Chapter 25: The Chaebol Heir’s Canary — “Little Yu, I Like You.” Part 1

Before Shi Yu could process her confusion, Jiang Qiuyan grabbed her waist and leaned down again, pressing her lips and tongue against her.

The lingering aftershocks hadn’t even faded before the sensitive, vulnerable place was struck again. Shi Yu couldn’t endure it and nearly passed out. Her entire body was trembling, and it was a long time before she managed to raise a shaky hand to push Jiang Qiuyan away.

“No… mmh…”

Her voice trailed off with a sob, soft and fragile, just like her.

Jiang Qiuyan cracked open an eyelid to glance at her, her words muffled. “Does it feel bad?”

“Don’t! Don’t talk… to it!”

Because of the rut period, Jiang Qiuyan’s breath was especially hot. It washed over the sensitive skin, making Shi Yu’s whole body tingle and her heartbeat quicken.

Jiang Qiuyan saw every single one of her reactions, and the more she saw, the more playful she became. She quickened her teasing, and even her breathing grew more ragged.

“Why won’t you let me talk? Hmm?”

Shi Yu whimpered, her legs clenching involuntarily. Tears kept flowing, her eyes red, like an innocent little rabbit.

Jiang Qiuyan knew why she was crying and only played more gleefully.

Faint, delicate sounds spilled from the little omega’s mouth, echoing against the rippling water, even their frequencies converging.

Thankfully, the water temperature had dropped considerably, helping to soothe the heat inside her. Otherwise, Shi Yu really would have felt like she was burning to death.

It was Jiang Qiuyan who was in the rut period, yet she felt she was the one losing control even more. Even though her body was sore and weak from exhaustion, she still craved that ultimate pleasure, unable to steel herself to refuse Jiang Qiuyan.

Jiang Qiuyan was controlled by her feverish heat. The only shred of remaining reason kept her from hurting Shi Yu. Everything else wasn’t even in her consideration.

So she gently nipped at the smooth, vulnerable flesh, and when she heard Shi Yu’s suddenly sharp cry, the madness in her heart was satisfied.

“Miss Jiang, let me go… I… I was wrong.”

The area was actually numb by now. Treated this way wasn’t that painful anymore, but the fear in her heart couldn’t be overcome. And that kind of stimulation…

She was afraid that if this continued, she would become more and more strange, a slave to desire, completely surrendering to Jiang Qiuyan.

“Wrong? Then tell me, baby, what did you do wrong?”

Jiang Qiuyan licked and rubbed with her tongue, her expression one of wild, gleeful madness. She didn’t actually want to force Shi Yu to confess to some nonexistent fault, but her reactions were just too amusing. She couldn’t help wanting to tease her.

It was flirtation. All of this was flirtation to her.

At this point, Shi Yu no longer cared whether she had actually done anything wrong. She just wanted this unbearable torment to end so she could go back to being a normal person.

Jiang Qiuyan was crazy, but she couldn’t go crazy along with her.

“I shouldn’t have… mmh… left without saying goodbye,”

She stopped and took a deep breath, pressing her hand against the head buried between her legs, her chest heaving.

“Boo-hoo, I’ll never… never leave you again.”

Jiang Qiuyan froze. Her expression shifted several times, dark currents surging in her eyes, the corners of her lips curling into an inscrutable arc.

“Never leave me again?”

She straightened up and moved close to Shi Yu, pinching her chin to lift her face, forcing her to meet her gaze.

Shi Yu looked at her with blurred vision, trying hard to read the emotions hidden in those eyes, but found nothing.

“Y-Yes… never again.”

“Then baby will stay by my side for the rest of her life, right?”

Shi Yu nodded quickly.

Her eyes grew even redder, her wet lashes clumped together, making her look as pure and innocent as a baby.

Jiang Qiuyan’s smile widened, her eyes curving, the emotions churning in their depths becoming more turbulent, gradually coalescing into tears.

The bathroom lighting was so soft that when Shi Yu saw the glistening in her eyes, she thought she was seeing things.

She was bullying me just a second ago, and now she’s suddenly… crying?

She reached up to touch the corner of Jiang Qiuyan’s eyes. Her fingertips felt a faint warmth. It wasn’t an illusion after all.

“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done this, but I was really scared.”

Jiang Qiuyan buried her face against Shi Yu’s neck, arms wrapping tightly around her waist and back, as if the girl might vanish before her eyes at any moment.

Shi Yu didn’t know what she was afraid of. In her eyes, Jiang Qiuyan was omnipotent.

She hesitated for a moment before hugging Jiang Qiuyan back, gently patting her back to soothe her. She had heard that alphas occasionally lost control during their rut periods, and that omegas needed to comfort them patiently.

This whole time, Jiang Qiuyan had been running her life, taking care of everything for her. She had forgotten that she was a flesh-and-blood person too, with her own vulnerable side.

Shi Yu was someone who forgot pain once the wound healed. Even though Jiang Qiuyan hadn’t been gentle these past two days, she was still willing to be her temporary comfort.

Because from birth until now, no one had ever treated her as well as Jiang Qiuyan.

But…

“Miss Jiang, we can’t do this.”

Jiang Qiuyan lifted her head from the crook of her neck, her gaze darkening. “Why?”

“Aren’t you married to Pei Shuyu? You should be going through your rut period with her. Let her comfort you.”

Jiang Qiuyan was silent for a long while before asking, “Who told you that? Jiang Qiunian?”

“No, I saw it in the news… didn’t it trend on social media before?”

Jiang Qiuyan had expected her to misunderstand, but not this deeply. Just a few lines from gossip media and she had concluded she was married to Pei Shuyu. Truly…

Such a silly little cat.

