The Black Lotus Wife Forces Me to Pretend to Be an Omega. - Chapter 40

The crowd around Li Fanshuang immediately perked up with gossipy expressions upon hearing her words.

“What’s going on? Weren’t they supposed to be—”

“Just shut it already. Li Fanshuang clearly said she’s married—she’s drawing the line.”

“Am I the only one wondering who that inhibitor is really for?”

“Yeah, Shuangshuang doesn’t seem like she needs it.”

“Not so fast.”

A particularly nosy onlooker glimpsed the tips of Li Fanshuang’s ears peeking through her long hair. “Look, her ears are all red. That means she just… hehe.”

“Ohhh~ So does that mean her wife is in her room right now?”

“Could be. I watched that variety show—those two, pfft. I even have the audio clip of that moment.”

“What audio clip?”

“I’ll send it to you!”

The mood shifted instantly. The shippers fell silent—Li Fanshuang’s attitude said it all. She refused to be tied to a woman who wasn’t her wife.

And she hated people speculating about her spouse.

The crowd was moved. Who knew Li Fanshuang and Luo Xiaoxiao’s relationship ran so deep?

“I hope you’ll stop doing things that hurt yourself from now on.”

Li Fanshuang’s words were veiled. With that, she walked away, leaving Fu Xinting standing alone.

Her expression remained calm, as if she hadn’t just been publicly rejected.

But inside, the scene was entirely different.

Fu Xinting: System, what’s happening? Why is Li Fanshuang so cold to me? I did everything you told me!

System: Li Fanshuang’s immune to all tactics. Why insist on her as the target? Isn’t the other female lead easier?

Fu Xinting: I’ve been in this world for so long. Has your data finally recovered? You know who the other female lead is now?

System: System upgrading. Questions will be addressed later.

Fu Xinting scoffed inwardly. She offered the crowd a graceful smile. “My apologies for the inconvenience our stay has caused. Please forgive us.”

“No worries!”

“Tingting’s so polite!”

As praise poured in, the system pinged.

System: Favorability points acquired. System shop unlocked. Host may purchase desired items.

In her mind, Fu Xinting browsed the dazzling array of products before settling on the Acting Skills Card.

Her scenes with Li Fanshuang kept going awry. She’d hoped to kindle romance through their roles, but Li Fanshuang remained wooden, unresponsive. Even her Charm Cards had zero effect on the protagonist.

Fine. She’d improve herself first and take it slow.

System: Host, I recommend deeply understanding the role of Zhiyu. External boosts alone won’t give you meaningful growth.

Fu Xinting: I have you—why should I work hard? Hurry up and analyze how to raise Li Fanshuang’s favorability. Otherwise, we’re both doomed.

The system clicked its tongue and vanished.

Fu Xinting turned and stepped into the elevator, all traces of her warm smile vanishing instantly. Damn Li Fanshuang, and all those people asking for autographs—how utterly annoying!

–

Li Fanshuang didn’t get the chance to witness someone’s spectacular performance. She immediately returned to her room after retrieving her belongings.

“Xiaoxiao,” Li Fanshuang gently knocked on the door, her cautious demeanor resembling that of a parent coaxing a child.

“Hmm.” Luo Xiaoxiao’s voice was faint, as if suppressing some indescribable pain in her throat.

Li Fanshuang’s heart clenched, her tone turning stern. “Open the door!”

“No!” Inside, Luo Xiaoxiao, provoked by Li Fanshuang’s tone, suddenly threw a childish tantrum.

“You say ‘open the door,’ and I open it. You say ‘wear a skirt,’ and I wear it. I… I’ve never… hic—”

Mid-sentence, Luo Xiaoxiao couldn’t control her hiccups. Covering her mouth, she instinctively felt embarrassed, but gradually, her mind began to spiral into chaos.

One moment, she thought she was still in Dalong Mountain, doing those filthy deeds. The next, she felt like she was back on that variety show.

One moment, she clearly saw herself liking Li Fanshuang and wanting to confess, but the next, she reminded herself that she was from another world.

In the original novel, Luo Xiaoxiao was destined for prison.

Her thoughts were violently torn apart by an invisible force. The scent of green tea pheromones, laced with a hint of mint, seeped through the door crack.

