Chapter 2

◎Let’s Get a Divorce.◎

After she spoke, Liang Shi left the room.

She had no idea whether Xu Qingzhu believed her, but it was the only thing she could say right now that might ease the Omega’s fear.

The body of an Alpha who had not yet bonded with an Omega felt as if it were being seared by flame. A million needles seemed to pierce her most vulnerable points. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down Liang Shi’s forehead and slid along her cheek.

Fearing she might lose control and hurt Xu Qingzhu, she simply went downstairs.

But the moment her foot hit the first step, the sight before her left her stunned.

The original host had just thrown a party at the villa with her friends. The floor was littered with burst balloon fragments, colorful streamers, and spilled red wine, some pooling on the ground and some staining the white sofa. Cream was smeared everywhere, and there was barely a spot on the pale wooden floor where one could set a foot.

A fragment flashed through her mind:

“Go wild. My wife can clean it up later.” The Scumbag Alpha Liang Shi waved a hand dismissively, her long hair falling loose as she grinned with careless ease. “Have fun.”

“Xu Qingzhu?” someone asked in confusion. “Don’t you have servants? Why make Miss Xu clean up?”

“You still think of her as a miss?” A beautiful Beta laughed. “If it weren’t for the Liang family, the Xu family would have gone bankrupt ages ago. Now they’re just some no-name little company.”

Liang Shi merely chuckled.

“Are you jealous she got to marry Liang Shi?” the person beside her taunted.

“Of course,” the Beta admitted readily, then curled her lips. “But Liang Shi’s just playing with her. Once she’s had a taste of Haizhou’s Top Omega, she’ll definitely divorce her. Right, Liang Shi?”

Liang Shi raised her glass and clinked it against hers. “Absolutely.”

The memory cut off.

Liang Shi frowned. She hadn’t fully absorbed the original host’s memories; only a few scattered flashes had surfaced. What she knew amounted to one main storyline from the original novel and a few key characters. Everything else remained a mystery.

She stood there bewildered for a moment before a phone buzzed. The caller ID read: Cheng.

Liang Shi had just arrived in this world and didn’t dare act rashly, so she declined the call.

But the person on the other end was persistent. On the fourth attempt, Liang Shi braced herself and answered, keeping her voice low: “Hello?”

“Hello?” Cheng Ran sounded amused. “Eldest Miss Liang, have you finally been tamed?”

Liang Shi said nothing.

“That’s not like you at all. How long have we been apart?” Cheng Ran laughed lightly. “Haizhou’s Top Omega sure lives up to her reputation. One night together and our Liang family heiress has learned some manners.”

Liang Shi frowned. Her throat was dry and itchy, and she coughed.

She knew who this Cheng was now.

Full name: Cheng Ran. The Alpha youngest granddaughter of the Cheng family under the Huaguang Group. Beautiful, sharp-featured, raised alongside the original host. The two shared everything. She was a party girl too, brilliant at kissing up and kicking down. In the original novel, many of the ideas for abusing Xu Qingzhu had come from her. She’d even taken Xu Qingzhu to shady establishments and traded her like a commodity. Cheng Ran had her fingerprints all over it.

Later, when Xu Qingzhu rose from the ashes and the original host’s gland was gouged out, Cheng Ran had fled overseas at top speed.

Liang Shi’s body was in agonizing pain right now and she had no patience for conversation. She hung up without another word.

Cheng Ran called right back. Liang Shi ignored it again.

Soon, a text message arrived.

【It’s just a little toy. Are you really mad at me?】

Liang Shi sent a question mark back.

【Cheng Ran: Liang Shi, what woman haven’t we shared before? I didn’t even touch Xu Qingzhu this time. You’re not seriously upset, are you? Or… have you actually fallen for her?】

【Liang Shi: …】

【Cheng Ran: Come on, what’s with not picking up? Weren’t going to mark Xu Qingzhu tonight while she’s in heat? Once you do, she’s yours. If you don’t like her, I just won’t touch her. Simple.】

Liang Shi had already extracted the key information from her words. Combined with the fragmented flashes in her mind, she had a rough picture of what had happened.

The original host really was scum.

Liang Shi pocketed the phone, stepped over the debris littering the floor, and hurried to the bathroom. She turned on cold water, splashed her face, and looked up at the mirror.

It was a face identical to her own, but this version was layered in heavy makeup: dark eyeshadow, long false eyelashes casting deep shadows beneath her eyes, deep red lipstick in the 999 shade, chestnut-brown hair falling past her shoulders. She wore a black dress, and a row of tiny rhinestones glinted along the visible line of her collarbone.

