I Marked My Arch-Nemesis Omega - Chapter 28

The next day, Sheng Yu went to class, but her mood was still sour—either zoning out or sleeping the whole time.

Perhaps because Sheng Yu had remained unscathed so far, Jiang Di and Yin Sheng—one now as quiet as a mouse, last time causing trouble only to be dragged away, the other still stuck in juvenile detention for who knows how long—had emboldened those who previously didn’t dare approach her to start stirring again.

When Sheng Yu woke up during the second class, she found a pile of snacks stacked beside her hand, some even spilling over to Fu Lian’s side.

Fu Lian was clearly resistant, but with so many people coming by, he eventually gave up fighting it.

Sheng Yu yawned as she eyed the snacks. “Who sent these?”

“Want me to make a list for you next time?”

“You can just refuse them for me.”

“Not brave enough,” Fu Lian said coldly.

Sheng Yu propped her chin on her hand. “If you’re really that unhappy about it, you could always move seats and leave this spot for me.”

“In your dreams.”

“Then you can have all the ones on your desk.”

“None of them to your taste?”

“How’d you know?”

Fu Lian: “…”

Sheng Yu ended up distributing the snacks on her desk to others. Since she didn’t know who sent them, she couldn’t refuse directly. Eventually, she stuck a note on her desk saying she didn’t want any snacks and asked people to stop sending them—or anything else, for that matter.

By noon, Sheng Yu asked for leave again, this time leaving school outright. 827 had messaged the teacher, saying the kitten refused to eat.

When registering 827’s information, Sheng Yu had listed the kitten as her “little sister.” So when the teacher heard that her sister was refusing to eat and going on a hunger strike because Sheng Yu wasn’t home, they immediately approved the leave—quick and hassle-free.

That day, a new rumor spread: the Yin family had targeted Sheng Yu’s sister.

When Song Qing heard the rumor, she could roughly guess what had happened. People’s imaginations really knew no bounds.

Sheng Yu returned home, and the moment she opened the door, the kitten darted to her feet, meowing incessantly before flopping onto the floor, exposing its soft white belly, tiny paws framing its face, eyes brimming with innocence.

“Done throwing a tantrum?” Sheng Yu crossed her arms and stared at it, then walked over to check the room. The food in the cat bowl had clearly been eaten.

“After I messaged your teacher, it started eating.”

Sheng Yu: “…”

Sheng Yu: ???

Remembering what Song Qing had said last time, Sheng Yu picked up the kitten and inspected it closely, confirming it wasn’t some artificial construct.

“Did it become a spirit?” She examined it further, lifting one of its legs, but before she could get a proper look, the cat’s tail smacked her hard.

Sheng Yu: “…”

The kitten meowed at her again, claws out, looking fierce—almost like it was cursing.

Sheng Yu set it down and poked its head twice before sitting on the couch. “You think I have nothing better to do? And stop cursing. Learn from me—be more civilized.”

She opened her tablet, and the kitten jumped onto her lap, nudging her other hand aside for being in the way.

Sheng Yu saw a message from Song Qing.

Song Qing: Is the kitten okay?

Sheng Yu narrowed her eyes, sensing that something was off.

Sheng Yu: Why do you have a neural communicator? I took leave to go home—did you do the same?

Song Qing: …

Sheng Yu: Hello, Student Council President. I’d like to report that the Student Council President is secretly using a neural communicator on campus.

Sheng Yu sent over a “dutiful and conscientious” meme.

Song Qing had already anticipated what this person would say the moment she messaged him. Sure enough.

Song Qing: The Student Council President requests that the Student Council President deliver a verbal self-criticism. The Student Council President has completed the verbal self-criticism. The Student Council President deems the self-criticism excellent.

Sheng Yu narrowed her eyes again.

Sheng Yu: Tch.

Song Qing: So, about the cat—what’s up?

Sheng Yu: Nothing. It just refused to eat. After 827 contacted the teacher, it ate.

Song Qing: …

Song Qing: Your cat…

Sheng Yu: A real cat. It poops.

Sheng Yu rubbed the cat’s head a couple more times before letting go, only after the cat swatted at her twice in retaliation.

Song Qing: Are you going to bring it to school?

Sheng Yu: No. Can’t encourage its arrogance.

She’d actually been worried it wouldn’t eat, but now it seemed like she’d overthought it. Why was this cat so sneaky?

Sheng Yu stayed home for the night. When she woke up in the morning, the cat was crouched right beside her pillow.

Sheng Yu: …

“Who opened the door for you?”

“827!”

“It wasn’t me. It opened it itself. It’s good that the little kitty wants to be close to you, so I didn’t stop it,” 827 said from the doorway.

Sheng Yu rubbed her temples. After getting up, the cat continued to follow her around, acting as docile as could be. Whenever Sheng Yu looked at it, it would widen its big eyes, staring at her with a pitiful, helpless expression.

