After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently (GL) - Chapter 1
It had rained quietly all through the night. The damp earth carried a faint, woody scent.
Even in September, the roses were still blooming. Their delicate petals hung with droplets of water, drooping over the fence. As someone passed by on a mountain bike, the lingering fragrance of rain and blossoms brushed gently across their shoulder.
The low red-roofed research building was wrapped in the fresh green of early autumn, slowly coming into Chi Yan’s view as she rode closer.
There was still space at the bicycle rack. Out of habit, Chi Yan parked her bike at the outer edge near the flowerbed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette.
The sterile lab environment didn’t allow smoking, so Chi Yan had gotten used to having one cigarette before heading inside.
The flame touched the cigarette, and the red ember burned quietly.
Leaning against her bike, she let the soft autumn wind brush across her cheeks. It felt relaxing and pleasant.
But before she could enjoy even a few seconds of peace, her expression shifted into something heavier.
A black car slowly emerged from the distant greenery and pulled into the space next to her as if it had chosen that exact spot deliberately.
The car stopped smoothly. The driver opened the door and stepped out.
What Chi Yan first noticed was the woman’s slender ankle, elegant even in flat shoes. Typical of an Omega, her natural grace made the required Tuesday uniform of a white shirt and black pants look stylish and fitted. The shirt was tucked in neatly, showing off her slim waist.
Behind her, the courtyard wall was full of blooming roses, yet the sunlight seemed to favor her alone. Her smooth bone structure glowed faintly gold in the light. Her expression was calm, with a cold, distant air that never seemed to fade.
Yan Youqing truly lived up to her reputation as the beauty of the Life Sciences Institute. Just standing there, she made everything around her seem pale in comparison.
If an Alpha had been here, they would probably have been instantly captivated, eager to approach and flatter her.
But Chi Yan was not an Alpha.
She was a Beta—a Beta who couldn’t smell pheromones at all. A Beta who had been locked in rivalry with Yan Youqing for over ten years.
The cigarette burned quietly between Chi Yan’s fingers. She gave Yan Youqing a glance, then lifted the cigarette toward her lips.
Everyone at the institute knew they didn’t get along. Chi Yan had no intention of pretending otherwise in an empty parking lot.
Just as the cigarette touched her lips, a cold and emotionless voice rang out.
“Dean Chi, it’s better not to smoke.”
Chi Yan frowned slightly. Looking at the woman who had once been the class disciplinarian in high school, she asked, “Dean Yan, don’t tell me you still think we’re in high school. I smoke outside to let the smell fade before I go in. It’s not going to affect anything, is it?”
“I heard your project enters clinical trials today. It’s better to be cautious,” Yan Youqing replied without expression. Her voice was calm and distant, with no emotion behind it.
Chi Yan paused. Her hand holding the cigarette stilled, like a snake caught just at its weak spot.
Yan Youqing was right. Today marked the third year since Chi Yan had taken over the Beta gland differentiation project, originally started by her late father, Chi Xufeng. It was also the first day the project would officially begin clinical trials. Nothing could go wrong.
A thin trail of smoke drifted past the flowerbed. Chi Yan quietly extinguished the cigarette on the edge of a nearby trash can.
The wind picked up slightly at ground level, brushing between them. Even the sunlight felt colder with the two of them standing so close.
Chi Yan waited a few more seconds for the smoke smell to fade, then ended the conversation and headed toward the lab building.
Just as she reached for the door, she heard someone call her name from behind.
“Chi Yan.”
It was Yan Youqing.
“What?” Chi Yan replied, her tone clearly annoyed, expecting more trouble.
But Yan Youqing stood calmly in front of her car and said, “Happy birthday.”
Her voice was still cool and distant, but this time, there was a trace of warmth hidden underneath.
It felt like the rose dew from that morning, when Chi Yan had passed the fence and it had gently settled on her shoulder.
After all these years, it was the first time Yan Youqing had ever said happy birthday to her.
And it was the first time today that anyone had wished her a happy birthday.
For no particular reason, Chi Yan suddenly didn’t know how to respond.
She looked at Yan Youqing standing a short distance away, quickly mumbled, “Thanks,” and pulled the door open to walk inside.
The hallway was quiet. Chi Yan’s footsteps echoed softly. After disinfecting, she put on her lab coat and entered the team’s lab.
“Happy birthday, Dean Chi!”
As soon as she opened the door, her team members welcomed her with loud and cheerful wishes.
Because of the lab’s strict sterile policy, nothing extra was allowed inside. A few of them mimed celebratory gestures with their hands, like imaginary fireworks, to welcome her.
Compared to what Yan Youqing had said earlier, this felt far more sincere. Chi Yan smiled and accepted their warm wishes.
“Today’s really something. It’s your birthday, and the day our project enters clinical trials. Dean Chi, don’t you think…” one of the Alphas began, rubbing his hands together with an eager smile, hinting at her.
