Chapter 56
After meticulously washing Gu Ximian’s school uniform jacket three times to ensure it was completely free of any strange scents, Zhuang Chi returned it to her. She then diligently researched the matter of the “mate” that Gu Ximian had mentioned.
Her first thought was to look it up online, but when she typed phrases like “Alpha subconsciously seeking a specific Omega’s pheromones when their own are unstable” into the search engine, the results were basically all indecent and not suitable for minors, scaring Zhuang Chi away from searching any further.
This put her in a bit of a difficult position. Neither of her parents was an Alpha, and after careful consideration, it seemed the only people she could ask were the few she knew well.
Ling Jing was passed over first because Zhuang Chi felt she probably didn't know about this sort of thing either (a subjective bias). As for Olivia… it just felt hard to bring up, in every sense of the word. So, the only remaining candidate was An Chen. Steeling herself, Zhuang Chi found him alone, acting like a thief, and vaguely asked her question. She had been worried that she was speaking incoherently and that An Chen wouldn't understand if he knew nothing about it. But to her surprise, An Chen’s face instantly flushed bright red; he looked like he understood all too well.
“I-I’m not too sure about this either,” he began, a futile attempt to cover up his knowledge. An Chen cleared his throat awkwardly and answered in a serious tone, “…but there is indeed such a theory. I remember it being said that when confronted by unfamiliar and aggressive pheromones, one would subconsciously tend to seek out familiar pheromones for comfort. As for it only happening between mates, I don’t think I’ve heard that… Who did you hear it from?”
…I heard it from Gu Ximian. Zhuang Chi silently pressed her lips together, choosing to remain silent while her mind churned with doubt. An Chen probably sensed something was amiss from her reaction. Although he didn't press further, the topic shifted directly to Gu Ximian. “Speaking of which, Ximian isn’t with you today. It’s quite rare for you to come find me alone…”
“She should be in class right now,” Zhuang Chi thought to herself that she had deliberately chosen this time to ask An Chen alone. She gave a dry cough, and just as she was about to change the subject, she noticed An Chen seemed to be hesitating. So she asked, “What’s wrong? You look like you have something to say.”
“Mm… I suppose I do, and it’s a good thing Ximian isn’t here…” An Chen muttered, a little guiltily, before his expression turned serious. “…I wanted to ask, about Lou Che inviting you to interview for the Presidium, do you plan to accept?”
If he hadn't brought it up, Zhuang Chi would have almost forgotten about it. She thought for a moment and said hesitantly, “…But I couldn’t even complete the most basic tasks on the club recruitment day. I feel like it would be meaningless even if I went…”
Seeing that she seemed to be leaning towards refusing, An Chen’s face crumpled with worry. “…Although I can understand your thoughts, but… could I trouble you to go? Even if it’s just to go through the motions.”
“On one hand, for some reason, Lou Che is being relentless and insists that you go. On the other hand…” An Chen sighed. “Neither Ximian nor Olivia went for their interviews. If you don’t go, they probably won’t bother to make up for it either.”
“From a friend’s perspective, I do think this is a bit strange, and Lou Che is clearly up to something. But from the Student Council President’s perspective, I still hope… because if this goes on, we might really not be able to select anyone. The others who interviewed besides you all were just barely passable, and to be honest, I don’t really want to choose any of them…”
…He looked so distressed, like an HR manager burdened with recruitment pressure. Zhuang Chi hesitated for a long while before finally nodding. “Alright, I’ll go. Consider it my way of repaying you for answering my question just now. But let me be clear, I can’t guarantee whether Gu Ximian and Olivia will go with me. If they decide not to go on their own, then there’s nothing I can do to help.”
“Okay, okay, no problem! I’m relieved to hear you say that!” An Chen instantly perked up and said with absolute certainty, “Those two will definitely go with you!”
He actually turned out to be right.
Standing in front of the Presidium office door, Zhuang Chi looked at Gu Ximian and Olivia, who had indeed come with her, then glanced to the side. “…Why did you come along too?”
“Since you all came, I wanted to come and see too,” Ling Jing poked her head out and nodded gravely. “And to protect you, in case that Lou Che tries any funny business and bullies you for being easygoing.”
…It sounded like she had consciously taken on the role of a bodyguard. Zhuang Chi thought to herself, why did it sound like she was so easily bullied? Then she heard Olivia chime in, “Yes, what he said last time was not very nice. But now that we’re all here together, whatever he’s planning won’t work, right?”
Olivia turned her head, her clear eyes looking at her sincerely. “I’ll protect you properly too. If anything happens, you can rely on me, okay?”
