Chapter 81
The list was finally written. Zhuang Chi leaned close to Gu Ximian, and they looked at it together for a long time. Only after confirming that the contents were indeed very proper did she breathe a small sigh of relief. But then the doctor called Gu Ximian over alone to give her a few more instructions. When Gu Ximian returned, her expression was a little strange, which made Zhuang Chi unable to help but feel concerned. “...What did the doctor say to you? Was it something weird?”
“Weird... I guess not,” Gu Ximian said softly, looking at her with some hesitation. “Do you want to know?”
“...” Zhuang Chi had a bad feeling, but her curiosity won out. She asked cautiously, “...I want to know.”
Gu Ximian glanced at her, then looked away slightly and said flatly, “The doctor said she didn’t write down the most important thing: I need to be careful not to spoil you by letting you smell too much.”
‘Because your pheromone grade was so high to begin with, and Zhuang Chi is currently in a state of addiction, she’ll probably feel like she can never get enough, like a goldfish that doesn’t know when it’s full,’ the doctor had explained to her righteously. ‘But just like how overfeeding a goldfish is bad, when you’re treating her, the Alpha will become weaker and more direct. Even if she begs for more then, you must harden your heart and refuse her, alright? Otherwise, forget treatment, her addiction will probably become even more severe.’
The last two sentences seemed to be hinting at something. Gu Ximian didn’t know if it was because she had shown her happiness too obviously when she learned she was the object of Zhuang Chi’s addiction, and the doctor had noticed. She vaguely realized that on the surface, the doctor was telling her not to spoil Zhuang Chi, but in reality, she was pointing out the seriousness of the situation. Her hand holding the paper tightened slightly, and she nodded unnaturally in agreement.
...In any case, the doctor’s understanding of Zhuang Chi was clearly not very deep, Gu Ximian thought. Perhaps other Alphas would, as the doctor said, feel it wasn’t enough and ask for more. But only she knew that not only would Zhuang Chi not ask for more when it wasn’t enough, but she probably wouldn’t even ask for it proactively. The real worry was that she would take just one sniff and then stubbornly insist that it was enough.
As Gu Ximian thought this, she looked at Zhuang Chi. The person before her was clearly flustered by what she had just said. She gestured by waving the paper in her hand and said, “The first treatment is in a week. We should discuss the time and place later, okay?”
“Oh, oh,” Zhuang Chi felt nervous just hearing this, and her blinking frequency unconsciously sped up. A week seemed too soon, she thought, and couldn’t help but say, “...I think I can hold out a bit longer. Why don’t we push the time back a little...”
See? It hadn’t even started, and she was already showing signs of wanting to escape. Gu Ximian looked at her with a sense of helplessness, her tone decisive. “No. We have to follow the doctor’s orders.”
It was a solid, logical argument. Zhuang Chi couldn’t refute it. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she followed Gu Ximian out the door, feeling apprehensive.
“Ah, you’re finally out!”
Ling Jing, who was sitting not far away, leaped to her feet and trotted over, first speaking with righteous indignation, “That took so long! Why did they suddenly kick us out! What part of your condition can’t we hear about! It’s not like it’s the first time we’re hearing about it!”
“Forget us, they should have at least let Olivia stay inside,” An Chen said, being more practical. He frowned. “If Lily’s pheromones are needed for the treatment, then she needs to contact A Country as soon as possible—”
“It’s not needed.”
The conversation directed at Olivia was cut off by Gu Ximian. Everyone froze. Zhuang Chi’s heart pounded wildly as she realized what Gu Ximian was about to say. She looked at her hesitantly, and Gu Ximian turned her head to meet her gaze. Her tone instantly softened by an unknown degree compared to when she had interrupted An Chen, and she asked softly, as if wronged, “...What’s wrong, can’t I say it?”
...It wasn’t that she couldn’t say it, Zhuang Chi thought. It was just that saying it so openly in front of these Alphas, who all harbored some feelings for Gu Ximian, felt like their friendship was about to experience a shock... or perhaps the second shock since she and Gu Ximian had spent the susceptible period together.
She had originally planned to wait for an appropriate time to slowly tell everyone, but seeing Gu Ximian like this, Zhuang Chi felt it wouldn’t matter if she said it now. So, she lowered her eyes in tacit approval and listened as Gu Ximian’s cool voice rang out as expected, her tone slightly lifted, “The object of Zhuang Chi’s addiction isn’t Lily. It’s me.”
“Pheromones!” she quickly added before anyone could react. The Alphas’ gazes all shot toward Zhuang Chi. As if trying to mediate or calm them down, Zhuang Chi raised both hands and weakly emphasized a second time, “...We’re talking about pheromones, everyone.”
