“No one would remember a person like this.”
The man sitting in the middle of the room repeated this sentence over and over. It was like a mantra, or in a sense, a pale comfort.
This man was Johnsen, and he was in prison.
Four metal walls enclosed him tightly. The life he was living now was not much different from the one he had lived in the basement—except there was no Qi Sheng coming to enjoy his body on schedule.
He couldn’t leave this place, because as soon as he did, alphas would come looking for trouble. In reality, these harsh metal walls were his protection. He was reviled by everyone—alphas, omegas, betas. It was a truly infuriating experience.
Now, Johnsen could clearly recognize what he had done.
He had been a bad person, but he was too cowardly to remain one. His identity was despicable from beginning to end, and he had to carry that despicable nature for the rest of his life.
Was this cruel? Johnsen asked himself.
He had to answer honestly: no.
It wasn’t as cruel as his time in the basement.
In the basement, he had felt like a piece of meat without dignity. Here, even though he was utterly despicable, he was still a person. He could still think, still despise himself.
Yes, despise himself.
After committing every evil deed a person could, he now wanted to be a good person.
This made him seem even more hypocritical.
He knew he was being hypocritical.
Johnsen faced the four walls and recalled the people he had tormented: the childhood friend he had betrayed, the lover he had abandoned, the partner he had deceived, the omegas he had abused—they had also died because of him.
Their pained faces flickered across the smooth walls like phantoms in a nightmare. Johnsen lay on his narrow single bed, almost joyfully enduring this suffering.
Until one day, these people vanished. It was as if they realized this would make him feel better, so they unanimously chose a more heartless way to torture him.
Johnsen spent three days in the prison, which was as empty as a mirror.
Then he called for a guard.
He said, “Is there any way for me to atone?”
The guard was short and lean, dressed in a white, well-fitted imperial uniform that made him look even smaller. His face held a fierceness that seemed to be a rebound from having been bullied. He looked at the alpha inside through a small slot in the door and answered patiently, “Inmate A3547, your court date is in one week.”
“No, I mean, is there another way?”
The guard scanned him up and down. After a moment, a suppressed mockery surfaced on his face. He leaned closer to the slot, avoiding the surveillance camera’s gaze, his words dripping with venom. “You traitor, why don’t you just die?”
Yes, this guard was an alpha.
A faint smile appeared on Johnsen’s pale face. He said, “I see my old self in you.”
The guard clicked his tongue, treating him as if he were insane.
He closed the slot, and the four metal walls became seamless once more.
Johnsen closed his eyes. He was unwilling to look at the black ceiling.
Just as he was unwilling to accept death.
Golden Phoenix Star.
Tomorrow was Winona’s official enlistment day. Tang Jianxi and Yun Chuji had come to see her off. Having learned their lesson from last time, they chose a restaurant outside the settlement area for their gathering.
Out of consideration for the pregnant woman, they didn’t order any alcohol. Tang Jianxi ordered many of B-District’s specialty dishes. While they waited, she idly ate the lychees Yun Chuji was peeling for her.
Young Miss Yun had never served anyone before, and she fumbled with the task. Juice dripped all over her hands, trickling down to her wrists. She had wiped them twice, but the juice kept flowing, so she eventually gave up and focused on peeling.
Tang Jianxi didn’t thoughtfully call for an AI server. She enjoyed being served by Yun Chuji. Of course, she also knew that Yun Chuji enjoyed serving her.
This was perhaps a unique quirk in love, this constant desire to forge a deeper connection with the other person, to become their pillow, their blanket, their towel, their utensils. In short, it was a very secret form of possession.
It wasn’t just about integrating into the other’s life, but greedily wanting to become their life itself.
The omega bit into a piece of lychee, and the juice splattered, dirtying the alpha’s hand again. The omega swallowed the fruit, smiled inconspicuously, and leaned over to clean the alpha’s fingers with her lips and tongue. The cleaning was rather perfunctory; she only licked the index finger before giving up, circling back to take the rest of the lychee into her mouth.
It could only be described as a form of flirtation.
It was completely different from Yun Chuji’s honest, devoted love.
But the inexperienced Yun Chuji fell for it.
Her breathing trembled slightly. She picked up a napkin, seemingly wanting to clean her hand—from her wrist to her palm, then her thumb, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.
But not her index finger.
A triumphant smile slowly spread across Tang Jianxi’s face. She picked up a lychee, quickly peeled it, and fed it into Yun Chuji’s mouth.
“A reward.”
Yun Chuji chewed the lychee in her mouth without asking what the reward was for.
The atmosphere had clearly become a little unusual, but before it could get completely out of hand, their guests finally arrived.
Winona was still dressed in black, but today she wore a black dress instead of a black trench coat or jacket. The viscous black clung to her snow-white skin, creating a clashing sort of beauty. Coupled with her almost radiant blonde hair, one had to admit she was a woman of considerable charm.
It was just a pity that Winona’s green eyes were too cold, making her seem like a locked gift. Only when she occasionally glanced at the omega by her side did a faint trace of gentleness emerge.
They sat opposite Tang Jianxi and Yun Chuji. Yun Chuji introduced herself to Helen. Worried that her pheromones might offend Helen, she had deliberately worn three layers of inhibitor patches today.
Just as Yun Chuji had imagined, Helen was an extremely gentle omega. She smiled at her a little shyly and replied, “Hello, Miss Yun. Winona has told me about you.”
