The Omega Who Canceled the Engagement Ended Up Falling for Me - Chapter 20

Xu Qing sped through three red lights on her motorcycle, taking only ten minutes to reach the subway station Fu Shuang had mentioned.

At the entrance, she was stopped by security guards who were impatiently explaining to the crowd: “Stop trying to go in! The station is on full lockdown. Exit only, no entry!”

“Stop entering! Clear the way! Make room for the police and medical staff!”

Xu Qing was barred outside, watching the chaotic crowd flee from the exit. Someone had collapsed from shock. People gathered around, shouting, “She’s an Omega, she’s in induced shock! Does anyone nearby have Omega suppressants?”

“Does anyone have experience with marking?!”

The surrounding citizens, ever the spectators of tragedy, were busy posting videos of the Omega’s distress to social media. The comments below were uniformly cold:

“Why do Omegas even come out to take the subway? Isn’t it better to just stay home? Every time there’s social news, it’s because of these Omegas!”

“Seriously, just because they won’t stay home properly, they waste so many social resources when something happens. If I were them, I’d rather just die!”

“It’s not that I’m against Omegas using public transport, but with the recent geomagnetic storms, even I’ve been affected. If they just watched the news, they’d know not to go out right now!”

“I really hate sitting next to an Omega on the subway. Smelling pheromones in a confined space… that’s not a pleasant feeling.”

“Me too! We have Omegas at our company! I really don’t want to work with them!”

No one could truly empathize with the pain of others. In their eyes, the Omegas rolling on the ground in the agony of their heat cycle were like a joke—pitiful, but deserving of their fate.

Despite people speaking of equality and freedom, and the opening of social channels for Omegas, the truth was that the Omega group still suffered from deep-seated social discrimination. Aside from their reproductive value, they were seen by most as a heavy, burdensome responsibility that required constant care.

After the police and medics entered, the guards at the entrance idly chatted, discussing the cause of the incident—

“Apparently, someone intentionally released pheromones in the carriage to cause a panic.”

“Was it an Omega who did it on purpose?”

“Are you stupid? It was definitely an Alpha. Alphas have the numbers, and some people just want to watch the world burn.”

“Can they catch them and punish them?”

“There’s no way to check that. Even with surveillance, you can’t tell who intentionally released them. It’s impossible to manage. That’s why I say it’d be easier to just ban Omegas from the subway in the future.”

Taking advantage of the guards’ distraction, Xu Qing suddenly vaulted over the turnstiles and ran toward the crowd.

“Hey!”

“Someone broke in! Stop her!”

Xu Qing didn’t care about the consequences. She rushed down the stairs, bumping into a few grumbling Betas along the way. Taking steps several at a time, she dashed behind an elevator. A few terrified teenagers were hiding there; when they saw her, their eyes lit up like lost puppies.

“I’m here!”

A clear voice rang out from the crowd behind her. Xu Qing turned sharply, her gaze colliding with the Omega girl who was “leading the pack.”

Fu Shuang had a layer of sweat on her forehead, stray hairs clinging to her brow. Her cheeks bore an ambiguous flush, and her eyes looked as if the Milky Way had been crushed within them, tears shimmering against the backdrop of Xu Qing’s heart.

Xu Qing’s gaze seemed pulled by a magnetic force. It took a moment for her to look away and scan the fragile young people beside her. Noticing the vials in Fu Shuang’s hand, she immediately understood the situation.

“Are you okay?” Xu Qing’s voice was barely a whisper, as if afraid of startling the vulnerable Omegas.

“The suppressants are all used up. I… and these few, we all need to go to the hospital,” Fu Shuang said, her voice trailing off as she sniffled, looking at Xu Qing with teary eyes. “Sister, come closer… let me smell you.”

Xu Qing moved forward in a daze. The current situation made her reactions a bit sluggish, especially with Fu Shuang staring at her so intently. If not for the string of rationality holding her back, Xu Qing’s next step might have been to pull her into an embrace and do something reckless.

The air was thick with various scents. Xu Qing stopped exactly one meter away from Fu Shuang. “I brought suppressants before I left. Just hold on a little longer; the doctors and police are already here.”

Fu Shuang nodded slightly. She was in the best state among the youths; though weak, she remained rational. The others, however, were acting as if they were high, not even hearing what Xu Qing said. They simply crowded around Xu Qing, sniffing here and there, as if wishing they could take a bite out of her.

“Sss…”

Xu Qing shook her arms, throwing off the “troublemakers.” She nimbly pulled suppressants from her bag and began spraying them indiscriminately over the Omegas.

Fu Shuang watched, pained by the sight, and reminded her: “That stuff is very expensive!”

Expensive or not, what other choice was there?

Xu Qing tossed the remaining suppressant to a female office worker and strode to the front of Fu Shuang, taking her hand to lead her out.

“Omegas are truly a burden to society, a stumbling block to human progress.”

Even while escaping a subway disaster—or a zombie apocalypse, for that matter—Fu Shuang couldn’t help but complain about the irrational social structure.

Xu Qing glanced at her with a smile, half-praising and half-soothing: “The fact that you still have the energy to complain about this while most Omegas have lost their minds shows you have incredible self-control.”

