Pain, so much pain… Jiang Yi felt every inch of her skin tearing, as if she’d been thrown into a furnace to be reforged. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
So painful… so painful… Was she dying? Why else would it feel like that time, long ago, when she was hit by a car, her soul separating from her body?
Despite everything she’d done, was she still destined to die at twenty?
What had she done wrong to deserve this? An early death in her past life, her mother’s early death in this one, and now her own impending demise at twenty. Why was her fate so tragic?
Why let her live in this world for sixteen years, only to awaken to the realization that it was an 18+ novel, and she was destined to die young?
Since fate had revealed her future, why not tell her the cause of death? A natural disaster? An accident? Or would she die in this agonizing pain?
Why tell her she was Jiang Sixian’s unforgettable white moonlight, making her think Jiang Sixian had always liked her… making her… suffer so much?
Why, why, why?
Countless thoughts flashed through Jiang Yi’s mind. The scene of the car hitting her in her past life, her mother on the hospital bed, holding her hand, taking her last breath, and Jiang Sixian, her face full of anxiety, walking towards her through a bustling crowd.
These scenes flashed before her like a revolving lantern. As her consciousness faded, Jiang Yi thought: Her life was so short, so sad. Like a firework, fleeting and ephemeral.
Even worse, fireworks at least burned brightly, while her life was full of regret and darkness.
This thought enraged her. Damn her fate! Knowing she was going to die at twenty, couldn’t she at least live well? She still had four years, two more than her previous life, enough time to experience so much!
If she didn’t die… if she didn’t die…
Jiang Yi’s thoughts were hazy, lacking a clear direction. Before losing consciousness, the image that surfaced in her mind was Jiang Sixian, standing under the tree, backlit by the sun, gazing at her. Then, the world around Jiang Sixian slowly dimmed.
Jiang Yi woke up in a hospital.
She opened her eyes blearily, staring at the white ceiling, her mind blank. After a while, fragmented memories surfaced: Chen Wanzhou twirling Jiang Sixian in a waltz, someone confessing to her, and Jiang Sixian inexplicably rushing over.
As she pieced together the memories, Jiang Yi suddenly recalled the overwhelming wave of pheromones… and realized she’d differentiated at the ball.
This thought made her instinctively reach down to her lower abdomen, where she felt something that hadn’t been there before. Her body stiffened, and she couldn’t help but scream, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Damn it! She’d grown something strange!
As she screamed, she continued exploring the unfamiliar contours, her despair deepening with each touch. It was so big, she must be an Alpha.
Overwhelmed by sadness, Jiang Yi clenched her fist and punched the bed. “Fuck!”
The impact triggered a series of alarms in the room. Startled by the sudden ringing, she turned her head and saw a glass wall between the bed and the door.
Wait, glass?
Jiang Yi looked around, realizing she was in a glass enclosure within the hospital room. Inside, there was a complete set of medical equipment, including an air purifier to filter her pheromones.
Jiang Yi was stunned. What kind of monster had she become, to require such treatment? Was her pheromone poisonous?
Just as she was thinking this, a nurse carrying a clipboard entered the room. Seeing Jiang Yi sitting up in bed, she paused. “Oh, you’re awake?”
Jiang Yi stared blankly at the nurse, confused. “You’re awake?” Who, her?
As Jiang Yi stared, the nurse turned and called out, “The patient in room two is awake. Please inform Dr. Ruan.”
Shortly after, a group of doctors in white coats swarmed into the room.
Dr. Ruan, wearing a mask, opened the glass enclosure and approached Jiang Yi, showering her with concern.
“How are you feeling?”
Surrounded, Jiang Yi felt like a rare specimen. She forced a smile. “Not very good.”
Dr. Ruan immediately tensed. “What’s wrong? Your limbs? Internal organs? Your head?”
Jiang Yi looked at Dr. Ruan, her heart pounding. “I’m just feeling down. Doctor, what happened to me? Is my pheromone poisonous? Am I dying? Why are you all surrounding me?”