“Thank you so much for saving her.”
“I only did what I should have.”
“No, it means a great deal to me.”
Seeing that the two were about to get stuck in a cycle of pleasantries, Tang Jianxi helplessly rubbed her forehead, then raised her glass. “Alright, we’re not here today for some kind of thank-you party.”
“Come, let’s celebrate Winona’s successful admission into the military!”
The other three raised their glasses of juice.
They clinked glasses.
Sat down.
And fell into a quiet lull.
Awkwardness began to spread, mainly between Tang Jianxi and Yun Chuji. As for the other two, they were the very embodiment of awkwardness.
It started with Winona being overly strange.
Which in turn made Helen strange.
And when half the people in a room are being strange, it’s very difficult for the remaining people to return to a state of normalcy.
Tang Jianxi and Yun Chuji exchanged a look, watching the two across from them eat in silence. If not for their overly unfamiliar expressions, the skilled way they served each other food would have made them look like a rather loving couple.
“Hey,” Tang Jianxi said.
Then she added, “Are we just going to eat?”
Winona blinked. She didn’t know how one was supposed to act at a gathering with friends. Before she was eighteen, she was busy helping at the shop. The occasional outing with friends involved riding motorcycles with alcohol to a secluded spot, drinking, and then smashing the empty bottles on the ground.
She looked around the exquisite private room. The chandelier was crystal, the table was solid wood, the carpet was soft. It was a world away from the broken-bottle-littered environment of the outermost ring. And there were no motorcycles.
And since turning eighteen, this was her first gathering.
“So… drink?” she asked tentatively.
Hearing this, Tang Jianxi pushed her cheek with her tongue, a rebellious streak like that of a delinquent girl showing through.
She scoffed. “Fine, let’s drink!”
Then she turned to stare at Yun Chuji and pointed a finger. “You can’t drink.”
She looked at Helen. “You can’t drink either.”
Finally, she said to Winona, “Just the two of us.”
Yun Chuji: “Eh?”
Helen: “Eh?”
In the space of a few sentences, the warm farewell party had turned into a drinking contest.
Tang Jianxi ordered a dozen beers. As she was looking for a bottle opener, Winona on the other side tapped a bottle on the table and easily pulled out the cork. Then she started chugging straight from the bottle.
Tang Jianxi: “…”
Tang Jianxi found the automatic bottle opener on the table, set her glass aside, and for some inexplicable reason, also began the ritual of chugging from the bottle.
Yun Chuji’s eyelids had already started to twitch, but Helen, opposite her, was still eating unhurriedly.
“Something bad will happen if they drink like that!” Yun Chuji was so anxious both her eyelids were twitching.
Helen glanced at her, puzzled, and said in a gentle voice, “It’ll be fine. Winona can hold her liquor very well.”
Ah, with her saying that, Yun Chuji was too embarrassed to admit she was worried about Tang Jianxi.
Helen, ever the perceptive one, quickly understood Yun Chuji’s unspoken meaning. She smiled and said, “As for Jianxi, you’re here for her, aren’t you?”
With her saying that, Yun Chuji was now too embarrassed to say she was worried about the damage it would do to their bodies.
It seemed that in the eyes of people from the outermost ring like Helen, alcohol was a kind of daily necessity.
They were used to seeing people drunk and didn’t consider it harmful to the body, because there were so many other things in life that were harmful. In comparison, alcohol could at least bring some happiness.
While they were talking, the two drinkers had already finished a bottle each.
Tang Jianxi’s face was starting to turn red, but Winona, unfazed, picked up another bottle.
Yun Chuji feebly raised a hand in an attempt to protest. Tang Jianxi placed a small cake in her hand, while her other hand was already reaching for a beer bottle.
“Be good. Eat.”
And so, Yun Chuji began to bite into the cake, feeling utterly hopeless.
She watched the two of them drink bottle after bottle. The cake on the table was all gone, eaten by Yun Chuji. She finally couldn’t take it anymore. Even if their customs were different, even if she had to respect her lover’s hobbies, even if the medical science in this world was extremely advanced.
They couldn’t drink like this!
Yun Chuji moved the remaining five bottles away and pointed at the two who were still chugging. “Stop.”
Winona stopped.
Tang Jianxi was still trying to catch up on the bottle she was behind on.
This was too much.
Yun Chuji strode over to Tang Jianxi and snatched the bottle from her hand. Alcohol splashed all over both of them.
“Stop drinking.”
Tang Jianxi slowly turned her head to look at her, as if trying to recognize her face. She leaned closer, and closer, then suddenly burst out laughing, a mischievous and unruly sound.
Then she threw herself into Yun Chuji’s arms.
She said, “I lost.”
She added, “What a pity. I couldn’t get her drunk.”
As she spoke, she peeked her head out from Yun Chuji’s embrace, her hazy eyes looking at the unfazed person across from them. She called out again, “Hey.”
“Are you drunk?”
Winona pursed her lips, finally realizing that this method of drinking was perhaps too intense for someone like Tang Jianxi, who had grown up in the innermost ring.
“I’m drunk.”
She thought this might make the competitive omega feel a little better.
“Oh.” Tang Jianxi buried her face in Yun Chuji’s shoulder again, saying intermittently, “If you’re drunk… then apologize to Helen.”
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