October 9th.
19:25.
Bai Yujun arrived at the bar based on the location sent by Jiang Zhihuo.
The name of the bar was pleasant—Xiang Yao. The owner must be a literary youth.
Bai Yujun arrived at VIP room 3001.
As soon as she opened the door, there were two ‘pops’ and colorful paper streamers shot out from the confetti cannon, flying and scattering everywhere.
By the door stood two young men.
Jiang Zhihuo was full of enthusiasm, flashing a bright smile. “Thank you, Yujun, for accepting the invitation!!”
Yan Mu, as usual, had little expression, and his words were simple. “Welcome.”
The confetti landed on her hair. Bai Yujun tilted her head and brushed it away, smiling. “I didn’t expect you two to actively team up.”
Jiang Zhihuo pushed the blame onto Yan Mu, pointing at him. “It was him who insisted on joining in.”
Yan Mu’s expression remained intact. “Without me, would you have been able to book this place?”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Huh? I’m also an employee. It doesn’t have to be the best, but at least I’ve got something similar, right?”
Yan Mu glanced sideways at him and said, “I can make it impossible for you to get a reservation.”
“Alright, alright.” Bai Yujun pulled the two apart and asked with a faint smile. “Any plans for tonight?”
“Nothing in particular.” Jiang Zhihuo walked over to the long table, where various bottles of alcohol and a row of glasses were laid out.
“How about we have a drink?” Jiang Zhihuo pushed a menu forward and added, “Order whatever you like.”
As he spoke, he put on the white gloves he wore for work.
Bai Yujun was slightly surprised. “What’s this?”
Jiang Zhihuo said, “Bartender, part-time job.”
Bai Yujun clapped genuinely. “You’re really impressive.”
Jiang Zhihuo smiled. “Go ahead and order, or should I make some recommendations?”
Before Bai Yujun could speak, Yan Mu spoke first, “Dawn.”
Jiang Zhihuo didn’t look at him. “I’m not asking you.”
Bai Yujun: “I’ve never had alcohol before, so I’ll have the same order as Yan Mu. I’d like a glass of…” She didn’t catch the name earlier, so she turned to Yan Mu, looking at him inquiringly.
Yan Mu: “Dawn.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Got it.”
He lowered his gaze and quickly prepared two drinks, pushing one in front of Bai Yujun and the other toward Yan Mu.
The deep blue drink was festoon with star-shaped glitter on the glass, and as the light came across it, it appeared like a starry night sky.
“Beautiful!” Bai Yujun couldn’t help praising.
“You compliment too early.” Jiang Zhihuo dropped a sugar ball into the drink, and in an instant, the orange syrup melted, blending with the alcohol, forming several irregular curves. They merged into a hazy pattern, resembling the first light of dawn.
Bai Yujun stared blankly at the gradual and graceful transformation in the glass. After a long while, she finally said, “It’s really beautiful…”
Jiang Zhihuo said, “It’s also tasty.”
Bai Yujun took a small sip. At first, there was no trace of alcohol, just the sweet flavor of orange. After a second, the tinge of alcohol slowly appeared on her tongue—neither strong nor pungent, perfectly smooth and mellow.
She placed the glass down gently.
Having tasted the delicious drink, with two guys by her side, her last night should be perfect and wonderful. Therefore, she should smile, compliment how good the drink was with a smile, express how amazing they were with a smile, and thank them, saying she was really happy.
However, she cried.
With her head lowered, her hair covering the side of her face, she held the glass tightly in both hands while her shoulders trembled.
Yan Mu gently patted her back, offering comfort.
Jiang Zhihuo handed her a tissue. “Is it so good that it makes you cry?”
Bai Yujun took the tissue, wiped away her tears, and looked up. “Sorry, I lost my equanimity. I’m just really happy.”
Jiang Zhihuo said, “I brought you here to make you happy. If you keep crying, it’ll be hard to distinguish things.”
“Mhm, I know.” Bai Yujun restrained her tears and asked, “Can I order another drink?”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Of course.”
Bai Yujun’s eyes curved slightly.
She drank a lot tonight.
In the past, Bai Yujun never touched alcohol; her father never allowed her to.
