Omega, Always Wants to Mark Me - Chapter 31

“Lu Jinxi, do you even realize you’re in heat?” Ming Xiaoyue asked, her voice unconsciously sharpening with urgency.

Lu Jinxi trembled unnaturally. Ming Xiaoyue frowned, worried that the heat might be overwhelming her.

As she shifted her body, the accidental clink of syringes caught her attention. Reaching down, she grazed her hand against a shard of glass, drawing bl00d. But to her surprise, there was more than just one inhibitor syringe at her feet.

A sudden, inexplicable memory flashed through her mind: the time Lu Jinxi had overdosed on inhibitors and been rushed to the hospital. Ming Xiaoyue couldn’t help but growl, “Lu Jinxi, have you lost your mind?! Why would you inject so many inhibitors?! Do you think this will make me feel sorry for you…?”

Before she could finish the word “sorry,” Ming Xiaoyue felt her hand being lifted in the hazy darkness. Then came a wet, warm, and moist tongue licking her palm.

Ming Xiaoyue’s heart froze for an indescribable moment. She felt her injured finger being gently enveloped, her pinky trembling uncontrollably.

After a moment, as Ming Xiaoyue withdrew her finger from Lu Jinxi’s warm mouth, it gently brushed against her marked teeth.

Before Ming Xiaoyue could say anything, Lu Jinxi softly spat out the debris, as if finally regaining a sliver of clarity. Her breath unsteady, she said, “Hah… you go ahead. I’ll… hah… catch up in a bit.”

But anyone could see that Lu Jinxi was not herself.

“Lu Jinxi, what’s wrong?” Ming Xiaoyue asked, reaching out to touch her forehead.

This time, Lu Jinxi dodged her hand by turning her head away. In the dark corner where Ming Xiaoyue couldn’t see, Lu Jinxi’s palm had already clenched around the debris, a trickle of bl00d seeping down her hand.

Lu Jinxi suppressed the restless agitation of her marked teeth and spoke in a low voice, “Nothing. Just go ahead.”

Ming Xiaoyue stared blankly at her empty hand, her brow furrowing slightly. Her fingertips slowly curled into a fist. After a moment of hesitation, seeing that Lu Jinxi was indeed lucid, she finally said, “Okay, I understand. It’s almost our turn to perform. Hurry back.”

“Mm-hmm,” Lu Jinxi replied, her gaze drifting through the woman before her, her voice deep and distant.

Ming Xiaoyue shifted, about to stand up. Lu Jinxi’s clenched hand finally relaxed, the belated pain washing over her, her breathing growing heavier.

But Ming Xiaoyue didn’t stand. Instead, she seized the moment Lu Jinxi was off guard, grabbing her collar and yanking her closer.

As she ripped off the five-layered suppressant patch Lu Jinxi hadn’t realized had been stuck to the back of her neck, a wave of intense Alpha pheromones surged forth like a released beast, striking her full force.

In that instant, Lu Jinxi’s Alpha pheromones completely overwhelmed the inhibitor she had just sprayed. She caught a fleeting whiff of Ming Xiaoyue’s faint Omega pheromones, and the last thread of her strained rationality snapped.

Desperately suppressing the urge to mark the woman before her, Lu Jinxi’s final shreds of reason waged a fierce battle against her primal instincts. Her eyes burned crimson, bloodshot and glazed over in a daze.

She heard Ming Xiaoyue speak:

“Lu Jinxi, you lied to me again…”

The rest of her words faded into a blur. Lu Jinxi’s hand had already clamped down on Ming Xiaoyue’s shoulder, as if trying to push her away, yet also pulling her closer…

“You… me…” Her fangs bared slightly, their sharp tips visible as she moved uncontrollably closer to the woman before her.

But when her eyes met Ming Xiaoyue’s, reason finally prevailed. She tilted her head and bit down at the juncture where Ming Xiaoyue’s shoulder met her own hand.

