After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 21

The shout of “Holy sh*t!” was so loud that even with the English teacher presiding over the podium, most of the students in Class 1 instinctively looked over to see what was happening.

Ping Hui had even forgotten he was in the middle of class. He stood there dazed, staring at Shu Youzhan in the back row. Clearly, the shock of seeing her differentiate into an Omega outweighed the authority the English teacher usually commanded in Class 1.

A piece of snow-white chalk flew from the podium toward them—

And hit Shu Youzhan right on the head.

She let out a small “hiss” of pain and lifted her head with bleary eyes, realizing belatedly that she had fallen asleep during the dictation. She raised a hand to brush the chalk dust from her hair, only to see a stern, furious face at the front of the room:

“Ping Hui! If you don’t want to listen, get out! Don’t disrupt the students who actually want to learn!”

Realizing she wasn’t the one being scolded, Shu Youzhan breathed a sigh of relief. She felt around on her desk, confused as she looked for her dictation notebook, when her pale fingertips brushed against an open notebook slid over from the side.

She blinked. “?”

Zhao Qinglan arched an eyebrow and flipped to the cover of the notebook, indicating that this was the one she had just pulled out.

Shu Youzhan glanced at the several words already written inside. As Ping Hui left the front row, she realized Zhao Qinglan had been helping her finish her classwork. She stammered for a long time, unable to squeeze out a “thank you,” finally muttering:

“You didn’t even try to mimic my handwriting… the teacher will see through it instantly when they grade it.”

Zhao Qinglan’s eyes flickered as she shot a sidelong glance. “So you’re saying my service isn’t up to standard?”

Despite knowing Shu Youzhan’s heartless, ungrateful nature, Zhao Qinglan couldn’t help but feel a flicker of irritation every time the girl acted stubborn.

Shu Youzhan stole a glance at the podium. As the English teacher pronounced the next word, she wrote it down. Seeing the teacher head outside to lecture Ping Hui, she whispered back to Zhao Qinglan:

“Yeah. Haven’t you heard the saying? If you’re going to help someone, go all the way.”

Zhao Qinglan quickly closed the notebook and handed it to the boy in the front row to pass to the group leader. Hearing this, the corners of her lips curled. She rested her chin on one hand and squeezed a sentence through her teeth:

“Fine. Next time an Omega asks me for a mark, I should be more thorough—”

“To help ‘all the way,’ I should just give them a deep marking, right?”

At that moment, Shu Youzhan stood up to lean over Ping Hui’s empty seat and pass her notebook to the classmate in front. When she sat back down, the words “deep marking” made the tips of her ears flush crimson. The pain of her gland being bitten was still fresh in her memory. As she sat, she instinctively pressed her legs together and straightened her back as if trying to hide something.

Having only a superficial understanding of Omega biology, she didn’t know that while a temporary mark was more effective than a suppressant at restoring energy and clarity…

Such marks were addictive.

A marked Omega would subconsciously crave the Alpha’s pheromones, becoming more attentive to their every move than usual, wanting to smell that comforting, secure scent at every moment.

This effect was mutual.

After realizing what she had said, Zhao Qinglan pursed her lips. The satisfaction of temporarily marking an Omega was like a starving person finally getting a bite of sweet bread; after a brief moment of fullness, returning to the usual state of hunger felt incredibly painful. One couldn’t help but want to eat their fill all at once.

If Shu Youzhan’s previous acts of acting spoiled in her arms had left her relatively composed, now, through the connection of a temporary mark, perhaps a single look from Shu Youzhan would be enough to make her lose her composure.

…She felt an irrepressible urge to possess her more completely.

Thoughts that used to only emerge in the dead of night now shamelessly occupied her mind during the English teacher’s emotionless lecture. For a moment, Zhao Qinglan felt split in two—half awake, half sinking.

She picked up her pen and mechanically wrote the translation in her textbook, looking as serious as if she weren’t the one who had just uttered those bold words.

Beside her, Shu Youzhan missed her chance for a witty comeback. She could only focus on the lesson in frustration, but finding she had missed an unfamiliar word, she began flipping through her dictionary with a loud clatter, her diligent page-turning a display of her “studiousness.”

Yet her stiff, upright posture betrayed the traces she was trying to hide.

Shu Youzhan maintained a facade of unprecedented focus, but her mind was in total chaos. Her logic had returned, but why… did her body feel so strange?

For instance, she could clearly feel that the chair she was sitting on… felt as if it were about to be dampened by something, even though she had only undergone a temporary marking.

