ALSACW – Chapter 5

Now that they had reached an agreement, Tang Jianxi saw no need to remain in the same room with this eyesore of an alpha. Conveniently, her assistant arrived with bodyguards and a change of clothes. After changing, Tang Jianxi was about to leave when Yun Chuji suddenly called out to her, in that same inexplicably aggrieved and stifled tone, “Miss Tang, please take care to disguise yourself upon your departure, lest others easily discern your identity.”

Meeting Tang Jianxi’s confused gaze, Yun Chuji coughed and tried her best to organize her words. “That is… I’ve arranged for people called ‘paparazzi’ to block the door outside. It will likely damage your reputation, Miss Tang.”

Hearing this, Assistant He immediately frowned. Tang Jianxi was covered in an alpha’s scent, and considering she had been out of contact for two full days and nights, the answer was obvious. But her boss had always been cold towards alphas, and she had only ever seen this particular one in photos. How could she have agreed to be permanently marked by her?

Now, this alpha’s words only further proved her ill intentions. Xiao He felt a surge of anger. She was an omega herself and knew just how harsh this society was to them. But she never thought that even someone of Tang Jianxi’s status couldn’t escape an alpha’s schemes. Beyond her anger, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of sorrow.

The actual victim, Tang Jianxi, had a placid expression. She even had the feeling that 【since she’d already been drugged, this kind of tactic seemed reasonable in comparison.】 She was already past being angry. Besides, the person before her had promised to atone with her life. She had originally planned to beat her up, but seeing that the woman’s repentance seemed sincere and absolute, she let the idea go. Now, hearing her confession, she simply gave a slight nod and opened her terminal to have someone clear away the paparazzi.

During the wait, Yun Chuji continued her act of atonement: cleaning the suite.

Tang Jianxi’s long-suppressed curiosity finally surfaced now that the dust had settled. “Do you have some kind of cleaning fetish?”

Or are you just insane?

Yun Chuji pulled her attention away from the glass and explained, “Although I’ve agreed to atone with my life, you must be feeling quite displeased before that happens, Miss Tang. I thought that giving your home a thorough cleaning might serve as a form of atonement. I don’t know how to do anything else.”

Right. She was just insane.

“This isn’t my home. It’s a hotel. And they have housekeeping.”

“……”

Yun Chuji’s face instantly turned crimson as she put down the cleaning cloth.

So this is what Elder Brother called an ‘inn.’ I actually… ah…

Seeing her mortified expression, Tang Jianxi felt the foul mood born from being forced to witness such madness dissipate. She couldn’t help but let out a chuckle before quickly composing herself. She said coolly, “I’ll contact you when it’s time to remove the mark.”

Damn it, why did I think she was a little cute? Could I have Stockholm syndrome?

Tang Jianxi was furious with herself, and her expression grew even colder. But Yun Chuji was already used to her cold face. She merely nodded obediently and sat down far away from Tang Jianxi.

But pheromones, much like an omega’s constitution, had never been ones for reason. Even from that distance, the orchid-scented pheromones still drifted over, delicately coiling around Tang Jianxi’s every breath, as if determined to be beaded with moisture—or to drench the other person in it.

A blush crept onto Tang Jianxi’s face, yet her assistant, also an omega, showed no reaction. The embarrassing part was that this wasn’t the result of the alpha’s ill intentions—the suppressor patch on her neck was stuck on tight. It was simply because their compatibility was too high, and they had undergone the most profound permanent marking, to the point that even a single drop of water could stir up a tidal wave.

This was a point Tang Jianxi had no intention of revealing to anyone. After all, in this world, high compatibility was practically synonymous with “destined.” No matter how much an omega usually advocated for independence, upon hearing of an AO compatibility rate over eighty-five percent, most couldn’t help but take on the role of the empire’s marriage counselors. In an era where the average AO compatibility was a mere fifty percent, a rate exceeding eighty percent was as rare as the Blue Sakura Steel of Cang Star. And Tang Jianxi could feel that her compatibility with Yun Chuji was likely even higher, possibly exceeding ninety percent. Only a rate that high could explain her intense reaction to such faint pheromones.

