Willing to Be for Her - Chapter 19

Luo Xuan stared at the snow mountain rose, its petals still tightly furled, on her desk, momentarily unable to process what Ning Yiqing was saying.

“See the sea?”

“Yes, I happen to have some free time, and the flight is already booked,” Ning Yiqing replied calmly, slowly turning the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand. “We’ll leave later tonight, just in time to catch the sunrise over the ocean.”

“Okay,” Luo Xuan agreed, though she had expected Ning Yiqing to discuss the permanent marking with her in detail.

The idea of going to see the sea together felt like a miracle, something she dared not believe would actually happen.

Ning Yiqing saw the joy and longing in the girl’s eyes. The cherry scent in the air intensified slightly, as if her gloomy mood were beginning to clear.

*It must just be the pheromones,* the woman thought, narrowing her eyes and convincing herself she had found a rational explanation.

“Your clothes are all packed. Is there anything else you want to bring?” she asked, her gaze distant, like a misty haze.

“My DSLR camera. I’ll go get it from my room now.”

Ning Yiqing nodded, her face as still as water, her voice remaining gentle. “Go ahead. Sister Zhou made chicken and bamboo shoot soup and crab roe soup dumplings. Be sure to eat plenty later.”

After a six-hour flight, they arrived in Hailing, a coastal town, at just past 2 a.m.

A biting wind swept through the airport, carrying the salty, fishy scent of the sea. The damp air rushed into their lungs, bringing a sense of liberating suffocation.

Ning Yiqing’s long, soft, jet-black hair was neatly tucked into a dark green cashmere scarf. Her flawless, porcelain-white skin peeked through the fabric, her slender neck a study in elegance.

A sleek black Porsche stood silently by the roadside. As they approached, the car doors slowly swung upward.

Once they were inside, the driver thoughtfully lowered the partition, creating two separate, private spaces.

The car’s subtle, calming fragrance filled the air. Ning Yiqing casually unwound her scarf, her lashes drooping to cast a faint blue shadow across her cheek.

The past two days of relentless work had left her with barely any rest. Arriving in this unfamiliar town, she felt an unexpected sense of relaxation.

Though the backseat was spacious, Luo Xuan could clearly sense her own tension. Due to their permanent bond, they were acutely sensitive to each other’s pheromones.

In such a confined space, the scent of White Sandalwood seemed to permeate every nerve in her body, invading her senses through the very air.

The small town was peaceful and beautiful, with the rhythmic sound of waves and the distant glow of fishing boats and a lighthouse. A misty haze, the color of hazy blue, hung in the air.

Luo Xuan pointed her camera out the window, avoiding the awkward atmosphere caused by their pheromones. She occasionally pressed the shutter, capturing fleeting night scenes.

After twenty minutes of shooting, Luo Xuan twisted her stiff neck. Half her face was hidden behind strands of silvery-white hair as she fidgeted with her fingers. Finally, she pulled a hand warmer from her pocket and offered it to Ning Yiqing.

“A hand warmer. It’s specially for keeping your hands warm.”

Ning Yiqing was slightly surprised, not expecting Luo Xuan to be so perceptive, noticing that her hands were so cold even the heater hadn’t warmed them yet.

When their fingers briefly brushed as Ning Yiqing took the hand warmer, a jolt of electricity filled the intimate space, accompanied by the soft, restrained sound of their breathing.

“What did you photograph?” Ning Yiqing asked, suppressing her breath. Her usually composed face was strained with suppressed emotion as she stared absently at the thin calluses on Luo Xuan’s fingers, recalling the secret heat that calluses had once roused.

Luo Xuan frowned slightly, hastily bringing up the photos as if to hide something, her body involuntarily turning toward Ning Yiqing.

The pheromones at the nape of her neck began to release uncontrollably. Only when Ning Yiqing leaned closer to look at the photos with Luo Xuan did she realize what a foolish decision she had made.

As the car moved, her leg unconsciously brushed against Luo Xuan, completely unaware of how dangerous this seemingly innocent gesture was.

Unlike that night of confusion and loss of control, this time they were falling into temptation with clear minds.

The kisses deepened uncontrollably, the Alpha’s touch soothing her dew-like lips. The intertwining of tongues brought a flood of wetness and a tingling sensation.

In that hidden place, a clear stream trickled, dampening the fabric.

Their increasingly reckless behavior finally subsided when the car came to a stop.

Ning Yiqing readjusted her scarf, burying half her face in the cashmere, leaving only her aloof, indifferent eyes visible. The beauty mark at the corner of her eye added a touch of allure.

“Can we have mint ice cream?” Luo Xuan’s silver hair fluttered in the misty wind.

“You really want some?”

The woman’s eyes softened with a gentle smile as Luo Xuan lowered her gaze and nodded. “I like to eat it when I’m watching the sea.”

Ning Yiqing glanced at Lan Leren, who understood immediately and signaled that she would arrange it right away.

The hotel was located near the coast, its elegant, pristine white villas forming irregular geometric shapes.

Their room on the third floor featured a massive arched floor-to-ceiling window on the balcony side. Ivory-colored curtains billowed gently, offering a view of the distant dark blue cliffs and the sea.

On the solid wood table in the corner of the room sat a pot of white camellias in full bloom. Dust bags and paper bags bearing logos were piled up at the table’s edge, along with even some diving equipment.

The walk-in closet housed several portable steam garment steamers. They politely declined the staff’s offer to help with ironing, and finally, the room fell silent.

Now, Luo Xuan was just a few hundred meters from the real ocean. Her heart swelled with a sense of vastness and tranquility, a faint feeling of contentment rising within her.

After changing into comfortable, breathable slippers, Ning Yiqing, her eyes still tinged with a faint blush but her gaze already regaining its composure, said, “I’m going to take a bath.”

Luo Xuan lowered her head, too shy to meet Ning Yiqing’s eyes, and murmured, “Okay.” She remained standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, her gaze fixed on the lighthouse and rocky reefs in the distance.

Like a child, she stood in the cold wind on the balcony, observing the gravel paths in the hotel garden and the meticulously cultivated flowers: sage, hyacinths, anemones, and acacia.

It was only when Ning Yiqing’s slightly nasal voice drifted through the wind that Luo Xuan stirred.

“Xiao Xuan, could you get my phone?”

Ning Yiqing’s phone lay on the cherry wood side table by the bed, currently ringing with an incoming call. Luo Xuan walked over, picked it up, and saw the caller ID: “Dr. Si.”

The call automatically disconnected after ringing for too long. Immediately afterward, a text message arrived:

Dr. Si: Miss Ning, your mark cleansing surgery is scheduled for twenty days from now. Does that work for you?

Mark cleansing surgery… This meant Ning Yiqing intended to permanently erase the mark between them. The procedure was excruciatingly painful, with minimal effect from anesthesia, akin to the agony of having rotten flesh removed with a dull knife.

After the cleansing, she would never be able to mark Ning Yiqing again.

The woman would rather endure extreme pain and danger than remain marked.

Yes, this was Ning Yiqing’s freedom and right—to not be bound by a permanent mark, to not become her Omega.

Luo Xuan stood frozen at the bathroom door, unable to move or think, her face blank.

Ning Yiqing’s long hair was half-wet, misty steam rising from below, obscuring her unreadable expression.

After reading the text message, she sighed softly, her voice husky and her lips tinted with a gentle color. “Xiao Xuan, it was a mistake.”

Luo Xuan suddenly felt she might never see the ocean that was so close.

“This is for the best for both of us,” Ning Yiqing said.