After an Alluring Alpha Provokes an Unhinged Omega 3

Chapter 3: Glands

Jiang Mi stood frozen on the spot. Her eyes, her breath, her pores, even every strand of her hair felt only one word—”danger.”

This danger stemmed from the silence and indifference on the Omega’s face, from those calm, unhurried eyes that were boring into her.

Just how powerful must a person be to remain so composed while injecting a suppressor, especially when exposed in front of an Alpha?

Or did she, this Alpha, just look too weak?

Jiang Mi watched as Yan Wei expressionlessly pulled out the needle and skillfully tossed it into the trash can. The white satin pajamas outlined her perfectly slender arms with the movement.

She smelled that slightly sweet, dizzying scent of brandy again, and her glands throbbed for an instant.

Jiang Mi lowered her gaze, her damp hair serving as a flimsy shield for her face. “I’m sorry. I saw the door open suddenly, and I thought… I just wanted to say hello.”

By now, Yan Wei’s gaze had already left her, but the pressure on her shoulders hadn’t lessened in the slightest. Only a faint breeze occasionally carried that scorching scent into her breath.

Her throat was dry. She swallowed.

Inside and outside the room, it was so quiet that even the sound of the wind was inaudible. It seemed as if they were the only two people in the house.

A few seconds passed in the silence.

“Jiang Mi.”

Yan Wei spoke. “I hope this is the last time we meet.”

Jiang Mi looked up and saw the woman’s beautifully smooth profile, her slender neck, and her straight, thin shoulders. She wasn’t looking at her when she said it. That indifference was completely different from what she’d seen on TV; it was more real.

A feeling of devastation spread through her like the yolk of a soft-boiled egg breaking in a pan. This was the person she had admired and looked up to for so long, the person she had longed to meet.

She felt like she should cry; it was certainly a moment worthy of tears… but in the end, it was just like salty seawater washing over her pores. There was no pain, just a stuffy, slightly prickly sensation.

The heat brought on by the brandy was gradually subsiding.

She considered the practicalities and replied, “I’m afraid that might be a little difficult… but I’ll do my best.”

On second thought, could she at least get an autograph first?

Jiang Mi quickly returned to her room, locked the door, and flopped onto the bed. Realizing her hair was still wet, she got up again, threw her jacket over the bed, and “smashed” her head back down. The feeling of disappointment was hard to shake. Jiang Mi opened Weibo, went to the hot search list, and her gaze froze.

Number one on the list—Spring might become a restricted film?

Number two—Yan Wei talks about starring in Spring.

Normally, Jiang Mi would have eagerly clicked to read the full stories, but not today. After a two-second pause, she went back and opened her WeChat conversations.

Without her bantering with Zhou Shanshan, the four-person group chat wasn’t usually very active.

She quickly scrolled up.

Shanshan: [What do you mean, a typo?]

Shanshan: [Hey, where’d you go? You tease and then you run!]

Shanshan: [You’re so mean, so heartless, so cold…]

apple: [Maybe she’s working?]

Shanshan: [apple, are you still filming in Jincheng? I’m so bored. Can I come visit you on set?]

…

Jiang Mi replied: [Didn’t run, had something to do.]

Zhou Shanshan’s internet speed was astonishingly fast: [What was it?]

As usual, her good friend wasn’t genuinely curious about what was going on; she was just bored and could chat about anything.

Jiang Mi: [Contemplating life.]

Shanshan: [?]

Jiang Mi: [Give up. You’ll never reach my level of philosophical thought.]

Shanshan: […It’s over. The wig was toxic. It’s damaged your brain.]

Jiang Mi brandished a knife: [DON’T MENTION THE WIG!!!]

She typed the three exclamation marks with force and let out a long breath. She actually felt a little better.

Just then, she remembered Mo Yun mentioning that the lock on the study door was broken and hadn’t been fixed yet…

The door had opened on its own because it was broken. She hadn’t seen it on purpose. If there was a problem, it was her own damn curiosity and the fact that she shouldn’t have been thinking about saying some stupid hello so late at night.

Of course, the most important thing was to blame that door.

Her phone vibrated. It was a private message from apple: [Mimi, are you okay?]

apple was perceptive; she could tell something was wrong from just a few words. Jiang Mi said she was fine, but what had just happened was a real blow to her.

Today, she had been disliked by the distant, unattainable lighthouse she looked up to, and she would no longer have the neighbor-sister from her childhood.

