Chapter 29: The Chaebol Heir’s Canary — Proposal Part 1

Shi Yu’s mind was foggy. All she felt was the scorching heat of Jiang Qiuyan’s breath washing over her skin, making her feel as though she were melting.

Her skin had become so hypersensitive it felt like it might shatter inch by inch. The deep, restless ache in her body left her completely at a loss, and to top it all off, Jiang Qiuyan kept nuzzling against her gland. The words that spilled from those lips only made Shi Yu’s heart pound faster and her blood run hotter.

“Let me mark you,” Jiang Qiuyan had murmured. “Would you let me?”

Being marked by an alpha was a dangerous thing. One wrong move and you could end up in a miserable state. But if that alpha was Jiang Qiuyan, somehow it didn’t seem so terrible.

Shi Yu knew her reasoning carried a hint of gambling, but she wasn’t afraid of losing.

The moment she turned around, Jiang Qiuyan sank her teeth into the gland at the nape of her neck.

“Mmm!”

The sound shattered in her throat. Shi Yu’s hazy eyes went wide, fear flickering across her face. Even though she had prepared herself, the instinctive terror was impossible to hide.

Jiang Qiuyan didn’t know what she wanted to say and simply took it as reluctance. So when she bit down, she tightened her grip. Her canine teeth pierced the skin beside the gland, sucking in the sweet, intoxicating pheromones.

A faint taste of blood bloomed on her tongue. The desire in Jiang Qiuyan’s eyes deepened, her irises darkening to a dangerous, alluring crimson.

Only when she was completely enveloped in the rich floral fragrance did Jiang Qiuyan reluctantly let go. The fair, smooth neck, as pristine as a lotus root, was left with crisscrossing bite marks. Tiny wounds seeped droplets of blood. She stared at them for a few long seconds with darkened eyes, then licked the blood away.

Shi Yu shuddered violently and shrank back, but every escape route was blocked. There was no way out of Jiang Qiuyan’s hold.

The alpha released a torrent of pheromones, clouding her thoughts even further. Through the haze, she caught a glimpse of a pair of predatory eyes.

That gaze was like a wolf eyeing prey already in its jaws. Any struggle would be a futile display of misplaced courage.

Shi Yu blinked, trying to see clearly, when suddenly darkness closed in. Something covered her eyes.

“Stop tempting me.”

Shi Yu hadn’t been through a heat in three months, so it was easy to imagine how concentrated her pheromones had become. Jiang Qiuyan was afraid of losing her rationality and doing something irreversible, like actually marking her.

She craved that soft, delicate spot with every fiber of her being, to the point of obsession. To keep from completely losing control, she had to cover Shi Yu’s eyes.

Weren’t eyes supposed to be the windows to the soul? Shi Yu’s eyes, in particular, were a dead giveaway for whatever she was thinking.

From those glistening, doe-like eyes, Jiang Qiuyan could see the kitten’s desire for her.

The kitten was too obedient. If pushed harder, she’d agree to anything. She couldn’t take advantage of her during heat.

Jiang Qiuyan reminded herself of this as her fingers traced the necktie covering Shi Yu’s eyes. She pressed a gentle kiss against it.

The necktie’s fabric was incredibly soft. Shi Yu could feel the warmth of that kiss pressing against her eyelids. Her heart trembled, and she wrapped her arms around Jiang Qiuyan’s waist.

“Why are you covering my eyes?”

Jiang Qiuyan exhaled a breath of warmth, her lips trailing down from the corner of Shi Yu’s eye until they found those soft lips. Only then did she murmur, “Do you hate it? If you do, I’ll take it off.”

Shi Yu’s hands curled, leaving faint scratches on Jiang Qiuyan’s fair skin. She didn’t answer. Instead, she parted her lips to receive what was coming.

Jiang Qiuyan already knew the answer, but she couldn’t resist teasing her anyway.

“Hmm? Why aren’t you talking? Do you hate it?”

