On the other side, half an hour earlier.
Bai Jinqiu had changed into a pair of dark trousers, with his upper body bare, wiping the water from his hair as he walked out of the bathroom. He let out a slow breath, and the moment he opened his eyes, they met a pair of flushed, little cheeks.
“Jin, Jinqiu Ge! Why are you dressed like this!”
The young Omega did not even know where to cast his gaze. After dodging back and forth for a moment, he still could not help sneaking a peek.
Mm… Wow, such gorgeous abdominal muscles… How can this person look so good…
J-Just one more look…
Bai Jinqiu was baffled. “What is wrong? I am male, and we are both Omegas. What is wrong with dressing like this in my own room?”
The youth’s face was beet red as he stammered, “A-Are you really an Omega?”
Why would an Omega have such an amazing figure?!
Bai Jinqiu could not help chuckling.
“Whether I am an Omega or not, you should be able to smell it.” With that, he released a tiny wisp of his pheromones.
The cold, faintly bitter fragrance of cedarwood diffused into the air, leaving the youth genuinely bewildered instead.
This pheromone scent… does not resemble an Omega at all, acting more like an Alpha’s instead? Yet it lacks the overbearing aggressiveness of an Alpha’s pheromones… Mm… It smells so comfortable, so nice.
The soothing pheromones deliberately released by an S-rank Omega effortlessly exerted an invisible influence on the lower-ranked Omega, causing him to relax unconsciously.
“Ge, you are not from the fringe planet, right? Omegas on the fringe planet rarely look like you…” the youth muttered.
“You could tell,” Bai Jinqiu smiled gently. “What am I like, according to you?”
“Just… very cool. The kind of person who makes you feel completely at ease,” the youth said hesitantly.
It was an intangible aura, powerful yet gentle, that involuntarily inspired trust and made people want to draw closer, while simultaneously making them afraid to get too close for fear of giving offense.
Such an aura was simply unseen among the Omegas of the fringe planet.
Moreover, the Omegas on the fringe planet were not this… open.
With that thought, the little Omega glanced up at Bai Jinqiu, and his face flushed red all over again.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, he looked up and asked cautiously,
“Ge’s rank must be very high, right?” He could vaguely sense that Bai Jinqiu’s rank might exceed his own by more than just one or two tiers.
“Um… You should be careful when you go out these days. There might be people around here eyeing high-ranking Omegas.”
“I am a B-minus rank Omega, and… my older brother warned me before boarding the ship that I must stay in the room and not go out for the next couple of days, otherwise I will be targeted…”
Bai Jinqiu’s gaze flickered slightly. The youth’s expression when mentioning his older brother was extremely complex, seemingly carrying a hint of hidden dread.
“If he will not let you go out, how will you handle meals over the next couple of days?” Bai Jinqiu asked.
“…He will bring them to me.” The little Omega pressed his lips together and awkwardly changed the subject.
“Um, why did Jinqiu Ge come to the fringe planet? This place is hardly a good spot. For an Omega to come to a place like this is very dangerous.”
“An accident,” Bai Jinqiu said.
That was hardly a lie; he had indeed accidentally crashed onto the fringe planet, though he remained clueless as to why he had crashed or what had gone wrong with his mission.
The little Omega evidently interpreted the word “accident” as a tragedy, letting his imagination run wild before wearing a sympathetic expression.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the tightly shut door.
The person outside knocked casually twice, attempting to open the door and walk in regardless of whether anyone inside had answered. However, the youth had prudently locked the door after Bai Jinqiu went into the bathroom, so the person outside failed to push it open.
Immediately afterward, the knocking grew noticeably hurried and impatient.
Panic instantly washed over the little Omega’s expression. “Jinqiu Ge, quickly put on your clothes. That might be my older brother outside. He has a terrible temper, and I need to go open the door right now.”
Bai Jinqiu frowned imperceptibly, feeling that something was amiss. Even so, he said nothing, simply pulling a shirt from his storage device, extending his arm to slip it on, smoothing out the collar, and buttoning it up as he walked toward the door.
“Ah! Jinqiu Ge, I can just open it!”
Before the youth could stop him, Bai Jinqiu had already opened the door.
“Why are you taking so long, Fenri? Why was it locked?” The Alpha outside was halfway through his sentence when he realized the figure standing in the doorway was not the slender youth of his memory, prompting him to instantly swallow his complaint, lift his head, and cast an unfriendly glare at Bai Jinqiu.
“Who the hell are you?” He had intended to reprimand him, but upon catching sight of Bai Jinqiu’s face, his voice hitched, and he froze in place entirely.
“Fenri Vino’s roommate,” Bai Jinqiu said with a calm expression. “Regardless of whether you are his brother or someone else, knocking on an Omega’s door like this is hardly appropriate, is it? Anyone else would think you were here to settle a blood feud.”
“Roommate? You are an Omega?” The Alpha’s expression turned somewhat odd, his gaze wandering up and down Bai Jinqiu’s frame, clearly unable to determine his gender.
Bai Jinqiu’s damp, long hair had slightly moistened his shirt, revealing hints of gorgeous muscle lines. His build was tall, slender, and lean, and standing there, he exuded the proud, unyielding composure of a pine tree standing atop a snowy peak, radiating a calm poise that brooked no violation.
Aside from a face of astonishingly striking beauty, he bore almost no resemblance to the soft, fragile Omegas the Alpha was accustomed to on the fringe planet, and he was even slightly taller than him as an Alpha.
“Well, is there a problem?” Bai Jinqiu offered a slight smile, his flawless, handsome visage instantly leaving the Alpha dumbfounded and causing him to miss the deep meaning hidden within the depths of those eyes.
