Click, click, the crisp sound of typing echoed in the office.
“Hah,” after finally finishing the work at hand, Xu Xintong raised her head and stared blankly at the ceiling.
She clutched the exquisite invitation card in her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly. Every single stroke of that familiar name seemed carved into the tip of her heart: Nong Wanshi. Those three words were like a blunt knife, slowly and heavily slicing open the wound she was desperately trying to hide.
Five years of time had been like a silent film. Nong Wanshi was her good friend, and even more, the person held closest to her heart. She had watched her smile, watched her cry, and watched her converse and laugh easily with others.
Every time she drew close, she had been extremely cautious, terrified that the racing beat of her heart would give away her secret.
Countless times, she had imagined that perhaps one day, Nong Wanshi would turn back, see her, and then…
And then what? She dared not let her mind wander further, because dreams always have to end.
Both of them were Omegas, and Nong Wanshi had always preferred Alphas.
And now, the dream had truly ended. The date on the invitation, tomorrow, felt like a cold verdict, declaring the end of something she had never even truly possessed.
She tried to force a smile, only to find her lips stiff, as if frozen solid. It felt as though something was blocking her throat, refusing to go down and unable to come up.
She stood up and walked over to the window. The deep night felt like a massive boulder pressing down on her chest.
The wind blew past, carrying a chill, yet it could not disperse the suffocating ache in her heart.
Closing her eyes, Nong Wanshi’s smile surfaced in her mind, so vivid, yet so distant.
Xu Xintong knew that from this moment on, that smile no longer belonged to her, nor even to her own fantasies.
She took a deep breath and gently placed the invitation card back onto the desk, as if setting down a heavy burden.
Xu Xintong also knew she ought to bless her, to smile as she attended her wedding and watch her walk toward happiness.
Yet why did her heart feel so hollow, as if someone had brutally gouged a piece right out of it?
She tried to stop thinking, began to run away, and started numbing herself with work, but soon enough, the day of the wedding arrived.
Guests were as numerous as clouds, and the sound of laughter and chatter filled the air. The wedding venue was bustling with activity; attendees were dressed in formal attire, their faces beaming with joyful smiles.
Laughter and chatter intertwined, as if the entire space was filled with an atmosphere of happiness.
The champagne tower shimmered with crystal-clear brilliance under the lights, and the crystal chandelier cast a soft glow that complemented the candlelight, enveloping the entire wedding in a dreamy ambiance.
The crisp sound of clinking wine glasses rose one after another, and the band’s performance was melodious and charming, playing like a grand movement composed for this magnificent wedding.
Naturally fond of lively crowds, Xu Xintong now only found the scene annoying and wanted to leave immediately.
“You are here. Would you like to go inside and take a seat?”
The lively commotion instantly faded into the background. Xu Xintong could only hear Nong Wanshi’s cool, clear voice, and the feelings she had struggled so hard to calm down were stirred into ripples once more.
“I will not go in. I still have work left to finish, so you guys have fun.”
Suppressing the unbearable emotions, she forced a smile and turned to leave.
What utter bullshit work; she was practically on the verge of getting laid off anyway, Xu Xintong muttered darkly to herself.
As soon as she stepped out the front door, she felt the outside air was unusually crisp and fresh.
Yet she did not want to go back home. At home, her father had passed away from illness, and her mother lay depressed and bedridden in the hospital.
She felt like such a failure, capable only of watching the person she loved drift further and further away step by step, completely powerless to stop it.
Feeling irritated and restless, she ruffled her hair into a mess, hailed a cab, and headed to her usual bar. Right now, she just wanted to use alcohol to numb her nerves.
“Another one! Fill it up for me! What kind of damn wedding is this! I should not have gone in the first place!”
Seeing this person who still wanted another refill, the bartender genuinely felt a headache coming on. This was already the twenty-third drink; she could not let her drink any more. Even though a single drink did not have a very high alcohol content, drinking like this could easily prove fatal.
“Miss, our bar is closing. Do you think we can call a cab for you?”
The bartender bowed slightly, his tone gentle and polite. Though his voice carried a trace of exhaustion, he still maintained professional concern.
“It is fine! I am not drunk! I can go back by myself!”
Helpless, the bartender had no choice but to support her out the door.
The stars at night were always so dazzling, and the streetlights cast a dim, sparse glow.
Her footsteps were somewhat unsteady, the sound of her high heels striking the pavement echoing in the empty street.
A gentle breeze swept by, carrying the distinct chill of the night.
It blew away her stray locks of hair, but failed to sweep away the heavy burden weighing upon her heart.
The alcohol flowed through her veins, and her thoughts began to slow down.
She looked up at the sky. The night sky was pitch black, and even the stars had hidden away, as if mocking her loneliness.
Yet she failed to notice a large truck barreling toward her, swerving unsteadily from side to side.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, the driver suddenly snapped to his senses and began frantically spinning the steering wheel, but it was already too late.
The blinding headlights pierced her eyes. She felt only a tearing flesh-and-blood impact, and everything before her eyes seemed to blur into oblivion.
“Am I dead?”
Slowly opening her eyes, Xu Xintong’s vision grew clearer, and she faintly caught sight of the figure of her former high school homeroom teacher, Old Cai.
“Looks like I really…”
Accepting the outcome of death with resignation, she prepared to close her eyes once more.
“Well, well, Xu Xintong! I see you are sleeping like the dead! You actually dare to sleep in my class!”
