After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 22

22: Miss Lou, Your Highness Has Been Marked by You

Jiang Youbai stared at the number “0” on the favorability panel for a long time, then glanced at the “30” next to Jiang Qingxian’s name, falling into deep thought.

The five points of favorability she had previously earned were hard-won, scraped together through sheer effort—more accurately, through the sweat and bl00d of having her glands bitten. It was truly hard-earned favorability.

For something so difficult to obtain and then lose, Jiang Youbai couldn’t help but want to salvage it.

She tentatively asked Lou Huaiche, “Do you want to bite my gland again?”

Then, remembering that Lou Huaiche’s first bite hadn’t increased her favorability either, she immediately regretted it and retracted her words: “Forget it, never mind. I was just talking nonsense.”

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Youbai was abruptly tackled to the ground by Lou Huaiche .

Lou Huaiche ‘s movement was sudden and unstoppable. The combined weight of both of them crashing down made Jiang Youbai land hard, her entire body aching and her head buzzing from the impact.

“Ouch.” Jiang Youbai gasped sharply, realizing what Lou Huaiche intended to do, and immediately cursed, “Lou Huaiche! What the hell are you doing?”

Lou Huaiche pinned her down, smiling faintly as she bared her sharp canines, exuding an alluring charm in that instant.

Jiang Youbai’s internal alarm bells rang loudly. Just as she was about to resist, Lou Huaiche casually brushed her hair aside, forcefully tilted Jiang Youbai’s head to expose the tender flesh between the back of her neck and behind her ear, then swiftly and viciously bit down.

Jiang Youbai’s neck was yanked violently, aggravating the wound near her collarbone. Before she could recover from the pain, the Omega’s brutal bite followed.

For a moment, Jiang Youbai felt like a fish on a chopping board, slammed repeatedly by its tail before being whacked with a brick.

Her vision blurred with black spots. In her dazed state, a question arose in her mind:

When humans evolved secondary genders, why didn’t Alpha’s develop some kind of protective armor for their vulnerable and sensitive glands?

Had human DNA never considered the existence of such a savage Omega?

As Lou Huaiche gnawed at her gland, Jiang Youbai saw the numbers on the panel suddenly jump.

[Jiang Youbai]: 10.

Jiang Youbai fell into an eerie silence for a few seconds. It felt as if countless words surged to the tip of her tongue—every one of them a curse—but she couldn’t utter a single one.

Finally, trembling, she managed to squeeze out one word, her voice weak: “It hurts.”

Lou Huaiche continued biting her gland, her hair spilling over Jiang Youbai’s face, lightly brushing her brows and eyes.

The two were pressed close together, their body heat mingling. Lou Huaiche ‘s breath against Jiang Youbai’s ear sent shivers down her spine.

Lou Huaiche bit so hard that Jiang Youbai winced, feeling as if the gland on the back of her neck had been bitten until it bled.

Suddenly, Lou Huaiche paused, the force of her bite easing slightly.

Jiang Youbai thought she had finally had enough and let out a sigh of relief.

Then, she froze. Warm tears fell onto her hair and shoulders, dripping slowly onto the floor.

Lou Huaiche bit down even harder on the gland at the back of Jiang Youbai’s neck. Clear, intermittent sobs reached Jiang Youbai’s ears—hoarse, as if Lou Huaiche was struggling to suppress them, the sounds of pain leaking through the cracks of her restraint.

Lou Huaiche was crying.

It took Jiang Youbai a long moment to process what was happening.

Crying wasn’t unfamiliar to Jiang Youbai. Long ago, Chi Ruo would hold her and cry. When bullied, Jiang Youbai herself would hide in a corner and cry.

But as they grew older, their faces would display all sorts of expressions—except tears.

The tears had long dried up inside them. Their eyes held anger, ambition, despair, their hearts flooded with bitterness, yet their tears had run dry. Jiang Youbai often felt she had nothing left to give anyone, not even a single tear.

Lou Huaiche was like Jiang Youbai—wearing a mask of madness, bones filled with hatred, stepping on the shattered pieces of themselves as they walked toward ruin.

Every step crushed themselves further.

Jiang Youbai didn’t cry. Lou Huaiche didn’t cry either. Their bodies were haunted by all kinds of vicious emotions, but none of them were the coward’s tears.

Yet now, Lou Huaiche was crying—and crying ugly.

Loud crying wasn’t ugly. Crying so painfully was extremely ugly.

After a while, Lou Huaiche released her bite. Still pressing Jiang Youbai down, she lay beside the young Alpha, trembling as tears fell onto Jiang Youbai’s hair and collarbone.

