Pregnant with the Empress’s Alpha Heir (GL, ABO) - Chapter 2
It wasn’t until she was seated in the hover taxi with Ah Jiu that Yu Zhitao finally snapped out of her daze.
Ah Jiu had somehow procured a hair tie and was now gathering her loose hair into a ponytail. The dazzling city lights streaming through the window flowed down her slender neck, pooling like a mesmerizing spring in the hollow of her collarbone.
The scent of decaying wood mixed with alcohol lingered around Yu Zhitao’s nose. She subtly deepened her breaths, drawing it all into her lungs.
“Where to?” Ah Jiu’s voice snapped her back to reality.
Yu Zhitao forced composure as she named a residential district.
The hover taxi’s autopilot engaged, filling the cabin with unbearable awkwardness.
Yu Zhitao scrambled for conversation. “You, just came with me like that?”
Ah Jiu gazed out the window. “Didn’t you ask me to come home with you?”
Yu Zhitao fidgeted with her fingers. “What if I were a bad person?”
Ah Jiu turned to look at her.
After a quick glance, she stated, “I’m an Alpha, you’re an Omega. If anything, I’d be the one doing bad things to you.”
Yu Zhitao muttered defiantly, “Could be a setup too.”
Thinking she’d spoken too softly to be heard, she was surprised when Ah Jiu asked bluntly, “What’s a setup?”
Rubbing her nose, Yu Zhitao explained, “Like maybe when I lure you home, there’ll be several Alphas waiting to jump you.”
Ah Jiu remained silent but suddenly leaned in close.
Yu Zhitao froze as Ah Jiu sniffed near her neck.
After satisfying her curiosity, Ah Jiu pulled back. “You don’t carry any Alpha scent. Haven’t been near one recently,” she remarked casually.
Yu Zhitao was stunned.
Regaining her composure, she lifted her arms to sniff but detected nothing unusual.
Reluctantly, she met Ah Jiu’s gaze again. “You can actually smell that?”
Ah Jiu pinched her own nose lightly and nodded.
Yu Zhitao’s expression shifted from shock to delight. “This makes things much easier!”
Catching Ah Jiu’s questioning look, she pressed, “Tell me, if an Omega gets marked, can others tell just by scent?”
Ah Jiu nodded.
After a two-second pause, she added, “Well depends on the person.”
Yu Zhitao tilted her head up, trying to maintain eye contact. “How so?”
Ah Jiu explained patiently, “Only Alphas with keen senses can detect it.
“Of course, it also depends on the marking Alpha’s capability.
“For deep marks, higher-quality Alphas leave more detectable pheromones. With temporary marks the better the Alpha, the longer their scent lingers.”
Yu Zhitao nodded, mentally filing away this information.
Ah Jiu looked puzzled. “This was all covered in middle school physiology. Didn’t you know?”
Yu Zhitao fabricated an excuse: “Wasn’t paying attention back then. Mostly forgot.”
She quickly changed the subject, asking Ah Jiu, “Since you can detect my scent, does that mean you’re one of those keen-sensed Alphas?”
Ah Jiu paused, then leaned in again, her breath warm against Yu Zhitao’s neck as she spoke: “At this distance, any Alpha without olfactory dysfunction could tell.”
Yu Zhitao only felt her neck itching so intensely it made her heart race. Ignoring her flushed cheeks, she frantically pushed against the other’s shoulders and scooted backward.
“Ahem, got it.”
Ah Jiu, ever considerate, withdrew and turned her attention back to the scenery outside the window.
Unable to hold back, Yu Zhitao spoke up again.
“Why don’t you ask what I’m taking you home for?”
Without turning her head, Ah Jiu replied, “What are you taking me home for?”
Her attitude was far too indifferent, as if she didn’t care at all about her own situation.
Yu Zhitao puffed out her cheeks, irritation bubbling up again.
She was angry at this person she had saved for not cherishing herself at all.
But she had no right to question her, so she could only bottle up her concern into frustration, hardening her voice as she said, “I’m taking you home because I want you to give me a temporary mark.”
The words struck like thunder. Ah Jiu finally turned her head back, lips slightly parted as she stared at her.
Having seized the other’s attention, Yu Zhitao regained a bit of smug satisfaction.
Tilting her chin up, she challenged, “Well? Any objections?”
Ah Jiu lowered her head, as if deep in thought.
The carriage fell silent for two minutes. Finally, just as Yu Zhitao felt she might suffocate from the oppressive atmosphere, Ah Jiu responded.
She said, “If you’re sure then I have no problem with it.”
Yu Zhitao took two deep breaths. “I’m sure.”
Ah Jiu looked at her and nodded.
The two seemed to have reached some unspoken understanding, neither speaking again as the bustling scenery outside flashed by.
Since Ah Jiu didn’t press further, Yu Zhitao secretly sighed in relief.
Truthfully, she thought her decision was a bit foolish, but she couldn’t think of any better alternative.
A month ago, she had still been an ordinary office worker on Earth, clocking in daily for survival and passion.
