After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently (GL) - Chapter 7
Two beams of light illuminated the dim room, making Yan Youqing’s current condition strikingly clear.
Chi Yan looked at the scene in front of her and suddenly understood. Her hand, still holding the doorknob, paused for a second.
It seemed Yan Youqing had just finished a shower. The ends of her damp hair clung to her gray-and-white loungewear, soaking a portion of the fabric.
The loose collar failed to cover her collarbones, and the exposed skin on both sides of her neck and shoulders was faintly flushed, tinged with pink from either the heat or her pheromonal response.
Moonlight streamed through the window, blending with the artificial light. The glow reflected off the glass, and the shifting shadows of the trees outside rippled like waves, giving the illusion of seawater churning just beyond the window. A faint, indescribable scent was slowly spreading through the room.
Chi Yan felt as though her mind had gone blank. The visual and the scent clouded her senses, dulling her thoughts until Yan Youqing’s voice brought her back.
“Sorry. I don’t have the energy to explain the questions right now.”
This was the first time Chi Yan had ever seen Yan Youqing in heat—in both of her lifetimes.
Despite the mess around her, Yan Youqing’s voice was calm and steady. Her expression remained as composed and distant as always, although the fine sheen of sweat on her forehead and neck revealed the difficulty she was enduring.
Chi Yan looked at her, sitting on the ground with her back slouched, and felt her expression shift slightly.
This wasn’t the time to be discussing homework. Did Yan Youqing even realize that her heat had already begun?
Chi Yan casually placed her English workbook on the side table and asked, “Do you have any more suppressant?”
“In the second drawer on the left side of the cabinet,” Yan Youqing answered. Her voice trembled slightly, showing signs of strain.
Chi Yan moved quickly and retrieved the suppressant.
She tore open the packaging and handed it to Yan Youqing. As their fingers briefly brushed, Chi Yan was caught off guard by how warm her touch was. She had always thought Yan Youqing’s hands would be cold, but now they burned with unexpected heat, making Chi Yan flinch inside.
She didn’t understand why her heart skipped in that moment. She was a Beta. There shouldn’t have been any reaction at all.
Trying to shake off the strange feeling, she watched Yan Youqing steady the suppressant and decided she had done enough. She was about to leave.
Just as she turned, she felt a gentle tug at her hoodie.
Yan Youqing’s hand, though looking fragile and lacking strength, had just enough grip to hold onto the hem of Chi Yan’s sweatshirt. Despite Chi Yan’s attempt to stand, the tug remained firm.
She looked back in confusion. “What is it?”
“I can’t hold it steady. Can you help me inject it?” Yan Youqing asked.
Her voice was softer than before. The calmness in her eyes had faded slightly, replaced by a clear, helpless vulnerability.
Chi Yan hesitated.
She had always believed in never taking advantage of someone when they were weak. No matter how difficult her relationship with Yan Youqing had been, and no matter how much she had wanted to see her lowered, she knew what was right and wrong in a moment like this.
She looked at Yan Youqing, kneeling beside the bed. Without saying anything, she ignored the grip on her hoodie and gently took the suppressant from her hands.
“Your forearm okay?” she asked.
Yan Youqing nodded silently.
The bright white walls reflected everything inside the room, projecting oversized shadows of the furniture and the two of them. Shadows that had once been far apart now looked as if they were side by side.
Chi Yan crouched in front of her, carefully taking her limp arm and lifting it.
Yan Youqing’s forearm was thinner than Chi Yan remembered. Without the cover of a school uniform, her skin looked fragile, and the bones beneath her arm seemed delicate—almost too delicate.
Though Chi Yan wasn’t an Omega or Alpha, she had spent enough time in the lab to know how to find the right vein quickly and accurately.
She inserted the long needle into the vein with practiced precision. The pale skin rose slightly around the needle as the suppressant entered.
Chi Yan had often overheard Omegas in her lab talk about how much these shots hurt. The word “pain” always came up when they mentioned it.
And sure enough, just as she pushed in half the dose, Chi Yan felt a sudden weight press onto her shoulder.
Without a sound, Yan Youqing leaned forward, her head resting on Chi Yan’s shoulder, sweat still clinging to her skin.
