Accidentally Marked My Ex’s Crush, the Ice-Cold Goddess O - Chapter 52: No Kissing This Time

Chapter 52: No Kissing This Time

The conference lasted three hours before it ended.

After the principal gave the final remarks and advice for the students’ future, the students gradually left the venue.

Jiang Ci stood up with her bag, planning to go backstage to apologize to Dr. Gu, but as she reached the steps, two suited bodyguards blocked her, saying, “Outsiders are not allowed here.”

“Sorry.”

Jiang Ci turned to leave and waited outside the auditorium for Dr. Gu. After about ten minutes, she saw her.

But Dr. Gu came out with the principal and Qi Yusi.

Jiang Ci stood under a sycamore tree, carrying her bag with one hand, the dense green shade covering half her figure.

The principal walked beside them, and someone held a black umbrella overhead to block the sun and others’ view. “Thank you, President Qi and Miss Gu, for attending our school’s conference today. It was hard work for both of you.”

Qi Yusi said, “Principal Xia, you’re too polite. It’s our honor to speak to so many excellent students at your school.”

Principal Xia looked at Gu Feiran respectfully and said, “Miss Gu, thank you for your hard work today.”

Gu Feiran, still wearing her mask, slowed her steps and stopped. The dozen people behind her stopped in sync.

With a cold gaze fixed ahead, Gu Feiran said, “I heard your school holds such conferences every year, is that right?”

Principal Xia lowered his head slightly and replied, “Yes.”

Gu Feiran said, “Then, starting next year, you don’t need to hold them. If you must, the conference must be open to all students so everyone can hear what’s discussed. As the head of the school, you can’t be so biased.”

“…Yes, Miss Gu.”

Principal Xia didn’t dare look up at her.

Qi Yusi, standing nearby, noticed Principal Xia’s attitude toward Gu Feiran and felt a bit surprised. Even if she was an S-level omega, for a principal to act so humbly seemed excessive. And how could she have the authority to decide school matters?

Gu Feiran said, “Then I’ll leave now.”

Principal Xia quickly raised his head and said, “Miss Gu, we’ve prepared a special car to take you. Would you like…”

Gu Feiran replied, “No need, I’ll go back myself.”

She left without letting anyone follow.

It was a good opportunity, and Qi Yusi wanted to chase after her to offer a ride, but seeing her bad mood, he decided not to invite trouble. He’d just visit the hospital more often later.

Gu Feiran left the auditorium and contacted her driver to pick her up on a side path. Just after sending the message, a familiar car screeched to a stop in front of her. The driver opened the door, jogged around the front of the car, and approached.

Jiang Ci said, “Dr. Gu.”

When the car stopped, Gu Feiran edited and sent another message to her driver. After getting a reply, she put away her phone, looked at Jiang Ci, and said, “Do we know each other?”

Jiang Ci thought, “…”

What do you mean, don’t know? We know each other very well.

Jiang Ci apologized directly, “About Qi Yusi, I misunderstood you without knowing the situation, mocked you, made decisions on my own, and secretly deleted the data. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Gu Feiran said, “And then?”

“And then?” Jiang Ci thought for a moment, opened the passenger door, and took out flowers that had been in the car for nearly a day.

The flowers looked quite wilted.

If she had known she’d meet Dr. Gu here today, she would’ve bought a fresh bouquet.

Jiang Ci straightened the wilted flowers herself and handed them to Dr. Gu with one hand. “I bought these yesterday to apologize, but I didn’t see you, so they stayed in the car. They’re a bit wilted now. If you don’t like them, I’ll buy you new ones.”

Gu Feiran glanced at them and said, “I don’t like them.”

Jiang Ci pulled the flowers back, holding them to her chest, and said sincerely, “Then let’s go to a flower shop now, and I’ll buy you new ones?”

