A Sweet Scent of Roses

A pair of cool arms suddenly wrapped around Lin Meng from behind.

Lin Meng's first instinct was that she'd run into a criminal. Just as she was about to scream for help, a hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off her voice—and the hand carried a faintly familiar scent.

Something like the very sweet scent of roses.

But there was no time to think about that. Lin Meng thrashed violently, both hands prying at the arm around her with all her strength. Then, seizing her chance, she bit down hard on the tender, smooth forearm.

The person behind her let out a pained sound. "Darling, we're finally reunited after so long apart, and you leave such an obvious mark on me? Aren't you a little too enthusiastic?"

Lin Meng's eyes flew open at the voice. She was so shocked that she let go, then slowly turned to look at the person staring at her with burning eyes.

Was she dreaming?

If not, how else could Su Yutang be standing right in front of her?

Before she could recover, Su Yutang leaned in close, her warm breath spilling against Lin Meng's neck. A moment later, she caught the scent of two different pheromones on Lin Meng—very faint, as if washed away by rain. An ordinary person would never have detected them.

But Su Yutang was an S-rank alpha.

Su Yutang noticed the anomaly, and her expression darkened almost instantly. As if unable to control herself, she grabbed Lin Meng's chin and squeezed hard. "Looks like you made quite a few new friends while I was gone."

Lin Meng: "?"

What new friends? It was still the same few people as always.

Seeing the look on Su Yutang's face—like she wanted to strangle her—Lin Meng hurriedly reached out and placed a hand on Su Yutang's arm, trying to soothe this Young Miss on the verge of eruption. "Could you... could you let go first? It hurts a little."

Her chin ached from Su Yutang's grip, and the place she'd bitten began to sting too. As luck would have it, Lin Meng's hand had landed exactly on the bite.

She'd thought the person was a criminal, so she'd bitten down without holding back.

Lin Meng quickly pulled her hand back, but the moment she let go, Su Yutang caught it and yanked her into her arms. "Do you remember what I told you before I left?"

At that grim expression, Lin Meng felt as if her neck were being squeezed. "Um, I..."

Su Yutang stroked her cheek with her free hand. "You haven't forgotten, have you? You've got an unfamiliar alpha's scent and an omega's pheromones on you. While I was away, just how many girlfriends did you get?"

Lin Meng's eyes widened. "You... what did you say?"

Seeing her stunned expression, the ferocity on Su Yutang's face froze. Right—Lin Meng couldn't smell pheromones at all, so she couldn't rule out that a pack of foxes had come to seduce her.

The thought softened Su Yutang's heart. She had lain low on Xia Island for half a year before she got out. When she first returned to Jing City, Su Yurong had kept her under close watch. She'd waited days for an opportunity and finally slipped away. She didn't want to frighten Lin Meng, or make her distance herself.

With that in mind, Su Yutang released her grip. Then she cupped Lin Meng's soft cheeks in both hands and said earnestly, "Darling, I didn't mean to delete your contact. After my mother took me away, she locked me up. She confiscated my phone, and she's the one who deleted your contact. I never once thought about deleting you—after all, I like you so much, darling."

Lin Meng gave a small nod. "It's fine."

The first few days had been a little hard to get used to, but after a few weeks she didn't feel much of anything. She'd even started to think that Su Yutang had never walked out of the novel and appeared before her in the first place.

She'd never taken the matter to heart.

Seeing Lin Meng's expression, Su Yutang's own darkened. She couldn't help but show a trace of hurt.

She'd been locked up by Su Yurong for so long. All those months, she hadn't sent Lin Meng a single message. Now, reunited after so long apart, Lin Meng hadn't said a single word of concern.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't hurt.

Su Yutang let out a bitter laugh. "I knew you'd be like this."

Then she took a phone from her bag and held it out. "This phone only has my contact in it. From now on, use this phone to reach me."

Lin Meng didn't take it. She frowned slightly. "If you really want to contact me again, you could just re-add me on WeChat. Why do we have to use this phone?"

At that, Su Yutang's expression turned to barely restrained fury, her arm trembling faintly. "Because my mother is watching me. If she finds out I've contacted you again, she'll very likely lock me up again in some isolated place."

At this, she looked at Lin Meng with an utterly aggrieved expression, her wet eyes blinking. "Darling, do you know... for the past half year, I've been locked up on a lonely island across the ocean. There wasn't a single familiar person there except the servants my mother sent. Everything I needed was airlifted in. No one talked to me. No one understood me. I was going out of my mind, thinking of you every waking moment. If not for you in my heart, I would have long since..."

Her voice suddenly caught in her throat.

Lin Meng had seen Su Yutang this fragile before.

She sympathized with the childhood trauma Su Yutang carried. After all, psychological wounds didn't just heal because someone wanted them to.

