“Sweetie, time to wake up.”
Accompanied by a young, magnetic voice, the fluffy body of the cat beneath the man’s hand shifted, finally slowly waking. It opened its blue eyes and meowed, and even though it hadn’t fully woken up, it didn’t forget to affectionately nuzzle its owner a couple of times.
It was an exceptionally beautiful cat, snow-white all over, its fur as fluffy as fresh powder, without a single stray color. Its azure blue eyes were crystal clear and bright. A real looker with a great figure, and extremely whiny. At this moment, it was sprawled out without an ounce of dignity on the soft bed, revealing its soft, snow-white belly in a lazy “do what you will” posture. Its eyes were half-lidded, as if about to fall asleep again, the tip of its long tail swaying unconsciously. Its little paws kneaded rhythmically against its owner’s leg—kneading biscuits—as it let out a contented, loud “purr purr” from its throat, like a tiny engine. From time to time, it would turn its head to rub its fluffy cheek against its owner’s black military uniform jacket, leaving a few conspicuous silvery-white hairs behind.
In just a moment, it had streaked its owner’s black military jacket with several trails of cat fur.
The pager rang at that moment, letting out a few sharp beeps.
Incoming Caller: 10th Division, Song Hanshan.
“Major Lu, we just detected a signal. Those Space Pirates who hijacked the Empire’s public ship have appeared in our 10th Division’s star sector. Coordinates sent to your Signal Station.”
Lu Mingjin’s hand, which had been petting the cat, stopped. The kitten looked up curiously and meowed. He scratched its chin again. “Wait for me at home.”
The kitten let out a plaintive meow, sticky and drawn out, as if sensing something. As its owner stood up, it jumped off the bed too, tail held high, tangling itself around Lu Mingjin’s feet. Its crystalline blue eyes stared at its owner without blinking, rubbing and meowing. It even tried to follow outside when the door opened.
“Little Bai, go back. I’m coming back today.”
The young man nudged the white cat back inside and left, closing the door.
The cat’s azure blue eyes watched him, and it meowed again. That meant “goodbye.”
==
“Little Bai, wake up! Don’t sleep!”
Accompanied by a worried, urgent voice, the person on the hospital bed abruptly opened their eyes.
They were extremely beautiful eyes, a rare shade of blue, crystal clear like tourmaline, the same color as the sky outside.
“Meow? Wait… no… wh… what’s wrong?”
“Were you having a nightmare? You kept crying out.”
“It was… a dream…”
Bai Ruonian had dreamed of his owner again.
In the dream, the young field officer knelt in a pool of blood, the hem of his military uniform wrapped around the corpse of a white cat.
“Don’t sleep…”
“Please… don’t sleep…”
“I’m begging you…”
The entire galaxy trembled along with it.
That was the last sound he had heard as a cat, right before dying.
Little Bai rubbed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. It had been a while since he’d become a human, but he was still not quite used to it.
He was now called Bai Ruonian—also Little Bai.
The moment he died, a mechanical voice suddenly surfaced in his mind, telling him this was a novel world, and then asking if he wanted to go back.
It was his first time hearing a voice, and he couldn’t quite understand human speech yet, which nearly made him fluff up in alarm.
But, yes.
“Even if it costs you your remaining eight lives?”
Without hesitation—yes.
He wanted to go back and be with his owner.
No one could have imagined he would return like this.
Not as a cat, but as a human. It was four years after his death as a cat. The year he died, his owner was only sixteen, the Empire’s youngest Major.
And his current identity was the fake young master of the Bai Heavy Industries Family, Bai Ruonian.
The original owner, as the Bai family’s prodigal son, was lawless beyond belief. But he never expected that the long-lost True Young Master would be welcomed back one day. He, the Fake Young Master, instantly became a tasteless, useless chicken rib. Then he differentiated as an Omega, fit only to be sent off for a marriage alliance to maintain connections.
