Must a Villainess Be Punished? - Chapter 1

The moment I saw my differentiation results, my whole world collapsed.

Federal Military University admitted Alphas and Alphas only.

If word got out that I had presented as a Beta, the university would expel me without mercy, even if my brother donated another dozen buildings.

I absolutely could not suffer that kind of humiliation.

In a panic, I ran straight to my childhood friend, Cen Qi.

For years, Cen Qi had been the all-powerful strategist lurking behind the villain. Whenever I landed myself in serious trouble, he fixed it with ease.

This time would be no different.

“I’ve had your differentiation results sealed. The university won’t find out for now.”

But I couldn’t avoid the end-of-term physical, and suppressing the news would only buy me so much time.

Unless—

“Jinjin, have you ever heard of secondary differentiation?”

Cen Qi adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and offered his suggestion in a mild voice.

“If you can undergo secondary differentiation before the physical, you may be able to fool everyone.”

Cen Qi said I still had a chance to become an Alpha.

He reached for the back of my neck at an unhurried pace, his cool fingertips circling the edge of my scent gland.

“Nourishing this area with a high-quality Alpha’s pheromones might stimulate your gland and trigger secondary differentiation.”

I wasn’t especially bright, but I wasn’t completely ignorant either.

I eyed him suspiciously. “Isn’t that marking? Only couples do that sort of thing.”

Cen Qi looked perfectly at ease.

“Don’t you want to become a powerful Alpha, Jinjin? Will one harmless little detail really shake your resolve?”

“Of course not!” I shot back at once.

The moment he challenged me, I tossed aside that faint sense that something wasn’t quite right.

If it meant I could differentiate again, getting bitten a few times by some Alphas… really wasn’t a big deal.

Cen Qi gave me an encouraging smile.

“As for the pheromone donor—I’m a top-tier Alpha. My pheromones would make ideal nourishment.”

I curled my lip. “No need.”

Forcing an Alpha to provide pheromones was at least a little humiliating.

What scraps of conscience I possessed prompted me to spare the poor childhood friend I had enslaved for years.

“Just give me the idea. I have someone else in mind for the pheromones.”

Cen Qi clearly hadn’t expected me to refuse. For one rare instant, his expression stiffened.

By the time I glanced at him, he had already composed himself. He asked with studied casualness, “Who did you choose? A high-ranking Alpha’s pheromones will work much better than those of some random stray.”

He had hit the nail on the head. My choice was practically a stray.

Still, that fellow from the slums had apparently presented as a top-tier Alpha. His pheromones wouldn’t be any less effective than Cen Qi’s.

“Jinjin, I think—”

I had my solution, so I immediately turned on him.

“I don’t care what you think. I say it’ll work, so it’ll work. Can you stop meddling in my business?”

Seeing that I was about to lose my temper, Cen Qi sensibly shut his mouth.

I discarded him the moment he had served his purpose, though I remembered one last command before driving him away.

“Oh, and don’t tell my brother.”

Otherwise that controlling busybody Jiang Shechuan would drop whatever he was doing, rush home, and obstruct my grand plan to differentiate again.

“All right.” Cen Qi’s voice was calm. As always, he was perfectly obedient.

What I didn’t see was what happened after I turned away.

Cen Qi raised his right hand and feverishly breathed in the scent on the two fingers that had touched my nape.

Behind his glasses, dark eyes churned with unspeakable malice, like a beast about to break its chains.

“Don’t go too far, Jinjin. Even I can get angry…”