Marked by the Milk-Soft Alpha I Picked Up (Entertainment Circle) - Chapter 4

Lin Ruoyun staggered a few steps after getting out of the taxi, barely managing to hold onto the car to stay on her feet. The taxi driver, a kind-faced Omega, noticed the beads of sweat on Lin Ruoyun’s forehead and asked with concern, 

“Are you sick, miss? Should I take you to a hospital?”

Lin Ruoyun put a hand to her forehead; it was burning. She forced herself to shake her head. “No, thank you.”

Lin Ruoyun was so dazed with fever that she didn’t notice the black Cullinan SUV parked a few dozen meters from the entrance of her building. The Alpha in the driver’s seat stared intently at Lin Ruoyun’s frail figure, her beautiful eyes welling up with tears.

“Cousin, the DNA results are in,” Guan Muwei said from the passenger seat, unwrapping a document. 

“She really is your sister-in-law who went missing five years ago.”

Guan Yinghan’s long, curled eyelashes lowered, and her voice was hoarse. “I knew it… she is Ruoyun.”

Guan Muwei glanced at her cousin’s expression and continued. 

“Your sister-in-law was brought back to Tianhai City by her mother two months after you returned to the Guan family. The day before she came back, a fire broke out in Dawan Village. Your sister-in-law’s house was burned down, and her grandmother didn’t make it out…”

Guan Yinghan’s eyes widened dramatically. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened until her knuckles turned white. 

“Grandma, the grandmother who Ruoyun relied on… was burned to death… How could Ruoyun have endured that?”

“I’ve investigated, and your sister-in-law doesn’t just not remember you; she has no memory of her grandmother either. But what’s strange is that her memory isn’t completely gone. She’s only forgotten the parts about you and her grandmother.”

Guan Muwei steeled herself and continued, “The memories she has now seem to have been deliberately altered and then put back. So, in your sister-in-law’s current memory, there’s only her mother and… her fiancée.”

Her fiancée?

Guan Yinghan’s heart felt as if it had been pierced by something sharp. After the initial pain, only a wave of overwhelming fury remained. What has Ruoyun been through these past five years?

Just as Guan Yinghan was about to ask more, she saw Lin Ruoyun’s steps slow. Her legs went weak, her arms trembled slightly, and she fell limply onto the stone steps.

Guan Yinghan’s expression was tense as she flung open the car door and ran to Lin Ruoyun’s side. She put one arm under her waist and the other on her clammy, pale forehead. The searing heat she felt made Guan Yinghan’s heart ache.

“Ruoyun… Ruoyun…”

The Omega’s delicate features were scrunched up in distress from the high fever, and her cheeks were an unhealthy shade of red. She was so uncomfortable that tears welled up in her tightly closed eyes and streamed down her face. Her body trembled slightly.

A memory that made Guan Yinghan’s heart race flashed through her mind. Five years ago, on that night, she had gone to the small house in Dawan Village to find Lin Ruoyun. When she opened the door, the room was filled with the rich, mixed scent of water spirit flowers and amber.

That day, Lin Ruoyun was in her heat cycle.

Following the scent of her pheromones, Guan Yinghan fought down her own heat and stumbled against the walls to the inner room. She found Lin Ruoyun on a small bed, dazed and tormented by her heat. Lin Ruoyun’s eyes were unfocused, her flawless skin flushed, her body tangled in the sheets, which were visibly damp in places.

Guan Yinghan’s mind went blank. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Lin Ruoyun’s body. She closed her eyes and walked over like a robot. But as soon as she got close, Lin Ruoyun slid into her arms, her hands wrapped around her neck. A pained whimper escaped her lips. “Guanguan… mark me, please…”

The unique pheromone scent—mild and gentle at first, then alluring—almost made Guan Yinghan lose her mind.

“I… I’ll go get you some suppressants…”

“There aren’t any left,” Lin Ruoyun said, tightening her arms to stop her from leaving. 

She pressed her soft body against Guan Yinghan’s, her eyes glistening. 

“I feel so terrible… Guanguan… you… help me…”

If there had been any shred of reason left, it completely shattered when she met Lin Ruoyun’s hazy eyes.

Guan Yinghan slowly bent down, her hands bracing herself on either side of Lin Ruoyun. Her voice trembled uncontrollably. 

“Ruoyun, will you regret this?”

“No, never!”

The response was a prickling pain on the back of her neck, followed by a different kind of tingling, soothing numbness. And the interwoven scent of water spirit flowers and freesias…

Lin Ruoyun’s pained moan pulled Guan Yinghan from her memories. Guan Yinghan remembered learning in biology class that an Alpha’s pheromones have a calming and soothing effect on the Omega they’ve marked, which can help alleviate the Omega’s physical discomfort. She had fully marked Ruoyun before. 

Her pheromones might be able to break Ruoyun’s fever. Even if not, they would definitely ease her pain.

With that thought, Guan Yinghan leaned in, her full lips kissing the gland on the back of Lin Ruoyun’s neck, slowly releasing her own pheromones.

An overwhelming flood of freesia pheromones washed over Lin Ruoyun. A stifling pressure welled up from deep within her. She forced her heavy eyelids open and saw a blurry figure. She struggled weakly. 

“What are you doing? Forcibly marking an Omega without their consent… is… is illegal…”

“Ruoyun, Ruoyun, it’s me!” Guan Yinghan’s voice broke with a sob. 

