“Attention please. There are only 6 minutes and 21 seconds remaining before the principal’s address in the auditorium. Tardiness will result in the following penalties…”
“Atten—”
“Shut up, you!”
At dusk, Chi Yueshan sprinted down Orchid Avenue of Guyun Academy, clutching a stack of books she had just borrowed from the library.
Her battered light-brain watch, even after being forcibly muted, still managed to emit an astonishingly loud alarm.
Chi Yueshan opened the navigation on the floating screen before her, slightly regretting not spending fifty Star Coins on a monthly pass for the campus maglev bikes.
Then again, the number of students in the entire academy who had a bike pass could be counted on one hand.
Guyun Academy only recruited a total of five students from the Lower World each year. To them, fifty Star Coins was enough for a month’s worth of food; it would be strange if they actually bought a pass.
In her mind, Chi Yueshan cursed the principal, who had only remembered to give a welcome address a week after school had started, hundreds of times.
As someone who struggled with Omega courses, if she lost any more academic credits, she might very well be expelled in her first semester.
Just the thought of that scene gave Chi Yueshan a headache. She had gone through hell and high water, cramming for exams, just to get in. She really didn’t want all that effort to go to waste.
The floating blue interface of her light-brain system continued to remind her of the time.
But Chi Yueshan paused for a moment, panting like a half-dead dog.
Many students were passing by. It was just after the afternoon general studies classes had ended, and amidst the crowd, Chi Yueshan stood out like a sore thumb.
Her hair was frizzy and unruly. Due to chronic malnutrition, its light brown color had faded to yellow, and the ends were split.
Not to mention her glasses, one arm of which was broken and haphazardly wrapped with tape. Her heavy bangs concealed her eyebrows and half of one eye. Even in a brand-new school robe, she looked utterly shabby.
“Excuse me, sorry! Coming through, coming through!”
Chi Yueshan clutched her books, a bulging satchel slung over her shoulder. At a glance, the head of an electric blade could be seen sticking out.
She looked just like someone returning from a construction site.
The group of noble scions grumbled a few complaints after she brushed past them.
Chi Yueshan paid them no mind, quickening her pace through Metasequoia Park. Finally, she could see the white castle in the distance, its rooftop gems glittering in the twilight.
The alarm from her light-brain grew more and more frequent until it finally broke through its restrictions, letting out a wail as if mourning a parent’s death—
“Only 1 minute and 3 seconds left until the principal’s address in the auditorium!!”
The sound was like a pig being slaughtered. Chi Yueshan deeply regretted whatever possessed her to set such a voice tone.
If she didn’t know the castle ahead was full of people, she would have felt as if she were in a graveyard.
The building was exceptionally beautiful. After swiping her card to enter, Chi Yueshan discovered that no one inside was in a hurry at all.
Right, these young masters and misses would never be expelled.
In the end, the rules only applied to a lower-class commoner like her.
The five slots each year were just a pretext by the Federation government to appease the masses. The ones who made the rules could still revoke her eligibility.
Chi Yueshan pushed up her glasses and secured the books that were about to fall. Her light-brain showed that a classmate from her year, a female Omega named Xuan Ping, had saved a seat for her.
In Section C, Row 34.
Section A had always been reserved for the students with the most distinguished status in their year.
Just as Chi Yueshan sat down, she heard the sound of the main doors closing.
The academy’s main AI announced in a gentle voice: 【All first-year students who did not attend this address will have fifteen academic credits deducted.】
Chi Yueshan breathed a sigh of relief.
Xuan Ping sat beside her. Like Chi Yueshan, she came from the Lower World, though they were from different districts.
Chi Yueshan was from the slums, while Xuan Ping came from an ordinary teacher’s family.
The other three specially admitted students from the Lower World in their year came from much better backgrounds than the two of them, so naturally, they didn’t want to associate with them.
Xuan Ping said, “That was close. You almost had your credits deducted.”
Chi Yueshan smiled at her. Her hair looked like a botched wolf cut, covering more than half of her face.
“Thank you.”
Xuan Ping waved her hand. Her long hair fell to her shoulders, and she wore a pretty dress that her parents had bought for her, stretching their finances to the limit.
Unfortunately, the threads on the cuffs of the puff sleeves were already fraying.
What kind of quality fabric could one buy in the Lower World?
Chi Yueshan’s gaze swept over it without a second thought.
Xuan Ping whispered, “I heard some upperclassmen will be giving speeches this time. The senior you like, Wen Xinghuo, is on the list of invitees.”
Chi Yueshan’s head shot up. “Really? Where is she?”
Her excitement was palpable, drawing a sneer from the Omega sitting next to her.
Chi Yueshan didn’t know her and paid no mind, but Xuan Ping grew flustered, nervously rubbing the embroidered name on her chest.
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, tinged with shyness and timidity.
Only a week into the school year, Xuan Ping’s initial excitement about attending Guyun Academy had completely vanished, replaced by an inferiority complex born from constant comparison.
