MORIC - Chapter 62
Chapter 62: It's Okay to Interrogate a Love Rival
Chi Yueshan was stunned for a good while. For some reason, she glanced at Xi Zhoumeng first.
Logically, she should have been overjoyed in this situation, but right now, she had an indescribable feeling.
She should have been wearing a triumphant expression and looking at Xi Zhoumeng, yet it felt as if she were seeking her approval.
The Omega in the long dress nodded. "What are you looking at me for?"
After speaking, Xi Zhoumeng's gaze fell upon Wen Xinghuo. "Are you free tonight?"
She didn't seem to have any unusual emotions either; her eyes still held that usual nonchalance. When she raised her eyes, her long lashes could stir up a storm in one's heart.
Wen Xinghuo nodded.
Xi Zhoumeng said, "The day after tomorrow is the first-years' final drama elective performance. You should come over tonight to discuss it as well."
Wen Xinghuo had almost forgotten about this. She was busy all day, having to work part-time in addition to her training.
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Chi Yueshan's face. This was originally her exam, yet these two second-years were the ones worrying about it.
Wen Xinghuo grunted in acknowledgment and was the first to leave.
Chi Yueshan hurriedly followed, even saying to Ling Xun, "Wait for me a moment."
Ling Xun nodded.
Only she and Xi Zhoumeng were left in the room.
This was clearly an Alpha's training room, with all sorts of protective gear displayed on the walls. No matter how one looked at it, it didn't suit a dignified noble lady like Xi Zhoumeng.
It seemed she should be reclining amidst a profusion of flowers, not be frightened by these things.
But it was Ling Xun who was nervous. She was even in a bit of a dilemma, trying hard to organize her words to say something to Xi Zhoumeng.
Instead, it was Xi Zhoumeng who spoke first. Her gaze swept over Ling Xun in a fleeting manner.
From head to toe, she looked Ling Xun over until Ling Xun didn't know where to put her hands, feeling as if Xi Zhoumeng had even given her waist an extra glance.
This senior's gaze was not at all as gentle as water, as the rumors claimed; it was even somewhat sharp.
At this moment, a ridiculous thought popped into Ling Xun's head—it seemed Senior Wen Xinghuo was easier to get along with than Senior Xi.
"What does your family do?"
Xi Zhoumeng re-tied the cord on her sleeve. Her white dress looked incomparably holy, yet the decorative cords on the collar, cuffs, and hem were a silken black.
The fingers tying the cord were fair and smooth, a stark contrast of black and white. Because she was so slow and deliberate, it made Ling Xun even more nervous.
"My family is in the paper industry... Senior."
Ling Xun was naturally delicate and refined, and her face was considered above average among Alphas.
Xi Zhoumeng looked at her a couple more times. "Are you the only child in your family?"
Ling Xun felt as if she were being interrogated. The question was, why was Xi Zhoumeng asking in such detail?
"I have a younger sister."
Xi Zhoumeng let out an "oh." "Has she differentiated?"
Ling Xun shook her head. "She's still very young."
Xi Zhoumeng was very direct. "So, who will inherit your family's fortune, you or her?"
Ling Xun let out a soft "ah."
Her mother had passed away a few years ago, and her current younger sister was born to the Omega her father had newly married.
The family was currently very harmonious, without any of the common squabbles over inheritance.
They were also very proud of Ling Xun. It was just that Ling Xun wanted too much and was never satisfied with second or third place.
Xi Zhoumeng: "Is that a difficult question to answer?"
Her expression made it seem as if it were Ling Xun's fault. Ling Xun stammered, "That's up to my father."
Xi Zhoumeng: "Would your family allow you to marry an Omega from the Lower World?"
"Ah?!"
Ling Xun was so shocked her jaw was about to drop.
It was as if something had blown her mind open, and she even stuttered, "Wh-what did you say?"
Xi Zhoumeng's gaze was filled with disdain, as if Ling Xun were some upstart Alpha her daughter had brought home, completely unpresentable from the inside out.
【System: What are you doing???!】
【Xi Zhoumeng: I'm asking about her family situation.】
【System: You're not Chi Yueshan's mother!】
【Xi Zhoumeng: Without me, there would be no her. I'm her creator, so what's wrong with checking her out?】
Her self-righteousness left the system at a loss for words.
