After Saving My Cannon Fodder Omega - Chapter 1

Christmas Eve, 8:00 PM, at a Haidilao hotpot restaurant in F City—

“Huh? Where’s Sister Chui?”

Xie Yueyue, her hair tied back in a half-up wolf cut, stepped out of the private room’s restroom. She glanced at the seat directly in front of her where someone had been sitting, then looked confusedly at Feng Zhi, who was staring down at her phone.

Feng Zhi hadn’t budged since they sat down. Her left hand was twirling her long hair—freshly touched up that afternoon—while her right hand tapped rapidly on the screen.

Hearing Xie Yueyue’s question, she didn’t even look up, simply jutting her chin toward the head of the table. “Right here.”

Xie Yueyue’s temper flared seeing her unable to peel her eyes away from her phone. Her voice held a hint of suppressed anger: “Where?”

“Right…” Feng Zhi, who had been in a decent mood, felt a spark of irritation at Xie Yueyue’s unfriendly tone. She looked up crossly, but before she could finish her sentence, she froze.

The chair where Chi Wei had just been sitting was empty.

Eh? I didn’t hear the door open. Where did she go?

Feng Zhi was used to multitasking three or four things at once, but this was a direct slap to the face. Staring at the slightly tilted wooden chair, she blinked in a daze, then suddenly hoisted up the drooping tablecloth to look under the table.

Xie Yueyue realized what was happening as well and rushed over to fish someone out from underneath.

Chi Wei had been lying under the table for quite a while. Her vision had narrowed to a tiny slit that could only see a sliver of light. Seeing that sliver suddenly brighten, she felt a surge of relief. Finally unable to hold on any longer, her head slumped to the side as she lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, everything was a murky, yellowish blur. To be honest, it wasn’t much different from the gloomy orange or eerie green she had imagined the Underworld to be.

So… she was officially dead?

As a “veteran ghost” who clearly remembered falling to her death from a building, Chi Wei felt this way of dying was truly subpar.

The terrifying sensation of weightlessness was something she never wanted to relive—it was simply too frightening. And who said it happened so fast you wouldn’t have time to feel pain?

She was in a lot of pain right now. Her whole body… wait, no. Her body didn’t hurt.

Only her left hand, her head, her throat, and both ears were throbbing.

Wait? What kind of pain pattern is this?

Could it be because I landed head-first, so even as a ghost, my head hurts?

As her thoughts wandered, Chi Wei suddenly felt an itch on her waist. Submissively, she reached out with her right hand to scratch it.

That single movement made her freeze.

—Her fingertips were cool, her waist was warm, and the relief from the scratch felt real and comfortable. But then again… ghosts shouldn’t feel the same as the living, right?

She snapped back to reality, but a roar erupted in her head and ears simultaneously. Then, she heard a series of arguments that were more than familiar.

“Xiaoyu must have drunk fake alcohol! There’s no way she’d pass out after half a bottle otherwise! I’m going to settle the score with that hotpot place as soon as it’s light out!”

“Enough already, look at the time. What about you? How could you just stand there and watch Sister Chui down a huge bowl of chili and then chug straight from a bottle of Baijiu?!”

“Hey Yueyue, what’s that supposed to mean? Besides, she’s never done anything like that before! How was I supposed to know…”

“Feng Zhi, just you wait. If the eldest sister finds out, you’re going to get it!”

Chi Wei: “…”

Alright, she could be certain this wasn’t the Underworld. She clearly remembered that on the night she fell from the building, Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue were thousands of miles apart—one in the far south and one in the far north.

Unless all three of them had died at the same time.

But that was clearly impossible. Simultaneously with the arguing, she saw an IV drip bottle hanging above the headboard.

Even if the Underworld moved with the times, Chi Wei doubted King Yama would open a hospital and give ghosts injections.

That left only one answer: her 38-story fall had resulted in a new life.

Or, to put it in novel terms—she had been reborn.

Ah, art truly does imitate life! Fantastic! Hahahaha! The mortal world, Chi Wei is back!

But… what day was she back to?

As someone who loved reading novels during her school years, Chi Wei accepted her situation with zero hurdles.

However, beneath the surprise, her logic remained intact.

Without moving her head, Chi Wei’s eyes darted around. The room’s decor wasn’t unfamiliar. There was only one hospital in all of F City decorated like a five-star hotel, so her location was obvious.

Since it was that hospital, an electronic clock with the date should be sitting on one of the bedside tables.

