After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently (GL) - Chapter 18

A pool of rippling water suddenly stilled. The warmth on Yan Youqing’s face quietly faded back to zero.

She looked at the woman who was now facing her and asked calmly, “Auntie Song, what brings you here?”

The woman replied, “Your mother was worried, so she asked me to check on you.”

This woman was none other than Song Yanxing, Yan Youqing’s stepmother and the chairwoman of the well-known Song Group, a real estate company in City A.

When Yan Youqing was younger, her family’s situation had been far from what it was now. They could not even afford one of the townhouses below the hill.

The three of them had squeezed into a small apartment just over forty square meters. Poverty was not the hardest part. The real difficulty was that her Alpha mother was never home. There were years when she barely saw her. Everything in the household had been supported entirely by her Omega mother, Yan Ning.

Yan Youqing met Song Yanxing for the first time during the summer of her second year in middle school.

That day, Yan Ning had taken her straight from school to the most luxurious hotel in City A. She told her daughter that from now on, Auntie Song would be taking care of them.

That very night, they moved out of their cramped apartment, and Yan Youqing never saw her Alpha mother again.

Even now, she had no idea where that woman was.

The memory flashed through her mind. Yan Youqing’s expression remained calm as she replied, “I’m doing fine on my own. Please tell my mother there’s no need to worry.”

But Song Yanxing wasn’t so easily dismissed.

“Your mother and I checked the home security system,” she said. “There was a man-made power outage here around eight o’clock the night before last. After that, the pheromone detector in your room reported an abnormal spike.”

Yan Youqing’s calm gaze faltered slightly.

She hid it well, but Song Yanxing, who had spent years in the business world, caught it immediately.

Song rested her hands calmly but commandingly on her knees and continued, “Yes, checking the system and installing pheromone detectors might have been a violation of your privacy. But your mother is concerned about you. You are an Omega living alone. If something dangerous were to happen, this kind of system could save your life.”

Her voice was steady, without warmth or urgency.

Whatever darkness had passed through Yan Youqing’s eyes slowly faded. She replied with indifference, “I was feeling unwell. To make things easier, I turned off the power and went upstairs to rest. I didn’t expect my heat to arrive early.”

Song Yanxing nodded and reminded her, “Your mother is due to give birth next month. Don’t make her worry unnecessarily.”

“She said she misses you today. I’ll send the driver to pick you up this weekend.”

She didn’t ask whether Yan Youqing had time. She didn’t ask what had happened to her during the blackout. It was delivered like a formality.

Yan Youqing did not argue. She quietly accepted the arrangement. “Alright.”

Song gave an approving nod. She glanced once more at Yan Youqing sitting across from her, then rose from the sofa.

“Dinner is ready. The housekeeper prepared it before I arrived. The weather is getting colder, so I won’t keep you any longer.”

“Okay,” Yan Youqing responded politely. She walked her to the door and watched her leave.

The heavy front door closed with a dull thud. Yan Youqing stood alone at the entrance, facing the large and empty house. Her eyes held a dimness that even the lights could not wash away.

Even though the weather had already turned to autumn, the food was still warm, thanks to the temperature-controlled interior.

She sat down at the table and took a bite. Her dark eyes slowly drifted to the upper corner of the room across from her.

There, a small device shaped like a security camera glowed faintly red. It was constantly monitoring the air around the house, twenty-four hours a day.

It was a pheromone detector. Every corner of this white villa was fitted with one.

Yan Ning and Song Yanxing both said it was for her safety since she lived alone.

But no one noticed the alert until three days after it happened. Song Yanxing had only come to visit after being asked.

What if something really had happened that night?

Yan Youqing stared at the detector that had been forcibly labeled as an act of “care.” Her eyes were deep and unreadable.

For some reason, she suddenly thought of Chi Yan’s father, Chi Xufeng, whom she had seen at the hospital yesterday.

He was wearing a white lab coat, and there was a pen stuck in his messy hair.

He had looked worn out and in a hurry.

Yan Ning would never be like that.

She always had to look polished and composed. Even if the world were about to end in the next moment, she would still carry herself with elegance and grace, never allowing anyone to see the hardships she had endured in the past.

Tonight’s food might not have suited Yan Youqing’s taste. Even though the portions were not large, she did not finish them.

The warm dishes were still sitting on the table, but she had already walked away.

The hot porridge, freshly scooped from the rice cooker, gave off slow steam that was gradually taken away by the cool air of early evening.

Time had a way of slowing down during certain moments.

When Yan Youqing finished her homework, the minute hand reached the number three on the wall clock. But in this case, the three meant it was seven fifteen.

Her phone screen looked busy but also strangely empty.

Messages in different group chats kept popping up and disappearing, constantly being pushed up and down. But at the very top, one awkward-looking profile picture remained completely still. The last message stayed frozen from the night before: “Don’t stay up too late. Get some rest.”

The night outside was quiet. In the stillness of the room, the phone screen dimmed as she pressed the button to turn it off.

But just a moment later, the screen lit up again on its own, accompanied by a series of vibrations.

Yan Youqing looked down. The bright light of the screen lit up her eyes.

It was Chi Yan, calling earlier than expected, just like always, never following the usual rules.