Silence.
After Gu Ximian finished speaking, the hospital room fell into silence. The soundproofing in St. Blaisedon’s infirmary was exceptionally good, so it was utterly quiet now, creating a somewhat serious and heavy atmosphere.
Zhuang Chi was in a state of complete chaos.
…Huh? What did Gu Ximian just say… Huh? The thoughts in her mind were a jumbled mess. It took Zhuang Chi a good while to barely recover from the shock, and even now, thinking back on it made her wonder if she had misheard—did Gu Ximian just say she knew this world was a novel?
A thousand thoughts tangled together. Meanwhile, Gu Ximian, who had just said something so astonishing, sat beside her. It was unclear whether she had finished speaking or was waiting for Zhuang Chi to ask her something first. In any case, she was very quiet, just staring at Zhuang Chi without blinking, her gaze so tangible it burned, leaving Zhuang Chi flustered.
“…” Forcibly suppressing her own confusion, Zhuang Chi stammered, “You… why did you…”
“Why do I think you’re my official match?”
As she spoke, Gu Ximian smoothly picked up the conversation, speaking frankly, “Because I can smell your pheromones. I just confirmed it. I can still smell them as clearly as I did in the warehouse. That basically confirms that this isn’t a coincidence. To me, you are a special Alpha.”
“And in a novel…” A flicker of a dark emotion passed through Gu Ximian’s eyes, and she smiled faintly. “For an Omega, a special Alpha can only be a lover, right?”
…Her reasoning sounded very logical, but unfortunately, the conclusion was completely wrong…! Zhuang Chi had a stomach full of words she couldn’t say. But before that matter, there was an even more fundamental question. So, she shook her head with difficulty. “I wanted to ask… how do you know this place is a novel…?”
“…”
Gu Ximian’s gaze shifted, looking straight at her. She said softly, “…The way you ask that…”
“Normally, the first reaction after hearing such absurd words… should be to think I’m talking nonsense or even that something is mentally wrong with me,” Gu Ximian said, tilting her head, a look of incredible novelty on her face. “But you asked ‘how do you know’… It almost sounds like you know about this too.”
Zhuang Chi almost broke out in a sweat, nearly thinking her cover was blown. Fortunately, Gu Ximian quickly answered her own question and continued, “…But… if it’s you, it’s probably just because you’re willing to believe me.”
“But I’m sorry, about this matter…” Gu Ximian paused, then changed the subject. “Just think of it as… extra information I received because I’m the female protagonist of this novel.”
…Received from whom? Zhuang Chi was completely baffled. It certainly wasn’t from her. She was sure that when she wrote the novel back then, she hadn’t given Gu Ximian the setting of “knowing she’s in a novel”… Then who could it be? It couldn’t be that besides her, another transmigrator who had read her book had also come to this novel, right? That would be way too complicated.
But Gu Ximian clearly didn’t want to elaborate on this topic and had already steered the conversation in another direction. “I know you must be very troubled, but I don’t have any decisive evidence to show you. However, since the school year started, haven’t we encountered quite a few rather forced developments? Those can basically be confirmed as the original plot from the book. How could you possibly encounter things like that in normal life…”
“…”
Zhuang Chi silently raised her right hand to clutch her chest, feeling as if she had suffered an invisible injury.
As… as a creator, there was probably nothing more devastating than having the protagonist you created say to your face, “What kind of garbage did you write?” (That’s roughly what it sounded like to Zhuang Chi)…!
…Of course, this kind of thing would normally never happen. It was hard to say if her luck was good or bad, but in any case, this peculiar event was now happening to Zhuang Chi. It made her feel that her body, which hadn’t fully recovered yet, had become even weaker. The world felt so empty, living was so hard, alas.
Perhaps her sorrowful appearance caught her attention. Gu Ximian paused, leaning over to look at her, her tone becoming slightly nervous. “…What’s wrong? Did you hear what I just said?”
Why does she seem a little uneasy? Zhuang Chi blinked. Although she still felt very melancholic, she responded properly, “I heard you. You said it’s impossible to encounter that kind of plot in normal life…”
She spoke listlessly, but Gu Ximian immediately showed a relieved expression. Then, under Zhuang Chi’s confused gaze, she began to smile, a look of understanding on her face.
“It seems you really are a very important character in the book, Zhuang Chi.”
