Xu Nanqiao leaned against the opposite wall, face flushed red, breaths coming fast and shallow. Even her posture looked limp.
Su Mi blinked, then remembered: right after smashing the tray, Gu Wan had sprayed something from that mystery bottle. Her smash had hit the nozzle… and it seemed pointed more toward Xu Nanqiao.
—Damn it.
Not that kind of drug, was it?
Su Mi rushed over and touched Xu Nanqiao’s cheek. Burning hot.
Unlike Su Mi, Xu Nanqiao had no Barrier Patch or Barrier Earring to block pheromones. She had taken the full hit.
Su Mi swallowed hard, nerves jangling. What now?
Best option: like the first time she heroically saved Xu Nanqiao—drive her straight to the hospital.
Outside was a riot; sounded like fists were flying now. Getting to the hospital meant helping Xu Nanqiao downstairs and out to the parking garage.
You got this, Su Mi!
She psyched herself up and tried hauling Xu Nanqiao to her feet.
No dice.
The escape must have drained every ounce of her strength. Her legs buckled now, nearly dropping Xu Nanqiao flat.
The fight raged on outside. Gu Yansheng had jumped in too—no help coming.
What to do, what to do, what to do.
Su Mi could barely stand herself. She gave up. She wasn’t cut out to be the hero saving the beauty.
From a task standpoint… from Xu Nanqiao’s love interest’s standpoint…
Su Mi eyed Xu Nanqiao, who was on the verge of moaning. She bit her lip, opened her Light Brain, and—with speed like she feared she’d back out—sent her location to Shen Han.
Fine. Fine.
Shen Han didn’t reply right away. Su Mi squeezed her eyes shut and hammered out a message: Xu Nanqiao in danger! Hurry!
Moments later, a new notification popped up on Guangxun.
Shen Han: Don’t be scared. On my way.
Su Mi pressed her lips tight.
She hated how jealous she felt. The dark emotion coiled like vile vines around her heart, squeezing until it ached.
Dodging the feeling, Su Mi snapped her Light Brain shut. She slumped against the railing on the opposite side, taking deep breaths.
The door rattled with ongoing brawls, punctuated by shouts of “Security! Over here!”
In the dim light, time dragged and flew at once. Su Mi felt consciousness slipping.
It might as well have been a century when the noise outside cut off abruptly.
Bang.
The stairwell door flew open with a savage kick.
Su Mi’s eyes fluttered open in a haze. Distant lights smeared into a dreamy glow. A tall silhouette backlit in the center bounded up the stairs in three strides, right to her.
Who…?
Su Mi fought to focus through the fog and finally made it out.
Shen Han.
She couldn’t make out the urgency cracking Shen Han’s usual icy composure. Everything blurred together—except the cold, enveloping fragrance washing over her.
Su Mi dazedly licked her lips, mustering an obedient smile for Shen Han.
A faint sigh reached her ears. “Idiot.”
Then her body lifted off the ground. Someone scooped her up, carrying her step by step down the stairs.
Passing one spot snapped her partly awake.
Thoughts trickling back, she frantically peered around—seeing nothing clearly—and stammered, “Sis-sister…”
“It’s me. I’m right here.” Shen Han’s voice came soft.
Su Mi clung to the one thought, forcing out the words: “Sister, Nan-Nanqiao… she’s lying over there…”
Shen Han went quiet for a beat. “She’s on her way to the hospital.”
Ah… hospital?
Su Mi’s mind muddled. Hospital was good. Hero save accomplished, at least.
But her… was she just tired? Headed to the hospital too?
Tired meant sleep would fix it…
Eyes drifting shut, she melted into the icy embrace—so comforting. She wanted closer, closer, closer.
Su Mi nuzzled in unconsciously, puppy-like, cheek rubbing tight against it. She curled up small, aching to burrow right inside.
Shen Han’s scent was heavenly. Su Mi kept rubbing her head against it.
The steady footsteps hitched for a second.
Then veered off.
Shen Han carried Su Mi into an empty private room.
It was spotless inside—the whole bar gleamed clean these days. Shen Han scanned the space, shifted to one-armed hold, shrugged off her trench coat, and spread it flat on the sofa.
Then she laid Su Mi down.
In her line of sight, Su Mi lay flushed crimson, curled like a cooked shrimp atop the coat. Her nose pressed to the fabric soaked in Shen Han’s scent, breaths coming in faint, seductive pants.
A suppressed, whisper-thin grass-and-wood fragrance wafted from her—dilute, but lethally magnetic to Shen Han.
So familiar. And now Shen Han knew exactly why.
Her tongue grazed her sharp canines. Shen Han’s hand drifted to her Neck Ring.
Cool fingertips tugged the leather band. She frowned, then pivoted toward the corner restroom.
“…Mmm.”
The vital source of soothing scent vanished. Su Mi’s wits sharpened a fraction.
Head lolling back, she caught Shen Han’s retreating back.
In that instant, Su Mi clamped down hard on her lower lip. Tears spilled over.