Chi Yan was one of the youngest fellows at the institute. Most of her team members were around the same age, so their relationship was friendly and casual.
She understood immediately, picked up the volunteer list that her assistant had prepared the day before, and said, “Dinner tonight at Jude House. My treat.”
“Long live Dean Chi!”
Her team cheered with raised arms, smiles bright on their faces.
“Our Dean Chi is way better than Dean Yan. If her team hears we’re going out for dinner again, they’ll be so jealous.”
“Not just that. If today’s clinical trial goes well, we’ll have one more successful project than their team. We’ll be ahead of them by a mile.”
Chi Yan said nothing, listening to her team teasing their rival group. She simply walked to the temperature-controlled cabinet where the trial reagents were stored.
She believed that if her project succeeded, the achievements she’d gain would far outshine Yan Youqing’s—by a margin that might be impossible to close in a lifetime.
More importantly…
Dad, I’m almost there.
Riiing! Riiing! RIIING!
The joy in the lab was suddenly interrupted by a harsh, blaring alarm over the loudspeakers. The piercing sound felt like it could tear through human eardrums and, in an instant, overlapped perfectly with a memory buried deep in Chi Yan’s mind.
The overhead lights flickered erratically as the voltage faltered. The temperature-controlled cabinet lost power, and Chi Yan’s vision dimmed.
The syringes, forced out of their sterile, cold environment, reflected the jittery light like pairs of helpless eyes staring back.
The soft hum of the ventilation system stopped abruptly. Panic flashed across the faces of her team members.
Chi Yan forced herself to stay calm. The first thing that flashed through her mind was saving the experimental data. She snapped out orders.
“Zhou Peng, Awu, start backing up the files! Xiaoqi, Liu Linlin, grab the thermal containers and pack the reagents. Take as much as you can carry!”
“Yes!”
Even though Chi Yan had always been labeled a mediocre Beta, her calm and commanding presence reassured everyone instantly.
The team began working quickly and methodically to pack up and evacuate. But Chi Yan pulled out a chair and began transferring data herself.
“Dean Chi!” Zhou Peng hesitated at the door, realizing she had no intention of leaving.
“You go first,” Chi Yan replied without looking back. “Just one last file.”
Losing the sterile environment could mean starting everything from scratch.
And Chi Yan could no longer afford to start over. She was going to do everything in her power to preserve what they had achieved.
Even if it cost her life.
Zhou Peng knew she wouldn’t be persuaded. He turned and ran, holding a stack of files, the building shaking around him.
The lab door slowly slid shut. On the screen, the progress bar crawled forward, racing against time. Chi Yan stared hard at the indigo-blue bar. Finally, the last file was uploaded to the secure cloud.
Boom!
Crash!
Just as Chi Yan stood to leave, an explosion rocked the building. No one knew which lab it had come from.
The shockwave knocked loose several glass containers from the cabinet. They shattered on the ground, and fragments of glass sliced her arm as she fell.
Bl00d streamed from the cuts, mingling with the spilled liquid on the floor.
Chi Yan braced herself on the cool tiles stained with pale purple fluid, trying to push herself back up.
Thump. Thump.
Her knee gave out, and she fell back down again.
Her heart felt like it was being clenched in someone’s hand, pounding violently against her chest.
The chill from the overturned cabinet seeped into her wounds. Something dawned on her, but before the thought could settle, the pain overwhelmed her mind once again.
The flickering light above cast shadows across her face. Cold liquid clung to her fingers and arm.
Chi Yan knew she needed to escape this dangerous place, but just as she pushed herself up again, her strength failed. She collapsed into the puddle of lavender-colored liquid.
The shrill alarm echoed through the now-empty lab. Her own heavy, uneven breathing filled her ears.
Bl00d surged into her eyes. Her vision turned red. She stared at the lab door—so close, yet so far. As her eyelids began to fall, a flash of light tore through the darkness.
“Chi Yan!”
An urgent voice rang out from the entrance. Chi Yan struggled to lift her head.
Someone was walking toward her, silhouetted against the light. She couldn’t make out their face through the glare.
The ceiling lights continued to flicker. The building trembled.
The person drew closer. A scent Chi Yan had never encountered before filled her nose and rushed straight to her brain. It wrapped around her pain-ridden body and, inexplicably, soothed her wounds.
But it also awakened something deeper, darker.
Thump.
The moment that person reached out to touch her, Chi Yan reacted on pure instinct. Like a beast backed into a corner, she lunged and pinned them beneath her.
Their eyes met.
A pair of eyes, cold and sharp like winter frost, stared into her bl00d-red world.
Unfamiliar.
Yet somehow familiar.
Before Chi Yan could process it, that mysterious scent grew stronger. It clung to her skin and flooded her senses. Her bl00d boiled, and something inside her snapped, every last thread of rationality burned away.
Driven by primal instinct, Chi Yan reached out and brushed aside the long hair that had fallen behind the person’s neck, now nothing more than a hindrance.