Chapter 6: Pitiful

Liu Qiu didn’t understand, and she said as much.
“What are you talking about? What pheromones?”
Her confused tone sounded like willful playing dumb in Shi Ran’s ears.

How could there be an alpha who didn’t know about pheromones, didn’t know about their own heat cycle?

Shi Ran let out a cold laugh and reached out, gripping Liu Qiu’s nape hard.

In an instant, Liu Qiu’s body stiffened.
An unbearable, scorching heat spread from the back of her neck throughout her entire body.

“Le—let go.”
Alarm bells screamed in Liu Qiu’s mind.
What did Shi Ran do?
Why did her body suddenly feel this awful?

Shi Ran tightened her hold on Liu Qiu’s neck and said in a low voice,
“I’m not some ordinary omega.
That whole ‘inducing heat’ trick doesn’t work on me.”

“What are you even saying?”
Liu Qiu struggled.
Shi Ran was gripping too hard—her wrist and neck both hurt badly.

Shi Ran watched Liu Qiu’s resistance, and a strange pleasure rose in her chest.

Liu Qiu was far too weak.
She couldn’t even break free from an omega’s strength.

Shi Ran could completely control her.

A faint minty scent lingered around Shi Ran’s nose.
She knew clearly that it was Liu Qiu’s pheromones.
But unlike other alphas’ aggressive pheromones, this inferior alpha’s scent was just as inferior— it stirred no reaction in her at all.

Shi Ran narrowed her eyes, the corner of her lips lifting with thick malice.
“Feels good being touched by an omega, doesn’t it?”

“After all, an alpha like you only dares to sneak a sniff of my clothes.”

Hearing that, Liu Qiu truly had nothing to say.
She couldn’t deny what the original owner of this body had done.

But the sensation Shi Ran’s hand brought to her nape kept pouring through her body.
Liu Qiu felt certain her ears had turned red—not from embarrassment, but purely from her body’s involuntary reaction.

“Darling, come in and help serve the dishes.”

Bai Qingqing’s voice came from the kitchen.
Liu Qiu was finally released.

Shi Ran looked at the small section of wrist she had squeezed red, leaned back against the sofa, and silently mouthed at Liu Qiu: ‘Trash.’

Liu Qiu pressed her lips together and walked away in silence, looking exactly like a soft persimmon—bullied without daring to make a sound.

The living room was left with only Shi Ran.

After a long while, Shi Ran’s smile faded.
She stared at her own palm, clenched it, her expression dark and uncertain.

---

At the dinner table, only Liu Qiu was eating seriously.
Shi Ran and Bai Qingqing each had their own thoughts.

“Miss Shi, is the food not to your taste?”
Bai Qingqing smiled gently, her voice soft and pleasant, her autumn-water eyes seeming to hold endless affection.

Facing Bai Qingqing, Shi Ran smiled back.
“It’s delicious. I just have a small appetite.”
As expected of a beta—she couldn’t smell pheromones at all.
If this were an omega spouse, she should already be asking her to leave to avoid suspicion.

Shi Ran opened the red wine she’d brought, a shy smile appearing on her refined face.
“As a neighbor, it’s really embarrassing that I’m only visiting now.”

“In my hometown, when you eat with new friends, you have to drink.”

“If you don’t mind, can we have a glass?”

Shi Ran’s performance was fake to the extreme.
Bai Qingqing saw through it instantly, yet still took the wine, smiling.
“Of course I don’t mind.”

Hearing their conversation, Liu Qiu looked up, the system’s words surfacing in her mind.

Get her drunk, then Bai Qingqing and Shi Ran can fool around.
Your cuckold value will go up.

Liu Qiu blinked, leaned close to Bai Qingqing’s ear, and whispered,
“Wife, can I drink?”
She needed to get herself drunk on purpose—to give them space to cheat.

Seeing this, Shi Ran narrowed her eyes and spoke first.
“Miss Bai, do you really control whether your partner can drink?”
She hadn’t expected Liu Qiu to even ask Bai Qingqing about something like this.
She’d never seen such a cowardly alpha.

Bai Qingqing smiled gently and handed Liu Qiu a full glass, extremely tender.
“If Qiuqiu wants to drink, then drink.”

Liu Qiu took it, thanking her awkwardly.
“Thank you, wife.”
She’d already grown used to calling Bai Qingqing “wife.”
Two characters instead of three—it was more convenient.

She placed the glass in front of herself.
She didn’t like alcohol.
Neither did the original owner of this body, apparently.
She hesitated—she remembered it being bitter and awful.

[Host, what are you hesitating for? Big women drink in one gulp!]

Liu Qiu hesitated.
[But alcohol tastes terrible.]

The system offered a suggestion.
[Try licking it with your tongue first.
If it tastes bad, just down it in one go.]
[If it tastes good, drink it slowly.]