The Susceptible Period’s haze kept her from grasping why she cried—but it fueled endless sobs toward the departing Alpha.
Just as Su Mi thought her tears would run dry, Shen Han returned.
Su Mi’s messy weeping cut off. She sniffled, staring blankly up at her favorite Alpha.
Under her puzzled gaze, Shen Han pulled out a handkerchief and meticulously wiped the water from her hands. Then she bent down, scooped Su Mi into a face-to-face embrace, and settled onto the sofa.
Su Mi’s eyes and nose burned red from crying. She hiccuped in a daze, staring at Shen Han inches away—at her own reflection in those ice-blue, glassy eyes under the dim light. She didn’t dare twitch.
Shen Han touched her nose. Softly: “Little liar. You idiot? Crying like this.”
She got scolded.
Su Mi’s lip quivered. Fresh tears tumbled down amid sniffles. “I hate you.”
“Hating me again?” Shen Han sighed helplessly. She leaned in, tenderly kissing the tears from Su Mi’s cheeks. Her gaze locked on. “You like me.”
Su Mi shook her head. Wisps of crisp grass-and-wood scent wove around Shen Han, nearly strangling her—but she stubbornly insisted: “I don’t like you.”
Shen Han said, “From start to finish, you’ve only ever liked me. Only kissed me. Only wanted to date me. Only secretly let me give you a Temporary Mark. Right?”
Su Mi shook her head again, refusing to budge. “No. I like someone. The one I like is a big idiot.”
Shen Han tilted her head. Warm, freshly washed fingers toyed with her earlobe, brushing the Barrier Earring that blocked pheromones before letting go.
She wrapped an arm around Su Mi’s waist, hummed thoughtfully, met her eyes dead-on, and said frankly, “I’m the big idiot.”
Su Mi looked at the woman’s beautiful features in front of her. Her waist went soft from the touch, and she swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She vaguely recalled that a long time ago, she had been this close to a similar face—it was the person she liked.
She stammered, “Okay… then I like you.”
The rare warm fingers followed these words, slipping under her clothes like a swimming fish.
Su Mi let out a soft “ah,” short and sharp like a cat’s meow.
A cool yet gentle pheromone scent enveloped her, but the soothing touch inside was so warm it made her want to moan.
In a daze, she remembered when they lived together, Shen Han had taken her to learn how to care for the delicate variety of white roses.
The rose petals were fragile, the stamens especially sensitive, both requiring meticulous care. Shen Han always woke up earlier than her. Every morning when tending to the roses, she would mist water on the petals.
That way, every morning when Su Mi admired the petals, she could see the dense layers of water droplets on the pure white petals, soaking them until they reached the stamens—the freshest, most tender new roses.
Su Mi’s breathing trembled. Her vision blurred again and again as she recalled propping her cheek on her hand while watching Shen Han tend to the petals. Shen Han would lift a white rose for her to see, her slender fingers pinching the petal, brushing off the water droplets—or her fingers got wet too—as they deftly threaded through the leaves, inviting her to admire the beautiful rose.
She didn’t know how much time passed. Unknowingly, Su Mi relived the scene of Shen Han teaching her to care for the roses twice. She only remembered those fresh, dewy rose leaves and petals from the morning, trembling lightly under the warm sunlight.
Exhausted, she slumped onto Shen Han’s shoulder and let out a soft hum. The aftershocks hadn’t faded yet. Shen Han still held her, the hand that had been inside now wrapped around her waist, the other gently patting her back.
Once the trembling stopped, Su Mi slowly came back to her senses from the intense stimulation. Her susceptible period ended with satisfaction, and her rationality returned.
“…”
She—she just…
Su Mi’s face still flushed pink from it all. She dazedly released her bite on Shen Han’s shoulder fabric. The spot she bit was soaked wet, not to mention… she was still sitting on Shen Han’s lap, pressed so tightly together.
This—this…
Was the drug effect that strong? It made her… fall into a brief or atypical susceptible period too.
Did Shen Han realize it was her susceptible period?
Su Mi tried hard to recall what happened before, but she despaired to find she remembered nothing. That overwhelming soothing sensation, like it had washed her soul clean, left her in sage mode, her mind blank.
Aside from some hazy illusions about the argument over who she liked, she also remembered mentioning that Xu Nanqiao was over there.
What did Shen Han say…
She sent—sent her to the hospital.
!!!
So why did she, instead, get held by Shen Han and… that…
Su Mi realized her legs were still straddling Shen Han’s sides. She felt a twinge in the middle and didn’t dare move.
A short laugh came from beside her ear.
Shen Han’s voice carried a husky tone that softened her waist. She said softly, “Someone will come clean up later.”
Su Mi buried her head like an ostrich, face fully red. “…Mm.”
Shen Han asked, “You okay?”
Su Mi: “Mm…”
Shen Han chuckled lightly and asked, “Then I’ll carry you back to the car? They’ve cleared the area outside. No need to worry about being seen.”
Su Mi: “Mm…”
