---

Zhu Wenqin didn’t move, silently letting me clumsily lick and kiss his lips, while he gently rubbed my wrist. Then, suddenly, he forcefully pulled me away. He shielded me, but avoiding a slap was impossible—Miss Wen stormed over and struck my face with a resounding slap.

The slap landed with a crisp “smack,” making my head turn, and my ear started burning with heat.

She threw the bag she was holding at me, yelling, “Where did this little vixen come from, seducing my man?!”

In my panic, my suppression patch slipped off, allowing a hint of my pheromones to leak. Miss Wen furrowed her brows and cursed angrily, “So you’re that inferior Omega! Zhu Wenqin raised you all this time, and this is how you repay him? Shameless! Hitting you would dirty my hands!”

Her words left me in a daze. Zhu Wenqin held her back, casting a glance at the head of the Wen family, who was standing nearby. Then, he turned to me, pressing down on my gland as if to warn me, “Keep those despicable thoughts to yourself.”

---

#9

Zhu Wenqin’s relationship with the Wen family was deeply intertwined in business matters. I rationally analyzed the benefits and drawbacks, bit my lip, and took a step back.

However, Miss Wen wouldn’t relent. “Zhu Wenqin, why are you still keeping this person around? We may not be married yet, but I don’t feel comfortable with him by your side. Today, he did this; who knows when he’ll try to climb into your bed next!”

Zhu Wenqin glanced at her deeply, like a considerate lover making a decision on her behalf. “Then let’s follow your advice and kick him out.”

My heart sank at that moment, and my brain went into shock. I couldn’t understand what Zhu Wenqin was saying…

I opened my mouth, desperate for him to spare me a glance, desperate for him to take back those words. “Brother, please, don’t.”

Zhu Wenqin paused slightly, the corners of his mouth lifted, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Miss Wen, are you satisfied now?”

He had Ah Chao take me to one of the rooms on the yacht. As I was led there, I couldn’t count how many gazes pierced me like arrows.

But by then, I was numb.

I sat in silence in that dark room all night. Ah Chao and a few others were guarding the door outside. I didn’t know how long Zhu Wenqin planned to keep me locked up, but I figured once the yacht party was over, I’d be discarded like a piece of trash.

It was laughable to think that, not too long ago, I had been so confident I could win over Zhu Wenqin.

I spent the entire night sitting in that closed, dimly lit room. By the next day at noon, no one had brought me any food, leaving me to starve.

It was as if Zhu Wenqin had forgotten I existed.

But I still clung to a sliver of hope—maybe Miss Wen had given a strict order, and he was just powerless to stop it.

Powerless? I had no choice but to take a gamble.

---

#10

At 2:30 AM, the entire yacht was eerily quiet.

Earlier that evening, Ah Chao had secretly brought me some hot porridge, soothing the hunger pangs that had been gnawing at my stomach.

I told him I had made up my mind and asked him to report back to Zhu Wenqin. Now, the guards outside the door had been sent away.

I opened the door and walked onto the deck. It was dim, and I could barely see the path ahead. Suddenly, I slipped and fell face-first onto the ground.

My nose hit the metal deck hard, and I wiped away a handful of blood.

Afraid of alerting the people inside, I gingerly got back up and crawled to the railing. Looking out at the churning waves below, I hesitated for a moment.

I’ve always been scared of death. Before Zhu Wenqin took me in, I was constantly bullied by a gang of Alpha thugs, barely surviving. It was only after he picked me up that I could finally catch my breath.

Even though he saved me because of a report showing a 98% compatibility between us.

My hands, resting on the railing, started to tremble. I turned back, unable to see a clear way forward—or back.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps on the yacht, coming from the direction of the room I had just escaped from.

Blinking dazedly, I made my decision the moment I heard the door to my room creak open.

Without hesitation, I jumped off the yacht.

In that blurred moment, I heard Zhu Wenqin calling out my name. His voice echoed around me, shattered by the seawater, no longer reaching my ears.

Because I’m scared of pain.

But everyone thinks I’m used to it.

---

#11

Good news: I didn’t die.

Bad news: My gland has fully healed.

Ah Yue squatted on the construction site, telling me that this was a blessing in disguise. No one would think of me as an inferior Omega anymore.

I pulled my hard hat down to cover my face, jokingly saying, “Who says being an inferior Omega means you can’t have a properly developed gland? Maybe I’m just inferior by nature.”

“Nonsense. Why do you always put yourself down? You work harder than anyone else around here.”

Ah Yue is my Beta mentor and my savior. He pulled me from the water, saving my life, and helped me find a job and start fresh.

At night, as we lay on the same bed, chatting, Ah Yue brought up the day he saved me. Suddenly, he remarked, “You really seemed like someone heartbroken back then.”

I was taken aback, wondering if it had been that obvious. But thankfully, he didn’t mention my odd outfit that day.

I started by saying, “I have this friend,” and told him the story about me and Zhu Wenqin. He was blunt in his response: “You fell for the suspension bridge effect, didn’t you?”

I said, “But my friend really thought Zhu Wenqin had feelings for him. Otherwise, why would he have treated him so well… even kissed him…”

Ah Yue replied, “I don’t know if I should say this, but…”

Before I could give him the go-ahead, he said it anyway: “You’re kind of like Zhu Wenqin’s lapdog. He throws you a bone, and you wag your tail and beg for more.”

I turned my head, speechless. He had hit the nail on the head—his words cut straight to the heart.

“I’ve met very few people in my life who’ve treated me well. Zhu Wenqin was one of them, and so are you.”

But Zhu Wenqin is a thing of the past now.

He took me in, so I helped him as his assistant, repaying the favor.

Now that I’ve crossed the line, I’ll disappear, just as he wished.

I shouldn’t expect anything more from him. No one jumps into the same pit of fire twice.