I Marked My Arch-Nemesis Omega - Chapter 4

There was a lot of snacks, far more than Sheng Yu could finish alone. She kept two packs for herself and distributed the rest to those around her.

After handing out the snacks and returning to her seat, the class bell rang. Sheng Yu glanced at the schedule, pulled out her textbook, and noticed the person next to her hadn’t even bothered to take out a book—instead, they slumped directly onto the desk.

Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow. This was physics class.

The curriculum varied slightly based on gender. For example, Alphas had some courses aligned with military academies, while Omegas and Betas followed a more standard academic track. Even college entrance exam score requirements differed by gender—Alphas generally had the lowest thresholds, Betas were in the middle, and Omegas faced the highest cutoffs.

Sheng Yu stifled a yawn as she watched the teacher at the blackboard, her head gradually drooping lower.

When the dismissal bell rang, she jolted awake with a start.

“I thought you had nerves of steel.”

“Don’t provoke me,” Sheng Yu muttered under her breath. “I don’t need an Alpha’s help to pin you to the ground and beat you senseless.”

“You?”

“Me.” Sheng Yu shoved her book into the desk drawer and leveled a cold stare. “I haven’t done anything to you, so I don’t know what your problem is. But don’t take it out on me.”

“Sheng Yu, let’s eat!”

“Coming.” She turned toward the voice and saw Liao Keke waiting at the door.

“Let’s go to the second floor of the cafeteria,” Liao Keke suggested.

Sheng Yu studied her for a moment. “How’s Class 1 treating you?”

“Not bad. Not as scary as I imagined, but not as great either.” Liao Keke’s voice was soft. “They asked me for your contact info, but I didn’t give it… They’ll probably ask you directly during lunch.”

“I don’t even have a neural comm. What contact info?” Sheng Yu replied dismissively.

“Sometimes, you need to be a little more diplomatic.”

Sheng Yu patted Liao Keke’s shoulder. “It’s only been a day. How’d you end up like this already?”

Liao Keke gave a wry smile. “No choice. Reality hits hard. Being A-grade lets you strut around in front of most people, but it’s still not enough.”

The second floor of the school cafeteria was essentially reserved for the “elite.” The dishes were pricier, and students could place orders a period in advance, allowing them to skip the line and eat immediately after class.

The second floor wasn’t crowded. Sheng Yu’s gaze immediately landed on the only table that was nearly full, with just two seats left. Liao Keke tugged her toward it.

“Sorry we’re late,” Liao Keke greeted.

“No problem,” the person to Sheng Yu’s right replied.

Sheng Yu disliked the way the group at the table was looking at her—like she was some item on display. She took a sip of her drink, set the cup down gently, pressed her tongue lightly against her upper teeth, propped her chin on her hand, and swept her gaze across the table with a faint smile. “Since it’s our first meeting and I don’t know any of you, how about some introductions?”

The atmosphere at the table instantly froze. No one had been speaking before, but now the silence was even more pronounced. A few exchanged glances, while Liao Keke shot Sheng Yu a worried look.

“What’s wrong?” Sheng Yu blinked, feigning innocence, her fingers on the table curling slightly as if uneasy.

“An introduction is indeed in order, since it’s our first meeting,” the person to Sheng Yu’s right spoke up. “I’m Wu Ye, an A-rank Alpha.”

“How impressive,” Sheng Yu said, her eyes showing just the right amount of admiration. Wu Ye’s lips curled slightly, clearly pleased by the reaction.

It was obvious that Wu Ye was the leader of this group. After he spoke, the others introduced themselves one by one. Among the five, apart from Wu Ye and Liao Keke, the remaining three consisted of two B-rank Alphas and one Beta.

“Let’s eat,” Wu Ye said. “We didn’t know what you liked, so we just ordered randomly.”

“I’m not picky,” Sheng Yu replied obediently.

“That’s good,” Wu Ye continued. “Let’s exchange contact info—it’ll be easier to stay in touch later.”

“My neural interface was confiscated yesterday,” Sheng Yu said with a disappointed sigh. “We’ll have to wait until it’s returned.”

Wu Ye narrowed his eyes. “Song Qing really has too much time on her hands. Why confiscate neural interfaces? Previous student council presidents weren’t this meddlesome.”

“Exactly, making a mountain out of a molehill,” the Beta chimed in. No one else joined in, and Sheng Yu pretended not to hear.

The meal was painfully dull. Sheng Yu had little interest in the topics Wu Ye brought up, which mostly revolved around self-praise in various forms. Fortunately, he didn’t seem particularly sharp and failed to notice her disinterest, likely assuming she was genuinely impressed.

As they left the dining hall, Sheng Yu spotted the girl again. She was holding a clipboard, followed by two others, patrolling the lobby.

“What bad luck,” Wu Ye muttered under his breath.

Sheng Yu glanced at Wu Ye, then back at the girl, quickly piecing together her identity.

“That girl is Song Qing,” Liao Keke whispered beside her.

Sheng Yu nodded. As they exited the cafeteria, she couldn’t help but look back one more time.

Song Qing exuded an icy, unapproachable aura, devoid of warmth. Though the distance made it hard to see her expression, Sheng Yu guessed her face was as expressionless as ever. She wondered what Song Qing looked like when she smiled.

After Wu Ye and the others left, Liao Keke grabbed Sheng Yu’s arm.

“You’ll need to be careful skipping class from now on,” Liao Keke warned. “She’s an A-rank Alpha—you probably can’t outrun her. Getting caught would be bad.”

Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow. “Worth a try.”

Liao Keke shot her a look.

“It’s not like she’ll kill me,” Sheng Yu said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Death is unlikely, but she’ll make you write a self-criticism and have your parents called in. Maybe even force you to run laps.”

“Sounds manageable. My mom’s used to coming to school every other day anyway,” Sheng Yu said, her steps light.

Liao Keke pursed her lips. “The real problem is, you’ll end up on her radar.”

“Either way, I’m sneaking out tonight. It’s Xiao Wan’s birthday,” Sheng Yu declared.

“Then wish her a happy birthday for me. I doubt I can make it,” Liao Keke sighed.

“Got it,” Sheng Yu said with a gesture. “I’m off.”

“Already?”

“Yep. No time to chat. While the president’s still in the cafeteria, I’m making my escape.”

“What about your homework?”

“Have you ever seen me do homework?” Sheng Yu chuckled and walked straight into the grove. “You’d better leave now, don’t just stand there.”