A Short-Lived Cannon Fodder Alpha Just Wants to Be a Salted Fish - Chapter 6

At the stairs, they ran into Director Yang. As soon as he saw Chu Yihan, he called her over: “The awards for the physics competition are in. Follow me to the office to collect yours.”

Chu Yihan turned to follow Director Yang, waving her hand behind her back toward Wen Yuan and Shi Ran.

” ‘I won’t let her lose’…” Shi Ran watched Chu Yihan’s retreating figure, repeating her words. As they walked downstairs, she sighed, “Look at that aura. If she hadn’t already differentiated into an Omega, I’d swear she was an Alpha.”

Director Yang said something, and Chu Yihan shook her head, her ponytail swaying in a soft arc.

Wen Yuan withdrew her gaze and followed Shi Ran slowly, offering a light summary: “So, Omegas can be strong too.”

“True, that makes sense,” Shi Ran paused, then added, “But Ji Xingyao is definitely an exception!”

“Why are you so annoyed by her? Just because she was voted School Beauty?” Wen Yuan was surprised; it was the first time she’d seen Shi Ran so repelled by someone.

“I don’t give a damn about some useless School Beauty title. I just don’t like her, no reason.” Shi Ran curled her lip. “Maybe it’s just a case of natural rivals—our vibes don’t match.”

When the School Beauty selection ended, people often compared Ji Xingyao and Shi Ran, usually putting one down to praise the other. Adolescence is the most sensitive and fragile period; although Shi Ran acted like she didn’t care, it actually bothered her deeply. Her discomfort grew, and so did her annoyance with Ji Xingyao.

Seeing that Shi Ran didn’t want to talk about her, Wen Yuan tactfully changed the subject: “I just asked Chu Yihan to highlight some key points for me tonight.”

Shi Ran’s expression softened. “Did she agree?”

Wen Yuan nodded.

Shi Ran gave her a thumbs up. “I said find a ‘top student,’ and you went straight for the ‘Academic God’.”

Wen Yuan looked at her with an amused glint. “Want to join?”

“Forget it, I don’t have the discipline for the Academic God’s private tutoring.” Shi Ran winked slyly. “But… you can just take pictures of the highlighted points and send them to me.”

Wen Yuan gave her a look of disdain and held up two fingers. “Two cups of milk tea.”

Shi Ran bargained: “One cup!”

Wen Yuan didn’t budge. “Two.”

As they reached the school gate and were about to go their separate ways, Shi Ran compromised: “Fine, two cups. Hope you don’t get fat.”

Wen Yuan smiled and explained, “One of them is for Chu Yihan.”

After showering that night, Wen Yuan contacted Chu Yihan. For ease of explanation, Chu Yihan initiated a voice call.

Considering math was Wen Yuan’s weakest subject, Chu Yihan first walked her through typical example problems and formulas. Wen Yuan discovered that Chu Yihan knew the textbooks like the back of her hand; she could recite the page number for a formula faster than Wen Yuan could flip to it.

Chu Yihan acted as if it were nothing: “You remember it if you look at it enough.”

Wen Yuan sighed, “How many times do you have to look to remember it this clearly?”

Chu Yihan paused. “Maybe I have a photographic memory.”

Wen Yuan: “…”

Knowing Wen Yuan’s foundation was weak, Chu Yihan explained everything in great detail, and Wen Yuan listened intently. Before they knew it, it was past 11:00 PM.

Seeing the light still on in Wen Yuan’s room, Fang Jingbai pushed the door open to check. Startled, Wen Yuan tried to hang up but accidentally pressed the “Mute” button instead.

“Who are you talking to so late at night?” Fang Jingbai glanced at the white wireless earbuds in Wen Yuan’s ears.

Kids this age easily fall into “puppy love.” Fang Jingbai assumed she was on a “love call” with a boyfriend and thought: She’s so deep in it she won’t even hang up when her mom walks in. With a stern face, she swiftly snatched one earbud and shoved it into her own ear.

She wanted to hear what kind of little rascal was keeping her daughter up late to talk about love.

Wen Yuan froze, stunned. She never expected her mother to hijack her phone call.

Inside the earbud, Chu Yihan’s voice hadn’t stopped; she was still explaining a problem, emphasizing a difficult section twice.

Fang Jingbai had already prepared a lecture to give the person on the other end, but when she heard the soft, gentle voice of a girl discussing such “wholesome” academic content, she didn’t know how to react for a moment.

How can Chu Yihan be so calm and composed while teaching? Wen Yuan looked at her phone and realized the mic was muted. Chu Yihan hadn’t heard her mother’s aggressive questioning at all.

Wen Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Hearing no response from Wen Yuan, Chu Yihan asked: “Wen Yuan?” After two seconds of silence, she murmured to herself, “She couldn’t have fallen asleep, could she?”

Fang Jingbai snapped out of it, nudged Wen Yuan, and whispered, “Answer her.”

One second a tigress, the next a loving mother.

Wen Yuan shot her mother a complicated look and unmuted the mic. “I’m not asleep.”

Chu Yihan: “Did you understand that last problem?”

Wen Yuan glanced at Fang Jingbai, who was still lingering. “No…”

Chu Yihan asked softly, “Which part didn’t you get?”

“I need to use the bathroom!” Wen Yuan blurted out while looking at her mother. “I’ll call you back in a bit.”

Without waiting for a reply, Wen Yuan hung up.

