Chapter 57: “The Most Effective Method is Still a Proper Marking.”
When their eyes met, there was a smile in the corners of Ming Fei’s eyes.
But hearing Zhu Yiqiao’s question, confusion appeared in Ming Fei’s eyes. Soon, a little question mark popped up above her head.
She replied, “Yes, it was in an old warehouse.”
Only the two of them remained in the master bedroom on the second floor. The perceptive Dr. Tang had already left when Zhu Yiqiao spoke. Ming Fei felt it was strange to be half-lying down like this and was about to get out of bed when Zhu Yiqiao, a few steps away, immediately came over and stopped her.
“Rest a little longer,” Zhu Yiqiao said, seemingly calmly. “You’re still very weak.”
Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the gland pain, Ming Fei did feel weak and limp, as if walking on clouds.
“Jiejie, how long did I sleep?”
Zhu Yiqiao: “One day.”
Ming Fei was stunned: “Then what about Zaozao? Does she know?”
“I know you don’t want her to worry, so I sent her to Min Man’s house as soon as you fainted.” Zhu Yiqiao explained, “Don’t worry, she’s safe and happy at Min Man’s. Min Man’s family likes her very much and has always wanted to have her over for a few days.”
Hearing this, Ming Fei’s worried heart finally settled down.
Last time, Ming Zaozao had stayed at Min Man’s house for almost a week, gaining two kilograms when she came back. She knew how good Zhu Yiqiao’s two friends were to Ming Zaozao, and that Ming Zaozao also liked these two aunties very much, so she wasn’t worried.
The confusion lingering in her heart was actually caused by Zhu Yiqiao.
How did Zhu Yiqiao know… it was in an old warehouse?
She was certain that she had never talked about this with anyone before, not even mentioning it when she was drunk.
All the speculation pointed to one answer.
Just before the snowflakes on the windowsill melted, an inexplicable premonition arose, a very strong premonition, as if reminding Ming Fei that if she faced the answer, her relationship with the person in front of her might deviate from the trajectory she had initially envisioned.
She couldn’t ignore this premonition, but she wanted to know the answer even more.
So, when Zhu Yiqiao brought over the pheromone bracelet from the bedside table, she blinked, breaking the strange silence.
“How did Jiejie know it was in an old warehouse?”
Zhu Yiqiao’s fingertips slowly closed, silently helping Ming Fei put on the bracelet. As the clasp closed, her fingertip brushed against the scar on Ming Fei’s wrist, lingering for a moment before leaving.
“Jiejie…”
Ming Fei’s voice abruptly stopped. This was the first time she had seen Zhu Yiqiao… hesitate to speak.
It was strange.
The phrase “hesitate to speak” would actually be associated with Chief Judge Zhu, always powerful and decisive.
She didn’t speak anymore, waiting quietly, like a Blue Fia lily in the garden, blooming alone in a corner, not competing with others, quietly blooming in the early morning or at dusk.
The sky outside the window was hazy, a few rays of sunlight streaming across the sky. As the early winter sunset illuminated the budding Blue Fia lilies, Zhu Yiqiao’s hesitation broke.
“…Ming Fei.”
“Mm.” Ming Fei’s voice was still a little hoarse. “What’s wrong, Jiejie?”
Zhu Yiqiao looked into her eyes: “That warehouse was in the western suburbs, right?”
“Right.”
At this point, the answer was obvious.
Ming Fei thought, she seemed to understand Zhu Yiqiao’s hesitation.
However, to confirm one thing, she still asked one last question.
“Load the bullet, aim at the target, and then pull the trigger. Were these the words Jiejie said to me at that time?”
After a moment of silence, Zhu Yiqiao opened her lips and replied, “It was me.”
Her eyes were like a frozen sea, the ice on the surface gradually shattering, like the early winter in the Independent State of Yi Meng.
Winter was very cold, this was a fact recognized by the citizens of Yi Meng. Every year, when autumn turned to winter in Xi He City, the remote Taoqiu Village on the border had already entered a long, snowy winter.
The place Ming Fei first transmigrated to was the isolated Taoqiu Village.
Because of its special geographical location, sparse population, and ancient, dilapidated state, Taoqiu Village was the poorest village in the Independent State of Yi Meng eight years ago. Ming Fei, upon arriving, had been taken in by a white-haired grandma.
Grandma Jing had a kind face and was benevolent to others. She would ask her neighbors to buy her fleece socks, vests, sweaters, cotton-padded jackets, and so on, and would look at Ming Fei with heartache when her gland hurt.
