The Little Bookworm Marked Her Ex-aunt - Chapter 28: You Know What I Was Just Doing, Right?

Chapter 28: You Know What I Was Just Doing, Right?

In the small courtyard of the village, sunlight blazed fiercely, scorching the earth without any sign of weariness. The living room door on the first floor of the main building stood wide open. The third brother cooked in the kitchen, while the second senior brother moved busily inside and out, setting dishes on the table.

Lin Chu wiped the table and spoke to Zhou Miao, who had just walked in and asked where Shu Yue was: “Director, Little Yue isn’t eating with us this noon.”

“Where did she go?” Zhou Miao asked.

Lin Chu replied, “Who knows~”

Though he said this, his hands couldn’t resist taking out his phone to secretly send a message to Shu Yue.

“Went to see that Miss Ji of yours?”

The phone screen on the dining table suddenly lit up, a message window popping up, but the phone’s owner was not there.

In the reading room of the suite, Shu Yue sat at the desk.

Her hands stretched behind her, wrists crossed and tied to the chair’s backrest.

“How does it feel?” Ji Shiyi asked, holding a water cup.

Shu Yue struggled briefly and suggested, “Miss Ji, you can make it tighter.”

“Ok.” Ji Shiyi walked over, placed the water cup on the desk’s edge, and crouched down. She untied the silk scarf binding Shu Yue’s wrists, rewound it once, pulled both ends, and confirmed with Shu Yue, “How about now?”

Shu Yue nodded, “Miss Ji, it’s fine now.”

Ji Shiyi hummed, stood up, and asked, “Want some water?”

Shu Yue shook her head, “I’m not thirsty, thank you.”

Compared to the dryness in her throat, she felt her mind needed relaxation more.

She had suggested to Ji Shiyi that they could find a way to control her slightly, but she hadn’t expected this kind of control. Images from the past surged in Shu Yue’s mind, hard to ignore. Just thinking about them made her feel her pheromones trying desperately to burst out.

If she hadn’t suppressed them, and if the adjustment bracelet weren’t still working, the scene would surely be very awkward.

She didn’t want to become an out-of-control alpha.

Once desire’s instincts took over the brain, an alpha would only act on their whims, taking and demanding from an omega.

She didn’t want that.

Shu Yue bit her lip tightly and lowered her head.

A warm touch brushed her lips.

She looked up in confusion, meeting Ji Shiyi’s smiling eyes.

“Don’t be nervous,” Ji Shiyi said. “The things you fear won’t happen.”

The woman’s fingertip rubbed Shu Yue’s lip, then she bent down, meeting her gaze. “Shu Yue, I’m not that weak.”

“Shall I take off your bracelet?” Ji Shiyi asked.

Shu Yue hummed in agreement.

Ji Shiyi reminded her, “Unlock it.”

Shu Yue rubbed her right index finger over the bracelet’s screen.

Beep—

The black bracelet slipped off, and Ji Shiyi caught it in her palm. She placed the bracelet on the desk, leaned back lightly with both hands on the table, her waist and hips against the edge, and looked down at Shu Yue.

Even with the bracelet off, the alpha’s pheromones didn’t surge out.

Ji Shiyi saw clearly that Shu Yue was deliberately controlling them.

Even so, she could still sense a slight spillover.

Shiyi felt it too.

One moment, the cat lay listlessly on the floor by the curtain’s edge, half-dead, unwilling to move, content to be a cat pancake. The next moment, it sniffed the air, stood up, and its little paws hit the floor with deliberate taps, making a pattering sound.

It ran into the study, reached Shu Yue’s calf, and rubbed against it, twisting its body.

Shu Yue sensed its presence and looked down at it.

Ji Shiyi reminded her, “You can release a bit more pheromones for it. It really needs them now.”

High-intensity tests and checks had left Shiyi lifeless. In the past, Ji Shiyi could only endure these long periods of mental lows, unable to do anything.

A spirit body’s lethargy was a problem even its host couldn’t solve. No matter how actively Ji Shiyi lived, sticking to her routine—exercise, work, relaxation—Shiyi couldn’t recover from the low.

That time felt to Ji Shiyi like her body was under endless, damp rain, wet and powerless.

She could only wait patiently for Shiyi to recover, for the rain to stop, for the sun to come out.

But now things were different.

Since Shiyi liked Shu Yue’s pheromones so much, Ji Shiyi thought that if Shu Yue comforted the spirit body, it might help Shiyi snap out of the low quickly.

That would be perfect for her.

Seeing Shu Yue hesitate, still restraining her pheromones, Ji Shiyi casually picked up the water cup from the desk, took a sip, held it in her palms, and looked at Shu Yue. “Shu Yue, what are you afraid of?”

