My Psycho-Beautiful Professor Forced Me to Mark Her - Chapter 2

The bell rang again.

The male Alpha left the hallway indignantly and entered the classroom under the gaze of curious onlookers. Qi Si followed him in, thinking the class was boring and planning to leave with her bag.

The three roommates of the camo-pants girl misunderstood her intentions, smiling and getting up to actively clear a path for Qi Si to return to her seat.

The camo-pants girl praised her: “Yuan Lǚ, you’ve got some good moves!”

Qi Si put her books into her bag. At the podium, Su Mo Xiao said, “Okay, let’s continue where we left off. Please take your seats, everyone, and don’t block the view of the students behind you.”

The girls pulled Qi Si to sit down with them. Not wanting to be a damper, she sat in her original seat with a straight face and flipped through her textbook.

For some reason, this time Su Mo Xiao at the podium suddenly became nervous. Her speaking speed involuntarily quickened, and she only stared at the PowerPoint on her computer, reading from the script as if she were reciting something. She skipped over complicated problems and flipped through the slides quickly. Only when she reached the last page did she remember to check the time, showing an embarrassed smile: “Oh, there are still fifteen minutes left in class… Did I go too fast?”

A male Alpha in the front row said fawningly, “It’s okay, senior. We can talk about other things with the remaining time.”

Su Mo Xiao closed the PowerPoint and smiled, “Talk about what? Do you have any good suggestions?”

The pink-haired girl next to Qi Si said, “Senior, tell us about yourself.”

“What’s there to talk about me?” Su Mo Xiao operated the computer absently. The desktop wallpaper was filled with a bright and conspicuous schedule. She must have forgotten that the computer was still connected to the projector, which subtly revealed her elite persona again. She said in a normal tone, “I’m just like you, I worked very hard to get into medical school.”

“Wow.” A group of people was drawn to the dense schedule. Someone quickly took out their phone to snap a picture. Su Mo Xiao calmly closed the laptop and said with a smile, “I’ll upload the class material to the public email later. You can discuss anything you don’t understand after class.”

She was only one year older than them and was a fledgling college student, but Su Mo Xiao behaved like a mature and charming adult, remaining calm and poised with a graceful smile.

People below were filled with envy and jealousy. Someone bravely asked, “Senior, do you have a boyfriend?”

Su Mo Xiao lowered her head and smiled. She asked back neither humbly nor arrogantly, “Who said it can only be a boyfriend?”

Hearing that, the female Alphas’ spirits lifted. The camo-pants girl steeled herself and raised her hand, saying, “Senior, would you consider me?”

This time, Su Mo Xiao finally looked at the camo-pants girl, as if confirming some information, then lowered her eyelids and smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Actually, I prefer someone older.”

Everyone sighed as if they had been dumped. Su Mo Xiao’s tone was light and breezy: “Compared to dating, I actually care more about my studies. Dating really… exhausts you.”

Qi Si suddenly looked up at her, but Su Mo Xiao’s gaze was elsewhere. She had a pitiable sadness in her expression. She cleared her throat and said into the microphone, “From my experience, you shouldn’t date during your student years. Dating has no benefits; it only hurts you. People should learn to love themselves before they can learn to love others. So right now, my main focus is on my studies, and I’ll let relationships happen naturally.”

Indeed, a goddess’s mindset is different. Everyone listened to the information the senior revealed, concluding that her ex must have been a tasteless scumbag.

Su Mo Xiao did not explain further, and finally said in a relieved tone, “Besides, an Omega doesn’t need to depend on anyone. Just look at my mentor, Professor Lin. She’s twenty-seven or twenty-eight this year, and she’s never been in a relationship, but she’s still living a good life, isn’t she? I’d be perfectly content just to live like her.”

Applause erupted in the classroom. Su Mo Xiao’s words touched many people, especially those independent Omegas and Betas. Unlike Alphas who are born with advantages, they need to put in great effort to break away from their families and a dependence on Alphas. Getting into A University’s School of Medicine was their initial proof of their capabilities.