Her questions stunned the doctors, then they burst into laughter. Dr. Ruan, still chuckling, ruffled Jiang Yi’s hair. “Your pheromone isn’t poisonous, and you’re not dying. You’re perfectly healthy, one of the healthiest patients I’ve seen.”
“You just differentiated into a rather special Alpha.”
“Alright, since you’re awake, let’s run some tests.”
Jiang Yi sat in bed, undergoing a series of examinations.
After the tests, the doctor patted her head. “Differentiation can be quite taxing. Get some rest. Your parents will be here soon.”
What did that mean? She couldn’t be discharged yet?
Jiang Yi was confused, but after the doctors left, she obediently lay in bed. Perhaps because she’d slept too long, or because of the doctors’ strange behavior, Jiang Yi’s mind raced with unsettling thoughts.
After a while, feeling hungry, she pressed the call button.
The door opened immediately.
Jiang Yi assumed it was a nurse, but it was Jiang Qionghua and Ning Wenying, along with Dr. Ruan.
Jiang Yi froze. Dr. Ruan opened the glass enclosure, and Jiang Qionghua rushed to the bedside, leaning over Jiang Yi, her eyes red-rimmed. “You… you’re awake… that’s good… that’s good…”
Jiang Yi looked up, seeing the usually impeccably dressed Jiang Qionghua with red eyes and looking exhausted, felt a strange sense of unease.
Held tightly by Jiang Qionghua, she thought that if their relationship were better, Jiang Qionghua might be hugging her, not just leaning on her.
This thought made Jiang Yi shudder. Confused, she asked, “What’s wrong?” Was she dying?
Thinking this, Jiang Yi turned to Dr. Ruan. “Doctor, am I really okay? I don’t have some terminal illness, do I?”
Dr. Ruan chuckled. “I told you, you’re fine.”
Jiang Yi looked at her with a “Don’t lie to me, if I’m fine, why does my mother look like I’m dying?” expression. Convinced the doctor was lying, she turned to Ning Wenying. “Auntie Ning, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you? Am I really not dying?”
Ning Wenying smiled. “No, you’re fine now that you’ve differentiated.” She patted Jiang Qionghua’s shoulder. “Qionghua, calm down. You’re scaring Xiao Yi.”
Jiang Qionghua patted Jiang Yi’s shoulder. “The doctor will explain everything later.”
“How are you feeling now? Any discomfort? Anything else bothering you?”
Just then, Jiang Yi’s stomach growled loudly. She looked up at Jiang Qionghua. “I’m fine, just hungry.”
Jiang Qionghua breathed a sigh of relief. “You’ve been unconscious for three days, haven’t eaten much. What do you want? I’ll have someone bring it over.”
Dr. Ruan interrupted. “Don’t ask her what she wants. She hasn’t eaten in days. She needs something light. Jiang Zong, have someone bring some congee. Small, frequent meals for the next few days.”
Jiang Qionghua immediately agreed. “Right, right, you’re right.” She called someone to bring congee immediately.
Soon, Jiang Yi sat in bed, sipping congee, flanked by Jiang Qionghua and Ning Wenying, listening to Dr. Ruan explain her test results.
Dr. Ruan held a stack of documents and addressed Jiang Qionghua. “As I mentioned before, Jiang Yi’s case is quite rare. She’s a very special Alpha. Her pheromone levels are extremely high, capable of suppressing other Alphas. Even some Betas can be affected when she releases her pheromones. In wartime, she’d be an exceptional soldier.”
“Theoretically, until she learns to control her pheromones, she can induce heat in any Omega.”
At this, Jiang Yi spat out her congee.
Jiang Qionghua, beside her, was sprayed and quickly turned to look at her. Jiang Yi coughed violently, and Jiang Qionghua patted her back. “Slow down, slow down… don’t be so hasty…”
Was this a matter of being hasty? The doctor was being ridiculous!
After coughing for a while, Jiang Yi finally caught her breath, her eyes watering as she looked at the doctor. “Then why wasn’t Jiang Sixian affected?” She vaguely remembered Jiang Sixian leading her away from the crowd of Omegas. If Jiang Sixian had also gone into heat, she wouldn’t have been able to help her.
Jiang Yi had seen Jiang Sixian in heat.
