What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: The Xin Family

Fang Yingying had just finished her fourth round of sparring. She took off her helmet to catch her breath; even with a flushed, sweaty face, she couldn’t hide the composed elegance in her movements.

“What’s the matter?” She looked up and was startled by the wall of people standing in front of her.

Shu Qiong nudged Jin Yan in the ribs.

Jin Yan spoke up reluctantly: “Yingying, does your school, Superior, have a girl named Xin Xiuyun?”

Fang Yingying’s suspicion caused a slight delay in her response. “Why are you asking about her?”

“Just asking, hahaha, curiosity.” Jin Yan gave a dry laugh, omitting the fact that she had been thoroughly crushed by her. “Met her on the track just now; she seemed quite skilled.”

Fang Yingying frowned slightly. “Her. She looks decent, but her character is poor. Stay away from her and don’t get close; otherwise, she might sell you out and you’d still be helping her count the money.”

Hearing this, He Xuchou sensed that this person might be a formidable rival in the future League. Taking on her responsibility as Captain, she began to inquire: “What’s her background?”

Fang Yingying tilted her head back to take a sip of water before explaining leisurely: “The Xin family of Planet Shuichen. Have you heard of them?”

Jin Yan was the first to react. As a bona fide high-society heiress herself, she was well-acquainted with relevant families and industries. She took over the explanation: “One of the Alliance’s mecha part suppliers. They have some cooperation with the military. A nouveau riche family that rose in the last few decades.”

The Xin family was considered the low-profile type of wealthy family. Jin Yan had only heard a piece of gossip about them from her mother when she was young—a sort of open secret within their circle.

She lowered her voice: “I remember the current head of the Xin family married a lady and then completely absorbed her family’s inheritance. How else could they have connected with the military in just twenty-odd years? That’s a huge piece of business; countless groups break their necks trying to grab that gold-plated rice bowl.”

Fang Yingying nodded. “As far as I know, that’s correct. That Lady Lin had poor health and was chronically ill, making it difficult for her to conceive. It took seven or eight years of marriage before they had a daughter.”

Chang Xichun guessed: “And the daughter is Xin Xiuyun?”

“No,” Fang Yingying denied. “The daughter born to Lady Lin has never shown her face in public. Two years ago, when the Xin couple went through a divorce, the daughter allegedly went with the mother.”

“Then Xin Xiuyun?”

Fang Yingying closed her water bottle, her tone unchanging: “An illegitimate child.”

Shu Qiong and the others took a big bite of this high-society drama, feeling a bit stunned. “But this illegitimate child is already twenty…”

“Twenty-three. Xin Xiuyun is a junior this year.” Fang Yingying corrected her with a sneer. “I don’t know much more than that. I’m not close with her; we’ve barely spoken.”

She gestured with her chin: “There, that’s Xin Xiuyun.”

Everyone turned their gaze and saw an Omega girl about 1.7 meters tall with a bob cut. The corners of her eyes were upturned, giving her a look of cold, indifferent charm. Xin Xiuyun was surrounded by several cadets, both male and female. Looking at the school badges on their training uniforms, most came from relatively unknown schools.

Fang Yingying’s evaluation was: “Her relationship with us at Superior isn’t great.”

As a powerhouse aristocratic school, Superior was definitely the university with the most complex interpersonal relationships—no contest.

Shu Qiong thought to herself that this was inevitable. After all, Superior cadets always had a subtle sense of upper-class superiority, or rather, an aloofness. Even on the rare occasion they made friends with outsiders, they would be extremely selective, picking only those who were sufficiently excellent or worthy of their notice. To those young masters and ladies, everyone was a potential networking resource; naturally, their standards were high.

Xin Xiuyun’s social circle was a bit beneath them—average ability, average family background. Her only merit was likely her eloquence and knack for flattery.

Shu Qiong’s mind wandered for a moment, her gaze turning vacant. Before she could look away, she suddenly saw Xin Xiuyun turn her head. The moment their eyes met, Xin Xiuyun actually smiled at her.

Objectively speaking, it was a beautiful smile, but Shu Qiong—perhaps biased by what she’d just heard—inexplicably felt goosebumps.

Yan Xiangyu, witnessing the whole thing, turned her face toward Shu Qiong.

“Is she good-looking?” she asked.

Shu Qiong said sheepishly: “Our Student Yan is still better-looking.”

Yan Xiangyu’s smile was faint. “Really? Watch a bit longer then. I’ll watch with you.”