Smart as she was, she slowly tried to turn her head to take a look, but the moment she moved, her neck felt like it was being seared by a hot iron.

Damn! What’s the deal?!

She couldn’t turn her head? Her throat was killing her, and those two idiots were still arguing without any sign of stopping…

The newly reborn Chi Wei felt a wave of powerless despair.

Fine, forget it.

After a brief hesitation, Chi Wei steeled herself. She took a deep breath and swung her right hand toward the cabinet at the top right of her head.

The next second, a crisp CRASH echoed as the glass vase holding fresh flowers shattered across the floor.

Shards of glass and water splashed near the bed, with the scattered blossoms lying among them. At a glance, it was actually quite poetic.

Unfortunately, Chi Wei didn’t get a chance to see it, and the two people who did see it were in no mood for poetry. At the very least, the annoying arguing finally stopped.

Chi Wei, unable to move her head, listened to the silence. While holding her breath from the shock of the noise, she felt a surge of joy. Regrettably, before she could receive any concern from her companions, her head tilted, and she fainted once again.

The SVIP ward was expensive and incredibly soundproof—none of the noise had attracted the attention of the medical staff on duty.

But the sudden breaking of the vase had startled the two who were awake.

Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue, leaning against the walls on either side of the bed, exchanged a glance. They stepped forward simultaneously, looking warily at Chi Wei, who still had her eyes closed. They both wondered the same thing: Was she just awake?

Puzzled, Feng Zhi licked her dry lips and tested the waters: “Xiaoyu? Xiaoyu?”

Xie Yueyue also walked to the bedside and called softly: “Sister Chui?”

The fainted Chi Wei, of course, could not give them any response.

The two didn’t give up and called out again at the same time, but Chi Wei remained motionless.

Xie Yueyue stopped trying. She looked up at Feng Zhi, whose expression was rarely serious, and gave a forced, light chuckle: “She probably thinks we’re too noisy and wants to rest.”

Feng Zhi opened her mouth, about to snap back with “What nonsense are you talking about,” when she saw Xie Yueyue walk straight to the companion bed right next to the patient’s bed and lie down.

Feng Zhi: “…” How incredibly bold.

Xie Yueyue seemed to guess what Feng Zhi was thinking. She shot her a glance and, without even taking off her shoes, rested them on the footboard and closed her eyes to sleep.

Feng Zhi huffed. She looked around the spacious ward, feeling disgruntled. She wanted to give Xie Yueyue a hard time but didn’t actually dare to fight her for the bed. Finally, she just muttered under her breath: “What kind of Alpha is she? Arguing with a Beta like me and won’t give an inch, even steals the bed… how shameless…”

Xie Yueyue, who was already drifting off, opened her eyes again. She tucked her arms behind her head and looked at Feng Zhi’s profile. “Don’t want to sleep on the sofa? Want to swap?”

“…” Feng Zhi looked at Chi Wei and the broken glass on the floor, pursed her lips, and quickly walked to the double sofa near the curtains. She flopped down and went to sleep.

—Chi Wei was famous for being a restless sleeper. Occasionally, when she was stressed, she would sleepwalk. Although her sleepwalking was limited to sitting, crouching, or standing on the bed—she never actually got off the bed—the thought of sleeping soundly only to have a sleepwalker staring at you was still terrifying.

Moreover, Chi Wei was being forced by her family to start working at the company tomorrow. These past few days were prime sleepwalking season for her. Even though they were sisters who would take a bullet for each other, Feng Zhi still wanted to avoid that if possible.

Xie Yueyue and Feng Zhi hadn’t just met yesterday; she knew Feng Zhi was a coward. Her actions only looked a bit unfriendly on the surface.

In any case, the three of them, having tossed and turned all night, were finally down.

Xie Yueyue and Feng Zhi’s sleep quality was usually incredible. Within two minutes of closing their eyes, they were both visiting the Duke of Zhou (dreaming).

Chi Wei’s sleep, by comparison, was not great. Not to mention the past—right now, on the hospital bed, an unnatural flush had appeared on her cheeks. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her sharply groomed eyebrows knitted together.

She looked as though she was having a nightmare. Her lips moved several times as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

And indeed, that was the case.

Compared to her unconscious state after falling off the chair, this period of sleep was much more active mentally. In fact, to some extent, it wasn’t like she was fainted; it felt more like sleep paralysis.

Whether it was a dream or a void, in the infinite darkness, Chi Wei clearly felt herself being pinned down by something unknown. She was held in a flat, supine position.

