Chapter 52: Memory: Prelude
“???”
Romeo looked at him in surprise.
“After my parents found her, they sent her to the hospital. The doctor in the neonatal emergency department said she had a congenital heart defect. Fortunately, Wen Yuan was lucky. She received treatment and surgery, and after staying in the emergency department for two weeks, my parents brought her home.”
Wen En continued:
“I remember they also said they wanted to find Wen Yuan’s biological parents, but for some reason, it was left unresolved. Later, she stayed at my home.”
Thinking of this, every resident of the main city had medical insurance from birth, and children under three years old had free medical care. Wen Yuan’s congenital heart defect was not an incurable disease. In the main city, illness was not the best excuse to abandon a child.
Perhaps her biological parents simply didn’t want this child.
Even if they were found, they would only make up more excuses to refuse to raise her.
Wen En continued, “My adoption experience was similar to Wen Yuan’s, but I was luckier. I heard that I was very healthy as a baby, very energetic, and didn’t sleep all night, which drove my parents crazy.”
As Wen En recalled, the corners of his eyes curved slightly, and his lips lifted into an unconscious smile.
All the details were taken in by Romeo. He compared the differences in appearance between Wen En and the other Wen family members. For example, Wen En did not look like a pure Easterner. The bones of his side profile looked more defined, his brow bone was deep, his nose was high, and his eyelashes were curly and thick. But his hair was black and thick, and his eyes were also dark, highlighting the Eastern temperament that came from his genes.
Like a wild tree standing on a high cliff. The wind swirled the clouds and mist, whistling by his side, but he remained unmoved, as if he were one with the high cliff.
Romeo picked up a carton of juice from the table, poured himself half a glass, and then went to the ice maker and scooped a large spoonful of ice into the glass. After stirring it, he took a big gulp of the iced juice.
For some reason, he had felt hot just now. After the ice, he felt much better. He sat back down next to Wen En and looked at him with curiosity.
“Very energetic, really?”
“Of course,” Wen En said confidently.
“So you went to military school later, is that right? To burn off your energy,” Romeo said.
“Not entirely,” Wen En said. “Have you seen a movie called ‘Star Trekker’?”
Romeo nodded. This sci-fi movie was very famous. Romeo had seen it on TV as a child. It was about an ordinary protagonist who was accidentally involved in a conspiracy to destroy the universe. In order to save the universe, the protagonist became an interstellar agent to fight the bad guys.
“At that time, I thought the various weapons and equipment in it were so cool. And that day, the army’s human resources department came to our school to recruit. I signed up, and I didn’t expect to pass all the physical tests and be selected,” Wen En said.
“Impressive,” Romeo clapped.
“So, what about you?” Wen En looked at Romeo and said, “Romeo, have you ever thought about joining the army?”
“Me?” Romeo thought for a moment and said honestly, “I admit, I’m not interested in these things.”
“Alright,” Wen En said. Indeed, the army was not an easy place to be, especially when you were just starting out. Every day was filled with exhausting and boring training. Those cool and advanced weapons? A rookie wouldn’t even get to see a single part.
“So, Romeo, what are you interested in?” Wen En leaned on the table, propped up his chin, and looked at Romeo with interest. “Literature, art, movies? Nature and sketching?”
“Uh… I guess so?”
In fact, Romeo was not interested in these things either. Although he was a liberal arts student, he had been in this world for eighteen years, but only he knew in his heart that he was just an adult with an empty heart.
He never knew what he wanted.
But Romeo couldn’t pour out these nihilistic thoughts to Wen En. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Wen En. He just felt that Wen En was a rational person with clear goals. Wen En and he were two completely different people and probably couldn’t give him any good advice.
“That’s great,” Wen En said. “Have you considered becoming an actor?”
“Hmm? Why?” Romeo had never really considered this profession.
“I just think you’re very suitable,” Wen En said. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a face made for the silver screen?”
“???”
What does that mean? Is he complimenting me?
Wen En got Romeo another bottle of juice in a glass bottle. Unlike the orange-red carton of juice he had drunk before, this bottled juice was berry-red, with a sweet and smooth taste, and it was cool from the refrigerator, which made it even better.
Romeo took a small sip. He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he felt that this glass of juice also had a faint taste of rice, but Romeo didn’t dislike the taste.
“No one has ever said that,” Romeo said, swirling the glass. “Why do you think so?”
“Uh…” Wen En had just said it casually to tease this newly adult kid, but with Romeo’s persistent questioning, Wen En didn’t know how to answer. He couldn’t just say what he was thinking, “No reason, I was just being polite and trying to make conversation.”
So he changed the subject:
“By the way, you haven’t presented yet, have you?”
