Transmigrated as the Cannon Fodder Boss of the Disabled Heroine - Chapter 53

On the day Pei Yujiang showed Yu Zhiwan her ID card, Yu Zhiwan asked for her real birthday. But the truth was, Pei Yujiang had no idea when she was actually born. She only remembered being taken away around the beginning of spring, so she had set her birthday around that time.

Yu Zhiwan leaned against her and gently pinched her cheek:

“Shall we celebrate our birthdays together?”

Her pinch was a bit too strong, making Pei Yujiang’s speech slightly slurred. After a moment, she managed to squeeze out a single word:

“Sure!”

In truth, if counting the years from her past life, Pei Yujiang was older than Yu Zhiwan. But based on the original host’s age, she was technically the younger one. For some reason, Pei Yujiang, who usually carried herself with composure around others, couldn’t muster any authority in front of Yu Zhiwan. She simply let this Omega have her way.

Like now, she had no idea what Yu Zhiwan was planning to do with her, but since the other had asked and it wasn’t anything unreasonable, Pei Yujiang just went along with it.

They had originally planned to watch the music festival with the family and then go out for a meal afterward, but they decided to leave early, right after the last song finished.

After the performances, there would still be an interactive segment hosted by the emcee, followed by all the guests bowing in farewell. There might even be a grand finale or some other closing ceremony, but by that point, it would hardly be interesting anymore.

The parking lots near the stadium were packed with cars. If they left with the crowd, they’d be stuck in traffic for ages. After some thought, Pei Yujiang tidied up their spot, sent a message to Pei Jinhuai and without waiting for a reply took Yu Zhiwan and left.

VIP tickets came with an express exit, so they had no trouble getting out. As they left, a staff member at the gate handed them a gift bag of festival merchandise. Pei Yujiang smiled in thanks and took Yu Zhiwan’s share as well.

The music from the festival was deafening even inside the venue, and it remained loud outside. Fortunately, there were no residential areas nearby just the tranquil waters of a lake encircling the stadium, a small artificial branch of Yi Lake. It was a little past 5 PM, nearing 6, and the area had been cleared out, leaving it almost completely empty. The only things in sight were the countless cars in the parking lot.

Since it was a company outing, there were buses with the Yue Rong logo parked nearby. Pei Yujiang easily spotted their car and couldn’t help but muse as they got in:

“No wonder everyone loves music festivals. You really feel the energy of the music when you’re immersed in it, it’s quite stress-relieving.”

Even though she wasn’t a fan of any of the performers and barely recognized most of them, she had still been able to lose herself in the atmosphere.

It was only then that Pei Yujiang realized why Yu Zhiwan, who usually disliked crowds, had brought her here. It wasn’t for herself, it was for Pei Yujiang.

The feeling of being cared for like this moved her, and her gaze softened as she glanced at the woman beside her.

When she had taken Yu Zhiwan to Ningxiang, it had been for the sake of her mission to prevent the female lead from turning dark too quickly. But by now, Yu Zhiwan’s corruption value hadn’t risen in a long time, and Pei Yujiang had all but stopped maintaining that mission.

Yu Zhiwan had no ulterior motives in bringing her to the music festival or planning her birthday celebration, it was purely to make her happy.

“Zhiwan,” Pei Yujiang started the engine and entered the location Yu Zhiwan had mentioned into the navigation. She had already reserved a private room and timed everything perfectly. “Do you like it here?”

She wanted to say that if Yu Zhiwan didn’t enjoy it, they wouldn’t have to come again next time. But instead, she was met with the Omega’s soft chuckle.

Yu Zhiwan turned her face toward her:

“Do I seem like the kind of person who forces myself to do things I don’t want to?”

No, she didn’t.

Pei Yujiang answered silently in her heart, the weight lifting off her shoulders instantly as excitement bubbled up for the day’s plans.

The original owner’s birthday had been in the summer, and from what she remembered, Pei Jinhuai had always made a grand celebration out of it. But for Pei Yujiang herself, this was the first time someone had arranged a birthday for her. Along with the excitement came a hint of nervousness.

