Chapter 19

When Chu Yunmiao realized that Yu Changning was leading them toward the Inspection Center, she truly began to panic.

The Inspection Center had advanced pheromone-testing equipment that could measure a student’s Alpha pheromone levels and determine whether they had been affected. If those Alpha pheromone levels were too high, suppression treatment could be administered on the spot.

But the problem was, Chu Yunmiao knew very clearly that there was almost no detectable Alpha pheromone on her at all!

This had happened far too suddenly; she had been completely unprepared. If she really went into the testing equipment, there would be absolutely no way for her to get through it.

At the thought of this, Chu Yunmiao clenched her teeth in secret.

Fortunately, even in her panic, she did not stop thinking. After fully assessing the situation and ruling out every impossible option, she locked onto the only resource she could use right now.

Yu Changning seemed to have eyes on the back of her head; she noticed Chu Yunmiao watching her at once.

She turned her head slightly, and their gazes met briefly in the air; distant, deliberate.

Chu Yunmiao no longer avoided her as she usually would. She hurried a few steps and came to Yu Changning’s side.

“Instructor, I have something important to report.”

Yu Changning replied indifferently, “Mm.”

Then she said, “We’ll go to the Inspection Center first.”

“No.” Chu Yunmiao’s attitude was strangely firm. “I have to report it now.”

As soon as she said that, everyone turned to look at her. The students from Class 1, including Lin Mo, were all blank with confusion; none of them knew what was going on.

Yu Changning finally stopped walking.

She silently met the Imperial Crown Princess’s eyes and immediately sensed the determination in them. Doubt and surprise stirred in her heart, but it did not show on her face. She stopped and ordered Lin Mo, “Lin Mo, take the others to the Inspection Center to find Dr. Shangguan. Do whatever he tells you for the examination. Once he gives his permission, return to formation immediately and go back to the Training Gym for training.”

When it came to training, Lin Mo was quite reliable.

She saluted on the spot and replied, “Yes, Instructor.”

Only after doing all that did Yu Changning look back at Chu Yunmiao.

Her expression was complicated, and it made Chu Yunmiao’s heartbeat quicken even more. Time seemed to freeze for several seconds here; just when Chu Yunmiao could no longer hold out, Yu Changning finally spoke again.

“Come with me.”

She turned and changed direction. Chu Yunmiao judged that she was probably taking her to the office.

The breath the Imperial Crown Princess had been holding finally eased a little.

Although Huaqi University was strictly managed, the scenery inside the campus was excellent. In the deep autumn weather, red leaves along the roadside crowded around the white stone-paved walkway, beautiful as a fairy-tale picture book and soothing in a way that calmed the heart. Yu Changning wore a well-tailored dark instructor’s uniform, which made her look all long legs and narrow waist, with an upright, proper bearing.

Chu Yunmiao stared, momentarily dazed, and her steps unconsciously slowed.

Many years ago, Yu Changning used to take her everywhere like this. Yu Changning walked in front; she followed obediently behind. Back then, Yu Changning had not even been an adult yet, her shoulders narrow and her limbs slender; by rights, she should not have been able to give anyone much of a sense of security, but Chu Yunmiao had never worried about the road ahead.

It was only later, after Yu Changning’s secondary differentiation and her true coming of age, that things changed.

Chu Yunmiao still remembered that afternoon.

They had not seen each other for a full week by then. Secondary differentiation was very important; her mother watched her closely and would not let her go to the Yu Family. She waited anxiously in the Imperial Palace, and only after great difficulty did she finally get to see Yu Changning return.

Yu Changning had differentiated into an Alpha, which was something everyone had expected. Chu Yunmiao did not know whether it was the change brought by Differentiation or just her imagination, but when they met again, she felt that Yu Changning had suddenly become so much taller.

As though she had gone from being a child like her to the kind of grown-up who could support the heavens, like her mother.

That was also the period when their relationship was at its best.

Chu Yunmiao’s emotions were complicated; she could not tell whether what she felt was envy or loss. It was midsummer then, cicadas shrilling outside and making her restless. She tried her hardest to tiptoe and step on Yu Changning’s foot, but she was still half a head shorter than the other girl.

