Chapter 17: Her Lover, the Deceiver

The bus stopped in the central square of An City No. 2 High School. By now, the sky had darkened. Every homeroom teacher was taking attendance, and only after confirming all students were present did they dismiss everyone to go home.

The school had already sent messages to notify the parents, so outside the school gates, it was bustling with traffic and activity.

All around were students laden with bags of all sizes and parents greeting them warmly. Jia Hua’s phone rang a few times. It was Song Qiaoyi calling, asking when she’d arrive and if she needed them to pick her up.

“Mom, we’re at the school already. You don’t need to come pick me up.” Jia Hua held her phone, turning her head to see Zhen Yan silently following behind her. The corners of her lips curled up. “I’m going home with Zhen Yan. Don’t worry.”

Hearing that she was with Zhen Yan, Song Qiaoyi was visibly relieved and quickly hung up.

Jia Hua and Zhen Yan each only had a backpack, no other bits and pieces. They easily navigated through the crowd, walking along the streetlights towards Old Street.

The autumn night wind blew somewhat cool. Jia Hua’s loose, long hair billowed backward in the wind. The dim yellow streetlights shone on Jia Hua’s face. Her perfect profile made it hard for Zhen Yan to look away.

“Zhen Yan,” Jia Hua suddenly said.

It was as if she had been caught daydreaming in class during elementary school by the teacher. Zhen Yan felt a bit awkward, thinking Jia Hua was reminding her not to stare at her all the time. She quickly averted her gaze, staring at the ground: “Mm.”

The autumn wind swept towards them, swirling up fallen leaves from the ground, mixed with street dust. Zhen Yan stepped forward, walking in front of Jia Hua. The two walked one after the other, their slanted shadows intermingling, slowly moving forward.

Walking behind, Jia Hua had her hands in her pockets, her brows furrowing slightly before quickly relaxing.

She looked up at Zhen Yan’s straight back ahead of her, then suddenly quickened her pace, grabbing Zhen Yan’s arm.

Caught off guard, Zhen Yan stumbled slightly before turning to look at Jia Hua, puzzled: “What’s wrong?”

“Do you like female Alphas?” Jia Hua suddenly asked.

Zhen Yan was completely baffled. When had she ever said she liked female Alphas?

Jia Hua: “You want to marry a female Alpha as your wife?”

“Who told you that?” Zhen Yan shook her head. “Naturally, I like… female Omegas.”

Jia Hua asked, confused: “Didn’t you write in your diary that you hated female Omegas and wanted to marry a female Alpha?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Jia Hua instantly pursed her lips and said nothing more.

That remark was, without a doubt, a self-exposure.

“Diary? Hated female Omegas? Wanted to marry a female Alpha?” Zhen Yan repeated word by word. Her eyes took on a hint of amusement. “You peeked at my diary?”

Jia Hua: “…Mm.”

The original owner read it, not me!

Zhen Yan: “Did you notice the dates written in the upper right corner of each diary page?”

Jia Hua pondered, searching the original owner’s memories. The original owner hadn’t looked at the dates, only focusing on the content.

Jia Hua shook her head: “No.”

A faint smile rippled at the corner of Zhen Yan’s mouth. Her eyes, looking at Jia Hua, sparkled with light: “I wrote that in elementary school. At the time, I didn’t quite understand you… Later, I stopped writing. I put it in the box at the very bottom of my bookcase, and you actually managed to dig it out.”

Jia Hua gave an embarrassed laugh: “How come your handwriting back then is the same as it is now…”

Zhen Yan gave her a sidelong glance: “Not everyone neglected to practice calligraphy as a child.”

Jia Hua: “…”

Zhen Yan looked directly into Jia Hua’s eyes: “I like female Omegas, and in the future, I will only marry a female Omega.”

I like you, and you are a female Omega, so I like female Omegas.

The misunderstanding in her heart was resolved.

A fierce wind rose from all directions. Jia Hua glanced at the sky, then suddenly grabbed Zhen Yan’s hand and ran forward.

