Chapter 54: The Submissive, Obsessive Top Student Part 1

Various Small Side Stories

01 (ABO Side Story: Alternate Universe]

Shi Qingyi was a renowned Alpha, and the reason for her fame was exceedingly mundane—because she was stunningly beautiful. Her naturally bright and flamboyant brows framed exquisitely refined features; it was the kind of beauty that lingered in one’s memory after just a single glance.

When the tree is tall, it attracts the wind; when a person is beautiful, they draw envy.

One day, Shi Qingyi woke up to find herself no longer at home. Her eyes were blindfolded, and she was imprisoned in an unfamiliar space. Her limbs were bound to the bed, and even the slightest movement produced the sound of chains. Soft cotton padding had been placed in the gaps around her wrists to prevent chafing.

Shi Qingyi gradually adjusted to her predicament and asked hoarsely, “Is anyone there?”

Her eyes were covered tightly, leaving her in complete darkness. The room was utterly silent, the vast space empty enough to inspire fear.

A cool yet soft body pressed against her arm, kissing her cheek like a cat, though its touch was as chilling as a venomous snake. A ghostly voice whispered, “Your father sold you to me…”

The person she had long coveted was right beside her. In the darkness, that figure trembled slightly. The air filled with the rich scent of irises—decadent in bloom, cloyingly sweet, intoxicatingly honeyed, yet laced with a faint bitterness.

It was like the softest, most beautiful illusion, harboring hidden dangers that both tempted and ensnared.

Shi Qingyi’s mind went blank.

Her pheromones unfurled luxuriantly.

Shi Qingyi’s pheromones evoked rum distilled from sugarcane molasses—sweet and smooth on the palate, richly aromatic, with a spicy leather note in the mid-to-late stages. They carried a distant chill that kept others at bay, combined with the inherent aggressiveness of alcohol. The moment they took effect, they shattered the defenses of the Omega before her, turning her into prey ensnared by the potent liquor.

—Sinking into it.

The iris in the net refused to struggle, as if intoxicated by the heady brew.

In a sickly, obsessive murmur: “I’ve finally gotten you—”

Side Story 1

Even when confined, Shi Qingyi remained utterly unapologetic. Sometimes, when she provoked Jiang Zhiyi to the point of anger, she would say, “Do you think you’re still that little princess who always got her way?”

Shi Qingyi propped her chin, gazing at her. “Aren’t you going to keep spoiling me?”

Jiang Zhiyi’s ears flushed red in an instant.

She didn’t answer, but in her heart, she thought, Of course I will.

02

Jiang Zhiyi went to the company for a meeting. Occasionally, exhaustion from their overly intimate nights caused delays, and Shi Qingyi would tease her. Jiang Zhiyi boldly twirled her long hair in retort.

“The Emperor was late to morning court. Shouldn’t the one who kept him up reflect on that?”

Shi Qingyi froze abruptly, stunned for a moment. In that instant, she inexplicably thought of someone from the past.

—Who had once said the very same thing.

03

Jiang Zhiyi had once kept Shi Qingyi locked in the villa for a time—not as coercion or torment, but as playful indulgence.

She loved arranging everything for Shi Qingyi. After teasing her, she would help her wash up. After all, Shi Qingyi had a disability, making it inconvenient to bustle about. There were a few times she nearly fell, and when she struggled, Shi Qingyi pinned her down.

At her limit, Shi Qingyi snapped, “You think you can keep me locked up like this? Do you really think I couldn’t escape if I wanted to?”

Jiang Little Pitiful sniffled, putting on a pitiful, teary-eyed look as she secretly glanced at her. “Then… are you going to run?”

That question was truly damaging to her image. Shi Qingyi composed herself for a while before gritting her teeth. “The water’s full!”

Sure enough, the bathtub was overflowing. Jiang Zhiyi flushed red and wrung out a towel. “I’ll scrub your back!”

04

Later, Shi Mother kept trying to mend her relationship with Shi Qingyi. Once, she brought a jade-white, fluffy, adorable long-haired cat. Shi Qingyi cuddled it all afternoon.

Shi Mother cleared her throat. “If Qingyi likes it, keep it. I can come visit Snowball often too.”

Shi Qingyi ruffled the cat’s soft belly, sighing with a hint of regret. “It’d be nice if we only had one at home. Can’t keep a second.”

Shi Mother looked puzzled, then glanced back to see someone in a wheelchair at the bedroom door—her eyes gloomily fixed on the blissfully purring white cat Shi Qingyi was petting.

She wanted to toss the cat out, lock the house, wash Shi Qingyi’s cat-petting hands clean, then bite her own marks all over—neck, hands, arms, every inch of her body—

She suddenly clamped her mouth shut, repressing her terrifying thoughts. No, can’t do that…

But she was a little afraid. What if the cat really came home? Would it steal Qingyi’s attention? Before, she was the only one hugged.

So when Shi Qingyi returned after seeing off Shi Mother and buying snacks, she found someone wearing cat ears and a tail, half-hidden on her bed. Her fair skin flushed transparently, exposing her pale belly.

“I can let you pet me too…”

So, could they skip the other cat?

Shi Qingyi: “…” Of course, pet her first and see.

05

Jiang Zhiyi first met Shi Qingyi in an alley outside school. She appeared when someone was groping Jiang Zhiyi—a golden-haired girl like an angel sent from heaven to save her.

Beautiful, pure, free-spirited, and wonderful.

She secretly watched the angel, thinking darkly how nice it would be to pull her down from her pedestal.

She harbored such shadowy thoughts, and even many years later, she still did.

[Back to Main Story]

Gu Chuanjing got into a car accident. The brakes failed, and his car flipped off an overpass. He didn’t die but broke several ribs. Perhaps it was karmic retribution; like Jiang Zhiqing back then, he lost the use of his lower limbs.

