Chapter 67: Why!?

Lu Yixue received the address and immediately contacted her people to head over. After dispatching them, she hesitated in place, pondering whether she should go herself.

She had contacted the private detective back then just to vent her inner anxiety, never expecting that they would find the targets even before the Lu Family’s professionals.

This gave Lu Yixue a chance to check out the scene in person.

If it were just her, she had no interest in watching a cornered beast struggle. She wondered if Pei Shijin wanted to see it.

Some people felt a sense of satisfaction or relief seeing those who had once bullied them at the end of their rope, disheveled and desperate.

Lu Yixue glanced at Pei Shijin. Perhaps it was a meeting of minds, as Pei Shijin looked over at just that moment.

Their eyes met, and Lu Yixue decided to ask Pei Shijin’s opinion directly. From now on, in all their actions, she would make timely communication a priority.

Before she could walk over, her phone vibrated. Lu Yixue looked down and saw it was from Pei Shijin: [Something up?]

She really did prefer communicating via phone. Lu Yixue’s lips curved up as her fingertips tapped out a reply: [Got word that they’ve found where Bai Mingsong and her group are hiding. I’ve sent people to capture them. Want to see the scene?]

Pei Shijin smiled and let out a soft sigh, replying, [It’s not anything good. I’ll pass.]

[Want to see them after they’re caught?] Lu Yixue asked.

[Yeah, I’d like to see them.] Pei Shijin paused for a moment before sending another message: [Will they be handed over to the police after capture?]

[Should be tomorrow.] Lu Yixue planned to interrogate them first and find out their connection to that organization.

As she looked at Pei Shijin’s message, a thought struck her—did those words carry deeper meaning? She quickly added: [These people have definitely done plenty of illegal things. We’re all law-abiding citizens; we won’t resort to vigilante justice.]

After sending it, Lu Yixue almost laughed at her own message. She had mainly been worried that Pei Shijin might misunderstand the Lu Family—they had always been upstanding citizens for generations.

Pei Shijin looked at Lu Yixue, who stood straight by the doorframe, head lowered as she stared at her phone screen, the curve of her lips making her look quite happy.

She wanted to tell Lu Yixue that she wasn’t some naive little white rabbit. She had dodged debts, worked odd jobs, and encountered plenty of disgusting things. She had also helped Lu Lingjiang handle some matters that couldn’t see the light of day, giving her a deep understanding of the world’s dangers.

But after typing it out, Pei Shijin deleted it. There was no need to say it.

[Yeah, I know.] That was all Pei Shijin replied in the end.

“Mingzhu, Mommy has to head out for a bit. You and Mama eat dinner without me; don’t wait up,” Lu Yixue said after changing out of her white dress into a suit. She cleared her throat and walked to the living room to inform Little Mingzhu.

“Huh?” Little Mingzhu checked her watch. “But dinner’s about to be ready. Can’t Mommy eat first and then go?”

“It came up suddenly—it’s urgent. How about we have a late-night snack together when Mommy gets back?” Lu Yixue negotiated with her.

“Okay, Mommy be safe~” Little Mingzhu urged.

“Got it.” Lu Yixue smiled and turned to Pei Shijin, staring openly without any attempt to hide it.

Pei Shijin felt a shiver under the gaze, not expecting her own cue. She probed, “Be safe?”

Lu Yixue’s smile grew more genuine. “Yes, I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

It felt just like a warm, cozy family of three. Unbeknownst to herself, Pei Shijin’s lips curved upward too.

“Mommy, what are we eating?” Little Mingzhu asked.

“Whatever you want, we’ll make it,” Pei Shijin said.

Little Mingzhu pondered, so torn—everything sounded good. “I want mille-feuille pancakes and egg tarts.”

“Then let’s make them. Mama will teach you, and we’ll do it together, okay?” Pei Shijin asked.

“Yay, yes!” Little Mingzhu was thrilled.

On this side, the mother and daughter pair enjoyed themselves immensely, watching cartoons while mixing dough.