But her clarification clearly didn’t have the desired effect. The group instantly fell into varying degrees of chaos. Ling Jing was completely confused, asking, “Huh? Huh? So when Lily was punishing you, she used Gu Ximian’s pheromones? Why?” An Chen, on the other hand, was in a state of thunderstruck rigidity, looking as if he had lost the ability to think, pointing a trembling finger at Zhuang Chi, unable to speak. And Lou Che, after some deep thought, had a sudden realization and said in the tone of a detective revealing a culprit’s method, “I knew it! Your addiction to Lily was overwritten by Gu Ximian during your susceptible period, wasn’t it! I thought back then that she might do something like that!”
“That’s not it! You’re thinking way too far off. Gu Ximian would never do something like that!”
Zhuang Chi hurriedly salvaged Gu Ximian’s reputation and explained the whole story as concisely as possible. The group let out various sounds of realization. Whether they accepted this reality or not, they at least seemed to understand the situation. Zhuang Chi breathed a small sigh of relief, but at the same time, she heard an almost inaudible sigh from beside her. She turned to see it was Olivia, who had been silent all this time.
And Olivia, as if only realizing she had sighed when she met Zhuang Chi’s questioning gaze, waved her hands in a fluster, her words not flowing smoothly, “It’s nothing, nothing, don’t mind me. I was just... what’s that phrase again... crying tears of joy...?”
...Subtly not quite right. She had only sighed, not cried. Zhuang Chi thought this, and Olivia probably saw from her expression that she had used the wrong idiom again. She lowered her head and laughed sheepishly, only speaking softly after a long moment, “...I’m happy for you, Zhuang Chi. This way, your treatment will be more convenient, and you won’t have to see Lily again... I really think that’s great.”
“Speaking of which, Gu Ximian really should have been the one to stay and help you through your susceptible period,” her voice grew softer and softer, as if talking to herself. “...At that time, even if I had stayed... I wouldn’t have been able to help you, would I.”
Her last words were too quiet for Zhuang Chi to hear clearly, but Olivia quickly looked up with a smile, changing the subject with a bright voice, clearly not wanting her to press the matter. Zhuang Chi let it go and joined the conversation for a few sentences. Just then, she felt a poke on her elbow. Zhuang Chi turned to see Gu Ximian’s eyes.
“...What Lou Che said just now,” Gu Ximian’s expression was calm, as if she were just bringing up a random topic. “Perhaps it’s true? What if I really did overwrite your addiction during your susceptible period? What would you think?”
What would she think? Zhuang Chi blinked in confusion. “Then... it couldn’t be helped, right?”
But Gu Ximian seemed dissatisfied with this answer. After a moment of silence, she pressed on, “...Then what if... I’m just saying, what if I did it on purpose?”
“...” What a strange question. The few Alphas who were eavesdropping either gasped or shook their heads with a “tsk.” An Chen even clutched his chest and turned away, his face pale. Zhuang Chi couldn’t be sure of Gu Ximian’s intention. She thought about it seriously. Compared to Lily, she personally preferred Gu Ximian’s pheromones, and from Gu Ximian’s perspective, there was no benefit to doing such a thing. So, she responded uncertainly, “...Then I would... thank you...?”
As soon as she said this, Gu Ximian’s originally tense brow suddenly relaxed, becoming brighter than spring flowers. Her lips curved up just a little, but her voice was incredibly soft. “...You’re so silly. Why would you thank me? Shouldn’t you be angry?”
Gu Ximian thought this as her gaze swept imperceptibly over Olivia. The smile on the little blonde-haired, blue-eyed princess’s face was clearly strained. She quietly retracted her gaze.
It was best if Zhuang Chi was only this silly with her. Otherwise, she might be the one to get angry first.
Back at school, it was time for studies and work.
The memory of the Greek cultural and art exhibition had nearly faded under the deluge of the susceptible period incident. Fortunately, everyone had taken photos. After returning to school, they gathered again in the Presidium for a proper meeting and finally managed to settle on a direction for the ball’s decorations and other tasks. There was a lot of preparation to do, and when they got busy, they were truly busy, which gave Zhuang Chi the feeling that life was suddenly back on track.
It was fulfilling and not at all unpleasant, but there was one problem that would distract her from time to time, Zhuang Chi thought. It was Gu Ximian’s perfume. She could smell it very clearly now.
She didn’t know if it was because an Alpha’s five senses gradually became sharper after differentiation or for some other reason, but in any case, Zhuang Chi discovered it after her susceptible period returned: she was much more sensitive to Gu Ximian’s perfume than before. Gu Ximian had always worn very little, and before her susceptible period, she could barely smell it. But now it was a different story. The moment Gu Ximian sat down beside her, the fragrance would drift elusively to the tip of her nose, cool and ethereal, stirring a heat all the way through her heart.