She opened NetEase Cloud Music and saw that the top recommendation of the day was Karen Mok’s “Cloudy Day.”

Sure enough, Xiao Yun still understands me best.

Jiang Mi lowered the volume, played the music, rolled over, and lay flat on her back, limbs spread out.

She hummed along sadly with the music, “On a cloudy day, don’t carelessly turn on the lights in the room, let all the doors that suddenly opened close again…”

**

The study door was closed again, a chair wedged firmly behind it.

Yan Wei’s eyes were closed. There was a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead. The soft baby hairs at her hairline, unlike their owner’s stern demeanor, were pressed softly into the sweat. After an unknown amount of time, the suppressor finally took effect, and she slowly recovered from the physiological reaction.

Her heats had always been irregular; sometimes they would come two or three times a month. But this time was even more absurd, because it had only been three days since her last one.

Jiang Mi.

She repeated the name silently in her mind.

At the same time, she analyzed the situation calmly. Was it because of their compatibility? Was her body reacting because her pheromones were momentarily stimulated?

Yan Wei undid the top two buttons of her pajama top. A cool breeze blew in through the window screen. She leaned her head back against the chair, the smooth curve of her jawline and collarbone extending into the open collar of her shirt.

An image suddenly surfaced in her mind: at the door, red lips parting and closing beneath damp, choppy hair, teeth white. The Alpha in the pink dress, the collar of her dress soaked through, blurring the skin tone underneath, her whole being exuding a moist, clean aura.

She didn’t know if this person was deliberately trying to seduce her, or if she was just ignorant.

She could almost smell that milky scent again.

Yan Wei’s eyes suddenly narrowed. A layer of irritation and impatience rose over the calmness in their depths.

It would be best if this was truly the last time they met.

Jiang Mi had trouble falling asleep. She glanced at her watch; it was already midnight.

She really couldn’t sleep, so she took out the partial script Zhao Jia had gotten for her and started writing a character biography. When she got to the second female lead, she became even more awake.

The lines of the second female lead from Spring filled her mind, one after another. She wrote and murmured them under her breath.

“You say you love me, but what part of me do you love? Do you love me as a person? Do you love my rough hands, or my soft tongue…”

Jiang Mi bit the tip of her tongue after saying the line.

This part was a conversation between the second female lead and the first female lead. It was hard to imagine what Yan Wei would sound like saying the opposing lines.

【What part of me do I love? Why don’t you try and find out?】

“…”

Jiang Mi was inexplicably reminded of the image of Yan Wei tilting her head back, revealing her pale neck. Her tongue hurt even more.

No wonder netizens were calling it an R-18 film. Most of the lines were sharp and explicit.

But overall, it was a story filled with tragedy. Jiang Qu was best at using extreme methods to express her emotions.

She wondered who would be lucky enough to be Yan Wei’s second female lead.

It wouldn’t just be an impact; it would be a spiritual earthquake.

Unfortunately, that person would not be her.

Jiang Mi didn’t get to bed until two in the morning, but she still woke up early the next day.

Early in the morning, after washing up, Jiang Mi went to the living room and saw Mo Yun already busy in the kitchen. She went over to offer help but was stopped by Mo Yun.

“Go sit down. The steamed dumplings will be ready in a minute.”

Before coming out, Jiang Mi had glanced at the closed study door. Now, seeing only two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table, she hesitated and asked, “Auntie… where’s Teacher Yan?”

“What Teacher Yan? Didn’t you used to call her ‘sister’? Why did you stop?” Mo Yun teased with a smile. “Feeling distant now? It’s alright. I asked your mom, and you’ll be in Huai City for a while. If it’s not convenient to stay here, just come over often. Auntie will cook for you.”

Jiang Mi responded to the latter part, saying okay.

Mo Yun’s voice came from the kitchen, “I didn’t stay here last night, so I don’t know when she left. I just sent her a message, and she said she had work this morning. She probably left before dawn again.”

No wonder it was so quiet last night. So it was really just me and Yan Wei in the house? Jiang Mi didn’t dwell on the strangeness of it, but simply mulled over her words and replied, “…Okay.”

The phrase “I hope this is the last time we meet” echoed clearly in her ears.

Sure enough, she’s completely fed up with me.

Jiang Mi, oh Jiang Mi, you’re probably the only fan in existence who’s managed to chase her idol away before dawn.