Li Fanshuang inwardly cursed—this was bad. Highly compatible Alphas and Omegas could trigger each other’s ruts or heats if their pheromones grew too intense.

Luo Xiaoxiao’s pheromone level wasn’t high, but Li Fanshuang’s was. If her pheromones went out of control, every Alpha and Omega in the building would be affected.

Unable to help herself, she muttered under her breath: Damn it. Li Fanshuang strode into the bathroom, grabbed her high-potency suppressant, and jabbed it into her scent gland.

“Tsk—”

The injection hurt like hell, and Li Fanshuang grimaced in pain.

But at least the discomfort was fleeting—thanks to the suppressant, the inappropriate heat simmering inside her vanished in moments.

–

Inside the room, Luo Xiaoxiao clutched her head. “No…”

Her mind plunged back into those mountains—back to when her sister had just died, and the neighbor Old Wang had apparently bought a new bride.

A child, just about her age. Luo Xiaoxiao sneered at such things but was powerless to stop them. This mountain region was no stranger to such tragedies.

Her neighbor was an old widower, nearly fifty and unmarried. This time, he must have spent a fortune to buy that little girl.

Luo Xiaoxiao wanted nothing to do with it, but the girl was so… clean. She looked about five or six, just like her.

When she lifted her head to meet Luo Xiaoxiao’s gaze, her eyes seemed to hold a dazzling galaxy—brilliant and boundless.

The girl said nothing, but her eyes spoke volumes: Save me.

Luo Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth and cursed herself for being insane. Back then, she had nothing left—yet she still wanted to meddle in other people’s affairs.

“Damn it.”

She clenched her jaw, berating herself for being such a busybody.

But at night, she heard the sound of things being smashed next door, and soon the old widower appeared at her doorstep.

“Kid, when are you gonna pay me back the money your dad owes me?”

Luo Xiaoxiao looked at the drunken man before her, her eyes filled with disdain. “My sister already told you—we paid you back long ago.”

At this, the old widower’s expression twisted into something vile. Luo Xiaoxiao recognized that look—it was the same one those so-called creditors had when they came for her sister.

She grabbed the firewood chopper beside her. “Get lost, or else.”

“Fine, fine, I’m the unreasonable one here. You people take what you want and then act like you don’t owe anything.”

He glanced at Luo Xiaoxiao’s bare, impoverished home and sneered. “Beggars.”

Then he left.

Rage burned in Luo Xiaoxiao’s heart. Why couldn’t her sister rest in peace even after death?

A thought nagged at her—that old bastard had clearly had something disgusting in mind.

“Not good!”

Remembering the little girl still in the widower’s house, Luo Xiaoxiao rushed out with the chopper in hand.

But then, a flicker of firelight appeared in the neighbor’s home.

“This…”

It dawned on her—the old man must have left a candle burning when he stormed out, and the wind had caught it. Karma, she thought bitterly, completely forgetting how the fire had truly started.

Her expression darkened. Right now, the most important thing was to get that little girl out.

Without hesitation, she vaulted over the low fence and barged inside.

The widower, drunk beyond sense, was sprawled across the table, snoring. The little girl was tied up nearby, her wide, tearful eyes silently pleading for help.

Luo Xiaoxiao stepped forward and cut the ropes with her chopper.

Before the girl could thank her, Luo Xiaoxiao grabbed her arm. “Come with me.”

She ran, dragging the girl behind her. They had to move fast—it wouldn’t be long before someone realized the child was missing.

The heavy rain had turned the mountain path into a muddy mess. The girl, a city kid, had never walked such terrain and kept stumbling every few steps.

Young and unused to hardship, she teared up each time mud splattered her dress.

“Don’t cry! We don’t have time for this. If you’re this slow, they’ll catch us!”

Luo Xiaoxiao warned her, but years of malnutrition had left her with little strength to spare—otherwise, she would’ve carried the girl outright.

Before long, the girl collapsed, gasping for breath.

“I can’t… go on…”

Just as Luo Xiaoxiao was about to speak, she spotted torchlight in the distance. Her heart lurched. Without another word, she hoisted the girl onto her back and ran.

