Chapter 2

The moment the doctor shouted out the 99% compatibility rate, the entire hospital corridor fell into a sudden, dead silence for a second.

Then, someone immediately reacted. “99? Isn’t that… the match for that person’s AI?”

“The machine must be broken. Five rounds of matching before, and nothing exceeded 5%. This score is higher than a paternity test.”

“No mistake. All ten machines were tested.”

The entire hospital fell silent again.

This was huge news, not just for the hospital, but for the entire Empire, the whole interstellar community.

Alphas, as a gender highly suited for and belligerent in warfare, could become a destabilizing factor in society if their Mental Power wasn’t balanced by an omega in daily life. As high-ranking officials in the Military Command, they needed clear-headed, rational command capabilities while maintaining combat strength. Having no omega by their side was a cause for concern.

Especially Lu Mingjin, an SS-Rank Alpha. As the Empire’s youngest Division Commander, his marriage had always been a matter of utmost public and high-society concern.

The Emperor and Queen had issued several orders for matches, but the results were always unsatisfactory, with compatibility rates never exceeding 5%.

“So who is this omega? Why wasn’t he detected before?”

“He’s a newly differentiated omega, just came of age and was entered into the system. As for who he is specifically, I’d need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement before I can tell you.”

As they spoke, the doctor was already rushing toward the ward area. Ward 411, having heard the commotion early on, was now perfectly silent.

Bai Shouyi’s chest heaved, a shrewd glint in his eyes. It was happening!

Bai Jianyin lowered his head, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes. “It seems the results are out today… but they might not be accurate. What if… what if the machine is broken?”

But Bai Shouyi was full of confidence. “How could the machine be broken? Jianyin, don’t be so modest. People with no real talent make the biggest noise; how can you be so self-deprecating? 99 is 99. The numbers don’t change.”

His words, directly and indirectly, were all aimed at Bai Ruonian.

Bai Shouyi looked at Bai Jianyin’s face, which shared a certain familiarity with his own, and his fondness only grew. Then he glanced at Bai Ruonian, standing frail by the bedside, and his brow furrowed.

Back then, others used to say this boy was pretty, with his high nose bridge, light hair, and white skin—claiming the boy didn’t take after him. He hadn’t taken it to heart at the time. But now, thinking back, he suspected most people saw him as a cuckold. Bai Shouyi had clawed his way up from the bottom and placed immense value on his self-respect. The moment the truth about the real and fake young master came out, his reputation was ruined, and he found it impossible to like Bai Ruonian.

Bai Jianyin smiled in agreement but didn’t forget to add, “Dad, don’t say that. Isn’t little brother also set to marry into the Gao Family? We’re blessed with double happiness here.”

Bai Jianyin’s tone was soft, but the excitement and malice flickered secretly beneath his eyes. If Gao Siyang hadn’t specifically asked for the guy, he would have found a way to kick him out long ago.

He purposely glanced in Bai Ruonian’s direction, a smug curve to his lips. The latter was standing expressionlessly, as if lost in thought.

One of them would marry a top-tier Alpha and become Madam Major General. The other was just a trade commodity, beaten half-deaf into a plaything.

A sense of smugness rose in Bai Jianyin’s heart. Even without the Bai family’s resources, he would be the one who made it the furthest.

Bai Ruonian stood quietly in place, listening to their chatter. A faint buzzing sound filled his ears, making his resolve even stronger. He had to find his Master.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t even get out of the ward right now. Just then, Bai Jianyin walked over with a concerned expression.

“Little Bai, don’t worry, in the future I…” He let out a shy laugh. “In the future, I definitely won’t abandon you. When the time comes, I’ll ask the Gao Family to treat you well. Don’t you worry.”

Bai Ruonian blinked, his long eyelashes trembling. His thin eyelids struggled to lift, making him look terribly weak. He ignored him.

Why should he care how the Gao Family treated him? He wasn’t marrying into that family. If the other man wanted to, he could marry into it himself.

He pushed past Bai Jianyin and headed for the door. Bai Jianyin’s expression soured. He looked helplessly at Bai Shouyi, who couldn’t help but snap, “Bai Ruonian, where are you going?”

