SCOM - Chapter 76
Chapter 76
She’s liked him for a very, very long time?
Ji Yuezhi stiffened against Zuo Luohuan's shoulder. He had wondered what secret she wanted to tell him, guessing at many possibilities, even daring to guess it was ‘I like you’.
But ‘I like you’ and ‘I've liked you for a very, very long time’ held two entirely different meanings.
Zuo Luohuan held Ji Yuezhi, her lowered gaze falling upon the scent patch on the back of his neck. The pheromones clinging to him were barely detectable, but she knew that beneath the patch lay the mark she had left on him.
“First, let's go change and pack your things?” Zuo Luohuan released him and asked in a gentle voice.
After saying that, Zuo Luohuan quickly regained her composure, seemingly unaffected. If not for the fact that she was still holding his hand, Ji Yuezhi, in his daze, would have thought the previous moment was just a figment of his imagination.
“...Alright.” Ji Yuezhi agreed, but he didn’t move.
Zuo Luohuan raised her other hand and cupped his face. There was no reason for it; she simply wanted to. Ji Yuezhi didn't resist, even leaning into her palm and rubbing against it gently. His utterly docile appearance reminded her of his days in heat, when he had been just as obedient, always coming to her whenever she reached out.
Back then, however, she had only thought it was the Omega's delirium. But now, he stood before her, saying he liked her too.
Zuo Luohuan's thumb traced the side of Ji Yuezhi's face, down to the corner of his eye. Her cool fingertip, a gentle substitute for her lips, sketched his features with extreme tenderness. Her gaze deepened, yet remained restrained. Finally, she slowly lowered her hand and led him toward the room across the hall.
She stood in the living room, waiting for Ji Yuezhi to change his clothes so they could go downstairs together.
“Aren't those two acting a little strange?” Jiang Hong had come down early and was in the lobby with Yan Yan, helping to tally the number of casualties from Xijiang Exile Star. Seeing Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi come down together, he couldn't help but ask the junior beside him.
Yan Yan looked up and observed them carefully for a moment. “What's strange about our seniors?”
“Sigh, you don't get it.” Jiang Hong shook his head. “Zuo Luohuan isn't like that. She usually... has this ‘I don't give a damn about anyone’ attitude. Didn't you see it just now? She actually smiled at Ji Yuezhi.”
Not a provocative smile, nor that lazy, careless kind of smile. It was just a simple, faint smile. Anyway, it was a feeling he couldn't quite describe.
“Oh.” Yan Yan hadn't noticed. He thought the two of them were no different from usual.
“You! Forget it.” Jiang Hong was now feeling a bit nostalgic for Guan Xue and Qian Mao. The two of them would definitely be gossiping with him right now.
The Western United Army and the Winter Army had suffered a considerable number of casualties this time, especially the Western United Army. If the rescue hadn't arrived in time, they might have been completely wiped out.
“Xijiang Exile Star currently has no Star Lord. The Western United Army and the Winter Army will each send one person to jointly manage Xijiang Exile Star,” Xiang Chengping said as he walked over to Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi. “We’re returning to the capital early tomorrow morning.”
Xiang Chengping glanced at Zuo Luohuan. Yesterday afternoon, Ji Yuezhi had asked him for an Alpha inhibitor, and he had been wondering who had entered their susceptible period. At first, he thought it was Jiang Hong, but when he saw Jiang Hong this morning, there was nothing abnormal about him at all.
Did he give it to Zuo Luohuan?
Like everyone else at the First Military Academy, Xiang Chengping had always thought that Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi didn't get along. It was a rare sight to see them out together this time. He guessed that their relationship had probably improved from training together frequently in the same team recently.
“Are you feeling alright?” Xiang Chengping asked. “My inhibitor is only S-class. I don't know if it'll work for you.”
He had also heard that Zuo Luohuan's rank was absurdly high.
“I'm fine.” Zuo Luohuan took the inhibitor out of her pocket and returned it to Xiang Chengping, glancing at Ji Yuezhi. “It really wasn't needed.”
Xiang Chengping was a little sympathetic. “Then you'll just have to endure it for now. It'll be a few more days before we reach the capital.”
