A Short-Lived Cannon Fodder Alpha Just Wants to Be a Salted Fish - Chapter 16

That night, Han Yu was startled to see Chu Yihan return home wearing someone else’s clothes. She immediately asked her daughter what had happened with deep concern.

Chu Yihan answered breezily, “I tripped, and the paint ruined my clothes. A classmate lent me theirs.”

“How did you trip?” Recalling previous incidents, Han Yu asked worriedly, “Were you bullied?”

“No,” Chu Yihan said calmly. “I’m going to shower and change now.”

Han Yu watched her expression closely but couldn’t detect anything amiss. She forced herself to relax. “Give those clothes back to your classmate once they’re washed clean.”

Chu Yihan gave a soft “Mm.”

While Chu Yihan was showering, Han Yu took the discarded clothes to wash them. On the fabric, there remained a very, very faint scent belonging to an Alpha. If Han Yu hadn’t become more sensitive after her pheromone removal surgery, she might not have noticed it at all.

“Did that Alpha classmate you don’t reject lend you these?” Han Yu asked, standing outside the bathroom door.

“Yes.” Chu Yihan’s voice came from the shower. “Mom, leave the clothes there. I’ll wash them myself later.”

Han Yu froze for a moment, then her lips curved into a smile. She put the clothes back where they were. “Alright.”

When Chu Yihan came out after her shower and set about washing the clothes, Han Yu stood by, watching her meaningfully. Unable to withstand her mother’s gaze, Chu Yihan gave up on the idea of hand-washing and put the clothes into the washing machine, reaching for the laundry detergent on the shelf.

There were two types of detergent: an unfinished bottle of lavender and a bottle of gardenia-scented detergent Han Yu had bought last week—the same scent as Chu Yihan’s pheromones.

Seeing Chu Yihan reach for the gardenia detergent, Han Yu deliberately reminded her, “The lavender one isn’t finished yet.”

Chu Yihan bit her lip, turning a deaf ear. Han Yu’s smile widened, while Chu Yihan kept a straight face and acted as if she saw nothing. After pouring the detergent and pressing the start button, Chu Yihan turned around. “Mom, there’s something…”

“Hmm?”

“I want to choose the Liberal Arts track.”

Han Yu’s smile faded slightly. “Have you thought it through? Your grandfather wants you to choose Science.”

“I’ve decided.” Chu Yihan paused, then pleaded, “Could you help talk to Grandfather for me?”

This was the first time Chu Yihan had ever asked Han Yu for help. Eager to bridge the distance with her daughter, and thinking she could enlist Chu Yihan’s grandmother (who had always loved literature) to help persuade the old man, Han Yu agreed readily. “Fine, I’ll talk to him. You choose whatever you want. My daughter has great grades anyway; it doesn’t matter what track you pick.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

Chu Yihan lowered her head, the corners of her lips slowly rising as a pleasant smile filled her eyes.

As final exams approached, the students were plunged into a state of tense revision.

It had been rainy for several days. The pitter-patter of rain outside the window made people feel drowsy. Wen Yuan tossed her pen onto the desk and frustratedly ran her fingers through her bangs. Wanting to drink some water to calm her restless heart, she picked up her bottle only to find it empty.

Because of the rain, the outdoor exercises were canceled, making the long break between classes feel even longer. Wen Yuan glanced at Shi Ran, who was napping, and didn’t wake her. She took her umbrella and walked out of the classroom.

At the door, she ran into Chu Yihan, who was returning her clothes. The latter’s gaze swept over the umbrella in Wen Yuan’s hand. “Are you leaving the building? Going to the store?”

Wen Yuan took the bag containing her clothes and gave an “Mm.”

“I want to go too,” Chu Yihan said. “Wait for me, I’ll go back and grab my umbrella.”

“Don’t bother. My umbrella is big enough for two.” Wen Yuan handed the umbrella to Chu Yihan. “Hold this for me. I’ll put my clothes away first.”

Back in the classroom, as Wen Yuan bent over to stuff the clothes into her desk, she caught a faint, clean fragrance from the fabric. After putting them away, she stepped back out, took the umbrella from Chu Yihan, and said, “Let’s go.”

The hallway was nearly empty as they walked down the stairs side-by-side.

Wen Yuan started a conversation. “Did your family specifically buy laundry detergent that smells like your pheromones?”

Chu Yihan gave a soft “Mm.” “Do you… dislike it?” There was a hint of undetectable trepidation in her tone.

“No, it smells really good,” Wen Yuan said after a moment’s thought. “Better than lavender.”

It was the answer she had hoped for. Chu Yihan stole a glance at Wen Yuan, whose expression remained casual. She didn’t feel particularly disappointed, nor was she incredibly happy. She withdrew her gaze, her long lashes drooping slightly.

At the bottom of the stairs, Wen Yuan opened the umbrella. If it were Shi Ran, she would have linked arms by now, but Chu Yihan was perhaps shy; not only did she not stay close, she was almost standing at the very edge of the umbrella. Wen Yuan quietly closed the gap and tilted the umbrella toward Chu Yihan.

The rain had let up slightly, looking like a broken string of pearls splashing rhythmically against the umbrella and the ground.

