After the Nerd Marked the Top Omega - Chapter 28.1

Pei Yunci wasn’t nearsighted and wasn’t quite sure how blurry the world would look with 700 degrees of myopia. But seeing the girl walking cautiously with her eyes slightly narrowed and head down, she could guess.

“Xiao Xu, want to hold hands?”

Compared to a question, the statement sounded more like a notification.

Because right after asking, Pei Yunci’s cool fingertips landed on the wrist bone of the person next to her. It wasn’t forceful but couldn’t be completely ignored.

Fang Xu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly: “Yunci?”

Pei Yunci hummed, not explaining further: “Let’s go. Don’t fall on the way.”

She understood the girl—reserved, quiet, and someone who disliked causing trouble for others. If she didn’t say anything, no matter how blurry her vision was, the other person wouldn’t make the request.

“…Okay.”

Fang Xu suspected her glands and pheromones hadn’t stabilized yet.

Otherwise, why would her heartbeat start acting irregularly again?

Leaving the apartment, Fang Xu specifically paused as they passed the spot where the two men had been. She said, “They were here, pretending to be landscape workers.”

Pei Yunci acknowledged it, lowering her head to check her phone. She said, “My assistant sent a message saying both of them have been taken to the police station.”

Fang Xu was surprised for a moment: “Did they get photos?”

“No,” Pei Yunci said. “But a kind citizen reported them for damaging public property.”

The shrubs on the street belong to the parks department, and there are regulations regarding when and how they are pruned. Usually, people casually picking a few leaves or breaking a twig isn’t a big deal, but if someone takes it seriously, the parks department can’t stand idly by.

Not to mention, Pei Yunci’s people also gave a push behind the scenes. These two were already known troublemakers—petty thieves, provoking trouble—and all evidence had been compiled and sent to the police together.

Fang Xu understood. She walked obediently beside the person, but still said, “Others might still come. We should have the security guards watch more closely.”

The apartment’s security is good; ordinary people can’t get in. But if the person behind this is relentless, they might resort to more extreme methods.

Pei Yunci: “I know.”

She frequently encountered such situations. Sometimes, it was a partner company wanting to scout her preferences for gift-giving, and other times, it was certain obsessive fans trying to tamper with her car or route.

But there was no need to tell the good student these things.

After walking one block, the street became much livelier. There were many cars, winding from a distance into a colorful river before their eyes. But to Fang Xu, these became much blurrier, turning into a watercolor painting with a neon texture.

Pei Yunci hooked her finger lightly on the girl’s wrist bone, reminding her: “Crosswalk. Watch the road.”

Hearing this, Fang Xu lowered her head. The night was somewhat deep, and after watching for a moment, her steps finally landed in the correct place.

The night was quite dark, and low steps became much less obvious.

Pei Yunci asked, “Still thinking about what just happened?”

Fang Xu hummed: “I feel a bit unsafe.”

She rarely encountered such blatant malice in her life.

“Don’t worry too much. They won’t come back,” Pei Yunci assured her.

This incident also served as a warning. The fact that the other party chose such a method showed they didn’t dare to confront her directly.

Her tone was calm. Although she didn’t explain, it was very convincing and made Fang Xu’s heart feel settled. Fang Xu nodded, no longer mentioning it.

Turning another corner, they reached the shopping mall in the city center. Pei Yunci led her towards the optician’s shop.

Once inside the store, the hands they had been holding were released.

Perhaps because they had been holding hands for a long time, the spot on her wrist bone that had been touched felt warmer than the rest of her body. Fang Xu gently rubbed it with her fingertip, and the warmth slowly receded.

She had been wearing her glasses for some time, so the staff first took her to get her eyes tested. Pei Yunci found a seat and looked at the messages her assistant had sent.

After a while, the eye test was finished. Fang Xu came out, her gaze sweeping past the blurry figures in the store, then headed toward the cool, distinguished person in the corner.

Even with myopia, making out features was difficult, but she could quickly judge her based on her attire and temperament.

Soft footsteps sounded by her ear. Pei Yunci looked up and met her gaze.

The lighting in the optician’s was bright, allowing her to see the girl’s clear, pristine eyes, uncovered by glasses. When she looked over, it was as if her eyes were completely filled with her, leaving no room for anyone else.