Xi Zhoumeng looked at the still-frozen Ling Xun. "You still don't get what I mean?"
Ling Xun: "I..."
"I haven't confessed to Yueshan yet."
Xi Zhoumeng let out another "oh," one that was very meaningful. "But she likes Wen Xinghuo. Do you think you have a chance?"
Ling Xun had known that for a long time. After all, the entire academy knew that Wen Xinghuo had a first-year Omega who was madly in love with her.
But Wen Xinghuo also had a top-tier Omega childhood friend.
Everyone thought it was a hopeless case.
Besides, from getting to know Chi Yueshan, Ling Xun discovered that Chi Yueshan's feelings for Wen Xinghuo weren't what she had thought.
It was closer to a mixture of admiration and pursuit.
One could say it was absolutely pure, which made her seem incredibly adorable.
The refined and gentle Alpha smiled. "I can always be by her side."
She looked at Xi Zhoumeng. "I didn't expect you and Yueshan to be so close."
Xi Zhoumeng was undoubtedly concerned about Chi Yueshan, even if their conversations seemed to be filled with the smell of gunpowder.
Ling Xun: "If she's willing to be with me, I can definitely convince my family."
【System: How touching~】
It was having a blast watching the drama, never expecting to see its host get a taste of her own medicine.
But Xi Zhoumeng's sharp tongue was as consistent as ever.
【Are you moved?】
【If you're so moved, why don't you give it a try? You don't even have a human form.】
【System: I'm just data~~ Ling Xun is very beautiful too. If I were an Omega, I'd consider her. Aww, Wen Xinghuo is also very reliable. What to do, I can't choose!】
【Xi Zhoumeng: I see you've completely turned into Chi Yueshan. You can let her be your host.】
【System: I was destined to be by your side.】
Perhaps it was Xi Zhoumeng's silence that made Ling Xun a little uneasy. For a moment, she had the illusion that Xi Zhoumeng was like Chi Yueshan's elder.
The next second, Xi Zhoumeng chuckled. "She likes the strongest Alpha. You still need to work hard."
This wasn't a lie, and Ling Xun knew it well.
Everyone is drawn to the strong, but above the strong, there is always someone stronger. Ling Xun could be the top first-year Alpha, but she couldn't be the top Alpha at Guyun Academy.
During her student years, she had a senior, Wen Xinghuo, with S+ spiritual power and an S combat rating, and that was without a dedicated mecha.
Everyone knew she would have a bright future.
"I will work hard."
Ling Xun hummed in agreement, but she couldn't hold back in the end and asked Xi Zhoumeng, "Then, Senior, from what standpoint are you asking me questions about Yueshan?"
The first-year Alpha was the complete opposite of Wen Xinghuo.
She didn't have Wen Xinghuo's mountain-like pressure, but she had a hidden edge, and her smile was like a spring breeze.
Xi Zhoumeng had to admit that if she were purely a reader, she would think that the supporting character Chi Yueshan and Ling Xun were the best choice.
"Me?"
She found it very difficult to answer this question.
Why should I care?
Because I don't want that person to die.
The predetermined fate has deviated in countless ways, so will this world still proceed as I know it?
There's definitely something wrong with Chi Yueshan. She might not be the Chi Yueshan from the book, whose life was summed up in a few brief strokes.
She's almost like someone took this name and wrote her side story on this timeline.
Adding strange settings.
Including the character of Xi Zhoumeng, who is also different now.
And Ling Xun, a person not mentioned in the main text at all.
The cousin of Wen Xinghuo's friend from Guyun Academy, Xi Shuang.
I don't think this person existed.
If the timeline and events are the same as before, then on this side story, what kind of future will Chi Yueshan and I have?
A one hundred percent match?
【System: Didn't you say Chi Yueshan is your type?】
【System: You've already slept with her, and now you're saying you don't like her?】
【System: You're such a scumbag.】
"What do you think?"
Xi Zhoumeng looked at Ling Xun, her eyes seemingly shrouded in a lonely, dusty mist.
It actually made Ling Xun think she had some other ideas.
