Li Xiao thought Song Jin was joking, but he didn’t expect this kid to actually want to shower with him. The shower stall in the rest cabin was very small, and fitting two 1.9-meter-plus Alphas inside was truly a struggle.

Seeing Li Xiao remain unmoved, Song Jin took off his shirt and looked over: “Are you showering or not? Afraid I’ll eat you?”

Li Xiao: “…”

He even dares to provoke me.

Li Xiao: “Are you not averse to showering with others?”

Song Jin: “You aren’t ‘others.’ You’re my wife.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Forget it. Why am I arguing with a brat about this?

Ten minutes later, the two walked out of the bathroom, drying their hair. Song Jin leaned against the side of the sofa, signaling Jiao Bai to come over and report. After sending the information, he noticed Li Xiao picking up their dirty clothes and tossing them into the washing machine.

His damp hair accentuated Li Xiao’s superior and elegant bone structure; every subtle expression could pluck at one’s heartstrings. Song Jin loved watching Li Xiao’s cold, indifferent face when he was thinking. His eyes held many things, yet they were hidden deep; there was no hypocritical smile, nor were there lies filling his mouth—as if one could catch a glimpse of the person’s true self.

Perhaps noticing his gaze, Li Xiao turned his head to meet Song Jin’s eyes after starting the washer. “What are you looking at?” Li Xiao said as he wiped his hair and went to pour himself some water.

Song Jin was thirsty from looking at the beauty, so he got up and followed: “The first shower together after getting married, and it’s not romantic at all.”

Li Xiao took a sip of his water, drinking half the cup: “Are we still looking for romance when showering with a kid nowadays?”

Song Jin’s gaze fell on his bobbing Adam’s apple, and he retorted casually: “I forgot, your self-positioning is that of a 68-year-old; it’s long past the age for pursuing romance.”

“…” Li Xiao looked at him leisurely. “Then before the next shower, should I prepare some rubber ducks for you and tell a children’s story?”

Song Jin nodded slowly: “That sounds very evocative. Let’s try it next time.”

Li Xiao: “I knew you were into that.”

Song Jin: “…”

Li Xiao placed the refilled water in front of Song Jin and ruffled his wet golden hair: “Little kid, dry your hair early; it’s easy to catch a cold.”

Song Jin took it and said flatly: “Better let the elderly go first. I’m afraid you’ll go bald from hair loss.”

Li Xiao: “…”

The doorbell rang, and Song Jin signaled the AI to open the door. Jiao Bai, dressed in a black suit, entered. His gaze swept over Li Xiao as he asked respectfully: “Is it convenient to report here?”

Song Jin: “Go ahead.”

Jiao Bai projected several virtual screens into the air. On the screen were the results of the pheromone confrontation tests between Lin Zhou and Chen Xi, as well as the physical changes in both individuals.

“In terms of mental control strength, scent concealment, and pheromone grade, Lin Zhou is superior.” Jiao Bai highlighted the important data. “Also, second-generation modified humans are immune to many toxins, and their physical performance is excellent in all aspects. The reason Chen Xi could win that night was that Lin Zhou had already broken two ribs and his right leg was fractured.”

Song Jin: “How long is the pheromone influence time?”

Jiao Bai switched the following screens to the front: “The time it takes for a second-gen to cause a dominant effect on a first-gen is 5.08 seconds, but the mind remains within a controllable range. The time for a first-gen to influence a second-gen is 1.07 seconds.”

Li Xiao walked over to the screen, looking at the comparison of the two sets of physical data. “Alphas are inherently dominant toward Omegas, so this kind of comparison isn’t really appropriate.”

Song Jin: “Shengya only has ‘Super Os’.”

Li Xiao was confused: “You mean, all modified humans are Omegas?”

Song Jin nodded: “Super Os can break free from the instinct of being dominated. Under the condition of high pheromone matching, they can even turn the tables to dominate Alphas, and the lethality of their pheromones is great.”