Qi Si sat in the front row like a clown, listening to the whole thing. Su Mo Xiao’s lecture wasn’t that great, but she was full of profound life lessons. She was sickeningly hypocritical, or perhaps this way of handling things was the truly intelligent way. Unlike Qi Si, a bookworm who only knows how to study, Su Mo Xiao was good at packaging herself. She could succeed anywhere she went.

What was interesting was that after knowing her for so long, Qi Si seemed to have never truly understood her.

As soon as the class bell rang, Su Mo Xiao was surrounded by people of all genders. It became difficult for Qi Si to even get close to her.

If Qi Si had nothing else to do all day, she might have found a chance to talk to Su Mo Xiao. But she was about to be terribly busy. She had to work to earn money; she had a broken family to support.

The camo-pants girl called out “Yuan Lǚ” twice. Qi Si waved back without looking, lowered her head, and quickly left the classroom. She grabbed a shared bike outside the school and arrived at a bar called POP downtown promptly at 3:30 PM. After greeting the boss, she tied her hair into a ponytail, changed into her bartender uniform, wiped the glasses, tidied the counter, and waited for guests to serve.

Three months ago, Qi Si’s father was in a car accident and was left paralyzed. Since he was primarily at fault for the accident, the insurance company only covered a portion of the medical expenses. The remaining huge amount was paid by the Qi family themselves. The Qis lost all their savings and were in debt, and even had to mortgage their house. Now, the family of four squeezed into a cramped rental apartment. Her stepmother was trying to make ends meet with her two children. She didn’t abandon Qi Si’s father, but how could a middle-aged female Omega survive in society?

Qi Si’s college life was off to a devastating start. She borrowed money from everywhere to scrape together her tuition, and now she had to earn money for living expenses, her two younger sisters’ tuition, her father’s medical bills, the family’s rent, and more.

MII arrived at the bar at 5:00 PM, as usual. She asked Qi Si to make her a honey grapefruit soda, then took out a wad of cash in an envelope, throwing it on the counter and saying, “This is your payment for the last drug trial. I only took a 30% cut. Count it.”

Qi Si, who was wearing gloves while slicing grapefruit, glanced at the wad of cash sticking out of the envelope. She continued to work with a calm tone, saying, “No need to count. I trust you.”

MII’s lips curved into a smile. A mischievous light appeared in her eyes, which were adorned with purple contacts. Her sunglasses were pushed up on her forehead, and her hair was loose. She always wore a sickly-sweet vanilla cream perfume, which was also how Qi Si could always identify her. She stared at Qi Si’s hand as she shook the ice and said with a smile, “You really went back to school this time?”

“Yeah,” Qi Si garnished the soda with a fresh mint leaf and smoothly pushed it in front of MII. She said calmly, “No matter what, I’ll finish my studies first.”

With a “slurp,” MII put down her straw, looked at Qi Si, and said with interest, “Are you really an A University student?”

That was a famous top-tier university, which trained society’s elites. How could one of their students be reduced to doing drug trials for money?

Qi Si stuffed the money-filled envelope into her pants pocket, nonchalantly saying, “You want to see my student ID?”

MII grinned, leaning closer, and said, “I know there’s a lab project at A University that’s recruiting. The pay is very generous. Are you interested?”

Qi Si looked at MII, her eyes dark and shiny. “How much?”

“Sixteen thousand for three days,” MII’s tattooed hand tapped the bar. “That’s more than you’d make working here for three months.”

“That is a lot,” Qi Si paused. “But I just tried Budesonide a while ago. Can I still try another drug now?”

Normally, legitimate pharmaceutical companies would conduct a strict screening when recruiting trial participants, requiring that a participant be at least three months out from their last trial.

But some people who are desperate for money probably don’t follow the rules.

“Just don’t let them know,” MII chuckled. “As long as you don’t say anything, how would they know you just took a drug trial a while ago?”

