Yun Chuji awoke to the sight of police officers and doctors.
She looked around the unfamiliar place in a daze and subconsciously asked, “Miss Tang?”
“Hm?” An alpha doctor in a white coat let out a questioning hum.
Yun Chuji immediately clamped her mouth shut.
Then, she asked hesitantly, “Excuse me, where is this?”
The doctor gave her a kind smile. “This is the hospital, Miss Yun. You fainted from excessive pheromone release.”
Yun Chuji froze for a moment, then the memories from before she passed out flooded her mind. She realized a crucial issue and asked urgently, “The male alpha with me, Feng Ling, is he okay?”
The doctor glanced at his files. “He hasn’t woken up yet, but he was brought in promptly. It shouldn’t be anything serious.”
“What about… the others?”
Yun Chuji remembered being consumed by rage, her pheromones erupting uncontrollably. The last thing she recalled was everyone in the boxing ring collapsing to the ground.
“Well, nine have woken up. Two are in good condition and have already been taken to the police station.”
Yun Chuji paused, glancing at the police officer watching her intently. She seemed to understand why they were here and asked, “Will I have to go to the police station later?”
The doctor chuckled and rubbed his forehead. “Miss Yun, that’s not what you should be primarily concerned about right now.”
“Your rank has increased. Haven’t you noticed?”
Yun Chuji looked completely bewildered; she didn’t even know what the term “rank” specifically referred to.
Seeing her reaction, the doctor sighed inwardly at how carefree young alphas were these days. He had no choice but to lean down and show Yun Chuji the report in his hand. “Miss Yun, you’ve undergone a secondary differentiation into an S-rank alpha. This is rare, but not unheard of.”
“That’s why you were able to knock out over a dozen alphas by yourself. However, Miss Yun, as one of the Empire’s precious S-rank alphas, what you need first is S-rank alpha training.”
“That way, you won’t lose control again next time.”
“Lose control?” Yun Chuji murmured. The first thing that came to mind when she heard that phrase was her first night here. That was the closest description of losing control. An idea struck her. “Doctor—ah, no, Doctor, what are the usual signs of a secondary differentiation?”
The alpha doctor straightened up, crossed his arms, and clicked his tongue. Seeing as she was a rare S-rank, he didn’t show any annoyance at Yun Chuji’s frequent topic changes. He gave her a look of alpha-to-alpha understanding and explained, “Naturally, it’s a marking desire far more intense than the first differentiation. Miss Yun, to be honest, your omega must be of a high rank, otherwise your differentiation wouldn’t have been so perfect. According to records, it’s among the top three.”
The young alpha’s expression tensed at his words. No wonder. She had been able to resist Miss Tang’s pheromones the last few times, but those two days had been different. Yun Chuji was deeply vexed. She didn’t want this so-called S-rank alpha status. If she could, she wouldn’t even want to be an alpha. Yet, in exchange for this meaningless secondary differentiation, she had done something so outrageous.
But the current Yun Chuji seemed to have forgotten that Miss Tang had also been in the throes of a ravenous heat at the time.
The doctor thought she was just stunned with joy and paid it no mind, continuing on his own. “This police officer will take you to adapt to controlling your S-rank body. It will probably take a few days. Once the training is complete, an accident like this won’t happen again.”
A few days?
Yun Chuji snapped back to reality. She hadn’t forgotten her agreement with Tang Jianxi. Without her mark, Miss Tang’s body…
“Can you tell me exactly how many days?”
“That’s not certain. Everyone’s situation is different. Statistically, it’s between three and seven days.”
Yun Chuji’s heart skipped a beat—that wouldn’t do.
“Do I have to go?”
The doctor frowned. He had never seen a reaction like this. In the past, all S-rank alphas had gone joyfully. After all, once they completed the training and received the Empire’s certification, they would gain immense benefits in every aspect of life.
“This is stipulated by imperial law, Miss Yun. You’re already well aware of the destructive power of an S-rank alpha, aren’t you?”
Yun Chuji struggled. “But I have an appointment with someone. Can it be postponed for three days?”