“I wonder how many days this rain will last. It’s so annoying,” Wen Yuan sighed.

“You don’t like rainy days?”

“Not exactly. Maybe my study sessions aren’t going well, so even the rain looks annoying to me.”

Wen Yuan sounded a bit childish when she complained like that—it was quite cute. Chu Yihan smiled gently, teasing, “The rainy day is so innocent.”

Is it my fault then? Wen Yuan arched an eyebrow and gave her a mock-cold glare. Chu Yihan quickly bit her lip to hide her smile.

Chu Yihan had sensed Wen Yuan’s stress during their voice calls over the last two days. After a moment of silence, she suggested, “If you have time this weekend, do you want to go to the city library with me? I’ll highlight the key points and predict questions for you.”

Having witnessed Chu Yihan’s accuracy in predicting questions, Wen Yuan agreed immediately. “Sure! If we’re going to the city library, we have to wake up early, right?”

The Ningcheng Library was very popular; if you arrived late, finding a seat in the self-study area was difficult. Wen Yuan had never been, but she had heard about it often.

“Mm. I live quite close to it, so I can go early to save seats,” Chu Yihan said, seemingly well-aware of Wen Yuan’s habit of sleeping in. “You can come over after you wake up.”

Wen Yuan felt like Chu Yihan was practically glowing with a holy light at that moment! However, she maintained a bit of rational poise. “I’ll try my best to get up early. Where should we meet?”

“I’m usually in the self-study area on the fourth floor,” Chu Yihan said. “I can message you the specific location when I’m there.”

“OK.” Wen Yuan looked up at the drizzling rain. “I hope it doesn’t rain this weekend.”

She dislikes rain that much? Chu Yihan couldn’t help but smile. “I actually quite like the rain.”

Wen Yuan was surprised. “Don’t you find it inconvenient? Going out is a mess, and the air feels damp and uncomfortable.”

“A little. But the sound of rain is very pleasant; it makes my heart feel peaceful and calm. Plus, the air after rain is very fresh and smells good. I like it. Your scent…” Chu Yihan paused, adding casually, “is very similar to the smell after rain.”

Wen Yuan was startled. Her pheromones were the scent of actinomycetes—colloquially known as earthy, or more poetically, the scent of fresh earth after rain. It was a polarising scent; Wen Yuan didn’t particularly like it herself, so she kept it well-hidden. Even Shi Ran didn’t know what her pheromones smelled like.

But Chu Yihan said she liked it. Wen Yuan felt a stir in her heart—an indescribable feeling. For a split second, she even wondered if the “like” Chu Yihan mentioned wasn’t about the rainy day, but about her pheromones.

Saturday finally brought clear skies.

The midsummer sun wasn’t much more comfortable than the rain; the morning light hit the floor, making it hot to the touch. Wen Yuan pulled the curtains shut and hopped back onto her bed. If it weren’t for the impending final exams, Wen Yuan wouldn’t step foot out of her air-conditioned room in this melting heat.

After a long internal struggle, she checked her phone. She regretted her impulsive decision the night before to tell Chu Yihan she would arrive at the same time as her. The library opened at 9:00 AM; there was no time to dawdle.

Wen Yuan climbed out of bed, shuffled to her wardrobe, and changed into a white round-neck T-shirt and cargo pants. After washing up and packing her bag, she headed out. Her parents were busy and had left early, both leaving her extra allowance on the table. Pleased with this unexpected windfall, Wen Yuan tucked the money into her pocket.

Braving the scorching sun, she took a sun umbrella and hailed a taxi at the neighborhood gate. The driver was a chatty Beta uncle who, upon hearing she was going to the library and seeing her youthful energy, started complaining about how his own son hated studying and was now struggling in life.

When they reached the library, the driver pulled over and sighed. “He finally differentiated into an Alpha—gifted by nature—but all he thought about in school was playing. Now he has to suffer. If he’d suffered just a little bit in school, how easy would his life be now? Isn’t that right?”

Truth, Wen Yuan thought. She couldn’t agree more. Her current hard work was exactly so she could continue being a happy, relaxed “salted fish” in the future. She handed the change to the driver. “You’re absolutely right!”

The driver beamed. He only took the bills and let her keep the coins. “It’s hot; take the change to buy some water. Study hard, kid!”

Wen Yuan gave him a big smile. “Thank you, Master!”

Chu Yihan was already there, standing at the bus stop below the library steps. She waved when she saw Wen Yuan get out of the taxi. “Over here!”

Wen Yuan jogged over. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No, I just arrived too. The doors haven’t opened yet; let’s buy some water before we go in.”

“Sure, my treat!” Wen Yuan walked toward the supermarket with Chu Yihan, chatting about the taxi driver.

Inside the store, Wen Yuan grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and stepped aside for Chu Yihan. “That uncle was so interesting and cute.”

Seeing Wen Yuan’s joyful expression, Chu Yihan was infected by her mood, a smile slowly coloring her features. She picked the same water as Wen Yuan and turned around.

“You are very cute, too.”

The breezy sentence, tinged with a hint of shyness, drifted into Wen Yuan’s ear. She felt as though her heart had been lightly brushed by a feather. A tingly, subtle itch spread silently through her.