Chapter 4

The hunter disguised herself as the purest and most harmless prey.

Ye Chengxing noticed the slight tremble in the Omega’s fingertips as she clutched the bedsheet. She thought to herself that Li Jia had already been exposed to so much filth. It was only natural that she would suspect Ye Chengxing had ulterior motives. After all, no one had ever given her any positive, normal affection. Instead, they had dragged her into an ever-deepening abyss, all the way to destruction.

Realizing this, Ye Chengxing walked over to the bedside. Her tone grew even gentler as she decided to proceed step by step. “It’s all right. Don’t think about those things. I won’t do anything to you.”

At those words, the Omega seemed to tremble even harder. A hint of red welled up at the corners of Li Jia’s eyes, accentuating her already breathtaking beauty until it bordered on sinful allure. She parted her lips, her breath carrying a faint orchid fragrance as she leaned closer. Her voice was pitiably soft, enough to awaken the most deeply buried sadistic urges in anyone. “They all want my body. Don’t you? I don’t want to give it to them, but I can give it to you… to the one who saved me.”

In that moment, the white peach pheromones seemed to drift silently around them.

Ye Chengxing’s expression shifted upon hearing this.

Seeing the faint change in the Alpha’s demeanor, Li Jia sneered inwardly. On the surface, however, she let her features take on a fragile, almost shattering vulnerability. She was just about to say more when Ye Chengxing suddenly spoke. “Li Jia.”

Ye Chengxing gazed at her, her mildness now tinged with a touch of seriousness. “Your body is yours alone. I don’t need you to do that.”

Li Jia met Ye Chengxing’s eyes, nearly bursting into laughter deep in her heart.

Look at her—so masterful at the pretense. So upright and proper, not a trace of those nauseating thoughts in her eyes. If Li Jia hadn’t witnessed this Alpha’s grotesque inner nature with her own eyes, she might actually have believed it.

Li Jia lowered her lashes, hiding the sarcasm, and continued. “But I want to do something for you…”

As she spoke, she threw back the blanket. Only then did Ye Chengxing realize that the Omega wasn’t wearing any pants underneath. The loose hospital gown had slid down to the tops of her thighs, exposing skin as delicate and pale as snow. She raised her hand, her fingertips brushing the buttons of the gown as if to undo them.

Ye Chengxing’s head throbbed. She grabbed the hand about to unfasten the buttons and said hurriedly, “Wait—there is something I need you to do.”

Li Jia lifted her gorgeous eyes, her pupils dilating slightly with excitement. She could hardly wait to kill this woman the instant she believed she could let loose without restraint. That hypocritical face would twist into one of utter disbelief and terror, just as it had in her previous life.

“What do you need me to do?” Li Jia raised her hand, poised to drape it around Ye Chengxing’s neck. Her tone grew even more suggestive. She was an expert at seduction, all too aware of how to coax out the ugliest facets of human nature.

See? Just a gentle probe, and she couldn’t help but show her true colors. No matter how many times it happened, these people were always equally repulsive.

Li Jia smiled on the surface, soft as the tenderest flower. In truth, she was laced with poison, waiting to deliver a fatal strike the moment her prey drew near.

Ye Chengxing drew in a deep breath. She pulled the blanket back up, took hold of the Omega’s hand, and tucked it securely inside, covering her body completely in the process.

Only once she was properly bundled up did Ye Chengxing speak. “I do need something from you. Over the next few days in the hospital, you have to take your medicine properly, eat well, and keep your hospital gown on to avoid catching a chill. You’ve already had the fever-reducing injection, but it could still come back. You need to be careful.”

The faint, sarcastic smile at the corners of Li Jia’s lips faltered.

Ye Chengxing glanced at the blanket and tugged it tighter, still not entirely reassured. “I’ll stay right by your side tonight. Call me if you need anything. Here, cover your hands and feet too. Don’t let them stick out.”

“Oh, right.” Ye Chengxing looked around the room. “Where are your pants? I’ll get them for you to put on.”

As she spoke, she scanned the ward and spotted the hospital pants in a corner. She picked them up and handed them to Li Jia.

“You’re not feverish now, but it might flare up suddenly in the middle of the night. Put these on first, then get some sleep.”

Li Jia met her gaze.

The Alpha’s eyes brimmed with concern and care—nothing of the repulsive desires Li Jia had expected.

Evidently, her rebirth had influenced things somewhat. Ye Chengxing, for one, had gotten even better at her act than in the previous life.

Suddenly, a dazzlingly radiant smile bloomed on Li Jia’s lips. “I see. I’ll do that.”

For the moment, she no longer wanted to kill this scum outright.

A direct kill was far too boring. No—she would make her life a living hell.

…

Truth be told, after all the commotion, it was already very late. In another two or three hours, dawn would likely break on the horizon.

Ye Chengxing wasn’t just worried about Li Jia. Having only recently transmigrated into the book, she felt no sleepiness herself.

Gazing at the Omega’s peaceful sleeping face, she let out a soft sigh from the depths of her heart. She recalled the trusting gaze full of gratitude that Li Jia had given her before drifting off, and a thread of worry crept in.

An undeveloped villain was hardly any different from a little white flower. Since Ye Chengxing had resolved to heal her, she wouldn’t allow her to suffer any more harm. But that wasn’t enough—she needed to equip her with the means to protect herself.

As these plans took shape in her mind, Ye Chengxing recalled more details. Li Jia was only eighteen. If memory served, in the original plot, her agent and company had kept her completely isolated from the outside world to ensure her total dependence on them. At eighteen, shouldn’t she be going to school? Of course, that would depend on what Li Jia wanted. If acting was her passion, Ye Chengxing could simply found an entertainment company to promote her. Money was no object.

And that agent and company—they needed to be taught a lesson. Utterly vile.

She wondered if the orphanage from Li Jia’s childhood was still around…

The mere thought of those scumbags turned her stomach. She itched to make them pay for their crimes right then and there.

Ye Chengxing continued plotting mentally until she judged the time right. She picked up the thermometer from the bedside table to check Li Jia’s temperature once more.

She had barely risen and approached when Li Jia’s eyes fluttered open. They held no trace of drowsiness—crystal clear, in fact. But with the curtains drawn and the room shrouded in dimness, Ye Chengxing didn’t notice.

Assuming her movement had woken the girl, she felt a pang of regret.

It made sense, of course. An Omega fresh from that hellish environment would sleep lightly, riddled with unease. Softly, she soothed her. “It’s nothing. Fevers can be unpredictable and come back easily, so I’m just taking your temperature. Go back to sleep.”

Ye Chengxing kept her voice low. Her already pleasant, gentle timbre took on an added layer of tenderness in the hush.

At her words—perhaps because it truly was late, or perhaps from sheer exhaustion—Li Jia felt a long-forgotten drowsiness settle over her as Ye Chengxing checked her temperature and murmured reassurances by her ear.

She curled her fingertips, staring at the Alpha’s figure, blurred in the room’s heavy gloom.

A moment later, Li Jia coolly lowered her gaze.

…What an act. Disgusting.