During Ming Fei’s first week at Grandma Jing’s house, Grandma Jing smiled kindly and called her Xiao Fei, saying that her future life would be like jade. In the second week, her gland no longer hurt, and Grandma Jing told her many stories about this world. She ate soft roasted sweet potatoes, glutinous rice balls sprinkled with brown sugar powder, and delicious crispy peach cakes.
In the third week, Grandma Jing passed away without warning.
She died peacefully in her sleep. Although Grandma Jing’s life had been hard, she had been healthy and hadn’t suffered from any illnesses.
Therefore, after the week of being tormented by gland pain, Grandma Jing had asked her with heartache, why was she injured?
—Why?
—Because of fate, because of her own willingness.
Before transmigrating, she was only seventeen. After being abandoned by her third adoptive parents, she spent all her time studying. In her opinion, studying was a stress reliever and a source of happiness.
Due to her excellent grades, she was exceptionally admitted to Lai University in the capital. Lai University was the best university in the Ole Empire. Due to the special requirements of the Ole Empire’s royal family, Lai University had never before admitted a student from the remote border who hadn’t fully differentiated yet.
The moment she received the acceptance letter from Lai University, she was overjoyed, even humming a tune on her way back to the orphanage.
No one was around, and the road back to the orphanage was very remote. Except for the sound of the wind, there was only her faint humming. But because of her shyness, she only hummed for a short distance. After turning onto the next road on her bicycle, she stopped humming.
As she passed by the lake, it suddenly started raining.
She opened the umbrella attached to the front of her bicycle and turned onto a little-known path. Raindrops pitter-pattered on the umbrella’s surface. As she reached a warehouse, a strange, intermittent sound mixed with the sound of the rain.
Ming Fei stopped and listened carefully for a moment, then she was suddenly startled.
She had a very good memory. After deciphering the short beeps, she realized it was a distress signal.
Ming Fei didn’t hesitate. She first hid and called the police, then, still worried, quietly approached the warehouse. This dilapidated warehouse wasn’t far from the orphanage. Ming Fei had been here when she was a child, she was very familiar with the area, and she knew better than anyone that there was a secret passage in the warehouse.
The secret passage connected the inside and outside, very hidden and safe.
Most importantly, the passage was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass through at a time.
Therefore, when the cries for help from the warehouse became more frequent, after determining that the sound came from the main warehouse, which was at the end of the secret passage, she entered the passage, planning to figure out the situation inside before the negligent border patrol arrived.
When she reached the end of the passage and looked around cautiously, she found that the main warehouse was unguarded. The only guard was asleep for some reason.
A group of people were tied up on the right side of the main warehouse, and a person in military uniform was tied up on the left side. Because the person was wearing a military mask, she couldn’t see their face.
The end of the passage was next to a long pillar on the left. Ming Fei hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand and lightly tapped, creating an echo.
[The police will be here soon.]
The person seemed to understand and tilted their head, replying in the same way.
[It’s too late, you have to leave.]
Ming Fei looked at the people on the right side, among them young children and elderly people who couldn’t defend themselves. After making up her mind, Ming Fei asked the other person again,
[What should I do?]
Soon, the soldier gave instructions.
[We only have two minutes. Come here and help me get the key on the left to unlock the security lock, then leave immediately. I will protect you.]
Ming Fei considered all the risks and the worst-case scenario and followed the instructions.
However—
Just as she was about to unlock the security lock, the mastermind of the criminal gang arrived earlier than they expected.
She was caught.
Amidst the despair and cries of the people, her gland was cut.
As blood continuously flowed from her gland, she was thrown next to the soldier. Later, she pretended to be unconscious, enduring the pain as she unlocked the soldier’s restraints, and when the police arrived, she took the gun the soldier tossed to her.
That was the first time she held and fired a gun. She followed the soldier’s instructions and fired the first bullet.
“Load the bullet, aim at the target, and then pull the trigger.”
The first shot missed.
Looking at the soldier, who had collapsed on the ground, exhausted, she concentrated and fired the second shot.
This time, she hit the mastermind’s right leg, although the shot was off-center.
With the third shot, she hit the mastermind’s left leg.
Just as she was about to fire the fourth shot, she fainted from exhaustion. Until the last moment before losing consciousness, she hadn’t seen the soldier’s face clearly, only remembering that the person was taller than her. Initially, as the soldier shielded her, who was only 172 centimeters tall, at that time, a hoarse voice said,
“Little girl, you did very well.”
The snowy night began.
