Chapter 2: Nanyuan

Su Mi blinked, feeling a bit of an itch in her ear.

The communicator’s voice function seemed faulty, almost like it was leaking electricity.

Su Mi reported, “My differentiation period is over, and my differentiation result is Beta.”

Shen Han seemed to already know, making no comment on it.

She said, “Xu Nanqiao didn’t come to Nanyuan last week. Can you bring her over?”

“Oh, okay,” Su Mi agreed out of habit, then added, “Sister.”

Shen Han was silent for a while before responding, “…Okay.”

The call ended abruptly.

Su Mi stared at the disconnected call on her communicator, stunned.

Su Mi: “She feels like a boss calling at midnight to remind me to submit a report.”

System: “O.O?”

The pink pixelated frame looked a bit silly.

Su Mi paused and explained, “I haven’t fully grasped the ABO world’s settings, but based on my… father’s earlier comments, the differentiation period likely weakens the immune system. I’m just a newly differentiated, weak person, and I have to be the heroine’s chauffeur. It’s too much.”

System: “Host, Beta differentiation periods aren’t weak. Plus, the original Su Mi got her driver’s license at 16.”

Su Mi: “Alright.”

She sighed, folding the blanket neatly. Su Mi then stood up and went to the elevator, pressing the button to go up.

Just as she remembered, she seemed to have an especially cute younger brother.

As the elevator ascended, Su Mi aimlessly stared at her reflection in the shiny elevator mirror.

The girl with shoulder-length, slightly curly light blonde hair had a delicate face, her fair makeup masking the exhaustion from her differentiation period.

She wore a beige dress that exposed her beautiful, fair legs, making her look like a doll.

This required a note: Vain and malicious.

Although her appearance was the same as when she was a student, her attire and posture felt uncomfortable. Su Mi couldn’t help but tug at the hem of her dress—unsuccessfully, of course.

System: “Host, aren’t you going to find the heroine?”

Su Mi: “No rush.”

System: “20th floor.” The system prompted Su Mi to press the elevator button, and the electrical sound curiously asked, “622 wants to know how the host plans to complete the task of reducing the blackening value.”

Su Mi: “You want to know?”

System: “Yes^^”

Su Mi: “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

The elevator reached the 20th floor. Su Mi walked out, seeing several ellipses appearing from the system, and earnestly said, “Planning is important, so I need to prepare properly. Let’s discuss it later. I want to see my brother first.”

Following the signs, Su Mi found Wen Zisu’s office. Even before opening the door, she could hear the clear, bright laughter of a young child inside.

Politely knocking, she pushed the door open and looked down, her eyes lighting up.

A little rice ball of a child, only reaching her thigh, came tumbling over and hugged Su Mi’s leg.

“Sister! Why did you take so long to visit Xiao Yi!”

The little rice ball looked up, his voice sweet and childlike.

The assistant who had been playing with Su Yi quietly stepped back and closed the door.

Su Mi squatted down, looking closely, and took a deep breath.

Unable to resist, she pinched the little rice ball’s cheek.

So soft…

The stern-looking girl’s expression softened significantly. Without realizing it, her voice took on a slightly higher pitch as she asked:

“Xiao Yi, what were you doing just now?”

Su Yi obediently leaned against his sister, letting Su Mi pinch his face, and said, “Xiao Yi was building blocks!”

So good…

Su Mi asked, “Do you want sister to play with you?”

Su Yi looked up at Su Mi with bright eyes and shook his head, saying, “Daddy said sister isn’t feeling well. Xiao Yi can play with blocks by himself.”

“Xiao Yi is so good,” Su Mi sniffed, touched by his words. Looking at her brother’s little face, she couldn’t resist suggesting, “Then Xiao Yi can give sister a kiss, and she’ll have the energy to play with you.”

Su Xiao Yi responded with an “Okay,” and earnestly offered the other side of his face, which wasn’t being pinched, to Su Mi.

Su Mi: …!

She leaned down and gave her brother a big kiss.

Su Mi spent most of the afternoon playing with her brother.

Until she suddenly received a new message on her communicator.

It was from “Secretary Zhuang,” Shen Han’s primary secretary.

Secretary Zhuang: “Miss Su, the car is parked at parking spot A2. Miss Xu finishes school in half an hour. Please go pick her up.”

Secretary Zhuang: “President Shen’s condition is unstable. Please let me know when you have picked up Miss Xu. I’ll be waiting for you at Nanyuan [smile].”

Su Mi remembered the original plot the system had infused into her upon transmigration.

Shen Han, who existed as a background figure, was unstable. This likely meant she was experiencing an episode similar to the one described in the plot.

The original plot didn’t specify what Shen Han’s “heart disease” was.

But the way she “treated” it was by having the heroine come to her place to “read books” to her every week.

