The Scummy Alpha Is Deliberately Marked by the Femme Fatale - Chapter 11

Yolo: Yeah, yeah, just don’t end up asking my brother for help later.

[Li Cen’s faint, teasing smile is making me think of very nice things.]

[LMAO, can the production team please leak Li Cen’s private chat logs? I need to see this.]

Fortunately, the aquarium was nearby. The two got out of the car and headed toward the entrance.

Yan Qi slipped her arm through Li Cen’s. Li Cen glanced at her in surprise—her mind still replaying the accidental kiss from the car. Heat rushed to her head, and she quickly turned away, refusing to look at Yan Qi.

As they walked inside, a staff member tapped lightly on the glass. Li Cen looked up.

It was an Omega dressed as a mermaid. Snowy white curls drifted in the water, and her eyes shimmered with flecks of gold.

[Shame… they’re just people in costumes.]

[If animal differentiation were real, we’d have total chaos all over again.]

[God, I want to see a real mermaid Omega.]

[Give it a few centuries—might still happen.]

[Li Cen’s soul is about to get stolen by that Omega—look at those lovestruck eyes.]

“She’s pretty?”

Yan Qi curled her lips, giving the staffer a slow once-over before making the jab.

At the same time, her fingers hooked Li Cen’s tie and gave a sharp tug, forcing her to bow her head and meet Yan Qi’s gaze.

[Ahhh, Qiqi’s jealous! Li Cen, say it—say she’s the prettiest!]

[Wife’s mad—comfort her!]

[Knowing Li Cen, she won’t say Yan Qi is pretty.]

[Don’t do this, you emotionally constipated menace.]

Li Cen’s eyes fixed on Yan Qi’s lips, her mind still looping the kiss in the car. The tips of her ears flushed red.

On impulse, she wrapped her arms around Yan Qi, closing the distance. She pecked Yan Qi lightly on the cheek, then buried her face in the curve of Yan Qi’s neck, rubbing against her.

The words came out soft, almost squeezed from between her teeth, carrying a faint hint of something… more.

“You’re the prettiest.”

[Excuse me??? Straight to the big guns?]

[What just happened?]

[Calm down, it’s just one of Li Cen’s mission tasks—ten seconds of hugging. Big deal.]

[Uh-huh, and that little peck? That came out way too naturally.]

Yan Qi froze at the sudden onslaught of affection, mind blank. By the time she caught up, her arms had already circled Li Cen, letting her nuzzle into her neck.

What the hell am I doing? It’s gotta be the pheromones—only reason I’d hug her like this. Yeah. That’s it…

Why am I like this? If I were a Beta, I wouldn’t be drawn to her scent at all…

What do I do? I can’t just keep standing here like this.

Someone save me. This is urgent!

“Does the little puppy like holding me this much?”

Yan Qi said it outright. Li Cen slowly let go, her mind still a scrambled mess. Almost without thinking, she reached for Yan Qi’s hand—then quickly let go.

But Yan Qi simply caught her hand again, firm and unyielding, leading her toward the next exhibit.

[Dominant little wifey and her kept canary CEO.]

[If Li Cen wasn’t an Alpha, I’d root for Yan Qi topping her.]

[I’m starving—could you two maybe kiss again, just because?]

[Better yet, a one-minute deep kiss. Not that I want to see it, just… y’know, for the audience.]

[The thirst in your comment is blinding me.]

She must have put some kind of spell on me. No other reason I’d be this hopelessly taken with her.

Yeah, that’s it. Yan Qi’s doing this on purpose—trying to make me fall for her so she can crush me later. Vicious woman. I won’t take the bait.

…I won’t…

“You want some?”

They were standing at a snack stand. Yan Qi was eating a plain ice cream cone. When she noticed Li Cen watching but saying nothing, she asked lazily.

“Uh… yeah.”

Li Cen simply opened her mouth and bit off nearly half of the cone. Yan Qi stared at what was left in her hand.

Meanwhile, Li Cen was busy imagining whatever evil scheme Yan Qi might be cooking up.

[Did she seriously just chomp half of Yan Qi’s ice cream?]

[If my partner did that, I’d just shove the rest in her mouth.]

[Yan Qi’s face right now is priceless.]

Li Cen glanced at Yan Qi’s cheek.

Tsk, how does someone eat ice cream without getting any on their face?

[Why is Li Cen staring at her like that?]

[She’s thinking something dirty, isn’t she?]

