Chapter 39: Ming Fei Is Actually—
Before Chief Zhu of the Southern Military Academy appeared, Princess Eloris of the northern Anrui family, for various reasons, had to attend the Omega Noble Academy.
At that time, Princess Eloris was only sixteen years old. Her striking black hair and blue eyes, and her beautiful, aggressive face, made her accustomed to wearing a custom-made mask during her studies.
She would get full marks in every course, be gentle and polite in front of the teachers, and get along amicably with her fellow omega classmates in public.
But in reality—
She was a member of the Mehertaer faction.
Since its establishment, the Omega Noble Academy had served the Ole Empire and was a loyal supporter of royal power and the Kerry Declaration. The Mehertaer faction, however, had openly opposed the Kerry Declaration for hundreds of years, their philosophy and actions diametrically opposed to those of the Omega Noble Academy.
Eloris, who received awards from the Omega Academy during the day, would switch identities at night, logging into the Mehertaer faction’s intranet, completely free from the rules of the Omega Academy.
And all of this destined her to never become friends with the other omegas at school.
Most omegas had been trained by the school to be tools, taking pride in marrying excellent alphas. They attended impractical courses day after day, like beautiful and fragile porcelain.
Once they left the safety of their protective bubble and faced the storm alone, they would waver, stumble, fall, and even shatter.
Eloris had tried to discuss topics other than alphas with the omegas, but most of them showed little interest and even looked at her strangely.
Those looks seemed to say—
How could Princess Eloris say such things?
Has Princess Eloris gone mad? Has she become a freak?
So, Eloris never had any other communication with the omegas at school.
Life in the northern region of the Ole Empire was peaceful. Although nearly half of the year was accompanied by heavy snow, the Anrui family castle was always protected from the wind and snow.
However, one day, Eloris saw her omega mother come home amidst the wind and snow, her mother’s pale fingertips colder than the snowflakes on her hat.
Eloris didn’t know what had happened.
It wasn’t until she heard her two mothers arguing at night that she learned that her alpha mother had been unfaithful again.
Eloris didn’t know how to persuade her omega mother to divorce, because she had already tried fifty-two times when her alpha mother first cheated.
No matter how she tried to persuade her, her omega mother remained silent.
Soon, the arguing in the living room stopped, and Eloris quietly returned to her study.
Her long black curly hair fell onto the desk. Eloris pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on the photo under the lamp.
After a moment, she put the family photo into the drawer, then took out her communicator and logged into the Mehertaer faction’s intranet, checking the latest news.
The snowy night was quiet, and soon it was bedtime. Eloris returned to her bedroom and lay down.
When the door was pushed open, Eloris closed her eyes.
She was already very skilled at pretending to be asleep, because her omega mother would occasionally come to her room to check if she had gone to bed on time, to ensure she had enough energy to study for the new courses the next day.
This night was like any other, her omega mother only staying for a minute.
When the door clicked softly closed, Eloris, pretending to be asleep, opened her eyes.
She would usually use this fragmented free time for strength training, to ensure she could join the Southern Military Academy after completing her plan.
But perhaps because her mothers’ argument and tears lingered in her mind, she took out her communicator and quietly looked at the window. Seeing a hazy glow, she opened “Supporters of the Rose” for the first time.
This was a platform created by supporters of the Mehertaer faction.
Unlike the members of the Mehertaer faction, the supporters were often restricted by certain conditions and couldn’t truly join the faction.
The reason Eloris knew about the existence of “Supporters of the Rose” was entirely because many members of the Mehertaer faction had recommended this platform on the intranet, and many members were even very active on it.
Opening the regular registration page of “Supporters of the Rose,” Eloris randomly chose a system cat avatar and entered a four-character nickname. Without adding any text to her personal introduction, she clicked on the homepage.
Unlike the solemn atmosphere of the Mehertaer faction’s public network, the atmosphere on “Supporters of the Rose” was relaxed and friendly, and many supporters were closely following the new developments of the Mehertaer faction.
