TIMO - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Shi Nan failed to leave Nanke Island.

Even though she had abandoned all her luggage, taking only the watch Fu Zhao had given her-not even the pillow-and dressed inconspicuously for the car ride to the starship port, she was still stopped by someone who had just disembarked.

A travel-worn figure stood before her. A tall, slender woman in a black, form-fitting suit that cinched her narrow waist. Her long brown hair was draped smoothly over her shoulders. Her features were sharp and exquisite, and the rimless glasses she wore added a touch of severity.

"Nannan," the woman called out, a smile gracing her lips as the sharp light in her eyes softened. "Are you here specifically to pick me up?"

Shi Nan frowned, her tone icy. "Lu Jingmo, whatever you're here for has nothing to do with me. I've told you many times that I don't want to see you again. Picking you up is even more impossible. Don't always be so presumptuous."

"My business has nothing to do with you, and your business has even less to do with me."

The corners of Lu Jingmo's mouth tightened imperceptibly, but her gaze remained fixed on Shi Nan. Her tone grew heavy for a moment before she deliberately softened it, smiling again. "How could it have nothing to do with me?"

"I took a half-month annual leave and specifically found a pleasant, suitable island for a vacation. It's also... convenient for us to discuss things together, with Nanke Island..." She frowned, took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, and paused before speaking. "Aren't you here to break off the engagement? I can help you."

"Help me?"

Shi Nan glanced coolly at Lu Jingmo, her voice laced with mockery. "This is their territory. How are you going to help me? By trading some of your scientific research with them?"

"How did you know?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Lu Jingmo's eyes, but she quickly composed herself, her gaze burning. "How did you know? I specifically brought my latest research, the Type-A artificial pheromone enhancer. I heard the Little Island Master really wants to become an Alpha. Although I can't make that wish come true, as long as she agrees to break off the engagement with you, I can make her seem, more or less, like an Alpha."

Shi Nan stared fixedly at Lu Jingmo. The woman's deep-seated sexism disgusted her and made her irritable. But she also knew that since Lu Jingmo had already come to Nanke Island, she wouldn't leave easily, unless...

She lowered her gaze, then raised her eyes a moment later to meet Lu Jingmo's, her expression blank. "She doesn't need that. Like me, she detests arrogant, self-centered Alphas like you more than anything. Compared to becoming an Alpha, she'd rather live peacefully as a Beta."

"Leave, Lu Jingmo."

"Don't appear before me again."

"I'm leaving too. If you want to stay on the island, then I advise you not to go looking for Fu Zhao, and don't reveal your 'superior gender ideology' to anyone on Nanke Island. Otherwise, you'll discover you're nothing more than a despicable person."

After saying this, Shi Nan turned and walked away, her face cold.

"Nannan, wait!"

She didn't respond, but in the next second, her wrist was seized.

A powerful force pulled her back, and the intensely aggressive scent of a cedar Alpha pheromone washed over her.

"What is the meaning of this?"

A wave of dizziness hit her. Shi Nan's expression darkened as she forcefully tried to pull her wrist free from Lu Jingmo's grasp. But compared to an Alpha with a physiological advantage, even though she was considered a physically strong Omega, her strength was almost negligible in the face of an Alpha continuously releasing pheromones.

"I'm sorry, Nannan. I just don't want you to leave me so soon. I haven't finished speaking, so I can't let you go just yet." Lu Jingmo spoke softly, her tone gentle, but every word conveyed an unyielding message. "I used a tiny bit of pheromones. It's fine, it won't cause you any harm. I just want you to listen obediently to what I have to say-"

"She told you to let her go!!"

"Didn't you hear her?"

A pale, slender hand reached out and grabbed Lu Jingmo's hand, the fingertips turning white from the force of the grip.

The pressure on Shi Nan's wrist loosened. She took the opportunity to pull her hand free. The watch she wore had already left an imprint on her skin.

She created some distance. The dizzy spell caused by the Alpha pheromones had subsided somewhat. She looked at the person in the black trench coat and khaki baseball cap and sighed softly.

"Shen Caiwei, what are you doing here now?"

Seeing that Shi Nan felt a little better, Shen Caiwei finally released Lu Jingmo's wrist and snorted coldly. "Lu Jingmo, why are you still so trashy? Always like to throw your scent around?"

