After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently - Chapter 33

The moon had waxed and waned, and even though the excitement of the Mid-Autumn Festival had not completely faded, the school’s autumn sports meet arrived right on schedule, eagerly anticipated by the students just before the National Day holiday.

It was Thursday. The two-day event began under a clear, sunny sky.

Though it was late in the season, the sun still carried some warmth. The field was alive with visible energy, with the March of the Athletes playing in the background.

But that energy wasn’t evenly spread. The second years were the most spirited, followed by the first years. Many third years still wanted to enjoy this last bit of high school life, but just as many had already entered exam prep mode, sitting in the stands with worksheets and vocabulary books, racing against time.

Chi Yan didn’t fall into either group.

She had already passed the age of chasing excitement, and she didn’t feel like studying either. She found a shaded spot under a tree and sat there quietly, bored and yawning after being forced to wake up early.

As she was mid-yawn, someone poked her shoulder with an umbrella.

She frowned and turned around with a bit of annoyance, only to see Wang Chuning holding a sun umbrella, sneaking over from another class.

“Yan-jie,” Wang Chuning greeted with a grin.

Chi Yan looked surprised. “What are you doing here? They’re checking attendance pretty strictly during the opening ceremony.”

Wang Chuning sat down next to her and waved it off. “It’s fine. I swapped places with an Alpha from your class. She’ll answer roll call for me, and I’ll cover for her later.”

Chi Yan laughed and raised an eyebrow. “Clever. That actually makes sense.”

“Of course,” Wang Chuning said with a proud nod.

She looked around curiously, then asked, “Hey, where’s Yi-jie?”

Chi Yan’s smile grew.

She glanced at Li Qin standing at the front of their class formation, then leaned toward Wang Chuning and whispered with some amusement, “Anyone not signed up for an event got forced into the formation team. Zhong Yi tried hiding for days, but they got her yesterday. Take lots of pictures when she passes by.”

“Already prepared for that,” Wang Chuning replied as she pulled out her DSLR camera from her bag.

Chi Yan already knew she was into photography, but seeing her pull out the most expensive gear from her collection still made her a little surprised.

“You’re really going all out.”

“Obviously,” Wang Chuning said. “There are so many Omegas in the opening ceremony today.”

Chi Yan’s amused look quickly turned into one of mild disgust.

At that moment, the music on the field grew louder. The opening ceremony officially began.

For many students, the sports meet was a rare chance to have fun with school’s support. Chi Yan sat in the stands and watched from afar as students passed by in mascot costumes. Some girls wore suits while boys wore skirts. All the creativity and mischief seemed to capture the spirit of fearless youth.

Memories she hadn’t thought about in a long time quietly returned. Chi Yan felt something deep in her chest begin to stir again.

The autumn breeze rustled the leaves above and lifted strands of her hair. In that moment, she felt incredibly lucky to be living once more in a time that, someday, would only exist in pictures on a phone.

While she was still lost in thought, she started hearing whispers from nearby.

“Wow, she’s so pretty. My goodness…”

“That dress looks amazing on her.”

“How is that color making her look even fairer? It doesn’t make her skin dark at all.”

“Is this what an Omega’s natural advantage looks like? Her waist is unbelievably tiny.”

Chi Yan frowned. She thought they were all exaggerating too much.

Just then, Wang Chuning excitedly tugged her arm and said, “Look, it’s Yan Youqing!”

Chi Yan wasn’t surprised at all.

Maybe it was a bit of stubbornness, but the more excited Wang Chuning got, the less Chi Yan wanted to give in. She replied flatly, “I’m not looking.”

Wang Chuning didn’t give up and kept trying to convince her. “She looks amazing. Seriously, you’re going to regret not seeing this.”

Chi Yan stayed turned away and pulled out her phone. “What’s so special about her? I sit next to her every day. She’s not as incredible as everyone makes her out to be.”

Wang Chuning looked disappointed and annoyed. She took Chi Yan’s phone, pulled her arm forward, and said, “I know you two don’t get along, but seriously, aren’t you an Alpha? How can you not look at a beautiful Omega when she’s right in front of you?”

