Chapter 50
...The commotion outside was a bit strange.
Zhuang Chi pressed herself against the door, holding her breath and concentrating, trying to figure out what was happening outside. But it was really hard to hear clearly; she could only faintly make out some noisy sounds.
But this was already telling. After all, the room Lily had given her was very well soundproofed. For the past few days, she hadn't heard a single sound from outside the door. The current situation at least indicated that the source of this noise must be quite loud.
...What on earth was happening? And no one had come to tell her. Zhuang Chi pondered alone. It must be related to that phone call Lily took, right? Ah, could it be the police...? Ling Jing was really fast then—no, but if it were the police, Lily probably wouldn't just leave me here and go out. I feel like she would have moved me somewhere else first, or just silenced me directly...
Wow, thinking about it like this suddenly made her worried again. Zhuang Chi was anxious, touching the "time bomb" on her neck, very concerned that spikes might pop out the next second.
Because of these pessimistic thoughts, Zhuang Chi was startled when the door was suddenly thrown open. Seeing the police officers file in, she couldn't react for a moment. She hadn't seen anyone but Lily for the past few days, so her first reaction was, "Oh, oh, so many people." Just as her stalled thoughts finally started to turn, she heard a cry of surprise from the doorway.
"Zhuang Chi!"
Zhuang Chi looked up at the sound and was immediately hit full-on by a dark figure. The person's momentum was so strong that if Zhuang Chi hadn't been close to the wall, they both would have likely tumbled to the ground. The current situation wasn't much better; Zhuang Chi felt like she'd been slammed against the wall. Before she could even figure out who it was, she was already being hugged tightly. The newcomer, with a tearful voice, wailed, "Thank goodness, you're really okay... Thank goodness!"
...It was Ling Jing.
Zhuang Chi slowly realized it, but Ling Jing's mood had already shifted to anger. "You! Don't you go off playing the hero by yourself ever again! You're an Alpha who hasn't even been differentiated for a full month, how could you possibly fight so many people! What if, what if that detestable princess didn't just kidnap you, but just casually—that could have easily happened! You listen to me!"
Her emotional shifts were truly dramatic. Zhuang Chi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Only now did she have the dazed feeling of having been rescued. She first patted Ling Jing's back soothingly. "I-I'm fine now. It was you who sent Xiao Ying over before, wasn't it... You guys reacted so quickly? Have you got Lily under control?"
She wanted Ling Jing to explain the current situation, but Ling Jing was both happy and angry. She knew she should explain, but after several attempts, she couldn't manage to organize her words, stopping in a huff after just a few. Zhuang Chi was at a loss, feeling that just calming Ling Jing's emotions was a major undertaking. Facing the confused gazes of the police officers, she braced herself and repeated her comforting words several times, but to little effect.
Just then, another person walked in quickly from the doorway, stopped behind Ling Jing, and caught Zhuang Chi's hand, which was resting lightly on her back.
The emotionally conflicted Ling Jing was wondering why Zhuang Chi had suddenly stopped patting her back. When she looked up, she saw Zhuang Chi looking helplessly behind her. Ling Jing turned around as well and met Gu Ximian's dark, somber eyes.
Ling Jing held her breath at once, then slowly and silently let go of Zhuang Chi, raising her hands and carefully retreating to a corner.
And so, there were no more obstacles between Zhuang Chi and Gu Ximian. But for some reason, Gu Ximian just held her hand without speaking. The emotions she showed were far less obvious than Ling Jing's. Zhuang Chi's heart pounded; she couldn't discern anything and could only try to break the ice. "This... I've made you all worry during this time. Your school uniform jacket is in the closet, I'll go get it—"
"When you left me before," Gu Ximian interrupted her abruptly, her eyes still lowered, not looking at Zhuang Chi, her voice soft, "you said to me, 'See you in a bit.'"
"..."
It felt like a dull blow to her heart. Zhuang Chi pursed her lips guiltily and, after a long silence, said softly, "...I'm sorry."
"...What 'I'm sorry'?"
As if suddenly angered by her words, the hand holding Zhuang Chi's tightened its grip. Gu Ximian abruptly looked up. "I'm not, I'm not at all—"
After just a few words, Zhuang Chi could feel her breathing become ragged, her chest heaving rapidly. Those obsidian-like eyes stared straight at her, and suddenly, with astonishing speed, they filled with mist, becoming moist, the surrounding rims of her eyes turning a faint red.
