Chapter 42: A Tall and Burly Omega Part 2

His body wasn’t suited for bearing offspring at all, yet it had turned into an omega. The only explanation was that someone tampered during his differentiation.

When the puzzle lay before him and he couldn’t pinpoint the culprit, the simplest way was to see who benefited—the beneficiary was usually the perpetrator.

If things developed like this, Wei Tingxia would lose his inheritance rights on the spot for turning omega, leaving Wei Heng and Wei Shu as the only alpha princes with claims.

Wei Heng was too stupid to think of solving it at the root like this. The only one capable was Wei Shu.

Linking it to Wei Shu’s various probes when he first returned to Capital Star, the answer was obvious.

“…Then prepare the wedding properly,” Wei Tingxia sighed. “Be careful—lots of people watching you.”

The heavy, stifling atmosphere vanished. Yan Xinfeng laughed at the ceiling, tone emotional. “Hey, we’re really getting married.”

“Yeah,” Wei Tingxia chuckled along. “I’ll be the laughingstock of all Capital Star.”

Marrying an omega a head taller than him—Wei Heng would probably be jealous and doubled over laughing.

“Does that mean you don’t want to marry me?”

With the wedding approaching, Yan Xinfeng grew sensitive and sat up straight. “I’m even willing to marry you—what more do you want? You’re not really planning to take several, are you?”

He changed his expression here, and his tone lowered a bit: “I heard before coming that the Second Prince is as gentle as water and even sent the omegas attending him to school… So, is it really monogamy?”

“…”

This time, Wei Tingxia truly had his eyes opened. He reached out to press against that fluffy head and unceremoniously pushed the man away: “I see you’re not lightly ill either.”

Yan Xinfeng let him push and shove, but after being pushed away, he stuck back like an unshakable plaster. The two ended up in a clingy tangle on the sofa, their elbows sweeping over the nearby cushion. The cushion bounced up and hit the glass on the coffee table squarely.

Wei Tingxia quickly reached out and managed to save only one.

The other glass rolled to the floor, and a crisp shattering sound exploded in the quiet living room.

Immediately after, a “bang” came from upstairs as a door slammed.

Startled awake, Yuan Ni shuffled in his slippers and rushed to the middle of the stairs, staring wide-eyed down below.

By coincidence, what entered his eyes was Wei Tingxia entirely covering Yan Xinfeng, one hand still in the pose of catching the other glass.

“Your Highness…?” Yuan Ni’s voice carried the dazed confusion of just waking up.

He hadn’t fully come around yet and only vaguely saw a shadowy figure under His Highness, but the angle was tricky, and Wei Tingxia’s body blocked most of it, so he couldn’t make out who exactly was underneath no matter what.

In the shifting light, however, he could tell the legs of the person below were very long, lying in a relaxed and casual pose, with one hand even resting on Wei Tingxia’s waist.

It wasn’t an especially lewd position, but Yuan Ni couldn’t help blushing at the sight.

“Sorry, I thought something happened…”

Yuan Ni explained softly, his cheeks burning, while trying to inch back toward his room upstairs bit by bit.

Wei Tingxia set the glass down at this point, picked up the cushion casually, and pressed it directly onto Yan Xinfeng’s face.

“Ahem, it’s nothing.”

He waved his hand, sat up straight, first straightened his own wrinkled collar, then grabbed Yan Xinfeng’s collar and yanked him up without explanation.

“We were just chatting casually.” He tried to explain to Yuan Ni, but it backfired, making Yuan Ni’s face even redder.

Yan Xinfeng still used the cushion to cover most of his face, only hooking up one finger to lightly brush Wei Tingxia’s neck, drawing him closer, then planting an extremely light kiss on the corner of his lips.

“I think I should go.” His voice was soft, his tone carrying just the right amount of shy embarrassment after being caught in a private moment, just like a bashful omega. “Your Highness is impressive; let’s meet another day.”

The praised Wei Tingxia couldn’t even crack a smile and could only watch helplessly as Yan Xinfeng took the cushion and sauntered out. The man’s figure was tall and elegant; as he left, his fingertip even hooked Wei Tingxia’s dangling pinky finger intentionally or not.

The door lock clicked shut. Wei Tingxia coughed again and looked up to find Yuan Ni flushed red all over.

His shifty eyes darted back and forth between Wei Tingxia and the tightly closed door. Who knew how many steamy scenes of a midnight rendezvous had already played out in Yuan Ni’s mind in those short few seconds.

Silence permeated the living room for a full half minute. Finally, Yuan Ni cleared his throat uncomfortably and squeezed out: “Your Highness is truly… amorous.”

“…”

Wei Tingxia put on a stern face: “Staying up all night every day, not getting up during the day—school starts tomorrow, so go to sleep already!”

Scolded, Yuan Ni pouted, hugged his pillow, and slunk back to his room dejectedly.

System 0188 let out a proper [Hahaha.]

Before Wei Tingxia could react, System 0188 preemptively put up a standby notice and slipped away.

Meanwhile, Yan Xinfeng, who had left the Second Prince’s Mansion, got into a hovercar that had been waiting for a long time. As soon as the door silently slid shut, an unsigned comm message quietly arrived on his light brain.