It was a gaze akin to a stare from the deep sea, the black surface of the water appearing calm and unrippled, yet concealing an icy, profound scrutiny.
Yet the Alpha’s mind was solely occupied by the thought that the person before him actually turned out to be an Omega. With looks this breathtaking, just what rank could he possibly possess?
At that thought, the Alpha instantly switched his attitude, pasting on a smile as he said, “No, no, I am not questioning you at all. I was simply worried about my younger brother and grew too anxious. My apologies.”
Bai Jinqiu turned his head to look at Fenri. The youth had remained standing in the same spot with his head slightly lowered and his mouth shut tight, his slender figure looking somewhat cowering.
Bai Jinqiu turned back to the Alpha and asked, “Are you one of the examinees this time?”
“Yes.” The Alpha struggled to suppress his smug expression and introduced himself, “My name is Rip Vino, a C-plus rank Alpha. I should be the highest…”
“If I am not mistaken, it is probably not yet the free-activity period for examinees.” Before he could finish, Bai Jinqiu cut him off.
“You left the formation and exited the examinee activity zone without authorization.” Bai Jinqiu’s voice was warm and calm, yet it inexplicably made Rip feel a prickle of guilty conscience.
“Things will wrap up over there shortly, they are only introducing the facilities on board right now. I just slipped away a little early, it won’t ruin anything,” Rip said, feigning nonchalance.
Bai Jinqiu could roughly guess what was going through this person’s mind.
Leaving a few minutes early allowed him to avoid other Alpha examinees noticing his Omega younger brother when he came to find Fenri.
Such a heavily guarded attitude could be framed as protecting an Omega brother, but viewed from another angle, it was a disguised restriction on the little Omega’s freedom.
Was Fenri truly his brother? Bai Jinqiu held doubts about that.
From the way this Alpha looked at the Omega youth, he perceived only a desire for possession, devoid of any genuine care or affection due a brother. Furthermore, the two did not resemble each other at all.
“Fenri, how are things? Are you getting used to the room?” Rip asked on his own accord and made to walk inside, but Bai Jinqiu planted himself firmly in his path.
Before Rip could express his dissatisfaction, Bai Jinqiu stated, “Mr. Vino, I suggest you return to the examinee zone to assemble right now.”
“Huh?”
“Leaving the examinee zone during non-free-activity periods results in point deductions. Leaving your post without authorization and failing to follow instructions are equally subject to penalties,” Bai Jinqiu said in a flat, indifferent tone. “According to military academy convention, roll call is conducted before and after every assembly. If you are caught leaving early and slipping away without authorization during the very first assembly, showing a complete lack of discipline, you risk having your entrance assessment qualifications revoked.”
“This, how could it be that serious…” Though he argued the point, Rip’s eyes wavered with hesitation.
He evidently had no desire to lose his entrance assessment qualification over such a trivial matter.
“Perhaps it might not be during ordinary times, but I imagine the military academy instructors must have reminded all of you about the importance of military discipline before boarding the ship. Therefore, your actions amount to knowingly violating the rules, making you a prime candidate to be made an example of,” Bai Jinqiu noted.
Hearing that, Rip’s expression shifted completely. He spun around and hurried back the way he came, neglecting even to bid his brother farewell.
Bai Jinqiu closed the door and turned back toward the Omega youth.
With the departure of that Alpha, the youth visibly relaxed quite a bit.
“Um…” Realizing Bai Jinqiu was watching him, Fenri sheepishly averted his gaze and asked in a small voice, “Jinqiu Ge, will my older brother really have his assessment qualifications revoked?”
Bai Jinqiu offered a smile. “No, I was just scaring him. He will lose points, but he won’t have his assessment qualifications directly revoked just for breaking the rules this once. After all, it is not an enormous mistake.”
Fenri widened his eyes, looked up at him, and asked in bewilderment, “Why scare him then?”
“If he goes unpunished the first time he breaks the rules, he will never take them seriously and there will definitely be a next time. If he keeps committing small infractions like this over the next two days, he will inevitably lose his eligibility,” Bai Jinqiu explained.
Naturally, he could not inform the child that he had found his demeanor unnatural and had deliberately frightened that Alpha away.
“Fenri, are you and your older brother biological brothers? The two of you do not seem to look alike,” Bai Jinqiu probed.
The little Omega pressed his lips together and answered hesitantly in a soft voice, “We are biological… no, we are not, we are stepbrothers…”
Bai Jinqiu raised an eyebrow.
That attitude, anyone would spot the problem immediately. This kid was terrible at hiding things.
Consequently, he casually picked a topic to chat with the youth about, focusing primarily on life on the fringe planet and school while fishing for information on the side. It proved to be a safe topic, and the little Omega remained completely oblivious to his intentions.
Ten minutes later, three crisp knocks sounded at the door once more.
Just as Bai Jinqiu started to stand up, the little Omega leaped to his feet and rushed over to open the door, muttering, “Jinqiu Ge, stay seated, I will get it.”
As Fenri pressed his hand against the door, a lingering flutter of tension remained in his heart, fearing that certain someone had returned.
Yet when he took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and pulled the door open, he discovered standing outside was a fresh-faced, refined beta youth.
“Um… Who are you?” The little Omega blinked and asked in a small voice.
Standing outside, Rong Zhiting wore a dazed expression, looking as though the sky were about to fall.
What had he just heard?
He must have misheard.
Had he actually heard the person inside shout Jinqiu Ge?
He simply must have misheard.
How long had it even been? Less than two hours.
He had parted ways with his Brother Bai less than two hours ago. Why on earth was someone else already calling him Jinqiu Ge?