"...I'm not... asking you to apologize to me," Gu Ximian's voice trembled violently. Even though she managed to finish the sentence, it lacked any force. She probably realized this herself and quickly lowered her head, avoiding Zhuang Chi's gaze, her grip on her hand slowly loosening. "I..."
Her voice was muffled, and Zhuang Chi's hand had already taken the opportunity to slip out of her grasp. Gu Ximian's heart felt empty for a moment, but in the next second, she was pulled into a solid embrace by the person in front of her.
"I know, I know," Zhuang Chi hugged Gu Ximian. She didn't know where she got the courage; it was as if seeing Gu Ximian's red eyes had short-circuited her thoughts, and her body had moved on its own. Now, as if infected by her sadness, she suddenly felt very upset and rambled, "It's okay, I'm here now. I won't run off again, and there won't be any more problems. Don't worry, it's okay..."
She was speaking incoherently, not even knowing what she was saying herself, and a belated concern that hugging someone so suddenly might be too rude began to surface. But just as she hesitantly loosened her grip a little, the person who had been quietly letting her hug them suddenly moved. Zhuang Chi immediately felt a pair of hands wrap around her lower back, their grip strong, as if locking her in an embrace.
"Zhuang Chi."
A soft, murmured voice reached her ear, calling her name once before falling silent. Zhuang Chi's heart trembled, and she responded softly, "Yes, what is it?"
But Gu Ximian didn't continue. She just silently tightened her arms, holding Zhuang Chi completely in her embrace, then slowly lowered her head, resting it on her shoulder.
"...Zhuang Chi."
She called her name again, and Zhuang Chi felt a liquid soak the shirt on her shoulder, searing her skin with a slight heat.
Zhuang Chi subconsciously wanted to look at Gu Ximian's face but quickly forced herself to stop the impulse. In the end, she just held her like this and replied properly, "Yes, I'm here."
She had finally returned to her side.
Although she was rescued, there were still many complicated matters to handle afterward. For example, she had to give a statement about what Lily had done to her these past few days. Another example was when she reached the first-floor lobby, smelled Gu Ximian's pheromones, and her gland suddenly started to sting, after which she was whisked away to the hospital in a flurry.
"...This is really too much."
Looking at Zhuang Chi's gland, the doctor couldn't help but blurt it out. Zhuang Chi herself hadn't had a good look at its current condition and was a bit dazed. She looked pleadingly at Gu Ximian, only to be scared back by her grim expression.
...It looked really bad. She thought and then looked towards Ling Jing. That person looked absolutely horrified, barely managing to stifle a gasp by covering her mouth, but her eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and anger, making it clear to Zhuang Chi that her gland definitely didn't look good right now.
At least there was one piece of good news: she had finally had that collar removed with the help of the police, which immediately triggered this kind of reaction from the doctor and the others. Zhuang Chi became inappropriately curious for a moment, but she couldn't see her own neck. So she raised a hand, like a student asking a question in class, and said obediently, "...Can I have a mirror?"
It was a simple request, but the doctor looked troubled, hesitating for a long time before agreeing. Even as Zhuang Chi walked to the mirror, the doctor still wore a worried expression, as if believing that letting her see the mirror would lead to some bad consequence. Zhuang Chi, not understanding why, fixed her gaze on her reflection and couldn't help but let out a "wow."
...Looking at it like this, it really did seem excessive, Zhuang Chi thought. She reached out and carefully touched the patch of flesh, which was a lifeless, deep red color. A needle-like pain immediately shot through her, and the spot she touched indented slightly from her weak pressure, not bouncing back for a long time.
"...Don't touch it."
Zhuang Chi was still examining herself in the mirror when she was stopped by a low voice from someone who had come to her side. She looked over and met Gu Ximian's somber gaze. Seeing her turn, Gu Ximian clearly controlled her expression to soften it, and her voice became gentler. "Let the doctor examine it first."
Zhuang Chi obediently sat back down in front of the doctor. The doctor's brow was furrowed throughout the examination, making Zhuang Chi feel that her gland was probably a lost cause. After all, a quick glance just now had shown the entire area was a dying deep red, looking as if it were on the verge of necrosis.
