After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently - Chapter 29

Thick clouds were pushed by the wind and framed within the classroom window, blocking most of the sunlight.

The harsh brightness faded, and the two girls sat in silence, their eyes meeting without a word.

Chi Yan felt that Yan Youqing’s behavior was strange.

She had just said she didn’t like this kind of drink, yet now the fruit tea had ended up on her desk.

What was she trying to do?

“Wasn’t it bought for me?” Yan Youqing asked calmly, watching Chi Yan’s slightly furrowed brows.

Chi Yan had no comeback. She let out a soft “Mm” in response.

Brighter light came in through the windows facing the hallway. A figure walked briskly past the classroom.

Chi Yan saw that it was Li Qin, the homeroom teacher, entering with a stack of papers in her arms. She didn’t press the topic any further and quickly warned, “Hide it. Don’t let the teacher see.”

“Okay.” Yan Youqing nodded and picked up the fruit tea.

However, she clearly had no experience doing this. She simply placed the cup in the middle of her desk, right on top of a tall stack of books.

Chi Yan watched her with a twitching eyelid.
“Yan Youqing, do you think our homeroom teacher is too short to see your desk?”

Yan Youqing, for once, looked genuinely confused and turned to her.

Chi Yan let out a helpless sigh and explained,
“When she’s standing on the platform, you think she can’t see what’s on your desk?”

As soon as Li Qin stepped onto the podium and began adjusting her microphone, Chi Yan reached over and took the fruit tea from Yan Youqing.

Their fingers brushed slightly. The cold moisture on the cup lingered on their skin—cool but soft.

Chi Yan, a well-known class rule-breaker, was quick and efficient. She hid the tea with ease.

The lime slices in the tea floated gently, the fruit pulp shifting as it settled. Both drinks now rested neatly in the space between their desks.

“There. Even the class monitor wouldn’t be able to find that.” Chi Yan looked smug as she spoke, feeling a sense of solidarity with Yan Youqing.

Yan Youqing gave a slight smile and whispered,
“Thank you.”

The microphone suddenly switched on with a loud buzzing noise, cutting through the quiet classroom and ending their conversation.

Several students frowned as the sharp sound traveled from the front to the back of the room. Li Qin tapped the stack of papers on her desk.
“These are your vocabulary worksheets for the Mid-Autumn break. Three pages, one for each day. The class monitor will hand them out after class. We’ll go over the answers Tuesday morning during self-study.”

Even though they were in their final year of high school and part of the honors class, a collective groan filled the room when they heard the workload.

Whispers filled the classroom, most of them quiet complaints. Chi Yan sighed in resignation, while Yan Youqing, as always, remained calm and composed.

The warm afternoon made the slight chill from the fruit tea all the more noticeable. A small, uneven circle of condensation formed on the clean surface of the desk.

Yan Youqing carefully slid the medical report into a document folder, her eyes briefly glancing at the two drinks placed side by side beneath the desk.

The heavy clouds outside lingered only for a few minutes before being blown away again, allowing the sun to shine through once more.

Leaves rustled and danced across the open space outside the window. Autumn had come, carrying with it the scent of lemons and agave.

Unlike the morning, time in the afternoon always seemed to move faster at school.

Before Chi Yan even realized it, the final bell rang and school was over for the day.

Perhaps it was the anticipation of the upcoming three-day Mid-Autumn holiday, but the school gates were already crowded the moment the bell rang.

Chi Yan, Zhong Yi, and Wang Chuning struggled to push their bikes out of the bike shed. They weren’t in a rush to get home and strolled slowly with the crowd.

“After the break, there’s only one week until the sports festival. Something to look forward to,” Wang Chuning said cheerfully.

“It’s still a while away,” Zhong Yi replied. “But the festival overlaps with National Day, so it’s pretty exciting.”

Chi Yan looked at the two of them, clearly more focused on breaks than studies, and teased,
“Do you know what people mean by ‘the final celebration before the fall’?”

Zhong Yi clearly understood what Chi Yan was getting at. She wrinkled her nose and answered without shame.
“That’s exactly what we’re doing right now. Slacking off.”

Chi Yan laughed and added,
“It’s fine. If you’re brave enough, you can even slack off during the college entrance exam.”

Zhong Yi clicked her tongue and said,
“You’ve really changed since you became an Alpha. So confident. You’ve become above it all.”

“That’s impossible,” Chi Yan replied instantly.
“There’s still a midterm next month. I’ll be first in the grade again. Believe it or not.”

“Of course I believe it. Our Chi Yan is an S-rank Alpha. You’ll definitely crush Yan Youqing in the rankings.”

Zhong Yi said this with full enthusiasm, but for some reason, Chi Yan felt a bit uncomfortable hearing it.

Before she could dwell on it, Wang Chuning spoke up.
“By the way, now that you’re an Alpha, are you signing up for events at the sports festival?”

Chi Yan nodded.
“I’m doing the three-thousand-meter run, high jump, and shot put.”

Wang Chuning laughed and teased,
“Sounds like you took all the leftover events nobody wanted.”

Zhong Yi leaned over and added,
“Well, our class monitor is so soft-spoken. The moment she asked, Chi Yan said yes.”

Chi Yan didn’t quite catch the meaning behind Zhong Yi’s earlier comment, but she understood this one well enough.

She casually threw an arm around Zhong Yi’s neck and grinned.
“Zhong Yi, want me to tell the class monitor that you’ll run the three-thousand meters with me?”

