Must a Villainess Be Punished? - Chapter 6

I had always been fond of comfort and pleasure.

Since Chu Ruoqing served me well and made me feel good, I magnanimously stopped fighting with him.

He was obedient now, too, and lavish with his pheromones. My scent gland received plenty of nourishment.

Pleased by his efforts, I generously asked what reward he wanted.

Chu Ruoqing seemed to misunderstand. The tips of his ears reddened as he turned his face away.

“I was too forward before. I don’t yet have the right to stand openly at your side. We can discuss a complete mark after—”

I stared at him.

What was he mumbling about?

I had only meant to ask whether he wanted money. Where had his mind gone?

Confused, I said, “Oh,” and ignored his complicated feelings. I pressed a scent-blocking patch onto my nape and left for class.

The patch concealed every trace of cedar.

No one knew that my gland was now full of something that belonged to Chu Ruoqing.

It wasn’t a scent outsiders should have been able to detect anyway.

Even so, Chu Ruoqing became anxious and insecure.

The man who once went out of his way to avoid me now trailed behind me like a ghost I couldn’t exorcise.

I tried to drive him off. “Can you go do your own thing? Don’t you have electives?”

His behavior had changed too drastically. What if someone connected it to me and discovered that I had differentiated?

Chu Ruoqing gazed at me like a dog guarding its food.

“Why can’t I follow you? If I’m not here, are you going to talk to other Alphas?”

What?

I slapped him. “Are you sick?”

“Why can’t I talk to other Alphas? They’re my classmates, and they’ll be my comrades in the future. Say another word and get lost.”

His excessive possessiveness was probably the instinctive result of having marked me.

I understood it. I had no intention of accepting it, much less indulging it.

The only person I indulged was myself.

“Leave if you can’t handle it. I’ll say this once more: plenty of people are willing to give me pheromones. I don’t need—”

Chu Ruoqing caught my reddened palm and rubbed it with concern.

“Don’t hit so hard next time. Doesn’t your hand hurt?”

I stared at him again.

Was something genuinely wrong with his brain?

“I spoke without thinking. You’re free,” he apologized earnestly. “I won’t do it again. Just don’t find anyone else, all right?”

That was more like it.

I withdrew my hand and patted the uninjured side of his face with teasing condescension.

“If you’d been this obedient from the start, I wouldn’t have needed to use force.”

“Relax. I’m satisfied with you for now. As long as you don’t lose your mind again, I won’t replace you easily.”

Chu Ruoqing gave a quiet hum.

He appeared docile as he nuzzled my palm, though the shadow from his bangs hid his expression.

“I’ll behave… so keep your word.”

He did. Once I forbade him to follow me during the day, he obediently kept his distance.

At night, however, he grew increasingly out of control. He poured more and more pheromones into me, as if trying to force my gland to mature.

Sometimes, alarmed, I ordered him to stop.

After a moment’s thought, he chose between obeying me and disobeying—and covered my mouth.

He had completely abandoned restraint. He no longer cared about dignity at all.

Even slapping him hard only excited him further.

“Don’t be afraid. It won’t break.” He licked my scent gland. “The short holiday starts soon. If I don’t give you more now, what will you do if you crave it while we’re apart?”

Some unpleasant image seemed to occur to him, and his face darkened.

“Message me if you want pheromones. I’ll climb through your window to feed you if I have to. Don’t find anyone else.”

Jiang Shechuan had returned from his business trip, and Chu Ruoqing still imagined he could climb through my window?

He wouldn’t even make it through our front gate.

For once, I was clever enough not to state the obvious at a moment like this.

Chu Ruoqing took my silence for agreement. His mood improved, and he finally released my poor gland.

Before I could slap him again, he extended his tongue and willingly lowered himself to his knees.

Back in high school, countless people had fantasized about breaking this favored genius’s pride, forcing the cold prodigy beneath them, and profaning him for their amusement.

They could only fantasize.

I alone had made it real.

With my foot on his shoulder, I narrowed my eyes and admired Chu Ruoqing’s debauched state.

“Bark twice. Make it convincing, and I’ll leave a window open for you.”

He barked twice without hesitation.

The sounds were too raw to belong to an obedient dog.

I was pleased anyway.

“Fine. You have a deal.” I tapped my heel against his back. “Make sure you repay me properly from now on.”