She was surprisingly open-minded about it—it just meant no pheromones. To come out of a kidnapping completely intact was already remarkable; such a small price was practically negligible... In fact, it wasn't even that bad, was it? It was just like back in her original world.
Thinking these thoughts, Zhuang Chi honestly cooperated with the doctor's examination. In truth, she felt she hadn't been much help to the doctor, since whenever the doctor palpated her, her only answers were "it hurts" and "it hurts a lot," which made the doctor hesitant to even touch her later on. The doctor also asked if she could release her pheromones now. Zhuang Chi tried her best in front of the doctor's instrument; she herself felt she hadn't succeeded and didn't smell any coffee scent. Besides, the moment her gland started to hurt, she was told to stop, so she didn't know the result.
"...The injury is quite severe."
The doctor began with this sentence, her expression grave. "That collar that was just removed... it's too heavy, and its texture is very rough, unlike the specialized skin-friendly materials used for pheromone blocking collars. The gland is a very delicate organ; it simply can't withstand being chafed like that day after day."
"Moreover, she only differentiated less than a month ago," the doctor sighed lightly. "It was still in its growth period, yet it not only suffered physical torment but was also bombarded by high concentrations of another's pheromones for a long time, and she herself..."
"Just give us the conclusion."
Gu Ximian cut the doctor off. Her voice was cool. She took a shallow breath and asked, "Is there a way to treat it?"
The doctor was silent for a long moment before saying in a low voice, "...We can only say we can try. But most likely... it won't be possible to make a full recovery."
"..."
Gu Ximian's entire body tensed for a moment. She seemed to want to say something but ultimately gave up, only asking softly, "Unable to make a full recovery... what kind of problems will remain?"
"...Mainly, her control over her pheromones might be affected."
The doctor said, looking at Zhuang Chi and explaining in a very gentle voice, "It's not that you won't be able to use them at all, just that you might have difficulty controlling the precision of your pheromone release in the future. The cycle of your susceptible periods might also become irregular. Of course, the specific situation will have to wait until after further examination. This is just speculation for now."
"I've seen many patients with damaged glands. As long as you cooperate with the treatment, it will gradually get better. For now, the most direct impact on you will probably be..." The doctor paused, giving her an apologetic look. "...you probably won't be able to undergo pheromone grading. Because that test requires maintaining a stable input of pheromones... and that's indeed a problem that can't be solved in a short time."
"..." Zhuang Chi looked at her, blinking blankly. "I-It's okay. You don't have to feel sorry. I don't think it's that important..."
In fact, after hearing the doctor's words, Zhuang Chi was rather surprised: it hadn't reached the point of being completely unusable, just that her pheromones had become difficult to control—wow, to be honest, that sounded even more troublesome than the gland being completely ruined.
But the doctor clearly took her words as a considerate patient comforting her in return, giving her a gentle and emotional smile. Meanwhile, everyone around her was shrouded in gloom. No matter where Zhuang Chi looked, she saw a dejected face, which made her feel uncomfortable. She tried hard to change the atmosphere. "I'm serious. It's just affected, I really think it's a small thing. At worst, I'll just have to carry inhibitors with me from now on. It won't have any impact on my future life."
"How could it not have any impact!" Ling Jing couldn't hold back first, interjecting with teary eyes, exasperated. "You-you can't even participate in the grading! Never mind those arrogant Alphas who only care about grades, Omegas are very concerned about this when choosing a marriage partner. If someone looks down on you then... I-I'll..."
Seeing her grit her teeth as she spoke, Zhuang Chi didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she tried to soothe Ling Jing for the sake of that non-existent "person who looks down on her." "It's fine, it hasn't even happened yet. At worst, I'll just—"
"...Yes, it is indeed a small thing."
She had been about to say, "At worst, I just won't date," but halfway through her sentence, she heard Gu Ximian's voice of agreement. Ling Jing whipped her head around to look at her, her face filled with shock and disbelief, as if she couldn't believe those words had come from Gu Ximian.
But Gu Ximian's expression remained unchanged as she glanced at the clueless Zhuang Chi.
"In any case, I don't care about grades."
Her voice was calm, yet it landed with weight, resounding and firm.
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