After the Sickly Child Differentiates into A - Chapter 43

The two exchanged a polite hug and quickly separated.

The short-haired woman turned sideways, glancing at Old Master Wen and the siblings Wen Xize and Wen Xihe with a smile. “Grandpa Wen, Brother Xize, Xihe, long time no see. Please come in.”

“It has been a few years. How is your mother’s health?” Old Master Wen chuckled.

“She’s doing well. She has a performance in Country Y today and will return the day after tomorrow. I’m sure she’ll want to catch up with you then, Grandpa Wen.”

“Hahaha, wonderful.”

Everyone entered the private room and took their seats around the round table. Old Master Wen sat at the head, flanked by Wen Xize and Wen Xihe. To Wen Xihe’s right sat Lin Li and Wen Jingzhi.

Finally, the woman took her seat to the right of Wen Jingzhi.

Wen Xihe placed a cup of warm water beside Lin Li’s hand and asked the woman, “Shen Yuan, how long will you be staying in the country this time?”

“My mother wants to take a break for a while, and I need to oversee some domestic projects. I’ll be here for at least a year.” Shen Yuan stood up to pour tea, handing it to each person in turn. The last cup she placed beside Wen Jingzhi before turning to Wen Xihe with a teasing tone. “I remember telling Jingzhi about it. Did she not mention it to you?”

Wen Xihe snorted lightly. “Of course not.”

The door to the private room opened as the dishes began to arrive.

After the servers left, Shen Yuan rotated a plate of beautifully glazed sweet and sour pork ribs in front of Lin Li. Speaking softly, as if coaxing a child, she said, “Try this. Your sister mentioned you have a sweet tooth. This dish is sweet and might suit your taste.”

Lin Li paused, chopsticks in hand, then narrowed her eyes and smiled at Shen Yuan. “Thank you, Sister Shen.”

She picked up a piece of the pork ribs and placed it in her mouth. Sweet and sour.

“It’s delicious.”

The flavor wasn’t bad, but she didn’t like it.

The bite of meat felt stuck in her throat, neither going down nor coming up, leaving her with no appetite.

Utterly baffling.

She took a sip of water and glanced sideways at the woman who was quietly conversing with Wen Jingzhi.

During the conversation, Lin Li had recognized Shen Yuan she had seen that face on her sister’s phone screen during the Lunar New Year’s Eve two years ago.

At the time, her sister had been video chatting with Shen Yuan, exchanging holiday greetings.

Although Wen Jingzhi’s expression had been cool and her responses somewhat detached, Lin Li, having lived with her for so many years, could sense the closeness in her words and actions toward Shen Yuan.

There was no doubt about it this Sister Shen was very close to her sister.

For some reason, this made Lin Li feel inexplicably down.

In truth, Lin Li was well aware that every member of the Wen family had friends she knew nothing about, and many of their activities and gatherings did not include her because she was still young, and because of her poor health.

She also understood that they all had their own lives.

But still, her chest felt tight, as if something were stuck there.

Why?

The meal concluded with everyone in high spirits. Shen Yuan personally escorted Old Master Wen to his car, closing the door before walking to the vehicle behind and tapping on the rear window.

The window rolled down, revealing Wen Jingzhi’s delicate face.

“Shall we go tomorrow?” Shen Yuan leaned in slightly, her tone casual and intimate. “Or do you need a couple more days to rest?”

“Not tomorrow.” Wen Jingzhi had promised to take the little one shopping. “I’ll contact you once I’ve settled on a time.”

“What? No contact until then?” Shen Yuan feigned hurt. “We really have grown distant after all these years apart.”

Wen Jingzhi shot her a glance, rolled up the car window, and Shen Yuan let out a soft laugh as she stepped back, waving at her. “Come with me to ‘that place’ on Monday?”

Just before the window closed completely, Wen Jingzhi gave her a look of agreement.

The car drove off.

Lin Li gazed silently out the window. As they neared home, a gentle pat landed on her head.

