Chapter 6

The second matchmaking session would take place soon. If Lin Yao didn’t want to attend, she should reject her match as early as possible. Yet over the past two days, she had been constantly thinking about what happened in the little garden. When she saw that woman’s eyes—eyes that wanted to hurt others yet were actually filled with sorrow—she had instinctively wanted to help her. Then the woman had held her hand and silently cried, looking so fragile and helpless.

Then had her understanding been correct at the time? Would that woman need her? A surge of tenderness suddenly welled up in her heart, leaving her temporarily unable to make a decision. Even so, she still believed she shouldn’t make any major choices and disrupt the original Lin Yao’s life while she was gone. Ultimately, this body didn’t belong to her.

With this thought, she planned to take out the diary and record the major events that had occurred recently, giving the original Lin Yao something to refer to when she returned. However, the instant she opened the diary, she was stunned.

After checking several times to confirm that she wasn’t imagining things, she carefully read the contents again. For some unknown reason, the diary had updated itself. In handwriting clearly identical to the original Lin Yao’s, it recorded several events dated after the car accident. The new entries plainly indicated that the original Lin Yao from this world had transmigrated into Lin Yao’s original world!

In other words, for some inexplicable reason that Lin Yao couldn’t understand, she and the original Lin Yao had exchanged bodies at the exact moment of the car accident, each arriving in the other’s parallel world. Even more fantastically, this diary had become some sort of medium connecting the two worlds, allowing her to see what the original Lin Yao had written in her world.

After transmigrating into Lin Yao’s original world, the original Lin Yao had likewise been astonished to discover that Alpha, Beta, and Omega sexes didn’t exist there, and that people were divided only into men and women. Because men and women could generally reproduce together, women’s social status was still lower than men’s, and certain inequalities still needed to be resolved. However, in many countries, everyone had access to education and employment, and there was absolutely no infuriating system of compulsory matchmaking.

The original Lin Yao was delighted to find herself possessing a master’s degree and holding a permanent white-collar position at a major corporation. Although her foreign-language skills weren’t sufficient for translation work, her enthusiasm and eagerness to learn had allowed her to transfer smoothly into a marketing and sales role, where she continued to improve. She believed she finally had an opportunity to distinguish herself through her own abilities and no longer needed to worry about being forced to pair up and reproduce. Meanwhile, she had also established good relationships with Lin Yao’s friends in her original world and had even made more friends. She hoped she could remain in this new world forever and never have to return to the Alpha-Beta-Omega world.

After reading all this, Lin Yao’s feelings were extremely complicated. On the one hand, she was relieved that the original Lin Yao hadn’t died and happy that she had been given an opportunity to achieve her dreams. On the other hand, Lin Yao also felt jealous. She was inferior to the original Lin Yao in every respect, while she herself was now trapped in this terrible world with an awful job, no promising future, and a compulsory matchmaking convention and all its consequences to deal with… Of course, she hadn’t exactly lived particularly well in her original world either…

Because she was faring so much worse than the original Lin Yao, she felt too ashamed to write down the recent events. She didn’t stolen contentwant the original Lin Yao to read them and see how embarrassing she was.

But after thinking about it again, she realized this meant the original Lin Yao wouldn’t want to return to this body. Since the original Lin Yao was now using her body to live a good life in her original world, didn’t that mean the body she currently occupied belonged to her now? She could use this body and concentrate on living her own life well without worrying about the original Lin Yao.

Either person could reject their assigned match. If that woman truly didn’t want to see her again, she could submit a rejection herself. Yet Lin Yao still hadn’t received any notice that she had been rejected. In that case, perhaps…

With this thought, Lin Yao ultimately didn’t submit a rejection.