The impact grazed Lu Jinxi’s shoulder, and she felt Ming Xiaoyue’s mark teeth sink into her flesh.

Through the haze, she heard Ming Xiaoyue whisper, “Lu Jinxi, I gave you a chance.”

At the time, she didn’t understand the meaning of those words. It wasn’t until Ming Xiaoyue leaned down without hesitation, aiming for the gland at the nape of her neck, that the familiar pain surged through her.

Lu Jinxi’s body went limp, and she nearly collapsed to her knees. Fortunately, Ming Xiaoyue pressed her against the wall, but even as she was completely pinned down, Ming Xiaoyue loosened her grip, licking away the bl00d welling from the bite mark on her gland, just as she had gently enveloped Lu Jinxi’s finger in her mouth moments before.

Lu Jinxi heard her say, “I’m sorry, Lu Jinxi. What I said during the interview yesterday… it was all said in anger.”

A warm breath brushed against Lu Jinxi’s ear, making her shoulder twitch slightly with a ticklish sensation.

Before the fireworks in Lu Jinxi’s heart could fully ascend, she heard Ming Xiaoyue say, “But this is truly the last time I’ll mark you.”

Lu Jinxi’s limp hand had unconsciously opened, bl00d trickling down the lines of her palm.

Ming Xiaoyue bit down again, and before doing so, she rarely offered a word of comfort: “Bear with it. It’ll be our turn soon. Let’s make this quick.”

With that, her sharp teeth pierced Lu Jinxi’s vulnerable glands. A string in Lu Jinxi’s mind snapped, a flash of white light erupting in her consciousness. This feeling of losing control was all too familiar.

In her previous life, alone in a foreign land, she would lock all the doors late at night, press her lips together, and solemnly open her private photo album. Inside were a few screenshots she had taken, some intentionally, others by accident.

Just as she loved gazing into Ming Xiaoyue’s eyes, sending herself to the peak of ecstasy, she let out a stifled groan—a sound of unbearable pleasure mixed with guilt. Lu Jinxi’s body began to tremble violently.

Ming Xiaoyue, still biting Lu Jinxi’s nape, stared at her in astonishment. Slowly releasing her grip, she lowered her head in disbelief, gazing at the woman before her.

Wait, I don’t think I did anything…

When Lu Jinxi finally snapped out of her daze and met Ming Xiaoyue’s probing gaze, her face flushed crimson. What had she just done?

Her eyes involuntarily drifted to Ming Xiaoyue’s slender fingers resting on her shoulder, and a wave of shame washed over her. What was she even thinking?

She felt like a rat dragged from the dark sewers into the blazing sunlight, all her hidden filth exposed for the world to see.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, her voice hoarse with lingering pleasure.

Her shame deepened, and she averted her gaze from Ming Xiaoyue’s searching eyes.

To her surprise, Ming Xiaoyue spoke with rare understanding, “It’s okay. I heard Alphas get a little… intense during heat. It’s probably normal.”

Ming Xiaoyue spoke vaguely, giving Lu Jinxi a face-saving out.

Noticing the empty inhibitor vials scattered nearby, Ming Xiaoyue kicked them aside. “Can you still move? Why did you take so many inhibitors again?”

“I don’t know,” Lu Jinxi replied, surprisingly unlike the previous two times when reverse marking had left her weak for days.

Whether it was the afterglow of her “sage mode” or not, Lu Jinxi felt so awkward she wanted to stand up.

Ming Xiaoyue reached out to steady her, and as they rose, their bodies remained pressed close.

“Ahem,” Lu Jinxi coughed awkwardly, her body pressed so tightly against the wall she might as well have merged with it.

“Um, maybe we should head back? We’ve been here for quite a while.”

Before Lu Jinxi could finish, Ming Xiaoyue retorted sharply, “So you finally realize how long we’ve been here? Lu Jinxi, why do you always lie to me? Huh? Or is lying just your nature?”