Chi Yan didn’t like people getting too close to her. Especially people she wasn’t familiar with.
This was pushing her limits.
She frowned slightly, ready to move Yan Youqing so she could lean against the bed instead. But then she heard a faint, tired voice right next to her ear.
“I’m sorry.”
Despite being someone so cold and distant, her breath against Chi Yan’s shoulder was unusually warm.
Her damp hair slid down from her neck, and the scent that had been held back now spread in full. It carried a mix of sea breeze and morning dew, delicate and persistent, surrounding Chi Yan completely.
The reflections of water still shimmered on the window. The fresh scent of dew hung in the air like silver moonlight.
Chi Yan swallowed, her throat dry. The strange emotions stirring inside her left her no strength to complain about Yan Youqing leaning on her.
The waves of heat in the room began to recede, and the suppressant’s effects took hold. The once overwhelming pheromones softened, becoming faint and powerless.
Chi Yan stared at the side of Yan Youqing’s face as she rested quietly against her shoulder. She didn’t move away, accepting the way this person continued to cross her boundaries.
For someone who usually kept everyone at a distance, Yan Youqing was now completely defenseless.
Chi Yan looked at her face again. Without that cold expression, she looked no different from the average Omega at school.
Well, except for being unusually beautiful.
Even though she didn’t want to say it, Chi Yan had to admit Yan Youqing’s looks were hard to ignore.
Her long lashes drooped gently, outlining the curve of her eyes. Her facial structure was sharp yet elegant, carrying a quiet, ethereal kind of beauty.
Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the dark room. Outside, the shadows of trees swayed quietly in the garden.
The room felt even more silent now that one of them had fallen asleep.
Chi Yan remained still, gazing at Yan Youqing. Her eyes held a complicated emotion.
It really was a bit sad. An Omega, alone in such a big house. If no one had been here tonight and something had gone wrong during her heat, no one would know until the next morning.
But Chi Yan wasn’t the type to pity every Omega she met.
Especially not one who lived in a house this grand, a home she herself might never be able to afford in her entire life.
Chi Yan gently placed Yan Youqing on the bed. She didn’t bother cleaning up the things scattered across the floor, but she did take the carpet that was soaked with suppressant and broken glass fragments with her as she left.
The next morning was cool and fresh, but Chi Yan herself didn’t feel refreshed at all.
She hadn’t slept well. All night, she was lost in dreams.
The sound of explosions from the lab kept ringing in her head, and the scent of that Omega—the one wrapped in that unforgettable pheromone—seemed to pull her into an embrace in the middle of her dreams.
Chi Yan tried desperately to remember the exact scent of that Omega’s pheromones, but the moment she woke up, it slipped away like smoke, vanishing into the air before she could grasp it.
She had never wanted so badly to be able to smell an Omega’s pheromones again in this lifetime.
Would she really have to wait five more years? Wait until she got into the Life Sciences Institute, built her own team, and used a process of elimination just to find that Omega?
Outside the window, thick white clouds moved slowly across the sky, floating at eye level. It felt like she was suspended in the clouds too.
Maybe the obsession in her dreams had gone too deep, because even as she stared at the bright sun outside, her temple throbbed uncomfortably, and her neck felt tense.
She couldn’t fall back asleep.
Chi Yan picked up her phone and checked the time. She saw the messages that had arrived just after midnight. Zhong Yi and Wang Chuning had both sent her happy birthday wishes at midnight, and there was also a message from her father:
[Happy 18th birthday to my precious daughter. Dad’s doing great and eating on time.]
Chi Yan looked at the time her father had sent the message—3 a.m.—and couldn’t help but smile.
Sending a message in the middle of the night while claiming to be eating on time… who would believe that?
Still, she didn’t feel like picking apart her father’s well-meaning lie.
It had been years since she last received a birthday message from him. That rare bit of warmth was enough to ease the headache that had been bothering her.
By 6:30 a.m., the sky was already bright.
Not wanting anyone else to find out that she had spent the night at Yan Youqing’s house, Chi Yan got up quietly, changed into her school uniform, tidied up the guest room, and left early without waking her.
Birthdays no longer held any special meaning for the 28-year-old Chi Yan. She stopped by a street vendor near the school gate, quickly ate two steamed buns, and walked into the building.
