Her Pheromones Smell Like Sparkling Water (GL) - Chapter 21

By late October, the air in the Northeast already felt like it was freezing cold. Even the surrounding scents seemed to have settled and sunk into it. Shen Tingjun was wrapped in a long white blazer, wearing a vintage-style fishtail slip dress underneath. Even in the icy air, she still looked as elegant and refined as always.

But only Shen Tingjun herself knew—something wasn’t right with her body today. Ever since she used the 16-series inhibitor last time, her heat had been delayed far longer than usual.

This uncertainty left a constant unease in her heart, and she had a bad feeling about it.

By the time she stepped out of the RV and reached the film crew’s main area, the scent of Alpha pheromones in the air nearly made her knees go weak, and she almost collapsed on the spot.

But there was no Alpha here intentionally releasing their pheromones. It was her own body that had become abnormally sensitive to them.

Shen Tingjun forced herself to endure the discomfort while trying to suppress the pheromones that were threatening to burst out of her body. The glands at the back of her neck had already begun to release a transparent liquid. The collar of her clothes, tightly wrapped around her neck, was already damp. She reached up casually to touch it, pretending it was nothing. It was cold and wet.

Her fingers froze in place.

It was happening. Her heat had started.

*****

Unlike in a hotel, the filming site was full of people. There wasn’t a single safe or private room around. Her assistants were nowhere to be seen, and Andy had vanished too.

Shen Tingjun stood alone against a wall, feeling like the world was spinning. Her legs weakened, and she nearly slid down to the ground.

The situation couldn’t go on—she had to find an empty spot to inject the inhibitor.

Dragging herself along the wall, she slowly made her way toward the props room. Fortunately, she still remembered Xu Yiren’s habits. That guy’s team always left props scattered in chaos—messy, but in a way only they understood. No one else would casually enter that room.

Wrapped in a tide of surging desire, Shen Tingjun leaned on the haphazardly stacked props; her vision was hazy as she moved deeper into the room. It was freezing inside, but her body was radiating heat like a furnace. Every icy prop she touched only made her hypersensitive skin tremble more.

The already unstable piles of props crashed down as she passed through them. She looked like a forgotten princess walking through ruins. And when she finally reached what felt like her ruined throne, she collapsed to the ground, completely unable to suppress the pheromones any longer—they burst out in a flood.

She didn’t even have the strength to sit down properly, slumping against a nearby chair and supporting herself with one arm.

Her mind felt like a mess of tangled threads, spinning endlessly. She bit her lip hard, trying to stay awake. Her once rosy lips were now pale and colorless, like a torn piece of paper.

It felt like a fire was blazing inside her, burning away all her strength. Her fingertips stained red from scratching at herself, she shakily reached into her pocket and pulled out the inhibitor she had prepared just in case.

The thick white liquid sat quietly in the syringe. Shen Tingjun struggled to unfasten her blazer, yanking it open to reveal her arm. The cold needle pressed against her skin, but her hand trembled too much that she couldn’t push it in.

Then came a loud bang.

Shen Tingjun, already on edge, flinched in fright. The syringe slipped from her hand and rolled across the floor… landing right at someone’s feet, beneath a pair of elegant silver lace-up heels.

Silence filled the room.

Slowly, Shen Tingjun looked up. Her pupils contracted sharply. In the hazy gold of her eyes, she saw Shang Ranzhu standing there, her eyes were sharp and dangerous.

A powerful burst of Alpha pheromones filled the air, the kind used only to dominate other Alphas.

*****

The moment Shang Ranzhu thought Shen Tingjun was hiding in the props room with some secret lover, jealousy flared through her like wildfire.

She was ready to see for herself—who was this mysterious lover Shen Tingjun had been protecting so carefully?

But as Shang Ranzhu looked past the scattered props, she did not see anyone other than Shen Tingjun, who was slumped beside the chair.

Her long hair was loose, eyelashes low, and a tear trembled at the corner of her eye. Her whole face and even her body were tinged with pink, like a delicate doll tossed aside by its owner. Weak and powerless, she leaned against the ornate but dusty chair in the center of the room. The white blazer hung crookedly off her shoulders, and the once-elegant dress was sprawled across the ground like a crushed white rose—beautiful, but broken.

