Inside the Fang family villa at night.
Today is the Fang family dinner day.
Despite the family members having no communication with each other usually, in order to maintain the appearance of a model family, Fang Junzhi required one family dinner gathering per week where everyone had to give a summary of their week.
Fang Zhenshan spoke at length about his achievements at the branch company, detailing how many projects he secured and how much profit he generated…
Fang Junzhi didn’t listen intently; she used her knife and fork to chop her steak into very small pieces, her gaze casually falling on her wife, Mi Lan, always carrying a trace of annoyance and disgust.
Mi Lan picked up a piece of bread, and Fang Junzhi said dismissively:
“You’ve gotten a little fat recently.”
Mi Lan’s hand trembled, and the bread fell back onto the plate. She retracted her hand and silently ate the salad in her bowl, forking the corn one kernel at a time.
Fang Zhenshan finally finished speaking after a long time and glanced dismissively at Fang Zhishui, deliberately bringing up a topic:
“So, Fang Zhishui, what have you done this week?”
Fang Zhishui was eating quickly; all she wanted was to finish eating and return to her room as soon as possible, but others never let her have her way.
Fang Zhishui put down her knife and fork and said with a blank expression:
“Studying.”
Fang Zhenshan burst into mocking laughter.
Fang Junzhi suddenly slammed the table, and Fang Zhenshan’s laughter stopped abruptly. Mi Lan trembled all over, and corn kernels dropped onto the table.
“Fang Zhishui, do you still have no signs of differentiation yet?”
Fang Junzhi’s tone was flat, her gaze just lightly resting on Fang Zhishui’s face, yet carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.
Fang Zhishui remained calm:
“No.”
Fang Junzhi sized her up with a little suspicion, and her eyes slowly softened as her gaze passed through Fang Zhishui, landing on the opposite wall, as if reminiscing.
“I remember… you’re in Class 3 of the first year, right?”
Fang Zhishui nodded.
“There is a girl in your class with the surname Ruan, correct?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What is that girl like? Organize an information report on her for me by tomorrow.”
“…Why?”
“It’s none of your business. Work hard, differentiate soon, and you can intern at the company during the winter break.”
“…I don’t want to.”
Fang Junzhi’s gaze instantly sharpened, and terrifying pressure emanated from her body, causing both Fang Zhenshan and Mi Lan to half-slump over the table, not daring to look at her.
This was the mental pressure of a top-tier Alpha, capable of making all A’s inferior to her, and all O’s, submit to her will, unable to even conceive of resistance.
Fang Junzhi, who had years of experience in the business world, had already honed this pressure to its extreme, controlling it with ease.
At this moment, her long hair moved without wind, her fiery red lips parted slightly, her eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows raised high, adopting an exaggerated expression of feigned surprise, asking dramatically:
“You don’t want to? Don’t want what?”
Amidst the powerful pressure, Fang Zhishui still held her head high. Although her neck and shoulders ached, and her heart felt intense pain, she persisted, raising her eyes to stare at the high-and-mighty mother:
“I said, I don’t want to.”
Fang Junzhi abruptly raised the level of pressure a notch. Mi Lan clutched her throat in pain, reaching out to grab Fang Zhishui’s arm, and under the immense pressure, whispered persuasively:
“Child, don’t be like this… don’t… be good…”
However, Fang Zhishui fiercely shook off Mi Lan’s hand. To counteract the pressure, she stood up, her gaze fixed on Fang Junzhi, her voice trembling but never faltering, saying word by word:
“I, will not intern at your company, nor will I, give you, any… reports!”
Across the dining table, two women with a three-tenths resemblance stared at each other. The immense pressure made the air thick and heavy, and the dining table seemed to shake slightly.
These short few minutes felt as long as an entire century.
After an unknown amount of time, everyone suddenly felt the pressure ease; Fang Junzhi had withdrawn her external aura.
“Not bad. You truly are my child. You will definitely be a top-tier Alpha in the future, stronger than your brother.”
Fang Junzhi lazily leaned back in her chair again, like a lion with closed eyes, and even threw in a compliment for Fang Zhishui.
Fang Zhishui braced herself on the table and slowly sat down, her back soaked in cold sweat, completely unable to move.
“The child is growing up, starting to rebel. I won’t interfere with you anymore. The household will no longer provide you with an allowance. Except for tuition and living expenses, if you want to spend money, you go earn it yourself. Top-tier Alphas are forged through tempering. Your brother is so useless precisely because he had too comfortable of a life. Tomorrow, Fang Zhenshan, you’re going down to the grassroots level as well.”
After saying this, Fang Junzhi picked up her red wine and took a sip, casually continuing to cut her steak.
Fang Zhenshan, who was innocently affected, stared dumbfounded, finally glaring at Fang Zhishui before letting out a cold snort.
Mi Lan looked around worriedly but could do nothing, tears welling up in her eyes again, yet no one paid her any mind.
The dinner ended in chaos. After returning to her room, Fang Zhishui sat blankly at her desk for a long while before picking up her phone and dialing Ruan Mei’s number.
“Hello? Is that Fang tongxue? Is something wrong?”
Ruan Mei’s voice came through.
Fang Zhishui’s brow slightly relaxed. She couldn’t understand why Ruan Mei’s voice always carried vigor, light and lively, like a bright ray of sunshine that could dispel the darkness around her just by its sound.
“…Nothing, I just wanted to ask you, what is today’s… English homework.”