Cheng Wangxue looked at the notice for the second matchmaking session, and a faint ripple stirred within her heart. The controversy surrounding the new phone’s screen had already settled down. At the time, she had been frustrated by the situation and had gone to take her anger out on that woman, forcing her to issue a rejection. Remembering how Lin Yao had approached her even after seeing her hideous face, Cheng Wangxue raised the hand that had touched Lin Yao and placed it against her own cheek, as though savoring the lingering warmth of the woman’s palm.

Even now, she could still feel the wild joy that had surged from the depths of her heart at that moment. But afterward, she quickly calmed herself. Perhaps the other woman had merely been polite. Or even if it hadn’t been simple politeness and she had genuinely been willing to accept Cheng Wangxue’s fake scars, perhaps it was only because she was a little foolish. Finally, Cheng Wangxue hadn’t taken any medication that day, so perhaps she was overthinking everything. Maybe all of it had only happened because everyone was being controlled by pheromones. Omegas were naturally attracted to Alphas, after all…

The turmoil in her heart at this moment must also have been caused by the pheromones secreted by the other woman as an Omega. That person smelled so wonderful, like a fully ripened tomato—sweet and tart, fresh yet rich, creating an irresistible urge to devour her…

As her thoughts wandered, Cheng Wangxue once again reminded herself that her sudden emotion and tears that day, how frequently she had thought about that person since then, and even the fact that she had begun to care whether she would be rejected—hoping that she wouldn’t be and repeatedly checking for a rejection notice—all these strange psychological reactions had been caused by pheromones and nothing more.

And judging by the situation now, that person hadn’t rejected her.

What a strange little fool. She still hadn’t rejected her even after all that. As Cheng Wangxue thought this, the corners of her lips unconsciously curved upward. What was her name again… Lin Yao… Lin—Yao—Yao… She unknowingly sounded the name ​read the original at bailiantales.com​aloud, feeling the way her tongue touched her teeth as she pronounced it.

The second matchmaking session began one afternoon in late May. This was Cheng Wangxue’s first time attending the second activity, and she was unexpectedly a little nervous. The notice stated that they would visit a kindergarten and interact with the children there.

What a boring activity… Despite thinking this, she entered her walk-in wardrobe and selected her outfit with some care. Hmm… If they were going to interact with children, perhaps she should wear something soft against the skin. She chose a pure white cotton blouse and paired it with an elegant pale-blue long skirt, creating an appearance that was simple yet lively.

During their last meeting, she had still been wearing that exaggerated scar makeup. How was she supposed to explain why the scar had suddenly disappeared? What a nuisance. Cheng Wangxue still hadn’t figured out what to do, so she wore her mask again.

When she arrived at the venue, she found a fairly ordinary public kindergarten that admitted children between the ages of three and five. To prevent a divide from forming between children raised in child-rearing institutions and those raised by their parents, children from the institutions also attended the corresponding kindergartens during the day, where they interacted normally with children raised by their parents, only returning to the institutions at night. By the time Cheng Wangxue arrived, a considerable crowd had already gathered outside the kindergarten, yet she spotted Lin Yao immediately. Today, Lin Yao wore a pale-purple cotton dress that made her look fresh and lovely.

Cheng Wangxue walked over and studied her. During their first meeting, Lin Yao had dressed very casually and was clearly wearing no makeup. Cheng Wangxue had already thought that Lin Yao looked somewhat adorable when she blushed so easily, but today, she seemed to be wearing a little natural-looking makeup. Two perfectly placed blooms of color adorned her cheeks, making her look even more alluring.

Neither of them spoke. They silently stood together until everyone entered the kindergarten and the activities began. This session consisted of three parts. First, they would tour the kindergarten’s overall layout and facilities. The second portion was interactive, with every matched pair assigned to play with building blocks alongside several children and perhaps help look after them. Finally, the kindergarten had arranged for the children to rehearse a simple routine and perform it for everyone.

