After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 39

Zhao Qinglan narrowed her eyes. Her right-hand gripped Shu Youzhan’s wrist—the one currently hooked around her collar—and slowly pulled that warmth away from her neckline. Her pale, thin lips parted slightly as the desire to tease surfaced once more: “Why don’t you take a guess?”

Shu Youzhan allowed her hand to be held, her expression darkening as she struck a pose of serious contemplation. Finding no answer, she raised an eyebrow with a smile and tossed the topic back: “Don’t play fair, I asked you first.”

This time, Zhao Qinglan gave a direct answer, though it was a peculiar one: “I don’t know.”

Shu Youzhan: “Huh??”

Her expression went blank for a moment, as if she suspected she had been duped. Zhao Qinglan found it amusing. With one hand loosely holding her, she raised the other and pinched Shu Youzhan’s cheek. She couldn’t help but feel that the girl had grown a bit thinner compared to their time at school, though she wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion.

“You’ve been the only one I could ever see. When I’m happy, I want to find you; when I’m unhappy, I want to find you too… even the feeling of ‘love’ is something I gradually figured out through you—”

“So how could I know exactly which day or which moment I started loving you?”

For as long as Zhao Qinglan remember, Shu Youzhan had firmly occupied her entire vision and mind. She was like a natural magnet, ensuring Zhao Qinglan would always notice her in a crowd. She even felt a sense of destiny, as if she were meant to be entangled with her for a lifetime. If she had to say when she first started paying attention… It might go all the way back to their very first meeting.

Shu Youzhan hadn’t expected her “ball” to be even more direct than her own. Her heart accelerated betrayingly, and the palm being held began to sweat. She instinctively licked the corner of her lip, wanting to take a step back to compose herself.

However, Zhao Qinglan had long ago seen through the fact that this girl’s “rabbit courage” only lasted for three seconds. As Shu retreated, Zhao advanced. Not only that, but after gently pinching her cheek, Zhao’s fingers slid down to tilt her chin upward. She leaned in and asked, “What about you, you-you?”

“When did you start showing signs of being a little heartbreaker? Giving no answer at all, yet still wanting me to be devoted to you, hmm?”

When her husky voice rose at the end of the sentence, it felt like a hook intended to pull one’s soul straight out. Shu Youzhan bit her lip lightly, and it took a long time before she mumbled, “It’s not that I’m not giving one… it’s just, I’m still considering it.”

In the distance, the orderly shouts of the training drills drifted over, sounding as if they could pierce the clouds. In front of her, Zhao Qinglan watched her lick and bite her lips repeatedly. Her focus shifted entirely to those crimson lips. She couldn’t resist leaning closer. Her thumb, originally resting on Shu’s chin, brushed upward against the soft petals of her lips. Before Zhao could kiss her, Shu Youzhan bit down on her fingertip first.

It wasn’t a hard bite, but it served as a warning. Warm light filled her deep brown eyes. Shu Youzhan let go and reminded her with a playful, smiling tone, “A certain Alpha better not betray the trust I just gave. What are you trying to do?”

Zhao Qinglan looked down at the faint tooth mark on her finger, which would likely disappear almost immediately, and the corners of her mouth curled up. Her smile resembled a leopard on the plains playfully teasing its prey: “When did I ever say I wouldn’t do something bad?”

“Didn’t I just remind you?” “Alphas aren’t good things. They love tricking little Omegas into empty corners like this to bully them in secret. I’m no exception.”

The background noise was the distant shouts of the drills, and nearby were two residential buildings. One never knew when someone might glance out a window and see the story unfolding beneath the swaying tree shadows. But the light around them was dim. The shifting shadows of the trees fell over them, creating a sense of secrecy—as if they were doing something dangerous in a secluded place. Especially the feeling of being trapped under her, unable to escape.

The more she struggled, the tighter she would be bound. Her waist was firmly encircled by a pair of arms; Shu Youzhan couldn’t retreat even if she wanted to. She was forced to press tightly against the other woman. That pheromone scent, usually hidden so well that not a trace could be found, was now being intentionally released by its owner. It coiled around her like a snake, saturating the air, seemingly refusing to stop until Shu was entirely dyed with her scent.

As a result, the faint, sweet scent of water lily—which had been suppressed firmly by an inhibitor patch—seemed to find its fertile ground. It poked its head out joyfully, like a pet greeting an old friend, abandoning its owner’s intentions to happily surround the other. The intimacy left behind by those previous deep, skin-piercing markings now surged back like a tide.

Shu Youzhan’s face turned bright red. Unconsciously, her legs went weak in the embrace. She instinctively reached up to grip Zhao Qinglan’s shoulders, even though it was the other who had initiated the hug. In doing so, it looked as if they were mutually in love, and she was the one eagerly throwing herself into Zhao Qinglan’s arms. The palm of her right hand lightly patted the other’s shoulder. Her voice was a soft complaint, sounding like a pout: “Speak properly, what are you doing?”

