Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 156: [Parallel World] Officially Meeting

Note: The Parallel World series happened in a parallel universe; the plot and settings are completely unrelated to the previous story. This Yuka is still the famous "Vase."

The consequence of staying up late was that Yuka overslept.

Luckily, it was Sunday, so she didn’t have to go to school.

Slowly, Yuka sat up in bed, ready to start her lazy day, when she heard the butler mutter, "Master, I set ten alarms and still couldn’t wake you up."

Yawning, Yuka asked, "Why did you set so many alarms? I don’t have anything important today."

"You do," the butler said. "The pheromone matching center sent a message. You must meet Admiral Kuba today."

Yuka froze mid-motion, asking, "Can I skip it?"

"No, you can’t," the butler replied. "The message came at eight o’clock, and the meeting is set for eleven. Admiral Kuba is already waiting at the restaurant. It would be very rude not to go."

Glancing at the clock, Yuka realized she was already ten minutes late. Grabbing her hair in frustration, she said to the butler, "But I’ll be late even if I go now!"

’The biggest question is, why would Kenji agree to meet me?’

Unable to figure it out, Yuka quickly got ready and left for the restaurant to meet Kenji.

Due to the rush, she could only throw on a sportswear outfit. On the Lev ride to the restaurant, Yuka regretted more and more. Her casual attire seemed disrespectful, but not going would be even ruder.

’What will we even talk about? Should I just bluntly tell him— I won’t marry you? That would be so awkward.’ Lost in these thoughts, Yuka’s floating car arrived at the restaurant. She rubbed her face in distress, then entered a private room, as per the pheromone matching center’s instructions.

Bracing herself, Yuka pushed the door open. The moment she did, Kenji looked up at her. Her heart nearly leapt out of her throat as she nervously greeted him, "Hello, Admiral Kuba."

Kenji stood up, extended his hand, and said, "Hello, Miss Taira."

Yuka walked over, and shook his hand politely, feeling the gun calluses. Then she quickly sat down across from him.

An awkward silence fell between them.

Yuka, head lowered, browsed the menu on the table’s screen, sneaking a glance at Kenji, who was also ordering. He wasn’t anything like the fearsome image she had heard about, nor did he have the gentle facial lines typical of other betas. He just looked stern and cold, with a distinctly masculine air.

In the current Alliance, betas are the most numerous, while alphas and omegas are fewer. However, compared to omegas, alphas and betas often possess superior intelligence, physical strength, and mental fortitude. That made each alpha or beta a precious asset to the Alliance.

Typical betas try to keep their bodies soft and less muscular to fit the mainstream aesthetic. But Kenji clearly didn’t care about this. If one didn’t pay attention, they might mistake him for a distinguished alpha.

But Yuka thought to herself, ’That’s exactly what I like.’

Admiral Kuba was her ideal partner.

"Have you finished ordering?" Kenji suddenly asked Yuka.

Yuka quickly looked away, pretending to have been studying the menu, and replied, "Yes, I’m done."

Relieved that Yuka’s gaze was no longer on him, Kenji loosened his grip on the nearly crushed menu screen. He thought to himself that Yuka must have been staring because she hadn’t seen such an unusual beta before.

He hadn’t smelled the pheromone scent of a beta on her, suggesting she hadn’t been with one the previous night. Yet, seeing Yuka yawning, Kenji concluded she must have overindulged last night, if not with a beta, then with someone without any pheromone scent.

Realizing he was starting to care about her private life, Kenji immediately stopped his wild thoughts.

’It doesn’t matter what she did; it isn’t my concern.’ Kenji had agreed to this meal only to make it clear to her that they had no future; he never planned to marry in his lifetime.

The two ate in silence, Yuka sneaking glances at Kenji, and Kenji pondering how to start the conversation.

After finishing their meal, they both put down their fork and simultaneously said, "I..."

They paused together, then continued, "You..."

"Let me speak first," Yuka said earnestly, looking at Kenji. "Admiral Kuba, I might have fallen for you at first sight."

Kenji struggled to keep his expression under control.

"This might sound offensive," Yuka said, turning off her opticomputer and blocking out the butler’s voice. "But if you’re considering a relationship, I hope you’ll think about me."

Kenji felt his ears burning and turned his head, wondering nervously if Yuka really meant it. ’Wouldn’t she find a beta like me... unattractive?’

