Belika extinguished her phone and turned to look at Pei Shijin.
The two women locked eyes, each seeing their own reflection in the other’s gaze.
Pei Shijin touched the upturned corner of her mouth and manually pressed it down—after all, she was still in their hands, so she couldn’t afford to look too smug.
Both sides held hostages, each other’s most precious treasures. They had no choice but to sit down and make peace.
“I underestimated you,” Belika said coldly.
She didn’t know about the grudge between the Lu Family and the Skull Organization, nor about the events in Haicheng. Otherwise, she certainly would have been more vigilant.
Pei Shijin smiled back, her expression strikingly similar to Belika’s earlier one.
Belika closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her gaze was utterly devoid of emotion.
In the hospital, Dorothy’s ward. At Dorothy’s request, Lu Yixue had brought the reward for their cooperation: a pack of her specified brand of spicy strips.
Lu Yixue tore open the packaging, and the spicy scent instantly dominated the entire room. Smelling the familiar aroma, a smile appeared in Dorothy’s eyes.
“This… is her favorite… thing…” Dorothy said with effort.
Lu Yixue pinched out a strip and took a bite. Tears instantly streamed from her eyes—it was so spicy…
“Haha…” Dorothy’s smile widened at the sight. “She pairs… one spicy strip… with one cup of water…”
It was normal to pay a small price for something you loved.
Lu Yixue set the spicy strips aside and wiped her hands with a wet wipe. She didn’t like anything this spicy.
“When do you think your mother will come? It shouldn’t be long, right? I can’t wait until overnight,” Lu Yixue said to Dorothy, and also to herself, trying to calm her racing heart.
The call from Lu Lingjiang had instructed her to cooperate with Belika as much as possible, or at least resolve things peacefully if cooperation failed.
See, it wasn’t her wife who had been captured, so Lu Lingjiang could coldly suggest such things.
Cooperate how? By sacrificing Pei Shijin’s interests? Lu Yixue couldn’t stomach that.
This feeling of powerlessness was unpleasant. After first tasting it, Lu Yixue had begun seeking change—like recruiting talent and building her own team.
But it was still early days, so she still had to rely on Lu Lingjiang. Thus, Lu Yixue had taken photos to lure Belika over proactively.
She didn’t know how the negotiations would turn out. She only wanted Pei Shijin safe and sound.
Belika walked along without seeing any of her people, realizing the Lu Family had already made their move and had been prepared for her.
It was hard to say whether Pei Shijin falling so easily into her hands was a trap set by the Lu Family to put her at a disadvantage.
She already owed the Lu Family a favor, and now she’d targeted Pei Shijin. Emotionally and rationally, it was her fault.
What a clever scheme.
As soon as Belika entered the ward, she smelled the unpleasant, choking odor, which darkened her already low mood even further.
For a time, Dorothy’s room had been filled with this cheap, nasty smell. Someone had even hidden in their own room, secretly practicing eating spicy food just to keep their lover company.
Belika had always thought that person was a demon who had bewitched Dorothy’s mind.
Why wasn’t it really a demon? Why had it died so easily?
This scent stirred up endless resentment in Belika. If that trash hadn’t died back then, Dorothy wouldn’t have suffered like this.
She wouldn’t blame herself for taking that person’s life—she only blamed them for not being tough enough, for dying so easily at her hands.
Pei Shijin sneezed three times in a row. Her nose felt uncomfortable from the irritation, but the spicy strip scent strangely whetted her appetite.
She wanted spicy strips, but not this spicy—sweet and spicy ones, with a bit of chewiness, but not too tough.
She remembered back in university when Song Zonghui had bought some cheap bulk spicy strips that were especially chewy, leaving both of them with aching temples.
Lu Yixue stared fixedly at Pei Shijin, only to notice her gaze drifting, lost in thought somewhere.
She scanned Pei Shijin from head to toe, her eyes finally settling on Pei Shijin’s neck—the area wrapped up, the bandages so thick they made her neck as wide as her face.
Her molars ground together with a creak. Lu Yixue realized Belika had tampered with Pei Shijin’s gland.
The already fragile gland had been pushed to the brink. Rage surged from Lu Yixue’s heart straight to the top of her head, and she smashed a fist toward Belika’s face.
No one had expected Lu Yixue to strike like that.
Pei Shijin shifted two steps to the left, avoiding being hit by Belika as she staggered backward.
Unfortunately, Belika steadied herself and didn’t fall to the ground as hoped.
She sneered, wiping the corner of her mouth with her thumb. The bright red blood gleamed strikingly under the lights. “I slipped up. I’ll take this punch.”
“But if anything happens to Dorothy, we’ll both go down.”
That was why Lu Lingjiang wanted Lu Yixue to seek a peaceful resolution. Belika had no real roots in the country, but if she truly went mad and pursued relentlessly, it would be hard to defend against.
“We can cooperate. I don’t want to see a vibrant life slip away either. If you’d been upfront with me from the start, I probably would have agreed,” Pei Shijin said. Seeing Lu Yixue’s state, she knew her wife was in a towering rage, possibly lacking reason, so she spoke first.
Belika was momentarily stunned.
If Pei Shijin’s gland had been intact, Belika certainly would have tried diplomacy first. But from Teacher Zheng, Belika knew her gland was already riddled with holes—extracting her gland fluid was tantamount to taking her life. No normal person would agree.
Lu Yixue yanked Pei Shijin behind her and rejected sternly, “No!”