Shu Yue’s nerves were already taut.

She felt Ji Shiyi’s pheromones quietly spreading in the air, like early winter snow with the scent of fir.

Her throat felt so dry. Shu Yue, accustomed to controlling her pheromones for years, faced a difficult and painful challenge with Ji Shiyi.

She had to try very hard to stay calm and rational.

Unable to answer Ji Shiyi’s question, she didn’t dare speak, only clenching her teeth.

Ji Shiyi sighed lightly. “Shu Yue, an alpha can do more than invade, control, or dominate. They can also soothe and heal an omega’s emotions. Shu Yue, your pheromones can do far more than you think.”

“Relax. Things might not turn out so bad.”

“Let’s try, okay?”

Ji Shiyi’s every word flowed like a gentle stream, paired with her cool pheromones, slowly easing Shu Yue’s anxious expression.

Her gaze was somewhat dazed, struggling to catch a few key words from Ji Shiyi’s speech.

Soothe and heal?

“If you’re still scared, you can release just a little pheromones. Imagine them as a blanket, soft and gentle, wrapping around Shiyi.”

Shu Yue followed Ji Shiyi’s words.

The tightly locked gate opened a few small holes, letting more alpha pheromones flow out. They weren’t skilled but tried to envelop Shiyi. The anxious, restless kitten softened, slid to the floor with a plop, and closed its eyes comfortably, as if being petted.

Ji Shiyi, usually composed, suddenly tightened her grip on the water cup. Her eyes darkened, she clenched the cup, lowered her head, and took a sip.

“You’re doing well,” Ji Shiyi said. “Keep going, it’s fine.”

With Ji Shiyi’s permission, Shu Yue released her pheromones more freely. The invisible particles gathered from a scattered state, weaving into a gentle blanket, tentatively wrapping Shiyi.

Shiyi squinted in delight, stretching its little paws toward Shu Yue’s calf, letting out delicate hums and long meows from its throat.

Practice makes perfect.

Shu Yue gradually got the hang of it.

She even felt she could sense Shiyi’s emotions, noticing it relax under her comfort, like receiving a soothing massage. The kitten’s tense nerves and tired state shifted bit by bit under her care.

The kitten grew lively, jumped onto her, and nestled by her abdomen. Its two paws pressed against her belly through her clothes, lightly scratching in a kneading motion.

A soft sense of accomplishment bloomed in Shu Yue’s heart.

She couldn’t wait to share this with Ji Shiyi.

“Miss Ji!” She raised her head, shifting her attention from the cat, but her words caught in her throat as her gaze met Ji Shiyi’s.

At some point, Ji Shiyi’s white silk blouse collar had come undone, revealing her delicate collarbone. Her fair skin flushed with a faint, feverish pink. She stood with both hands on the desk’s edge, head lowered, breathing heavily, belatedly letting her pheromones spread through the room.

Shu Yue knew why and instinctively wanted to retract her pheromones.

“Don’t mind me,” Ji Shiyi said, her voice slightly hoarse. “Just focus on soothing it. I’ll go to my room.”

“Want me to untie your hands?”

Ji Shiyi walked over, crouched down, and undid the silk scarf tying Shu Yue to the chair.

At such close proximity, Ji Shiyi’s scent grew stronger.

Shu Yue saw how hard she was enduring.

Thinking of her role, she couldn’t help asking, “Miss Ji, do you need my help?”

Ji Shiyi looked up. Though instinctual desire tinged her eyes red, like blooming rouge, her pupils remained cold as the moon.

Ji Shiyi shook her head.

“Shu Yue, I don’t think you’d want that kind of help right now.”

Shu Yue didn’t understand her words until Ji Shiyi bent to pick up the fallen silk scarf, took the cat clinging to her, and prepared to return the scarf. As she approached the bedroom, soft whimpers came from behind the closed door.

Shu Yue froze in place.

The kitten grew clingier, its bottom securely held by her, its two paws wrapping around her neck, nearly digging its sharp claws into her skin like hooking prey.

The kitten’s soft head pressed fully against her neck, so close that Shu Yue could clearly feel its breath on her skin, even its faster-than-human heartbeat. A faint cat scent mixed with the omega pheromones spilling from the room.

Shiyi, unsatisfied with her restraint, kept acting spoiled, occasionally nudging her neck with its head, its slightly damp black nose rubbing and sniffing her skin.

Shu Yue felt helpless and conflicted.

She wanted to respond to Shiyi’s longing with pets, but she knew those sensations would reach Ji Shiyi.

Without Ji Shiyi’s consent, Shu Yue didn’t want to do anything offensive.

Yet, the omega pheromones from the room grew increasingly intense with restless emotions.

Shu Yue didn’t know exactly what was happening to the omega, but she instinctively wanted to do something for her.