As the villain’s sidekick and the heroine’s classmate before differentiation, Su Mi had a good relationship with the heroine. Thus, the financially struggling heroine was always driven by the original Su Mi to the villain’s residence, Nanyuan.

Su Mi looked at the message projected from her communicator and then at her brother, who was happily playing with toy planes.

The system timely displayed the fate of the Su family after being abandoned by the villain:

Wen Zisu left Shen Han’s company, Su Ciyu’s tech company faced malicious competition and went bankrupt, and her brother cried, hugging Su Mi’s leg, asking where all his toys went…

Su Mi: “…Stop, I’m very committed to doing the task.”

She entrusted her brother to Wen Zisu’s assistant, went downstairs, and found the car parked as Secretary Zhuang had mentioned.

Driving in this world was almost fully automated. Su Mi set the destination and found Xu Nanqiao’s contact without any notes, sending her a message: “I’m at the school gate. Secretary Zhuang asked me to pick you up for Nanyuan.”

Xu Nanqiao: [Cat peeking emoji]

Xu Nanqiao: “Okay, give me ten minutes. I’ll be right out.”

Su Mi didn’t have to wait long before she saw Xu Nanqiao walking out of the school gate.

Xu Nanqiao was wearing the dark blue uniform dress of Loran Academy, with long, flowing hair tied up with a deep red ribbon. She had a gentle, lovely appearance, standing gracefully.

She immediately recognized Su Mi’s car, walked over with her handbag, peeked inside, and smiled sweetly when she saw Su Mi.

“Su Mi, your differentiation period ended so quickly. I thought I wouldn’t see you until next week.”

She sat in the passenger seat, placing her bag on her lap, sitting up straight, her long hair draped over her shoulders.

From Su Mi’s angle, she could see a velvet choker around Xu Nanqiao’s neck, matching the school uniform’s color. The dark blue made her neck look white and slender, exuding a fragile beauty typical of an Omega.

Su Mi subconsciously touched her own neck.

Xu Nanqiao’s gaze followed and she was momentarily surprised.

To her, the special seamless barrier sticker didn’t exist, and Su Mi’s neck appeared bare.

Xu Nanqiao then realized, “So you differentiated into a Beta…”

Su Mi: “Yes.”

Xu Nanqiao: “That’s pretty good too. I’ve recently been researching university majors after the standardized exams, and many professions are still limited for Omegas, unlike Betas who have a wider range of options.”

She complained softly, “It’s already Federation Year 371, and even though the Omega Equality Act has been in place for so long, it’s still so unfair.”

Su Mi: “So, is that why you had an argument with Shen Han about college?”

Xu Nanqiao: “Who dares to argue with her…”

Su Mi tilted her head and looked at her.

Her round, black eyes blinked, and her light blonde curls swayed slightly with her movement, giving her an innocent and curious look.

Xu Nanqiao paused for a moment, staring at Su Mi, then suddenly sighed, “Is it really because of differentiation? You seem a bit different now.”

Su Mi: “Don’t say that. My character deviation is 0.”

Returning to the topic, Xu Nanqiao sighed, “She wants me to go to St. Croix Academy like her. I know the student environment at St. Croix is similar to Loran, but I want to go somewhere with a better academic atmosphere.”

Su Mi: “Do you have a target university?”

Xu Nanqiao nodded, “Don’t tell President Shen… I want to go to First City University.”

Just as the plot predicted, Su Mi understood.

Su Mi sincerely advised, “You can talk to her about it. Shen Han actually cares about your feelings and respects you a lot.”

Xu Nanqiao: “How do you know that?”

Su Mi: “I just know that President Shen is very special and cares about you… After all, I’ve been driving you for a year, and I still don’t know what Shen Han wants with you every week.”

Xu Nanqiao: “I thought you weren’t curious about these things.”

Su Mi: “I’m very curious.”

Xu Nanqiao couldn’t help but laugh, leaning back, “Su Mi, why did you become so cute after your differentiation?”

“That’s perfect. Since you’ve differentiated into a Beta, you shouldn’t worry about being affected by President Shen’s pheromones. I don’t want to go alone to see her. Will you accompany me inside?”

In the past, the original Su Mi always waited outside for Xu Nanqiao.

Su Mi thought Xu Nanqiao was joking, but when she turned to look, she saw Xu Nanqiao nodding at her.

Actually, she was also curious about the heart disease mentioned in the original text and the purpose of the “reading.”

So, she agreed.

•  

The vehicle drove into Shen Han’s Nanyuan residence in the city center, just as the sun was setting.

The golden glow of the sunset covered the entire courtyard. After parking the car at the villa entrance and getting out, Su Mi vaguely heard some music coming from a distance.

Secretary Zhuang and the housekeeper were standing at the door.