"Senior, don't look at me like that. I'll get shy."
Chi Yueshan lowered her head slightly, her hands unconsciously fiddling with the corner of her clothes, wrinkling the freshly ironed uniform robe again.
Paired with her shyly lowered head and flushed ear tips, anyone passing by would have thought it was some kind of confession scene.
The sky was getting dark, and the lights in the Alpha division's corridor were lit.
Compared to the style of the Omega division, the entire Alpha division had a more industrial feel, and even the lights seemed cold.
But anyone standing next to Wen Xinghuo would have a height difference. She had a large frame, with shoulders slightly broader than a typical Alpha's, but it didn't make her look bulky. If she dressed up, she would actually have a unique charm.
Chi Yueshan didn't dare to look at her. She felt like such a pervert, actually starting to compare whether Wen Xinghuo or Xi Zhoumeng had bigger breasts.
Xi Zhoumeng even pads her butt, and her chest is padded too, not as natural as mine.
But Senior Wen is different, a combination of strength and beauty. Unlike Xi Zhoumeng's gym-honed body, she looks like a beast from the school of hand-to-hand combat, no matter how you look at it.
A wild beast!
Chi Yueshan's mind was a mess, already wandering to how she would reject Wen Xinghuo if she confessed.
Hey, why reject her!
That shouldn't be right!
But I really can't imagine being with Senior, she's so big!
And we haven't seen each other in so many years, we haven't even started talking, like about common interests. It would be nice if she told me where she works part-time.
Meeting someone from my hometown is so heartwarming, sob sob sob. It's completely different from the painful, suffocating feeling of being with Xi Zhoumeng.
Recently, there were many exams, as well as summary reports from the upperclassmen returning from practical training. Many people passed by, and when they saw the tall Alpha and the small Omega on the little platform extending from the corner, they couldn't help but take a look.
Some even whistled and let out teasing laughs.
The separate AO divisions didn't completely forbid visitors; one just had to register with a guide.
But for someone like Chi Yueshan who had few friends, only Ling Xun could help.
Another whistle sounded, and Wen Xinghuo sighed.
"Did we really know each other before?"
Wen Xinghuo felt helpless; she also thought Chi Yueshan's attitude was a bit exaggerated.
Chi Yueshan let out an "ah." She ruffled her hair and looked up, completely losing the shy, didn't-dare-look-people-in-the-eye state she was in just moments before.
"Really!"
She almost jumped up to debate with Wen Xinghuo. "I've been wanting to sit down and talk with you, but I never got the chance!"
The little Omega's pair of green eyes were actually very striking. Although eye colors varied throughout Guyun Academy, green eyes were truly rare.
Moreover, Chi Yueshan's eye shape was naturally beautiful, as if they were innately shimmering with light. If it weren't for her jumpy and chattering personality, she would probably be the type whose gaze alone would make people overthink.
"And Senior, you were so sure you didn't know me before!"
"I was so hurt!"
Every sentence she spoke was filled with excitement. She claimed she didn't dare to look at the person, yet it seemed she was scolding Wen Xinghuo from beginning to end.
Wen Xinghuo sat down on a nearby bench. "Sit down and talk."
"Which district of the Lower World are you from?"
Chi Yueshan: "At first, I was in E-District. My father was an Omega. He married my Alpha stepmother, and I lived there until I was six. Then my father passed away, and I was kicked out."
She said this without any sadness. "So I just wandered around, because there was a line for the shelter. You know that, right, Senior?"
Wen Xinghuo nodded.
"I met you the second year. In D-District. Some older kids were trying to steal my food and beat me up, and you saved me."
Chi Yueshan lowered her head, looking at her nails that hadn't chipped off yet. High-quality stuff was really impressive; the peachy-pink color was still pretty under the white light.
It was just that her hands weren't very pretty. They had fine scars and thick calluses on the fingers. Just as a tree has growth rings, this was the evidence of her growing up.
"Your hair tie was left to you by your mother, right?"
Chi Yueshan calmly glanced at Wen Xinghuo. They were sitting on the same bench, but with an arm's length of distance between them.
Not close, yet not distant.