She repeated herself with an almost stubborn persistence. “It’s me. I’m Guan Yinghan, your Guanguan…”

“I… I don’t know you…” Lin Ruoyun was delirious with fever. 

The Alpha’s strong pheromones made her feel terrified and uneasy. Her eyes were misty. “Let me go…”

Guan Yinghan couldn’t let go. Instead, she tightened her hold on Lin Ruoyun’s waist, pulling her into a tight embrace and pressing her close to her chest.

 “Ruoyun… What’s wrong with you? Stop playing around, okay? I know you’re mad that I didn’t come back for so long… I’m sorry. Punish me however you want, but please stop pretending you don’t know me…”

Lin Ruoyun was in a semi-conscious state. The scent of freesia only intensified her dizziness. She weakly swung her arms, hitting Guan Yinghan twice before completely losing consciousness.

Seeing that something was seriously wrong, Guan Muwei quickly got out of the car and strode towards Guan Yinghan. “Cousin, this… why is this happening?” Guan Muwei was one of the few people in the Guan family who truly cared for Guan Yinghan and knew everything about her past. 

After opening and closing her mouth several times, she finally managed to get a few words out in disbelief.

“How can your sister-in-law reject your pheromones? Didn’t… didn’t you fully mark her?”

Guan Yinghan slid her arm under Lin Ruoyun’s legs, lifting her into a bridal carry. Her eyes were as deep as a bottomless pool. 

“Perhaps… Dr. He can give me the answer.”

******

The black Cullinan sped through the winding, tree-lined road, stopping in front of the gate of a deep, secluded estate with red brick walls. Her personal assistant and bodyguard, Ji Wan, was already waiting. When Guan Yinghan got out of the car, she bowed slightly. 

“Second Miss, Dr. He is waiting for you inside.” She then waved to a caregiver to bring over a hospital bed on wheels.

However, Guan Yinghan didn’t even look at her. She continued to hold Lin Ruoyun tightly, as if she were a fragile, precious treasure. Ji Wan had been Guan Yinghan’s assistant for five years and had never seen her second miss with an Omega. 

She was shocked when she heard the second miss had found her beloved and was bringing her to see Dr. He for a check-up. Now, seeing how Guan Yinghan treated the Omega in her arms, she understood everything.

Guan Yinghan carried Lin Ruoyun through the large iron gate and past several small wooden doors, finally arriving at the heart of the estate—Dr. He’s secret laboratory.

Guan Yinghan gently set the Omega down and turned to the man in the white coat. 

“Dr. He, she has a fever. Please bring it down first, then do the examination.”

“Alright.”

Dr.He was a medical and biological expert, particularly skilled in neurology. He had also helped Guan Muwei solve many major cases in the past. Dr. He’s lab was more advanced than a hospital, and it was fully stocked with all kinds of medications. 

He first gave Lin Ruoyun an antipyretic injection and then moved her to a specialized machine for brain testing.

Sitting in front of the machine, Dr. He spoke seriously to Guan Yinghan. 

“Second Miss, I’m going to use some interventions to stimulate Miss Lin’s brain cells, but you need to be prepared. It may not succeed in waking up her memories.”

Guan Yinghan knelt in front of the machine, her eyes lowered, her fingers tenderly stroking Lin Ruoyun’s hair. 

“I understand. If Ruoyun shows any discomfort during the treatment, you must stop.”

Dr. He nodded. He then placed a helmet full of electromagnetic pads on Lin Ruoyun’s head, drew a tube of bl00d from her forearm, and gave it to his assistant for further analysis. After that, he pressed the start button on the machine.

Less than ten minutes later, Lin Ruoyun’s body began to twitch slightly. Fine sweat appeared on her forehead, and her lips slowly turned pale. Guan Yinghan squeezed her trembling fingers, her eyes welling up with tears from the pain she felt for her.

Dr.He observed Lin Ruoyun’s reaction and gradually increased the machine’s power. Guan Yinghan’s nerves were at their breaking point. Just as she thought they might snap, she was thrilled to hear a faint sound from Lin Ruoyun.

“Guanguan…”

The sound was tiny and weak, but Guan Yinghan heard it perfectly. That call of “Guanguan” had appeared in Guan Yinghan’s dreams countless times, always just out of reach. Now, she had truly heard it.

Guan Yinghan’s back went rigid. Tears fell from her eyes, out of her control.

But that was the only sound. After that, Lin Ruoyun fell back into a dazed state.

Seeing that there was a response, Dr. He immediately turned the power up to maximum. Lin Ruoyun couldn’t handle the stimulation. Her face went completely pale, and her whole body began to convulse violently.

“Stop it!” Guan Yinghan’s eyes were bloodshot. 

She didn’t hesitate to throw herself onto Lin Ruoyun and held her tightly in her arms.

 “Ruoyun… she’s in pain.”

The treatment was just starting to work, and Dr. He didn’t want to give up easily. “

Second Miss, just give me ten more minutes. I’m confident I can make her remember something.”

“I said stop! Did you hear me?” A vein throbbed on Guan Yinghan’s forehead, and her voice rose sharply. 

“If Ruoyun gets hurt because of this, I’d rather… I’d rather she never remembers me for the rest of her life. Don’t continue this…”