Chapter 3

"Mi Rui'an, is that you?"

Wei Jiangxue, who had just made an impolite remark, choked up. She leaned against the door, unsure what to do, and stammered, "..."

However, what Mi Rui'an didn't know was that Wei Jiangxue was secretly crying to the system in her heart: No way, you didn't say the protagonist was such a good person, I'm so damn bad...

The thought that Mi Rui'an was still taking those drugs to suppress her pheromone secretion made Wei Jiangxue feel even more guilty, even though it had nothing to do with her.

Moreover, she was going to inflict such unwarranted malice on such a pitiful and innocent protagonist. Just thinking about it made Wei Jiangxue feel that she was extremely guilty, so she could only apologize to Mi Rui'an in her heart and resume her cold expression.

"Don't pretend to be kind. Although I can't see, I have arms and legs and can do things myself. As for you, you'd better clean the rented room properly and don't bring people back randomly. I'll be watching you. Be careful, or I'll report you to the landlord for disturbing the other tenants and have her kick you out." Wei Jiangxue threatened fiercely, showing no gratitude to Mi Rui'an whatsoever.

Mi Rui'an wasn't angry at all; her voice remained calm and gentle: "I see. I was overthinking it. Sorry to have bothered you."

With a quiet reminder from System 233, Wei Jiangxue slammed the door shut, leaving Mi Rui'an feeling humiliated.

She hurriedly returned to the bedside, grabbed her water glass, and drank to calm herself: "Was my behavior alright? I didn't mess up my persona, did I?"

[Sure, I was worried you might have lost control and thanked the protagonist, but you handled it perfectly. That's exactly how an arrogant, smug cannon fodder character should act!]

233 was impressed by her reaction just now.

“By the way, I smelled Mi Rui’an’s pheromones again. Didn’t you tell me yesterday that Omegas hide their pheromones to avoid affecting Alphas who pass by, making them agitated and causing them to hormonally enter their fertile period earlier?” If Wei Jiangxue remembered correctly, she had already smelled rose pheromones several times in the rented apartment.

She remembered that the protagonist, Miriam, suffered from an extremely aggressive pheromone pattern, which would cause discomfort to any Alpha or Omega who sensed her pheromones. Mild symptoms included dizziness and nausea, while severe symptoms included weakness in the limbs and loss of mobility. Betas, who could not smell pheromones, were spared. When Miriam was working on her own, her confidants were all talented but unappreciated Betas.

These pheromones have miraculous effects, and Wei Jiangxue could think of many ways to use Mi Rui'an's pheromones as weapons. However, in this strange ABO world, pheromones that can harm others are completely unwelcome, especially since Mi Rui'an is an Omega. That's why she was required to take special medicine to suppress her pheromones, which led to her becoming weak and sickly.

If Mi Rui'an were an Alpha, perhaps her family and doctors would say something different.

Thinking about this, Wei Jiangxue felt a pang of regret. Actually, she quite liked Mi Rui'an's pheromones; they sounded very cool, like the powerful figures in fantasy novels who exude an aura of authority, causing the weak to submit to them.

But the rose scent didn't seem to bother Wei Jiangxue. Was it because she was an Alpha modified by the system? Only Alphas and Omegas of orthodox lineage could be suppressed?

[What you smelled was just Mi Rui'an's perfume. Don't forget, she's disguised as a Beta; she wouldn't casually reveal her Omega pheromones. The urban village is too chaotic; remember to be careful, even though you're an Alpha.] The system refuted Wei Jiangxue's guess.

It turns out that the fragrance these past few days was just perfume that Mi Rui'an had been wearing; she had been deliberately masking the scent of her pheromones.

According to the system, the scent of pheromones would trigger a physical reaction in Wei Jiangxue, which could be alertness, disgust, or even attraction. It all depended on whether the other person was an Alpha or an Omega, and there was something called "compatibility" between Omegas and Alphas.

Simply put, the higher the compatibility, the more compatible the two people are; the lower the compatibility, the less suitable they are. But love in this world is not so easy to predict, so there are many AO couples who are together even with low compatibility. When the compatibility reaches 100%, the two people are considered a match made in heaven, lovers destined to be together.

"What if those couples you mentioned earlier with low compatibility meet someone with a 100% compatibility score later on? What will happen to their current partners then? Wouldn't that be incredibly awkward..." Wei Jiangxue frowned, her face full of doubt and annoyance. "If it were me, I wouldn't believe in this damn compatibility score."

Seeing her sulking over this, the system, though finding her angry expression pleasing to the eye, couldn't bear to see her unhappy. So it quickly explained: "Well, it really depends on the person. Some, like you, stick to their original true love, while others succumb to pheromones and choose someone with a supposedly higher compatibility. According to the settings, Alphas or Omegas are more likely to be aroused during their heat cycle when encountering pheromones from someone with a higher compatibility."

"What about me? Will I also have a fertile window? Will I also have an Omega whose pheromones match my own very well?" Wei Jiangxue asked.

[There will definitely be a vulnerable period, but it's manageable. You can rest at home or choose to take suppressants. As for compatibility, don't worry. I specifically chose a very rare pheromone combination for you. You won't encounter many people in this world. We'll return after completing the mission, so no one will have such a high compatibility with you. In daily life, you'll mostly meet low-level Alphas or Betas. Omegas are either at home or in the academy.]

