After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 5

“The results are out.”

“The differentiation is normal. The gland and hormone levels are all secreting normally; she is a healthy Omega.”

“Fill out the registration here. All Omega data must be registered within the Imperial system. Additionally, once she reaches adulthood, her pheromone data will be re-recorded to generate matching protocols, facilitating pairing with elite Alphas.”

An hour later.

In a private hospital in the southern city, the doctor holding the test results maintained a professional demeanor. He didn’t cast any probing glances at the high-quality Zhao family heir who occasionally appeared on television, nor did he gossip about her relationship with the newly differentiated Shu Youzhan.

The young doctor placed several printed forms in front of her.

Zhao Qinglan stood tall and elegant before the desk. She looked down, her eyes sweeping over the dense list of restrictions at the bottom of the forms, such as: “If an Omega leaks pheromones in a public place leading to an accident, the consequences are their own responsibility…”

She delayed taking the pen offered by the doctor. After reading through every regulation, she looked up and said, “I am not her guardian. Please wait for her parents to arrive before making any decisions. Before that—”

She took a card from her pocket and pressed it onto the table with her fingertip. Only when the doctor saw the prefix “Military Department” did Zhao Qinglan speak in a calm, non-negotiable tone: “Please treat today’s test results and data as classified.”

The young doctor froze.

Zhao Qinglan arched an eyebrow, looking at him meaningfully. “Unless disclosed by her personally or announced by the Shu family, I do not want to see these results leaked through any channel. Do you understand?”

“If you don’t have the authorization, contact the Dean immediately. Someone will come to collect her data later.”

Realizing the gravity, the doctor picked up the office phone and dialed the Dean’s internal line.

Shu Youzhan lay in the quiet VIP ward, hugging the quilt and facing the wall, motionless. From behind, she looked fast asleep.

When Zhao Qinglan entered, she saw the soft long hair scattered across the pillow and watched the way Shu Youzhan’s leg pressed against the quilt. Listening to the breathing, she knew the girl wasn’t asleep, but she didn’t know how to start the conversation.

So, she remained silent.

It was Shu Youzhan who, hearing the footsteps stop nearby, waited and waited until she finally couldn’t take it anymore. She flipped over and sat up, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand against the quilt.

“Zhao Qinglan…”

“Hmm?”

“Did you do it on purpose?”

A flicker of bewilderment passed through Zhao Qinglan’s eyes. “What?”

Shu Youzhan looked at her skeptically, scanning her up and down. She recalled her experience at school—acting like a “wanted criminal,” hiding her face behind someone else’s school jacket, and sneakily following her into the Zhao family car.

Thinking back, if even one classmate had seen that strange scene, her reputation would be ruined. And she couldn’t even jump out to defend herself, because that would be a self-exposure of the fact that she was ashamed to be seen because she had differentiated into an Omega!

What a poisonous plot!

Seeing the expressions on Shu Youzhan’s face shift rapidly, Zhao Qinglan truly couldn’t guess her train of thought. She could only ask, “What… exactly are you thinking?”

Shu Youzhan sneered. “Keep pretending…”

Zhao Qinglan: “…”

She met Shu Youzhan’s gaze calmly.

Seeing that she showed no remorse, Shu Youzhan gripped the quilt even tighter in anger. “You really planned this, and now you can’t even be bothered to find an excuse… I knew it…” Every word was laced with a mix of regret and resentment.

Zhao Qinglan was completely baffled. Seeing that the girl wouldn’t speak plainly, she shifted her stance, crossing her arms and looking at her playfully. “Oh? And what exactly do you know?”

Shu Youzhan’s gaze was resolute as she snapped back, “I know you harbor ill intentions!”

She deliberately wanted to make it impossible for me to face anyone at school!

The smile in Zhao Qinglan’s eyes paused.

For a moment, she thought this blockhead had finally wised up and seen through her feelings. She was about to take the opportunity to follow through—

But before the words left her mouth, she saw Shu Youzhan’s fingertips gripping the quilt so hard they were white.

She had originally thought this person had forgotten about the “test” part of the situation. Thinking about it now, how could she?

Since childhood, Shu Youzhan had exerted every ounce of effort to compete with her. Partly due to the historical origins of the Zhao and Shu families, and partly because their genetic testing at birth had burdened them both with high expectations.