She couldn’t take the risk. If they were caught together, not only would she fail to protect the girl, but her own identity might be exposed.

Somehow, Luo Xiaoxiao found the strength to carry the girl, trudging through the night.

By dawn, they reached the provincial highway. A speeding off-road vehicle roared past.

Luo Xiaoxiao waved frantically. She’d never seen a car like this before, and its license plate wasn’t local. The girl was dressed too finely to be from the village—she must be from a wealthy family. This car was probably searching for her.

The facts proved Luo Xiaoxiao right. A woman dressed entirely in black stepped out of the car and immediately said, “Miss,” upon seeing the little girl.

Luo Xiaoxiao chuckled and tapped the girl’s forehead lightly. “So that’s your name?”

“Let’s go,” the woman said, taking the little girl’s hand to leave.

At that moment, the child turned back to Luo Xiaoxiao and whispered, “My name is Li Fanshuang.”

The image of the little girl from her memories overlapped with Li Fanshuang’s current face.

Luo Xiaoxiao gasped for fresh air as those words she’d once spoken kept replaying in her mind: “Isn’t the one you admire in your youth always the white moonlight?”

She touched her still-racing heart in surprise—so was she Li Fanshuang’s unspoken white moonlight? Did that mean Li Fanshuang had been kidnapped back then, and by a time-traveling kidnapper no less?

The absurdity of this possibility made the strange sensations she’d been feeling fade somewhat.

Her mind was in chaos. Was this world a novel or reality? If it were just a novel, why would she and Li Fanshuang have met as children? And if it were real, then what had she seen before?

A sharp pain suddenly lanced through her cerebral cortex as the original host’s prison memories flooded Luo Xiaoxiao’s mind. The original had endured endless scorn in prison—Li Fanshuang’s fans were everywhere, even behind bars. The bullying she suffered was so severe that she died within three months.

What Luo Xiaoxiao found hardest to accept was Madam Luo Jing’s death. Yet these foreign memories also brought clarity—she distinctly remembered Madam Luo Jing had only been rendered mute, not killed.

“Xiaoxiao.”

Knock, knock, knock—

Li Fanshuang’s voice came through the door again, urgent and anxious.

Luo Xiaoxiao stared blankly toward the sound. “Li Fanshuang?”

Click—

Her gaze fell on the doorknob. She’d definitely locked it, so how… Oh, Li Fanshuang must have gotten a key. How embarrassing—why was she suddenly feeling so unwell?

When Li Fanshuang reappeared in her line of sight, Luo Xiaoxiao’s eyes clung to her. Her heart tightened strangely, a mix of tension and anticipation.

She didn’t know what she was anticipating, only that it was tied to the woman before her. Unconsciously, Luo Xiaoxiao’s eyes traced Li Fanshuang’s silhouette as scenes from the hot springs resurfaced in her mind.

The moment Li Fanshuang opened the door, the scent of green tea pheromones washed over her. Thankfully, she’d taken suppressants beforehand—given their compatibility levels, things would have gotten messy otherwise.

Seeing Luo Xiaoxiao’s dazed expression, Li Fanshuang’s thoughts churned. This was an Alpha—if she…

Complex emotions swirled within Li Fanshuang, carrying unspoken sentiments. Her earlier actions had been partly tests, but mostly acknowledgments of her feelings for Luo Xiaoxiao.

Could it really be this fast?

If Xiaoxiao were conscious right now, would she be willing?

Many years later, when Li Fanshuang reflected on her feelings from this day, she finally understood completely—this was the sprout of love.

Only when you truly care for someone can you defy instinct for them, remain composed under the influence of pheromones, and think for their sake.

“Come here first, I’ll give you the injection,” Li Fanshuang said, seeing Luo Xiaoxiao’s dazed expression and knowing she must be running a fever.

Luo Xiaoxiao was in a complete haze, barely able to make out what Li Fanshuang was saying. Watching the other’s lips move, all she could think was—what would those lips taste like?

Whimpering internally, Luo Xiaoxiao felt utterly doomed. Why were her thoughts so filthy?

“Wahh…” At this thought, Luo Xiaoxiao actually burst into tears, her pitiful appearance completely unlike an Alpha in rut.