“Are you unhappy?”

“No.” Lin Li turned her face, meeting those light-colored eyes, and her left eye behind the lenses suddenly trembled.

She seemed to understand why she was unhappy.

All evening, her sister hadn’t looked at her once.

She must be a little too greedy, to feel upset just because those eyes hadn’t rested on her.

She took a soft breath in, then slowly let it out, as if trying to disperse the heaviness in her chest. Squinting, she offered a gentle, soft smile. “Really, I’m not unhappy.”

Wen Jingzhi studied her for a moment, found nothing amiss, and shifted her gaze away.

Once home, they bid each other goodnight and retreated to their respective rooms.

It was still early, and Lin Li wasn’t ready to sleep. After her shower, she picked up her phone from the bedside table and opened the three-person group chat.

[Sweet Alpha is Still an Alpha: Lin Li, were you at “Spring Colors” tonight? I think I saw someone who looked like you from the back!]

[Fierce Omega is Still an Omega: Probably. Sister Shen Yuan is back.]

[Sweet Alpha is Still an Alpha: Oh right, since Sister Shen Yuan is back, she must have gotten together with Sister Jingzhi and the others. Spring Colors is part of the Shen family’s business too, so it was probably you @Sweet Omega in Training]

Lin Li stared at the name “Shen Yuan,” her hair-drying motions halting as she sat on the edge of the bed and initiated a group video call.

Sun Xiaoxiao answered first, lying on her bed. She held the phone a little farther away, tilting her head in confusion. “What’s up, Lin Li?”

“Why the sudden video call?” Zhou Cheng’s background showed her at the school track. She found a bench to sit on, catching her breath. “I was in the middle of a run. Did something happen?”

This sly-hearted Lin Li actually initiated a video call, how unusual.

Lin Li pressed her lips together tightly and asked, “Do you know Shen Yuan?”

“Of course.” Zhou Cheng sounded puzzled. “Pretty much everyone in our circle knows her, though we’re not close.”

“I’ve only heard my mom and them mention her a few times.” Sun Xiaoxiao frowned, thinking for a few seconds. “All I remember is that Sister Shen Yuan is really close with Sister Xihe and Sister Jingzhi.”They grew up together in the same compound, of course they’re close!”” Zhou Cheng stared at the silent Lin Li and suddenly realized, “You’re not jealous because Sister Shen Yuan and Sister Jingzhi are close, are you?”

“This sly-hearted one has quite the possessive streak.”

“Jealous?” Lin Li furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”

“Seriously, you don’t know what jealousy means?” Zhou Cheng eyed her suspiciously. “Are you some kind of caveman? Even if you’ve never been in a relationship, you’ve at least read novels, right? There are high schoolers in this world who don’t watch anime or read novels!?”

“If you don’t even know what jealousy means, how could you tell what was going on between Xiaoxiao and me?”

“I know the meaning of the word.” Lin Li narrowed her eyes. “If you’d used a little less of your own pheromones on Sun Xiaoxiao, I wouldn’t have noticed.”

Sun Xiaoxiao was taken aback. “What pheromones?” She stared at Zhou Cheng’s instantly flushed face, her eyes widening. “Chengcheng-jie!”

Zhou Cheng covered her face and muttered a curse under her breath, explaining to Sun Xiaoxiao, “I didn’t do it on purpose, really! It must have been around my special period, I couldn’t control my pheromones and only applied a tiny bit! Besides, you know Lin Li can detect pheromones even before differentiation, and she’s got a nose like a hound. Even the slightest trace, she’d notice.”

“You see, you didn’t even know, so you probably never smelled it either, right?”

Many Alphas and Omegas liked to dab their pheromones on their partners, especially among couples who hadn’t yet engaged in marking behavior, as a way to claim ownership.

But such actions usually occurred between adult couples, and Sun Xiaoxiao was still in school. If her classmates or teachers caught a whiff of Omega pheromones on her, it would be hard to explain.

