After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 37
37: Official Mark
It wasn’t until past eight in the evening that Jiang Youbai realized she had been placed under house arrest.
After returning, she had slept for an hour, then spent time organizing the information she had gathered, creating a tree diagram to outline several conjectures about the current situation and its potential developments.
There were over ten possible outcomes, and for each, she devised a simple plan and countermeasures.
During her time as a prince, Jiang Youbai was often busy with such tasks.
She had thought that faking her death would mark the beginning of true freedom, but instead, it led to another endless path of relentless busyness.
By the time Jiang Youbai finished, she looked up to find it was already past eight. She got up, tidied her things, and decided to go downstairs for a bite to eat.
As she stepped out of her room, she noticed that the lights in the dormitories across from hers were all off. A sense of unease crept into her heart. When she reached the stairwell and was stopped by four armed Beta guards, she immediately understood.
Lou Huaiche had placed her under house arrest.
Timing-wise, this had happened after her meeting with Chi Ruo.
Countless thoughts flashed through Jiang Youbai’s mind, but she maintained a calm facade and asked nonchalantly, “What’s going on here?”
One of the guards glanced at her, offering a perfunctory smile. “Madam, please return to your room. We don’t know the details—these are the leader’s orders.”
Jiang Youbai thought this was just empty talk. Knowing she wouldn’t get any useful information, she didn’t bother pressing further and simply said, “I haven’t eaten yet. Could you arrange for some food to be brought up? There are no ingredients left in the leader’s kitchen.”
The guards exchanged glances, and one of them turned back to her. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
From their silent exchange, Jiang Youbai roughly gauged her current predicament.
The situation wasn’t dire. Being placed under house arrest wasn’t the worst outcome, and the fact that the guards were willing to accommodate her request suggested that Lou Huaiche’s intention was merely to restrict her movements.
However, Jiang Youbai couldn’t discern Lou Huaiche’s exact reason for confining her.
Had her false identity been discovered at this juncture, or had her meeting with Chi Ruo been exposed? Meeting with a Beta and meeting with Chi Ruo were two entirely different matters.
Or perhaps both? Had Lou Huaiche finally caught onto her slip-up?
After turning it over in her mind, Jiang Youbai decided to stop overthinking it and returned to her room to wait for her meal.
Whether she figured it out or not, she would only know once Lou Huaiche returned to the room.
The guards hadn’t confiscated her belongings, so Jiang Youbai used her second personal terminal to update Chi Ruo in detail about her situation.
After a long pause, Chi Ruo replied, “What are you and Lou Huaiche playing at? Why don’t you just tell her outright that you’re Jiang Youbai? All this back-and-forth is just wasting our time.”
Jiang Youbai rejected the suggestion. “No. Lou Huaice hates me, and there’s a high chance she likes Jiang Qingxian. If she sides with Jiang Qingxian, tonight could be my last.”
She peeked out the window and saw Lou Huaiche, Lou Chuxue, and others emerging from the meeting room below.
Under the lights, Lou Huaiche’s shadow stretched long.
She would be coming upstairs soon.
Without hesitation, Jiang Youbai dismantled her second personal terminal. She destroyed everything except the chip, flushing the remnants down the drain.
She hid the chip in a corner for the time being and returned to her makeshift room.
Jiang Youbai’s actions were swift and decisive, executed in one fluid motion. As a result, she missed Chi Ruo’s follow-up message:
“I don’t think hiding it from Lou Huaiche is absolutely necessary. She didn’t attend your funeral, but after your death, she dragged me and Ning Yunze out drinking for ages. She did nothing but drown her sorrows in alcohol and nearly ended up in the hospital.”
“I never got the sense she liked Jiang Qingxian. Wasn’t she head over heels for you? Wait, what do you mean by that? Aren’t you two together? You’ve talked about official marking—haven’t you even discussed dating?”
By the time Lou Huaiche returned to her room, she found the Alpha sitting obediently on the edge of the bed.
The room was unlit, bathed in the cool, silvery glow of moonlight. The Alpha sat with her hands braced on the mattress, her head bowed under the moon’s radiant spill.
Pandora had two moons, making its nights exceptionally bright. One of the moons cast a pale blue hue, and the mingling of the two lunar lights gave Pandora’s nights a dreamlike quality.
Under this luminous cascade, the strikingly beautiful Alpha slowly lifted her head. The moonlight illuminated half her face, accentuating her mesmerizing allure.