After hesitating, mimicking how she first soothed Shiyi, Shu Yue wrapped the kitten in her pheromones again, reached out, and rubbed its cheek. Seeing the cat squint in pleasure, she applied a bit more pressure.

The omega’s pheromones surged.

Confirming Ji Shiyi’s restless state seemed to ease, Shu Yue deepened her care for Shiyi.

Her fingertips brushed the kitten’s flexible ears, pinched them lightly, and stroked along its fur.

In the room, Ji Shiyi raised a hand to cover her lips, the other hidden under the blanket.

The blanket wrinkled in layers.

No matter how she tried, what usually resolved quickly now lingered in her body, refusing to dissipate.

Through their connection, she felt every touch from Shu Yue—initially soothing, but gradually stoking a deeper thirst.

Her skin craved something desperately, like it needed water.

Finally, she stood from the bed.

Opening the door, omega pheromones hit Shu Yue.

Shu Yue didn’t need to look to know Ji Shiyi was near.

She turned her head.

Ji Shiyi leaned against the door, watching her.

Shu Yue murmured, “Miss Ji…”

Had her unsolicited comforting gone too far? Shu Yue hesitated, unsure if she should apologize, since Ji Shiyi disliked hearing “sorry.”

As she wavered, Ji Shiyi’s voice, laced with restraint and inquiry, spoke.

“You know what I was just doing, right?” Ji Shiyi asked calmly. “Shu Yue, are you still willing to help with this?”

The omega pheromones in the room vanished instantly.

Shu Yue realized Ji Shiyi didn’t want to influence her decision.

But the more Ji Shiyi acted this way, the harder it was for Shu Yue to refuse.

If anything, Ji Shiyi’s state was entirely due to her provocation. As an alpha, she should take responsibility.

But—

Shu Yue blushed and said, “Miss Ji, I’m willing to help, but I—I’m not very good at it.”

Ji Shiyi’s smile appeared, light and slow.

“I know,” she said. “It’s okay. I’ll teach you.”

She tilted her head, gesturing toward the room. “Want to shower?”

Shu Yue let out an “ah.”

She’d never experienced this. In every sense, she was a complete novice. She sensed what was about to happen differed from their last encounter at the hotel. Before, Shu Yue would never have stepped forward. But now, looking into Ji Shiyi’s eyes, she couldn’t say no.

Perhaps the omega’s pheromones stirred some instinct in her, or maybe earlier, when she agreed to stay, she vaguely anticipated what would follow.

Shu Yue felt she’d gained much from Ji Shiyi—be it the hefty boarding fee or other things. If the only thing Ji Shiyi needed was this kind of help…

Shu Yue soaked in the bathtub, stood up, and wiped off the water.

Taking a clean towel from the rack, she dried herself thoroughly, then slipped into the bathrobe Ji Shiyi had placed in the bathroom. She picked up her glasses, wiped the steam off the lenses with a tissue, and put them on.

After adjusting her wet hair in front of the mirror, she took a slight breath and stepped out.

In the room, Ji Shiyi sat on the small balcony, holding Shiyi, her fingertips idly stroking its soft fur. Seeing Shu Yue, she looked up, patted Shiyi’s bottom, and let it jump down.

Then Shu Yue watched Ji Shiyi walk toward her, step by step. She hadn’t noticed before, but now she suddenly felt Ji Shiyi resembled her cat in this way.

As Ji Shiyi drew closer, Shu Yue nervously pushed her glasses. “Miss Ji…”

“Your hair’s all wet,” Ji Shiyi said, lifting a strand. “Dry it?”

Shu Yue shook her head. “It’s fine, no bother, don’t worry about it.”

Ji Shiyi chuckled lightly. “You sure?”

Shu Yue nodded, looking at Ji Shiyi through her lenses, wondering where to start, why textbooks never mentioned this. She felt like a clueless student in an exam, staring blankly at the paper.

“Then play with Shiyi for a bit,” Ji Shiyi said, ruffling her hair. “I’ll take a shower too.”

Shu Yue’s tense thoughts relaxed, and she nodded, meeting the kitten’s gaze as it sat primly before her.

She crouched down and rubbed Shiyi’s head.

When Ji Shiyi returned, Shu Yue was still on the carpet, playing a tassel-grabbing game with Shiyi using the blanket’s fringe. Shu Yue waved the tassel, sometimes high, sometimes swaying. Shiyi followed her movements, raising its paws or stretching into a long strip.

After Shiyi missed again and meowed in frustration, Shu Yue couldn’t help but laugh.

As she prepared to coax Shiyi for another round, the kitten turned and ran off.

“Miss Ji—” Shu Yue’s easy smile faded.