Not only that, after she lost control of her body, a book glowing with a faint light mysteriously appeared before her eyes.

The white light wasn’t very bright, just enough for her to barely make out the floating text.

The pages turned rapidly. At first, Chi Wei could read sentence by sentence, but soon she could only skim. Eventually, before she could finish a single line, the book slammed shut with a snap.

Chi Wei: “…”

The book cover, white with blue lettering, vanished into thin air. Her eyes aching, Chi Wei watched the pages disappear like stardust and suddenly had a realization.

The female Alpha in that book… she seemed to know her? Not just that one—it seemed like her own name and Feng Zhi’s names appeared in there too?

What does this mean? Does this book have something to do with my rebirth?

Could it be that it’s not “art imitating life,” but that life itself is the art?

Am I a paper character? No, are everyone around me paper characters? Are we all living inside that book?!

No, no, no… it can’t be.

She must be so overwhelmed by the joy of rebirth that her mind was playing tricks on her.

After a series of denials, self-comforting, and failed brainwashing, Chi Wei finally gave up the struggle. She closed her eyes in the darkness and began to recall the contents of that seemingly heartless novel.

Because the pages turned too fast, she hadn’t read the whole “jinxed” novel, but she had a general idea of the plot.

The title was Love is Not Love. At first glance, it seemed artistic; at second glance, it seemed like a cliché melodrama; but upon closer inspection… what the hell was this?

The content lived up to the name. It was a story about a “useless” female Omega who, relying solely on her face, achieved success in both career and love, reaching the pinnacle of life.

And she, Feng Zhi, Xie Yueyue, and others were all just background noise for this “AO” couple. Especially Xuan Nian.

Not just a background character, but a “cannon fodder” piece—seemingly important, but ultimately insignificant.

In the book, Xuan Nian’s restaurant was maliciously sabotaged, causing business to plummet. She drowned her sorrows in alcohol, and in her drunken state, she accidentally met the female Alpha who was radiating “protagonist energy.” From then on, she became the “White Moonlight” (unattainable first love) that the Alpha could never have.

For a protagonist Alpha who was ambitious, cunning, and nearly perfect, the only way she could accept the “unattainable” trope was through death.

So, to enrich the Alpha’s character and pave the way for the female Omega lead’s appearance, Xuan Nian was killed off almost as soon as she debuted.

With only one chapter of focus, her story ended with her accidentally falling to her death from the restaurant balcony.

Processing this, the knuckles of Chi Wei’s hands, resting on the blanket in her dream, began to crackle.

Even more unexpectedly, as she reached this thought, the darkness in her dream receded. The scene shifted instantly, and she found herself standing once again beneath the restaurant where Xuan Nian had fallen.

Before her rebirth, after Xuan Nian passed away, Chi Wei had come here almost every day to stand for a while.

She looked up at a sight she had never truly witnessed—Xuan Nian, dressed in a black sweater dress, her back against the balcony railing, her long, wave-like hair fluttering in the wind.

Both inside and outside the dream, the corners of Chi Wei’s eyes grew wet.

Hair fluttering, a silhouette falling—in that moment, a thick fog seemed to rise before her eyes, making everything a blur.

But the heart-wrenching pain remained unchanged. In the dream, Chi Wei sprinted forward, trying to catch her, her voice hoarse and desperate: “NO!”

At 9:00 AM, Chi Wei, gripped by the nightmare, finally screamed and bolted upright from the hospital bed, drenched in sweat.

This time when she woke up, her head at least didn’t hurt. Only her throat and the puncture mark on her left hand felt uncomfortable.

Xie Yueyue and Feng Zhi, who had stayed in the ward to watch over her, reacted with different speeds. After her scream, they both woke up, rubbing their eyes and sitting up from their respective spots.

Chi Wei, whose mind and heart were a jumbled mess, had no time for them. She pressed one hand to her chest, breathing heavily for two full minutes before looking up at the two of them, who were acting like broken records, only asking “What’s wrong?”

As she looked at them, Chi Wei, who hadn’t known what year it was, finally saw the electronic clock displaying the date.

Her heart skipped a beat, followed by a surge of pure joy.

—She had been reborn to a time before she even met Sister Xuan Nian!

Ahhh! I knew the Heavens loved me!

But the joy didn’t last long. Remembering that today was also “that other day,” Chi Wei felt a wave of sorrow. Like a piece of dried salted fish, she fell straight back onto the hospital bed.