Chapter 21

When her consciousness finally drifted back, Chu Yunmiao found herself lying in bed.

Her whole body was weak and limp, but she didn’t feel any other discomfort. The bed and blankets were scented with a smell she knew well; it put her at ease.

From outside the bedroom, faint sounds came from the direction of the kitchen. Chu Yunmiao didn’t hesitate for long. She got out of bed, put on her slippers, and quietly went to the door, opening it a crack.

Through the gap, she saw Yu Changning busy in the kitchen while talking on a communications call.

“...I’ve already examined her; there’s no problem.”

“Mm, I know. I’ll submit the documents tomorrow according to procedure.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The next second after ending the call, she accurately caught the person peeking from behind the door.

“Awake? Come out and eat something.”

Chu Yunmiao felt a little guilty, but then remembered this was clearly her own dormitory; her confidence came right back.

She pushed the door open and walked out of the bedroom, coming to the dining table. Looking at Yu Changning, she had a lot she wanted to say and ask, but when the words reached her lips, she didn’t know what to say. In the end, there was only silence.

Luckily, the silence wasn’t awkward.

Chu Yunmiao had originally thought she wouldn’t have much appetite, but when Yu Changning brought out the food she had cooked, her mouth immediately watered. Although she hadn’t done any physical training today, what had happened had drained far too much of her energy; added to that, the meal Yu Changning made was exactly to her taste. Unknowingly, she even ate more than half a bowl extra compared with usual. During that time, neither of them spoke. Between bites, bowls and chopsticks clinked softly; before long, the dormitory was once again filled with a rare warmth and the feeling of a lived-in home.

Of course, some things still had to be faced.

After dinner, the two of them sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Yu Changning rested her chin on her hand and asked, “How do you feel? Better?”

Chu Yunmiao nodded.

She was full, rested, and had just woken from a good sleep; her mental state was even better than it had been during the day. More importantly, the secret she had been desperately trying to hide had already been discovered by Yu Changning, and that heavy burden on her mind was finally gone. Facing Yu Changning now, Chu Yunmiao felt surprisingly calm.

She said, “Much better. Thank you.”

“Isn’t it a little early to say thank you now?” Yu Changning leaned back.

Chu Yunmiao studied her expression carefully, then asked cautiously, “You... aren’t planning to report me to the school, are you?”

Yu Changning asked in return, “What do you think?”

She raised a hand and rubbed at her temple. “The Imperial Crown Princess disguising herself as an Alpha to enroll in Huaqi... what were you thinking?”

Chu Yunmiao pressed her lips together, but there was no sign of regret or guilt on her face. “I just wanted to prove that I’m not worse than an Alpha. If Mother could do it back then, I can do it too.”

Somewhere without even realizing it, the corners of Yu Changning’s lips lifted slightly.

She said, “Even as an Omega, you would still be the most outstanding, the most top-tier Omega. You don’t need to prove anything by taking on the identity of an Alpha.”

Chu Yunmiao shook her head. “It’s different.”

She pressed her lips together. “The majors open to Omegas are mostly research-related; that’s not my goal. I want...”

She didn’t continue, but Yu Changning’s gaze flickered as she had already guessed.

They had walked side by side for so many years; the thoughts and ambitions the Crown Princess had never spoken aloud, she had already guessed seven or eight parts of them.

Understanding the reason, a feeling of heartache rose in Yu Changning.

The Crown Princess, cherished in the palms of the entire Empire, could originally have chosen a much easier, simpler path.

But she insisted on stepping out of her comfort zone and facing thorns and a crown head-on.

After a moment of thought, Yu Changning looked at her and asked again, “About this matter... who knows?”

At this point, Chu Yunmiao no longer hid those details.

“Besides you, only Mother, Yunhuan, and Yunli know.”

Yu Changning raised an eyebrow. “You’re even hiding it from the Empress and the Dowager Empress?”

“If the Empress and the Dowager Empress aren’t backing you, the Emperor probably won’t help you. As for Second Princess and Third Princess, even if they want to help, they’d be more willing than able.”

