Transmigrated as the Imperial Princess's Scumbag Alpha Ex-Wife - Chapter 48

The string stretched to its breaking point snapped with a sharp crack.

In that instant, Zhu Yu’s guilt and panic plummeted into an abyss.

She had believed that after signing the divorce annulment, their relationship would transcend a cold contractual arrangement, becoming a marriage recognized by law and vows.

She could openly call her wife, confidently claim her status as family, and no longer live in constant fear of being cast aside. Everything seemed to be progressing toward a brighter future.

Marriage, she thought, should be a sacred, almost divine bond.

But all they had signed was a flimsy piece of paper.

Nothing had changed. Nothing had come to life. The entire universe remained silent.

Zhu Shuzhou’s icy, matter-of-fact tone and unnervingly calm demeanor were like a bucket of ice water dousing Zhu Yu’s heartfelt sincerity, extinguishing it with a painful hiss.

Zhu Shuzhou sought a secure relationship based on the agreement, valuing only the outcome. Zhu Yu, however, stubbornly clung to the desire to seek, experience, and feel the full spectrum of emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—vibrating within her chest.

Even pain, even agony…

These were the vivid, burning emotions you gave me.

Looking down at the pale blue eyes beneath her, Zhu Yu felt for the first time that the sky could be so vast and desolate.

A sudden, almost destructive impulse surged through her. She wanted to disrupt this frozen pool of stillness, shatter Zhu Shuzhou’s composed facade, and force out the raw truth hidden beneath. She longed to touch that heart Zhu Shuzhou never revealed, to confirm whether it beat for her too.

Not just an agreement. Not always calm.

Zhu Yu’s fingers tightened sharply, forcefully gripping Zhu Shuzhou’s slender wrist and pinning him against the pillow. His snow-white hair, disheveled and spread across the pillow, trembled slightly with his suppressed breaths, like melting snow seeping with crystalline beads of sweat.

The rigid lines of Zhu Yu’s black military pants pressed against the pure white sheets, creating a sinuous curve.

Sensing danger, the emerald vines instinctively coiled around Zhu Yu’s tensed forearm, but they ultimately couldn’t withstand the Alpha’s overwhelming strength.

Zhu Yu’s bloodstained lips crashed down, biting hard enough to elicit a muffled groan of pain from Zhu Shuzhou. The corners of his pale eyes flushed with a thin, passionate red, and a vivid crimson mark appeared on the delicate skin of his wrist, stark against his cool complexion, even more striking than the swaying red mole.

Even like this… is it okay?

Sister, answer me.

“Mmm…!”

Zhu Shuzhou’s restrained wrists trembled slightly. As an Omega, her skin was exceptionally sensitive. Before this moment, she had never been treated so roughly, every inch of her senses amplified to the extreme.

Yet, even amidst this aggressive suppression, the girl continued to release her warm Mental Power without reservation. The healing energy flowed gently, intertwining subtle stings and numbness into an indescribable pleasure.

She even obediently suppressed her Pheromone, the warm, woody scent hidden beneath her skin like a clear, odorless spring, allowing the Rose fragrance to invade freely.

Zhu Shuzhou’s unfocused gaze gradually sharpened. The girl’s kissing technique was still raw but forceful, improving at an astonishing rate, almost stealing her breath.

Their little fingers intertwined, arms wrapped around each other, Zhu Yu buried her burning face in Zhu Shuzhou’s neck. Hot tears rolled down, making Zhu Shuzhou tremble. The teardrops slid over her cool collarbone, as if falling into a chilly lake.

“Sister, Sister…” the girl murmured in a choked whisper, her voice echoing in the silent air.

Her beautiful collarbone cradled her tears.

Zhu Shuzhou was momentarily stunned.

Zhu Yu seems to be… unconsciously mimicking her.

The kiss felt intimately familiar.

Unsure of what to do, Zhu Yu tried to replicate her lessons, probing repeatedly from different angles. Her sharp canine teeth pressed against Zhu Shuzhou’s lips, yet she couldn’t bring herself to bite down. Instead, she viciously smeared the beads of bl00d that welled up onto Zhu Shuzhou’s mouth.

Their breaths mingled, damp and warm, filling the air with a faint, sweet metallic tang.

The delicate collarbones couldn’t hold back the tears, which trickled down, soaking the tangled strands of hair that fell into Zhu Shuzhou’s collar.

In a daze, Zhu Shuzhou suddenly recalled a long-ago afternoon.

To maintain strict control over their experiments, the Academy of Sciences rarely taught the girls any formal knowledge. Had Zhu Shuzhou not arrived, these children wouldn’t even have been allowed breaks or outings.

Their first lessons were always about obedience, endurance, and honesty—all for the sake of experimental results.

