After Differentiation, My Arch-nemesis Thinks I’m Fragrant - Chapter 51

Zhao Qinglan’s “exam accompaniment” service extended into this current test.

However, compared to the leisure of the previous time, Shu Youzhan—who had originally woken up and arrived at the Imperial Military Academy feeling refreshed—couldn’t help but want to rub her neck now upon seeing her. She felt as if the stinging sensation of being bitten at her vital point was still there.

“Are you… particularly idle?”

The other woman was wearing that same black military uniform, ironed without a single wrinkle. The insignia on her shoulders emitted a cold, hard, sharp light, and a blue cord hung from her pocket, though it was unclear what kind of card it was meant to hold.

Hearing Shu Youzhan’s words, Zhao Qinglan arched a single eyebrow and turned to look at her. Seeing her raising her hand to touch her neck, the corners of Zhao Qinglan’s lips couldn’t help but quirk into an arc:

“I am busy, very busy. It’s just that someone is more important, so of course, I have to do my best to carve out time to accompany them.”

“Lest some little heartless person forgets me in the blink of an eye.”

Shu Youzhan originally wanted to retort with a few lines, but then she remembered that this person held grudges. If she indulged in a quick tongue-lashing now, there was no telling how much she would suffer later during sparring sessions or when she needed her help. Consequently, her pale lips opened and closed, before finally clamping shut tightly. For once, she chose not to meet the other’s blade head-on.

Seeing how well-behaved she was, Zhao Qinglan couldn’t bring herself to keep teasing her. She checked the time and said, “Go on. If you really get nervous, just think about what to eat for lunch to distract yourself.”

Shu Youzhan’s eyes darted around. She leaned close to her side, feeling that she couldn’t let the other woman be the only one messing with her head. In a posture that almost had her leaning into the other’s arms, she smiled with breath like orchids:

“Think about what to eat? Like, you?”

The emotions in Zhao Qinglan’s eyes paused for a moment.

Just as the hand in her pocket moved slightly, Shu Youzhan, like an alert rabbit with pricked ears, fled at the first sign of movement, leaving behind only the silhouette of her running back.

Zhao Qinglan pressed the tip of her tongue against her upper palate. Watching that wind-like figure, a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.

…

Thanks to that bit of playfulness with Zhao Qinglan, by the time Shu Youzhan was warming up to take the stage for the test, the word “nervous” never entered her mind. Instead, scenes of her previous battles with Zhao Qinglan played out.

Every move and every style surfaced in her memory.

There was also the other woman’s voice appearing in different scenarios, reminding her of the strategies she should choose in various situations—when to retreat and when to pursue a victory.

Finally, the memory settled on yesterday after the “mark” had been deepened. She had led Zhao Qinglan downstairs with a flushed face, feeling like a guilty thief even in her own home, only to be suddenly called out to.

“Youyou.”

She turned back with a sharp reaction: “Mhm?”

Zhao Qinglan stood at the edge of the second-floor stairs, looking at her as she had already walked down a few steps. Her obsidian-dark eyes flowed with a gentle light: “For tomorrow’s exam, remember one thing—”

“No matter who your opponent is, even the strongest Alpha, they are ultimately just ordinary people. Every human has a weakness.”

“The most outstanding number one of this generation is standing right in front of you and was once defeated by you. Everyone else will eventually become your defeated foe as well.”

Shu Youzhan took a long, deep breath, doing her best to empty her thoughts and stabilize her emotions. Her expectations for herself today weren’t high; she wasn’t chasing a 120% performance.

As long as she could fully demonstrate her actual strength, that would be enough.

“Number one hundred and seven.”

“Shu Youzhan.”

When her name echoed from the loudspeaker, the surrounding students were in an uproar. Only at this moment did they realize that Shu Youzhan was actually here to take the exam.

In an instant, the Alpha pheromones in the venue became even more aggressive.

The air was already thick with various scents, as if one had stepped into a massive fragrance shop. Following the broadcast announcement, the intensity of the odors suddenly increased manifold. Before they could maliciously target Shu Youzhan, many Alphas with slightly weaker constitutions frowned first.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

For some reason, Shu Youzhan slowly pulled an odor-filtering mask from her pocket and put it on her face, looking as if she weren’t participating in an exam, but rather entering a gas-leak site.

She followed the broadcast instructions onto the stage. After nodding to her opponent in greeting, she noticed the person staring at her with an expressionless face from a short distance away.

Shu Youzhan: “?”

She waited patiently for two seconds, realizing the opponent might be waiting for her to initiate the attack. Thus, she raised an eyebrow and showed no politeness. The moment she closed in, she raised her hand and delivered an uppercut.

Thump!

“Ah!”

A few seconds later.

Shu Youzhan stood in place, looking confusedly at her own fist, and then at the opponent who had already been knocked off the stage and judged the loser. She didn’t quite understand why this person only took the hit without fighting back. Were they not here for the exam voluntarily?

At that moment, a burst of laughter erupted from below the stage. The Alpha, with a lump swelling on his face, scrambled up from the ground. His eyes were red, yet he still gave her a fierce glare before turning to vanish into the crowd.

Shu Youzhan won several consecutive rounds in such an unclear manner. She began to wonder if some benevolent person in her family had made some underhanded deals with these candidates beforehand, asking them to go easy on her.

