The Reborn Scummy A and the Sickly O Got Together - Chapter 54

By October, summer had completely vanished. The endless oppressive humidity of the capital had finally dissipated. While people acknowledged the city’s dazzling allure, they truly couldn’t stand the fact that half the year was spent sweltering in muggy heat.

At Business School A, the professor of Asset Management, a beta woman in her forties was carefully reviewing a stack of printed theses.

Her graduate student in the office couldn’t help but get distracted, half-heartedly cross-checking data on the computer screen while sneaking glances at the young female alpha standing before their advisor.

Luo Mingyue was brimming with confidence in her stock market analysis. If she hadn’t been wary of making it too obvious, casually predicting a couple of stocks that were bound to surge soon would have been no trouble at all.

The professor flipped to the last page, removed her glasses, and set them aside before finally looking up. But her question was unexpected: “Why did you choose to study literature? You clearly have a strong grasp of finance, you must have put in considerable effort and had practical guidance from someone at home.”

The professor was convinced that this seemingly young girl possessed experience far beyond her years, undoubtedly shaped by hands-on involvement in financial markets under mentorship.

Luo Mingyue hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully: “I plan to complete the Asset Management program in two years. The textbook curriculum doesn’t hold much value for me anymore, so I’d rather take it as a double major. As for literature, it’s purely my own interest. Given a second chance at life, I suddenly feel I should make choices for myself this time.”

The eavesdropping graduate student nearly gasped in admiration, what a bold move. Her advisor might look young, but she was a heavyweight in Asset Management, a field where professors handpicked students, not the other way around.

Yet, to her surprise, her advisor responded in a gentle tone: “You’re right. The four-year undergraduate curriculum would indeed be redundant for you. This field prioritizes practical application over theoretical knowledge. For someone of your ability, spending all that time buried in textbooks would be putting the cart before the horse.”

The graduate student’s jaw nearly dropped. Her notoriously strict professor was now chatting warmly with this striking alpha underclasswoman about current stock market trends.

To her embarrassment, as a first-year grad student, she realized she barely understood half of what they were saying.

Seeing that the professor seemed willing to take her on as an advisee, Luo Mingyue relaxed. Her interest in this professor was tied to a charity foundation. From what little she remembered of her past life, if her small foundation had any hope of revival, this professor’s help would be crucial.

Lu Jia had been willing to sacrifice the futures of sponsored children to achieve her goals, indifferent to whether they’d receive further support.

But in this second life, Luo Mingyue couldn’t bear the thought that the flap of a butterfly’s wings might deprive children of the chance to change their destinies through education.

By the time their conversation wound down around four o’clock, Professor Jiang was thoroughly engaged, increasingly struck by the depth of the student before her.

But she had to cut the discussion short, hastily gathering her lecture notes and instructing her graduate student: “Add Luo’s student ID to the system, she’s taking the elective.”

Then he smiled kindly at Luo Mingyue and said, “I have a class later. You can send your papers directly to me in the future, and I’ll give you feedback after reviewing them.”

Luo Mingyue watched the professor leave, feeling like she had secured an insurance policy for her future endeavors.

The graduate student senior called her over, pulled up the elective course backend management page, verified her name and student ID, and quickly completed the registration.

Just as Luo Mingyue was about to take her leave, the senior suddenly asked after closing her computer, “Where are you heading next? Going to the cafeteria for lunch?”

“I plan to go to the library to borrow three books from the assigned reading list.”

The senior warmly moved to put an arm around her junior’s shoulders, but halfway through the motion, realizing the other girl was half a head taller, smoothly switched to linking arms in a buddy-like manner.

Luo Mingyue wasn’t entirely comfortable with this sudden intimacy, though the senior’s cheerful grin showed no ulterior motives. “I need to go to the library too,” the senior said brightly. “Perfect timing, we can go together. Since we’ll be under the same advisor, I can fill you in on our professor’s interests along the way.”

Suppressing the urge to pull her arm back, Luo Mingyue followed. True to her nature, the senior proved to be outgoing and straightforward. Noticing the absence of scent-blocking patches, Luo Mingyue deduced that like the professor, her senior was also a beta woman.

Although the gender ratio of alphas and omegas had increased by twenty percentage points compared to the last century, betas remained the majority in the population distribution.

Her thoughts drifted momentarily to the cold-natured Miss Feng from her past life, who had once remarked offhandedly, “Finding true love should at least be possible with betas. Having attraction dictated by pheromones is no different from having emotions ruled by hormones.”

What had she said in response to that casual complaint? And under what circumstances had Feng Baiming made such a comment? Luo Mingyue couldn’t recall.

Entering the library arm-in-arm with her senior, they headed to the first-floor borrowing area, where many eyes, some discreet, others not, were drawn to a figure seated by the window.

“Isn’t that Feng Baiming?” the senior remarked.

Following the collective gaze, Luo Mingyue looked over as the senior continued, “She’s also from the literature department, though you’re an undergrad while she’s about to graduate with her master’s. She’s quite well-known have you heard of her?”

Feng Baiming remained unaware of Luo Mingyue’s presence in the library, currently preoccupied with the annoyance of a persistent male beta.