All Alphas knew how difficult the susceptible period was. Inhibitors only served to alleviate the symptoms; the best method was to bond with an Omega.
However, young, single Alphas could only rely on inhibitors and toughing it out. It was only a matter of a few days.
“Thank you for the reminder, senior.” Zuo Luohuan replied politely, then added pointedly, “I don't have to endure it too much, either.”
Unfortunately, Xiang Chengping didn't catch her meaning and just nodded. “I'll go gather the rescue forces first. We'll prepare to leave early tomorrow morning.”
Zuo Luohuan wasn't wrong. For this year's susceptible period, she truly didn't have to endure it like she usually did. While it didn't completely solve the problem, holding Ji Yuezhi and inhaling the scent of the pheromones from the gland on his neck brought a measure of satisfaction.
This person was now hers.
The gland on an Omega's neck was an Alpha's favorite place to mark. Zuo Luohuan licked and nipped at the soft flesh of Ji Yuezhi's gland, slowly grinding her teeth against it. Ji Yuezhi couldn't hold back a very faint sound from his nose, which, due to his rapid breathing, sounded like a whimper.
An Alpha's possessiveness was strong, and this display of weakness from the Omega greatly satisfied her psychologically. She stopped tormenting him and directly released dense, almost explosive pheromones.
By the time Zuo Luohuan let go of Ji Yuezhi's neck gland, he could no longer stand steady. She led him to the sofa and had him kneel on her lap.
Noticing something, Zuo Luohuan whispered a sentence to Ji Yuezhi. He almost couldn't maintain his kneeling position and tried to get up, but she held him down.
“A normal physiological reaction for an Omega.” Zuo Luohuan held him down while coaxing him, but her words made Ji Yuezhi want to leave even more. “It happened during your heat, too.”
The two didn't do anything more, but the Alpha had many tricks up her sleeve. She engaged in a lot of edge play, leaving the Omega unable to defend himself, nearly melting into a soft puddle.
It was clearly the Alpha's susceptible period, and Zuo Luohuan had only temporarily marked the Omega for some relief, yet it was Ji Yuezhi who ended up a complete mess.
Ji Yuezhi knelt on Zuo Luohuan's thighs, his long legs parted, his hands resting on her shoulders. His light robe hung half-off, and he looked as if he were drunk. Large patches of faint red bloomed across his cold, jade-white skin, looking particularly alluring under the light.
Zuo Luohuan wasn't doing much, either—just bending one knee and pressing it against his softest part, grinding slowly.
She was still wearing her pants, and the particularly coarse, sturdy fabric chafed Ji Yuezhi, causing a faint ache mixed with another indescribable sensation.
“This kind of thing…” Zuo Luohuan's eyes held a fierce glint, but her tone was calm, as if she hadn't done a thing. “I've wanted to do it to you since your heat.”
Ji Yuezhi looked down and met Zuo Luohuan's eyes. Then, somewhat drained, he pressed his forehead against hers, panting to steady his breathing. Slowly and clearly, he said, “Whatever you want to do, you can do it to me from now on.”
Zuo Luohuan paused for a moment, then smiled and asked, “Ji Yuezhi, does that count as a sweet nothing?”
“Mm.” Ji Yuezhi responded with a somewhat strained sound. His long lashes trembled as he took the initiative to press his lips to Zuo Luohuan's.
How wicked could an Alpha be? It was her susceptible period, yet she insisted on watching the Omega lose control and offer himself up willingly.
How could the Omega not know the Alpha's wicked intentions? But they had just confessed their feelings for each other. Whatever she did, he was willing to go along with it.
Zuo Luohuan didn't deepen the kiss. She just pecked his lips, then reached out, her hand pressing against his waist through the thin robe, helping him soften. She turned her head and reminded him, “Your comms is ringing.”
Ji Yuezhi leaned against her and glanced down at the comms on his wrist. He sobered from his daze in an instant and looked up at Zuo Luohuan, his gaze holding a hint of a plea. “...It's my father.”
In his current state, if he answered the call, Ji Xixiu on the other end would know at a glance what had just happened.
Zuo Luohuan reached out to pull his slipped robe closed, then took the comms from Ji Yuezhi's wrist. She carried him to the other end of the sofa, pulled a thin blanket over him, and sat down on the opposite end herself before finally accepting the call.
