“Zhiting?”
When Bai Jinqiu saw Rong Zhiting, he inexplicably felt a bit guilty.
“Are you finished over there?”
“Yes, finished.” Rong Zhiting looked at him expressionlessly. “Brother, do you not plan to introduce this person?”
“Brother Jinqiu, who is this?” The young Omega beside them added fuel to the fire completely oblivious to the situation.
Rong Zhiting smiled. “Brother Jinqiu…”
Bai Jinqiu: “…” He inexplicably felt a psychological pressure even greater than the imminent exposure of his undercover mission identity.
“This is Fenri Vino, my roommate sharing the same room. Fenri, this is my… younger brother.” At the final two words, he paused unnaturally.
He mostly felt this identity introduction was a bit strange.
Why did it feel so much like Fenri’s introduction of his older brother?
Rong Zhiting rolled his eyes internally and wasn’t particularly satisfied with this introduction, but at this stage, he couldn’t demand that his older brother call him his lover or boyfriend, so he silently sighed.
Fine, fine. He wouldn’t argue with someone who had no memory.
He extended a hand toward Fenri and smiled. “Hello, my name is Rong Zhiting.”
The young Omega seemed rarely to shake hands with people; he appeared somewhat flustered by the gesture, and finally shook hands with him cautiously, stammering, “H-hello, I am Fenri Vino.”
“May I come in?” Rong Zhiting asked Fenri.
“Ah, of course! Please come in!” The teenager hurriedly stepped aside to make way.
“Thank you.” Rong Zhiting entered, looked around the room, and found the conditions much better than their dormitory, complete with an independent bathroom!
Rong Zhiting felt deeply envious, thinking that he would ask to negotiate with them later to see if he could borrow their bathroom for a shower.
Having gone several days without a shower, he felt utterly miserable.
After chatting briefly with Bai Jinqiu and Fenri, he asked if he could borrow the bathroom.
Fenri hesitated a bit, but ultimately agreed. This was mainly because Rong Zhiting was a Beta and looked harmless.
Omegas on the fringe star were mostly conservative. If Rong Zhiting were an Alpha, or a relatively tall and sturdy Beta, Fenri would likely have tried every means to refuse.
Of course, if Rong Zhiting had already manifested as an Alpha, he wouldn’t have brought up the request in the first place.
An ordinary Omega without special training would inevitably shed a small amount of pheromones mixed with sweat while bathing. For an Alpha to rashly borrow an Omega’s bathroom would be akin to harassment.
Rong Zhiting walked into the bathroom, and just as he was about to close the door, Bai Jinqiu suddenly pressed a hand against the doorframe.
“Do you know how to use the clothing drying cabinet later? Shall I teach you?”
Rong Zhiting was stunned. Just as he was about to say no, Bai Jinqiu slightly tilted his head to gesture outside. Rong Zhiting immediately understood, said “Alright” with a nod, let him in, and closed the door.
“Brother Bai, what is wrong?” he asked in a breathy whisper.
“After you return to the candidate rest area, please keep an eye out for a C-rank Alpha named Liepu Vino.” Bai Jinqiu leaned down close to his ear, also speaking in a quiet whisper.
“That Alpha is Fenri Vino’s nominal older brother, but they probably share no blood ties, and his attitude toward his younger brother is problematic. The kid might be in trouble.”
Rong Zhiting’s ears burned from Bai Jinqiu’s proximity, but upon hearing the content of his words, he quickly snapped back to attention.
Liepu Vino… The name sounded somewhat familiar to him.
He nodded and asked, “What specifically is wrong with that Alpha?”
Bai Jinqiu thought for a moment and said, “He is suspected of confining and controlling an Omega.”
Hearing this, Rong Zhiting widened his eyes.
Good thing he asked for clarification; he remembered where he had heard the name Liepu Vino!
During his studies at the Seventy-third Military Academy in his previous life, the combat department once handled a vicious incident where an Alpha trainee had long subjected an underage Omega to coercion and confinement, nearly causing the Omega’s death during an off-campus drill. He didn’t know the detailed process of the event, but the name of that Alpha was Liepu Vino.
Because of the severe nature of the incident, it had drawn public attention at the time. To demonstrate its seriousness, the military academy issued a school-wide notification, subjected all Alpha trainees to two weeks of character education and legal training, and required everyone to write a summary reflection of no less than two thousand words.
Rong Zhiting had already manifested by that time and was dragged into the training as well, which was why he still retained the memory.
The young Omega named Fenri Vino looked indeed underage; he was very likely the victim.
“Brother Bai, I think I know what is going on,” Rong Zhiting whispered.
“On the fringe star, this kind of thing is actually quite common, but no one ever meddles, so many Alphas view this behavior as a matter of course.”
Bai Jinqiu frowned. “You mean…”
Rong Zhiting thought for a moment and decided to start from the beginning. “Brother, you probably do not know. On the fringe star, the ratio of Alphas to Omegas is extremely unbalanced. According to some rough statistics, it is about one thousand to one.”
Bai Jinqiu narrowed his eyes. Such a stark disparity had only appeared during the late White Tower era in Federation history.
Rong Zhiting raised his head to look into his eyes and said, “Alphas naturally yearn to bond with Omegas, but that is far too difficult on the fringe star. Therefore, capable Alphas will adopt newly manifested Omegas from orphanages or impoverished families, and mark their glands while they are still underage.”
