What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Onset

Shu Qiong followed Xin Xiuyun to the equipment building.

The nighttime temperature drop at the base was significant; the wind whistled against her skin, causing her to instinctively pull her training jacket tighter.

Wait, this jacket…

Her realization of the incorrect sizing came a beat late. Reaching into the pocket, her hand brushed against a tube of Alpha-specific pheromone suppressor and several gland patches.

Isn’t this Yan Xiangyu’s jacket?

Shu Qiong glanced at Xin Xiuyun’s back ahead of her. After a brief thought, she pulled out a suppressor patch, peeled it open, and felt around to stick it onto the back of her neck. Her shadow under the streetlights mirrored her movements. Xin Xiuyun turned around with a smile. “Xiao Qiong… can I call you that?”

Shu Qiong shoved her hands back into her pockets but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she stopped walking. “Student Xin, shall we talk?”

“Oh?” Xin Xiuyun turned fully to face her, smiling brightly. “Won’t that waste the instructor’s time while he’s waiting?”

“Drop the act.” Shu Qiong stared back steadily. “You know perfectly well that’s not true. I’m just curious—why did you pull me aside alone?”

They were already very close to the equipment building. Shu Qiong checked her wrist; the communication bar showed a very poor signal. She tapped the screen to light it up, then discreetly turned it off. Along the way, she had hardly seen anyone—only the surveillance cameras working diligently. At this hour, everyone was concentrated in the training hall or the dorms; the area around the equipment building was silent.

Xin Xiuyun walked closer slowly. “Since we’re already here, let’s find a lounge in the building to talk.”

Shu Qiong didn’t object, but she didn’t give Xin Xiuyun the chance to lead again. She avoided the first-floor lounge, choosing to climb a flight of stairs to a vacant room on the second floor nearest the hallway. It was empty, furnished with a simple sofa and a coffee table—a modest setup.

They sat opposite each other. Shu Qiong folded her hands and looked at the other girl.

Xin Xiuyun spoke first. “I want to apologize for my brother Xin Zhize’s behavior. I’m sorry for the trouble he caused you and your friends, Xiao Qiong.”

“Don’t call me Xiao Qiong.” Shu Qiong frowned, leaning back against the sofa. “We don’t seem to have that kind of close relationship. Furthermore, I thought the matter regarding your brother had already reached a fair and appropriate conclusion.”

The smile on Xin Xiuyun’s face didn’t fade in the slightest. She leaned forward slightly, her body language carrying an aggressive edge that didn’t match her polite words. “That was the school’s disciplinary choice. I don’t want you to remain unhappy about his offense, Student Shu. To that end, I am willing to compensate you on behalf of the Xin family.”

“Compensate?” Shu Qiong found it amusing. “Money? Or networking resources with the Xin family? Besides, I don’t believe you hold the authority to make such promises.”

“If you need them, they can be provided.” Xin Xiuyun didn’t mind the sarcasm. “Or perhaps you want something else? As long as you name it, I can satisfy you.” Her smile was suggestive, her gaze scanning Shu Qiong’s neck with tangible intent.

She had noticed Shu Qiong applying the suppressor patch earlier. At this distance, Xin Xiuyun could even catch a hint of tea scent—undoubtedly the smell of Alpha pheromones. Normally, an Alpha wouldn’t leak such a high level of pheromones during daily activities unless they were in or approaching their rut.

Shu Qiong was silent for a moment. Does she think I’m in my rut?

Xin Xiuyun looked at her complex expression with an air of understanding. “Student Shu, a rut is quite uncomfortable, isn’t it? I can…”

Shu Qiong interrupted her flatly. “No need.” Her nose twitched. She suddenly stood up, her face darkening. “You’d better behave yourself.”

Xin Xiuyun stood up as well, her smile widening as she spread her arms as if inviting a hug. “The method doesn’t matter as much as the result, right?”

As the words fell, a massive, unfamiliar surge of Omega pheromones instantly flooded the room. Shu Qiong was incredibly sensitive; she snapped her head up and saw Xin Xiuyun’s face flushing red as she walked toward her.

Xin Xiuyun was satisfied to see Shu Qiong’s face turn a visible, bright red. She was certain that Omega pheromones were an irresistible temptation for an Alpha in a danger period—a lethal seduction. She wanted Shu Qiong to “voluntarily” mark her. Shu Qiong’s background and talent were things she was determined to possess. Sacrificing herself for her brother? Laughable—that was just a surface-level excuse. Xin Zhize was a fool who was useless for anything other than pleasing their parents with empty flattery.

Xin Xiuyun used to despise her Omega mother’s tactics, but now she felt they were perfectly acceptable because they were effective. She turned around voluntarily, exposing her white neck and leaving her gland defenseless before Shu Qiong.

The small lounge was now filled with a cloying, sickly sweet cream scent, as if ten cream cakes had been overturned at once.

However, the expected sensation of being marked never came. Instead, Xin Xiuyun let out a muffled groan and stumbled forward as a dull, violent pain exploded in her back.

Clang!

She scrambled to grab the corner of the coffee table to stop herself from falling, accidentally knocking a ceramic vase of faux flowers to the ground.

To Xin Xiuyun’s shock, Shu Qiong hadn’t lost control. Her flushed face wasn’t due to arousal or leaking pheromones; it was because she couldn’t breathe. Her airway felt constricted, and her gland burned with a stinging pain and discomfort similar to an allergic reaction.

Her pheromone intolerance had finally flared up with a vengeance.

If Shu Qiong hadn’t applied that suppressor patch earlier to provide a layer of blockage, she wouldn’t even have had a chance to catch her breath. After delivering an unhesitating punch to knock down the now-weakened Xin Xiuyun, Shu Qiong leaned against the wall, gasping for air.

