Pretending to Be a Scumbag A, But Being Targeted by a Paranoid O - Chapter 7

Host, are you alright? the System asked anxiously.

Yun Shu was abruptly pulled back to reality from her thoughts. She replied flatly, “I’m fine.”

She had already understood Yun Zhengyu’s meaning: she absolutely had to attend Xia Yan’s birthday banquet the day after tomorrow.

Since she couldn’t escape it, Yun Shu planned to simply give a gift, go through the motions, and leave.

This class was an open lecture, and both Yun Shu and Xie Tang were present.

In the short time Yun Shu had taken to answer a phone call, most of the students had already left the classroom.

Yun Shu was in the last row, while Xie Tang was in the first row, so she shouldn’t be able to see her.

Yun Shu secretly hid her face behind her textbook, waiting until Xie Tang left with her book before quietly following after her.

As Xie Tang walked with her book, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in her peripheral vision.

A question arose in her mind: Why was Yun Shu trying to approach her?

Now that she had a different “core,” why would she deliberately try to get close? Shouldn’t they be drawing clear boundaries, keeping their paths separate?

Pure kindness? That was impossible.

Or was it… did Yun Shu have some mission that required her to get close?

Thinking this, Xie Tang suddenly felt inexplicably irritable.

When Yun Shu saw Xie Tang enter the bubble tea shop to start her part-time job, she stopped at the entrance, her heart aching. “She’s working so hard.”

The System recalled Yun Shu’s own grueling schedule: working and studying from five in the morning until eleven at night. She was hardly living an easier life than Xie Tang.

But seeing Yun Shu’s slightly somber expression, the System swallowed its words.

Xie Tang worked until 11:30 PM.

She had assumed Yun Shu would leave, but the fool had actually been sitting on the bench outside for hours, secretly studying with a pen as if she were hiding.

Xie Tang sighed. And she thinks she can hide the fact that she’s been replaced?

The old Yun Shu would never have done something like this.

As Xie Tang was wiping down the counter, a group of drunken men stumbled in.

“Hey, pretty girl, take our order!”

One of them, a bloated man with a face swollen like a pig’s head, leaned against the counter, his beady eyes gleaming like a hungry wolf spotting a fat pig.

Maintaining a safe distance, Xie Tang asked politely but distantly, “Sir, what would you like to order?”

The man’s eyes darted around as he grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. “Hey, pretty lady,” he said, “this old man can’t read. Could you read these out for me one by one so I can pick a good one?”

As he spoke, the other men with him burst into laughter. “Old Li, aren’t you making things difficult for this young beauty?”

Xie Tang gripped the sanitizing wipe in her hand tightly.

She had encountered situations like this before, but the fact that these drunk men were failing to control their foul-smelling pheromones made her expression darken considerably.

Just as Xie Tang was about to swallow her pride and speak, a cold voice cut through the air: “What do you think you’re doing?”

Yun Shu tossed her book onto the nearby chair with a heavy thud, her sharp, beautiful face now radiating palpable anger.

The men turned to see another pretty young woman, their guard dropping slightly.

But Yun Shu’s expression was too intimidating, and it was clear she was a top-tier Alpha not to be trifled with.

They exchanged glances and muttered in unison, “Forget it, forget it. No more drinking. What a waste of time.”

Yun Shu glared at them as they shuffled away.

After the others left, Yun Shu finally met Xie Tang’s clear, cold gaze.

Xie Tang’s complexion was pale as she murmured, “Thank you.”

Her face looked so unwell that Yun Shu frowned deeply. “What’s wrong?”

Xie Tang suppressed her nausea and dizziness, shaking her head.

As an Omega with underdeveloped glands, she was far less tolerant of pheromones than ordinary Omegas. The pheromonal pressure those men had exerted on her earlier still hadn’t subsided.

So uncomfortable.

Even her breathing was becoming labored.

“Xie Tang.”

A pleasant scent of mugwort filled her nostrils. Yun Shu had moved beside her, her body radiating a faint pheromonal fragrance.

Yun Shu’s brow furrowed, remembering her aloof, cold, and unapproachable persona. “If you’re feeling unwell, go sit down. Leave the rest to me.”

Xie Tang shook her head, her face still pale. “I’m fine.”

“Fine, my ass.”

Yun Shu forcefully snatched the disinfectant wipes from her hand, her warm fingertips brushing against the back of Xie Tang’s hand. Feigning a stern tone, she ordered, “Go sit outside.”

Xie Tang didn’t argue further, slowly dragging her feet out of the room.

Leaning against the wall, her gaze remained fixed on Yun Shu.

The usually goofy and carefree woman now wore a dark, displeased expression.

Why is she angry? Xie Tang wondered absently.

She hadn’t truly looked at Yun Shu in a long time.

From the moment she first saw Yun Shu, Xie Tang had felt an instinctive aversion and dislike.

Yet, on that particular night…

The woman’s pheromone still carried the same scent, yet Xie Tang found herself not disliking it.