Fang Jingbai asked, “Who was that?”

Wen Yuan kept it brief: “A classmate.”

“They seem very bright.”

“Top of the grade.”

“Learn more from them.”

“I am, I am,” Wen Yuan stood up and pushed her mother toward the door. “Please go out, don’t distract me.”

As she was being pushed out, Fang Jingbai asked, “Is this classmate an Alpha or an Omega?”

“An Omega!” Knowing what her mother was worried about, Wen Yuan immediately added, “As you heard, we are just study buddies! Don’t snatch my earbuds next time, it’s disrespectful.”

“I was just worried about you.”

Confirmed it wasn’t a secret romance, Fang Jingbai relaxed, gave a perfunctory apology, and left.

Wen Yuan sat back down, forwarded the predicted questions to Shi Ran, and redialed Chu Yihan. After finishing math, Chu Yihan predicted three pieces of classical Chinese prose for her. By the time they finished translating two of them word-for-word, it was 2:00 AM.

Wen Yuan glanced at the clock and urged Chu Yihan to go to bed. “The exam is tomorrow; don’t stay up all night with me. I can handle the last one on my own.”

Having seen Wen Yuan’s “creative” translations, Chu Yihan asked skeptically, “Are you sure you can handle the last one?”

“Mm-hmm, go to sleep.”

Chu Yihan let out a soft laugh and gave a gentle “Okay.”

Five minutes after hanging up, Chu Yihan sent over the translation for the final text. Clearly, she didn’t believe in Wen Yuan’s ability. A bit huffy, Wen Yuan tossed her phone aside and didn’t look at the message.

At 3:00 AM, Wen Yuan finally finished sorting through the text on her own. Exhausted, she still remembered to send her “victory results” to Chu Yihan to prove herself.

CenturyEggPorridge: “Told you I could do it myself.”

Chu Yihan replied with three “thumbs up” emojis.

CenturyEggPorridge: “Still awake?”

Chu Yihan: “I was asleep, just woke up.”

Wen Yuan squinted at her phone, her furrowed brow slowly relaxing. Her eyelids gradually closed, and she drifted into unconsciousness.

When she woke up, it was already 6:50 AM. After a rushed wash, Wen Yuan grabbed a bag of bread and stuffed it into her bag while changing shoes at the entrance.

As she opened the door, Fang Jingbai called out, “Take this to the classmate who tutored you.”

“What is it?” Wen Yuan took the bag and peeked inside.

“They worked so hard tutoring you so late; you have to give them something as a token of appreciation.”

Wen Yuan clicked her tongue. In the garage, Wen Ming honked the horn to urge her to get in. Wen Yuan stuffed the bag into her backpack and jogged over.

Behind her, Fang Jingbai shouted, “Don’t forget to give it to them!”

Wen Yuan’s lips twitched. She felt like this mother wasn’t her own.

The first day of the monthly exams covered the three major subjects: Chinese and Math in the morning, English in the afternoon.

After the morning session, Wen Yuan’s admiration for Chu Yihan was absolute. At least half the questions had been predicted; out of the three classical texts, two appeared on the test. Wen Yuan would have believed it if someone told her Chu Yihan was the one who wrote the exam.

Shi Ran had also tasted success. After lunch, she bought the milk tea and asked Wen Yuan to deliver it to Chu Yihan.

During the lunch break, most people were napping, while a few were in the hallway frantically memorizing vocabulary. Wen Yuan took the milk tea and the bag from her mother to Class 5.

Chu Yihan wasn’t in the classroom. Wen Yuan messaged her: “Where are you?”

The reply came quickly: “The rooftop.”

On the rooftop, Wen Yuan immediately saw Chu Yihan sitting with her back turned on a high stone ledge. Wen Yuan walked up to her side. “Why are you staying up here?”

Chu Yihan hadn’t expected her to come. She froze for a moment before answering, “It’s quiet here.”

Wen Yuan handed over the milk tea and the bag. “The tea is from Shi Ran; I gave her your predicted questions and she wanted to thank you. The stuff in the bag is… from me.”

Fearing she would startle Chu Yihan, Wen Yuan didn’t mention her mother.

Chu Yihan took them with both hands. “Can I see what’s in the bag?”

Wen Yuan nodded. Chu Yihan set down the tea, opened the bag, and her eyes widened slightly.

Wen Yuan cleared her throat. “It was hard work staying up with me.”

Seeing Wen Yuan’s awkward expression, Chu Yihan said softly, “I like it very much. Thank you.”

Just then, the school bell rang. The lunch break was over; it was time to head back to the exam rooms.

Suddenly, Wen Yuan pulled her exam pen from her pocket, held it up, and gave Chu Yihan a mock-solemn bow.

Startled by this grand gesture, Chu Yihan was pleasantly surprised. “What are you doing?”

“Worshipping the Academic God,” Wen Yuan explained.

Chu Yihan couldn’t help but laugh. Wen Yuan noticed that when she smiled, her eyes curved into little crescent moons—she looked incredibly sweet and soft.

“You look good when you smile. You should do it more often.”

Wen Yuan paused. A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over her—as if she had said those exact words to someone before. But it was a fleeting sensation that vanished almost instantly.

Chu Yihan stared at Wen Yuan in a daze for a moment before turning her face away. The breeze blew her messy dark hair across her cheeks, and the side of her face facing the sun was tinged with a faint, delicate red.