TIMO - Chapter 52

Chapter 52

It was as if the dense fog before her eyes had been parted.

Shi Nan's words had completely articulated everything Fu Zhao was worried about, pulling the thorn from her heart so thoroughly that not a trace remained.

She believed Shi Nan was right.

She even wanted to follow Shi Nan's lead and believe in herself.

Just because she had been a Beta for so many years didn't mean she couldn't get used to being an Alpha.

She had only differentiated four or five years later than others; there was no reason she would become a different person because of it. She had already learned to control her pheromones, and in the future, she could learn to control other Alpha traits as well. Even if she became an Alpha, everyone around her would still see her as Fu Zhao.

Everyone on Nanke Island would still see her as the Little Island Master.

In the eyes of Jiang Wenqing, Ye Er, and Kong Weiyan, she would still be the same easygoing Fu Zhao.

In Fu Wanqing's eyes, she would still be the daughter who had been brought back after drifting about since childhood.

And in Shi Nan's eyes?

She would still be Fu Zhao. No matter her identity, no matter how Shi Nan had viewed her before or what her feelings were, it wouldn't change because she was an Alpha, nor would it change because she suddenly had pheromones. This was Shi Nan's promise to her.

It was the simplest of truths.

When everyone else came in, Doctor Liu began checking Shi Nan's various physical indicators. Fu Wanqing and Shi Xinglan spoke softly with Doctor Liu about Shi Nan's condition, while Jiang Wenqing and Ye Er huddled together, whispering with Shi Nan about what had happened. Kong Weiyan stood beside them, chiming in from time to time.

Fu Zhao was still thinking about Shi Nan's words. As she did, she couldn't help but touch the isolation patch on the back of her neck. The sealed material gave her a sense of security. She had just been alone with Shi Nan for nearly half an hour, so now she was naturally pushed aside by the others who were concerned about Shi Nan's health.

The room, once quiet, became bustling with the crowd of people. Amidst the lively noise, Shi Nan, while cooperating with Doctor Liu's questions and responding to Ye Er and Jiang Wenqing, would occasionally glance over at her. Her soft, gentle gaze made Fu Zhao's heart feel even more resolute.

She could control her pheromones, and even if she lost control, there was the isolation patch.

There were inhibitors for the susceptibility period. The current inhibitors were so advanced that they generally wouldn't fail unless under extreme stimulation. What happened with Shi Nan this time was just an accident.

Fu Zhao had always viewed the genders of Alpha and Omega from an outsider's perspective. But in reality, whether in her gradually emerging memories or from her experiences after arriving in this world, the Alphas and Omegas around her were not as simple as the words she had read about in her original world.

The people on Nanke Island were flesh and blood, full of emotion. She couldn't generalize based on what happened when she saw Ye Er's unexpected differentiation. Before becoming an Alpha or Omega, everyone she saw was first and foremost an independent individual, and nothing more.

Once Fu Zhao figured this out, her tightly furrowed brow relaxed, and she felt much more at ease. She let out a sigh of relief, but the next second, her gaze met Kong Weiyan's, who was looking over with a half-smile. Her eyes landed lightly on her, as if she had something to say.

Fu Zhao's expression clearly faltered for a moment. After a while, she asked, "Why are you looking at me?"

"I'm looking at that grin stretching from ear to ear~~" Kong Weiyan drawled, walking over and draping an arm over her shoulder. Her tone was lazy. "You've been so listless these past few days. Anyone who didn't know better would think you had gender identity issues and couldn't accept suddenly differentiating into an Alpha."

"..." Fu Zhao was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "You could tell?"

"Mhm~~" Kong Weiyan looked over, a smile still on her lips. "You wear your heart on your sleeve. Of course I could tell."

"I just didn't say anything," she said lightly. "I know what you're worried about, and I can probably guess what you're thinking. But I also knew that if I were the one to talk to you about it, it probably wouldn't be as effective as hearing it from Shi Nan herself."

Fu Zhao looked over quietly without a word. Kong Weiyan patted her shoulder again and continued on her own long monologue, "And to think you did so much gender education publicity before. Now that it's happened to you, you're overthinking things again."

