You Are My Omega (GL) - Chapter 22
This was the first time Mo Jinlan had asked Lin Xinyi out for something personal. She honestly hadn’t expected it to work. Lin Xinyi had always kept a certain distance from her. Although it felt like things had gradually softened between them thanks to her persistence, Mo Jinlan still believed there was some distance that remained.
Encouraged by her friends, she had hesitated for a long time before deciding to reach out. With final exams just around the corner, she had been telling herself to stay focused on studying and to suppress her feelings for the time being.
Unlike betas, Alphas and Omegas often had arranged engagements from a young age. Mo Jinlan was no exception. Her parents had planned to find an Omega for her and arrange their engagement. But with the help of her older sister, she managed to earn the right to choose her own Omega, instead of being matched through a formal introduction.
She finally stopped Lin Xinyi just before she could wheel Xu Shijiu away. The winter holiday had officially started. If she didn’t say anything now, she knew she would spend the whole break feeling uneasy and full of regret.
“Mo Jinlan, is there something you need?” Lin Xinyi greeted her with a polite smile.
“Um…” Mo Jinlan looked nervous. This was her first time inviting an Omega out. Even when she was following her sister and learning how to invest money in the stock market, she had never felt this anxious.
Xu Shijiu didn’t say anything. Her head stayed low. The happiness she had felt earlier from her test results had already faded. She quietly stared at Mo Jinlan’s spotless white shoes and, without thinking, gripped the blanket covering her legs more tightly.
What was Mo Jinlan trying to do? Did she not know that Lin Xinyi was her Omega? Did she not know that the two of them already had a public engagement?
Why did Mo Jinlan keep showing interest in Lin Xinyi, in someone who was already hers?
“I want to meet with you tomorrow. There’s something I’d like to talk about. Would that be okay?” Mo Jinlan placed a hand over her chest to steady her heartbeat. Her voice and expression were filled with sincerity.
Lin Xinyi hesitated. She had planned to say no, but she also remembered how much Mo Jinlan had helped her in the past. It felt wrong to turn her down so directly.
After thinking for a moment, she gave a small nod. “Alright.”
She had agreed.
She actually agreed.
Mo Jinlan’s eyes lit up with surprise and joy. She held the edge of her jacket tightly and said with excitement, “Then I’ll message you tonight with the time and place. We can figure out the details later.”
“Okay,” Lin Xinyi answered with a smile. As she watched Mo Jinlan’s excited reaction, she felt a little confused. It was just a meeting. Was there really a need to be this happy about it?
But she had agreed.
Unlike Mo Jinlan, who was filled with joy, Xu Shijiu felt like her heart had fallen into a block of ice. Her hands had gone completely cold.
Didn’t Lin Xinyi know what Mo Jinlan was planning? Her attitude had been clear, her words were direct, and her intentions were obvious.
Lin Xinyi was smart. There was no way she didn’t understand.
So why had she said yes? Was it because she had feelings for Mo Jinlan too?
Even after returning home, Xu Shijiu couldn’t calm down. Her mood only continued to spiral.
Xu Manyue held Xu Shijiu’s test papers in her hands. The scores were just above the passing mark, but she was beaming with joy. “I never thought Xiaojiu could actually get scores like this.”
Lin Xinyi was also pleasantly surprised. “The teachers said the exam this time would be harder than usual. I thought Xu Shijiu might not pass. But to our surprise, she managed to pass every subject.”
It was a huge surprise and made Lin Xinyi feel a strong sense of accomplishment. After all, she had taught Xu Shijiu every bit of that material herself.
“When Xiaojiu refused to hire a tutor at first, I was really worried. But I didn’t expect you to be such a good teacher, Xinyi,” Xu Manyue said with a happy smile. She held up her phone and started taking pictures of the test papers. As she clicked photo after photo, she said, “I have to share this on my Moments.”
“This is so embarrassing,” Xu Shijiu said suddenly.
“Embarrassing? Why would you say that? This is great progress,” Xu Manyue replied with a frown. “Your sister doesn’t allow you to talk about yourself like that.”
“Everyone else posts high scores. Mine are just barely passing, almost failing. It’s embarrassing,” Xu Shijiu said in a low voice, her eyes filled with gloom.
Yes, it was embarrassing. She was useless.
When people were gossiping about Lin Xinyi’s identity as a top-tier Omega, she hadn’t been able to stand up and properly defend her. When she finally tried to fight back, she got herself hurt instead. How pathetic was that?
No wonder.
No wonder Lin Xinyi didn’t like her.
No wonder Lin Xinyi would be interested in someone like Mo Jinlan and agree to meet her.
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
Someone like her deserved to be left behind.
