After Differentiating into an Alpha, I Marked My Love Rival - Chapter 27

“Yongshu?”

Meng Chuyu was in the middle of a conversation when she turned to find Ji Yongshu staring intently downstairs, seemingly fixated on something unknown.

She called out several times, but Ji Yongshu remained oblivious, her gaze locked below with an inscrutable expression that inexplicably made Meng Chuyu feel a hint of danger emanating from her.

When her calls went unanswered, Meng Chuyu nudged Gu Yiyi with her chin before following Ji Yongshu’s line of sight downward. After scanning the crowd, she quickly spotted a familiar figure.

“Huh?” Meng Chuyu leaned forward slightly, her expression a mix of confusion and excitement. After scrutinizing the person below, she murmured, “Why is she here too?”

Was the world really this small?

Gu Yiyi, still struggling to process Ji Yongshu’s recent differentiation into an Alpha, frowned as she watched the two of them act in ways she couldn’t comprehend. She followed their gaze but failed to recognize anyone familiar.

It wasn’t surprising she didn’t spot Jiang Zhiluo—the crowd downstairs was dense, and Gu Yiyi had only seen Jiang Zhiluo once before, and even then, it had been from a distance.

So, she completely missed Jiang Zhiluo’s presence.

“What exactly are you two looking at?”

By then, Ji Yongshu had already withdrawn her gaze. She bent to place her wine glass on the table, then casually pulled a tissue from the side and began meticulously wiping her fingertips.

Gu Yiyi watched Ji Yongshu’s wine-dampened fingers for a moment before clenching her fists slightly on her lap, her thoughts unreadable.

Ji Yongshu’s lapse had been momentary. Now, she was perfectly composed again, reclining against the sofa. After drying her fingers, she tossed the tissue into the trash bin with effortless ease, as if the person who had been fixated on the Omega downstairs moments ago wasn’t her at all.

Meng Chuyu stared for a while longer before clicking her tongue. “Didn’t expect to run into her here.”

Gu Yiyi’s frown deepened. She tore her gaze away from Ji Yongshu and turned to Meng Chuyu. “Who exactly are you talking about?”

Only then did Meng Chuyu reluctantly pull her eyes away from the Omega’s striking face, a faint trace of regret lingering in her heart.

“I’m talking about—”

Before she could finish, an overwhelming pressure suddenly bore down on her.

The sharp, liquor-laced scent of peaches crashed over her like a tidal wave, pressing down like a mountain and stealing her breath.

Meng Chuyu gaped at Ji Yongshu, the reality finally sinking in—her friend had truly differentiated into an Alpha.

What she never expected, however, was for Ji Yongshu to use pheromones against her.

Instinctively, Meng Chuyu summoned her own Alpha pheromones to resist the pressure, but the suffocating sensation barely eased. Still, it didn’t escalate further—Ji Yongshu wasn’t trying to torment her, only to silence her.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Meng Chuyu finally realized that Ji Yongshu didn’t want Gu Yiyi to know about this.

The question was whether she simply didn’t want Gu Yiyi to find out, or if she didn’t want the matter to be spread at all.

Gu Yiyi hadn’t caught the sweet peach scent in the air. When an Alpha used pheromones to target someone, they could ensure only that specific person detected it, leaving others completely unaware.

Seeing Meng Chuyu abruptly stop mid-sentence and stare oddly at Ji Yongshu, Gu Yiyi tensed, her mind racing with wild guesses.

After taking a deep breath, Gu Yiyi forced a teasing tone. “Who is it? Why stop talking? Can’t I know who it is?”

“Don’t tell me it’s someone connected to Yongshu?”

Her words carried a probing edge. At this, Ji Yongshu lowered her eyes, her fingers resting on her thigh tapping lightly, the tiny diamonds on her nails glinting under the light.

She remained silent, while Meng Chuyu burst into laughter, genuinely amused by Gu Yiyi’s assumption. “What nonsense are you thinking?”

“If Yongshu actually had someone ambiguous in her life, Aunt Bai wouldn’t be so anxious.”

Gu Yiyi’s clenched fingers relaxed slightly, and she exhaled silently in relief, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Can you blame me for overthinking? You two were being so secretive.”

“Now, can you tell me who you were looking at earlier?”

Meng Chuyu rubbed the tip of her nose. “No one important. Just an old flame of mine.”

The moment the words left her mouth, the overwhelming sweet peach scent coiled around her again. Her body grew heavy, as if weighed down by iron, her heartbeat slowing under the oppressive force, rendering her immobile.

Meng Chuyu cursed inwardly, regretting her poorly thought-out excuse.

Why had Ji Yongshu called off her engagement with Zhou Yi?

Because Zhou Yi had fallen for someone else—Jiang Zhiluo.

Jiang Zhiluo was Ji Yongshu’s rival, the third party who had ruined her marriage. There was no doubt Ji Yongshu harbored resentment toward her.

How could she call Jiang Zhiluo an old flame?

She should’ve called her an enemy instead!