"Before you can respect others' genders, the first thing you must do is respect your own..." Kong Weiyan paused, her gaze turning somewhat meaningful. "Whether you were a Beta before or an Alpha now, you don't have to identify with your gender. If you want, you can even think of yourself as an Omega or a Beta in your heart."

"But you must know one thing: never feel that your gender is inferior."

"It's not that Betas are inferior to Alphas and Omegas, nor that Alphas and Omegas are less rational than Betas. The world is fair. When each gender was constructed, each was given its own characteristics and advantages."

Kong Weiyan's words were sincere and open, finally making Fu Zhao realize where she had been getting stuck. Just as the previous Fu Zhao had felt that a Beta was inferior and unworthy of being with Shi Nan, it seemed she had made the same mistake.

She thought Alphas couldn't control themselves, she was afraid of an Alpha's susceptibility period, and she believed Alphas and Omegas would be influenced by pheromones to mark each other-all because she held a certain prejudice against Alphas and Omegas.

That was wrong.

Every gender has its own strengths; she shouldn't fixate on one particular trait.

As if waking from a dream, Fu Zhao lifted her eyes and saw Kong Weiyan's casual glance toward Shi Nan. She suddenly felt that the Kong Weiyan before her was somewhat different from the one she knew.

The Kong Weiyan in her memories-was she such an insightful person?

Right, the Kong Weiyan in her memories...

Fu Zhao froze abruptly. She suddenly realized that among her recovered memory fragments, there seemed to be no memories related to Kong Weiyan.

How could that be?

Was it because those memories hadn't returned yet, or was there some other reason?

Realizing this, her thoughts began to race. She looked at Kong Weiyan, silent for a moment, before tentatively asking, "How come I've never seen you be so insightful about other things?"

"Huh?"

Kong Weiyan looked over and rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'm sincerely trying to comfort you, and you're questioning my intelligence, is that it?"

After saying this and seeing Fu Zhao didn't respond, she rephrased, speaking a bit awkwardly, "It's just because I've encountered this problem too..."

Before Kong Weiyan could finish, Fu Zhao understood what she was saying. The island had a youth psychological center; evidently, many adolescents encountered psychological issues, to a greater or lesser extent, during their differentiation.

It seemed now that Kong Weiyan had probably just encountered this problem herself, which was why she used these words to comfort her. She was probably overthinking it.

---

The next day, Fu Zhao and Shi Nan were both officially discharged from the hospital. Kong Weiyan came to pick them up in her flashy, sky-blue sports car, which was rather eye-catching parked on the side of the road.

"It's a hospital discharge~ Gotta make a big scene." Kong Weiyan took off her sunglasses, her gaze shifting between Fu Zhao and Shi Nan. "Island Master Fu and President Shi are at home preparing for tonight's banquet to celebrate your discharge."

"A banquet?"

Fu Zhao's eyes widened the moment she got in the car, finding it hard to believe Kong Weiyan had used the word "banquet." She moved her lips. "What banquet?"

Shi Nan also perked up her ears, blinking as she waited for Kong Weiyan's answer.

"Your engagement dinner, of course," Kong Weiyan said succinctly. Seeing their gazes snap toward her as if to burn two holes through her, she curled her lips into a grin, walked to the driver's seat, and fastened her seatbelt.

"President Shi didn't get a welcome ceremony when she came to the island, right? And then this incident happened, which also gave the islanders a bit of a scare. So they discussed it and decided to take the opportunity of your discharge to hold an engagement dinner, invite all the islanders, and also give you two a proper welcome and wash away the dust."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Fu Zhao looked at the playful grin on Kong Weiyan's face and grew suspicious that she was being tricked again. "You haven't come up with another scheme to trick me, have you?"

"Please~" Kong Weiyan dragged out the word, starting the engine with a look of utter resignation. "Inviting all the islanders is a huge affair. Once I start driving, you'll see the banquet tables set up in the streets and alleys. What is there for me to lie to you about?"

"She's not lying to you."

Shi Nan, beside her, spoke up, a slight smile on her lips. "My mother mentioned a banquet to me before, but I didn't know it was our engagement dinner. Now, thanks to Weiyan, I do."

"See..." Kong Weiyan pouted. "I knew you wouldn't believe anything I say, but you'll believe a single word from your Nannan. People... are just so full of double standards."

