A Short-Lived Cannon Fodder Alpha Just Wants to Be a Salted Fish - Chapter 26

Chu Yihan came from a wealthy background and looked like a pampered girl with delicate skin, so Wen Yuan had assumed she wouldn’t be very good at chores like laying sheets or changing duvet covers. To her surprise, Chu Yihan was quite skilled.

With a few tucks and rolls, the bed was made.

“Do you do housework often at home?” Wen Yuan helped her smooth out the quilt.

“I used to do it a lot.” Chu Yihan’s hand paused as she adjusted the corner, a look of nostalgia flickering beneath her long lashes. “Sometimes cleaning or cooking is a way for me to relax.”

She spoke with a maturity that didn’t quite match her age, but Wen Yuan’s attention was on the content: “You can cook too?”

“Not really.” Chu Yihan placed the two pillows together. “I’m not good at it, but I keep trying anyway.”

Wen Yuan teased, “So you’re ‘trash but love to do it’ at cooking too?”

“Mm.” Chu Yihan smiled in agreement. “That’s exactly right. Let’s head out.”

If she hadn’t seen Chu Yihan’s gaming skills, Wen Yuan would have assumed she was just being modest. Now, she couldn’t tell. Following behind her, Wen Yuan felt curious about her cooking. “Will I have the honor of tasting Teacher Lamb’s cooking?”

Chu Yihan turned to look at her, her eyes swirling with unreadable emotions before she turned back. Her voice carried a faint smile: “Sure, but you can’t laugh at me.”

“I definitely won’t laugh.” Wen Yuan huffed playfully, “I’m not that kind of person.”

Chu Yihan didn’t say anything, only letting out a soft, breathy laugh.

Just as they got downstairs, the doorbell rang. Chu Yihan hurried over to get the delivery. Fearing it wouldn’t be enough, Wen Yuan had also ordered the shop’s signature shredded pork with flatbread. Before even opening the package, the spicy aroma filled the room. They decided to sit at the kitchen bar and opened the window to let the scent out.

The rain had stopped, and the breeze blowing in carried a hint of dampness. Wen Yuan unwrapped the food, and the fragrance hit them instantly. Chu Yihan brought over small bowls of ginger vinegar. “It smells so good.”

Wen Yuan teased, “Can’t smell the scent you like anymore?”

“It’s right here on you.” Seeing Wen Yuan dazed, Chu Yihan smiled and stopped teasing. “We can go for a walk after we eat.”

Arranging the two portions of crab and pork, Wen Yuan agreed readily: “Sure…”

Wen Yuan was an expert at deconstructing crabs. With a twist and a slow pull, she could usually extract the leg meat perfectly intact. Chu Yihan, however, struggled. Wen Yuan taught her once, and after several attempts, Chu Yihan managed to get one out whole.

When Chu Yihan pricked her finger on a sharp part of the shell again, Wen Yuan couldn’t take it anymore. She told Chu Yihan to just break the legs off and set them aside. After extracting a perfect piece of meat from a leg, Wen Yuan handed it to her and said, “The more I get to know you, the more you seem like a real person.”

Chu Yihan took the meat, dipped it in vinegar, and looked at her blankly. “Hmm? Like who?”

“Pfft, I didn’t mean it like that. Do you know why we call you the ‘Academic God’ in private?”

“Because of my grades?”

“Mm. It’s because you seem perfect in every way, like there’s nothing you can’t do. But we don’t call you a ‘top student’ (xue-ba), we call you a ‘God’…” Wen Yuan took Chu Yihan’s plate to help her peel more legs, laughing as she continued, “…because you seemed unreachable.”

“I’m not unreachable.” Chu Yihan lowered her eyes. She flipped a crab leg over, pointing the sharp end toward Wen Yuan.

You are the one who is unreachable…

Wen Yuan kept the messy bits of meat for herself and put the perfect pieces on Chu Yihan’s plate. “After getting to know you, I found out that even the Little Academic God has things she can’t do and has imperfections. Suddenly, you’re grounded—real and cute.”

