After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 46

A dinner had been forcibly stretched into a late-night snack.

By the time Shu Youzhan stepped out, she realized the city lights were already beginning to shine. She walked along the bustling street with Zhao Qinglan as if they were taking a leisurely stroll. Neither mentioned going home; they simply chatted idly about this and that. The atmosphere was a rare moment of relaxed comfort, free from their usual tension, accompanied by a pleasant evening breeze.

“How long are you staying this time?”

She remembered that on her last birthday, Zhao Qinglan had only returned to Planet Blue to report for duty; she had arrived in the early hours of the morning and left that same night, only having enough time to pilot her fighter jet to say goodbye.

Therefore, Shu Youzhan didn’t hold high hopes this time, and had even prepared herself for a departure at any moment.

The pure black military uniform accentuated Zhao Qinglan’s tall and slender figure. Her complexion was exceptionally pale, making her jade-like features appear particularly exquisite. Passersby who caught a glimpse of her couldn’t help but look back; their expressions shifted from initial amazement to contemplation, as if they were beginning to recognize who she was.

Zhao Qinglan had one hand in her pocket, a faint smile lingering in her dark eyes. “At least a year.”

Shu Youzhan: “!”

She looked at Zhao Qinglan in surprise, as if she hadn’t quite processed the change from her constant overseas assignments. Now that a sudden surprise had landed, she remained in a daze for a moment.

Then, she belatedly recalled the rank regulations within the military department.

Zhao Qinglan had been promoted.

That was why she could stay on Planet Blue for so long.

She felt the urge to ask about Zhao Qinglan’s current achievements, but the words reached her lips and were swallowed back down. Shu Youzhan thought secretly to herself that no matter how far ahead Zhao Qinglan had moved, it was a distance she would have to catch up to in the future anyway. There seemed to be no point in inquiring early; it would only add unnecessary pressure on herself.

As if reading her thoughts, Zhao Qinglan tilted her head slightly and said casually, “I’ll help you get familiar with the process first. If you have the chance to join the service in the future, you can use my experience as a reference.”

Hearing her link Shu Youzhan to the military department so nonchalantly, Shu Youzhan felt a stir in her heart.

She was about to jokingly reply, “How can you be so sure I can get into the military?”

Before the words could come out, she caught sight of a figure out of the corner of her eye, stumbling and about to fall toward them. She instinctively reached out to steady them, but the person was like a boneless loach, nearly collapsing entirely onto her.

A heavy stench of alcohol hit her face.

Shu Youzhan had originally intended to just give a light hand to help the person stand firm, but she hadn’t expected the person to be so wobbly and unconscious. They fell forward as if “scamming” her for a collision, and she had already started to withdraw her strength.

Seeing the person about to fall flat on their face, she prepared to reach out her other hand to steady them properly—

Zhao Qinglan had already stepped forward, grabbing the person’s collar and effortlessly hooking them onto the roadside flower bed, as if picking up a trash bag.

Shu Youzhan caught sight of the person wearing a low-cut, thin, gold-scaled short-sleeved shirt. She watched Zhao Qinglan’s movements with some trepidation, afraid that she might not control her strength and turn a helping hand into an assault.

“Hello, are you okay?”

Seeing the person slumped over the edge of the flower bed, their face flushed and looking as if they might vomit at any moment, Shu Youzhan kept some distance. She bent over with her hands on her knees to inquire. Finding the person completely unresponsive, she looked toward Zhao Qinglan, at a loss for what to do.

“Don’t worry about it…” Seeing a rare moment where Shu Youzhan sought her help, Zhao Qinglan answered in high spirits, then gestured toward a building in the distance. “There are many bars nearby; there are plenty of people like this at the entrances.”

Shu Youzhan hesitated for a moment. “But… isn’t this dangerous?”

Zhao Qinglan was not naturally a meddler. In fact, after visiting several high-risk wandering planets, she had developed a deep suspicion toward anyone who approached her suddenly.

Seeing Shu Youzhan’s warm-heartedness now, she remained quiet for a few seconds before speaking up. “Then ask if she has family, and call them to come pick her up.”

Shu Youzhan clearly thought this was a good suggestion. “Mhm!”

After seeing the person off, she curiously looked toward the bars. Sure enough, she saw many drunkards staggering out. Although she couldn’t distinguish their genders clearly, their sexy and bold clothing and the overall aura they exuded could easily attract the attention of those with ill intentions.

She could help one, but she couldn’t help everyone here.

Shu Youzhan was about to look away and choose another path to walk with Zhao Qinglan, but her gaze drifted and caught sight of a familiar figure.

She instinctively stood on her tiptoes.

Then she moved a few steps to the side.

Zhao Qinglan turned and asked her, “What is it?”

Without looking back, Shu Youzhan waved her hand at her. “Over there at the entrance… the person that guy is holding, doesn’t she look like Shu Mi?”

It was phrased as a question.

But before Zhao Qinglan could answer, Shu Youzhan had already started walking toward them.

She hadn’t expected the “date” Shu Mi mentioned to Pei Yi to be at such a chaotic place—and she was still a senior in high school!