Gu Feiran, wearing a mask today, had put extra effort into her eye makeup, with sharp, confident eyeliner. When she looked at Jiang Ci, her eyes held a hint of amusement. “Why should I go to a flower shop with you? And why do you think that if I accept your flowers, it means I accept your apology?”

“You’re right,” Jiang Ci realized suddenly.

Gu Feiran thought, “…”

Gu Feiran sighed lightly and turned to leave.

Jiang Ci instinctively called out, following her and gently grabbing her arm. Standing close, she coaxed softly, “I know I was wrong. Please don’t be mad, okay? I’ll behave from now on and won’t do such shady things again.”

Gu Feiran stopped, forced to stay. “I can go back myself. You go do your own thing. Don’t worry about me.”

Jiang Ci held on, refusing to let go. “It’s a long way from here to the school gate. You’re wearing high heels; you’ll get tired walking.”

“It’s fine, my feet are tough,” Gu Feiran said.

Jiang Ci went quiet for a moment, then let go, walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and took out a pair of white sneakers and white socks from the storage box. She placed the flowers on the driver’s seat, carried the shoes to Dr. Gu, and knelt on one knee in front of her.

Jiang Ci gently held Dr. Gu’s left ankle, removed her high heel, and placed her foot on her leg to put on a sock. “The socks are new, never worn. The shoes are ones I use for driving, changed weekly. I just put these on today and haven’t worn them yet.”

She put on the shoe, set it on the ground, tied the laces, and then switched the other high heel.

Jiang Ci said, “Don’t be mad. I know you were looking out for me. That day, when I saw Qi Yusi giving you flowers, I lost my balance and acted impulsively, doing things I shouldn’t have. That night, I figured it out, but I didn’t tell you because I knew admitting it would make you mad. I’m sorry.”

After changing both shoes, Jiang Ci stood up, holding the high heels, and continued, “It’s over thirty degrees at noon, and you’ve been wearing a mask without taking it off. You must be sweating. My car has air conditioning set to twenty-six degrees, nice and cool. Plus, driving to the school gate is faster than walking. I’ll take you there and then get you a cab, okay?”

Jiang Ci spoke word by word, then helped remove Dr. Gu’s mask. As expected, a thin layer of sweat glistened at the tip of her nose.

Jiang Ci had prepared a whole speech to apologize repeatedly, but seeing Dr. Gu’s delicate, lightly powdered yet strikingly beautiful face without the mask, she froze, entranced. Unable to help herself, she hooked an arm around Dr. Gu’s slim waist, closed her eyes, and leaned in for a kiss.

“Hmm?”

Before Jiang Ci could kiss her, she snapped awake, opening her eyes.

Gu Feiran pinched both sides of her cheeks, making her lips pout, revealing two rows of white teeth. “I haven’t forgiven you yet. Did you just charm yourself while talking?”

“No,” Jiang Ci mumbled, her speech unclear. “I just… couldn’t hold back for a moment.”

Gu Feiran looked away and let go of her face.

Jiang Ci raised her other hand to hug Dr. Gu, touching her forehead with her own, and said, “Don’t be mad.”

Gu Feiran remained unmoved.

Jiang Ci kept nudging her forehead gently, on and off.

—

Lunchtime had passed, and neither had eaten.

Jiang Ci took Dr. Gu to a Western restaurant. Though there weren’t many people, they still got a private room.

At the start of the meal, Jiang Ci didn’t say a word. Only when she noticed Dr. Gu eating more slowly did she ask, “Why did you come to the school for this kind of conference?”

Gu Feiran scooped a bite of strawberry-flavored dessert with a spoon. “What kind of conference?”

Jiang Ci let out a puzzled “Hmm,” and said, “The one this morning. Weren’t you the last to speak?”

Gu Feiran said, “I know. I’m asking, what kind of conference is it?”

Jiang Ci caught the unexpected meaning in her words and said, “It’s a pointless, garbage conference. It starts with ideological education, then moves to gland level education, extending to social hierarchy education and so on. Your final speech about youth was just like putting a bouquet of flowers on a pile of trash.”