Shi Yu tilted her head up toward her. She could just barely make out a silhouette; everything else was a blur.

She parted her red lips softly. “I don’t hate it. But you can’t bully me.”

She had no idea what kind of game this was, but if Jiang Qiuyan enjoyed it, she wouldn’t mind going along. Of course, she enjoyed it too.

With her eyes covered, every other sense was amplified. She could even hear Jiang Qiuyan’s heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump. Each beat was strong and powerful. The irregular rhythm seemed to be pouring out its affection for her.

Jiang Qiuyan’s heart skipped a beat. The fervor in her eyes was impossible to conceal, burning so hot that the corners of her eyes flushed red, as if blood might break through skin and flesh at any moment.

She gripped the back of Shi Yu’s head and kissed her, licking and sucking at those soft lips. She pried apart her teeth with ease, sweeping in to claim every last breath of air from her mouth.

Tears welled up in the corners of Shi Yu’s eyes from sheer physical sensation, soaking the blue necktie. The fabric clinging to her eyes grew even thinner, tracing the elegant lines of her brows and eyes beneath.

Jiang Qiuyan never once closed her eyes. Watching every reaction from the kitten sent her heart into such violent palpitations it almost went numb.

They kissed as if they could never part, their pheromones intertwining just as inseparably. Every inch of Shi Yu’s body released that intoxicating scent, luring Jiang Qiuyan to the very edge of her sanity. An uncontrollable desire rose from the depths of her heart.

“I really want to swallow you whole.”

If their flesh and blood merged into one, her heart wouldn’t be racing like this.

Shi Yu’s voice came out with a whimper. “Don’t eat me. I’m being really good.”

Her unconscious coquetry made it even harder for Jiang Qiuyan to hold back. She nipped at the kitten’s cherry-pink cheeks and said in a low, husky voice, “Then say something sweet, and maybe I’ll let you off.”

Shi Yu didn’t know what she wanted to hear, but the heat had consumed her entire body, melting her bones. She couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Sis~”

Her small hands slid up from Jiang Qiuyan’s waist, gently looping around her neck. Her voice was soft and sweet. “Sis, stop bullying me~”

Jiang Qiuyan’s heart surged beyond restraint. Her gaze turned dark and unreadable, her throat bobbing twice. With the last shred of rationality, she gripped Shi Yu’s waist while her other hand traced down along her spine.

The heat wasn’t entirely without its perks. Right now, for instance, she could reach exactly where she wanted without the slightest obstacle.

Shi Yu let out a whimper, her hands sliding down Jiang Qiuyan’s back to grip that lean, powerful waist. Wherever her nails trailed, they left behind vivid red blooms.

Jiang Qiuyan seemed not to notice at all, kissing the tip of her ear to soothe her.

“Jiang Qiuyan…”

Jiang Qiuyan gazed at her with those deep crimson eyes. “Baby, that’s not the right name.”

Since it was wrong, she’d just have to work harder and make her remember.

Shi Yu felt the lights before her shifting endlessly, reality and illusion blending together. Her thoughts ground to a halt. Her mind went completely blank.

Jiang Qiuyan wasn’t much more lucid than she was. Seeing Shi Yu completely surrender, a fevered smile spread across her lips.

“Sis, I was wrong!”

Shi Yu burst into tears. The necktie over her eyes was soaked through and slipped askew, sliding down her face.

Jiang Qiuyan seemed not to hear. She peppered kisses across the newly exposed eyelids, her tongue tracing lightly along the flushed corners, lapping up the falling tears.

Shi Yu could no longer produce a coherent sound. The occasional whimper was hoarse and tearful, like a kitten in spring, its cry thin and teasing.

The bathwater churned to its peak, as if it were coming to a boil. Shi Yu clutched at Jiang Qiuyan’s hand, her slender back arching into an impossible curve, more bent than the crescent moon hanging in the sky.