Meanwhile, Lu Yixue’s mood wasn’t as upbeat.

Bai Mingsong and her group were hiding in an urban village, thinking it was perfectly concealed, so they hadn’t set up much defense.

At that moment, they were drinking beer, grilling skewers, and trash-talking, waiting for the matter to blow over before coming back to avenge Bai Mingsong.

Bai Mingsong’s face was dark as she viciously chewed the meat in her mouth, imagining it was Pei Shijin’s flesh. Only then did her mood improve a bit.

Unfortunately, time had been tight this time, and their tracks had been discovered. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let Pei Shijin off so easily.

“Hey, do you guys smell something? It’s kinda fresh and fragrant,” someone suddenly piped up.

The others sniffed around, trying to catch the scent she mentioned.

“Fuck, my head’s spinning.”

“Shit, it’s poison!”

The five people in the room collapsed one after another. Before passing out, Bai Mingsong seemed to glimpse Lu Yixue.

For safety’s sake, the Lu Family people had opted to use knockout drugs first.

Once they confirmed the drugs had taken effect, they bound everyone up, and only then was Lu Yixue allowed in.

Lu Yixue’s gaze swept over the five sprawled figures without lingering, instead inspecting the house.

Nothing with the Thunderbolt Skull symbol was visible on the surface; this seemed to be just a temporary hideout.

She specifically searched the bedroom and study, and sure enough, she found a USB drive marked with the Thunderbolt Skull under the mattress.

But it was password-protected. Lu Yixue plugged it into the study computer, and the interface popped up demanding a password.

It felt like these people were on some mission and had helped Bai Mingsong along the way, rather than targeting Pei Shijin specifically.

Plainly put, Pei Shijin wasn’t worth all this effort from so many people.

Or maybe the others didn’t know what Bai Mingsong had done?

She’d find out during the interrogation. Lu Yixue told herself not to rush.

Lu Lingjiang had borrowed people from the You Family and their facilities too. The five were tossed into the dungeon.

“Miss, the family head only permits you to see Bai Mingsong.” Lu Yixue wanted to join the interrogation but was stopped.

What exactly was Lu Lingjiang hiding? Lu Yixue clenched her fist but had to yield. “Fine.”

She could have someone crack the USB drive first. Her intuition told her there were surprises inside.

Self-righteous parents could be so annoying sometimes. But it was also because she was incapable, unable to act on her own and having to borrow her mother’s power.

Lu Yixue’s ambition burned even brighter.

The dungeon was damp, dark, and sunless, but the overhead fluorescent lights blazed day and night.

Bai Mingsong was roused by a bucket of ice water. Ice cubes pelted her head, face, and body—freezing and painful.

She had been dumped on the stone floor, which dug into her painfully.

Bai Mingsong painfully pushed herself up on her upper body. With her movement, the chains clinked loudly. Her waist, wrists, and neck were all locked in chains.

“Ah-Xue?” After sitting up, the first thing Bai Mingsong saw was Lu Yixue, who sat in a chair with two black-clad people standing one on each side behind her. They held ice buckets, water dripping from the ladles in their hands.

She looked shocked and suspicious. “How are you here? Where am I? Let me go!”

Lu Yixue gazed at Bai Mingsong in confusion, truly unable to comprehend how she had infiltrated that organization. Did they have a soft spot for idiots and morons?

Lu Yixue remained silent. After howling until she was tired with no response, Bai Mingsong seemed to face reality and stopped shouting.

She tilted her head back and glared darkly at Lu Yixue. She had done all this for Lu Yixue, but Lu Yixue showed no appreciation and had even come to capture her for Pei Shijin’s sake.

I offered my heart to the bright moon, only for it to shine on the ditch. Since Lu Yixue was blind and deaf, she could only put in more effort to cure her.

By now, getting Lu Yixue had become an obsession, no longer simple affection.

“I’ll give you a chance. Tell me who helped you escape back?” Lu Yixue asked.