Neither woman spoke during the tour. They merely followed the large group around the kindergarten. Although Cheng Wangxue had never attended a public kindergarten as a child, she spent the entire tour wondering how she should face Lin Yao later and explain the disappearance of her scars. She paid no attention to the facilities. A cursory glance was enough to understand what the place looked like. Besides, this activity was inherently meaningless. The authorities merely wanted to show everyone how well the kindergarten was managed and how adorable the children were in an attempt to arouse their desire to reproduce.

Before she knew it, the time came to play with the children. Cheng Wangxue sat beside two of them and silently watched Lin Yao on the other side. She finally had an opportunity to speak to her, yet Cheng Wangxue suddenly didn’t want to say anything. The thought of explaining herself, saying so many things, and waiting expectantly for Lin Yao’s response felt like laying herself bare before someone else and allowing herself to be examined. It made her profoundly uncomfortable and seemed particularly troublesome. Outside of work, Cheng Wangxue never did anything troublesome unless it was necessary. Therefore, she had no intention of removing her mask now.

The two children beside them both seemed extremely energetic. Soft and cuddly, they were remarkably adorable. They chattered in childish voices while happily playing with the building blocks. Perhaps because they were still so young, the structures they [bailiantales.com]built sometimes collapsed, and whenever they became excited, they let out piercing shrieks of laughter.

Cheng Wangxue had received a strict education in every respect since childhood and had no memory whatsoever of playing so innocently as a child. Naturally, she had also been trained never to make even slightly loud noises in public, so she found this deafening laughter even more unbearable. However, considering that the two children were still very young and had nothing to do with her, she tried her best to suppress her irritation.

At that moment, the younger child accidentally knocked over the structure they had just built, sending the blocks tumbling onto Cheng Wangxue. Cheng Wangxue frowned and glanced at the child. However, what had been an instinctive look from her might have appeared like a vicious glare to the child, who immediately began crying.

Cheng Wangxue stared helplessly at the child who had knocked over the blocks, somehow appearing even more helpless than the child. Just as she was wondering what to do, she heard Lin Yao’s gentle, soothing voice. “It’s all right. We can fix it.” Lin Yao then picked up the blocks and slowly guided the children in rebuilding the structure. Before long, it was complete again. The child gradually stopped crying but still occasionally knocked some of the blocks over. Whenever that happened, Lin Yao picked up the fallen pieces and patiently replaced them one at a time for the children.

Cheng Wangxue gazed at her gentle profile. Her long black hair fell softly around her, while warmth filled the eyes beneath her slender eyelashes. Cheng Wangxue couldn’t help falling into a daze.

Suddenly, she saw Lin Yao turn toward her and stare in shock. Cheng Wangxue hurriedly looked away, then quickly realized what had happened. While she wasn’t paying attention, the older child had mischievously pulled off her mask. Her entire flawless face was now completely exposed before Lin Yao’s eyes.

She didn’t know what to say. Silently, she turned her face away and refused to make any further eye contact with Lin Yao.

The kindergarten performance began. The children’s performance had little merit beyond being cute, though displaying their cuteness to stimulate everyone’s desire to reproduce was, of course, the purpose of the entire activity. Throughout the whole day, Cheng Wangxue didn’t say a single word to Lin Yao or offer her even the slightest response through her gaze or body language. How strange. Before this activity, Cheng Wangxue had anxiously waited for and eagerly anticipated seeing her again. Yet now that the woman was truly beside her, she remained completely silent. Even Cheng Wangxue herself couldn’t understand this awkward, peculiar discomfort.

While the children were performing the song “Looking for a Friend,” Cheng Wangxue suddenly discovered that the seat beside her was empty. The person who had been sitting there was unexpectedly gone. A powerful wave of unease abruptly swept through her. Her body seemed to freeze instantly, and even breathing required conscious effort.

“She probably just went to the restroom…” Cheng ​stolen content​Wangxue comforted herself, trying to think of a reasonable explanation. But after only about ten minutes, she unexpectedly found herself unable to bear it any longer.