[You’re plotting a new kind of play, aren’t you?]

Okay, hugging was easy, but how do I pull off “wipe her face” and “kiss her” without making it look forced? If I push too far, He-jie and her fans will eat me alive.

“Something on my face?” Yan Qi asked.

“Uh… no,” Li Cen replied.

God, someone help me. How do I lead into this?

“Here—finish it.” Yan Qi said.
“You’re not eating?” Li Cen asked.

“No. You already ate most of it. What’s left for me, the cone?” Yan Qi stated.

Li Cen looked guilty. She’d just… gotten carried away.

It was her brother’s fault, really. When their parents bought them ice cream as kids, he’d take both sticks out of spite, so she’d just eat them both in one go out of pure pettiness.

“Uh… I didn’t mean to. I’ll buy you another,” Li Cen stated.

“No need. Don’t like it,” Yan Qi replied.

Don’t like it? Then why’d you buy it? Waste of food.

Li Cen finished the cone in a few bites, then pulled a packet of wet wipes from her pocket and handed it over.

[Wait. Why does an Alpha carry wet wipes around?]

[???]

[What is happening? Why does she have those in her pocket?]

“Here. Wipe your hands.” Li Cen said.

Yan Qi took the wipe, cleaned her hands, tossed the trash, and jerked her chin for Li Cen to follow.

After the aquarium show, they passed a small booth. The staffer spotted their matching outfits and greeted them eagerly.

“Couples who kiss for ten seconds get a pair of pufferfish keychains. Want to try?”

You. Are. My. Hero.

“Uh… no—”

Before Yan Qi could refuse, Li Cen jumped in. “Sure. We’ve already slept together—kissing once shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

[EXCUSE ME???]

[Wait—so the mark wasn’t an accident? They hooked up??]

[WHAT?? WHY?? Can we get a replay of that night??]

[Old married couple energy. They’re just rubbing it in at this point.]

[Where are the Li Cen × Fu Ting shippers now?]

[Even the main CP just confirmed it’s Yan Qi—consider yourselves slapped.]

…

Yan Qi tightened her hold on Li Cen’s arm, lips twitching, and pinched the flesh of her arm hard.

Li Cen sucked in a sharp breath but kept smiling.

“Well, since you’ve said it, I suppose I can oblige.”

Yan Qi forced a small smile, tugged on Li Cen’s tie, and kissed her as Li Cen bent down.

Her lips tasted faintly of lychee and rose. Without thinking, Li Cen wrapped an arm around Yan Qi’s waist, drawing her closer.

Drawn by her scent, she tightened her hold, then slid a hand to the back of Yan Qi’s neck, tilting her head back for a deeper, more commanding kiss.

“Ten seconds—”

The staffer’s voice faltered, cheeks burning as they watched.

[The show’s really going this far??]

[Real couples are the best to ship.]

[Where are the Fu Ting stans now? Cat got your tongue?]

Yan Qi was breathless, digging her nails into Li Cen’s arm.

Li Cen bit her lip in retaliation, breaking the skin to reveal tender pink flesh.

Yan Qi shoved her away, one hand clutching her lips, head turned aside.

The warmth in Li Cen’s arms faded, replaced by a lingering heat. She looked at her own hands, then at Yan Qi—eyes full of reluctant longing, like something precious had been taken from her.

[She looks like she’s about to break.]

[Li family’s twin crybaby tops, lol.]

[Will Yan Qi comfort her? I wanna see.]

[Maybe? They are marked, after all…]

Yan Qi gritted her teeth, loosening Li Cen’s tie before unbuttoning the top two buttons of her shirt, exposing her collarbone—and the bell collar at her throat. The little bell jingled crisply as Yan Qi toyed with it.

Hooking a finger through the collar, she yanked Li Cen’s head down until their eyes met. Then she left a bite mark on her neck, gaze heated, watching her prey.

[They’re really going this far??]

[The bell jingles! The bell jingles!!]

[Can’t imagine what they get up to in the bedroom. Bleeds nose]

[Honestly… I’d watch.]

[Do something else ridiculous right in front of me, please.]

[The thirst is audible from here.]

[Show us the rope too, while you’re at it.]

“Ah… I wasn’t—”

“This is when you shut up.”

Yan Qi brushed the back of her hand over her kiss-reddened lips, raising an eyebrow at Li Cen. For a split second, panic flickered in her eyes—but fortunately, Li Cen didn’t catch the brief shadow of regret hidden there.