After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 40

“Let’s go, I’ll take you back.”

The ointment on her hand had not yet dried when Zhao Qinglan stood up from the edge of the vegetable garden.

If not for the lingering warmth of tenderness in the depths of her eyes, one would think, just by looking at the tense lines of her profile, that she had returned to her usual cold and indifferent demeanor.

Shu Youzhan, still holding the ointment in her hand, stood up blankly alongside her. In truth, she was somewhat reluctant to leave, but she felt that expressing her longing too directly might lead to a misunderstanding. Her deep brown eyes followed Zhao Qinglan pleadingly, like a little puppy.

The words that remained unspoken in her mouth flowed out through her gaze.

Scorched by such a burning stare, Zhao Qinglan’s throat tightened. Immediately following this, she raised her right hand, spreading her palm to block Shu Youzhan’s line of sight. Her voice rose low and haunting, like the sound of a cello: “Don’t look at me with that kind of eyes.”

Shu Youzhan: “Hmm?”

Before she could ask, Zhao Qinglan had already turned around first, no longer facing her. She walked toward the exit, appearing very much as if she truly intended to escort her back to the dormitory.

Shu Youzhan hurriedly took three steps in every two, stretching her legs to keep up, almost needing a trot to catch her.

Rounding to the front of Zhao Qinglan, Shu Youzhan grabbed her arm and asked subconsciously, “Wh-why are you in such a hurry? It’s not even curfew time yet?”

“Because if I don’t send you back now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to restrain myself anymore,” Zhao Qinglan answered nonchalantly. However, her low, hoarse voice betrayed her true emotions.

Shu Youzhan opened her mouth, reading the desire within Zhao Qinglan’s deep black eyes.

She could only state her unprepared thoughts in a state of panic: “But… I still have many things I want to say to you.”

There were also many questions she wanted to ask.

For instance, what had Zhao Qinglan experienced at home during the times she had been away?

Or, for example, why did the military rumors say she wanted to become an Omega?

Those questions crowded her throat, scrambling to come out without any sense of priority. In Zhao Qinglan’s eyes, this manifested as Shu Youzhan slightly parting her lips with her delicate brows furrowed together, looking incredibly aggrieved.

Zhao Qinglan sighed inwardly.

It was clearly the same reluctance to part—she even wished time could stop at this very moment, or perhaps something even worse.

She was tempted to spend a wonderful night with Shu Youzhan… but she couldn’t.

On the surface, she pretended not to notice Shu Youzhan’s expression, responding only with a slightly wicked smile: “Then save them. Tell me next time.”

“Why?” Shu Youzhan thought Zhao Qinglan had lost patience or was afraid she was being too wordy. The force with which she pulled Zhao Qinglan’s hand increased. Because she was walking backward and wasn’t looking at the steps beneath her feet, she tripped in her haste.

Zhao Qinglan was quick of eye and hand, catching her by the waist. She saw that Shu Youzhan’s face was full of reluctance.

Shu Youzhan even stubbornly pressed against Zhao Qinglan’s shoulders to stop her from moving forward, resting her forehead against Zhao Qinglan’s chin like a headstrong little calf.

Despite Zhao Qinglan saying repeatedly that her endurance was not good, this girl remained utterly fearless.

Zhao Qinglan truly could not do anything to her; she even wanted to crouch down to check if Shu Youzhan had sprained her ankle.

However, just as she moved, Shu Youzhan already guessed something.

It turned out that in Zhao Qinglan’s words just now, the most important meaning wasn’t a refusal to listen, but the word “next time.”

“Are you… leaving again?”

“You’re not returning to the school, are you?”

Shu Youzhan’s voice grew softer. From the initial helplessness of their meeting to her later arrogance born of being spoiled, this was the moment she felt the least confident.

Zhao Qinglan remained half-crouched but did not make a sound.

To not answer was to give a silent admission.