After her harsh words, she remembered Shi Nan's question and was momentarily at a loss. After a long pause, she spoke reluctantly, "I was planning to go back to RT Planet today. Aren't you and Fu Zhao a done deal now? I don't want to watch you two being all lovey-dovey, so I figured I might as well go back."

"I was about to board the starship, but then I saw this trashy person, Lu Jingmo..."

"Still using the same old rotten tricks. I couldn't stand it. And she's an Alpha, she was bullying you, so of course I had to step in."

Lu Jingmo nonchalantly shook her hand, the soreness in her wrist finally easing. She had to admit, although this dumb Alpha Shen Caiwei didn't have much of a brain, she was quite strong.

"It was just a small pheromone fluctuation. Nannan, are you alright?" she explained softly to Shi Nan, treating Shen Caiwei as if she were invisible. "I just wanted to tell you, since you're leaving the island, I'll go with you."

"I have a half-month vacation anyway, I can accompany you."

"Lu Jingmo, don't you think you're incredibly hypocritical? Don't think I didn't hear you. You deliberately released your pheromones just now to make Nannan too weak to resist. I wonder how many times you've used a trick like that. I'm going to report you for using oppressive pheromones on an Omega as soon as I get back. Get ready to rot in jail!!"

There was an unavoidable physiological gap between Alphas and Omegas, and Alpha pheromones had a suppressive effect on Omegas. Therefore, on every planet in the interstellar community, there were clear laws stating that it was illegal for an Alpha to release pheromones in a public place to pressure an Omega.

Lu Jingmo was so brazen simply because she was an interstellarly protected talent.

What Shen Caiwei hated most about Lu Jingmo was her "holier-than-thou" attitude.

"I didn't. You've misunderstood."

Confusion colored Lu Jingmo's eyes, then she smiled faintly and leaned close to Shen Caiwei's ear, whispering, "You say I released pheromones. Do you have any proof?"

"You!!"

Shen Caiwei shoved Lu Jingmo away, her face filled with disgust. "This pungent, slutty smell all over you is the proof."

Lu Jingmo shrugged and retracted her pheromones. "It was just a small pheromone fluctuation. I've been under a lot of stress at work lately, and my control over my pheromones has been a bit off."

Shen Caiwei knew Lu Jingmo would say that and hadn't really planned on reporting her. She just rolled her eyes, pushed Lu Jingmo further away, and turned back to Shi Nan with a fawning smile. "Nannan, wherever you're going, I'll go with you."

Hearing Shen Caiwei's words, Shi Nan finally snapped out of her daze. From the moment Lu Jingmo had released her pheromones, she had felt something was wrong. She knew that a small amount of pheromones would only make an Omega feel weak and subservient to an Alpha; it wouldn't cause the dizziness, blurred vision and hearing, and the burning sensation all over her body that she was experiencing now.

Unless that small amount of pheromones had triggered the heat she had been warned would come early.

But she had left in such a hurry, she hadn't brought anything with her.

Realizing this, she bit her tongue to force herself out of her daze. She stared warily at Lu Jingmo and Shen Caiwei, her face impassive as she suppressed the surging tide in her heart and the heat rising from her blood. She pressed her lips together and let out a soft breath. "It's none of your business."

With that, she turned and walked away, no longer insistent on leaving the island. She just wanted to get away from these two people who were now dangerous to her.

Lu Jingmo was one thing. She appeared gentle and kind, but who knew how many dirty thoughts she harbored underneath. She would definitely take advantage of her situation.

Shen Caiwei was slightly better, simpler in nature, but she was still a pampered Alpha at heart. She might not be able to overcome her physiological instincts...

Besides, the starship port was full of Alphas.

The thought made Shi Nan feel a little desperate. Why did it have to be now, of all times? And when Fu Zhao wasn't here.

She strode quickly through the port, forcing herself to find a safe place and then ask the port's aid staff to bring her an inhibitor. Fortunately, she was on Nanke Island. To deal with such situations, all public places on Nanke Island provided temporary aid for those in heat.

She just needed to find a safe place, stay put, and wait for help.

Shi Nan tried to keep her breathing steady, but her whole body inevitably began to heat up. Her blood was surging, her head grew heavier, and the objects and people in her vision started to blur and sway with double images.