After learning he was being forced to be a tool for a business marriage alliance, the original owner had a huge fight with his father, Bai Shouyi. A single slap perforated his eardrum, and he hit his head on a pillar and died. After Little Bai transmigrated over, his ears were still quite deaf. In the time since, few people had come by. Currently, only this friend in front of him, called Chen Zhenghe, was here.
“Can you hear what I’m saying now?”
“I can… a little bit. It comes and goes. Not sure what’s going on.”
Bai Ruonian couldn’t hear his own volume, and having just received a crash course in the worldview and language, he wasn’t adapted at all. He could only recite it out slowly, his voice soft and sticky, sounding utterly pitiful.
“No idea what’s going on, and no one took you to get it checked?” Chen Zhenghe’s tone suddenly rose. “I mean, even if you’re not their biological son, they can’t just leave you here and ignore you completely.”
Bai Ruonian tugged at the corner of his clothes, signaling him to stop. He couldn’t hear clearly.
Chen Zhenghe shut his mouth, feeling like he was stabbing someone right in the heart.
No one to protect him, no one to care, and with a hearing impairment. The boy before him had skin so pale it was nearly translucent, fragile as if a single touch could shatter him. Even his eyelashes were lighter than the average person’s. Yet his features were excessively gorgeous. Through the open hospital gown, his collarbones were exquisitely delicate. Chen Zhenghe hurriedly averted his gaze, lest his mind wander.
Innocence tainted, too beautiful, and now without any means of self-protection, turned into an Omega—truly a death sentence.
“So what are you going to do now?”
The subject of concern, however, seemed oblivious. Blinking those sapphire blue eyes, he could actually still smile.
Chen Zhenghe suddenly realized that after differentiating into an Omega, Bai Ruonian’s eyes seemed to have turned even bluer.
“It’s alright, it’s already very good.”
Bai Ruonian was telling the truth. This world was rich and diverse, even its scents were dazzlingly complex. When he was still a cat, although his owner had raised him very well, as a white cat, he was somewhat colorblind. Such a vivid and stimulating world was terribly novel to him.
Just being able to hear a tiny bit of sound was very satisfying. Best of all would be hearing his owner’s voice.
But in Chen Zhenghe’s eyes, it just looked like fragile bravado.
A feeling of injustice and a white-knight syndrome instantly flared up.
He spat viciously. “You Bai family really are heartless. Even if you were swapped at birth, there were still feelings involved. You’re innocent too. To actually have the heart to beat you like this, making you miss the Imperial Academy exam. And that Gao Siyang—he’s basically mud that can’t stick to a wall. A depraved, hedonistic second-generation heir who’s played an Omega to death, and they actually want to marry you off to him? It’s morally bankrupt.”
As he spoke, he looked at Bai Ruonian, who stared back at him, blinking. Those blue eyes seemed capable of almost seeing straight through his mind, as if knowing he had more to say.
Chen Zhenghe took a deep breath, his ears turning a little red, as if reaching a decision.
“If worst comes to worst, I’ll talk to my dad. Doesn’t he want to cling to the background of the Interstellar Federation Chamber of Commerce? It’s the same if you marry me.”
Bai Ruonian, not even familiar with the worldview, let alone how to be a human, just stared blankly for a long time, trying to process it.
Wait a second.
Marry him?
Marry?
He finally reacted.
No way. If he got married, how would he go find his owner?
Oh, right—he had to go find his owner.
What he thought, he did. Bai Ruonian lifted the blanket to get out of bed. The needle was still in the back of his hand, and it just ripped right out as he moved, instantly drawing a bloody line across his pale, transparent skin.
“Ahh…”
The sharp, violent pain stabbed into his mind. Bai Ruonian’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. Oh gosh, why did it hurt so much?
“What are you trying to do?” Chen Zhenghe was startled and moved to stop him.
“Find someone.” Bai Ruonian pushed him away and tried to head out. He wasn’t even wearing slippers. His bare, pale feet stepped onto the icy floor without a care.
The door opened at that moment.
