Chapter 25

Shu Qingyou smiled faintly, her fingertip still sliding up and down between Lin Xu’s fingers.

She tilted her neck slightly, pressing her lips to the hollow of Lin Xu’s shoulder, just as she wished, and watched as Lin Xu trembled violently several times.

The enticing sweet fragrance pierced straight to the depths of her soul. Lin Xu drew in a sharp, cold breath and held it, persisting for several seconds that she couldn’t even count.

She really wanted to, but she couldn’t. Lin Xu’s reason and physiology waged a fierce battle.

Like an angel and a devil, both were her.

She was so pathetic, like a pet toyed with in someone else’s palm, even forgetting herself.

“Want…”

Shu Qingyou’s lips quirked, and she blinked.

“No.”

At those words, Lin Xu let out a low whimper, as if she hadn’t eaten her fill.

Hah, just as expected. It was merely repeating the little tricks she used to play with her back then.

“You said you wouldn’t bully me anymore.”

She calmly raised her hand and pushed Lin Xu back.

The force was light, but Lin Xu stumbled back stammering, her back slamming against the wall with a smack. She squeezed out a few words from her mouth: “Mm, no bullying.”

A frost-like coldness settled in Shu Qingyou’s eyes.

“So, don’t say those hypocritical words about being reluctant to part. If you really were, you wouldn’t bully me.”

“Your self-control is nothing special.”

Shu Qingyou turned sideways and headed toward her room.

It hit Lin Xu like a blow to the head. She suffered a total defeat, overwhelmed by the urge to cry and pass out. Reluctantly, she called after her.

“But I haven’t even eaten dinner yet. Are you trying to starve me to death?”

They weren’t far apart. Shu Qingyou turned back, staring at Lin Xu’s face. She pressed her index finger to her lips and nodded with one hundred percent certainty.

“You won’t starve.”

Facts proved Shu Qingyou was absolutely right. Lin Xu wasn’t one for masochism. Unless absolutely necessary, she would find ways to protect herself.

Including her stomach. She pinched her flat belly, which had little fat, annoyed that it would have been better to hug Shu Qingyou’s leg and beg for a good meal.

No, maybe her cooking skills were top-notch and could fill her up. Lin Xu instantly found the energy to strive onward.

She rummaged through the fridge and the cabinets that could store instant food, flipping through everything.

Lin Xu bustled in the kitchen for over half an hour, clanging and banging nonstop.

But Shu Qingyou didn’t hear clearly, and even if she had, it was too late to stop her.

She had just returned to her room and glanced casually at Shu Rong, who was sleeping soundly. She hurriedly grabbed her underwear and rushed to the bathroom.

She brushed her hair behind her ears, pulled down her base layer shirt, and the mirror reflected the unbearable red marks around her gland.

She frowned in reflection. Even if she explained it to outsiders as mosquito bites, they weren’t arranged so densely.

Whether she needed to carry self-defense tools when alone with Lin Xu in the future became another item crossed off her daily checklist.

She tore off the inhibitor patch soaked in Lin Xu’s saliva and marking teeth marks; it was almost wrinkled from the moisture…

She tossed it into the trash bin with her head lowered and touched the still-swollen, fragile gland.

Darkness clouded her eyes.

She licked her dry lips as hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

Shu Qingyou’s gaze lingered on the door handle for a moment before she pressed it down, confirming the lock was secure.

She turned, her fingertips moving lightly as her clothes slipped off piece by piece. Her fair female curves were exposed under the warm light, her waist-length hair covering her soft parts.

The cold air made her muscles tense until the shower’s hot water poured down. Water droplets trailed from her swan-like neck, dripping over her breasts, cleansing the sticky flesh.

Following the flow of water, they reached the dense thicket, and her face gradually flushed red.

It seemed a small swamp had already formed after a long drought.

In the past, during her heat periods, they came stably and on time, once a month without fail. When the reactions weren’t strong, she could skip the suppressant injections and just replace the inhibitor patch.

Even though the marking was washed away and Lin Xu’s traces on her body vanished completely, inside her body, things weren’t as controllable as she thought.

She suddenly recalled a very ironic saying: Her mouth said she despised it, but her body was very honest.

Just like now—her two fingers pressed against the gland’s opening, rubbing neither lightly nor heavily.

Her left hand braced against the damp, cold marble wall. Hot water rushed around her, building up steam, and the bathroom temperature rose quickly.

She kept her head down, bit her lip, glanced at the door, and carefully restrained herself from making a sound.

Lin Xu had been busy for a long time and was very satisfied with her results: a bowl of clear soup noodles sprinkled with a few scallion bits and a poached egg. She happily carried her creation to the dining table and sat down.

She was so hungry that she didn’t even wait for the noodles to cool, clamping a big mouthful with her chopsticks and shoving it into her mouth.

Her eyes instantly widened. What was this? These sweet, bland noodles were some kind of dark cuisine, and they scalded her tongue straight.

She tried another bite, but she couldn’t swallow it.

“What to do…”

Lin Xu frowned bitterly at the large bowl of remaining noodles. Even the egg tasted bitter and bad. Helplessly, she had no choice but to thicken her face and go find Shu Qingyou.

The bathroom was right next to the master bedroom. She thought Shu Qingyou had gone to sleep, but as she approached the bathroom, she heard steady water sounds interspersed with a few unbearable low moans.

Lin Xu’s eyes darted. This was serious—online news reported people fainting in the shower. She’d been washing for almost an hour; what if something happened?

—Bang bang bang!

The knocking was loud, and her voice was even louder.

“Shu-jie! Shu-jie!”

Shu Qingyou, immersed in desire, snapped awake. Her breathing quickened sharply. An Omega’s heat, if not suppressed biologically, took at least three days to subside.

She regretted it; she shouldn’t have opened this floodgate.

Shu Qingyou adjusted her mindset, rinsing her sore spots several times under the water curtain, not daring to touch them with her hands again.

Her fingers trembled as she tore open an inhibitor patch, fumbled to her gland, and pressed it on firmly. The mirror was fogged with water droplets, unclear.

But surely her face was already red like a boiled crab.

She dried her body, took a folded bathrobe from the space-saving aluminum rack in the small compartment, and put it on.

She took two deep breaths.

“What’s the matter?”

Shu Qingyou opened the door. The cold air made goosebumps rise on her exposed skin. As she spoke, she tied the bathrobe sash into a bow.

Warm steam billowed onto Lin Xu’s face. She waved her hand to disperse the mist lingering before her eyes.

Lin Xu had just gone through a kitchen battle; her nose was filled with the eggy, pasty smell. Combined with the wafting bath gel, it diluted Shu Qingyou’s aroused pheromones.

She saw Shu Qingyou looking utterly fatigued, which struck her as strangely off.

But Lin Xu was considerate and comforted her carefully from the doorway.

“Look at you, washing for so long that your face is all red and puffy. Good thing you’re okay; I thought you’d fainted in here.”

Shu Qingyou ignored her stream of nonsense and wanted to shoo Lin Xu away quickly. “I’m fine. Do you need the bathroom?”

Lin Xu fidgeted, scratching the back of her head, still a bit embarrassed.

“No, don’t laugh when I say this, but my noodles kinda failed a bit.” Seeing displeasure in Shu Qingyou’s eyes, Lin Xu waved her hands hurriedly. “Not too bad, the egg is pretty round, but the noodles have a weird taste.”

Shu Qingyou hesitated as she listened to Lin Xu babble on with some unflattering words. Her hair was still dripping, so she wrapped it in a towel and casually twisted it into a simple bun.

“Weird taste? Let me take a look.”