After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 44

Shu Youzhan waited for a moment, then gently shook her legs again, signaling Zhao Qinglan that she could put her down.

However, after waiting patiently for a long time, there was still no movement from the other party; the force pinning her remained undiminished.

As if to answer her confusion, Zhao Qinglan spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, “I’m starting to regret it.”

Upon hearing this, Shu Youzhan’s eyes grew round and wide. She didn’t know why this person kept breaking her word time and time again. Her voice grew heavier, tinged with a bit of temper: “Zhao Qinglan!”

The person who was called out gave a perfunctory “Mhm.” Ultimately, she couldn’t bear to let Shu Youzhan face that terrible public outcry alongside her at this moment. She slowly bent her knees and gradually lowered the girl to the ground.

Shu Youzhan breathed a sigh of relief.

The moment her feet touched the ground, she bounced away slightly like a startled squirrel. She watched Zhao Qinglan with wide eyes for a good while. Once she realized the other woman wasn’t making any further moves and didn’t seem as “dangerous” as her voice had suggested, she edged back two steps toward her.

She said somewhat awkwardly, “Welcome back…”

Inside, Zhao Qinglan’s heart was blooming with joy—small fireworks were practically exploding.

However, after that previous encounter, she realized that Shu Youzhan’s tolerance for her was much higher than before. It even gave her the illusion that she could tease her at will. Consequently, the person who had been struggling to suppress her instincts finally allowed a sliver of her Alpha nature to be released.

She took a step to the side, perfectly blocking the exit of the alleyway. Using her back to shield most of the sunlight, she shrouded the girl in a shadow surrounded only by her own scent.

She pressed one hand lightly against the wall, circling the girl within her domain like a hawk that had already targeted its prey on the ground.

“Just that one sentence?”

“No other expression of welcome?”

Shu Youzhan instinctively retreated. She clearly felt she had made a lot of progress lately—in the military camp, she could even occasionally knock down some Alphas.

Yet, facing Zhao Qinglan again, she realized this person’s dangerous aura was far greater than anyone else’s.

Was it because she had been too dull to notice it before?

Or had the experiences of the past two years truly drawn the sword from its scabbard?

Just as her back was about to touch the dusty, cold wall, the other woman’s hand hooked around her waist and pulled her a step closer into her embrace. In her haste, Shu Youzhan nearly crashed directly into her chest, and the heat that had just receded rushed back to her face.

“I… I’ll treat you to dinner?”

Hearing such a sentence so abruptly, Zhao Qinglan almost laughed out loud.

Originally, the atmosphere had made her feel as though her desires were on the verge of breaking out of their cage. Now, seeing Shu Youzhan still possessed that same simple nature—always thinking about food—Zhao Qinglan felt a strange sense of guilt.

She couldn’t quite bring herself to tease her too excessively.

Zhao Qinglan secretly sighed at her own soft-heartedness. Fleeting emotions flickered through her ink-colored eyes. Seeing Shu Youzhan nervously clenching her small fists, she finally took a step back.

“Let’s go…”

She couldn’t push her too hard.

If she scared her away now, wouldn’t all her previous efforts have gone to waste?

As night fell, some of the night market stalls had already begun to set up.

Shu Youzhan took Zhao Qinglan in a taxi to the most prosperous area of the city. After getting out, she waved her hand very grandly: “Order whatever you want, it’s my treat!”

Zhao Qinglan’s lips curled, but she deliberately looked toward the most exquisite building in the center, pointing at the restaurant: “Really? I want to eat hairy crabs there.”

Shu Youzhan looked closely—

128 yuan per catty.

Thinking of the appetites of those Alphas in the camp who ate by the bucketload, her expression instantly changed. Her previous boldness vanished, and she bit her lip, hesitating sincerely for several seconds. Her voice grew a bit smaller, lacking even a hint of confidence: “That… that’s fine.”

“Just for this one meal, though.”

Seeing her stingy appearance, Zhao Qinglan felt both annoyed and amused. She reached out to pinch Shu Youzhan’s cheek and stuffed a card into her hand, saying nonchalantly, “Mhm, use this to swipe.”

Shu Youzhan blinked. After seeing clearly what the card was and noticing Zhao Qinglan had already started walking ahead, she hurriedly jogged to catch up. “What is this? Your card?”

Walking into the hotel lobby under the magnificent decorative lights, Zhao Qinglan replied casually, “It’s probably my salary and subsidies from the past few years. I haven’t had a chance to spend it, so I can only ask for your help to use it for me.”

Thinking of Zhao Qinglan’s illustrious military achievements, Shu Youzhan suddenly felt like she was holding “life-risk money.” It felt scorching hot in her hand, and she hurriedly tried to stuff the card back. How could she just take advantage of someone else?

“No, no, no… don’t give it to me, I can’t help with this—”

Before she could finish, Zhao Qinglan tilted her chin, signaling her to look somewhere.

Bewildered, Shu Youzhan followed her gaze and saw two people behind a screen in the first-floor lobby. Their figures were almost overlapping, with only half their bodies visible.

Even that small glimpse was enough for one to guess they were a sweet couple in the heat of a relationship.

They were clinging to each other; one was sitting on the other’s lap, even picking up food to feed the other.

Shu Youzhan immediately got goosebumps. She looked back at Zhao Qinglan blankly, unsure of what she meant. Her dark brown eyes were filled with confusion and innocence. Zhao Qinglan smiled. “I haven’t even done anything yet…”

“Your reaction is already this big just from me asking you to keep my salary. What are you going to do in the future?”

