In the end, Borsier failed to uncover any significant special information regarding Elan; the reason provided was still insufficient database authorization.
There was, however, one minor matter.
Douglas raised an eyebrow as he looked at the information, then immediately opened Elan’s chat box.
Douglas: I heard you bribed my access control operator?
Douglas: No special treatment allowed, not even if you are my partner.
Douglas: Don’t bring that kind of atmosphere into the school.
Douglas: Starting tomorrow, go to the school’s food supply center to dine. I will have the supervisory staff monitor you.
Elan’s brow twitched. He quickly shut down his brain-computer interface, feeling a sense of bad luck just by looking at it. He wondered if Douglas had been a principal for too long and had gradually adapted; he now spoke with the aura of a discipline director.
Having been away from school for three days, he walked into the food supply center carrying his lunch box as if resigning himself to fate. Every step was hesitant, and he was prepared to return to the dormitory to drink nutritional supplements at any moment.
However, Professor Kazir had told him to consume fresh food to supplement protein and fiber so that his body could recover faster and better cooperate with the research on the treatment plan.
He gritted his teeth and went in.
A male Alpha wearing a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, with an ID card hanging around his neck, had his eyes glued to Elan from the moment he entered. No matter where Elan walked, the man’s gaze followed.
Bearing that piercing, awl-like scrutiny, Elan finished selecting his meal and took his lunch box from the robot. He then heard a voice coming from the man in the white shirt—deliberately suppressed, yet still clearly audible.
“Report to the Principal: The target has arrived at the destination. The menu the target is consuming today consists of Sweet and Sour Fish, Borscht, Apple Pie, and Coffee.”
“By the way, the coffee has no sugar, only milk.”
The man in the white shirt looked vigilant, reporting his work like a secret agent. He thought he was acting naturally, like a plainclothes officer, but in reality, he was so obvious that every passing student glanced his way.
Elan: “…”
Cheng Nian stood aside holding his own food. His gaze swept over the neurotic supervisor, and he swallowed hard. Finally, he gathered his courage and walked toward Elan. “Elan, do you want to join us?”
He pointed not far away, where a group of non-Capital Star people with unfamiliar faces were sitting. Most were dressed simply, and they surrounded An He, looking over here with curiosity.
Elan did not like such occasions. He shook his head in refusal. Seeing Cheng Nian’s slightly disappointed but understanding gaze, he walked in another direction.
He hadn’t taken two steps when, out of the corner of his eye, a purple object came flying toward him. Elan instantly became alert, his body reflexively flashing to the side. The hard object struck his leather boot.
The item bounced off the boot and landed at his feet with a sense of familiarity. Elan frowned and looked down; it took only two seconds for him to recognize it as an amethyst from his own formal attire.
He looked up coldly toward the direction the amethyst had come from.
Ivan was sitting across from him, surrounded by a group of Alphas. He looked at Elan with a provocative smile: “Pick it up.”
Elan pursed his lips and set down his lunch box. He crossed his arms and scanned Ivan from head to toe. His calm gaze seemed to mock the childishness of Ivan’s behavior. “Are you talking to me?”
Before Ivan could answer, a figure rushed to Elan’s side, bowing and apologizing at the same time.
“I’m sorry, classmate! I accidentally hit you. I wasn’t asking you to pick it up, it was me…”
The tall, thin Omega with semi-long hair was wearing an Arts Department uniform. His face was deathly pale. His body trembled uncontrollably. After apologizing to Elan, he immediately crouched down, carefully picked up the amethyst, wiped it with a corner of his uniform, and then flew back toward Ivan as if something terrible would happen if he were a second late.
The moment the person looked up, Elan understood the reason for Ivan’s behavior.
This person looked somewhat like him—the shape of the eyes, the curve of the lips.
These tiny details of similarity were impossible to notice without looking closely; only someone like Ivan, who spent all his time competing with him, would notice.
Over there, the semi-long-haired Omega respectfully handed the amethyst to Ivan. Ivan didn’t even glance at it. He casually tossed the amethyst to an Alpha walking beside him and said indifferently, “It’s yours.”
The semi-long-haired Omega opened his mouth upon hearing this. Panic flashed in his eyes, and he clenched his hands helplessly: “Didn’t we agree that if I picked it up, it would be mine?”
Ivan smiled innocently, his round eyes full of guilelessness. He tilted his head toward Elan’s direction: “But you apologized to that person. I hate that person the most, so I’m unhappy and don’t want to give it to you anymore.”
The semi-long-haired Omega hesitated to speak. Seeing his expression, the people around burst into laughter.
“What is this? Can someone do such things just for an amethyst?”
“Absolutely no dignity. As expected of someone from a dilapidated planet; they’ll do anything for money!”
“Hey, don’t say that. After all, they are very poor there. What if there are difficulties they can’t speak of? Hahahahaha.”
