Chapter 38

After a long while, Ji Kailan finally released Su Louzhi, a satisfied look on his face.

Even though the desire coursing through him hadn't subsided in the slightest, he knew full well that this was neither the time nor the place to drag her off and do anything further. The fact that she was willing to cooperate with him at all was already her greatest indulgence, swallowing her own shame to do so.

When Su Louzhi and Ji Kailan reappeared in the crowd, Qin Qingyan had already arrived.

Su Louzhi spotted her immediately, because beside her stood someone who seemed to shine with an almost blinding brilliance.

Su Louzhi focused her gaze and froze on the spot.

Wasn't this the member of the Lucky Girl group she'd seen while browsing through notable figures online a while back, the one embroiled in that contract dispute? The girl who was trying to terminate her contract?

What was her name again... Qin Ya, wasn't it?

Could this be the Qin family's biological daughter they'd recently found?

Su Louzhi gently nudged the hand that was wrapped around Ji Kailan's arm, signaling that she'd spotted Qin Qingyan and wanted to go over.

Ji Kailan understood at once and led her straight to the Qin family.

The Qin family had only brought three people this time: Qin Qingyan, the girl who appeared to be Qin Ya, and a middle-aged man with an imposing air that demanded respect, who looked like their father.

As the three of them saw Ji Kailan and Su Louzhi approach, the middle-aged man was the first to smile and nod at Ji Kailan. "It's been a while, Nephew Ji."

Ji Kailan gave a faint smile. "It has been some time. Uncle, this is my beloved, Su Louzhi. She's a very close friend of your daughter's. She saw her and wanted to come say hello. I wonder if you might spare your daughter a moment so the two of them can catch up properly?"

This small request was hardly a problem. Qin's father nodded readily and agreed.

Ji Kailan and Su Louzhi nodded to Qin's father and Qin Ya, then led Qin Qingyan back to the private booth they'd been in earlier.

No sooner had the three of them sat down than Su Louzhi eagerly took her phone from Ji Kailan's hand and typed furiously: [Qingyan, I just heard from Senior Shen about what happened with your family. Are you okay? Has it affected you at all?]

Qin Qingyan paused for a moment before speaking. "Actually, it's fine. My parents treat me just the same as before. Qin Ya... she seems easy to get along with so far."

Only then did Su Louzhi breathe a sigh of relief, but she still frowned with lingering worry and continued typing: [Qingyan, if anything's bothering you, don't keep it to yourself, alright? Sometimes just getting things off your chest is a kind of relief. I can also give you advice—if there's anything I can help with, I definitely will.]

Qin Qingyan smiled slightly, a genuine, heartfelt smile on her face. "Thank you, Zhi Zhi. I understand. It's just that there really isn't a problem right now. Whether it's my parents or Qin Ya, everything's been fine."

But as she said this, a faint crease of worry appeared between her brows.

Su Louzhi's heart clenched. She hurriedly typed: [But if everything really were fine, why would you be frowning?]

Qin Qingyan hesitated. "I just feel... Qin Ya seems a bit strange toward me. But I can't quite put my finger on it. She really is extremely kind to me."

A sense of urgency flooded Su Louzhi's chest. There it was! She knew the tropes in novels never lied to her!

Maybe the true daughter was at this very moment burning with jealousy toward the fake daughter, just realizing that the fake daughter's position in the Qin family was unshakeable! After all, the Qins had raised Qingyan for so many years, and Shen Boyang had also spent so much time with her. All those bonds and memories were there.

So Qin Ya was probably pretending to be nice to Qin Qingyan right now, lulling them into a false sense of security, right?

Too bad Su Louzhi couldn't come out and say it outright, or she'd be accused of sowing discord. After all, Qin Ya hadn't done anything out of line yet. If Su Louzhi jumped to conclusions, it would be bad for both her and Qin Qingyan.

All she could do was type: [Then Qingyan, since you feel something's off, you should definitely stay on your guard. If anything doesn't add up, tell me anytime.]

Qin Qingyan let out a light laugh and agreed readily. "Alright, alright." Then, with a hint of hesitation, she took Su Louzhi's hand. "Zhi Zhi, I need to use the restroom. Will you come with me?"

Su Louzhi was a bit puzzled, but girls going to the restroom together was perfectly normal, so she naturally stood up and walked out with her.

