Chapter 22: The Chaebol Heir’s Canary — This Golden Birdcage Was Made Just for You Part 3

Leaving without a word, ignoring her for so long. Now that her heat arrived, she clung to her and played coy. Was she just using her as a tool for relief?

Jiang Qiuyan was lost in her thoughts, gripping Shi Yu’s hands tighter and tighter, not noticing the pain distorting Shi Yu’s expression.

Only when soft sobs reached her did Jiang Qiuyan snap out of it and loosen her grip. She looked down. In the darkness, Shi Yu’s eyes glistened, the only light in the night.

Shi Yu said nothing, fighting hard to hold back tears. And it was precisely this stubbornness that softened Jiang Qiuyan’s heart.

She sighed softly and pulled the little cat into her arms. “Don’t cry, sweet baby. I was wrong.”

Shi Yu sniffled and tilted her head up to kiss her neck. Soft, wet lips pressed against bare skin, her breath scorching.

The omega in her arms was soft and sweet, seeking affection in clumsy ways. The little, inadvertent sounds she made were like hooks, curling and tempting.

Now it was Jiang Qiuyan’s turn to lose control.

Shi Yu felt her lips seized roughly, followed by a kiss that stole her breath, swallowing the air from her mouth step by step, devouring what little reason she had left.

Her mind drifted further into haze. She didn’t even know what she was doing anymore. She just knew it felt good and didn’t want to stop.

When she felt the intrusion, the alpha pheromones surged, dense and overwhelming. Pine scent enveloped her completely, burrowing relentlessly into her gland.

Jiang Qiuyan’s wrist flew, her other hand clamped tight on Shi Yu’s slender waist, wanting to crush her into her own body, to merge completely.

She rested her chin on Shi Yu’s shoulder and bit her ear. “Don’t see other alphas. You’re mine.”

Shi Yu’s mind was too scrambled to understand. She mumbled a response, her voice shattered.

Her gland swelled and ached, flooded with alpha pheromones that intertwined with her own, breeding an even more intense desire that left her utterly lost.

Her already hazy mind was completely overtaken by passion and desire. The long-absent pleasure made her tremble all over. Even as she was overwhelmed by the intense bliss, she craved more…

“I like it… I like it so much…”

Jiang Qiuyan took it as a confession and was ecstatic.

On an autumn night of rain, in a dimly lit room, two bodies overlapped, casting shadows of desire and delirium.

Shi Yu went limp in her arms. Jiang Qiuyan didn’t even give her time to catch her breath before starting anew, repeating those words over and over.

“You’re mine, you’re mine…”

Shi Yu could no longer speak. She responded with kisses, lips meeting lips like kindling to flame. She was consumed completely, not a crumb left.

This intimacy, sparked by Shi Yu’s second heat, bound the long-separated pair together once more. It continued, wild and fierce, through the entire night.

In the second half of the night, Shi Yu had lost all coherence. Each time Jiang Qiuyan sent her to the peak, it was to jolt her awake and keep her conscious. Shi Yu felt she’d shed more tears than sweat. By the end, even making a sound was difficult.

As the sky turned pale, the utterly exhausted omega lay draped over the alpha’s arms, tiny and delicate as a newborn kitten.

Her eyes were half-lidded, pupils rolled back, showing the whites. She could no longer perceive reality.

Jiang Qiuyan was thoroughly satisfied with her handiwork. She pressed her lips to Shi Yu’s ear and asked: “Little Yu, whose are you?”

Shi Yu’s chest heaved, but her breathing was shallow and fragile, as if she’d pass out at the slightest slip. Her eyes rolled slowly but couldn’t focus.

“Sweet baby, tell me whose you are.”

This time, there was impatience and danger in Jiang Qiuyan’s voice.

Shi Yu’s mouth opened in effort. Her voice was hoarse: “Y… yours…”

“Good girl. Such a good baby deserves a reward.”

Jiang Qiuyan’s lips grazed her ear, kissed her cheek and the tip of her nose. When she opened her mouth and bit down on the soft, flushed cheek, her palm once again met slick, slippery warmth.