’She must be joking,’ he thought. He couldn’t take it seriously.

Kenji couldn’t help but wonder, ’Did she say the same to other betas? With her charming manner, she must have had many ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, right?’

Kenji’s mind was in turmoil; he was not yet sure how to respond to Yuka.

Suddenly, a series of shocked cries came from outside the restaurant, followed quickly by a very sweet and cloying beta pheromone scent that swept through the entire place.

Within just two seconds, several alphas in the restaurant began to get restless due to this scent, losing control and releasing their own pheromones, mixing several scents in the air.

Kenji instinctively turned his head to look at Yuka, but to his surprise, Yuka seemed unaffected by the pheromone, sitting upright in her seat, not revealing even a hint of her own pheromone.

The sweet pheromone scent started to fade, probably because the restaurant quickly provided a suppressant to the individual, stabilizing their condition and preventing them from entering a heat cycle in public.

Suddenly, Kenji felt his glands heating up, alarmed, he immediately covered them and stood up.

The pheromones released by other alphas in response to the beta had triggered his heat reaction.

Yuka, seeing Kenji suddenly stand, thought her words had offended him and that was why he wanted to leave.

She was about to sincerely apologize when a faint pheromone scent drifted to her nose. It was so subtle, almost imperceptible, like fresh snow in winter – cool and refreshing, yet it instantly ignited something in Yuka.

That scent... Yuka realized that it was from the waiter she passed by that night!

Yuka struggled to control her own pheromones, not wanting to exacerbate Kenji’s heat cycle or do something they’d regret. She stood still, watching Kenji walk to the door and take a suppressant from his coat, injecting himself.

The scent of fresh snow in the air slowly dissipated. Perhaps Kenji’s pheromone scent was too faint, or maybe the room was too well-sealed, but they didn’t alert anyone outside.

Kenji’s face was still a bit red as he nodded at Yuka, "I’ll go first."

Yuka understood that it wasn’t appropriate for a beta in heat to stay, so she quickly got up, saw him off, watched him leave in a hovercar, and then left the restaurant herself.

In the car, Kenji’s subordinate saw his slightly flushed face in the rearview mirror. Just as he was about to angrily ask if the alpha had been inappropriate with Kenji, he saw Kenji frown in thought. So the guy quickly kept quiet.

Kenji was thinking that he hadn’t left his contact information, nor had he responded to the earlier conversation about dating.

Immediately after, Kenji couldn’t help but think that Yuka seemed to have no reaction to either the beta’s or his own pheromones. He became even more curious, like a tickling in his heart.

Meanwhile, Yuka spent thirty minutes calming herself in the restroom. She had come to realize just how overwhelming a perfect pheromone match could be.

It felt like being starved for three days, and then someone places your favorite cookie bear in front of you. You want to devour it greedily and also savor it slowly. Even after eating, you yearn for more; it’s never enough.

Not to mention Yuka’s frustration of not having tasted it yet.

In the end, Yuka washed her face with cold water, then took a Lev to the Alliance Science Academy.

She headed straight into Nori’s lab. Upon entering, she slumped into a chair and said to Nori, who was busy with an experiment, "Nori, I think I’m in love."

Nori wasn’t interested in human emotions and didn’t even spare her a glance.

"I have a reaction to his pheromones," Yuka continued.

Only then did Nori put down what she was doing. He walked over to Yuka, checked her glands, and measured her real-time body data.

His face showed a bit more interest, and he asked, "Your pheromone concentration has indeed increased. Who is this person?"

"It’s Kuba Kenji," Yuka said, "the beta with whom my pheromones perfectly match."

Nori nodded thoughtfully and then took a sample of Yuka’s concentrated pheromones to continue his experiment. Without looking up, he asked, "When are you planning to get married?"

"We’re not even close to that," Yuka shrugged. "I’m planning to see him again tonight. If he’s really not interested in me, I can’t just shamelessly keep following him."

Since he hadn’t given her his contact information, and it didn’t seem right to ask the pheromone matching center for it because that sounded like harassing.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Kenji’s disguise as a waiter must have been part of a mission. She planned to visit the underground bar again tonight, not to disturb him, just to watch from afar.

She would wait until he completed his mission to ask for his contact details, hoping to create more opportunities to meet again in the future.freewёbnoνel.com