SCOM - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The banquet had already ended at ten-thirty. By the time Zuo Luohuan arrived, all the guests had long since departed, and from a distance, only the cleaning crew remained.
Going over now...
Zuo Luohuan glanced down at her soaked clothes at her waist. Clearly, that wouldn't do.
She opened the car window, took a photo of the Ji residence, and then sent a message to Jiang Hong: 【Which room is Ji Yuezhi in?】
Jiang Hong: 【...It's his coming-of-age ceremony today, for crying out loud. What are you planning to do?】
He didn't ask about what happened earlier. In any case, Zuo Luohuan was still in the mood to ask about Ji Yuezhi. But was this how she used his Jiang family's information network?
Zuo Luohuan, already impatient from the pain, asked again: 【Which one?】
Jiang Hong: 【Third floor, second room on the left.】
Zuo Luohuan looked up at the room Jiang Hong had mentioned. From the outside, it was pitch black. That made sense. He would have to spend some time with his family after his coming-of-age ceremony. Right now, Ji Yuezhi was probably with his parents.
She picked up the blue, black, and gold gift box beside her, decided to bypass the Ji family guards, and climb directly up the building. She planned to slip in through the window and leave the gift without a sound.
The Ji family guards were clearly more vigilant than the ones outside the Military Armaments Database, but they were still a far cry from the guard who had shot and injured Zuo Luohuan. It wasn't too difficult for her to slip past them.
After climbing to the third floor, Zuo Luohuan glanced down at the approaching patrol guard, then quickly pulled open the window and slipped inside.
In the darkness, Zuo Luohuan straightened up, preparing to casually place the gift on the nearby table. It was eleven-fifty; his coming-of-age day wasn't over yet.
The expensive gift box made a soft clink as it was set on the table. Just as she was about to climb back out the window, she suddenly sensed something and spun around.
After his coming-of-age speech, Ji Yuezhi didn't stay at the banquet for long before returning to his room to rest. It wasn't just because of the discomfort from his differentiation period, but also because that person had left abruptly. He hadn't seen her at her coming-of-age ceremony in the first half of the year, and at his own, they had only seen each other from a distance.
Perhaps because of his foul mood, the gland on the back of his neck was also faintly swelling. Ji Xixiu had come to check on him twice, finally turning off the light for him and telling Ji Yuezhi to get some proper rest.
Ji Yuezhi lay on his side, not yet asleep. The throbbing pain in his gland, and the image of Zuo Luohuan raising her glass to him that came to mind whenever he closed his eyes: compared to everyone else, she was dressed quite casually in a black uniform, as if she wasn't attending a banquet at all. Even so, standing among the formally dressed crowd, she was so dazzling that she made everyone else seem dim.
She had never liked attending banquets; her presence alone was a surprise. In the darkness, Ji Yuezhi's long lashes trembled. He consoled himself that he was happy just to have seen her.
This self-consolation didn't last long. Soon, Ji Yuezhi detected movement outside his window. His eyes snapped open, his expression turning bone-chillingly cold. Before the window was even pulled open, he had rolled off the bed, quickly grabbed the light gun from under his nightstand, and aimed it at the window.
At this critical juncture, were they here to assassinate or kidnap him?
Ji Yuezhi's gaze was fixed on the window as his mind rapidly filtered through recent news from all factions of the Federation. Perhaps his differentiation might stand in someone's way.
But all his calculations and strategies vanished the moment a pair of hands appeared outside the window. Ji Yuezhi watched as the person pulled open the window and climbed in, the moonlight clearly illuminating their profile. His previously tense arm subconsciously relaxed, and his fingertip, hooked on the trigger, loosened.
The moment he relaxed, the person at the window instantly sensed the change and spun around to face him.
Probably due to the drill-like pain in her head, Zuo Luohuan's alertness was greatly diminished. She hadn't noticed anyone in the room at first. She turned to see the gun at the edge of the bed and the half-visible, handsome, familiar face. "...Ji Yuezhi."
Ji Yuezhi got up and turned on the light, his tone indifferent. "What are you doing?"
It took Zuo Luohuan a few seconds to regain her composure. Leaning against the table, she casually picked up the gift box again. "Your coming-of-age gift."
"Delivering a gift by climbing through the window?" Ji Yuezhi held the light gun in one hand, while his other was clenched tightly behind his back, though his face showed no sign of abnormality.
"It was too late, I was worried I'd disturb you." Zuo Luohuan could lie with her eyes wide open, and this time there was even a hint of truth to it. Her gaze shifted down to Ji Yuezhi's hand, and she let out a very soft laugh. "Nice gun. Just now... thank you for showing mercy, my dear Yuezhi."
Just now, Zuo Luohuan hadn't sensed anyone in the room. If Ji Yuezhi had fired, she definitely wouldn't have been able to dodge.
"A return gift." Zuo Luohuan walked toward Ji Yuezhi, stopping in front of him. She held the gift out to him. "Aren't you going to open it and see?"
She wanted to see his reaction when he saw the Neck Lock. It would surely be... interesting.
Both of them were not in good condition today, so it was only when Zuo Luohuan got close that Ji Yuezhi finally noticed something was wrong. He suddenly looked up and met her eyes. "You!"
It was the scent of pheromones!
The frigid ice and snow rushed toward him, creating an illusion of suffocation. This was Zuo Luohuan's pheromone; a mere whiff was enough to make most people's breathing hitch. Yet, when Ji Yuezhi smelled this cold pheromone, an unusual pale red flush crept onto his face, and the gland on his neck began to throb and burn. Another pheromone quietly emerged in the room.