“Zuo Luohuan?” Ji Xixiu was surprised to see the person on the other end of the comms, but he didn't ask where his son was. He just said, “Ren Pingbo has a hand in what's happening on Xijiang Exile Star. What happened to you there before?”
Zuo Luohuan didn't hide anything and roughly recounted what had happened before.
Ji Xixiu frowned. “In that case, Ren Pingbo has likely been targeting you for a year. This person loves a challenge. Although you're a full cycle younger than him, your rank is unusually high among Alphas, and you're Zuo Dihong's daughter. He won't let you go easily.”
Zuo Luohuan didn't react much to Ji Xixiu's words. Even if Ren Pingbo didn't come for her, she would go for him.
“The matter in the capital has been temporarily dealt with. My earlier statement about going to Xijiang Exile Star was just a feint.” Ji Xixiu had originally intended to apologize to his son, but he hadn't expected Zuo Luohuan to be the one to answer the call.
With the comms in Zuo Luohuan's hand, Ji Xixiu didn't need to think to guess what might have just happened. His son was probably right there beside her.
“I'll tell him,” Zuo Luohuan said.
Ji Xixiu's heart was filled with complex, unspoken feelings. In the end, he didn't say anything before hanging up, but Zuo Luohuan's comms received a message shortly after.
【Yuezhi's health isn't good. I hope you can exercise some restraint. Also, take precautions.】
It was a message from Ji Xixiu. Zuo Luohuan didn't feel embarrassed, but she stared at the first half of the sentence for a long time.
Ji Xixiu clearly knew about their relationship. He didn't try to stop it, nor did he say anything else, only sending this one reminder.
Zuo Luohuan had been with Ji Yuezhi for so long but had never seen him take medicine or feel unwell. The only thing she could recall was his somewhat strange reaction during the second temporary marking of his heat.
“What's wrong?” Ji Yuezhi, sitting on the other end of the sofa, had gradually calmed down. Seeing Zuo Luohuan staring at her comms, he felt something was off and asked instinctively.
Zuo Luohuan turned off her comms and moved closer to him. “It's nothing. Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Ji Yuezhi didn't overthink it. He shook his head slightly, his moist, beautiful eyes gazing at Zuo Luohuan. “I want to go back and change.”
Zuo Luohuan glanced down at the wet patch on her own pants and instantly understood. She looked up at Ji Yuezhi and said, “I'll go get them for you. Wait for me here.”
She was an expert when it came to picking out pajamas.
After getting another set of pajamas from the room next door, Zuo Luohuan went to the bathroom to shower, her mind constantly replaying the first half of Ji Xixiu's message.
Ji Yuezhi's differentiation had come extremely late. Was it perhaps because of a health problem? Or did Ji Xixiu simply think her rank as an Alpha was too high?
When she came out, wrapped in a cloud of steam, Zuo Luohuan quickly composed her emotions. She walked into the bedroom. Ji Yuezhi was already lying on his side on the bed. Hearing the sound, he tried to get up, but she pressed him down. “We have to get up early tomorrow. Sleep.”
Zuo Luohuan switched off the bedroom light. She stood by the bed, casually drying her hair, not getting in right away. Only after hearing the sound of Ji Yuezhi's steady breathing as he fell asleep did she walk out of the room.
Zuo Luohuan: 【How many times has the Ji family hired a doctor in recent years? Are there any records of medication use?】
Late at night, Jiang Hong was recounting his experiences on Xijiang Exile Star to Guan Xue and Qian Mao, who were far away in the capital. He suddenly saw the message from Zuo Luohuan, propped his chin on his hand, and thought for a moment before replying: 【Why the sudden interest in this?】
Zuo Luohuan: 【Send me all the information you can find.】
Jiang Hong's spirits immediately lifted: 【Luohuan, what are you planning to do to Ji Yuezhi now? Don't. Even though you're rivals, honestly, I think Ji Yuezhi is a pretty decent guy.】
Zuo Luohuan frowned. What had she done to him? She had no idea what was going through these people's minds.
The next second, in his hotel room, Jiang Hong received this message:
【No matter how good he is, he's mine.】
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