Until the fifth round.

An exceptionally strong Alpha walked onto the stage. His skin was dark, and as he stretched his neck across from her, making a cracking sound, he stared pointedly at her mask:

“I see. The reason you aren’t affected by those Alpha pheromones just now… the secret must be in that mask of yours.”

Shu Youzhan: “???”

Her eyes widened slightly. Before she had a chance to explain, the opponent had already charged toward her. Shu Youzhan immediately composed herself, judging his speed and weight based on the sound of the wind around him. Then, like a light piece of paper, she drifted lightly with the wind, happening to stick right beside him—

Her elbow was raised high.

At the same time the shadow fell, a heavy force landed precisely on the back of the opponent’s neck.

An Omega’s gland is fragile and sensitive but has strong regenerative properties. In contrast, an Alpha’s gland isn’t much stronger. Particularly when subjected to a heavy blow—because it isn’t an existence meant to be marked—the speed at which the pain fades or the area recovers is far inferior to that of an Omega.

This meant…

If the pain was strong enough, hitting this spot had the same fatal effect as hitting any other vital weakness on the opponent’s body.

As expected,!

The person who had originally been full of energy and looked like he could run ten laps around the military academy without panting simply took that one hit and his knees went weak. He knelt on the ground as if his neck had been slashed by a blade just now, unable to stand up for a long time.

Only after the referee announced the result did Shu Youzhan say to the person, “I’m sorry.”

Pausing, she added, “Also, the reason I wasn’t affected just now is probably because the presence of those few people’s pheromones was too weak. I didn’t even notice them.”

Hiss…

Gasps of surprise rose one after another from the surrounding crowd.

Someone whispered, “What’s going on? How is this Omega not affected by pheromones? Is her gland mutated?”

“I don’t know? But she’s the daughter of Legion Commander Shu. With the military’s resources, maybe she secretly participated in some modification experiment? Or maybe she took some kind of drug?”

“That’s not the point, right! The point is, have you ever seen such a vicious Omega? Attacking the gland…”

“Good grief, I feel a chill on the back of my neck now.”

“The methods she used aren’t against the rules. Which round of winning is this for her? Ordinary students pass after ten rounds, right?”

“Yeah, let’s see her luck. There are a few really powerful ones this year. I remember she’ll face one in the eighth round. That Alpha seems to be from a fringe planet; he has a foul mouth and uses dirty tactics, specifically picking on the opponent’s weaknesses. I don’t know how many were carried off just now… The one from the Shu family is in for a rough time.”

“It might be even worse. Since its founding, the military academy has never accepted an Omega student. Even if she wins all ten rounds, so what?”

…

The discussions outside the field and the watchful gazes could not affect Shu Youzhan.

In most of her life, there were always people casting this or that kind of attention on her. She had long since grown accustomed to focusing on completing her own tasks under the gaze of the crowd.

Now was her eighth round.

According to the rules for this test at the Imperial Military Academy, everyone was scheduled for twenty matches, with opponents randomly drawn by the system. For most students, winning ten rounds meant a high probability of admission. Twelve to fifteen wins meant admission was stable. Unless someone wanted to prove themselves or challenge strong enemies, few would pursue a twenty-match winning streak.

But for Shu Youzhan, this was the only path she could take.

Before this opponent took the stage, she was originally quite calm. However, when she saw the person’s appearance, she arched an eyebrow in surprise and turned to look at the display screen nearby.

Alpha.

Gender: A.

However, this person’s height and build exceeded common knowledge and expectations. They were basically the same as Shu Youzhan, appearing wizened and thin.

Shu Youzhan’s gaze met the person’s, and she saw the other party curl their lips into a meaningful smile:

“A person of privilege, huh.”

“Hey, are you really as pretty as you look on TV? Take off the mask and let me see, little beautiful Omega?”

“If I win against you today, can I marry you and incidentally go to the Fourth Legion to become a commander too?”

The tone was frivolous; every sentence hopped repeatedly on Shu Youzhan’s pet peeves.

It wasn’t that Shu Youzhan hadn’t heard foul-mouthed content before, but no one had ever made her feel this disgusted. Especially the opponent’s pheromones—while they made the back of her neck ache faintly, they were like a snake hiding in a stream, poking its head out silently from a rock crevice, wordlessly flicking its tongue and unknowingly clinging to one’s back.

It was so cold that the chill seeped into the marrow of her bones.

Her fingertips brushed against the mask’s ear loop. Under high-speed movement, this kind of odor-blocking shield significantly affected her breathing. She was both disgusted by the opponent’s attitude and unwilling to let that slimy gaze falls upon her, yet she was also hesitant about whether she could win this round without taking off the mask.

Right then.

She suddenly noticed a black silhouette far behind the opponent, roughly in the area where the audience watched the battle near the entrance. The figure stood there quietly, not knowing if they had followed her in from the beginning or had taken time out of a busy schedule to see her again.

Receiving her gaze, the other person gave a slight nod.

Shu Youzhan somehow felt at ease all of a sudden.

She decisively hooked the ear loop of the mask with her finger, folded it neatly, and put it in her pocket. Then, meeting the opponent’s greedy, stunned, and repulsive gaze, she replied in a flat tone:

“I’m sorry, the scope of our family’s recruitment for a son-in-law does not include non-recyclable trash.”