At fifteen, the Imperial Crown Princess lowered her lashes and asked, “Aning, you’re so tall. When will I grow as tall as you?”

Chu Yunmiao had already forgotten what expression Yu Changning wore at the time, but she vaguely remembered Yu Changning gently pushing her away, her attitude a little colder than usual.

She said, “Yunmiao, don’t make a fuss.”

At the time, Chu Yunmiao still did not know the true meaning behind those words.

She still treated Yu Changning as her dearest friend, placing her first after family.

But very soon, things deviated from the path she had expected.

Yu Changning was admitted to Huaqi University and left the capital planet. Chu Yunmiao had been a little sad, but she was still genuinely happy for Yu Changning—her Aning was so outstanding; of course she should enter the Empire’s best school. Besides, interstellar communications were so advanced that even if they were on different planets, keeping in touch often was not difficult.

She arranged her schedule and planned to send Yu Changning off to Huaqi University. After contacting the Yu Family, she only then learned that Yu Changning had already left early. Chu Yunmiao did not understand and contacted Yu Changning herself, but all she got was a perfunctory explanation.

It was from that time on that Yu Changning deliberately distanced herself from her.

During the winter break when she had most looked forward to seeing her again, Yu Changning did not return and only had someone bring her back a gift.

She waited through the summer vacation; this time, Yu Changning did not even answer a video call, only leaving her a voice message saying she was going out on a mission.

The second winter break...

The second summer vacation...

...

That went on for about two years, until the two of them were completely cut off from each other.

She had been confused and unwilling to accept it, and had even thought that she must find Yu Changning and confront her face-to-face, to ask why she was treating her like this. But every time, she was stopped at the last moment by her family.

Her mother, Chu Yu, the current Imperial Monarch, told her, “Yu Changning is an ambitious person. Now that she’s entered the military and started pursuing power, of course she has to cut ties with you, the Long Princess, so no one says her promotions came from your support.”

Chu Yunmiao still did not understand. “But if that’s really the case, then we can just keep our distance in public. We can still be good friends in private, can’t we?”

Chu Yu’s mouth twitched a little. “Cough. Everyone has their own scale in their heart. Maybe in Yu Changning’s mind, there are things more important than being friends with you. Baby, you should weigh things clearly yourself too. Yu Changning is only an ordinary friend; you still have a much broader world ahead of you. There’s no need to keep thinking about one smelly Alpha.”

At the time, Chu Yunmiao had been a little naive and did not fully understand what her mother meant.

But she roughly understood that Chu Yu’s point was that Yu Changning had given up that friendship from the past for the sake of her own future.

Past joy had simmered into hatred; Chu Yunmiao had accumulated a great deal of resentment toward Yu Changning. She deleted Yu Changning’s contact information and cleanly completed the break.

It was not until two months ago, when Yu Changning became Class 1’s new instructor.

Because of academic needs, the two of them added each other back and resumed contact. Chu Yunmiao focused her energy on study and training, trying her best to maintain a purely instructor-and-student relationship with Yu Changning.

She had thought everything could continue like this, the two of them remaining at the level of familiar strangers, neither obstructing the other. But during this period, Yu Changning’s special care for her had been obvious to all, and Chu Yunmiao had started to feel lost again.

Was it because Yu Changning still remembered that old friendship, so she treated her a little better than the others?

Then how deep was that goodwill? Would it be enough for Yu Changning to still be willing to help her after learning her secret?

Chu Yunmiao’s heart was once again in turmoil.

The road from the Training Gym to Yu Changning’s office was not long. By the time Yu Changning closed the office door, Chu Yunmiao still had not thought of the perfect excuse.

Or rather, under the present circumstances, there was actually no such thing as a perfect excuse.

Chu Yunmiao took a deep breath and could only decide to take things one step at a time.

Yu Changning had already sat down in the office chair and leaned back, gazing at her.

“Class monitor, what is it? Say it.”

Yu Changning rarely called her “class monitor.” Only in public, and occasionally in front of the other Class 1 students, would she use that title. In private, when the two of them were alone, she would call her by her name.