“Where are we going?” Watching Jia Hua run against the wind, being pulled along to run too, Zhen Yan asked.

“It’s about to pour! Let’s hurry home!” Jia Hua, while running, turned her head to speak to Zhen Yan, then turned back, pulling Zhen Yan as they ran quickly.

Zhen Yan stared at their held hands. She thought, actually, anywhere was fine, as long as Jia Hua could keep holding her hand.

Jia Hua’s home was farther than Zhen Yan’s. When they reached the downstairs of Zhen Yan’s building, Jia Hua let go of Zhen Yan’s hand, waved at her: “I’m off, see you tomorrow.” With that, she hitched up her backpack and quickly ran off.

Zhen Yan kept watching Jia Hua’s rapidly retreating figure until she saw her dart into her own building’s stairwell. Only then did Zhen Yan smile and walk into her own stairwell.

Thunder rumbled, and suddenly, rain began pouring down violently onto the world.

Zhen Yan turned to watch the sudden downpour and felt a sense of gladness that they had run fast. Half a minute later, and this rain would have drenched them.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jia Hua was already standing at home, being interrogated by Jia Hui and Song Qiaoyi. Only after Jia Hua repeatedly assured them she wasn’t hurt did she get to eat the fragrant, delicious meal.

During the meal, Song Qiaoyi said to Jia Hua: “This Saturday is your birthday. This time, you’re coming of age and will differentiate. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

Jia Hua, in the middle of eating, paused. This Saturday? Coming-of-age differentiation? That’s fast.

“Mm, I know,” Jia Hua picked up a piece of braised pork.

Differentiating into a female Omega meant there would be a gland at the back of her neck, her body would become softer, making it easier to conceive…

Jia Hua smiled: That’s it? Easy.

The trip was canceled, so they had to go back to school for classes as normal.

The next morning, at the breakfast shop on Old Street, Jia Hua once again ran into Zhen Yan, who was also there buying breakfast.

Jia Hua smiled: “Good morning.”

Zhen Yan nodded: “Mm, good morning.”

If Jia Hua still didn’t realize that Zhen Yan was deliberately waiting for her, she’d be a fool.

She just didn’t know how long Zhen Yan waited for her every day. She had left home earlier than usual today and hadn’t expected to still run into Zhen Yan.

If you want to walk with me, just say so. Why all this secrecy?

“Zhen Yan, can I walk with you from now on?” Jia Hua turned to ask. “Winter is coming, and it gets light later. I’m afraid it’s not safe for me to walk alone.”

“Of course,” Zhen Yan immediately agreed. Only after speaking did she realize she might have sounded a bit too eager.

Jia Hua: “Then let’s contact each other by phone. My home is further; when I leave the house, I’ll message you, and you can wait for me downstairs at your place.”

Zhen Yan nodded: “Okay.”

With both intentionally working on their relationship, they entered and left together, ate and strolled together. In everyone’s eyes, this young couple was glued together every moment except when using the restroom.

Ugh, truly torturing us single dogs. So mean!

Time unknowingly reached Friday afternoon. Just as the dismissal bell rang, the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom and called Zhen Yan away.

Before leaving, Zhen Yan said to Jia Hua: “Wait for me here. I’ll go home with you later.”

Jia Hua nodded: “Alright, go ahead.”

The dismissal bell rang, and Jia Hua tidied the books in her desk, then casually took out one to read. At that moment, Zhang Juan ran over, sat in the seat in front of Jia Hua, and greeted her: “Hello, Sister Jia.”

Jia Hua raised an eyebrow. Oh ho, this was the first time Zhang Juan had called her Sister Jia. Normally, she didn’t even dare to meet her eyes.

“What’s up?” Zhang Juan wasn’t a bad person, so naturally Jia Hua wouldn’t respond harshly.