Ji Kailan stayed put in the booth, saying softly, "Zhi Zhi, I'll wait for you right here."

Su Louzhi nodded to him and left with Qin Qingyan for the restroom.

Once inside, Su Louzhi was about to head toward a stall when Qin Qingyan suddenly grabbed her arm.

Qin Qingyan first shut the door, then knocked on each stall door to make sure they were all empty before speaking hesitantly. "Zhi Zhi... you and Ji are together?"

Su Louzhi nodded, a little confused.

Hadn't she already told them all about this in the dorm group chat? Sure, she'd gone off the grid for those seven days while Ji Kailan was in rut, but once he recovered, the first thing she did was post a message to the group letting them know she was safe. She'd missed two days of exams, and skipped classes after that—her roommates had been worried sick. If Shen Boyang hadn't come back and told them that she was accompanying Ji Kailan, they probably would've filed a missing person report. So after Ji Kailan got better, she'd immediately announced in the group that she and Ji Kailan were together.

Qin Qingyan should already know. Why was she asking again?

Qin Qingyan frowned with concern, her tone growing more hesitant. "Then Zhi Zhi... has Ji been forcing you to do anything?"

Su Louzhi hadn't brought her phone in with her, and she couldn't speak, so she could only shake her head: No, he hasn't forced me to do anything.

Qin Qingyan looked at her innocent, bobbing head and sighed. "If he hasn't forced you... then is it that you just don't know how to refuse him?" She paused, lowering her voice even more. "Things like this, you actually let him do them."

Su Louzhi was even more baffled. She took Qin Qingyan's hand and gently traced characters into her palm: What things?

Qin Qingyan seemed to struggle with the words, but eventually opened her mouth. "Zhi Zhi can't smell pheromones, I know that. But to the rest of us..." Her expression was complicated. "The pheromones on you are already so dense they're practically visible. How intense is that? Let me put it this way—betas can't smell pheromones. But I can guarantee you that even a beta can smell the scent on you."

Su Louzhi froze. Pheromones—she really couldn't smell them. But how could she have such a strong pheromone scent on her?

Suddenly, she remembered something Ji Kailan had said.

He'd told her the reason he gave her milk every night was because he'd added something to it that would let her carry his scent. After she'd called him out on it, he'd switched from the nightly milk to rubbing scented lotion on her instead.

At first, she really hadn't been able to get used to it. Her skin had felt so tight that even her way of walking had been weird. But later, just as he'd said, she'd adapted after a few days and could no longer feel anything out of the ordinary.

So...

In the eyes of people in the ABO world, she'd been this conspicuous all along?

She'd thought everybody had a scent, and that she'd just picked up a little of Ji Kailan's. What was the big deal?

So this was why all those people had looked at her with such strange expressions on her first day of work?

Su Louzhi felt like the sky was falling.

Ji Kailan had been using that stuff as lotion on her for a full six days now.

For six entire days, she'd been exactly what Qin Qingyan described—an oversized, mobile light source, blazing brightly in front of everyone in the ABO world.

And not a single person had told her.

Su Louzhi was so mortified that she was red from head to toe.

Oh my god! What was going on? Why was it like this? Was she the only one who had a scent, while everyone else had none?

Qin Qingyan seemed to have noticed her confusion and explained softly, "Zhi Zhi can't smell pheromones, so you might not have a real sense of all this. Actually, all of us wear scent blockers."

She swept her hair aside, revealing the back of her neck. "The original scent blockers were applied here. But later, that type had too many safety issues—anyone could tear it off at any moment, and it wasn't pretty either. So a new generation of blockers came out. They're usually necklaces or bracelets. Once you put them on, they block your scent."

She lowered her hand and casually tidied her hair back into place. "So really, our pheromone scents aren't all that strong on a normal day. Only if you get extremely close do you catch a faint hint of the other person's scent. But the pheromones on Zhi Zhi... they're completely unblocked, which is why they're especially noticeable."

Su Louzhi felt like she was falling apart.

Her understanding of the ABO world really wasn't enough, after all.

Back when she'd read about pheromones, it only said that they were a scent everyone who presented would have, becoming noticeable only after presentation. She'd never once learned that scent blockers were a thing!

