After Rebirth, My Archrival Omega Looks at Me Differently (GL) - Chapter 8

As Zhong Yi finished her sentence, Chi Yan paused for a moment, her hand still holding the chopsticks.

The classroom buzzed with voices and the sound of pages flipping. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yan Youqing sitting beside her, completely detached from the conversation, her eyes lowered as she quietly read Chi Yan’s English notes.

Chi Yan, fully aware of Zhong Yi’s sharp and gossipy nature, knew she couldn’t hesitate for long. Within a second, she casually took another bite of her noodles and replied with a muffled explanation, “Where else could I have gone? I just stayed at a small motel.”

As she spoke, Chi Yan deliberately glanced at Yan Youqing, who remained calm and focused on the notebook, and added with extra emphasis, “And I didn’t sleep well because the person in the room across from me was noisy.”

Yan Youqing raised her eyes slightly at those words. But Zhong Yi, knowing how poorly the two usually got along, didn’t think too much of it.

She nodded at the response and placed something on the desk. “Look. This is the birthday gift I prepared just for you.”

Chi Yan could no longer remember what Zhong Yi had given her for her eighteenth birthday in her previous life. She looked at the flashy, over-the-top gift bag and guessed, “Suppressants?”

“Exactly. An Alpha suppressant gift pack.” Zhong Yi beamed as she pulled out three types of suppressants. “Here’s the standard suppressant, here’s a patch, and this one is an S class high-strength Alpha suppressant.”

Chi Yan looked at Zhong Yi’s excited expression with amusement and narrowed her eyes a little. “Zhong Yi, have you ever thought about what you would do if I presented as an Omega instead?”

Zhong Yi was completely thrown off by the question.

Maybe it was because of the relatively calm interaction earlier with Yan Youqing, but she instinctively turned to her. “Um, Yan Youqing, I don’t know if you would be willing but…”

Yan Youqing lifted her gaze and answered without hesitation, “I can.”

Zhong Yi lit up instantly. “You’re really not bad at all, Yan Youqing.” Then she turned back and leaned over Chi Yan’s desk, patting her chest proudly. “Ayan, you heard that. With us around, you have nothing to worry about.”

Chi Yan smiled and lowered her head to take another sip of the soup.

She truly wasn’t worried. Having already lived through one lifetime, she knew with absolute certainty that no matter how much others anticipated or speculated about her presentation, it would never come.

She was a Beta.

Even if the underdeveloped gland on her neck looked suspicious, it was nothing more than that. She was a Beta, and nothing was going to change that.

Just as she thought this, she felt a focused gaze land on her.

Zhong Yi, ever the cheerful foodie, was now staring longingly at her lunchbox. Her round eyes locked onto the delicious scent of Chi Yan’s meal. She said with a pleading voice, “Ayan, can I have a bite of that fried egg?”

Chi Yan looked at her and said teasingly, “This is the birthday longevity egg. You really want to fight the birthday girl for it? Aren’t you afraid it will cut your life short?”

Zhong Yi actually paused, startled by the joke. She rested her head on Chi Yan’s desk, eyes wide with longing as she stared at the noodles.

Chi Yan had only been trying to tease her. Seeing Zhong Yi’s completely unguarded and pitiful expression, she finished her current bite of noodles, then handed the chopsticks toward her. “Alright. Just one bite.”

“Got it.” Zhong Yi nodded quickly.

But before the chopsticks reached her hand, a shadow fell over Zhong Yi.

Yan Youqing looked up at the clock mounted above the blackboard and spoke to Chi Yan. “If you’re going to eat, do it quickly. Morning study is starting soon.”

Her voice was quiet and even, just like a friendly reminder between classmates.

But as she spoke, she pulled a red armband onto her left arm. The sunlight shining through the window highlighted the bold white characters: Disciplinary Committee.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Life Sciences Academy was a well-known presence on campus. It reported directly to the strict and unyielding Director Chen Defeng.

They enforced school rules without exception, serious and thorough, feared by nearly every student.

Zhong Yi saw the armband in her line of sight, and her heart skipped a beat.