[Of course, the protagonist, Miriam, is an exception; she should be the highest-level Omega you'll encounter in this quest.]

After listening to the system's statement, Wei Jiangxue felt somewhat relieved.

A mind controlled by pheromones is not what she wants. Fortunately, this Alpha identity was arranged by the system and can be revoked after completing the mission. It would be too terrible if she were to take it back to her original world.

Wei Jiangxue thought about it and even felt a little sorry for the people in the ABO world, especially Mi Rui'an. In the original plot described by the system, Mi Rui'an was constantly being urged by her villainous uncle, Mi Feng, to find a highly compatible Alpha from a prominent family to marry. If Mi Rui'an hadn't discovered that Mi Feng was planning how to use the marriage to maximize her value, she would probably still be in the sanatorium invested in by the Mi Group receiving treatment right now.

Those treatments, ostensibly for Mi Rui'an's health, were actually intended to help her and the Alpha get along and unite smoothly.

In fact, none of these people cared about Mi Rui'an's physical health. Everyone was only focused on her abnormal pheromones and hoped that Mi Rui'an would grow into a harmless, kind, and gentle Omega.

No one was willing to stop and listen to Mi Rui'an's voice.

In this situation, Mi Rui'an either accepts the status quo or rebels. Wei Jiangxue was delighted to hear from the system that Mi Rui'an had chosen to escape the sanatorium and that her falsified identity and infiltrated the urban village was even more surprising to her.

Although Wei Jiangxue would become cannon fodder in Mi Rui'an's revenge, that didn't stop her from admiring Mi Rui'an. In any case, after the mission was completed, only a string of data would remain in this world to replace the existence of this cannon fodder, and Mi Rui'an's revenge wouldn't be directed at Wei Jiangxue.

"Actually, your mission is quite fun, a bit like an immersive role-playing game. It's a pity we can't choose the script ourselves," Wei Jiangxue said, lying on the beanbag chair.

After all, someone always has to play the villain or supporting character. If everyone wanted to be the protagonist, these worlds would struggle to function, and we wouldn't be able to gain enough energy from transmigrating into the book world.

The system relaxed, reminded Wei Jiangxue to pick up the package tomorrow, and then officially started the live broadcast.

*

Mi Rui'an was slightly annoyed at being rejected for her good intentions. But since she was the one who bothered them first and was met with a cold shoulder, she really had no reason to be angry.

Having lost some of her favor with Wei Jiangxue, Mi Rui'an's gaze fell on the peeling paint on the door. She forced a smile, picked up the snacks she had bought, and went back to her room.

In the future, it's best not to meddle in other people's business.

Over the years, the rare budding seed of goodwill that Mi Ruian had shown was cruelly pushed back into the soil.

The next day, when she got up and washed up, the soundproofing in the room was really bad. Mi Rui'an heard the guy next door talking in his sleep, yelling, "I'm so hungry, I want to eat fried chicken."

When her attention returned to the mirror, Mi Rui'an noticed that her eyebrows and eyes were relaxed, and the corners of her mouth were even upturned.

"How stupid."

She stopped smiling, lowered her eyelashes, and quickly finished washing up.

Just the night before, Mi Rui'an had said he would no longer meddle in Wei Jiangxue's affairs, but the very next day he went back on his word.

After finishing her work, Mi Rui'an turned up the collar of her trench coat to block the smell of cooking oil wafting from the small buildings in the urban village. She carefully avoided puddles on the road to prevent dirty water from splashing on her.

As she was about to turn a corner in the crowded and narrow alley, Mi Rui'an spotted a familiar face leaning on a white cane.

This alleyway only allows a maximum of two people to pass close together, so if someone is coming from the opposite direction, one person needs to step aside to avoid bumping into them.

But Wei Jiangxue was blind, so she just brazenly carried a delivery box, poking around aimlessly with her cane. A shifty-looking man was walking towards them, then stepped aside to avoid the cane, and casually snatched Wei Jiangxue's phone from her pocket.

Seeing that he had successfully stolen something, the pickpocket pulled down his baseball cap and turned into another alley.

Mi Rui'an clicked her tongue impatiently, took a big step to catch up with the pickpocket, and kicked him hard in the back: "Give me back that girl's phone."

Even if she disliked Wei Jiangxue, she didn't want to see tears in her eyes.

Caught off guard by the kick, the pickpocket turned around and glared angrily at Mi Rui'an, then caught sight of the gleaming knife in Mi Rui'an's hand.

"...Haha, look here, I...I'm returning it to you now, big sister!" The man instantly showed fear, trembling as he took out the phone he had just stolen, threw it to Mi Rui'an, and then ran away.

Mi Rui'an caught the phone, not continuing the chase. They say you shouldn't pursue a cornered enemy, and besides, she already remembered the man's face. In this place, it was easy to find someone to teach him a lesson.

She returned to the alleyway leading to the low-rent housing, while Wei Jiangxue continued walking slowly, completely unaware that her phone had been stolen.

Mi Rui'an tiptoed to Wei Jiangxue's side and, imitating the pickpocket, handed the phone back to her.

After doing all this, Mi Rui'an planned to leave quietly, but Wei Jiangxue suddenly spoke up—

"Mi Rui'an, is that you?"