Omega, Always Wants to Mark Me - Chapter 38

Lu Jinxi glanced at Tang Jinshu, then at Ming Xiaoyue, who sat with a cold expression. Without realizing it, she had already moved to sit beside Ming Xiaoyue.

The three women sat in silence. Fortunately, they were already close enough that Lu Jinxi couldn’t help but feel a pair of unfriendly eyes fixed on the back of her neck. She unconsciously touched the pheromone gland at the nape of her neck.

Her unease wasn’t unfounded. Behind her, Tang Jinshu’s gaze remained fixed on the back of Lu Jinxi’s neck.

Ever since that accidental glimpse of the bite mark on Lu Jinxi’s pheromone gland, Tang Jinshu had been unable to shake the image from her mind.

This was the first time she had learned that an Omega could reverse-mark an Alpha, and that it was actually happening right in front of her.

Tang Jinshu mused that when an Alpha marks an Omega, it triggers an overwhelming possessiveness. Experts claimed this was due to the pheromone illusion, which created an extreme desire for control.

She watched the two women sitting on opposite sides, outwardly calm, yet even from their backs, she could sense a connection between them.

A sudden curiosity struck her: If Ming Xiaoyue, as an Omega, had marked Lu Jinxi, would she also develop a possessive urge toward her own Alpha?

Just as Lu Jinxi was about to step out of the car, Tang Jinshu suddenly called out, “A Jin.”

The endearment, dripping with intimacy, sent shivers down Lu Jinxi’s spine, let alone Ming Xiaoyue’s.

“What is it?” Lu Jinxi asked, even as a staff member opened the car door.

Tang Jinshu nodded slightly, and immediately a black-suited bodyguard stepped forward, clearing the area. “All non-essential personnel, please disembark. Miss Tang has private matters to discuss with Miss Lu.”

The Production Team staff, accustomed to such situations, obediently exited the car. Ming Xiaoyue, however, stood by the door and suddenly called out, “Lu Jinxi.”

She simply spoke Lu Jinxi’s name, offering no further explanation. Yet Lu Jinxi could clearly sense a massive fluctuation in her pheromones, tinged with an almost imperceptible hint of dominance.

Already standing, Lu Jinxi caught the amusement in Tang Jinshu’s eyes. She knew that even if Tang Jinshu had something truly important to say, she could have waited until they were back at the hotel and called her aside privately. But instead, she chose to make such a public spectacle…

“Go back first. I’ll be there soon,” Lu Jinxi murmured, avoiding Ming Xiaoyue’s gaze.

Ming Xiaoyue didn’t respond to Lu Jinxi’s words, merely giving her a dismissive once-over.

After closing the door, Lu Jinxi’s expression turned cold and her tone became grave. “You’d better have something important to discuss with me.”

“Oh? What’s this? You drop the act now that your wife’s gone?” Tang Jinshu seemed unfazed by Lu Jinxi’s bluster, continuing to tease her.

Ever since learning that Lu Jinxi was an Alpha willingly submissive to Ming Xiaoyue, Tang Jinshu had inexplicably found an Alpha in this world she could finally tolerate. Naturally, she couldn’t resist teasing her about it.

“What is it? Speak!” As expected, Lu Jinxi brushed off the topic with a curt command.

“Nothing much. First, the competition was abruptly halted due to the accident. Second, the production team’s shady practices are trending online—my father’s likely to be disappointed; things aren’t going as she planned. Third, she declined your request to meet him. Lu Jinxi, things aren’t as simple as you thought.”

“Hmm, I understand,” Lu Jinxi replied calmly, showing no surprise. After a moment, she glanced at the car door and asked, “Anything else? If not, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Wait,” Tang Jinshu called out urgently as Lu Jinxi turned to leave.

“Hmm? Is there something else?” Lu Jinxi stopped and turned back.

“Aren’t you worried? What if my father suddenly looks down on you? After all, she’s already subtly declined to meet you.”

“So what? What kind of son-in-law do you think your father wants? Hmm?” Lu Jinxi scoffed. “Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself. Someone in your father’s position will always have a line of potential sons-in-law waiting, even without me.

“As for you, Tang Jinshu, you need to figure out what you really want. That’s all I have to say. I’m leaving now. I’ll think of another way to handle your father.”

With a whoosh, Lu Jinxi decisively opened the car door and stepped out. To her surprise, Wen Hongyu was standing right outside, having appeared unnoticed.

Lu Jinxi didn’t know how much Wen Hongyu had overheard, but she nodded politely.

Wen Hongyu returned a strained smile. Lu Jinxi paid it no mind; she had more pressing matters to attend to.

Lu Jinxi strode away, fortunately arriving at the recording studio just as a staff member, as if waiting specifically for her, approached. “Miss Lu, the Production Team has added an interview for you. Are you available now?”

Suppressing her eagerness to see Ming Xiaoyue immediately, Lu Jinxi replied, “Yes, I am.”

She turned to head toward the interview room, but the staff member stopped her. “Oh, Miss Lu, the Production Team has provided a script. Would you like to familiarize yourself with it beforehand?”

As the staff member produced the script, Lu Jinxi’s intuition sharpened. She glanced at the staff member and murmured, “Is this the Production Team’s request, or someone higher up’s?”

