Chapter 88

Rainy day.

Raindrops fell like streams of electronic data, carrying moisture and chill as they poured densely from the cloud layer above the Central District.

But when one looked up, the sky full of dark clouds was nowhere to be seen.

Towering skyscrapers pierced the clouds in the city, their smooth metal-glass walls reflecting the glowing neon lights.

Flickering light screens with government propaganda and Central District First Military University welcome ads blended into a surreal fusion with the rain-soaked city.

Under the streetlights in the morning rain mist stood a tall, slender figure, growing impatient.

Another damn rainy day.

The lights flickered dimly. The young man in the black hoodie was clearly an alpha. He was very tall, his legs straight and long inside black pants.

The hood covered the black-haired youth’s head to block the rain. Anti-rain smart goggles rested on his high nose bridge, revealing only his beautiful lip line and half of his cold jawline. His skin was extremely pale, a bloom of white in the darkness.

A river of accumulated water lay before him.

Neon lights refracted distorted reflections on the water’s surface. Pedestrians waiting for the green light occasionally cast curious glances his way.

“An alpha? A new student reporting to First Military Academy this year?”

“If I remember right, the reporting deadline is 9:30?”

The man lowered his head to check his terminal.

The digital clock ticked from six to seven—

9:17.

The downpour had come suddenly. The entire Central District enforced strict controls on aerial hover cars and flying vehicles. Ground subways and maglev lines halted due to flooding.

Surface traffic was severely congested; people walked faster than cars. Even on foot, from Light Ring Street to Stargrave where First Military Academy was located, it would take half an hour at a sprint.

At such a time, someone looked up at the aerial maglev tracks and wondered inwardly—

At a time like this, shouldn’t he take the skyway?

That way, he wouldn’t be late on the first day of reporting. After all, it was Central District First Military University. Countless people broke their heads trying to get a glimpse inside. Even landing a job as a security guard would be great.

Under the goggles, Shen Yu heard these seemingly hushed discussions. His long, curled lashes were distinct one by one, casting an impatient shadow in his eyes.

Shen Yu quickly guessed their questions and sneered inwardly. If he had the money for the skyway, he wouldn’t be standing here waiting for the green light.

Rainwater flowed into underground pipes, producing a low rumble. Shen Yu knew those pipes must be full of rust, with discarded electronics and trash floating inside.

Why did he know?

Because his first personal terminal had been born from the trash that Central District people discarded like worthless junk.

If not for his secondary differentiation turning him from a disabled alpha with pheromone disorder into an omega, Shen Yu might never have been admitted to First Military University.

But even admitted as an omega, the Central District’s sky-high prices meant he could barely cover living expenses. He had to stretch every star coin.

After receiving the admission notice, his whole family had been overjoyed, hoping he’d immediately snag a rich husband from the elite school packed with nobles. They’d completely forgotten that just three months ago, he was still an alpha.

How could an alpha who’d been one for a full eighteen years accept another alpha?

And that symptom the quack doctors had deemed a lifelong disability—his inability to release alpha pheromones—had actually been a sign of delayed omega pheromone development.

Disgusting.

Disgusting.

As a straight alpha, the mere thought of inevitable entanglements with alphas made Shen Yu want to vomit.

But as an omega, it had finally let him fulfill his lifelong wish.

At the crossroad, the green light came on.

The green light filtered through his goggles into his eyes, then refracted further by the neon, sparkling like colored glass beads dropped into water.

Shen Yu snapped back from his memories and crossed the street amid the flow of people in colorful high-tech raincoats, weaving through the rain curtain.

But being late was inevitable.

He had arrived in the Central District a month early. With his good looks and build, he worked as an ambiance booster at a bar in Neon Ring Backstreet, earning decent star coins each day.

He had calculated his departure time perfectly, but last night a pretty omega celebrated a birthday at the bar. The boss dragged him over to stand by the dance floor as eye candy all night, leaving him drained.

In the end, Shen Yu only got one hour of sleep. But despite all his calculations, he hadn’t accounted for the traffic chaos from this sudden storm.

That was one reason he hated rainy days.

The damp chill seeped from his exposed skin into his whole body. Shen Yu soon slowed his steps.