She had come to discuss her thesis with her advisor earlier and was now in the library researching necessary materials. The lingering stares from others were nothing new to her. Nicknames like “Department Flower” had reached her ears, though she found them more amusing than anything.

Amusement aside, such titles inevitably attracted unwanted attention. Fortunately, her naturally aloof demeanor petite frame notwithstanding, allowed her to regard the world with detached indifference, earning her the new moniker of “Ice Queen.” Over time, her suitors dwindled to near zero.

Yet there were always those who believed relentless persistence could demonstrate devotion, performing their one-sided acts of affection without regard for her disinterest.

She looked at the male beta before her, who was gazing at her with an expression of deep affection yet showed no regard for her feelings whatsoever.

Feng Baiming twirled the pen in her hand, interrupting the beta’s recitation of his tedious love poem: “I don’t understand why you’d choose to do something like this in this setting.”

The burly male beta, who looked like a sports student, replied in confusion: “You’re never at school. Now that you’re finally here, of course I had to seize the chance to confess my feelings.”

Whispers erupted from the onlookers around them, growing louder by the second.

Feng Baiming tapped the table: “A confession implies affection, doesn’t it?”

“Of course,” the male beta quickly responded.

Feng Baiming’s expression grew even more perplexed: “But if you like someone, shouldn’t you try to understand their preferences and personality? Shouldn’t you tread carefully, afraid of upsetting them?”

The male beta seemed choked by her words, suddenly flushing with anger: “Are you looking down on me? Do you think you’re so special that I should put in that much effort?”

Feng Baiming nearly blurted out: It’s precisely because I’ve seen how another person treated me with such care, with adoration that nearly spilled from their eyes, that I know what true affection looks like. What you call ‘liking’ is nothing but a performance to gratify yourself.

And when the subject of this performance doesn’t cooperate, you turn around and belittle them.

If you can’t even handle rejection, if you resort to insults when you don’t get your way, how dare you call this ‘affection’?

Feng Baiming closed her book with disinterest, then suddenly laughed.

The male beta grew even angrier: “What are you laughing at? Do you think I’m ridiculous?”

The murmurs around them intensified, with people commenting on yet another rejected suitor. Someone recognized the male beta and called out his name.

Feng Baiming stood up, gathering her books to leave, but offered rare advice: “If you’d considered the personality of the person you were confessing to or even whether you could handle public rejection, you wouldn’t be in this situation now.”

It was at this moment that Luo Mingyue, ignoring her senior’s surprise, hurried over.

She knew Feng Baiming’s words weren’t meant to mock, but the male beta lacked the humility to accept such counsel.

There were too many people like him lacking the talent or virtue to support their fragile pride, yet more sensitive than anyone, as brittle as glass.

The male beta had already stormed over to Feng Baiming, grabbing for her wrist as he spat: “You can’t leave! Explain yourself properly!”

The library crowd pulled out their phones. Some wanted to play the hero, but they were too slow.

In the recorded footage, all that could be seen was a girl whose striking profile alone was enough to turn heads, wrapping her arms around the aloof goddess being accosted.

Feng Baiming wasn’t afraid of the shattered male beta before her, but she was startled when she was suddenly pulled into someone’s embrace.

She looked up. Sunlight from the window illuminated the face above her, those dark eyes beneath long, thick lashes gazing down at her.

The golden light melted into her eyes like shattered stars. Feng Baiming felt her heartbeat skip a beat, then race even faster.

Her head spun slightly, almost suspecting that Luo Mingyue hadn’t properly applied her scent-blocking patch. Otherwise, why did it feel like she was smelling the most perfectly matched pheromones?

Everyone in the library couldn’t take their eyes off the scene, intrigued by the sudden appearance of the beautiful girl.

Fortunately, beautiful people always become famous quickly. Someone soon whispered, “That’s Luo Mingyue, a freshman from the Literature Department this year. If she weren’t an alpha, she’d definitely be the department’s beauty queen.”

Then came a lament: “How can such a pretty girl be an alpha!”

Anger colored Luo Mingyue’s cheeks as she accused the beta male: “Your behavior constitutes harassment against an omega. With testimony from two or more witnesses, you could face up to fifteen days of administrative detention.”

The male beta seemed to recognize who she was. Her height and alpha status already made him retreat, and when she cited legal statutes, he muttered, “Who are you trying to scare?” before turning to flee.

As Luo Mingyue moved to chase him, the omega in her arms let out a soft laugh.

She quickly released her hold, bowing her head, her loose strands of hair falling across that pale face.

Before Luo Mingyue could speak, Feng Baiming took her wrist and led her out, saying with amusement, “At this rate, the forum posts will be up before tomorrow.”

Truthfully, she was annoyed by the beta’s rudeness, unwilling to become gossip material for no reason. But seeing those perpetually misty eyes focused solely on her.

For a fleeting moment, she found herself grateful to that thin-skinned beta for causing this scene.

Though Luo Mingyue stood a full head taller than Feng Baiming, library onlookers watched as the petite girl pulled the tall alpha along, the latter bending slightly to follow like an oversized plush bear being dragged by its owner, until the pair disappeared from view.

Only after they’d left did someone belatedly sigh: “So sweet,  it’s got that undefinable romantic drama vibe.”

Support The Reborn Scummy A and the Sickly O Got Together