Seduced Me into a Deep Fall (GL , ABO) - Chapter 1
“Ling Xi, you can’t leave me.”
“Xiao Xi… only I truly love you.”
“Xi, my wife, my love, everyone else out there just wants to take advantage of you. Don’t see them anymore, alright?”
A sharp pain pierced through her bones. Ling Xi suddenly opened her eyes.
The suffocating sensation of near-death and the gut-wrenching agony still clung to her body. She covered her mouth, trying to hold back the nausea, but she could almost taste the bl00d lingering in her throat.
Her palms were soaked in sweat. Droplets as big as beads rolled down like rain, soaking the hem of her dress.
Ling Xi looked down and saw the dress she was wearing. That all-too-familiar dress sent a wave of dread crashing over her the moment she laid eyes on it. Tears welled up in her eyes.
She buried her face in her hands. In her mind, the image of a woman emerged. Stunningly beautiful, delicate like a flower under the moonlight, and yet terrifying like the cruelest devil.
Mu Xie.
Her girlfriend. Her wife.
The one who had imprisoned her, ruined her life, and eventually drove her to death.
Ling Xi thought she had made her stance clear through death. She never imagined she would see Mu Xie again.
Had someone powerful behind Mu Xie intervened? Perhaps they had brought in some top medical expert and somehow saved her?
Ling Xi slowly tried to calm her breathing. At worst, she could just die again.
Thinking of those last moments in the dark, the pitiful scenes of her life flashing before her eyes, Ling Xi even let out a small laugh.
Death wasn’t as terrifying as she had imagined.
It was still better than spending her whole life locked in a tiny room under Mu Xie’s control.
As Ling Xi lifted her head, her vision slowly regained color and clarity.
She found herself in an unfamiliar room. In front of her were rows of snacks and toys, neatly arranged as if to keep her from getting bored.
Her phone sat on the table, and she was not on that cold, gray bed she remembered so well. Instead, she was seated on a soft, ordinary couch.
Ling Xi was confused.
Had Mu Xie suddenly grown a conscience and let her go after she failed to kill herself?
Something felt off.
She slowly lifted her hand. Her soul still felt a little out of sync with her body.
She picked up the phone and saw the reflection of her face in the black screen.
It wasn’t the face that had been tormented to deathly pale, with layers of dark circles and hollow cheeks.
It was her twenty-two-year-old face. Youthful and striking, still full of vitality and innocence.
Ling Xi slumped against the couch, drained of energy. Using facial recognition, she unlocked her phone.
She checked the calendar and the news.
Only then did she finally exhale in relief.
This wasn’t some cruel prank.
She had really returned to three years ago. To a time before Mu Xie had taken full control over her life.
Ling Xi steadied herself, lifted her phone, and snapped a photo.
The face in the picture was indeed twenty-two years old. Her body bore no scars from her suicide attempt, and her glands hadn’t yet been damaged by repeated forced pheromone extractions.
She covered her face again.
She didn’t know who or what to thank, but one thing was certain—she would never cross paths with Mu Xie again.
If necessary, she would take her family, cut ties with everyone she knew, and start over in Country S, just as she had once planned.
Right. Her family.
With a pounding heart, Ling Xi opened her contacts list.
But she couldn’t find her sister’s number anywhere. Her mother’s messages were there, dozens a day, but none had received a reply.
That was when Ling Xi noticed the date.
September twentieth.
It was the day she and Mu Xie were supposed to get engaged.
She sucked in a sharp breath.
In her previous life, Mu Xie had threatened her by offering to help her Omega mother find a lawyer.
Later, she even targeted her sister, sending her away to a distant, impoverished country.
Ling Xi had been terrified. She still needed money for her Alpha mother’s medical bills. She couldn’t afford to have that lifeline cut off by Mu Xie.
So she had reluctantly agreed to the engagement.
That was when everything began to spiral. A single step into the abyss, and there was no turning back.
Looking back now, she should have taken her mother and run.
Once they were safe, she could try to find her sister and think about clearing her mother’s name.
Ling Xi took a deep breath.
If fate had brought her back to this moment, then she had to change something.
She would not sit and wait for death this time.
“Xiao Xi?”
The door suddenly opened.
Ling Xi’s body broke out in goosebumps. She instinctively shrank back but stopped herself just before the door opened fully.
Mu Xie was a lunatic.
That was the one thing Ling Xi had come to understand after three years.
If Mu Xie caught even a hint of what she was thinking, who knew what would happen?
Ling Xi forced a smile. “Mu Mu.”
“You didn’t eat?” Mu Xie walked calmly toward her, glancing at the untouched snacks on the table.
“The engagement banquet lasts all day. It takes a lot out of you. Try to eat something. Be careful not to have another bl00d sugar drop.”
Ling Xi stared at her innocent, gentle expression, her stomach churning. But all she could do was offer a calm smile in return.
“I’m not hungry. I’m fine.” She would rather faint on the floor and be taken away in an ambulance. Maybe that would be her chance to escape.
Mu Xie’s hand paused for a moment.
Ling Xi’s nerves were pulled tight, cold sweat dripping down her back.
Now she understood why she was wearing the clothes Mu Xie had picked out for her.
It had to be Mu Xie who had picked her up this morning and brought her here.
She had probably insisted she wear formal attire for the engagement party.
Coming from an ordinary family, Ling Xi had no evening gowns. She could only wear what Mu Xie provided.
The fit was so precise it made her feel sick.
“Alright then. I’ll take some of this with me. If you feel unwell, let me know.” Mu Xie packed the snacks and gave her a warm smile.
Ling Xi had once thought that smile was sweet and kind, though something about it always felt slightly off.
Only later did she realize it was all a mask.
The real Mu Xie was madness wrapped in charm.