Chi Yan was the kind of person who never responded well to force, so she stayed stiff and resistant.

But somehow, Wang Chuning was stronger than expected. Chi Yan couldn’t fight back and was forced to look toward the field.

Their class had just begun to enter. Yan Youqing was leading the group, holding the class sign as one of the ceremony guides.

She wore a sleeveless dress in a shade that was hard to describe. It was the kind of design that could easily reveal flaws in a person’s figure, but on her, it looked flawless. Her arms were slender and toned as she held the sign high, and the fitted waistline hugged her slim figure perfectly.

Chi Yan couldn’t remember what the sports meet looked like in her last life.

She was used to seeing Yan Youqing in uniform, walking the halls or sitting in the classroom. This was the first time she saw her in something different at school.

What even was the color of that dress? Lilac? Lavender? Smoky purple? Maybe wisteria?

Chi Yan had never studied color names, so she didn’t know.

But at that moment, it felt like every purple flower she could name or imagine was blooming before her eyes, pushing everything else aside until only that one figure remained.

The entire field was bathed in light, but somehow it felt like it was shining just for her, making her stand out above everyone else.

Her long black hair flowed like a waterfall, tucked neatly behind her ears, untouched by the wind.

Her expression was still as cool and composed as ever. Her chin lifted slightly, her neck straight and elegant like a swan’s. Her pale skin was almost glowing against her dark hair and the sunlight.

The ruffled hem of her dress moved gracefully with her steps. From a distance, it looked like she had stepped out of a painting.

She was stunning.

Wang Chuning quickly raised her camera to take photos. Chi Yan didn’t turn her head away this time.

The trees swayed, casting flickers of light across the ground. Maybe it was the shifting shadows, but Chi Yan stayed quiet for a long time before slowly blinking.

“What kind of Alpha do you think is worthy of someone like her?” Wang Chuning asked as she looked at the pictures on her camera.

Chi Yan’s attention snapped back. Her expression shifted, and she quickly looked at Wang Chuning.

The music and chatter blended together in the background. Chi Yan suddenly realized how out of character she had just acted. Embarrassed, she muttered, “Who knows,” grabbed her phone back, and refused to look up again, no matter how many Omegas passed by.

The wind flipped pages and scattered papers in the hands of the old principal, rustling the few strands of hair on his head as he droned on through his long speech.

Finally, after what felt like an endless wait and dozens of glances at their watches, the opening ceremony ended. The March of the Athletes played again, full of spirit and rhythm.

Chi Yan’s shot put event was the first field competition of the day.

Field events never drew as much attention as the races, and since it was still early, with Li Qin watching closely and Wang Chuning busy checking in for her own event, Chi Yan quietly followed the announcements and went to the shot put area alone.

She had never thrown a shot put before, but she had thrown medicine balls during the sports month at the Institute of Life Sciences.

Though the two weren’t the same, both required arm strength. Chi Yan had a bit of confidence. She had even looked up some techniques the night before.

While she was thinking this, the Alpha ahead of her stepped forward and casually launched the shot put.

The silver ball flew in a perfect arc, catching the light as it landed near the second-to-last white marker.

Chi Yan’s mind echoed a single thought. In the face of absolute power, technique is just a pretty trick.

Whatever. Let’s just stay calm and do this once without messing up.

That relaxed mindset helped her ease up. She loosened her shoulders and, before too many eyes were on her, took her position and threw the shot.

Her ponytail snapped through the air like a whip. Her lean arms tensed with fluid muscle.

Sunlight hit the side of her face. The angle of her raised brow carried the quiet confidence of an Alpha.

No one else had thrown the shot quite like that. Strong, but also graceful. And far.

The measuring tape stretched across the field, calculating the distance of a throw that landed just short of the second-to-last marker.

A teacher nearby watched her carefully, surprised. He walked over with a smile.

“That was really good. You nearly hit the level-two Alpha standard. Which class are you in? Have you ever thought about joining the sports team?”

Chi Yan hadn’t expected her shot to go that far either. She gave a modest smile and politely declined the offer.

