After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently - Chapter 47

Winter nights were always quieter than any other season. Melted snow dropped from the branches with a barely audible sound.

It was so quiet that even the lights in every home seemed lonelier than usual.

The candy melted slowly in the girl’s mouth. Her tongue gently rolled it from one side to the other.

The hard candy tapped lightly against her teeth, making a soft clicking sound that brought with it a faint sting.

Chi Yan held the lollipop that Yan Youqing had somehow slipped into her coat pocket. She fiddled with the slightly torn candy wrapper in her hand.

The flavor of lychee spread over her tongue. It wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet. It was just enough to suppress the sudden craving for a cigarette. But it did nothing to calm the storm in her thoughts.

She was definitely feeling low.

It was as if a heavy stone was pressed against her chest, something she couldn’t move no matter how hard she tried.

But why was she feeling this way?

It was the first day of the new term. The classrooms and classmates were still the same as before the break. All the relationships around her remained unchanged. The only difference was Yan Youqing.

There was now an Alpha who appeared at the classroom door. Someone who looked like he was from the same world as her, someone who seemed like a good match.

After school, she didn’t need to walk with Yan Youqing. That should have been a relief, even something to be happy about. After all, at the beginning, she hadn’t really wanted to do it anyway.

The bedsheets rustled as Chi Yan curled her legs on the bed. Her face pressed softly against her knees, looking drained.

The ceiling light cast her shadow on the wall, the same wall filled with photos. The lines outlining her back were rough and uneven. Nothing about her posture looked relaxed or happy.

She couldn’t understand it. Why, after breaking away from Yan Youqing, didn’t she feel even a little relief?

Was it because of that lollipop left in her pocket? Did it stir up memories she didn’t want to face?

Her gaze slowly lowered. The slightly crumpled candy wrapper lay quietly on the creased bedsheet.

Faint hints of sea salt and morning dew were hidden in the folds of the paper. A breeze slipped through the old sliding window. The early spring night still carried the chill of winter, spreading the scent gently through the room.

Rustling sounds whispered in the silence.

Without even thinking, Chi Yan raised the candy wrapper to her nose.

It was like a craving. She inhaled the lingering scent left behind by Yan Youqing.

Then suddenly, she tossed it away.

Her glands didn’t ache. So why did she crave Yan Youqing’s scent this much?

It was Yan Youqing who had said she didn’t want to walk together anymore. It was Yan Youqing who first developed a dependence on her scent.

The candy wrapper spun lightly in the air before landing soundlessly at the foot of the bed.

Chi Yan sat there, arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Her eyes, dim and confused, stared out the window. Her gaze was even paler than the moonlit night.

What is wrong with me?

The night grew deeper. In the old, poorly insulated apartment building, the occasional sound of a car passing could still be heard.

Bright headlights lit up a small area downstairs. After a door slammed shut, the darkness returned.

Everything was too quiet. Quiet enough to make someone feel completely lost.

Her phone screen lit up in the darkness. Her fingers slid over it slowly.

There were so few names in her contact list that she couldn’t even scroll. Her touch pointlessly refreshed the list over and over.

The last time she felt this way, she had gone to find Yan Youqing.

But now, who could she turn to?

Chi Yan stared at the apps on her phone. The forum stood out like a last lifeline.

She remembered that it was people on that same forum who helped her choose a birthday gift for Yan Youqing last time. Maybe it would help again.

Her neatly trimmed nails tapped lightly on the screen, the soft rhythm sounding like the only bit of life in the quiet room.

A sentence appeared in her post draft:
“Weird situation. Why do I still miss an Omega’s scent after my heat period? And I don’t even like her…”

But before she could finish, she held down the delete button until it disappeared.

She wasn’t even sure whether her sensitivity period had ended properly, or if the pheromone dependency had somehow prolonged it. Maybe that was why she kept craving Yan Youqing’s scent.

She typed and deleted several versions of the message. In the end, she posted this:
“Weird issue. Is it normal to still crave an Omega’s scent and feel possessive after a sensitivity period ends?”

There is always a part of us that uses luck and excuses to shield ourselves from the truth, hiding it even from our own hearts.

After lying still for a while, Chi Yan opened the forum again. There were already many replies.

But unlike last time, they didn’t bring any sudden clarity.

This time, the responses pulled her even deeper into confusion.

“No matter your gender, I can tell you this. A normal Alpha doesn’t behave like that. You’re not in heat. You’re jealous.”

“Sounds like you’re in love.”

“Let me guess, you’re bad at biology. Chapter three in first-year biology talks about pheromones. For Omegas, scent is deeply personal. If she let you get close enough to smell hers, you two are probably close. Maybe she likes you too. Looks like this might be mutual.”

“Off-topic, but I think you’re a classic tsundere.”

“It’s not the heat. It’s definitely love. Alpha possessiveness doesn’t just come out of nowhere.”

The word “love” appeared again and again, as if stringed together. Each one hit Chi Yan square in the eyes.