The hand gripping hers conveyed warmth, pressure, and trembling. Pei Shijin’s heart warmed, and the pain in her body faded somewhat.
She was always used to sacrificing herself, but now someone was firmly saying no.
“There are so many people in this world. We can help you find whoever you want, but you can’t do anything to Pei Shijin!”
“Whether the net breaks or not is uncertain, but the fish will definitely die.”
Lu Yixue’s voice was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.
Pei Shijin gripped Lu Yixue’s hand in return, conveying her inner gratitude.
Neither Belika nor Lu Yixue would budge, because there was no one else with a 99% Match Degree to provide samples for those researchers.
Belika had checked everyone in the database—even married ones or those on their deathbeds—but found no matches.
There were surely some unregistered pheromones out there, but time was life. Belika didn’t want to wait around.
The two sides seemed deadlocked.
Pei Shijin couldn’t think of a way to break the impasse—unless someone with 100% or 99% Match Degree with Dorothy suddenly appeared.
“Mother… I’m tired…” Dorothy’s voice shattered the tense atmosphere.
“Then we’ll talk tomorrow. We’re leaving first,” Pei Shijin quickly followed up. She pulled Lu Yixue toward the door.
The weight on her hand grew heavier the further they went. Pei Shijin turned to see Lu Yixue dragging her feet. “Don’t want to leave?”
“Uh… no.” Lu Yixue took a big step to align her shoulders with Pei Shijin’s. She’d only wanted to prolong their hand-holding.
Now that she’d been called out, Lu Yixue stopped playing tricks.
Only then did Pei Shijin realize their hands were still intertwined.
She immediately let go, but Lu Yixue wouldn’t release her grip, so their hands remained stuck together.
Lu Yixue looked down. In this sweltering summer, there was a slight sheen of sweat in her palm, but she didn’t want to let go.
“I want to eat,” Pei Shijin said.
“Okay, I came to bring you food,” Lu Yixue replied. “It’s in the break room. I’ll take you there.”
In the break room, Lu Yixue finally had to release Pei Shijin.
The earlier nutrient meal had been very filling, but now Pei Shijin was craving something.
She opened the insulated lunchbox, and the aroma wafted out.
Pei Shijin picked up a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly.
As she satisfied her cravings, Lu Yixue eyed the back of her neck.
Those bandages looked truly frightening.
A knock sounded at the door. Dr. Feng, panting, leaned against the frame. “My senior sister is ready in the treatment room.”
“Okay.” Lu Yixue looked at Pei Shijin.
Pei Shijin set down her chopsticks directly. She touched the bandages on her neck—Lu Yixue had been so thoughtful, even calling in Dr. Mo.
“Let’s go.” She re-covered the lunchbox, which had only lost a bit of its contents, to eat later when she got hungry.
Unfortunately, she didn’t eat it that night.
Originally, Pei Shijin’s gland had been nourishing well enough for the first surgery soon.
But today, it had been forcibly drained of excessive gland fluid, putting the entire gland on the verge of collapse.
Fortunately, Teacher Zheng had applied needles to seal it, preventing further deterioration.
“It’s good that not much time passed since the extraction. We have to go straight into surgery now to take a chance. The worst outcome is no different from skipping it,” Dr. Mo concluded after her examination.
“What’s the worst outcome?” Lu Yixue’s face drained of color, her lips paling. She hadn’t expected things to be this serious.
“Gland removal,” Dr. Mo said, adjusting her glasses. “Artificial gland research has advanced lately. She might even live to a ripe old age.”
But she would lose all Alpha traits—physical strength, intellect, bodily structure, everything.
Lu Yixue clenched her fists. “Thank you for your trouble.”
Damn Belika, a real scourge. Harming Dorothy and her lover wasn’t enough; now she was out here harming more people.
No wonder Dorothy, her own daughter, saw her as an enemy and wanted her to suffer endlessly.
Pei Shijin pried open Lu Yixue’s fist, her fingertip stroking the nail marks in her palm. “I’ll have good luck.”
“Yeah, you’ll have good luck,” Lu Yixue’s voice choked.
If she had good luck, Gao Ye’an never should have found her. Those years had been so repressed and painful.
Back then, she’d extended a helping hand, but wasn’t Pei Shijin’s current pain partly because of her?
Lu Yixue regretted it deeply now. She’d even been smug back then, thinking she could leverage the Lu Family’s medical team to cooperate with Belika—only to invite the wolf in.
Without that cruise ship incident, Belika might not have pinpointed Dorothy’s illness even until her death.
“I want boiled water cabbage, Buddha jumps over the wall, three-shred shark fin soup, and clear soup official swallow’s nest. Made by you,” Pei Shijin listed four dishes in one breath.
Lu Yixue was stunned, then laughed through her tears. “This much faith in me?”
Each dish more complex than the last. She didn’t know if Pei Shijin really wanted to eat them or just occupy her mind with the elaborate processes.
Pei Shijin hummed in affirmation. “I hope I open my eyes to the smell.”
“Okay.” Regardless of Pei Shijin’s intentions, Lu Yixue agreed.
Watching Pei Shijin wheeled into the operating room, Lu Yixue stood outside, head tilted up at the “In Surgery” sign.
“Let’s go. Eight hours is enough time to make those dishes, right?” Dr. Feng tugged at the dazed Eldest Young Lady Lu. “I promised little Pei I’d supervise you making them yourself.”
Lu Yixue hummed. Heaven’s Mandate was surely on Pei Shijin’s side—the surgery would succeed.
From now on, she had to work hard to satisfy her, to protect her.
