Chapter 14

After Mu Chenxing finished speaking, he paused for a few seconds before glancing sideways at the other man, only to find him lounging lazily in his chair, watching him.

He asked, “…You’re not scared because your job gives you some kind of exemption privileges?”

Pei Yao laughed and affirmed, “You didn’t actually make the call.”

Mu Chenxing glanced at the holo-screen. “How are you so sure?”

Pei Yao replied, “You’re too calm.”

Mu Chenxing: “…”

He huffed, pocketed the holo-screen, and picked up his chopsticks again. “Talk properly. If you sexually harass me again, I’ll call the cops.”

Pei Yao just looked at him with a smile. “How did I sexually harass you? I was just sincerely inviting you to marry me.”

He feigned realization. “‘Bond’ the word makes you shy?”

Mu Chenxing set down his chopsticks.

Pei Yao immediately backpedaled. “Fine, I won’t say it anymore. Eat up.”

Mu Chenxing picked up his chopsticks once more and continued eating.

Pei Yao smiled. “You’ve got quite the temper for a little Omega.”

Then he sighed. “Seems like all Omegas have pretty big tempers.”

Mu Chenxing swallowed his food and said calmly, “If the Omegas you meet have big tempers, maybe you should reflect on yourself.”

Pei Yao was speechless.

Watching Mu Chenxing pick up his chopsticks and dig in again, he touched his own face. “I’m not bad-looking. Why won’t you fall for it?”

Mu Chenxing ignored him and kept eating.

He had to admit, the food in this place was pretty damn good.

They’d ordered so much—if this guy wasn’t eating, he could pack it all up to go.

Pei Yao watched him eat a few bites before speaking again. “The results from that incident last time are out.”

Mu Chenxing looked up at him mid-chew.

Pei Yao leaned forward, propping his chin as he watched him. “Do you know Liao Yishen?”

Mu Chenxing: “?”

He shook his head.

He’d memorized his entire contact list lately, and this name definitely wasn’t on it.

Pei Yao continued, “That group of Alphas are regulars at his bar. He had illegal drugs that incite pheromone surges—or rather, a lot of the drinks at his bar contain stimulating ingredients.”

Mu Chenxing swallowed and said, “So, I was alone at the bar, drank something unsuitable, ran into some drunk Alphas, and that’s what caused the accident—right?”

He kept guessing. “Those Alphas got detained and fined? Liao Yishen’s bar got fined and shut down for rectification?”

A strange glint flashed in Pei Yao’s eyes, but his smile remained. “Exactly.”

Mu Chenxing nodded. “Got it.”

Pei Yao asked, “Anything else you want to know?”

Mu Chenxing replied, “What about the guy who had dinner with me that night?”

Pei Yao said, “From the surveillance footage, you split up after eating. You went to the bar, they went back to school.”

Mu Chenxing nodded and calmly kept eating.

Pei Yao watched him eat several more bites before asking, “You’re not mad?”

Mu Chenxing asked, “Why would I be?”

Pei Yao clarified, “About this investigation result.”

Mu Chenxing glanced at him, bit into an unidentified seafood meatball, and mumbled around it, “When the police came to me, I already knew it’d be this outcome.”

Pei Yao laughed again.

Mu Chenxing eyed him twice more and continued eating.

Pei Yao just grinned and watched him finish the entire meal.

Mu Chenxing set down his chopsticks when done, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, “Thanks for the treat.”

Not a word urging the other to eat.

Pei Yao glanced at the plates on the table. “Satisfied?”

Mu Chenxing replied, “Pretty good. Can I get the leftovers to go?”

“…Sure.”

Mu Chenxing found the service holo-screen on the table, roughly selected a few takeout boxes, and placed the order.

In just a few breaths, a robot delivered them.

Mu Chenxing meticulously packed everything, not wasting a drop of sauce. He filled six large compartmentalized boxes to the brim, clearing the table completely.

Pei Yao watched him bustle about packing, still lounging lazily in his chair.

Once Mu Chenxing finished, he looked at him. “Thanks! I’ll treat you next time.”

Pei Yao raised a brow. “When’s ‘next time’?”

Mu Chenxing kept a straight face. “When I have money. I’ll hit you up then.”

Pei Yao looked at him and smiled without replying.

Mu Chenxing checked the time on his wristband and cheekily added, “Could you trouble yourself to drop me back at school?”

He put on a fake earnest tone. “Of course, if you’re busy, I can take public transport. I get it since I turned you down.”

Pei Yao’s smile didn’t falter as he stood. “Of course. I brought you out; I should take you back.”

