Chapter 4

The car stopped again, and Yan Huiwen fumbled around in the front, but the scent of lily of the valley, the Omega pheromone filling the car, grew increasingly potent.

"Let me out of this car, now!" Yan You shouted at Yan Huiwen.

Wen Zhiyu's heat had arrived. As an Alpha, Yan Huiwen staying in the car with her would be too dangerous for both of them.

Yan Huiwen finally reacted, pressing the unlock button and letting Yan You out. She was left alone with Wen Zhiyu. "Damn it! This car is new. I forgot to prepare an inhibitor!"

"Go... Go buy one, quickly," Wen Zhiyu gasped, her hands gripping the armrest tightly, her face flushed a terrifying red.

Yan You stood three meters away from the car, breathing deeply. She'd forgotten to close her window when she got out and could still faintly smell Wen Zhiyu's lily of the valley pheromones. She quickly circled around the back of the car to the other side.

The car door slammed shut as Yan Huiwen hastily got out to close the window, finally sealing off the pheromones completely.

The wedding manor was in the suburbs, and the car had stopped in the middle of nowhere. It would take at least twenty minutes to reach the city.

It was nearly midnight, and traffic was sparse.

Even if they managed to flag someone down, they'd most likely be guests attending Wen Zhiyu's wedding. This couldn't get out to a fourth person.

Suppressing her agitated breathing, Yan You asked Yan Huiwen, "What should we do? Can she make it to the city? You could drop me off here and I'll walk ahead. Just remember to come back for me."

"She won't last. Even if I drive, it'll affect me too." Yan Huiwen clenched her fist, a flicker of struggle in her eyes. "Forget it—you'll have to temporarily mark her."

"Me? No, no, no!" Yan You stepped back. How would she even do that? And in front of her mother, marking someone else? That would be too much!

Absolutely not!

"Stop dawdling! She's having a drug-induced glandular atrophy attack. If we delay any longer, it'll kill her!" Yan Huiwen's voice was firm. Just moments ago, she'd been pleading with Yan You, but now, with the situation critical, she made a decisive choice.

"I'll pull down the middle curtain, keep the front windows open, and get her to the hospital immediately." Without heeding Yan You's frantic waves of refusal, she yanked the car door open and shoved her inside.

Back in the car, the scent of lily of the valley was almost suffocating. Before Yan You could settle, Yan Huiwen pulled down the middle partition, slammed her foot on the accelerator, and shot forward.

Yan You stumbled into Wen Zhiyu's arms. Fearing she might lose control, she instinctively pressed her hand to the suppression patch on the back of her neck. Yan Huiwen never lied, and her voice was so tense—Wen Zhiyu must be seriously ill.

This was life or death. She couldn't afford to hesitate any longer; lingering would seem melodramatic. Saving her was the priority.

Wen Zhiyu pushed at her shoulders, her voice raspy and weak: "Get... get off me!"

"I'm just trying to help you," Yan You murmured, gripping the armrests of Wen Zhiyu's seat and kneeling in the car to lean over her.

The warm breath on her neck made Wen Zhiyu momentarily dazed.

Wen Zhiyu, who had loathed Alphas since childhood, clearly heard their conversation. Powerless to push Yan You away, she instinctively shrank her neck, bracing for the sharp pain of teeth piercing her skin.

But Yan You didn't bite.

Instead, she gently brushed her lips against the small patch of skin, as if testing the waters or offering comfort. The warmth from the back of her neck sent an inexplicable tingling through Wen Zhiyu, making her breathing turn ragged and her resistance crumble completely.

This hypocritical Alpha is taking advantage of me! she thought. Just a temporary mark, and she dares to kiss me!

Yet her body had gone limp, leaving her utterly powerless. Even the hands she'd pressed against Yan You's arms began to dig into her arm as a tingling sensation spread up her spine.

She let out a low curse: "You bastard." Her voice was too faint and slurred, and the wind was too loud; Yan You heard nothing.

To get closer, Yan You's hand slid from Wen Zhiyu's shoulder and wrapped around her waist, pulling her forward. Wen Zhiyu collapsed into her arms.

It wasn't that she was trying to take advantage of the situation; her physiology teacher had taught her that Alphas must learn to soothe an Omega's fear and emotions during a mark.

The pressure of her lips and tongue gradually intensified, shifting from a light caress to a firm suck. Yan You's tongue repeatedly traced the outline of the gland, each movement carrying just the right amount of force, as if trying to awaken it.

Wen Zhiyu bit her lower lip, her knuckles turning white as she clenched them, yet she couldn't suppress the soft whimpers escaping the depths of her throat.

"Hold on," Yan You murmured, her voice husky, her lips still pressed against Wen Zhiyu's neck, brushing against the skin that was already growing hot from the sucking.

She felt something stirring within her body, the lessons about treating Omegas gently from physiology class swirling in her mind.

This wasn't right. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stop overthinking. Just bite and get it over with.

The moment her teeth pierced the gland, the pheromone of grass's vibrant life force surged through her like a tide. It was an overwhelming, shudder-inducing fullness, a mixture of sharp pain and indescribable tingling that spread through her veins and into every limb.

Wen Zhiyu trembled violently, her fingers clenching the hem of Yan You's dress like a drowning person clinging to the last piece of driftwood.