Currently, the outside world rumored that Zhao Qinglan had differentiated into an Alpha without pheromones. Regardless of what happened later, if Shu Youzhan had differentiated into an Alpha now, she could have surpassed her.

However…

By that 0.01% chance, the worst result occurred: she differentiated into an Omega. In the history of the Fourth Star Sector, there had never been an Omega leader. In the traditional public mind, Omegas were weak, needing protection, and surviving only by depending on the strong—like a parasitic vine.

Zhao Qinglan stared at Shu Youzhan for a long time. She thought about how Shu Youzhan, like herself, had received the elite education of a family heir, only to differentiate into an Omega overnight. If she heard a confession from her rival at a time like this, she would surely find it humiliating beyond belief.

And so…

Amidst Shu Youzhan’s somewhat arrogant voice saying, “Are you feeling guilty because I caught you?”, Zhao Qinglan opened her lips.

“You-you…”

“If you are sad, you can cry. With me, you don’t have to pretend you’re fine. I won’t laugh at you.”

Shu Youzhan’s voice cut off abruptly. Her pale pink lips remained slightly parted. She seemed to have suddenly forgotten what she was going to say.

Originally… she was about to convince herself to forget this whole thing. She was just a step away.

Zhao Qinglan saw her slowly lower her head. Stray hairs cast shadows over her eyes—those beautiful eyes that usually seemed to hold sunlight—cutting a deep dark line across the bridge of her nose. One could no longer see the emotions within.

Seeing her like this, everything in Zhao Qinglan’s heart screamed at her to go over and offer comfort. Anything would do, as long as the other person didn’t look so fragile.

But in the end, she simply turned around from a few paces away without a word.

Just as she turned—

A trembling voice came from behind her: “Zhao Qinglan… I really, truly dislike you.”

Zhao Qinglan tilted her head back slightly and closed her eyes. She heard the sound of teardrops hitting the quilt on the bed behind her.

Patter…

She could only respond softly: “Mm…”

The sunlight from outside stretched their pale shadows. The one sitting on the bed had her head lowered, her shadow slanting and stopping behind the other’s heels. The one standing could only watch her own solitary, long, and faint shadow.

When Wei Shuangchi arrived at the hospital, she happened to encounter Zhao Qinglan leaving the ward. The exquisitely made-up woman paused, guessed something, and smiled proactively to greet her. “Qinglan, did you bring You-you here? Thank you for your hard work…”

Zhao Qinglan nodded politely. “It was no trouble, Auntie Chi. It was just a small favor.”

Having said that, she proactively mentioned the incident at school, omitting the part about the school jacket. After a brief narration to help the elder understand the situation, she added: “I have already helped her request leave from the teacher. The test results show everything is normal. You can take her home now.”

Wei Shuangchi thanked her repeatedly, finally adding, “School shouldn’t be over yet. I’m here now, so you should go back to class, Qinglan.”

“Come visit our house more often during the holidays. Auntie will cook something delicious for you.”

Zhao Qinglan replied unperturbedly, “Okay, thank you, Auntie Chi.”

Only then did Wei Shuangchi hurry toward the ward.

Entering the room, she saw Shu Youzhan wearing headphones and playing a video game. Catching the silhouette of the newcomer out of the corner of her eye, Shu Youzhan’s curse-in-progress took a sharp turn: “I’ll knock—knock your little head! How did the jungler die so fast just now?”

“Hey hey hey, hit the crystal! Hit it! Push!”

Her fingertips moved across the screen so fast they seemed to catch fire. Seeing the “Victory” screen, Shu Youzhan immediately closed the game, pulled out her headphones, and gave Wei Shuangchi a sweet smile: “Mama…”

Wei Shuangchi walked over and sat beside her, answering gently, “Mm…”

The momentary distraction of the game couldn’t bring happiness for long. In the now-quiet ward, Shu Youzhan slowly leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. Her reddened eyes blinked, trying to push back the sadness once more.

“I’m sorry…” she said.

Wei Shuangchi smiled and reached out to stroke her head. “Silly child, what is there to apologize for? Differentiating as an Alpha or an Omega isn’t something we can decide for ourselves.”

“If possible, everyone wants to stand at the top of the pyramid.”

Shu Youzhan hesitated before saying, “But… Mother will be very disappointed, right? For years, many relatives have felt the family shouldn’t put all their hopes on me alone. If they know I’ve differentiated into an Omega, they’ll definitely tell Mother to consider other heirs. I… I’ll make Mother lose face.”

