A White Cloud (GL ABO) - Chapter 32 (2)

Outside the basketball court, Tomb Cheng passed these girls.

She stood frozen, their words echoing in her ears.

Was her senior getting engaged?

She went to the peach tree with joy but returned in disappointment.

She didn’t know if Shen Zhiqing would become someone’s fiancée as rumored.

She even feared finding out.

Shen Zhiqing and she were from different worlds.

It was her fantasy, her delusion to reach for a star.

Stars don’t fall to her planet.

Stars never fall or linger.

Stars always move forward.

After finals, a dejected Tomb Cheng, feeling guilty, stored the photos.

She bought a fancy gift box to keep them.

She messaged Shen Zhiqing, wanting to talk, claiming she felt bad about her exams.

Shen Zhiqing agreed without suspicion.

That day, Tomb Cheng wore her cleanest clothes.

Shy to reveal her crush, she took the gift box from her backpack and handed it to Shen Zhiqing.

At not quite sixteen, in a bulky coat, she’d grown almost as tall as Shen Zhiqing.

The weather was cold.

Shen Zhiqing, unsure why Tomb Cheng brought her to the gym, wrapped her scarf tighter, half her face hidden, and looked at her calmly.

Tomb Cheng’s prepared speech faltered.

Stammering, she tugged Shen Zhiqing’s hem, pointing to the peach tree in the chilly wind.

It had many roots but looked bleak in the cold.

She said, “S-senior, I planted this.”

Shen Zhiqing, puzzled, said, “?”

Tomb Cheng’s face reddened instantly, her nose red from the wind.

Clutching the gift box, she hesitated before speaking again, “Senior, I like you.”

Her blush contrasted vividly with the snowy wind.

Shen Zhiqing, looking at the box, didn’t remove her gloves to take it.

She asked, “What’s in there?”

Tomb Cheng’s hands shook.

She lowered her head, trembling. “It’s….”

The cold wind grazed her neck. She shivered slightly.

She admitted, “Your photos. I took them.” Her voice weakened. She didn’t dare look up. “I like you, Senior.”

Shen Zhiqing, suppressing physical discomfort, took the box.

With gloves, she opened it awkwardly.

There were about ten photos from her time at the university—some of her back walking to class, some leaving school, some of her profile talking with professors.

She asked, “You took photos every time you came to me?”

Tomb Cheng nodded, then shook her head. “No, only when the weather was nice.”

Each photo showed Shen Zhiqing glowing, as if light became her backdrop.

Shen Zhiqing felt nauseous.

Panic and suffocation reminded her of the day Fang Qing died.

Fang Qing had said, “Alphas are no good, Qingqing. Don’t follow my path.”

The person before her would likely differentiate into an Alpha, like Shen Zhihe, who heartlessly left his wife during her hardship, or like Alphas who treated others as possessions, or like all Alphas, arrogant and proud.

Shen Zhiqing swallowed nervously.

She didn’t know how many secretly watched her like Tomb Cheng.

She’d kept her presence minimal, yet couldn’t escape malice.

She stumbled backward, fear gripping her.

Her body trembled.

Staggering, she tried to escape, but something restless stirred inside her.

Alarmed, she clutched her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.

Tomb Cheng called, “Senior?”

Shen Zhiqing suppressed her body’s changes.

She backed against the wall, breathing heavily.

A few students exiting the gym glanced at them oddly.

She apologized, “Sorry.” She walked unsteadily inside, passing students, and hid in an empty classroom, her senses screaming to hide somewhere safe, away from others, unable to let anyone near.

Tomb Cheng shouted, “Senior? Senior!” She followed anxiously.

In the equipment room, Shen Zhiqing curled up in a corner.

She knocked badminton balls off a rack.

Tomb Cheng approached.

Her senior seemed frightened.

Nervously, she wanted to explain she wasn’t maliciously stalking, seeking forgiveness. She said, “Senior, I…”

A bang interrupted.

A dizzying scent filled the room, intoxicating.

Tomb Cheng froze.

The scent dazed her.

Her neck burned fiercely.

Pain surged in her body, making her collapse to her knees.

She gripped a basketball hoop, sweating in agony.

The growing bitter cherry scent flushed her face.

The burning at her neck muddled her mind.

She gasped on the floor, sweat soaking her clothes. She said, “So hot…”

She whispered, “Senior…” Still thinking of Shen Zhiqing, she slapped her temple to stay lucid.

Suddenly, a slender hand touched her cheek. In her haze, Tomb Cheng saw Shen Zhiqing kneeling before her.

She asked, “Senior… are you okay?”

Shen Zhiqing, an Omega in differentiation, with red eyes, instinctively leaned toward this cool-scented person.

Her feverish body and reason seemed to dive into a cool pool near Tomb Cheng.

Comfort, ease, and warmth flooded her.

She gasped, “Ah!”

Shen Zhiqing bit the cool-scented spot.

Tomb Cheng screamed in pain.

Shen Zhiqing forced open the gate holding her pheromones.

Tomb Cheng was induced into forced differentiation by her.