Yet the Omega from the slums beside her seemed completely unfazed.
She wasn’t even afraid of others knowing she had a crush on Wen Xinghuo.
Xuan Ping said, “We just have to wait for the principal to finish his speech.”
Chi Yueshan replied with a listless “Oh.”
The auditorium seats were divided into three sections: A, B, and C.
Royalty sat in Section A, nobility in Section B. To avoid complaints, there was no Section D for specially admitted students this time; they were mixed in with some of the nouveau riche in Section C.
Everyone’s secondary gender had already presented by enrollment. The academy provided pheromone-suppressing patches 24/7, and there were emergency supplies in public areas, so there was no fear of mixed seating or mixed classes.
While the principal was speaking, Chi Yueshan organized the books she had borrowed.
They were all old relics from the library—materials about the Zerg and intelligence on other planetary races in the galaxy.
It was all the public text her light-brain could find, but many of the digitized versions weren’t as complete as the physical books.
Everyone in attendance was bored. Some had already taken out their light-brains to play online games.
Xuan Ping browsed the student forum for a while, then glanced at Chi Yueshan out of the corner of her eye and saw she was reading about mecha theory.
This yellow-haired Omega gave off the impression of being a spirited but slovenly person.
To this day, Xuan Ping still didn’t know what Chi Yueshan actually looked like. After all, Chi Yueshan’s hair was a mess, and her black-framed glasses looked like a protective mask, making one wonder if her nose had been flattened underneath.
For nearly a century, Omegas on this planet were no longer an endangered species.
Even though Omegas were allowed to attend school, the ones who piloted mecha were still Alphas and some Betas with high spiritual power.
Even after being admitted to Guyun Academy, known as the number one institution in the Federation Empire, Omegas were still merely accessories for Alphas.
Even royal and noble Omegas couldn’t pilot mecha; at best, they were granted special permission to study mecha theory.
Besides, those high-born Omegas were always frail and delicate, only studying literature, history, and music at the academy—courses that would prepare them to continue being the wives of Alphas.
Xuan Ping’s parents only hoped she could find a suitable Alpha to marry at Guyun Academy.
After all, in the Lower World, Omegas were as rare as Alphas. Even with a destined AO match, she could only marry an ordinary Alpha.
Watching Chi Yueshan’s engrossed expression, Xuan Ping found this Omega increasingly strange.
She waved a hand in front of Chi Yueshan’s eyes.
Chi Yueshan instinctively pushed up her glasses and looked up. “What is it, what is it? Has my Wifey Xinghuo arrived?”
Her way of addressing Wen Xinghuo made even the Omega next to them, who was playing a matching game on their light-brain, twitch their lips.
Xuan Ping: “…”
She could even see sparks in the eyes hidden behind those glasses.
Was this the magic of love at first sight?
On the first day of school, many people had witnessed the second-year Alpha senior, Wen Xinghuo, save Chi Yueshan, who had nearly been bitten by an electronic dog.
The perverted expression on Chi Yueshan’s face as she clung to Wen Xinghuo, taking advantage of the situation, was still at the top of the hot topics on the student forum.
【Exposing the Freshman Who Sexually Harassed Senior Wen Xinghuo on the First Day of School】
The accompanying pictures were unbearable to look at, all showing Chi Yueshan hugging, rubbing against, and drooling over Wen Xinghuo’s muscles.
The comments below were a flood of questions asking if this Omega was in heat.
Chi Yueshan glanced at the stage. Just as she was about to lower her head in disappointment and return to her book, the host said—
“Next, let us welcome the second-year…”
Chi Yueshan suddenly snapped her book shut and sat up straight, making the row of people behind her tense up as well.
“—Senior Xi Zhoumeng! Let’s give her a warm welcome!”
The atmosphere instantly ignited, which in Chi Yueshan’s eyes looked like a cesspool had just exploded. She curled her lip, taking in the lecherous expressions of those in the front rows.
What kind of taste is that?
What was so great about that drama queen Omega?
The woman who stood up in Section B was taller than the average Omega, dressed in a snow-white long gown. She had a slender waist, long legs, and a perky rear, and the hem of her dress shimmered with a flowing light. Not to mention, the tube top was connected to a standing collar, yet the chest area was provocatively cut out.
It was as if she was wearing a bustier, yet also as if she wasn’t. The massive LED screens on both sides happened to be zooming in on her.
Anyone who looked up would have the same thought.
So pale, so big.
“Senior Xi is such a stunner. I could die without regrets if I could marry an Omega like her.”
“In your dreams. An Alpha like us would be lucky to marry an Omega from Section C. Omegas from Section B usually marry into the royal family or someone with a military rank.”
“But even if you could marry Senior Xi, you probably couldn’t afford to support her. I heard a single thread on her dress costs hundreds of millions of Star Coins, and the essential oils she bathes with are refined from pollen collected on specific planets…”
Chi Yueshan: A waste of resources. People like her should be sent to a reality show for a personality makeover.