Her slightly upturned phoenix eyes were clear and bright. She gazed quietly at Lou Huaiche, her expression captivating.
The stars and moonlight intertwined, and for a moment, Lou Huaiche couldn’t tell whether the Alpha’s eyes or the starry sky outside was more dazzling.
Lou Huaiche nearly lost herself in those eyes. The Alpha before her was like a seductive ghost descending in the night, her mere glance enough to ensnare souls, compelling others to overlook her danger and lose themselves in her charm.
The Alpha parted her lips slightly and smiled at her.
“Leader, shall we proceed with the official mark today? Our cycles are still quite frequent.”
The faint scent of green tea wafted through the room—light, gentle, and soothing, subtly wrapping around Lou Huaiche.
Seemingly unremarkable, yet effortlessly stirring a restless heat in Lou Huaiche’s heart.
They hadn’t performed a temporary mark today. The effects of their cycles, combined with the Alpha’s pheromones, pushed Lou Huaiche’s rationality to the brink of collapse.
Struggling to maintain the last shred of her clarity, Lou Huaiche let out a cold laugh. “Are you feeling guilty? Even now, you’re still trying to bluff your way through?”
Both knew why the house arrest had happened, but Lou Huaiche hadn’t expected the Alpha to strike now—
An official mark would bind Lou Huaiche, but it would also bind the Alpha. Yet, the Alpha seemed unconcerned.
Jiang Youbai narrowed her eyes slightly, her smile deepening. “Leader, no matter what, we still have to proceed with the official mark, don’t we?”
As she spoke, the Alpha’s pheromones grew stronger in the room.
Lou Huaiche instinctively took a step back.
The Alpha’s pheromones surged toward her, tugging at her already tenuous grip on reason.
A fire seemed to ignite in her chest, burning fiercely. Outside, the two moons crossed paths, their light obscured by drifting clouds. The room darkened, and Lou Huaiche’s consciousness sank into a murky haze.
Lou Huaiche repeatedly warned herself not to succumb to her heat cycle now, not to lose her senses in this fog of confusion.
This was the Alpha’s ploy—she wanted to use the official mark to muddy the waters, buy time, and, most importantly, save her own life.
Jiang Youbai moved gracefully, her steps light as she approached Lou Huaiche, the faint scent of green tea trailing behind her. Her cool fingers brushed against Lou Huaiche’s scent gland.
She chuckled softly, whispering like a demon in Lou Huaiche’s ear: “Leader, why resist?”
In the dim room, Lou Huaiche felt as though the only bright things were the Alpha’s eyes. Those phoenix eyes gazed at her tenderly, their depths brimming with undisguised mockery and blatant malice.
Lou Huaiche was instantly captivated.
She tilted her head up, staring dazedly at the Alpha before her. A film of moisture blurred her usually aloof and indifferent expression.
Jiang Youbai watched with satisfaction as the Omega before her gradually fell into her trap, her demeanor helpless and vulnerable.
Unable to resist, Jiang Youbai began kneading the Omega’s scent gland, alternating between light and firm touches.
The more fragile and pitiable Lou Huaiche appeared, the harder it was for Jiang Youbai to suppress her cruel, predatory instincts.
This stunning, venomous flower, blooming in the shadows, had been plucked effortlessly and now lay cradled in her palm, to be toyed with at will.
Like a cat playing with its prey, Jiang Youbai teased Lou Huaiche with her pheromones. In a husky whisper, she asked, “Leader, haven’t you entered your heat yet?”
Lou Huaiche’s eyes were glazed with moisture. Under the Alpha’s rough treatment of her scent gland, her face flushed, her body trembling as she let out a shaky breath. Tears welled but didn’t fall.
Was she ensnared by those eyes, or was it the torment of longing that unraveled her?
From Jiang Youbai’s vantage, she could see the Omega’s exposed neck—slender, pale, and fragile, stirring an inexplicable urge in her to sink her teeth into that delicate artery.
She reached out and removed Lou Huaiche’s coat.
The Omega’s bare shoulders trembled in the cool air, their porcelain skin even paler than the moonlight, as if unable to withstand the Alpha’s overwhelming pheromones.
Lou Huaiche’s last shred of rationality warned her to suppress her own pheromones, to prevent the beast-like Alpha before her from also succumbing to her cycle.
Jiang Youbai turned her hand, claiming this moonlit beauty entirely for herself.