…Such pure and direct goodwill. Zhuang Chi subconsciously stiffened. “Uh, yes, thank you, but it’s just an interview… It shouldn’t get to the point of needing protection, right?”
“Who knows? Lou Che is clearly targeting you.”
Before Olivia could reply, Gu Ximian interjected. Zhuang Chi felt that she had been in low spirits ever since getting her uniform jacket back. Although she had silently followed along this time after hearing Zhuang Chi was going to the interview, her expression remained indifferent. “He even came to invite you specifically. Olivia and I didn't go to the interview, but he never came looking for us.”
“But it’s true that protection isn’t really needed,” Gu Ximian slowly glanced at Zhuang Chi, then quickly looked away, her tone calm. “Anyway, if he’s planning to do something bad, we can just stop him on the spot.”
Alright, it sounded like Lou Che’s side might be the one needing protection.
Zhuang Chi secretly glanced at Gu Ximian. She felt that Gu Ximian must have noticed her gaze, but she just kept her eyes slightly lowered, not looking at her.
…Although she didn't know the reason, she really did still look a little unhappy. Zhuang Chi blinked her eyes wistfully, feeling completely at a loss.
In this subtle atmosphere, An Chen knocked on the door and led them inside. Zhuang Chi looked up and saw several people sitting in a row in the room, arranged like a battle formation. Each one looked more hostile than the last. Lou Che sat in the very middle, his gaze locked firmly on her, so focused it was unsettling.
“You’re finally willing to come. I thought I’d have to go find you a few more times.”
Such a direct opening, and it sounded like he was still only speaking to Zhuang Chi. It was also obvious that Lou Che had never even considered the option of "giving up."
“Whatever, let’s just get started.” Three people were seated on either side of him, with one empty seat, presumably for An Chen. Male Student A, sitting to Lou Che’s left, spoke impatiently, “What should we do about An Chen? Since they’re all his acquaintances, would it be better if he didn’t participate in the scoring?”
“Mm, that makes sense.” The female student next to him nodded in agreement. “Especially that Alpha named Zhuang Chi. I remember her resume even mentioned An Chen. It’s better to exclude him to avoid any favoritism.”
“Then that’s three votes including me, majority passes. An Chen can’t participate in the scoring today.” Male Student B, sitting to Lou Che’s right, concluded, then leaned back in his chair nonchalantly. “Though it doesn’t really matter. Didn’t that Alpha fail to even complete her task? So even if she gets a high score from one person through cheating—”
“How long are you all going to keep talking to yourselves?”
Unexpectedly, it was Lou Che who spoke up first, interrupting him. He glanced at the male student with a lack of interest. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, a few more words and you’ll probably get hit. Look over there, that person is glaring at you like a vicious dog.”
“…Ugh,” Male Student B fell silent for a moment and looked in the direction Lou Che pointed, his brow furrowing deeply. “I-Isn’t that Ling Jing? Why is she here! She’s not one of the interview participants today, is she!”
“She said she wanted to come along and watch. I originally refused, but now I think it’s quite useful to have her watching from the side,” An Chen said, walking over to a storage cabinet in the office. He picked up a feather duster, walked back, and handed it to Ling Jing with a smile. “Here, you hold this. If you feel like someone… or somewhere else, is too dirty later, you can help sweep it clean.”
Ling Jing took it knowingly, swishing it a few times with a dissatisfied look. “It feels so light. Isn’t there a heavier—uh, cleaning tool?”
The three of them instantly fell silent.
An Chen glanced at them, then walked to Zhuang Chi’s side and apologized in a low voice, “…Those three are members of the Presidium. As you can see, they don’t have easygoing personalities. They’re all people who admire the strong. I didn’t know they held so much hostility towards you…”
Indeed, Zhuang Chi hadn't expected to face such a situation right off the bat, but to be fair, she wasn't completely clueless—in the original novel's setting, all the members of the Presidium were admirers of Gu Ximian. In other words, it was highly likely she was being treated this way because she was close to Gu Ximian.
She thought helplessly that this was another setting that had come back to bite her, then heard Lou Che raise his voice. “Alright, it’s time to start the interview. Let’s begin with Olivia.”
Olivia was frowning deeply. Even after being called, she didn't step forward, shaking her head resolutely. “With people like this here, I don’t want to join this kind of organization.”
“…” Even Lou Che showed a troubled expression. He looked at the even more bewildered trio beside him and made a frank suggestion. “This is their problem, not the Presidium’s problem. If you think about it that way, you should take the interview seriously. Join the Presidium yourself, prove you’re more capable than the three of them, and then kick them out.”
