Dr. Jin, did I learn well?

Xie Li took the hair dryer, her fingers brushing against the still-warm handle, her ears burning fiercely.

She could only pretend to be busy, turning her back to blow-dry her hair.

The low hum of the dryer echoed in the room as Xie Li haphazardly dried her hair, the nape of her neck growing hotter and hotter.

Even without looking, she could feel a gaze fixed on her from behind.

She kept mentally berating herself: *Serves you right for being presumptuous, for speaking without thinking, now you're embarrassed.*

If the fairy castle she could dig out with her toes could be used as a safe house, she'd at least have a way to survive in this post-apocalyptic world.

After who knows how long, a hand reached from behind and switched off the dryer.

With the hum gone, the room fell quiet.

Xie Li froze, still holding the dryer in position, not moving a muscle.

"Turn around," Jin Zhaoye's voice came from behind.

Xie Li quietly let out a breath and turned.

They stood face to face, breaths mingling, each other's reflection mirrored in their pupils.

Jin Zhaoye raised her hand, her fingertips touching Xie Li's nape.

The gland there was burning and swollen, pulsing slowly beneath her touch. Xie Li shivered at the contact, an electric jolt of pleasure surging from the gland throughout her body, raising goosebumps all over her back.

"Can I trouble you a little more?" Jin Zhaoye asked in a husky voice, her hand already cupping Xie Li's nape.

Though phrased as a question, it sounded as if she was already certain she wouldn't be refused, so her hand didn't pause in the slightest.

Her thumb continued to knead the Alpha's sensitive gland, gentle and slow, unbearably teasing.

That pressure made Xie Li's whole body burn. She looked at Jin Zhaoye, her throat bobbing.

"Not willing?" Jin Zhaoye asked softly.

Xie Li shook her head.

She shook it like a silly dog—the kind that wags its tail frantically upon seeing its owner.

Jin Zhaoye looked at her, her eyes flickering as if holding back a laugh, and asked again in a gentler voice, "What does shaking your head mean?"

"I'm willing," Xie Li answered quickly.

She was utterly bewitched by this woman.

This woman who stayed calm in any crisis, who could hold steady in the most chaotic scenes, who could fight, taking out Zombies one by one with a pole, who was beautiful—so beautiful that from the first meeting, one couldn't look away.

She had a kind side, but also a decisive one. She was captivating, alluring.

And she had taken Xie Li's first kiss. They'd had that kind of intimate contact: marking, kissing, embracing. Each one was a fresh, unforgettable first experience for Xie Li.

Jin Zhaoye's fingertip stopped, but didn't move away. It rested on the gland at Xie Li's nape, pressing down faintly, almost imperceptibly.

This sensation was even more torturous than the earlier kneading. It was like knowing exactly what would happen the next second, yet she deliberately stayed still, keeping her waiting.

"Xie Li," Jin Zhaoye called her name.

Xie Li had never thought her own name could sound so beautiful. Spoken so softly by her, it sounded as sweet as a love confession.

A few seconds too late, she responded, "Hmm?"

"What are you waiting for?" Jin Zhaoye asked, the corner of her lips curling slightly. "Do you need jiejie to teach you again?"

This time, Xie Li didn't miss that fleeting smile.

The string that had been taut in her mind snapped instantly. She raised her hand, hooked it around Jin Zhaoye's nape, and pulled down with a bit of force.

The distance between them vanished in an instant. Xie Li's slightly trembling lips pressed against Jin Zhaoye's red ones.

The sensation was warm and soft, mixed with the scent of shower gel and the sweet fragrance of the Omega, washing over her.

Jin Zhaoye was taken aback. *Wasn't she supposed to mark me? Why is she kissing me again?*

Xie Li's tongue tip darted out, giving a light lick to Jin Zhaoye's tightly closed lips. Jin Zhaoye closed her eyes helplessly and parted her lips to return the kiss.

They were about the same height. Neither needed to look up nor down; facing each other was the perfect kissing distance.

Tongues tangled, breaths completely lost their rhythm, and both of their pheromones were getting out of control.

Jin Zhaoye was kissed back a step, the back of her knees hitting the edge of the bed, her body tilting backward.

Xie Li held her and fell onto the bed together.

