I Marked My Arch-Nemesis Omega - Chapter 43

The semester was already halfway through, nearing winter break, and Sheng Yu hadn’t expected time to pass so quickly. On Monday morning, when she bumped into Liao Keke, she was momentarily stunned—it felt like ages since they’d last spoken.

“Sheng Yu,” Liao Keke greeted her. “Are you coming to my birthday party on Saturday? It’s my last birthday in high school, so I want to invite some people out to celebrate.”

Sheng Yu thought for a few seconds. “Who else is going?”

“Some from our class and a few Omegas,” Liao Keke replied, lowering her voice. “I’ve fallen for an Omega.”

“Our Alpha class is so far from the Omega class,” Sheng Yu said, slightly surprised.

“But we eat together in the cafeteria,” Liao Keke countered.

“Does this person like you back? Are you planning to confess?” Sheng Yu asked curiously.

“We’re not that close yet—just exchanged contact info and chatted a couple of times,” Liao Keke admitted sheepishly. “So, are you coming?”

“Alright.”

Sheng Yu wasn’t particularly keen on going, but she figured this might be her last chance to attend Liao Keke’s birthday party.

“I’ll let you know the details once I finalize them.”

“Sure,” Sheng Yu nodded.

As soon as Sheng Yu took her seat in class, someone rushed in excitedly: “Hey, have you guys heard? We’re going to war with Xitaya!”

“Seriously?”

“I just heard Jiang Di and Wu Ye talking about it at the snack shop. It’s probably true. The news will announce it soon anyway.”

“So what if we go to war? What does it have to do with us?”

“How can it not? Look at the Beta curriculum—we’ll probably end up on the battlefield too.”

“Not everyone will be sent to the front lines. There’ll be assessments. If you don’t want to go, just fail them on purpose.”

“Betas probably won’t be sent to the most dangerous zones. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind going. The benefits Alphas get are so tempting.”

Sheng Yu rested her chin on her hand, listening to the class debate the topic. Opinions varied, but everyone seemed intrigued. Even Zhang Yunsu and the others joined in, though Bai Ying looked like she was on the verge of tears again.

The only exception was her deskmate, Fu Lian, who sat expressionless, watching the discussions unfold.

“You’re usually so talkative. Don’t you have any thoughts on this?” Sheng Yu asked.

“Neither do you,” Fu Lian retorted, straightening up. “Besides, what’s there to say? It is what it is. Whether we go or not isn’t up to us.”

Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow.

Fu Lian slumped back onto the desk, burying her face in her arms, clearly done with the conversation.

Zhang Yunsu turned to Sheng Yu. “Do you think we stand a chance?”

“No idea. How could I possibly know?” Sheng Yu replied, still propping her chin on her hand. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing much. It’s just that this war feels so sudden. Before, it was always them provoking us at the border, and we’d retaliate. But this time…” Zhang Yunsu took a deep breath. “I’ve never even heard of any conflicts between us and Xitaya.”

“Xitaya is so close to us, and they have all those rare resources…” Sheng Yu mused idly. “Envy is only natural.”

“Shh.”

Sheng Yu chuckled, “What are you afraid of? No one here is stupid.”

“The peace treaty with the Alliance expires in ten years,” Zhang Yunsu’s voice dropped even lower. “Do you think they’ll renew it this time?”

Sheng Yu also lowered her voice, “Xitaya’s rare resources are perfect for manufacturing mechs. The last renewal was forced by the Alliance… The Alliance hasn’t fought a war in a long time, so their current strength is unclear. Who knows if they’ve grown weak from prolonged peace?”

“If we can successfully conquer Xitaya this time… the Empire’s power might see a boost. And now, even Betas are being trained. Although there have always been Betas in the military, it’s never been to this extent—almost universal training. Who else besides the Alliance would push the Empire to take such measures?”

Zhang Yunsu pressed her lips together. “Why go this far…?”

Though she wanted to fight on the battlefield, not like this.

“Alright, don’t overthink it. The future is unpredictable. Maybe Xitaya won’t even be a match for us.”

Zhang Yunsu: “…”

“Just stop talking,” Zhang Yunsu muttered, realizing Sheng Yu’s words were nothing but trouble. If anyone else overheard, the implications wouldn’t be good.

Sheng Yu laughed.

By noon, the news of the Empire’s impending war with Xitaya had spread throughout the school. Everyone was discussing it, and some were even eager to enlist immediately—after all, the minimum age for civilian enlistment in the Empire was seventeen.

During lunch, Sheng Yu spotted Song Qing and sat down beside her. “What do you think?”

“Not much. I only heard the news this morning,” Song Qing replied, sipping her soup.

“Seems like a lot of people are planning to enlist through the public channels.”

“Pointless. If things get desperate, those types might just be sent straight to the front as cannon fodder.” Song Qing frowned slightly. “You’re not thinking of doing something reckless, are you?”