Ji Shiyi approached, noticing her hair was still damp.

“Dry your hair,” Ji Shiyi said. “Or you’ll catch a cold.”

She grabbed the hairdryer from the bathroom, plugged it in by the bed, and had Shu Yue sit still while she blew her hair dry from the bed’s edge.

Warm air came from behind, strands of hair lifted and set down by Ji Shiyi’s fingers.

Shu Yue kept her head low.

“Almost done,” Ji Shiyi said, stopping the hairdryer. As she stood to put it away, Shu Yue gently held her wrist.

“I’ll do it,” Shu Yue said.

She unplugged the hairdryer, neatly coiled the cord, and stored it in the cabinet.

When she returned, Ji Shiyi patted the spot beside her.

Shu Yue sat down, unsure where to place her hands or feet, feeling absurdly clumsy.

“Miss Ji, can we start now?”

Shu Yue thought starting sooner would end this sooner, freeing her from this feeling of being roasted in a pan.

Ji Shiyi laughed at her words.

“Is being with me so hard?” Ji Shiyi asked.

Shu Yue shook her head quickly. “No, no. I’m just a bit lost.”

Ji Shiyi said, “Really?”

Shu Yue replied, “Really!”

Ji Shiyi said, “Then no rush. Let me hold you first.”

Her words fell, and Ji Shiyi opened her arms in a gentle, natural invitation.

Shu Yue paused, scooted closer, and entered Ji Shiyi’s embrace. Alongside a sense of calm came Ji Shiyi’s gradually spreading pheromones.

Shu Yue couldn’t hold back either, her alpha pheromones emerging too.

They mingled, just like she and Ji Shiyi now. Shu Yue’s head rested on Ji Shiyi’s right shoulder, close to the omega’s slightly right-shifted gland.

She instinctively licked her teeth.

Drawn closer, she buried her head deeper, sniffing Ji Shiyi’s neck.

Realizing what she’d done, Shu Yue felt Ji Shiyi’s arms tighten around her.

She looked up, wanting to see Ji Shiyi’s expression.

Through her glasses, the faint glimmer in Ji Shiyi’s eyes was clear.

Ji Shiyi raised a hand to touch Shu Yue’s glasses. “Take them off?”

Shu Yue hummed, removed them, and started to set them aside, but Ji Shiyi took them and placed them on the bedside shelf.

Throughout, Ji Shiyi never let go of her embrace.

Like something Shiyi would do.

Only then did Shu Yue notice the room was silent—no cat meows, no trace of the kitten’s presence.

She looked around.

Ji Shiyi noticed. “Looking for Shiyi?”

Shu Yue said, “It seems to be gone…”

Ji Shiyi replied, “Yes, I put it away.”

“Huh—?” Shu Yue’s eyes widened, curiosity sparked. “Put it away? How? I didn’t even notice…”

Ji Shiyi pinched her waist. “Miss Shu, are you sure you want to discuss this now?”

Omega pheromones enveloped her.

“I thought you’d be distracted with it around, but even without it, you’re distracted.”

Ji Shiyi’s gaze landed on Shu Yue’s lips.

“Focus?” She leaned closer, her voice soft.

Shu Yue pursed her lips, then leaned in, kissing Ji Shiyi’s cheek. Ji Shiyi paused, her lips curving, encouragement clear in her eyes.

Pheromones gently enveloped her again.

Shu Yue continued, her cautious pecks moving from Ji Shiyi’s cheek to her neck.

As she neared the collar of Ji Shiyi’s nightgown, she hesitated.

Unsure whether to proceed or if Ji Shiyi wanted it, Ji Shiyi suddenly pushed her onto the bed.

“I like this slow pace, but my patience is running out,” Ji Shiyi said, leaning down to kiss Shu Yue’s forehead, her fingertip brushing Shu Yue’s lips. “Shu Yue, want to try a kiss?”

Before she finished, Shu Yue’s lips parted slightly, grazing her fingertip.

Ji Shiyi chuckled, sliding her fingertip in, teasing Shu Yue’s tongue, then brushing her teeth. Lingering at the alpha’s sharp canines, she felt Shu Yue’s pheromones surge, realizing Ji Shiyi had been holding back.

Shu Yue lightly bit her fingertip, finally letting her pheromones pour out unrestrained.

The omega’s pheromones melted instantly.

Overwhelming.

Ji Shiyi pulled her hand back, pinched Shu Yue’s cheeks, leaned down, and indulged her craving, kissing those soft lips.

First, simple touches, peck after peck. When Shu Yue’s eyes grew hazy and her body leaned closer, Ji Shiyi slipped her tongue in.

Entwining with Shu Yue’s, guiding her, pulling her into her rhythm.

In the room, their pheromones intertwined fiercely, just like them.