Her crying left Li Fanshuang stunned. What was happening? This was nothing like what she’d learned in physiology class. Since when did Alphas in rut cry like this?

The absurdity made Li Fanshuang both amused and exasperated. What kind of troublemaker had she gotten stuck with?

“Alright, alright, don’t cry,” Li Fanshuang coaxed patiently, treating Luo Xiaoxiao like a child.

Sobbing, Luo Xiaoxiao resembled a wronged little Omega from a respectable family. Li Fanshuang thought if she didn’t know the truth, she’d suspect herself of being some villain.

Gently patting Luo Xiaoxiao’s back, she soothed, “It’s okay now. Be good and let me give you the injection, alright?”

In her daze, Luo Xiaoxiao seemed to hear Li Fanshuang’s words, nodding blankly before shaking her head moments later. “Hurts.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, glistening droplets that weighed heavily on Li Fanshuang’s heart, stirring complex emotions.

Right now, Luo Xiaoxiao looked so… vulnerable.

Li Fanshuang shook her head, breaking out in a cold sweat when she realized her own thoughts. How could she entertain such terrifying ideas?

She quickly checked the suppressant patch on the back of her neck—still there!

Relieved, she continued coaxing, “Be good. After the injection, you won’t feel so bad anymore.”

“Really?” Luo Xiaoxiao pouted, looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes like a child denied candy.

“But I’m scared… Mommy.”

Mommy?

The term made Li Fanshuang flush with embarrassment. Since when had she become “Mommy”?

“Mommy, it hurts… Xiaoxiao doesn’t want to fight anymore.”

Li Fanshuang’s pupils constricted, recalling that video—the one where Luo Xiaoxiao had looked so heroic, swiftly subduing that human trafficker.

She didn’t like it?

Gazing into her eyes, Li Fanshuang cupped Luo Xiaoxiao’s face. The cool touch made Luo Xiaoxiao half-close her eyes in contentment, like a pampered kitten.

With tender concern, Li Fanshuang probed, “You don’t like fighting?”

Luo Xiaoxiao hummed in affirmation, nodding. “But I know… if I want to escape, fighting is the only way.”

The girl sobbed quietly, her words trembling into fragmented syllables, “I… know… my grades aren’t good. The only way… to leave that place… is through boxing. Mom, I’ll work hard… Mom, wait for me, okay?”

Luo Xiaoxiao’s tears burned so hot that Li Fanshuang wanted to pull her hand away.

But Luo Xiaoxiao grasped Li Fanshuang’s wrist, her cool body temperature providing unexpected comfort.

Li Fanshuang felt dazed, her memories suddenly jumbled, as if a massive mountain now stood between Luo Xiaoxiao and herself—so close yet impossibly distant.

“Xiaoxiao, where are you from?”

Luo Xiaoxiao sniffled for a long moment before answering, “Dalong Mountain… hic~”

When people cry too hard from overwhelming emotions, they often start hiccuping.

Seeing this, Li Fanshuang didn’t hesitate. She pulled out a syringe and gave Luo Xiaoxiao an injection.

As the suppressant entered Luo Xiaoxiao’s bloodstream, her gaze grew hazy. A wave of exhaustion crashed over her nerves, her eyelids growing heavy until they fluttered shut.

Li Fanshuang stepped forward, letting Luo Xiaoxiao lean against her shoulder just before she would have collapsed.

As an Omega, Li Fanshuang’s strength was limited, but fortunately Luo Xiaoxiao was petite. With little effort, she managed to lay her down properly on the bed.

In sleep, Luo Xiaoxiao looked peaceful—no tears, no tension. Li Fanshuang stared at her intently.

“Like this, you really do seem like an Omega,” Li Fanshuang chuckled softly, her lips curving into a gentle smile.

But as she watched Luo Xiaoxiao, her expression gradually shifted. The face before her was strikingly young, whereas in those nearly forgotten memories, that person had been around her own age.

What had gone wrong?

“It doesn’t matter,” Li Fanshuang murmured. Whether this was that person or not no longer held importance.

If not for recent dreams, she might have completely forgotten that individual anyway. Just vague dream fragments—nothing worth clinging to.

