MWITA CH134

The class bell rang. Qin Luo shuffled out of the room with the rest, still half-asleep.

Up ahead, a group of boys huddled together, arms slung over shoulders, whispering excitedly—

“I heard something went really wrong with the transport this time. Papa Rong had to pilot the ship back himself.”

“Yeah right, that’s gotta be a rumor. No way.”

“They say when they boarded, there wasn’t a single escort onboard—just dumped them there to fend for themselves.”

“No one on board? Then what, the ship flew itself there? Idiot.”

“It’s real. A few teachers even confirmed it. And now Beauty Song is negotiating with the Academy, demanding accountability from the director in charge of transport.”

“…Could this be some personal vendetta?”

“Make way,” Qin Luo muttered, pushing past them, dizzy from exhaustion.

Yesterday afternoon, right after His Highness returned, he’d been handed an enormous list—sort them, investigate every name! Not a wink of rest until minutes before morning classes. Now his brain felt fried.

The gossipers turned and saw him. Instantly they grabbed him, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Qin Luo, you know about this?”

He rubbed his buzz-cut head, dark circles heavy beneath glazed eyes. “…Who knows. Some idiots just love acting clever.”

With that cryptic remark, he trudged off, leaving the peanut gallery staring after him, bewildered.

---

In the headmaster’s office, Song Yu glanced coolly at the teacup offered to him, ignoring it.

Principal Li Huating awkwardly placed it on the desk. “I’ve already assigned investigators. By this afternoon, you’ll have an answer.”

Song Yu’s prince identity wasn’t public, so formal bows weren’t required in front of crowds. But in private, those who knew were expected to show proper respect.

“This matter I’ll investigate myself.” His tone was sharp. “But the men—I’m taking them. As for you, dereliction of duty isn’t something you can escape.”

Li Huating’s brow twitched. Cold sweat drenched his palms.

He forced a soothing smile. “Please don’t be angry. I’m sure this is some kind of misunderstanding. In centuries of the Academy’s history, nothing like this has ever occurred.”

Song Yu sneered. “Nor had I ever thought I’d be abandoned at a space station. Excellent management skills, Principal.”

Li Huating’s mind tangled, fingers numb, face blanching in fear.

The records said over a hundred escorts were dispatched. Yet all vanished; only an empty ship returned. Completely illogical.

Could it be—the Second Prince had actually arrested them all, using it as pretext to attack him?

His nerves buzzed. If that was truly the prince’s goal, he had no way to resist—short of making a scene, forcing royal intervention.

But if the prince wasn’t behind it… and he stirred up a bigger mess… it would only doom him further.

As he struggled in panic, the door swung open.

Two black-clad betas in guard uniform entered. The one with darker skin reported respectfully to Song Yu: “The suspects have been apprehended.”

Li Huating’s eyes widened. He suppressed his rage but his tone shook. “Arrest requires evidence! You—”

“Imperial law is clear,” Song Yu interrupted coolly, twirling the ring on his finger. “Endangering the royal family is treason. Suspects may be detained first and tried later. If you don’t even know that… I’d say it’s time you retired, Principal.”

Without another glance, he walked out.

Li Huating sat frozen. Then suddenly jolted upright, fumbling his terminal to call Lin Feng.

Lin Feng listened calmly, hands clasped behind his back as he stared out the window. “Given your position, he can’t really touch you. At most he’ll nab a few subordinates. Don’t panic. But…” His voice cooled. “That boy’s moods are unsteady—unpredictable. If he snaps, things could get ugly. Better watch yourself.”

The words only sunk Li Huating’s heart deeper. “I’m an innocent bystander here—why am I the one getting shot at?!”

Lin Feng’s expression was detached. “There are cameras in the school and ships. So many people don’t just vanish. He’s just throwing his royal tantrum—you’ll be fine.”

“Perhaps…” Li Huating muttered, but unease gnawed his gut. He couldn’t shake the feeling—this would blow up bigger than he could handle.

Once the call ended, Lin Feng’s face darkened.

Song Yu leaves for V99, and—boom—the base’s database is destroyed. Now back at school, he immediately targets the Lin family. No coincidence.

He contacted several numbers, arranging a meeting that dragged all night until dawn.

---

In the dormitory, Rong Shi re-opened file J001.

His eyes fell on the bold grade “A.” His mind echoed Big Cat’s words from earlier.

The base sourced experiments by three main routes:

1. cultivated through gene centers,
   
2. illegally adopted orphans,
   
3. minors who volunteered.
   

Whatever the source, once taken, they were catalogued and graded.

• A-Class: reserved for high-ranking officials.
  
• B-Class: for elite warriors.
  
• C-Class: for social elites.
  
• D-Class: backup bodies.
  
• E-Class: defective failures.
  

A-Class were custom-made from childhood—most had backup copies in case the main subject failed.

B and C came from re-modded D-Class stock, adjusted to perfectly match targets’ pheromones.

D-Class were backups: discarded A’s, or modified individuals not yet matched.

E-Class were failed products—yet still repeatedly altered, no waste allowed.

His thoughts twisted. Could Dad and Ji Ling have been subject and backup?

He scrolled down.

Pages of inspection and medication followed J001 from childhood. Before age eight—only a few sparse pages, checkups every six months. Normal.

But after eight, the reports multiplied—dense and frequent. By age eighteen, there was near-weekly drugging and examination.

Rong Shi forced calm, but his mind filled with images: his father as a boy, in cold disinfectant-reeking rooms, injected again and again.

That was Dad’s childhood? He never once spoke of it.

Closing his eyes, Rong Shi inhaled deeply, then flipped ahead.