She cried so miserably that each sob seemed to wrench her soul out. Overwhelming emotions surged, threatening to burst through her frail body.

Jiang Youbai hesitantly raised her hand and, through layers of hidden agendas and hypocrisy, slowly but firmly embraced Lou Huaiche , patting her back gently as if comforting a child.

Too intimate. Too ambiguous.

Jiang Youbai thought dazedly that they could kiss, they could exchange half-truths, but they could never bare their true emotions and pain to each other.

Only the closest of people could do this—show their wounds to each other and comfort one another.

For so many years, even Chi Ruo and she hadn’t been this close.

Lou Huaiche choked out between sobs, her voice breaking: “I hate being marked.”

For a moment, the hatred and pain that erupted from her made even Jiang Youbai flinch.

When Jiang Youbai didn’t respond, Lou Huaiche repeated: “I hate being marked.”

Jiang Youbai blinked blankly. They had done a temporary mark. During severe susceptibility symptoms, if they didn’t perform a temporary mark, both their bodies and emotions would suffer extreme negative effects.

To her, marking was necessary.

Jiang Youbai reacted a beat too late. Lou Huaiche suddenly raised her voice, like the furious roar of a wounded beast: “I hate being marked!”

Lou Huaiche staggered to her feet and began hurling objects from the coffee table against the wall: “I said I hate being marked! I hate all of you Alphas!”

“Die! Just die! Why don’t you all just die!”

Books, cups, kettles—everything was smashed to pieces, littering the floor in fragments.

Jiang Youbai climbed up from the floor and watched silently as Lou Huaiche vented her rage. Everything that could be thrown was thrown, But what she was really smashing wasn’t just the room’s contents—it was her endless anger, her unleashed venom, her fury gone wild

Jiang Youbai wanted to tell her that even if she smashed the entire world, all that would pour out was anger, not a solution.

But every time she tried to speak, the words died in her throat.

Jiang Youbai stared blankly at Lou Huaiche , memories flooding her mind.

Chi Ruo had been like this too. She had raged about hating all Alphas, her tears like bl00d, every sob a retch of agony.

What had Jiang Youbai done back then?

She had done nothing. As Chi Ruo’s closest person, she should have comforted her. But all she had done was ask, over and over, “Why do you hate Alphas?”

From then on, an unbridgeable rift had formed between them.

A breeze drifted in through the window. Jiang Youbai suddenly felt hollow, as if the wind could pass right through her, carrying away all sensation.

She had never fled so desperately before.

Jiang Youbai didn’t know how to face Lou Huaiche or the memories of Chi Ruo. All she could do was retreat from the room like a coward and quickly shut the door behind her.

Leaning against the wall beside the door was a man—Ning Yunze, smoking a cigarette, a scattering of cigarette butts with glowing embers at his feet.

How long had he been standing there?

Jiang Youbai forced a stiff smile: “Young Master Ning, what are you doing here?”

Ning Yunze nodded coldly: “I was worried about Xiao Lou.”

Neither spoke further. Through the door came the sounds of objects being smashed. Ning Yunze stubbed out his cigarette: “Your Highness, everyone in the Empire is a walking corpse. All Omegas are the same—commoners or nobles, they do everything to become attractive vases, selling themselves for the highest price when the time comes. Careers? Ideals? None of that matters.”

He pointed behind him at the door: “If anyone tries to break out of the display case, refusing to be that vase, they’ll be shattered into pieces. Betas have it slightly better, but not by much. They have to fight tooth and nail to be the most outstanding just to squeeze into the parliament. Alphas? As long as they’re Alphas, they can waltz right in.”

Jiang Youbai’s entire body stiffened like stone. She didn’t know how to respond.

It was a case of being unable to see the forest for the trees. As an Alpha, she was naturally blind to these obvious truths.

It really was like that. The Crown Prince had toiled diligently for over fifty years, yet he couldn’t compare to Jiang Qingxian, who merely had to stand there as an Alpha.

For years, Jiang Youbai had also relied on her Alpha status, stepping over the Emperor and his Beta children to scheme for the throne.

The late Crown Princess, they said, was less strategic and capable than the current Emperor. But simply because she was an Alpha, she had been effortlessly named heir.

Jiang Youbai awkwardly maintained her smile. Ning Yunze tossed his cigarette aside: “Your Highness, go back. Return to your comfort zone, not this prison of madmen driven insane.”

Unable to say anything, Jiang Youbai could only leave.

Ning Yunze watched her retreating figure, then slowly lowered his eyes and sighed.

He waited until the commotion inside had quieted for at least ten minutes before pushing the door open and entering, asking in a coaxing tone: “Xiao Lou, are you okay?”

