Chapter 3: Her Lover, the Deceiver

After class ended, Jia Hua put great effort into studying Zhen Yan’s problem-solving steps. Finally, she reached out and poked Zhen Yan, and when Zhen Yan looked over, she said sincerely, “I don’t understand.”

Zhen Yan was silent. She had already taken Jia Hua’s extremely low IQ into account and used the most basic methods possible.

She raised her eyes to meet Jia Hua’s and, for the first time, earnestly advised, “Just give up. You’re not cut out for studying.”

Jia Hua took the paper back and silently found her first-year high school textbook, starting to read from the first chapter. She had already given up on asking Zhen Yan.

The kid was still angry. She’d rather self-study.

Jia Hua’s speed of absorbing knowledge from the book was very fast. Although she read word by word, she could understand the meaning in the book in one go.

Her page-flipping speed caused Zhen Yan at the neighboring desk to glance over frequently.

Was she taking it in? Could she understand it? Could she finish a whole semester’s content in one morning?

Because Jia Hui and Song Qiaoyi were not home at noon, and Zhen Yan’s grandma also slept until the afternoon before waking up, the two of them had always eaten lunch at school.

The lunch bell rang. Zhen Yan habitually stood up and headed for the door. Only after leaving the classroom did she realize Jia Hua hadn’t followed and was still seated, tidying things on her desk, not even looking at her.

Zhen Yan stood at the classroom door, her brows furrowing.

“Sister Yan, want to go eat together?” Zhen Yan’s friend Zhang Juan had keenly noticed that Jia Hua wasn’t clinging to Zhen Yan and immediately raised her eyebrows with a grin.

“Let’s go.” Zhen Yan nodded, withdrew her gaze, and went to the Canteen with Zhang Juan to eat.

Jia Hua cleaned her desktop spotlessly, wiped it until it was dust-free, and only then picked up her meal card and headed for the Canteen.

The An City No. 2 High School Canteen was famous far and wide for its rich variety of dishes and low prices. Many day students even ate dinner there before going home.

As soon as Jia Hua stepped through the Canteen entrance, she smelled the fragrant aromas of the dishes, her eyes sparkling with life.

Yesterday she had been in a daze, not fully clear-headed. Only today did she completely accept the fact that she had come to the ABO world to retire.

Her last mission world was an ancient famine world. She had eaten countless meals of wild greens and grassroots, and due to the nature of missions in the Atonement Team, had suffered all sorts of hardships, ultimately dying for the protagonist in that world.

In this retirement world, at least she wouldn’t go hungry.

Zhen Yan had just finished getting her food when she saw Jia Hua enter the Canteen. Jia Hua walked right past her as if she hadn’t seen her, going straight to a counter to order her meal.

“Sister Yan, over here!” Zhang Juan’s voice called from one side. Zhen Yan spotted Zhang Juan and walked over. As she did, she couldn’t help but turn her head to look at Jia Hua, finding that Jia Hua had just finished getting her food and was walking towards a dining area opposite to hers.

Zhen Yan pursed her lips and sat down opposite Zhang Juan.

Zhang Juan bit her chopsticks and looked at Jia Hua, who was eating alone in a corner of the opposite dining area, raising an eyebrow: “Did you two finally split?”

Zhen Yan nodded and picked up some food with her chopsticks.

Zhang Juan grinned: “What a fantastic stroke of luck. I told you long ago not to be with her, but you wouldn’t listen. Ugh, her jealousy is truly intense. The last time I had a meal with you was like… a year ago, right? She guarded you from Omegas like a crazy person, I could understand that. Betas, I could also barely understand. But me, an Alpha, she wouldn’t even allow that! That’s just ridiculous!”

Zhang Juan got angrier as she spoke: “I just put my hand on your shoulder and leaned in to whisper a joke in your ear, and she actually dared to warn me, telling me not to get handsy with you! Damn!”

Zhen Yan looked up, frowning: “When was this? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Zhang Juan shrugged: “It was a year ago. You had gone to the bathroom at the time.”

In Zhang Juan’s heart, Jia Hua was simply a lunatic who viewed Zhen Yan as her possession, with an extreme possessiveness. She was just sick!

Zhang Juan clasped her hands towards Zhen Yan solemnly: “Congratulations on escaping your bitter sea.”

Zhen Yan lowered her head to pick up food: “I was never together with her.”

She just hadn’t bothered to deal with Jia Hua, because you could never reason with her.

But these past two days, why did Jia Hua seem like a different person?

Did she really not like her anymore? Not cling to her anymore?