After reading some of the supporters’ interpretation posts, Eloris was about to exit “Supporters of the Rose.”
Just as her fingertip was about to touch the exit button, her gaze paused on the nickname of a recommended account.
[Tree of Mystical Jade]
If she remembered correctly, this nickname should come from the same book as hers, and that book wasn’t a bestseller, and very few people read it now.
But Eloris liked it, because the content of that book was rich and colorful, and it didn’t involve anything about the Ole Empire, not even a hint of implicit domestication.
Curiosity made her gaze linger on the nickname for a moment.
But it was only for a moment. She didn’t even click on the personal page of “Tree of Mystical Jade,” just glanced at it and exited “Supporters of the Rose.”
The second time she logged in was after the Mehertaer faction announced the new regulations for the North.
Eloris saw the nickname “Tree of Mystical Jade” again in the likes list of a post.
Then, the nearby recommendations system of “Supporters of the Rose” … even recommended “Tree of Mystical Jade” to her.
The nearby recommendations function of “Supporters of the Rose” had many recognized bugs. For example, the North and South, two regions half a world apart, were also considered adjacent areas in “Supporters of the Rose.”
Eloris was about to exit when a new message popped up in the notification box.
[22:45, December 27, user Tree of Mystical Jade liked your new post ^^]
Eloris was a little confused because she hadn’t posted anything. What did “Tree of Mystical Jade” like?
She clicked on the detailed page of the system message and saw that she… had automatically published a post ten minutes ago.
[Today is the sixteenth day since One Raccoon Hill registered on Supporters of the Rose. Nice to meet everyone ^^]
Eloris had already been lying in her soft and comfortable bed.
After seeing the automatically published post, she quickly got out of bed and took out her cherished book, confirming that the name “Tree of Mystical Jade” did indeed come from the same book as hers, even the same chapter and page. Without much hesitation, following the principle of reciprocity, she clicked on the system dog avatar of “Tree of Mystical Jade.”
Coincidences followed one after another.
The personal page of “Tree of Mystical Jade” was also blank, with only an automatic system message identical to hers.
[Today is the sixteenth day since Tree of Mystical Jade registered on Supporters of the Rose. Nice to meet everyone ^^]
She closed the book and liked the automatic post of “Tree of Mystical Jade.”
The next moment—
A new system notification popped up.
[Tree of Mystical Jade followed you~]
Princess Eloris, who had received full marks in social etiquette class at the Omega Noble Academy, had never met anyone who liked to read “Records of Ancient Mountains.” Not only did she follow back this “Tree of Mystical Jade” who registered on the same day as her, but she also took the initiative to send a message.
[One Raccoon Hill: Hello, do you also like to eat pears?]
Pears were Eloris’s favorite fruit, but her alpha mother believed that pears were too common, too ordinary, and too cheap to reflect the noble style of the Anrui family, let alone be a noble’s favorite.
Therefore, her alpha mother concealed her true preference and publicly declared that her favorite was Lizhu, the most expensive specialty of the Ole Empire.
And in the description of “Records of Ancient Mountains,” One Raccoon Hill was covered with pear trees, and there were many raccoon cats guarding the mountain. Whenever the pear trees blossomed and bore fruit, One Raccoon Hill would be filled with sweet pears.
So, Eloris, who loved pears, used this as her nickname.
Tree of Mystical Jade replied very quickly.
[Tree of Mystical Jade: What a coincidence, hello, pears are delicious. The Tree of Mystical Jade is a divine tree that grows on the top of One Raccoon Hill, representing freedom and courage. Its branches and leaves are not made of wood and leaves, but jade and crystals, signifying indestructibility.]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: Of course~ the main reason for choosing this nickname is—my name happens to have a character related to jade and crystals ^^]
Eloris understood and replied.
[One Raccoon Hill: I understand, sorry to disturb you.]
The white system dog avatar moved.
[Tree of Mystical Jade: No disturbance at all, nice to meet you.]
Eloris politely replied.
[One Raccoon Hill: Nice to meet you too.]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: [Happy.jpg]]
Eloris exited “Supporters of the Rose.”