Being late by a minute or an hour made no difference now.

Midway, he received a terminal message from the birthday omega asking when he was working next so they could bring people to cheer him on.

Shen Yu tried to recall how he’d added this obviously wealthy omega’s terminal ID but drew a blank, so he stopped thinking about it.

Shen Yu told the omega he was just ambiance staff with no fixed schedule, all up to the boss. Message if he was at the bar next time.

Shen Yu would regret sending that message later.

On the way to First Military Academy for reporting, Shen Yu briefly detached and sorted through this world’s outline with 007.

Simply put, it was a group-pampering story centered on protagonist bottom Lu Yuguang at Central District First Military Academy.

The major villain Pei Ji was Lu Yuguang’s childhood white moonlight big brother. After falling to darkness, he was redeemed by the protagonist bottom and moved by his holy father halo, abandoning his world-destruction plan.

The world achieved a perfect happy ending.

Shen Yu’s identity in this world was the nameless ex-lover brushed over in one line, the direct trigger for the villain’s fall midway through the story.

Street performers covered in body paint danced mechanically in the rain. Above, light tracks in the rain streaked like meteors toward First Military Academy.

All the interstellar’s top intellect, martial prowess, wealth, power, interests, and beauty converged like stars from every direction into the Central District’s embrace.

Shen Yu tilted his head up. The rain was too heavy, and with it being First Military Academy’s freshman and opening day, the crisscrossing skyways stalled and congested.

Shen Yu felt at ease.

Even if he could afford the aerial tracks, he’d likely be late anyway—and out money.

Sure enough, with this year’s biggest storm, walking was the best choice.

As he thought that, a piercing siren blared nearby.

Shen Yu grabbed the cheapest thin-film raincoat from a street rain gear shop and had just put it on when the lead police car’s tires splashed water all over his pants.

Shen Yu: “……”

The street’s pooled cold water splashed entirely onto his pant legs. He knew with all the standing water, any car passing close would soak you.

But no one liked getting splashed; wet pant legs soured the mood.

The chill seeped straight into his calves. Shen Yu felt a surge of irritation.

And he was a delicate omega now!

007 eyed his over 1.8-meter-tall, long-legged host and couldn’t spot any delicacy. 【Delicate?】

Shen Yu replied without batting an eye: 【That’s right, I’m very delicate.】

The mental exchange was instantaneous. Shen Yu quickly re-immersed in character.

He frowned and looked up. Under the goggles, his sharp, beautiful long brows rose in surprise.

The police car flashed red lights and cleared the way with sirens. Even in the jam, vehicles parted, opening a wide path ahead.

Light boards and photon screens on the skyscrapers flickered nonstop in the rain mist.

A luxury car deliberately painted matte black followed the police car out of the rain curtain. Its headlights glowed hazy and mysterious in the downpour.

Low-key color, but behavior screaming high profile. In land-scarce Central City, using a police escort.

Inside the subdued car body, faint threads of warm sandalwood incense wafted in the air, creating a woody warmth utterly opposite the cold rain outside—two worlds divided, uninfringing.

A young alpha leaned back on the black leather sofa. Pei Ji’s eyes half-closed in a light doze, his muscles relaxed.

His terminal chimed.

Pei Ji rubbed his brow and opened his eyes. The solidified chill and depth around him vanished entirely.

His sharp eyes seemed to hold the world’s heat, glowing on their own without need for others.

Confident, relaxed.

Courageous, composed.

That core strength drew pursuit and affection like a magnet.

The caller was Gu Yang, third in the Gu family, prodigy, retroism pioneer, trendsetter of the freshman faction.

Across the star system, alphas and omegas were roughly equal, making up thirty percent of society. Prime education and resources flowed to that thirty percent first; betas took the remaining seventy.

Pei Ji answered the terminal. Gu Yang’s lazy, carefree teasing came through: “Pei Ji, late on the first day of school? Leading by bad example?”

Pei Ji’s distinct knuckles tapped the armrest lightly. His lip curve radiated warmth as he chuckled back: “And if I am?”

“No way?” Gu Yang’s brow arched in surprise, tail rising: “What about your fangirls and fanboys?”

