After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently - Chapter 31

The knock on the door came suddenly. In the silence of the house, it sounded especially loud and clear.

The scent of tequila vanished in an instant. Yan Youqing’s slightly lowered eyes flew open.

She only froze for a brief moment. Before the second knock sounded, her mind had already reacted. She quickly hid the school uniform in her arms beneath the cushion on the sofa and walked toward the front entrance.

The video doorbell projected the scene outside onto the screen. Yan Youqing stood there with uncertainty. She could not remember expecting anyone.

What she did not expect was that the blurry figure on the small screen belonged to the owner of the very jacket she had just hidden.

Chi Yan was here.

Yan Youqing could hardly believe it, but still opened the tightly shut door.

The cool evening breeze swept into the warm room. The leaves of the ivy on the outer wall trembled slightly.

The wind brushed across Chi Yan’s face, lifting strands of her hair. A familiar and easy smile appeared on her face. She greeted, “Good evening.”

Old Chi’s place had been a mess, and she had ended up cleaning until dusk.

Yan Youqing quickly pushed down the surprise in her eyes and replied calmly, “Good evening.”

“My dad asked me to bring you some holiday gifts. He wanted to thank you for helping our family recently,” Chi Yan said as she lifted the boxes and fruit baskets in her hands. She had felt that bringing only one box looked too simple, so she picked up a few extra items along the way.

“You really didn’t have to. Come in and have a seat.”

There seemed to be quiet waves lingering in Yan Youqing’s eyes. They settled for a moment, then rose again.

She spoke softly as she took the gifts from Chi Yan’s hands, moved aside, and gestured for her to come in.

Chi Yan handed over only the lightest fruit basket. As she changed her shoes, she looked into the dim room where no lights had been turned on.

“You’re alone again?”

“Yes,” Yan Youqing nodded, placing the fruit basket on the bar counter behind the sofa.

Since she had been here once before, Chi Yan placed the gifts beside the cabinet in the entryway and naturally walked into the living room, taking a seat on the sofa.

From behind the bar counter, Yan Youqing watched Chi Yan’s back. She opened the glass cabinet nearby, took out a beautiful crystal glass, and poured her a glass of water.

Chi Yan was a little thirsty. She accepted the glass with a quiet “thank you” and drank it all.

Maybe it was because of the long ride or a lack of water, but Chi Yan felt that the water at Yan Youqing’s house tasted better than any she had ever had. It was fresh, slightly sweet, and soothing. She could not help but praise it.

“Your water tastes really good.”

Yan Youqing lightly pressed her lips together and did not answer.

The last of the sunset’s glow entered the room. The frosted glass pitcher with vertical patterns reflected a dull shimmer.

Lemon slices floated in the lightly salted water. Their edges were broken into small segments by the curved glass, moving slowly in the water.

After finishing the glass, most of Chi Yan’s exhaustion from the bike ride had faded.

She placed the glass down on the table and stood up decisively.

“Alright, I’ve delivered the gifts. You seem fine, and the night market is about to start. I won’t bother you any longer.”

“Can I come with you?” Yan Youqing asked immediately.

Chi Yan looked at the dishes she had noticed on the table when she entered and hesitated.

“But didn’t you just make dinner?”

Yan Youqing gave her no chance to question it and replied without pause.

“You said last time that if there was time, you could take me to the night market again.”

Chi Yan fell silent.

What she had meant was that if Yan Youqing had time, she could go on her own.

How had that turned into Chi Yan taking her?

She did not think they were that close.

Yan Youqing noticed the hesitation on her face. Her eyelashes lifted slightly as she asked softly, “Is tonight not okay?”

Maybe it was the brilliance of the evening light outside that made the girl’s voice inside the dim room sound especially cool and delicate.

“I just want to spend a little more time with you. After all, tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. We won’t be together long.”

Chi Yan paused, suddenly remembering the real reason she had come.

She looked at Yan Youqing and gave a slight nod.