If someone were to pluck her now, they would do so without hesitation, play with her for a while, then toss her away.

The flood of pheromones from Shang Ranzhu only made Shen Tingjun’s mind fuzzier. She breathed heavily and spoke in a hoarse voice, without a hint of threat:

“Leave.”

“Miss Shen, what’s wrong with you?” Shang Ranzhu stood frozen at the door. The anger in her eyes was long gone. It was replaced by shock at the sight before her.

“It’s none of your business.” Shen Tingjun forced herself to stand, wobbling as she took a few steps toward her.

She had to make Shang Ranzhu leave—before she figured everything out.

But Shen Tingjun had overestimated her strength. Before she could get far, a gust of wind blew in, carrying a thick, sweet scent like a whipped cream.

Her legs gave out instantly. She was about to collapse—

Thankfully, Shang Ranzhu moved fast, diving forward to catch her just in time. As she cradled her in her arms, Shen Tingjun’s exposed neck gland released another burst of pheromones. The scent of sparking water rushed into Shang Ranzhu’s nose.

Shang Ranzhu was only twenty and had never dealt with something like this before. Her arms nearly gave out, and she almost dropped Shen Tingjun.

That’s when she realized—there was no one else in the room.

Which meant… that Omega scent was coming from Shen Tingjun herself.

“Miss Shen, you’re an Omega?” Shang Ranzhu stared down at the woman in disbelief.

Shen Tingjun closed her eyes in despair, fighting the urge to surrender. Her voice trembled with desperation as she repeated:

“Let go of me. Leave.”

Every movement she made released more pheromones, and it only confirmed it further—Shen Tingjun was definitely an Omega.

For Shang Ranzhu, the shock turned into something bright and hopeful. She held Shen Tingjun carefully in her arms, like something precious. But she also noticed how hot she felt.

“Miss Shen… Are you in heat?”

“…I’m not,” Shen Tingjun said, her voice shaking as she stubbornly tried to push Shang Ranzhu away. Her eyes were red at the corners, and the desire inside her was starting to swallow what little reason she had left.

Looking at her struggling helplessly in her arms, Shang Ranzhu’s fleeting joy turned quickly into heartache.

If Shen Tingjun really needed her to do something, she would do it, no matter what.

“Miss Shen, please be honest with me. If there’s anything I can do, I will. What’s happening to you… are you really an Om—”

The word Omega hadn’t even fully left Shang Ranzhu’s mouth when Shen Tingjun could no longer bear hearing that word spoken by anyone else—her true identity. Like she was running away from it, she buried her face in Shang Ranzhu’s arms, and her voice was trembling as she pleaded, “Please… don’t say it…”

She clutched tightly at Shang Ranzhu’s arm; her grip was so tight it hurt. Shang Ranzhu frowned in concern and gently called her name, trying to calm her down. “Shen Tingjun, relax.”

But how could she relax?

That beast that had been locked away inside her for eleven long years was roaring again from deep within. It had already caught the scent of an Alpha’s pheromones. It stirred restlessly, eagerly awaiting the moment when her rational mind crumbled, allowing it to liberate itself and devour the Alpha before her.

Every gentle touch from Shang Ranzhu felt like a spark that ignited that endless fire inside her. Shen Tingjun couldn’t help but lean closer, even as she tried to force herself to stay away.

“Get out.”
Finally, Shen Tingjun gathered what strength she had and shoved Shang Ranzhu to the ground.

Shang Ranzhu hit her head hard on the edge of an old table, and bl00d trickled down her forehead. She sat there, stunned and unable to react for a long moment.

Her eyes turned red, filled with a quiet sense of grievance. She didn’t even know what she’d done wrong to be treated this way.

She hadn’t meant any harm. She had truly just wanted to help.

“Miss Shen…”

She tried to get up and approach again, but Shen Tingjun, trembling, quickly raised a hand to keep her back.

“Don’t… come any closer.”

“…Okay.”

Shang Ranzhu stopped where she was, standing still. Her eyes followed Shen Tingjun as she struggled to get up from the floor, with her arms outstretched—ready to catch Tingjun if she fell again.

Shen Tingjun clenched her jaw, leaning on the wall as she slowly searched for the inhibitor she’d dropped earlier.

