Her Pheromones Smell Like Sparkling Water (GL) - Chapter 18

By mid-September, nights were already longer. It was already dark before seven o’clock. The sky was an inky black with no stars in sight, and a lonely full moon hung above the horizon. Even though the hospital sat in the bustling heart of the city, everything around it felt unusually quiet.

Inside the hospital room, Shang Ranzhu lay in bed, holding her phone and staring at her chat with Shen Tingjun. She had messaged her after the checkup, letting her know that she was fine—but there’d been no reply since.

Shang Ranzhu sighed deeply. There was a wave of disappointment filling her chest. The spark of affection that had just begun to catch fire was now being smothered by Shen Tingjun’s cold silence.

She stared at their sparse chat history—still stuck on the conversation from a few days ago, when she had made Shen Tingjun angry.

Shang Ranzhu remembered how she had patted her chest confidently and told Shen Tingjun, “I’ll be your big bro—I’ll protect you.”

Now, she didn’t want to be her bro anymore. She wanted to be her girlfriend.

Was that too fickle of her?

With a groan of self-pity, Shang Ranzhu covered her face.

If she had known she’d fall for her like this, she never would’ve said that dumb line.

As she was sulking, her phone buzzed twice. A new message popped up from Shen Tingjun:

[I’ll come see you in a bit.]

Shang Ranzhu responded with one cool, restrained word:

[Okay.]

And then immediately she curled up in bed, clutching her phone and kicking around like a lovesick idiot. The fire that had just been snuffed out moments ago now roared back to life, lighting her whole face red. Her brain felt like it had no oxygen, and her little heart pounded like crazy.

Just then, she noticed a silhouette appear behind the frosted glass of the hospital room door. Instantly, she wiped the giddy grin off her face, plastered on a weak, fragile expression, and lay back on the bed like a dainty patient.

She was definitely going to guilt Shen Tingjun into staying and taking care of her tonight.

But—

“ZHUZI! ZHUZI! MY BABY ZHUZI—!”

The door burst open, and Chen Ming came in, bawling like a child, nose running and tears falling everywhere. Her dramatic entrance shattered Shang Ranzhu’s plan to pieces.

“What are you doing here?!” Shang Ranzhu’s sickly act vanished without a trace. She grabbed a pillow and threw it straight at Chen Ming.

Chen Ming caught it mid-air. Her sharp reflexes are still intact despite the crying. She wiped her tears, plopped down beside Shang Ranzhu, and began scolding, “What do you mean, ‘What am I doing here?’ I’m your manager, your childhood friend, your soul sister! Why wouldn’t I be here?!”

“Okay, okay—you’re here, I get it.” Shang Ranzhu waved her off, not in the mood to argue.

“Come here, let me look at you.” Chen Ming leaned over, inspecting the back of her head. “I got Director Xu’s message and flew straight over! I was so worried that I didn’t even tell your parents yet. How the hell did a medicine ball hit your head? Does it hurt? Are you nauseous? Dizzy? Do you still have full use of your limbs?

“Ugh.” Shang Ranzhu groaned. She’d been fine, but all this noise was starting to give her a headache. She batted Chen Ming’s hand away and pointed to the report on the bedside table. “I’m fine. Just a minor concussion. I just want to go home.”

“Go home? Are you kidding me? You need to stay a few more days!” Chen Ming forced her back down onto the bed. “This is a concussion, Zhuzi. If you don’t receive proper treatment, your brain could potentially suffer damage. Then who’s going to help me live the good life, huh?”

She picked up the medical file and started flipping through it. The more she read, the more puzzled she became. Then she closed the file and stared at Shang Ranzhu suspiciously.

“Wait… this doesn’t add up. With your black-belt reflexes, how did you get hit like this? Did someone set you up?”

Shang Ranzhu, seeing that Chen Ming had hit the nail on the head, waved a hand nonchalantly and replied smugly, “Eh… I just did a little heroic rescue.”

“Oh? And who’s the beauty that made our Zhuzi throw herself into danger like that? Don’t tell me it was Shen Tingjun—”

Before she could finish the tease, Shang Ranzhu nodded.

Chen Ming’s eyes widened in shock, then her mouth slowly curled into an incredulous grin. She jumped up from the bed, completely unable to contain herself.

“F—!”

Shang Ranzhu had expected this kind of reaction and quickly dragged her back down, pressing her on the bed. “Hey! There are still patients downstairs. Calm down!”

“Wait—weren’t you the one who wanted Shen Tingjun to go d—”

Before she could say the word, Shang Ranzhu slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Don’t you dare curse our Miss Shen.”

Chen Ming made a gagging face under her hand. Shang Ranzhu immediately let go and even wiped her palm off on Chen Ming’s shirt in disgust.

Chen Ming looked at her with equal disdain, grabbing a tissue to wipe her own mouth. “Our Miss Shen, huh? Wow. You were the one who said she was totally lame not long ago.”

“I didn’t! I wasn’t! Don’t you twist my words!” Shang Ranzhu fired back with a rapid triple denial and glared furiously. “I have great respect for her, okay?”