“Ah! That hurts!”
Struck by a sudden flying piece of chalk, she cried out in pain.
She snapped her eyes wide open, suddenly realizing, wasn’t she dead? Why was this happening?
In disbelief, she pinched her own thigh and forcefully squeezed her face, feeling an even sharper pain.
“This is not a dream.”
“I am not dead yet.”
Everyone was startled by Xu Xintong’s sudden sobbing and felt a bit baffled. Usually, wasn’t she always able to dodge chalk projectiles?
What was wrong with her today? Was she still daze-sleepy?
Sensing everyone’s gazes turning toward her, Xu Xintong felt a bit embarrassed.
Pressing her palms together, she apologized, “Sorry, sorry! Old Cai, go ahead, continue, please! I promise I will not sleep anymore!”
Hearing her call him Old Cai, the rest of the class was even more shocked, their eyes filled with a mix of confusion and sympathy.
“YOU SAY WHAT!”
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Xu Xintong did not even dare to breathe loudly and simply lowered her head.
“Xu Xintong! Come to my office after class!”
As expected, she was totally doomed! A teacher in her twenties had a fiery temper!
After being chewed out from head to toe by Cai Feiyun, Xu Xintong obediently returned to the classroom. As soon as she sat down, a wave of urgency hit her, and she prepared to bolt out of the room.
The bell rang. Class was starting, and her world was collapsing.
She definitely did not want to get summoned back to the office again.
As an adult, the feeling of being scolded for bad behavior by another adult was something she never wanted to experience twice.
She had no choice but to hold it in and wait until after class.
With a swish, Xu Xintong bolted out of the classroom. Following her intuition to find the restroom, she was dismayed to find the first three stalls occupied and locked. Panicking, she hurried to check the fourth one, and thankfully it was just unlatched.
With a clatter, the door was pushed open, and someone was inside.
Slender shoulder blades protruded slightly, her back curve smooth and tender, skin as delicate as porcelain, with an elegant neck and shoulder line carrying a trace of inadvertent allure.
For a moment, Xu Xintong did not recover her wits, entirely captivated by the other person’s breathtaking body.
“Have you seen enough?”
“Sorry, sorry, I did not mean to, I am so sorry!”
Realizing her lapse in composure, Xu Xintong panicked, hastily stepping backward, pulling the door shut, and spinning around.
A stream of warm liquid gushed from her nasal cavity. In reflex, her hand swept upward to wipe it, and her fingertip stained a bright red.
She hurriedly yanked some tissue from the wall-mounted dispenser and frantically wiped her nose, her face burning hot.
In a rush, she found an empty restroom stall, finished up, and scurried back to the classroom like a whipped dog.
She never could have imagined that living a second life would lead her to pull such a stunt: peeping at someone changing clothes.
Inwardly, Xu Xintong cursed herself, yet that gorgeous figure refused to leave her mind.
She dared not dwell on it any further, terrified her nosebleed would start up again.
During afternoon classes, Xu Xintong did not absorb a single word; she spent the entire time pondering this matter of her rebirth.
Right now, she had not met Nong Wanshi yet. She thought that if the two of them never got entangled, maybe she would not foolishly fall for the other person, and would not have to suffer through all that pain.
She looked at the dense formulas and neatly written notes covering the blackboard.
Then she glanced down at her own desk during class: a brand-new English textbook, but this period was math, and she did not even have a single pen.
Here was a major obstacle right off the bat.
Feeling even more depressed, Xu Xintong slumped back down onto her desk and let her mind go blank.
Beep beep beep, beep beep beep.
“Host, hello! The system has detected your presence and is currently binding you to the Metaverse’s latest system.”
“Huh? What system? Binding? Binding who?”
Just as she was about to slip into deep slumber, Xu Xintong was jolted awake by a mechanical male voice.
Suddenly, she felt as if she was experiencing auditory hallucinations.
“Host, hello. I am the Metaverse’s latest system. Do you have any requests?”
“Host, Host, Host.”
“Are you still there? I have not received a response from your end.”
“Um… did any of you hear a strange voice calling Host?”
Feeling somewhat mentally unstable, Xu Xintong nudged the person next to her to ask if they had heard what just echoed in her ears.
“No.”
“What voice? The only sound was your snoring when you fell asleep.”
“Hahahahahahahahaha.”
She decided not to bother with them.
“Host, others cannot hear the dialogue between us because only you have bound yourself to our Metaverse system.”
“Ah! Me!”
After listening to the system’s lengthy speech, she finally figured it out: she had been reborn and acquired a cheat-code system to protect her; she had struck gold.
Reflecting on her past life, failing to study hard in high school, coasting through university, seeing no future in her career, and ultimately losing her life.
Now, under the system’s protection, she could definitely change her destiny.
Study hard, improve every day, make big bucks, and live a wonderful life!
Xu Xintong had already started daydreaming about her future affluent lifestyle, and her sneaky, gleeful expression sent a chill through everyone sitting around her.
And this time, she would not fall for Nong Wanshi anymore. She was going to find her true prince charming and step together into a bright future.
Yet what she did not know was…
Nong Wanshi, who had already reviewed the restroom surveillance footage, was currently sitting in the principal’s office.
Deep within her pupils burned a cluster of fierce flames, yet she forcefully suppressed them into a chilling, frosty glare.
On the desk lay the submitted identity profile.
And written clearly in black and white on the paper was Xu Xintong, Class A Alpha.