Chu Yunmiao’s shoulders sagged in frustration.

Yu Changning had guessed too accurately; she didn’t even have room to construct a lie.

But she couldn’t let Yu Changning have complete control either.

The Crown Princess thought for a moment, sniffled, and said, “That’s true. But... cough, if you dare report me, you’ll offend the Emperor and the three princesses at the same time. Yu, Yu Changning, you’d better think carefully.”

This was the first time she had used her identity as the Crown Princess to pressure someone. Chu Yunmiao said it without the slightest confidence. Her gaze darted away; it looked less like she was threatening Yu Changning and more like Yu Changning was forcing her.

Yu Changning laughed softly.

She stretched as if at ease. “So that means I’d better not enter the royal army in the future?”

Among the Empire’s seven armies, only the strongest royal army was directly under the Emperor’s command. The other armies had their own rules and regulations and were always known for fairness and equality.

Chu Yunmiao knew her bluff had been seen through; her face flushed red with embarrassment.

She fell silent, and Yu Changning deliberately said nothing as well. Chu Yunmiao could feel Yu Changning’s gaze fixed on her without shifting away, but she didn’t dare meet it head-on.

Two minutes passed before Chu Yunmiao finally took a deep breath.

She looked at Yu Changning and lowered her voice. “An Ning, help me keep this secret, okay?”

If the hard way didn’t work, then she’d use the soft way! The Imperial Crown Princess could bend and stretch as needed!

The smile at Yu Changning’s lips deepened.

“Now you know to call me An Ning?”

Chu Yunmiao bit her lip, then painfully squeezed out, “If you help me keep this secret, I’ll also forgive you for leaving without saying goodbye back then. Then we’ll be even, okay?”

Yu Changning frowned slightly. “Hm?”

Chu Yunmiao’s heart missed a beat. “No?”

If even this road was blocked... then she’d have to think of other bargaining chips. But if Yu Changning didn’t want something, she was basically the type who wouldn’t yield to either soft or hard methods. What was she supposed to do?

Sure enough, Yu Changning said, “Do you think that would really make us even?”

Although the other woman’s words didn’t sound very pleasant, Chu Yunmiao saw a glimmer of hope.

Yu Changning hadn’t refused outright; she was starting to discuss terms, which meant this wasn’t a dead end!

She followed the other woman’s lead. “Then... what do you want?”

Yu Changning leaned forward and used her slender fingers to lift the Crown Princess’s jade-like chin.

She said, “What happened back then really was my fault. I’ll make up for it myself; I don’t need to force you to compromise with something like this.”

Chu Yunmiao was a little lost. “Ah?

“So do you actually want me to forgive you or not...”

Yu Changning sighed. “Of course I do. But if you’re forgiving me because you have no choice in this situation... I don’t think that kind of forgiveness would be sincere.

“You’d still have a knot in your heart.”

Chu Yunmiao didn’t want to, but she couldn’t stop a little happiness from rising inside her.

Yu Changning’s words made her understand that, in Yu Changning’s heart, the relationship between them was something she took very seriously. She didn’t want forgiveness that came too easily because she didn’t want a relationship repaired by force to still have gaps between them.

Thinking of this, Chu Yunmiao held down the corners of her lips, which wanted to curve upward. “Mm, I understand.”

“And...” Yu Changning went on, “didn’t I already say it?”

She looked straight into Chu Yunmiao’s eyes. “Yunmiao, I don’t want to go back to being friends.”

Chu Yunmiao’s chin was still held by the other woman; she had no choice but to deliberately shift her eyes away and avoid looking at Yu Changning.

If not friends, then what else could they be?

The Crown Princess instinctively didn’t want to keep thinking about it.

Fortunately, Yu Changning was not the sort of person who would use exchange to obtain her forgiveness, and she was even less the sort who would use exchange to begin a new relationship.

She said directly, “I can help you keep this secret. If necessary, I can even help you hide it.”

Although she had already guessed the other woman would agree, hearing the promise with her own ears still made Chu Yunmiao very happy.