Noticing Song Jin mentioned pheromone compatibility, Li Xiao thought about the several attacks he had faced: “But Qi Ge, Lin Zhou, and the others didn’t need to consider compatibility when attacking people.”

“Correct.” Song Jin set down his cup. “That is why second-generation modified humans like Lin Zhou are more dangerous.”

Li Xiao was lost in thought and asked Jiao Bai: “Is this the only set of comparative data?”

Seeing Song Jin didn’t say anything, Jiao Bai nodded: “Only these. The other second-generation modified humans are quite cautious in the competition, and we haven’t obtained useful data yet.”

After reporting, Jiao Bai sent all the data to Song Jin and turned to leave. By the time Song Jin finished blow-drying his hair and came out, Li Xiao was still lost in thought looking at the data. His towel had been tossed aside, and his neck was dampened by the water dripping from his hair tips.

Song Jin went over, grabbed the towel, and wiped his hair, though his technique was very amateurish. Seeing Li Xiao’s hair had been rubbed into a bird’s nest, Song Jin frowned at his masterpiece with great dissatisfaction, trying hard to make amends while Li Xiao wasn’t paying attention.

“Super Os are unaffected by Alpha pheromones and have physical abilities far exceeding Alphas of the same level; they are the first choice for soldiers.” Li Xiao asked in a low voice, “So, you guys just incorporated Super Os into the military and tacitly allowed their existence?”

Song Jin: “What exactly are you trying to ask?”

“As long as Super Os are domesticated, their existence isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the country; it’s equivalent to human evolution.” Li Xiao turned to look at Song Jin. “You are still investigating—is it because you want to obtain the secret to the evolution of other genders?”

Song Jin stopped his hand: “Successful evolution must be sustainable. If this is a general trend, we indeed don’t need to stop it, but—”

Li Xiao: “But?”

Song Jin looked at Chen Xi’s report: “Super Os cannot reproduce, and their lifespans are only half that of ordinary people. This is not evolution; they are just monsters born under political struggle. If left unchecked, there will be third, fourth, and fifth generations…”

Once the existence of modified humans is exposed, it will inevitably cause social panic. Ordinary people might become test subjects so as not to be eliminated. People will become objects that can be bought and sold, breeding all kinds of illegal biological research and gray interest chains. The emergence of different modified humans will further aggravate the panic, thus falling into an infinite vicious cycle. Once the floodgates for modified humans are opened, the entire country will be ruined.

Song Jin looked at Li Xiao: “You said pheromones can reflect a person’s physical condition. What does the scent of rotten tomatoes represent?”

Li Xiao was silent for a moment: “Internal decay. If there is no external intervention or treatment, I’m afraid they aren’t far from death.”

Both of their terminals vibrated at the same time. Li Xiao checked it; it was a message from Da Bei:

【Brother, let’s go eat! Fried chicken! Braised pork! Boiled spicy fish!】

Seeing the message, Li Xiao and Song Jin’s stomachs growled at the same time. Li Xiao turned off the terminal and decisively went to get his clothes: “Eat first, talk about other things later.”

He took the washed clothes to the bathroom and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Li Xiao tilted his head—that soaring bird’s nest of hair on his head was particularly eye-catching.

Li Xiao: “…”

That brat.

At Tianjiang Residence, Danse Royal Family.

Special Assistant Old Liu received the news and rushed excitedly to the King’s office to report the good news, but he couldn’t find Li Ji after searching for a while.

Could His Majesty have gone for a walk again at this hour?

In the small lounge, Li Ji had locked the door, sitting on a comfortable recliner sipping tea while secretly watching the league broadcast.

“Li Xiao and Song Jin live up to expectations, taking first place in the league!” several commentators cheered excitedly. The most prominent part of the livestream was replaying the highlights of Li Xiao’s team.

On the live chat:

• “That last level was like walking in their own backyard; it was too easy, haha.”
• “Mortis was too cowardly; I still wanted to see them compete!”
• “If they didn’t finish early, all the flowers would be gone; do you know how much that costs?”
• “Li Xiao is the strongest among the exchange students, right? I heard he’s just a commoner?”
• “Good thing Song Jin married him; let Li Xiao stay in Shengya to enjoy life, hehehe.”