The mattress was soft, sinking under their combined weight. Xie Li braced herself with one hand on the bed, steadying her posture, while the other hand cupped Jin Zhaoye's neck, fingers threading through her smooth hair as she kissed her deeper.

Her tongue hooked the other's, dancing together within the wet, slippery interior of the mouth. The Alpha's pheromones poured into Jin Zhaoye's body through this kiss.

The coolness of lime and mint seeped into the burning white tea and cedar, gradually soothing those restless flames.

Jin Zhaoye's arms wrapped around Xie Li's shoulders, tightening, pulling her even closer.

Xie Li's breathing grew heavier again from the pull. She lifted her head slightly, creating a little distance, and looked down at the woman beneath her.

Jin Zhaoye lay on her back beneath her, her shirt somewhat disheveled from the earlier movements, revealing large patches of flushed skin.

Her lips were slightly swollen, glistening wetly, her eyes holding a trace of dazed confusion after being kissed senseless. She looked even more beautiful.

Xie Li stroked her lips, murmuring softly, "I still don't know your name."

Jin Zhaoye opened her eyes, meeting her gaze. Her voice when she spoke was even huskier than before. "Is it important?"

"In such a perilous environment now, perhaps we could die the next moment. Is a name still important?"

Of course it was important.

Xie Li looked at her, her eyes conveying a definite answer.

She wanted to remember this person, remember her name and her face, remember how she looked lying beneath her right now, so captivating.

But if the other didn't want to say, she wouldn't ask.

Xie Li lowered her head again, her lips touching the side of Jin Zhaoye's neck. The skin there was burning hot, her pulse throbbing against Xie Li's lips.

Her lips moved slowly over that heated skin. Xie Li could feel the other's breathing growing increasingly rapid because of her actions.

She kissed and sucked her way from the side of the neck to the collarbone, leaving a clear mark on that flushed skin. A faint red, like a puppy marking its territory.

Jin Zhaoye held Xie Li's head, her fingers threading through her hair. Her breathing grew more and more ragged, her grip alternately loosening and tightening, unsure whether she wanted to push her away or pull her closer—perhaps both.

"Xie Li..."

Xie Li released the flushed skin and looked up at her.

"Don't dawdle. You know what to do," Jin Zhaoye urged, her voice trembling.

"I know," Xie Li said, lowering her head again, her lips touching the burning gland at Jin Zhaoye's nape.

Sweet fragrance instantly flooded her nostrils, stronger than ever before, like ripe berries being crushed, their sweet juice flowing freely.

Xie Li's head spun a little. She lowered her head once more, using her lips to feel the temperature of that skin, rubbing slowly against it. Her teeth also settled on the gland, gently nipping, applying faint, teasing pressure.

Jin Zhaoye's panting indeed grew more frantic.

The hem of her shirt had somehow come untucked from her waistband, buttons undone, revealing the clear outline of her abdominal muscles.

Xie Li reached out, her fingertips slowly tracing the lines of those abs.

Jin Zhaoye tensed her abdomen with discomfort, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her whole body trembling.

"Xie Li..." Her voice carried a tremor.

"Hmm," Xie Li responded vaguely, continuing to gently grind her teeth against the poor gland.

Just like Jin Zhaoye had teased her earlier.

Alpha pheromones seeped from her teeth, teasing faintly, always staying on the surface.

Jin Zhaoye's hand slid down from Xie Li's shoulder, gripping her arm tightly.

"Xie Li!" she called out again, her voice now tinged with gritted-teeth frustration.

Xie Li finally released her teeth, sparing the increasingly red and swollen poor gland. She lifted her head and met the gaze of the woman beneath her.

Jin Zhaoye glared at her, a trace of annoyance in her eyes. *I knew it, Alphas really aren't much good.*

Xie Li gave a light smile, the small mole on the bridge of her nose swaying before Jin Zhaoye's eyes.

Her gaze was drawn by the mole, unconsciously landing on Xie Li's nose bridge, then shifting upward slightly to those infuriating, smiling eyes.

Her anger suddenly evaporated.

Xie Li leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, her voice laced with laughter. "Dr. Jin, you played with my gland just like this earlier. Did I learn well?"