Many students in the food supply center watched this farce. There was some commotion at Cheng Nian’s table. A burly Alpha stood up angrily, his face full of resentment: “This is sick! Isn’t this intentional bullying? Just because someone isn’t a Capital Star local, should they be bullied like this?!”
Just as he was about to rush forward, he was pressed down by An He beside him: “Wait! Going over like this won’t help at all! Wait, let’s see. We can’t go head-to-head with these people.”
The people around the burly Alpha also persuaded him.
“The President is right. Calm down, Brother Jiang.”
“Listen to Brother An He first; he knows more than we do,” Cheng Nian said, patting Brother Jiang’s back.
Elan only took one glance at the movement on Cheng Nian’s side before slamming his lunch box heavily onto the table. He was now certain that Ivan was not targeting that Omega, but was targeting him.
This matter started because of him; he had to resolve it.
Elan’s eyes were tinged with cold fury as he walked toward Ivan.
Ivan met his gaze, his smile bright and proud. He was clearly trying to provoke him, waiting for him to lash out—
“What are you all doing?!”
A voice came from the stairs. Elan stopped in his tracks and looked up toward the second floor.
Mo Ting gripped the stair railing tightly, his eyes filled with a surge of anger. He rushed down the stairs, grabbed the semi-long-haired Omega’s arm, pulled him behind his back, and questioned: “How did he offend you? Why do you have to mock him like this? Aren’t you afraid the Principal will find out?”
An Alpha beside Ivan let out a sneer: “We weren’t the ones mocking him. He was the one who was greedy and wanted that amethyst. He made an agreement with Ivan. What does that have to do with us?”
“Yeah, he did it willingly. If you don’t believe it, ask him yourself.”
Mo Ting didn’t listen to them at all. He turned to look into the semi-long-haired Omega’s eyes: “Is what they said true?”
The semi-long-haired Omega’s eyes flickered for a moment before he finally said submissively: “Yes… I was willing.”
The Alpha who had spoken before became even more proud, and his voice grew louder: “See, he admitted it himself. This doesn’t count as bullying or harassment. The Principal won’t care.”
“If the Principal won’t care, I will,” Mo Ting said, looking at them with a cold sneer. “If you bully him again in the future, beware of my retaliation.”
“Let’s go!”
Mo Ting turned and pulled the semi-long-haired Omega away without a word. The Omega looked panicked; his face didn’t show the relief of being rescued, but rather worry and hesitation about something. He kept looking back, but Mo Ting’s grip was incredibly strong, so he could only allow himself to be pulled away.
Elan watched the figures of the two leaving, his expression dark and unreadable. He withdrew his step and sat down again.
It seemed Ivan was looking over again, his expression distorted and his eyes flashing with anger. Elan only gave a sideways glance and continued eating quietly under the gaze that had followed him since childhood.
…
Coming out of the food supply center, Ivan was blocked against a wall by a tall figure. He looked at the familiar newcomer and said, “Is something the matter?”
“I saw what happened just now.” Adam was taller than him and was currently staring down at him with a sense of pressure.
Hearing this, Ivan blinked and warned him in his most innocent tone: “So? Are you going to go and complain to my mother? I advise you not to mind other people’s business; after all, it won’t do you any good.”
“Why would I mind other people’s business?” Adam’s tone became relaxed, not sounding as though he intended to threaten Ivan. “I just wanted to ask: what is that Omega’s name?”
Ivan’s expression froze for a second. Upon seeing the excitement in Adam’s eyes, he took a deep breath and suddenly realized something. He said incredulously:
“You really are… you like Elan that much? What exactly do you like about him? You won’t even let go of an inferior person who only looks a little bit like him?”
Adam did not answer his string of questions, but simply said shortly: “That’s none of your business. Tell me that Omega’s name.”
Hearing him speak to him like that, Ivan’s face turned green. He didn’t know what kind of charm Elan had—everyone he knew had their attention on Elan, while he was forever behind Elan, overshadowed by him.
“His name is Hess. He’s the roommate the school assigned to me. I don’t know how the school arranged it, actually making us live with those inferior people… He’s from Planet XY and his family is very poor, so he has a special obsession with money. As long as you give him money, he’ll do anything.” Ivan’s expression changed several times before he finally explained with a frown, then asked, “What are you going to do? He only looks a bit like Elan. Are you that desperate?”
Adam smiled. “It wouldn’t be bad to get him for a bit of fun. I expect that in a few days, you’ll have a different roommate.”
Ivan shrugged. “Whatever, I don’t care anyway. But aren’t you afraid of being discovered by Douglas? He’s the same kind as those paupers. If you do this and get caught, you’ll be dealt with very harshly… He is a General, after all, and I heard he’s taking over the Capital Military District soon.”
“It’s fine. He’s so busy; why would he care about something like a student changing dormitories?” When Adam heard Douglas’s name, a flash of ferocity crossed his face, but it was quickly retracted, returning to his usual appearance.