I Am Her Secret Beauty and Strong Alpha (GL) - Chapter 22

Mu Xi learned very quickly. By the time Nan Xi realized it, she had already taken back control and was trying to break away from this “mentor’s” guidance to forge her own ideas.

This startled Nan Xi for a moment, but she soon felt a sense of helplessness.

If she let Mu Xi continue like this, she would definitely get hurt.

Especially now, when Mu Xi’s mind was still not entirely clear. Judging by her current demeanor…

Left with no choice, Nan Xi had to hold her tightly after another bout of shuddering, pull their intimately entangled lips apart, and try to guide Mu Xi’s head downward.

Mu Xi looked confused: “?”

“That’s enough. Enough,” Nan Xi panted, her breath unsteady, but she could only bring Mu Xi to the back of her neck. “Mark me.”

Mu Xi didn’t look very willing and dawdled for a long time without moving her hands. Nan Xi hugged her head and coaxed her for quite a while before Mu Xi slowly bit into her gland and completed the marking.

Regardless of what Mu Xi was thinking, to Nan Xi, once the mark was completed, this matter was over.

The gland that Mu Xi bit was warm and a little sore, but Nan Xi felt utterly satisfied, lying in bed with Mu Xi, catching her breath, a contented smile on her lips.

Dawn was fast approaching.

Fortunately, Nan Xi had prepared in advance. Otherwise, if someone knocked on her door and found no one inside, while she and the housekeeper were tangled up somewhere else, it would definitely cause some trouble.

…They would eventually have to face such trouble, but still… not so soon.

Mu Xi fell asleep quickly. She hadn’t really slept since her heat began, and the prolonged physical exertion had drained most of her energy. She badly needed rest.

Nan Xi even more so. She’d always had little stamina to begin with. Toward the end, she was running on pure willpower—and even dozed off a few times mid-activity…

To go this far as an omega—every bit of pleasure she got, she earned it.

Nan Xi lay down and quickly nestled into Mu Xi’s arms, hugging her waist and burying her head against her chest to sleep like that.

Mu Xi hesitated for a moment, then slowly extended an arm to gently place around Nan Xi’s waist, though she didn’t fully let it rest.

Nan Xi, eyes closed, reached up and tugged Mu Xi’s arm toward her body twice, then held her tighter.

“Sleep,” she said.

So they slept.

When Mu Xi woke up, a large part of the bed beside her was empty—no one was there.

All that was left for her were the wrinkled sheets, a pitiful blanket balled up in the corner, and her own outstretched hands that hadn’t managed to hold onto anything.

…What?

Her head ached dully. Mu Xi sat up in bed, stunned, staring at the blanket in the corner while mentally replaying the memories she had temporarily set aside.

This wasn’t a drunken blackout. During a heat-induced loss of control, the mind might be unclear, but memory wasn’t affected. That meant…

She remembered everything that had happened with Nan Xi here.

…Honestly, she rather wished she could forget.

Those wild scenes played out one by one in her mind—every sound and scent enough to make her blush. Mu Xi quickly buried her head in the blanket like an ostrich, trying to avoid the looming reality.

Yes, if not for the satisfaction, how could she have woken up so clearly?

Mu Xi lay like that for ten minutes before finally forcing herself to lift her face from the blanket. She turned her head—and saw the broken vial of strong suppressant on the floor.

The pale blue liquid had long dried into a stain. Next to it was the shattered glass syringe.

It just lay there quietly, having accompanied her through this entire day, now mocking her uselessness.

…She had really slept with the young lady she had vowed to keep her distance from.

Would a resignation letter help? No—Nan Xi had mentioned the fate of Nan Lian’s ex-lover. If the Nan family gave the order to blacklist her, she’d likely be kicked out of the entire domestic service industry nationwide.

She did have some savings. Could she flee abroad? But what then? Continue doing housework?

Was she being too optimistic? What if the Nan family didn’t even want to spare her life?

…She had permanently marked Nan Xi. Did that mean she had to take responsibility?

Should she just surrender to her seductive power…?

Mu Xi was shocked by her own thoughts.

She hadn’t expected that in just one day, she’d gone from upright and principled to this… What had Nan Xi done to her?

But thinking about everything Nan Xi had done to her… maybe it really was some kind of love potion.

Come to think of it—that fiery, sultry little omega who barely left her lips the entire night… was that really Nan Xi?

It really didn’t seem like her, huh?

…But who else could it be? Who else could she accept?

Mu Xi, oh Mu Xi, have you really become this shameless just to avoid responsibility?

Her spiraling thoughts spread like weeds, stuffing her brain like an overstuffed pillow, still growing.

She couldn’t think anymore.

Mu Xi forced herself to stop. No matter what, it had already happened. Escaping or playing dumb wouldn’t help.

She hadn’t resisted temptation. She had to take responsibility and first talk things through with Nan Xi.

If it meant leaving the Nan family, then so be it. That was her punishment.

With a heavy heart, Mu Xi took a shower, tidied up the room they had thoroughly wrecked, and dressed herself neatly.