Ring, ring, ring—

The bell for the end of class rang, but the English teacher acted as if she hadn’t heard it. Without a pause in her tone, she heartlessly told the students to turn to the next page, intending to finish the last paragraph.

After dragging the break out for nearly its entire duration, she finally said expressionlessly, “That’s all for today. Those who failed the dictation, stay after school and find your group leader to redo it.” As soon as she disappeared from the classroom, the students breathed a massive sigh of relief, making plans for the bathroom, the water fountain, or their after-school activities.

Pei Yi looked toward the back, waving her phone at Shu Youzhan across the aisle:

“Shu Mi-Mi said a viral milk tea shop opened nearby. Do you want to go wait in line after school?”

Shu Youzhan had been tormented by strange sensations for an entire period. She didn’t have the courage to stand up and check the chair, nor did she dare walk away. She lay slumped on her desk, flipping through her book to see if she had scraped a passing grade after missing those words.

“Not going,” she said.

Pei Yi saw her half-closed eyes and weary expression. She didn’t recall ever seeing Shu Youzhan this drained. She put her phone down and leaned in closer: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Shu Youzhan controlled her urge to glare at Zhao Qinglan. After a few seconds of calming down, she replied, “I’m fine.”

Pei Yi wanted to say more, but Ping Hui had already walked over, looking at her impatiently: “Move.”

Zhao Qinglan, who had been ignoring the world, looked up at the sound of his voice. She seemed to know the reason for his exclamation in class. Her deep gaze was calm and steady, but Ping Hui felt as though he had received a warning.

He let out a huff through his nose. Once Pei Yi moved aside, he walked past his desk to his seat, propped up his book, put on his headphones, and shamelessly started playing games on his phone.

For the rest of the afternoon, Shu Youzhan didn’t say a single word to Zhao Qinglan.

Despite the temporary mark bringing them closer physically, the gap between their seats seemed more rigid and distant. Even after school, when she heard the sound of the chair beside her being pulled out, Shu Youzhan didn’t blink.

It wasn’t until that faint scent faded away that she wrinkled her nose, looking toward the back door. She wondered what was wrong with her sense of smell; she used to be unable to smell Zhao Qinglan’s pheromones at all, but now, even from a distance, she could almost trace the path the scent took as it left.

“Sister!”

Another figure poked its head through the door. Shu Youzhan looked up and saw a small red heart drawn on Shu Mi-Mi’s eyelid with some kind of pen, making her look adorable. It made one wonder how she had dodged the Grade Dean today.

Pei Yi had already run off with other classmates after the milk tea invite failed. Shu Youzhan hadn’t expected her cousin to stay. While packing her bag, she asked, “How do you have time to find me today? No date?”

Shu Mi-Mi skipped over, rubbing her nose sheepishly. “Oh, sisters are like hands and feet, Alphas are like clothes. How could they compare to you?”

“I heard from Pei Yi that you weren’t feeling well today? What happened? Tell me.”

Shu Youzhan pulled her collar tight, resisting the urge to reach back and check if the wound on her neck had healed. She hooked her bag and walked toward her. “Nothing, I probably just didn’t take a nap, so I’m a bit tired.”

Shu Mi-Mi nodded as if she understood, then asked, “So, do you want to get milk tea now? Pei Yi should still be in line. I heard the signature drink at this shop is really good.”

Shu Youzhan shook her head. “Maybe another day.”

Pausing, she asked, “Are you taking the car back with me today? I’ll have the driver drop you off first.”

Shu Mi-Mi: “Okay!”

After getting into the car, Shu Youzhan placed her bag to the side. Habitually wanting to find some snacks from the car’s stash, she remembered something and leaned forward to ask the driver:

“Is Mom and the others arriving home tonight?”

The driver replied politely, “Yes, Miss. The Head and the Madam arrived at the South City dock five minutes ago. We’ll likely arrive home a bit later than them.”

Shu Youzhan nodded. Since the car felt a bit stuffy, she opened the window. After pulling out a bag of melon seeds, she handed some to Shu Mi-Mi: “Want some? This is my favorite flavor lately.”

Shu Mi-Mi’s eyes crinkled. While cracking seeds with her, she jokingly mentioned that her recent boyfriend seemed to be suspected of cheating.

Shu Youzhan frowned, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Are you sure?”

“Just a feeling.” Shu Mi-Mi didn’t want her to worry, so her tone remained light. Amidst the crack-crack of melon seeds, she mentioned the Alpha casually: “Maybe because I’ve had a lot of dating experience, I just have a gut feeling about these things.”