She blinked in surprise and whispered to Chi Yan, “Ayan, is she… using her authority to cover for you?”

Then she added, half-joking, “She’s more righteous than I thought. Doesn’t seem as heartless as people say.”

Chi Yan listened to Zhong Yi’s quiet comments and looked at Yan Youqing’s retreating figure.

The red armband that had been so common in her past life was now moving farther away from her. Meanwhile, the breakfast, which by school rules should have been confiscated, sat peacefully on her desk.

What exactly was this?

Chi Yan’s head felt a little heavy. She glanced at Zhong Yi, who was still watching Yan Youqing’s back, and frowned slightly.

By the time Zhong Yi turned back, the bowl was already empty, with only some chopped green onion floating in the soup.

Zhong Yi let out a dramatic cry. “Chi Yan!”

There were less than five minutes before morning study. After their morning meeting, the members of the Disciplinary Committee headed toward their assigned buildings.

Chen Niannian was paired with Yan Youqing today. Noticing the unfamiliar route they were taking, she asked curiously, “Ayan, don’t you usually avoid this hallway?”

“It’s a reverse inspection today,” Yan Youqing answered calmly.

“Nice. Catch them by surprise.” Chen Niannian gave her a thumbs-up, although she still looked a little concerned. “But aren’t you worried about running into Chi Yan’s ridiculous cousin?”

Xu Minxue’s class was located near the stairwell. During the first few weeks of senior year, they had run into each other twice. After that, Yan Youqing had avoided that area altogether.

As if the timing were cursed, the moment Chen Niannian finished speaking, a figure appeared around the corner.

Xu Minxue strolled into the stairwell, humming a song and swinging his water bottle.

He looked surprised and delighted to see Yan Youqing. With a grin, he greeted her, “Ayan, what a coincidence.”

Yan Youqing glanced at him briefly, then turned to Chen Niannian. “You go ahead and get started.”

Chen Niannian was clearly surprised. She looked at Yan Youqing, then at Xu Minxue, unsure of what to say.

She wasn’t sure why, but Chen Niannian felt like there was something unusual about Yan Youqing today. Still, since Yan Youqing had always been someone with her own mind and Xu Minxue wouldn’t dare cross her, Chen Niannian simply nodded and went ahead to the classroom at the end of the hall to wait for her.

Xu Minxue hadn’t expected Yan Youqing to give them a chance to be alone. His eyes lit up with delight. “Youqing, did you want to talk to me about something?”

“Xu Minxue, please use my full name,” Yan Youqing said calmly.

His smile immediately faded. “But I’ve always called you that…”

“I don’t think we’re close enough for nicknames,” she said, her voice cool and emotionless.

The smug confidence Xu Minxue always carried fell apart in an instant. He couldn’t accept her words. “Yan Youqing, is this really what you came here to say? Are you telling me that everything between us over the last two years meant nothing?”

“That’s right,” Yan Youqing answered directly.

Just as Xu Minxue thought there might still be a chance to turn the situation around, Yan Youqing continued, “And I want to remind you to treat Chi Yan with more respect in the future.”

Whatever hope he had left collapsed completely. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

He had always known that Chi Yan and Yan Youqing didn’t get along. In fact, calling her “Youqing” was one of the ways he annoyed Chi Yan on purpose. Now, hearing that Yan Youqing was speaking up for Chi Yan made his expression drop completely.

All the flattery he used to shower on Yan Youqing vanished. He leaned back against the stair railing and sneered, “You said we’re not close. Then what right do you have to tell me what to do? Don’t tell me you’ve got a thing for Chi Yan now.”

Yan Youqing’s expression turned icy. She glanced at him and said, “According to Rule 2, Section 3 of the student code, bullying or harassing another student is not allowed. What I just gave you was your first warning. This is your second.”

She wasn’t much shorter than Xu Minxue and now stood a step above him on the stairs.

The light in the stairwell cast her figure downward. Her lowered gaze was cold, the kind that even the morning sun couldn’t warm.

