TL: Hua
The expected conflict never arrived, and the surrounding Alphas who had gathered to watch the drama were completely stunned.
Ji Xuan, however, acted as if he had expected this all along. He curled his lips slightly and replied in a low voice, “Hm, then I am truly honored.”
Pei Yingye instinctively swallowed again, his gaze following Ji Xuan’s loose hair. Slender fingers toyed with the ends of the dark hair; the fair skin looked startlingly bright against it. He couldn’t help but recall the scene in the warehouse—Ji Xuan’s hand gripping the cold steel plate, the protruding knuckles and blue veins, and the way he struck with calm composure and zero hesitation.
Reason seemed to be screaming a warning in his heart: the person before him was more dangerous than he imagined.
But another, more primal instinct was urging him to move closer.
“You…”
Pei Yingye opened his mouth. He could still feel a lingering sensation of suffocation on his neck; he instinctively raised a hand to touch it, remembering the tactile sensation of those legs pinching him.
Ji Xuan interrupted him, asking, “What’s your name?”
Pei Yingye was taken aback.
At Mars Military Academy, very few people didn’t know his name. Whether it was his dual chief’s position or his status as a 3S-grade Alpha, it was enough to make him famous far and wide.
But this person didn’t recognize him.
He leaned lazily against the railing of the simulation pod steps, his tongue poking his cheek before he spoke slowly: “Pei Yingye.”
Ji Xuan raised his eyes to meet his gaze.
In the misty blue pupils, his own indifferent face was reflected.
In the next moment, Ji Xuan smiled softly: “Pei Yingye, huh.”
His tone held a hint of something ambiguous, as if he were deliberately rolling the name over his tongue before carelessly letting it go.
“I see.”
For some reason, Pei Yingye actually had the illusion of being flirted with.
But after learning his name, Ji Xuan seemed to lose interest in everything else there.
He unhurriedly braided his hair, turned around, and walked straight out of the training hall.
Pei Yingye watched Ji Xuan’s back as he moved further away. His former teammate, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally couldn’t hold it in and said, “Bro.”
“What?”
“Can you tell us how you got kicked out today? Your total points dropped by a thousand; I really want to know.”
Pei Yingye turned his head and scoffed. He tilted his chin and swept a sinister glance over him. “Want to see a show? Believe it or not, I can make it so you won’t be able to stand on the training ground all next week.”
“Just curious, that’s all.”
Pei Yingye said spitefully, “Even if I dropped a thousand points, I’m still four thousand higher than you. My name is clearly crushing yours on the leaderboard. If you want to take my spot, keep dreaming.”
—
Ji Xuan was researching where to go when he noticed his terminal buzz.
He looked down at the screen; it displayed Ji Yan’s name.
Ji Xuan rejected the call invitation.
Ji Yan didn’t seem surprised. Soon, he sent a message: [Second Brother, Big Brother came back last night. He asked me to bring you home for dinner today.]
Ji Xuan didn’t intend to respond.
[I’m currently outside the Combat Department training hall. Is your training over?]
How did he know Ji Xuan’s schedule?
Puzzled, Ji Xuan walked to the entrance of the training hall and immediately spotted Ji Yan half-squatting by a flower bed, teasing a calico cat.
Ji Yan was a celebrity at Mars Military Academy. Combined with his good looks, he drew significant attention wherever he went. Even now, such a simple action had attracted a crowd, with several Alphas trying to strike up a conversation with him.
Ji Xuan walked straight ahead without looking to the side, but Ji Yan keenly noticed his appearance, and his gaze suddenly cut through the scattered crowd to him.
“Second Brother!”
The calico cat was startled by Ji Yan’s sudden shout and bolted away with its fur standing on end. Ji Yan’s cry drew the attention of everyone around, but he didn’t seem to notice at all as he ran briskly over to Ji Xuan.
He grinned sweetly, revealing two canine teeth: “Second Brother, how was training today?”
Hearing this, one of the Alphas who had been talking to him earlier immediately showed a look of contempt.
“How else? A perpetual bottom-dweller. I don’t know how three brothers in one family can be so worlds apart,” the man muttered under his breath.
However, his companion, who usually would have been quick to agree, didn’t speak. He just silently handed over his terminal, which displayed the training results.
“It was okay,” Ji Xuan said lukewarmly.
Meanwhile, the Alpha’s gaze was completely captured by the name on the screen of the person Ji Xuan had eliminated. He looked at his companion in disbelief, silently signaling: Are you for real?
Could it be fake? Wouldn’t Pei Yingye be flipping the world upside down right now if it were? The companion replied silently.
“It’s okay, Second Brother. Omegas aren’t naturally good at individual combat anyway… How about we go home later and ask Big Brother to help? See if you can transfer to the Linguistics or Literature Department… Our Medical Department is fine too, though it might be too late to join the year-end assessment.” Ji Yan seemed to truly believe Ji Xuan’s results were as poor as usual. While comforting him softly, he reached forward to grab Ji Xuan’s arm.
Ji Xuan didn’t let him touch him.
Ji Yan looked at his empty hand with a bit of disappointment. Just as he was about to say something, he heard footsteps coming from behind Ji Xuan.
“I didn’t know our Combat Department training hall had been turned into a visitor’s lounge. What is a group of people doing crowded around here?”
“Pei Yingye!”
Ji Xuan arched an eyebrow, watching in surprise as Ji Yan, who had been putting on a full act of being aggrieved just a moment ago, instantly changed his face. His eyes lit up as he looked joyfully at the newcomer behind him.