“Hey, Zhen Yan! Is Liu Yangyang going to confront Jia Hua?!” Zhang Juan strained her neck, looking behind Zhen Yan.

People liked watching lively scenes, especially a confrontation between love rivals.

Zhen Yan’s hand holding her chopsticks paused. Unable to resist, she also turned her head to look.

Over here, Jia Hua was completely immersed in the delicious food when, unexpectedly, a petite and adorable female Omega sat down opposite her.

Jia Hua raised her eyes for a glance but said nothing, silently pulling her food tray closer and continuing to eat with her head down.

“Jia Hua.” Liu Yangyang gathered her courage and said.

Jia Hua looked up: “Hello, classmate Liu. Is there something you need?”

The original owner’s memory had this girl—the female Omega who, in their first year of high school, had given Zhen Yan a love letter, which the original owner had publicly torn up and thrown in her face.

Liu Yangyang was still somewhat afraid of Jia Hua. The ferocious image of Jia Hua back then had left a very deep shadow on her.

Jia Hua being so polite now shocked Liu Yangyang.

Hesitantly, Liu Yangyang asked, “You and Zhen Yan… broke up?”

Jia Hua blinked: “We were never together.”

Liu Yangyang didn’t believe it, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to ask: “So Zhen Yan is single now? Can I go after her?”

Liu Yangyang’s voice became faint towards the end.

Jia Hua wasn’t just ordinarily crazy; she was so scared…

Jia Hua nodded: “Of course you can.”

Liu Yangyang asked in disbelief: “Really?”

Seeing Liu Yangyang breaking out in nervous sweat, Jia Hua took a pack of tissues from her pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Liu Yangyang: “Wipe your sweat.”

Liu Yangyang was somewhat surprised and took it with both hands: “Thank you!”

Jia Hua pulled out another tissue to wipe her own mouth. She stood up with her food tray, bent down, and whispered to Liu Yangyang, “Although the chances of you succeeding might not be high, good luck. I believe in you.”

Jia Hua made a ‘fighting’ gesture towards Liu Yangyang and then left, leaving Liu Yangyang staring blankly after her disappearing figure.

Actually, it wasn’t just Liu Yangyang who was stunned; the students around them were also stunned.

What happened to the expected love-rival meeting and life-or-death struggle? Why was it so harmonious?

Liu Yangyang came back to her senses, and excitedly, carrying her tray, jogged over to Zhen Yan’s table. Blushing, she quietly asked Zhen Yan, “Zhen Yan, can I sit beside you?”

Right now, Zhang Juan was burning with curiosity. She desperately wanted to know what Liu Yangyang and Jia Hua had talked about just now.

“Yes, yes! Two Alphas eating together is a bit boring. Please, sit, sit.” Ignoring the cold stare from Zhen Yan opposite, Zhang Juan stood up and welcomed her warmly, even offering the seat directly opposite Zhen Yan to Liu Yangyang.

“Thank you.” Liu Yangyang sat down, her gaze never leaving Zhen Yan from start to finish.

Liu Yangyang was a well-known rich, pretty girl. Many Alphas liked her, but that group didn’t include Zhen Yan.

“Ahem,” Zhang Juan lightly coughed twice and asked bluntly, “Classmate Liu, may I ask what you and Jia Hua talked about just now?”

Liu Yangyang looked at Zhen Yan and whispered, “Jia Hua said, she said she was never together with classmate Zhen, and that of course I can pursue classmate Zhen.”

Zhang Juan’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed a big O.

Zhen Yan’s hand picking up food paused. She turned her head and looked straight at Liu Yangyang, saying coldly, “Jia Hua told you to pursue me?”

Liu Yangyang nodded slightly, nervously pursing her lips, but the corner of her mouth uncontrollably tilted up, revealing her happiness.

Zhen Yan lowered her eyes and pursed her lips, inexplicably furious.

Was she an accessory?! What right did Jia Hua have to tell someone else to come chase her!

Zhen Yan abruptly stood up and said to the two who had looked up at her, “I’m full. I have to go back and study. Enjoy your meal.” With that, she took her tray and quickly left.

Liu Yangyang was a little confused. Then, looking pitifully at Zhen Yan’s back, she murmured, “Did I make her angry?”

Zhang Juan sighed: “They probably broke up yesterday, so she’s still in a bad mood. Don’t worry, I’ll help you. You’re way more suitable for Zhen Yan than Jia Hua.”

Liu Yangyang’s eyes lit up: “Really? Thank you!”

Zhang Juan saw Liu Yangyang’s expression and nodded seriously.

Liu Yangyang was obviously much more well-behaved, not difficult like Jia Hua.

