It was the middle of the night, and their in-depth communication had failed. Too hungry to sleep, they got out of bed to eat.

Qin Luo had left their lunch in an insulated box. Song Yu took a look at it and casually put it back.

Rong Shi walked over with coffee, handed him a cup, and took the plates out again. “Don’t like it?”

Song Yu: “I want to eat your instant noodles.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Ten minutes later, the two sat casually on the rug in front of the sofa, eating instant noodles and checking unread messages on their terminals.

Song Yu opened his social media and delightedly watched Song Ke’s indecent video.

“You had 01 send it?” He asked curiously. “Even the Ministry of Defense can’t delete it?”

More than ten hours had passed, and his father must have already known.

The fact that these news articles hadn’t been deleted yet meant one of two things: his father was letting it happen, or they couldn’t be deleted.

“Unless I want to delete it.”

Rong Shi opened the temporary group chat created for this league. The team leader had already announced the details for their return trip.

They would depart from Imperial Capital Star tomorrow afternoon.

After reading all his unread messages, Rong Shi looked at Song Yu’s virtual screen. Many netizens were expressing sympathy for the “poor” He Nian.

“Where did you take He Nian?”

Song Yu paused, sucking his noodles, and said guiltily, “I didn’t lay a hand on him.”

Rong Shi chewed his noodles expressionlessly, watching him without speaking.

Song Yu scoffed, annoyed, “He’s a ticking time bomb to me; I can’t just leave him be.”

Rong Shi used his fork to peel a shrimp: “Are you planning to kill him?”

Of course. Song Yu was about to nod, then thought better of it and didn’t say anything, secretly glancing at Rong Shi. “Even if I don’t kill him temporarily, I won’t let him go back.”

Rong Shi: “Where is he being held?”

Song Yu: “The underground prison.”

After answering, he waited for a while and, seeing Rong Shi didn’t speak, Song Yu grew a little concerned.

Was Bunny disappointed in him, thinking he was too extreme and ruthless?

Song Yu suddenly wasn’t sure.

Before, he would never consider such questions, but now he had to care about Rong Shi’s opinion of him.

What if he unintentionally ruined his image in Bunny’s heart, and Rong Shi stopped liking him?

“He’s a modified omega, with many key clues on him. How could I let him go so easily?”

After speaking, seeing Rong Shi still silent, Song Yu felt annoyed and subtly moved closer to Rong Shi, whispering, “Then what do you think should be done?”

Rong Shi’s right hand cut off the shrimp head, and his left hand’s fork pierced the shrimp shell, sliding forward, and the whole shrimp was peeled.

He forked the shrimp meat, dipped it in some sauce, and fed it to Song Yu.

“You don’t need to ask for my opinion; you handle it.”

Being fed, Song Yu felt delighted, and his self-doubt instantly vanished.

“I want to know.”

Rong Shi, with skilled movements, peeled another shrimp and fed it to Song Yu, his expression calm, his voice cool and clear.

“Handle it the same way you handle it.”

Song Yu was momentarily stunned, then understood.

It turned out he wasn’t the only one feeling insecure.

He draped his arm over Rong Shi’s shoulder and smiled, “Our Bunny is quite the ruthless character.”

Rong Shi gently wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth.

“You don’t like it?”

“Of course, I like it.” Song Yu’s smile deepened. “I like it terribly.”

---

Everyone in Prince Song Ke’s palace stayed up all night, using every method possible but failing to delete the indecent photos spreading online, only able to watch as the situation escalated.

“Your Highness, please eat something.” The special assistant had dark circles under his eyes and looked haggard.

Song Ke lay on the bed, his head covered by the blanket.

Hearing the voice, he kicked the bed forcefully with his heel, his voice hoarse: “Get out! All of you, get out! All of you get lost!”

The special assistant hesitated, then didn’t press further, quietly backing out.

When he received the dismissal notice last night, he had already been at a loss.

The Emperor, upon learning of this matter, not only didn’t order to control the situation but instead replaced all of them. Was this some kind of signal?

But thinking about it, he felt it was impossible.

The Emperor’s coldness towards the Second Prince wasn’t a day or two; it was absolutely impossible for him to suddenly shift his favor without any warning.

Where exactly did things go wrong?

On the way to the lounge, the special assistant pondered the solution discussed by the team.

The current situation was that the Emperor knew what was happening but had washed his hands of it due to anger, and other families backing the First Prince wanted to help but no one dared to be the first.

Since the video had spread everywhere, it was impossible to pretend it hadn’t happened. They could only try their best to minimize the damage to the First Prince’s reputation.

If He Nian, as the victim, publicly declared that what happened between him and the First Prince was consensual, then this matter could only be defined as a private video leak, and the First Prince would at most be criticized for his conduct.

