Part 2
Qin Yao sighed, running a hand through his hair, frustration showing on his haggard face. Resting his chin on the back of the chair, he looked utterly defeated. “What should I do? Bai He won’t talk to me. He blocked me.”
“Is that why you came to see me? To get me to contact him?” Ji Feng glanced at the pitiful Alpha beside him, then looked away. “Playing the pity card won’t work. I’m not helping you.”
“You really don’t care?” Qin Yao asked with a bitter expression.
“I don’t know what happened between you two, but if it’s your fault, you need to solve it yourself,” Ji Feng said, crossing his arms. “Helping you would mean taking your side, and frankly, that wouldn’t be fair to Bai He. So, I won’t interfere.”
Ji Feng wasn’t joking. Qin Yao could tell. He remained silent for a moment, realizing this method was a dead end. Just as he was about to leave, Ji Feng’s phone on the desk beeped a few times.
The screen lit up, and Qin Yao noticed the familiar profile picture. It was Bai He. He hesitated, not leaving.
Ji Feng glanced at Qin Yao and picked up his phone. Indeed, it was a message from Bai He, a long paragraph of text.
At the end of the message, Bai He apologized twice. It was clear he had struggled to write it.
After reading it, Ji Feng locked his phone and looked at the anxious Qin Yao, summarizing the content of the message in one sentence: “Bai He has withdrawn from his internship.”
Qin Yao’s eyes widened. After a long silence, he heard himself ask in a dry voice, “…Why?”
Ji Feng looked at him. “You don’t know?”
He lowered his gaze, his voice calm and detached. “He had a late secondary gender differentiation. He’s an Omega. He can’t stay at Alpha University, so the internship is revoked.”
It was as if Qin Yao had heard something unbelievable. His expression was blank. “…Omega?”
He closed his mouth, standing there in silence. After a long while, Qin Yao let out a bitter laugh, mocking himself. “I really am a bastard.”
He didn’t bother Ji Feng any further and returned to the nineteenth floor. After being away for a little while, a pile of work had already accumulated. Qin Yao stood at his desk, pulling out his phone. He found Bai He’s profile and clicked on it. All the messages he had sent were marked red.
He put down his phone and buried his face in his hands, taking a deep breath.
It was too late. Everything was too late. He should have resolved this earlier, but now, it had become such a mess, and it was all his fault.
Qin Yao looked out of the window at the clear, cloudless sky. It was still early, with a long time left until the end of the workday.
…
Bai He walked out of Secretary Li’s office, holding a letter of recommendation for his transfer. Just as he stepped out of Alpha University’s gates, Xia Xiao Miao’s call came through.
“Xiao Bai He, how are the transfer procedures going? I’m waiting for you at Omega University’s entrance. No rush, take your time,” Xia Xiao Miao said, adding, “Oh, by the way, if you want to live on campus, I just checked, and there are single dorms available, but you’ll need to apply separately.”
“I know. Thank you, Xiao Miao Ge,” Bai He said as he flagged down a taxi. After chatting a bit more with Xia Xiao Miao, he hung up the phone and tiredly rubbed his eyes.
The fever medicine had started to work, and his fever had subsided, but his body still felt exhausted.
Transferring schools wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. Bai He had spent the whole night awake, thinking things through, and eventually came to terms with it.
He had come to this world alone, always determined to live a good life for himself. He had done it, yet not completely.
A few days ago, the midterm exams had been held. Today, the results were released. The phone in Bai He’s hand displayed his report card.
Ranked first in the third-year Political Science department, Bai He had achieved the top scores in every subject, just narrowly surpassing the second place.
This was the result of the time he had squeezed out to study.
But Bai He didn’t feel happy. What he felt was more of a sense of relief from completing a task.
His original major wasn’t Political Science, and he didn’t particularly like it. When Bai He arrived here, it was as if he had automatically locked himself into the role of the original owner of this body.
He respected the original owner and didn’t want to ruin the efforts they had made, but now he was in great pain. The entire night of thinking and struggling had left him feeling raw and exposed by dawn.
Perhaps things weren’t as difficult or complicated as he had imagined. If given the chance, he would apologize to the original owner. But now, Bai He was going to do what he truly wanted.
Starting over again required just a bit of determination.
As well as addressing the impact his departure might have on the people in Jin Yu’s administrative office. Bai He knew that his leaving might cause some trouble for them, and he had taken his time to carefully compose the message he sent to Team Leader Ji.
“Literature?” Xia Xiao Miao asked, holding Bai He’s transfer documents. “I remember you were studying Political Science before?”
“Yeah,” Bai He nodded. “But I actually like Literature more.”
“Is that so?” Xia Xiao Miao smiled. “As long as you like it. You’re in your third year, so you’ll probably have a lot of courses to catch up on, plus Omega University’s mandatory courses. It might get busy.”