One day, she dozed off during her lunch break at work, only to wake up in a different body that of a noble Omega lady in the Huaqi Star System.
The original Yu Zhitao had fallen gravely ill and passed away, allowing her soul to take over the body. To outsiders, it simply seemed that Miss Yu had recovered from her illness with a slightly altered personality.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
Yu Zhitao had a fiancé, a man she had been infatuated with, crying and swearing in her diary that she would marry him.
When the fiancé came to visit during her illness, however, the transmigrated Yu Zhitao inexplicably trembled with fear at the sight of him.
This left her deeply confused she was indeed a lesbian, but she had never been so terrified of men before.
Unable to find a reason, she could only attribute it to her subconscious rejection of marrying a man. After all, she didn’t have the same reaction to other men in this world.
Of course, the reason didn’t matter. All Yu Zhitao knew was that she absolutely could not go through with this marriage.
After some resistance at home, she was met with cold disdain from her family and eventually placed under house arrest.
In desperation, she stumbled upon a crucial detail noble families like hers had extremely high standards for brides. Anyone marrying into an aristocratic household must never have been marked by another Alpha before!
Yu Zhitao hatched a plan, pretending to compromise before slipping out of the house hence the earlier “bar pickup” scene.
She could only be grateful that the original owner’s good-girl image was so deeply ingrained. Even now, her family probably couldn’t imagine her doing something like seeking a one-night stand.
Soon, the hovercar stopped. Yu Zhitao paid the fare and got out with Ah Jiu.
But a new problem arose staring at the massive residential complex, Yu Zhitao felt a headache coming on.
This apartment had been purchased by the original owner two years ago with her allowance, purely as an investment. She had never actually lived here.
Now, after traveling all this way, figuring out the exact location wasn’t going to be easy.
“The apartment is Building 1, Unit 502, Zone A.” Yu Zhitao read the address from her virtual screen, enunciating each word.
She glanced at Ah Jiu. “Let’s go.”
Ah Jiu nodded and followed.
Lin Dan Residential Complex operated on a high-tech, unmanned management system. After two facial scans, they easily bypassed the entrance barriers.
But the complex was enormous. Building 1 of Zone A wasn’t at the front but at the very center, a prime location. Yu Zhitao, who already had a poor sense of direction, soon found herself completely disoriented.
When she spotted the sign for Building 3, Zone B for the third time, she finally turned to Ah Jiu.
“Are we lost?”
Ah Jiu couldn’t bring herself to say, “Only you are lost.” Instead, she quietly pointed in a direction Yu Zhitao hadn’t noticed. “I think this way might be better.”
Yu Zhitao’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I’ll follow your lead!”
Letting Ah Jiu guide them proved effective.
Three minutes later, they escaped the maze-like Zone B.
It was as if Ah Jiu had an internal map, choosing the most direct paths. Before long, Yu Zhitao spotted the tallest building in the complex the very Building 1, Zone A she’d been searching for.
Her mood lifted, and her steps grew lighter.
But halfway there, as they passed a corridor, Yu Zhitao suddenly grabbed Ah Jiu’s sleeve.
She had meant to tap her shoulder, but at under 170 cm, she couldn’t reach.
“Ah Jiu, do you hear that?” she asked.
For some reason, Ah Jiu’s expression turned unusually tense.
“Smells like bl00d,” she answered.
Yu Zhitao’s eyes widened.
She moved toward the sound, but Ah Jiu stopped her. “Don’t. Let’s go.”
But Yu Zhitao, now recognizing the noise, refused. “It’s a kitten not dangerous. If you smell bl00d, it might be hurt. I have to check.”
Ah Jiu didn’t release her grip.
Frowning, she repeated firmly, “Go!”
Yu Zhitao broke free.
“I can’t just leave it to die,” she said, scowling, before jogging ahead.
Rounding the corner, she found a pitifully mewling kitten beneath a windowsill.
The tiny creature, barely two months old, had a deep gash on its left hind leg.
The wound had bled for some time, now nearly clotted, but the sight was heartbreaking. Without help, the kitten wouldn’t survive till morning.
The patrolling cleaning robot would dispose of her as pet waste without leaving a trace.
Suppressing her trembling, Yu Zhitao took off her coat and coaxed the kitten with “Good kitty” as she gently placed it on the garment.
As if sensing her intent to rescue it, the kitten cooperated fully.
Its meows grew louder and more frequent, almost like it was pleading sweetly.
When she finally cradled the kitten in her arms, Yu Zhitao let out a sigh of relief.
Returning to the hallway, she found as expected no sign of Ah Jiu.
A pang of hurt struck her.
Though she didn’t regret her choice, she couldn’t help but grumble to the kitten about that woman: “How could anyone be so heartless? She wouldn’t even wait for me? I spent a whole 300,000 on her!
“You mustn’t take after her. From now on, I’ll raise you, you have to stay by my side, okay?”
The kitten’s pupils narrowed to slits as it let out a soft “meow,” as if in agreement.
Satisfied, Yu Zhitao smiled.