Gu Feiran said, “Not bad, you’re not dumb. I thought you alphas and omegas in the audience were just bookworms who only know how to study.”

Jiang Ci saw her eating dessert nonstop and slid her own portion over. “What bookworms? Everyone knows what’s going on, but we’re used to the school’s rhetoric. Plus, we don’t want to mess up our graduation, so we don’t make a fuss.”

Jiang Ci added, “You didn’t graduate from Linjiang University, and your profession isn’t teaching. Why did you agree to come to this conference?”

Gu Feiran said, “Your principal said it himself at the start—S-level omega. I came because of that identity. Also, before my business trip, someone brought your principal to the hospital director’s office to invite me. They said I just needed to read a script at the conference, nothing else. I only found out today what kind of conference it was.”

“They tricked you into coming. What liars,” Jiang Ci complained for her. The school people were really up to no good.

Gu Feiran glanced up, noticing a small piece of steak left on her plate, and said, “Hurry up and eat. Then come back with me. We’re not done with our business.”

Jiang Ci thought, “…”

Suddenly, she wanted to order another steak.

After they finished eating and paid, they went home and headed straight to the bedroom. Gu Feiran opened the box with the detector. “Tell me, what data did you delete? You better not lie to me, or I’ll kick you out with your stuff right now.”

Jiang Ci, already nervous the whole way, stood obediently beside her and explained, “That day Qi Yusi came to the hospital to see you, I attended a banquet. After leaving, my nape suddenly felt off, like I was having an episode. So I had the driver take me to the hospital to find you. At the entrance, I saw Qi Yusi holding flowers and standing with you. My first reaction was to overthink and misunderstand your relationship.”

Gu Feiran said, “Get to the point.”

Jiang Ci quickly continued, “The point is, my nape felt hot and burning, very uncomfortable. I couldn’t smell my pheromones, and the driver, a beta, couldn’t either, so I didn’t know if there was any pheromone scent. When I got home, I thought I couldn’t keep going like this, so I injected two suppressants into my nape gland. The first shot didn’t do much, the second had some effect, but I passed out after. The next day, Little Aunt came and woke me up.”

The next day?

So that day, Dr. Jiang left in such a hurry because she was unconscious at home. Gu Feiran’s guess was right.

And then Jiang Ci had mocked her sarcastically.

Gu Feiran said, “You really don’t care about your life. Without pheromones, you couldn’t test your resistance to suppressants. If something went wrong, I’d have to visit you at the cemetery.”

Jiang Ci guiltily touched the corner of her eye. “I didn’t think much about it then. Luckily, I was fine afterward.”

Gu Feiran asked, “What was the data you deleted?”

Jiang Ci didn’t dare hide anything and answered, “The data was from the test before I passed out after the suppressants. I tested for ten minutes, and the detector showed a pheromone concentration of ninety-nine. After waking up, I thought it was impossible. When I went to delete the data, I confirmed it was indeed ninety-nine.”

Ninety-nine, a level only an S-level alpha could reach.

Could her gland have changed toward becoming an S-level alpha? If so, that wasn’t bad, as long as it didn’t endanger her life.

Gu Feiran thought for a moment and said, “Go take a shower. I have time now. Let’s do a simple test.”

“Okay.” Jiang Ci smiled and left immediately.

Gu Feiran thought, “…”

After their showers, they lay in bed. Before starting, Gu Feiran pressed a hand against Jiang Ci’s shoulder and said, “No kissing this time.”

“What?” Jiang Ci protested unhappily. “No kissing? How do we test then? Just with hands? That won’t do.”

Gu Feiran said, “That’s your problem.”

Jiang Ci frowned, reluctantly arguing, “Dr. Gu, it seems like you’re always the one testing or being the pillow princess, and I’m just… fine, I’ll listen to you. Whatever you say goes. No kissing, then.”