At that hour, there were only a few students in the classroom—those who were always the most diligent. They stood in the hallway, reciting classical Chinese and English vocabulary.
Chi Yan leaned back in her chair and placed her backpack in the compartment under her desk. The soft, murmuring voices outside acted like a lullaby. She rested her head on the desk, and sleepiness came quickly.
In a light haze, Chi Yan thought she heard someone talking. Then the chair beside her made a quiet noise as someone sat down.
It was just a small sound. Soon, everything around her went silent again, and she drifted deeper into sleep.
Someone gently closed the back door, keeping out the wind and muting the sounds from the hallway.
Yan Youqing watched as Chi Yan’s breathing grew slow and even. Then she opened the workbook that had been left on the desk.
“Hey…”
Zhong Yi walked into the classroom and saw Chi Yan asleep at her desk. As usual, she walked over, ready to mess with her. But before she could say her name, she felt a cool, sharp gaze on her neck.
Yan Youqing had stopped flipping through her vocabulary notes. Her eyes lifted slightly as she glanced at Zhong Yi.
“She’s sleeping,” she said softly but firmly.
Zhong Yi wasn’t sure how an Omega like Yan Youqing could give off such an intense presence. Her hand tightened slightly around the gift bag she was holding.
Maybe she had done too many reading comprehension exercises lately, but something in Yan Youqing’s gaze and tone made her feel like she was being warned. If she woke Chi Yan up, there would be consequences.
Driven by instinct, Zhong Yi nodded quickly and whispered, “Okay.” She quietly gave up on bothering Chi Yan and walked to her seat in the front row.
As morning study drew closer, more students arrived. The classroom became lively and filled with chatter.
Yan Youqing listened to the voices spreading from the front to the back of the room. She turned her head to check on Chi Yan again.
She was still sleeping soundly. Her breathing was steady, undisturbed by the noise.
Chi Yan’s face was slightly tilted toward Yan Youqing. Sunlight streamed in from the nearby window and fell across the loose strands of her hair. Her long lashes rested against her cheeks, and her face looked clean and calm. She was beautiful in a quiet, unassuming way.
Yan Youqing sat silently, staring at her. So focused that she didn’t notice someone approaching from the back door.
A loud thud broke the quiet.
A thermos was dropped onto Chi Yan’s desk. Xu Minxue stood in front of Yan Youqing’s desk and shouted, “Hey! Stop sleeping. Where did you go last night? My mom couldn’t find you. She didn’t sleep at all. Do you know that?”
Chi Yan wasn’t great with mornings.
What annoyed her even more was the strange, unpleasant scent clinging to Xu Minxue. It was hard to describe but very irritating.
Still leaning on her desk, Chi Yan didn’t offer any explanation. She simply asked, “What do you want?”
Xu Minxue didn’t actually care where Chi Yan had gone. She was just here to pass along a message.
“My mom knows it’s your birthday today,” she said. “She made your favorite dragon beard noodles. She told me to tell you she’s cooking a full meal tonight to celebrate. So be sure to come home after school.”
“Okay,” Chi Yan said, her eyes lowered, clearly uninterested.
She had already guessed that Xu Yongli would use her birthday as a way to mend their relationship.
It was exactly what she had expected.
Once she finished delivering the message, Xu Minxue noticed Yan Youqing sitting next to Chi Yan. Trying to act cool, she added in a joking tone, “You better come home tonight, Ayan. Or I’ll beat you up.”
Chi Yan didn’t react. She continued inspecting the breakfast container, replying with another flat, “Okay.”
The classroom noise didn’t slow down because of Xu Minxue’s arrival, and his overly dramatic exit didn’t stir any reaction either.
Only Zhong Yi, sitting near the front, had overheard the entire exchange. Her eyes lit up, and under Yan Youqing’s quiet stare, she slowly turned her head like she had just discovered something interesting.
It had to be said, Xu Yongli might be an Alpha, but she was an exceptional cook.
Chi Yan quietly finished the noodles she had been given while the rest of the class prepared for the morning session. Then, from just above her head, a voice floated down with a soft laugh.
“Ayan, where did you stay last night if you didn’t go home?”