Pregnant with the Empress’s Alpha Heir (GL, ABO) - Chapter 1
The neon lights were dazzling, completely obscuring the moonlight.
Yu Zhitao had been hesitating at the entrance of the bar for nearly half an hour, staring at the world of revelry just steps away as if it were another universe.
Finally, she gritted her teeth.
“I have to go in sooner or later! It’s just a one-night stand, I’ll tough it out!”
After psyching herself up, she squeezed her eyes shut and charged inside.
The atmosphere inside was exactly as she had imagined no, even more extravagant and debauched.
The dim, amber lighting cast a sultry glow over the scene. Slender men and women, dressed in the latest fashion, coiled around their taller partners like snakes. The air was thick with the mingling scents of various pheromones, each pleasant on its own, but when mixed with desire, they became unbearably vulgar.
Yu Zhitao’s eyes instantly watered, and she couldn’t help but cough.
Since transmigrating here, this was the first time she had been so acutely aware that she was no longer on Earth.
In this highly advanced star system, humans possessed not just male and female sexes but also an additional primary gender classification.
This gender was distinguished by pheromones those without them were called Betas. Betas made up eighty percent of the population and were virtually indistinguishable from ordinary people. The two major pheromone-bearing genders were Alphas and Omegas. Alphas possessed physical prowess far beyond the norm, their pheromones exuding an aggressive edge capable of marking Omegas. In contrast, Omegas typically exhibited extraordinary intellect, their pheromones gentle and receptive to marking.
When pheromones overflowed, they manifested as distinct scents.
Alphas and Omegas were rare, and under normal circumstances, an ordinary bar wouldn’t have so many gathered in one place.
But this was the upper district of the capital planet in the Hualin Star System the wealthiest, most elite place in the entire galaxy. Here, noble Alphas and Omegas were everywhere, while Betas were as scarce as phoenix feathers.
It didn’t take long for someone to notice Yu Zhitao, the little lamb.
In a place already steeped in desire, a beautiful yet oblivious prey like her filled with curiosity and naivety was the most enticing to predators.
Wei Meng took the lead, using her gaze to ward off other would-be competitors before approaching Yu Zhitao.
“First time here?” Wei Meng sized up the little lamb with a charming smile. “Care for a drink? My treat.”
Yu Zhitao nearly jumped out of her skin.
She wasn’t good at rejecting kindness, especially from a stranger, so she settled on a compromise: “…I can pay for myself.”
Wei Meng chuckled. “This way.”
Familiar with the bar, she guided Yu Zhitao past the crowded areas to a relatively quieter spot at the counter.
Handing her the drink menu, Wei Meng flashed a bewitching smile. “If you’re not used to alcohol, I’d recommend this row less likely to get you drunk.”
Yu Zhitao took the menu but barely glanced at it, her mind elsewhere.
Wei Meng noticed her distraction and asked, “This is your first time in a place like this, isn’t it? Are you even of age?”
Yu Zhitao nodded.
Wei Meng pressed further. “So, what brings you here?”
Without looking up, Yu Zhitao answered, “Looking for a hookup.”
Wei Meng didn’t hold back, she burst out laughing.
She reached out to scratch the little lamb’s chin, but the lamb unexpectedly bared its fangs and turned its head away in disgust.
Suppressing the itch in her heart, she teased, “Weren’t you looking for a fling? What do you think of me, big sister?”
Yu Zhitao rubbed her nose. “I don’t like your pheromones.”
Wei Meng was stunned.
Her pheromones naturally carried the scent of Madeira wine. Outside of her heat cycle, the fragrance was perfectly balanced never too strong, yet always enough to make young Omegas blush. No one had ever outright told her they disliked it before.
Propping her chin on her hand, she studied Yu Zhitao. “Then what kind of scent do you like?”
Yu Zhitao pressed a finger to the tip of her nose.
Truthfully, she was starting to regret her decision.
A thought flickered through her mind perhaps fleeing an arranged marriage only to throw herself into another mess wasn’t the best idea.
Just as she was looking for an opportunity to slip away, she noticed a commotion nearby.
At the far end of the bar, three burly men approached a long-haired woman slumped over in a drunken stupor. Their aggressive demeanor made it clear they weren’t to be trifled with.
Wei Meng had deliberately chosen a secluded spot to monopolize Yu Zhitao, but their table happened to be close to that corner, allowing Yu Zhitao to see everything clearly.
The long-haired woman had been passed out at the bar. When the men roused her, it took her a long time to focus.
The leader suddenly slammed his fist onto the counter with a force that made the entire bar tremble. The sheer menace in his movement sent a shiver down Yu Zhitao’s spine, even though she was three meters away.
Finally, the woman reacted.
She flinched violently, and when she came to her senses, she seemed utterly terrified, curling into herself with trembling limbs.
Yu Zhitao couldn’t stay seated any longer.
She rushed toward the corner and stood behind the three men, shouting, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
The bar’s music was loud, but they were close enough to hear her challenge.
The three men turned slightly, parting just enough for Yu Zhitao to catch a whiff of something strange.
Before high school, she had lived with her grandfather in a dilapidated old house.
The house was ancient, its doors made of flaking, rickety wood.