The restaurant Yu Zhiwan had booked was next to a shopping mall, standing independently. Since it wasn’t time to enter yet, the two decided to visit the arcade.

Yu Zhiwan loaded a hundred yuan worth of game tokens, and since it was her first time topping up, she received an extra ten. The arcade was already bustling with people at this hour. Though it was Pei Yujiang’s first time here, the original owner had been before. After recalling the gameplay from memory and skimming the instructions, she quickly searched for machines Yu Zhiwan could enjoy.

Dance machines and shooting games were obviously out of the question for Yu Zhiwan. Pei Yujiang hesitated between basketball and the claw machine before ultimately deciding on the latter.

Though Yu Zhiwan couldn’t see, each claw machine had a display plushie hanging in front. Pei Yujiang guided her hand to feel each one until they stopped in front of a Cinnamoroll plushie.

“Isn’t this the collab from the bubble tea we had before?”

“Yep.” Pei Yujiang wasn’t surprised by her sharp observation and leaned down. “Do you want it?”

Yu Zhiwan nodded, so Pei Yujiang took her hand and placed it on the joystick.

“I’ll guide you. When I say ‘press,’ use your other hand to hit the button.”

The Omega’s smooth skin brushed against hers, warm from the heated arcade air. Pei Yujiang focused on the Cinnamoroll inside the machine, gently moving Yu Zhiwan’s hand to adjust the claw.

As her vision gradually returned, the vibrant colors of the world reappeared before her eyes after so long. Yu Zhiwan drank in the sight greedily the expanse of snowy white and the plushie’s striking blue eyes swaying in her view. To make sure she felt involved, Pei Yujiang bent down, her body almost pressing against Yu Zhiwan’s shoulder, though she kept her weight balanced to avoid burdening her.

Yu Zhiwan could feel the occasional brush of warmth against her back, making her wonder if the arcade had cranked the air conditioning too high.

She could see now. She could grab it herself. But she willingly let the woman’s presence envelop her, allowing Pei Yujiang’s hand to rest lightly over hers, their skin grazing subtly with each movement of the joystick.

“Three, two, one…”

Arcade claw machines were notoriously loose. The metal claw seemed to latch onto Cinnamoroll’s head, but the moment it lifted, the plushie wobbled midair before dropping back down, not even making it halfway to the chute.

Pei Yujiang clicked her tongue and tossed in two more tokens.

“Again, again! That one didn’t count!”

The second attempt missed slightly. On the third try, the claw repeated its trick, dropping the Cinnamoroll plush mid-air. After several failed attempts, Pei Yujiang finally realized something was off with the machine and stomped away in frustration.

Just then, a young couple playing nearby suddenly erupted in joyful screams. The girl jumped excitedly:

“We got it! It’s the Miku plushie!”

The boy affectionately patted his girlfriend’s head and boasted with a smile:

“See? I’m amazing, right?”

The delighted girl stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. Hand in hand, they moved to the next claw machine. Pei Yujiang noticed the boy already carried several plushies apparently aiming to collect all the cute ones.

Not wanting to lose, Pei Yujiang rallied and returned to the Cinnamoroll machine, this time waiting until the previous player left. That person had failed multiple times and walked away dejected. With Yu Zhiwan by her side, Pei Yujiang succeeded in just four tries.

At the loud “clunk,” Yu Zhiwan’s face lit up. She bent down to “feel around” the prize chute and retrieved the plush. The machine’s high-quality cotton-filled toys were soft and cuddly. Having rarely experienced such girlish fun, Yu Zhiwan eagerly dragged Pei Yujiango to the next machine.

By dinnertime, they’d won over a dozen plushies. They kept only the Cinnamoroll, storing the rest at the counter for their next visit.

Their next stop was a luxurious five-star restaurant Yu Zhiwan had booked. The impeccable service matched the steep prices. A well-groomed server escorted them to a specially decorated birthday private room. The moment Pei Yujiang stepped inside, motion sensors triggered a shower of colorful ribbons.

“Happy birthday to you~”

Pei Yujiang raised her hands in mock protest, muttering “How childish!” yet her beaming smile betrayed her delight. This was her first proper birthday celebration since birth.