【Lin Tao located. Currently participating in Border Military District medical patrol project. Next stop: Tansvika Planet. Estimated arrival: 78 hours.】

The location coordinates and precise time turned into a line of inky small text, quietly hovering in the center of the light screen.

His fingertip tapped lightly on the edge of the light screen, and the soft light in the hovercar outlined a patch of darkness in Yan Xinfeng’s eyes.

“Tansvika…”

He murmured the name of this star domain on the Empire’s frontier, his voice especially clear in the quiet cabin.

The planet itself was nothing special, but Lin Tao shouldn’t have appeared in this project. Lin Wensi had never mentioned this female beta, but to insert a star pirate ship’s doctor without even an identity into the plan required an order from a military district leader.

And the only one who could deliver Lin Tao right before Lin Wensi’s eyes was Wei Tingxia.

A secret that had loomed over Yan Xinfeng’s heart for too long finally saw a turning point, with the fuse stretching to Tansvika Planet 78 hours from now.

…

…

The next day, news of Wei Tingxia and Yan Xinfeng gradually spread, and the Old Emperor summoned Wei Tingxia into the palace.

The Old Emperor looked at Yan Xinfeng’s photo, then at his own son, and rarely showed a bit of fatherly concern.

“Have you really thought it through?” The Old Emperor’s voice carried a hint of imperceptible probing.

Wei Tingxia nodded: “Yes.”

“This isn’t like your casual flings on the road. He bears the Vanderveel name, so even if you can’t stand him later, you’ll have to let him bear a child, and you can’t separate from him.” The Old Emperor analyzed seriously. “You’ll be responsible for him your whole life.”

“Father Emperor, I know all this.” Wei Tingxia stood before the Emperor respectfully. “Since it’s a political marriage, it doesn’t matter who is chosen. Yan Feng is… but easy to control in personality; he’s a very good choice.

“Moreover, with what happened suddenly on the Vanderveel side, they’re the ones at fault.”

“You’re right.”

The Old Emperor nodded, feeling somewhat gratified, but when his gaze fell back on the photo, he still couldn’t help sighing.

He was utterly baffled: “Vanderveel was very handsome in his youth, and everyone he took a liking to was never ugly. How did he produce such an omega?”

In all fairness, Yan Xinfeng’s looks were absolutely not bad, but the problem was that he was an omega and not an alpha. His overly handsome and rugged features made people feel off upon seeing them, not matching the public’s perception of an omega’s softness.

Just looking at the photo made the Old Emperor feel uncomfortable, and recalling what Vanderveel had said last night, he couldn’t help but appreciate Wei Tingxia a bit more.

“Xiao Xia, tell me honestly—do you really think he’s okay?”

He bit down especially hard on that “okay,” full of ultimate questioning of Wei Tingxia’s taste.

“…”

Wei Tingxia nodded vigorously, not daring to speak, afraid he’d laugh out loud if he did.

This conversation today absolutely couldn’t be heard by Yan Xinfeng, or the star pirate in his sensitive pre-wedding period might do who-knows-what.

“Your Majesty.”

An attendant knocked and entered at this moment. “It’s time for your medication.”

A steady faint blue glow emanated from the medical device on the Old Emperor’s wrist. Wei Tingxia blinked and said with just the right amount of concern: “Is Father Emperor unwell?”

“It’s minor.”

The Old Emperor waved it off, not intending to say more. The attendant carried a precise alloy container into the study. The container’s surface was embedded with three layers of stringent locks, the third even requiring the Old Emperor’s own iris scan.

Without any hint needed, Wei Tingxia immediately knew it was time for him to withdraw.

“Father Emperor, your son bids farewell.”

He bowed and exited the study. Not far along the empty corridor, a figure quietly drew close to his side.

“His Majesty has been favoring the Third Prince lately.” The assistant minister said softly. “He lavishly praised his research project.”

Wei Tingxia pondered: “What has he been researching lately?”

The assistant minister shook his head: “It seems only His Majesty and he himself know.”

“Then what did he praise?”

“His Majesty told him to retrieve it himself.” The assistant minister’s voice grew heavy here. “Your Highness, no matter what you plan to do, you must hurry.”

The Old Emperor had arranged the marriage between Wei Tingxia and the Vanderveel Family, which seemed to favor Wei Tingxia on the surface, but as the Second Prince with neither military nor political power, he was truly expendable.

This marriage before him was merely a chip the Old Emperor used to balance the factions, nothing more.

“I understand.” Wei Tingxia nodded, his tone emotionless. “Thank you.”

The assistant minister bowed slightly: “Your Highness jests. Between us, it’s mutual benefit; no need for thanks.”

The conversation ended here, right at a fork in the road. Wei Tingxia went left, the assistant minister right, and they parted ways.

System 0188’s mechanical voice cut in at this moment: [Medication composition analysis complete. Confirmed to contain omega blood.]

“Can you trace the source?” Wei Tingxia didn’t stop walking.

[Yes.]

As the words fell, a virtual map glowing coldly unfolded before Wei Tingxia. The scarlet dot marked by System 0188 was pinned starkly in one corner of the map.

Wei Tingxia’s gaze swept over it, committing the location to memory. “I’ll go take a look tonight.”