After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 4

Shu Youzhan had only ever heard her cousin, Shu Mi, mention that Omegas naturally have no resistance against Alphas. At the time, she simply tucked it away in her mind as a piece of common knowledge. It wasn’t until her differentiation today that she truly experienced the terror behind those words.

At this moment, despite her intellect still harboring resistance toward Zhao Qinglan, being at such a close distance—even without smelling the other’s pheromones—her body felt weak and powerless. Every pore seemed to stretch open with pleasure, yearning and screaming to get closer to the person before her.

This was beyond ridiculous…

A fierce struggle appeared in Shu Youzhan’s hazy hazel eyes. Her reason fought against the side effects of the differentiation period; one second, she was sinking into a watery mist of surrender, and the next, her eyes flashed with defiance and loathing.

A slight sting came from Zhao Qinglan’s arm—it was the result of Shu Youzhan unconsciously clawing at her due to the sudden pain of differentiation.

Zhao Qinglan lowered her head slightly, easily catching the alternating emotions in Shu Youzhan’s eyes.

After a few seconds of quiet eye contact, Zhao Qinglan seemed to find an answer. She gave a faint smile, like a dragonfly brushing the surface of a pond, the ripples slowly fading away.

Then, she effortlessly picked Shu Youzhan up and walked to her own locker. After unlocking it with her fingerprint, she pulled the door open and took out another bottle.

Amidst her blurred consciousness, Shu Youzhan felt a cool liquid being sprayed onto the back of her neck. Subsequently, the high fever ravaging her body subsided slightly.

For the time being, she couldn’t regain her strength. She didn’t realize how dangerous it was for an Omega in her differentiation period, emitting sweet pheromones, to hang so blatantly off an Alpha while exposing her own nape.

The concentration of water lily fragrance in the dressing room lightened a bit.

“Hey…”

A moment later, she bumped Zhao Qinglan’s waist with her knee, commanding like a spoiled boss: “Put me down. How much longer do you want to take advantage of me?”

Zhao Qinglan took slight offense at this “burning the bridge after crossing it” behavior. She remained in the same position without moving, curling her lips as she asked, “Did I lose my memory? Why do I remember a little ‘O’ throwing herself into my arms just now?”

Struck in her sore spot, Shu Youzhan went quiet for two seconds. Then, catching her off guard, she exerted force to break free and jumped down. After steadying herself with a slight wobble, she looked at the Omega-specific medical patch in Zhao Qinglan’s hand with a half-smile, then looked up at her: “Throwing myself into your arms?”

“No way, no way? Someone couldn’t actually be interested in an Alpha who doesn’t even have pheromones, right?”

Pausing, Shu Youzhan continued in a drawn-out tone: “Anyway… there’s no way I could catch feelings for a ‘Central Air Conditioner’ who carries Omega medical patches around at all times.”

What normal Alpha would be so considerate and prepared?

Unless they were a “Sea King” with a whole ocean of fish.

Though, she didn’t understand how an Alpha with “bodily issues” managed to catch so many fish.

In just half a minute, Zhao Qinglan had been branded with two strange labels: “impotent” and “player.” She was so angry she laughed. Her canine teeth lightly bit her lip, and her voice carried a hint of a threat in its low, raspy tone: “Will you only behave if I mark you right now?”

Shu Youzhan: “You wouldn’t dare!”

However, because the side effects of her recent differentiation hadn’t fully vanished, her voice carried a bit of a nasal tone. Coupled with the lingering redness at the corners of her eyes, her tone sounded entirely like a “paper tiger”—blustering but weak.

The moment the words left her mouth, Shu Youzhan realized something was off. She took a deep breath and smiled to save face: “Besides, you’re not capable anyway.”

“Do you guys smell that?”

“It seems like there’s the scent of an Omega’s pheromones coming from over by the dressing rooms.”

“Someone couldn’t be in heat, right?”

“Who is it? Doing something so scandalous in a place as sacred and glorious as a school?”

“Could an Omega be having a sudden differentiation? Maybe we should call a teacher; it feels pretty dangerous.”

In the swimming pool area, some Alphas with a keen sense of smell were the first to catch the faint, sweet scent drifting from the dressing room. This sparked a conversation among the students of Class 1. Several Alphas, including Ping Hui, cast searching glances in that direction, some intentionally and some not.

Some showed their excitement openly on their faces, while others masked it better, wearing only meaningful smiles.

However, the moment their eyes met, they all saw the same intent in each other’s gaze.

