After the Divorce, My Ex-Wife Suddenly Became an Alpha - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Guessing the Heart

“The fever has gone down a bit.”

After rechecking the temperature, Gu Jin Xiao finally let out a small sigh of relief. Even for a healthy Alpha, repeated fevers were tormenting—let alone for Chi Yuejing, who was still injured. The high fever posed a serious risk of secondary infection to her wounds.

Fortunately, although the medicine Dr. Lan had left was quite strong, it seemed to be working.

Once these few days passed, she would need to convince her to undergo treatment in the medical capsule as soon as possible.

As Gu Jin Xiao silently calculated the next steps, she happened to glance at the person on the couch. Chi Yuejing had already sat up and was leaning toward the coffee table. Gu Jin Xiao reacted instinctively, quickly turning around to press down her hand and stop her. “What are you doing?”

Chi Yuejing was startled, pausing a few seconds before replying in a raspy voice, “I’m a bit thirsty…”

Gu Jin Xiao froze for a moment, then felt a wave of self-reproach. It was common sense that patients with high fevers would lose fluids rapidly and need regular hydration. She quickly let go and tried to cover her mistake by saying, “If you need anything, just tell me. I’ll get it for you.”

At the small bar, the instant water dispenser was running. She took out a clean glass, poured in some hot water, and mixed in a bit of cool water. Judging by feel that the temperature was just right, she walked back with it.

The patient was already sitting upright on the sofa again. Though her face still looked pale and worn, she carried her usual graceful and composed demeanor. Gu Jin Xiao handed her the cup, and worried she might not be able to hold it steadily, she didn’t let go right away—instead waiting a few more seconds.

Their fingertips brushed lightly.

Seeing the sudden flicker in Chi Yuejing’s gaze, Gu Jin Xiao couldn’t help but find it amusing. As she passed her the cup, she teased casually, “Not long ago, someone was all pitiful and clingy, crying and refusing to let go of my hand unless I stayed during the injection.”

The remark hit right at the prideful Alpha’s ego. Chi Yuejing looked stunned for a second, then immediately dropped her eyes and drank a few big gulps of water—so fast she practically buried her whole face in the cup’s rim. Only after a long moment did she mumble, “I wasn’t being clingy…”

Gu Jin Xiao, still caught up in the memory, didn’t think much of it and simply continued with a smile: “Yes, yes, of course. Our brave Colonel Chi would never show weakness in front of others…”

Her voice was light and playful, her eyes curling into a charming arc. The teasing tone made it clear she was in a good mood after catching her usually invulnerable counterpart off guard. Watching Gu Jin Xiao like this, Chi Yuejing’s lips couldn’t help but curve up slightly too.

“What if I said… it was only because it was you? That I acted like that?”

It was like a gentle gust of wind breezing through a cracked-open heart, carrying a soft scent of white iris—stroking, brushing against the edges of her guarded soul, and unfurling delicate petals of expectation.

The smile froze on Gu Jin Xiao’s face. She hadn’t expected such a direct confession, especially not from someone like Chi Yuejing, who had just slammed a fastball straight into her undefended heart.

Chi Yuejing was still looking at her—those bright peach blossom eyes were hazy with lingering fever. Usually so sharp and piercing, now they shimmered with a rare, tender calmness… and something like hope.

Like a test taker frozen at the sight of an unstudied question, Gu Jin Xiao suddenly couldn’t find the courage to face what might be a very simple answer.

She opened her mouth, but her throat felt glued shut. A strange thirst bloomed in her chest, spreading out rapidly. Anxious, she broke eye contact, reached for her own glass on the coffee table, and drank several gulps of water with unusual urgency.

It felt like pouring water into a desert—useless. The heat only intensified. Worse, when she finally looked down at the cup she’d just emptied, she realized something horrifying.

It looked… very familiar?

Scanning the coffee table again, she confirmed it: the surface was spotless, and the only cup present was the one she was holding.

Chi Yuejing was already chuckling out loud.