Fu Shuang’s teary eyes were merely a facade. Once reminded by Xu Qing, she recalled the scent. In the haze, she caught the distinct aroma of green pine belonging to Xu Qing. For a moment, her entire body went numb with a pleasant tingle, and she leaned toward Xu Qing.

“I just praised you and now you’re wilting,” Xu Qing looked down at her, her tone softening. “Hang in there.”

The girl let out a low whimper. A faint scent of mint and lemon, like an assassin on a mission, suddenly struck through the gaps in her bones. Xu Qing’s nerves were the first to surrender; she froze in place, caught completely off guard.

In the subway station, with Alphas and Omegas everywhere recklessly releasing pheromones regardless of public safety, no scent should have been surprising. What was surprising was a chemical substance that could make Xu Qing collapse instantly.

In all her years, including her time spent abroad, she had often smelled faint pheromones in public places. But those scents were like perfume—at most, they would stimulate the vomeronasal organ. They had never caused such a rapid physiological reaction.

If there were an explanation, this was the result of a high pheromone compatibility.

Xu Qing’s palms grew sweaty, and her knees suddenly hit the ground. Her rationality plummeted from its tightrope. Dizzied, she fell into a bottomless darkness; simply maintaining a kneeling position exhausted all her strength.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fu Shuang noticed her reaction and hurriedly gave herself a pump of suppressant. “I didn’t mean to. Are you okay?”

Xu Qing took a long time to recover. When the police and medics arrived, they mistakenly thought she was the Omega in distress, hurriedly bringing out thermometers and blood testing kits to check her status.

Instead, the actual Omega, Fu Shuang, was ignored. She covered her nose and mouth with a tissue sprayed with suppressant, asking with concern, “How is she?”

The data from the instruments lagged, so the medic didn’t answer Fu Shuang immediately. Xu Qing braced her hands on her knees and stood up, saying with a wry smile, “I’m fine. I’m an Alpha.”

An alert for high heart rate popped up on Xu Qing’s watch, consistent with what the doctor measured. “Your heart rate and blood pressure are quite high right now. I suggest you go to the hospital for a sedative. Can you get there yourself?”

“Of course,” Xu Qing said. “I told you, I’m an Alpha.”

“Alphas have sensitive periods too. I suggest you don’t push yourself. Contact our colleagues if you need to; I need to check on the others first.”

Before Xu Qing could say thank you, a nurse nearby had a sudden, wild idea: “Doctor! She’s an Alpha! She can help mark the Omegas who have lost control!”

Xu Qing’s eyes snapped wide.

The doctor didn’t immediately say no. The nurse, recording on a pad, asked: “Hello, what is your name? Do you have a health certificate? Do you have experience with marking?”

Xu Qing looked at her weakly, wanting to laugh but holding it back. She then heard the female Omega beside her snap: “Are you insane?! What kind of f*cking bizarre treatment is this? If just finding a random passerby to mark someone solves the problem, then what do we need you people for?!”

It was the first time Xu Qing had seen Fu Shuang lose her temper. In her impression, the soft little white rabbit, when provoked, could practically tear a piece of flesh off someone—she was incredibly sharp!

Perhaps this was her true self?

The medical staff were left speechless by her outburst. Fu Shuang noticed Xu Qing’s shocked gaze and immediately ceased her verbal assault, coughing lightly and straightening her back.

“You… you, miss, your condition seems a bit off,” the nurse said, aiming an infrared thermometer at Fu Shuang’s forehead. Before other data came out, she hurriedly concluded, “Your emotions are very unstable. From my experience, you especially need suppressants and sedatives. Of course, those don’t solve the root problem. Do you have a permanent partner? You should contact them to come over immediately…”

Before the nurse could finish, Fu Shuang’s face cycled through pale, white, and an unnatural flush. She didn’t dare look at Xu Qing, thinking to herself: What business is it of yours if I have a partner? Just as she was gathering her words for a counterattack, she heard a voice beside her, as refreshing as a mountain breeze:

“She is my… girlfriend.”

The nurse had a sudden realization. No wonder the Omega was so angry when she suggested the Alpha help; they were a couple.

Xu Qing gave a polite smile and took Fu Shuang’s hand again. “We can take care of ourselves, no need for you to worry. There are other Omegas over there who need help. As far as I know, even if they aren’t in a good state, they aren’t willing to let a stranger perform a temporary marking. Two of them are minors.”

The commotion was quickly quelled. Those involved were sent to nearby hospitals. The news didn’t report much on it, and social media only saw a few local users discussing the event.

Leaving the crowded subway station and breathing the open air of the city, Xu Qing finally felt fully recovered. Fu Shuang had also recovered quite a bit; she opened a pack of yogurt Xu Qing had bought and sipped it quietly through a straw, uncharacteristically silent.

“She is my girlfriend.”

Even though Fu Shuang understood she only said it to get rid of those annoying people, the words fell into Fu Shuang’s ears like a soft feather landing on her heart—so light, so gentle, yet impossible to ignore. It made her replay it over and over, and she couldn’t help but think, time and again—

If only it were true.