A month later, when Eloris logged into “Supporters of the Rose” again, she had made significant progress in her secret plan.
As soon as she logged in, the system’s automatic reminder message popped up.
[Congratulations to One Raccoon Hill, today is the thirtieth day since you and Tree of Mystical Jade followed each other! Send a message to continue your friendship~]
Eloris accidentally clicked the reminder message, and the system automatically redirected her to Tree of Mystical Jade’s personal page.
She was about to exit when she noticed that Tree of Mystical Jade had posted a new update at noon today.
It was a clear and straightforward picture.
There was nothing else in the picture, only a beautiful drum.
Eloris had seen this kind of drum when she was a child. At that time, she had traveled to the remote border with her omega mother, and her mother bought one for her because she liked it. But her orchid drum had been lost on the way back, and it was different from the one in the picture.
The drum in the picture was more exquisite and eye-catching, every detail perfectly crafted, and the color was also a little different.
Eloris glanced at the number of followers Tree of Mystical Jade had and found that after a month, she was still the only one. She liked the picture.
Then—
She sent another message.
[One Raccoon Hill: Hello, sorry to disturb you. May I ask where you bought this drum?]
Tree of Mystical Jade happened to be online, the white system dog avatar lit up.
[Tree of Mystical Jade: Hello, do you like it?]
Eloris replied honestly.
[One Raccoon Hill: Mm.]
[One Raccoon Hill: Did you buy it near the border?]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: No~]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: I made it myself :)]
Eloris had originally thought that Tree of Mystical Jade was about the same age as her. After receiving this new message, she guessed that the other party might be a professional drum maker with extensive experience in the field.
[One Raccoon Hill: Hello, may I ask how old are you?]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: Thirteen.]
Eloris paused, realizing that the other party was three years younger than her. She suppressed the urge to order one.
Perhaps because she seemed very interested, Tree of Mystical Jade sent her a few more messages.
[Tree of Mystical Jade: Thank you for liking it.]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: I accidentally spilled some grape juice on it while making it, so I just dyed the whole drum surface light purple. You can’t see the purple indoors, but it becomes more obvious in sunlight~]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: I named it the Grape-faced Bellflower Orchid Drum ^^]
Attached to the message were two pictures taken in sunlight. Eloris clicked on them and looked, finding the drum even more exquisite.
And someone who could make such a beautiful drum definitely wouldn’t be an alpha. She thought.
So, the sixteen-year-old One Raccoon Hill and the thirteen-year-old Tree of Mystical Jade gradually opened up to each other, talking about the orchid drum. Although most of the time it was Tree of Mystical Jade who sent more messages, One Raccoon Hill’s replies were few and concise.
But as supporters of the Mehertaer faction, they did have more contact from then on.
As the frequency of their chats gradually increased from once a month, to once every half a month, once a week, once every three days, and finally to once every two days, almost six months had passed.
In the tenth month—
When Eloris logged into “Supporters of the Rose,” the system, which sent a reminder every month, promptly sent her a notification.
[Congratulations to One Raccoon Hill, today is the 240th day since you and Tree of Mystical Jade followed each other! Send a message to continue your friendship~]
So—
After staring at Tree of Mystical Jade’s name for a moment, Eloris changed her nickname for the contact.
[Skwiatowy]
This was a word from a remote tribe in the South, meaning “little flower drum.”
In the eleventh month, there was a particularly heavy snowfall in the North.
In the twelfth month, another scandal broke out in the Anrui family in the North.
At the beginning of the thirteenth month, the heavy snow in the North buried Eloris Anrui, the princess, and the grape-faced bellflower orchid drum that hadn’t yet been received, sent by Tree of Mystical Jade.
From then on, the snow sealed away Eloris and One Raccoon Hill, and a new outstanding top student appeared in the Southern Military Academy.
Time flew by.
At the beginning of the thirteenth year after they lost contact, the memories belonging to One Raccoon Hill were awakened again. Zhu Yiqiao, who had been the Chief Judge for two years, at the peak of her power, and always calm and collected, was momentarily stunned.