A flush of red shot across Gu Jin Xiao’s cheeks. Even the glass cup in her hand felt scorching hot. How could this happen… Everything she’d just drunk had turned into burning heat, flooding through her veins, shooting straight to her head. For a moment, she genuinely suspected Chi Yuejing had passed her fever on to her.

It was humiliating.

“No worries,” Chi Yuejing added helpfully, still grinning as she reached over and gently took the cup from her, placing it back upright. “I didn’t drink from that side.”

There was a faint lip stain on one side of the rim—an unmistakable mark.

Gu Jin Xiao was mortified. She wanted to snatch up the cup and destroy the evidence, but before she could react, Chi Yuejing stood up again, already cradling the glass carefully: “Don’t throw it out. It just needs a wash.”

And with that, she headed off toward the kitchen. The sound of running water followed soon after.

Left alone, Gu Jin Xiao bit her lip and raised her hand to cover her flushed, overheated face. She was so caught up in her embarrassment that she didn’t notice—

Chi Yuejing lingered longer than necessary at the sink. Holding the cup with gentle hands, her gaze clung to the faint lip print as if it were a fragile treasure. Slowly, reverently, she lifted it toward her face.

Then her lashes trembled, and she pressed her lips to the stain in a silent kiss.

“….”

Chi Yuejing had thought, after such an embarrassing moment in the living room, Gu Jin Xiao would likely give her the cold shoulder. But back in the bedroom, while her face still carried a touch of shyness, her wife—whose thin skin made her irresistibly tease-worthy—actually opened her mouth first:

“You were sweating a lot earlier. Sleeping like that could make you catch a cold.” She bit her lip, fingers curling slightly at her sides. “Do you want me to run a bath for you?”

Her clothes were indeed damp with sweat. Chi Yuejing, who always took pride in her appearance, nodded without hesitation. “Thanks.”

Though she didn’t want Gu Jin Xiao doing extra chores, she also knew that under the effects of the strong medication, her physical strength was currently no better than an Omega’s. Instead of pushing through it, it made more sense to rest and recover faster.

Seeing her agree, Gu Jin Xiao didn’t say much else. She quickly entered the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and reached into the mirror cabinet to grab her usual bath additives.

They were neatly lined up in small bottles on the left side. She’d just picked one when the bathroom door banged open.

“…Don’t make it too hot,” came Chi Yuejing’s voice.

She appeared so suddenly that Gu Jin Xiao hadn’t prepared herself. Her hand trembled, knocking over a bottle of perfume. It rolled off the counter and shattered on the floor.

The crisp, slightly tart scent of orange blossom instantly flooded the room.

The moment she caught the fragrance, Gu Jin Xiao’s nerves tensed. Most Alphas wore perfume that matched their natural scent—and the one that had just shattered was specifically blended to complement hers.

Worse yet, in the room stood another Alpha in the middle of an estrus-sensitive period.

Panic surged. She lunged forward, trying to close the door before Chi Yuejing reacted aggressively to the stimulant.

But before she could reach the handle, a hand tightly grabbed her wrist.

Chi Yuejing’s eyes were tinged red. Her upturned eye corners held a bloom of intense color, as if someone had streaked them with wild pigment. Her burning gaze was like a brilliant star—one that had traveled light-years just to set her soul ablaze.

Gu Jin Xiao instinctively averted her eyes.

She could sense it clearly—something was off.

Chi Yuejing’s grip on her hand was too firm. Her palm burned with heat, and suddenly a powerful scent surged into the air—the sharp, elegant white iris fragrance of her Alpha pheromones, overpowering the delicate orange blossom and marking the space with territorial force.

Just as Gu Jin Xiao’s nerves tensed to the breaking point, something entirely unexpected happened.

Chi Yuejing pulled her into an embrace.

The blazing scent of iris engulfed her. In the midst of that scorching storm, she felt something hot against her ear—a breathless whisper, trembling like rain beating down on parched ground.

“Don’t be afraid.”

A murmur like a prayer caressed her soul: “Jin Xiao… it’s okay. Don’t be scared.”

In the next second, her back suddenly went light.

She was pushed out of the bathroom.

Behind the tightly shut door came the loud splash of someone falling into water.