Chapter 8

Like an electric shock, her body jolted. She lost her footing and fell toward Xie Shiqing, pressing the other woman beneath her.

So soft.

A muffled grunt followed.

Zhong Ning suddenly snapped back to her senses and scrambled off in a panic, apologizing repeatedly, “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

As if fleeing from a wild beast, she backed up several steps, putting a good distance between them.

So there was a gland too… Zhong Ning mumbled inwardly.

“I’ll stop now.”

Like breathing, a second nature, it didn’t take her long to grasp the function of the new organ and halt the release of pheromones.

Xie Shiqing propped herself up to sit, using her fingers to smooth her hair.

After losing her sight, her other senses had become much sharper.

Zhong Ning was like a walking pomelo blossom tree, recklessly exuding fragrance, but now that scent had suddenly faded.

Leaving a vague, inexplicable sense of regret lingered in her heart.

Xie Shiqing bit the tip of her tongue.

Was this what one hundred percent compatibility felt like? Or was it just the natural dependency an omega had on an alpha after a temporary mark?

“Let’s go.”

The saccharine low chuckle masked the disgust and revulsion simmering within her.

She loathed her heat periods, resented her body, and despised alphas even more—those who, just by having shared a bed, could exert control over her emotions.

They could cure her pheromone disorder but only to toss her aside afterward.

She didn’t need such a weakness that could be used to chain her down.

The omega’s red lips curved upward, like a blooming poppy seed, her smile growing even more radiant.

The meal had already been set on the table. Everything was light and in small portions. Zhong Ning was someone who loved food and enjoyed eating. With one glance, she could tell this wouldn’t be enough to fill her stomach.

But under someone else’s roof and without justification, she had to suppress her urge to ask for more, sitting down quietly like a meek little wife.

The entire house echoed only with the sounds of their eating.

The servants were like mutes—not a single word spoken, every task carried out in complete silence, their footsteps seemingly floating without making a sound.

Zhong Ning glanced left and right, feeling like she’d entered some horror story where speaking out loud would summon monsters.

Even she was infected by the atmosphere, eating with hushed movements.

Across from her, Xie Shiqing finished her meal quickly.

Zhong Ning had just finished three soup dumplings, and as her chopsticks reached toward the basket to grab another, she caught a glimpse of the woman across from her already putting down her utensils and wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Did she actually eat anything?

It had barely been a few minutes!

A quick glance at the table revealed only a missing soup dumpling and half a cup of soil milk—nothing else was touched.

Two baskets of soup dumplings, each containing only four. Zhong Ning looked at her own empty basket, then at the one across from her…

What kind of bird-like appetite was this?

Could this tiny portion really be enough to fill someone up? Zhong Ning was bewildered.

She had eaten three already and still felt hungry.

A person dressed like a butler stepped forward, holding two small cups—one steaming with warm water, the other transparent, containing half a cup of medicine.

Pink, blue, and red capsules; round, long, and flat tablets… there was practically a handful of them.

Zhong Ning’s chopsticks slackened, and the soup dumpling plopped onto the plate.

She watched as Xie Shiqing picked up the medicine cup and poured it into her mouth without changing expression. On her delicate, slender wrist, a pale blue jade bracelet of fine glassy texture slid down with the movement.

She picked up the warm water and took a few sips. Her throat moved as she swallowed both water and medicine together.

Then, she repeated the process.

Zhong Ning was stunned.

She had rarely been sick growing up—only a few times that she could count on one hand. Even then, the medicine she took was in granules or syrup, which she just swallowed down.

She didn’t know how to swallow pills, let alone throw a whole handful into her mouth like this.

Why did she need so many medications? Besides her blindness, did she have other illnesses?

No wonder Xie Shiqing was so thin.

But she ate so little and took so much medicine—could her stomach handle it?

Zhong Ning’s gaze unconsciously softened with pity.

So pitiful…

Rather pathetic.

But staring at someone with that kind of look wasn’t exactly polite. A person with a disability didn’t need the pity of the able-bodied. They only desire the same respect as a person.

Zhong Ning hadn’t come from a wealthy or noble family; just a regular middle-class. But she had been well-taught. Even though Xie Shiqing was blind and couldn’t see her expression—

She still withdrew her gaze.

She finished off the remaining dumplings in a few bites.

Still not full.

After hesitating for a while, she asked, “Miss Xie, are you going to eat that basket of soup dumplings?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her face flushed red.

So embarrassing! But she was really hungry!

Xie Shiqing was sipping warm water in small sips. At Zhong Ning’s question, she paused. “If you want to eat them, go ahead.”

“Thank you!”

Her tone was relieved and cheerful, followed by the sound of eager chewing.

Xie Shiqing was a picky eater—and had an aversion to food.

Anything too heavily flavored, oily or salty, she found cloying. If it was too bland, she thought it tasteless and couldn’t bring herself to eat it. She could find faults in both meat and vegetables. If she took more than a few bites at a meal, it was already giving someone face.

Even the hired chef, who tried all sorts of new dishes, couldn’t get her to eat a few more mouthfuls.

Every so often, she needed a nutrition injection.

A lot of this aversion to food stemmed from her pheromone disorder.

The chef had already made extra this morning, but Xie Shiqing hadn’t expected the person across from her to have such a good appetite—and not even mind eating her leftovers.

Anyone familiar with Zhong Ning would probably be shocked speechless if they saw this.

The thought made the corners of her lips curl.

When someone comes knocking at her door looking for a fight, even if she’s not angry, she would definitely hold grudges. Watching others trip up—why not enjoy it?

After the meal, the two of them headed to the hospital together.

Xie Shiqing was blind and couldn’t see, so she rarely left the house. The places she visited most often, aside from her company, were hospitals.

Bodyguards surrounded her, their footsteps synchronized, flanking her from all directions. She refused to use a white cane, so she walked right in the center, listening to the sounds of footsteps beside her to judge where to step.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep