Tang Jianxi returned to the place where she had grown up, but she felt little of the warmth of home.
The families who wanted to have a word with her had finally found their target. Within the Empire, endless rounds of wrangling were underway over whether to publicly release the list of alphas who had participated in the auction. The Omega Legion and the suddenly prominent Sixth Prince, Clarence, insisted on nailing these unruly alphas to the pillar of historical shame. But how could the reputation of the nobility be tarnished in such a way?
The problem was, the Omega Legion was unyielding, and the Sixth Prince, who had once been known only for his singing, was now singing them a song of perfunctory dismissal. For someone so young, he was remarkably slick, causing many to see him in a new light.
It just so happened that Tang Jianxi, the instigator of it all, had returned to the Imperial Capital Star. At least half of the captured alphas hailed from the capital. Among them were self-made tycoons, wealthy families with generations in business, and, most numerous of all, nobles who had grown fat by controlling various essential imperial industries. They lacked neither money nor status. For years, their every effort had been dedicated to ensuring the stability of their family’s power. Once the list was exposed, it would be like handing everyone a piece of leverage to be used at any time.
As long as the Omega Legion existed, AO equality remained the official political correctness. And as long as the Omega Legion didn’t disappear, the threat of this leverage would not disappear either. To show their stance, these nobles would have to deliberately lean toward the omega faction. In reality, a nobility that could produce a group of alphas who bought and sold omegas could hardly be said to have a family atmosphere that respected omegas. The omegas in these families enjoyed the nobles’ lavish conditions at the cost of political marriages. As for inheritance rights and the like, it was unthinkable.
The major noble houses could cut their losses in time, but the minor and mid-sized ones could not afford such a price.
Thus, Tang Jianxi became their point of entry. They used every means at their disposal, from threats and bribes to moral blackmail.
In the reception room of the Tang Group’s branch office in S-District.
Tang Jianxi sat across from a middle-aged female alpha. AI guards stood outside the door. The fragrance of tea filled the room, but the two people who were supposed to be enjoying it were entirely focused on each other. The tea, cultivated on Qinglan Star using the most advanced planting systems, was undoubtedly just a polite backdrop for this conversation.
“Miss Tang, do you think this is appropriate? For years, my Lin family has built the finest bridges for the people of the Empire, without a single safety incident. Our costs are reasonable, and we’ve provided hundreds of thousands of jobs. Now, because of the mistake of a single descendant from a collateral branch, the entire Lin family is to be shamed.”
“If this were just an ordinary crime, the Lin family would naturally submit to whatever punishment is dealt. But Miss Tang, you must see the current direction of public opinion in the Empire. Once the list is exposed, our Lin family’s reputation will be in tatters.”
Tang Jianxi recognized this alpha. She used to call her Auntie Lin. During a family trip to Qinglan Star, Auntie Lin had accompanied them. She knew every bridge on Qinglan Star like the back of her hand, and Tang Ji had told her that she was an outstanding bridge designer.
But this respectable Auntie Lin had a nephew who was not so worthy of respect.
Tang Jianxi said slowly, “Your nephew, Lin Zhouqi, purchased seven omegas at the auction. When these seven omegas were rescued, two had already lost the ability to care for themselves, two were pregnant, two were covered in scars, and one had long since committed suicide.”
“Auntie Lin, the Lin family is certainly worthy of respect, and for years you have been seen as a model noble alpha. However, that has nothing to do with the crimes Lin Zhouqi committed.”
Auntie Lin, whose full name was Lin Lu, showed a flicker of emotion before her expression returned to calm. “He can atone for the crimes he committed himself. It doesn’t matter if he dies for them.”
“But it cannot affect the Lin family. We are not willing to become a bargaining chip in the political struggle between alphas and omegas, nor are we willing to bear a reputation we do not deserve.”
“I hope Miss Tang can convey my thoughts to your grandmother.”
The middle-aged alpha had a commanding presence, her well-maintained face showing the composure of someone long accustomed to being in a high position. She was the tenth representative to come and “talk” with Tang Jianxi today. They were all polite, yet incredibly arrogant.
For the tenth time, Tang Jianxi said, “Ms. Lin Lu, don’t you think that only by publicizing the list of all offenders can we truly prevent similar incidents from happening in the future?”
“Your family will, at most, suffer some damage to its reputation. But those omegas lost their actual lives and health.”
Lin Lu remained unmoved. “I just checked; there are no surveillance or listening devices here. I assume what happened at the auction won’t happen to me, so perhaps we can speak frankly.”
After that light jab, the head of the Lin family said coldly, “What I’ve never understood is this: why must we alphas who have done nothing wrong pay the price for your omegas’ freedom?”
Tang Jianxi reminded her, “But your wife and your children are all omegas.”
Lin Lu smiled faintly. “They live very happy lives. They’ve never clamored for freedom and rights like you, Miss Tang. I think, from the very beginning, the only omegas who need power and freedom are ones like you. But you’ve taken it upon yourselves to represent all omegas, using that as a pretext to seize power from us alphas who have committed no wrongdoing whatsoever.”
“Your son was married off to an alpha he’d never met as soon as he came of age. You think that’s happiness?”
“His compatibility with his alpha is sixty-five percent. Of course I can believe he is happy.”
Tang Jianxi took a deep breath and sneered, “No wonder Lin Zhouqi doesn’t see omegas as human.”
This statement clearly enraged the alpha across from her. The smile vanished from her face, and she threatened in a low voice, “Alphas have armies too, Miss Tang. If you delude yourselves into thinking you can gain an unbalanced advantage through tolerance and gamesmanship, then I can only say it would be better for omegas to stay at home. At least when you act foolishly, it won’t be quite so embarrassing.”