The staff member’s demeanor shifted abruptly, their tone now half-firm, half-evasive. “I’m sorry, Miss Lu. Just memorize the script and complete the interview. We’re not authorized to disclose anything beyond that.”

Lu Jinxi straightened her posture, her gaze unwavering. “And if I refuse the interview?” she countered directly.

She glanced at the script in the staff member’s hand but made no move to take it. The two stood locked in a silent standoff.

Before long, another staff member approached. Lu Jinxi recognized her immediately: it was the assistant director who had led the backstage efforts to coerce Ming Xiaoyue into withdrawing from the competition.

Lu Jinxi gave her a long, silent look, silently filing her away in her memory.

The assistant director hadn’t even reached her yet, but she was already smiling, lowering her tone as she spoke, “I’m so sorry, Miss Lu. It’s just… these are special circumstances, you know? Could you please do the Production Team a favor?”

“Because of the vote manipulation?” Lu Jinxi stood tall, unyielding, and asked the obvious question with deliberate bluntness.

The assistant director’s carefully constructed smile froze on her face.

Lu Jinxi pressed her advantage. “So, besides Ming Xiaoyue, Song Wanwen, and Wen Yifan, will the votes for every member of our team—including me—be controlled?”

The assistant director stubbornly defended her position. “What are you talking about? It’s just for the sake of the show’s entertainment value! The gap was too wide, you see? It would have ruined the excitement of the vote chase. You understand, it’s just…”

Before she could finish, Lu Jinxi cut her off. “I don’t understand, and I don’t want to. I have no say in how the Production Team arranges things, but I also have a right to speak up for myself.”

“You haven’t even performed yet. Once you do, we’ll definitely…” the Assistant Director began, dangling promises like carrots.

But Lu Jinxi remained unmoved, rejecting him flatly. “That won’t be necessary. I think you misunderstand me. I mean that I can speak up for Ming Xiaoyue, even apart from my own interests.

As for Song Wanwen and Wen Yifan, who haven’t performed yet, while they may not be direct victims, your actions have undoubtedly harmed Ming Xiaoyue.”

“Lu Jinxi, don’t push your luck!” the Assistant Director snapped. “Do you think we can’t blacklist you behind the scenes? What makes you think you have the power to fight the Tang Family?!”

Having failed with persuasion, he resorted to threats and intimidation.

Unfortunately, he’d chosen the wrong target. Lu Jinxi glanced disdainfully at the two men before her and retorted sarcastically, “If you had such absolute power, you would have already used it. Why bother asking me to memorize the script?”

The men were left speechless. Lu Jinxi added coldly, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”

Before she could walk away, the Assistant Director spoke again, his tone dripping with malice. “Lu Jinxi, what makes you think you’re so high and mighty? Huh? You keep talking about speaking up for Ming Xiaoyue.”

“But you probably don’t know yet,” the Assistant Director sneered, “she’s already memorized her lines and gone to record the episode! Your actions now are nothing but a self-inflicted humiliation.”

As soon as the Assistant Director finished speaking, Lu Jinxi’s brow furrowed deeply. Her voice, cold and oppressive, demanded, “What did you say?!”

The Assistant Director clearly hadn’t anticipated Lu Jinxi would use her Alpha’s hierarchical dominance so directly. A primal fear seized him, making his words stumble.

“I-I-I didn’t say anything wrong! Ming Xiaoyue really has already gone to record the episode.”

“How did you force her?! Huh?!” Lu Jinxi’s concern lay here. She knew Ming Xiaoyue better than anyone else—no, at least she wouldn’t easily yield to the Production Team.

Yet precisely because of this, she felt an even more urgent need to know how the Production Team had coerced her into compliance.

Lu Jinxi suddenly regretted letting Ming Xiaoyue leave alone earlier, and for getting caught up in those meaningless arguments with Tang Jinshu.

Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand. She couldn’t even imagine what Ming Xiaoyue had endured during that brief time she was gone—had she suffered the same fate as Lu Jinxi herself?

Or… As this thought crossed her mind, Lu Jinxi’s gaze toward the Assistant Director turned dark and menacing. Aside from her encounter with Luo Hong, she rarely felt such a strong urge to kill.

“So, what exactly did you threaten her with?!”

Perhaps Lu Jinxi’s oppressive aura was too overwhelming. For the first time, the Assistant Director felt the urge to flee, realizing she had finally met her match.

But before she could move, Lu Jinxi preemptively pinned her in place. Then, Lu Jinxi suddenly patted her shoulder and whispered a final warning: “I’m asking you one last time: what exactly did you force her to do?!”

“N-nothing! It was just… she asked to visit Xi Ruoqiong, who was receiving medical treatment off-set! Really! We hadn’t even pressured her yet—she volunteered! But she insisted on seeing Xi Ruoqiong.”

Lu Jinxi was visibly taken aback by the revelation that Ming Xiaoyue had acted voluntarily. She felt a sudden deflation, but her tone remained skeptical: “Are you absolutely sure that’s the truth?”

This time, before the Assistant Director could answer, Ming Xiaoyue herself spoke from behind them.

“She’s telling the truth. What’s it to you?”