After Being Marked By A Love Rival - Chapter 22

Xie Rong did go out for a trip, but nothing much happened. After all, her initial goal was merely to temporarily avoid Qi Musi.

She went to a cat cafe outside the school the same one Zhuang Xinbai and Qi Musi had visited before, and the one her cousin owned.

When Xie Rong walked over, Lu Yuan was sitting right there. Seeing Xie Rong approach, he raised an eyebrow and beckoned her over.

“Oh, the busy bee. Finally decided to come over for a visit?”

Xie Rong lowered her gaze and swept it over him, not responding.

Lu Yuan was already used to her attitude, so he stood up and familiarly draped an arm over Xie Rong’s shoulder. “Come on, I’ll take you to see the cats.”

Xie Rong glanced at him. “Take your hand off.”

Lu Yuan made a “tsk” sound. “You… seriously?”

Xie Rong’s expression remained unchanged. “You are an Omega. Do you even remember that?”

Lu Yuan scoffed. “Please, I don’t care about it myself, yet you are so concerned. Besides, we are biological cousins. Do family members care about gender?”

Xie Rong simply said, “Take it off.”

Lu Yuan reluctantly removed his arm, muttering, “Old fashioned.”

There weren’t many cats out front today, so Lu Yuan led her to the back to see them.

He pushed open the door to the cat dormitory, leaned against the doorframe, and teased the cats. “Feel free to play.”

Xie Rong walked in, conveniently closing the door to prevent the cats from running away. She then slowly crouched down and reached out to stroke a cat that came up to her. Her expression softened, and her mood improved significantly.

Lu Yuan casually picked up a bag of cat treats and opened it, then remarked in surprise, “You’re usually so serious about cleanliness. How come you lose it when you see cats?”

Xie Rong said, “I don’t have a cleanliness obsession.”

“Mmm-hmm, you just love to be clean, I get it. So, you don’t find the cats dirty?”

Xie Rong: “No, but I find you dirty.”

“…”

After a brief time with the cats, Lu Yuan took her to wash her hands and return, then asked, “Tell me, is something going on? I sense your mood is off.”

Although he appeared indifferent and irresponsible on the outside, not quite like a “proper” Omega, he was very sensitive to perceiving people’s emotions, a trait common in many Omegas.

Xie Rong looked down. “It’s nothing serious.”

Lu Yuan said, “Stop acting tough with me. If something’s wrong, say it.”

Xie Rong looked up at him. “What is your impression of Alphas?”

Lu Yuan immediately frowned. “I hate Alphas.” He looked at Xie Rong, hesitant, and chose softer words. “Most, or a fraction of Alphas are quite confident, even arrogant. They think their pheromones can make an Omega’s legs go weak and send them into a heat, but little do they know that their ‘I’m the coolest in the world’ attitude is what’s truly off-putting.”

When it came to the flaws of Alphas, Lu Yuan could go on for three days and three nights, but considering the person beside him was an Alpha, he stopped short.

“I don’t think my A-phobia will ever be cured. Maybe in the future, I’ll find a Beta or an Omega to spend my life with.”

Xie Rong asked, “So, if an Alpha pins you against the door”

Before she could finish, Lu Yuan interrupted, “Then I’d make them see why the flowers are so red.”

“…”

Xie Rong rubbed her forehead and sighed. “I finally understand why my aunt always sighs when she calls me.”

Lu Yuan touched his nose. “Weren’t we talking about your business? How did it turn to me?”

Xie Rong paused, then said, “Do you know about the stress reaction that can occur under extremely rare circumstances when Alphas clash pheromones?”

Lu Yuan frowned in confusion. “No, what are you talking about?”

Xie Rong originally wanted to take the opportunity of explaining to bring up the issue weighing on her mind, but she sealed her lips at the last moment.

Because she had a subtle feeling that it might not be appropriate. For some reason, she didn’t want to tell anyone else about this.

Lu Yuan was anxious watching her. He had always known his cousin’s stubborn temper; she would harbor a secret crush without saying anything, insisting on the whole silent guardian approach, waiting for the person to fall for her on their own.

That kind of strategy has long been obsolete these days no one uses it… Lu Yuan desperately wanted to be her matchmaker.

But at the same time, he knew Xie Rong’s nature was like this; outsiders couldn’t intervene or change it. Therefore, no matter how anxious he was, he could only watch from the sidelines. Just like today, if Xie Rong truly didn’t want to talk, he couldn’t force it out of her.

But Lu Yuan thought it might be about Zhuang Xinbai.

Thinking of the person Zhuang Xinbai brought last time, Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes and reminded her, “I think if you like Xinbai, you need to make a move soon. Stop crushing secretly, or someone might steal her away.”

Xie Rong looked up at him. Although she hadn’t come today for Zhuang Xinbai, what Lu Yuan said did strike a chord with her.

Xie Rong paused, lowering her eyes. “I know.”

She had already decided to find a suitable time to confess.

Xie Rong didn’t know that Qi Musi had followed Zhuang Xinbai here. She just took Lu Yuan’s comment as a casual reminder, as Lu Yuan had done this before.

Xie Rong changed the subject. “If one day, you found yourself concerned about a certain Alpha’s pheromones, what do you think that situation would be?”

She frowned slightly.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. “That’s impossible.”

“…Just in case, if.”