“No need to act cute. I’m not taking you with me,” Sheng Yu said. “I’ll be back Friday night. Eat properly. 827, if it refuses to eat, take it to the vet for nutrient injections. I looked it up last night—it’s similar to human energy supplements, no side effects.”

“Meow!”

“I’ve got things to handle lately. Can’t take you along.” Sheng Yu put on her shoes, glanced at the cat, and finally crouched down to give its head a couple of rubs.

This time, the cat didn’t follow her.

Instead of returning to school, Sheng Yu went to Song Li’s studio.

Downtown in City A stood three skyscrapers—Building One at 87 floors, Building Two at 101, and Building Three at 97. Those who worked here were among the elite of District Eleven. Song Li’s studio occupied five floors in Building Three.

She’d already secured access to the building and headed up to the 65th floor. Last night, she’d dug up a bit more about Yin Sheng.

“You could’ve given me a heads-up before coming. What if I wasn’t here?”

“Then I’d leave it with your assistant.” Sheng Yu leaned back on the sofa, sipping the hot drink Song Li’s assistant had made. It was delicious.

Song Li skimmed through documents while grumbling, “Why not just send it to me from home? Had to come all the way here to use the neural communicator? Are you that free, young miss? If you’re free, I’m not.”

“Remember when you abandoned me on the side of the road? Guess how I got back.” Sheng Yu’s expression was blank.

Song Li: …

“Did you crawl back?”

“Lu Yuanzheng said he’s going to the border,” Sheng Yu leaned against the sofa. “He mentioned there might be another operation. The school has added a lot of physical training courses for Betas that were originally part of the Alpha curriculum.”

“Oh, what do you think?” Song Li raised an eyebrow.

“Not much. No matter how intense the fighting gets, it won’t be my turn to go,” Sheng Yu replied. “I just wanted to ask if you’ve heard any news.”

Song Li tapped the table twice: “News… nothing much. But recently, they’ve been lobbying me again to join the United Council. The Betas are very unhappy about the additional courses for middle school, high school, and university Betas. They probably want me to join and help placate the Betas. I refused.”

“Why refuse?”

“No interest,” Song Li said. “Once you’re in, you’re just a mascot anyway.”

Song Li scoffed: “The United Assembly of the Seventy-Six Districts has a total of thirty thousand seats. Betas hold seventeen thousand of them—seemingly the majority. But it’s useless. Some policies get passed with twenty-seven thousand votes in favor, even though our own internal surveys show over seven thousand Betas didn’t support them.”

“I thought you weren’t interested in these things?” Song Li asked. “What did Lu Yuanzheng say to you?”

“Nothing much,” Sheng Yu swirled her glass. “Just asking casually.”

Song Li twirled a pen: “Who knows what goes on in your head all day. I’m not interested in figuring it out. If you have something to say, say it. Not many people are willing to guess your thoughts, Miss. I’m busy.”

Sheng Yu: …

Sheng Yu stayed silent for three seconds, then stood up and left without another word.

Song Li watched her go and, after a moment’s thought, contacted his assistant: “Escort Sheng Yu. Take her back to school.”

“Huh? Sheng Yu already left.”

“That fast?”

“Yeah…”

“Never mind, then.”

Sheng Yu didn’t return to school. Instead, she went to the Memorial Center.

After someone passes away, as long as some of their personal data is uploaded into the Memorial Center’s system, it generates an AI replica. The more data provided, the more lifelike it becomes. The AI can communicate with you, and if you have the money, you can even order a hyper-realistic robot. Of course, the advertisements claim they’re indistinguishable from the real thing, but everyone knows the truth.

Yet Sheng Yu’s father only had an empty little room—no data, not even a photo. His name was just a single character, “Yu.” There hadn’t even been a funeral for him back then.

Sheng Yu sat on the floor, her gaze distant.

Her father’s surname was Yu. His original name was Yu Sheng. After changing identities, it became Sheng Yu. Now, thinking about it, it really did mean “leftover.”

It was also amusing. After she changed her name, none of the people close to her found it odd. No one asked a single question, as if she had always been Sheng Yu. No one wondered about her father, who had vanished without a trace, or her mother, who seemed like a completely different person.

Some things, if you think too deeply about them, just give you a headache. Unless you can ignore them.

Sheng Yu took a deep breath.

Her wristband vibrated twice. She didn’t need to guess who it was.

Song Qing: Why aren’t you at school again today?
Song Qing: Skipping class isn’t a good habit.

Sheng Yu: I suppose this counts as skipping school. The reason… probably because the student council president lost her authority in front of me yesterday, so I’m not afraid of her anymore.

Song Qing: ……

Song Qing: I’ve finished my 3,000-word self-criticism. Want to come take a look?

Sheng Yu was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter.

This student council president was truly something else.

Sheng Yu: I’ll be back in the afternoon.

Song Qing: Mhm.