“Let’s go then. Don’t forget to wear a jacket.”

“Alright,” Yan Youqing agreed quickly, almost like she was afraid Chi Yan would change her mind.

The night market was just as lively as before, maybe even more crowded than the last time.

Chi Yan looked at the stalls along the roadside, each decorated with rows of glowing lights. She turned and asked, “Have you ever had street barbecue?”

Yan Youqing shook her head.

Not only had she never tried it, but before coming with Chi Yan, she had never even set foot in a place like this.

Chi Yan had expected that answer. She lifted her chin slightly and signaled to her.

“See if there’s anything you want to try.”

Hearing that, Yan Youqing lifted her gaze.

Under the dark sky, the lights flickered. Her eyes moved quietly across the glowing signs of older shops as if searching for something.

Chi Yan walked alongside her for a short distance. Just as she thought none of these places would interest someone like Yan Youqing, the girl in front of her suddenly stopped.

As if a memory had led her there, Yan Youqing said in a calm voice, “This one.”

Chi Yan followed her gaze and saw the red sign with white lettering. The name was very familiar to her.

Old Zhou’s Saturday Barbecue.

A smile appeared on Chi Yan’s face. She naturally reached out and gave Yan Youqing a light pat on the shoulder.

“You have good taste. Anyone who didn’t know better might think you come here often.”

Yan Youqing’s shoulders were narrow and delicate. Chi Yan, being an Alpha, had a stronger touch than she realized. The small tap caused her shoulder to dip slightly under the weight.

Still, her expression stayed calm. She glanced at the girl beside her, then lowered her gaze quietly to the spot on her shoulder that had just been touched.

It hurt a little.

But it was not enough to really matter.

Chi Yan was a regular at this barbecue place. She had known the owner since middle school.

Even in her previous life, after joining the School of Life Sciences, she still brought her team here once or twice a week.

Smoke rose from the barbecue grill. A large fan blew it toward the street. The aroma of grilled lamb filled the air.

The owner flipped the skewers with practiced ease. From afar, he caught the scent of an Alpha and instinctively looked up. He was surprised to find someone familiar.

“Chi Yan, there you are. I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you in so long. What, you went and presented as an Alpha without telling me? Must be a high level too. I could smell you from down the block,” he teased.

Chi Yan looked a little embarrassed and replied with a playful tone.

“Uncle Zhou, stop teasing me, or I’ll demand a free meal tonight.”

“Please don’t. I’m just a B-ranked Alpha. I can’t handle you. Find a seat. I brought in some fresh meat this morning from the east side.”

As he spoke, he turned and called out, “Aqin”

A voice responded quickly from inside, “Coming”

Chi Yan didn’t recognize the voice and asked, “Is Aqin new?”

The girl called by name responded immediately.
“Yes, coming.”

Chi Yan found the voice unfamiliar and asked, “Is she new?”

The owner nodded.
“Yeah. She’s from the nursing school next door. Pretty quick with things. An Omega girl.”

Chi Yan nodded in return, though she still couldn’t recall what Aqin looked like.

She figured Aqin was probably just a short-term hire, so she didn’t ask further. Instead, she led Yan Youqing to a clean, quiet corner where they sat down.

It was just around dinner time, the hour when people returned home and prepared their evening meals. The barbecue shop was starting to get busy.

But Chi Yan didn’t have to wait long. In just a short while, the girl named Aqin came over with a single menu in hand.

“It’s crowded, so there’s only one copy. Hope that’s alright,” she said casually.

Her tone was brisk, and she had a bit of streetwise confidence in the way she spoke. She placed the menu directly in front of Chi Yan.

The strong scent of lamb filled the air around them. Yan Youqing seemed to notice it too. Her eyes, which had been focused on her phone, paused for a second before she looked up.

Aqin, too, was likely an Omega, but she was not the kind people usually imagined.

Her long hair was a dry, faded yellow with visible split ends, lacking any shine under the lights. Her loose short-sleeved shirt hung off one shoulder, revealing the other. It was unclear if that was intentional or simply because she was too busy to care.