Fang Zhishui’s voice was hoarse, speaking word by word.
“Oh, it’s the one in the practice book…”
Ruan Mei explained in detail, but Fang Zhishui wasn’t really listening, just staring blankly at her phone.
Surrounded by Ruan Mei’s energetic voice, she felt as if she could briefly escape this suffocating life…
“…Fang tongxue, are you still listening?”
“Mm, thank you.”
“It’s nothing! Then I’ll hang up now, good night!”
“…Mm, good night.”
In mid-November, a trend of knitting scarves suddenly swept through the class. During breaks and lunch, many students could be seen holding knitting needles and yarn, poking away.
Winter in the North arrived quickly and fiercely. Fueled by hormonal impulses, another couple formed in the class.
It was a rare pairing of a female Alpha and a male Omega. The male Omega was currently knitting a scarf, glancing at his partner every now and then, his face radiating happiness.
This male Omega sat to Ruan Mei’s right. Ruan Mei watched him knitting in his desk drawer every day and found it quite interesting. She then thought that her own grandmother didn’t have a scarf, so she went to learn from the male Omega.
Not only her, but many female Betas in the class came to learn, giving the male Omega a great sense of accomplishment. He even held impromptu classes during lunch break for everyone.
“Look, this is the most basic stockinette stitch. There are also reverse stitches, diagonal stitches, and so on. You can’t rush knitting; when you pass through a stitch, you must remember to pull it tight…”
The male Omega was talking, then shifted his tone, cupped his face, and began showing off his affection:
“Like my Xiao Li, she really likes thicker scarves, so now I’m using bigger needles… My Xiao Li is truly the best. She said no matter how I knit it, she will cherish it and wear it every day. Hehe I’m so happy!”
The surrounding girls looked envious. A female Beta tugged at Ruan Mei’s arm:
“None of us have differentiated yet, so we don’t know what dating is like for you differentiated people. We really want to experience it!”
Ruan Mei next to them grinned awkwardly.
“Exactly! Whenever I see my Xiao Li, it’s as if she’s the only person in the world, and I can’t see anyone else. In my eyes, she’s the most unique. Of course, her pheromones are also special, a very reassuring rum scent! Every time I smell her, I feel intoxicated. Ah I’m so happy!”
The male Omega looked infatuated, cupped his face, and looked at his Xiao Li again. Receiving an enthusiastic and hearty kiss from Xiao Li, the male Omega immediately lowered his head shyly and smiled.
“Eww have you marked each other yet?”
Ruan Mei pricked up her ears. She didn’t know much about AO marking the school’s biology class didn’t cover it in much detail.
“Oh my, why ask such a private question… I’m so shy… Alright, alright, we tried, and had a temporary mark. It can last about two months. We’re still young, you know. In the future, it will probably just be a temporary mark; we won’t have a permanent one until after the wedding! Oh my, I’m so shy…”
The girls, having found juicy gossip, all looked excited and blushing as they returned to their seats.
Ruan Mei also felt a bit shy. Returning to her seat, she imagined herself marking a male Omega in the future… Hmm, the scene was too beautiful; she actually felt a little sick.
For some reason, she currently felt it would be more comfortable to mark a girl. After all, girls were generally sweet and soft, and their scent glands on the nape of the neck should be easier to bite… With boys, she always felt like she’d end up with a mouthful of oil.
Ah, forget it. She was just a super girly Alpha with a strawberry scent, likely to never have a partner. Why think about this now? She should focus on knitting a scarf for her grandmother.
Ruan Mei rubbed her face, about to look down at her textbook, when she suddenly heard Fang Zhishui’s voice, carrying a hint of a smile, come over:
“Are you interested in male Omegas?”
Ruan Mei:
“!”
She didn’t dare to look up. What did Fang Zhishui mean by that? Was she probing her sexual orientation? Wait, did that mean she knew she was an Alpha?! No, no, it couldn’t be!
Ruan Mei snapped her drawing pencil in half with a crack.
Fang Zhishui:
“…”
Ruan Mei put away the pencil, stammered, and looked up at Fang Zhishui:
“I’m not, I’m not…”
Fang Zhishui chuckled lightly and casually averted her gaze:
“I prefer girls.”
Ruan Mei:
“Oh, oh… Huh? Impossible, right?”
Isn’t Fang Zhishui the female lead? She’s supposed to date the male lead in the future, how could she like girls?
It’s over, this world is messed up!
Ruan Mei didn’t dare to talk anymore, keeping her head down and pretending to be deaf.
Fang Zhishui watched her for a moment, then calmly turned her head back.
A few days later, Ruan Mei bought some yarn and knitting needles at the mall using her employee discount. During breaks, she diligently knitted her scarf along with everyone else.
She noticed that when she was knitting, Fang Zhishui would often pass by her desk intentionally or unintentionally, always wearing a mysterious smile.
Ruan Mei found it a bit strange but didn’t dwell on it, continuing to knit. She wanted to finish it before the Winter Solstice to give to her grandmother.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter if it’s finished after the Winter Solstice.”
Fang Zhishui leaned on Ruan Mei’s desk, watching her needles fly with a smile.
Ruan Mei looked up at her curiously:
“It will be too cold after the Winter Solstice; the sooner she can use it, the better.”
Fang Zhishui smiled even more brightly.
Ruan Mei:
“?”
Something seems off, but… never mind, she can’t interfere with the female lead’s business!