After the Top Idol Omega and I Started Living Together - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Twilight gradually thickened, and the setting sun spread a layer of orange outside the window.

The summer evening was not as dim as other seasons; the room still held a layer of brightness, letting people see clearly yet not quite clearly.

It was like the scent lingering around Lu Zhao at that moment.

Lu Zhao didn’t know how to describe the smell she sensed; it was like rain-soaked green grapes swaying on a vine, ready to fall, crisp yet slightly sweet, a clean and desirable fragrance.

At the same time, it made her heart pound fiercely.

Over the years, dancing and singing, all sorts of intense physical training, Lu Zhao had done them all, but her heart had never beaten this fiercely before.

This feeling was entirely different from the rapid heartbeat after exhausting herself dancing; it had no rhythm, no pattern, as if something had hooked it without reason.

But what could possibly hook her?

Lu Zhao’s pupils flickered, her gaze directly fixed on the person lying on her bed.

Sunlight fell on Sheng Jingyu’s body, outlining her slender frame through the thin fabric.

She hadn’t brought spare clothes, so she wore a white T-shirt Lu Zhao had left on the shelf, oversized and loose because it wasn’t her size, looking especially baggy.

Her thick black hair cascaded down, smooth yet slightly messy.

The overly loose clothing couldn’t hide her figure, nor the slightly protruding collarbone exposed to the warm air.

This person’s appearance now was different from the aloof and distant demeanor Lu Zhao usually saw.

That body, draped in loose clothing, reflected in Lu Zhao’s eyes, fragile and small.

A breeze seemed to blow outside, carrying the shadow of a camphor tree across the window frame.

In the dappled light and shadow, Sheng Jingyu propped herself up in the center of the bed, looking strained, her supporting arms trembling under the weight.

Though different, she was still the same as always.

Even in this state, Sheng Jingyu struggled to resist.

Her strong wariness made her turn toward Lu Zhao upon hearing a sound.

The sun sank to the mountain’s base; Sheng Jingyu lifted her head, her silver-gray eyes catching the sparse light from outside.

It was the haze of losing herself to her heat cycle, yet also the alertness of struggling to stay clear.

Lu Zhao instinctively tightened her grip on the doorknob, unsure if her words were offensive: “Miss Sheng… are you in your heat cycle?”

As her words fell, the room grew quiet.

The arm supporting Sheng Jingyu’s body trembled slightly; her parted lips seemed to want to say something, but only air brushed past her throat with her breathing.

Sheng Jingyu looked at Lu Zhao, her pupils rising and falling.

She never imagined she would nod to this question.

—This was Sheng Jingyu’s first heat cycle in her life.

Sheng Jingyu’s gland condition was worse than anyone in her family; her weak pheromones couldn’t even sustain a single heat cycle.

Before differentiation, she had calmly accepted her Omega life, silently banishing this useless region to a wasteland.

But in her twenty-ninth year, this barren wilderness sprouted grapevines.

They seemed weak and faint, yet fueled by absinthe-distilled alcohol, they grew wildly, as if to swallow their master whole.

Sheng Jingyu tried hard to control this sudden surge, but things often went against her will.

Her pale skin could no longer feign calmness, flushed with a haze of red that wouldn’t fade.

The breeze passed through the hallway, swirling in the room.

Though the scent was faint, Lu Zhao’s hand on the doorknob tightened again and again.

Sheng Jingyu’s hair floated and fell in the breeze, like a rootless duckweed on water.

She barely propped herself up with her arms, faint tremors running from her shoulders, stubborn yet frail, as if she might collapse the next second.

No one could ignore such a sight.

Lu Zhao took a deep breath and stepped into the room: “Miss Sheng, our troupe has both Alphas and Omegas, so I keep both types of suppressants just in case. I don’t know where your suppressant is, so use mine for now.”

She spoke quickly, her figure moving into the room with unusual speed.

The hidden insulated cabinet released a wave of cool air when opened; Lu Zhao’s hand was steady, quickly finding the Omega suppressant stored deep inside.