“My dream is to make easy money and laze around until I die.”

“Mm, that’s good too.” Song Qing nodded. She couldn’t persuade everyone, nor could she reveal certain truths. All she could do was advise those around her. Sometimes she thought of herself as a good person; other times, she felt like a cold-blooded bystander.

At the next table, a group was enthusiastically debating enlistment. Sheng Yu glanced at Song Qing and noticed her mood darken further.

“Tsk, President Song, everyone has their own fate,” Sheng Yu remarked.

That afternoon, Song Qing broadcasted a message encouraging enlistment.

When Sheng Yu heard it, she frowned slightly. Honestly, she couldn’t make sense of it anymore—just this morning, she had been able to analyze the situation clearly.

Halfway through the broadcast, there was a loud thud, as if something had been thrown, followed by muffled conversation.

“Isn’t this a bit unreasonable? Shouldn’t high school students focus on their studies? Neither Alphas nor Betas meet the standards for frontline combat.”

“Just read it. Besides, this is just enlistment, not immediate deployment to the front.”

“Training for a month before being sent to the front still counts as immediate deployment. I won’t read it.” Song Qing’s voice was tight with suppressed anger.

Another person seemed on the verge of losing their temper, but out of deference to Song Qing’s status, they forcibly held it in. The rest of the content was read by someone else, who embellished it with numerous additions, exaggerating the matter to the skies.

In this person’s words, enlisting through public channels was better than attending military school. But previously, it had been common knowledge that entering the military through an academy was the superior path. This individual was riling up both Alphas and Betas alike.

Sheng Yu noticed that some of their classmates were already swayed. She stood up and swaggered out of the classroom, though few paid attention—they were too engrossed in discussing the matter.

Outside, rain had begun to fall. Sheng Yu stood on the first floor, watching the downpour for a while before leisurely stepping out. The rain grew heavier.

Not far from the student council building, Sheng Yu spotted Song Qing in a pavilion.

Song Qing stood there as if lost in thought.

“What are you doing here?” Hearing the sound of splashing water, Song Qing turned to see Sheng Yu entering the pavilion, drenched from head to toe. “Are you insane? It’s pouring out there.”

“I didn’t know it would rain this hard later,” Sheng Yu said, wringing out her clothes as she looked at Song Qing. “Heading back to the dorm to change?”

“Let’s go to my place. It’s closer,” Song Qing replied, her expression grim.

“Sure.” Sheng Yu nodded. “Just make a run for it?”

Song Qing had actually wanted to wait for the rain to ease up, but seeing Sheng Yu completely soaked, it hardly made a difference whether they dashed through it or not.

“Let’s go.”

This was the first time Song Qing had ever done something so reckless.

Skipping class to sprint through the rain with someone else, even scaling a couple of walls along the way.

But she had to admit—it was exhilarating.

Sheng Yu laughed in the rain. “How does it feel, President? Pretty great, huh?”

“Childish.”

“Right, right. Even though you’re doing the exact same thing as me, you’re totally not childish at all,” Sheng Yu retorted, stopping in front of the Alpha dormitory and pushing her wet hair back.

Song Qing grabbed her and hurried inside. “You really are out of your mind—standing in the rain even after we got here.”

“Feels good.”

Song Qing’s dorm was on the third floor—a single apartment with a kitchen, balcony, bathroom, and living room. It was even larger than their four-person shared dorm.

Sheng Yu couldn’t help but marvel.

Song Qing tossed her a spare uniform. “You shower first.”

“You go ahead. My constitution’s better than yours,” Sheng Yu declined.

After a moment’s thought, Song Qing conceded the point and didn’t argue further. “There’s a dryer over there. You can stand in front of it for now.”

“Got it.” Sheng Yu undid a couple of buttons.

Song Qing showered quickly, emerging after just five minutes and handing the bathroom over to Sheng Yu. After drying her hair, she heated two cups of milk and set out some cookies on the coffee table before settling on the sofa to wait.

Sheng Yu took her time. By the time she came out, Song Qing felt like she was about to doze off.

“President, so thoughtful,” Sheng Yu remarked, taking a sip of milk before sitting down on the sofa.

Song Qing ignored her, glancing at Sheng Yu’s damp hair. “You spent all that time in there and didn’t even dry your hair?”

“I’ll drink my milk in front of the dryer,” Sheng Yu said, immediately carrying her cup over.

Song Qing opened her mouth to speak but then paused. “You didn’t actually have to come out, you know.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t looking for you—I just wanted to skip class and happened to run into you,” Sheng Yu replied.

“Fine, a three-thousand-word self-reflection.”

Sheng Yu: …

“Alright then, I was just coming to see you,” Sheng Yu said lazily, standing there. “It’s rare to see you so angry. I had to check out what you look like when you’re mad. Who knows when the next chance would be if I missed this one?”

Song Qing shot Sheng Yu a look and leaned back on the sofa. “Thanks for rendering me speechless.”