Honesty and kindness were merely tools for domestication. The only difference between them and lab rats or experimental dogs lay in the fact that children trained from infancy were more obedient, easier to communicate with, and could be coaxed to follow Researchers with a few words of praise.

They were vessels carrying the will of the upper echelons, with no need for individual selves.

Dressed in identical white uniforms, their faces wore the same vacant expressions. Even when permitted to stroll in the courtyard, they never strayed a step beyond the Researcher-designated areas.

Only that child dared to mingle with the crowd, secretly observing Zhu Shuzhou and quietly mimicking her every move.

Report: They pose a potential threat.

Meizi frowned and summoned the child for questioning, demanding why she was acting this way.

“Because… she’s beautiful, and I like her…” the child mumbled, scratching her head bashfully.

In that barren, gray world, Zhu Shuzhou was like a fairy tale come to life. Her cascading silver hair shimmered softer than moonlight, and every gesture she made was graceful and refined.

The child tilted her head, gazing at Zhu Shuzhou with bright, crystalline eyes for a long moment before summoning the courage to ask, “Sister, what are you looking at?”

Zhu Shuzhou was reading a book—no, not just any book, but a thick, hardcover classic that looked like a stone in the child’s eyes, peeking out from between the pages.

Beside the book sat a cup of Hand-Ground Coffee, its porcelain rim reflecting a shimmering pale blue. A Blue-and-White Porcelain Cup held freshly baked brown cookies, and a small tower of snow-white Sugar Cubes stood nearby.

The little girl stood on tiptoe, her eyes fixed on the plate of sugar cubes. Tilting her head, she asked softly, “Sister, what are these? Are they yummy?”

Her gaze was like that of a stray puppy begging for food. Zhu Shuzhou paused for a moment before pushing the entire plate of cookies toward her.

The girl took a tiny bite. Having never tasted anything so delicious before, her dark eyes nearly welled up with tears as she stole glances at the stacked sugar cubes.

So small, so shiny, with sharp edges… so pretty… Just like the beautiful sister in front of her.

She instinctively licked her lips. Finally, the ice-cold Princess couldn’t bear it any longer. She lifted the girl onto a chair and, with a slight lift of her chin, said, “Eat.”

The little girl cheered and grabbed a sugar cube, popping it into her mouth.

So sweet…!

Sugar intake could affect experimental results, so they weren’t allowed to eat such things.

Besides, sugar cubes weren’t meant to be eaten like that—it was too crude. Melno’s expression darkened, and she was about to intervene when Zhu Shuzhou, resting her chin in her hand, stopped her with a gesture. She simply asked softly, “Is it good?”

“Yummy!” It was the sweetest, most delicious thing she had ever tasted in her life!

“Sister, you eat too!” The child grabbed a sugar cube and held it out to Zhu Shuzhou.

Zhu Shuzhou glanced down at the slightly grimy hand and politely declined. “Sister doesn’t want any. You can have them all.”

Unexpectedly, the little girl stared at her blankly, a strange light flickering in her eyes. Suddenly, she burst into tears and threw herself into Zhu Shuzhou’s arms, clinging tightly and refusing to let go.

The tears soaked into Zhu Shuzhou’s collar, burning her skin. Melno tried to pull the child away, but she wouldn’t budge.

From that day on, a small shadow began to follow Zhu Shuzhou’s solitary figure through the Academy of Sciences.

The child appeared not only during breaks but also during Zhu Shuzhou’s private tutoring sessions.

Like a keen-nosed puppy, she always found a way to track Zhu Shuzhou down.

At first, Zhu Shuzhou found it annoying, but she gradually grew accustomed to it. Occasionally, she would even ask, “Where’s the little one?”

Their paths should never have crossed so frequently, but Zhu Shuzhou’s status made it impossible for anyone to intervene.

A researcher with a high ponytail once confided in Zhu Shuzhou, “It’s cruel to give experimental subjects the ability to think and expose them to a wider world.”

They were destined to belong to different worlds.

But at that time, Zhu Shuzhou wasn’t inclined to heed such advice.

Zhu Yu pressed her feverish forehead against Zhu Shuzhou’s shoulder. In the brief moment of the woman’s distraction, strands of warm light quietly seeped into the depths of Zhu Yu’s consciousness, coalescing into a drop of golden liquid that sank into her flushed skin.

Zhu Yu had grown up too quickly. From clumsy imitation to kisses that left Zhu Shuzhou weak-kneed, it had all happened in an instant. Caught off guard, Zhu Shuzhou inadvertently allowed that wisp of warm Mental Power to flow into her Divine Consciousness Sea, where it silently dissolved, scattering like stardust across the sky—snap.

