After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently (GL) - Chapter 5
Even though the school gate was still bustling with people and cars, Chi Yan felt like everything around her had gone completely quiet.
Yan Youqing was staring straight at her, her expression calm, as if she had just accepted Chi Yan’s invitation.
But that hadn’t been an invitation.
She had been mocking her.
Could the clever, socially sharp top student Yan Youqing really not tell the difference?
This wasn’t the place to lose her temper. Chi Yan really wanted a cigarette to calm herself down.
But when her hand instinctively reached into her pocket, she remembered that at seventeen, she hadn’t even started smoking yet. Her oversized school uniform pocket had everything in it except a lighter or cigarettes.
Even more annoying.
Just then, something small wrapped in flashy plastic passed into her view.
Yan Youqing had somehow produced a lollipop out of nowhere and was handing it to her with a calm expression. “Here.”
Chi Yan stared at the childish-looking candy, then looked up at the girl behind it.
Yan Youqing’s gaze was slightly lowered, but her eyes still fixed directly on her, just like when she sat on the back of the bike. Those dark irises held a soft glimmer, cool and detached, but with a faint hint of… was that flattery?
Was she trying to bribe her?
Chi Yan pressed her lips together without a word.
Honestly, if she couldn’t smoke, a lollipop would probably do. Her current body didn’t have a nicotine addiction anyway.
A couple of quiet coughs broke through the noise at the school gate and reached Chi Yan’s ears.
She glanced sideways and saw Yan Youqing still holding onto her jacket. Her slender fingers were pale and bloodless. Chi Yan silently grumbled in her mind. Typical Omega—so physically weak.
Two seconds later, Yan Youqing’s hand was suddenly empty.
The cool breeze brushed past her fingertips as the strawberry-flavored lollipop ended up in Chi Yan’s hand.
The bike shifted slightly as Chi Yan settled back onto the seat.
She unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth with practiced ease, speaking coldly to the person behind her. “I’m only taking you as far as my house. You can walk the rest of the way on your own.”
The sweet strawberry flavor melted into the air as the candy blurred her voice, giving her usual cold tone a slight muddled softness.
Looking at Chi Yan’s shadow falling over her, Yan Youqing nodded calmly. “Alright.”
“And another thing,” Chi Yan added, pulling Yan Youqing’s hand away from her waist and speaking seriously, though completely making things up. “Just hold onto the seat. I’m not going to let you fall off. This is my only school uniform. If you mess it up, I’m going to tell the Disciplinary Committee that their leader ripped it. Let’s see how you explain that in front of your team.”
As a Beta, intimidation against an Omega could only come through words.
Chi Yan wasn’t sure if her threat had any effect, but she didn’t wait for a response. She pushed off the ground and started pedaling.
The sunset stained the clouds a warm red, chasing the cars along the road. The wind it carried brushed gently across her cheek.
Behind her, the hand that Chi Yan had just touched now rested lightly on the bike’s frame, its pale skin catching a soft hint of pink in the fading light. Yan Youqing’s eyes lifted slightly into the breeze, her gaze fixed on the ponytail in front of her as it swayed in the wind.
She didn’t try to hide her gaze at all, watching Chi Yan’s figure, even as Chi Yan clearly tried to keep her distance.
The strawberry flavor gradually faded on Chi Yan’s tongue, taking with it the lingering itch for nicotine and calming her nerves.
Eventually, the small villa she remembered so clearly appeared in her sight. Its bare, rugged yard stood in stark contrast to the neatly groomed garden next door.
Just like they agreed earlier, Chi Yan stopped in front of the townhouse with the red mountain bike parked outside and said to the person behind her, “Alright, I’m home. You can walk the rest of the way.”
She paused, then added, “It’s not too far, right?”
“I can manage,” Yan Youqing replied quietly and got off the bike without any unnecessary movement.
Unlike the cliché scenes in TV dramas, Chi Yan didn’t stand at the door to watch her walk away.
She pushed her bike straight through the gate without looking back.
The evening breeze swept through the quiet neighborhood, rustling the vines in the neighbors’ yards.
Yan Youqing’s long hair, tied low at the nape of her neck, swayed slightly with the wind, brushing against the shoulder strap of her backpack.
The old iron gate creaked and then slammed shut behind Chi Yan.
Yan Youqing stood there, her gaze lingering on the modest house that didn’t stand out among the townhouses.
In the distance, the muffled rumble of an engine approached. A massive silver car slowly drove past the slope’s blind spot and came to a quiet stop beside her.
The sharp metallic gleam of the Bentley’s silver wings reflected the last of the sunlight.
Inside, voices rose loudly.
“Mom, why didn’t you install the other two screws on the back seat? Do you know how embarrassed I was today?”
“I did it for your own good! What’s there to be embarrassed about? You’re an A-rank Alpha. There’ll be plenty of Omegas in your future. And I’m telling you, you’re in your final year of high school. Stay away from all those Omegas!”
As Chi Yan opened the door, she walked right into yet another round of shouting between her cousin Xu Minxue and her aunt Xu Yongli.
As expected, just like in her past life, they had already started dinner without her. The best part of the fish—the fatty belly—had been picked clean and placed into her cousin’s bowl.
Chi Yan was used to this. She dropped her bag, quickly washed her hands, and sat at the table to eat without saying a word.