She looked coldly at the other girl. Her breath was weak, but her tone was icy. “I thought you were someone who cared about your reputation.” Having said that, she stumbled to the door and gripped the handle, fleeing the room saturated with Omega pheromones.

Once in the hallway, Shu Qiong could finally take a deep breath. But the discomfort in her throat grew stronger. Frustrated, her fingers trembled as she unbuttoned her collar, accidentally ripping a button off in her struggle. At the same time, she bent over with effort, trying to force every bit of air out of her lungs. Her gland throbbed with a stinging pain, as if ten thousand ants were crawling from her throat down her spine—a gnawing sensation she couldn’t ignore.

She was on the verge of fainting, her mind unable to spare energy for thought, save for one ill-timed idea: Damn, I’m not going to get my hot bath tonight either.

“…”

From the stairs came the sound of “patter patter”—hurried, disorganized footsteps. Shu Qiong looked over with effort, wondering why so many people had come when she had only alerted the doctor.

The figure leading the charge arrived like a violent wind. Once Shu Qiong saw who it was, she finally felt safe enough to collapse into their arms. “You…” her voice was terrifyingly hoarse.

“Don’t talk.” Yan Xiangyu supported her waist, still gasping for air. “Doctor!”

The academy doctor, who arrived right behind with a medical kit, was drenched in sweat. Without even wiping it away, he began emergency treatment on Shu Qiong.

Jin Yan watched the semi-conscious Shu Qiong with extreme tension, thankful that Shu Qiong had warned the doctor about her condition on the starship before arriving at the base. The doctor’s movements were swift but calm. After finishing an injection, he breathed a sigh of relief. “The suppressor patch on her neck was a huge help; it blocked part of the stimulus. Alright, let’s get her to the medical point for an IV. She’ll recover quickly.”

Clang!

The lounge door just a few feet away was pushed open from the inside. Xin Xiuyun, her face an unnatural color, stumbled out while clutching her lower back. “Thank goodness…” she spoke with a terrified, pitiful expression. “Thank goodness you arrived in time. She—Student Shu’s rut just exploded, and she tried to mark me by force!”

However, the statement didn’t have the intended effect. Yan Xiangyu didn’t even give her a glance. She picked Shu Qiong up and walked steadily toward the stairs. The doctor carefully adjusted Yan Xiangyu’s hold on her, casting a look of pity at Xin Xiuyun as he passed, but said nothing before following with his kit.

Only Jin Yan remained, arms crossed, scrutinizing her. “Don’t think everyone is as stupid as that trash brother of yours, and don’t think everyone is as incapable of controlling their urges as your Alpha father.”

Xin Xiuyun bit her lip hard, staring at Jin Yan. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s why I’m saying—don’t think so lowly of others. Don’t act like you’ve already won; your motives were way too obvious and easy to read.” Jin Yan sneered. “Really wanted to climb the Shu family tree, didn’t you? Wanted to replicate your parents’ tactics? Too bad your plan fell through.”

Xin Xiuyun’s face turned between red and white. Her back and waist were still throbbing with pain; it was clear Shu Qiong had been truly angry, as that punch hadn’t been pulled at all. She looked at Jin Yan. “As long as everyone believes Shu Qiong marked me, the truth doesn’t matter.”

Jin Yan looked at her as if she were an idiot and threw out one final line: “Is that so? You’re quite naive, then.”

Jin Yan left, dusting off her clothes as if brushing away something filthy.

When Shu Qiong woke up again, she found herself lying in a strange bed at the medical point. She could smell the distinct scent of medicine. She tried to speak, but her throat was so dry it felt like she had swallowed a pound of cotton, with a lingering sensation of a foreign object stuck there.

Jin Yan was the first to notice her movement. She happily called for the doctor and asked Shu Qiong, “How do you feel? Still uncomfortable?”

Shu Qiong checked her body. The stinging in her gland had mostly subsided, though her limbs felt weak and her head was still foggy. She smiled at Jin Yan and looked toward the water glass.

A hand reached for the glass even faster than Jin Yan’s and handed it to Shu Qiong. It was Chang Xichun, looking worried as she watched Shu Qiong take small sips. “I never expected that Xin Xiuyun to be so bold! How did she dare!”

Shu Qiong took a sip of water, and her throat felt a bit better. She finally spoke. “High risk, high reward. If I hadn’t been cautious enough and didn’t have a special constitution, I might have fallen for it.”

Then again, she had been wary from the start. If she hadn’t wanted to trigger the hidden threat early, she wouldn’t have let the girl lead her to that lounge. The possible actions the girl could take were limited; Shu Qiong had considered the worst-case scenario. Upon leaving the training hall, she had sent a message to the doctor: if she didn’t send another message in half an hour, please come to the equipment building, as there was a chance she would have an episode. The probability was small, but not zero.

The doctor’s response was timely. The only thing Shu Qiong hadn’t expected was Yan Xiangyu’s extraordinary intuition. The group had run into the doctor on the way, and a quick exchange of information had cleared up the situation.

Shu Qiong noticed that most of her teammates were at her bedside. Her eyes darted around.

“Yan Xiangyu just went back. Captain He went with her,” Jin Yan rubbed her nose and said softly. “Now everyone knows you have that condition.”

The “nourishing the stomach” condition (a play on being delicate/sensitive).

“…” Shu Qiong played dumb, trying to ignore the second half of the sentence. “Is she okay?”

Before losing consciousness, she vaguely remembered that Yan Xiangyu’s face looked very grim.