It was a completely different style from her usual look.

Liang Shi closed her eyes and reached for the spot behind her ear. The gland was burning hot. Her heart was pounding at twice its normal speed. She pressed a hand to her chest and called emergency services again.

The moment she hung up, the wail of an ambulance echoed from outside.

Liang Shi forced herself upright. Clenching her fists, she climbed the stairs to the master bedroom. The closer she got, the stronger the Omega’s effect on her became. She knocked on the door, cleared her parched throat, and called out in a low voice: “Xu Qingzhu.”

“Go away.” Xu Qingzhu’s voice was strained and anguished, edged with pain.

Liang Shi had already sunk to the floor, leaning against the wall to regulate her breathing. She spoke to Xu Qingzhu in as even a tone as she could manage: “It’s okay. The ambulance is here.”

“Go away.” Xu Qingzhu hurled something at the door, which struck with a heavy bang.

The anguished Omega let out a sound like a hoarse scream, the final lament of a lone wild goose.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, Liang Shi could feel every ounce of that pain as if it were her own.

“Don’t be upset,” Liang Shi said. “I’ll go open the door.”

She dragged herself downstairs on unsteady legs. When she opened the door, the doctors saw her condition and assumed she was the patient. Three or four of them rushed forward to support her, but Liang Shi waved them off immediately. “The patient is upstairs. She’s an Omega in heat. She needs a heavy-fragrance suppressant.”

As times had changed, Omega suppressants had diversified into many types, injectable and oral, each with different methods and effects.

What Xu Qingzhu needed was the strongest kind.

The more beautiful the Omega, the harder the heat period was to endure. Only the most potent suppressant could bring it under control.

The nurses asked worriedly, “Are you really all right? You look…”

“I’m fine.” Liang Shi shook her head, urgency spilling through her words. “She’s upstairs. Please, go help her first.”

“Don’t you need a suppressant yourself?” one of the nurses asked.

“Take care of her first. Don’t worry about me.” Liang Shi could feel her body being steadily drained, her energy nearly spent.

The nurses rushed upstairs. On the second floor, they paused at the sight of the wreckage strewn everywhere, their brows furrowing, but they quickly composed themselves and continued up to knock on the door. “Hello, we’re nurses from Haizhou City First People’s Hospital. May we come in?”

Inside the room, Xu Qingzhu had given up all hope on Liang Shi.

She still assumed this was some trick of the Alpha’s, and shouted toward the door: “Liang Shi, stop putting on a show.”

As if Liang Shi would actually call a doctor for her?

“Right now, heavy-fragrance suppressants are in short supply. We need to get you to the hospital as quickly as possible,” the nurse said from outside. “Forgive us. We’re coming in.”

The door swung open. In the dim room, the Omega lay on the bed. The rich, heady aroma of Omega pheromones briefly disoriented everyone.

They looked over. The Omega on the bed had a cool, ethereal bearing and a striking beauty. Though her eyes were glazed with haze, they remained clear and luminous.

An Omega of almost unmatched quality.

“Hurry!” someone snapped back to their senses. “The pheromone concentration in this room is dangerously high. Contact the hospital immediately. Prepare the scarcest heavy-fragrance suppressant and arrange a room at once.”

Xu Qingzhu was stunned. She hadn’t expected Liang Shi to actually bring doctors.

Had the Alpha changed tactics?

But regardless, Xu Qingzhu had made up her mind to divorce Liang Shi.

She refused to live with someone so volatile and unpredictable. It was terrifying.

Hiding every suppressant in the house while an Omega was in heat, that was practically a death sentence.

Having steeled her resolve, Xu Qingzhu spotted Liang Shi on her way downstairs.

Her long hair was damp, her dress clinging to her slender frame. That thick nightclub-style makeup looked wild and wanton, but her expression was dead serious, her forehead beaded with sweat.

This was a Liang Shi utterly unlike the one she knew.

But Xu Qingzhu had no energy to dwell on it. As she passed Liang Shi, she said flatly: “Let’s get a divorce.”

Liang Shi’s brow creased, but then she acted as though she hadn’t heard a word and instructed the nurses: “Make sure she gets the suppressant.”

Tears slipped down Xu Qingzhu’s face. She turned her head away. “You don’t need to pretend.”

Liang Shi pressed her lips together and smiled bitterly. She knew nothing she said would change Xu Qingzhu’s mind, but at least she could keep a clear conscience.

She looked at the nurses, sincerity in her eyes, and said: “Please, make sure she’s okay.”

The words left her lips, and the world went black. She collapsed to the floor.

She had fainted.