This was the instinct of an Alpha—to be restless and eager toward an unmarked Omega.

The desire for plunder and the sense of conquest engraved in their genes made them instinctively want to claim territory and a mate. The more primitive and savage the means, the stronger the sense of achievement they gained.

Ping Hui suggested: “How about we go over and take a look? If an ‘O’ really is having a sudden differentiation, we can help by calling a teacher.”

Pei Yi, sitting by the edge of the pool wrapped in a bath towel, rolled her eyes at him: “You’d better stay put. Just let the class monitor go and check. If there’s a situation, she’s an ‘O’ and can handle it in time. You Alphas going over there—is that to help, or to cause trouble? Don’t you have any self-awareness?”

Ping Hui smiled and glanced at her as if he hadn’t understood. Then, he took large strides toward her, towering over her and casting a shadow as he asked pointedly: “Who did you say is causing trouble? Say that again to my fist.”

Several Omega students, who were angry but dared not speak out, lightly pulled on Pei Yi’s towel, whispering for her to stop.

“Forget it…”

“Sister Shu isn’t here, don’t provoke him.”

Pei Yi fell silent. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, and she realized belatedly:

Where was Shu Youzhan?

Seeing that no one dared to contradict him anymore, Ping Hui turned and left with satisfaction. In a few steps, he caught up with the class monitor who was heading that way, casually grabbed the monitor by the collar of their school uniform to pull them back, and bypassed them to walk toward the dressing room.

Thump, thump, thump!

Shu Youzhan heard the rude banging on the door and smelled the unrestrained Alpha pheromones surging toward her through the gap in the door. She instinctively took two steps back.

Until she bumped into Zhao Qinglan.

The person behind her smiled leisurely and asked: “Weren’t you quite bold when you were provoking me just now? Why are you wimping out now? Go on…”

Shu Youzhan: “…”

She was gnashing her teeth in hatred, but as she identified the scents of three or four different pheromones outside the door and thought about her classmates discovering her identity as an Omega, Shu Youzhan very realistically… wimped out.

She turned to look for another exit in the dressing room to no avail. Finally, she stood before a window set high in the wall. Estimating the distance of the long, narrow window from the ground, Shu Youzhan spent a great deal of effort dragging over a solid wood bench from the dressing room and climbed up.

Perched on the windowsill, she turned back and gave Zhao Qinglan a triumphant smile, as if to say:

Isn’t this young lady about to get out?

Zhao Qinglan was momentary dazed by her brilliant profile bathed in the sunlight. A slight curve touched the corners of her lips as she reminded her composedly: “Are you sure you want to go out like that?”

Shu Youzhan: “?”

Zhao Qinglan said unhurriedly, “The students in PE right now aren’t just from Class 1. There are many people on the playground as well. The scent of pheromones on you hasn’t completely dissipated yet.”

Shu Youzhan froze completely.

Zhao Qinglan admired her troubled expression for a moment. Then, she walked over to the locker on her own. With her back to Shu Youzhan, she pulled down the strap of her swimsuit that was clinging to her skin.

Shu Youzhan stared blankly at her movements, suddenly forgetting the noises at the door.

It wasn’t until she caught sight of a large expanse of snowy skin that she hurriedly turned her gaze away: “What-what-what are you doing! Even if you have physical issues and would be rejected by most Omegas, you don’t have to be this desperate—”

Halfway through, she realized she was insulting herself. She stopped, and by the time she wanted to change her phrasing, Zhao Qinglan had already changed into her school uniform. Carrying her jacket, she turned back around.

The silver-white school uniform was dampened by her wet, long black hair, tracing her lean lines. She walked toward Shu Youzhan and extended her right hand: “Come down first…”

Shu Youzhan looked at her hesitantly, not believing that she could come up with a good solution in such a short time. She was afraid Zhao Qinglan was tricking her into coming down just to give her a beating to avenge her earlier mockery.

Zhao Qinglan tilted her head, signaling her to listen to the increasingly arrogant sounds at the door, which sounded like it was about to be violently broken down: “If you don’t hurry…”

Shu Youzhan’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly grabbed her hand and was warmed by the heat of her palm. When she let go, she realized the other person had stepped past her and climbed onto the window first. Like a fleeting shadow, she vanished to the other side.

She was dumbfounded!

She couldn’t believe Zhao Qinglan had acted composed for so long just to trick her into staying behind to cover the rear while she made a quick escape!

Cursing in her heart, she climbed back onto the bench and up the window. Only then did she see that the person on the other side had not left. She was standing there patiently, looking up at her, and opened her arms toward her: “Jump. I’ll catch you.”