The voice was so loud that even Little Bai, his hearing impaired as it was, couldn’t help but tremble. Still, he kept moving toward the door.

“I’m going to find someone.”

“Find someone, find someone! Who are you looking for? Why are you still being so stubborn with me at a time like this?” Bai Shouyi was very displeased. “The Gao family isn’t a bad match. Do you have to anger me to death?”

Bai Jianyin, face full of worry, added, “Little Bai, be careful and don’t run around. What if you fall and hurt yourself?”

The words seemed to remind Bai Shouyi of something. His expression darkened. “Give him a sedative.”

“Huh?” The young nurse hesitated. The child looked so pitiful.

“I said, give him a sedative! What are you standing there for? He can’t hear! If he goes out and gets hit by a car, will you take responsibility?”

The words were aggressive and overbearing. The nurse couldn’t argue and could only comply. Just as she picked up the syringe, a shout came from outside the door. “What are you doing?!”

It was the doctor from earlier. He had sprinted all the way over, a matching report clutched in his hand.

Bai Shouyi’s eyes lit up. His earlier anger vanished, replaced by that calculating gleam.

“Doctor, is my son the one with a 99% compatibility rate with the Major General?”

The doctor glanced at the documents in his hand. “Yes.”

Receiving an affirmative answer, Bai Jianyin’s face flushed red with excitement. He took a step forward. “Doctor, that’s me.”

He was just about to take the report when he saw the doctor looking at him suspiciously, then back at the photo in the report.

“You don’t look like him… The photo in the report is completely different. The photo is much prettier. Is this really you? Are you Bai Ruonian?”

The moment those three words came out, the entire ward fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Bai Jianyin, who had been smiling, turned deathly pale in an instant.

“No… my name is Bai Jianyin.”

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, the doctor looked around the room. His gaze immediately landed on the almost translucent teenager standing by the bed, and he gasped.

Partly because of the youth’s breathtaking, gorgeous features.

And partly because he saw the syringe filled with sedative.

The doctor was stunned. He snapped back to his senses and immediately shouted for them to stop.

“You were going to give him a sedative? Who approved this? Did you get the medical order? If the sedative lowers his compatibility rate, who’s going to take responsibility…”

Bai Shouyi was still stubborn. “He kept insisting on running out.”

Then, sudden realization hit him, and he looked incredulous. “You’re saying… the person in the report is Bai Ruonian?”

“Isn’t it, doctor? Did you misread it? I didn’t take him in for the matching process!” Bai Shouyi’s arrogant tone did a complete reversal, becoming cautious and anxious.

“No mistake. As long as someone turns 18, they’re automatically entered into the system.” The doctor glanced at him. “Of course, coming in for a voluntary match is also possible.”

He’d seen plenty of people trying to use this opportunity to climb the social ladder, all vying for the marriage of the Military Command’s most promising, youngest Alpha Major General—a union the Royal Family and the Military Command had their eyes on.

Bai Shouyi finally snapped out of his shock.

What was going on?

Why wasn’t it Bai Jianyin?

This wasn’t what he was told.

“Something must be wrong with the system. It has to be broken,” Bai Shouyi muttered nonstop.

He reached for his phone to make a call.

This was definitely not right.

Impossible.

They had clearly confirmed it back then!

The doctor found it strange, thinking the man had some sort of mental issue—happy one moment, unhappy the next.

“Oh, right, there’s another report. For Bai Jianyin, compatibility rate 1%. An average score.”

As soon as the words were out, Bai Jianyin, who had still held a sliver of hope from the sidelines, felt his expression crumble into despair.

His hand trembled as he reached for the report, his smile stiff. “Thank you…”

When the doctor handed the 99% report to Bai Ruonian, the latter was startled for a second before taking it, still looking detached from everything.

Bai Jianyin stared repeatedly at the report in Bai Ruonian’s hand, his knuckles white from how tightly he clenched his fists.

He stole his family background, acted as if he wanted nothing, and yet in the end, all the best things fell into his lap.

How could someone be so damn lucky?

