TIMO - Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Kong Weiyan must be trying to trick her. Fu Zhao came to this conclusion.

Even if she was ignorant, she knew that if a person was going to differentiate, it would happen before they turned eighteen. The possibility of differentiating after eighteen was extremely small.

For someone who had already passed their twenty-second birthday to differentiate into an Alpha was a near-zero probability event.

Recalling Kong Weiyan's previous "ten million" incident, Fu Zhao stared at her fixedly, then spoke after a moment of silence, "So, did you just finish brewing tea?"

"..."

It was a case of shooting herself in the foot. Kong Weiyan now deeply regretted making that ten-million joke with Fu Zhao. Meeting Fu Zhao's certain gaze, she sighed softly, lifted Fu Zhao's wrist, and pointed to the medical wristband on it.

"See this? These words."

Fu Zhao followed Kong Weiyan's words and looked down, only then noticing a blue medical wristband on her wrist. A few lines of small text were written on it in the interstellar language. She read them aloud.

"Patient Fu Zhao... 22 years old, gender..."

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her lips pressed into a tight line as she dazedly read the rest, "...Female Alpha, condition: delayed differentiation..."

"Mhm~~"

Kong Weiyan hummed in confirmation, then pointed to the words on the ward door and read them out obligingly, "See clearly, now. A ward exclusively for Alphas."

Fu Zhao looked up, staring at the large characters on the ward door. She swallowed unconsciously, her voice sounding somewhat bitter when she managed to speak. "If this is also a joke, it's gone way too far."

"This isn't a joke." Kong Weiyan reiterated the fact. She stared into Fu Zhao's dazed eyes and said, word by word, "Doctor Liu said it was likely the dual stimulation of the Omega pheromones and the Potent Inhibitor that pushed you into your differentiation period ahead of schedule."

"When we first went in, the whole room was filled with a mix of pheromones. At first, we thought it was Shi Nan losing control of her pheromones due to her heat, but we didn't expect that your pheromones were in there too."

"Delayed differentiation? Early differentiation? My pheromones?"

Fu Zhao was stunned. She repeated the questions, then felt the lingering scent of tea at the tip of her nose. She subconsciously gripped the bedsheets. "What about Shi Nan? I..." She took a deep breath, paused, and continued with a hint of apprehension, "When I was differentiating, I didn't do anything to her, did I?"

Hearing Fu Zhao's string of questions, Kong Weiyan first cleared her throat and took a sip of water before giving Fu Zhao the answer she most wanted to hear.

"Did you skip all your physiology classes?" She rolled her eyes. "The differentiation period isn't the same as a susceptibility period. Except for rare cases where the differentiation period coincides with the first heat or susceptibility period, Alphas and Omegas don't lose control during differentiation. The worst-case scenario is what happened to you-losing consciousness and running a fever for a few days."

"So that's how it is..." Fu Zhao pursed her lips. "I misremembered."

"Then what's this about delayed and early differentiation?"

"While you were unconscious, Doctor Liu ran a full-body scan..." Kong Weiyan stroked her chin thoughtfully. "The test results showed that your differentiation period was naturally later than most people's, predicted to be around age 28. But because of Shi Nan... ahem, didn't she, you know, bite you?"

As she spoke, she pursed her lips, her gaze unconsciously drifting to the fair neck revealed by the collar of Fu Zhao's hospital gown. The bite marks hadn't fully healed yet, leaving red imprints that looked particularly intimate against her translucent, porcelain-like skin.

Fu Zhao felt a little uncomfortable under Kong Weiyan's blatant stare. She instinctively looked down at herself, and upon seeing the scattered, faint red marks on her shoulder and neck, she subconsciously clutched her collar. "And then?"

Kong Weiyan coughed lightly. "And then her pheromones stimulated you, causing your differentiation period, which should have arrived at 28, to be moved up to now."

"You have now fully differentiated into an Alpha."

"The pheromones are the scent you're smelling right now. By the way..." She raised an eyebrow, her tone lazy and drawn out, "Doctor Liu's official diagnosis is, Rain-washed White Tea."

"Do you like it? This scent."

Fu Zhao's eyes darted around blankly, clearly unaccustomed to the way her pheromones were named. She lay back down on the bed and spoke listlessly, "Does this mean I can't go see Shi Nan now?"

"For the time being, yes."

Kong Weiyan's tone was a bit gloating. "Until you get used to your Alpha identity and learn to control the release of your pheromones, you can't leave this room."

"Seeing as you don't know anything right now, it looks like you need to cram on physiology knowledge." She leaned forward and patted Fu Zhao's shoulder. "Anyway, just stay put in this ward for now. If you want to see Shi Nan sooner, then study hard on how to be a proper Alpha, my Little Island Master~~"

Hearing Kong Weiyan's words, Fu Zhao frowned in thought. "You're an Alpha. Won't you feel uncomfortable staying here with me?"