Shi Yu leaned against Jiang Qiuyan and held that pose for a long time. Her eyes were unfocused, her cheeks flushed like rosy clouds, her lips slightly parted, looking thoroughly and blissfully spent.

Seeing that she hadn’t come back to herself for a while, Jiang Qiuyan patted her cheek lightly. “Little Yu, turn around and look at me.”

Shi Yu slowly turned her face. The instant their eyes met, she burst out wailing.

Jiang Qiuyan startled. “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

Shi Yu buried herself in Jiang Qiuyan’s arms, sobbing softly. It took her a long time before she said, “No, I just… I’m scared.”

“Scared?” Jiang Qiuyan reached up to wipe her tears, her voice gentle. “Scared of what?”

“It… it felt too good, so I got scared.” Shi Yu’s voice was barely a whisper, fading almost to silence at the end.

It took Jiang Qiuyan a moment to process. Laughter crept into the upturned corners of her eyes. She said nothing. Instead, her hands slid beneath Shi Yu’s legs and lifted her, shifting their positions.

Her back pressed against a warm, cool chest. Most of Shi Yu’s body was still tingling with numbness. She turned to look at Jiang Qiuyan and found her chin gripped, her lips captured in a kiss.

It was a fierce but brief kiss. Before Shi Yu could recover, Jiang Qiuyan had already begun a new campaign.

Shi Yu’s cry of surprise was trapped between their lips, shattered before it could escape. The broken sounds tangled with the splashing water, driving the surrounding temperature ever higher until the air was thick with desire.

Pleasure spread across every inch of her skin, and fear crept back in. Shi Yu pried at Jiang Qiuyan’s hands, trying to break free from her hold.

Jiang Qiuyan pressed up behind her, chin resting on her shoulder. In a breathy whisper she asked, “Am I not doing well? Why are you running?”

The tears pooled in Shi Yu’s eyes fell, vanishing without a trace in the water. She glanced sideways at Jiang Qiuyan, her small face crumpled with misery.

“I don’t want to turn weird… wuu…”

Jiang Qiuyan’s breath hitched. Then came an even fiercer abandon. She kissed and sucked at Shi Yu’s ears and cheeks, murmuring tender words even as she showed no mercy whatsoever.

“Sweet baby, do you like Sis?”

Shi Yu was on the verge of passing out, yet she still didn’t forget to answer. But the moment the words left her mouth, they dissolved into the humid air.

“I… I do. So please don’t…”

Jiang Qiuyan deliberately cut her off. She only wanted to hear what she wanted to hear.

Shi Yu felt like she was standing at the heart of a storm, tossed about by gale-force winds with no way to steady herself. All she could do was stumble and spin.

Before Jiang Qiuyan, she was utterly powerless.

A splash of water rose. The kitten’s low, hoarse cries were softened by the dampness, becoming all the more seductive.

Jiang Qiuyan swallowed hard. Her throat was drier and rougher than before, scorched as if by fire, devoid of any moisture.

“Baby, so good.”

Her cheek was bitten again, warm and wet against her skin. But Shi Yu couldn’t pay attention. Her mind was flickering with white light, one wave after another, endless.

The bathwater had long since gone cold, but the two figures pressed together remained burning hot. Their ragged breaths, heavy with desire, rose in fragrant wisps of mist.

Shi Yu’s pheromones grew ever more concentrated, coaxing Jiang Qiuyan toward the onset of heat as well. She glanced down at the drowsy kitten in her arms, then scooped her up and stepped out of the tub.

Shi Yu’s heat had been temporarily tamed. Apart from her body still burning up, all that remained was an indescribable exhaustion.

Before Jiang Qiuyan climbed into bed, Shi Yu thought she’d finally get a good night’s sleep. But those hopes crumbled the moment someone pulled her into an embrace.

The alpha released the distinctive pheromones of heat, sending a rush through Shi Yu that left her limbs weak and her mind groggy. The heat screamed through every nerve and bone, seizing complete control of her brain.