As soon as Zhen Yan returned to the classroom, she slumped over her desk and slept, not even reading. Normally, she would read for an hour, then take a half-hour nap at noon. But now she slept for a full hour and a half straight.

Jia Hua just glanced at the back of Zhen Yan’s head and withdrew her gaze.

Why worry about the grade’s top student? Her own brain was what was hurting terribly.

The last class of the afternoon was PE. All the students of Senior 3 Class 1 came to the sports field with their schoolbags. As usual, the routine was running tests first, then splitting into groups by ABO classification for activities.

Students were only allowed to run in short-sleeve shirts and long pants, no jackets allowed. So everyone took off their jackets and draped them on the nearby metal racks.

After taking off her jacket, Jia Hua noticed two girls standing in a corner to the side. One was Zhen Yan, and the other was Lin Ziyue, a thin and weak female Alpha from the class.

“Quick, line up!” the PE teacher shouted from the starting line.

As Jia Hua left, she sharply caught sight of Lin Ziyue’s two thin arms covered in bruises.

The entire class of forty lined up at the starting line. The PE teacher raised her hand and yelled, “Ready… Go!”

The entire class surged forward.

The group quickly spread out. As time passed, the distance between the first and last place grew larger and larger.

Yet Zhang Juan, running in third place, was discombobulated as she ran.

At the very front was Zhen Yan, which surprised her not at all. But Jia Hua, how could she also be running ahead of her?

She didn’t understand and was greatly shocked.

After some unknown time, Zhen Yan deliberately slowed down and waited for Jia Hua to catch up so they could run side-by-side, unable to help glancing at Jia Hua repeatedly.

Jia Hua was very puzzled and asked while running, “What’s up?”

Zhen Yan said meaningfully, “You’ve already finished eight hundred meters. Did you know that?”

Jia Hua instantly stopped in her tracks, running out of the track and standing outside, utterly bewildered. Zhen Yan looked at her with an unreadable expression, then turned her head, picked up speed, and ran far ahead.

Very soon, Zhang Juan zoomed past in front of her, even giving her a thumbs up.

“Holy crap, Jia Hua, did you take some forbidden substance?! Your speed is way too fake!” After saying that, she went after Zhen Yan; she had to keep her position as the second-place Alpha.

Jia Hua: “…”

Great, completely OOC.

Jia Hua was already wearing a mask of agony internally. She had forgotten: Omegas only needed to run 800 meters, Betas 1000 meters, and Alphas 1200 meters.

Moreover, generally, Omegas were delicate and physically weak and ran the slowest, getting lapped by Alphas and Betas. And just now, she had been following right behind Zhen Yan the entire time…

Without the system, she was free; she could also thoroughly ruin the original owner’s persona.

“Jia Hua! The teacher’s looking for you!” The female Beta Class Monitor found Jia Hua and said.

“Thanks, I’ll go right away.” Jia Hua nodded and walked towards the PE teacher.

Jia Hua walked up to the PE teacher and nodded: “Hello, teacher.”

The PE teacher was staring intently at the stopwatch with a frown, then lifted her head and said to Jia Hua, “Come with me for a moment.”

Jia Hua followed the PE teacher to the side. The teacher pointed to her outlandish time and asked, “I checked your previous scores; you were always at the middle level for an Omega in class. How did you run so fast today? Your speed even surpassed the vast majority of Alphas.”

The PE teacher looked at Jia Hua seriously: “Tell the teacher the truth, have you taken any forbidden substances? If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll have the school nurse perform a drug test on you.”

Jia Hua fell silent, then fabricated a reason to explain: “Teacher, I haven’t taken any forbidden substances. I’m naturally a fast runner; I just didn’t want to stand out before. Don’t Alphas generally prefer more delicate Omegas?”

This reason sounded extremely plausible to the PE teacher, because many Alphas liked delicate and cute Omegas. To cater to Alpha preferences, some Omegas would deliberately pretend to be weak to arouse Alpha protectiveness.

But this speed was still too bizarre and had to be handled seriously. Omega consumption of forbidden substances could cause great harm to their bodies and was strictly prohibited.

The PE teacher thought for a moment: “Even so, you still need a drug test. If this data is reported, the school leaders will want it checked.”

“Okay.”

Jia Hua sighed inwardly. She’d have to be more careful from now on.

The PE teacher turned towards the student group and shouted, “Class Monitor, come here a moment!”

As a result, it was Zhen Yan who walked over. She told the PE teacher, “The monitor is keeping discipline and asked me to come over. Is there something?”