Pei Ji’s brows and eyes relaxed into a lazy smile, casual and teasing: “Just messing with you. You actually believed it?”

Gu Yang grumbled: “You don’t usually joke about this stuff. I heard it and bought it. Right, how long till you get there? Saw the schedule? First day and they’ve got classes!”

“Almost, five minutes.”

After Gu Yang hung up first, Pei Ji closed the terminal. The warm smile on his face peeled away like glaze from porcelain, turning calm.

Boring.

The alpha slightly lifted his eyelids and glanced out the window. The streetscape blurred like flowing artwork.

A side profile in a thin-film raincoat flashed briefly across Pei Ji’s vision.

Just a blurry silhouette.

But for no reason, Pei Ji’s heart skipped.

He blinked, and looked again—the silhouette was gone.

Shen Yu’s expression soured. After the police car splashed his pants, he reacted a second late. The pretentious black car behind drenched his pant legs again.

Shen Yu: “……”

The wetness clung to his skin like cold snakes coiling around his calves, tightening.

Shen Yu ducked into a clothing store, gritted his teeth, and splurged on new jeans. He returned to the rain gear shop for a full-coverage fiber-optic raincoat.

Half an hour later, Shen Yu finally arrived late at the reporting desk.

Fortunately, the school accounted for the storm, and as a high-quality omega from an outer planet, the staff didn’t reprimand him.

After handling enrollment paperwork, the freshman office handed him to his second-year study companion for campus orientation.

The companion was a tall black-haired beta. Surprise flashed in his eyes at first sight of Shen Yu: “You’re an omega?”

The omega before him wore goggles, skin extremely pale, tall and slim.

But what shocked the companion wasn’t the height—modern living standards meant tall omegas were common—but Shen Yu’s aura.

Like a wild wind across open plains, untamable and feral, with something even stranger.

In short, not very omega-like.

Shen Yu: “Mm.”

The companion continued: “From A7211 Star?”

Shen Yu glanced at him, catching the innate superiority and rudeness in his tone. He suppressed his annoyance and said flatly: “Mm.”

This was his study companion for the next three months. Shen Yu wasn’t dumb enough to sour things right away.

The alloy material on the surface of the military academy building reflected cosmic rays, presenting a light silver sheen. Shen Yu’s eyes shifted, and he spotted a familiar black car parked at the school gate.

Shen Yu heard the commotion and looked up. A young Alpha emerged from the grand school gate, surrounded like the moon by a host of stars.

Alphas didn’t have a good reputation among Omegas, and between Alphas themselves, they were even more prone to clashing, none willing to yield to another.

But what was truly miraculous was how effortlessly this Alpha was being clustered around and gazed at by everyone.

It was as if the stars’ very reason for existing was to orbit around him.

When Shen Yu realized this, a flicker of unease quickly passed through his heart. He subconsciously bit down on his lower lip.

The study companion assigned to receive Shen Yu thought he was wondering who the person was. With an envious tone, he explained, “Pei Ji, the top second-year student, and also the most popular figure in the command department.”

Shen Yu frowned slightly.

That Alpha walked straight toward the car parked at the entrance, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

Shen Yu’s gaze sharpened. The dry sensation at his pant leg suddenly felt incredibly vivid.

The Beta study companion continued chattering on without reading the room. “Whether Alpha or Omega, no one can resist Pei Ji’s smile. It’s fine to look a little longer.”

“No.”

The Beta study companion hadn’t expected the silent one to speak. He didn’t immediately grasp the meaning—truly someone from a lower-tier planet, with rather mediocre organizational and expressive skills.

A trace of disdain flitted through his heart, but he still maintained his politeness and asked, “What?”

Shen Yu lowered his eyelids, his eyes darkening. He licked his dry lips.

He was extremely, extremely displeased with this person.

He said, “Nothing.”

Pei Ji, who had returned to retrieve something, suddenly noticed a gaze laden with malice.

Pei Ji had been raised in a great family. What kind of gaze hadn’t he seen before? Even when facing those he despised the most, he could keep a straight face.

The young, tall Alpha straightened his back, his smile unchanged. He tilted his head toward the source of the gaze.