Omegas were usually the ones suppressed by nature, but at that moment, Xu Minxue, an Alpha, felt something in him recoil. His unruly pheromones instantly quieted like a whipped dog, and a cold wave surged through his fingers, making his spine stiffen with unease.

Yan Youqing checked her watch, clearly not planning to waste more time. From her discipline notebook, she pulled out a letter.

“This is the note you left on my desk two days ago. The handwriting and signature match your class notes. If you don’t want to see it pinned up on the school bulletin board someday, I suggest you follow the rules.”

She knew that for someone like Xu Minxue, having his parents called to school meant nothing.

But public embarrassment in front of the entire student body? That would hit him where it hurt.

The letter rustled slightly in the breeze. The stairwell was already quiet, but now it felt completely still.

Just as she expected, Xu Minxue looked at the letter in her hand with barely contained anger and frustration, helpless in the face of her calm authority.

Sunlight streamed across the stairwell. Yan Youqing’s cold stare shifted into something more detached, as if she were merely fulfilling her responsibilities.

She slowly folded the letter in front of him and slid it back into her notebook. The bell for the morning prep session rang just as she closed it.

Without saying anything more, she turned and left.

Outside the stairwell, the sunlight touched the red armband on her arm. The words Disciplinary Committee burned into Xu Minxue’s vision like a brand.

Her posture was steady and calm. It was as if the entire exchange had been just another ordinary duty in maintaining school order.

In senior year, school assemblies were constant. Not long after the semester started, the third-year division held its first general assembly.

Chi Yan had felt weak and dizzy the entire day. She had considered skipping, but the thought of facing Li Qin’s strict expression gave her a pounding headache. In the end, she decided to attend.

She figured she could just find a quiet spot and nap during the assembly. After all, Zhong Yi would help keep an eye out.

“Ayan, are you seriously going to sleep here? Even Director Chen is here,” Zhong Yi whispered, pointing at the strict Director Chen Defeng in the distance.

“I’ll be fine.”

Fatigue was worse than fear. Chi Yan didn’t have the strength to care. She sank into her seat.

The assembly hadn’t even started yet, and the auditorium was noisy.

Zhong Yi was sipping a cup of milk tea that Wang Chuning had sneaked in for her. Her sensitive nose twitched suddenly. She leaned over and gently tapped Chi Yan. “Ayan, do you smell something strange?”

Chi Yan had nearly drifted off. Being jolted awake made her head feel like it was about to crack open.

She didn’t understand why such a small nudge from Zhong Yi made her whole body hurt.

Forcing her eyes open, she asked, “What smell?”

“I don’t know. I can’t describe it, but it’s awful,” Zhong Yi frowned. “It’s not just unpleasant. It’s wrong.”

“Could be an Alpha with leaking pheromones.”

Even in her dazed state, Chi Yan’s instincts kicked in. ABO biology was muscle memory at this point.

She scanned the auditorium half-heartedly, then raised her hand to brush back the hair near her neck, purely out of habit.

But the moment her hair touched that spot, her expression twisted in pain.

It was just a light touch, but it felt like dozens of needles had pierced her skin.

Zhong Yi noticed something was off and leaned in. “Ayan, what’s wrong?”

“I…”

Before Chi Yan could finish, a wave of dizziness surged through her like a crashing tide.

The same pain she had experienced in her dream struck again with unbearable intensity. The monster she thought had gone dormant in her undeveloped gland began to stir once more.

“Ayan, are you okay?” Zhong Yi panicked, trying to support her as she slumped forward, but found herself unable to steady her friend.

Chi Yan’s senses felt overstimulated. Every voice in the room echoed painfully. Even Zhong Yi’s touch felt like fire on her skin.

Her heart pounded rapidly, loud and forceful, like thunder pounding against her chest. Her bl00d boiled with such intensity that it felt like it was going to consume her from within.

Then it happened, all in a single, terrifying moment. That thing inside her finally broke loose.

A sudden burst of scent filled the entire auditorium.

The sharp, bitter aroma of tequila spread like wildfire. The sting of lime and the overwhelming strength of high-proof alcohol flooded into every nose, invading and overwhelming the senses of everyone nearby.