If the blockers were still the old version worn at the back of the neck, she might have found out long ago. But blockers had been upgraded. Everyone wore them as necklaces, bracelets, or other accessories, and she'd had no way of noticing.

And since she couldn't smell pheromones, she'd been completely in the dark.

She'd just thought those things Ji Kailan spread on her were embarrassing but harmless—drying to a colorless, odorless finish that only left her skin a little tight. So she'd gone along with it.

She'd never imagined... it was this.

Ugh! She'd been careless! If only she'd thought about it a little more deeply at the time!

If everyone in the ABO world really did have a scent, then in crowded public places, all those different scents should mix together into one big chaotic mess. In that case, Ji Kailan wouldn't have been the only one who couldn't stand it—it would've been unbearable for everyone!

Qin Qingyan watched Su Louzhi, who seemed so ashamed she didn't dare lift her head to leave the restroom and face anyone again, and let out a gentle sigh. "Zhi Zhi, sometimes I think you're too innocent. Ji has you completely wrapped around his finger, and that worries me."

Her tone grew serious. "Even though what happened with my family—I know now that I was switched at birth and won't be inheriting the Qin family—I was still raised from a young age as the heir. In business, we believe in reciprocity. You give a little, I take a little. You retreat, I advance. I advance, you retreat. I think that's how it should be between people, too."

"But Zhi Zhi seems to be constantly retreating, whether it's toward Ji or toward us."

She looked at Su Louzhi, her gaze gentle. "I'm not saying that's a bad thing. On the contrary, whether it's me, Jiang Yi, or Meng Ting, we all really like you. Sometimes when we see you always backing down, it breaks our hearts. I'm just worried that if Zhi Zhi wants a relationship to last, you can't keep retreating forever. Because if you keep giving ground, the other person will inevitably start to push further. But when the day comes that you have nowhere left to retreat and the other person wants to take another step forward... it becomes very difficult. Because he's already used to you stepping back. If you stop, the feelings between you two are bound to crack."

She gently took Su Louzhi's hand. "I've never been in a relationship myself, and I don't know if love can be managed like a business. But I do think that whether it's love or marriage, it needs to be tended to. So I just wanted to share a bit of my philosophy with you. Zhi Zhi can listen to it, or not."

She curved her lips into a warm smile. "In any case, no matter what Zhi Zhi runs into, I—and Jiang Yi and Meng Ting—will always have your back."

Su Louzhi's eyes reddened, warmth flooding her chest. She knew she had her flaws—she didn't know how to interact with people, could only keep nodding and going along with whatever was asked of her. And Qin Qingyan had said all this to her, right as she was just starting a relationship, with someone whose position in the world utterly towered over Qin Qingyan's. This was someone truly giving her heart and soul. At the thought, Su Louzhi felt tears threatening to spill again.

But Qin Qingyan gently raised a hand and wiped away the dampness at the corner of her eyes.

"Alright, Zhi Zhi," she said softly. "Don't cry. You put on such pretty makeup today. It'd be a shame if it got all smudged."

The moment she heard her makeup might run, Su Louzhi frantically held back her tears. In a short while, she'd managed to stop, though her eyes were still a little red. Anyone who looked closely would guess she'd been crying.

Qin Qingyan hadn't actually needed to use the restroom. Seeing that Su Louzhi had stopped crying, she coaxed her a little more, making sure she was in a better mood, before leading her out of the restroom.

The two of them pushed open the door and saw Ji Kailan standing not far away.

Su Louzhi hurried over to him. The moment she opened the door, he turned around, his gaze landing on her.

Just as she reached him and he was about to curve his lips into a smile, he caught sight of her slightly reddened eyes. His brow furrowed instantly, and he reached up to gently brush her cheek. "Zhi Zhi, why were you crying?"

Su Louzhi's face flushed, the embarrassment still lingering. She shook her head, wanting to drag him back to the booth. Leaving early wouldn't be right, for any number of reasons, but ever since Qin Qingyan had told her how heavy her pheromone scent was, she really didn't dare face anyone again.

Qin Qingyan walked over and nodded to Ji Kailan. "There. Zhi Zhi, I'll head back to my father now."

Su Louzhi nodded and waved at her. Once Qin Qingyan had walked away, she pulled Ji Kailan back into the booth.