Because all of this was too coincidental.
As coincidental as the initial genetic match.
Could this alpha, who came from the same world as her, met her in the same country after transmigrating, and had a daughter with her by chance, really be… Skwiatowy?
The moment their eyes met, Zhu Yiqiao stared intently at the person on the bed.
Ming Fei, being stared at, was a little confused. She looked away, glancing at her surroundings, and after confirming that she was back in the villa in the Independent State of Yi Meng, she looked back at Zhu Yiqiao, who was walking towards her.
It was already five o’clock in the afternoon.
The setting sun hung at the edge of the sea level, dyeing the sunset orange, gold, and warm yellow, like fragrant popcorn that hadn’t been evenly colored after popping.
A few rays of sunlight streamed through the French windows of the balcony, falling on Zhu Yiqiao’s white shirt.
Her proportions were excellent, a perfect nine-head-to-body ratio. The top button of her shirt, usually buttoned to the top, was now undone. The hem was tucked into her belt, and she wore dark boots that matched the Trial Court uniform.
Noble, cold, sharp, like a drawn blade.
Ming Fei, waking from her sleep, watched her approach and gave her a light smile.
“Jiejie.”
Zhu Yiqiao stopped three steps away from the bed.
“Mm.” Her voice was low as she replied and asked, “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Ming Fei shook her head: “I feel okay now.”
Then, she asked, “How long was I unconscious?”
“Twenty hours.”
Ming Fei was a little surprised, but didn’t show it, after all, her symptoms were very strange, and there was no cure in this world.
She just asked, “Does Zaozao know?”
“She just found out that we’re back.”
Ming Fei said, “Then I’ll go pick Zaozao up.”
Zhu Yiqiao looked at her, and Ming Fei inexplicably felt that her gaze was a little complicated, suddenly thinking that perhaps her condition was very bad.
She tentatively asked, “…Is my situation very serious?”
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t say a word.
Ming Fei moved her wrist and realized that the pheromone bracelet was a different model, and there was a band-aid on the back of her hand, clearly indicating that she had been given some kind of injection before waking up.
Looking at her bandaged palm, her thoughts spiraling towards the worst-case scenario, Zhu Yiqiao suddenly enlarged the photo of Ming Zaozao holding the drum and asked,
“Did you make this drum?”
Ming Fei looked up, a little puzzled, but still nodded honestly.
“Mm, I did.”
For a moment, Ming Fei felt that Zhu Yiqiao’s gaze became even more complicated.
“Why is it different from the previous one?”
Ming Fei’s eyes were clear as she said, “When I first made it for Zaozao, I couldn’t find the right materials, so I had to make a modified version for her to play with. Last time, Jiejie said you liked that drum, and she wanted to give it to you. When I went to buy the materials again, I happened to find them.”
“But I thought Jiejie would prefer the modified version, so I only made an original version for Zaozao.”
Zhu Yiqiao asked again, “What kind of drum is this?”
Ming Fei said, word by word, “It’s a flower drum I designed myself when I was thirteen. Its name is the Grape-faced Bellflower Orchid Drum.”
Just as she finished speaking, the few rays of sunlight faded, and the sensor lights in the room automatically turned on.
After a moment of silence, Ming Fei finally heard Zhu Yiqiao answer the question she was most concerned about, her condition.
“…It’s not serious.”
“The doctor said that with active treatment, you’ll recover.”
Ming Fei’s attention was completely focused on the last sentence—with active treatment, you’ll recover.
She immediately decided to write down the twelve words “follow the doctor’s orders, take medicine on time, and actively treat” in her memo pad, diary, and daily to-do list.
The flame of hope was burning.
Ming Fei asked happily, “Jiejie, then how should I treat it?”
“—Pheromone guidance and co-regulation.”
Zhu Yiqiao looked at her and said, “If necessary, it will be accompanied by intimate acts, such as holding hands, hugging, and kissing, for guidance.”
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