After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently - Chapter 44

The snow tonight was beautiful.

Pure white snow lay evenly on both sides of the cleared road. The moonlight reflected off the snowy landscape, creating a rare sense of peace and gentleness in the harsh winter air.

Chi Yan stood under a streetlamp. She did not know how she ended up there. Her small face, slightly flushed from the wind, peeked out from under a white knit hat. She seemed to blend naturally into the quiet beauty of the night.

The night was silent. A shooting star flashed across the dark sky like it had come to grant someone’s wish.

Yan Youqing’s phone screen lit up softly. Her usually calm and cool eyes suddenly brightened with emotion.

“What if I told you I think I’ve become addicted to your pheromones too?”

The wind blew into the warm room, rustling the pages of the open books on her desk.

A medical report, tucked away inside one of the books, sat hidden in the bookshelf, quietly keeping a secret no one else knew.

As Yan Youqing read the message Chi Yan had sent, her heart exploded like a burst of fireworks.

She felt as if her heartbeat might stop completely.

The sound of the iron gate opening suddenly broke the stillness of the night.

Chi Yan looked at the front gate of Yan Youqing’s yard as it opened automatically for her. She hesitated for a moment, then stepped inside.

When she reached the porch, Yan Youqing was already downstairs, opening the door for her.

Chi Yan did not know how to face the message she had just sent. The shy, unspoken emotions behind it played again and again in her mind, making her feel flustered.

A soft rustling sound came from the gauzy dress that had been tossed aside on the bed. The once-crumpled skirt was slowly unfolding.

Chi Yan’s hand, tense and lined with veins, gripped the fabric tightly. She looked like a traveler who had finally found water in the desert. Her nose touched the black lace gently.

It felt like ocean waves were crashing onto the soft bed. The cool morning breeze wrapped around Chi Yan’s body.

The sense of loneliness and unease in her chest was soon replaced by the comforting scent. Her tense and curled-up body began to relax.

Her breathing calmed as it passed through the thin black fabric into her palm. A faint heat remained, stirred by the lingering Omega pheromones.

Her gaze, slowly clearing, fell onto the dress. A truth she had been avoiding surfaced in her mind.

She truly missed Yan Youqing’s pheromones.

And those pheromones did help soothe her symptoms during estrus.

But the faint scent left on the fabric was not nearly enough.

She wished she could see Yan Youqing in person.

That longing had driven Chi Yan, during her sensitive period, to quietly sneak out of her house. She arrived at Yan Youqing’s home almost without thinking.

As she faced the girl who had just opened the door for her, she pressed her dry lips together and greeted her awkwardly. “Good evening.”

“Good evening,” Yan Youqing replied. She sniffed the air, recognizing the restless scent of agave, and asked gently, “Are you in heat?”

“Yes.” Chi Yan nodded. Her voice was low and muffled. She tried to explain, searching for the right words. “It’s just… no one was home and I… missed you. I mean, I wanted to come here.”

“What happened to your hand?”

Before Chi Yan could complete her excuse, Yan Youqing interrupted.

Chi Yan’s hand was resting on the doorframe. It was the same hand that had struck the alarm panel in frustration earlier. A few red scratches, crusted with dry blood, stood out sharply against her pale skin.

“It’s nothing. I hurt it by accident.” Chi Yan seemed unconcerned about the wound. But as she noticed how quickly it had started healing due to her S-class Alpha traits, she suddenly realized how reckless it was to come see Yan Youqing like this.

“I know estrus for Alphas is different from Omega heat. If this makes you uncomfortable, I can just leave.”

Before she could finish saying the words, Yan Youqing cut in again.

“I don’t mind.”

She stepped aside and motioned gently. “Come in. I’ll treat your wound.”

Chi Yan was surprised by how calm and accepting Yan Youqing was, even knowing the risk. Her nervous heart finally began to settle.

She nodded and quietly thanked her before stepping into the house.

The moonlight was soft, and the living room lights glowed a cool white.

Since the two of them had agreed to weekend tutoring sessions, Chi Yan had not visited Yan Youqing’s home at night. Under the moonlight, the familiar layout of the house seemed to take on a different atmosphere.

Chi Yan sat on the sofa. A cream-colored knitted cardigan appeared in front of her.

She recognized the delicate little flowers woven into the edges. When she looked up, she saw Yan Youqing.

It was the same cardigan she had been wearing when she opened the door.

Now, she had taken it off and handed it to Chi Yan. Her collarbones were visible, framed by two slender straps, soft and graceful, highlighting her straight shoulders.

“Here. I’ll get the medicine,” Yan Youqing said softly, as though their quiet understanding was the most natural thing in the world. She spoke without any hint of awkwardness, as if the intimacy of her actions was ordinary.

Chi Yan nodded, trying to stay calm as she accepted the cardigan.

The scent of iodine quickly filled the room as Yan Youqing opened the bottle, but it could not mask the subtle fragrance on the cardigan.

It was as if ocean waves were crashing outside the floor-to-ceiling window. Sea salt and morning mist drifted into Chi Yan’s breath, slowly calming her unsettled heart.

The brown antiseptic soaked into the cotton swab, then touched her wound with a cool sting.

It was strange. Chi Yan had not felt any pain earlier, even while walking through the wind and snow. But now, with Yan Youqing holding her hand and gently brushing her skin, she felt a slight ache and a tingling sensation.

The feeling pulled her focus away. Her gaze quietly shifted to the girl treating her wound.