Chi Yueshan didn't feel sad either. After all, with the distinction between A and O, being this close to the other person was a treatment she had only dreamed of before.
What's more, Wen Xinghuo had protected her when the electronic dog rushed at her.
Wen Xinghuo: "You even know that?"
Chi Yueshan: "You told me."
She sighed and turned to look at the Alpha who was still very large even when sitting down. "Senior, did you get sick and forget about me?"
She recalled that day with great emotion. "If it weren't for you, I might have been beaten to death."
There were many stray children in the Lower World; after all, not all children were registered.
From A-District to F-District, the last few districts were a mess—slums, garbage dumps, mass graves.
A rotten mess, where the air stank, and people instinctively struggled to survive.
"But you weren't much better off. You almost died even though you won."
Chi Yueshan's voice was very clear, but usually, she was too loud and competitive, so people's impression of her was based on her personality.
Not this vocal tone she had when she was calm.
"It rained so hard that day, the pipes couldn't handle it. Your wound got swollen from the water. I was afraid you'd die, so I dragged you to find a doctor."
The Chi Yueshan of that year was already a child with a year of experience as a stray, yet she was still afraid of death.
Especially for this person who had saved her.
Another pair of crimson eyes, like a ball of fire.
She heard Wen Xinghuo say her name, carved it into her heart, and eventually externalized it as a tattoo.
"I had no money, and the clinic wouldn't let me in. Later, a kind auntie helped."
Chi Yueshan unconsciously fiddled with her watch, the golden button. "That was my master, but I had to go with her."
"And then?"
Wen Xinghuo asked.
The sky had already darkened. The academy's teaching buildings were brightly lit, and in the distance, one could see the maglev trains of the sky-rail whistling past.
The air in the Upper World was very good, and there were stars in the night sky.
Chi Yueshan said dejectedly, "But when I went back to find you, you, a person on the verge of death, had just disappeared."
Chi Yueshan's uniform robe was crumpled like dried vegetables. "I searched for a long time. The old man selling cigarettes at the far end of the street said a lot of people came and that you would never come back in this lifetime."
Her tone sounded very light, but Wen Xinghuo heard a hint of sadness.
Especially when Chi Yueshan whispered, "It's a good thing you said you believed I'd grow up to protect you."
That was actually just nonsense back then. Chi Yueshan herself was feverish and injured, making a child's grand vow in a daze.
The semi-conscious Wen Xinghuo had also nodded along in a daze.
However, this memory of Chi Yueshan's was completely different in Wen Xinghuo's mind.
In her memory of this event, the little girl she had saved had a pair of translucent purple eyes, like fragile glass.
She had looked at her and cried as if they were reuniting after a long separation.
Why?
Chi Yueshan had no reason to lie. So, can a person have two pasts?
Sheng Yangkui, a royal princess, was separated from her group while out and was taken away by child traffickers.
And that year, a Zerg swarm attacked other star systems, which also affected the Capital Star. The Queen's health had been declining ever since.
Not to mention, many people died from organ failure due to Zerg radiation.
Seeing that Wen Xinghuo hadn't reacted for a long time, Chi Yueshan glanced at her.
The other girl had her head down, a braid hidden in her high ponytail. The gold thread on the old hair tie had faded, yet it gave this person a sense of gravity.
Chi Yueshan thought of Wen Xinghuo's firm denial that day and didn't have much expectation left.
"Actually... I was very sad that day, but on second thought, it's good that you were taken back by your family."
"It's just, why was it so coincidental? If it had been a day later, that would have been fine... I wanted to talk to you more."
Chi Yueshan took a deep breath, having finally come to terms with it. "But wanting to come to Guyun Academy to see you was my own business. I've been working towards this goal for all these years."
She looked at her lifelong aspiration, the absolute sense of security and the thrill of that selfless protection.
It had made Chi Yueshan an incredibly strong Omega.
As if fulfilling a long-held wish, she felt light all over. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you."
She smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, which reminded Wen Xinghuo of their first meeting at the academy, of Chi Yueshan's over-the-top reaction.
Screaming, laughing, disbelief.
This time, Chi Yueshan reined in all her excitement and disappointment, only making a very sincere request—
"Can I have a hug?"
Comments
Post a Comment