Shu Youzhan: “…”

Her mind went blank for a moment. She felt light-headed, as if she had detected some incredible underlying meaning in those words.

At that moment, a hotel receptionist approached with a soft smile and said slowly, “Hello, how many in your party?”

Zhao Qinglan didn’t really look at her, simply answering, “Two.”

The waitress, wearing a cheongsam that highlighted her slender figure, smiled brightly like a flower. She led them forward, introducing the small private rooms along the way. Her eyes were glued to Zhao Qinglan the entire time, and she didn’t even care whether her promotion of the private rooms was successful.

Shu Youzhan snapped out of it and noticed the waitress’s behavior. The woman was wearing heels so high they looked like they might snap her ankles; she swayed slightly with every step, looking as if she might fall toward Zhao Qinglan at any second.

Shu Youzhan watched her expressionlessly for a moment.

Then, she suddenly reached out and pulled Zhao Qinglan.

Zhao Qinglan had been observing Shu Youzhan’s reaction to her earlier words. Seeing her serious expression now—as if she were about to announce something major—she couldn’t help but feel nervous too. Being pulled, she leaned toward her.

“What is it?” she asked with a smile.

Shu Youzhan saw that Zhao Qinglan hadn’t smiled much the whole way, yet now that someone was flirting, she was smiling like a “femme fatale.” Shu Youzhan gritted her teeth secretly. Taking advantage of the climb up the stairs where no one was around, she quickly pinched the other woman’s arm in the shadows.

Simultaneously…

She leaned in swiftly and pressed a kiss against the corner of the other woman’s lips. Then, she stared intently at the waitress for a moment.

The hotel waitress: “!!”

Damn!

What was going on?! Didn’t the outside world say the Shu and Zhao families were like fire and water? Weren’t those stories about Zhao Qinglan and Shu Youzhan just fake rumors made up by marketing accounts? What normal AO couple could handle a long-distance relationship for two years?

What was this situation?!

Was it true that the more outrageous the news, the more likely it was to be real?

She stood frozen on the spot, forgetting even the smile on her face. Her flower-like expression instantly turned into a stiff mask.

At first, Zhao Qinglan was stunned by the pinch. Then she realized that after the “slap,” she had been given a “sweet date.” She felt a bit light-headed, but noticing Shu Youzhan’s gaze wasn’t on her, she followed her line of sight.

Seeing the waitress’s nearly shattered expression, she recalled the moment and couldn’t help but chuckle.

On one hand, she thought Shu Youzhan was cutely childish. On the other, she was delighted that the girl had developed this sense of possessiveness over her.

Seeing that the waitress’s intentions had been quelled, Shu Youzhan’s competitiveness subsided. She pulled Zhao Qinglan upstairs, found a small private room for herself, and pulled the door shut: “Don’t bother us, I’ll call you after I’m done ordering.”

Zhao Qinglan allowed herself to be led the whole way. However, once Shu Youzhan’s “toughness” was spent, in that quiet space, she easily pressed the girl against the door. She leaned down with a shallow smile: “Baby…”

Now that her earlier burst of energy had been released, Shu Youzhan realized just how shocking her actions had been. She immediately stood on her tiptoes, trying to scramble backward, her mouth rambling in defense: “Wh-what? I just accidentally bumped into you just now, don’t m-misunderstand…”

“Oh?”

Zhao Qinglan pretended to be greatly disappointed, her eyes drooping slightly. “I thought you couldn’t stand to see me being hooked away by someone else, so you were marking your territory.”

“Was I?” Shu Youzhan pretended not to understand her meaning.

Zhao Qinglan looked at her carefully for two seconds, as if confirming the truth of her words. After a moment, she proactively let go of her hand and made a move to pull her aside. “Then I must have misunderstood. Ah, I thought that girl just now looked quite nice. She probably isn’t the type who would make me wait too long. I’ll go out and take a look—”

“W-wait!”

Shu Youzhan stomped her foot and gripped the other woman’s wrist tightly. Refusing to let go, she applied so much force her nails nearly dug into the skin.

Zhao Qinglan turned around at her leisure and waited for her.

Shu Youzhan hesitated, then said in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum: “I didn’t make you wait long… you’re not allowed to look for someone else. That girl just now… she’s not as good at fighting as I am!”

Zhao Qinglan tried very hard to keep herself from laughing.

Why did her Omega seem to be getting cuter and cuter?

Seeing no response from Zhao Qinglan for a long time, Shu Youzhan got anxious again and blurted out everything: “So what if I was marking my territory? You’re mine anyway, you’re not allowed to like anyone else—”

The rest of her words were muffled by a sudden warmth closing in.

Shu Youzhan’s eyes flew wide. Feeling the sudden heat, she tried to push the person away in her confusion, only to feel a slight sting on her lip. She frowned aggrievedly, hearing Zhao Qinglan let out a low, husky whisper: “Then let me teach you…”

“The correct way to mark your territory.”

Shu Youzhan: “!”

The lights in the small private room were dim, as if deliberately creating this ambiguous, heart-stirring atmosphere.

Nervously, Shu Youzhan gripped the shoulders of Zhao Qinglan’s military uniform. The metal badges pressed painfully into her palms. Her fingertips curled and uncurled repeatedly, perfectly mirroring the conflict in her heart between advancing and retreating.

Amidst the heat of their intermingled breaths…

She realized with a start that she had inadvertently awakened a wolf that was supposed to be sleeping.