Dr. Ruan replied, “That’s why I said ‘theoretically.’ Look, Ning Nushi is standing right beside you, and she’s fine.”
Dr. Ruan continued, “We ran tests while you were unconscious. Except for Ning Nushi and her daughter, every Omega who came into contact with your pheromones went into heat.”
Jiang Yi was stunned. Was she some kind of walking aphrodisiac?
Dr. Ruan said, “Based on these results, we can confidently diagnose you as an Alpha with exceptionally high pheromone levels. Back when there were Alpha rankings, you’d be among the top tier.”
As Jiang Yi stared, dumbfounded, Dr. Ruan continued, “There have been similar cases throughout history. Our hospital encountered one a few decades ago. The probability of differentiating into this type of Alpha is one in a million… very rare, and very tricky.”
“Alphas can’t control their pheromones before adulthood. And this type of Alpha is dangerous to all Omegas because they can induce heat.”
“However, there’s a specific group of people who are immune to this type of Alpha and can’t even smell their pheromones. They’re usually close relatives who live with these Alphas long-term.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yi looked at Jiang Qionghua in horror. No way, was Jiang Sixian really her sister, and Ning Wenying her mother?
Or were Ning Wenying and her mother related somehow, explaining why Jiang Qionghua had mistaken Ning Wenying for her mother that night?
Jiang Yi felt sick.
Seeing Jiang Yi’s face turn pale, Dr. Ruan quickly added, “However, there’s no DNA connection between you, Ms. Ning, and her daughter. As for why they can’t detect your pheromones or be influenced by them, we suspect it’s the second possibility.”
“These two are people your subconscious considers off-limits, so you automatically block your pheromones from them.”
“Blocking pheromones is something Alphas learn to do after adulthood. So don’t worry, you’ll be fine once you’re older.”
Dr. Ruan concluded, “Research on this type of Alpha suggests this phenomenon is related to ethics. Whether it’s blood relatives or people they don’t want to have a relationship with, there’s an ethical barrier between them and these Alphas.”
Jiang Yi felt she understood and nodded. “So, I see Auntie Ning and Jiang Sixian as family, so I don’t offend them with my pheromones?”
Dr. Ruan nodded. “You could say that. Ning Nushi’s daughter underwent numerous tests. Even during her heat, without suppressants, she couldn’t smell your pheromones. So you’re safe around your family.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yi felt a strange mix of emotions.
Dr. Ruan continued, “However, you can’t go to public places. Your pheromone levels are too high. Before adulthood, Alphas have almost no control over their pheromones, and you could easily induce heat in Omegas. So Jiang Yi, I recommend you take a leave of absence from school.”
“This is the safest option for both you and others.”
Jiang Yi chuckled dryly. “So I’m like catnip, or a walking nuclear bomb?”
Dr. Ruan sighed. “There’s nothing we can do.” Sometimes, being too special was considered a disease.
And right now, Jiang Yi was indeed a “disease” to others.
Jiang Yi looked up at Dr. Ruan. “So, will I be hospitalized indefinitely, or can I go home?”
Dr. Ruan replied, “You can go home, but it’s best to have a glass enclosure at home, along with the necessary equipment to monitor your pheromone levels.”
Jiang Yi gave a noncommittal “Oh.”
Jiang Qionghua placed a hand on her arm. “I’ve already had a room set up at home. You’re not sick; you shouldn’t stay in the hospital. I’ll take you home soon.”
Jiang Yi felt inexplicably sad. She looked up at Dr. Ruan. “You said I’m healthy, so I won’t die young because of my high pheromone levels, will I?”
Dr. Ruan shook her head. “No, on the contrary, your physical condition could make you live longer. Historically, Alphas like you have all been long-lived.”
Dr. Ruan paused, then continued, “However, your current situation will make your teenage years rather difficult. Jiang Yi, as things stand, you can only stay home. You can’t go out.”
By this world’s standards, she wouldn’t be considered an adult until twenty.
Great, Jiang Yi thought she knew how she was going to die. She’d be stuck at home for four years, bored to death!
Damn it! Why was fate so cruel? What kind of suffering was this?
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