The car was filled with the cloying scent of lilies of the valley and faint grass, thick and suffocating. The wind whipped the curtains, each flap stinging Yan You's back.

Yan You closed her eyes, feeling the person in her arms grow increasingly limp and her breathing increasingly rapid. A strange itch spread through her heart, but she dared not move or loosen her grip. She could only hold her tightly, waiting for this absurd temporary mark to end.

No sound came from the front of the car, only the howling wind through the open windows, a reminder to Yan You and Wen Zhiyu not to get too lost in this temporary mark.

Yan You didn't know how long she had been biting Wen Zhiyu. It wasn't until Wen Zhiyu's trembling stopped and her hand fell from Yan You's dress that she realized something was wrong. She steadied Wen Zhiyu by the shoulders and pushed her back against the seat.

Oh no, why has she passed out?

Yan Huiwen and the health teacher never mentioned that temporary marks could make someone pass out!

Wen Zhiyu slumped limply in her arms, motionless, which terrified Yan You. Her face paled instantly, and the lingering hint of carnal indulgence that had been bubbling in her heart vanished like smoke.

She yanked open the curtain, her voice trembling. "Oh no, she's passed out. What do we do?"

"What exactly did you do to her?! A temporary mark shouldn't make someone collapse!" Yan Huiwen snapped, already spotting the city lights in the distance. Her distrust of Yan You surfaced in a sharp accusation.

Yan You froze, the years of misunderstandings flooding back. Relying on their current "unfamiliarity," she retorted coolly, "Just drive. How much longer until we get there?"

A surge of anger rose in her. I did exactly what you told me to, and now you're blaming me? You haven't changed at all in twenty years.

She slammed the curtain shut and returned to the back seat, her fingers trembling as she reached for Wen Zhiyu's nose.

She was still breathing.

She let out a long sigh, her heart easing somewhat. She probably fainted from the illness... It should be nothing serious, right?

She had called an ambulance in advance. When the van pulled up to the hospital's emergency room, a crowd of people was already waiting.

As soon as the door opened, Wen Zhiyu was lifted out and rushed into an examination room.

Doctors and nurses wheeled the unconscious Wen Zhiyu away, drawing blood and taking her temperature and heart rate. Yan You stayed by her side, while Yan Huiwen went to handle the payment.

The medical staff remained silent for a long time, making Yan You anxious. "Doctor, what's wrong with her?"

The female doctor responsible for Wen Zhiyu slowly removed her stethoscope, glanced at Yan You, and said calmly, "Drug-induced glandular atrophy. You injected too much pheromone at once, and she couldn't handle it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yan You felt the entire examination room go silent. The eyes of men, women, and children—those waiting in line, those receiving IV drips, those tending to patients—all turned to her.

Yan You now understood what it meant to feel like a thorn in her back.

"So that's what it is. I must have pushed the injection too fast and too much." She forced a dry laugh, emphasizing the word "injection." Since she's alright now, there's no need for everyone to know the specifics of how I administered the pheromones.

"Is that so? Did I missee earlier?" The doctor reached for Wen Zhiyu's collar, intending to examine her cervical gland to determine if it had been pricked by a needle or bitten by Yan You. If it was a needle prick, she would need to give strict instructions to lower the next injection dose.

Yan You quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her aside and asking urgently, "Doctor, doctor, how serious is her condition? Are there any precautions I should take? When do you think she'll wake up?"

"This condition isn't particularly serious as long as she receives regular comfort from a stable Alpha. The real challenge arises with patients who have no romantic partner but cling to a rigid sense of purity, preferring daily inhibitor injections over settling. Such cases are difficult to manage; with current medical capabilities, they rarely live past forty."

The doctor spoke calmly as she followed Yan You to a nearby area, lowering her voice to add, "But since she's married now, it's much simpler. Let her rest today; she can be discharged tomorrow."

"I understand. Thank you, Doctor." Yan You thanked her politely and watched the doctor turn and walk away before returning to the bedside.

After taking two steps, she felt a weight suddenly settle on her shoulder. Yan You turned around to find the same female doctor standing there.

The doctor smiled at her, her tone suddenly cheerful. "Oh, by the way, I saw the news! Congratulations on your wedding! Could you... get me an autographed photo of Wen Zhiyu?"

Reminded by the doctor, Yan You realized that Wen Zhiyu was a public figure, and her hospitalization couldn't be widely publicized. Whether the news was positive or negative, it would harm her reputation.

After agreeing, she quickly asked the doctor to help arrange a private room for Wen Zhiyu. Fortunately, Yan Huiwen seemed to have anticipated this and had already admitted her to a private hospital where money could solve anything.

Once Wen Zhiyu was settled in the private room, Yan Huiwen, who had handled the payment, joined them.

The room contained only a bed and a sofa. Yan You relayed the doctor's warnings to Yan Huiwen, then offered her the relatively comfortable sofa before turning to leave with the autographed photo.

With everything handled, she walked downstairs alone, planning to make do with a chair for the night.

Ring-ring-ring—

Yan You pulled out her old flip phone and frowned at the twenty-odd missed calls and the latest message.

Both the calls and the message were from someone named Yan Annian.

Return to the old house immediately tomorrow and explain everything about you and that Wen Zhiyu.