While Xu Yongli and Xu Minxue argued, Chi Yan quietly ate her meal.
“But Yanyan is different! She’s an S-rank Omega! She lives up in the luxury part of the neighborhood,” Xu Minxue whined while stuffing fish into his mouth. “Only someone like Yanyan deserves to be with me.”
Chi Yan frowned as she listened to him.
If “Ayan” and “Ayan” were the sparks that ignited her tension with Yan Youqing, then the main reason she could never like her was this, Xu Minxue had spent all three years of high school constantly calling her “Yanyan” like he was chanting a pet name right in her ear.
Chi Yan had no idea how she managed to tolerate it in the past. All she wanted now was to finish her meal quickly and get back to the peace and quiet of her room.
Chi Yan only wanted to eat her dinner in peace, but Xu Minxue clearly wasn’t going to let that happen.
Out of nowhere, a crumpled paper ball flew across the table and landed on top of her head. It reeked of fish, and bits of minced fish stuck to her hair as the greasy paper slid off.
Xu Minxue, full of bluster only when he was at home, stared at her from across the table with a furious expression.
“You really have the nerve to sit there and eat? You ruined everything for me today!”
Chi Yan stopped moving. Her hand tightened around her chopsticks.
She slowly lifted her head, her eyes sharp and cold. This time, she wouldn’t be like her past self, silently enduring everything in the name of not causing trouble for her father. She spoke directly, stabbing right where it hurt.
“Why wouldn’t I eat? I wasn’t the Alpha who made a fool of himself in front of Yan Youqing, following her around like a lost dog.”
“Chi Yan!” Xu Yongli shouted before her son could even respond. “Is that any way to speak to your cousin?”
She, as always, turned a blind eye to her son’s behavior, as if she didn’t see the disgusting paper ball he had thrown. Her voice rose with authority.
“This house belongs to the Xu family, not the Chi family. You’re a Beta who hasn’t even differentiated yet. You don’t get to talk back to the two of us Alphas. Either apologize to your cousin or get out.”
Her tone was rude, aggressive, and just as Chi Yan remembered from her past life—someone who treated status as everything.
Chi Yan stared at her with icy calm, then stood up without hesitation. She grabbed her school bag from the sofa and walked straight to the front door.
The warm autumn air rushed in as she opened it, clashing with the coolness of the air-conditioned room. The door paused slightly as she held it open.
Xu Yongli thought Chi Yan was backing down. She leaned against the table, waiting smugly for her to turn around and apologize.
But instead, Chi Yan’s voice came back, low and steady.
“Auntie, if I stop living here, the five thousand yuan my dad sends you every month will stop too. When that happens, my cousin might have to settle for eating fish tails instead of the belly.”
“What did you say?” Xu Yongli’s face froze.
She had warned Chi Xufeng not to mention the money to Chi Yan, so how did this girl find out?
Chi Yan saw her smug expression collapse and smiled faintly.
She had lived this life once already. She knew exactly what kind of person her aunt was. There was no way she would let herself be manipulated again.
Without giving her another word, Chi Yan stepped out into the fading light of the backyard.
The evening wind swept into the small villa, brushing against Xu Yongli’s bare legs and sending a chill through her Alpha body.
The moon traced a half-circle in the sky, casting soft light through the trees onto the parked bicycles nearby.
The dim glow outlined the edges of the small plaza. On the swing set, someone sat silently, rocking back and forth.
Chi Yan hadn’t decided where to go yet. For now, she stopped at the plaza to catch her breath.
She still had money on her phone. Zhong Yi and Wang Chuning didn’t live too far away. She could go to either of them if she wanted.
The early autumn air wasn’t too cold. A mild breeze passed through the bushes, making a soft rustling sound.
Chi Yan glanced at her phone. The messages she had sent her father earlier still showed no response. She sighed.
He must be buried in his research again, too busy to even check his phone. She wondered if he had eaten at all.
The wind circled back, brushing lightly against the back of her neck. Her hair lifted, revealing a small, subtle bump on her skin.
Chi Yan raised her hand quickly and smoothed her hair back into place, covering the spot.
She understood why her father threw himself into research, and she didn’t blame him.
She had chosen to stay at her aunt’s house so he wouldn’t worry. But the money he sent every month like it was nothing—she was determined to quietly save some of it for him, even if it meant dealing with people like Xu Yongli.
A car passed nearby, its headlights faintly cutting through the bushes before stopping in front of a villa beside the plaza.
The sound brought Chi Yan out of her thoughts.
“Daddy, Daddy, can we go again next week?” A little girl hugged a doll almost her size, her twin ponytails bouncing as she moved.
Her father smiled as he closed the trunk, lifting her into his arms. “Of course. If you want to go, Daddy will make time for you.”
“You spoil her too much,” the woman next to him said with a soft laugh, though her face was full of warmth.
So that’s why they were home late. They had been out together as a family.
Chi Yan watched the three of them walk into their home. Her toes pushed into the sand as she slowly swayed back and forth.
The wind blew gently across her thin frame, and suddenly it felt a little cold.
In that quiet moment, she caught the faint scent of something unusual.
It was hard to describe, barely there, almost as if it might disappear if she blinked.
She lifted her head, almost without thinking, and followed the direction of the breeze.
There, standing at the entrance of the plaza, was a familiar figure.
It was Yan Youqing.