As they embraced in the springlike atmosphere of the room, Jiang Youbai parted her lips and contentedly closed them around Lou Huaiche’s neck.
Lou Huaiche was driven to the brink of tears.
Jiang Youbai nipped at the Omega’s scent gland, her slender fingers pressing Lou Huaiche down, forcing her to tilt her head and expose the gland fully.
The scent of pine cautiously concealed itself, not daring to spill out and trigger the Alpha’s cycle.
Yet the Alpha’s bites were fiercer than ever, her sharp canines seeming intent on piercing through the skin.
There was no trace of gentleness—only ruthless torment inflicted upon this maddeningly beautiful Omega.
The moonlight peeked through the clouds once more.
The official mark was complete.
Much later, Jiang Youbai let out a soft laugh. A trace of bl00d from the scent gland lingered at the corner of her lips. The dignified Alpha leisurely dressed the Omega, her gaze haughty.
Her lips were crimson as she slowly licked away the bl00d.
Lou Huaiche could barely withstand the weight of longing in her soul.
Jiang Youbai had deliberately maintained her rationality, but this body’s resistance to cycles was pitifully weak. What little restraint she’d shown was barely enough to keep Lou Huaiche from breaking entirely.
By the time a sliver of clarity returned, Lou Huaiche was already too exhausted to stay awake and had fallen into a deep sleep.
The faint scent of green tea clung to her, a testament to the Alpha’s mark.
For an Alpha who had officially marked an Omega, the urge to possess and protect was nearly irresistible.
Jiang Youbai was no exception.
Lou Huaiche’s room was locked, so Jiang Youbai had to settle her in her own room. The bewitching beauty lay asleep, her dark lashes casting delicate shadows under her eyes.
For a moment, Jiang Youbai imagined tears still glistening on the Omega’s face.
A small mole rested beneath Lou Huaiche’s eye, and after a moment’s contemplation, the Alpha couldn’t resist leaning down to press a kiss to it.
She couldn’t tell whether the emotions surging in her chest were genuine or merely the blissful illusion brought on by post-marking hormones.
Affection flowed warmly through her heart, filling every crevice with an indescribable sensation.
Despite the perilous road ahead, Jiang Youbai suddenly felt an unprecedented warmth—like a lazy afternoon wrapped in soft blankets, with rain pattering against the window, time stretching endlessly before her.
Jiang Youbai’s life had been so devoid of meaning that even her sense of self felt dull.
An emptiness had always lingered in her heart, untouched by love, her hatred nothing more than a performative act.
But this sweetness made her realize how much pain and resentment had festered within her, howling to be let loose.
Before, Jiang Youbai had been content to observe the garden of love from afar. Light and darkness were clearly demarcated in her life, and she watched with detached amusement as others went mad over fleeting affections, passing by unscathed.
She had never needed anything to fill the void within her. Having never tasted it, she had never craved it.
Where she was, what she did—none of it mattered to Jiang Youbai. Her life had always been a preordained path, leading straight to a grave she could see from miles away.
But now, things were different.
She was like a seed suddenly drenched in sweet rain, sprouting tender shoots.
Yet the brief satisfaction only gave way to greater longing and an insatiable emptiness.
The hollowness in her heart could never be filled. From this moment onward, it would only expand endlessly.
Even this meager sweetness sent tremors of desperate craving through her soul—she wanted more love, real love.
Even if it was laced with bl00d, even if it was tangled with hatred.
For the first time, Jiang Youbai felt a bone-deep fear of love.
She allowed herself this fleeting indulgence, this momentary surrender.
But the spark between her and Lou Huaiche existed only because of their similarities and their brief reliance on each other.
Even now, the official mark was nothing more than a battle tactic—Lou Huaiche had merely lost this round.
This couldn’t be called love. It wasn’t even affection.
Jiang Youbai stood up, gazing at the sleeping Omega, forcing herself to detach from this illusion of love.
For as long as she could remember, Jiang Youbai had reveled in her own fractured emotions—like the static on an old television, a mess of white noise.
It was the only thing that made her feel alive in this filthy world, not some pre-programmed machine.
She had never encountered such tenderness before, so delicate it vanished at the slightest touch.
This wasn’t an emotion Jiang Youbai could afford to indulge in.
So she had to build walls even higher, fortify herself even more—lest she be ensnared by this softness, suffocated in its warmth like quicksand.