“You seem pretty close to Uncle Zhou. How come I haven’t seen you around lately?” Aqin asked in a friendly, familiar tone.

“I’m in senior year now,” Chi Yan replied flatly.

She wasn’t the kind of person to warm up quickly. Since she didn’t know Aqin, her voice was cool and distant.

She quickly glanced over the menu. It was filled with the usual items she already knew well, so she didn’t spend time on it and began to order in a practiced tone.

“Ten— no, make it twenty lamb skewers, fifteen skewers of grilled tendon, and two flatbreads.”

Aqin didn’t seem to mind Chi Yan’s cold attitude. She simply took note of the order, then joked as she scribbled on her notepad.

“Still in your senior year and already taking your girlfriend out on dates?”

Chi Yan paused mid-order. She looked at Yan Youqing sitting across from her and quickly clarified.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

Hearing that, Aqin’s pen also paused.

She looked at Yan Youqing with interest, her eyes glinting with amusement.

“So it was a misunderstanding on my part then.”

The autumn wind drifted in from afar. The overly sweet scent of freesia landed on Chi Yan’s shoulder.

She noticed that the bright light beside her had been half-blocked by a shadow. Aqin had moved slightly closer to her, pointing at something on the menu with a fingertip covered in flashy, jeweled nail art.

“This one. It’s been selling pretty well these days.”

Books always said Omegas naturally carried a certain biological appeal to Alphas. Under the white light above, Aqin’s loose shirt hung even lower on her frame. The wide neckline moved with the wind, revealing just enough of her curves to be noticeable, almost unavoidably so.

Chi Yan could not say exactly what felt off, but she was instinctively uncomfortable with how close Aqin was standing.

Still, out of politeness, she was about to follow the direction of Aqin’s finger and look at the menu. But just before she could lift her eyes, another hand suddenly entered her view.

Unlike Aqin’s overly decorated, glittering nails, this hand was fair and clean, with neatly trimmed nails and a soft pink hue beneath. It was elegant in a way that felt effortless.

Chi Yan recognized it immediately.

It was the hand of her desk mate, Yan Youqing, the girl who sat with her every day.

“I can order too, right?” Yan Youqing’s voice was cool and calm.

“Of course,” Chi Yan replied quickly, sounding slightly apologetic.
“I forgot about you. Go ahead and pick the rest.”

Yan Youqing’s expression didn’t change. After Chi Yan finished speaking, she slowly lifted her eyes and looked at Aqin.

“You mentioned something was really good. Can you come over here and point it out to me?”

The question was polite, but her posture was upright and carried an air of aloof detachment.

The sea breeze swept through, bringing with it a chill. It lifted the ends of Aqin’s hair behind her neck.

She hesitated. She clearly didn’t want to comply, but before she could say anything, her eyes met Yan Youqing’s calm, unblinking stare under the stark overhead light, and she froze.

The scent of freesia mixed with ocean air fell quiet.

Reluctantly, Aqin leaned over and pointed.

“This one.”

Following her direction, Yan Youqing looked briefly, then said,
“I’ll have two of those.”

She paused, then glanced across the table at Chi Yan, as if asking for approval.

“Is that alright?”

The autumn leaves rustled outside. The warmth of the charcoal fire spread softly through the evening air.

The girl’s voice was so gentle it seemed touched by the wind. Even her gaze had softened, like sunlight glimmering on the edge of a glacier.

She looked too clean and clear, making everything around her seem dull in comparison.

Chi Yan blinked once, slowly, and nodded without even thinking.

“Sure. Whatever you want.”

Yan Youqing smiled politely, lifting her eyes just slightly as she handed the menu back to Aqin.

“Thank you.”

Aqin also gave a small smile in return, though it seemed more forced than genuine. Her voice carried a mix of frustration and caution as she took the menu and stepped back.

“Of course. Please wait a moment.”

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