If Yun Shu’s pheromone had previously felt like a suffocating net threatening to engulf her entirely, now it was like stepping into a cool, air-conditioned room scented with mugwort on a sweltering summer day.

Yun Shu, having prior experience working at a bubble tea shop, quickly handled everything.

When she emerged, she noticed Xie Tang had been watching her the entire time.

Yun Shu’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately asked the System, “Tongtong, did I do anything weird just now?”

The System, currently browsing the bubble tea names, panicked like a student caught daydreaming in class. It hastily replied, No, no, you were great!

Yun Shu finally let out a sigh of relief.

She walked up to Xie Tang, touched her nose, and deliberately hummed, “Let’s get a taxi and go home.”

Xie Tang didn’t refuse. She was genuinely exhausted, her body feeling limp and weak.

She had never felt like this before.

As an Omega with underdeveloped glands, she had never even experienced a heat cycle.

Heat cycle… could this be my heat cycle?

As Xie Tang drifted into hazy thoughts, the pleasant scent of mugwort at her nose gradually intensified.

She glanced up slightly and saw Yun Shu’s brow furrowed. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Xie Tang shook her head, bracing herself against the seat to stand up. But halfway up, she nearly lost her balance and fell. Just then, an arm wrapped around her waist—Yun Shu had caught her.

Xie Tang’s nose brushed against Yun Shu’s gland.

Yun Shu’s gland, still healing, emitted a faint mugwort fragrance.

In the past, Yun Shu had always worn perfume, often carrying the scent of different Omega pheromones. But now, her scent was clean and pure.

Xie Tang inexplicably recalled that night when Yun Shu had shed all her pretenses, marked nearly to unconsciousness, her hands instinctively pushing against Xie Tang as tears streamed down her face, whimpering softly in pain.

Just thinking about that scene made Xie Tang’s bl00d boil with a strange fervor, and she felt an overwhelming urge to sink her teeth into Yun Shu’s pale, delicate glands once more.

Make her hurt. Make her show me that expression again.

Yun Shu remained oblivious to these thoughts.

While holding Xie Tang close, she hailed a taxi, specifying a Beta driver.

The Alpha pheromones had nearly nauseated her when she first entered the club tonight, like standing too close to a filthy trash can.

Yun Shu suspected Xie Tang might have been frightened by them.

No matter what, I can’t let her be exposed to any more stimuli.

The taxi arrived quickly. Yun Shu helped Xie Tang into the car.

Throughout the ride, Xie Tang instinctively leaned against Yun Shu’s shoulder. The young woman’s body ran slightly warm, her skin soft and comforting against her.

Yun Shu didn’t know what was happening, but she felt a sudden heat rising within her.

Silently, she opened the window to let in some fresh air.

The driver glanced back and sped up.

After getting out of the car, Yun Shu surveyed the pitch-black surroundings and suggested, “Let me walk you home.”

But Xie Tang refused her kindness.

“I can get back myself,” she said, her voice slightly breathless. The pheromones from her glands were already beginning to leak uncontrollably.

She couldn’t stay outside any longer.

Something was bound to happen.

Before Yun Shu could stop her, Xie Tang turned and disappeared into the dark corridor of the tenement building.

Out of Yun Shu’s sight, Xie Tang stumbled back to her room, retrieved the suppressant she had prepared long ago, and injected it into her body with a cold expression.

Yet the pheromones continued to surge within her. Xie Tang lay on the bed, her beautiful eyes glazed with moisture. She clenched her jaw, her eyes filled with self-loathing.

Xie Tang, why did you have to be an Omega?

An Omega forever tormented by pheromones.

“Any Alpha could make you like this… How pathetic.”

Yun Shu stood downstairs for a long time, only turning to leave after the light in Xie Tang’s room went out.

Xie Tang’s cold tone still echoed in her mind, leaving Yun Shu in a gloomy mood.

Back home, she collapsed onto her bed, curling up into a ball.

Did I say something wrong again? Did I make Xie Tang hate me? Yun Shu wondered dejectedly.

Xie Tang’s subsequent actions seemed to confirm her fears.

She didn’t come to school for two whole days.

Yun Shu lost all motivation for attending classes, already dreading math and finance.

Her mood remained low all day, her face frozen in a cold expression that, at first glance, truly resembled the Original Host’s aura.

Before attending Xia Yan’s birthday party, Yun Shu casually bought a cute glass keychain from a luxury boutique.

She didn’t know Xia Yan well, but the girl’s constant pink and frilly outfits suggested she’d appreciate such a gift.

Xia Yan’s birthday party was lively, with the birthday girl herself radiating brilliance. She had invited many Alphas who admired her, all to provoke Yun Shu.

When Yun Shu arrived, Xia Yan pretended not to notice her.

“Happy birthday,” Yun Shu said, turning to leave without waiting for a response, as if attending the party were merely a chore.

This gesture infuriated Xia Yan even more. She hurled Yun Shu’s gift at her, her eyes red with anger. “Who wants your stupid present?”

Yun Shu didn’t even flinch. The gift box sliced across her forehead, drawing a line of bright red bl00d that trickled down her pale cheek.