The police officer who had been watching from the side stepped forward and said sternly, “Miss Yun, opening the training facility requires a significant amount of resources each time. Your schedule has already been arranged. According to regulations, you need to arrive within the hour.”
Yun Chuji thought hard, then tried a different approach. “Before that, shouldn’t I go to the police station like the other alphas?”
She was part of the brawl, after all.
If she went to the police station, she could find a chance to meet with Miss Tang. Whether it was to mark her in advance or do something else, it would prevent the situation from getting too dire.
The doctor straightened his clothes and chuckled. “Miss Yun, as an S-rank alpha, you enjoy certain privileges in the Empire. For a harmless brawl like this, the police station has no authority to trouble you.”
Privileges? Yun Chuji’s expression grew even more grim. Privileges meant being the center of attention, but she didn’t want to place herself under the gaze of too many people. The admonition against showing her face in public was still deeply ingrained in her bones.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and abandon her useless struggles. “Then let’s go now. I want to finish as soon as possible.”
Yun Chuji didn’t know if Tang Jianxi’s status would move them, but some intuition told her that exposing Tang Jianxi was not something she would welcome. Based on the current situation, the Empire seemed to place great importance on S-rank alphas. Yun Chuji came from a family of officials and naturally knew that the more difficult a matter, the more connections were needed. Although she and Miss Tang were open in front of strangers, she had never appeared in Tang Jianxi’s social circles. If she dragged Tang Jianxi into this, it would mean publicizing their relationship ahead of schedule, and she would be the one initiating it.
It would look as if she were forcing Miss Tang to make it public.
Yun Chuji didn’t want to cause trouble for Tang Jianxi, so she decided to be hard on herself.
If she just worked a little harder, three days was possible, wasn’t it?
And even if she was late, Miss Tang had Dr. Xie with her, so nothing bad should happen. It was better than forcing her to do something she didn’t want to do.
The doctor checked her vitals and nodded at the police officer.
And so, Yun Chuji was taken away.
It wasn’t until she was in the car that Yun Chuji realized this wasn’t her original era. She could use her comm to contact Tang Jianxi!
Yun Chuji quickly opened her comm, but the device, which had been working perfectly, was suddenly unusable. Yun Chuji looked at the officer across from her and said angrily, “Not only can I not refuse the training, but I can’t even use my comm?”
The officer remained stern, her expression flickering slightly at the question. In a voice that sounded as if it were carved from wood, she said, “Miss Yun, your rank has changed, and so have your pheromones. Therefore, your comm needs to be upgraded. During the training, it will be recalibrated to perfectly match your pheromones. In fact, Miss Yun, your comm has already sustained fifty percent wear and tear during this period.”
Pheromones, pheromones. Yun Chuji was truly sick of these pheromones. They made everything so complicated.
If there were no pheromones—
If there were no pheromones, would I still have any connection to Miss Tang?
The moment that thought appeared, all other complex thoughts dimmed, frozen over, and sank heavily. Yun Chuji lowered her gaze and replied, “Fine. Do as you wish. Do whatever you want.”
A flicker of confusion crossed the officer’s placid eyes. Everything she had just said was simply a statement of fact. Why did Yun Chuji’s reaction make it seem like she was being forced to accept it?
To prevent this newly minted S-rank alpha from developing unnecessary negative assumptions about the Empire’s system, the officer offered an explanation. “Miss Yun, every S-rank alpha who undergoes a secondary differentiation must have their comm upgraded. It’s not that we are preventing you from using it.”
“If you need to contact the outside world, I can lend you our department’s communicator. In principle, it can connect to anyone’s comm.”
“Oh, is that so?” Yun Chuji’s expression was flat. The suppressed anxiety had taken over her mind. Tang Jianxi was her only solid connection in this world, but now it seemed that connection wasn’t so solid after all. “In that case, I want to call Tang Jianxi.”
“No, never mind. A message will do.”
The officer looked troubled. “You’ll need to provide her ID number.”
Yun Chuji’s lips twitched into a strained smile. “I don’t know it.”