She knew full well that she was already completely exposed in front of Shang Ranzhu. She didn’t have to risk her life injecting the dangerous 16-series inhibitor.

However, she still refused to ask Shang Ranzhu for help.

She didn’t want an Alpha to mark her—not even a temporary one.

Every step she took was shaky, like walking barefoot across shards of glass—cutting deep into Shang Ranzhu’s heart. She felt her chest tighten with pain.

“What are you looking for? Let me help you,” Shang Ranzhu offered.

Shen Tingjun looked up. Even in her blurred vision, she could see sincerity and pleading in Shang Ranzhu’s eyes. Her instincts and reason both leaned toward trust. She opened her mouth and finally admitted the one thing that revealed everything about her:

“…Inhibitor…”

The props room was a complete mess, chaotic in every direction. Shang Ranzhu rushed to search, crossing off one area after another, but the small syringe seemed to have disappeared.

Meanwhile, Shen Tingjun’s pheromones surged like crashing waves, endlessly washing over Shang Ranzhu. Beads of sweat dripped down from her forehead, stinging her wound and nerves alike.

Her self-control was slipping. Her hands, planted on the floor, trembled uncontrollably.

Then, at last—near the door—she caught sight of a glint. The syringe.

She bit down hard on her lip, forcing herself to stay alert. Carefully, she walked over and picked up the dusty syringe from the ground. Its cool surface pressed into her sweaty palm, slowly warming up.

“Miss Shen, I found it.”

Shen Tingjun’s forehead was soaked with sweat by now. She lifted her pale, faintly flushed face and gave Shang Ranzhu a weak smile.

“Thank you.”

Shang Ranzhu wiped the syringe carefully on her clothes, again and again, making sure not a speck of dust remained. Then, keeping a careful distance, she held it out to her.

“Do you want me to help you inject it?”

“No.”

Shen Tingjun refused. Like a butterfly with broken wings, she let herself drop against the leg of the table, resting her arm on her bent knee. With the other hand, she struggled to press the needle against her arm.

But she truly had no strength left.

She hadn’t been able to do it earlier—let alone now, when her heat was at its peak.

She tried several times, but her trembling hands were clearly visible in Shang Ranzhu’s eyes. Her scattered breathing came out in soft, involuntary whimpers. Shang Ranzhu’s heart twisted. The proud and graceful Shen Tingjun that she admired was now being torn apart by her Omega instincts—-right in this cramped and dusty room.

She couldn’t watch her suffer like this any longer.

Shang Ranzhu knelt down, meeting Shen Tingjun’s eyes as she gently reached for her hand.

“Miss Shen, let me do it. It’ll be faster this way. I promise—I’ll hold back my pheromones.”

Tears clung to Shen Tingjun’s red-rimmed eyes. Sweat matted her dark hair to her face. She was on the verge of losing control. In the mess of emotion and instinct, she suddenly grabbed Shang Ranzhu’s neck—

—and bit down hard.

It wasn’t just a warning. Shen Tingjun bit deep, and her pheromones surged wildly through the open wound into Shang Ranzhu’s body.

This kind of Omega’s desperate craving could easily stir any Alpha’s desire.

Let alone someone like Shang Ranzhu—young, inexperienced, and vulnerable to temptation. Her Alpha instincts stirred violently, and pheromones started to seep from her body, completely out of her control.

She dug her nails into her thigh, hard—forcing herself to stay grounded.

Then, without hesitation, she plunged the syringe into Shen Tingjun’s arm.

As the thick white liquid pushed into Shen Tingjun’s bloodstream, Shang Ranzhu felt the heartbeat pressed against her chest slowly steady itself.

She gently brushed the messy strands of hair away from Shen Tingjun’s face and whispered, “Miss Shen… feeling better?”

Shen Tingjun leaned weakly into her arms and nodded. The storm inside her had passed. All that was left was exhaustion.

Shang Ranzhu hugged her tightly, and her tense brow finally relaxed into a relieved smile.

“You scared me to death…”

Shen Tingjun reached out, lightly touching the side of Shang Ranzhu’s worn and worried face. She didn’t say anything. She just leaned into her a little more, like she was finally allowing herself to depend on her.

But the moment didn’t last.

Bang!

Someone kicked the door from outside, hard.

“What the hell is that smell?! Who the f**k’s in there?!”