Meng Chuyu knew she had misspoken, but there was no way to take it back. She could only drink in silence, enduring the suffocating pressure of another Alpha’s pheromones.

She thought she had guessed Ji Yongshu’s thoughts correctly, but she failed to consider the deeper meaning behind Ji Yongshu’s actions.

Ji Yongshu slowly withdrew her pheromones, pressing a knuckle beneath her nose to mask her earlier lapse in composure.

This wasn’t right.

She had acted too impulsively.

Ji Yongshu refused to dwell on why Jiang Zhiluo was here. Instead, she nudged Meng Chuyu beside her with the tip of her crossed foot, tilting her chin when the Alpha looked over. “Pour me a drink.”

Meng Chuyu immediately obliged, not only filling her glass but presenting it to Ji Yongshu with both hands. “Here you go!”

Gu Yiyi watched their strange interaction, convinced Meng Chuyu had lied to her.

If she had really been looking at an old flame, why had Ji Yongshu reacted so strongly?

Gu Yiyi was certain she hadn’t misread the situation—Ji Yongshu had clearly been displeased earlier, especially when she stared unblinkingly downstairs. The icy aura radiating from her had genuinely frightened Gu Yiyi.

If someone had told her that the person Ji Yongshu was looking at wasn’t just Meng Chuyu’s ex-lover but her sworn enemy, Gu Yiyi would have believed it without hesitation.

Yet she couldn’t explain why Ji Yongshu had been so visibly shaken that she nearly spilled her drink. Who on earth could command such intense attention from Ji Yongshu?

Frowning, Gu Yiyi scrutinized the crowd downstairs once more but still found nothing out of the ordinary.

Could she really have been overthinking it?

The three of them continued drinking together, with Gu Yiyi pestering Ji Yongshu about secondary differentiation.

What she truly wanted to ask was where the Omega pheromones on Ji Yongshu had come from during Old Madam Xie’s banquet.

But Ji Yongshu had been distant all evening, her stunningly cold features laced with an aloof chill. The occasional glance she cast Gu Yiyi’s way felt like she was looking at a complete stranger.

This version of Ji Yongshu made Gu Yiyi too afraid to pry further.

Still, having been friends for so many years, Gu Yiyi knew Ji Yongshu wasn’t angry with her—she was simply in a bad mood.

Whenever Ji Yongshu felt low-spirited or disinterested, she couldn’t even be bothered to maintain a polite smile.

Her exquisitely deep-set eyes carried an overwhelming allure, reminiscent of a lavish peony in full bloom when she smiled.

But the moment that warmth faded, her gaze turned into a flower blooming atop a snow-capped peak, carrying a biting wind so frigid it seemed to freeze one’s bl00d.

Gu Yiyi didn’t dare irritate Ji Yongshu at a time like this.

Beyond her concern as a friend, she also didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the person she admired.

She had always presented herself to Ji Yongshu as lively yet restrained—knowing her limits and maintaining courtesy.

She absolutely couldn’t ruin the image she had carefully cultivated in Ji Yongshu’s mind.

And so, Gu Yiyi missed her chance to uncover the truth.

Ji Yongshu had stopped paying attention to the Omega downstairs, but Meng Chuyu kept stealing glances, though she no longer dared to mention Jiang Zhiluo outright. Still, she subtly monitored the woman’s movements from the corner of her eye.

“Huh…”

Meng Chuyu let out an involuntary sound of surprise before quickly clamping her mouth shut.

Ji Yongshu, however, caught that faint note of confusion. After a pause, she discreetly looked downstairs again.

The Omega who had been sitting at the center of the bar counter was now nowhere to be seen.

Ji Yongshu’s brows furrowed.

Earlier, she hadn’t spotted Jiang Zhiluo’s bodyguard nearby—had the Omega come here alone?

Though many bars nowadays weren’t as chaotic as before, Omegas were still vulnerable. There was always a risk someone might break the law and use pheromones to coerce them.

That was why Omegas usually visited bars in groups.

Ji Yongshu had assumed Jiang Zhiluo would at least bring her bodyguard.

Where had the Omega gone so suddenly? Had she left? Gone to the restroom? Or perhaps…

Ji Yongshu snapped out of her thoughts and scanned the crowd with her gaze. After confirming Jiang Zhiluo was indeed missing, she let out a heavy sigh.

Before she could ponder further, Meng Chuyu suddenly exclaimed, “Sh1t!”

Gu Yiyi was startled by her dramatic reaction and snapped irritably, “What’s wrong with you now? Did you spot another one of your ex-lovers?”

But Meng Chuyu didn’t answer. Instead, she sneakily glanced at Ji Yongshu, as if hinting at something.

Ji Yongshu lowered her eyes and looked again—sure enough, she spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

It was Zhou Yi.

The scene felt eerily familiar to her.

The last time Meng Chuyu had brought her here to catch someone cheating, it had played out almost exactly like this.

So, Jiang Zhiluo had lied about going to sleep, sneaking out alone to a bar at night… just to meet Zhou Yi?

A mocking smile flickered in Ji Yongshu’s eyes.