The stone hanging in her heart finally fell away; smiling, she replied, “Thank you!”

Yu Changning said, “I haven’t even stated my request yet.”

Chu Yunmiao wasn’t afraid at all. “Go ahead.”

No matter how she thought about it, Yu Changning would definitely not make things difficult for her.

Yu Changning narrowed her eyes and said bluntly, “First request: stay away from those irrelevant people.”

Chu Yunmiao blinked in confusion. “Who counts as... irrelevant people?”

Yu Changning named them. “A lot of them. Lin Mo, Ling Hongqiang, Anthony, Luke...”

Chu Yunmiao was a little speechless. “Are you planning to recite everyone in the class?”

Yu Changning didn’t think there was any problem with that. “They’re all Alphas; it’s safer for you to keep your distance from them.”

Chu Yunmiao muttered under her breath, “Of course I know that. I also pay attention when I’m interacting with Alphas normally...”

But seeing the face that was clearly turning dark, she still agreed, “Mm, I know...”

Before she could finish, the light-brain terminal on her wrist suddenly vibrated.

Under Yu Changning’s gaze, Chu Yunmiao turned on the light-brain terminal and found the new message was a friend request. Although the sender hadn’t left an identity note, the beautiful selfie above the avatar already revealed who it was.

Chu Yunmiao guessed that Fang Juanyu might have something to say about the new perfume. Just as she was about to press [Accept], her hand slowed; Yu Changning had already crossed the line and directly tapped [Reject].

Chu Yunmiao stared blankly.

She looked at Yu Changning. “What are you doing?”

Yu Changning showed no guilt at all for acting on her own. “Didn’t I just say to stay away from those irrelevant people?”

Chu Yunmiao was infuriated. “But Fang Juanyu is an Omega.”

Yu Changning: “So what if she’s an Omega?”

Chu Yunmiao: “An Omega won’t affect another Omega, and won’t...”

Halfway through, she stopped in indignation on her own.

This kind of thing was common sense; how could Yu Changning not know?! She was clearly doing it on purpose!

Sure enough, Yu Changning let out a cold snort. “And what if she’s also an Omega?”

She had never given up those overreaching thoughts just because she believed Chu Yunmiao was an Alpha. “Can’t you see what she’s after with you?”

Chu Yunmiao wanted to argue, but the words wouldn’t come out. In the end, she could only complain inwardly: compared to her, a delicate Omega, the one I should really be guarding against isn’t your intentions toward me?

Seeing that she didn’t speak, Yu Changning knew that was tacit agreement, and rewarded her by smoothing her long hair.

But the next second, another friend request popped up on Chu Yunmiao’s light-brain terminal.

This time, the other party included a few lines of explanation.

[Your Highness, I’m Fang Juanyu. I got your contact information from Sister Lin Mo. I heard that you fainted after coming out of your afternoon checkup... Are you okay now? Please accept my friend request, okay?]

Chu Yunmiao extended a finger, suspended between [Accept] and [Reject], and hesitated for a long time without pressing either one.

Yu Changning directly moved the light-brain terminal over to herself.

This time, she tapped [Reject] and attached a message as well.

[No.]

Chu Yunmiao: “...”

Tired. Forget it.

She turned off the light-brain terminal and, along with it, the message notifications. Then she looked at Yu Changning. “Fine, I already did what you wanted. That should be enough, right?”

Yu Changning tilted her head; her gaze slid slowly from Chu Yunmiao’s brow and eyes down to the base of her neck.

Chu Yunmiao froze slightly. The gland at the nape of her neck under that stare was faintly starting to heat.

The absurd events of the afternoon had not yet faded from her memory; their intimacy still felt vivid in retrospect.

Retrospect...

Chu Yunmiao shook her head, tossing those inappropriate and strange thoughts out of her mind.

But the next second, Yu Changning was already leaning closer.

“The second request...” she said, her voice intimate and lingering, “depend on me a little more.”

Chu Yunmiao involuntarily held her breath; some kind of biological current shot up from her spine to the gland at the nape of her neck, zapping her whole body into a soft, tingling numbness.