…Her status had inexplicably been elevated. Zhuang Chi took a small, frightened breath. Before she could speak, she heard Gu Ximian say abruptly, “Before you… I also tried to tell other people that this world is a novel.”
Zhuang Chi’s heart trembled. Before she had time to get nervous, she heard Gu Ximian continue faintly, “But I didn’t succeed. No one could remember those words. Usually, as I said the next sentence, they would forget the previous one, then look at me with a dazed expression and ask if I had just said something.”
“But you’re not like that,” Gu Ximian looked at her, her tone tinged with a subtle gentleness. “I’m a little happy.”
Zhuang Chi looked back at her and silently swallowed the words she had wanted to say to argue that she wasn’t some important character.
…She had probably started to panic halfway through hearing that. So this world had such a tricky defense mechanism? Zhuang Chi thought sorrowfully. Who knew! And this mechanism didn’t work on her at all. So, did the laws here not apply to transmigrators… It would be better if they did!
Didn’t this directly lead to Gu Ximian thinking of her as someone special! And now it was practically irrefutable proof; she had no way to defend herself…!
…She couldn’t possibly pretend to have amnesia at this point, could she? Gu Ximian looked so happy right now.
Zhuang Chi sighed silently in her heart. In the end, she didn’t say anything more and turned to tackle another major issue. “…Let’s not worry about that for now. Even if this world really is a novel… I… I couldn’t possibly be your official match…”
“Why?” Gu Ximian was unmoved and retorted, “Like I said just now, I can only smell your pheromones. If it’s not because you’re my official match, then what else could it be?”
…Although she didn’t know why, she was certain it was definitely not because of a setting like ‘official match’! A bellyful of words swirled inside Zhuang Chi, but she couldn’t get them out. For a moment, she was so choked up she could barely breathe and had to take a deep breath.
…If she didn’t reveal that she was the author of this novel, it seemed there was no way to argue her case, Zhuang Chi thought. So if she just went ahead and confessed now—
“—!”
A strong palpitation suddenly came from her chest, as if her heart had been abruptly seized, its beating becoming uneasy and suppressed. Zhuang Chi subconsciously clutched her chest.
…It was a bit like the feeling you get when looking down from a high place, an instinctual… sense of danger.
Was it because she wanted to confess…? Zhuang Chi thought blankly. There was also the possibility that it was just physical discomfort, but…
…It felt better not to be impulsive for now. The unknown consequences of confessing were as unsettling as a behemoth lurking in the shadows. Zhuang Chi decided to keep this matter hidden for the time being. As for the misunderstanding about the official match, well…
“It’s… it’s not necessarily that you can only smell my pheromones,” Zhuang Chi began to quibble, forcing an angle that couldn’t be proven for the time being. “Maybe you’ll meet someone else whose scent you can smell later on. Or maybe it’s just that you’ve never encountered my type of pheromone scent before, and you can actually smell all pheromones of this type…”
“…”
She racked her brains and talked for a long time, but Gu Ximian didn’t speak, just listened from the side. Only after Zhuang Chi couldn’t think of anything else to say did Gu Ximian raise an eyebrow faintly and ask out of the blue, “Do you have someone you like?”
…What was she asking now! Zhuang Chi was caught off guard and subconsciously shook her head in a flurry. “N-No, I don’t…”
Her reaction must have seemed quite sincere, because Gu Ximian blinked slightly, didn’t press further, and threw out a new question: “In that case… do you hate me?”
“No, I don’t?!”
Zhuang Chi was so startled she practically bounced on the bed. The person who had been leaning against the headboard shot upright and frantically denied it, “How could I… I don’t hate you…”
Gu Ximian looked at her for a long moment, then shifted her gaze away slightly, leaning back in her chair, her profile cool and detached.
“As for why my sense of smell only fails with Alpha pheromones, countless doctors and scholars have already studied this. They didn’t find anything useful, only concluding that all Alpha pheromones in this world are like that to me.”
“…Now, back to the topic. Since you don’t have someone you like, and you don’t hate me,” her hands were folded in her lap, her knuckles now curling slightly, pinching a small wrinkle into her skirt, “then why are you so opposed to the idea that ‘you might be my official match’?”
…Ah, it felt like Gu Ximian’s previously good mood had subtly soured.
