Chapter 30 p1
On the screen, Xu Jinnan’s delicate face slowly approached. Her red lipstick and narrow eyes, with their deep brown pupils, were as cold and alluring as the deep ocean at night.
She narrowed her eyes at the camera, as if seeing the person behind the screen, then the video feed went black.
“Fuck, she found it.”
Song Ronghui exhaled, flicking ash from her cigarette. “It was so well hidden. I even checked it myself. How did she find it?”
“Was there only one? No backup?”
“No. I underestimated her. I thought it was foolproof. But don’t you think this is even stranger? When did Xu Jinnan become so perceptive? And the way she looks at me… I can’t explain it…” Song Ronghui chuckled, as if finding the thought absurd. “It’s like she’s been possessed, isn’t it?”
A woman’s voice came through the speaker on the table. “Don’t say such things. If this fails, you don’t want anyone tracing it back to you…”
“Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of the waiter. And that other Omega is Han Hui’s woman. He prepared the room. I just had someone distract him before he could go in. They won’t be able to trace it back to me.”
Song Ronghui stood up and walked over to the window, pushing it open. The warm night air brushed against her face. “What a shame. Such a perfect plan, wasted.”
It had been a near S-class Omega.
Even Shen Shu, an S-class, had reacted. If Xu Jinnan was an Omega, she wouldn’t have escaped.
And if, as Yin Xue suspected, she was an Alpha with active pheromones, she would have been even more vulnerable.
Two desirable Omegas in heat, right there for the taking…
Any Alpha would have succumbed.
“It’s your fault, isn’t it?” the woman’s voice said accusingly.
Song Ronghui chuckled, trying to placate her. “But you’ll find out what you want to know tonight. There are no other guests on this floor, and no one will be in the courtyard for the next half hour. Unless… Xu Jinnan jumps out the window.”
“Good…”
“After we find out if she’s an Alpha or an Omega, what then? What do you plan to do?” She hadn’t explicitly stated her intentions. Yin Xue was in prison; even if they found out, it wouldn’t change anything for her.
As for Song Ronghui, she was helping partly to please Yin Xue, and partly out of curiosity.
And perhaps a touch of schadenfreude, considering Xu Jinnan’s usual arrogance.
She secretly hoped Xu Jinnan was a dysfunctional Omega.
An Omega who boasted about dominating other Omegas, leaving them bedridden for days, but was actually impotent and incapable of being marked.
How ironic would that be?
The thought was satisfying.
Unaware of Song Ronghui’s thoughts, Yin Xue replied, “She ruined my life. Don’t I deserve to know the truth about her? I don’t just want to know what she is; I want to know everything about her. Ronghui, I can’t let this go. I was with her for so many years, and this is how it ends. She destroyed me, and I’ll destroy her!”
Song Ronghui didn’t say anything.
She knew Yin Xue’s current state was driven by a mixture of hatred and love for Xu Jinnan.
She had always known Yin Xue loved Xu Jinnan, which was why, despite her own feelings for Yin Xue, and despite her intense jealousy, she had never interfered.
But she had been secretly pleased when she learned about Xu Jinnan’s marriage. She knew Yin Xue, possessive as she was, wouldn’t tolerate it.
As expected, they had quickly fallen out.
But she hadn’t anticipated Xu Jinnan’s ruthlessness, completely cutting ties with Yin Xue… leading to the incident at the Emperor Hotel.
It was only then that Yin Xue had finally turned her attention to Song Ronghui.
Song Ronghui poured herself a glass of wine and finished it in one gulp.
She could play around with Yin Xue, but there was no future between them. She knew that.
She also knew that Yin Xue’s actions would eventually lead to trouble.
If Xu Jinnan found out about her involvement, she wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate, and even the Song family might not be able to protect her.
Listening to Yin Xue’s words, she had briefly considered whether to save herself or drown with her.
“Ronghui, when will you come visit me?” Yin Xue asked.
Song Ronghui smiled wryly. It was easy to jump into the water, but difficult to climb back out.
Why did someone like her, a scumbag, have a heart capable of love?
She shouldn’t, didn’t deserve to, but she couldn’t help it.
“I’ll come when this is over.”
Meanwhile, in another building, Han Wenling sat with her legs crossed, her light purple fingernails tapping rhythmically on the polished wooden desk.
A man dressed as a waiter stood a meter away.
“Who told you to lure them there?”
The waiter, his face pale and covered in sweat, didn’t dare tell the truth, remembering the other person’s terrifying presence.
Han Wenling waited a few seconds, then stopped tapping. “Let me guess.” She named someone.
The waiter remained silent.
Han Wenling took a sip of wine from the glass her secretary had handed her. “Perhaps you’re not aware, but I have very little patience. If something were to happen to you, do you think that person would protect you?”
The waiter gritted his teeth. “If I tell you, I’ll be in trouble either way.”
“There’s a difference. If you don’t tell me, you’ll be in trouble now. Believe me?”
The waiter, a Beta, couldn’t withstand her Alpha pressure. He looked up.
“It wasn’t Young Master Han who told me to lure them to the room. It was Second Miss Xu…”
Han Wenling raised an eyebrow. “Xu Li?”
She picked up a tablet from her desk. “Did she also ask you to install the hidden cameras?”