“Not good-looking at all, let’s go, let’s go.” Shu Qiong turned to leave. “How many more wins do you guys need?”

Chang Xichun and Jin Yan each needed one last win to be free. Fortunately, they didn’t run into any more “smurfs” trying to gatekeep them and successfully clocked out of training.

That night was the physical training Shu Qiong hated most. Fortunately, she had been consciously catching up on sleep during breaks during the day. By the time she finished her tasks at 11:30 PM, she wasn’t as exhausted as the day before.

She was actually quite energetic while showering, thinking that there probably wouldn’t be any more combat training tomorrow. Based on today’s situation, its effectiveness for the top-tier cadets had reached its peak; repeating it would be pointless.

Stretching her muscles while drying off still hurt, but the bruising and swelling had subsided significantly. Shu Qiong was beginning to get used to this “aching but refreshing” sensation. She kneaded her arms and calves; it wasn’t just her imagination—the muscle repair fluid was exceptionally effective.

Though there were no exaggerated muscle groups visually, her strength and endurance had grown. Even though she was still nothing compared to He Xuchou and the others, Shu Qiong felt invigorated. Strong medicine and a good doctor—the process was painful, but the benefits were real.

Returning to the dorm and getting into bed, she found Yan Xiangyu still awake, clutching that familiar pillow and looking her way.

Shu Qiong felt her face heat up as she spread her blanket in the dim light. Seeing that the other still had no intention of sleeping as she lay down, she asked: “Uncomfortable?”

Seeing her reach out, Yan Xiangyu obediently leaned closer. Shu Qiong reached across the gap between the beds and felt her forehead. It was a bit hot—a sign of the approaching rut.

“Have you been to the medical point?” Shu Qiong whispered, afraid of waking their teammates on the bottom bunks.

He Xuchou and Jin Yan seemed to be sound asleep. Yan Xiangyu nodded slightly: “I went. I took a slow-release suppressant in advance.”

Before a rut begins, doctors don’t recommend strong medication, as it can easily cause hormonal imbalances and harm the body. Shu Qiong understood; the medicine hadn’t kicked in yet. Poor thing, she was too uncomfortable to sleep.

This truly varied from person to person, much like menstrual cramps. Someone like Shu Qiong had no symptoms before a rut, but Yan Xiangyu clearly didn’t have it so easy.

Shu Qiong hesitated, then got out of bed and left the dorm. A moment later, she crept back and climbed onto her bed: “Lie down.”

Yan Xiangyu did as she was told, lying properly on the pillow she had traded from Shu Qiong. She felt Shu Qiong touch her face; the fingertips were cool and very comfortable. Yan Xiangyu couldn’t help but reach out to grab Shu Qiong’s fingertips, pressing her palm against her cheek.

Shu Qiong let her play with her hand for a while before pulling back: “Don’t move yet.”

Yan Xiangyu indeed stopped being restless. Lying on the bed, she looked up and saw Shu Qiong’s inverted features. In the darkness, she felt something ice-cold placed on her forehead.

She touched it; it was a simple sealed bag acting as a fever patch, filled with cold tap water. The cooling effect was quite good.

Shu Qiong leaned over the gap between the beds and mouthed: “Feel any better?”

Yan Xiangyu persistently reached for her hand, indicating that this was even better. “Go to sleep. Just give me one hand,” Yan Xiangyu said, acting very considerate.

Shu Qiong didn’t know what to say to her. She felt there was no need to argue with a feverish, muddled soul. So she lay back down and extended her right hand through the railing, unceremoniously patting Yan Xiangyu on the head.

Her hand was promptly captured. Yan Xiangyu said as a matter of course: “Goodnight. I’ll take good care of it.”

“…”

Shu Qiong was speechless. Resting on the tea-scented pillow, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

When she woke in the morning, she instinctively looked up. Their hands had long since separated, but a lock of their hair had somehow become tangled together. Shu Qiong untangled them and found Yan Xiangyu still fast asleep, surprisingly not woken by the alarm. This was rare; she gently shook her.

Yan Xiangyu’s complexion wasn’t great when she woke, with slight dark circles under her eyes. “Morning.”

Shu Qiong immediately checked her forehead. “The fever is down. Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“Mhm.” Yan Xiangyu sat up wrapped in her blanket, her voice dry and raspy. “It’s fine. I’m always like this before a rut. I’m used to it.”