Lu Jinxi hadn’t expected Ming Xiaoyue to bring up old grievances at this moment. Her hand clenched involuntarily, the pain snapping her back to reality.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out instinctively.

Ming Xiaoyue responded instantly, as if programmed to reply without hesitation: “Forget it. Let’s focus on the competition.”

“Okay,” Lu Jinxi agreed without protest.

As they stepped out of the stairwell, Ming Xiaoyue handed her a tissue, her gaze lingering meaningfully downward before saying, “Why don’t you clean up first?”

The blush that had just faded from Lu Jinxi’s face surged back.

“Thank you,” she said, instinctively reaching out to take the tissues.

But Ming Xiaoyue, noticing the bl00d-red stain on Lu Jinxi’s palm, frowned and grabbed her hand.

“Ouch!” Lu Jinxi gasped, unable to suppress a sharp intake of breath.

“What happened?” Ming Xiaoyue asked, her expression hardening as she examined the lingering shards in Lu Jinxi’s palm.

Lu Jinxi’s fingers curled involuntarily. “I… I might have…” she stammered.

“Lu Jinxi, were you planning to lie to me?”

Lu Jinxi fell silent.

The two stood locked in a silent confrontation when Song Wanwen’s urgent voice called from behind Ming Xiaoyue: “Finally found you! The second-to-last group is already on stage! It’s almost our turn! What are you two doing?!”

Ming Xiaoyue released Lu Jinxi’s hand first, her tone icy. “Go to the restroom.”

Lu Jinxi hurried inside without hesitation. Ming Xiaoyue turned to reassure Song Wanwen: “It’s fine. We’ll make it in time.”

“Mm, okay,” Song Wanwen agreed, knowing that panicking now would only make things worse.

But…

Song Wanwen looked at Ming Xiaoyue in surprise, then casually walked to the nearest vending machine and grabbed a suppressant spray. She sprayed Ming Xiaoyue thoroughly. As a few people walked by, Song Wanwen leaned in, frowning, and whispered, “Did you two mark each other again?”

Ming Xiaoyue couldn’t deny it.

“What’s going on?” Song Wanwen couldn’t believe they would do this at such a critical moment.

A surge of anger flared within her.

“No, it’s just that Lu Jinxi seems to have become immune to the inhibitor,” Ming Xiaoyue explained concisely.

“This…” Song Wanwen tilted her head, examining the intact suppressant patch on Ming Xiaoyue’s nape. She knew Ming Xiaoyue wouldn’t lie about something like this.

She didn’t know how to respond, as this was the first time she had ever witnessed an Omega marking an Alpha.

“Could it be a side effect?” Song Wanwen didn’t specify, but Ming Xiaoyue understood what she meant.

“I don’t know,” Ming Xiaoyue admitted truthfully. She genuinely didn’t know, as this was the first time she had ever done something like this in both her lifetimes.

In her previous life, Ming Xiaoyue had always avoided Alphas. She had never even been marked by one, let alone marked one herself.

“Never mind, let’s focus on the competition for now,” Song Wanwen said, glancing at Lu Jinxi, who had just emerged. This time, Lu Jinxi’s gaze seemed somewhat hostile, though Song Wanwen wasn’t sure if she was imagining it.

As Lu Jinxi approached, Ming Xiaoyue mechanically grabbed the pheromone-blocking spray and sprayed it liberally at Lu Jinxi, all while asking Song Wanwen, “How about now? Can you still smell it?”

Song Wanwen, staring at Lu Jinxi’s stiff, cold expression, tentatively suggested, “Could it be… A Jin’s pheromones aren’t leaking at all?”

“Huh?” Ming Xiaoyue turned to Lu Jinxi in surprise. Lu Jinxi unconsciously touched the back of her neck, realizing she had hastily applied three suppressant patches earlier.

“Should we head back?” Song Wanwen suddenly felt like she was intruding, standing awkwardly between the two of them.