There were balloons swaying in the warm air, her name printed on them, ready to float free if untied. Such birthday setups were things she’d only read about in books, the kind of happiness only those who’d never experienced it would yearn for. As the AI sang the birthday song again, Yu Zhiwan softly joined in.

“Happy birthday.”

Yu Zhiwan gazed at her tenderly, though Pei Yujiang, eyes closed for her wish, didn’t see it. The customized candle bore only her name no age, given her ambiguous years.

Pei Yujiang made her wish quickly.

As the saying goes, wishes lose their power when spoken aloud, so Yu Zhiwan didn’t ask. Instead, she urged Pei Yujiang to cut the cake, complaining she was starving.

The cake had a fruit filling with animal cream soft, delicious, and not overly sweet. After cutting a slice for each of them, Pei Yujiang pressed the service bell, and the well-prepared waitstaff quickly brought out the appetizers.

Every dish here was made fresh, with no pre-prepared ingredients. After finishing two small appetizers, the server brought out several cold dishes and hot dishes, including Yu Zhiwan’s favorite stir-fried beef and her beloved grilled green pepper fish. The cold dishes featured cilantro-mixed pig ears and cold skin noodles, among others.

Pei Yujiang soon realized that today’s menu was full of dishes meant to pair with alcohol.

Due to health reasons, Yu Zhiwan rarely drank, and Pei Yujiang herself almost never touched alcohol. But that was a habit formed during military campaigns unless it was unbearably cold, she might take a sip or two, not out of addiction but to warm her blood and improve circulation to avoid freezing.

The weather conditions in the apocalypse were harsh winters plunged to dozens of degrees below zero, while summers soared above forty degrees. Electricity was a luxury, far from the comfort of freely enjoying air conditioning and heating like now.

Surprisingly, Yu Zhiwan asked the server for two bottles of Chun Jiang.

Chun Jiang was the most famous liquor in the entire nation, a recipe passed down from ancient times. Its alcohol content was moderate, not excessive, with the advantage of being neither harsh on the nose nor burning the throat. However, it was unfriendly to beginners, as it could easily go to one’s head.

Yu Zhiwan was disabled and an Omega. Pei Yujiang had never discussed drinking with her, but she instinctively felt that Omegas rarely had high alcohol tolerance.

“This liquor!”

“Can you handle it?”

Before Pei Yujiang could finish, Yu Zhiwan had already asked the server for a bottle opener, cracked one open herself, and poured a glass. The small liquor cup was only as long as a finger, but Pei Yujiang still felt uneasy.

“The car has auto-navigation and self-driving, right? Or we could just call a designated driver.”

Pei Yujiang was about to say more when Yu Zhiwan, anticipating her words, raised a slender finger to her lips.

Only then did Pei Yujiang notice that Yu Zhiwan was wearing light makeup today.

Yu Zhiwan’s lips were naturally pale, making any lipstick stand out vividly. Pei Yujiang recognized the shade as mermaid pink, but the effect was entirely different from when she wore it. The Omega’s full lips must have been prepped with another shade first, the fine shimmer coating the deep red like a rose at the peak of its bloom, tempting one to glimpse the even richer hue within.

As her finger left the plump bow of her lips, the overhead light caught the faint trace left on her fair fingertip, a glimmering streak of red that she casually wiped away with a folded napkin placed neatly on the table.

Pei Yujiang couldn’t help but admire Pei Jinhuai’s taste once again.

This version of Yu Zhiwan exuded an indescribable sensuality. The lip gloss on her could interpret countless moods, never rigid, never confined, simply making one willingly agree to anything she said.

Pei Yujiang wasn’t entirely opposed to drinking. She wouldn’t call herself unshakable, but her alcohol tolerance was decent at least better than Yu Zhiwan’s.

Though it was her birthday today, and the birthday girl should have the final say, well, it was just a small request from Zhiwan,

Pei Yujiang poured herself a full cup and downed it in one go.

