After Saving My Cannon Fodder Omega - Chapter 8

After drowning her sorrows in alcohol all night, Chi Wei had already accepted the fact that she wouldn’t see Xuan Nian today. She never expected that a casual glance out the window as she was leaving would actually reveal her.

In an instant, her excitement surged as she pressed both hands against the glass. Realizing the car was passing quickly, she lowered the window with one touch and craned her neck to look.

Tiny snowflakes fell onto her hair along with a fierce, cold wind, slipping into her collar. The moment the warmth and cold met, they turned into small droplets that clung to her skin.

Even as the BMW’s taillights vanished at the end of her line of sight, Chi Wei was still unwilling to retreat into the car.

Ming Rui, sitting in the other independent business seat next to her, frowned and pulled at her: “Get back inside! You’ve been drinking; catching a draft like this will give you a cold!”

Chi Wei brushed her hand away, took one last lingering look in the direction the car had gone, and then fitfully pulled her neck back and closed the window.

If she hadn’t been drinking, if she weren’t in Ming Rui’s family car, and if Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue weren’t slumped in the back drunk, she definitely would have given chase—chased like her life depended on it—just to see her, no matter what.

Yet it felt as though Fate was playing a joke on her: giving her the chance to return, only to force her to watch herself miss out over and over again.

Chi Wei blinked her aching eyes and looked up at the car ceiling, which was designed like a star-filled sky, her clenched fists trembling with a death grip.

Ming Rui watched Chi Wei’s profile, a sudden jolt hitting her heart. She asked with a frown: “What… what did you see that made you so excited? A first love?”

Chi Wei’s lips moved, but she didn’t speak. She felt too miserable right now—so miserable that even opening her mouth felt like an exhausting chore. She didn’t know if it was because she hadn’t managed to re-introduce herself to Xuan Nian, or because of the alcohol, or perhaps both.

Ming Rui took a deep breath and finally stopped staring at Chi Wei. Looking at the seatback in front of her, she gave a strained smile: “I forgot, actually. From the time we were kids, it’s always been others who liked you. When have you ever liked someone? You’ve graduated and started working, and you haven’t even had a single relationship yet.”

When Chi Wei had abnormally rolled down the window just now, Ming Rui had already looked back. Unfortunately, her angle was wrong; she only saw a light-colored car of indeterminate hue driving away quickly. She couldn’t confirm who was inside, let alone see the person who had made Chi Wei look as if she’d lost her soul—the very same person they had encountered at the bar entrance.

However, based on Chi Wei’s reaction, regardless of whether she had recognized the person correctly or who was actually inside, Ming Rui knew one thing for certain: that person could never be her friend.

Chi Wei’s mood felt like a roller coaster after seeing Xuan Nian’s face; her heart hammered incessantly, alternating between joy and agony. Hearing the probe in Ming Rui’s words, she didn’t feel like playing word games and spoke the blunt truth: “I’m certainly not as accomplished as Director Ming, whose exes can’t be counted on one hand.”

Hearing Chi Wei’s counterattack, the small dark cloud that had surfaced over Ming Rui actually dissipated a bit. Her tone became light: “Xiao Wei, why are you suddenly calling me ‘Director Ming’? I think I’d be more comfortable if you all kept calling me ‘Sister Ming.’ Besides, those people weren’t my type. I was just playing the field with them; it’s not what you think.”

“I’ve called you that for so many years, aren’t you tired of hearing it yet?” Chi Wei ignored the second half of Ming Rui’s explanation, answering the first part in a chilly voice before closing her eyes.

Among the four of them, Feng Zhi was born first, followed by Ming Rui. Chi Wei and Xie Yueyue were born exactly two months apart. But in reality, the eldest, Feng Zhi, and the youngest, Xie Yueyue, were only separated by a year and a month. As for Ming Rui, she was only three months and five days older than Chi Wei.

With birthdays so close, most people wouldn’t see a strict need for the “Sister” title.

Unfortunately, their parents were close friends. When they were toddlers just learning to speak, the adults huddled them together and taught them to call out “This is Big Sister” and “This is Little Sister.” Over time, the girls grew accustomed to it.

They say habit becomes nature. It was only after they grew up and the titles became so intimate that people often misunderstood them that they slowly began to change the habit. Additionally, due to their different secondary differentiations as adults, their attributes failed to unify and instead diverged, making their forms of address even more casual.

However, the title “Director Ming” was something Feng Zhi had started calling her as a joke after Ming Rui graduated and entered her family business. Normally, Chi Wei and Xie Yueyue would shout it randomly when they needed a favor. Hearing it suddenly now, it didn’t sound like flattery; instead, Ming Rui sensed a hint of Chi Wei pushing her away.

But hearing such a nonchalant answer after pressing for more, Ming Rui truly didn’t know how to feel.

Seeing that her “prayer” had worked, Chi Wei didn’t want to give Ming Rui another chance to speak. Even though she couldn’t sleep, she feigned closed eyes to rest her mind.

It was shortly after midnight when they left Starry Sky Bar. The drive back to the apartment took an hour. No matter how empty the streets were at night, traffic lights still had to be obeyed.

With the constant stopping and starting, the group finally arrived at the apartment building exactly at 1:00 AM.

Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue, having rested during the drive, looked much better when awakened than they had when they were slumped over the bar table. If it weren’t for the fact that they still needed to walk upright, they wouldn’t have looked like drunk people at all based on their facial expressions alone.

The van stopped at the apartment entrance. Ming Rui was the first to get out. The 24-hour on-duty property manager recognized Ming Rui as a resident and hurried through the automatic doors to help.