Qi Si thought for a moment and said, “True.”

But frequent drug trials are bad for the liver and other organs and can lead to a series of unpredictable side effects. Qi Si had recently participated in a clinical trial for an unknown pharmaceutical company. The drug, Budesonide, was a glucocorticoid and was relatively safe. The payment, after the cut, was only a little over three thousand yuan.

As the saying goes, risk and reward go hand in hand. The drug that MII mentioned, which could earn her sixteen thousand in three days, probably had no safety guarantee.

No matter how much she needed money, Qi Si shouldn’t gamble with her own body.

“So, are you going to sign up?” MII took out a cigarette, turned to face Qi Si, and her eyes held an ambiguous smile.

“We’ll see. It’s a project from my own school, I’m afraid of running into someone I know,” Qi Si’s voice was calm. She lowered her head and polished the counter until it was brand new, then mixed another drink.

“Think about it carefully. I’ll contact you next time.”

MII lit her cigarette and left a crisp one-hundred-yuan bill on the bar as she was leaving.

When Qi Si saw it, she said, “Wait, I’ll get you change.”

“No need,” MII looked back and smiled at her. “It’s a tip for you. Go buy your sisters something nice to eat.”

Qi Si didn’t say anything. She rolled up the bill and put it in her pocket while also counting the money for the soda.

“In this situation, you should say thank you,” a tall Beta customer with a beer in his hand said nosily. “You got a tip, why don’t you look happy?”

After all, the tip was MII’s cut from Qi Si’s trial payment. She was using Qi Si’s money to make herself look generous. Qi Si wasn’t stupid; how could she be happy?

Qi Si lowered her head to pour another drink, making her service as good as possible. She said to the Beta, “If you were a sheep on a farm, and the farmer sheared your wool and gave you a wool hat, would you be grateful to him?”

The Beta was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Qi Si saw that he was almost done with his beer and asked at the right time, “Want another one?”

“Sure.” The Beta put down his glass and agreed readily.

Qi Si’s job was to be a bartender. She didn’t have to sell drinks to customers, and she didn’t get a commission for it. But her striking appearance was a selling point in itself. Even if she just stood behind the bar without doing anything, it was a pleasure to look at. People like that are usually arrogant, but Qi Si was sincere, humble, and polite, and she never made a mistake at work. Because of this, her colleagues and the boss trusted her very much.

The bar was exceptionally busy that night. Qi Si was busy until 2 AM before she finished cleaning the bar. Just as she was about to leave, a female customer came over. Qi Si said politely, “I’m sorry, we’re already closed. At most, I can only sell you a whole bottle of beer or non-alcoholic beverages.”

The woman stared at Qi Si, her expression a mix of amusement and a smile she couldn’t hold back. She slowly let out a puff of smoke and alcohol-scented air. Her lips, painted fiery red, parted as she said, “Xiao Qi, can you drive?”

“…”

Qi Si blinked. “Boss, I can.”

“My friend had a little to drink, and I don’t trust a designated driver this late at night. Can you help me drive her home?” Zhou Danqing said, casually pulling out two bills from her LV wallet.

Qi Si took them readily. “Okay, thank you, boss. You’re very generous.”

“You helped sell a lot of alcohol tonight, you deserve it,” Zhou Danqing seemed very happy, handing her the Maserati car key. “Drive my car. My friend is in the private room.”

Following the direction Zhou Danqing pointed, Qi Si pushed open a door. A wave of a strong Omega pheromone hit her, making her tremble. Every tiny pore on her body couldn’t help but expand, as if she had fallen into a sweet Garden of Eden, and the scent of rosehip wine surged toward her.

An elegant Omega woman—that was Qi Si’s first impression of her.

In the corner, Lin Ye sat quietly on the sofa, her head bowed in the pain of being drunk. The colorful, flashing lights above her head made her even more dizzy.

She turned her head to look at the girl at the door and said coldly, “Get out.”