Ji Kailan knew she had something to say, and the moment they sat down, he handed her his phone, asking quietly, "What happened to make Zhi Zhi cry just now? Did something upset you?"

Su Louzhi took the phone and typed quickly: [Qingyan just shared something from her heart with me. I got a little emotional, that's all.]

After typing that, Su Louzhi paused, then couldn't help but continue: [Oh, and I just found out that I apparently carry a very heavy scent of your pheromones. I had no idea... why didn't you tell me? Qingyan said it's really noticeable. No wonder so many people gave me strange looks on my first day of work!]

Ji Kailan looked at the words on the screen and let out a soft chuckle. He reached out and slowly pulled her into his arms. "I like Zhi Zhi too much," he said, his voice a little husky. "I'm sorry. Does this really bother Zhi Zhi?"

Hearing him say he was sorry, Su Louzhi's heart softened again. Honestly, Ji Kailan hadn't done anything wrong to her. He just wanted to do this, and she'd given her silent approval.

She lowered her head and continued typing: [Qingyan told me there's a kind of scent blocker like jewelry. Would it help if I wore one?]

Looking at her question, Ji Kailan could see that she was basically giving him silent permission to keep doing what he'd been doing. His eyes darkened with a surging undertow, and he said hoarsely, "It would work. I'll buy one for Zhi Zhi tomorrow. Once Zhi Zhi puts it on, your pheromone scent will be much lighter."

Only then did Su Louzhi relax. But then she remembered the movie Absolute Controller and typed hesitantly: [It won't completely block your scent, will it?]

Ji Kailan admitted it without any pretense. "No. But it'll block most of it." He looked at her, a hint of cautious hope in his eyes. "Can Zhi Zhi bear it? I really like it when Zhi Zhi carries my scent."

Su Louzhi was silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

Anyway, she'd already been wandering around with the heaviest scent she'd ever have, flashing it in front of all those people. After it thinned out a little, who else was she afraid to meet?

Seeing that she was letting the matter slide, Ji Kailan smiled slightly. "So does Zhi Zhi want to stay in this booth all night and not go out and face people?"

Su Louzhi hesitated. Initially, she really hadn't dared to show her face. But she'd just thought it through again: as embarrassing as it was, she was still curious about what plot point today's banquet might trigger. She'd pretty much figured out by now that every time the System sent her on a mission, it was the trigger for some small or major plot event.

Take the first mission, for example. Qin Qingyan and Shen Boyang had known each other since childhood, and they were quite familiar with each other. But that day was supposed to showcase Qin Qingyan's courage and resilience, because it was Shen Boyang who'd spotted them first, and Ji Kailan only arrived later.

Even though she'd been so worried that day that she'd stood in front of Qin Qingyan, she thought she'd handled that mission pretty well. At least the System hadn't sent her any kind of negative feedback.

At the second mixer, she'd spent almost the entire time with Ji Kailan. But after it ended, everyone had indeed mingled. Qin Qingyan and Shen Boyang had gone off on their own together during that event. She didn't know exactly what happened between them, but later, Jiang Yi had told her in gossipy confidence that she thought Qingyan and Shen Boyang might be getting a little flirty.

The likely cause was that night. Jiang Yi and Liu Mengting had also been wandering around in pairs and had happened to spot two figures off in the distance who seemed to be Qin Qingyan and Shen Boyang. Qin Qingyan had stumbled as she walked, and Shen Boyang had caught her quickly. Their heads bumped together, and although they'd separated in a flash, Jiang Yi had insisted to Su Louzhi, "With my expert eye for spotting couples, I guarantee they kissed!"

When Jiang Yi had told her about it back then, Su Louzhi had had an 'I knew it' feeling. An accidental kiss between the male and female leads before they'd officially gotten together—wasn't that classic small plot point material?

So she was genuinely curious about what might happen at today's banquet.

Su Louzhi thought it over. Anyway, she'd already perfumed the whole crowd with her scent without even realizing it when she'd walked in. What was one more pass? The difference between being marinated once and twice wasn't all that big, really.

In the end, curiosity won out over shame. She deliberated for a while before finally convincing herself. She typed to Ji Kailan: [I want to walk around the banquet a bit, just to see the world.]