It felt absurd, like an illusion shaped by crowd opinion. But at the same time, it cracked open a hole in the lies she had been telling herself.

Love.

What did it even mean?

She had known Yan Youqing for over ten years. She always saw her as a rival, an enemy, someone to compete against and outshine.

She thought that in this second life, she could completely outdo Yan Youqing and then move on carefully, avoiding every mistake she once made, creating a life without her in it.

And in some ways, she had done it. She really had taken first place again and again. But somehow, somewhere along the way, Yan Youqing had quietly entered her world, step by step.

Chi Yan had always considered herself someone who kept her guard up. Her contact list was short, so short that she could count everyone on one hand.

But one of those names belonged to Yan Youqing.

“One person becoming dependent on another isn’t enough to draw a conclusion,” her father had said that day. “Even partners who are genuinely in love and matched by pheromones can show the same signs.”

That sentence echoed in Chi Yan’s mind again. A single star appeared in the sky and quietly fell into her eyes.

It was not particularly bright, but it was still a star.

Like?

Could it be that she really liked Yan Youqing?

She wondered how long a person could stay this childish.

She was already nearing thirty, yet she was still stubborn and awkward, full of the classic temper and pride of an Alpha.

Maybe it was because she had spent a whole past life as Yan Youqing’s rival that she refused to admit her dependence on Yan Youqing’s scent was anything close to liking. At school, she seemed to be pushing herself back into the same confrontational dynamic they once had.

If Yan Youqing did not speak to her, then she would not speak to Yan Youqing.

Even though their desks were placed side by side, the narrow gap between them felt as wide as a galaxy.

Crunch. Crunch.

Chi Yan bit her lollipop hard. The sound echoed just enough in the back rows to be noticeable. It almost felt intentional.

But Yan Youqing remained calm and focused, sitting upright just like always. She ignored the noise as if it did not exist.

Still, the lollipops kept appearing.

What was that supposed to mean?

Every evening, Chi Yan would reach into her pocket, take out the lollipop, and frown.

It felt off.

Like a thick rope tightening slowly around her heart, pulling away the cloth she had wrapped around the truth she did not want to see.

That afternoon, there was no scheduled running. The long break gave students more free time.

Chi Yan was walking back to class with Zhong Yi, laughing and chatting while holding bubble tea they had secretly bought from the southwest gate. Just as she turned the corner, the smile froze on her face.

Wu Zhuiyang had come again.

This time, he was holding a gift bag. The dark blue bag had a neatly tied bow on it.

Wu Zhuiyang had been showing up every day lately, and every time, he just happened to run into Chi Yan and Zhong Yi outside the classroom.

Chi Yan always pretended not to see him. But Zhong Yi, who led the charge when it came to shipping people, was more than happy to say hello.

Eventually, the two of them became quite familiar with each other.

When Zhong Yi saw Wu Zhuiyang today, she smiled knowingly and called into the classroom in a loud voice.

“Yan Youqing.”

Yan Youqing had just returned to her seat. Hearing her name, she looked up without hesitation.

The weather was nice today, with a touch of early warmth. Sunlight poured into the hallway, making it shine.

Wu Zhuiyang stood by the back door, as usual. Even in his school uniform, his calm and tall figure stood out among everyone else. His presence drew attention easily.

Everyone except Chi Yan.

She seemed to be going out of her way to avoid looking at him. Her head was turned in an awkward direction, eyes focused on the windows at the back of the hallway.

Yan Youqing glanced at her without showing much emotion. Then she nodded at Zhong Yi, who was still waving to her.

Zhong Yi’s curiosity was just as strong as Wang Chuning’s.

She leaned toward Wu Zhuiyang and asked, half teasing, “What’s in the bag? Is it a gift for Yan Youqing?”

Wu Zhuiyang rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah. Just something small. She mentioned she liked it the other day, so I picked it up for her.”

Ah Yan.

Chi Yan could not even remember the last time she had heard someone else call Yan Youqing by that nickname. The sound of it made her turn her face away again, a strange frustration flashing across her expression.

Sunlight streamed into the hallway and reflected her profile on the glass.

She looked at Wu Zhuiyang and Zhong Yi talking and laughing. The way his eyes lit up reminded her of something an Omega classmate once said in the lab while describing their ideal Alpha.

Bright, good-looking, and preferably like a golden retriever.

Someone who could make an Omega feel safe in times of danger, and be a reliable presence during heat.

The school building buzzed during break time, even though running and shouting in the halls were against the rules. It still happened on every floor.

Yan Youqing stepped carefully around a group of students playing near the back row and walked slowly toward the classroom door.

The moment she stepped across the doorway, she suddenly felt someone grab her wrist. The heat and strength of the grip were familiar.

Her high ponytail swayed with no rhythm, catching bits of sunlight and scattering them in the air.

Chi Yan did not say a word. She simply pulled Yan Youqing away from Wu Zhuiyang without asking.

Just like that.

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