Li Ji watched those comments, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. Especially the parts about “Song Jin marrying him” and “staying in Shengya to enjoy life” made him extremely annoyed.

He quickly built an account for himself and tipped the livestream one billion [credits] without hesitation. The commentators hadn’t even finished their excitement when they saw an ID called “Number One’s Older Brother” drop to the top of the tipping list. They couldn’t help but scream and stood up to bow in unison.

“Thank you, Big Brother, for the fleet!”

【Number One’s Older Brother: Li Xiao cannot stay in Shengya. Don’t even think about it. I do not approve of that marriage.】

The VIP donor’s comment, in red and bolded font, floated slowly across the center of the screen.

But this comment was obviously intended to incite conflict. Soon, the livestream’s comment section and message board were blown up.

• “First time seeing such a rich hater, recording the scene.”
• “Money makes you special? Who are you? Since when do you get to ‘not approve’?”
• “Come here, I guarantee I won’t beat you to death!”
• “Manually tagging @Officials, return the money to this person and make him leave!”
• “Song Jin and Li Xiao are a match made in heaven; if you don’t like it, close your eyes!”

After saying what he wanted, Li Ji closed the stream, feeling refreshed, and went back to work. He had no idea that because of his one sentence, the ID “Number One’s Older Brother” had made the hot search lists on all major platforms in Shengya. From that moment on, he became famous in Shengya. In less than a day, he gained hundreds of millions of haters, all gathering in groups to scold him.

If he had known that one day he would use an account from Shengya to announce the brothers’ true identities, Li Ji might have considered picking a more majestic name.

After eating, Li Xiao and Song Jin returned to the rest cabin and slept like the dead. It wasn’t until that night that students began clearing the level one after another to board the ship.

The next afternoon, the group sat in the spaceship’s observation hall, watching the countdown for the final half hour of the competition. The difficulty of the Wind City level was clear; many students had spent all four days running back and forth in Wind City, their mental states completely shattered.

Meng Tao and Zheng Lin boarded the ship at 7:00 AM on the fourth day. Watching the final five-minute countdown, they felt more nervous than when taking the military academy entrance exam. Rankings would be announced as soon as the competition ended.

“It’s so hard this time; we’ll definitely make it into the top fifty.” Zheng Lin tugged at his pant leg, too nervous to even drink water. Meng Tao kept his face tight, not saying a word, silently repeating in his heart that they would make it.

“Final ten-second countdown!”

The students stood up excitedly, waiting for the rankings to appear. The moment the screen appeared, Meng Tao jumped up, looking from the fiftieth place upward.

Nothing. Nothing. Still nothing!

“We’re on the second page, 103rd.” Zheng Lin’s face went pale. He didn’t know whether he was angry or defeated.

Li Xiao took first place, and they were ranked outside the top hundred?!

Meng Tao stood there, stunned. Everything in front of him kept twisting and rotating, and his ears were buzzing, as if his soul had been ripped out of his body.

103… This isn’t real!

Song Jin confirmed that there were only three exchange students from their team. He finished his ice cream and stood up to return to his room to work. Li Xiao found the noise annoying and prepared to go back as well.

As he reached the door, he was blocked by a rushing Meng Tao. Jiang Hao got annoyed the moment he saw him and asked blandly: “What, want to argue with my Big Brother again?”

Meng Tao glared at Li Xiao, his chest rising and falling violently: “Got a minute? A word in private?”

“No time.” Li Xiao bypassed him and left without looking back.

Meng Tao hurriedly turned and grabbed Li Xiao’s arm: “Just two sentences! It won’t take much of your time!”

Seeing the surrounding students looking over, Meng Tao lowered his head slightly: “I know you’re still angry at me because of what happened before. I really know I was wrong.”

Using that routine.