“Aren’t you going to ask why I targeted Pei Shijin? Having wild dogs tear her apart was just one way I designed for her to die.” Bai Mingsong narrowed her eyes and smoothed her wet hair, countering with a question instead.

“Nothing worth asking.” Lu Yixue had no interest in a criminal’s motives. She just wanted to pry information about that organization from Bai Mingsong’s mouth.

“Hahaha,” Bai Mingsong laughed. “I knew you didn’t like her either. People like you wouldn’t like her.”

“No, I like her. I didn’t ask because you won’t affect her anymore. Got it?” Lu Yixue said flatly, her indifferent gaze driving Bai Mingsong mad.

“Why? We grew up together. We have a marriage pact. We’re meant to be married! Just because I’m not an Alpha? Damn differentiation!” Bai Mingsong’s eyes bulged, nearly popping out of their sockets. She was fed up with this damn world—why did Alphas always get the preferential treatment?!

“It’s got nothing to do with gender. Forget liking you,” Lu Yixue swept her gaze over Bai Mingsong’s face like she was trash. “If we hadn’t grown up together, you wouldn’t even qualify as my friend.”

“Lazy, indolent, incompetent, unambitious, greedy, depraved, lacking self-awareness…”

With each word Lu Yixue said, Bai Mingsong’s face paled further. By the end, she laughed in fury. “Don’t think your high-and-mighty words will fool me. If you don’t care about gender, why won’t you become a Beta?”

“But it’s fine. I love you. For you, I can change myself.” Bai Mingsong traced Lu Yixue’s features with what she thought was a deep, affectionate gaze, making Lu Yixue feel nauseous.

But Bai Mingsong’s words put Lu Yixue on alert. Change herself? What did that mean?

“Heh.” Bai Mingsong chuckled lowly. “Smell that? Your favorite Cabernet Sauvignon.”

Cabernet Sauvignon was one of Lu Yixue’s favorite red wines, with a hint of mint and cedar.

Lu Yixue furrowed her brows and immediately held her breath.

“Holding your breath won’t help,” Bai Mingsong laughed maniacally. “Pheromones aren’t something you can block by not breathing.”

Her eyes bulged red, her face flushed and swollen from strain.

“This is a pheromone specially made for you—”

Bai Mingsong’s smugness cut off abruptly as she saw Lu Yixue clutch her knees and dry-heave. “Urp—”

Anyone could see her disgust; even Bai Mingsong spotted the goosebumps rising on Lu Yixue’s arms.

“Why?! Why is this happening!” Bai Mingsong thrashed, filling the room with the clash of chains. She roared in disbelief, “It was specially tuned to your pheromones!”

“Have you been permanently marked already?!” Only an Omega permanently marked by an Alpha would have a physiological aversion to other Alphas’ pheromones.

Only then did Lu Yixue realize what Bai Mingsong was doing. A Beta suddenly turning Alpha was absolutely tied to that organization!

She felt both agitated and sickened, deciding to prepare before the next interrogation. “Knock her out!”

At the same time, Lu Yixue hurried toward the door. Before she reached it, the door opened from outside, and Pei Shijin caught the leg-weak Lu Yixue as she stumbled.

“Are you okay?” Pei Shijin asked worriedly. She had sensed a fellow Alpha’s scent from outside—the thick Alpha pheromone had disgusted her.

“I’m fine,” Lu Yixue tugged at her pale lips and smiled. “I think I might not drink Cabernet Sauvignon anymore.”

It smelled too awful, too nauseating. But strangely, she had never felt that way about the sea salt flavor; she had never disliked Pei Shijin’s pheromones.

She even had the mood to joke—must not be too serious, Pei Shijin reassured herself. But seeing Lu Yixue suffer still made her heart ache.

She quickly scooped Lu Yixue up and carried her out. Before leaving, she glanced at the knocked-out Bai Mingsong, deep loathing in her eyes.

She didn’t know why she had become an Alpha, but it would only make her future days even harder.

Aside from her father, this was the second time Pei Shijin felt the urge to kill someone.