Shi Yu gasped and arched her neck, her expression caught between ecstasy and agony. The hoarse, broken sounds battered Jiang Qiuyan’s nerves, driving her completely mad.

Those upturned phoenix eyes had lost their alluring charm. They were crimson now, the corners so red they looked ready to bleed. Her amber irises were dark and fathomless, flowing with undisguised desire.

You’re mine. You can only be mine. I won’t even allow another alpha to look at you!

Jiang Qiuyan held Shi Yu tight, her voice laced with obsession: “One more time. I know you can, baby.”

“!!!” Shi Yu shoved her away with all her strength, but before she could crawl half a meter, she was pulled back.

A burning chest pressed against her back. The ragged breathing was frightening…

Shi Yu jolted awake. Her raw throat, aching, swollen eyes, and the soreness in every limb all told her it hadn’t been a dream.

Jiang Qiuyan knew she was here. And she’d come looking for her.

Why had she come? Weren’t they through with each other? Could she have come for Pei Shuyu’s sake?

Her mind was a tangled mess. She couldn’t make sense of anything. The only thing she was clear about was that she’d thrown herself at Jiang Qiuyan, using her as a tool to ease her heat.

Shi Yu reached up and felt her neck. The area around her gland was covered in dense bite marks, tender and itchy to the touch.

She couldn’t remember how those marks had been left. She didn’t know what expression Jiang Qiuyan had worn while making love to her. All she remembered was the soul-shattering ecstasy.

It seemed she’d only cared about her own pleasure.

A flash of Jiang Qiuyan’s frost-cold eyes crossed her mind. Shi Yu flinched and instinctively burrowed under the covers.

Jiang Qiuyan must be furious. She might even take her back and hand her over to Shi Huaixin.

If Jiang Qiuyan had married Pei Shuyu, they were family now. As an outsider, naturally Shi Yu would be made use of to the fullest. Since Jiang Qiuyan knew she was here, taking her back would be a simple matter.

It would please both Shi Huaixin and Pei Shuyu. Two birds with one stone.

The more Shi Yu thought about it, the more she was convinced this was the truth. She hauled her aching body out of bed and frantically packed her things.

She absolutely could not be caught and taken back. Otherwise, all her efforts would be for nothing.

Shi Yu’s head was spinning and her body ached all over. She gritted her teeth and packed, fighting the sting in her nose and eyes, refusing to let a single tear fall.

She was past the age of crying over every setback. Alone, she had to be strong.

Shi Yu set the backpack on the bed, unplugged the charger, grabbed her phone, and strode toward the door.

It was fine. The world was big. There had to be a place for her somewhere.

Standing in the courtyard, Shi Yu took one last look at the place she’d called home for nearly two months, then set off on an unknown journey with a heavy heart.

Where should she go next?

Jiang Qiuyan had eyes and ears everywhere. No matter where she went, it would be hard to avoid being found. But as long as she ran fast enough, Jiang Qiuyan couldn’t catch her.

Besides, even if she wanted to please Pei Shuyu, she probably wouldn’t drop her work to chase her across the country.

Who was she to be worth such effort from a tycoon’s heir? Shi Yu silently mocked herself for overthinking and felt a small measure of relief.

Jiang Qiuyan would go back once she couldn’t find her. Right now, she was just scaring herself, creating anxiety out of nothing.

Shi Yu still planned to go with old-fashioned transportation. The town had a coach to Capital City, over a thousand kilometers away. A true test of endurance.

It was rough on the body, but no ID registration was needed. Even if someone was looking for her, it wouldn’t be easy to find her.

Shi Yu bought a hat and a sun-protection mask, wrapping herself up thoroughly and trying to blend into the crowd.

The earliest departure was in twenty minutes. Shi Yu stood in a corner picking at her hands, each second stretching into eternity.

Finally, the bus was ready to depart. Just as Shi Yu was about to board, she was stopped by several tall, long-legged female betas in black tank tops and tight pants.

Looking at the muscles on their arms, Shi Yu abandoned any thought of forcing her way past and asked meekly: “W-why… why are you stopping me?”

They didn’t say a word, just stood on either side with their hands behind their backs. And not far away, a familiar figure was walking toward her.