She stepped out of the housekeeper’s quarters. Just like Nan Xi had said, there was no one around. All she could hear were her own footsteps.

She searched the whole house but didn’t find Nan Xi.

But Mu Xi knew deep down, judging from what happened yesterday, Nan Xi couldn’t have gone far.

Eventually, Mu Xi found her in the greenhouse garden, sitting with her back to her, drinking coffee.

Despite all her mental preparation and resolve to take responsibility, when Mu Xi saw Nan Xi’s pale face and the purplish marks peeking from her collar, her heart took a painful hit.

She staggered slightly, took a moment to steady herself, and walked toward her.

During those few short steps, Mu Xi kept asking herself if she had gone mad.

A housekeeper saying she wanted to take responsibility for the young lady… wasn’t that insanity?

When Mu Xi was only three meters away, Nan Xi finally turned around and gave her a faint glance. Then she nodded toward the seat across from her with her chin:

“Sit.”

That response was like a bucket of cold water over Mu Xi’s head. The contrast in mood left her stunned.

She could only sit down across from Nan Xi.

Nan Xi sipped her coffee while gazing at the flowers in the greenhouse. If one ignored the marks on her neck and collarbone, she was no different from a noble lady in a painting.

She didn’t look at Mu Xi and spoke as if to herself: “How’s your body feeling?”

“Thank you for your concern, Miss. I’ve… returned to normal.”

Nan Xi smiled: “Then yes, you should be thanking me.”

“…”

Mu Xi looked at her, somewhat nervous, trying to find even the slightest trace of unease on her face.

But there was none. Nan Xi was composed, as if what felt like the end of the world to Mu Xi was nothing but a passing breeze to her.

It was like she didn’t care at all.

That realization made Mu Xi uneasy, and she decided to speak up:

“Miss, regarding what happened yesterday—”

Nan Xi moved her lips but quickly closed them again, still not looking at her.

Seeing she had something to say, Mu Xi immediately stopped: “Please, go ahead.”

Whatever Nan Xi wanted to say—be it scolding or affection—Mu Xi was ready to accept it.

But it was neither.

Nan Xi said:

“Mm, I was going to tell you too. Stay in your room until your usual heat period would’ve ended.”

“If you recover too quickly, anyone could guess you’ve already marked an omega. That’s bad for both of us.”

Those words froze Mu Xi in place. She stared at Nan Xi, speechless.

It wasn’t… quite what she had expected.

After a moment of silence, Nan Xi frowned and finally looked at her for the first time: “What?”

Her gaze was a bit too contemptuous.

The phrase “pulling up your pants and denying everything” popped into Mu Xi’s mind. Could it be that Nan Xi’s previous behavior… was all just to get her into bed?

But since she was here, Mu Xi had to say what she came to say:

“Miss, what happened yesterday was my fault. If I caused you any pain, I sincerely apologize. If you want me to take responsibility, I’m willing—”

Nan Xi interrupted her:

“Pain? I was very happy. Couldn’t you tell last night?”

She smiled, as if hearing something amusing, and even tried to comfort the stunned Mu Xi:

“No need to take all the blame. I knew what I was doing—it was my choice.”

“As long as we both act like nothing happened, then nothing happened. Understand?”

Mu Xi understood.

As shocked as she was, she got it—Nan Xi wanted to pretend it had never happened and continue her life peacefully.

And as for Mu Xi, she wasn’t part of the plan for that future.

That’s how it was… right?

“But… the permanent mark—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Nan Xi said lightly. “You know, I was permanently marked five years ago too, and I’m still doing just fine, aren’t I?”

Mu Xi was speechless.

She fled the greenhouse as if running for her life. She needed time to process and accept what Nan Xi had just told her.

She didn’t even have the right to call Nan Xi a “heartbreaker.” After all, in terms of consequences, it was her own heat that had been relieved—and the one left with a permanent mark was Nan Xi…

Just as Nan Xi had requested, Mu Xi locked herself back in her room and stayed there for the next five days.

As a housekeeper who had slept with her employer, Mu Xi’s only sense of propriety was to obey Nan Xi’s orders and… keep doing her job.

Nan Xi looked up and drained the last of her coffee.

The empty cup landed on the table with a soft clink, still carrying a rich coffee aroma.

She sat there quietly in the greenhouse, savoring the lingering taste down her throat.

It wasn’t that satisfying.

Her body was still sore, of course. If not for wanting to face Mu Xi with dignity, she should’ve been lying in bed, waiting to be served by an alpha.

But sadly, Nan Xi didn’t have an alpha of her own. She could only brace through the discomfort and sit here.

She had said the lines she’d planned to Mu Xi. But it hadn’t felt as satisfying as expected.

That wasn’t right. Seeing Mu Xi confused and at a loss should have made her feel content. Only if Mu Xi also experienced the pain she once did, would she become more attached and unwilling to leave.

The plan was hers. But it hadn’t gone as she hoped.

…She had to make Mu Xi unable to leave her.

She had lost once before. This time, she would win.