Frankly, Kong Weiyan didn't really seem like an Alpha, but no matter how little she seemed like one, the principle that pheromones of the same gender repel each other still existed. She didn't believe Kong Weiyan could calmly watch over her in the ward while under the influence of her pheromones.

Kong Weiyan pouted and snorted. "Who the hell knows how miserable I am right now. It's like being soaked in muddy water after a downpour..."

"But there's no other way..." She waved her hand. "Island Master Fu is an Omega, so she can't accompany you. Besides, she's been very busy these past few days. I don't trust anyone else with you, so I have to do it myself. By the way, your ward is now my office. I'll be working remotely from here for the next few days."

"But it's not too bad. Your pheromone scent is a little better than other overpowering Alphas. Plus, your personality is on the softer side, so even during differentiation, the concentration of your overflowing pheromones isn't too high. I can still tolerate it."

Kong Weiyan's words raised a question in Fu Zhao's mind. Even though she knew Kong Weiyan would probably say she'd skipped physiology class again, she couldn't help but ask, "Are pheromones related to personality?"

As expected, upon hearing Fu Zhao's question, Kong Weiyan looked at her with such exasperation that she was just short of pointing a finger at her nose. But seeing Fu Zhao's clueless eyes, she held her words back and explained patiently.

"Generally speaking, pheromones are divided into two types: lightly scented and intensely scented. Lightly scented pheromones mostly belong to Omegas, and intensely scented ones mostly belong to Alphas. However, they can also be influenced by personality factors. People with strong personalities might have intensely scented pheromones, while those with gentler personalities will lean towards the lightly scented type..."

"So, although you've differentiated into an Alpha, your pheromones are still the lightly scented type. Understand?"

Fu Zhao nodded, then remembered something else, her fingers quietly tightening. "What about Shen Caiwei and Lu Jingmo? Are they... still on the island?"

At this, Kong Weiyan's expression turned serious. "This is what Island Master Fu has been dealing with recently. Weren't Ye Er and Jiang Wenqing there at the time? They said Shen Caiwei and Lu Jingmo's attitudes were strange. Then, after Shen Caiwei regained consciousness... she said that Lu Jingmo had released her pheromones to pressure Shi Nan..."

As she spoke, she stole a glance at Fu Zhao. As expected, the faint pheromones that had been floating in the air suddenly gathered, becoming thick and choking as a wave of pressure washed over them.

Kong Weiyan clenched her fists, sweat beading on her forehead. "Calm down first, don't get angry. If you get angry now, I'm the one who suffers..."

The moment she finished speaking, the pressure lessened considerably.

She took a breath, unable to stop complaining. "I knew I shouldn't have told you. You can't control your pheromones right now; your emotions alone can affect their release. This is killing me."

Seeing Kong Weiyan's discomfort, Fu Zhao also felt a little apologetic. She tried her best to take deep breaths to soothe her emotions. "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine."

Kong Weiyan waved her hand, her face still a bit pale. "It's not your fault. I get angry just talking about it. But anyway, because of Shen Caiwei's testimony and the severity of this pheromone incident-you know our spaceport on Nanke Island is a major interstellar hub-the impact on the entire interstellar community has been quite significant. Many wealthy nobles from other planets were affected..."

"So, no matter how many achievements Lu Jingmo has to her name, she can't escape this trial."

"She's rotting in a cell right now." Kong Weiyan's tone became gloating again. "The trial will officially begin in a week. Once Shi Nan wakes up, you two can go watch this trial of the century together. According to legal experts, this incident is very likely to influence changes to the interstellar Alpha pheromone control laws."

"It really was her..." Fu Zhao's clenched fingers finally relaxed, and the furrow in her brow eased slightly. "Thankfully, she didn't disappoint me."

"How could she disappoint you?"

Kong Weiyan spoke with great emotion. "After all, this matter involves the Island Master of Nanke Island, a renowned pharmaceutical tycoon, and a giant in the food and beverage industry. No matter what, she has to receive the punishment she deserves..."

"Oh, speaking of which..."

She smiled meaningfully. "I forgot to tell you, Shi Nan's mother, Shi Xinglan, came to Nanke Island a few days ago..."

"Shi Nan's mother?" Fu Zhao repeated blankly.

Kong Weiyan gave a knowing smile and flicked her hair.

"That's right. Your future mother-in-law."

---

On the evening of the day she woke up, Fu Zhao met Shi Xinglan.

Shi Xinglan was also a Beta, with black hair and black eyes. She bore some resemblance to Shi Nan, with ear-length short hair and very pale skin. She had a sharp aura, and a single glance from her carried a hint of pressure.

After making the introductions, Kong Weiyan slipped out, leaving only Fu Zhao and Shi Xinglan in the ward.