It would also explain why she had suddenly softened toward Yun Chuji. So what if the alpha was going to atone with her life later? That wouldn’t vent her current anger. The root of the problem was that, on an emotional level, Tang Jianxi couldn’t get angry at all. In fact, she was constantly, restlessly drawn to the alpha, wanting to curl up in her arms, wanting to accept her genetic mission to knot with the alpha, to keep knotting until a genetic descendant was born—damned omega instincts.

Tang Jianxi fiercely turned her head away. “We’re leaving,” she said.

Xiao He quickly tried to dissuade her. “But we can’t be sure all the paparazzi have been cleared out. It’s still risky for you to go out.”

What if—what if the news gets out and this scheming alpha latches onto you!

“If they’re not gone, we’ll clear them out as we go. I’d like to see which tabloid in S-District dares to publish news about me.”

The one your brother has shares in would dare!

Xiao He mumbled, but she didn’t dare say it out loud. The relationship between the omega siblings was truly astounding. There were only two omegas in this generation of the Tang family, and each was more ambitious than the last. Neither wanted to marry; they were too busy fighting for the right of succession. Before Tang Jianxi graduated from university, their competition had been relatively subtle. But once she joined the company, they fought like fighting cocks every single day.

Ah, a correction is needed here. It was actually Tang Jianxi who was unilaterally acting like a fighting cock. Her brother, who was more robot than human, only showed faint emotional fluctuations in tandem with the Tang family’s stock prices.

But before leaving, Tang Jianxi couldn’t resist one last glance at Yun Chuji, who was still in the corner. Tsk, still the same dazed, foolish look.

Weren’t pheromones supposed to have a huge effect on alphas too? These annoying alphas really have it easy in every way.

The fury for omega rights suppressed the turmoil in her omega body. Tang Jianxi retracted her gaze, certain that her earlier wavering was purely due to genetic instinct and had nothing to do with being moved by this alpha’s attentiveness. She was not, in the end, a victim of Stockholm syndrome.

So, what she needed to do now was arrange for the mark removal surgery as soon as possible.

After that, she would see if this alpha could, as she claimed, generously meet her death.

The door was slammed shut. Heavily. It was Xiao He who did it, and she did it on purpose.

The alpha shut inside the room flinched at the sound. Her fair face was fully revealed from the shadows—a flushed, sweat-drenched face.

Her suppressed, ragged breaths were suddenly released. She desperately inhaled the lingering omega pheromones in the air. If one were to peel off her suppressor patch, they would find the pheromones on it had nearly condensed into liquid. Yun Chuji knew this wasn’t normal, just as the acute fragility of her mind wasn’t normal.

Right now, she really wanted to cry.

“It’s a rut.”

A familiar voice from her memories said so.

It was followed by a flood of corresponding knowledge.

“If an omega’s heat is the genetic craving for procreation, then an alpha’s rut is a paranoid yearning for security. Alphas are known for their courage, or rather, their recklessness, because their adrenaline is exceptionally active. But everything has a price, and the rut is the price alphas must pay. During this time, all their suppressed fears and hesitations will cling to them like seaweed left firmly on the beach after the tide recedes. An alpha in rut must create the utmost sense of security, or they will go mad.”

The voice in her memory continued, its owner holding a copy of the Essential AO Physiology Handbook. After reading the passage, she made a note in the margin: Obviously, offense is the greatest security.

Clearly, this person was the original owner of the body.

Yun Chuji had now fallen into a rut, but because her soul was not native to this world, she still had some resistance to the hormonal onslaught.

What should she do?

“An alpha’s sense of security comes first from their mother, and second from the omega they have marked.”

“Tsk, so this is the only thing omegas are good for, huh?” the original owner had scoffed softly. That virus-like alpha superiority was evident in her every word and deed. Although she always gave others the impression of being introverted, gentle, and bookish, the moment she escaped the dangerous outside world and was alone, her alpha pride would eagerly reveal itself.