Mu Chenxing smiled faintly. “Thanks.”

He reached for the takeout boxes.

Before he touched them, Pei Yao had already grabbed them all.

Mu Chenxing paused, then thanked him.

Pei Yao smiled at him and headed out first.

Back at the flight vehicle, Pei Yao piloted while Mu Chenxing messaged his roommates about the takeout, attaching photos of the boxes.

The roommate group chat exploded instantly—everyone chiming in about the dishes and prices, no disdain for leftovers, just pure excitement for the free feast.

Mu Chenxing’s lips curved.

Though the little Omegas were a bit effeminate, their personalities and character were solid—no pretentiousness.

The short flight back passed in a blink.

The flight vehicle landed again in the school landing pad.

Mu Chenxing grabbed the takeout boxes, ready to get out.

Pei Yao held the doorframe and asked one last time, “I’m pretty well-off. Want to reconsider?”

Mu Chenxing was about to snap back, but his hands were weighed down by the heavy, other-man-paid meal.

He paused, then forced a smile. “To be honest, after that accident, I’ve become Alpha-phobic… Sorry about that.”

Pei Yao smirked. “Alpha-phobic? You chased down those Alphas pretty nimbly.”

Mu Chenxing bullshitted calmly, “That’s the physiological reaction of phobia. Can’t stand Alpha contact—makes me want to swing.”

Pei Yao laughed at his deadpan delivery.

“Fine. See you around,” he said with a chuckle.

Mu Chenxing nodded at him. “Thanks.”

He turned and walked away.

Just as he descended the steps, something occurred to him—he whipped back around.

Pei Yao, still at the door, instantly brightened with a gentle smile. “What’s up?”

Mu Chenxing asked as if oblivious, “You really don’t know any spots in City A good for a brawl? Suburbs are fine too.”

Pei Yao’s smile held. “None. Anywhere public transport reaches has surveillance.”

Mu Chenxing pointed out, “That alley that day had no surveillance.”

Pei Yao replied, “It was broken, not absent.”

Mu Chenxing said, “Oh, broken, huh.” He smiled. “What a coincidence.”

He nodded. “See ya.”

Then he walked off without looking back.

As he neared the landing pad exit, he spotted his three roommates huddled in the shade outside, whispering.

Mu Chenxing was surprised and hurried over in double time. “Xiaoxiao, Xia Xia, Rui Rui!”

The three turned at his voice, faces lighting up with relief as they rushed him.

“Oh my god, you really came back!”

“We were worried sick!”

“That guy didn’t bully you, right?!”

The three roommates ran with three varieties of pigeon-toed gaits, elbows tucked awkwardly.

Mu Chenxing had long learned to tune it out.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked.

“We timed it—if you weren’t back in fifteen minutes, we were going to get a teacher.”

“Riding alone in an Alpha’s flight vehicle—you idiot!”

“Oh my god, real Orchid Fragrance Pavilion bags. Didn’t think you’d be back so soon—”

“Hey!” Tong Xiao glared at Xia Weizhen. “You hoping Xingxing came back super late?”

Xia Weizhen explained, “From here to Orchid Fragrance Pavilion, round trip by flight vehicle is nearly an hour. I thought that guy was scamming Xingxing at first.”

Tong Xiao and Tao Xirui both turned to Mu Chenxing.

“You lied about your schedule?”

“You got out of class early to meet him?”

Mu Chenxing denied, “…No. That Alpha’s flight vehicle got us there in about ten minutes.”

Xia Weizhen asked, “…What kind of flight vehicle is that beast?”

Mu Chenxing replied, “…Dunno. I only snapped interior pics, forgot the exterior. But it’s right there—”

He turned. “Let’s go check it—”

A silver-gray shadow streaked overhead and vanished into the horizon.

“—Too late now.”

The three roommates: “…”

Xia Weizhen mused, “Market flight vehicles top out at 300 to 400 km/h. The thirty-minute estimate was public transit speed… So that thing’s at least 600 km/h—hiss.”

Tong Xiao frowned. “That speed’s at least Phantom or Lightning class, right?”

Xia Weizhen nodded.

The three roommates’ gazes locked onto Mu Chenxing.

Mu Chenxing asked, “Why’re you staring like that?”

Xia Weizhen’s eyes gleamed. “That Alpha’s flight vehicle costs at least ten million. Xingxing, you hooked a gold mine!!”

Tong Xiao said, “You should’ve said he was loaded! We wouldn’t have rushed you back.”

Tao Xirui added, “Not too late now. Keep in touch with him.”

Mu Chenxing: “…”

He grumbled irritably, “Forget it. He doesn’t like me at all.”