Most people differentiated around the age of twelve, and middle and high schools offered physiology courses to help young differentiators understand the details of secondary genders.

Underage Alphas, having not yet experienced their first rut, had “immature” marking teeth and couldn’t perform marking behaviors. Similarly, Omegas who hadn’t gone through their first heat had incompletely developed glands and couldn’t be marked.

That’s why high school teachers often turned a blind eye to campus romances. However, the inability to mark didn’t mean they couldn’t engage in quasi-marking behaviors. If teachers detected such ambiguous pheromones, they’d likely call in the parents.

A few months ago, the elders of the Zhou and Sun families had already arranged an engagement for the two youngsters. Getting parents involved wasn’t a big deal, but Sun Xiaoxiao believed it was better to avoid trouble and had previously told Zhou Cheng not to apply pheromones this was exactly why she was upset.

But since Zhou Cheng had explained it wasn’t intentional, Sun Xiaoxiao didn’t press the issue. She just puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and said, “Don’t do it again!”

Zhou Cheng lowered her hand and gave her an affectionate smile. “Got it.” Then she turned and glared at Lin Li. “Tattletale!”

“Don’t be mean to Lin Li!” Sun Xiaoxiao was still a little angry, shielding Lin Li as she shot Zhou Cheng a glare. The latter pouted, feeling wronged, and mumbled, “You always take her side. Who’s your Omega anyway?”

Sun Xiaoxiao’s face flushed slightly, and she whispered, “Not yet. I haven’t grown up.”

“You’re three years older than Sun Xiaoxiao and already in college,” Lin Li, in a bad mood and not bothering to smile, looked at Zhou Cheng with disdain. “Why are you so childish?”

“Lin Xiao Li!” Zhou Cheng fumed. “Who are you calling childish?!”

“You’re the childish one, getting jealous just because Jiejie has a friend. So immature!”

What kind of elementary school-level argument is this…

Sun Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly, massaging her temples. “You’re both childish!” Only I, the Alpha, am the “mature” one here!

Zhou Cheng snorted coldly and reluctantly added, “I heard from Grandma that Shen Yuan Jie’s two mothers and Zhizhi Jiejie’s mother were very close. They even arranged a childhood marriage for them.”

“Shen Yuan Jie and Xi He Jie are the same age and have been classmates for years. That’s how Zhizhi Jiejie got to know Shen Yuan Jie.”

“When they discussed the engagement, Zhizhi Jiejie was only in her teens and probably didn’t like Shen Yuan Jie, so she outright refused.”

Though annoyed, this was the first time Lin Li had actively called to ask them about something, which meant she probably cared a great deal. Being a few years older, Zhou Cheng had a clearer perspective. After thinking carefully, she continued, “Shen Yuan’s Alpha mother was also a soldier and a colleague of Zhizhi’s mother. She also sacrificed her life in the line of duty. After that, the Shen family moved to M Country, probably to distance themselves from the painful memories.”

“Oh, and Shen Yuan’s maternal grandfather is from M Country. The Shen family originally started their business there before moving to Z Country. Shen Yuan’s Omega mother is a world-renowned violinist who often performs internationally, so their family rarely returns to the country and gradually lost touch with the local social circles.”

“They only keep in touch with the Wen family, since they lived in the same compound, and their families used to work together. The younger generation grew up together as childhood friends, so it’s natural for them to be close.”

Sun Xiaoxiao was surprised, “How do you know so much?”

“The Shen family is one of our business partners.” Zhou Cheng raised her eyebrows proudly, “I’ll be taking over the family business eventually, so I need to know a thing or two about the corporate world.”

“Most of this is what my grandmother told me. I’m not sure about the exact relationship between Zhizhi and Shen Yuan, though.” She glanced at Lin Li, “If you’re curious, why not just ask Zhizhi directly?”

Zhizhi, the “sister-obsessed” one, would definitely tell her.

Lin Li pressed her lips together and stayed silent. Her damp, un-dried hair clung to the back of her neck, soaking the collar of her shirt.

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