In fact, from their encounter in the cafeteria that afternoon until now, Zhao Qinglan had never mentioned that her stopover with the main force in the territory of the Fourth Army was merely a transit to return to Earth.

It was just that Shu Youzhan had later been so happy that she forgot about it.

“I’m sorry…” Zhao Qinglan also spoke softly. Compared to the panic in Shu Youzhan’s voice, her voice was more like a consolation, as if she were afraid of scaring the person in front of her away. “I’m a bit selfish. Knowing that you will be thinking of me every moment makes me want to leave something behind even more—be it a doubt, a cliffhanger, or a secret. I only want to occupy your entire attention.”

That was why she was so stingy as to refuse to answer even one more question.

Because Shu Youzhan was like a little sun with new people constantly appearing around her, while Zhao Qinglan had to leave for too long to complete that essential task. She feared that the exciting world would introduce too many people who might pick the flower she had nurtured so carefully for so long.

Shu Youzhan fell silent.

The previously warm atmosphere suddenly grew quiet again, like the subsiding of rolling waves, leaving only a sea surface as deep as a mirror and an abyss.

Zhao Qinglan knew she shouldn’t mention this now, but the longer she stayed with Shu Youzhan, the less she wanted to leave. Realizing the other’s bad mood, she could only rack her brains to coax her.

After Zhao Qinglan said a few witty remarks, Shu Youzhan walked beside her. Without looking at her, Shu Youzhan replied in a low voice: “You don’t have to coax me.”

“I won’t run away.”

Zhao Qinglan was speechless. After a long while, she finally said, “I’m not afraid you’ll run; I just don’t want you to be sad… I want you to be a bit happier.”

Shu Youzhan suddenly turned to look at her with a very complex expression, her eyes flickering with hesitation.

Ultimately, unknown what she had thought of, she mustered the courage to say: “If, if I promise you now, can you…”

Her lips were pressed by a warm fingertip.

Zhao Qinglan did not let her finish the rest of her sentence.

Instead, she said very seriously: “Youyou, I don’t want to have only a moment of pleasure with you. I want your remaining years. I want your future.”

Shu Youzhan knew her words had been rash.

They even carried a gambling nature.

Just as she understood Zhao Qinglan, she knew how to lure Zhao Qinglan into losing her reason. Conversely, Zhao Qinglan also knew how to wake her judgment and prevent her from acting so impulsively.

Unknowingly, the two had walked to a low bungalow on the other side.

There was a small single room on one side of the bungalow, separated by a wide road, with rows of dormitories on the other side. This allowed Shu Youzhan to be under Shu Yu’s protection without missing the collective training of the other soldiers.

The morning bugle calls could be heard clearly from here.

Shu Youzhan kicked a small pebble by the roadside, hearing a soft clatter. She was unwilling to look up at Zhao Qinglan again: “I’ve arrived. You go back.”

Zhao Qinglan gazed at her: “Then you go inside. I’ll leave once you enter the house.”

Shu Youzhan didn’t budge.

A lump of unyielding air swirled in her chest, making her not want to pay attention to this person who clearly couldn’t stay yet insisted on making such a deep confession.

However, at the thought that once she turned around, she wouldn’t know when she would see her again, she couldn’t move her feet.

Finally, she just said: “This time when you leave… can you let me know?”

Hearing her soften her attitude, Zhao Qinglan’s heart almost melted. She felt more than ever that she was being somewhat wicked; other Alphas held their beloved in the palms of their hands to spoil them.

As for her, even though she endured and yielded most of the time, she still accidentally made the girl cry.

She agreed without principle: “Alright…”

Shu Youzhan moved her lips and added childishly: “Since you’re not staying, I’m not promising you anything. I’m going to keep you hanging forever. Humph. Goodnight.”

After saying that, she ran into the house.

She did not hesitate to close the door.

Zhao Qinglan stood outside with a smile, watching for a while. As the sentries in front of Shu Yu’s house glanced at her repeatedly, she finally put one hand in her pocket, turned around, and walked away.