Spring River truly lived up to its reputation as the finest liquor. Unlike other white spirits that burned the mouth with harsh spiciness and took time to get used to, this one had no unpleasant aftertaste.

She could detect a subtle blend of grain fragrance and osman thus this particular “Spring River” was the autumn edition. The “Spring River” series was divided into spring, summer, autumn, and winter variants, with the autumn version naturally brewed with osmanthus.

The spring edition featured peach blossoms, sweeter in taste but lacking the mellow, lingering finish of the osmanthus.

Hearing the sound of the liquor being poured, Yu Zhiwan smiled in satisfaction and raised her glass toward Pei Yujiang:

“Cheers.”

This was Pei Yujiang’s first time drinking alone with an Omega.

But she had a feeling Yu Zhiwan could hold her liquor better than most Omegas.

The osmanthus wine was sweet and smooth, not at all harsh, but its effects faded quickly. Before they knew it, the two had polished off more than half the bottle though they drank in small sips, the quantity added up, and even Pei Yujiang was starting to feel it.

With strong self-control, Pei Yujiang capped the bottle once she felt she’d had enough and excused herself to the restroom in the private room.

To her surprise, when she returned, she found the Omega had unscrewed the bottle and was pouring herself drink after drink.

Startled, Pei Yujiang hurried over. The bottle was nearly empty in just a few minutes. Frowning, she tapped the table firmly:

“Zhiwan?”

“Yu Zhiwan!”

Yu Zhiwan was drunk, her slender neck slumped weakly against the table, fingers idly tapping the engraved words on the bottle,  “Fine as wine may be, drink not greedily” her breathing uneven and feverish.

They had barely touched the dishes while drinking, leaving a table full of delicacies untouched. Pei Yujiang had originally planned to ask the waiter to pack them up, but as she approached the Omega, she caught more than just the scent of alcohol, a faint trace of pheromones lingered in the air.

The fragrance of roses and raspberries, rich and intoxicating like orchids and musk, seeped into her senses like a poison, making her pause involuntarily, drawn closer.

Pei Yujiang grabbed a wet wipe from the table and wiped her face, forcing herself to stay alert. A string of dates flashed through her mind before settling on one she had seen marked on Yu Zhiwan’s calendar at home.

It was the day Yu Zhiwan had recorded as her heat cycle.

An Omega’s heat was akin to a Beta woman’s menstrual cycle generally stable, occurring monthly unless under special circumstances, though its duration varied from hours to days depending on the Omega’s condition, not entirely identical to a period.

One similarity, however, was that Omegas tended to be more emotionally volatile during this time, craving closeness. Once, Pei Yujiang had accompanied Yu Zhiwan through her heat, but later, she had simply let her manage it at home with suppressants even delivering them to her on one occasion.

Yu Zhiwan wasn’t the type to lose control like this. For her to drink so recklessly now meant this heat had struck fiercely, without warning.

Pei Yujiang quickly brushed aside Yu Zhiwan’s long hair and pressed her fingers to the back of the woman’s neck, feeling the small, swollen gland. Fortunately, Yu Zhiwan had applied a suppressant patch before going out today, so the scent wouldn’t spread too much no risk of disrupting public order.

After the initial panic and tension, Pei Yujiang made a quick decision, she scooped Yu Zhiwan up from the dining table. After a moment’s thought, she immediately placed Yu Zhiwan on the sofa, pressed the service bell, and asked the waiter to pack up the entire spread of dishes and cake.

Yu Zhiwan rolled over on the sofa.

A few minutes later, Pei Yujiang carried the Omega in her arms to the car, placing the packed food in the passenger seat. Just as she was about to tuck the woman into the back seat, she suddenly heard a soft murmur.

“Wife!”

“Hmm?”

The call had been muffled, and she hadn’t quite caught it. Leaning in closer, she was abruptly caught by the Omega, who pinched her earlobe and gave it a gentle tug. Unable to dodge or break free, her ear held hostage, she heard the Omega’s sweet, delicate voice:

“Wife, are you taking me home?”

Current Pei Yujiang: Are you running a fever?

Future Pei Yujiang: Wife, you’re running a fever again.

Support