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Qui Mei was Liu Wei's closest cousin. The two grew up together and, for many years, lived within a few meters of each other.

The young alpha, 23 years old, spent much of her upbringing in Martana.

Her mother, the Queen Mother of the Shanyr Islands, was is Liu Wei's aunt.

Qui Mei had a sweet sandalwood pheromone, and few omegas felt comfortable in her presence.

Her docile and cute personality was very attractive.

The alpha had a long history of romances with omegas, and this was a major concern for her mother, who urgently wanted her to marry someone.

One way to control her was through her constant duties as a representative of the royal family of the Shanyr Isles.

As the only daughter and heir to the throne, she was training for when she would assume the position, but this was something she shouldn't have to do. The king was in poor health and was already considering abdicating to rest.

Liu Wei and Qui Mei grew up together until they began to differ. They had a strong sense of brotherhood, and there was no physical attraction between them.

But the intimacy they shared over the years made them appear so close that anyone who saw them talking would think they were a newlywed couple.

The alpha was tall and thin, not particularly strong.

She hated anything that involved physical exertion and made her sweat a lot.

She always preferred reading a book to playing with other children.

Qui Mei was an intelligent woman of rare beauty. Her short hair and well-defined eyes gave her a strong and attractive look.

The alpha princess, seeing her cousin, approached almost running and made a point of hugging her like a koala. It was a little pathetic to watch. The alpha was supposed to be 10 cm taller than Liu Wei, but she loved being completely attached to her cousin.

"Weiwei!"

Liu Wei laughed at her cousin's exaggerated behavior. "Meimei, what are you doing here?"

"Daddy's orders. It's my first time representing Shanyr inside Wang's country."

The omega laughed with satisfaction. She could smell the faint scent of sandalwood and feel comfortable; it was a familiar feeling, like being at home.

"How are uncle and aunt?"

"The usual..."

Qui Mei said this in a funny tone, and Liu Wei laughed.

"Do they still insist that you must get married?"

"Yes… But doesn't it seem like a waste? There are so many beautiful omegas in the world…"

The alpha pointed at the crowd as though she were pointing at the world and its abundance of omegas. Liu Wei found this funny.

"You really haven't changed at all."

She hugged her cousin, feeling her play with her fingers. The alpha looked a little thoughtful. "It's not a sin to like pretty omegas… In fact, you're very close to the queen."

Qui Mei had a keen eye and knew Liu Wei like no one else. She could tell that her cousin was involved with the queen.

Liu Wei was never like Qui Mei; she never wanted to get involved with romance or dating. She never fell in love with or showed any interest in an alpha.

Qui Mei had a suspicion in her heart that Liu Wei wasn't attracted to alphas, but she didn't expect her cousin to get involved with another omega.

"Well, is it so obvious?"

Qui Mei nodded briefly and looked at the queen.

Wang Zheng looked like she had knives in her eyes, ready to pierce and eliminate Qui Mei.

"She was looking our way with a terrible face. Am I messed up?"

Liu Wei laughed. "No, you look beautiful."

She subtly looked at the queen, who was now accompanied by Chen Fu. Liu Wei sighed inwardly.

Qui Mei leaned close to Liu Wei's ear and began to whisper.

"How about introducing me to some pretty omega?"

"I?!"

"You're almost the hostess. When you entered, everyone stared at you more than when the queen entered..."

"Serious?"

Liu Wei found her cousin's statement exaggerated. Did she get more attention than the queen herself?! Impossible.

Qui Mei nodded positively. "Seriously, if I weren't your cousin, I'd be interested in you… What do you think?"

Qui Mei had a dismissive tone, and Liu Wei almost gagged at the thought of the two of them together. She let out a loud laugh.

"Gee... That would give me nightmares."

The alpha laughed too. If that happened, they would both have bad dreams. But she pretended to be hurt by her cousin's comment.

"So you hurt my feelings."

Liu Wei was still feeling amused. Her cousin was always good company.

"The only omega I have any intimacy with here is Li Zhang..."

Qui Mei looked thoughtful for a few seconds.

"Li Zhang… Why do I feel like I know this name from somewhere?"

"She's a famous author. Don't you read her books? Maybe she's the author of one you like."

Qui Mei remained thoughtful until suddenly a thought struck her. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed Liu Wei's arm excitedly.

"Wait… She wrote Assassin of Hearts?"

Liu Wei didn't follow Li Zhang's work, so she could only assume that this was one of the omega's books.

"I think so?"

Qui Mei made a surprised expression. If she weren't surrounded by so many people, she would have let out a loud scream. So exciting!

"Weiwei, you need to get me an autograph!"

Liu Wei couldn't contain her laughter. "Stop acting like that, you're scary when you get excited about something."

Qui Mei didn't care and continued, "Please."

"I'll try… Don't push me too hard."

"OK."

Liu Wei laughed again. Her cousin looked like a puppy getting her first toy. So cute.

The conversation continued for a few more minutes and was only interrupted because the young alpha needed to greet some of the other guests at the party.

The princess watched her cousin walk away as she sipped her wine.

She searched the huge hall for a few seconds for Wang Zheng's silhouette and didn't find it. She felt a little disappointed. But then, she noticed the strange closeness between Huan Yang and Anna.

They seemed to be talking about something important.

Anna was soon next to her and whispered in her ear that the queen wanted to see her at that moment. She smiled, satisfied.

She wanted to get another glass of wine and, as she searched, she felt a strong sea pheromone nearby. Strong and coarse, it was filled with aggression.

When she turned to see the owner of the pheromone, she saw a pair of black eyes staring at her. Chen Fu was next to her with one of his employees.

The alpha subtly approached Liu Wei, his voice as low as a whisper. "I hear you and the queen are very close."

She didn't like the way he spoke to her and preferred to increase the distance between them.

"What does that have to do with you?"

He laughed derisively. In his mind, he was the future owner of Wang Zheng. "I think, as an alpha, I'm better suited for this competition than an omega who's barely old enough to control pheromones..."

Liu Wei laughed at the man's attitude. Just by looking at him, she could tell his employee had an expression as aggressive as his boss's. Really unpleasant.

Liu Wei knew she shouldn't be around alphas with this kind of behavior. It would be very troublesome if someone like that became susceptible to her pheromone and tried to mark her forcibly. But she wasn't afraid to face a man like him, alpha or not.

When you're a princess, you learn early on that non-intimidation is not something a person on the throne should feel. A representative of the royal family cannot back down from another.

"She who should decide that."

The man didn't like the young princess's attitude and was almost losing his patience.

Liu Wei could feel the saltwater pheromones rapidly spreading. So salty, it made her feel mute and her throat dry. The alpha must be very angry.

"Your..."

Liu Wei wouldn't admit to such behavior. She raised her hand and gestured for him to be quiet. "If I were you, I'd be very careful about what you say... I'm still, after the queen, the most important person on the continent in this palace."

No one in their right mind would try to intimidate Liu Wei. Martana was too important a country to have as an enemy.

The alpha knew that, but he didn't care.

"Do you really think it's that important?"

"I may not be the heir to Martana's throne… But I'm not just any idiot. Don't underestimate me."

Liu Wei spotted someone carrying several glasses of wine not far away and unceremoniously walked away from Chen Fu so that he could continue talking to himself.

Her footsteps were steady, and she could feel the pheromone drift away. But she knew in her heart that the alpha was very angry.

This was really problematic.