“No wonder she smells so fragrant. If she even glanced at me once in this lifetime, I could die without regrets.”
Chi Yueshan: Fragrant my ass! Extreme fragrance is just a stench!
“Last time I went to the Omega common room to find my sister, she scolded me. I was so happy.”
Chi Yueshan: Are you sick in the head? Getting scolded and still looking so intoxicated.
“Wen Xinghuo sure is lucky. An illegitimate daughter from a minor noble family, so plain-looking, and yet she has such a beautiful childhood friend. I’m so envious…”
Chi Yueshan’s eyes were about to shoot fire. She shot to her feet.
Xuan Ping jumped in fright. “What are you doing…?”
Her voice trembled as she reached out to pull Chi Yueshan back.
Chi Yueshan tossed her books into Xuan Ping’s arms and reached out, yanking a handful of hair from the male Alpha who had called Wen Xinghuo plain.
“Fuck! Who grabbed my ponytail?!”
Ever since humanity evolved six secondary genders, Alphas had always been in the top tier when it came to appearance.
But where there are two Alphas, there will be comparison, not to mention from the perspective of Chi Yueshan, an extreme admirer of muscular female Alphas.
She thought this Alpha was ugly as sin, with eyes less handsome than a weasel’s.
“I grabbed your ponytail. If you’ve got the guts, then hit me!”
Chi Yueshan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to draw the attention of everyone around them.
Xi Zhoumeng, who had just offered a few words of encouragement, felt her smile freeze. She looked toward the center of the commotion ahead and saw an arrogant, yellow-haired Omega with a wolf cut.
It was the cannon fodder supporting female character who was destined to suffer misfortune alongside her.
All the troublemaking tendencies of a main character, but none of the fate.
On stage, Xi Zhoumeng frowned. Her smiling eyes, like those from a painting, seemed to be veiled by a shadow, like a flawless piece of white jade tainted by a speck of dust.
The people in the front rows all turned to look behind them.
Xuan Ping wished she could find a hole to crawl into. Chi Yueshan snorted, let go, and shot a glare at the people around them.
“What are you looking at?”
Xi Zhoumeng suddenly let out a laugh.
Her figure was exquisite. Her white dress, which appeared simple at first glance, was adorned with magnificent gems. Even the sleeves were made of the most expensive fabric, shimmering with a faint, ethereal light.
The advancement of history had accelerated the fusion of races, yet her aura was distinctly Eastern, right down to her eyes and brows.
Whether she was smoothing her brow or knitting it, she possessed a breathtaking beauty that made one’s heart flutter. It felt as if causing her to frown was a sin.
Chi Yueshan also looked up.
Xi Zhoumeng pointed a finger at her. “You, junior. Come up here.”
Her voice was delicate and soft, carrying a tingle that was amplified by the microphone’s current, giving one the illusion that their ears were pregnant.
Xi Zhoumeng was extremely interested in this cannon fodder supporting character.
Holy shit, the plot point is finally here. I’ve been living so damn tiredly for the past ten-plus years.
Chi Yueshan stood there for a long time, unwilling to move.
In the end, she braced herself and went up. She didn’t want to lose any credits.
The lights on the stage were too bright, making it hard for her to open her eyes.
Before she even reached Xi Zhoumeng, she could smell a fragrance radiating from her that seemed to span a five-meter radius.
It was a very strong tea scent. Could this person’s pheromones also be tea-scented?
She didn’t even want to look at her. Her love rival was beautiful, sure, and the dream Omega of every Alpha in the academy.
And possibly Wen Xinghuo’s future legal spouse.
Even though Chi Yueshan knew her chances were slim, she still wanted to fight for her love.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the first-year students below saw their dream Omega senior extend a hand, as if to lift the troublemaking Omega’s chin.
Xi Zhoumeng hesitated for a moment but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She thought Chi Yueshan was a bit too grubby.
“Let me see what kind of Omega would cling to Xinghuo on the very first day and not let go?”
A chorus of boos rose from below. Backstage, Wen Xinghuo, who was preparing her speech, looked completely bewildered.
Xi Zhoumeng wore a vapid, decorative smile, but she was observing the expressions of the royal freshmen in Section A.
She thought: All the main characters are here. I wonder which one is the female lead’s wife.
But unexpectedly, the low-class cannon fodder Omega, who she thought was supposed to be mild-tempered according to the book, shot her a look of disgust.
“I will compete with you fairly!”
At that moment, the angle of the overhead light was just right, and Xi Zhoumeng saw her face clearly.
Almond-shaped green eyes, incredibly vibrant, but her lips were a little dry.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she almost couldn’t resist the urge to moisten the other’s lips.
What a pity. The type I’m interested in is actually my love rival.
The impossibly beautiful Omega before her tapped Chi Yueshan’s lips with a fingertip.
“Alright.”