How had Jiang Qiuyan gotten here so fast?!

Jiang Qiuyan strolled up to her at an unhurried pace, a frigid smile on her face, veins faintly visible at her temples.

“Running again?”

She was smiling, but Shi Yu was terrified. She took a step back and said with her head down: “I just wanted to live in a different city.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Qiuyan stepped closer, looming over her completely. “Where to? I’ll come with you.”

Only now did Shi Yu muster a little courage. She tilted her head up and looked Jiang Qiuyan squarely in the eyes. The sunlight stung them, and tears rolled from their corners.

“Do you want to take me back and hand me over to Shi Huaixin?”

Seeing her tears, Jiang Qiuyan’s heart wrenched. Her tone softened: “When did I ever say I’d hand you over to Shi Huaixin?”

“Because you married Pei Shuyu and you want to please your father-in-law.”

Jiang Qiuyan: “…”

Speechless. There were too many things to explain, not just one or two.

“Come back with me first. I’ll explain everything slowly.”

“No!”

Shi Yu shook off her hand, distraught: “For the sake of how well-behaved I used to be, just pretend you never saw me. I promise I’ll stay far away from you and Pei Shuyu. I’ll never say anything I shouldn’t to her. Okay?”

She looked up at Jiang Qiuyan with red eyes, begging for her freedom.

“Little Yu, calm down.”

Jiang Qiuyan reached out to wipe her tears and tried to pull her into her arms. Shi Yu broke free with all her might and ran toward the crowd.

“Isn’t our deal over? Why won’t you let me go?”

Jiang Qiuyan froze for a moment. Then her eyes went dark. A cold smile crept across her lips, and madness filled her gaze.

“So that’s what you thought it was. A transaction.”

Everything they’d shared had been nothing but a transaction in her eyes!

The betas moved to chase, but Jiang Qiuyan stopped them. She ran after Shi Yu and caught up in a few strides.

“The decision is mine. It’s over when I say it’s over.”

Shi Yu turned to look at her. Between the overwhelming terror and her recently ended heat, her vision went black, and she collapsed into Jiang Qiuyan’s arms.

Jiang Qiuyan caught her and gently stroked her back. “Baby, be a good girl. Or I’ll get angry.”

A smile curved her lips. Her narrow eyes were half-lidded. The possessiveness and madness on her face were impossible to hide.

She swept Shi Yu up into her arms. The onlookers parted to make way. She looked like a beast on the verge of losing all reason. No one was foolish enough to cross her.

Shi Yu’s body alternated between chills and fever, tormented. Her eyes felt weighted with lead and wouldn’t open.

Someone seemed to be speaking in her ear. The voice felt close and far at once. Apart from her own name, she couldn’t make out a word.

Her awareness flickered in and out of darkness. After drifting between dreams and wakefulness several times, she finally had the strength to open her eyes.

What met her gaze was a gentle nightlight shaped like a star, hanging above her head. Beside it hung trailing green vines adorned with flowers of every color.

Beneath the foliage was an arched dome supported by golden pillars, all lavishly decorated. If it hadn’t been built to imprison her, Shi Yu would have loved it.

How strange. Why was she inside a “birdcage”? She tried to sit up and found her hands and feet bound, with very little room to move.

Looking down, she saw her wrists shackled in thin golden chains, the ones on her ankles thicker. She lay spread-eagled, not a stitch of clothing on her.

Footsteps approached. Click. The cage door opened. Jiang Qiuyan stepped inside and walked to her, crouching down.

“Made just for you. Do you like it?”

Shi Yu looked at her, confused. “Why are you doing this?”

Jiang Qiuyan let out a low laugh and rested her face against Shi Yu’s chest. Her hand caught her slender calf and slowly traced upward…

“Fool. To keep you from running away, of course.”

Her hand paused at the critical spot. She opened her mouth and bit down on the pale, soft flesh. “Such a beautiful body. You wouldn’t want me to break your limbs, would you?”

As Shi Yu trembled at those words, the alpha’s blazing pheromones crashed over her. Her body was completely overtaken.

“…Mm!”