He Xuchou, having finished dressing, heard this and asked with concern: “Do you want to ask the instructor for a leave of absence?”

Yan Xiangyu shook her head: “No need, it’s not that serious.” As she spoke, she gently twirled the end of Shu Qiong’s hair, quickly withdrawing her hand before the other could react, and began folding her blanket as if nothing had happened.

Shu Qiong acted as if she hadn’t seen it. Feeling unwell and still being so childish.

6:30 AM, inside the training hall.

Most cadets had arrived, huddling in groups by area, listlessly munching on breakfast. A low-pressure atmosphere hung over the hall, making Yan Xiangyu’s haggard appearance look perfectly normal by comparison.

Jin Yan’s information was always up to date. When she returned to the team, she explained in a low voice: “Last night, a third of the people stayed up until two or three in the morning to finish their physical training. Another group couldn’t take it and went back to sleep; the price is a ten-kilogram weight for today’s training.”

Shu Qiong nodded in understanding. Fortunately, her training had gone smoothly, or she would have been part of that miserable army. Poor performance in the day led to extra physical training at night; if that wasn’t finished, the next day meant extra weight. With no time for muscles to recover, it was a total vicious cycle.

Additionally, the instructors had been arriving earlier and earlier lately. Fearing more punishment laps, everyone made an effort to arrive early, terrified of being later than the instructors.

The gloomy atmosphere in the hall was very reasonable. However, the MU team didn’t have that burden. After Jin Yan shared the news, she began gossiping with her teammates while drinking soy milk.

Inspired by Xin Xiuyun, she thought up a melodramatic story about an illegitimate child and a legitimate child happening to be classmates. The story eventually evolved into a high-society love polygon, featuring elements of taboo, affairs, family drama, and various sexual orientation combinations.

They chatted happily, and the air around them was filled with the joyful scent of soy milk, drawing frequent sideways glances from others.

Qin Liang finished his last bun in one bite. “High-society gossip is so dramatic. Does poverty even limit my imagination for trashy stories?”

Shu Qiong swallowed her food and urged Jin Yan to continue.

Yan Xiangyu, wearing a suppressant patch on her neck to prevent pheromone leakage, reminded them: “The instructor is here.”

Shu Qiong checked her wristband. Good grief, it was only 6:40.

The instructor looked at the massive sea of people and the orderly formation, looking somewhat dissatisfied. “Did you all eat your breakfast properly? Did you tidy your dorms? Since you all arrived so early, we instructors have to find another excuse to hand out punishments. It’s very tiring; show us some consideration, will you?”

The students, looking drained, all shook their heads. If “consideration” meant this, it would be a tragic “love until death” situation.

Today’s training got down to business. As Shu Qiong had expected, the instructor counted off the top fifty performers. Another instructor led this group out of the hall.

Of the six members of the MU team, four left. Chang Xichun and Jin Yan, who had been “sniped” by Xin Xiuyun’s group yesterday afternoon, were left behind, watching Shu Qiong and the others leave with longing eyes.

“Envious?” The instructor in the hall chuckled. “If you’re envious, then put everything into your training. This afternoon, another fifty people can go upstairs for shooting training. Work hard and kick the butts of those top fifty! Being in the top fifty isn’t everything!”

Chang Xichun’s eyes instantly turned red. Being in the top fifty really is a big deal. She wanted to do shooting training too. She was a sniper, after all!

Jin Yan comforted her: “At least the Captain and the others can test the waters for us. That way, we’ll have experience when we start training this afternoon and won’t be in the dark.”

Shu Qiong and the others followed the instructor to the second floor, their initial excitement turning into stunned silence. The people in front were blocking the door. The cadets behind shouted: “Why aren’t you going in?”

The instructor herded them inside like sheep. “How about it? Excited for the shooting training?”

Everyone was silent. There was nothing inside!

The second floor was exceptionally empty, forming a sharp contrast with the neatly arranged tracks and combat robots on the first floor. Someone asked weakly: “How… how do we practice shooting?”

The instructor looked at them as if they were hopeless. “Just like this! You are truly the stupidest batch of cadets I’ve ever led!”

“…”

Shu Qiong walked a few steps forward, looking at her toes thoughtfully. Yan Xiangyu, looking pale and feeling too lazy to use her brain, asked her: “See anything?”

Shu Qiong tapped the floor twice. “The floor isn’t simple. The material used is very similar to the sensor material in mecha vision ports.”