The PE teacher glanced at Zhen Yan: “You, go with Jia Hua to the Infirmary for a drug test. After you’re done, bring me the results.”

Zhen Yan looked at Jia Hua at these words and nodded to the teacher: “Okay.”

“Let’s go.” Zhen Yan said as she walked up to Jia Hua, then started off towards the Infirmary, with Jia Hua following behind.

The two didn’t exchange a single word on the way. At the Infirmary door, Zhen Yan stopped and said to Jia Hua behind her, “Go on in. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Jia Hua nodded and pushed the Infirmary door open, walking in.

The school nurse was sitting in her chair watching a variety show. She turned it off when she saw Jia Hua enter and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Jia Hua stood in front of the consultation desk: “I’m here for a drug test.”

The school nurse looked up, her expression slightly more serious: “Sit. Name, gender, class.”

Jia Hua sat opposite the nurse: “Jia Hua, genetic test Female Omega, Senior 3 Class 1.”

After registering, the nurse got up, fetched a set of equipment, and drew blood from Jia Hua for the drug test.

After the blood draw, Jia Hua went out.

Zhen Yan was sitting on the long bench outside the Infirmary, playing on her phone. Seeing Jia Hua come out empty-handed, she asked, “The results?”

Jia Hua sat next to Zhen Yan: “The doctor said it’s being tested. Told me to wait ten minutes.”

Zhen Yan: “Oh.”

They didn’t talk anymore. Zhen Yan bowed her head and played on her phone, while Jia Hua let her blood-drawn arm hang straight down, leaning back in the chair, closing her eyes to rest.

Sensing something draped over her lap, Jia Hua opened her eyes and found it was Zhen Yan’s jacket.

“Put it on,” Zhen Yan said, scrolling on her phone screen.

Jia Hua gripped the jacket and nodded: “Thanks.”

It was already autumn; wearing just a short-sleeved shirt was indeed a bit cold.

Ten minutes later, the school nurse called Jia Hua’s name from inside. Jia Hua went in and soon came out with a diagnostic certificate. Zhen Yan put away her phone and walked over.

Zhen Yan: “How was it?”

Jia Hua handed the certificate to Zhen Yan: “It’s nothing. The nurse said I’m completely normal. Let’s go, give the certificate to the teacher.”

The two walked side by side. Just as they were about to reach the sports field, Zhen Yan’s voice fell into Jia Hua’s ear: “You used to pretend to be weak to deceive me?”

Jia Hua turned her head, shocked. Why was there another blame to carry? She didn’t even know how many times she’d been scapegoated! Utterly wronged!

Facing Zhen Yan’s earnest gaze, Jia Hua spoke falsehoods with a face full of sincerity: “Really, it wasn’t that. I just didn’t want to be pulled into the school sports team. I heard that those who run fast all get pulled in. You’re in it, right?”

Zhen Yan was part of the school basketball team, but since it was senior year, she didn’t need to train anymore.

Zhen Yan fell silent, then suddenly strode past Jia Hua and walked towards the activity area for the Alphas in the class, leaving only her back view for Jia Hua.

Jia Hua: “…”

Jia Hua gave the diagnostic certificate to the PE teacher and saw the teacher’s mouth fall open.

The end-of-school bell soon rang, and the PE teacher dismissed the students on the spot. Remembering last night’s agreement to walk separately from Zhen Yan, Jia Hua picked up her jacket, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, and walked alone towards the school gate.

Still in the activity area, Zhen Yan watched Jia Hua’s retreating back for a moment, withdrew her gaze, shouldered her backpack on one side, and walked towards Lin Ziyue.

“I’ll take you home.”

Lin Ziyue was a little surprised: “Sister Yan, you don’t have to…”

Jia Hua didn’t take the path directly home. Instead, she headed for the pedestrian street in West City. She had just found online a miraculous tool for relationship repair, and a boutique on the pedestrian street happened to sell it.

By the time she finished buying it, there were no more buses back to her area of town. The sky was somewhat dark, and she was walking down the street when the sounds of a fight suddenly reached her ears. Initially, she ignored it, but a cry of “Sister Yan” from within made her halt her steps and double back.

She stood at the entrance of the alley and clearly saw three adult Alphas inside, holding Iron Rods, fighting against two female Alpha students.

One of them was familiar to her: Zhen Yan.

Zhen Yan spotted Jia Hua and froze for a second. The adult Alpha opposite her seized the opportunity and swung the Iron Rod down at Zhen Yan’s body.

“Sister Yan!” Lin Ziyue, whom Zhen Yan had tightly shielded behind her, screamed.