Zhong Yi surrendered immediately.
“No, no, please don’t!”

Wang Chuning laughed.
“Chi Yan, you run, and I’ll pass you water.”

The three of them walked toward the school gate, joking and laughing. None of them noticed the girl approaching from the other side of the crowd.

“Chi Yan?”

The girl’s voice wasn’t loud, and it sounded especially quiet in the noisy crowd.

Maybe it was the natural alertness of an Alpha to an Omega, but all three girls stopped at the same time.

Chi Yan didn’t recognize the girl standing in front of her and asked politely,
“Hello. Is something the matter?”

The girl looked nervous. She gently licked her dry lips and said,
“I’m Xu Qi from the class next to yours. I was the one who gave you the box of chocolates at lunch.”

Chi Yan’s eyes lit up in realization.
“That was from you?”

“Yes.” Xu Qi nodded, her eyes filled with anticipation.
“Did you like it?”

Chi Yan didn’t respond right away.

Xu Qi watched as she pulled her phone from her uniform pocket. She thought Chi Yan was about to ask for her contact info, and her heart filled with hope.

But the moment Chi Yan spoke, that hope quietly faded.
“Could you please show me your payment code? I’d like to send you the money for the chocolates.”

Xu Qi froze, then quickly said,
“No, you misunderstood. It was a gift.”

Chi Yan replied calmly,
“I didn’t misunderstand. I’m sorry, but I can’t accept it.”

She looked a little embarrassed but remained firm.
“The box didn’t have your name or any contact information, so I didn’t know how to return it. It felt like a waste to throw it away, so I gave it to Zhong Yi and the others to share. I’m really sorry.”

Xu Qi stood there quietly, unsure of what to say.

Xu Qi had given chocolates to other Alphas before. She believed her appearance was attractive and had never once been rejected by an Alpha after offering a gift. Chi Yan, however, had become the first exception.

“We’re already in our final year. I want to focus on preparing for the college entrance exam. Things like this can wait until university,” Chi Yan said, keeping her voice calm.

Xu Qi was not satisfied with the answer and asked again, “Then, which university do you want to apply to?”

Chi Yan did not respond.

She glanced around the already crowded school gate, smiled politely at Xu Qi, and reminded her, “Standing here any longer will block the entrance. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. I’ll send the money for the chocolates to someone in your class after the break.”

With that, Chi Yan pushed her bike toward the school gate.

The crowd was dense, yet she still stood out among the students. Her presence was hard to miss.

Not far away, Chen Niannian noticed Yan Youqing’s silence and asked curiously, “Yan Youqing, what are you looking at? You seem lost in thought.”

Yan Youqing blinked and returned to herself. Without showing any emotion, she shifted her gaze and answered calmly, “Nothing. I was just thinking about what you said earlier.”

“Zhong Yi seems to really like chocolate. And dragon’s beard candy too.”

Chen Niannian’s eyes lit up with surprise and excitement. “Really?”

“I think so,” Yan Youqing nodded softly, turning to look toward the other side of the courtyard where a group of girls stood.

Xu Qi stood quietly, head lowered. Her delicate face was filled with disappointment.

A friend approached, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and began comforting her in a gentle voice.

A short distance away, Zhong Yi muttered in a low tone, “So heartless.”

Wang Chuning echoed the thought. “So cold.”

Chi Yan felt like she was replaying the moment from earlier in the week, the one that had been interrupted by Yan Youqing near the bike shed. She let out a breath and explained, “I was trying to do her a favor. I had never even met her before. I’m not the kind of Alpha who randomly flirts with people. Alphas should keep their distance from Omegas.”

Zhong Yi responded with a teasing tone. “Clicking your tongue doesn’t change the truth.”

Late August was drawing to a close, and the autumn atmosphere grew stronger as the sun dipped lower in the sky.

The sunset painted the sky above the school gate in warm tones. Parents waiting to pick up their children mingled with students riding bicycles home. The noise and movement made everything feel lively and chaotic.

The short moment of confession ended quickly, and the three girls moved on to talking about their holiday plans. They chatted and laughed as they made their way toward the gate.

Chi Yan turned in the opposite direction, pushing her bicycle down a different road.

“I’m heading off,” she said.

Zhong Yi called out, “Be careful on the way home.”

Wang Chuning added, “Say hi to your dad for us.”

Chi Yan nodded, got on her bike, and waved at them. “I will.”

Traffic was moving in an orderly way thanks to the holiday control measures. Bicycles rang their bells as students weaved through the cars.

The setting sun stretched across the sky, chasing after the shadow of the girl as she rode. It followed her until she turned suddenly into a quiet side street.

This was not the usual route students took to and from school. The area was calm and somewhat isolated from the noise.

Chi Yan had made plans with Yan Youqing during their last class to meet here.

The sun seemed to burn even brighter, as if celebrating the start of the holiday.

The sky was filled with vivid orange and red. As Chi Yan turned the corner, she saw Yan Youqing waiting beneath a willow tree at the entrance of the alley.

Yan Youqing was still wearing her standard school uniform. It was plain, but she wore it neatly without a single wrinkle.

Her white canvas backpack rested properly on her shoulders. The hanging willow branches gently brushed the top of her head. She stood tall and straight, like a lotus rising from still water, her presence pure and striking against the brilliant orange sky.

Chi Yan hit the brakes suddenly and came to a stop.

A breeze swept past and messed up the strands of hair on her forehead. In that moment, she could hear her own heartbeat.

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