“If it’s a family member, they are generally similar. You just need to change the date of birth part.”
Seeing that Yun Chuji’s expression wasn’t improving, the officer quickly changed her approach. “Is she your omega?”
“If you’re married, her identity information can be found in the police department’s system.”
Yun Chuji lifted her head, her posture still impeccably upright. “There’s no need. I have nothing to say.”
“And my last comment wasn’t directed at you. It was directed at this world.”
This world that had thrown her fate into such chaos.
The topic could have ended there, but the officer couldn’t help but glance at her again and again. Then, she asked cautiously, “Excuse me, are you in your rut?”
In her experience, alphas, who usually acted like they were God’s gift to the world, only became this melodramatic during their ruts—talking about love, complaints, dissatisfaction, and pain, transforming from iron-willed brutes into princesses on a pea.
Yun Chuji shook her head. Just as she was about to say more, the officer’s comm suddenly rang.
The comm’s unique design prevented her from hearing the voice on the other end, only the officer’s replies—
“Ah, yes.”
“She’s here.”
“Yes, I’ll give it to her now.”
The officer suddenly paused the conversation, tapped her comm, and an extremely pleasant voice filled the car.
To Yun Chuji, it was also an extremely familiar voice.
“Miss Yun, can you hear me?”
For some reason, Yun Chuji found her heart pounding. Was it guilt from feeling sorry for herself over Miss Tang just moments ago, now that the person in question had called?
Ah, no.
It seemed to be more like joy.
“I can hear you!”
Tang Jianxi let out a soft laugh at the uncharacteristically enthusiastic reply, then cleared her throat and continued, “Go to the training obediently. Don’t be afraid, and get along with the strangers. It’s not a dangerous place.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just focus on your own things.”
Yun Chuji’s heart beat faster and faster with Tang Jianxi’s words, so much so that the skin over her chest felt hotter than anywhere else.
How could this be? she thought. How could there be such perfectly timed reassurance? It was as if… as if Miss Tang could hide inside her heart.
“I’ll try my best to come back as soon as possible.”
Then, with a touch of awkwardness and shyness, she added, “…Thank you for calling me like this.”
Tang Jianxi seemed to smile again. When she spoke next, her tone turned mischievous. “Were you crying just now?”
“Huh?”
“You know, with frequent marking, one can vaguely sense the other’s emotions.”
“I just felt that you seemed to be crying.”
Yun Chuji’s expression instantly became flustered. Miss Tang, what kind of person was she!
How could she just say something like that so directly in this situation!
It was so embarrassing!
“I wasn’t crying!”
“I would never cry!”
“You felt wrong!”
Yun Chuji issued a trio of denials.
The only response she got was Tang Jianxi’s increasingly cheerful laughter and the officer’s probing expression.
After a good while, Tang Jianxi mercifully said, “Alright, maybe I felt wrong.”
“You definitely did!”
“Mm, that’s right. Our Xiao Ji is an S-rank alpha now. Of course she wouldn’t cry at the drop of a hat, nor would she feel like crying, right?”
The tears that Yun Chuji had managed to hold back before were now about to fall. “Miss Tang, please don’t say any more.”
It sounded suspiciously like she was whining.
Tang Jianxi bit her lip. No, it was definitely whining.
“Alright, I won’t say any more. Take good care of yourself.”
“Goodbye, Miss Tang!”
After hanging up, Yun Chuji looked up and saw the officer’s indescribable expression, and her face instantly turned beet red.
“I…” She wanted to explain something, but didn’t know how.
“So, Miss Yun, your rut is approaching, isn’t it?”
Yun Chuji closed her eyes, dejected. “Yes, that’s right. I calculated it, and it seems to be in the next few days.”
In reality, it was still twenty days away.
“Oh.” The officer was relieved.
That explained it. If a dignified S-rank alpha was normally like that, it would be truly… a bit misleading.
On the other side, Tang Jianxi smiled as she watched the video that had already disappeared from the star-net.
Recalling their recent conversation, she thought with great satisfaction, All that talk about ‘wife, wife’… she’s clearly still my little antique.
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