The trio was startled, all frowning. “Lou Che, what are you—”
“Am I wrong? A place like the Presidium only needs outstanding people, right?” Lou Che cut them off, sweeping a cool gaze over them. “So you all had better be careful. But let me say this first, you must score fairly. If you deliberately fail someone to protect yourselves… that would be too disgusting.”
The three of them mumbled and said no more. Ling Jing, who was standing guard by Zhuang Chi, was swinging the feather duster, seemingly contemplating whether it was time to charge in. Zhuang Chi heard her mutter, “What kind of bullshit is that? They should be kicked out even if Olivia doesn’t interview.” But Olivia was ultimately much more reasonable than her. After some thought, her expression softened slightly, and she took a step forward, indicating her decision to accept.
Normally, interviewees were supposed to prepare presentation materials like a PPT, but none of the three had had time to do that before, and they hadn't made one up now. Olivia just spoke simply. But from Zhuang Chi’s perspective, Olivia’s work seemed to have been done brilliantly. The trio obviously thought so too, and they actually gave a very high evaluation fairly. “For a foreign exchange student who has only been enrolled for a short time, you’ve done exceptionally well. As expected of Her Highness the Princess, a capable Alpha!”
Lou Che’s expression, however, was unperturbed. He just listened intently the whole time, not asking questions during her speech like the other three. It was only after Olivia finished that he said softly, with an ambiguous meaning, “…So, you were focused entirely on club work during that time.”
After muttering this to himself, he didn't explain further and smoothly moved on to the scoring phase. It was a ten-point scale. The other three gave scores of 7, 8, and 8, but when Lou Che’s scoring card was flipped over, it only showed a 5. Everyone present was quite surprised, but Lou Che seemed even more puzzled than them. “What’s the matter? The unfunny story of a person who only ever looks up at the stars falling into a well, I’m seeing it in reality now. Do I really have to give a high score?”
The trio clearly didn't understand, but a thought stirred in Zhuang Chi’s mind—it sounded like he was talking about how Olivia had neglected Lily’s little schemes because she was focused on the club. She wasn't sure if she was over-interpreting… Strange, the matter with Lily hadn't spread, so Lou Che shouldn't know about it. Or was this what they called a genius?
In any case, Olivia’s interview ended just like that. Olivia herself accepted the score and walked back, looking a little dejected, seemingly lost in self-blame again after being so affected.
The next person called was Gu Ximian. She walked over with surprising cooperation, but she only said a couple of sentences before stopping abruptly, giving the trio no chance to interject with questions. She concluded simply, “I wasn’t at the booth after that. I didn’t participate.”
Faced with Gu Ximian’s perfunctory attitude, Lou Che produced several sheets of paper from somewhere and distributed them to the trio. They looked like investigation reports; one could say his preparations were very thorough. And even so, the trio’s reaction to Gu Ximian was still extremely enthusiastic. While it was true that Gu Ximian was exceptionally outstanding—she had directly intervened to revise the club’s recruitment strategy, and the results were very successful—they were also clearly biased. The three of them spouted praise with ease and unanimously gave Gu Ximian a perfect score of ten.
This time, Lou Che said nothing. He just quietly scored. When his board was turned over, it showed an eight. He commented briefly, “Indeed as outstanding as I thought. From a work perspective alone, it was perfectly done.”
…So where were those two points deducted from? Zhuang Chi was wondering to herself when she suddenly realized everyone’s gaze had turned to her. She realized it was her turn for the interview, but to be honest, after observing for this long, Zhuang Chi’s already insufficient enthusiasm had dwindled again. She felt that since Gu Ximian and Olivia had both interviewed, An Chen’s goal had been achieved, and there was no need for her to go through the motions. So she politely declined, “…I think I’ll pass, right? Gu Ximian’s score is already high enough—”
“Indeed, it’s impossible for her to get a higher score than Gu Ximian. If you ask me…” Male Student B interrupted her, seeming to have more to say, but after glancing at Ling Jing, he held it back and looked at Lou Che. “Let’s just forget it, right? Continuing is just a waste of time, and don’t you hate wasting extra time the most?”
Lou Che met his gaze for a long moment, then looked at the other two beside him and asked, “Do you two think so as well?”
Both of them nodded in agreement. Lou Che blinked, his light-colored pupils holding an unreadable emotion. Suddenly, he stood up, not forgetting to first say to Ling Jing, who had already rolled up her sleeves and was preparing to use the feather duster, “Wait a moment. Let’s talk after this is over.”
Then he walked to the front of the seats, to the position where the interviewee stood, and said to the bewildered trio, “Then let me speak.”
“The work Zhuang Chi has done, the results she has achieved, let me tell you about them.” Lou Che’s voice was clear and bright, and he wore an innocent smile. “You must listen carefully.”
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