Pei Yunci held up a finger and asked, “What number is this?”

“…Four,” Fang Xu felt the person in front of her might have misunderstood her condition. “I just can’t see very clearly.”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t see at all.

Pei Yunci chuckled: “So that’s it.”

She asked, “Is the eye test done?”

Fang Xu nodded: “Now I’m coming out to choose frames.”

“Let’s go look.” Pei Yunci walked with her to the counter displaying various frames.

When buying things, Fang Xu only cared about affordability and practicality, so she didn’t overthink when choosing frames, intending to pick a black frame similar to her previous one.

Pei Yunci didn’t know her thoughts. She pointed to a silver frame nearby and said to the staff: “Take this one out.”

The staff took out the frame and placed it in front of them.

Pei Yunci looked at the person next to her and said, “Try it on?”

The girl rarely refused her, and this time was no exception. She obediently put the glasses on.

Compared to the black-framed glasses, the thin frames revealed her features clearly. She looked young and pretty, like a different person compared to before, but her obedient and well-behaved demeanor remained unchanged.

Fang Xu looked at herself in the mirror, feeling a little unfamiliar and unaccustomed. She then looked at the person beside her and asked uncertainly, “Does it look right?”

Pei Yunci raised an eyebrow slightly: “Not bad. This one?”

Fang Xu glanced at the black frames in the cabinet, then finally agreed: “Okay.”

Since Pei Yunci said it looked good, she naturally wouldn’t be deceiving her.

The two waited in the store for a while. Once the glasses were ready, Fang Xu put them on and walked out of the store.

The world in front of her became clear again. Fang Xu turned her head to look at the person beside her: “I’ll transfer the money to you. I was the one who broke the glasses.”

When she went to collect her glasses, the other person had already paid for them.

Pei Yunci slowed her steps and asked her, “Who were you trying to avoid back then?”

Fang Xu opened her mouth, her words sounding weak: “If I had moved in a different direction back then, the glasses wouldn’t have broken.”

“If I had stopped, you wouldn’t have had to worry about directions.”

Seeing that the person still wanted to speak, Pei Yunci added, “You also gave me information about those two people. Consider this my thanks.”

“I just wrote down what they said,” Fang Xu felt she hadn’t done much.

Pei Yunci: “So, you think my safety isn’t worth the price of a pair of glasses?”

It was flawed logic, but she couldn’t argue against it. Fang Xu could only shake her head.

“Then let’s go. Back to the apartment.” Pei Yunci lightly curved her lips.

Fang Xu followed her, glancing at the person.

She silently thought to herself that in matters of negotiation, she seemed to have never won against the other person.

It wasn’t very late. Fang Xu planned to get her things from the apartment and go back to school. However, before going upstairs, she received an unexpected phone call.

Pei Yunci saw it and said, “You take the call first.”

Fang Xu hesitated for a moment but pressed the answer button.

“Hello, Teacher.”

On the other end was Song Shu’s mother, Teacher Luo Shiya, who had helped her a lot.

“Xiao Xu, how have you been lately?” Luo Shiya’s gentle voice was as warm as ever.

Fang Xu pursed her lips and said, “Very well. I’m interning at a company recently.”

She could be polite and distant with Song Shu, but she couldn’t adopt the same attitude towards Luo Shiya, who had helped her greatly.

“That’s good. You’ve always been excellent, so I’m not worried. But with the internship, do you still have time to prepare for the graduate school recommendation?” Luo Shiya asked.

With Song Shu at home, she was somewhat familiar with university matters. It was the beginning of the fourth year, the busy time for graduate school recommendations, and an internship would surely take up a significant amount of time.

“Teacher, I plan to start working directly and not pursue a master’s degree.”

As Fang Xu spoke, Pei Yunci pressed the elevator button, signaling her to enter.

The elevator was a confined space with just the two of them, so Pei Yunci could intermittently hear the voice on the phone.

“Not pursuing a master’s?” Luo Shiya’s voice was a bit louder than before. “Xiao Xu, your grades should be high enough, right? Are you having any difficulties in life that I can help with?”

“No difficulties, it’s just more suitable for me to start working immediately.” Fang Xu repeated the explanation she had given to her academic advisor to the person on the phone.

Luo Shiya was a teacher and naturally preferred for students to pursue graduate studies over work. But ultimately, she couldn’t force someone’s choice and could only say, “You can still think about it carefully. You have time.”