The doctor casually handed the report to Bai Jianyin and cleared his throat. “Until orders are given, no one is allowed to enter this room.”

Bai Shouyi still didn’t want to leave. At some point, two rows of interstellar soldiers in black military uniforms had appeared in the corridor, their aura intimidating. Seeing this, Bai Shouyi felt a surge of frustration he couldn’t vent and swallowed his anger. Bai Jianyin whispered, “Let’s go home, Dad.”

The older man’s face was dark, and he said nothing.

Water drawn in a bamboo basket—all for nothing. How had it all come to nothing? He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“What happened, Dad? Before the test, you told me it would definitely be me.”

Once outside the door, Bai Jianyin finally mustered the courage to speak carefully.

“I don’t know.” Bai Shouyi led the way out, his face black as iron.

A mistake must have been made somewhere. It was supposed to be Bai Jianyin. How did it end up being Bai Ruonian? With Bai Ruonian’s current condition, marrying him off was no guarantee he could cooperate in gathering information.

Bai Jianyin bit his lip, his fingernails digging deep into his palm, but he forced a smile. “Is there any way to fix this, Dad?”

“No, it’s just your bad luck.”

Bai Shouyi was already extremely annoyed and couldn’t be bothered anymore. He glanced at Bai Jianyin. With that kind of luck, he probably wasn’t cut out for this anyway. “Xiao Yin, this might not be a bad thing after all. Marrying into that family was always about completing a mission. If someone with your luck got caught, it’d be hard to clean up. Lu Mingjin is not to be trifled with. Focus on your studies. The Imperial Academy is full of big shots; you can still climb the ladder there.”

But Bai Jianyin could no longer hear any of it.

How could it not be a bad thing?

His dad had so confidently promised him the title of Madam Major General, and now Bai Ruonian had snatched it away.

Bai Jianyin nearly ground his teeth to dust. His mind was filled with just two words: luck. Those two words had tormented him since childhood. Bai Ruonian had stolen one life from him, and now he was stealing a second one.

On what grounds?

=

Outside the hospital ward.

One of the soldiers from the two rows noticed the people inside had left and was the first to enter the room. Seeing the stunningly beautiful young man on the hospital bed, he froze for a moment, then smiled warmly. “Lieutenant Colonel Song Hanshan, 1st District. The Major General is currently on a mission. By order of the Royal Family and Military Command, I’m here to look after you.”

After speaking, Song Hanshan studied the person before him.

Beautiful and delicate, like a porcelain doll. The kind of appearance anyone would like.

But whether the Major General would like him… that was questionable.

The man was as cold as an ice blade, keeping strangers away and being utterly impersonal. The self-preservationists on the Capital Planet, quite wary of him, spread rumors that his SS-Rank Alpha Mental Power was too powerful and unstable and needed to be controlled.

That was probably why the Royal Family had rushed to restart the matching process again.

Bai Ruonian looked at Song Hanshan, a strong sense of familiarity washing over him. He felt like he had seen him before.

But having only recently become a person, he wasn’t used to thinking. The more he tried, the more his head hurt. He frowned slightly and spoke slowly, “Hello…”

Song Hanshan smiled and greeted him. “Let me know if you need anything. Right now, you’re the priority.”

Bai Ruonian looked at him, sensing intuitively that he was a good person he could reach out to.

He lifted his face. “Then… can you help me leave?”

Song Hanshan stared at the omega in surprise.

Not only was there no anticipated joy or excitement, but his first instinct was, of all things, to leave.

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how many omegas want to marry our Major General?”

Bai Ruonian shook his head.

He didn’t know.

And he didn’t want to.

He didn’t care about that at all.

“I have to find someone.” Bai Ruonian took a breath.

He had to find his Master.

“Find who?”

“Someone very important.” Bai Ruonian said.

“Huh?”

Song Hanshan guessed some of what was going on and thought to himself, Oh no.

An omega, unloved by his parents, matched to an Alpha, and his first thought was to go looking for someone else.

“I’m sorry, but I probably can’t do that.”

An omega whose heart belonged to another, and an alpha who absolutely could not lose control.

This was bad.