“Impossible.”

“Would he take you all the way to Orchid Fragrance Pavilion if he didn’t like you?”

“Would he leave the Alpha pheromones on you if he didn’t?”

Mu Chenxing handed each a takeout bag, shoving them toward the dorm as he said, “He just came to tell me the investigation results and treat me to a meal out of courtesy—he’d already eaten lunch.”

Tong Xiao frowned. “He’d eaten? Then why ask you out? You sure you didn’t misunderstand?”

Tao Xirui said, “No way, right?”

Xia Weizhen chimed in, “Just these takeouts cost over a thousand. I’d love that kind of ‘courtesy’ too.”

Mu Chenxing: “…You hopeless romantics—who was just yelling at me for going alone with an Alpha?”

The three looked guilty.

Mu Chenxing continued, “He was probably here to explain the incident to the school, checked on me along the way, got dazzled by my charm, and tried hitting on me on impulse.”

He even lectured his roommates in turn. “He’s successful, good-looking—why would he go for us? Just ’cause we’re Omegas? Any other Omega crossing his path gets the same. Rich Alphas are players—keep your eyes open.”

The three roommates: “…”

Tong Xiao asked, “What dramas you been watching lately?”

Xia Weizhen teased, “Turns out the one chasing Shen Mingtao wasn’t us.”

Tao Xirui piled on, “Yeah, you’re the hopeless romantic in our dorm.”

Mu Chenxing: “…”

He finally tasted what it felt like to be at a loss for words.

…

That night, the four of them used the dorm building’s communal heaters to warm the food, paired with low-alcohol drinks from the school gate, and enjoyed a merry feast.

Mu Chenxing finally added Xu Zhicheng’s contact and asked about brawl spots.

Xu Zhicheng was speechless, confirmed the question multiple times, said he’d ask around, then went silent.

Mu Chenxing wasn’t in a rush—even Lin Chuan’s messages were fine, and he’d reply occasionally.

His one-hour daily workouts paused a few days before the school festival—the gymnasium’s emptier venues got requisitioned, including his Omega training room.

Mu Chenxing got it—empty venues were free real estate.

The other gyms were packed too. Not only did his pheromones annoy people, he hated crowds.

He ditched the gymnasium and switched to campus jogging.

The school was huge, full of greenbelts and mini-parks, plus tons of surveillance.

Mu Chenxing had zero safety worries. After meals, he’d rest half an hour then run.

A loop through the dorms and mini-park took exactly an hour.

In this interstellar era with abundant power, his route was quiet but well-lit. Running alone under lights and moonlight on the paths was serene.

The first day, Tong Xiao and the others fretted and panted alongside for a lap. Day two, they bailed.

Mu Chenxing enjoyed it solo, running steadily for days.

On the fifth day, he sensed something off.

A few extra people—some Omegas.

Had they finally realized exercise mattered and joined for a run?

Mu Chenxing didn’t get it.

He kept his pace steady along the usual route, unfazed.

Those Omegas trailed behind, panting—pigeon-toed or elbows tucked awkwardly, shrieking now and then at critters leaping from roadside grass.

Another scream rang out, followed by a heavy thud.

Mu Chenxing: “…”

He wiped the sweat from his brow, stopped in his tracks, and turned back toward them.

The Omegas hadn’t noticed him yet. They huddled together, freaking out over something.

“Ahh—it’s jumped on you!”

“Kill it quick, ahhh—”

“Ah, ah, it’s still jumping! I don’t dare!”

“Wah, what do we do?”

Mu Chenxing shoved an arm between them and yanked one of the whimpering Omegas aside. He swiftly captured the culprit.

“…It’s just a Spotted Brown Mantis,” he said, dangling the insect—no bigger than a baby’s fist—in front of them. He sighed helplessly. “Harmless, non-venomous, doesn’t bite. It’s a beneficial bug. You can even eat it.”

He’d just happened to review it in an elementary biology textbook the other day.

“It’s only flapping at you because one of you is wearing yellow. It likes yellow.”

The Omegas: “…”

Some sat down, others braced their hands on their knees. They all let out a collective sigh of relief.

Mu Chenxing tossed the Spotted Brown Mantis into the nearby greenery and turned to leave.

“Wait!”

“Mu Chenxing!”

He paused and glanced back. “You know me?”

The Omega in yellow still had red eyes. He ventured cautiously, “Yeah, there’s photos of you on the Campus Network.”

Mu Chenxing: “…”

This Campus Network… I’ll have to ask Tong Xiao and the others about it when I get back.

OO what? What the heck?