This time, Chi Wei avoided Ming Rui’s reaching hand. She took Feng Zhi with one hand and leaned on the property manager with the other to walk into the elevator. She then leaned against the elevator wall, hands gripping the railing behind her, waiting for the elevator to reach the top floor.

Feng Zhi’s apartment was directly below hers, Ming Rui’s was below Feng Zhi’s, and Xie Yueyue’s was the lowest, below Ming Rui’s.

The elevator doors opened. The four women, Ming Rui’s housekeeper, and two property managers stepped out. A large group filed grandly into Chi Wei’s apartment. Within a blink of an eye, the staff retreated, leaving only the sisters smelling of alcohol.

Xie Yueyue’s legs were still a bit weak; Feng Zhi was dizzy; and Chi Wei felt nauseous. The three drunks spun around in place for a while before finally, with the help of the most sober one, Ming Rui, they each found their own quarters by leaning against the walls.

Chi Wei declined Ming Rui’s well-intentioned offer to come in and help. She leaned against the back of her master bedroom door alone, rubbing her burning eyes, and stayed silent for a long time.

Only when her legs felt tired did she sniffle and lift her head. She used an elbow to push off the door panel, using the momentum to walk briskly toward the bathroom. She hunched over the sink, dry-heaving.

After the incredibly persistent dry-heaving ended, she splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth. After tossing and turning for nearly the entire night, Chi Wei finally curled up in her duvet and fell asleep.

Three deep dreams later.

At 4:00 PM the next day, the group met in the living room with their hair a tangled mess. Chi Wei irritably checked her WeChat; there wasn’t a single message. Both her head and stomach throbbed with a dull ache.

Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue were in much better shape than Chi Wei, since they hadn’t leaned out of a car window to catch a cold draft after drinking last night. It was just a post-hangover sluggishness.

Ming Rui hadn’t left last night. she had made do on the sofa for the night and only left at dawn this morning. Her pheromones still lingered on the blanket on the sofa. Since Xie Yueyue was the only Alpha present, she happened to be near the blanket and lowered her head to sniff it curiously.

Chi Wei noticed the movement and asked: “What are you sniffing?”

Feng Zhi hadn’t noticed Xie Yueyue’s action, but hearing Chi Wei’s question, she turned to look: “Ming Rui probably didn’t leave last night.”

Xie Yueyue nodded: “Yeah, she didn’t.”

Chi Wei raised an eyebrow and was about to move past the topic, but Xie Yueyue looked at her and added: “Sister Ming’s pheromone scent is on this.”

“Got it,” Chi Wei waved her hand, trying to change the subject again. Before she could speak, Feng Zhi chimed in: “I’m genuinely curious—what do your pheromones actually smell like?”

With that, Feng Zhi snatched the blanket from in front of Xie Yueyue and pulled it to her nose, inhaling deeply. But no matter how she sniffed, the blanket only smelled like the fresh fragrance of laundry detergent.

Seeing Feng Zhi’s serious expression, Xie Yueyue thought for a moment and said: “Sister Ming’s pheromones are apple-scented. It’s a very fresh smell.”

Feng Zhi: “…” Forget it. If I can’t smell it, I shouldn’t force it. Let Ming Rui be fragrant on her own.

Chi Wei saw Feng Zhi’s speechlessness and laughed: “She’ll eventually have her own Omega for that.”

Feng Zhi rolled her eyes: “Since when do you know what I’m thinking?”

Chi Wei glanced at Xie Yueyue and didn’t reply.

The air fell into a rare moment of silence. Chi Wei shook her head forcefully and looked down at her phone. The interface was empty; Xuan Nian still hadn’t accepted her friend request.

In her past life, they had added each other on WeChat because Chi Wei had shamelessly held up her QR code and begged. At that time, Xuan Nian had scanned her. Now that it hadn’t gone through, it was hard to say if Xuan Nian had rejected the request or simply hadn’t seen it.

In short, the thought that the current reality was seriously inconsistent with the book made her inexplicably nervous.

Between us… we can’t really be forced to wait until New Year’s Eve to meet, can we? Besides, we didn’t even truly know each other on New Year’s Eve!

Feng Zhi watched Chi Wei staring blankly at her phone with furrowed brows and poked her with her toe: “Hey! Xiaoyu? What are you thinking about?”

Chi Wei didn’t move.

Feng Zhi was puzzled and reached out to tug her: “Hey! Have you entered a trance?”

Tugged back to reality, Chi Wei’s gaze was blank: “What?”

Feng Zhi pursed her lips, and Xie Yueyue repeated: “Feng Zhi asked what you’re thinking about.”

Chi Wei gave an “oh” and said honestly: “I was thinking… I was thinking what method I should use to seek out someone whom Fate doesn’t seem to want me to meet just yet.”

“Huh?” Feng Zhi stood up and reached over to feel Chi Wei’s forehead. The moment her palm touched skin, she jerked it back: “Good grief, you’re burning up!”

Xie Yueyue’s expression changed: “A fever?”

Feng Zhi: “I was wondering why she was talking all that nonsense I couldn’t understand. Turns out she’s fried her brain. Quick, quick, quick—call a car, we’re taking Xiaoyu to the hospital!”

“You guys are the ones talking nonsense! How could I have a fever? I’m clearly fine…” Chi Wei said, rolling her eyes. She had intended to roll her eyes at the two of them, but unexpectedly, her eyes rolled back, her body tilted, and she fell straight off the sofa.

A disheveled Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue were startled once again. They scrambled over to lift her back onto the sofa, laying her flat while searching for their phones to call an ambulance.