Inside the room…

Shu Youzhan waited for a good while, estimating that Zhao Qinglan was about to leave. She then got up from the door and went to the window. She found that the light inside was too bright and the road outside too dark; since Zhao Qinglan was wearing a black military uniform, she vanished entirely into the shadows.

She picked at the iron sheet of the window with her fingernails, feeling a bit of regret for saying such harsh words.

As her vision could no longer find the other’s figure, her heart felt empty.

Shu Youzhan stood by the window for a long time, realizing belatedly… that even before Zhao Qinglan had truly left this time, she had already begun to miss her.

When the sky was still dimly lit, the wake-up bugle had already spread to every corner.

Shu Youzhan’s consciousness was still hazy when she dazedly pulled off the quilt and sat up. Like a ghost, she got up to change into her military uniform, fold her quilt, and floated out with her towel and toothbrush cup.

By the time she returned, she had cleared her head a bit. She adjusted her appearance in the mirror and, hearing the assembly bugle outside, she hurriedly went to the table by the window to grab her hat.

Her peripheral vision caught something—

She paused in her movements.

She had forgotten to close the window last night, letting the night wind blow in all night. However, on the windowsill that should have been empty, there now lay a bouquet of wild daisies. They must have grown on the lush grassland of yesterday’s shooting competition.

The brilliant flowers and tender green leaves were still covered in heavy dew, looking very fresh.

Shu Youzhan looked at the flowers. After a moment, she realized something and tried to run out with her hat.

However, as the troops assembled one after another, too many people saw her. Someone waved at her, and even the battalion commander looked in her direction.

She could only suppress her urge to run out and mechanically stood in the ranks.

“Fifteen-kilometer run—”

“First squad, ready!”

The loud slogans brightened the sky. As the one at the rear of the ranks, Shu Youzhan repeatedly poked her head out from behind whenever the squad leaders and group leaders weren’t paying attention to check the progress ahead. Thinking that they would pass the docking station during the run, she became even more anxious.

Finally, it was the turn of the last ranks. After the person in front caught up with the formation, she dashed out with a “shoo” sound.

The Alphas in front had quick reflexes. As soon as one person felt her speed, the rest also charged forward as if being chased by dogs.

Although they didn’t know what kind of adrenaline Shu Youzhan had today, no one wanted to be the last one or be overtaken in physical stamina by an Omega. Suddenly, the entire squad looked like it was in a life-and-death sprint; everyone started with a burst of speed!

Dust flew, the sound of panting mixed with the sound of sweat dripping, along with the shouting of slogans.

They woke the sleeping planet.

Amidst her increasingly rapid heartbeat, Shu Youzhan finally saw a magnificent spaceship docked at the station. The ship’s body was entirely black yet emitted a faint glow, looking like a long, narrow shuttle. The surrounding docking racks slowly retracted, and a piercing light lit up around the ship.

In the next second!

The spaceship, having initiated a space jump, vanished from the spot. The area near the docking station became quiet. Others also noticed this scene and subconsciously slowed their pace…

Fortunately, Shu Youzhan, who was at the very back, stopped at this time as well, so they didn’t have to worry about being overtaken.

Alphas who had their rhythm disrupted were panting like bulls as they stopped ahead to rest.

“What… what’s going on?”

“Did Little Shu… get some kind of… st-stimulus today?”

“I can’t do it anymore, I’m going to die… Am I not going to have breakfast today?”

“Wait, no, look, she stopped!”

Shu Youzhan could not hear the voices of the people ahead, nor could she feel those astonished gazes; she just stood there blankly.

She couldn’t even feel the rising and falling of her chest or her heavy breathing. Sweat fell on her eyelashes, blurring her vision.

She looked at the place where the ship had vanished and stood quietly for a while.

The trembling fingertips at her side slowly clenched into a fist.

She heard herself say in a whispered breath: “Next time…”

“Next time, I will definitely catch up to you.”