In the darkness, Zhu Yu glimpsed Zhu Shuzhou’s thoughts for a fleeting moment. The silhouette of a young girl flashed through her mind.

Within a single breath, Zhu Shuzhou snapped back to awareness, her fingers tightening as she ruthlessly reclaimed control.

“You…” Zhu Yu gasped, the abrupt expulsion of Mental Power sending a sharp, piercing pain through her consciousness, jolting her awake.

Who was that child…?

Who was Zhu Shuzhou thinking of while kissing her?

With a forceful upward thrust of her knee, the girl abandoned all restraint, biting down on Zhu Shuzhou’s lips until the stinging bl00d mingled. The woman’s slender legs trembled uncontrollably.

“Don’t think about anyone else…!”

The girl, now in complete control, let out a wounded whimper, like a small animal whose territory had been invaded. She forcefully pinned the woman against her chest, kissing her from her lips to her damp neck, deliberately trailing kisses downward to leave a string of marks.

She had to seize her full attention, fill her every thought, and saturate her with her own scent… She must be going mad.

No Marking.

Zhu Yu greedily devoured the sweet rose fragrance between their lips, nearly frantic as she poured her warmth into Zhu Shuzhou’s frail body, suppressing the woman’s rare, trembling whimpers.

Zhu Shuzhou’s knee had somehow hooked around Zhu Yu’s, pressing against the girl’s taut abdomen. Her usually cool voice was now hoarse and unrecognizable as she frowned and whispered Zhu Yu’s name, “Zhu Yu…”

“Slow down a little. You can’t handle this.”

Even at this point, the woman retained a sliver of clarity. Her icy fingers gently patted the girl’s feverish glands in a soothing gesture.

The girl, flailing wildly, looked utterly aggrieved, like a child whose candy had been snatched away.

In the next instant, Zhu Yu fell into a gentle embrace.

The faint rose scent emanating from Zhu Shuzhou enveloped her, tender and calming, radiating a reassuring strength that miraculously soothed her frantic, despairing emotions.

Regaining her composure, Zhu Yu lowered her head, gripping her wrist tightly, her nails digging into her skin. She didn’t want Zhu Shuzhou to see her disheveled, out-of-control state. Her voice muffled, she whispered, “I’m sorry…”

What have I done? How could I treat Zhu Shuzhou like this?!

Though the woman showed no signs of disgust or pain, she brushed the back of her hand against the spot Zhu Yu had kissed. Her pale blue eyes lifted slightly, drawing back from the lingering passion to reveal a hint of confusion.

She couldn’t understand why Zhu Yu was crying so bitterly, just as she had never understood why that child had suddenly burst into tears years ago.

Why would someone cry when they should be happy?

Ruyu gently wiped away Zhu Yu’s tears with her jade-like fingertips, then pinched her tear-reddened nose. “If you don’t like it, we’ll find another way.”

Zhu Yu blinked, her tear-blurred eyes lifting to meet Ruyu’s. “I do like it…!” she declared loudly.

Zhu Shuzhou breathed softly, gazing at her with confusion. “Then why are you crying?”

“……”

Because I’m jealous.

How embarrassing.

Maybe it’s the hormones or the geomagnetic storm… No, I shouldn’t make excuses.

After a moment of silence, Zhu Yu whispered, “I feel like you like her more.”

“How could that be?” Zhu Shuzhou frowned. “My feelings for her are purely out of… responsibility.”

“What responsibility?” Zhu Yu bit her lip, clinging stubbornly to the lingering fear in her heart. “We’re legally married now! What’s yours is mine, and your responsibilities are mine too!”

“Besides, I even said who it was! You knew immediately!”

“She seems… special to you, different from others. I’m just curious…” Zhu Yu took a deep breath.

Unable to hear her own voice, Zhu Yu was completely unaware of how bitter her feigned maturity and nonchalant tone sounded.

She turned her head slightly, her wet eyes pleading: Please, tell me. I’m about to explode with worry!

Seeing Zhu Yu’s persistence, the smile gradually faded from Zhu Shuzhou’s lips.

She had no desire to speak of that past to anyone, nor was she accustomed to offering explanations. Those dark memories should have died long ago, buried with the dust of forgotten years.

But Zhu Yu’s eyes were too bright, clear and stubborn, like a mirror reflecting her soul. For a moment, they overlapped with the gaze of the child from her memories. A sharp pain suddenly gripped her heart.

She stared into those eyes.

“…Just a debt I owe.”

In the brief silence, only their mingled breaths could be heard.

Zhu Shuzhou paused, her bl00d-stained lips trembling. With a blank expression, she spoke almost self-destructively:

“What if… I’m the one who ruined her?”