracing a white-to-red line. Lan Cixing tilted her head back. She was being very good, like an obedient dog. Rong Yushu was her permanent master; even after four years apart, she would still listen to her.

The white tea fragrance drew near. Deprived of vision, Lan Cixing’s senses of smell and hearing became exceptionally sharp. Rong Yushu’s pheromones were magnified infinitely; the moist, warm sandalwood with a hint of scholarly air drifted into Lan Cixing’s nose, making her realize this wasn’t perfume—it was an Omega’s true pheromones.

Want to bite.

Another shiver. Lan Cixing grit her teeth, enduring the itch in her canines.

Until a sharp pain hit her collarbone.

Lan Cixing snapped her eyes open to see Rong Yushu biting her collarbone. One of the hardest parts of the upper body, it wasn’t easy to bite; Rong Yushu’s teeth were jarred several times, but she insisted on sinking the bite mark deep.

A stinging pain, almost like an itch, radiated from her collarbone. Lan Cixing caught another scent of sandalwood; unexpectedly, she didn’t lose her focus again but instead relaxed quite a bit.

Rong Yushu didn’t… reverse-mark her. But she did bite her, leaving a bright red mark on Lan Cixing’s body. Like a brand.

Rong Yushu released her teeth and slowly moved away from Lan Cixing. Now, the mark on the collarbone was more eye-catching than the swollen gland. Red to the point of being pink. It was somewhat cute.

Rong Yushu’s nail scraped over it. The dark green scales of her nail color looked truly like a snake’s tail, entwining Lan Cixing and hooking her heart.

Lan Cixing’s eyes were watery as she looked at Rong Yushu. There was a bit of gratitude, a bit of bashful redness, but still an uneasy fear. Rong Yushu grew angry seeing her tepid appearance and simply took another bite, nipping at her throat.

Lan Cixing tilted her head back to exhale; the rut didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.

“Can you give me the suppressant now?” Lan Cixing’s collarbone was almost out of space for bite marks. She was still breaking out in a cold sweat, her pheromones leaking uncontrollably. The bites had given her a bit of clarity, and she wanted to take the shot and end this farce.

“You’re still not listening.” Rong Yushu ground her teeth. She saw that Lan Cixing truly wanted to be reverse-marked. “Didn’t I say suppressants hurt the body?” Just how much do you not want to mark me?

Rong Yushu smoothed her hair, suddenly grabbed Lan Cixing’s arm, and pinched her waist.

“But…” Whatever words Lan Cixing had were cut off the moment Rong Yushu pulled her.

With just one movement, even though she remained the dominant one, Rong Yushu swapped their positions. Lan Cixing was forced to press down on top of her. She didn’t dare press too close, her elbows stubbornly propping herself up on the bed. Meanwhile, Rong Yushu composedly tucked herself beneath Lan Cixing.

As if enjoying this sense of being suppressed, her fox-eyes smiled alluringly.

“No suppressants. Since you don’t want to, you don’t have to mark me either.” Rong Yushu had other ways to help Lan Cixing. Once she “helped” her to the point of self-forgetfulness, perhaps Lan Cixing would forget her rigid rules.

“Let’s… once.” Despite it being the most embarrassing thing, Rong Yushu said it so easily. Her smile seemed to mock Lan Cixing, whose ears had turned red at the word.

At this point, the atmosphere couldn’t even be called mutual consent; it was more that Rong Yushu was leading and forcing Lan Cixing to act. What did Lan Cixing have to be shy about? She wasn’t the one who was about to lose her composure.

“But won’t that make it more…” Lan Cixing blinked. One moment she wanted to ignore Rong Yushu’s beautiful forest-like eyes, and the next she was caught by this vixen’s soul, wanting to jump into her pupils.

Her pheromones were still leaking; the rut wasn’t over. She didn’t know if Rong Yushu had taken suppressants, but if they truly let go… Lan Cixing feared Rong Yushu would be pulled into a heat too. Then not marking her would actually be worse.

“Unless you want to solve it by marking me?” As Rong Yushu spoke, she pulled open her collar herself. She didn’t unbutton the shirt completely, just left a gap. It was the innermost layer, light and translucent; Lan Cixing could glimpse a sliver of pink.

Seeing Lan Cixing dazed, Rong Yushu gave a sneer, slightly lifting a leg as her waist swayed rhythmically. A seductive posture.

Lan Cixing’s eyes slowly turned red, still holding a bottle’s worth of hypocritical misty tears. Rong Yushu knew she wanted it badly and gently took her hand. Her nails rubbed over Lan Cixing’s pathetic fingertips, sliding toward the base of the fingers. Pure provocation.

Lan Cixing gave up her resistance. She leaned down and kissed Rong Yushu’s collarbone, mimicking her by leaving a series of ambiguous kisses where she had been bitten. Blurred and hazy.

“Heh, such a pretender,” Rong Yushu cursed with a laugh. Her hand rhythmically pressed Lan Cixing’s nape, helping her soothe the ache of the rut and eliminating that soul-scattering pain. Her other hand naturally rested on Lan Cixing’s waist, occasionally scratching her back to stimulate her, telling her whether to go faster or slower.

