Be Good and Hide Your Pheromones (GL , ABO) - Chapter 8
Even staying peacefully at home, she couldn’t escape the person she least wanted to see.
Zong Qing was at a loss for words.
Her gaze fixed blankly on the figure atop the wall, her lips slightly parted as she struggled to process the situation.
“What’s wrong? Don’t recognize me?”
Perhaps annoyed by the prolonged silence, Xi Huan, sitting alone on the wall, pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.
“It’s only been a few hours, and you’ve already forgotten me. Am I really that forgettable?”
“Or are you just too excited to see me?!”
Her slow, teasing voice was more grating than a bird’s chirping.
Zong Qing blinked, her frozen thoughts finally thawing.
“What are you doing here?”
She stared at Xi Huan in disbelief. “Climbing someone’s wall in the middle of the night. What kind of habit is that?”
“Climbing? That’s such an ugly way to put it.”
After scanning the courtyard with narrowed eyes, Xi Huan shifted from sitting to standing.
“Zong Qing.”
Her straight legs, sharp as a sword, anchored firmly on the wall.
Under the moonlight, Zong Qing watched as the girl slowly spread her arms.
“I’m going to jump down now.”
Her voice, carried by the wind, sounded from above.
“Watch closely~”
“Wha—”
Before her brain could even register the meaning, the figure leaped.
Like a moth to flame, Xi Huan plunged downward.
“!!!”
Her reflexes sharpened to an almost unbelievable degree.
Instinctively, Zong Qing lunged forward—forgetting she was perched on the windowsill.
The next second.
“Oof—”
Her slender frame tumbled straight out of the window.
Almost simultaneously, both of them hit the ground.
The freshly brewed coffee, along with the cup, was now a lost cause.
Zong Qing fell face-first, her bottom sticking up in the air, completely dazed from the impact.
“……”
Meanwhile, Xi Huan, who had prepared herself in advance, chose an elegant landing pose.
She knelt gracefully on one knee, hands braced on either side.
Apart from being slightly disheveled, she looked perfectly composed.
“…Zong Qing?”
As she looked up, Xi Huan saw Zong Qing sprawled flat on the ground.
Her lips parted slightly as she couldn’t suppress a quiet chuckle.
“What are you doing?”
“Even if you’re excited there’s no need for such an extravagant greeting!”
Zong Qing: “……”
Suddenly speechless.
“Are you insane!”
Rubbing her dizzy head, she struggled to get up from the ground.
Without bothering to dust herself off, her first instinct was to stagger over and kick the culprit responsible.
“Hmph~”
Her furious little feet aimed precisely at the most vulnerable spots.
Caught off guard, Xi Huan received several sharp kicks that instantly snapped her back to reality.
“You fell down yourself, why are you kicking me?”
“And with such force…”
Slowly rising from the ground, she couldn’t help but laugh wryly: “You really know where to aim.”
“Daring to kick there of all places.”
“What’s wrong with kicking there?”
Glaring irritably, Zong Qing vented her frustration before dusting herself off and storming away angrily.
A perfectly good coffee and evening—ruined just like that.
She really didn’t want to see this person at all.
“….”
Watching the other girl ignore her completely and walk off, Xi Huan pouted helplessly.
Brushing off her skirt, she followed after.
Their living quarters were right next to the wall.
It didn’t take long for Zong Qing to reach her room.
The lights flicked on instantly.
Only then did she realize how disheveled she looked.
Her white nightgown was smeared with dirt from the ground, her arms and cheeks streaked with grime.
Everywhere she looked was covered in dust.
“Zong Qing.”
Xi Huan sauntered in casually behind her.
Xi Huan’s gaze swept across the small room, taking in every detail at a glance.
“Who allowed you to come in here!”
Her already gloomy mood worsened.
Zong Qing’s tone was icy as she turned to glare at her with irritation.
“There wasn’t a mirror outside.”
Innocent expression on her face, Xi Huan spread her hands helplessly, looking slightly wronged: “Look where you kicked me and you’re still being so fierce.”
Her finger pointed downward, where two distinct shoe prints were clearly visible on her fair, delicate thighs.
Judging by the marks, they were exactly where Zong Qing had kicked her earlier.
“Serves you right.”
Her agitated heart found an outlet in the other’s disheveled state.
Zong Qing looked the other girl up and down, suddenly breaking into a spiteful smile: “The people at school should really see you like this.”
From head to toe, there wasn’t a trace of the usual refinement about her.
Her hair was a tangled mess, and her clothes bore several shoe prints.
In such a state, she’d lost every ounce of her usual elegance.
“…I don’t care.”
Completely unconcerned about her current appearance, Xi Huan smoothed her long hair and said with a smile: “I only care about what you think.”
Zong Qing: “….”
Ignoring the other’s flirtatious words, Zong Qing found her change of clothes, picked up her plastic basin, and headed for the door.
The room she lived in was originally the Wen family’s storage room.
Being just a storage room, naturally it didn’t have its own bathroom.
Therefore, whenever she needed water,
Zong Qing had to carry her basin to the water room not far away.
It was almost laughable.
Living in this luxurious villa,
yet having less convenience than before.
“Where are you going?”
Noticing her movements, Xi Huan stood by the door and blocked her way with an outstretched arm.
After a quick glance around the tiny room, she immediately understood.
“You have to go outside just to wash up?”
The cramped space revealed everything at a glance.
Beyond the bed and desk, it was shockingly devoid of even a wardrobe.
Oh!
There was also a water dispenser.
“My clothes are dirty, need to wash them.” Zong Qing shot her an indifferent look and said irritably: “You should leave! I don’t want to see you when I get back.”
This nightgown was her favorite.
Now not only was it covered in mud, but it had also become wrinkled from the scuffle.