This evaluation was much more heartfelt than the one back at the milk tea shop, signifying their relationship had grown closer. Chu Yihan’s lips curved upward uncontrollably.

After eating, they threw out the trash and strolled through the complex to digest.

As the saying goes, “each autumn rain brings a touch of cold.” The evening breeze felt refreshing. They chatted idly as they walked. This relaxed state reminded Wen Yuan of her past life; she used to walk the streets like this to slow down the pace of life.

Back then, there was also someone by her side. Wen Yuan could now recall a blurry figure and even snippets of conversation, but she still couldn’t remember a face or the nature of their relationship. Family? Friend?

A notification on her phone broke her train of thought.

“Shi Ran says she’s bored and wants to play,” Wen Yuan said to Chu Yihan. “We didn’t win this afternoon. Want to try again?”

“Sure,” Chu Yihan said. “Let’s head back.”

Five minutes later, they were back in the apartment and logged in. Only Shi Ran’s apprentice was online. She pulled them into a squad and started immediately; since they didn’t match with a fourth, it was just the three of them.

Wen Yuan asked over the mic, “Why is it just you? Where’s your master?”

“I am her master,” Shi Ran’s voice came through. “She hasn’t finished her summer homework but wants to reach ‘Ace’ rank, so I’m playing a couple of rounds for her. The random teammates earlier were trash.”

So she was using Wen Yuan and Chu Yihan as “boosters.”

Shi Ran went off hunting for kills. Wen Yuan trusted her skills, so she stayed behind to guard Chu Yihan. Chu Yihan’s awareness and controls had improved by leaps and bounds. Wen Yuan marveled silently; as expected of an Academic God, once she set her mind to something, there was nothing she couldn’t master.

However, even though her skills had improved, Chu Yihan would still call out Wen Yuan’s name in a soft, weak voice whenever she saw enemy footsteps, which greatly satisfied Wen Yuan’s Alpha ego.

Twenty-five minutes later, Wen Yuan looked at her score—0 kills and 12 assists—while listening to Chu Yihan’s soft, sweet praise: “You’re so amazing.” Her soul felt like it was flying.

She still acted poised on the surface: “It’s you who’s amazing.”

Chu Yihan hadn’t turned on her mic, but Wen Yuan had left hers on since she was calling out enemy positions. Since they were sitting close, their conversation could be heard by the team. Shi Ran was shocked. After they won, she didn’t even care about the trophy and sent a private message to gossip: “What’s the situation? You two are together? The Academic God really moved into the dorms?”

Wen Yuan explained: “No, she bought a place near school. I locked my keys in the dorm, so she’s letting me stay the night.”

Shi Ran sent a “Rich girl, wait for me!” meme and sighed: “Your relationship is moving fast! You’ve already ‘met the family’ (stayed over). We’ve been friends for years and I’ve never met your family, sob sob.”

Wen Yuan suppressed the urge to roll her eyes: “She lives alone.”

Shi Ran: “So you’re a lonely Alpha and a lonely Omega alone in a room together!!”

And sharing a bed, Wen Yuan thought. She sent a “Bothered to talk to you” gif and closed the chat.

After three more rounds, the apprentice’s account reached Ace.

Shi Ran asked, “Still playing?”

Wen Yuan noticed Chu Yihan yawn earlier, so she replied, “No more. We have to report to school tomorrow. Let’s sleep early.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

After logging off, Chu Yihan went to get a nightgown and underwear for Wen Yuan. “These are all new. You can put your clothes in the washer and dryer, and they’ll be ready by morning.”

Wen Yuan hadn’t even thought about a change of clothes. While appreciating Chu Yihan’s thoughtfulness, she looked at the pink panties in her hand and felt her face grow hot with embarrassment.

Catching a glimpse of Wen Yuan’s reddening ears, Chu Yihan turned away casually and smiled. “Come on, I’ll show you how to use the water heater.”

They took turns showering and drying their hair. Soon, they were sitting on the same bed in identical nightgowns. Considering the difference in their secondary genders, Wen Yuan dragged her pillow toward the edge of the bed. After lying down, she asked, “Is the alarm set?”

