A Short-Lived Cannon Fodder Alpha Just Wants to Be a Salted Fish - Chapter 2

Pain! It hurt so much!

It felt as if something was bursting out from within her body. Every inch of her skin felt as though it were being pierced and torn by a white-hot blade, digging deep into her bones. The heat was agonizing.

This tearing pain came in waves. At its peak, it would last for thirty minutes—perhaps longer. Sometimes, the intensity was enough to make Wen Yuan black out.

In her hazy mind, text and images flashed by like a revolving lantern:

[Wen Yuan wept piteously, but Jiang Huaiyu remained unmoved: “I only stayed with you to make her jealous. You know that now, so can you stop clinging to me? I’m tired of you.”]

[“If only you didn’t exist.” Wen Yuan caught sight of headlights approaching from the right and suddenly lunged, pushing Wen Ling toward the road.]

[Wen Ling dodged with agile reflexes. Due to her momentum, Wen Yuan stumbled forward several steps. The screech of brakes pierced the silence of the night…]

The text dissolved into fragments of light, regrouping into the blinding glare of headlights. The ear-splitting screech of brakes echoed in her ears.

As the pain struck again, scattered images flooded Wen Yuan’s mind with increasing clarity and coherence. She clutched her head, which felt like it was about to explode, gasped for air, and snapped her eyes open.

She had died in a car accident and was reborn into this world. This world was actually the setting of an ABO romance novel, and she was the short-lived female cannon fodder.

Jiang Huaiyu was the second male lead. She couldn’t confess to him! If she did, she would be used, dumped, become a “blackened” villainess, and then be written out of the story in less than two chapters!

Having processed all this information, Wen Yuan felt her skin crawl. She lay on the bed, staring at the white ceiling, waiting for her heart rate to steady. After a while, as the sensation returned to her body, she realized she was in a hospital.

Wait, wasn’t I in the school restroom?

Wen Yuan instinctively touched the back of her neck. It felt smooth—the texture of a sticker—and the skin beneath was slightly swollen.

It was a scent-blocking patch. The swelling was her gland.

She remembered! She had been bitten by Chu Yihan! She had nearly died from the pain, and then she had released pheromones. She remembered that sensation clearly: it was like being in a drizzle, the damp air filled with the fresh scent of grass and earth, with a faint hint of flowers…

Wait, that’s not right. Betas don’t release pheromones when they differentiate!

A thought occurred to her. Wen Yuan nervously pulled at her collar to look down. “Holy crap.”

Her “B-cups” had turned into “A-cups.” Her “steamed buns” had become “biscuits”…

Wen Yuan bolted upright, stunned. She really had differentiated into an Alpha.

Just then, the door pushed open. A doctor in a white coat walked in, looked at her, and smiled. “You’re awake?”

“Dad?!” Wen Yuan was now certain she was in a ward designed for isolating pheromone disorders. “Why am I in the hospital?”

“You suddenly differentiated at school. Your teacher sent you over. It’s quite a coincidence—I happened to be on shift today.”

Wen Ming stepped forward to perform a routine check-up. “Your teacher said your pheromones were leaking in the gymnasium. Luckily, a classmate gave you an emergency injection of Omega suppressants to prevent a total catastrophe. You should thank that classmate properly when you go back.”

Differentiating in a public place was extremely dangerous. Wen Yuan recalled Chu Yihan stabbing the injector into her wrist. She twitched the corner of her mouth, thinking: Should I thank her for biting me so hard I differentiated on the spot?

Seeing Wen Yuan’s furrowed brow and somber face, Wen Ming asked with concern, “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Wen Yuan snapped out of it and shook her head, rubbing her stomach. “No, I’m just hungry.”

“Your mom just arrived with preserved egg and pork porridge.” Wen Ming finished recording the data and said to the young nurse behind him, “Go tell the family that her precious daughter is awake.”

The nurse smiled and went out. A moment later, Fang Jingbai rushed into the room with a thermos, showering Wen Yuan with motherly concern.

As Wen Yuan listened to her mother’s nagging and saw her worried expression, a memory suddenly flashed in her mind: a woman crouching outside a hospital ward, clutching her head and weeping silently.

That must have been someone very close to her in her previous life. Her heart twinged with a lingering ache. When someone dies, it is always the living who suffer most.

If I keep walking down the path of self-destruction, how heartbroken would my parents in this life be?

Wen Yuan made a silent vow: She would stay away from trashy men and cherish her life! She would be a long-lived “salted fish” and eat a few more bowls of porridge!

“Mom, I’m starving,” Wen Yuan interrupted.