“With current medical technology, glandular marks can be washed away, but an underage Omega’s glands are not fully developed. Injecting Alpha pheromones has a very high probability of causing them to develop pheromone dependency syndrome. Once this symptom appears, treatment is extremely troublesome, leaving the Omega with no way to leave the Alpha who marked them.”
“When they come of age, the Alphas will officially bond with them. That is still the better outcome; some scumbags will even force them into final mating while the Omegas are still underage, completely disregarding the Omega’s suffering.”
“This behavior is strictly prohibited by federal law and severely violates human rights laws and Omega protection laws,” Bai Jinqiu said in a deep voice, his gaze chillingly cold.
“Yes, but they do not care. Because no one on the fringe star cares.” Rong Zhiting gave a bitter smile. “When I was in the orphanage, I saw it happen many times. Children who manifested as Omegas were adopted away very quickly.”
“For them, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Given the environment of the fringe star, it is extremely difficult for physically frail Omegas to survive alone. Being adopted means they do not have to worry about food and clothing. If they happen to meet a responsible Alpha, they might even live quite well. In the orphanage, many people thought this way.”
“Of course, if they lack luck and run into a terrible Alpha, it is a lifelong disaster.”
Moreover, Alphas who would possess underage Omegas in such a manner could never be expected to have any sense of moral character. Rong Zhiting didn’t voice this last sentence, but Bai Jinqiu could easily deduce it.
Hearing this, Bai Jinqiu wore a frosty expression and sank into a prolonged silence.
Seeing his expression, Rong Zhiting stepped forward, tugged gently on his sleeve, and whispered in his ear:
“Brother, if you want to confirm it, you can find an opportunity to check the back of the little Omega’s neck for bite marks. If there are any, then ten to one, it is the situation I described.”
Bai Jinqiu snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at Rong Zhiting.
The two of them were speaking in whispers and standing very close. As he lowered his head, he caught sight of the clean, fair nape of Rong Zhiting’s neck partially hidden behind his strands of hair.
Bai Jinqiu’s throat tightened inexplicably, and he couldn’t help feeling secretly grateful that the person before him hadn’t manifested as an Omega during his time at the orphanage. Otherwise, given his appearance, who knows how many twisted Alphas he would have attracted.
An underage Rong Zhiting was probably the kind of child who looked clean and cute, with a quiet and obedient personality.
Such children were the most easily targeted by perverts.
Rong Zhiting shrank back slightly under his gaze and blinked. “Brother, why are you looking at me like that? It is rather scary.”
Bai Jinqiu withdrew his gaze and smiled. “Nothing.”
He was merely thinking that he would have to keep a closer eye on this person in the future.
It was rare to have such a kid who looked good, possessed a good personality, and had high talent acknowledge him as an older brother; he couldn’t possibly let the kid get bullied by others.
“You go take your shower first. I will go out and confirm the situation,” Bai Jinqiu said, reaching out to stroke Rong Zhiting’s hair. His slender fingers slid down through the hair to the back of the neck, naturally and lightly pinching Rong Zhiting’s nape.
Rong Zhiting shivered at the pinch, a flush instantly spreading across his face.
What was Brother Bai doing? Teasing an unmanifested Beta!
He should be thankful he hadn’t manifested yet and lacked glands on the back of his neck. Otherwise, being pinched so unceremoniously by his older brother, he feared his legs would have turned to jelly.
Outside the bathroom, the young Omega looked at the tightly closed bathroom door with a deeply complex expression.
Those two had been inside for a long time; why was there no sign of them coming out at all?
Was the drying cabinet really that difficult to use?
Speaking of which, Brother Jinqiu and Brother Rong Zhiting didn’t look alike at all. Were they really brothers? Could they be in that kind of relationship, just like him and his older brother?
Were they inside the bathroom doing that kind of thing?
The young Omega’s face turned completely red from his own imagination, but very soon, he felt something was amiss.
Wait. Brother Rong Zhiting didn’t look like the type who could overpower Brother Jinqiu, and Brother Jinqiu wasn’t an underage Omega who needed to rely on an Alpha to survive either.
So what on earth was their relationship?
Distant relatives? Unrelated foster brothers? Or perhaps lovers?
While the teenager was privately letting his imagination run wild, Bai Jinqiu pushed open the door and walked out.
The young Omega immediately looked over and feigned casual observation.
Hmm. Properly clothed and normal-looking. It seemed they weren’t doing anything heart-pounding inside. He had overthought it.
A strange sense of disappointment welled up in the teenager’s heart.
If these two older brothers really were lovers, that would be wonderful. They looked like they had a great bond and stood together so harmoniously, making them prime shipping material. Cough, cough.
However, an Omega of such high tier as Brother Jinqiu probably wouldn’t end up with a Beta.
What kind of Alpha would even be worthy of an Omega like Brother Jinqiu? He would have to be an absolute apex Alpha, at least S-rank!
“What are you thinking about, so spaced out?” Bai Jinqiu walked up to the young Omega and gently rapped his knuckles against his forehead.
The teenager instantly snapped back to reality, his face turning red as he hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, I was not thinking about anything!” He definitely wasn’t thinking about what kind of Alpha could overpower Brother Jinqiu!
Inside the bathroom, Rong Zhiting suddenly sneezed.
Who was thinking about him again? Or cursing him?