Shu Youzhan stared at the pale skin of her arms, wondering where this weak Alpha got her confidence. She looked away in disdain and jumped down abruptly—

Her knees buckled, and she nearly knelt on the ground.

Zhao Qinglan slowly withdrew her hands, a smile spreading in her eyes: “Think it’s not enough to visit the differentiation department at the hospital? Want to book an appointment with orthopedics too?”

Shu Youzhan gritted her teeth and pretended she hadn’t heard.

Just as she was about to push past Zhao Qinglan and walk forward, she suddenly saw Zhao Qinglan’s expression change. Then, that snowy-white school jacket landed on her head!

Shu Youzhan’s vision was blocked for a moment. She was just about to pull the clothes down and curse at the other person for what was wrong with her, but then she heard another voice: “Oho, I knew there might be a surprise if I came to look by the windows.”

“What have I found here? Classmate, don’t be shy. Show your face so we can get to know each other and be friends…”

Ping Hui was wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, standing boldly outside the swimming hall.

At this moment, he was wantonly releasing his pheromones. Their concentration bypassed the neutralizing spray and surged toward Shu Youzhan.

Zhao Qinglan casually stepped in front of Shu Youzhan, looking at him expressionlessly.

Ping Hui grinned: “Classmate Zhao Qinglan, even though you’re an Alpha too, a fellow without pheromones shouldn’t try to compete, right? When it comes to attracting an ‘O,’ an Alpha can’t just rely on family background. After all… there are some needs they have that you probably can’t satisfy.”

Shu Youzhan’s hand, gripping Zhao Qinglan’s school jacket, tightened into a fist. A surge of impulse rose within her to rush forward and beat the man up regardless of the consequences.

She silently bit her lower lip.

Now that she had differentiated into an Omega, was she going to have to face many people like Ping Hui—people who were unscrupulous and felt entitled to harass her?

Zhao Qinglan noticed her small movements. Originally, she didn’t want to bother with this person, but now she stood a bit straighter and said to Ping Hui: “Sincerely apologize to the person beside me right now and get lost. I can choose not to hold today’s offense against you.”

Ping Hui showed a look of disdain and laughed: “Hmm? Are you going to use the privileges of your Zhao family to oppress the common people—”

Before he could finish…

He suddenly felt his vision go dark.

Slowly blinking his eyes, he was horrified to realize that the playground, the sunlight, and the swimming hall had all disappeared.

Unbeknownst to him, the sky above had turned blood-red, and the ground beneath his feet had become soft soil. He saw himself standing in a bizarre cluster of flowers. Red, yellow, and purple flowers turned their heads toward him, all bearing skull-like patterns, watching him eerily.

Slender green vines stretched out from the soil, coiling around his thighs, arms, and neck, growing wantonly over his body. He thrashed in terror, trying to tear the terrifying vines away, but their growth speed far exceeded the speed of his struggle.

His neck was tightened by the vines, and he was pulled inch by inch into the soil. He looked up at the sky that seemed to be dripping blood, as if feeling the soil cover his neck and bury his mouth and nose. He felt that he would eventually die silently in this terrifying world.

“Ah—!”

Shu Youzhan faintly caught a scent of something. Just as she was about to identify it, she was startled by that agonized roar. Immediately after, she heard the dull thud of something hitting the ground. She instinctively grabbed Zhao Qinglan’s wrist.

The trace of scent her nose had caught vanished without a trace.

Zhao Qinglan looked at her lightly grabbing her finger and narrowed her eyes. Her eyelashes blocked the sunlight falling into her eyes, as well as the whirlpool within them. She explained to her in a low voice: “This classmate realized that his words just now were too impolite. Now he’s repenting and kneeling there, waiting for your forgiveness.”

Shu Youzhan: “…”

Why don’t I believe that at all?

But Ping Hui’s arrogant pheromones seemed to have vanished, and the sound she heard just now did indeed seem to be the sound of knees hitting the ground.

She was completely baffled as to what Zhao Qinglan had actually done.

But it wasn’t appropriate to speak out now, so she just pulled the other person’s hand and shook it, pointing toward the school gate.

Zhao Qinglan’s lips curved: “Mm, let’s go.”

Without reminding Shu Youzhan of anything, she let the other person lead her. She guided her toward the school gate, and as they passed Ping Hui, she looked straight ahead, completely ignoring the figure kneeling on the ground with eyes wide open, staring emptily at the sky.