At least, that’s what Li Fanshuang told herself in that moment.

“Goodnight,” she whispered, pressing a light kiss to Luo Xiaoxiao’s forehead before leaving to wash up.

The moment she was gone, Luo Xiaoxiao slipped back into dreams.

This time, instead of broken fragments, she saw the novel’s actual plot. As Li Fanshuang’s white moonlight, she wasn’t originally part of this story.

Thus, she and Li Fanshuang had never crossed paths.

The reason Li Fanshuang married the original protagonist was simply because her eyes resembled Luo Xiaoxiao’s—a mere psychological comfort, a substitute.

Until Li Fanshuang’s true destined Alpha appeared.

This was the person who finally pulled Li Fanshuang from the shadows of her white moonlight. Luo Xiaoxiao glimpsed the woman’s back—her identity shrouded in mystery, her origins unknown, her face unseen.

Frowning, Luo Xiaoxiao strained to read the woman’s name, but it remained blurred. A foreigner, perhaps?

Li Fanshuang’s fated one was a foreign woman?

And also an Alpha?

A bitter taste rose in Luo Xiaoxiao’s throat. Why couldn’t it have been her?

Splash—

The surroundings transformed once more—Ms. Luo Jing was discharged from the hospital, only to pass away again due to the original host’s stubbornness.

Luo Xiaoxiao was terrified. She had always believed her arrival had altered this world’s trajectory. There were even moments when she considered confessing her feelings to Li Fanshuang, dreaming of building a future together.

But if that future came at the cost of her mother’s life… she wanted no part of it.

The memories returned once more to that Great Dragon Mountain which had trapped Luo Xiaoxiao for over a decade.

Her mother had caught her when she was just a petty thief, then gave her a home. But Luo Xiaoxiao was hopeless—useless at studying, but first-rate at fighting.

Her mother made her take up boxing, giving her a new life and a chance to escape Great Dragon Mountain forever.

Boxing was exhausting, but at least she never went hungry again.

Yet on the very night she won the UFC championship, her mother passed away despite emergency treatment.

Luo Xiaoxiao was lost. She didn’t know who to share her years of hard work with—the one person who would have cared was gone forever.

That night, she drank heavily. In her hazy memory, there were still the blinding xenon lights of a truck, the screech of brakes, and the searing pain that wracked her body—

BANG!

After the violent impact, the last things she recalled were the glaring surgical lights and the doctor’s voice beside her:

“Resuscitation failed. Where are her family members? Is there anyone who can sign?”

Then, Luo Xiaoxiao’s heartbeat stopped. She became another version of herself in a different world.

Madam Luo Jing might not have been her real mother, but Luo Xiaoxiao couldn’t bear to go through that again.

Fragments of her time with Li Fanshuang surfaced in her mind—how she had sternly warned her to only care about her money, nothing else, and the way she had looked at her in the hot springs.

A bitter smile tugged at her lips. She remembered now—back then, they had been discussing a script.

She was just Li Fanshuang’s assistant. And Li Fanshuang was an award-winning actress. Whether it was real or not, if she wanted to, even a rock would seem to be the object of her affection under her gaze.

Luo Xiaoxiao, get a grip. You’re Luo Xiaoxiao—the one with the tragic ending, not Zhiyu from the story.

Li Fanshuang is an actress, the heroine of this world, not the princess from the tale.

Right.

A pebble dropped into the still waters of her heart, sending ripples across its surface.

Luo Xiaoxiao jolted awake from her nightmare and turned to look at the beautiful woman sleeping beside her.

Ah, Li Fanshuang… You were never mine to begin with. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you well until your true love appears—then I’ll hand you over to her.

“We agreed, okay? You can’t mess with me.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Luo Xiaoxiao clapped a hand over her lips in horror. Why did I say that out loud?!

She quickly checked on Li Fanshuang, relieved to see her eyes still closed—she must still be asleep.

Thank goodness.

With that thought, Luo Xiaoxiao didn’t dare stay any longer, afraid Li Fanshuang might discover her secret.

But the moment she left, Li Fanshuang’s eyes fluttered open.

What did Luo Xiaoxiao mean by that just now?