“Bai Ruonian, where do you think you’re going?”
A middle-aged man, hearing the commotion inside, slammed the door open with a loud bang—so loud even Bai Ruonian could hear it. He looked at the newcomer with a hint of terror.
Bai Ruonian wasn’t actually very afraid of this person, but it seemed to be the body’s original instinct—seeing this man made him want to hide.
Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man with a stern face, his brows currently furrowed enough to crush a mosquito.
It was the original owner’s adoptive father, Bai Shouyi—the culprit whose slap to the original owner’s head had caused his death.
“Still acting up even in the hospital? I’m asking you a question. What are you doing?”
He swallowed and instinctively wanted to back away. “Going to find someone.”
Bai Shouyi’s face was dark as water now.
“Find someone? The wedding date is imminent and you’re going off to find someone? Ruonian, be good. This marriage alliance is very important. Having raised you this big, you must do something for the Bai family. Everything’s already been settled with the Gao family. You stay obediently in the hospital for these next few days and don’t cause me any trouble.”
“I won’t…”
Bai Ruonian still shook his head. Bai Shouyi’s displeasure grew, his tone heavier. “Don’t you understand human speech?”
Bai Ruonian looked at Bai Shouyi, tilting his head. He truly didn’t quite understand human speech.
Bai Shouyi had been somewhat patient at first, but he never expected this one before him to be so ungrateful. He grabbed Bai Ruonian’s wrist, trying to drag him back inside. Bai Ruonian nimbly dodged to the side, and Bai Shouyi grabbed empty air.
His anger flaring at the thought, Bai Shouyi raised his hand.
Little Bai saw the raised palm but had no idea what it meant. He blinked.
“Uncle Bai!”
Following Chen Zhenghe’s startled shout, a sharp “Smack!” rang out in the air, so forceful the wind from it could almost be heard.
Bai Shouyi’s slap landed mercilessly—on Chen Zhenghe’s arm.
The force was so great, the sound so loud, it clearly scared Bai Ruonian. He fluffed up entirely, instinctively wanting to flee, but was blocked by Bai Shouyi and the room full of medical staff.
Bai Ruonian looked around in panic. Bai Shouyi’s expression was so ferocious. No way out, nowhere to run. He kind of missed his owner.
Chen Zhenghe having taken this slap for Bai Ruonian finally brought Bai Shouyi back to his senses.
“Oh dear, Little Chen, I wasn’t trying to hit you. Why did you get in the way? This kid is wild-natured; he needs to be taught a lesson sometimes.”
Chen Zhenghe ignored the comment. “Lay another hand on him, and don’t blame me for calling security.”
Bai Shouyi’s expression was ugly. At that moment, a soft voice came from behind him.
“Dad, let’s go. Let Little Bai rest well. After all, his hearing is already mostly gone. If you completely deafen him, what if the Gao family decides to return the goods?”
Only then did everyone notice the youth standing beside Bai Shouyi, roughly the same age as Bai Ruonian. He slightly resembled his father, but was only considered delicate and obedient-looking. However, compared to Bai Ruonian’s breathtaking, striking beauty, he fell a few points short.
As soon as Bai Jianyin spoke, Bai Shouyi’s face instantly cleared. Seemingly finding a way out, he cleared his throat.
“You have a point.”
Intending to smooth things over, Bai Shouyi pulled Bai Jianyin’s hand and introduced him to Chen Zhenghe. “This is Xiaoyin, full name Bai Jianyin. He’s been through a lot of hardship out there, but he takes after me. Got into the Imperial Academy just this year—so ambitious, and so well-behaved. Far better than him, countless times over. Sigh, all my years of experience, and I was truly blind…”
He even glanced at Bai Ruonian as he spoke.
Bai Jianyin stepped forward at this moment, extending his hand with a warm smile. “Brother Chen, hello.”
Chen Zhenghe ignored him.
Bai Jianyin’s face paled slightly. He forced a smile and extended his hand again to Bai Ruonian. “Little Bai, hello.”