Fu Zhao clutched the corner of her blanket, meeting Shi Xinglan's scrutinizing gaze, and stammered out a greeting, "President Shi..."

"Why so formal?"

Shi Xinglan raised an eyebrow. "You're already engaged to our Nannan. It wouldn't be too much to call me Auntie Shi, would it?"

Fu Zhao was taken aback, then quickly corrected herself. "Auntie Shi, I-"

"Alright, alright." Shi Xinglan waved her hand and smiled, the sharpness in her eyes softening a little. "I won't make things difficult for you. How's your recovery? I heard you differentiated early because of our Nannan?"

"...Yes."

Fu Zhao was still not used to being alone with elders, especially since this was Shi Nan's mother. She felt even more ill at ease, clutching the blanket and mumbling, "I'm all better now..."

"Now I'm just waiting until I'm used to being an Alpha and won't cause trouble for others, then I can go see her."

She was, of course, talking about seeing Shi Nan.

Shi Xinglan was very satisfied with this answer, especially in contrast to certain Alphas who had just caused a lot of trouble. She nodded in gratification. "Nannan is fine. I've been with her these past few days. The doctor said she's just exhausted from this abnormal heat. Since you're awake now, Nannan will surely wake up in the next two or three days."

"Then, should you..."

Fu Zhao spoke cautiously, "Go and stay with... Nannan? I'm fine, I'm already up and about."

Honestly, she still felt a bit pressured sharing a room with Shi Xinglan, especially when her mind was still muddled. So many things had happened that she hadn't had time to process, yet they were all dumped in front of her at once, leaving her unable to sort them out.

For instance, that long and vivid dream, the fact that she had suddenly differentiated into an Alpha... and the sudden arrival of Shi Xinglan. All of it had caught her off guard.

And most importantly, after all this had happened, how was she supposed to face Shi Nan? Would her relationship with Shi Nan change because of these events?

When would Shi Nan wake up?

After waking up, would Shi Nan have a negative impression of Alphas because of this abnormal heat incident?

After waking up, would Shi Nan still leave?

The matter Shi Nan mentioned before, about turning the sculpture into an engagement gift-did that still count?

Would Shi Nan hate her because she had differentiated into an Alpha?

Fu Zhao's mind was filled with Shi Nan, but right now, she could only stay in her hospital room, learning to control her pheromones and studying the physiology she had never been exposed to before...

Just thinking about it made her spirits sink again.

"It's fine. Wanqing came with me just now. She went to see Nannan first, so I came to check on you in her place. It's not convenient for her to come in..."

Shi Xinglan spoke, crossing her arms as she looked at Fu Zhao.

Fu Zhao subconsciously straightened her back, waiting obediently for Shi Xinglan to speak, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Seeing Fu Zhao's timid and cautious appearance, Shi Xinglan found it a little amusing, but she maintained a calm and composed expression on her face as she spoke abruptly.

"I heard you wanted to break off the engagement with Nannan before?"

"And you knelt before your mother's grave for three days and three nights?"

Fu Zhao froze for a few seconds, wondering how long this "three days and three nights" joke would last. But since it was Shi Xinglan saying it, she couldn't just brush it off. She could only stammer out an explanation.

"No... I didn't... I didn't know it was her before..."

Seeing Fu Zhao's miserable, stuttering expression, Shi Xinglan found it interesting. She took a calm sip of water and finished the sentence for her. "So 'no' means you want to marry Nannan, is that right?"

"I heard that after Nannan went into heat, you couldn't bear to let people restrain her..."

Shi Xinglan's gaze remained fixed on Fu Zhao, her leisurely tone carrying a hint of probing. "Do you like our Nannan that much? Enough to be willing to endure your current suffering for her?"

This was a very difficult question to answer, especially after Fu Zhao had just had that long dream, especially after she had empathized with the original host's feelings in the dream, especially after it all felt so real that she felt... she might very well be the original Fu Zhao.

This made it a question she had to answer with great care.

But for some reason, looking into Shi Xinglan's searching eyes, she suddenly felt an impulse. A tsunami of emotions surged forth with those memory fragments. A deep sense of regret made her unwilling to accept things as they were, sweeping away all the complicated thoughts in her mind and making her desperate to admit the truths that the former Fu Zhao never dared to acknowledge.

She took a deep breath. The fingers clutching the blanket relaxed. Following the voice from the bottom of her heart, she said,

"I don't feel like this is suffering, nor do I feel that I became this way because of Shi Nan. On the contrary, I feel very lucky."

"I can't deny that although I don't like arranged marriages, at this moment, I feel lucky that she is my fiancée..."

She paused, a smile touching her lips, yet she felt a trace of shyness about the words she was about to say.

"I think, I probably like her."

---

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