“An omega who can drink loses a lot of fun.” Her father had told her. She didn’t understand what he meant at first, until later, she saw her older sister. Someone had gotten her drunk, to the point of losing consciousness, then carried her to a room. That day, three men went in.
Bai Yujun drank herself into drunkenness.
She was just dizzy but still conscious. It meant that when she spoke, she became much bolder, saying many things she had previously been too afraid or unwilling to say—all of them came out tonight.
“There’s something I’ve never told you guys.” Bai Yujun’s face was red and hot; the effects of the alcohol were evident; her entire face flushed.
Jiang Zhihuo asked, “What is it?”
“Actually…” Bai Yujun leaned on the table. “I’m an omega.”
She turned her gaze away, not wanting to look at Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu’s reactions.
“Being an omega is so vexing. Everyone says you’re not good enough, you’re wrong, you shouldn’t even exist, but it’s not like I choose to become an omega.”
“I hate myself. I’ve never said this before, and I’ve been pretending to be a beta, living like one at school.”
“But that day, the day we watched the movie, when classmate Yan Mu asked me that question—everyone thinks being an omega is wrong, so why do even omega think that about themselves?”
“I’ve thought about this question for a long time. Why? Why? We did nothing wrong. My sister and I did nothing wrong. So, why should we, just because we’re omegas, be sent to someone else’s bed?”
“Director Feng’s matter has caused a huge stir on the internet. Lately, I’ve been following the updates on this matter. Some people still hate omegas, while others have started to speak up for them. However, I also saw someone ask—They said, ‘As omegas, you’re despised and rejected, so why has no one ever fought back?’”
“I don’t know. I can’t answer that. Though just now, right before coming here, I think I started to understand a little… only a little.”
“Because every single omega—we’ve all gotten used to it. We’ve been subtly conditioned to believe things like, ‘You shouldn’t exist,’ ‘You’re a mistake.’ It’s not that we don’t resist, not that we don’t want to, but no one ever realized they should. There are too few omegas.”
“I left something behind. I don’t know if it will be discovered, but I hope it will. Will people finally realize that we shouldn’t have to live like this?”
Her voice was soft, her tone indifferent, as if she were casually jabbering with classmates at school. But to Bai Yujun herself, it was far too heavy to bear.
Yan Mu replaced the drink in front of her with warm water and said, “Drink less.”
Bai Yujun rested her head on her arm, looking up at him. Her eyes were especially bright after drinking. “Didn’t you call me here to drink?”
Jiang Zhihuo said, “This isn’t drinking. You’re drowning yourself.‘
Bai Yujun tapped her fingertip on the glass, and a mist rose slowly, the warmth lingering on her fingertip. She stared at Jiang Zhihuo and said, “Stop pursuing me. You won’t succeed.”
Jiang Zhihuo played along and asked, “Why?”
Bai Yujun had no intent of answering. She looked at Yan Mu instead. “You too. You’re not pretending at all. I know you don’t like me. You’re always seeing someone else through me.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “?!”
Yan Mu fell silent for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Ah?!”
This is really an unforeseen conversation, isn’t it?!
Bai Yujun asked again, “Do we look alike?”
Yan Mu responded, “No, you both don’t. I… I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Jiang Zhihuo looked at Yan Mu in shock. “What the hell, Yan-ge, are you a jerk?”
“Don’t apologize, and don’t blame him, classmate Zhihuo.” Bai Yujun said with a smile. “I’ve used you too. My father will be happy to see me getting close to you, and he’ll be less strict with me. Plus, both of you have treated me well.”
Bai Yujun pushed away the warm water aside, picked up the wine glass, filled it for herself, and drank it all in one go before slumping back onto the table.
She felt so fatigued; her mind was a jumbled mess, fuzzy, as if she had rambled on nonsensically.
Yet she didn’t feel uncomfortable. She thought, When her sister stopped breathing, it must have been more painful than anything else.
She closed her eyes, a faint smile curving at the corners of her lips. “I’m very glad to have met both of you. I’m also grateful to be able to talk to you guys in the end.”
The author has something to say:
Sorry, sorry, something came up, and I got called away in the middle of writing. I didn’t finish this chapter; otherwise, it would have been quite a long one.
I’ll post part of it first. I’m really sorry.
Thank you so much to everyone who has made it this far.
I love you all so much!
Has the story been dropped?