Seduced Me into a Deep Fall (GL , ABO) - Chapter 2
Ling Xi suddenly let go, but she still lost her balance and continued to fall.
Then, a hand caught her arm and steadied her.
Ling Xi finally looked up, her vision clearing from the darkness, and made out a figure.
The first thing she noticed was the hand resting on her.
Her gaze landed on a string of dark brown wooden beads, adorned with a lotus tassel pendant.
Even at this distance, she could catch a faint, refreshing fragrance.
It could be worn as a bracelet or a necklace.
Against the pale wrist, it accentuated the hand’s delicate, moon-like fairness.
Just an ordinary string of prayer beads.
Some elders in certain families believed in them and wore them, while some younger people followed the trend, visiting temples to have them blessed for good fortune.
Ling Xi wasn’t seeing someone wearing prayer beads for the first time. But when she fully took in the person who had steadied her, she froze.
The woman wore gold-rimmed glasses, with a delicate gold chain dangling near her ear, drawing attention to her eyes, only to be met with a sharp, piercing gaze that made one instinctively recoil.
Her phoenix eyes slanted upward, as if she had been born wielding power, exuding an aura of dominance that turned the supposedly calming prayer beads into something fierce, like a wrathful deity.
Two seconds later, as her dizziness faded, Ling Xi snapped back to reality. Steadying herself, she thanked the woman. “I lost my balance. My apologies, and thank you.”
Her words were polite and flawless, leaving no room for criticism nor any interest in further conversation.
Ling Xi hadn’t expected the woman to respond.
“No need.” A voice as crisp as fine wine drifted into Ling Xi’s ears, easing some of the bitterness from her reunion with Mu Xie.
When Ling Xi looked up again, the woman had already turned and walked away.
As Mu Xie moved, Ling Xi was pulled back to her original spot.
Mu Xie’s expression was odd. “Xiao Xi, are you alright? Did your bl00d sugar drop again? Do you need something to eat?”
Ling Xi shook her head, her mind still lingering on that woman.
She looked familiar. Ling Xi searched her memories from her past life and recalled that the woman was Song Yi, the current head of the Song family.
She was also Mu Xie’s aunt, Mu Xie’s alpha mother and Song Yi were sisters.
But the two weren’t particularly close.
Aside from exchanging pleasantries at family gatherings during holidays, and Song Yi giving Mu Xie red envelopes, there was little interaction between them.
Ling Xi couldn’t remember if she had seen Song Yi on this day in her past life.
Then again, she hadn’t experienced low bl00d sugar in her previous life, so it made sense for things to unfold differently.
Just as Ling Xi was about to glance toward the venue again, searching for Song Yi, Mu Xie stepped in front of her.
“Most of the guests have arrived. Xiao Xi, go rest and have something to eat. The ceremony will start soon.”
Ling Xi looked at Mu Xie’s face, which bore no resemblance to Song Yi’s, and her mood soured further.
“Let’s go together, then.” She hadn’t forgotten to keep Mu Xie off guard.
At least until the ceremony ended, she couldn’t afford to raise Mu Xie’s suspicions.
The Song family had immense influence and connections. She had no confidence in escaping before the ceremony began.
Mu Xie’s heart settled at her words, and she happily took Ling Xi’s arm, leading her toward the lounge.
Along the way, Ling Xi overheard even more murmurs of disapproval.
“I heard that Ling Xi, despite being an alpha, is anything but proper and restrained. You should have seen how she started flirting with another omega right in front of Miss Mu just now.”
“Who? That bold? Isn’t she afraid of being dealt with by the old lady of the Song family?”
The gossiper waved a hand and leaned in closer.
Thanks to her naturally sharper senses than most, Ling Xi could still hear every word clearly.
“The person she was flirting with was Song Yi! The head of Yihe Group, that S-class omega countless alphas dream of but can never attain. You think she’d be afraid?”
“Song Yi wouldn’t pay her any attention, would she? God, being able to cling to Miss Mu is already a blessing she couldn’t get in eight lifetimes. With her ignorant, shabby appearance, what more could she want?”
Ling Xi lowered her eyes. There was no point in listening further.
After all, she could guess exactly how these people would judge her.
Given that everyone present was connected to Mu Xie.
Who else would they side with if not Mu Xie?
Especially since Mu Xie didn’t stop them.
Ling Xi thought that for these so-called elite to gossip about others in public, their upbringing wasn’t much to speak of.
She might be of low status, but she wasn’t cheap.
So she didn’t think much of Mu Xie either.
In her past life, she had been indecisive and powerless. This time, she wouldn’t repeat those mistakes.
Mu Xie handed Ling Xi a piece of pastry.
Ling Xi paused for a second before taking it, then turned around and fed it to Mu Xie instead.
Mu Xie laughed, her whole body shaking with mirth. “Oh, Ling Xi, you’re impossible. I’m not hungry. You eat more. I’ll go check on the arrangements.”
After Mu Xie left, Ling Xi sighed inwardly.
She crumbled the pastry, wrapped it in a tissue, and threw it in the trash.
Then she crumpled a few more tissues to bury it.
When Mu Xie returned, she indeed glanced at the trash bin before asking Ling Xi to link arms with her for their entrance.
Ling Xi’s mind was blank, but she didn’t forget to consider one thing.
She remembered that at this point in their previous life, Mu Xie hadn’t been this sharp.
It was only after she’d escaped twice that Mu Xie’s control over her became all-encompassing.
If Mu Xie had also been reborn, simply running away might not be enough to truly escape her.
Perhaps she’d need to find some kind of powerful ally.