Outside, the spring sunlight was warm and bright. Jiang Youbai stood under it for a long time before the chill in her body began to fade.

She opened her personal terminal to a message from Chi Ruo: “In a little while, the succession discussions will begin. What do we do?”

With Jiang Qingxian now in the running, the conservatives had two options. Jiang Youbai could no longer rely on their support. Stuck awkwardly behind the Emperor’s two biological children, she was at risk of being eliminated outright.

Jiang Youbai immediately suppressed all her emotions, shelving the lost and confused version of herself to once again become the flawless Princess.

She narrowed her eyes and replied: “Schedule a meeting.”

Jiang Youbai’s life could only move relentlessly forward toward the throne. Nothing and no one could divert her attention, even for a moment.

But sometimes, she wondered: If her entire existence was about ascending the throne, what would she do afterward? How would she face herself then?

Once her life’s purpose was fulfilled, would she just live out the rest of her days in that vast, opulent palace, slowly becoming a ruthless, paranoid Emperor?

Faced with absolute power, could she really remain unchanged?

When the current Emperor first ascended, he too had been diligent and beloved. A Beta, he had worked twice as hard to prove himself beyond reproach.

But decades later, all that remained was the neurotic paranoia and brutality typical of royalty—barely even human anymore.

Jiang Youbai had seen footage of the young Emperor at his coronation—handsome, radiant, his eyes alight as he passionately vowed to be a wise ruler. There was no trace of that man left now.

Limitless power could distort a person beyond recognition.

Jiang Youbai wasn’t confident she could resist that change.

So she chose not to think about it.

After sending the message, Chi Ruo replied quickly: “Tonight at eight.”

By midnight, the impromptu meeting had concluded.

The Chi family’s restaurant, Fontainebleau, was where Jiang Youbai stepped out under a sky full of stars, watching as a meteor shower streaked across the heavens, leaving trails of blue-green light.

The direction was from Faun Star.

Humanity had drifted through the stars for ages before finally finding habitable planets hundreds of light-years from the Milky Way.

To their delight, the Pandora star system had at least five planets suitable for human life. During the Inter-Era, humanity had been a unified whole, with civilization and technology advancing at breakneck speed—a God-Forging Era what modern sociologists called “the sunset of human civilization.”

During the Inter-Era, humanity had faced near-extinction from cosmic dangers, losing over half its population.

But in their darkest hour, a cosmic energy storm had led them to the Pandora star system. The five habitable planets had been a godsend, and they named the most hospitable one Pandora.

Pandora had two moons, one of which, though harsh, was also habitable.

The second-closest planet was Faun Star.

After the mutiny of a spaceship’s commander, who reestablished a monarchy, those who refused to return to feudalism were exiled to Faun Star, forming the Human Federation.

An unstable asteroid belt lay between Faun Star and the Pandora star system, often producing meteor showers—a reminder to both sides that another human society existed out there.

Jiang Youbai quickly averted her gaze.

Communication between the two had been sparse for years. With the decline of technology, they lacked the means to bridge such vast distances.

The Empire had gone nearly twenty years without news from the Human Federation.

The last report about the Federation had been about a massive earthquake.

The Human Federation wasn’t something an Imperial Princess needed to concern herself with.

Back at the palace, she received a message from the sanatorium:

[Your Highness, your mother suffered a sudden attack at approximately 12:21 Imperial Time. Her vital signs dropped drastically. She is expected to pass within six months.]

Jiang Youbai’s hands trembled.

Over twenty years ago, the Crown Princess had marked a nurse.

That nurse, suffering from severe schizophrenia, had been in the sanatorium ever since.

But now, Jiang Youbai had no time to visit her mother. She closed her eyes and lay down.

Exhausted, she felt feverish but thought little of it, falling asleep against the pillow.

Around three or four in the morning, the intense heat in her head and the overpowering scent of pheromones woke her.

The room was thick with pheromones. Jiang Youbai turned on the light and had her terminal check her temperature: 40.3°C. The fever was dangerously high. Every movement sent sharp pains through her glands.

At the same time, images of Lou Huaiche ’s face flooded her mind.

The excessive pheromones in the air triggered an automatic alert on her terminal:

[Due to improper marking, individual Jiang Youbai is experiencing pheromone imbalance and has entered estrus.]

Recalling her physiology lessons, Jiang Youbai called Chi Ruo: “Chi Ruo.”

Chi Ruo, rudely awakened at 4 AM, was furious: “Has overtime gotten this bad now? Four in the morning! Even war criminals don’t get executed at this hour!”