In the era of war and poverty, the average age of presentation for residents of the Interstellar Federation Empire was twenty to twenty-two. But as people’s lives became more peaceful and stable, and material conditions improved, the age of presentation became earlier and earlier. Recent data showed that the average age of presentation for residents of the main city was sixteen to eighteen.
Most people would complete their presentation before the age of seventeen. People who presented at eighteen were very rare. Wen En had presented as a Beta at seventeen, and soon after, he went to military school.
“Ah, yes,” Romeo lowered his head. Most of his friends had already completed their presentation. Only he was still where he was. The school doctor had told him that this was a normal phenomenon, and as long as his physical examination report was fine, there was no need to worry too much.
“That’s good too,” Wen En said. “I also think that sixteen or seventeen is too early for a child to face gender presentation. Although I also presented at seventeen, I can only say that I’m glad I’m a Beta. If I had presented as an Alpha or Omega, there would have been a lot of pressure.”
“Pressure?” This was the first time Romeo had heard such a statement. “Omegas, maybe, but what pressure would an Alpha have?”
Romeo recalled the two most impressive Alphas in his life. One was his biological father, and the other was “the man”—in a way, also Romeo’s legal stepfather.
Although they had only appeared a few times in Romeo’s life, each time they had brought him a devastating blow. Undeniably, they had wanted to destroy him, but in the end, they had failed.
Seeing them look at him with disgust but unable to do anything, Romeo only felt a sense of satisfaction.
But soon, Romeo slipped into another chaotic space. They had disappeared from his life, but had his soul been redeemed? He felt like a spacetime hourglass connected to a black hole. He stood in place, and something invisible but very important slipped through his fingers. No matter how he tried to stop it, it was useless.
Wen En said, “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?” Romeo suddenly grabbed Wen En’s hand. His cheeks were flushed, but his eyes were exceptionally clear, as clear as a lake in the early morning. Romeo said, “Wen En, I don’t understand.”
“Don’t understand what?”
“I don’t know,” Romeo’s voice suddenly became low. “I don’t know what I will present as. I just feel that I’m trapped by something invisible. I can’t see it, I can’t touch it, but I can definitely feel it pressing on my shoulders. Is that the pressure you were talking about? If I present as an Alpha, will I be able to get rid of it, or will it crush me so much that I can’t even stand up straight?”
Wen En didn’t speak. He watched the tears flow from Romeo’s eyes and didn’t know how to respond.
“Maybe you can’t get rid of it?” Wen En finally said. “But, Romeo, I think, even if you can’t get rid of it, it’s okay, as long as… Romeo?” Wen En’s expression changed from surprise to panic.
Romeo’s face was flushed. He clutched his neck and suddenly started gasping for air, his tears still flowing.
The others also ran over. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I’ve seen medical dramas!” Wen Ye said loudly. “He must be choking. Quick, give him the Heimlich maneuver.”
“But he wasn’t eating anything just now!” Wen En said.
“Then will he die?” Wen Yuan’s question had a strange, inappropriate excitement, but her voice was not loud, and the adults did not notice her.
“You said he drank that bottle of juice?” Louis Yang pointed to the berry-red juice and said, “That’s the berry wine that your Aunt Zhen brewed. By the way, the law in the main city says you have to be 20 to drink alcohol.”
“Even if he drank, it shouldn’t be like this, right? Is Romeo allergic to alcohol?” Wen Ye said.
“I’ll go get the emergency allergy medicine,” Wen En said, taking a deep breath.
“It’s also possible that Aunt Zhen used 95-proof vodka to brew the fruit wine. You know, the effect is quite strong,” Louis Yang said.
After the two finished speaking, Wen En came over with the emergency allergy medicine and injected it into Romeo’s arm. The effect was good. Romeo soon stopped gasping for air, but the expressions of the others did not improve.
A child and three adult Betas in the room could clearly feel a new, strange Alpha pheromone scent spreading in the dining room.
Wen Yuan instinctively hid behind Wen Ye. “I’ll take you back to your room, okay?” Wen Ye stroked Wen Yuan’s head, and Wen Yuan nodded.
Watching his wife take their daughter’s hand and leave, Louis Yang said, “I’ll go with you to take him to the hospital.”
“I’m afraid not,” Wen En said. There were also many Omega neighbors around. Taking Romeo out directly would cause trouble for others, and even cause a commotion.
“I’m fine. I’ll probably be fine after a sleep,” Romeo stood up with some difficulty.
Louis Yang looked at Wen En and said, “Should we call an ambulance?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Yang, really. I’m sorry for causing you trouble…”
“I’ll take care of him. The army taught us how to help comrades in an Alpha’s susceptible period,” Wen En said. “He really needs to sleep now.”
“Alright,” Louis Yang had to say to Romeo, “Don’t worry, I’ll be in the living room. If there are any problems, Wen En and I will take you to the hospital immediately.”