Records cut off—twenty years ago, October 28. Right when his father led the V99 rescue mission.

His father, only a colonel… not high enough status for an A-Class omega.

Relief washed through him. His parents’ love was real. He and Mian Mian were not products of manipulation.

A knock snapped him out of the thoughts. Night had already fallen.

He rubbed his temples and opened the door.

Song Yu stepped in. One look at Rong Shi’s drawn face, and he pulled him into his chest, stroking his head with a grin. “Crying? Come here. Don’t cry. I’ll bake cookies for you.”

Rong Shi blinked—then laughed helplessly, lowering his head to bite Song Yu’s collarbone.

“Those deathly sweet cookies—nobody but you could stomach them.”

Song Yu hissed at the sting, but fingers combed gently through Rong Shi’s hair, tightening in comfort.

“…And are cookies sweeter than me?”

Rong Shi: “But you I can eat.”

This damn rabbit—his mouth would kill him someday.

Song Yu pressed kisses down his lips, pushing him toward the living room sofa.

He lingered against Rong Shi’s mouth, voice low and teasing. “Show me… how you eat.”

Holding him tight, Rong Shi gazed at his flushed lips, drawling: “The choicest things, I save for last.”

“…If you save me for last, it means you don’t like me enough.”

Rong Shi smiled faintly. “No. It means I’m raising you. Waiting until you’re perfectly ripe.”

“…When?”

“When you’re fully mature.” His eyes were serious. “Right now, you’re still too tart.”

Song Yu: “……” Damn.

Here I thought you weren’t lewd enough.

After a while entwined, Rong Shi dragged them into the kitchen to cook dinner.

Song Yu rolled his sleeves to the elbow, lean arms flexing as he washed tomatoes. “Zheng Long’s wife is secured. She’ll be sent to Academy Star tomorrow night. While we interrogate 203, we’ll have 01 run compatibility tests.”

Rong Shi drained noodles into cold water. “Isn’t the transport overseer named Chen?”

“Mm.” Song Yu dropped tomatoes into boiling water. “From a branch of the Lin clan. Let them pay the price.”

Typically, assassination jobs were handed to outsiders—expendables, no strings attached. Failures could be abandoned without consequence.

But this time, they tapped blood ties. Proof how much the destroyed database had rattled them.

“As long as the ship blows up, no evidence left. Exposure or no exposure, doesn’t matter.” Song Yu sneered. “Do I really look that easy to bully?”

He carelessly reached into boiling water for the tomatoes—Rong Shi instantly seized his wrist, plunging it into cold water.

“…Hot?” he asked.

Song Yu chuckled. “Of course. That’s what makes it fun.”

Rong Shi: “……”

Minutes later, they sat cross-legged on the carpet eating cold noodles.

Bored, Song Yu scrolled the Academy forum. Sure enough, heated threads flew:

“Director Chen really got taken away. Was it true then?”

“This is insane. He’s digging his own grave—so blatant?!”

“…Forget that—are we ignoring the fact Papa Rong piloted a spaceship home?!”

“No kidding—he really can fly?!”

“With AI autopilot, maybe it’s not that hard—no wait, who am I kidding—waaah.”

“Mecha, sure. But ships?! Is he even human?”

Then he spotted a troll thread:

“Rong Shi’s just hot air, hyped by fans. Flying ships? Joke.”

“His brain-dead fanclub is terrifying.”

“Last week Lu Ming finished a mission, got praised by the Principal himself. One more and he might be promoted. That’s real talent!”

“Unlike a certain someone—all hype, no substance.”

“What’s wrong with liking Lu Ming, but why slander the Chairman at the same time? Bitter much?”

“Lu Ming must be your dad. And we’re just supposed to forget his dirty past? And you still stan him?”

Song Yu smirked, happily replying—

[LittleCatCan’tEatFish: Chairman-ge is eternal, a god. No debate.]

“Eat first,” Rong Shi sighed, confiscating the terminal. “Scroll and you won’t digest.”

Song Yu: “……”
Damn old rabbit—

They had no idea that post had just revived the long-dormant “True Love Tower” thread.

“Wait—wasn’t ‘LittleCatCan’tEatFish’ a Rong anti-fan?”

“High-level satire?? Doesn’t read like it…”

“Paging the Analysis Emperor!”

“I think it’s real—he converted.”

---

After dinner, they strolled outside.

The breeze scattered worries.

At the far-off basketball court, Liu Hong and Lao Bai laughed and played, crowds cheering.

Rong Shi murmured, “Want to go—” but stopped halfway.

Song Yu was nibbling absentmindedly at his fingers.

No wonder his nails were torn.

“What?” Song Yu noticed.

Rong Shi sighed and tugged his hand. “Nothing. Let’s go trim your nails.”

“…?”

Ten minutes later, Song Yu frowned at his newly bared fingernails. His eyes flicked to Rong Shi’s own—perfect, long, clean.

Then he glanced down at his feet.

Rong Shi was storing the clippers when suddenly they were snatched, and his foot lifted into Song Yu’s lap.

Song Yu grinned, running a hand over the arch. “Feeling generous today. Let gege give you a… special service.”

He pinched Rong Shi’s big toe, clippers poised.

Just as he was about to snip, Rong Shi stopped him.

“Don’t interfere; I’m focusing.”

Rong Shi drawled calmly: “Before you start… let me clarify. Are you cutting toenails—or my entire toe?”

“….” Song Yu. Damn it.

---

Author’s Note:

Rong Bunny: My wife’s “special service”—not for the faint of heart. [hides toes]

Song Cat: I may be slightly clumsy—but I’m super gentle. [smile]