Given He Nian’s background, he was only fit to be the First Prince’s underground lover, but now, due to the circumstances, he had to be brought into the open.

They had to persuade the First Prince to pretend to be in a relationship with He Nian for a while.

To spite Song Yu, he might even agree.

His terminal rang, interrupting the special assistant’s thoughts.

His heart sank; he had a premonition it wasn’t good news.

The call connected, and the voice on the other side of the screen was anxious.

“Mr. Special Assistant, come and see! The internet says He Nian is missing, and over a million people have gathered to jointly accuse the First Prince!”

The special assistant’s face turned pale. He hung up the call and rushed towards the office. His legs suddenly went weak, and he stumbled a few steps, leaning on the wall to barely stand steady.

Why was this happening?!

Online, netizens’ comments grew increasingly fierce:

“If anything happens to this omega, Song Ke is the murderer!”

“In the interstellar era, someone still behaves like a savage. It’s truly baffling.”

“I’m curious, where did this video come from? The angle doesn’t look like surveillance. Did this scumbag even have someone record it?”

“Severe punishment is a must! Omegas are no longer Alpha’s playthings!”

“The easiest solution when problems arise: one, eliminate the people who question; two, eliminate the victim.”

“Who cares what untouchable big shot he is, I don’t believe the Empire has no laws!”

Song Ke locked himself in his room, not wanting to face the gossip outside, but he failed.

“What did you say?” Song Ke was incredulous. “He Nian is missing?”

The special assistant had returned, his mood heavy: “I contacted the He family. He Nian didn’t return yesterday, and his communication is still unreachable, his location untraceable. All accessible surveillance shows he disappeared after getting into your car.”

“Bullshit!” Song Ke’s mind was in a mess, both angry and anxious, his words incoherent. “He wanted to get off halfway yesterday! The surveillance on Shengyuan Road must have records of him getting off!”

The special assistant shook his head wearily: “We checked. The surveillance only shows the hovercar parked for a little over a minute; He Nian didn’t appear in the frame.”

“Impossible!” Song Ke told him to open the received surveillance records, replaying them over a dozen times, becoming more and more incredulous. “How could it be exactly in a blind spot?!”

The special assistant also felt it was too coincidental, but the facts were undeniable.

All street AIs were controlled by the Empire’s highest super-brain, with a security level so high that even foreign spy systems couldn’t infiltrate it. The records captured couldn’t be altered by just anyone.

Song Ke slumped back, his entire being numb.

“What about Father? Did he… did he know?”

Special assistant: “This matter has caused such a stir, His Majesty must already know, it’s just—”

The voices online would only grow louder because there was no pressure from above.

If they continued to show no stance, the impact of this matter would only grow. Even if the storm eventually passed, when the First Prince officially revealed his identity in the future, this past incident would still be dug up, and his public goodwill would be completely gone, potentially even affecting his claim to the throne.

“Your Highness.” The special assistant’s eyes flickered as he tentatively asked, “How about… seeking help from Her Majesty the Empress?”

Hearing the words “Her Majesty,” Song Ke involuntarily flinched.

---

With their return to Academic Star imminent, the students of the Central Military Academy were busy sightseeing and buying souvenirs.

In the squad’s group chat, Liu Hong and other young masters, after disappearing for several days, finally reappeared.

[Liu Hong: You wouldn’t believe it, I had eleven blind dates in three days! This is insane! I’m only eighteen, and my dad already thinks I won’t be able to find a wife!]

[Chen Chen: Your dad has great foresight.]

[Old Bai: I visited relatives for three days! My father kept praising me in various ways, saying I’d never brought him so much honor. It’s a complicated feeling.]

[Hu Feng: My dad gave me an unlimited black card and told me to bribe Daddy Rong to try and get in on the good life. He really doesn’t know how rich Beauty Song is.]

[Chen Chen: +1 upstairs, my dad’s exact words: ‘Stop making posts all day, stick close to Rong Shi, and our Old Chen family will have hope!’]

[Liu Hong: Believe it or not, when we get back to the military academy, the old slacker will be trending again.]

[Old Bai: Definitely. Just because of his paired partner, it’ll be recorded in the military academy’s history!]

[Chen Chen: Still, Father is strong. I’ve already prepared a special analysis post. I’ll ride the wave of popularity then.]

While the group chatted, Rong Shi and Song Yu, under the guise of going shopping for souvenirs, secretly went to the underground prison.

The space was dark and damp. Although there was a purification system, Rong Shi still smelled blood.

It wasn’t pungent, but it was hard to ignore.

Song Yu walked beside him, calmly introducing, “This is where people who can’t go through official channels are held.”

Those who broke the law could go through proper imperial legal procedures, but some crimes committed couldn’t be exposed publicly and could only be dealt with privately.

He Nian was held in a place isolated by special glass on all four sides, connected to the adjacent laboratory.