Ling Xi closed her eyes, blinking away the random thoughts.
No matter what, she had to try escaping first.
The emcee for the engagement banquet, Wu Pingwei was Mu Xie’s good friend.
Seeing her, the hatred hidden in Ling Xi’s eyes grew thicker.
In their past life, this so-called friend had been the one behind many of Mu Xie’s schemes to control her.
Cutting off her water and food… including the first time she escaped, it was this woman who caught her and brought her back.
Lost in memories, Ling Xi stared unblinkingly at Wu Pingwei, startling Mu Xie once again.
Mu Xie had to discreetly poke Ling Xi’s arm.
“What are you looking at?” This engagement banquet was for Ling Xi. Exchanging a few words wouldn’t be suspicious.
Ling Xi turned her gaze to Mu Xie’s clearly worried eyes.
Then she looked back, signaling Mu Xie to follow her line of sight.
Mu Xie saw a bug resting on her friend’s back.
“…”
Mu Xie’s lips twitched as she opened the ring box.
There was nothing unusual about Ling Xi’s reaction.
At this point in their previous life, she had still been that somewhat dull, meek, and obedient caged bird.
It made sense she’d stare at a bug.
“May the betrothed exchange their engagement rings.”
Hearing her friend’s cue, Mu Xie took a deep breath and swiftly slid the ring onto Ling Xi’s finger first.
In engagements and weddings, the person who puts the ring on their partner first is usually the one who holds the dominant position in the relationship.
Though the order doesn’t matter much these days, seeing Ling Xi standing there in a daze, waiting…
The crowd below erupted into another wave of murmurs.
Everyone was joining in the frenzy of cornering Ling Xi.
Only one person, standing in a corner of the venue, silently noted down the names of those who spoke.
Her gaze darkened as she watched the mismatched and seemingly unhappy couple on stage.
Song Yi stared at Ling Xi’s passive expression, her forced smile, her fingers digging so hard into her palms they turned white.
The Buddhist beads on her wrist trembled with her emotions. Her face was the only part of her that betrayed nothing, but her eyes burned with such intensity they might bore through the stage.
Yet, she never received even a single glance from the person she longed for.
Ling Xi barely held herself together, her face pale, enduring the engagement ceremony to the end.
When it was over, Mu Xie approached with concern, placing a hand on her back. “Xi, are you okay? You look terrible.”
Ling Xi covered her mouth, her brows furrowed tightly.
“Feeling sick? Caught a cold? Do you need to go to the restroom?”
The sound of Mu Xie’s voice alone made Ling Xi nauseous. She mustered just enough strength to wave her off.
“It’s nothing, maybe just a slight cold.” She couldn’t stay here any longer.
How long would it take to prepare for her escape? She couldn’t be sure.
But she couldn’t bear another second of Mu Xie’s voice or the faint traces of her pheromones that constantly seeped out.
The slight hint of mint left Ling Xi utterly unsettled.
Her glands instinctively rejected this scent, one she had endured for three years in her past life.
What normal omega would constantly release their pheromones like this?
But Mu Xie wasn’t normal.
She believed that exposing Ling Xi to her pheromones would increase their compatibility, make Ling Xi grow closer to her, even fonder of her.
In theory, this method might work during marital intimacy.
But Mu Xie overlooked Ling Xi’s deep-seated resistance and Ling Xi’s own pitifully low pheromone level.
As a B-grade alpha, Ling Xi had always been less sensitive to pheromones, whether from alphas or omegas.
In her past life, she rarely reacted so strongly to Mu Xie’s scent.
Her dulled senses only picked it up when Mu Xie’s pheromones were overwhelming, usually near her heat cycle.
But now, after dying and being reborn, even this faint, harmless trace not enough to trigger any alarms made her stomach churn.
“Mu Mu, I’m not feeling well. I think I’ll skip the banquet, okay?” Ling Xi forced a weak smile, her face still pale.
Seeing her genuine discomfort, Mu Xie couldn’t bring herself to insist.
“Then… I’ll have someone take you home.” The engagement was official now, after all.
Once Ling Xi turned 22 next month, they’d register their marriage, just like in their past life.
This time, Mu Xie would stay by Ling Xi’s side day and night, she wouldn’t let the tragedy of their previous life repeat.
“Okay, thank you.” Ling Xi let Mu Xie help her into the car.
Since she was leaving soon, she didn’t resist the contact as much as usual.
Once inside, watching Mu Xie’s figure grow distant, Ling Xi finally exhaled in relief.
Her body gradually relaxed, the nausea fading.
The moment she got home, she started packing.
Mu Xie would undoubtedly come for her at seven tomorrow morning.
She had less than twelve hours left to escape. She needed to make it look like someone was still home, pretending she had just gone out for a walk to stall Mu Xie.
Taking her ID and wallet would suffice. The rest didn’t matter anyway.
Ling Xi wore as many necessary clothes as she could, not even bothering with a suitcase.
Grabbing a bag, her keys, and her phone, she simply walked out of her rented apartment.
Ling Xi sprinted down the street, booking tickets on her phone as she ran.
She stuck to the less crowded alleys, avoiding any surveillance cameras in sight.
A few blocks later, at the end of a narrow lane, she spotted a group of shady-looking thugs surrounding a clearly intoxicated woman.
Ling Xi sensed the woman was an omega and hesitated for a moment.
Her upbringing and empathy forced her to stop.
She was a capable adult alpha, while the other was a defenseless drunk about to face something terrible.
Just as her mother had taught her, if she saw it, she had to help.