The closer she got, the more furious she became as she saw the hands that weren’t being very respectful on Shu Mi’s body.

The man looked like a mature person from society, with a shifty, rat-like appearance. There was no way he could be the person ranked second in the city-wide unified examination that Pei Yi had mentioned.

She stepped forward in two or three strides and grabbed Shu Mi’s hand, her gaze piercing directly at the man. “What is your relationship with her?”

The man was initially a bit guilty, but seeing her small stature of just over 1.6 meters, his mouth curled into a smirk. He raised his hand to brush off Shu Youzhan’s movement and shouted arrogantly, “What business is it of yours—”

The sound of the word “yours” was only halfway out when it plummeted. His knees slammed heavily onto the ground, the dull thud sounding painful to anyone listening.

Shu Youzhan pulled Shu Mi into her arms and took a moment to glance at Zhao Qinglan. She saw her standing nearby with a calm expression. Although she didn’t even frown, an aura of displeasure was already emanating from her.

Even though she didn’t know why Zhao Qinglan’s mood had suddenly soured, Shu Youzhan still found a moment to smile at her before gently patting the person in her arms, who was also reeking of alcohol. “Shu Mi, wake up.”

“Burp…” The person clinging limply to her let out a heavy alcoholic burp and muttered to herself, “So scary, I can hear my sister’s voice.”

Shu Youzhan: “…”

She asked, half-smiling, “How is your sister scary? Can she eat you or something?”

Originally, Shu Youzhan didn’t quite understand what Shu Mi had been thinking lately. Now, seeing her in this drunken state, it was the perfect opportunity to ask for clarification.

“You don’t understand…” Shu Mi raised a hand and waved at the air. Her face was adorned with more exquisite makeup than she wore at school.

However, that innocent schoolgirl aura had disappeared, replaced by a notably mature vibe. Her eyes were tightly shut, her eyelashes trembling. “You don’t understand…”

She repeated the mumble.

Zhao Qinglan watched for a while, truly unwilling to have her solitary time with Shu Youzhan interrupted again by some random person. She now suggested, “Call her family?”

Shu Youzhan thought for a few seconds and said, “I’ll take her back. Her parents… it’s useless even if I call.”

She was using both hands to support Shu Mi and truly couldn’t spare a hand to reach for her phone. She could only coax the drunkard while using her eyes to signal Zhao Qinglan for help.

To her surprise, the person who received her gaze somehow started looking everywhere but at her, as if the signal between the two had suddenly been cut.

Shu Youzhan was about to speak up to remind her when another sound, like a murmur, came from beside her ear.

“She… she treats me very well.”

Not expecting to hear such words, Shu Youzhan felt Shu Mi sliding down for lack of strength and had to pull her up again.

Because they were of similar height, the movement wasn’t strenuous, but it gave off a feeling of great effort.

Zhao Qinglan was originally feeling a bit piqued because Shu Youzhan’s attention was all focused-on Shu Mi.

However, seeing Shu Mi flailing and trying to grab onto her person, she finally couldn’t hold back. She took two or three long strides forward and, repeating her previous tactic, grabbed the back of the girl’s collar to pull her away.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t strangle her… be a bit gentler…”

Shu Youzhan, who had been freed, didn’t have time to tidy her messy collar. She looked anxious, as if her cousin might die at Zhao Qinglan’s hands the next second.

Zhao Qinglan: “…”

She tried hard to control her impulse to throw the person in her hand aside.

On the contrary, for Shu Mi herself, it was unclear whether she suddenly felt the killing intent of a top-tier Alpha or if the tossing and turning had jolted her awake. Her toes hovered over the ground, nearly tripping over herself.

She raised her hand to wave it about, half-opened her eyes, and met a pair of deep brown eyes.

Then she closed her eyes, turned her head, and looked the other way.

Zhao Qinglan looked at her expressionlessly.

Shu Mi… Shu Mi shuddered.

She hugged her own shoulders pitifully and murmured, “Damn, what kind of tragic ‘dog-slaughtering’ scene is this? It’s bad enough dreaming about my sister, but why am I dreaming about her on a date with Zhao Qinglan while I become a thousand-watt lightbulb?”

Zhao Qinglan raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that this drunkard actually had some self-awareness.

Shu Youzhan shifted her gaze to the side for a good while before turning back. She said softly to her, “Mi Mi, stop messing around. I’ll take you home. Don’t come to places like this next time.”

“No, I don’t want to go home!” Hearing those words, Shu Mi immediately showed resistance.

“Leave me alone… nobody care about me…”

Hearing this, Zhao Qinglan loosened the strength in her hand. Just before Shu Mi was about to hit the ground, she barely caught her. This jolt directly sobered her up a little.

Shu Mi seemed to realize that all of this was not a dream.

After locking eyes with Shu Youzhan for a few seconds, as if afraid to see the disappointment in her eyes, Shu Mi raised her hand to cover her face. After a long while, Shu Youzhan heard her sob.

Seeing her sober up, Zhao Qinglan slowly released her grip. Shu Mi stood there for a moment, then dizzily squatted down, refusing to look up at anyone from beginning to end.