Both were male Betas. Seeing Xu Nanqiao arrive, they showed expressions of relief that didn’t match their normally calm demeanor.

Secretary Zhuang stepped forward, saying, “Thank you, Miss Su. Miss Xu, you’re finally here.”

Su Mi smiled politely, “You’re welcome.”

The European-style carved columns at the entrance cast long shadows. As Su Mi walked into this shadow, she felt a sudden chill.

Entering the villa, the cold sensation intensified. The large living room was only lit by two floor lamps. Secretary Zhuang stopped at the entrance, and unlike the previous times in the plot, Su Mi didn’t stay in the living room with the secretary but was instead led by Xu Nanqiao, arm in arm, further into the villa.

Secretary Zhuang: “Miss Su?”

Xu Nanqiao tightened her grip on Su Mi’s arm. She turned back, looking more nervous than Su Mi, and said, “Secretary Zhuang, Su Mi will accompany me inside today.”

The housekeeper and the secretary hesitated.

Xu Nanqiao: “Su Mi has finished her differentiation period and is a Beta. There won’t be any issues.”

The secretary said nothing more, seemingly giving his consent.

Contrary to the coldness of the villa, the interior decor was surprisingly warm, with beautiful vases and layers of white roses everywhere, and thick carpets on the floor.

They walked through the corridor, up the stairs, and around a corner where they encountered a painting.

The painting had heavy and somewhat chaotic brushstrokes, depicting a vase of flowers on a wooden table in front of a bronze mirror. The roses in the vase on the table were white, like those throughout the villa, but the roses reflected in the mirror were ink-black. There was a barely discernible door in the background of the mirror, with a vague figure seemingly walking towards it.

Su Mi paused, staring at the painting.

“Su Mi.”

Xu Nanqiao tugged at her arm.

Su Mi snapped out of it and, as they continued up the stairs, softly asked Xu Nanqiao, “Who painted this?”

Xu Nanqiao shook her head, “I don’t know.”

The housekeeper led them to a door deep on the third floor. He didn’t enter, instead bowing politely and saying, “Miss Su, please do not make any noise while Miss Xu reads to President Shen.”

It was much colder here than at the entrance. Su Mi mumbled an acknowledgment, a mix of curiosity and a sense of danger welling up inside her.

Xu Nanqiao let go of her hand, took a small button from the housekeeper, and fastened it to her collar.

Su Mi: “What’s that?”

Xu Nanqiao raised her neck to show her, the button-like device emitting a faint blue light.

“It’s a pheromone suppressant. It has a pheromone detection device and an injector inside,” Xu Nanqiao explained, then picked up a cylindrical bottle from the table and pressed it a few times on herself. A mist seemed to form around her, quickly settling on her skin. “This is pheromone-dulling spray.”

Su Mi: “…”

She suddenly became acutely aware of the special pheromone barrier sticker on her neck, feeling that things were becoming more complicated.

System: “Host, you can use some too.”

Su Mi blinked and walked up calmly, “Does the dulling spray have a scent?”

Xu Nanqiao didn’t suspect anything, thinking Su Mi was just curious, so she let her “try” the pheromone-dulling spray she had never seen before.

Opening the door, they entered a suite. The first room was a reception room, with a few empty wine bottles casually placed on the coffee table, a floor lamp emitting dim light in the corner, and tightly closed curtains with a small slit letting in a bit of light. There were doors on both the left and right sides.

Su Mi followed Xu Nanqiao to the right with some difficulty. In the near-darkness, what hindered her more was the increasing coldness in the air.

Su Mi knew that the villain’s “illness” was likely related to the pheromone disorder that ultimately led to everything’s destruction. Considering Xu Nanqiao’s precautionary measures before entering, she was prepared to smell the double S-level Alpha pheromone’s “scent.”

However, the air was only filled with a winter-like coldness and nothing else.

They entered the study through the right door and sat on a sofa chair by the wall in front of a large desk.

The study was much brighter, with an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows without any curtains, exposing a view of rolling mountains and trees. The mountains, in the dim light, appeared gloomy and layered.

They didn’t seem to wait long before the study door opened.

Before seeing anyone, a cold and damp mist entered, so cold it seemed like it would freeze or evaporate upon contact with the skin.

Su Mi took a light breath, feeling her throat and lungs clear from the coldness, but she couldn’t help her curiosity and turned to look.

A tall woman stood at the doorway, leaning against the door frame. Her silk-like long hair was damp, her icy blue eyes focused on the unexpected Su Mi. She had a black tear mole at the corner of her right eye, and her outer robe, draped over her long dress, slipped off one shoulder, revealing a sharp, angled collarbone.

Her lips were pale, slightly parted, and her voice was hoarse and lazy, with a hint of amusement as she said:

“Hmm? What brings you up here today?”

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