With that kind of ability, you’ll succeed at anything you do!

**

Zhao Jia came to pick her up. On the way, she watched Jiang Mi alternate between laughing and crying, sneering, and laughing self-deprecatingly. She asked, mystified, “What’s wrong with you? Weren’t you going to see your sister yesterday? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

Jiang Mi, with dark circles under her eyes, let out two dry “hehs.”

She’d rather have seen a ghost, she thought.

After a moment, Zhao Jia asked again, “Does your sister need my help with anything? Just say the word, don’t be afraid to ask.”

Jiang Mi remembered her own boastful words from yesterday and said serenely, “It’s fine, no need to trouble you. I won’t be able to trouble her for the rest of my life.”

“?”

Zhao Jia had no idea what had gotten into her. She handed her a water bottle and said, “Mimi, we’re heading back to the company branch first. President Li is here for an inspection.”

Jiang Mi leaned against the seat, sipping her water.

Before long, she saw the LED screen on the shopping mall again. This time, the woman on the screen overlapped with the real image in her mind.

The difference was, that coldness had now become tangible in her heart.

“If I start working hard from today, do you think I can reach Yan Wei’s position?”

“Of course you can,” Zhao Jia said without hesitation. In truth, Jiang Mi was very serious about her work, just too uncompetitive. But if she really had that kind of ambition, what couldn’t she succeed at? She could succeed at anything!

Zhao Jia turned her head and instructed, “When you see President Li later, show her this same determination. Say a few nice things so she doesn’t say you have no work… though when there is a good role, she’s biased and lets others snatch it away. Why doesn’t she reflect on herself?”

As she spoke, Zhao Jia started cursing out this wretched company herself.

Forty minutes later, they arrived at the company building.

Jiang Mi had been signed with “Huadian Entertainment” for three years. The subsidiary was a bit smaller but still looked magnificent.

The entrance was adorned with photos of stars since its establishment. The corridor featured senior veterans and currently popular artists. Of course, Jiang Mi was not among them.

Zhao Jia was called in first. Jiang Mi sat on the sofa in the reception area, crossing her legs and sipping tea. She never liked dealing with these executives anyway and was happy to be left alone.

After a short wait, she heard arguing from inside.

“Do you not know what Jiang Mi’s situation is right now? You think her popularity can carry a second female lead role?!” a woman’s voice slammed the table.

“But she earned this opportunity herself! The director even approved of Jiang Mi; it was practically a done deal. Besides, Qin Yao is still filming another drama, and she’s going to snatch Jiang Mi’s role?! How many times has this happened? On what grounds?”

She had already arranged the schedule. If the audition for Spring was successful, filming wouldn’t start for another three months. The director of Sunset had met Jiang Mi last time and confirmed her for the second female lead. It was a long-form production, and casting would take several months, so they could have transitioned perfectly. This was one of the few second female lead roles Jiang Mi had gotten.

If she could land the role in Spring, it would be a huge boost for Jiang Mi, allowing her to constantly be in the public eye!

“Watch your attitude! Qin Yao’s drama has already wrapped. The company made this decision after careful consideration. In short, the second female lead in Sunset is now Qin Yao’s. I’m just informing you. Your job is to manage your artist’s expectations.”

President Li glanced at the red-eyed Zhao Jia. “Don’t be resentful. Qin Yao can bring funding to the production. Can Jiang Mi? Besides, Jiang Mi’s current online influence can’t compare to Qin Yao’s. The production team naturally has to consider that.”

At this, Zhao Jia understood everything.

Her eyes held only disappointment and chill. “We’re all from the same company. To snatch a role so openly, you think this is okay?”

“Jiang Mi will receive some compensation at the end of the year. Besides, what she should be thinking about now is whether she can pass the audition for Spring.”

Zhao Jia angrily opened the office door and met Jiang Mi’s gaze.

Neither of them spoke until they were in the elevator.

Jiang Mi asked, “Is it always like this when you meet her alone?”

“These capitalists are used to not treating people like people. They only listen to you when you have value.”

Jiang Mi fell silent. After leaving the building, she looked up at the vast, clear sky.

“You’re right.”

Whether or not this was the last time they would meet was not something anyone but herself could decide.

Who could guarantee that one day in the future, they wouldn’t meet at the top?

***

Author’s Notes

Weiwei: She’s dogging me.