As the last rays of sunlight faded, snowflakes began to fall.
Hearing Zhu Yiqiao admit to this, Ming Fei’s lips curved upwards, a smile in her almond eyes.
“What a coincidence.”
She said, “So we had already met back then.”
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t speak, just stared at her intently, as if wanting to engrave her appearance in her soul. Heartache, self-blame, and various other emotions surged. Zhu Yiqiao pursed her lips, and turbulent waves rose on the calm surface of the sea.
At first, when she learned that Ming Fei was an alpha and realized that her pheromones were very fond of Ming Fei’s, she wondered, why Ming Fei? Gradually, as Ming Fei revealed more sides of herself under her scrutiny, when she learned that Ming Fei was a supporter of the Mehertaer faction, and even Tree of Mystical Jade, her thoughts shifted from “why” to “it’s actually,” it’s actually… Ming Fei.
Later, when she realized that she was already smitten, she considered everything and wrote down four words on a piece of paper.
—Fortunately, it’s her.
Fortunately, it was Ming Fei, fortunately, everything was Ming Fei.
But now, learning that Ming Fei had been injured during her special mission, she would rather have endured that pain herself, even couldn’t help but question fate, why?
Why Ming Fei?
If Ming Fei hadn’t come to the Ole Empire, she wouldn’t have had anything to do with all this happiness and joy. Because in the Ole Empire, the defective would always be defective. Even if a defective alpha or omega made significant contributions, the royal family wouldn’t be moved, and the government would never make an exception.
While questioning fate, she also felt fortunate because of the smile on Ming Fei’s face, fortunate that Ming Fei had left the Ole Empire, fortunate that they had met in the Independent State of Yi Meng. Moreover, she was grateful to fate for binding them together.
Her pheromones fluctuated along with her emotions.
When she noticed a slight overflow of her pheromones, Ming Fei sensed it even faster, and even gently hugged her after sensing it.
“Sorry, I didn’t ask for Jiejie’s permission beforehand—”
“I’m the one who should be saying sorry.” Zhu Yiqiao interrupted her apology. “I’m sorry, back then, I didn’t—”
Ming Fei covered her lips, stopping the rest of Zhu Yiqiao’s words. Compared to her usual politeness, there was a hint of laughter and relaxation in her voice that she didn’t even notice herself.
“Back then, in the old warehouse, Jiejie protected everyone very well and saved me many times.”
She said softly, “So, don’t blame yourself or apologize. Jiejie didn’t do anything wrong, and all the decisions I made were of my own free will. I couldn’t have left in that situation. The ones who should apologize are those criminals who broke the law.”
Because of her timely appearance during the entire rescue process, all the criminals were caught. Otherwise, the mastermind and several others would have escaped.
Afterwards, Ming Fei received a commendation banner, and all her hospital expenses were reimbursed by the police department. But she never saw the masked soldier again. At that time, she guessed that the soldier must have been seriously injured, and because their identity might be special, they didn’t show up.
Now, reunited by coincidence again, just as Ming Fei was about to ask Zhu Yiqiao about her injuries at the time, the sensor on the security door beeped.
Ming Fei released her hand and distanced herself from Zhu Yiqiao.
The security door slowly opened after receiving the command, and Dr. Tang walked in, carrying a bowl of plain porridge.
She said with a smile, “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I have an urgent matter at home and need to go back. Before leaving, I need to check Miss Ming’s gland one more time.”
Ming Fei smiled: “Thank you, Dr. Tang.”
“You’re welcome, it’s my duty.”
Zhu Yiqiao stood by and watched the entire examination process. When Dr. Tang stepped away from the bed and was about to speak, she coughed unnaturally, as if foreshadowing her next words.
“There’s no problem.”
“However, Miss Ming’s situation is special. This kind of gland pain is unpredictable, and whether it will cause lesions is also unknown.”
She pushed up her glasses: “Actually, the way to alleviate this pain and prevent gland lesions is very simple.”
Ming Fei’s eyes sparkled. In her understanding, “simple” meant feasible.
She asked expectantly, “Dr. Tang, what is this method?”
Meeting Ming Fei’s gaze, Dr. Tang said clearly, “Marking.”
“According to my guess, the Ole Empire probably knew that the child of an alpha or omega with a damaged gland could only be a beta, so in order to maintain the alpha and omega population, they told the public that there was no way to alleviate the pain.”
“It’s important to note that if you use a reverse marking, its effect will be negligible, probably a difference of 1 to 100.”
She meaningfully stopped there.
“—The most effective method is still a proper marking.”