“Sister… you go back, don’t worry about me anymore.”

Shu Youzhan squatted in front of her, maintaining an eye-level height. She asked with a sigh, “What exactly is wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong…” Her voice came from behind her arms, muffled. “I just don’t want to persist anymore. I want to give up.”

After a pause, she called out to Shu Youzhan softly, “Sister, I know you mean well for me… but, but I find it very exhausting.”

“If everyone stayed asleep forever and never opened their eyes to see the light, they wouldn’t feel how unbearable the darkness is.”

“But standing by your side, you are different from everyone else. I have had the privilege of seeing the scenery you see, witnessing your strength. You dare to do things that no one has ever done, things that are almost impossible to complete.”

“I yearn to be like you, but I realize I can’t achieve anything at all…”

“I want to go back to sleep, but I can’t anymore. I only feel pain and want to run away.”

“I am so cowardly. Just let me rot in the corner; don’t worry about me anymore, okay?”

The night wind had grown a bit cold.

It was hard to tell if winter was approaching or if a cold wave had hit.

Shu Youzhan stood by the roadside, feeling the wind blow against her cheeks, bringing a sharp chill. She was about to rub her arms when a weight was suddenly placed on her shoulders—a coat had been draped over her.

A pure black military coat; even the shoulder straps still carried the cold sharpness that had poked her hand earlier.

Zhao Qinglan, wearing only a white shirt, stood beside her at some point.

Shu Youzhan looked down at the coat, paused for two seconds, and spoke up: “If my mother saw me wearing this, she would definitely kick this ‘traitor’ out of the house.”

Zhao Qinglan hooked the collar of the coat with her finger, making a motion to take it back. “If you won’t wear it, give it back.”

The next moment…

The coat was indeed back on Zhao Qinglan. Shu Youzhan didn’t seem to mind much. She turned to find a warmer place to stay, but her wrist was gently grabbed by a warm force.

Immediately afterward, she was pulled back two steps and unexpectedly crashed into a warm embrace.

Where they stood was a corner with few people passing by. No colorful lights reached them. The tall buildings loomed over them, and the sound of rock music from the bar echoed in their ears.

In the rustling cold wind, Shu Youzhan was enveloped from above by Zhao Qinglan. The other’s warm embrace was like a furnace in winter, providing a continuous source of heat.

In her ear was a somewhat helpless voice, mixed with a bit of hoarseness, sounding exceptionally magnetic: “Is this okay?”

Warmth rose from her body to her cheeks. Shu Youzhan had originally been unmoved, but now she raised her hands and pulled at the hem of Zhao Qinglan’s shirt at her sides, as if responding to the hug. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with light.

“I’ve discovered…”

“That you seem to treat me differently than you treat others.”

Although Zhao Qinglan’s movements were gentle, her tone was somewhat fierce: “Should I praise you for being perceptive? It’s been years… and you only realized today that you’re special to me?”

Shu Youzhan secretly stuck out her tongue.

Hearing the underlying sarcasm in her words, she buried her head and rubbed against Zhao Qinglan’s neck, taking it as a gesture of comfort. The slight itch brought by the intimacy crawled along her nerves into her heart. Zhao Qinglan pressed down on her head, wanting her to behave.

At that moment, a low voice came from her embrace: “Zhao Qinglan…”

“Today, I’ve already heard twice that I’m different.”

“As if… I’m some kind of anomaly.”

Zhao Qinglan’s expression darkened, and her heart twitched for some reason, bringing a strange sensation of pain.

“It’s probably because I wasn’t prepared to become an Omega from the beginning.”

“So now, trying to do certain things with this status makes people feel it’s strange—”

“It’s not like that,” Zhao Qinglan interrupted her.

“The great swan and the sparrow were never meant to live in the same nest. I know what kind of ambitions and goals you have. Gender is not a reason to hinder you. Don’t listen to the voices of those who live mediocre lives.”

“Keep moving forward, look toward the finish line. I will walk with you.”

Although Zhao Qinglan’s voice was neither high nor low, and couldn’t be described as powerful, it landed in Shu Youzhan’s ears like the sound of fine jade hitting gold.

She thought of the rumors circulating lately about Zhao Qinglan seizing power from Zhao Xi, the internal strife in the Zhao family, and so on. She then thought about how the other grew up just like her, born into a massive family where many things were restricted, and every move was under scrutiny.

If there was anyone in the world who could forever understand her…

Perhaps…

That person’s name was Zhao Qinglan.

Thinking of this, Shu Youzhan gave a low laugh. Curiously, those somewhat gloomy emotions vanished. She leaned her head gently on Zhao Qinglan’s shoulder, catching a faint, unavoidable scent of spider lily from the shirt.

“You really… always have a way to fire up my fighting spirit.”

She let out a soft sigh, putting away the thorns she usually kept in front of the other, finally meeting her with her softest posture.

Zhao Qinglan thought back to her “match made in heaven” comment at the restaurant. She tilted her head and left a very light kiss on her cool ear, responding softly: “Yes, perhaps I was born for you.”