Wei Shuangchi thought of her partner who was currently away on a business trip, and the smile at the corner of her mouth softened. “She won’t…”

She said, “Except for herself, no one can make her lose face.”

Buried in her mother’s faint scent of gardenia, Shu Youzhan felt the misery and inner conflict within her dissipate significantly. She wrapped her arms around Wei Shuangchi like a child who hadn’t grown up, clinging to her mother and refusing to let go.

Wei Shuangchi let her act spoiled for a while before slowly speaking: “Before I came here, I consulted with the doctor.”

“Generally speaking, differentiating into an Omega requires a registration. Of course, because our family has certain privileges, you could also choose never to register and live your life as a Beta…”

“I want to hear your thoughts, You-you. Do you want to register?”

Shu Youzhan held her in silence for a while, then said, “Can I think about it?”

“Mama, I need to adjust my mindset from a ‘preparatory Alpha’ to a ‘prospective Omega’.”

Wei Shuangchi was charmed by her sincerity and said with a smile, “Of course. Think about it. I’ll allow you to skip class today to think seriously about the direction of your life.”

Shu Youzhan released her and sat on the bed, truly thinking seriously for a long time as the sunlight slowly shifted westward. Wei Shuangchi drank two cups of coffee and ate some fruit from the basket provided by the hospital.

Finally, she heard her daughter’s answer: “I want to register…”

Wei Shuangchi calmly set down her porcelain gold-rimmed coffee cup and confirmed, “You’ve made up your mind?”

She added, “Registering as an Omega might mean you cannot inherit the family, and you will encounter some unpleasant things.”

Shu Youzhan’s fingers plucked at the quilt by her side as she said haltingly, “Becoming an Alpha would obviously be the best. And if I announce I’m an Omega now, my life at school will definitely change…”

“But, being the same gender as Mama isn’t something shameful or something that has to be hidden, right?”

Wei Shuangchi’s lips curved upward, though she didn’t make it too obvious.

Shu Youzhan added in a small voice: “Besides… if someone like me doesn’t even dare to walk in this society as an Omega, then… wouldn’t other Omegas be even more afraid?”

As if to bolster her own courage, she stumbled through a passage from a textbook: “A qualified leader should feel the pain of the people, not leave them in the heat of misery… If the people live in hell, the leader should lead them back to the world of man…”

In truth, Shu Youzhan still hadn’t quite adapted to her new identity. She couldn’t imagine how to compromise in an Alpha-dominated world, and she certainly couldn’t accept the idea of a “heat” cycle.

But running away was not an option.

Wei Shuangchi finally gave a genuine laugh and slowly clapped her hands. “Mm, it seems the tutoring fees I’ve paid over the years weren’t wasted.”

She stood up to call the doctor. And those registration documents.

Sitting on the hospital bed, Shu Youzhan looked at the stack of white papers on the small table—the countless “regulations” and “notices.” She felt a shock in her heart. But in the end, she silently signed her name.

Returning home with Wei Shuangchi, Shu Youzhan felt her mother’s exceptionally warm care. She ate a grand meal cooked by her mother’s own hands and savored the memory all night.

The next day at school, Shu Mi lunged at her at the school gate, grabbing her: “Sis! Big gossip! Where were you yesterday? It’s such a pity you missed the scene!!”

Shu Youzhan moved her neck to avoid the area of her gland being pressed, echoing her sister as usual: “What happened?”

Shu Mi was exuberant, gesturing wildly: “You have no idea! Yesterday an Omega went into heat at the swimming pool! They say it’s Zhao Qinglan’s lover!!”

Shu Youzhan swallowed hard.

“I heard they wanted to do it in the pool, but they were caught by a classmate! In the end, they could only sneak out miserably wrapped in Zhao Qinglan’s school jacket—climbing over the wall the whole way—”

Shu Youzhan froze on the spot.

“Wow! Everyone is saying that’s the child bride Zhao Qinglan’s family found for her, the one she’s going to marry in the future. So tragic! I wonder if that girl, being so passionate, will be devastated when she finds out about Zhao Qinglan’s physical condition.”

Shu — Passionate & Tragic Child Bride — Youzhan: “…”

She silently pulled Shu Mi’s hand off her and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

Shu Mi looked at her in confusion: “Sis? The bell is about to ring?”

Shu Youzhan remained expressionless: “I suddenly developed a disease where I’ll die if I go to school.”