Before Su Yutang left, Lin Meng had only known that she was the eldest daughter of the Su family and the sole heir to the Su Corporation. Even if her mother wanted to discipline and restrain her, it shouldn't have gone too far.

But she never imagined that Su Yutang's mother would treat her so cruelly.

As far as Lin Meng knew, she had never seen Su Yutang do anything truly terrible. Perhaps Su Yutang didn't deserve such punishment.

They had lived together in that rented apartment for a week, after all. Hearing Su Yutang's choked voice, Lin Meng couldn't help but soften. She stepped forward and gently embraced her. "Young Miss, thank you for still thinking of me."

Su Yutang seemed to find comfort in Lin Meng's warm embrace. As if basking in the moment, when Lin Meng moved to pull away after a brief hug, Su Yutang locked her arms around Lin Meng's waist, holding her in place.

The nights on that lonely island had been too cold and too long. She truly needed Lin Meng to warm her body.

If she hadn't stolen away this time, she would have dragged Lin Meng to a nearby hotel for some proper intimacy to deepen their relationship.

Lin Meng felt Su Yutang was holding her too tightly. She'd been in that position too long and was starting to lose her breath.

Just as she was about to ask Su Yutang to let go, Su Yutang's arms slid from her waist.

Su Yutang put on a smile that didn't reach her eyes, one that looked like she wanted to devour Lin Meng whole. "Darling, did you hear what I said before I left? Have you gotten a girlfriend?"

Startled, Lin Meng quickly shook her head. "No, no."

Seeing her timid look, the same as always, Su Yutang couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Good girl. I believe you, darling. You have to believe me too—I won't make you wait too long. In three months, I can clear out everyone my mother planted around me. Once I have my own power within the Su family, no one will stop me from dating you for as long as I want. When that time comes, let's get married, okay?"

Lin Meng was left stunned and speechless.

Why was Su Yutang talking about marriage too?!

Lin Meng was just about to shake her head and refuse when Su Yutang stuffed the phone into her arms. "Time's up. I have to go. Wait three months for me—I won't let you down."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she bent down and kissed Lin Meng's soft lips, then turned and vanished into the night.

Su Yutang had come without a sound and slipped away as swift as a gust of wind.

Lin Meng stood there as if dazed by the fleeting kiss Su Yutang had left behind. She didn't even have time to chase after her and explain.

Three months...

But by then it would nearly be winter. Lin Meng planned to quit her job at the end of the year and go back to her hometown. She wanted to cut ties with all of this completely and return to a normal life.

At that thought, Lin Meng lowered her head and glanced at the phone that contained only Su Yutang's contact. It didn't look cheap. She didn't really want to accept it, but Su Yutang had already left...

Never mind. She'd hold onto it for now and return it to Su Yutang when she left.

...

Su Yutang circled the park as fast as she could, then reached a Phantom parked by the roadside. She opened the door and sat in the back seat.

The driver was the person her grandmother had carefully chosen for her: Si Bingxia.

Like Ji Quanying, Si Bingxia was an assistant and steward carefully selected by her grandmother for the next heir—someone who would never betray the Su family.

Ji Quanying was loyal to Su Yurong, while Si Bingxia answered only to her.

When she'd first returned to the country, she had actually gone to the old neighborhood to look for Lin Meng in secret, only to learn that Lin Meng had moved.

At the time, she had just been released. If she did anything to displease Su Yurong even slightly, Su Yurong would lock her up again immediately. Left with no choice, she could only activate the hidden piece her grandmother had left her.

Si Bingxia was very efficient. She quickly found Lin Meng's current address. When Su Yutang received the news, she came to see Lin Meng almost without delay.

Lin Meng had promised to wait for her, so she needed to speed things up.

In this world, relying on anyone was useless; she could only rely on herself. She had to gain real power as quickly as possible, so Su Yurong could no longer dictate her life's major decisions.

Si Bingxia, driving in front, saw that Su Yutang had returned and asked, "Young Miss, where to next?"

Though Su Yutang had been busy all day and looked a little tired, seeing Lin Meng had filled her with energy. Especially that last kiss—it felt like ripples spreading through her heart... She touched her lips as if still savoring it. "Go compile the government connections my grandmother cultivated before. I also need the Su family's recent port information. After that, accompany me as I screen out all of my mother's key people."

Si Bingxia agreed without expression. "Yes, Young Miss."

Su Yutang's mood had improved greatly. Even working through the night wouldn't tire her.

Because when she'd come back and kissed Lin Meng again, Lin Meng hadn't seemed averse. She hadn't rejected her.

Lin Meng did have feelings for her.

...

Huo Yi had actually applied for a week's leave for Lin Meng, but Lin Meng ended it early and returned to work. Since she was going back to her hometown, she naturally needed to save more money so she could live better there.

After a busy day, when she got home from work, she suddenly heard a phone ringing. She looked toward her bag in confusion—

Wait, wasn't her phone right here?