After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 19

The sound of chatting outside drifted further away.

Shu Youzhan held her breath, listening intently at the cubicle door for a while. Feeling that no one else was likely to come into the restroom, she couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. Estimating the time, she quietly pushed the door open a crack and peeked out, just in time to see Zhao Qinglan entering.

Standing tall in her silver-white school uniform, it was as if she had brought the outdoor sunlight in with her. When Shu Youzhan reached out to pull her inside, she faintly felt a slight warmth on the other’s shoulder—the temperature baked into her by the sun along the long corridor.

The newcomer’s bangs cast a slight shadow over her eyes, making those black pupils appear even more clear and cool, like spring water soaking in a mountain glade. Shu Youzhan cleared her throat and asked, “Did you bring the stuff?”

Hearing this strange secret signal, a hint of a smile appeared in Zhao Qinglan’s eyes. She acted as if she couldn’t smell the overwhelming floral fragrance inside the cubicle—a scent so thick it felt as though moist, swaying flowers were growing directly out of the floor tiles, their heavy, slender, and bewitching petals blooming and slowly releasing their honeyed sweetness right under her nose.

Leaning against the door with her arms crossed, Zhao Qinglan said slowly, “How could that possibly be enough time for me to prepare a suppressor? Didn’t you say so yourself? Either you or the suppressor had to arrive within five minutes. I could only tearfully choose the first option.”

Shu Youzhan: “…”

She raised a hand to slap her forehead. Her face was already flushed beyond reason, yet she still used her remaining strength to complain, “How did I get so lightheaded that I came looking for you…”

Zhao Qinglan didn’t even have pheromones. Could she even complete something like a marking?

Thinking of this, instead of feeling the fear of facing an Alpha alone, she grew emboldened.

She took a daring step forward, closing the distance until she was right in front of Zhao Qinglan. Staring with watery brown eyes, she used her toughest tone to say, “Open your mouth…”

Zhao Qinglan: “Huh??”

Although she didn’t know what Shu Youzhan was trying to do, the girl’s proximity unintentionally caused the pheromones to entwine around her even more. Perhaps even Shu Youzhan hadn’t realized that her pheromones had already found the object of their dependence more keenly than she had.

The thick, sweet floral scent surged forward with an intoxicating breath, as if it were enveloping Zhao Qinglan. It was like a pond filled with lotus flowers; the graceful stalks carried an attacking fragrance, the scent of summer—moist and drowsy, making one unable to resist sinking into it.

Zhao Qinglan raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, instinctively leaning back to try and avoid Shu Youzhan’s unintentional flirting.

However, the perpetrator was completely oblivious. Seeing her try to move away, Shu Youzhan became even more persistent, grabbing her collar. Her voice wavered between a spoiled pout and a command, like a soft-hearted threat.

“Open your mouth and let me see.”

Zhao Qinglan couldn’t be bothered to indulge her. Estimating the time, she said, “I just contacted the infirmary. Once the bell for class rings and there aren’t many students in the hallway, I’ll take you out via the stairs. The injectable suppressor is ready. Because you’ve already shown symptoms of a heat, there will be some adverse reactions after the injection—”

Before she could finish her sentence, teeth bumped against her fingertip.

She suddenly lost her train of thought. The girl with the short, soft hair didn’t care about what she was saying; she simply withdrew her finger and rubbed the spot where her canine tooth had accidentally left an indentation. She muttered to herself, “If you have canines, you can complete a marking… and since you don’t have pheromones, it’s perfect. That way, no one will smell it. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?”

Plus, she wouldn’t have to endure the various painful reactions of a forced suppressor injection.

Shu Youzhan’s internal calculator was clicking away rapidly. She hadn’t listened to a word Zhao Qinglan said. Holding onto the other’s school jacket collar and pulling it down, her breath fell hot and cold against the other’s lips as she spoke: “Hey, Zhao Qinglan, I heard that no Omega is willing to date you?”

“Tell you what, I’m feeling generous. I’ll let you take a bite for free, how about that?”

Zhao Qinglan: “…”

She turned her head away, trying her best not to look at Shu Youzhan’s current succubus-like state. She was afraid that if she looked a few more times, she wouldn’t be able to control certain impulses. Her back even pressed tighter against the icy door panel.

Unfortunately, some people were destined to be unable to appreciate her thoughtfulness.

Seeing that the other person remained unmoved, Shu Youzhan, like a soft drunkard, leaned in flush against her. The slight milky scent from the nuts she had eaten earlier mixed with the fragrance of water lilies, blending into a unique aroma. It sat somewhere between a young girl and a mature woman—a different kind of temptation.

Even her voice became a bit slurred: “Is that a no?”

“Why are you being so stingy… I’m clearly helping you gain an experience you’ve never had before, and yet you’re so reluctant?”

Zhao Qinglan was so frustrated she laughed.

Was this a matter of being stingy or not?

Driven to the brink of losing her reason by Shu Youzhan’s behavior, all the mental preparation she had done before coming here was tossed to the wind. She asked with a sense of reckless abandon, “Oh? But for a problematic Alpha like me, just one bite might not be enough.”

Shu Youzhan’s fair fingertips, which were clutching her collar, paused.

Her hesitant look seemed as if she were about to retreat.

With a grim expression, Zhao Qinglan reached up to pry her fingers away one by one. She turned around, preparing to open the door and escape back to a normal place free from the temptation of these pheromones. No matter how good her self-control was, she couldn’t withstand Shu Youzhan’s repeated provocations.

Just as she turned—

A slightly weaker voice came from behind her, sounding as if she were tentatively bargaining, “Um… will it… will it hurt a lot?”

Perhaps she really was lightheaded from the emotions of the heat, because Shu Youzhan spoke in a tone she would never, under sober circumstances, use with Zhao Qinglan.

This time, it was Zhao Qinglan’s turn to freeze as she looked down at the doorknob.

She tried to take a deep breath.

But the scent of pheromones in the cubicle was so rich that they forced their way into her nose even if she wasn’t breathing, let alone now as she inhaled deeply. It felt as if even her lungs were being saturated with that fragrance.

Zhao Qinglan turned back, unable to take it anymore!

She intended to say something harsh to make Shu Youzhan behave, but the moment she turned around, her gaze crashed into that slender, elegant, snowy-white neck. All her words vanished into thin air.

Shu Youzhan had her back to her. Having waited a long time without seeing any movement, she tugged at her loosened collar in confusion. Even her complaining carried a hint of impatient arrogance: “Hurry up…”

“We agreed on two bites. There’s an English class next with a group dictation, you—”

The urging voice stopped abruptly.

Because a sudden, overwhelming pressure came crashing down!

Shu Youzhan’s knees buckled involuntarily. In an instant, she forgot where she was. She felt dazed, as if she were seeing that dark sky again—the one that looked like an inverted pool of blood. Beneath her feet was soft soil, and the bewitching red flowers with their thin green stems were swaying by her feet.

Seized by the powerful Alpha pheromones, she once again lost her ability to distinguish scents. By the time she reacted, she was being embraced from behind, and a cool temperature settled against her neck.

It triggered an indescribable trembling.

In this moment of extreme fear, for the first time, Shu Youzhan felt regret…

She realized she might be about to make an irreversible mistake.