Chapter 10: Paid By Pheromones

The room had no windows open, but since it was not yet noon, the light inside was still fairly bright.

Enduring the discomfort of the white sandalwood scent invading her senses, Wei Lan took two steps further into the room.

Her gaze swept around once before finally settling on the wooden bed, whose curtains had already been lowered.

The person lying on the bed had to be Lu Zijin.

Wei Lan still felt rather unfamiliar with Lu Zijin.

After all, since marrying into the family, she had barely seen her.

And now, she was supposed to give her own pheromones to Lu Zijin.

The thought left Wei Lan feeling a little lost.

After transmigrating here, she had read some books about Qianyuan and Kunze, but only gained a general understanding.

As for the specifics of what she was supposed to do, she honestly did not know.

“What are you standing there for?

Get over here, now.”

Lu Zijin’s voice carried restrained tension.

With the bed curtains blocking her view, Wei Lan could not see Lu Zijin’s expression.

Still, just hearing Lu Zijin’s voice made Wei Lan’s throat tighten.

Combined with the white sandalwood filling the room, the pressure made her feel dizzy and lightheaded.

She stepped closer to the bed and reached out to lift one side of the curtain.

That was when she saw Lu Zijin lying on her side atop the bed.

Lu Zijin’s originally cold, pale skin was now flushed red, especially along her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

Sweat beaded at her brow, and her eyes seemed misted with moisture, as though she were enduring something with great effort.

When she saw Wei Lan approach, Lu Zijin’s brows furrowed slightly.

At this moment, however, that frown held no intimidation at all, instead lending her an unexpected hint of softness.

Lu Zijin gritted her teeth and forced herself upright.

She shifted further toward the inside of the bed, her gaze landing once more on Wei Lan’s face.

“Lie down.”

“What?”

Wei Lan thought she must have misheard.

From what she remembered, forming a contract only required biting the contract mark on the right side of the other person’s neck.

There was no need to lie down.

Besides, she and Lu Zijin were not close at all.

Lying together like this would be awkward.

Seeing Lu Zijin staring at her without speaking, Wei Lan pressed her lips together.

With little confidence, she spoke up.

“Isn’t biting once enough?

There’s no need to lie down to do it, right?”

Lu Zijin was already reeling from the tide of desire brought on by her Rain Dew Period.

Listening to Wei Lan ramble on only made her feel like grinding her teeth to dust.

She spoke again in a cold voice.

“Lie down.”

Wei Lan glanced at Lu Zijin’s expression.

Seeing that Lu Zijin truly looked angry, she finally moved closer to the bed.

After all, one’s mouth goes soft after eating someone else’s food.

Until her jade carvings could be sold, she still had to rely on this soft rice.

With that in mind, Wei Lan prepared to remove her shoes and lie down on the bed.

Just as she was about to do so, Lu Zijin’s voice sounded again.

“Wait.

Take off your outer clothes before getting on the bed.”

Lu Zijin spoke through clenched teeth, enunciating each word.

She was practically using the last of her rationality to speak to Wei Lan.

She disliked others touching her belongings at the best of times, let alone climbing into her bed.

Wei Lan nodded.

Since Lu Zijin was her employer, she obediently removed her outer robe, leaving only her inner garment.

Only then did she take off her shoes and lie down on the outer side of the bed.

The moment Wei Lan settled in, she felt Lu Zijin straddle her waist, her body pressing down toward her.

Wei Lan’s mind went completely blank.

Wait—after marrying in, I have to do this too?

As if sensing the shock on Wei Lan’s face, Lu Zijin reached out and lightly pinched her neck.

Her eyes were tinged red as she stared unblinkingly at Wei Lan.

“You didn’t seriously think the Lu household’s soft rice was that easy to eat, did you?

You take fifty taels of silver from me every month.

You have to pay a price for it.”

Wei Lan pressed her dry lips together.

Her mind was on the verge of crashing.

When she had met Lu Zijin before, Lu Zijin had been distant, yes, but never this forceful.

Riding on top of her.

Grabbing her by the neck.

Even if Lu Zijin was not actually using much strength.

As Wei Lan’s thoughts spiraled, a dense wave of white sandalwood surged straight into her nose and mouth, far stronger than before.

She was dazed for a moment before realizing it was coming from Lu Zijin’s right neck.

Wei Lan felt the hand at her neck move.

Lu Zijin stopped gripping her and instead slowly traced her fingers along Wei Lan’s neck.

The way she looked at her was more like she was staring at prey.

Suddenly, Wei Lan felt a sharp pain at the right side of her neck.

Lu Zijin had torn off the salve suppressing her pheromones—ripped it off in one go.

Wei Lan sucked in a sharp breath.

“Hiss—can’t you be gentler?”

She was about to say more when Lu Zijin’s long fingers pressed down over her lips.