The difference was that he was amputated above the thighs. From a tall man over 1.8 meters, he became a pitiful figure under 1.5 meters.

When he entered the hospital, Jiang Zhiqing went to see him, cradling a doll and calling softly, “Brother Chuan Jing, look how good the baby is. He hasn’t cried lately…”

Gu Chuanjing’s mother looked haggard and timidly said, “Little Gu, the doctor says Zhiqing went mad from losing the child. If she could have another baby, maybe she’d snap out of it. Her dad’s not long for this world, and he wants to see Zhiqing recover and settled… You two…”

Gu Chuanjing’s face drained of color. What was severed wasn’t just his legs—it was also—

His manhood, his dignity as a man.

He could never have children again in this lifetime.

The deranged woman understood nothing, simply leaning gently against the bed, hugging her doll with a smile. “Brother Chuan Jing, look at the baby. She’s smiling at you…”

Shi Qingyi leaned against the shadows outside the ward, quietly watching the tragedy unfold inside. The System sighed, “To think the golden couple ended up like this—”

“Enough. Surviving is better than nothing.” Shi Qingyi took one last look and turned away, carrying her things back. “Don’t forget their original ending.”

The System: “…”

In the original story, the female lead suffered a mental breakdown after losing the child and drowned herself at sea. The male lead rotted in prison for years before bashing his head against the wall in suicide. Suddenly, this ending didn’t seem so bad—at least they were alive.

The System felt its resilience growing and shed moved tears. “Good thing you got back in time.”

Jiang Zhiyi was meticulous. She feared that if she left, Gu Chuanjing would come back to trouble Shi Qingyi. She wanted to take all potential dangers with her before departing.

Unfortunately, Gu Chuanjing was on that list. Since Jiang Zhiyi survived, so did he. She had faced death once; now he teetered on the brink too.

“So, Host, did you come back for Jiang Zhiyi or to save Gu Chuanjing?”

If the leads died, the world collapsed, and Tasker Shi Qingyi wouldn’t escape death either. She had no choice but to return.

The woman in a light-colored dress walked down the hospital corridor like a half-blooming flower. She didn’t answer.

The System pressed on achingly, “What now? Jiang Zhiyi’s blackening value is still at 60%. It won’t drop.”

She’d gotten everything she wanted—how could it still be so high?

The door at the corridor’s end opened. The woman inside was wheeled out by the doctor after handover. After months, her complexion had improved slightly. The moment she emerged, she anxiously scanned outside, relaxing only upon spotting Shi Qingyi.

She reached out to hug Shi Qingyi’s waist, nuzzling into it and sniffing lightly. “Where did you just go?”

She was clever, knowing accusations were wrong, so she used a coquettish tone—chiding yet endearing.

Shi Qingyi pulled a small bunch of gardenias from behind her back. White petals with tender cores still held dew, their fragrance pure and ethereal. Flower sellers often lingered at the hospital entrance; she’d picked this bouquet carefully.

Nearby nurses who knew them chuckled. “Quit showing off your love here.”

Jiang Zhiyi held the flowers, waiting as Shi Qingyi spoke with the attending physician. In the gap, she sniffed them—fragrant and pure. But Shi Qingyi carried not just that scent; there was a faint hospital medicine smell too.

She frowned, unconsciously gripping the bouquet tighter, then restrained herself.

Over these months, she’d removed the surveillance and trackers. She was still dependent and anxious, but she knew constant control would drive Qingyi away. Love should offer flowers, not destructive rage.

The doctor said Jiang Zhiyi’s condition was stabilizing; she’d cooperated fully, and things were improving.

Shi Qingyi glanced back slightly. The girl waited obediently, just like in high school—pure and well-behaved. Without the System’s constant reminders of her blackening value, nothing would seem amiss.

Her facade was so skilled, pretending to be good since youth. Was this recovery just another, more convincing mask?

Shi Qingyi wheeled her out of the hospital. The woman in the chair clutched her flowers, sneaking a kiss to her temple as they got in the car. Her voice was soft: “Thank you, Qingyi.”

—

Later, Shi Mother sought out Shi Qingyi again, at that same café. A black-haired woman with mid-length hair and stern, capable brows served their coffee, saying it was already sweetened.

Shi Qingyi thanked her softly, her tone cool. Shi Mother gripped her fingers, staring at her estranged yet familiar daughter.

The coffee never touched Shi Qingyi’s lips; she merely warmed her hands with the cup for a bit. “Mom, we’ve been apart too long. People change.”

Like how, at thirteen or fourteen, she’d vehemently hated homosexuality. Like how she’d once adored pretty hairpins and long skirts. Like how she’d desperately craved her mother’s love. But that was all in the past.

Shi Mother paused. They talked sporadically for a while that day. When leaving, Shi Qingyi set down the cup, producing a crisp clink on the saucer. She blinked.

“If the birthday gift is plane tickets, now we need two.”

She rose and left. Shi Mother stared at her back for a long time, dazed—as if in a blink, her daughter had grown up.

Shi Qingyi pushed open the door. A light rain fell outside, the wind chilly. Someone in the rain had pale lips, looking at her anxiously. “If you want to leave…”

Shi Qingyi went over, grasping her frozen hand and squeezing gently. “We’ll leave together.”

It was cold outside, but Jiang Zhiyi’s little villa remained warm. They’d planted many flowers together, now starting to bloom in this season. Shi Qingyi whispered in her ear.

Shi Qingyi’s childhood and adolescence had been a mess. Her mother, pampered by her parents, seemed obedient on the surface but was willful deep down. Arranged to marry Father Shi, she bore Shi Qingyi within a year.