Jiang Youbai said, “I think Lou Huaiche improperly marked me, and now I’m in estrus.”

“Ha?” Chi Ruo was even angrier. “Listen to yourself! Only Omegas go into estrus from improper marking! Alphas can only be induced into estrus!”

She hung up.

Jiang Youbai sent the terminal’s readings to Chi Ruo.

Chi Ruo called back. After a long silence, she said dryly: “Great. If the readings aren’t wrong, this is a historic discovery—Alphas can be marked by Omegas. Ha ha.”

Jiang Youbai was burning up, too weak to think straight: “Chi Ruo, come get me. Now.”

Also sentenced to 4 AM overtime was Jiang Youbai’s personal physician.

The normally dark private hospital was now lit, curtains drawn. After over two hours of rigorous testing, the doctor held the results with trembling hands.

“This… this is my doctoral thesis!”

While there were no perfectly safe suppressants for Alphas, longer-lasting ones existed. After an injection, Jiang Youbai’s estrus symptoms eased slightly.

Weakly sprawled on the clinic bed, it took her a full ten seconds to process the doctor’s words before she managed: “Huh?”

Chi Ruo, sleep-deprived and disheveled, was equally stunned: “Huh?”

The doctor, overjoyed, tossed the stack of test results into the air: “My thesis! My thesis is complete!”

Chi Ruo: “?”

She smacked the doctor upside the head: “How is Her Highness now?”

The doctor said, “Who cares—I mean, Her Highness is stable. If my preliminary hypothesis is correct, Omegas can indeed mark Alphas. Conventionally, we believe only Omegas enter estrus when stimulated by Alpha pheromones, with the only solution being marking by an Alpha. Improper marking worsens the Omega’s estrus.”

The doctor could barely contain his excitement: “But this discovery proves Alphas can also be marked by Omegas, similar to Omegas, requiring three to four marks to trigger estrus.”

Jiang Youbai rolled onto her back, staring at the bright ceiling lights, feeling life’s absurdity and cruelty.

“Her Highness’s pheromones are imbalanced… Medication won’t help much. The marker needs to remark her to stabilize her pheromones.”

Chi Ruo said flatly: “Right. Got it.”

Jiang Youbai touched her inflamed gland, which hadn’t been treated in time, and questioned her life choices.

Lovely. Evolution had indeed considered that Omegas might want to mark Alphas too.

Early in the morning, Lou Huaiche received an official letter from the Princess’s spokesperson, Chi Ruo.

The letter was lengthy, first explaining this historic discovery, then attaching dozens of pages of test results as proof, and finally earnestly—and incredulously—requesting that Lou Huaiche cohabitate with Jiang Youbai for a period to alleviate the pheromone imbalance caused entirely by Lou Huaiche ’s improper marking.

Lou Huaiche ’s fingers moved faster than her brain, replying with a single word: “Huh?”

After rereading the letter, she was still in disbelief: “Huh?”

Chi Ruo replied with difficulty: “Yes. Her Highness is now experiencing what was, until today, exclusively an Omega’s pheromone imbalance.”

Lou Huaiche was still processing: “Huh?”

Chi Ruo gave up: “You have to take responsibility!”

Lou Huaiche : “Why didn’t Jiang Youbai tell me herself?”

“She took suppressants, but the estrus hasn’t passed. She’s asleep now.”

“Oh.” Lou Huaiche thought for a moment. “How long would I need to stay with her?”

“Typically, pheromone imbalance requires 1-3 days of stabilization. Given Her Highness’s unique case, the doctor recommends 4-5 days. The palace isn’t an option—we’ll need to arrange another place for you two, and cover it up publicly.”

The palace was likely under the Emperor’s surveillance. Chi Ruo couldn’t be sure, so it wasn’t safe to return.

Compared to Omegas, pheromone imbalance was far more dangerous for Alphas, as it could lead to glandular degeneration, reverting them to pheromone-sensitive “pseudo-Betas.”

After some thought, Lou Huaiche said: “She can come to my place. It’s near the lower city, more crowded, with fewer surveillance cameras.”

After consideration, Chi Ruo borrowed a colleague’s car. Both disguised themselves, first heading to the border between the lower and upper cities diagonally opposite Lou Huaiche ’s home, then taking four separate cabs to her place.

One driver joked: “Oh, this Omega must be very fond of you. But Omegas should really find an Alpha—Beta pheromones are too weak to soothe an Omega properly.”

Chi Ruo and Jiang Youbai smiled awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably.

Finally arriving at Lou Huaiche ’s home, they found her waiting at the door. Under the spring sunlight, the stunning beauty wore a black dress with a knit shawl, her expression was unbearable as she looked at them.