“Yes, but she said she didn’t want to watch it. She just wanted a few… compromising photos. She said she would send them to Young Master Han after confirming they were… suitable.”
“Suitable for what?”
The waiter stammered, “A… a threesome…”
Han Wenling simply said, “Oh.” Xu Li, despite being Xu Jinnan’s older sister, was a fastidious person. But only when it came to physical cleanliness.
Her methods were far from clean.
“If Young Master Han finds out, he’ll definitely confront Xu Jinnan. How does that benefit the Xu family?” her secretary asked, puzzled.
Han Wenling looked at the screen, smiling faintly. “Two idiots causing trouble doesn’t reflect on the Xu or Han families, does it?”
Neither Xu Tao nor the Han patriarch would care, and there wouldn’t be any negative publicity. The only ones affected would be Xu Jinnan and Han Hui’s image in the eyes of their elders.
Xu Li likely just wanted to ruin Xu Jinnan’s reputation, just like Han Wenfang always tried to find fault with Han Wenling.
“All this effort just for that? Isn’t she afraid Xu Jinnan will retaliate?”
Han Wenling looked at the waiter for a moment, then dismissed him.
“Do you think Han Wenfang is afraid of me?” she asked, her lips curving into a smile. “There might be others involved, each with their own motives, or perhaps there’s something we don’t know. It doesn’t matter… as long as it doesn’t affect the Han family’s interests, we don’t care what they do. Let him go.”
“What about room 209…?”
“Why should I help Xu Jinnan?” Han Wenling said, looking at the surveillance footage. “But when did Xu Jinnan become so virtuous?”
The camera was positioned above the bed, providing a clear view of the entire room.
The person on the bed was moving restlessly, their moans audible even through the speakers.
But Xu Jinnan didn’t even glance at the bed, even covering the person with a blanket. However, the Omega was clearly delirious, and the blanket was quickly thrown off.
“An Omega in heat, and Xu Jinnan can resist? Impressive,” Han Wenling said, a smirk playing on her lips. “She wasn’t like this last time.”
In room 209, if the situation wasn’t so urgent, Xu Jinnan might have taken the time to search for other hidden cameras.
But the room was filled with the Omega’s potent pheromones.
Besides the woman’s moans from the bed, she could only hear Shen Shu’s increasingly ragged breathing.
There was a signal jammer in the room; she couldn’t even make a phone call.
“She’s not going to last much longer…”
Shen Shu looked at the woman on the bed, her voice hoarse. She had lost control the moment she entered the room.
An Omega in heat, without suppressants or a marking, would continue to burn up.
It could even be life-threatening.
Xu Jinnan’s face hardened. Whoever was behind this didn’t even care about human life.
“We can’t wait.”
She grabbed a towel from the bathroom, walked over to the plant stand, and picked up the heaviest pot. Before smashing it against the window, she turned to Shen Shu. “Turn around.”
Shen Shu, assuming she was trying to create a way to call for help, sat up on the sofa, her legs weak. “Be careful.”
As Shen Shu turned away, Xu Jinnan swung the pot at the window.
Crash!
The first hit didn’t break it.
Shen Shu glanced over. Xu Jinnan’s feet were slightly apart for leverage, her pale arms tense. She clenched her fists. “Be careful,” she repeated.
“Okay,” Xu Jinnan replied, pulling the towel tighter around her to protect her skin.
She swung the pot again, and this time, cracks appeared on the glass.
On the third swing, focusing on the cracked area, she used less force, and the glass shattered, raining down on her.
The towel protected her upper body, but a few shards grazed her legs.
Shen Shu, her strength fading, felt her body heating up. She couldn’t see Xu Jinnan’s back and asked, “Are you alright?”
Xu Jinnan glanced at the blood trickling down her leg. “I’m fine,” she replied calmly.
Shen Shu was slightly relieved, then saw Xu Jinnan tie the high slit of her dress closed with a knot. She was wearing leggings underneath, so it wasn’t revealing.
Shen Shu guessed her intention, her flushed face paling slightly. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice slightly panicked. She lost her balance and slipped from the sofa.
Xu Jinnan rushed over, smelling Shen Shu’s sweet pheromones. “Are you…?”
Shen Shu shook her head. She wasn’t in heat yet, but… it was close.
Xu Jinnan’s palms were sweaty as she helped Shen Shu up, her skin feeling like silk.
She steadied Shen Shu, then let go of her.
“Xu Jinnan, you…”
“This floor isn’t very high. I can climb down the air conditioner unit,” Xu Jinnan said.
“No… mm…” Shen Shu groaned, her brow furrowed. “Are you crazy? What if you fall…?”
Hearing her soft moan, Xu Jinnan felt a drop of sweat roll down her forehead.
She looked at Shen Shu’s flushed face. “It’ll be fine. And there’s no other way. Stay here. I’ll be back.”
The woman on the bed was delirious from the fever, and Shen Shu was clearly struggling.
And the 99% pheromone compatibility wasn’t helping.
Xu Jinnan walked towards the window.
Shen Shu watched nervously as Xu Jinnan broke off the heels of her shoes, placed a chair by the window, and brushed the broken glass from the windowsill with the towel.
Just as she was about to climb out—
The door opened.