Carrying the bag, Mu Xie reached out and took Ling Xi’s wrist. “The stylist is here. Let’s go get your makeup done.”
Ling Xi used every ounce of her strength not to yank her arm away.
At this moment, she was still just the lamb forced into an engagement with Mu Xie. She hadn’t yet developed the strength that three years of imprisonment had forged.
If she acted out of character now, Mu Xie would grow suspicious.
Even the stylist was one of Mu Xie’s people.
“The future Mrs. Mu is such a natural beauty. Your skin, your brows… almost flawless. Hardly anything needs adjusting,” the stylist praised Ling Xi with enthusiasm.
She kept calling her “Mrs. Mu,” and each time she did, Mu Xie smiled even more brightly.
“Anyone I choose will never be ordinary,” Mu Xie said with a soft laugh, brushing back her wavy hair. There was a hint of sincerity in her smile, but no one could truly tell what she was thinking.
They completely disregarded the fact that Ling Xi was an Alpha, and that the marriage had not even happened yet. They spoke casually, as if Ling Xi were already part of the Mu family.
Ling Xi lowered her gaze.
She never cared much about titles or labels, and she did not place much value on her Alpha status either.
In the world today, secondary genders were no longer as significant as they were a century ago. The role of glands had weakened. The differences between Alphas and Omegas were shrinking, while the divide from Betas was growing instead.
Even so, being called “Mrs. Mu” still made her uncomfortable.
“Are you feeling warm, Mrs. Mu?” the stylist asked considerately, noticing the sweat on Ling Xi’s forehead.
It was as if Ling Xi did not have her own name.
She shook her head. Out of Mu Xie’s line of sight, she didn’t bother to respond with a polite smile. She did not even look at the stylist.
To her, this woman was nothing more than someone trying to climb the ladder through Mu Xie, hoping to benefit from the prestige of the Song family.
The stylist said no more but scoffed silently.
So what if an Alpha was marrying into the family? These days, no one cared about who married whom.
But the gap between their social statuses was huge. Ling Xi came from a working-class background, and yet Mu Xie chose her?
Sometimes the stylist really could not understand how rich people thought.
Even the Alpha from the Jiang family had been genuinely in love with Mu Xie. But Mu Xie had chosen this girl, who had nothing special about her except her looks, and even her personality was dull. What was the appeal?
What the stylist failed to notice was the way Mu Xie had been watching Ling Xi the entire time.
Her eyes were filled with a desperate heat, the kind that only came after losing someone once. It was as if she wanted to burn Ling Xi’s soul with her gaze.
After the styling session, the engagement banquet was about to begin.
Mu Xie once again took Ling Xi’s hand. Standing close beside her, she asked gently, “Are you upset?”
Ling Xi bit down on her lip, forcing herself to hold back the disgust rising inside her. She gave a soft expression and replied, “I’m just a little tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“You’ve worked hard. That rental place you’re staying in really isn’t great. But it’s alright. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be moving into my house. We’ll live together, and no more noise will bother you,” Mu Xie said, gently brushing a strand of hair away from Ling Xi’s face.
Ling Xi was caught off guard and forgot to turn away. She looked at Mu Xie, eyes slightly wide, as if surprised and touched by her thoughtfulness.
Mu Xie smiled, a bit shyly.
But in Ling Xi’s mind, she was thinking one thing only.
They hadn’t started living together yet. That was incredibly good news.
After this banquet, she had to escape.
At the very least, she needed to get away from Mu Xie’s control.
Her mother’s case was still being watched by friends. The current Mu Xie had no authority to interfere.
“That sounds really nice,” Ling Xi replied. Her tone was just right—sincere enough to sound believable, but not so emotional that it would seem fake. It reassured Mu Xie and put her small doubts to rest.
After all, the idea of rebirth was already too unbelievable. How could there possibly be a second person who experienced it too?
Everyone at the banquet was from Mu Xie’s side.
Her relatives, her business partners…
Trying to shake Mu Xie off would not be easy. Ling Xi remembered that by this point in her past life, she had already stopped keeping in touch with most of her old friends.
She had been afraid they would get dragged into her mess.
If she managed to escape this time, she would go back and apologize to them.
Most guests greeted Mu Xie warmly, then offered Ling Xi a casual compliment about her appearance before moving on.
Ling Xi ignored them, but she could easily guess what they were whispering behind her back.
“So that’s the one the little princess is into? She looks so average.”
“No elegance or presence at all. She looks fragile and stiff like a board. And she’s an Alpha? Might as well be a Beta. No spark whatsoever.”
“I don’t get what Miss Mu sees in her. Jiang Lizhe was way better than this.”
“Ugh, are you crazy? Jiang Lizhe isn’t someone we should be gossiping about. Comparing her to that little Alpha is just plain insulting.”
Ling Xi had heard all of this before. Three years ago, it had been no different. She had gotten used to it.
Life in the Mu family was nothing like what Mu Xie made it out to be.
Mu Xie never bullied her directly, but the servants watched her every move and treated her based on her status.
Especially Mu Xie’s grandmother. She hated Ling Xi and believed she had seduced Mu Xie somehow.
Not to mention, Ling Xi was an Alpha. That alone made the grandmother extra cautious and hostile. She had openly insulted Ling Xi to her face many times.
Even hearing it all again now, Ling Xi still felt uncomfortable.
She glanced at Mu Xie’s expression. She could tell that Mu Xie had heard every word.
But she never stepped in to defend her.
Did Mu Xie ever really love her?
If she did, how could she have locked her up, drained her pheromones, and done those terrifying things?
Just thinking about it made Ling Xi feel faint.
Her old low bl00d sugar condition was acting up again.
She instinctively reached out, trying to hold on to something to keep herself from falling.
Her hand caught onto something warm and soft.
It felt like someone’s arm.