The sea breeze carried a coolness, brushing across Sheng Jingyu’s cheek.

Her eyes wavered, but upon seeing Lu Zhao approach, she instinctively recoiled half a body.

She yearned yet feared.

Her mind kept telling her how this Alpha could bring her relief, yet she was清醒ly aware of the cost of an Alpha losing control.

Sheng Jingyu had known Lu Zhao for less than a week.

She couldn’t gamble her body on this person’s character.

Struggling, Sheng Jingyu bit her lip.

Her silver-gray eyes, misty with haze, carried a stubborn red at their corners.

She was pitifully stubborn.

Yet so alluring to an Alpha.

The grapevines extended toward Lu Zhao, the Alpha’s instincts stirring.

But the next second, Lu Zhao’s movement toward Sheng Jingyu stopped abruptly.

She understood Sheng Jingyu’s fear of her Alpha identity.

Lu Zhao took several deep breaths, deliberately forcing herself to ignore the pheromone scent emanating from Sheng Jingyu, steadying her tone further: “Miss Sheng, I’ve opened the suppressant for you; you can use it directly.”

With that, Lu Zhao extended her arm, handing the suppressant to Sheng Jingyu from a distance.

The vines bore more and more grapes, the scent overwhelming.

Sheng Jingyu tried to stay rational, looking at the crystal-blue glass syringe and raising her hand.

The light from the window naturally converged between them; Lu Zhao placed the glass syringe in Sheng Jingyu’s hand.

Frame by frame, the action felt slow; their fingers touched briefly before parting.

Along with it fell the suppressant Sheng Jingyu was supposed to hold.

As if her supporting bones were yanked away, Sheng Jingyu suddenly lost strength.

She had never experienced this; no words could describe her state.

That indescribable feeling had churned in her body since stepping out of the bathroom; the sea breeze swept over, dragging her down into the water, deeper and deeper…

“Careful.”

Lu Zhao’s eyes and hands were quick; she stepped forward and grabbed the suppressant again.

But in doing so, she overlooked the distance.

Fresh grapes, wet with dew, dripped water with the wind’s sway.

The light by the window flashed in Lu Zhao’s eyes; unprepared, a sudden grip pulled her forward.

Something tripped her leg, and her knee sank into something soft.

Lu Zhao’s pupils widened sharply; Sheng Jingyu’s face grew closer inch by inch, so close they might kiss the next second.

The taut string finally snapped.

As another lychee rolled before Sheng Jingyu, she hooked onto that lychee tree.

Her gaze moved from top to bottom.

Sheng Jingyu knelt sideways on the bed, her long legs peeking from under the oversized T-shirt, the plain white sheet faintly wrapping them below, her pale skin less stark in the light, tinged with a fleshy pink.

She tilted her head slightly, her thick eyelashes drooping naturally, her pupils holding their usual calm.

Yet the faint airflow brushed intimately past the fine hairs on Lu Zhao’s cheek.

Lu Zhao’s heart nearly stopped.

She felt Sheng Jingyu’s slightly raised nose tip, felt her sniffing her scent.

She felt this Omega’s hand slowly climb onto the back of her hand, tracing along her slightly protruding knuckles.

Up to her elbow, her arm.

Until it hooked around her neck, resting on the gland covered by her suppressant patch.

Sheng Jingyu’s actions were filled with intent, unafraid of revealing her own baseness.

She seemed to know exactly how to seduce an Alpha, her waist collapsing then arching like a snake.

Though silent, it was as if she spoke volumes.

The rich grapes piled up layers of scent in the air, sweet with a hint of sourness, bitterness amplified by alcohol.

Lu Zhao heard her own breathing grow heavier, saw clearly that this Omega wore the clothes she had changed out of days ago.

It was as if this person was hers.

So why not make her hers?

The green grapes burst one by one under the scorching sun, their dew-laden aroma irresistibly enticing.

This burning thought flashed in Lu Zhao’s mind, startling her.

Why not?

Because Sheng Jingyu wasn’t willing!