She could hear Lu Jingmo trying to chase after her from behind, but Shen Caiwei stopped her. The sound of their argument grew more distant and faint.

She could feel the gland on the back of her neck secreting fluid, almost soaking through the isolation patch stuck there. Uncontrollable pheromones began to leak out slowly.

Her strength was gradually fading, and her steps became lighter and lighter.

Top-heavy.

Yet more and more people were approaching in her field of vision.

"Miss, do you need any help?" A simple-looking Alpha approached, not yet realizing what was happening, only wanting to offer assistance.

"Nannan, what's wrong? Nannan?"

The voices of Shen Caiwei and Lu Jingmo chased after her from behind.

Almost all of them were Alphas.

Shi Nan's breathing grew heavier, and the air she exhaled became increasingly hot.

Until she bumped into someone's shoulder- small and thin.

She didn't have time to look back, just frowned and continued forward until footsteps followed her from behind, and a familiar, puzzled voice spoke up.

"Sister Shi Nan, what's wrong?"

She raised her eyes and stared for a long time, her thoughts jumbled, before finally recognizing the neat, short-haired boy in the Nanke No. 4 High School uniform as Ye Er.

Right, Ye Er was an Omega.

Realizing this, she subconsciously tightened her grip on Ye Er's arm, her tone urgent. "Ye Er, do you have an inhibitor?"

"An inhibitor?"

"I understand. Sister Shi Nan, don't worry, I'll get you an inhibitor in a moment."

Ye Er's expression changed instantly as he understood what was happening. But since he wasn't in heat recently, he wasn't carrying an inhibitor. He could only pull a new isolation patch from his pocket and swiftly stick it over the already damp one on the back of Shi Nan's neck. Then, he quickly pulled Shi Nan towards the aid station.

But just as they turned, Shen Caiwei and Lu Jingmo surrounded them. The oppressive presence of the Alphas' physiques made him tense up almost immediately. He stared warily at the two Alphas before him, his hand reaching into his bag to grip his utility knife.

"Young man, this is my friend, Shi Nan. She's in heat right now. I'll take her back to handle it." Lu Jingmo adjusted her glasses, revealing a seemingly harmless smile, but she subconsciously licked her lips.

"Don't believe her!!"

Shen Caiwei shoved Lu Jingmo aside and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. She reached out to pull Shi Nan, but then froze, suppressing the inappropriate feeling. "I'm Nannan's friend. I'm taking her out of here now."

"There are too many Alphas here."

"I think you're the most dangerous one."

Shi Nan felt a buzzing in her ears. She could no longer clearly hear what the two were saying. The heat in her body intensified. She barely managed to lift her eyelids and tugged on Ye Er's sleeve.

"Take me to the aid station..."

After saying that, it was as if all her strength had been drained. Her vision blurred, and she could faintly hear voices.

It sounded like Shen Caiwei and Lu Jingmo were still arguing. Lu Jingmo wanted to snatch her away from Ye Er, and Shen Caiwei wanted to take her away from this place.

It also sounded like Ye Er's voice, very loud, but it reached her eardrums as if from a great distance.

He seemed to have shouted Jiang Wenqing's name.

Then came the sound of rapid footsteps, and Jiang Wenqing's urgent and furious voice echoed throughout the entire port.

"You stinking Alphas! All of you, get out of the way! Let go of my Sister Shi Nan!!!!"

"This is our Little Island Master's wifey!!!"

Before losing consciousness, Shi Nan heard that sentence with perfect clarity. Although she found Jiang Wenqing's shout a bit melodramatic, it truly did set her mind at ease.

Right, this was Nanke Island. Everyone knew she was the Little Island Master's fiancée.

On Nanke Island's territory, Fu Zhao's territory, no one would touch her. Not to mention, Ye Er and Jiang Wenqing were here.

She had never felt she could trust others before, but now she believed that Ye Er and Jiang Wenqing would protect her.

Even though Jiang Wenqing was also an Alpha.

But she could still trust Jiang Wenqing, trust Nanke Island.

This was the Jiang Wenqing who had recited the "Ten Standards of Alpha Virtue" over a hundred times, and this was the Nanke Island that had incorporated the "Ten Standards of Alpha Virtue" into its quality education.

She remembered the first standard:

No matter the circumstances, an Alpha must never consider their pheromones as a form of help to an Omega.

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