“I’m in the top class of third year. I think it might be too late for me. You should probably look for new talent. I’ve been sitting in a classroom all day. I don’t think I can handle this kind of physical training.”

The teacher immediately understood what that meant. He knew the reputation of the top class well and gave her a regretful look, patting her shoulder with a smile.

“What a shame.”

The shot was collected and the next athlete stepped forward. But none of the throws after that came close to what the first Alpha or Chi Yan had achieved. The heavy metal ball finally seemed to reclaim its dignity.

Chi Yan watched a few of the others, whose shots didn’t even reach the first line. Afraid the teacher would come back and try to convince her to switch majors, she quietly slipped away from the shot put area.

Just then, someone called out from behind her.

“Chi Yan.”

The voice sounded familiar. She turned around and saw the class monitor approaching, holding a bottle of water.

“Want some water?”

“Thanks, but I’m good,” Chi Yan replied. “It was just a shot put, not a race.”

The monitor seemed a little disappointed as he retracted his hand, but he still continued, “I checked your result just now. You’re in second place. First is someone from the sports class. There are still two people left, but they probably won’t beat you.”

Chi Yan smiled when she heard that.

“So that means I might actually place?”

The sunlight happened to fall just right, lighting up her face and highlighting her cheerful smile.

The monitor lowered his head, looking a bit shy.

“The class teacher will definitely be happy. With you on the team, we might actually get a good ranking this time.”

Chi Yan waved it off. “It’s everyone’s effort, not just mine.”

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She didn’t try to hide it and pulled it out in front of the class monitor.

A message popped up from Wang Chuning: “Second place? Yan-jie, you owe us a treat.”

Zhong Yi chimed in: “Wow! Really? Milk tea, come on!”

Chi Yan had no idea how Wang Chuning got her information so quickly, but she laughed and replied: “Fine, after school at the milk tea shop.”

Zhong Yi: “So stingy.”

Wang Chuning: “Not generous at all.”

Chi Yan grinned at the two of them bickering in sync and was just about to type back a snarky reply when the class monitor whispered cautiously, “Chi Yan, be careful. What if the class teacher sees?”

Chi Yan wasn’t afraid of much, but if there was one thing she didn’t want, it was for Li Qin to come looking for her.

She quickly tucked her phone away and looked toward the spectator stands where her class was seated.

She didn’t spot Li Qin, but she did see Yan Youqing.

She had changed back into the school’s blue and white uniform. A red armband was wrapped around her arm.

Field events didn’t draw big crowds, but students still moved around a lot. Despite the people coming and going, the sunlight seemed to fall directly on Yan Youqing’s straight back, making her stand out as if she were completely untouched by the chaos.

Events like this always had some disorder, and it was up to the discipline committee to maintain order like a steady anchor in a storm.

Yan Youqing walked at a measured pace. People nearby immediately straightened up when they saw her coming.

It couldn’t have been easy for her. She had just finished the entrance ceremony and was already back to supervise the field events.

Chi Yan couldn’t help but wonder how they scheduled shifts for the discipline committee. Did they not know how to show any sympathy?

How many Alphas must be heartbroken watching this…

As she joked silently to herself, Chi Yan noticed that Yan Youqing’s gaze seemed to be slowly shifting toward her.

Whether out of pride or impulse, Chi Yan suddenly had the urge to share her good result. She was just about to raise her hand to wave when she saw Yan Youqing glance over from a distance.

Her eyes were calm and cold, and the gentle sunlight that fell across them only made them look sharper, almost like ice.

Chi Yan froze, confused. She had no idea what she did to deserve that kind of look. Her heart tightened with frustration, and she turned to walk away.

But at that moment, a boy tossed a water bottle to a student who had just finished running the 400 meters.

Either his aim was off, or he did it on purpose, but the bottle was flying directly toward Yan Youqing’s back.

Or maybe it was always meant for her.

“Yan Youqing!”

Chi Yan’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd and reached her.

Yan Youqing hadn’t even realized what was happening. She only felt someone tug her arm. The next thing she knew, her whole body was being pulled into a firm embrace.

It was warm, steady, and filled with the distinct scent of tequila.

Chi Yan.

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