What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The Pillow

Creak.

The dormitory door was pushed open a crack, and Jin Yan poked her head out while yawning.

Seeing the scene outside, she awkwardly retreated: “Continue, please continue. I didn’t see a thing.”

“…”

Shu Qiong struggled gently to get free. Yan Xiangyu released her, her expression looking quite displeased.

Shu Qiong could see the words “unfulfilled desire” written all over Yan Xiangyu’s face, and she followed Jin Yan back into the dorm with awkward, stiff movements.

Trying to change the subject, she dryly asked the Great Miss: “Catching up on sleep?”

Jin Yan sat back on her bed just as dryly: “Indeed, indeed.”

Shu Qiong tidied herself up, changed into pajamas, and climbed into bed: “I’m going to sleep for a bit too. My whole body aches.”

Yan Xiangyu followed and got onto her own bed quietly. She didn’t lie down; instead, she sat propped up against the wall, her dark eyes staring at Shu Qiong without blinking.

Shu Qiong felt a bit unnerved by the gaze and asked in a whisper: “What are you looking at me for!”

Yan Xiangyu: “You’re beautiful. I like looking.”

Shu Qiong warily pulled her oversized pajama collar tight: “Stop looking. Go to sleep.”

“My rut is coming soon; I feel a bit uncomfortable.” Yan Xiangyu’s eyelashes drooped slightly, and her voice was extremely soft. “Qiong, you can understand me, right?”

Shu Qiong couldn’t understand, but with Yan Xiangyu looking at her like that, there was no way she could sleep.

“What do you want to do?”

Yan Xiangyu’s gaze went straight to Shu Qiong’s pillow. “Can I have that? It has your scent on it.”

An Alpha, actually longing for the scent of another Alpha’s pheromones.

Shu Qiong was stunned, her ears instantly burning red. A pillow was a bit too personal, wasn’t it?

She gripped a corner of the pillow: “If I give it to you, what will I sleep on?”

Yan Xiangyu smiled: “I’ll give you mine. We can swap.”

Shu Qiong fell silent.

Yan Xiangyu offered another plan: “Then give me a piece of clothing…”

A soft texture hit her chest; Yan Xiangyu subconsciously caught the flying object and inhaled a faint fragrance.

Red-faced, Shu Qiong reached across the railing, swiftly snatched the pillow from Yan Xiangyu’s bed, and dove under her covers.

“Don’t let it happen again,” her voice came from under the blanket, muffled and low.

Yan Xiangyu couldn’t help a low chuckle and finally lay down properly.

The scent of brandy was right there, the cotton pillowcase pressed against the back of her neck. She turned her head, her nose gently brushing the surface. Her tea scent mingled with it, like a private feast of fragrances restricted to the space of the pillow.

None of them had rested well the night before. After catching up on sleep, they felt more energetic. After a meal, it was time for the exhausting training again.

A day and a half into the intensive training, the cadets in the venue had developed clear hierarchical distinctions. In fact, except for unique talents like Shu Qiong, most people’s rankings remained relatively stable.

Everyone assumed the training method would be the same as the morning session, so they huddled into tiers based on their rankings.

When the instructor walked in, he raised an eyebrow and let out a “Yo!”

“So proactive? …I heard many of you were unsatisfied after the matches this morning? Very well, this afternoon we’ll give you a chance for revenge. Isn’t your instructor considerate?”

Someone couldn’t help but ask: “Report, instructor! How do we take revenge?”

“What’s the rush?” The instructor gave the person a chiding look, making the cadets’ faces twist in collective cringe.

“The rules are simple. It means you can choose your own opponents for this afternoon’s training. However, everyone can only challenge someone ranked higher than themselves. Got it? Alright, let’s start picking from the bottom of the list. Move it.”

After speaking, the instructor briefly guided them on how to use the ranking system on their wristbands to select opponents. Everyone hurriedly opened their interfaces and scrolled through the names.

Shu Qiong breathed a sigh of relief. The list was long, showing only names and schools without photos. The members of the Military University (MU) team were all ranked quite high, so it wouldn’t be their turn to pick anyone for a while.

Shu Qiong waited patiently with her friends. Jin Yan was the first to be chosen.

The Great Miss looked bewildered: “I didn’t attract any hatred this morning, did I?”

Shu Qiong looked away, pretending to be innocent.

At that moment, the No. 55 male Alpha found them: “Jin Yan, do you dare to fight!”

How chuunibyou, Shu Qiong thought, silently turning her head and pretending not to know her.

Jin Yan was baffled: “Who are you, bro? A fight’s a fight!”

No. 55 was also confused: “What are you fighting for? I’m looking for the MU Commander, Jin Yan…”

“Exactly, that’s me.” Jin Yan whipped her head around to look at the culprit. “Daughter! Was it you?!”

The instructor urged them through a megaphone: “Be quick! Once you’ve picked someone, get to your positions. Don’t hog the space if you aren’t using it, understand? If you lose, get out of the way for the next opponent!”

Shu Qiong gave Jin Yan a harmless smile. Jin Yan, full of tragic indignation, walked off with the clueless No. 55.

Before long, Yan Xiangyu—a top student ranked in the top ten—was also picked. Chang Xichun peeked curiously: “Who is it? Rushing to their death?”

Yan Xiangyu glanced thoughtfully at Shu Qiong. Shu Qiong remained composed.

The person who challenged Yan Xiangyu was indeed that Alpha from the Mecha University. He arrogantly made a throat-slitting gesture toward the MU group across the crowd. Shu Qiong gave him a bright smile.

The boy froze, knit his brows, and went to his assigned track.

Yan Xiangyu crossed her arms with no intention of moving yet. She asked Shu Qiong: “Is there a reward for taking the hit for you?”