Ji Kailan led Su Louzhi back into the center of the banquet, and immediately, a crowd swarmed around them again.

It was at this moment that Su Louzhi truly realized how different she was from the people of this ABO world. She couldn't smell pheromones, so she had no way of knowing whether the people in front of her were Alphas, Betas, or Omegas. But she'd discovered something else: they were all quite tall.

She'd thought she'd be able to mingle back into the crowd and steal glances at Qin Qingyan and Shen Boyang to see if their relationship had progressed, or watch for any unusual moves from Qin Ya. But now that the crowd had converged around her, she sadly realized she was too short. Blocked by all these people, she couldn't see a thing.

Su Louzhi let out a troubled sigh in her heart.

Since arriving in this ABO world, she'd discovered a third difference between her and the people here:

First, they were all stronger than her.

Second, they all had more energy than her.

And third... they were all taller than her.

It really was a pitiful thing. In her old world, Su Louzhi absolutely hadn't been short. Her parents were both gorgeous—a handsome man and a beautiful woman—and there was an unspoken threshold for good-looking people: height. So she'd naturally inherited her parents' height and managed to reach 165 centimeters in the south.

South. 165. She knew exactly how much damage those two words could do together. But for some reason, whether it was because the people of the ABO world developed better or what, her height didn't even measure up here!

She was suddenly reminded of the other night, during one of those moments when she'd still been lucid. Ji Kailan had blurted out, "Little one. My little one."

At the time, she'd been utterly confused. Didn't Ji Kailan usually call her 'my Zhi Zhi'? When had it become 'little one'?

The next morning, when she woke up and remembered his words, she typed the question to him. Ji Kailan had raised an eyebrow and pointed out, "Zhi Zhi typed it wrong. It's 'little one,' not 'little Zhi.'"

Su Louzhi: ???

Seeing the shock and disbelief in her eyes, he'd said matter-of-factly, "When I hold Zhi Zhi in my arms, no matter what position, I can always tuck her completely into my chest. Isn't that exactly what a little one is?"

Su Louzhi: ...

Ah, whatever. A new world, new adjustments. Su Louzhi put an end to her pitiful reminiscing and brightened up to observe Qin Qingyan and the others.

Luckily, Ji Kailan understood that she didn't like being crowded, and a few words from him dismissed most of the people. Su Louzhi's line of sight finally cleared.

After that, Ji Kailan alternated between chatting briefly with a few passersby and taking her over to the buffet table to grab some snacks. Su Louzhi, meanwhile, kept one eye on Qin Qingyan and Shen Boyang's positions at all times, while also staying alert for any suspicious moves from Qin Ya.

Just then, Qin Qingyan, feeling a little peckish, came over to the buffet to pick up some pastries. She carried her plate over to Su Louzhi's side, and the two of them nibbled away in little bites.

Suddenly, a waiter carrying a tray of glasses approached Qin Qingyan and asked gently, "Sir, miss, would you like something to drink? We have wine and juice."

Su Louzhi wasn't thirsty and was about to shake her head when she heard Qin Qingyan say softly, "I'll have a glass of orange juice, please. Thank you."

The waiter picked up a bottle gracefully and poured orange juice into a glass.

Su Louzhi watched the golden liquid trickle into the cup, and a scene from some novel she'd read suddenly flashed through her mind. It seemed like every aristocratic family novel had this trope: the protagonist unknowingly drinks a drugged drink handed over by a waiter at a banquet, gets dosed with an aphrodisiac, and ends up in a passionate encounter with someone.

Alarms blared in Su Louzhi's head.

She knew very well that in these scenarios, the protagonist who got dosed usually ended up with the other protagonist in the end. But that wasn't what the protagonist had originally wanted. She thought that kind of thing should happen with both parties' full consent.

Besides, she still wasn't sure whether this was a sweet story or an angsty one.

From what she knew, some old novels actually had the protagonist sleeping with a side character. If that glass of orange juice really was spiked, and Qin Qingyan drank it... even if it was Shen Boyang, she'd still think it was wrong. But what if it wasn't Shen Boyang? She felt like the sky would collapse.

Watching the waiter set down the bottle and reach out to hand the drink to Qin Qingyan, Su Louzhi didn't think twice. She snatched the glass of orange juice.

Tipping her head back, she gulped it down in one go.