Kong Weiyan continued to chatter on in the front, and Shi Nan would respond to her with a smile from time to time.

But Fu Zhao's thoughts had already drifted far away because of the words "engagement dinner."

What an unfamiliar phrase.

Two months ago, Fu Zhao was still thinking about how to break off the engagement with Shi Nan. She never expected that now, hearing the words "engagement dinner," she would only feel a sense of unfamiliarity and strangeness, but none of her previous aversion. Even the original host's consciousness, which had been influencing her, didn't surface.

As her memories emerged, she was becoming more and more like the original Fu Zhao, as if she were gradually merging with this world.

She didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What are you thinking about?"

A soft, pleasant voice sounded by her ear, and her sleeve was tugged. Fu Zhao returned to her senses and met Shi Nan's tea-brown eyes. She curved her lips into a smile. "Nothing."

Maybe it's a good thing.

"Mm..." Shi Nan responded softly, reaching out to pinch Fu Zhao's nose. "Don't be afraid."

"Never mind whether it's an engagement dinner or not. Our relationship will always be decided by you and me, and it won't be changed by these external factors," she said, her eyes curving gently. "I've said it before: the decision to break off the engagement is up to you."

"That will always be true. It won't change for any other reason."

Fu Zhao listened in a daze to the words Shi Nan whispered in her ear. Her heart involuntarily skipped another beat. She knew her heart always raced in front of Shi Nan, and she knew she was moved by her.

She gazed into Shi Nan's eyes, which were as gentle as a fine rain, and the chaotic thoughts in her mind seemed to be cast aside. She still had many things she hadn't figured out, such as whether she was the original Fu Zhao. If she was, how should she face Shi Nan? If she wasn't, how should she face Shi Nan? And her feelings for Shi Nan-were they influenced, to a greater or lesser extent, by the original host's consciousness? And Shi Nan's attitude toward her-was it only because she thought she was the original host...

These questions would take a lot of time to sort out, and whenever she thought about them these past few days, she would feel suffocated. She was worst at handling her own emotions. Because before, she had never had such complex feelings. Now that she had encountered them, she was, after all, a little lost.

But at this very moment, she suddenly felt much more relaxed, because she knew one thing-at least when it came to their relationship, Shi Nan would never pressure her. Until she was certain of her own feelings, Shi Nan wouldn't impose her own ideas on her.

Maybe she could be a little more at peace.

Fu Zhao felt as if her heart had been struck by something soft. She felt much lighter, as if she were about to float away. It was as if she wasn't sitting on Kong Weiyan's high-end car seat, but on a fluffy cloud.

She curved her eyes along with Shi Nan and replied softly, "Okay."

Shi Nan squeezed her hand again and smiled gently. "So be happy, hmm?"

Fu Zhao obediently hummed in agreement and said, "Okay."

After speaking, she glanced at Kong Weiyan in the front. Kong Weiyan seemed to be concentrating on driving, staring at the road ahead without looking back or interrupting their conversation, like an invisible person who wasn't there.

The car had already started. It wasn't moving fast, and the trees outside the window slid by slowly. When they stopped at a red light, islanders who recognized them greeted them enthusiastically, even stuffing food and supplements they were carrying into their car, wishing the Little Island Master and the Little Island Master's fiancée a happy engagement.

It was evening, and the sky was painted with sunset clouds. The evening breeze blew in through the window, brushing gently against her face, making her feel incredibly comfortable-especially now that all the things on her mind had, more or less, found answers, and especially now that everything felt so perfectly right.

Fu Zhao felt even more at ease.

Until the car stopped in front of a tall building: the Nanke Island Registration Office, the place that managed household registration changes, identity changes, and marriage registrations.

She was a bit dazed, not understanding why they were supposed to be going to a banquet but had been brought here by Kong Weiyan instead.

She looked at Shi Nan. Shi Nan raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "This, I really don't know."

Kong Weiyan got out of the car. Thinking about how the two of them had ignored her in the car earlier, a thought flashed through her mind. She raised her eyebrows, a look of schadenfreude on her face. "Let's go. I've brought all the necessary documents. Before the Registration Office closes, Island Master Fu and President Shi asked me to... before the banquet..."

"...take you two to register first."

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