Two minutes later, Wen Yuan was hunched over a small table, happily eating porridge while listening to Wen Ming’s lecture on “Alpha Precautions.”

After the lecture, Wen Yuan asked curiously, “How did I differentiate into an Alpha? Didn’t the genetic test say there was a 70% chance I’d be a Beta?”

“Genetic testing is just a reference; it doesn’t guarantee a Beta result. There was still a 30% chance,” Wen Ming paused. “After all, your mother’s genes are quite powerful.”

Fang Jingbai glared at him, and Wen Ming quickly changed the subject. “Finish your porridge and stay for an hour of observation. If everything is fine, you can go home and isolate there for a while.”

“So I don’t have to go to school tomorrow?” Wen Yuan asked excitedly.

“That’s right. Your teacher said to wait until your pheromones stabilize,” Fang Jingbai said, noticing her daughter’s grin. “She also mentioned your grades have dropped significantly and suggested online classes. I’ve already signed you up. The schedule syncs with school hours. You look energetic enough, so you start tomorrow.”

Wen Yuan’s smile vanished. She cursed internally but nodded obediently.

After an hour of observation, the discharge papers were signed. Wen Yuan changed out of her hospital gown, tugging at her clothes, which were now noticeably too short. “Mom, I need new clothes.”

Fang Jingbai looked her over. “I thought you’d be a Beta, so I didn’t prepare. We’ll measure you at home and order some stuff online.”

Wen Yuan grumbled. She regretted not wearing a skirt; her long pants had turned into capris, and they were tight.

Back at home, after measuring her height and dimensions, Wen Yuan felt sticky and headed for a shower. The humid air in the bathroom reminded her again of that faint, rain-diluted floral scent.

Two red needle marks were prominent on her pale wrist. Wen Yuan stared at them for a long time.

Where did Chu Yihan get a suppressor? And how did an Omega’s suppressor manage to suppress an Alpha’s pheromones?

Wen Yuan was too lazy to think deeply about it. She tried to recall more about her past life, but aside from knowing she was a transmigrator in a novel, everything else was a painful blur. She decided to let it go.

Maybe it will come back slowly. Living in the moment is more important.

When she came out of the shower, Fang Jingbai was carrying old bedsheets out of the room. “Mom,” Wen Yuan called out, “have you seen my phone?”

Fang Jingbai gestured toward the nightstand. “I’ll let you off the hook today. Don’t stay up too late.”

Wen Yuan gave a listless reply. Once her mother left, she fished her phone out of the drawer and called Shi Ran.

Shi Ran picked up immediately. “Finally calling me! How are you?”

“It’s a bit weird,” Wen Yuan summarized. “I’m taller, and my chest is smaller. Dammit, it wasn’t big to begin with.”

“Hahaha!” Shi Ran laughed shamelessly.

“Is it polite to laugh that hard?” Wen Yuan asked coolly.

“It’s normal! All Alphas are like that,” Shi Ran comforted her through her giggles. “How much taller?”

Wen Yuan smirked. “About 3cm taller than you…”

“Tch,” Shi Ran scoffed. “By the way, how did you suddenly differentiate in the gym restroom?”

Wen Yuan rubbed the back of her neck, instinctively hiding the fact that Chu Yihan had bitten her. “I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

“Well, thank goodness the Little Academic God was there. You have no idea how scary it was—several Omegas were nearly triggered into heat by your pheromones. Luckily, she carried you out of there fast.” Shi Ran paused, sounding impressed. “I don’t know how an Omega like her had the willpower to resist your pheromones and the strength to carry you all the way to the infirmary…”

A vision of a girl’s slender shoulders, a dark soft ponytail, and that elegant floral scent flashed through Wen Yuan’s mind. She felt a nerve near her gland twitch.

As Shi Ran kept rambling, Wen Yuan listened with only half an ear.

Before hanging up, Shi Ran said, “Oh, the Little Academic God added me to ask about your condition and contact info. She seemed worried. Since you’re awake, I gave her your ID. Whether you add her is up to you.”

Wen Yuan gave a distracted “Mm.” It wasn’t until the call ended that she fully processed what Shi Ran had said.

She was about to text Shi Ran to stop her when a notification popped up on the screen:

[125] requested to add you as a friend: I am Chu Yihan.

Shi Ran’s words about “Omega heats being incredibly painful” played on loop in her head. Wen Yuan stared at the request, remembering Chu Yihan’s flushed face and watery eyes.

Forget it. What bad intentions could an Omega have? She probably only bit me because she was in so much pain.

Wen Yuan bit her lip and tapped “Accept.”