The light in the living room cast a cold glow on Yan Youqing’s face. Her side profile looked calm and serious.

Loose strands of hair fell across her face. Her lips were softly pressed together, slightly red, just like in Chi Yan’s dream. Only this time, there was no trace of wine, just a quiet glow.

Chi Yan’s heart began to race as she thought about that dream again. She could no longer tell if it was the pheromones that had calmed her emotions…

Or if it was Yan Youqing herself.

“Was it cold outside?” Yan Youqing asked as she focused on treating the wound.

“It wasn’t too bad.” Chi Yan quietly pulled herself back to reality. “It’s spring now. It’s getting warmer.”

Yan Youqing gently touched the back of her hand and said, “Don’t act so impulsively next time. It’s not safe at night.”

Chi Yan softly replied, “Okay.” Then she murmured, almost in protest, “It’s just that I got addicted to your pheromones. I wanted to see you…”

But before she could finish, Yan Youqing spoke again.

“An Alpha in estrus becomes sensitive and sometimes aggressive. It is their most vulnerable state. During this period, they tend to approach those who give them a sense of safety, people they trust, depend on, or even like.”

After speaking, she looked up and met Chi Yan’s eyes.

“Chi Yan, are you sure it’s just the pheromone addiction that made you want to see me?”

Her voice was calm, like the quiet night outside. It sounded like a simple question.

But her eyes were steady and direct. The pure black of her irises was just like the gaze in Chi Yan’s dream.

Chi Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

Why did Yan Youqing suddenly ask such a question?

Why did it match so perfectly with what Chi Yan had just been thinking?

Could it be… love?

How could she… How could she possibly fall for Yan Youqing…

A sudden vibration broke the quiet of the living room. Chi Yan, as if finding a lifeline, hurriedly pulled her phone out of her pocket.

The caller was her father, Chi Xufeng. “Yanyan, where are you? I just got home and found the alarm in the study broken. Are you alright? Did something happen?”

As soon as she answered the call, Chi Xufeng’s anxious voice came pouring through, rapid and intense.

Chi Yan, by contrast, was much calmer. She explained, “I’m in estrus. I went out to get some air. I’m at a classmate’s house now, don’t worry. I broke the alarm myself, there wasn’t a break-in.”

Hearing that, Chi Xufeng finally relaxed. “You scared me, kid.”

Then, as if something occurred to him, he asked again, “Yanyan, you’re not at Yan Youqing’s house, are you?”

Chi Yan was surprised by how accurate that guess was. Instinctively, she glanced at Yan Youqing, who was sitting beside her.

She did not want her father to know he was right, so she brushed it off. “Don’t overthink. I’ll head home now.”

“Alright. Be careful on the way. It’s already ten. Take a ride back, I’ll reimburse you. Do you hear me?”

“Got it,” Chi Yan replied with a small nod.

After the call ended, she turned to Yan Youqing and said, “Um… I should go.”

“I’ll have our driver take you,” Yan Youqing said.

She seemed worried Chi Yan would refuse, so she took out her phone and began typing. “He’ll be here in five minutes. Faster than a rideshare.”

“Thank you,” Chi Yan said quietly.

Five minutes might not seem long, but it was enough time for her to refresh Weibo repeatedly until there was nothing new left to see.

Finally, the headlights outside broke the cold white light of the living room. Chi Yan set her phone down.

“The car is here,” Yan Youqing said.

“Oh.” Chi Yan exited Weibo and stood up to leave.

Just as she was about to step out, a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Chi Yan.”

Chi Yan turned toward Yan Youqing, a little uncertain, a little nervous.

She had a feeling she knew what Yan Youqing was going to say, and that scared her.

Before she could respond, her hand was pulled gently.

Their palms pressed together tightly and completely.

Yan Youqing’s hand was as cool as always, but to Chi Yan, it felt warmer than any touch they had shared before.

“Take this,” Yan Youqing said, pressing a small square patch into her palm, then letting go.

It was as if the intimate gesture had been only to hand her that tiny object.

“…Okay.” Chi Yan responded slowly, her hand still frozen in the shape of the earlier grip.

The scent of sea salt and morning dew filled her palm. It was in that moment she realized how intimate the act of exchanging suppression patches really was, especially between two people with opposing dynamics.

Perhaps because they had always been enemies in their past lives, Chi Yan often forgot that Yan Youqing was, in theory, the most compatible S-class Omega for her.

The drifting clouds in the sky were pushed by the wind, blocking the crescent moon. The sky dimmed and grew quiet.

A knock at the door broke the silence of the house. The driver was here, waiting in the car outside.

For the first time, Chi Yan could not read her own heart. She stood before Yan Youqing and said awkwardly, “Thank you. The car is here… I should go.”

“Alright,” Yan Youqing nodded. “Be safe on the way.”

The sound of the car door closing pierced the quiet of the night for a moment before the darkness swallowed it again.

Chi Yan sat in the car. As her breath met the cold window, the white mist was quickly devoured by the air outside, vanishing without resistance.

The familiar street scenery had put on its winter attire. Streetlights lit up her side profile in a rhythm of light and shadow as the car moved.

Without meaning to, Chi Yan looked back through the rearview mirror.

Behind her, the white villa slowly shrank into the distance. Her hand, the one that held the patch from Yan Youqing, tightened slightly.

It felt like she was holding onto something.

But an overwhelming sense of helplessness settled into her palm.

She hadn’t really held onto anything at all.

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