Zhao Qinglan felt the change in her. When she turned her head, her burning breath fell into Shu’s ear. Her voice still held that relaxed, amused tone: “I’m afraid your answer won’t be the one I like, so I’m secretly cheating a bit—to make you consider it more carefully.”

Shu Youzhan: “…”

She laughed in spite of herself, finally realizing that Zhao Qinglan’s unusual behavior had started the moment she said she “still needed to consider it.” However, more than the answer itself, what surprised her was that Zhao Qinglan—who had always been invincible and never lost in any competition—actually had moments of such insecurity. What exactly was love, that it could make such a powerful Alpha become so anxious about gains and losses?

Her fingertips tightened on the other’s shoulder. Immersed in the scent of spider lily, Shu Youzhan stayed quietly in Zhao Qinglan’s arms for the first time. After a long while, she rested her chin on the other’s shoulder and, as if showing trust, spoke slowly: “I’m a bit slow.”

“Before, I always thought you noticed me because you saw me as a rival. So every time I thought of you, the dominant emotion was a desire to win. When I missed you, I was always worried whether you were secretly becoming stronger while I wasn’t looking, making it harder for me to catch up next time…”

“When you disappeared without a word this time, I was incredibly panicked. Every day and every night I thought of you—wondering where you went, if you would come back—but I still didn’t know where this longing came from.”

“I was afraid I hadn’t distinguished my feelings clearly yet. I was afraid of being influenced by seeing you as a rival, or by the dependency of being marked. You like me so much; I was afraid that if I’m confused now, I’ll make you sad later.”

Zhao Qinglan was excellent; Shu Youzhan had always understood this. Furthermore, she had differentiated as an Alpha and had already been designated as the next successor of the Zhao family. Given the current relationship between their two families… If she wanted to be with Shu, there would certainly be objections within the Zhao family. After all, there were so many subordinate, loyal families under the Zhaos, and plenty of Omegas who wanted to marry Zhao Qinglan. She didn’t need to get tangled up with her.

Shu Youzhan cleared her own thoughts and voiced them plainly. However, after speaking, instead of feeling at peace, she felt a strange sense of trepidation. Then, she heard Zhao Qinglan sigh. “You…” There was helplessness, but even more so, there was indulgence.

Shu Youzhan wanted to see her expression clearly. Her palms pressed against Zhao’s shoulders as she tried to straighten her back. She looked at her sideways, fearing she had made her sad by not agreeing immediately. Her deep brown eyes were filled with unease. Zhao Qinglan also loosened her grip slightly, looking down to meet the eyes of the person in her arms.

After a moment, she seemed to have figured something out. Her voice was light as she said: “I really don’t know how Auntie Chi, such a warm person, could raise such a little enchantress like you.”

Shu Youzhan: “?” She was startled by the description.

Zhao Qinglan continued: “Even your words about ‘considering’ are said so beautifully. If I really let you go, who knows how many Alphas you’d leave completely infatuated—” She leaned in and kissed Shu Youzhan’s forehead—a brief touch. Though the action was filled with preciousness and care, her words remained in her usual unconventional style: “Think it over quickly. A dangerous item like you are only suitable for me, understand?”

Her black eyes were sparkling with laughter. Shu Youzhan saw no trace of sadness in her. So, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she protest, “What are you saying? Don’t slander me…”

The two of them traded a few more playful jabs. Seeing the wound on Zhao’s hand, Shu Youzhan stopped flirting. She pulled her toward one of the trees and sat on the brick edge of a vegetable patch. Amidst the close scent of green onions, she began applying medicine to the wound on Zhao’s hand.

“I haven’t asked you yet…” “In this weather, how did you get chilblains? Where exactly did you go?” As she spread the ointment evenly, Shu Youzhan’s expression was very serious. Her mind wandered, trying to think of which planet in the Fourth Galaxy could have such harsh weather. A vague answer came to mind, and just as she was about to look up to verify it, she found that Zhao Qinglan had been watching her with a gentle smile the entire time. She had no idea how long she had been stared at.

The question she wanted to ask slowed by half a beat: “Why… why are you smiling like that?”

“I’m happy…” Zhao Qinglan’s answer was simple. Guessing that Shu Youzhan’s mind wasn’t on romantic matters at this moment, she patiently added: “I’m happy that you are treating me so seriously.”

“Take your time thinking…” She used her uninjured hand to pat Shu Youzhan’s head and said softly: “you-you, as long as you don’t consider anyone else, I can wait for you forever.”

It was the moment she said those words. Shu Youzhan felt that her understanding of Zhao Qinglan’s feelings was still too shallow. She seemed to like her a hundred times more… …than what Shu had already perceived. So much so that she was willing to restrain an Alpha’s predatory impulse, remaining harmlessly in place in a posture of waiting, welcoming a dawn that she didn’t know when would arrive.

At this very instant, on this ordinary night on a small planet with a warm breeze blowing, Shu Youzhan gazed blankly at Zhao Qinglan’s smiling face. In that strange air mixed with the scent of onion leaves, she heard the thumping in her chest and caught a glimpse of an answer.

She thought… Perhaps… she wouldn’t consider anyone else.