It was just perfume, with absolutely no pheromones in it, but due to the power of association in her memory, the more Zhuang Chi smelled it, the more uneasy she felt. Her mind filled with bizarre and motley images of the two of them together during the susceptible period. But this was a very difficult problem to bring up—was she supposed to ask Gu Ximian not to wear it or to change her perfume? Zhuang Chi knew this was entirely her personal problem and couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth, especially since she quite liked the scent.
Sigh, and if she really were to tell Gu Ximian, she would inevitably have to explain the reason for her unease, which would be tantamount to confessing that she “could smell the same scent in Gu Ximian’s pheromones.”
Right now, during a regular meeting in the Presidium office, Zhuang Chi was fidgeting and lost in these thoughts. When she heard An Chen say, “Someone’s spacing out,” she guiltily sat up straighter, only to hear him call someone else’s name. “Olivia? Are you listening?”
Olivia, whose name was called, looked up a beat late, blinking as if waking from a dream. A look of sincere guilt appeared on her face. “...I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening carefully... I might be a little sleepy. I’ll go wash my face. Excuse me.”
She bowed her head to An Chen as she spoke, then stood up and left. After she closed the door, the room was quiet for a long moment before Ling Jing was the first to speak in a lowered voice, “...Don’t you guys think Olivia has been like this lately... absent-minded?”
“I do,” Lou Che said concisely. “I ran into her in the cafeteria a couple of days ago. She was the same way while eating. She got sauce on the side of her mouth while eating a sandwich—don’t give me that ‘so what?’ look, Ling Jing. It might be normal for you, but Olivia is a princess. Her table manners have always been impeccable. This is very telling.”
Perhaps finding his words reasonable, Ling Jing frowned in thought and had a realization. “Then she must be troubled by something! We should find a way to help her!”
“...Don’t even think about it.”
It was Lou Che who responded again. He sighed and said, “I know you mean well, but your ability to read the room is sometimes worse than a middle schooler’s... We can’t help. Don’t go bothering Olivia.”
“Huh...” Ling Jing didn’t understand at all, looking perplexed. “The way you say it, it’s like you already know what’s bothering her. Did she tell you? Can you tell me too? Even if it’s something you can’t help with, maybe I can think of a way?”
Lou Che shot her a look that said, “there’s no such thing in this world,” then glanced at Zhuang Chi before looking away and sighing. “Give it up, Ling Jing. You can’t help either. In this situation... even I know that saying her thoughts out loud would be a very cruel thing to do. Just stop being curious.”
Zhuang Chi’s heart skipped a beat at his glance, feeling that he was hinting at something. But before she could think about it, Gu Ximian’s cool voice sounded, “Gossiping about someone behind their back like this is also a very cruel thing to do. I advise you all to say less. In my experience, this is how the person in question very easily ends up hearing it.”
The two of them immediately fell silent. Gu Ximian’s gaze shifted and landed on Zhuang Chi. In a low voice that only the two of them could hear, she said, “...You seem to be spacing out a lot lately too. Is it also related to Olivia’s troubles?”
No. It’s because your perfume smells too good.
...The answer surfaced quickly in her mind, but Zhuang Chi hastily erased it and, following Gu Ximian’s example, lowered her voice. “No, it has nothing to do with Olivia.”
Gu Ximian had wanted to ask more, but Olivia returned to the room just then, and the topic was temporarily shelved.
Back in her dorm, Zhuang Chi thought about it again. She felt that perhaps Lou Che was trying to say... Olivia’s recent poor state had something to do with her?
She found this somewhat puzzling. After all, her recent interactions with Olivia felt quite normal, and nothing strange had happened...
Speaking of which, she still hadn’t thanked Olivia for what happened during the susceptible period, Zhuang Chi thought. Although she hadn’t actually let Olivia help her, for an Alpha to be willing to say such things was truly remarkable. Every time she thought about it, Zhuang Chi felt the weight of their friendship was deeply moving.
But she felt that Olivia had probably shouldered a responsibility that wasn’t hers. Zhuang Chi thought she should find a good time to have a proper talk with Olivia about what happened before. Unexpectedly, she saw Olivia’s figure downstairs at the dormitory building the next day.
“...Zhuang Chi.”
She was clearly waiting for her. Those blue eyes lit up when she saw Zhuang Chi appear. Olivia stood up a little straighter, looking slightly ill at ease. Her voice was also a little shaky; she was nervous, but she didn’t stop.
“Do you... have time right now? Can I talk to you?”
Post a Comment