They knew each other?
Ji Xuan asked the system inwardly.
However, before the system could provide an answer, Ji Yan quickly said to him, “Second Brother, wait for me a moment.”
He then trotted excitedly over to Pei Yingye.
[Guess how Ji Yan knew your schedule…]
Simulated training for the Combat Department took place once every two weeks and was conducted in batches. It was impossible for Ji Yan to have learned the training schedule from Shaikh Roanne, who was not in the same group, and Ji Xuan certainly hadn’t told him.
It turned out that the white moonlight whom Ji Yan was supposedly pining after in the original plot, even while “Ji Xuan” was left to die, was none other than Pei Yingye.
What a coincidence.
A playful smile appeared on Ji Xuan’s face.
“Why didn’t you come to the banquet yesterday? Did you not get my message?” Ji Yan’s voice was light and soft, his elongated vowels sounding like he was acting spoiled. “My big brother pulled some strings to get General Ying’s mecha model and combat records. I originally wanted to invite you over to take a look.”
Ji Yan’s stature was neither tall nor short for an Omega, but standing before Pei Yingye, he looked significantly undersized. The top of his head barely reached the latter’s chin. He strained to look up as he spoke; his soft expression, drooping eyes, and moist pupils formed a complex display of grievance, helplessness, and anticipation. To onlookers, it looked exactly like ambiguous flirting between an Omega and an Alpha.
—If only this Alpha weren’t so cold and heartless.
Pei Yingye listened to Ji Yan finish his speech with an expressionless face before slowly speaking: “Are you talking to me?”
Ji Yan froze for a moment.
“I never saw a banquet invitation. Messages from people I don’t know go straight to the trash. I have no interest in Ying Xun’s mecha model. Find someone else.”
His words carried a hint of impatience, devoid of even a trace of romantic tension. As he spoke, his gaze seemed to drift uncontrollably, glancing at Ji Xuan with feigned nonchalance.
The latter happened to be looking at him as well.
The sunlight illuminated Ji Xuan’s features, making them look like a traditional ink wash painting. Though his expression held a detached sense of indifference, his peach blossom eyes naturally gave him a look of gentle affection even when he wasn’t smiling.
Pei Yingye’s heart gave a heavy thud.
Ji Xuan then crinkled his eyes and gave him a smile.
The smile was fleeting. Almost immediately, Ji Xuan retracted his gaze. Instead of waiting in place as Ji Yan had requested, he turned and left on his own.
—
[Second Brother, where did you go? I turned around, and you were gone.]
[Are you already home? Did I make you angry by leaving you standing there just now?]
Ji Yan’s messages popped up one after another without pause.
Ji Xuan was just about to turn off his terminal for some peace and quiet when another message jumped out a second later.
This time, it wasn’t Ji Yan.
[Brother, is training over? I heard from Group A that you had a lot of fun today. Do you want to come out and celebrate?]
This tone could only belong to Shaikh Roanne.
Among all the original owner’s social connections, his contact with Shaikh seemed to be the most frequent.
Ji Xuan flipped through their chat history. Most of the time, Shaikh Roanne took the initiative, while the original owner responded with cautious, terrified flattery. If Shaikh told him to go east tomorrow, he would never refuse; instead, he would feign joy and anticipation, praising how east was especially wonderful and how he had always wanted to go that way.
As for his true thoughts, no one knew.
[My friends got their hands on some fun new toys, but it’s so boring being here alone. Brother, come keep me company?]
Several fragments of memory surfaced in Ji Xuan’s mind.
Shaikh Roanne was born into nobility and had been pampered since childhood. However, beneath the silver-spoon-fed exterior lay a malicious, poisonous heart. He was polite on the surface but possessed not a shred of sincerity. He chased excitement and often found pleasure in tormenting and playing pranks on others.
He was like a spoiled dog.
“Ji Xuan” was afraid of dogs and even more afraid of snakes. Shaikh Roanne would often take him to private ranches for tours, waiting for the hounds to surround him just to watch his pathetic expression, wanting to cry but unable to, struggling to call for help or escape.
Or, they would go to underground snake-fighting rings.
When a golden python thicker than a wrist poked its head out of the box and flicked its crimson tongue, “Ji Xuan” would lose half his soul to fright, clutching Shaikh’s sleeve in a helpless daze.
Shaikh would neither comfort nor help him. He enjoyed admiring the way the other person was clearly trembling with fear yet unable to speak out, forced to feign composure to encourage himself or find ways to submissively please him while hiding behind his back.
[Are you coming?]
[I’ll be very sad if you don’t.]
Ji Xuan guessed he was probably bored again and needed to find some amusement at his expense. Or perhaps he hadn’t received the reaction he wanted at the banquet yesterday and needed to make up for it today.
[Host, let’s not go…] the system whispered a reminder.
Now you’re telling me not to follow the original plot?
Ji Xuan asked nonchalantly.
[The original Ji Xuan wouldn’t have wanted to go either…] the system said hesitantly, [though he probably would have ended up going anyway.]
After all, Shaikh was the only “friend” who would actively contact him after he arrived at the capital planet. “Ji Xuan” certainly wouldn’t refuse.
Are you afraid of snakes?
Ji Xuan asked.
System: [A-A little bit.]
Well, I’m not.
As Ji Xuan spoke, he typed a few words into the terminal.
[Send the address.]
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