Lu Yuan thought for a moment. “Then there wouldn’t be anything worth caring about, right?” He shrugged. “Didn’t I say it before? I don’t look at gender when I like someone, but at their personality. So, if that person’s personality aligns with what I like and what I seek, then it wouldn’t matter if they were an Alpha or not.”

Xie Rong kept her eyes down, preventing anyone from seeing the look in them. After a moment of silence, she said softly, “You’re right.”

She was the one who overthought things.

Pheromones, that’s all. They don’t mean anything.

Zhao Rongrong sadly realized that their dorm room had fallen into a cold atmosphere for the second time, and the source of the cold atmosphere was still Xie Rong and Qi Musi.

She cautiously skirted past the two of them, wanting to cry without tears.

All she, timid and helpless, wanted was a warm and spring-like dorm environment. Why was it so difficult?

Actually, the dorm atmosphere wasn’t particularly tense; it was just strange. Normal daily interactions were still possible. But Zhao Rongrong was used to the days when Xie Rong and Qi Musi interacted amicably, and now that she saw their frequency of interaction drop, she unconsciously started to feel that the situation was bad.

After all, relationships between Alphas can sometimes be so fragile, so Zhao Rongrong couldn’t help but worry.

In reality, Xie Rong wasn’t as angry this time as she was last time she was just a bit too lazy to deal with Qi Musi.

Because after deciding not to dwell on the pheromone incident, Xie Rong’s emotions were not as complicated.

She wasn’t exactly furious; she just treated Qi Musi as a normal love rival now.

Moreover, Xie Rong had important matters to contemplate recently, so she didn’t have time to be angry with Qi Musi.

She needed to find an appropriate and fitting moment to tell Zhuang Xinbai how she felt. Whether it worked out or not… she didn’t want to hide it anymore.

Lu Yuan was right.

Rather than hiding her feelings and then feeling lost and regretful when she found out Zhuang Xinbai had become someone else’s Omega, it was better to speak her mind. That way, at least she wouldn’t regret it, and she could consider herself to have a clear conscience.

Zhao Rongrong returned from the balcony and saw Qi Musi about to go out, so she casually asked, “Musi, are you going out?”

Qi Musi smiled, curving her lips. “Yes, my younger brother is visiting today. I’m going to pick him up.”

Zhao Rongrong said, “Wow.” “Alright, alright, you go ahead.”

Qi Musi’s lips curved into a smile, and she opened the door and left.

As soon as she stepped out, the smile on her face faded a bit. On the screen of her phone, which hadn’t completely turned off yet, was a message from Qi Muyan.

Qi Muyan was waiting at the school gate. When Qi Musi arrived, he was fake smiling and pretentiously exchanging contact information with an Alpha, then, a smile lingering on his lips, he surveyed the surrounding environment.

Upon seeing Qi Musi, he ran over. “Sister.”

Qi Muyan inherited his mother’s looks, so he was very pretty, and being an Omega only made him more attractive.

Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful he was, the inheritance of the family assets would not be based on looks, and his status as an Omega would exclude him even more.

In terms of acting, Qi Musi had never lost to Qi Muyan, in fact, she was better. She wore a gentle and polite smile and spoke in a friendly yet not overly intimate tone.

“Why did you just show up? You didn’t even have someone send you.”

Qi Muyan also smiled. “I missed you, Sister, and I wanted to see what A University looks like. Maybe I’ll apply to this school later.”

Qi Musi chuckled, lowering her eyes to hide a hint of indifference.

“Then good luck with that.”

She wondered if Qi Muyan’s grades could even touch the edge of A University.

Qi Muyan’s smile was very bright. “I also want to see the classroom where you have classes, Sister. I only heard Dad talk about it before, but I’ve never seen how early childhood education classes are taught. I’m really curious.”

Qi Musi knew he was saying this intentionally, as Qi Rong had argued with her many times because of her choice of major, often in front of Qi Muyan and his mother.

But her expression didn’t change, and the smile on her lips remained. She just said, “University classes aren’t fixed to one classroom. You’ll go to different classrooms depending on the course. You’ll know when you get to university.”

She spoke lightly, but she knew in her heart that unless he used the family’s money and connections, if Qi Muyan continued to be so “carefree,” he really might not even make it into a university.

The smile on Qi Muyan’s lips stiffened slightly, and then, as usual, he pouted playfully, “Well, now I know, Sister. Take me around your school.”

Qi Musi hooked her lip. “Okay.”

Qi Muyan followed Qi Musi into the campus, then reached out and touched something in his pocket, the smile on his face deepening.

He certainly didn’t come this time just to visit Qi Musi. He had something important to do.

Qi Muyan understood his disadvantages. He wasn’t as smart or talented as Qi Musi, and he was an Omega, destined only to marry for this reason alone, the family company would not be handed over to him.

But Qi Muyan was not convinced. He was also Dad’s son, so why was Qi Musi the only one who could manage the company? And now Qi Musi has openly disobeyed Qi Rong’s orders and chosen such a useless major…

If he just tried a little harder, he believed Dad would see his existence. At that time, the Qi family would be theirs.

Just the matter of a major might not be enough to make Qi Rong completely disappointed in Qi Musi, but what if… they added public misconduct at school, or an attempt to forcibly mark an Omega?

Or even, an attempt to commit a crime against him, his half-brother and fellow Omega?

Thinking of his plan for today, the smile in Qi Muyan’s eyes slightly twisted.