Lan Cixing seemed to take well to that insult; she completely dropped her previous reserve and took the offense to the end, eliciting more laughing curses from Rong Yushu.

Until Rong Yushu couldn’t even curse anymore, only able to hold her while gasping, her tears constantly sticking to Lan Cixing’s skin. Lan Cixing pressed against her ear, and for a moment, it seemed she would bite.

Rong Yushu closed her eyes and gripped Lan Cixing’s arm for dear life.

“Actually, I really want to.” Lan Cixing only whispered a soft answer to Rong Yushu’s earlier question.

“Almost twenty-eight and still so much strength, you’re trying to kill me.” Rong Yushu, held in Lan Cixing’s arms, was still indignant, twisting her arm to scold her. Her whole ears were red, and her eyes were nearly swollen from crying.

Hadn’t she said “once”? This Lan Cixing was returning kindness with ingratitude, insisting on bullying her to death.

Lan Cixing had already suppressed her rut. Not much metallic spice remained in the air, only a refreshing scent of fir. Her lips brushed over the marks she had made on Rong Yushu, only to be pinched again.

“I was just following your orders.” Lan Cixing’s emotions had also calmed down, her gray-blue eyes carrying a soft, smiling warmth. “Did I do something wrong?” She leaned down, wanting to meet the eyes of Rong Yushu, who was unwilling to get up.

Rong Yushu gazed at her for three seconds, then suddenly curled her lips and bit the tip of Lan Cixing’s nose. Lan Cixing understood. It wasn’t enough.

“I know my mistake, Sister Shushu.” She then lifted Rong Yushu by the waist and set her back down. Once more, she kissed her figure. Her face was kicked by a foot. The scent of white tea remained on the marks; it was very sweet.

After showering, Rong Yushu found a set of clothes and threw them at Lan Cixing; the farce was finally over. Lan Cixing was hit into a daze, pausing for a moment before slowly putting the clothes on. They were a perfect fit.

Four years had passed; did Rong Yushu actually know her size? A thought she didn’t dare scrutinize surfaced.

Lan Cixing looked up to find Rong Yushu, gazing into a sea of clear green; her senses stumbled instantly. She didn’t dare look anymore, lowering her head, her ears still red.

“Come here.” Rong Yushu seemed to have returned to her usual self, no longer angry.

Lan Cixing instinctively obeyed, her feet moving before her brain could react. She looked very much like a trained dog. She buried her head deep, leaving only the tips of her reddened ears visible.

“Now you know shame.” Rong Yushu pinched Lan Cixing’s ears with two fingers, making that inch of skin even redder, thoroughly “cooked.” Lan Cixing was too embarrassed to say it was Rong Yushu’s fault, so she just dully closed her eyes, holding back physiological tears.

An ear was being fondled by a finger. It was tracing the entire contour of the cartilage, a complete mapping. Lan Cixing couldn’t help but jolt. She heard a light chuckle from behind. Now her neck was red too.

Lan Cixing was about to cry. She had almost cried while it was happening earlier; now, without restraint, the tears were even harder to hold back.

“Alright, I’m not teasing you.” Rong Yushu stopped as soon as she said she would, as if she could see Lan Cixing’s reaction, ending the mockery a second before she cried. She picked up a hair dryer and began to dry Lan Cixing’s hair.

The sound of the hair dryer was loud, a buzzing that covered Lan Cixing’s thoughts. She dizzily blinked her tears dry, her head swaying slightly with Rong Yushu’s movements. She was so obedient; this was exactly how a dog being petted by its master acted.

They used to be like this, too. Rong Yushu had said the dryer in her room was broken and came into her room. She used her dryer and even helped her dry her hair. Lan Cixing closed her eyes, slowly returning to many years ago. What show were they filming then?

The entertainment industry was like a trauma; many memories were buried deep in Lan Cixing’s heart. Recalling them brought pain, and she refused to dig them out. In her daze, she could only remember that night when Rong Yushu’s fingers separated her hair in the same way, smoothing it out while helping her maintain her hard-earned curls. Occasionally she would pat her head, as if taking the opportunity to pet her, or perhaps it was just normal grooming. It was just as gentle. Like a mother Lan Cixing had briefly possessed.

Only her own hair dryer wasn’t this good; it was shabby, missing a few pieces, louder than this, and the cord was loose, requiring reconnection every two minutes. Lan Cixing missed the days before she was ten.

The sound of the hair dryer stopped. Rong Yushu’s movements didn’t. Her four fingers parted the hair, separating it into several strands and pressing them to one side, a hair tie held in her mouth. She seemed unskilled, making a mistake once and taking a long time. Lan Cixing sat as obediently as an elementary student, not rushing her, her mind blank.

Until Rong Yushu patted her head. Lan Cixing looked in the mirror. Rong Yushu had given her a ball-shaped bun.