Zuo Luohuan obviously sensed something was wrong too. The sudden appearance of this new pheromone in the room stunned her: Where did this Omega pheromone come from?
A cloyingly sweet iris scent mixed with the frigid ice and snow, filling the air. The two pheromones neutralized each other, becoming a fresh, sweet fragrance tinged with moisture, like the scent of a forest after a spring rain.
A fully differentiated Alpha and one still undergoing differentiation react very differently to Omega pheromones. Zuo Luohuan's first thought was that Ji Yuezhi was deliberately using Omega pheromones against her. However, before she could react, Ji Yuezhi suddenly went limp and was about to fall to the floor. She instinctively pulled him into her arms.
Pressed together, Zuo Luohuan finally realized what was wrong. The sweet iris scent was emanating from the gland on the back of Ji Yuezhi's neck. She could smell it even through the protective patch, and it was completely different from the fleeting scent she had caught in class that day.
These were the pheromones of an Omega nearing the end of their differentiation.
Ji Yuezhi was already unsteady on his feet. Now, leaning in Zuo Luohuan's arms, he felt as if he were covered in a vast expanse of ice and snow. His body was soft and hot, his thoughts a chaotic mess. He wanted to struggle to his feet, but it looked more like he was nuzzling his face against her. After struggling for a long while, he finally managed to lift his face. The outer corners of his narrow eyes were flushed like a streak of red in a peach grove. His voice trembled as he barely managed to find a sliver of clarity. "Your pheromones... retract them."
Zuo Luohuan was also losing some control. The hand on Ji Yuezhi's waist inevitably tightened. Her eyes, which usually held a hint of a smile, were now bottomlessly dark. She hadn't released any pheromones from the start, so how was she supposed to retract them?
No, it wasn't that she was releasing pheromones. It was the extremely faint trace of pheromones carried in her blood.
Zuo Luohuan's side was grazed, and her clothes were inevitably stained with blood. She had brazenly climbed through the window and approached him without a second thought. How could she have known that Ji Yuezhi would actually differentiate into an Omega? The pheromones of a top-tier Alpha brought not only absolute suppression but also an immense allure to Omegas.
Once she understood what was happening, Zuo Luohuan's face darkened. To cause something like this on the night of his coming-of-age ceremony was simply...
Zuo Luohuan acted decisively, placing him on the bed. She wanted to find an inhibitor, but Ji Yuezhi, now barely conscious on the bed, subconsciously grabbed her hand, not letting her leave.
At this moment, Zuo Luohuan's expression was no better than when her headache had flared up. She tried to pull Ji Yuezhi's hand away, but she had subconsciously softened her grip. He held on extremely tightly, as if afraid he would never find her again if he let go. "I'm going to get an inhibitor."
He loosened his grip a little, but still held on tightly.
Zuo Luohuan covered his hand with her other one. "Be good, Ji Yuezhi."
Ji Yuezhi lay on the bed, the bangs on his forehead soaked with sweat. He struggled to open his eyes and stared fixedly at Zuo Luohuan for a long time before finally letting go of her hand.
Zuo Luohuan immediately pulled open the nightstand drawer and breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, it contained everything an Omega needed during their differentiation period. She took out an Omega inhibitor and a nutrient shot and administered them to Ji Yuezhi.
Ji Yuezhi lay on the bed, his once coolly pale face now flushed a faint red, his eyes moist. He watched Zuo Luohuan quietly, letting her inject the shots into his arm.
Zuo Luohuan inadvertently met his clear, moist eyes. Her throat tightened, and her gaze instinctively shifted away. "After the inhibitor, get a good night's sleep."
Ji Yuezhi was still looking at her. Zuo Luohuan couldn't resist leaning over and covering his eyes with her hand. "Close your eyes and sleep."
When she removed her hand, Ji Yuezhi had indeed obediently closed his eyes.
With the inhibitor, Ji Yuezhi's condition would gradually stabilize. But as long as Zuo Luohuan was here, she remained a potential danger. She activated the room's circulation system, which would soon vent the pheromones outside.
Now, she had to leave this bedroom quickly.
Zuo Luohuan bent down to cover Ji Yuezhi with the blanket, placed a glass of water on the nightstand, then took a few steps back, turned off the room's light, and whispered in the darkness, "Sorry."
From climbing out of the third-floor window to getting back in her car, Zuo Luohuan couldn't even remember how she had gotten out. The pain in her head and side had long been forgotten, her thoughts now just a chaotic mess.
Zuo Luohuan placed both hands on the steering wheel. She could have sworn she could still smell the sweet iris scent clinging to her.
...Ji Yuezhi had actually differentiated into an Omega.
The fact was a huge shock to Zuo Luohuan. How could he possibly be an Omega? Wasn't he supposed to differentiate into an Alpha?
After a long time of processing, Zuo Luohuan finally remembered something: she had forgotten to take the gift back.
Before, sending the Neck Lock would have been nothing more than a joke of a return gift. But now that Ji Yuezhi had differentiated into an Omega, the gift was completely inappropriate.
She hadn't meant for the Neck Lock to imply she hoped Ji Yuezhi would differentiate into an Omega. At the time, she had assumed he would become an Alpha.
Zuo Luohuan couldn't help but think of the Ji Yuezhi from school, dressed in his military uniform, exuding a cold aura. What would his reaction be when he found out he had differentiated into an Omega?
It was too late to go back for the gift now; it would only risk triggering another outburst of Ji Yuezhi's pheromones. Zuo Luohuan leaned back in her car seat, pressing her fingertips firmly against her temples. Everything that happened tonight had been beyond her expectations.
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