Lu Zijin leaned in close to Wei Lan’s neck and inhaled lightly, as if pleased with the scent there.

Her fingers brushed across Wei Lan’s lips a few times as she warned her.

“Be good.

Talk less.

Otherwise, don’t expect any silver next month.”

Completely seized by money, Wei Lan immediately behaved herself.

Fine.

She still had to live off this soft rice, after all.

Seeing that Wei Lan had quieted down, Lu Zijin withdrew her hand.

The look in her eyes grew even darker.

Lu Zijin pressed down on Wei Lan’s shoulders and leaned in toward her right neck, biting down without hesitation.

The scent of fresh snow flooded Lu Zijin’s throat in an instant, and the burning heat in her body gradually faded.

She found the smell incredibly pleasant—clean and pure—though she could not quite describe it.

It felt as though she had been buried in pristine white snow, her body and mind sinking into comfort.

With that thought, she bit down harder.

This, however, made things miserable for Wei Lan.

The skin at the contract mark was delicate to begin with.

With Lu Zijin biting her like this, Wei Lan was sweating from the pain.

Wei Lan distinctly remembered reading that being bitten at the contract mark should produce a lingering, tender sensation.

Yet thanks to Lu Zijin, all she felt was pain.

Her neck was nearly numb from it.

What trash book.

Pure lies.

Still, since she had to keep eating soft rice afterward, Wei Lan endured it.

Her neck hurt too much, and she reached out, wanting to grab onto Lu Zijin’s inner robe.

Lu Zijin seemed to notice the movement and loosened her bite slightly.

Her dark eyes locked onto Wei Lan.

“Don’t touch me.

If you still want silver, endure it.”

Wei Lan felt a bit angry.

It was just grabbing a corner of her clothes.

She was already being bitten like this, and Lu Zijin was still being so stingy.

But when she thought about the money, she swallowed it down again.

The original owner of this body had come from a poor household.

She had no idea how much her jade carvings would sell for.

If she did not rely on this soft rice, she truly had nowhere to go for the time being.

In the end, Wei Lan could only endure it.

Who told her she had no money?

Seeing that Wei Lan had stopped resisting, the corner of Lu Zijin’s lips curved slightly.

She soon lowered her head again and bit down once more.

Wei Lan was in so much pain she wanted to cry out.

But remembering what Lu Zijin had just said, she did not dare scream, only letting herself be bitten in quiet misery.

Lu Zijin was extremely satisfied with Wei Lan’s scent.

She felt much better now.

Only after biting Wei Lan for quite some time did she finally release her.

However, once she did, Lu Zijin felt her body turn soft and weak, still somewhat uncomfortable.

Recalling what Deng Jin had told her earlier, she knew that the best solution at this moment was to form a short-term contract with Wei Lan.

That way, she would neither be controlled by Wei Lan nor continue suffering through the Rain Dew Period.

With that thought, Lu Zijin braced her hands on either side of Wei Lan’s shoulders and pushed herself up slightly.

She lowered her gaze to Wei Lan and spoke coldly.

“Form a short contract.”

As she spoke, Lu Zijin gently touched Wei Lan’s cheek.

Her hand slid down swiftly, lightly gripping Wei Lan’s neck, her thumb slowly rubbing against the contract mark.

Wei Lan felt pain and itchiness at her neck, along with an indescribably strange sensation.

She looked up at Lu Zijin and complained.

“Don’t touch me like that.

It tickles.”

Lu Zijin raised a brow slightly, a dangerous curve appearing at her lips.

The hand at Wei Lan’s neck loosened, but in the next instant, she pinched Wei Lan’s chin instead.

Her thumb pressed against Wei Lan’s lips, rubbing lightly as she stared down at her and smiled casually.

“Why can’t I touch you?

I paid silver for this.”

“I—”
Wei Lan was about to retort, but the moment Lu Zijin mentioned money again, her breath caught, and she nearly choked on it.

Money.

Money.

Money.

Lu Zijin really loved using money to hold her hostage in bed.

Was she the kind of person who could be controlled by money?

Right now—yes.

She absolutely was.

Wei Lan could only glare at Lu Zijin with grievance, not a single word of rebuttal left in her.

Seeing Wei Lan glare at her, the smile in Lu Zijin’s eyes deepened.

She had originally been worried Wei Lan might be the stubborn, hard-tempered type of Qianyuan.

If that were the case, she would have had to coerce and entice her into forming a short contract.

But now, it seemed unnecessary.

Wei Lan’s temper seemed… quite decent.

She was obedient, easily controlled with just a few words, lying there softly without even the strength to argue back.

Far better than those arrogant, stubborn Qianyuan who loved to lecture others.

Lu Zijin lowered her gaze, looking at the place her fingers had brushed.

Wei Lan’s originally pale lips were now flushed red.

She smiled at her and spoke.

“Form a short contract with me.”