That small detail only made the pressure on Chu Yunmiao even greater.

“It’s...” The Crown Princess pressed her lips together and forced herself to sound professional. “I suspect that perfume containing a substance similar to Omega pheromones has already been circulating among the Omega students at school; the source is very likely several bars located to the east of the campus.”

This guess was not something she had made up out of thin air. After all, by now she was ninety percent certain that the perfume Fang Juanyu had used that night was prohibited.

Yu Changning’s left index finger tapped lightly against the desk, producing a soft, rhythmic thud.

She did not answer immediately, only stared fixedly at Chu Yunmiao.

Chu Yunmiao felt uncomfortable all over. “...You don’t believe me?”

Yu Changning finally responded, shaking her head.

“I just don’t understand why such a small matter would be worth the class monitor delaying the inspection and insisting on following me all the way to the office to report it.”

Chu Yunmiao lowered her head. “...I just wanted to help the school figure out the truth faster.”

Yu Changning rose from the chair and came to her side.

She was very sharp. “You mean the night you skipped training and slipped out, right? Since you’ve already thought of it and intend to report it to the school, why not name...”

She slowly enunciated that name: “Fang—Juan—yu.”

Chu Yunmiao’s pupils dilated. After a moment, she replied, “I think... Student Fang Juanyu probably didn’t know anything about it either.”

At the beginning of that night, the scent of perfume on Fang Juanyu had not alerted Chu Yunmiao; it was only later that it began to make her feel unwell. So Chu Yunmiao inferred that someone must have recommended those things to Fang Juanyu temporarily that night. Moreover, Fang Juanyu’s brother, Fang Juanlin, was Lin Mo’s childhood friend; whether in terms of sentiment or reason, Chu Yunmiao should look after the other girl a little.

Yu Changning let out a cold little laugh and asked, “So the class monitor is saying that even if you get dragged into this with her, you still won’t let her undergo the school investigation?”

She moved step by step closer to Chu Yunmiao. The two of them were very near; Chu Yunmiao could even hear the faint sound of teeth grinding. Their past experience told her this was a sign that Yu Changning was already very angry.

Chu Yunmiao was a little stunned. She did not know why Yu Changning’s emotions were rising so sharply.

“No, it’s not.” Chu Yunmiao stumbled backward, trying to avoid Yu Changning. “I just think she isn’t enough to serve as a witness. If the school starts from the bars nearby, it might be more effective...”

She could not finish the rest because Yu Changning had already forced her back against the wall.

The moment her back hit the wall, Yu Changning’s hands followed, bracing against the wall on either side of her body, just like during their training before, trapping her between her arms.

But even at this point, Yu Changning still had no intention of stopping.

She kept moving closer until she rested her chin on Chu Yunmiao’s left shoulder.

Chu Yunmiao did not dare move at all, only murmuring, “You don’t believe me? The bars are full of all kinds of people...”

“That’s not important.” Yu Changning cut her off.

She lifted her chin slightly, her nose brushing lightly against the skin of Chu Yunmiao’s neck as she breathed in. After a long moment, Yu Changning looked at Chu Yunmiao and asked softly, “Yunmiao, you used that perfume too, didn’t you?”

Chu Yunmiao instinctively denied it. “No!”

Even though she had accidentally been touched by the perfume on Fang Juanyu that day, she had already washed it off long ago; let alone the fact that two or three days had passed since that night, it was impossible for her to still have any scent left on her.

But in the next instant, Yu Changning’s words made Chu Yunmiao’s entire heart tighten.

“No?” The young Lieutenant General sounded a little puzzled, the warm breath of her words spilling across the delicate skin of Chu Yunmiao’s neck.

She pressed, “Then why are you... so fragrant?”

Chu Yunmiao held her breath and lifted a hand to push at Yu Changning’s shoulder.

Yu Changning’s brows furrowed slightly as she continued trying to distinguish it. Several seconds later, she finally straightened and looked into Chu Yunmiao’s eyes.

“Milk-citrus scent,” she said.