Rong Shi looked through the glass at He Nian, who was lying on a sickbed, covered in tubes, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He Nian’s face was abnormally flushed, but his lips were pale and chapped. His body constantly writhed, and his hands and feet were twisted in an unnatural way.

“His pheromones during his estrus greatly affect me. I’m having people analyze them,” Song Yu said coldly. “But the analysis is slow, so he has to keep going into estrus.”

The magnetic patch on his gland would release microcurrents, combined with intravenously injected pheromone stimulants, which could instantly induce estrus in He Nian.

Rong Shi: “Have them record his physical condition after each estrus as well.”

Song Yu turned his head to look at him: “Do you think there’s a problem?”

Rong Shi nodded: “I don’t believe a super omega can be created that easily. There must be some side effects to those pheromone-altering agents.”

Forcibly changing pheromones was like plastic surgery; it couldn’t have no impact on the body.

Inside the glass enclosure, He Nian’s mind was extremely excited and fatigued. He wanted to escape, but as soon as he sat up, he would immediately be electrocuted.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two more people outside the glass enclosure. His blurred vision took a long time to focus and recognize who they were.

Song Yu!

Song Yu must be here to save him!

In extreme despair, his mind automatically generated the most desired outcome, making him believe it deeply, even if the outcome couldn’t stand up to scrutiny.

“Xiao Yu—Xiao Yu!” He Nian’s eyes welled with hot tears, his voice so hoarse he couldn’t make a sound. He vigorously waved his arms, and just as he sat up, he was shocked by a strong electric current again, his whole body convulsing.

“Save me—wah wah wah—save me—” He shrieked hoarsely, but could only produce a volume audible only to himself.

“He’s asking for your help,” Rong Shi looked at him, his gaze calm. “Looks like it’s true love for you.”

Song Yu looked at him and smiled, drawling lazily, “Looks like a bunny fell into a vinegar jar.”

Rong Shi: “…Hmph.”

Still huffing, where did this big cutie come from?

If it weren’t for the wrong occasion, Song Yu would have kissed him.

“Open the door,” Song Yu said to the researchers waiting at the door.

Researcher: “The pheromone concentration inside is very high right now. We need to wait five minutes for filtration.”

“No need.” Song Yu chuckled, “I used a special inhibitor, so I won’t be affected.”

Special? The researcher didn’t understand, but still obediently opened the door.

He Nian’s clear and delicate face was full of tears. He regained a little strength and tried to lift his head to look outside, not expecting Song Yu to actually come in.

“Xiao… Xiao Yu!” Watching him approach, He Nian reached out his arm.

But Song Yu stopped.

Just a little, just a little more!

Why didn’t he come closer?

Why had his pheromones lost their effect on him?

“Is it comfortable staying here?” Song Yu looked down at him, his smile cold, “See how good I am to you? You like going into estrus, so I’ll let you have your fill.”

He Nian listened to his words, his outstretched hand slowly falling, his eyes wide, his entire being stunned.

Song Yu surveyed every corner of the room: “The environment here is good, suitable for long-term residence.”

He Nian’s mind was blank. After reacting, he desperately shook his head and begged for mercy.

“I… I was wrong! Xiao Yu, I was wrong—I won’t dare again—let me go—”

He cried and begged, but tears streamed down his face, and no sound came out, only his mouth opening and closing.

He could barely last a day. If he had to endure this torment every day from now on, he might as well die.

“Let you go?” Song Yu sounded like he’d heard a hilarious joke. “Then who will let me go?”

He Nian trembled all over, crying so hard he couldn’t breathe.

He would rather die than be trapped here!

“Your bed photos with Song Ke are on the headlines, and Elder He has fainted several times from anger after seeing the news,” Song Yu smiled as he watched He Nian’s eyes widen in extreme pain. “In a couple of days, you’ll develop depression because of this and go on a universe tour. As for whether you’ll come back, that depends on whether you can figure things out.”

He deliberately emphasized the last sentence.

He Nian almost immediately understood what he meant.

The secret of his pheromones had been exposed; Song Yu wouldn’t let him die easily.

Either tell the organization’s secrets, or endlessly endure the torment of estrus.

Rong Shi leaned against the door, watching Song Little Cat sentence people to death in a few words, and actually found it quite cute.

According to previously obtained intelligence, in the previous life, when Xiao Yu’s pheromones ran wild, He Nian went on a universe tour because he broke off his engagement with Xiao Yu.

Now it seemed, it might all have been a facade.

His Xiao Yu wouldn’t be easily outsmarted.

Even if it was a scheme, he was the only one who schemed against others.

Song Yu turned his head and saw Rong Shi leaning against the door, smiling at him—

__

Author’s Note:

Song  Cat: Bunny tastes even better after soaking in a vinegar jar [slurp]