Liu Qiu was speechless.
[Listening to you is like listening to nothing.]

The system grumbled.
[Don’t laugh at me. If it’s bad and you chug it, it’ll only be bad for a moment, get it?]

Liu Qiu ignored the system.
She looked toward Bai Qingqing and Shi Ran—and realized neither of them was watching her.
They were smiling at each other, exchanging compliments.

“Miss Bai is really beautiful.
Liu Qiu is so lucky to be your partner.”

“You flatter me.
Omegas like you are the real beauties.”

‘This is getting a little too intimate,’ Liu Qiu complained inwardly.

Since neither of them was watching her, she lowered her head, lashes trembling,
and stuck out her soft pink tongue to lick the wine.

Mm—! Sweet.

She licked again to confirm.
Sweet, slightly tart, with a rich apple flavor.
Pretty good.

Liu Qiu had no idea that the two people she thought were chatting happily had their peripheral vision fixed entirely on her, missing none of her kitten-like movements.

A pleasant laugh rang out. “Liu Qiu, are you trying to act cute?”

“Are you imitating a puppy or a kitten? Hmm?”

Liu Qiu looked up blankly at Shi Ran, a small section of soft tongue still peeking out.

Shi Ran stared openly at that pink tip.
Even after it withdrew, her gaze didn’t move.

Liu Qiu’s ears turned red with embarrassment.
Her curls hid them, but she was truly mortified.
She’d thought no one was watching.

She lowered her head, thin pale fingers fidgeting around the glass.
She looked utterly at a loss,
but with her silent personality, she didn’t know how to retort.

So she could only shrink back foolishly.

A glimmer flashed in Bai Qingqing’s eyes.
She raised her glass toward Shi Ran and said softly, “Miss Shi, don’t tease Qiuqiu. She can’t take teasing.”

Shi Ran withdrew her gaze, lifted her glass, and clinked it with Bai Qingqing’s.
“Just joking. Don’t mind me.”

“As neighbors, I hope we’ll see more of each other in the future.”

“I live alone as an omega.
Sometimes I really am afraid of accidents.”
As she spoke, she lowered her lashes, hiding the chill in her eyes.

“Of course I don’t mind,” Bai Qingqing replied.

Shi Ran addressed her as “Miss Bai,” but called Liu Qiu by her full name.
It seemed rude, but was actually a sign of closeness.

This omega really had strange taste— actually falling for trash like Liu Qiu.

But for now, Liu Qiu was her prey.
She wouldn’t allow anyone else to covet her.

Bai Qingqing turned her head toward Liu Qiu and smiled. “Qiuqiu, drink.”

Liu Qiu swallowed nervously.
Something about the atmosphere felt strange, but she couldn’t tell what.

She could only drink silently, wanting to get drunk as soon as possible.

She didn’t disappoint.

After three sips, her head started spinning, her pale cheeks flushing red.

T-this wine was this strong?

She shook her head and the world spun violently.

The heat at her nape kept rising, a restless warmth flooding her entire body.

She licked her teeth.
She really, really wanted to bite something.

A sweet green-apple scent filled her nose,
stirring an inexplicable craving in her heart.

She liked it.
She wanted it.

[System, I—I don’t feel right.
Is there something in the wine?
I feel like I’ve been drugged… like an aphrodisiac.]
Her words were slurred.

The system scanned the wine and broke down its components.
[Host, there’s no drug in it.
I think you’re just too weak.
You got drunk after three sips.]

A minty fragrance spread continuously.

Shi Ran tapped her fingers on the table, not in a hurry to leave, deliberately releasing a trace of pheromones.

Omega pheromones had absolute attraction to alphas.
And Liu Qiu was clearly in heat now.

She wanted Liu Qiu to lose control in front of Bai Qingqing.

Two scents tangled in the air.

Liu Qiu didn’t know what pheromones were, but guided by the scent, her gaze locked dazedly onto Shi Ran.
She slowly stood up, swaying as she leaned toward her.

Shi Ran didn’t dodge.
She slumped in her chair, acting extremely drunk, her pheromones continuously stirring Liu Qiu’s emotions.

During heat, alphas would madly crave omegas.
Without comfort, they’d lose reason— becoming beastlike, violent, uncontrollable, knowing only mating.

Liu Qiu’s mind turned to mush.
She didn’t know what she was doing.
She only wanted to get closer to Shi Ran.

But as she passed Bai Qingqing, a cold hand hooked around her waist and pulled her backward.

Liu Qiu fell blankly onto Bai Qingqing’s lap.

She sniffed instinctively, then murmured,
“N-no… not you.”
There was no sweet scent.
She didn’t want it.

Bai Qingqing removed Liu Qiu’s glasses and stared into her unfocused eyes, slowly curling her lips, darkness filling her narrow gaze.