It seemed the reason for her hasty denial had been misunderstood. Zhuang Chi, who considered herself the culprit, looked helplessly at Gu Ximian, her mind turning over the question she had asked. Why was she so opposed—be-because she knew it wasn’t true! She couldn’t possibly accept it with pleasure when she knew the truth, that would be tantamount to deceiving Gu Ximian’s feelings! After all, being an official match meant having a ro-romance with Gu Ximian…!
Squeezing her eyes shut, she cut off her increasingly improper thoughts. Zhuang Chi really didn’t dare to think any further. For now, she just blurted out everything she could think of to persuade Gu Ximian: “I just think this kind of thing shouldn’t be decided so simply… We… we’ve only known each other for a short time…”
As she was still racking her brain for what to say, she saw Gu Ximian, who hadn’t been looking at her, raise her head at the sound of her voice. A hint of surprise showed in her clear, moist eyes. “…Is it because of that?”
What’s with that tone? Zhuang Chi’s heart skipped a beat. Seeing Gu Ximian’s suddenly somewhat helpless look, she felt as if she had done something stupid again.
“I…” Gu Ximian hesitated, then lowered her eyes uncomfortably. “…Although I do think you’re my official match, I didn’t actually… mean that I want to be with you just like that.”
“…”
Zhuang Chi was silent for a long moment, then nodded and replied, “…I see.”
Indeed. If I had thought about it carefully, I should have realized. Zhuang Chi thought. How could Gu Ximian do something like that? She was probably just telling me about it. Why did I hear ‘official match’ and imagine so many things? Honestly.
Having figured it out, Zhuang Chi gave a reassuring smile to Gu Ximian, who still looked a little helpless and kept glancing at her.
—And then silently pulled the infirmary blanket over her head, completely covering herself.
…It would be fine to just stay here for the rest of my life. If I never come out from under the blanket, I’ll never have to face Gu Ximian again. Ah, I really want to disappear from this world.
A surging wave of shame had already sunk Zhuang Chi. She gripped the blanket tightly, letting out a silent wail in the darkness. On Gu Ximian’s side, she also seemed to have lost her composure. Although Zhuang Chi couldn’t see her from under the blanket, judging from the sounds, she seemed to have stood up in a bit of a panic and was now facing the blanket-wrapped bundle that was Zhuang Chi, at a loss for what to do.
“I… I wasn’t saying you’re not good,” the voice, muffled by the blanket, still carried Gu Ximian’s rarely flustered tone. It was easy to imagine her wanting to touch but hesitating, unsure if she should. “It’s just… like you said, we’ve only known each other for a short time… and, even in terms of plot progression, it shouldn’t be time to define our relationship yet…”
“Okay, I get it! I was too hasty and misunderstood on my own, I’m sorry…” The more she listened, the harder it was to suppress her shame. Zhuang Chi curled up even smaller and replied weakly, “Gu Ximian… can we… just move past this…”
Gu Ximian was very obedient and didn’t continue. After a long pause, she hesitated and said softly, “…I’m sorry. I was too impulsive at the beginning, saying that so suddenly…”
“Because I got too excited all at once, thinking I’d found someone special, someone who might be able to share this secret with me…” She paused and sighed softly. “And then when I felt you were a little resistant, I also… couldn’t control my feelings.”
“I didn’t mean to force you to accept these things, I just…”
She didn’t continue. After a moment of silence, she spoke again, her voice even softer. “…I won’t say any more for now. You probably need some time to digest this information.”
…Huh? Did that mean she was leaving? Zhuang Chi, curled up in a ball hugging her legs, perked up her ears to listen to the sounds outside. Just as she was thinking she should probably say something, she heard Gu Ximian’s voice again.
“Regardless… when I realized in the sports warehouse that I could smell your pheromones, and then before I could figure anything out, my pheromone blocking collar broke, at that moment when you reached out your hands and told me to tie you up,”
“…it made me think that if my partner was really destined to be you, that would be pretty good.”
That was the last sentence. After Gu Ximian said it, she left immediately. Zhuang Chi could hear slightly flustered footsteps quickly moving from the bedside out the door, followed by the soft click of the door being carefully closed.
“…”
Even though Zhuang Chi was the only one left in the room, she remained motionless, still hidden under the blanket.
And under the blanket, Zhuang Chi buried her astonishingly hot face—whether from the high temperature in the enclosed space or for some other reason—deep into her palms.
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