“Alphas can be foolish too.” Tang Jianxi stared at the aunt she had once respected and retorted mockingly, “Didn’t you all just commit the greatest act of foolishness since the founding of the Empire?”
The moment she finished speaking, aggressive alpha pheromones erupted. Tang Jianxi let out a muffled grunt. The AI guards outside, alerted by the change in data within the room, burst through the door. But before they could, the pheromones Yun Chuji had left on the nape of Tang Jianxi’s neck, as if provoked, retaliated with a sharpness their owner had never displayed, striking back at the despicable alpha who dared to violate their master’s omega. Under the assault of S-rank pheromones, Lin Lu’s face turned pale and she collapsed onto the sofa, staying conscious through sheer willpower alone.
Tang Jianxi dialed the police. As Lin Lu glared, her eyes seeming to split from their sockets, Tang Jianxi explained the entire incident.
After ending the call, Tang Jianxi left the nauseating room under the protection of the AI guards. As for Lin Lu, Lin Zhouqi might not be disgraced before the Empire, but after this, she certainly would be. An older alpha using pheromones to attack a young omega—and that young omega being the currently prominent Tang Jianxi—meant that everything she feared would come to pass ahead of schedule.
“You- you still have to rely on an alpha!” Perhaps thinking of her own fate, Lin Lu was filled with both regret and indignation. It was all this omega’s fault for being so sharp-tongued! Otherwise, how could she have lost control like that?
The alpha, who had never been defied by an omega, once again blamed the omega for everything.
Tang Jianxi didn’t stop walking. She merely stated coolly, “My alpha is completely different from your kind. Don’t put yourself on the same level as her, Ms. Lin. To be honest, you’re not worthy.”
Meeting with the heads of these families was a painful journey. Most of the families who sought her out were ones that had some past connection to the Tang family. They had once chatted and laughed with grace and courtesy in social settings, but now they offended one another for the sake of their interests. The digs and taunts they threw at her struck Tang Jianxi’s heart, one after another.
Lin Lu wasn’t the first alpha to threaten her, and she certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Tang Jianxi rubbed her temples and walked out of the building. She still had to meet these people, one by one. Whether it was to avoid completely tearing face or to clearly see the mountain that omegas now faced, she had to meet these arrogant alphas one by one and hear their thoughts from the top of the pyramid.
The slender omega felt the warmth on the nape of her neck, and her stiff limbs relaxed slightly. She got into her hover car, a line from Yun Chuji’s love poem from yesterday coming to mind: I only envy the moon in the sky, for it accompanies you every night.
The line wasn’t filled with complex imagery, nor did it contain any allusions that would leave her baffled. With her rudimentary knowledge of classical poetry, she could just about grasp its meaning.
But now, Tang Jianxi thought, the moon only appears at night, and she didn’t look at it often. Yun Chuji’s pheromones, however, brought her continuous warmth.
Ah, really, reading too much poetry was making her sappy too.
After chiding herself, Tang Jianxi collected her thoughts and prepared for the next confrontation. The only consolation was that after word of the incident with Lin Lu got out, the rest of them would at least be a bit more restrained.
But if her mother found out, she would surely try to stop her. She had been against it from the start, saying these people harbored sinister intentions and couldn’t even stay quiet with the celebration approaching. After calling the police, Tang Jianxi had immediately sent a message to her father, hoping he could placate her mother for the time being.
Meanwhile, in A-District.
Tomorrow’s parade would begin here. The streets were hung with all sorts of colorful lanterns, and the imperial anthem played from every corner. The clear voices of children brought a timeless sense of emotion, making people forget the recent chaos and recall their pride in being citizens of the Empire. Goods in shops were sold at ridiculously low prices. People were cheerful, content to live in such a prosperous nation.
Yun Chuji and her family were getting ready to go out. The first day of the celebration was usually a day for family gatherings. In previous years, the Yun family gathering was always hosted by Yun Chuji’s grandfather, who would book the top floor of the Star Grand Hotel, where they would admire the majesty of the imperial family in the sky amidst fine food and wine.
But this year, a relative had proposed using a manor he had recently purchased.
A manor itself was nothing special—Yun Chuji’s grandfather had one too—but this manor was located in A-District’s second ring, making its value a completely different matter.
Compared to the Star Grand Hotel in the fourth ring, the manor in the second ring would undoubtedly offer a much earlier glimpse of the imperial family. Thus, the proposal was passed, much to Yun Chuji’s grandfather’s chagrin.
After getting into the hover car, Yun Chuwan quietly shared some family gossip with her sister. “I heard that this auntie’s family has an omega who’s dating a member of the imperial family. That’s how their family’s status skyrocketed.”
Yun Chuji had little interest in such gossip. She was wondering if Tang Jianxi had seen her message. She had felt a strange jolt in her heart today, and remembering the saying about permanently marked AOs having a telepathic connection, she couldn’t help but worry about Tang Jianxi. She had called, but Tang Jianxi hadn’t answered. It wasn’t until she asked Tang Ji that she confirmed she was fine; she was probably in negotiations with someone and had set her comm to do-not-disturb.
Yun Chuwan didn’t notice her sister’s distraction. Although she hadn’t overcome her fear of alphas, at her age, she had a natural fascination and a romanticized view of love between royalty and commoners. She said excitedly, “I heard that omega is a male named Yun Xuan, and he’s been dating a princess for several months now. I just don’t know which princess it is.”
Hearing that familiar name, Yun Chuji snapped back to reality.
That was… her elder brother’s name.
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