“Thank you…” She couldn’t call her “Sister” or “Mummy,” getting stuck for a moment.

Taking advantage of her daze, Rong Yushu stuck a needle into her gland. Lan Cixing winced in pain but had to maintain her posture until Rong Yushu finished the suppressant shot. The suppressant smelled like white tea mixed with sandalwood.

…It was Rong Yushu’s scent. It tasted very sweet, like the real Rong Yushu. Lan Cixing felt a moment of trance, instinctively feeling she shouldn’t “consume” too much of this suppressant, lest she become addicted.

Rong Yushu was right. She could take suppressants before and after her rut without hurting her body. It was best not to during the process, especially a forced one.

Lan Cixing pursed her lips, not knowing how to thank Rong Yushu. She had helped her too much today, and only she could so easily topple someone like Wei Lan.

“Can I treat you to a meal later?” After Rong Yushu finished applying the patch, Lan Cixing spoke up hesitantly. She had nothing else to give; she was just one person, and Rong Yushu probably didn’t want…

As she spoke, she again didn’t dare look at Rong Yushu, lowering her head in shame.

Rong Yushu laughed. It was a laugh squeezed from her throat, with a heavy animalistic quality, like a real fox demon showing its tail. Lan Cixing watched her secretly from her peripheral vision. She really was likely bewitched by a vixen; even seeing the dangerous red tail, she didn’t feel her life was in danger—she just thought it was beautiful.

“Just a meal…” Rong Yushu stepped closer.

The height difference was about half a head; Lan Cixing could see Rong Yushu’s face even with her head down, so she simply looked away, her eyes blinking wildly. “I don’t have anything else. But I’m truly grateful to you.”

She didn’t know if her feeling was correct. Perhaps Rong Yushu… didn’t hate her. Lan Cixing couldn’t be sure. She was even afraid this was just her own one-sided, ridiculous hope.

“Who says you don’t? Aren’t you right here?” Rong Yushu tapped Lan Cixing’s nose. The bite mark was still there. Very, very faint—only Rong Yushu would recognize it. How cute.

“Huh?” Lan Cixing looked up dazed, not daring to understand her meaning.

“Stupid.” Rong Yushu flicked her. Lan Cixing covered her nose and stepped back. Maybe she should go back to thinking Rong Yushu hated her. It actually hurt…

“A meal is fine. But I decide the time and place.” Rong Yushu leaned in very close. She was clearly a bit shorter, but Lan Cixing always felt she had to look up to her.

Lan Cixing nodded vigorously. The bun Rong Yushu made for her swayed at the back of her head. “Then… should I go first? I still have to go to the security agency. Just send me the time and place.” Lan Cixing saw her things were in the hall. She really was in a hurry, not knowing how her boss would scold her for breaking her appointment today.

“What are you going to the agency for? In such a hurry. I haven’t missed you enough yet, don’t go.” Rong Yushu followed behind her, her voice drifting lazily. It carried a hint of seductive charm, quite improper and not very serious. It made Lan Cixing’s ears itch.

Rong Yushu was a professional actress with vocal training. She dubbed herself in many dramas; whatever tone she wanted, she could achieve effortlessly. Right now, she was using her professional knowledge to tease a “child.” Although Lan Cixing wasn’t that young.

“I, I have a long-term contract…” In this regard, she was as pure as a child, blushing as soon as she was provoked. “It’s been delayed for a long time, and it’s finally going to be signed today.”

Rong Yushu had already moved behind her, almost pressed against her. Lan Cixing froze on the spot, her arms feeling as if their vitality had been sucked away by a demon, unable to move.

“So short of money? Didn’t I just pay you a wage?” Rong Yushu’s face pressed against Lan Cixing’s shoulder. Her breath blew against her ear, carrying a hint of pheromone fragrance that hadn’t yet dispersed. Terrifyingly sweet.

“It was agreed upon beforehand…” Lan Cixing’s heart raced. She felt Rong Yushu wasn’t just normally teasing her to see her make a fool of herself. Her ear was turned red by the woman’s fragrant breath.

Rong Yushu straightened up and took a step back. “Actually, I also have a long-term contract to sign.”

Lan Cixing’s soul was captured; she turned back following the words. “What… what kind is it?” Dazedly, she asked. An incredible guess surfaced in her heart.

“Bodyguard.” Rong Yushu curved her eyes, a green light flashing.

Lan Cixing’s heart skipped a beat. A contract was handed to her.

“I am that employer who was delayed for a month by your boss. You don’t need to go; I don’t want to sign with her anyway.” Rong Yushu brushed back her hair and handed Lan Cixing a pen. “You’re going to be completely mine now, little bodyguard. Sign it?”

It was like the scene of signing the contract before. Rong Yushu still stood by Lan Cixing’s side. But this time, no one should be unwilling.

Lan Cixing quickly flipped through the contract and found the salary column. Rong Yushu hadn’t mistreated her; the price offered this time was very high.

But… Lan Cixing picked up the pen and let it fall toward the contract.

Rong Yushu narrowed her eyes.

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