Chapter 7
Song Jinzhi arrived home before Gu Sijiu. She didn't go straight to rest, but walked quietly into the garden and sat on a chair, staring blankly. Just then, the buzz of her communicator shattered the lingering silence. Seeing the name on the screen, Song Jinzhi felt a sting in her nose. She fought back the ache, waiting until her emotions steadied before answering.
"A Yu, how did you find time to call?" Song Jinzhi turned off the video feed, her voice already even. Most people wouldn't have been able to detect the exhaustion and hoarseness beneath it, but the person on the other end clearly paused at the sound.
"Even if I'm busy, I have to call you. A Jin, have you lost your mind? You finally moved out, why on earth have you moved back? Whether that scum lives or dies has nothing to do with you, why are you going back?" The caller was Jing Yu, a female Beta and Song Jinzhi's closest friend. They had met in university and stayed in close contact after graduation. Song Jinzhi rarely spoke about her private affairs, and Jing Yu was the only one who knew Gu Sijiu's true colors.
Actually, Song Jinzhi hadn't wanted Jing Yu to find out in the beginning, not because she didn't trust Jing Yu, but because she didn't want her best friend worrying over her troubles. Unfortunately, Jing Yu knew her too well. No matter how carefully Song Jinzhi hid it, the occasional bruise on her body was impossible to conceal. Even the night Gu Sijiu had strangled her neck, it was Jing Yu who had accompanied her to the hospital in the middle of the night to get bandaged. To Song Jinzhi, Jing Yu was the only person she could confide in now.
"A Yu, I don't want this either, but you know, some things really aren't within my control. I can't help it." Song Jinzhi spoke softly, struggling to rein in her emotions. But faced with her closest friend, the nerves she had kept taut for so long finally slackened, and all the pent up hurt came spilling out. Song Jinzhi understood her situation all too clearly, she had no way out, and even less could she back out of this marriage.
The Song Family was large and wealthy, but in the end they were still merchants. Officials outranked businessmen. Even if the Songs had money, they were no match for the Gu Family, who held power. Song Jinzhi still remembered the night of their engagement, how Gu Sijiu had pinned her against the wall and warned her not to reveal anything about her body's condition, if she didn't agree, the Song Family would disappear from the Empire.
Song Jinzhi understood that those words were not a mere threat; Gu Sijiu truly could make it happen. With the Gu Family's influence, dealing with the Song Family was far too easy, and the "disappearance" she spoke of was absolutely more than just business suppression. Every time Song Jinzhi recalled what Gu Sijiu had done to her, aside from disgust, she felt only fear.
Gu Sijiu was profoundly calculating, sometimes even stooping to any means to achieve her ends. To get her in the beginning, she had put on a tremendous act in front of Song Jinzhi's parents, crafting such a flawless image. Even now, if Song Jinzhi ran to her parents and told them how awful Gu Sijiu was, the two elders likely wouldn't believe her. And these were only the immediate problems. The most insurmountable obstacle between her and Gu Sijiu was their extremely high compatibility rating.
In the Empire, compatibility ratings were one of the standards for gauging whether an Alpha and Omega were suited for marriage. When an Alpha and Omega with a high rating bonded, both the comfort and intimacy of their heat periods and the children they produced would be exceptionally outstanding. The Empire encouraged high compatibility Alphas and Omegas to pair up. Though it didn't go so far as outright coercion, once data like compatibility ratings were submitted, it became extremely difficult to back out.
Gu Sijiu had exploited precisely that point. She had performed in the early stages, playing the role of an exceedingly considerate and gentle Alpha, but after the data had been submitted, her true nature was laid bare. Thinking of her and Gu Sijiu's 84% compatibility rating, Song Jinzhi couldn't understand why she would have such a high rating with someone like that. They didn't love each other, they even loathed one another. Two such people, yet they possessed an extraordinarily high compatibility. Just the thought of it brought a look of mockery to Song Jinzhi's face.
"A Jin, I don't want to see you unhappy. You know exactly what kind of person Gu Sijiu is. Do you really intend to marry her, be forcibly marked by her during heat, and bear her children?" At these words, Jing Yu's face turned pale, and Song Jinzhi pressed her lips together in silence. She knew about Gu Sijiu's physical condition, but that physical deficiency didn't affect Gu Sijiu's ability to mark her, she was still capable of getting her pregnant.
Add to that Gu Sijiu's wildly unpredictable temperament, and Song Jinzhi could hardly imagine the humiliation she would face after marrying her. Thinking of all this, Song Jinzhi helplessly wrapped her arms around herself, curling up on the chair, weeping soundlessly like an abandoned child. Even someone like Song Jinzhi cried in suppressed silence, not a single sound escaping her.
