Her Pheromones Smell Like Sparkling Water (GL) - Chapter 4

“Who was eavesdropping?” Of course, Shang Ranzhu will not admit it. She quickly turned things around on Shen Tingjun. “Miss Shen, this is a public place. Don’t you think smoking here is a bit inappropriate?”

Shen Tingjun didn’t look the least bit sorry. She didn’t even make a move to put out the cigarette. Instead, she leaned one hand against the wall behind Shang Ranzhu while the other was casually flipping the cigarette around, holding it backward between her fingers and offering it. “Want to try?”

Shang Ranzhu was cornered in this cramped space. The subtle scent of Shen Tingjun’s pheromones lingered in the air around her—light but unmistakable. She didn’t dare look directly into her eyes and just glanced down at the cigarette. The pale pink lipstick stain on the filter said it all.

She’d already smoked this one, and it still held her scent.

Ranzhu swallowed hard, feeling her cheeks heat up. “You’ve already smoked half of it before offering it. Isn’t that even polite?”

Shen Tingjun let out a quiet laugh next to her ear—just like during the scene rehearsal earlier. “Chun Ming smokes too, remember? I was the one who taught her.”

The first half of that was about the character in the script. But the second half—it dragged them both into the moment, and just like that, things turned way too ambiguous.

“I don’t need you to teach me,” Shang Ranzhu snapped, stubborn and defiant. She reached out and took the cigarette, awkwardly taking a drag.

But she didn’t actually know how to smoke. One inhale, and her mouth and nose were flooded with sharp, choking bitterness. Then came the menthol hit, stinging enough to make her eyes tear up.

Shen Tingjun quickly patted her back to help her breathe. “Slow down, no rush.”

“This is awful,” Ranzhu complained, awkwardly holding the cigarette in one hand while wiping her tears with the other. She looked so uncomfortable that she resembled a feline doing a flehmen response.

Shen Tingjun couldn’t help but think she was just like a kid. She gently took the cigarette back, held it up to Ranzhu’s lips, and patiently said, “This time, just try a light puff.”

For some reason, Shang Ranzhu just did what she was told. She wasn’t sure why she listened, but she did.

Only a third of the cigarette remained. When she brought her lips to it, they brushed lightly against Shen Tingjun’s fingers. Outside, rain poured relentlessly, the building was cold, and Shen Tingjun’s fingers were even colder. The faint touch on her lips sent a shiver through her—like a soft jolt of electricity.

Watching her take a puff, Shen Tingjun asked, “Well?”

This time it wasn’t so harsh. The menthol was smoother and oddly calming when she focused on the aftertaste.

“Mhm,” Ranzhu hummed softly, two wisps of smoke curling out from her nose. She looked ridiculous.

Trying to play it cool, she quickly lowered her head. But Shen Tingjun just chuckled again, softly, like a cat purring.

Kill me now.

The blush that had just faded returned in full force. Shang Ranzhu wanted to crawl into a hole. “Don’t laugh.”

“Alright, I’m not laughing… little one.” Shen Tingjun composed herself, pulling out a tissue and reaching out to wipe the smudged eyeliner at the corner of her eyes.

It was the third time today that she’d called her “little one.”
Shang Ranzhu was twenty years old—a mature, fierce Alpha! And yet Shen Tingjun kept calling her like she was a little child, which felt like pure, unfiltered disrespect.

She snatched the tissue away. “Miss Shen, I’m not a kid.”

Shen Tingjun took a slow drag from her cigarette, then exhaled a long plume of smoke before looking back at her. “Is that so?”

The moment their eyes met, Shang Ranzhu felt a strange chill.
This wasn’t the usual Alpha power-play. The feeling was something else—like a ruler’s quiet dominance. Unyielding.

If Ranzhu was a wildcat from the grasslands—bold, rebellious, unrestrained—then Shen Tingjun was a bamboo in the mountains: flexible, resilient, with quiet strength.

She stared into Shen Tingjun’s eyes, undeterred, and said firmly, “Yes. I’m an adult now.”

“I know.” Shen Tingjun flicked the ash from her cigarette. “You’re twenty this year.”

“Exactly. So stop calling me a kid,” Ranzhu stressed.

Shen Tingjun lowered her eyes like she was taking her words seriously. She even nodded.

Ranzhu felt victorious, thinking she’d won this little battle— 

However, Shen Tingjun smiled faintly and said, “Only kids argue about whether they’re kids.”

The comeback she had ready completely died in her throat.

Seeing the mix of frustration and embarrassment on her round cheeks, Shen Tingjun felt most of her own irritation fade away. She didn’t push further. Instead, she slipped the cigarette back between Ranzhu’s fingers and said, “I’ve got something to do. I’ll head off first.”

Then she turned to leave.

Shang Ranzhu looked down at the half-finished cigarette in her hand and called out defiantly, “Hey! I’m not arguing about whether I’m a kid or not!”

Shen Tingjun paused at the stairs, turning slightly with a disapproving look. “That’s rude. I’m your senior. You should call me Miss Shen.”

Desperate to defend her adult status, Ranzhu quickly corrected herself, “Miss Shen! I’m not arguing about whether I’m a kid!”