As Yun Chuji received this memory, she couldn’t help but retort, “What a terrible person. A gentleman is cautious when he is alone. I’ve read few books, but even I know that. Yet this person was lucky enough to study for over a decade and still acted this way.”

But soon, the situation no longer allowed for such lighthearted commentary. She felt as if she had fallen back into the cold darkness after her death. An icy mist caressed her entire body, and the coarse voice of the bandit leader seemed to echo around her: “Little lady, how about you be my wife from now on?”

Then her brother’s voice joined in: “Chuniang, why are you secretly reading my books? You are a woman; reading too much will do you no good. I won’t tell Father and Mother this time, but this cannot happen again.”

And the female tutor: “Miss Yun, your esteemed father has hired me to teach you the etiquette of a highborn lady. From now on, I must be strict.”

“Keep your hands level. Hold this position for two hours.”

“Don’t let your legs tremble. If the bowl on your head falls, you will add another two hours.”

Her mother: “Chuniang, at your age, it is time for you to marry. I think your cousin is a very good match.”

And the cry of an infant from her cousin’s courtyard, and the concubine who was cooing to the child. The concubine had said to her, “Miss, after the young master marries, this child will naturally be handed over to the young mistress’s care.”

Finally, there was Tang Jianxi’s cold, mocking voice: “So you’re the alpha.”

“Alphas can impregnate people, similar to males in the pre-ABO era.”

No, no.

Yun Chuji bit down hard on her finger, almost drawing blood.

Right, the omega.

Yun Chuji scrambled up from the floor and ran to the bathroom.

Thank goodness, the bathrobe was still there.

Yun Chuji grabbed the bathrobe from the rack and wrapped it tightly around herself.

“Not enough,” Yun Chuji murmured.

She ran back to the bed where she and Tang Jianxi had spent the first night. Luckily, she hadn’t cleaned this area yet. She buried herself in the blankets, clutching the bathrobe, building a safe harbor amidst the omega’s pheromones.

It’s okay now. It’s getting better. It will be okay.

But these materials were still too few for proper nesting.

Normally, alphas would have a premonition before entering a rut. They would hide themselves away in a pre-prepared nest, filled with their favorite things and blankets made by their mothers. This nest was usually a narrow space, just large enough for the alpha to turn over slightly. This presidential suite, however, was far too large.

The combination of these two factors caused Yun Chuji to fall back into that darkness by nightfall. Her sanity was torn apart, and fear poured out endlessly. She began to attack.

To attack everything.

The presidential suite was soon in shambles.

This anomaly was naturally noticed by the hotel staff. The fact that an alpha was going through a rut in Miss Tang’s exclusive presidential suite was explosive information—especially since Miss Tang herself had walked out of that very room this morning.

Fortunately, the hotel’s upper management was loyal to Tang Jianxi. The situation was reported to her promptly and exclusively.

Tang Jianxi was silent for a moment.

Ten minutes later.

Xiao He was sent over with a large box of her clothes.

This alpha, really… a rut now of all times. If it had happened after the mark removal, she wouldn’t have cared if she died. But right now, absolutely nothing could happen to Yun Chuji.

Of course, what she didn’t want to admit was that Yun Chuji’s rut had something to do with her.

An omega’s heat releases a hormone that enhances an alpha’s stamina, preparing her body for the prolonged coupling to come. Tang Jianxi had ended her heat prematurely, but the alpha’s hormonally awakened state couldn’t be stopped with inhibitors. That was why alphas rarely allowed omegas to stop midway—partly because desire takes over, and partly because an abrupt stop would inevitably plunge the alpha into a rut.

This was a particularly dangerous choice for an alpha, as they were exceptionally vulnerable during their ruts.

As Tang Jianxi recalled the information about alphas that Xiao He had just looked up for her, a question surfaced in her mind.

How come she showed no signs of it back at the hotel? She even managed to suppress her pheromones.

What a strange alpha. Strange in every single way.