Gu Sijiu stood at the doorway of the house, watching this scene. The step she had been about to take she pulled back. She just stood there, watching Song Jinzhi talk to the person on the other end of the line. After a while, the call ended. Song Jinzhi pulled a box of ladies' cigarettes from her bag, lit one, and smoked slowly. Gu Sijiu hadn't expected Song Jinzhi to smoke, Song Jinzhi's aura was so refined and otherworldly that smoking hardly seemed like something she would do. Yet when this incongruous act landed on her, it wasn't incongruous at all. The image was actually quite beautiful.
Song Jinzhi's way of lighting a cigarette was distinctive. She didn't grip it between her teeth like most people, but held it lightly with her lips. She didn't use a lighter. Instead, she took out an exquisite matchbox, pulled out a long stemmed match, and struck it. She liked watching the flame slowly grow strong, and wouldn't touch it to the cigarette until it was nearly about to die out.
A pale gray plume of smoke drifted from Song Jinzhi's slightly parted lips. She tilted her head back. Tears welled in her eyes, slipped from the corners, and slid down her cheeks. She held the cigarette between her fingers, the tip stained with her lipstick. The sight was breathtaking. The garden lights were dim, nothing shone brighter than the glowing ember of her cigarette. There she sat in the darkness, weeping silently.
Gu Sijiu watched for a long time, so long that her legs began to ache before she realized she had been standing there for a full ten minutes. Gu Sijiu was a neat freak. She drank, but she didn't smoke, because she detested the smell of smoke and didn't want any trace of tobacco on herself. Yet at this moment, she found smoking not entirely objectionable, solely because the one smoking was Song Jinzhi.
Seeing that Song Jinzhi was about to finish her cigarette and head back inside, Gu Sijiu went in before her and seated herself on the sofa. She intended to have a talk with Song Jinzhi. Even if it couldn't ease their relationship, at the very least she needed to let her know that she had no interest whatsoever in this so called marriage. She was straight, only interested in men. And even on the off chance she did look for a woman, she would never go for someone like Song Jinzhi. Song Jinzhi returned to the house and the moment she stepped inside, she saw Gu Sijiu sitting on the sofa. She retreated half a step, as if looking at a haunting little spirit, wanting only to go straight upstairs.
"Song Jinzhi, I want to talk to you. If we could..."
"Sorry, I'm very tired. I just want to rest." Song Jinzhi turned toward the stairs. Gu Sijiu hurried over and tugged at the hem of her clothes.
"Just a few words. It won't take much of your time. If you don't want to sit down and talk, I'll say it right here."
Gu Sijiu felt a headache coming on. She truly found Song Jinzhi's impervious attitude somewhat vexing. "Fine, what do you want to say?" Song Jinzhi turned around, folding her arms across her chest as she looked at Gu Sijiu, a guarded posture. Gu Sijiu took a slight step backward. Of course she had no intention of revealing that she wasn't actually the original Gu Sijiu; transmigration was far too unbelievable, and even if she told her, Song Jinzhi might not believe it.
"What I told you this morning about losing part of my memory really is true. I know we've had some unpleasant experiences. As for the marriage, you don't need to be in a rush. If we can't call it off, we'll just get married for now. I promise I won't touch you." Gu Sijiu spoke in a low voice, not out of any guilt toward Song Jinzhi, but simply because she couldn't stand what the Original Host had done.
She was a woman, and so was Song Jinzhi. She admitted Song Jinzhi was beautiful, but Gu Sijiu herself was no less so. She wouldn't change her sexual orientation or make a move on a woman just because she'd arrived in this world. Gu Sijiu figured that even if two women got married, it shouldn't be a problem, she wouldn't be having sex with a woman anyway. Naively, Gu Sijiu thought this way. She still didn't understand what pheromones truly were in this world, which was why she could say such things.
Gu Sijiu imagined she had spoken with complete sincerity. She raised her head to find Song Jinzhi looking at her with a faint, ambiguous smile, the contempt and scorn in her eyes so thick they practically spilled over.
"You say you won't touch me?" Song Jinzhi suddenly spoke. Gu Sijiu looked at her suddenly sharp brows and nodded. But the moment she did, Song Jinzhi yanked her hard, then shoved her shoulders up against the wall. Gu Sijiu was stunned, the first time she'd ever been kabedon'd, it was by a woman, and her nominal wife at that.
And wasn't an Alpha being kabedon'd by an Omega the wrong way around?
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