Fang Xu had already made up her mind, but she didn’t refute: “Okay.”

Luo Shiya then asked, “Did Xiao Xu not come back to Yucheng this summer?”

In the previous two years, Fang Xu and Song Shu had always taken the bus back together. When she didn’t see her at the station this time, she felt something was off, guessing that the two had argued. When she got home and asked, she found out they had broken up.

Fang Xu had good grades, a good personality, and was stable and dependable. Luo Shiya knew her daughter’s temperament and knew right away it must have been Song Shu’s fault.

She had wanted to call and arrange a meeting for them to see if they could reconcile.

But Song Shu kept stopping her, and she only made the call after the summer holiday ended and Song Shu had left.

Fang Xu replied, “I interned here in Jiangcheng during the summer. I’ll visit you when I return to Yucheng.”

“No rush, school matters are more important.” After saying this, Luo Shiya cautiously asked, “Did you see Shushu when school started this time?”

Fang Xu’s steps slightly paused, and she understood what Luo Shiya meant.

Pei Yunci opened the apartment door and saw the person standing still.

She lightly tapped her shoulder, saying softly, “Come in first.”

Fang Xu came back to her senses, followed the person into the apartment, and then told the person on the phone, “Teacher, we have already broken up.”

Her breakup with Song Shu was not amicable, and there was no need to go into too much detail.

Luo Shiya sighed: “Xiao Xu, I know Shushu is a bit willful. But you’ve known each other for so many years, is there anything that can’t be discussed? There’s no need to break up. If you’ve been wronged, you can also come to me. I’ll talk to Shushu for you.”

“Teacher,” Fang Xu parted her lips, hesitated for a moment, but still said the words: “It’s already impossible.”

After entering university, she had gradually repaid the tuition Luo Shiya had covered for her. She wanted to give more, but Luo Shiya wouldn’t accept, so she bought gifts for Song Shu instead. Fang Xu hadn’t forgotten the kindness the teacher had shown her in her time of need, but she wouldn’t agree to everything because of it.

Luo Shiya knew she was heartbroken, but for the sake of her daughter, she still said, “Well, Xiao Xu, if you come back to Yucheng, please come to the house and sit for a while. If you can’t be lovers, you can still be friends, right?”

Before Fang Xu could reply, she heard a very light sound next to her.

Looking over, Pei Yunci was slightly frowning, touching the area of her gland.

A little worried, she quickly whispered, “What’s wrong?”

“It hurts a bit,” Pei Yunci said slowly.

“Xiao Xu?” Luo Shiya on the phone didn’t hear a sound and tried calling out again.

“Teacher,” Fang Xu’s full attention was now on Pei Yunci, “I have something urgent here. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up first?”

Luo Shiya felt (awkward/apologetic) about talking more: “Okay, you go and be busy.”

After hanging up the phone, Fang Xu asked, “Is your gland hurting?”

Pei Yunci hummed in affirmation.

Fang Xu was a little uneasy: “Should I take a look?”

“It should be nothing,” Pei Yunci took off the inhibitor patch covering her gland.

Fang Xu looked carefully. It was smooth and round, with only the tooth marks left from when she first marked her, no allergic redness or other symptoms: “Does it still hurt now?”

“Can you release some pheromones?” Pei Yunci asked.

Fang Xu obediently complied, trying to guide her pheromones towards the other’s gland, gently soothing it.

“Better?”

“Much better. It doesn’t hurt much now,” Pei Yunci took a new inhibitor patch and said, “But…”

Fang Xu looked at her, her eyes serious: “What?”

After applying the patch, Pei Yunci said slowly, “Your pheromones aren’t as sweet as before.”

Fang Xu was a little confused: “Are they?”

Pei Yunci chuckled, not answering the question. Instead, she asked, “Was that your ex-girlfriend’s family just now?”

She initially thought it was Fang Xu’s teacher, but after hearing bits and pieces, she learned the identity of the person on the other end.

Fang Xu nodded, feeling a little embarrassed and uncomfortable that Pei Yunci had heard all that.

Pei Yunci didn’t say much, only: “Refuse when you need to refuse.”

Given their current relationship, she couldn’t interfere with the matters between the other person and her ex-girlfriend.

“Okay.”

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