“Xu Shijiu, what’s wrong?” Lin Xinyi asked. She could sense something was off. Just a while ago, Xu Shijiu had been smiling and bragging about her scores. She had even said that if she kept working hard, maybe they could be first and second in the grade together. Why had her mood changed so suddenly?
“I’m fine,” Xu Shijiu said quietly, then turned and wheeled herself out of the room.
She didn’t want to see Lin Xinyi right now.
Seeing her only reminded Xu Shijiu that tomorrow Lin Xinyi would meet with Mo Jinlan. Mo Jinlan would definitely confess her feelings.
And if Lin Xinyi really liked her too…
If she said yes…
Then Lin Xinyi would leave the Xu family.
If she ended up with someone like Mo Jinlan, whose family was powerful and influential enough to rival the Xu family, then she wouldn’t need to stay in the Xu household anymore.
And if that happened, then whatever relationship they had would come to an end.
“Xu Shijiu…” Lin Xinyi followed after her, worried and unsure. She still wanted to say something.
“I said I’m fine!” Xu Shijiu finally shouted, unable to hold it in any longer. Her hands gripped the sides of her wheelchair tightly. She really did not understand why Lin Xinyi still cared about her, even now.
If she didn’t have any feelings for her, shouldn’t she be keeping her distance?
How was she supposed to move on if Lin Xinyi kept treating her this way?
She had truly believed that Lin Xinyi was different. She thought she wasn’t like the other Omegas she had known, the ones who used to be close to her. But in the end, it was all the same.
In the end, Lin Xinyi was still going to leave her.
Lin Xinyi was stunned by the sudden outburst. She stood frozen in place, watching Xu Shijiu’s figure grow smaller as she moved away. The happiness she had felt earlier had vanished completely, replaced by confusion and hurt.
She could not understand what had just happened. Xu Shijiu had been smiling just moments ago. She had never spoken to her in this kind of tone before. Why had her attitude changed so suddenly?
Had she done something wrong?
Lin Xinyi instinctively started to question herself.
But no matter how hard she thought, she could not figure out what she might have done to make Xu Shijiu upset.
Xu Shijiu had not asked for her opinion. She had not tried to understand her point of view. She had jumped to conclusions on her own, assuming things without knowing the full story. This way of thinking would eventually become one of the reasons they would clash later on.
“Xinyi, did something happen between you and Xiaojiu?” Xu Manyue set down the test papers in her hands and walked over to ask with concern. “Xiaojiu seemed really upset.”
“I… I don’t know,” Lin Xinyi replied. She was doing her best to calm the emotions surging inside her, but she just couldn’t. The hurt in her eyes was becoming more and more obvious.
She truly had no idea what had caused Xu Shijiu’s sudden change.
“I’m sorry. Maybe something triggered Xiaojiu. Let me go talk to her. Don’t feel bad, alright?” Xu Manyue said gently. Seeing how upset the usually calm and composed Omega looked now, her heart softened. She spoke in a warm and comforting voice.
“Jiejie, if you find out what’s wrong, could you tell me?” Lin Xinyi asked. Even though she was feeling hurt, she still believed that she might have unknowingly done something to upset Xu Shijiu. Xu Shijiu was not the type of person who would lose her temper without a reason.
Lin Xinyi was sure of that.
“This…” Xu Manyue hesitated for a moment, but when she saw the hope in Lin Xinyi’s eyes, she gave in and nodded. “If I can get her to talk, I’ll let you know.”
She didn’t have much confidence. In the past, it had always been hard to get Xu Shijiu to open up.
“Thank you, Jiejie.”
But in the end, there were no answers.
Xu Manyue didn’t even get the chance to knock on the door. She was completely shut out. Xu Shijiu refused to speak to anyone.
With no other choice, Lin Xinyi asked for Xu Shijiu’s test papers and brought them back to her room. She planned to review them and see where Xu Shijiu had made mistakes, so she could help her go over the material and create a more personalized study plan.
Lin Xinyi had always been a strong student. Her thought process was logical, and her explanations were clear and easy to follow.
To teach Xu Shijiu better, she had even gone to Xu Manyue to ask for help contacting a teacher. She shared her teaching method and ideas with the teacher and asked for feedback to improve her approach.
What Xu Shijiu didn’t know was that even outside of their study time, Lin Xinyi had been working hard behind the scenes just to help her learn better.
Normally, Lin Xinyi could write out her ideas quickly and smoothly. She could analyze the test and create a plan without much trouble.
But now her thoughts were completely scattered.
Her emotions were in turmoil. Her focus was gone. She sat quietly, staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. Her mind kept replaying everything that had happened earlier, trying to figure out what had made Xu Shijiu act the way she did.
What had gone wrong?
What had she done?