Xia Xiao Miao had graduated from Omega University. He patted Bai He’s back and smiled, “But I believe you can handle it.”
He then winked, taking a few steps forward before walking backward, grinning as he sized up Bai He. “I never expected you to be an Omega. When I first saw you, I thought, ‘Wow, such a beautiful person. And they’re studying at Alpha University? I’m practically in awe of you!’”
Bai He was amused, chuckling. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you before. I was attending Alpha University as a Beta. I thought I was a Beta, but then I suddenly differentiated.”
“I figured as much,” Xia Xiao Miao said, bouncing along with his hands behind his back. “When you called me in the morning and said you had differentiated and needed to transfer schools, I guessed it.”
With that, Xia Xiao Miao flashed a bright smile. “That’s why I said, you’re truly amazing. Alpha University is really hard to get into, and you’ve got such good grades. Even now, transferring schools, I’m sure you’ll catch up in no time.”
Too many indescribable emotions were resolved at that moment. Bai He gave a quiet “Mm,” and said, “Thank you, Xiao Miao Ge.”
Xia Xiao Miao had to go to work in the afternoon, and around noon, Jiang Rong came to pick him up. Bai He stood at the intersection, watching them leave. Afterward, he wandered around Omega University by himself for a long time.
The university was large, about the same size as Alpha University. The students here were generally smaller in stature compared to those at Alpha University.
Along the way, he found the single dormitory building and followed the instructions of his new advisor to apply for a single dorm room. The dorm manager handed him the keys and air conditioner remote, then reminded him, “There’s a curfew for the dorms, so make sure to come back on time. If you’re late, it’s your own responsibility.”
Bai He paused for a moment, asking, “What happens if I’m late?”
The dorm manager raised an eyebrow, gesturing with her chin toward a small blackboard on the opposite wall. “See for yourself. Same as them.”
Bai He turned his head and immediately spotted several photos pinned to the blackboard. Among them was a photo of Bai Lu, with the chalk-written note beneath it: “Late 14 times, three warnings, recorded demerit.”
“…Bai Lu also attends this university, huh?” Bai He thought to himself, realizing that Bai Lu hadn’t been home for half a month, and apparently hadn’t been attending school either.
He turned back to the dorm manager and said, “My stuff won’t arrive until tomorrow, so I won’t be staying in the dorm tonight.”
The dorm manager nodded, pushing a form toward Bai He. “Fill this out.”
With the dormitory formalities completed, Bai He had done everything he needed to for the day. He glanced at the time: 4:20 p.m., still early.
Leaving Omega University, Bai He walked along the riverside, aimlessly, emptying his mind and listening to the sound of the water lapping against the shore. Gradually, a sense of peace settled over him.
The weather was no longer as hot as it had been in the height of summer. The breeze along the river cooled his face, carrying with it the faint scent of flowers. Across the river was a field of flowers, where Bai He saw several students stopping to take photos.
“Why didn’t I walk that way earlier?” Bai He thought for a moment, then realized that it was only from this side of the river that he could see the full, painting-like scenery. So, in a way, he hadn’t missed out.
He walked for a long time, losing track of time. When the golden veil of dusk draped over the earth, the river glistened like flowing gold.
He had been walking for a long time, unconsciously losing track of time. When the golden veil of dusk draped over the earth, the river shimmered like flowing gold, and the orange light stretched the shadows of people long and far.
From a distance, two elongated shadows could be seen, one in front and the other behind, separated by several meters. The one in front was strolling, while the one behind followed, always maintaining a distance neither too close nor too far.
A flock of pigeons flew across the river, and Bai He tilted his head slightly to observe. His hair drifted in the breeze as his gaze caught the shadow behind him.
There were few pedestrians on this road. In fact, he had long noticed someone behind him, thanks to the scent of pheromones.
Bai He silently withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward. The distance to his home was still quite far. He had originally planned to walk all the way back. Naturally, he would keep walking the remaining stretch, but his mood was no longer as calm as before.
This road was long, and it seemed like Bai He was driven by some kind of persistence. He didn’t hail a cab and stubbornly walked until nightfall. The person behind him followed until nightfall as well, always maintaining a distance of about five or six meters, but never coming closer.
By late night, the quiet was broken by the faint chirping of insects. Bai He came to a stop under the apartment building, and the person behind him also halted.
He stood silently for a few seconds before turning around, gazing across the distance at the alpha who was almost swallowed by the darkness.
Qin Yao was wearing a hat. He lifted his head and met Bai He’s gaze.
They stared at each other in silence.
Finally, Qin Yao parted his lips. His voice was soft, as if afraid to disturb the stillness of the night.
“Bai He, I’m sorry.”
Bai He remained silent. After a long pause, he lowered his eyes and turned to enter the apartment.
Let the grovel begin!
ReplyDeletetruth!!! I really would love him to grovel.
DeleteYes
DeleteThanks for the update
ReplyDelete