Her sudden agreement gave Gu Feiran a bad feeling.

Jiang Ci moved her hand to the pillow, leaned down in the dim light, and obediently followed orders, not kissing. But…

Gu Feiran instantly frowned and glared at her.

Jiang Ci pretended to be blind, ignoring it, closed her eyes, and continued what she was doing. It was her request, after all.

“You!” Gu Feiran raised her swan-like neck, toes curling, her slender hands pushing, but Jiang Ci stayed unfazed, grabbing her hands and pinning them aside, whispering ambiguous words in her ear, deliberately teasing her.

She got excited, and Gu Feiran didn’t hold back either.

The two ended an awkward and absurd encounter. Afterward, Jiang Ci’s pheromone concentration remained zero, while Gu Feiran’s dropped sharply to an average of sixty.

Gu Feiran got up to shower again. While Jiang Ci waited her turn, she tidied the bed and used items.

She put the detector back in its box and returned it to its place.

While tidying, she muttered quietly, “No kissing for the test? An S-level omega with a normal pheromone concentration of sixty, and just when it was about to hit ninety-six, it dropped to sixty. Who’s to blame, huh?”

Gu Feiran came out of the shower, legs still weak, but seeing Jiang Ci, she had enough strength to want to hit her.

Jiang Ci grabbed her pajamas and went to shower, passing Dr. Gu with a gentle, friendly smile.

Gu Feiran thought, “…”

—

Jiang Ci stayed until evening before leaving. She had taken the day off, but there was still a lot of work at the company.

The key issue was the five million penalty fee, due in less than twenty days, with no leads on how to gather it. She couldn’t exactly rob a bank.

As soon as Jiang Ci got home, Xiao Ning sent a message.

Xiao Ning: Sis, I’m coming back to the country soon. My luggage is already being shipped home bit by bit. Remember to sign for it.

Jiang Ci smiled: Okay, when are you coming back?

Xiao Ning: Maybe before your birthday, maybe after. But I’ll try to make it before. It’s been a long time since I spent your birthday with you.

Jiang Ci: No need to rush. Come back on your own schedule.

Xiao Ning: Got it. Rest early, Sis.

Jiang Ci: Okay.

These past few days, Jiang Ci juggled work and the penalty fee issue. She picked out several trending collaborations, but as expected, they all required time. Earning five million in twenty days was impossible.

Just when Jiang Ci was at a loss, someone came to her—Qiao Zhenfei and Qiao Yunchi.

At the Qiao family company, Jiang Ci sat across from them.

Jiang Ci said, “I wonder what Chairman Qiao and Miss Qiao want with me?”

Qiao Yunchi looked at her, concerned. “You’ve lost a lot of weight since we last met. Have you been doing okay?”

Jiang Ci replied, “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, Miss Qiao.”

With Qiao Zhenfei there, she had to be polite.

Qiao Yunchi said, “About the broken engagement, Yishu told me you said you don’t mind and hope I’m doing well. Is that true? I want to hear it from you.”

Jiang Ci sat up straight. “It’s true. Our relationship was rushed from the start, a momentary mistake. Realizing and correcting it during the engagement wasn’t too late.”

Qiao Yunchi said gently, “I’m glad you think that way.”

Jiang Ci smiled lightly. “I really do. I doubt you and Chairman Qiao came to see me just to talk about the engagement, right?”

Qiao Zhenfei said bluntly, “I want to invite you to a talk show. One hour, one million. Will you do it?”

One hour, one million.

Jiang Ci wanted to agree immediately but held back. If they could offer one million, they could offer more.

Jiang Ci asked, “A talk show?”

Qiao Zhenfei said, “Yunchi’s new drama is about to air, but her rivals bought a lot of dirt, saying she broke off the engagement because she looked down on you, a disabled failure. It’s hurting Yunchi’s reputation. You just need to go on the show to explain and clarify. One hour, one million. It’s a good price.”