The frown didn’t disappear. Shu Youzhan recalled what the teacher had said in class about Alpha and Omega personalities. She hesitated, then asked: “Isn’t it said that once an Alpha and their Omega confirm their relationship, they feel satisfied and become psychologically dependent on each other? Because they are naturally attracted through pheromones, shouldn’t it be hard for them to look away from each other even without a mark?”

Shu Mi-Mi laughed so hard she bent over. “Sister, why are you so innocent?”

She set down the seed shells and brushed off her palms, then looked at Shu Youzhan with an envious gaze, almost talking to herself: “But… whoever Omega dates you in the future will probably feel very happy.”

Shu Youzhan: “?”

Seeing her confusion, Shu Mi-Mi didn’t dare share her actual “experiences” for fear of corrupting her.

But thinking of the good upbringing provided by Shu Yu and Wei Shuangchi, she felt more at ease and decided to give Shu Youzhan a little lesson on reality. “The truth is, the first pheromones that attract an Alpha and Omega aren’t always the most compatible. Relatively speaking, an Omega’s dependency on an Alpha after being marked is much stronger than the Alpha’s on the Omega.”

“For example, if an Alpha and Omega are dating, the honeymoon phase ends, and they haven’t had a physical relationship yet… if a third Omega appears with more seductive pheromones, the chances of that Alpha jumping ship are very high.”

Shu Youzhan’s face twisted as she listened.

After a moment, she asked almost instinctively: “Then… what if they were temporarily marked?”

Shu Mi-Mi hummed. “During a temporary mark, the mutual attraction intensifies. But that’s only for ‘innocent’ Alphas and Omegas. If you run into a veteran player, both sides might just be treating each other as backups.”

She winked at Shu Youzhan and joked: “As long as there’s no deep marking, even Omegas can be ‘scumbags.’ As the saying goes: if you’re one person’s backup, you’re a backup; if you’re a backup for a hundred people, then you have a hundred backups.”

Shu Youzhan: “…”

She certainly wasn’t some “veteran player” of the dating scene.

But Zhao Qinglan…

She followed that line of thought, wondering if Zhao Qinglan could be a “closet scumbag.” After thinking for a while, her dazed expression made Shu Mi-Mi look at her with suspicion. She shook her head, tousling her soft, curly hair. She told herself that her deal with Zhao Qinglan was just a chance transaction.

How could she apply romantic formulas to it?

“Sister, have you recently—”

“I haven’t, I’m not, don’t talk nonsense.”

Shu Mi-Mi’s gossipy voice was cut off halfway by a sharp denial.

As if to make her believe it, Shu Youzhan quickly licked her lower lip and emphasized: “I was just curious, just asking randomly.”

Shu Mi-Mi blinked slowly and nodded. She wanted to say something else, but looking out the window, she realized they were near her house. As the car came to a stop, she instinctively opened the door, forgetting the backpack at her feet.

Upon opening the door, she ran into Shu Hua coming out of the house. She gave a small “Brother,” but he didn’t even look at her. He intended to ignore her and walk past, but seeing the car and guessing who was inside, he took two steps toward the car door.

His intention was to brag to Shu Youzhan about his newly acquired permission to audit a military research seminar this weekend. However, as his gaze fell into the car, he saw Shu Youzhan leaning over to pick up the bag and handing it out:

“Shu Mi-Mi, your bag.”

What she met was a tall shadow.

Shu Hua rested one hand on the car door, ignoring the bag held out to him. His probing gaze landed near her neck. After a few seconds of eye contact, he spoke first:

“You… you differentiated?”

Shu Youzhan froze mid-motion with the bag, then acted as if nothing was wrong and bypassed him to give it to Shu Mi-Mi.

Shu Hua was shocked for a long time. It wasn’t until Shu Youzhan coldly reminded him, “Move if there’s nothing else, I’m in a hurry to get home,” that he snapped out of it. His eyes were a mix of wild joy and shock as he exclaimed excitedly:

“You differentiated into an Omega! You actually differentiated into an O! That wound on your gland—I couldn’t possibly be mistaken.”

Shu Mi-Mi stood behind him, dazed as she held her bag, instinctively whispering a rebuttal: “Brother, what are you talking about? You must have seen wrong.”

Shu Youzhan originally wanted to find an excuse to brush it off, feeling she didn’t need to report her status to someone like him. But seeing his expression and Shu Mi-Mi’s reaction, she felt a surge of annoyance. She leaned back against the car seat and lazily dropped a line:

“Does me differentiating into an Omega conflict with the fact that I’m still your boss?”