Chen Ming looked at her up and down, clicking her tongue. “Respect, huh? Be honest. Did you realize that Shen Tingjun’s actually kind of amazing?”

“…Yeah.” Shang Ranzhu nodded earnestly.

“Yeah?!”

Her calm response threw Chen Ming off completely—she was starting to doubt her own senses.

Shang Ranzhu looked way too composed.

Chen Ming squinted. She was pretty sure she was being messed with.

Shang Ranzhu looked at Chen Ming’s rapidly shifting expressions and knew she had successfully thrown her into complete confusion with this sudden 180° emotional U-turn. Sitting up straight in bed, she fixed her posture and solemnly declared to her,
“I really do like Shen-laoshi.”

“You’re not messing with me?” Chen Ming asked again for confirmation.

Shang Ranzhu nodded sincerely; her face was serious.

Chen Ming froze. Her small eyes were filled with massive confusion.

This unexpected whiplash of affection was too much to take in.

Wait, did I just accidentally witness the real deal?

Does this mean I’ll get to ship them in person from now on?!

But that wasn’t the main point, was it? The real issue was—both Zhuzi and Shen-laoshi were Alphas. That kind of taboo relationship… would Shen-laoshi even consider it?

Chen Ming knew Shang Ranzhu well. She wasn’t someone who threw the word “like” around lightly. But once she truly liked someone, she wouldn’t give up easily.

If she truly intended to pursue Shen Tingjun, she anticipated a challenging journey filled with storms and snow.

If Shen Tingjun ended up rejecting her, Chen Ming could already picture the stubborn silhouette of Shang Ranzhu walking away alone. Just the thought made her heart ache.

“Zhuzi, have you really thought this through? Shen Tingjun… she’s an Alpha,” Chen Ming said, seriously.

“I thought about that before you even came.” Shang Ranzhu’s voice was firm and unwavering.

 “I like her. I’m not going to back down just because she’s an Alpha.”

To be honest, it was a bit dramatic—her first crush at twenty was someone seven years older than her same gender, and same designation.

But maybe that’s what young love was all about—pure and bold. She had no regard for gender or status.

She had set her heart on Shen Tingjun. Come mountains or oceans, she’d chase her to the ends of the earth.

Chen Ming let out a sigh, clearly defeated and frustrated. Shang Ranzhu instinctively reached out and pinched her face. As the one directly involved, she even comforted her #1 CP fan.

“Don’t worry about me. At least my mom and dad—Liu Lihua and Mr. Shang—support me.”

Chen Ming, who had refused to let anyone pinch her face since adulthood, smacked her hand away and said indignantly, “I’m your mom too, okay? I support you.”

Shang Ranzhu had originally planned to let go, but that comment made her pause. She gripped Chen Ming’s face again and gave it a little tug.
“What did you just say? Say it again?”

Chen Ming, face stinging a little, slapped her hand and protested, “You’re the one who said it! You told me if you ever ended up liking Shen Tingjun, you’d call me Mom, remember?”

“…”

The corner of Shang Ranzhu’s mouth twitched. She had indeed said that… back when she was just joking around.

The idea is ridiculous. Every flag I plant falls flat.

Was this what they meant by “a national-level flag destroyer”?

Seeing that she had successfully triggered a memory, Chen Ming sat cross-legged on the hospital bed, put her hands on her knees like a stern elder, and said,
“Come on then. Say it. Call me ‘Mom.’”

“…,” Shang Ranzhu didn’t want to respond.

“Come on, be good. Say it~” Chen Ming egged her on.

“Mom, huh? Let’s see if you’re qualified!” Before Chen Ming could react, Shang Ranzhu pounced from the bed, tackling her onto the mattress.

The two of them had been roughhousing together since childhood. Don’t let Chen Ming’s soft appearance fool you—she was also a black belt in taekwondo. Her combat skills were on par with Shang Ranzhu.

In no time, the two of them were tumbling around the narrow hospital bed, trading kicks and holds like seasoned martial artists. The bedding was a mess. The pillows were scattered all over the floor, and the scene was utterly chaotic.

If anyone were to walk in right now… There’d be no explaining this.

Thud. A heavy sound from something dropping to the floor made them both freeze mid-fight.

Shang Ranzhu looked up to see Shen Tingjun standing at the door, her soft black hair covering half of her face. She stood there elegantly and gracefully, wearing a satin royal-blue camisole dress under a dark striped blazer. The hem of the dress fell just past her calves, revealing her delicate white ankles.

Tonight, Shen Tingjun looked even more composed and refined than usual.

However, this was only true if one overlooked the fruit basket that lay on the ground near her feet.

The room fell completely silent.

Embarrassment flooded in like it owned the place, spinning and twirling in a solo spotlight across the spacious single ward.

It was slapping Shang Ranzhu across the face.

“…Sorry for disturbing you.” Shen Tingjun appeared visibly stunned. She quickly turned around and closed the door behind her.

The moment the door clicked shut, Shang Ranzhu threw Chen Ming off of her and dashed toward the door.

She blocked the door from closing with her one hand, and the other clutched Shen Tingjun’s wrist.

“Miss Shen, let me explain!”