On sunny days, she would follow her grandfather out to collect scrap to make ends meet. But whenever it rained, he would stubbornly insist on leaving her home alone.
Yu Zhitao would lean against the wooden door, waiting for him to return, idly picking at the cracks out of boredom.
Over time, she had gouged a deep wound into the wood. When the rain seeped in, it released a faint, woody fragrance.
Damp. Decaying. Dead.
She had loved that scent, though she never told anyone. Years later, she stumbled upon a niche perfume that faintly echoed that childhood memory and had worn no other fragrance since.
Unfortunately, others clearly didn’t share her appreciation.
The troublemaker wrinkled his nose and complained to his companion, “I still can’t stand the stench of low-grade Alphas. How can a pheromone be so weak? It’s an embarrassment to our kind.”
His companion smirked disdainfully. “If she weren’t a low-grade Alpha, she wouldn’t be drowning her sorrows here. But…”
His gaze shifted to Yu Zhitao. “What does it matter what you think? Seems like this little girl here likes it just fine.”
Raising his voice, he called out, “Hey, little girl, why don’t you mind your own business?”
Yu Zhitao steadied herself and lifted her chin defiantly. “This is uptown have you no respect for the law? Are you really going to bully someone in public like this?”
The leader of the men pointed at the long-haired woman. “Do you know how much this trash owes in bar tabs? I’m just legally collecting a debt, nothing unlawful about it!”
Yu Zhitao glanced at the long-haired woman.
Their eyes met briefly as the woman looked up.
Yu Zhitao felt her heart skip a beat.
In that gaze, she saw indifference, annoyance but not a trace of fear, even though the woman’s entire body was trembling.
Without another thought, she rushed to the woman’s side.
“How much does she owe you?” Yu Zhitao asked, shielding the woman behind her.
The man held up three fingers. “Three hundred thousand!”
Even in this upscale bar, that amount was clearly extortion.
Wei Meng leaned against a nearby wall, smirking.
Her gaze fixed on Yu Zhitao, waiting for the little lamb to beg for help.
But Yu Zhitao didn’t.
She merely frowned before pulling out a card. “Can I pay by card?”
The men were momentarily stunned, then grinned and nodded. “Of course.”
With a sucker willing to pay, they had no objections.
Thanks to advanced technology, two seconds later, a beep confirmed the transaction. The three men melted into the crowd and vanished.
Having missed her chance to play the hero, Wei Meng felt deflated.
Still, she approached for one last attempt. “Need any help?”
Yu Zhitao glanced at her and shook her head.
She turned to the long-haired woman. “Are you okay? Can you move?”
After a few seconds, the woman pushed herself up from the bar counter.
Yu Zhitao was dumbfounded.
She had assumed the woman was a victimized weakling, but now that the woman stood straight, Yu Zhitao realized she must be nearly 190 cm tall.
Strangely, the woman was also thin her flesh seeming barely enough to cover her bones yet she exuded no fragility. Instead, an inexplicable aura of dominance radiated from her.
The sheer presence made even Wei Meng, who stood at 185 cm, take an involuntary step back.
But the moment the woman spoke, that oppressive aura dissipated, and she reverted to the trembling figure from before.
“You paid my tab?” she asked. “What’s your name?”
“Yu Zhitao,” Yu Zhitao answered honestly. “And yours?”
After a pause, the woman replied, “… Ah Jiu.”
The answer was blatantly insincere clearly a fake name, not even bothering with a surname.
Yu Zhitao felt a flicker of irritation, but then the woman added, “I can’t pay you back. Do you have any other requests?”
Yu Zhitao shook her head.
Halfway through, she stopped.
Truthfully, she hadn’t helped the woman expecting repayment it was purely her sense of justice at work.
But now that the offer was on the table, another idea occurred to her.
Hesitating, she finally said, “Repayment, come home with me.”
The woman who called herself Ah Jiu turned and stared at her.
A disco light swept over them just then, illuminating the corner and the woman’s face.
Only now did Yu Zhitao realize how strikingly beautiful she was.
Back in her original world, she had once taken on a project assisting an anime production team in designing the facial features of a female lead with classical aesthetics.
The requirements from the anime team were Heroic yet refined, chivalrous yet undeniably beautiful.
The entire project team had worked tirelessly for a long time before finally delivering a satisfactory design. When the anime was released, this female character instantly became the dream lover of countless players. Surprisingly, the majority of her fans weren’t men, but girls who eagerly clamored for “a chance with her.”
Now, as she gazed at the other woman’s distant-mountain-like arched brows and phoenix eyes shimmering with cold intensity, Yu Zhitao felt a tumult of emotions.
Indeed, mortals could never compare to the craftsmanship of Goddess Nüwa.
Before this face, meticulously sculpted by Nüwa to showcase her divine skill, the once-proud heroine she had designed seemed like a cheap, mass-produced knockoff from some low-quality manufacturer.
Yu Zhitao swallowed hard.
She realized offering just 300,000 to bring this woman home was nothing short of an insult.
Just as she was about to retract her words, A-Jiu’s gaze swept past Wei Meng behind her and settled back on Yu Zhitao.
“Alright,” she replied softly.