Shen Tingjun looked very pleased with how obedient she sounded and teased, “Good. What a well-behaved little one.”

That was the fourth time today!

If Shang Ranzhu were a balloon, she would have exploded immediately.

Usually she was quick with a comeback, but now she was speechless. She watched Shen Tingjun disappear down the stairs while her brain was running empty.

She still held the cigarette between her fingers. A clump of ash collapsed and landed on her hand, burning a small red mark.

Ranzhu jerked her hand away with a hiss. The cigarette dropped to the ground, scattering sparks that vanished in the wind.

She cradled her stinging hand and glanced at the cigarette stub on the ground. It was just as annoying as its owner.

She raised her foot to stomp it out—but stopped.

She was a responsible young adult, after all. She prioritized environmental protection.

She bent down and picked it up.

There was still a lingering scent in the cigarette—Shen Tingjun’s scent.

She brought it close and finally identified it: the clean scent of bamboo mixed with winter pine and a faint trace of snow.

It smelled really, really nice.

For reasons even she couldn’t explain, she held the stub in her palm and didn’t let go. She still had it when she bumped into Chen Ming downstairs.

Chen Ming was gripping her phone, face full of worry. The moment she spotted Shang Ranzhu, she rushed over. “Shang Shang, where did you go? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! You weren’t answering your phone! Director Xu came in all excited to announce that you got the role of Chun Ming, and there I was, the only one in the room. It was so awkward!”

Ranzhu quickly hid the cigarette stub in her palm and brushed it off. “I didn’t go far.”

“I tried chatting with Director Xu, but it didn’t last long. Honestly, how does a stone-cold straight A like him manage to shoot so many amazing goddess roles? I mean, don’t you think maybe he’s secretly…”

If being talkative were a skill, Chen Ming would be world-class.

She was half a head shorter than Ranzhu, looking up at her while babbling nonstop about the emotional rollercoaster of trying to find her.

Ranzhu was used to it. She just nodded along as they headed back to the dressing room.

“Director Xu said we’re having dinner tonight,” Chen Ming called from behind the changing room curtain. “To celebrate the lead cast finally being assembled.”

“What time?” Shang Ranzhu asked while changing her clothes.

“Eight. We just need to be there by seven-thirty.”

Ranzhu stepped out, fully dressed, and glanced at the wall clock. It was only four o’clock. “Still early.”

“So where did you go just now?” Chen Ming asked again while tidying up her things.

“I went up to the fourth floor to get some air. Ran into Shen Tingjun.” Just saying her name made Shang Ranzhu scowl. “Do you know how annoying she is? She actually called me—”

She caught herself just in time.

“Called you what?” Chen Ming’s curiosity flared.

Everyone knew the two of them were rivals. Their rivalry was always evident when they were in the same room. Something dramatic had to have happened.

“It’s not what she called me; it’s the way she clearly doesn’t see me as a rival.” Ranzhu skipped the “little one” insult entirely.

“Oh,” Chen Ming looked a bit let down. “That’s it?”

“What do you mean that’s it?” Ranzhu was annoyed. “Why aren’t you surprised?”

“Well, come on—she’s an award-winning actress, and you just debuted. Why would she see you as competition? I heard she’s planning to break into the international scene soon. Her future’s basically stardust and galaxies.”

Ice water, meet ego. Shang Ranzhu’s confidence took a cold shower.

She glared at Chen Ming. “Are you even on my side? Or are you a spy sent by Shen Tingjun?”

“Please. Don’t act like you weren’t the one who used to point at the TV and say, ‘I’m gonna marry her! I’m going to marry her!’” Chen Ming mimicked a baby voice.

That memory made Ranzhu’s face burn. She rubbed her nose awkwardly. “That was just childish nonsense. I don’t like her anymore.”

“Oh?” Chen Ming looked at her skeptically, eyes full of judgment.

Ranzhu faltered under her gaze but then remembered their unpleasant encounter at the stairwell and mentally sketched a line. “If I like her, you can call me Dad.”

“You mean Mom,” Chen Ming corrected.

“Let’s not get lost in hypothetical nonsense. Focus on the present.” Ranzhu struck a dramatic pose in the doorway of her dressing room. “Go pick out a stunning outfit. Tonight, I’m going to outshine everyone.”

Chen Ming squinted at her, unimpressed. “You don’t mean everyone. You just want to outshine Shen Tingjun.”

Ranzhu didn’t even deny it. “Of course. I’m going to outshine her so much that she’ll never get up again.”

They’d spent too much time together. The dirty jokes were inevitable.

“So… you mean physically or mentally?” Chen Ming teased.

Ranzhu raised a fist and said smugly, “Why choose? I want both.”

“I’m going to pin her down,” she continued, grinning with pride. “So what if she’s an Alpha too? I’ll make her beg. Beg for it while crying, ‘Please, please, Ranzhu…’”

Her imagination was running wild. Maybe a little too wild, because she suddenly smelled Shen Tingjun’s distinct bamboo-and-pine scent.

And then—

Shen Tingjun’s voice rang out behind her, calm and cool, with just a hint of amusement.
“So… who exactly were you planning to pin down?”