Shu Qiong said righteously: “No, it’s not ‘taking a hit.’ After measuring the opponent’s strength, I chose opponents for you and Jin Yan with super high win rates. Guaranteed victory!”

Yan Xiangyu curled her lips: “So, should I say thank you?”

Shu Qiong: “…You’re welcome.”

Whether it was because of the special period or not, the way Yan Xiangyu looked at her lately had a sort of seductive, lingering quality, sticking to Shu Qiong like silk. Shu Qiong rubbed her nose and avoided eye contact.

Chang Xichun leaned in: “What’s this about picking opponents? Did you pick one for me too?”

Shu Qiong: “Of course! I could never forget our star sniper!”

As Chang Xichun waited expectantly for more, Lin Mi walked over toward them with a sweet smile.

“Sister.”

Lin Mi’s timing was perfect; she waited until Yan Xiangyu left before coming over. For some reason, she felt her personality clashed with Yan Xiangyu’s.

“Can sister tell me now what the MU sniper’s name is?” Lin Mi asked with a smile.

“I know, I know!” Chang Xichun blurted out. “Her name is Chang Xichun! Classmate, do you want to challenge this outstanding, talented, sharpshooting genius to a match?”

Lin Mi looked at her with slight surprise, her smile remaining: “Yes. I wonder if she’s willing?”

Shu Qiong nodded inwardly. Emotional intelligence really varies. Look at little Lin; she knew to ask for permission before challenging someone. Then look at those two muscle-brained fools from before. The difference between people is truly vast.

Chang Xichun nodded repeatedly: “Willing, willing!”

As the words fell, Lin Mi entered Chang Xichun’s name into the system, only to find the other girl was ranked lower than her. Lin Mi was 61, and Chang Xichun was 62.

“…” Everyone felt a bit awkward for a moment.

“Sister, you really are…” Lin Mi broke the silence first, laughing. “Alright, it seems our fate hasn’t arrived yet. Next time, I will hear your name from your own lips.”

Shu Qiong mulled over her ambiguous, subtle tone and interrupted: “Actually, my name is…”

But Lin Mi had already turned and walked away, her long legs taking her far in a few steps, only waving her hand back at them.

Chang Xichun also sensed the vibe: “Xiao Shu…”

“An accident. This was an accident.” Shu Qiong held up her hands. “I didn’t say a word! You blurted it out yourself, Senior!”

Chang Xichun poked her with an elbow: “I’m not interrogating you, don’t panic! What’s the deal with this girl? She seems very… you know. Does our Yu know about this?”

“We aren’t close.” Shu Qiong spread her hands helplessly and blinked. “And what does it have to do with Yan Xiangyu?”

Chang Xichun clicked her tongue: “Stubborn woman. When the jealousy pot truly flips over, don’t expect me to help you!”

Just then, her wristband vibrated. Seeing that someone had picked her, Shu Qiong slipped away with a chuckle.

The afternoon training wasn’t difficult for Shu Qiong. After figuring out the shooting mechanics, she was like a god; cadets with slightly slower reactions were simply crushed by her.

By 3:00 PM, Shu Qiong had finished her daytime training and sat refreshed in the rest area as a spectator, observing the level of other cadets alongside Yan Xiangyu and the others.

She thought her teammates could handle it as well, but both Jin Yan and Chang Xichun ran into trouble. They had been struggling all afternoon. Every time they managed to win two games in a row, they would unluckily run into a low-ranked but highly skilled expert who blocked their path. It was infuriating.

During a break, they compared notes and realized—to their surprise—that the same group of people was hunting them.

The rest of the team came to take a look, none of them understanding the motive.

Chang Xichun’s brow was tied in a knot: “Is MU being targeted?”

Jin Yan gave a frustrated “tch.” She noticed the strongest fighter among them was a student from Superior named Xin Xiuyun. The others mostly came from scattered, obscure schools.

“It’s strange. This person is very skilled in close combat; I’m not her match.” Jin Yan clicked on Xin Xiuyun’s battle record and found that in several matches, she was clearly controlling her score, losing extremely quickly. “Logically, she should have broken into the top twenty long ago. There’s no reason to keep hovering around sixty-something.”

It was like she was waiting to snipe someone—a true gatekeeper.

After asking around, it turned out none of them, including He Xuchou, knew her.

“She’s so sneaky.” Chang Xichun was also looking at the records with a complex expression. “This person isn’t specifically targeting MU; she’s just consciously controlling her score. Look, many cadets with similar rankings are in the same situation as us—their failure rate has skyrocketed.”

Jin Yan and Chang Xichun, who had both fought Xin Xiuyun, couldn’t figure out her background. This was the first year Superior Military Academy had participated in the University League; in previous years, they had been too stuck-up to join talent screening events that ignored social class.

“You’re curious about her identity? Simple. Go ask Fang Yingying.” Shu Qiong suggested to her friends. “Miss Jin, you two are quite familiar. Why don’t you go find out?”

Jin Yan was hesitant. Lately, whenever she spoke to Fang Yingying, the other girl would get angry within a few sentences, leaving the Great Miss quite bewildered.

Shu Qiong urged her: “You don’t want to run into this Xin Xiuyun again for no reason, do you? Didn’t you say a Commander’s greatest taboo is an information gap where the enemy has the advantage?”

Jin Yan had no choice, but she didn’t want to go talk to Fang Yingying alone, so she chose to drag Shu Qiong along.

Shu Qiong was followed by the recently clingy Yan Xiangyu, and Chang Xichun, concerned about her own training completion, followed as well. He Xuchou and Qin Liang had finished their training and followed out of curiosity and concern for their teammates.

In the end, all six of them stood in a neat row in front of Fang Yingying.