Zhang Juan said quietly: “Do you think the homeroom teacher looking for Sister Yan is about her differentiation rank? This year, Sister Yan is the only one in school who got an early admission letter. If her differentiation rank is below B, that early admission letter is just wasted paper… then it’s over…”

Jia Hua closed her book, looked at Zhang Juan seriously, and said: “You should trust her.”

“As for the result, you’ll know tomorrow. I’m leaving.” Jia Hua stood up, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and picked up Zhen Yan’s backpack with her other hand, heading to the teachers’ office.

The teachers’ office still had its lights on. Jia Hua stood by the railing of the corridor, waiting for Zhen Yan to come out. She watched the students below walking out of the school in groups of two or three, suddenly feeling much younger herself.

“Still haven’t left?” Homeroom Teacher Lin Ling walked out of the office, surprised to see Jia Hua standing in the corridor.

Jia Hua turned around, also somewhat surprised: “Teacher, Zhen Yan isn’t with you?”

Lin Ling shook her head: “She’s not with me, she’s with the principal. Are you waiting for her? I’ll take you to find her.”

“No need, I know where the principal’s office is. I can go myself. Bye-bye, Teacher.” Jia Hua waved to the teacher, turned, and left, intending to wait for Zhen Yan at the administrative building.

Lin Ling watched Jia Hua disappear from her sight, smiled, and locked the office door: “Ah, campus love, it’s so damn sweet.”

Jia Hua had just reached the stairwell of the administrative building when she bumped right into Zhen Yan coming downstairs.

“Why did you come here? You could have waited in the classroom.” Seeing Jia Hua coming to find her, Zhen Yan was visibly much happier.

Jia Hua shrugged: “Sitting alone is boring. A walk is nice too.”

Zhen Yan took her own backpack, giving Jia Hua a light smile: “Let’s go, let’s go home.”

Jia Hua nodded, waiting for Zhen Yan to come beside her: “Mm.”

Both were preoccupied. This time they walked very slowly, taking much longer than usual to reach Old Street.

When they reached the front of Zhen Yan’s building, Jia Hua suddenly spoke: “Zhen Yan, can you walk me home?”

Zhen Yan hadn’t expected Jia Hua to say this and was a bit surprised: “Sure.”

The two walked to the downstairs of Jia Hua’s building and stopped. Zhen Yan had intended to just watch Jia Hua enter the stairwell, but unexpectedly, Jia Hua abruptly pulled her inside.

Zhen Yan was a bit stunned: “What’s wrong?”

Jia Hua cleared her throat lightly, looking at Zhen Yan seriously: “Do you want to give it a try with me?”

Zhen Yan’s pupils slightly dilated: “You… what did you say?”

Were her ears malfunctioning? How could she have heard Jia Hua asking if they should try dating?

Jia Hua seriously repeated herself: “I said, I want to try dating you, being in a relationship, being girlfriends. Are you willing or not?”

This time, Zhen Yan was sure she hadn’t misheard—Jia Hua was talking about being in a relationship! She was confessing to her?!?

“I’m willing, I’m willing!”

After the shock, Zhen Yan immediately agreed. She didn’t care why Jia Hua would proactively confess to her, but she knew she couldn’t miss this opportunity. She absolutely had to agree.

“Since you’re willing, then from now on, we’re each other’s girlfriends. Let me put my seal on it first, so others can’t touch.”

Jia Hua very naturally leaned forward and placed a kiss on Zhen Yan’s lips. Light as a feather, soft as cotton—Zhen Yan didn’t even have time to savor it before it was withdrawn.

“Girlfriend, believe in yourself. Wishing you a successful differentiation in advance.”

Jia Hua started up the stairs while Zhen Yan was still in a daze, waving at her: “See you tomorrow morning.”

Since she had feelings for Zhen Yan, why cover it up? The first time freely dating… it felt… nice.

As for Zhen Yan, who had been kissed, she was completely lost as to which way was up.

Jia Hua had just… kissed her?!?

Zhen Yan’s eyes instantly glowed with radiant light.