Sheng Jingyu’s actions now were driven by an Omega’s loss of rationality during a heat cycle.

Sheng Jingyu wasn’t her Omega; any Alpha appearing before her now would elicit the same response.

She couldn’t take advantage.

The air and distance compressed to nearly nothing; Sheng Jingyu’s hand climbed from Lu Zhao’s arm to her shoulder.

But just as she reached further, the hand on Lu Zhao’s shoulder tightened.

“Miss Sheng, forgive me,” Lu Zhao whispered by Sheng Jingyu’s ear, the slender needle already piercing her forearm.

The crystal-blue liquid in the syringe decreased slowly and steadily, like a signal of salvation.

Perhaps because the heat cycle hadn’t been controlled in time, Sheng Jingyu’s pheromones resisted, pain following.

The hand on Lu Zhao’s shoulder tightened unconsciously, trimmed nails digging into her flesh.

Lu Zhao winced in pain but didn’t raise her hand to push Sheng Jingyu’s arm away.

The green grapes fell into the water, slowly dissipating with the current.

Lu Zhao still couldn’t identify the wine-like scent in the air, which soon vanished.

The sunlight wavered; the sunset outside had mostly faded.

Sheng Jingyu felt a moment of clarity; she thought she should leave warily, but a force stayed close, like a pile of burning wood in a summer night, warm and comforting, making her reluctant to open her eyes, only wanting to sink into sleep.

So, the moment the suppressant was administered, Sheng Jingyu, half-kneeling, collapsed into Lu Zhao’s arms.

Her nose brushed against her collarbone.

.

The sun was high, cicadas in the lush green trees loudly reproached those who didn’t rise early.

Sheng Jingyu felt she had slept for a long time, finally waking in the more glaring light.

But the room she woke in felt strangely unfamiliar.

The lively layout, the structure completely symmetrical to her own room.

Sheng Jingyu realized with a start that she had slept in Lu Zhao’s room!

Amid the shock, temporarily sealed memories flooded back into her mind.

She recalled how Lu Zhao’s room’s scent triggered her heat cycle last night, how Lu Zhao pushed the door and entered, how she grabbed Lu Zhao’s outstretched hand the second before her rationality collapsed…

“…”

Calm and restrained, Sheng Jingyu lifted her arm, placing her hand on the back of her neck.

Her fingers slid over smooth skin, pausing on the familiar small protrusion.

No marks, no scabs, no scratches, no discomfort—nothing existed.

Despite her actions yesterday, Lu Zhao, this Alpha, had done nothing improper to her.

In the quiet room, a second person’s breathing sounded.

Sheng Jingyu sat up on the bed and saw Lu Zhao sleeping on the sofa opposite, likely to keep watch over her.

The sofa was small; Lu Zhao curled up awkwardly, looking somewhat aggrieved.

Without shoes, Sheng Jingyu’s steps were silent as she got out of bed.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, she inexplicably walked to Lu Zhao, silently observing her.

Perhaps exhausted from last night, Lu Zhao slept deeply.

Her long, thick eyelashes fanned out, her small face half-buried in a cushion, docile unlike an Alpha.

Sheng Jingyu watched her, thinking this person was a gentleman.

Bright sunlight filled the room; Sheng Jingyu suddenly noticed a small scar near Lu Zhao’s temple.

Her features were strikingly beautiful, her slightly upturned eyes sharp yet not exaggerated, as if everything she looked at carried a hint of edge.

Her clean, thick eyebrows drew most attention; the scar was only noticeable when she moved.

Not on the skin, it seemed like a scar on the bone.

It wasn’t very clear.

Sheng Jingyu squinted slightly, curiosity piqued, suddenly wanting to closely examine the scar on Lu Zhao’s forehead.

Her slender shadow shrank into a small shape; Sheng Jingyu silently crouched on the ground.

Her bare toes sank into the fluffy carpet, her body leaning slightly forward.

“Hmm…”

Lu Zhao let out a soft hum, suddenly opening her eyes.

Sunlight poured in, their gazes meeting.