But she knew the girl liked to imagine things, and she hadn’t accounted for that. Not only had she failed to explain right away, she had gone mad and tied the girl up.

It was all her fault.

Jiang Qiuyan gathered her into her arms again, this time pulling Shi Yu directly onto her lap, keeping her from the cold water.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. It’s all my fault.” She pressed her forehead against Shi Yu’s collarbone and, after a while, asked in a low voice, “Can you forgive me?”

Shi Yu sighed inwardly, a tangle of emotions in her heart.

It wasn’t really a matter of forgiveness. Even though Jiang Qiuyan had brought her back, she had been mostly afraid, not hateful.

How could she hate someone who had pulled her out of the mud and let her glimpse sunlight?

She would never.

“You’re not married to Pei Shuyu? And bringing me back wasn’t to please Shi Huaixin?”

Jiang Qiuyan nodded and kissed her chin. “Shi Huaixin has already been sent to a psychiatric hospital. He’ll never hurt you again. As for Pei Shuyu… she and I are absolutely nothing to each other. I swear.”

At the time, she had been in her rut period, and Shi Huaixin had deliberately arranged for a drugged Pei Shuyu to intercept her, then had reporters take those photos. She had to admit the old bastard was cunning. But he had underestimated her endurance. Even with an omega in heat right in front of her, if that person wasn’t Shi Yu, she would never have touched them.

As it happened, she had brought Lu Tong to the cocktail party that day. After several shots of potent suppressants, she was out cold for days. By the time she woke up, Shi Yu was gone.

Pei Yiyi and Shi Huaixin wanted to use public opinion to force her into submission. They had miscalculated. She was born with a contrarian streak, immune to both soft and hard tactics.

At worst, she would step down as president of Jiang Corporation. She could afford to play that hand.

In this lifetime, besides Shi Yu, she wouldn’t be with anyone.

Jiang Qiuyan pulled herself from her thoughts and collided with Shi Yu’s gaze. The girl was watching her with a probing look.

Not good! Alarmed, Jiang Qiuyan quickly stopped her from overthinking, from imagining all sorts of nonsense.

“Save that clever little brain for other things. Tell me what you want to know.”

Shi Yu’s eyes darted around before she asked, “Why did you come looking for me? And why did you… tie me up…?” Her voice faded, and her head lowered. “Wasn’t our deal over?”

Jiang Qiuyan felt a bitter knot in her stomach, but faced with this foolish little cat, she could only sigh helplessly.

“You think what we had was just a deal?”

Her tone didn’t sound angry, so Shi Yu dared to look at her and countered, “What else would it be? It was clear from the very beginning.”

“Then tell me, what was our deal?”

Shi Yu nervously picked at her hands and said softly, “I borrowed your power to escape Shi Huaixin and the Pei family. You used me to satisfy your unrequited feelings for Pei Shuyu.”

Jiang Qiuyan felt her temples throbbing, her mind taking a long moment to catch up. She knew the little cat had a unique thought process, but she didn’t know it was this unconventional.

Looking all adorably clueless, but who knew she had such imagination. She had forcibly cast her as a scumbag.

“Baby, please explain. What exactly is ‘your unrequited feelings for Pei Shuyu’?”

“Making me a stand-in for Pei Shuyu.”

Shi Yu’s voice grew smaller with every word, until it was almost inaudible. Come to think of it, Jiang Qiuyan had never actually said anything like that. It was all her own speculation. Could she have misunderstood?

Thinking of this possibility, Shi Yu couldn’t even look at Jiang Qiuyan. Her little head hung low, revealing the mottled bite marks on the back of her neck.

Jiang Qiuyan’s throat bobbed. She looked away without a word. After enduring for so long, one glance and all that restraint had crumbled.

True, she was a beast who couldn’t resist temptation. But was Shi Yu completely blameless?

Restlessness surged again. Jiang Qiuyan urgently wrapped her arms around Shi Yu and effortlessly lifted her.

“Eep!” The sudden loss of gravity made Shi Yu gasp.

Jiang Qiuyan said nothing. She carried her out of the bathtub, dried her off, and returned to the bedroom.

Shi Yu was still congratulating herself on not being put in the birdcage when Jiang Qiuyan’s body pressed over her.

“I wanted to explain everything to you, but I can’t hold back anymore.” Jiang Qiuyan buried her face in the crook of Shi Yu’s neck and nuzzled. “I’m still in my rut period. Take pity on me.”

This time Shi Yu reacted quickly. She knew Jiang Qiuyan was acting spoiled.

“But I’m so tired, and it’s… swollen down there.”

Shi Yu looked away, a blush creeping up her cheeks. Jiang Qiuyan pinched her chin and kissed her, sinking her teeth into that peach-like cheek and sucking for a long time before letting go.

“Then I’ll mark it down. When you’re better, you’ll owe me for both times.”

Jiang Qiuyan opened a drawer and took out oral suppressants, swallowing several pills in one gulp before lying down with Shi Yu in her arms.

She held her so tightly it was hard to breathe. Shi Yu tried to get some air, but was pressed against her chest.

“Don’t move around. The suppressants take fifteen minutes to kick in.”

Shi Yu obediently lay in her arms, listening to her racing heartbeat, feeling her scorching body heat. Drowsiness began to creep over her.

Even though there was a hungry wolf lying beside her, she didn’t feel afraid.

“Little Yu.”

Half-asleep, Jiang Qiuyan’s voice came from above her head.

“Hm?”

Shi Yu responded softly, with a slight nasal tone that sounded endearing.

“I never liked Pei Shuyu, let alone had a crush on her. So there’s no such thing as unrequited feelings. The engagement with her was something I had no choice in.”