Bai Ruonian looked at him and reached out his hand. “Hello…”
Everyone was now looking at him with pity.
All the affection had vanished. The father he’d called for so many years, the one who had always favored him so much, had slapped him deaf, yet now addressed another person as “good son” with such pride.
Bai Jianyin’s lips curved up slightly. “Younger Brother getting married is also a great blessing. The Gao family is the Vice President of the Federation Chamber of Commerce. He’ll be able to help Father out a lot in the future. Unlike me, who still has to attend school…”
He was cut off mid-sentence.
“If Little Bai hadn’t been hospitalized and missed one subject, he would have passed too, right?” Chen Zhenghe said.
Bai Ruonian paused for a moment. Mentioning this, even as a cat, he couldn’t help but feel regret on the original owner’s behalf. Even though the original owner was a good-for-nothing, his mother had always been in poor health, so he had always wanted to get into the Imperial Academy to study medicine. He never expected to be summoned back right before the exam and told the news of being sent off for a political marriage.
And then this whole mess happened.
Bai Shouyi coughed, speaking up for Bai Jianyin. “Him? He’s been lawless for so long; he wouldn’t settle down even at school. Besides, I gave him such good resources—it’d be a problem if he couldn’t pass. Not to mention, the Imperial Academy doesn’t accept Omegas who are marrying out. Even if he passed, so what?”
Bai Jianyin then said shyly, “Oh, right… Dad is taking me to get my pheromone matching results today. If I match with Major General Lu, I probably won’t need to go to school either. It’s all the same.”
“Same? Not at all. Major General Lu is set to take over Military Command in the future—his prospects are limitless. If you match with him, you’ll have your hands full in the future.” He glanced at Bai Jianyin. “It’s also your good fortune. Just after you came of age, Her Highness the Queen herself ordered the initiation of his AI Compatibility Algorithm. He’s the Empire’s youngest Division Commander, promoted to Major General just last year.”
Bai Jianyin’s eyes lit up with a shrewd gleam. This, of course, didn’t need his father’s introduction.
He had seen it on the news back when he was studying in the countryside. Lu Mingjin, the Empire’s most eligible Alpha bachelor. When the Zerg swarm invaded back then, he was the one who lured the bugs away to the Zerg Zone and built the first Lighthouse.
“But Father, this is just a try. How could it possibly be such a coincidence that we match?” Bai Jianyin smiled shyly.
“You don’t understand this.” Bai Shouyi, however, appeared confident, leading Bai Jianyin out the door and lowering his voice. “It will definitely be you.”
If certain higher-ups didn’t need a black glove on the periphery of power, such a good opportunity to plant a spy beside Military Command’s top Alpha would never fall into his lap.
Bai Jianyin’s eyes widened with irrepressible excitement. “You mean…”
Bai Shouyi nodded, trying his best to suppress his smug expression. “In short, just rest assured.”
A slight flush of red appeared on Bai Jianyin’s face, a little bashful, but mostly excitement. That was the Empire’s strongest Alpha.
This was the life he should have been living. He glanced at Bai Ruonian. It was a good thing he had come back, or else such a great opportunity would definitely have been snatched away.
Bai Jianyin blushed slightly, a hint of urgency in his heart. “Then Father, let’s go quickly get the results. As for younger brother here—his ears can’t hear; it wouldn’t be good if something happened…” He looked toward the hospital ward with feigned worry. “If it really can’t be helped… maybe use a sedative. We can’t be at ease with him running around everywhere.”
Bai Shouyi looked at his other “son” in the ward, his gaze cold. Every time, mud that couldn’t stick to a wall, always opposing him. Marrying him off to the Gao family was already the height of benevolence on his part.
Just as he was about to speak, a loud yell resounded through the hallway. Everyone couldn’t help but look out. They saw a doctor running this way, all elegance gone, looking as if he’d seen a ghost.
“The system must be broken! How can there be a 99% compatibility rate!”