“So annoying.”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and Zong Qing gritted her teeth, wanting to kick the other girl again.
“….”
Apparently surprised by how difficult her living situation was,
Xi Huan frowned slightly, looking down at her: “Has it always been like this?”
“You in their family.”
From the first day she met Zong Qing,
Xi Huan had already investigated everything.
She knew Zong Qing wasn’t a Wen family child.
She knew about Zong Qing’s background.
But she never expected that while living under the same roof,
this person had fewer comforts than the servants.
At least that so-called Manager Liu got to live in the villa proper, with a room of his own.
The deep pupils gradually lightened along with their owner’s shifting emotions.
The seemingly harmless forest suddenly became dangerous.
An aura thick with violence spread like poisonous mist.
Deadly danger seeped from beneath Xi Huan’s feet.
“What are you doing?!”
Being the closest to her, Zong Qing was naturally the first to notice something was wrong.
Though her expression remained as indifferent as ever.
But through this intense pheromone, she could tell just how terrible Xi Huan’s mood was.
Restlessness, dissatisfaction, anger, and undisguised aggression…
All these negative emotions conveyed one message.
She was furious.
Absolutely livid. “What are you doing?”
This terrifying aura made Zong Qing, an omega, instinctively want to flee.
Yet her pride refused to let her take even a single step back.
Gritting her teeth, she clutched the washbasin with one hand and suddenly grabbed Xi Huan’s arm.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Her gaze fixed tightly on Xi Huan, Zong Qing’s lips trembled as she demanded in a low voice, “Do you want to draw everyone here?”
In the dead of night, an alpha with an A-value as high as 90 forcibly barging into a residence, inexplicably releasing pheromones to force an omega into heat—
Any one of these offenses alone would be enough to land Xi Huan in serious trouble.
“If you want to die, don’t drag me into it!”
Her nails dug harshly into Xi Huan’s arm as Zong Qing clenched her jaw, struggling to ignore the discomfort coursing through her body.
“…”
Perhaps the pain in her arm jolted Xi Huan back to her senses.
In any case, after those words, the pheromones—so thick they were nearly tangible—began to gradually recede.
A few seconds later,
Xi Huan lowered her head and wrapped her arms around Zong Qing, whose legs were barely holding her up.
“We should go get our compatibility tested,” she murmured, staring at the other woman’s flushed face. “Our match rate must be incredibly high.”
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so easily swayed by each other’s emotions.
Compatibility…
“Get lost!”
Eyes burning red, Zong Qing was so furious she nearly raised the basin to hit her.
Any self-respecting alpha wouldn’t casually suggest going for a compatibility test with someone else.
How was this any different from asking to test their physical chemistry?
“Sorry.”
After secretly soothing the woman in her arms with her pheromones, Xi Huan muttered, “As compensation, I’ll go shower with you.”
Zong Qing: “…”
Absolutely unnecessary.
The water room was only about a hundred meters from the living quarters.
Perhaps considering Zong Qing’s basic needs, a small enclosed space had been specially built in the far right corner of the water room—essentially a miniature bathroom.
…
For regular washing or laundry, the external faucet meant for watering plants would suffice.
But for bathing or using the toilet, one had to enter that small enclosure.
.
By the time Zong Qing arrived carrying her laundry basin, her body had already returned to normal.
Following closely behind her was the ever-persistent Xi Huan.
Earlier at the doorway, she had indeed fought with this woman in an attempt to drive her away.
But…
A thoughtful glint flickered in Zong Qing’s eyes as she reluctantly admitted to herself—
She had actually lost the fight.
This was precisely why Xi Huan had shamelessly followed her here.
“Don’t you dare come in.”
With an annoyed huff, Zong Qing flicked on the bathroom light and slipped inside.
..
The cramped bathroom was barely large enough to stand in, with no space even for a stool.
Hanging her discarded clothes on the hook behind the door, Zong Qing quickly took a brisk shower.
The sound of running water was unusually distinct in the quiet night.
Leaning silently against the water room entrance, Xi Huan crossed her arms, her dark gaze unreadable.
Emotions churned violently within her—the more she learned, the more dissatisfied she became.
She couldn’t stand the thought of her omega living in such destitute conditions.
Using such a pitiful excuse for a bathroom.
“The Wen family.”
The two words rolled bitterly across her tongue as Xi Huan idly raised one hand.
The bright moon hung like a lantern in the dark sky.
Her slender fingers, sharply defined, looked like exquisitely carved white jade under the moonlight.
Those straight, elegant fingers slowly rubbed against each other—
An inexplicably unsettling sight.
When Zong Qing emerged,
This was the scene that greeted her.
Still holding her freshly changed clothes, she frowned slightly, opening and closing her mouth several times without finding words.
It was Xi Huan who reacted first.
“Finished?”
Uncrossing her arms, she stepped forward.
“Give me the clothes.”
Palm upturned, Xi Huan took the plastic basin from Zong Qing’s arms.
“What are you doing?”
The sudden emptiness in her arms made Zong Qing instinctively reach to snatch it back.
But Xi Huan deftly sidestepped her.
Turning away with a smile, she walked toward the sink. “I got your clothes dirty so I should be the one to wash them.”
As an afterthought, she added coaxingly, “You should go rest, it’s getting late.”
The lofty student council president, kneeling down to wash her clothes—
What a novel experience indeed.
Zong Qing pressed her lips together, hesitating only briefly.
Fine.
If she wanted to wash them, so be it.
It was just one outfit anyway.
..
Still preoccupied with unfinished homework, Zong Qing didn’t linger, turning decisively to leave.
……
In an instant,
The water room held only Xi Huan.
Under the clear running faucet, those artistically perfect hands
Methodically, attentively scrubbed the incongruously placed skirt.