Chu Yihan stared at her, her eyes like a lake with ripples—emotions surging beneath. It looked like happiness, yet also a hint of sadness. Before Wen Yuan could figure it out, Chu Yihan turned over. “I’m setting it… okay, it’s set. Turning off the lights.”

“Mm.” Wen Yuan was sleepy. “Goodnight, Little Lamb.”

“Goodnight, Little Bird.”

Hearing the steady breathing beside her, Chu Yihan used the moonlight to gaze at Wen Yuan’s peaceful sleeping face—her long, curled lashes and her slightly pouting lips. She leaned closer… and closer…

Wen Yuan let out a soft “Mmm” and rolled over. Like a startled bird, Chu Yihan instantly lunged back to her side, her heart in her throat. What am I doing… if she finds out…

She watched for a long time until her eyes could no longer stay open, then reluctantly fell asleep.

Perhaps influenced by the horror movie, Wen Yuan dreamt of snippets from after her death. She was floating in a void, surrounded by white—a boring place. A voice kept talking to her; she couldn’t hear clearly in the dream, but she felt happy.

Until she suddenly heard the dialogue:

“What if you never find a book that can carry you? What if she needs more and more? How long are you going to waste your life like this?”

“Until the day I can be with her.”

In an instant, a wave of distress seemed to drown Wen Yuan, making it hard to breathe. It felt as if she were being bound by soft, fragrant gardenia flowers.

Wen Yuan woke up struggling and discovered the source of her breathlessness—Chu Yihan’s head was tucked into the crook of her neck, one arm was wrapped across Wen Yuan’s chest, and one leg was draped over hers. The soft hair tickled Wen Yuan’s neck.

Her nightgown had ridden up at some point, and the sensation of skin-on-skin contact was incredibly clear. The faint gardenia pheromones teased her nerves, making it impossible to ignore—and impossible to go back to sleep.

As Wen Yuan was slowly lifting her arm to push Chu Yihan away, she suddenly felt wetness against her neck. Faint whimpering was clear in the silent night.

Is she crying? Did the ghost movie give her a nightmare?

Wen Yuan turned her head to see the girl in her arms frowning, with tears hanging from her long lashes. Her hand froze for a second before changing direction to land on top of Chu Yihan’s head, gently stroking it.

Chu Yihan’s brow smoothed out. Her nose twitched, and she lifted her head, her teary eyes looking at Wen Yuan blearily before burying herself back into the embrace, holding her even tighter.

“A-Yuan, don’t leave me.”

The soft, gentle voice landed heavily in Wen Yuan’s heart, sending out ripples of warmth. Wen Yuan guessed she was having a nightmare about being chased by a ghost where Wen Yuan ran away first, leaving her scared.

It was almost funny, but Wen Yuan couldn’t laugh. Chu Yihan was holding her so tight she could barely breathe.

They were too close. The pheromones seemed to grow denser due to Chu Yihan’s emotional state—the sweet, soft fragrance was overwhelming.

I want to bite her… I want to… Wen Yuan gritted her teeth and cursed silently.

More hot tears slid across her neck. “A-Yuan…”

Wen Yuan snapped back to her senses. She wasn’t sure if Chu Yihan was awake or still dreaming. She should push her away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Suppressing her stray thoughts, she continued to comfort her, stroking her head and answering softly: “I’m here.”

Having received a response, Chu Yihan slowly loosened her grip, but then burrowed deeper into Wen Yuan’s arms, murmuring dizzily, “A-Yuan… hug me.”

The warmth pressed closer again, and soft, warm lips brushed against her neck. Wen Yuan’s body tensed instinctively, and her gland throbbed violently. She stared at the ceiling in a daze.

She was basically entering a state of zen meditation. It wasn’t until her eyes grew sore that she finally closed them. Before drifting off again, she complained silently:

And she said she was a well-behaved sleeper. Crying, acting spoiled, and demanding hugs.