Chi Ruo helped Jiang Youbai out and pushed her toward Lou Huaiche : “We took detours to avoid suspicion. Hurry, take Her Highness inside.”

Jiang Youbai’s legs were weak, her mind muddled. When Chi Ruo pushed her, she stumbled and fell into Lou Huaiche ’s arms.

Lou Huaiche caught her, witnessing for the first time an Alpha’s face flushed like rosy clouds. She still hadn’t fully processed the situation.

Jiang Youbai couldn’t stand straight. Tilting her head up to look at Lou Huaiche , she managed a weak smile, still finding the energy to tease: “Miss Lou, I’d like to say I hate being marked too.”

Only now, in the same position as an Omega, did she understand how awful it felt.

Just yesterday afternoon, she had been an Alpha who couldn’t comprehend an Omega’s struggles. By this morning, she had become a doctor’s doctoral thesis.

Everything had happened so fast that Jiang Youbai could only describe her current state as sleepwalking.

Lou Huaiche blinked slowly, her peach-blossom eyes stared blankly for the first time: “It’s fine. Let’s go to the empty attic first.”

Chi Ruo followed them upstairs, glancing at the sun overhead, when a thought struck her about the potential ramifications of this discovery.

In all these years, had Lou Huaiche truly been the only Omega to mark an Alpha?

Alphas had long dominated society, justifying their privilege with claims of “greater physical strength, higher average intelligence, the ability to effectively mark Omegas for reproduction, and immunity to estrus.” Now, to tell these arrogant Alphas that they were no different from Omegas—could they accept it? Would the doctor even graduate?

In the attic, Chi Ruo waited downstairs while Lou Huaiche helped Jiang Youbai to the second floor.

The two stepped into the bedroom and sat facing each other, a tacit silence hanging between them.

Lou Huaiche ’s thoughts drifted to her past. Across six lifetimes, she had been forcibly marked by high-ranking Alphas four times.

Those Alphas had treated her as a plaything. Each marking felt like an endless nightmare, leaving her tormented by pheromone imbalance and estrus until death.

She loathed the feeling, loathed all Alphas, and loathed being marked.

When marked, Lou Huaiche ceased to be a person—she became an Alpha’s possession, a摆设, a puppet expected to obey. Every struggle was futile, every thought pitiable, every tear only excited the Alphas further.

Lou Huaiche despised being an Omega, but she despised Alphas even more.

Arrogant, insolent, viewing all Omegas as their property—to be used when needed, discarded when not.

Omegas could only be pretty social media influencers, sharing makeup tips or their daily lives with Alphas, or—to boost their status—become higher-profile celebrities.

And now, Lou Huaiche, an Omega, had successfully marked an Alpha.

The muddy past of her life seemed to dissolve like foam. What she had once believed indestructible and unassailable had crumbled in an instant.

These things were so fragile after all.

Omegas could mark Alphas too. They could dominate Alphas.

Lou Huaiche trembled with laughter. She said to Jiang Youbai: “Your Highness, it seems Omegas can mark Alphas after all.”

Jiang Youbai, unwilling to face this gland-chewing horror of an Omega, turned her head away: “But your marking skills—are terrible! Absolutely terrible! If I scattered rice on my gland, even a chicken could mark better than you!”

Lou Huaiche : “…” A little guilty, but not much.

Omegas in pheromone imbalance were emotionally fragile and irritable. Alphas were probably the same. Lou Huaiche , for once, patiently soothed Jiang Youbai: “Your Highness, since it’s my fault, I’ll take responsibility.”

Jiang Youbai: “I told you not to bite me, but you never listen!”

Lou Huaiche ’s eyes darted away: “Yesterday, you were the one who told me to bite you.”

“I took it back! Did you listen?” Jiang Youbai sneered. “You’re just a worthless Omega who only cares about her own marking pleasure!”

“Jiang Youbai!” Lou Huaiche ’s patience ran out. “Do you want me to mark you again or not? Enough already!”

Jiang Youbai covered her gland: “Can you bite softer? I really can’t take it anymore. Were you raised on human flesh in your past life?”

She lowered her eyes, her long lashes trembling slightly, casting delicate shadows under her eyes. She looked pitiful, her voice soft: “Be gentler with me. When I marked you, I was never this rough.”

Lou Huaiche : “Stop pretending to be pitiful.”

She tentatively cupped Jiang Youbai’s face, leaning in closer: “Be good.”

The woody scent in the room grew stronger, enveloping them. Lou Huaiche hugged Jiang Youbai, carefully releasing a hint of her pheromones.