Don’t want her?
That wasn’t Liu Qiu’s choice to make.

Bai Qingqing turned her face toward Shi Ran, who looked drunk beyond measure, and smiled gently.
“Qiuqiu, we have an audience tonight.”

“Do you like that?”

Liu Qiu tilted her head.
Bai Qingqing doubled in her vision.
She couldn’t see her clearly, couldn’t hear her clearly.

The sound of a plate falling rang out.

She felt herself pressed onto the table.
Her nape burned, scorching away her reason, until her consciousness finally blurred completely.

Bai Qingqing didn’t use any spell to put Liu Qiu to sleep.
Drunk like this, she wouldn’t remember anything anyway.

Shi Ran wasn’t drunk at all.
She was perfectly clear-headed.

Her gaze stayed fixed on Bai Qingqing and Liu Qiu.
She was certain Bai Qingqing knew she wasn’t drunk— yet Bai Qingqing didn’t care about her presence in the slightest.

So… alphas could be pinned down too.

Shi Ran’s gaze grew hotter, unblinking.

Watching Liu Qiu pressed on the dining table, long hair spread across the surface.
Her upper body still neatly dressed, but her lower clothes were already gone.

From Shi Ran’s angle, she could only see the top of Liu Qiu’s head and her curved long legs.

Liu Qiu’s eyes were misty, everything veiled in gauze— intensely ambiguous.

Her body was burning, but in her haze, she felt a coolness flowing inside her.

For a brief moment, her eyes cleared.
She slowly looked at Bai Qingqing’s hand.
Her drooping eye corners were flushed red, eyes wet and pitifully adorable.

She murmured, “W-wife… what are you doing?”

“It hurts a little.”

Bai Qingqing’s face flushed, eyes reddened, her bewitching features filled with desire. She hadn’t expected Liu Qiu to wake up suddenly.

But seeing her ask so innocently, just asking what she was doing— it was naive to the point of being cute.

A wicked amusement rose in Bai Qingqing’s heart.
She leaned down and toyed with Liu Qiu’s soft earlobe.

“Darling, I’m just checking.”

Would Liu Qiu believe that?

Liu Qiu curled her toes uncomfortably.
Her dizzy mind couldn’t think.
She only nodded foolishly and lay still.
“Okay.”

Bai Qingqing was checking her… but why was she checking there?

Liu Qiu thought about it briefly, didn’t get an answer, and gave up thinking.
She lifted her head, looking at the blurry figure ahead, her voice small and hoarse.
“Uh, wife… are you going to check that person too?”

Bai Qingqing flipped Liu Qiu over, making her lie face-down on the table, legs planted on the floor.

She laughed softly.
“No. I’ll only check you.”

Liu Qiu, how could you be this stupid—
believing something like that.

Bai Qingqing leaned close to her ear, breathing out sweet-scented heat.
“Qiuqiu, wife needs to check more. Can you move on your own a little?”

Liu Qiu’s body trembled, but she answered obediently,
“Okay.”

Bai Qingqing’s face was flushed with pleasure.
Drunk Liu Qiu was obedient to this extent— she almost couldn’t bear to let go.

Shi Ran’s vision blurred at some point.
She felt like she really was drunk.
Her body burned as Liu Qiu’s soft moans reached her ears.

The minty pheromones flooding her nose were the best aphrodisiac— the scent of Liu Qiu in heat.

Shi Ran’s eyes reddened as she stared unblinkingly at Liu Qiu’s prone figure.

This different kind of stimulation made her scalp tingle.

An alpha… pressed beneath someone else.

Beta could do it.
Omega could do it.

She could too— press an alpha beneath her, watch her pitiful expression.

Bai Qingqing slid her fingers along the back of Liu Qiu’s hand, threaded their fingers together, and slowly tightened her grip around Liu Qiu’s thin, bony hand.

Her bewitching, dazzling beauty looked like a demon draining essence.

Panting, Bai Qingqing bent down and bit hard into Liu Qiu’s nape— right in front of Shi Ran.

Liu Qiu’s eyes flew open.
She cried softly, “Ahh~ Don’t bite me.”

Her long lashes were soaked.
Her already misty eyes brimmed with tears.

Shi Ran stared at her in a daze, her heart pounding violently.

Bai Qingqing didn’t miss Shi Ran’s stunned gaze.
It seemed this omega could endure more than she’d thought.

Seeing an alpha beneath someone else— and not fleeing in fear.

In omega cognition, alphas were always dominant.
Omegas only yearned to be possessed.

Seeing an alpha possessed instead must have been a huge moment.

Until she found a new prey, Liu Qiu belonged to her alone.

Bai Qingqing looked at Shi Ran, malice brimming in her eyes.

Her hand pressed against Liu Qiu’s back as she silently mouthed: “My—”