Jiang Ci clasped her hands, thought for a moment, and said, “I can agree, but I want three million. Also, additional payment based on the show’s popularity and quality should be included in the contract.”

“You!” Qiao Zhenfei almost slammed the table. “Jiang Ci, that’s a ridiculous demand. Three million for an hour? Why don’t you rob a bank?”

Jiang Ci explained, “Chairman Qiao, don’t be mad. My past with Miss Qiao stayed on the trending list for days; it was huge. With Miss Qiao’s drama airing soon, me speaking out now can boost her show and clear things up. But I’ll also take the risk of being criticized. Three million is reasonable, don’t you think?”

“Jiang Ci!” Qiao Zhenfei was furious.

Qiao Yunchi put a hand on her arm. “Mom, Xiao Ci makes sense. Three million is fine, as long as this issue is settled. Don’t be mad. I’ll pay.”

Qiao Zhenfei said, “It’s not about who pays. This Jiang Ci is just making outrageous demands.”

Jiang Ci assured her, “Chairman Qiao, rest assured. Since I’m taking this much money, I’ll deliver results worth it. I’ll take full responsibility for the issue with Miss Qiao and clear her name.”

“Fine, you said it,” Qiao Zhenfei gritted her teeth.

The next day, the contract was signed. As agreed, Jiang Ci met the talk show crew at the office.

The editor handed her the draft. “Miss Jiang, you can review the script first.”

Jiang Ci took it. “Okay.”

Jiang Ci opened the first page to see the show’s name, then flipped to the interview content. The first question that caught her eye was: What are your thoughts and feelings about being mocked for your pheromone and gland disability?

The second question: If you stay like this for life, would you still consider marrying an omega?

The questions were sharp but answerable.

While Jiang Ci read, the editor said, “You can write answers for these questions in advance. We’ll review them. If they pass, you can use them directly on the show without thinking up new ones.”

Jiang Ci said, “Okay.”

The editor added, “As for questions about Miss Qiao, they’re later in the script. We’ll ask them casually, so you should act casual too, to make it more authentic when it airs.”

Jiang Ci nodded. “Got it.”

Jiang Ci took the questions home, wrote answers for all twenty, and sent them via email.

Two days later, the show was recorded at the TV station, with Jiang Ci as one of the guests.

During the interview, the host asked the earlier questions according to the script, and Jiang Ci answered as prepared. But at the seventeenth question, the host started asking the “casual” questions.

The host said, “Miss Jiang, when you were dating Miss Qiao, did she ever look down on you for your disability?”

When the host asked this, the audience gasped. The question was pre-set, but the audience wasn’t, and their reaction was strong and obvious.

Jiang Ci pretended to be stunned, slowly lowering her head with a wistful expression. “I don’t know if this question is appropriate, but since you asked, I’ll answer. No, she never looked down on me. In fact, she often praised and encouraged me. I’m very grateful to have met and known her. Honestly, about the broken engagement, if she hadn’t done it, I would have. We weren’t right for each other. My presence would only hold her back from her future. Without me, she’ll go further, and I can let go of my pressure and move forward.”

The host asked, “On the day of the broken engagement, Miss Qiao said she had someone she liked. What’s your take on that?”

This was the question that got Qiao Yunchi the most online hate.

Jiang Ci answered according to her draft. “A marriage without true feelings is just a farce. If she broke off the engagement because she looked down on my disability, she wouldn’t be the person I thought she was. Luckily, she has someone she likes.”

The interview was recorded a week in advance. When it aired a week later, the talk show hit the trending list.

Jiang Ci and Qiao Yunchi’s names trended side by side again.

At the hospital, while Gu Feiran checked a ward, a patient’s family member looked at their phone and said, “Wow, Jiang Ci clarified things with Qiao Yunchi. After all this time, still clarifying. True love, huh.”

“What? Let me see.”

“Look, Jiang Ci went on a talk show and publicly said she hopes Qiao Yunchi does well. That’s true love.”