Li Xiao looked at him, his tone indifferent: “You are a great noble; you do what you want, you say what you want. How would I dare to be angry with you?”

“Exactly,” Da Bei chimed in, “We wouldn’t dare provoke you, young master.”

Meng Tao: “I’m not talking to you!”

Da Bei: “Why are you so fierce?!”

Meng Tao gritted his teeth and looked back at Li Xiao: “I’m begging you—just two sentences, that’s it.”

Qian Can and the others watched Meng Tao’s humble appearance and found it quite funny. Among the big group of exchange students, Meng Tao had the biggest ego. When he first arrived, he had the air of a crown prince and didn’t put Li Xiao in his eyes at all. They hadn’t expected him to lower his status to beg now.

Song Jin wrapped his arm around Li Xiao’s shoulder from behind: “He doesn’t have time right now. If you have something to say, send a message.” With that, he led Li Xiao away.

Meng Tao froze there, his expression extremely ugly. He had never begged anyone in his entire life; he never expected his first time to be so mercilessly rejected!

Although the competition had ended, a large number of participants were still stranded in the arena. It wasn’t until the fifth day that they prepared to return to the Imperial Capital.

Li Xiao sat in the rest cabin, flipping through the information Jiang Chi had sent. Recently, the Raven [gang] had attacked two more border planets, both related to local gangs.

Jiang Chi: 【This Raven is really a thorn; they dare to provoke anyone! I’ve never seen thugs more diligent than them.】

Li Xiao: 【Find someone to ask around if there is any Bi Que clan blood being sold on those two planets, or if it’s being used as some kind of game reward.】

Jiang Chi: 【I’ll try my best.】

Jiang Chi: 【How’s my brother recently? Still alive?】

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao forwarded a replay of the league broadcast to him. A moment later, he received a bombardment of messages from Jiang Chi.

【Wow wow wow! Hao is so handsome! Hao is awesome! There’s hope for my Old Jiang family to be whitewashed! Wuuuuuu】

Li Xiao shut down his device and tossed the spare terminal back into his bag.

After eating lunch, everyone gathered in the spaceship hall. The leader of the instructor group stood at the front, smiling, with his close-up projected on the screen above. “This time, our Central Military Academy took the top ten. Everyone performed excellently. Thank you for your hard work!”

“Awoo—!” A group of students hooted and egged them on.

The leader made a gesture for silence: “I just received notice from my superiors. This time, besides academic credit rewards and prizes, teams that made it into the top fifty are eligible to attend the victory banquet. The location is the Royal Palace!”

“If I had known I could enter the palace, I would have tried harder!”

“I haven’t entered the Shengde District in my life, wuuuu.”

“I envy Song Jin’s team. Li Xiao and the others get to enter the palace the first time they come to Shengya. How awesome is that?!”

After giving instructions for the return trip, the leader signaled for Li Xiao and his team to stay behind, dismissing the others.

“Xiao,” the leader put his arm around Li Xiao’s shoulder, gesturing for Jiang Hao and Da Bei to move closer. “We’re entering the palace tomorrow afternoon. Have you prepared your clothes?”

Li Xiao: “Isn’t this [uniform] okay?”

The leader sized him up. Li Xiao was wearing black combat training gear. He looked very sharp, but it didn’t fit the royal rules. Seeing Da Bei and Jiang Hao also looking over in confusion, the leader pondered: “How about this? I’ll see about borrowing a few sets. I just don’t know if the sizes will fit, but I’ll notify you when the time comes.”

“No need to be that troublesome.” Song Jin walked to Li Xiao’s side. “He and I are the same size; he can just wear mine.”

Hearing this, Qian Can raised his hand, pointing at Jiang Hao and Da Bei: “They are about the same build as me, I’ll solve it!”

The instructor knew these were all young masters of noble families. Seeing them take the initiative, he breathed a sigh of relief: “Then I’ll leave it to you all. Xiao Li and the others are honored guests; we cannot neglect them.”

In the distance, Meng Tao watched the situation, his eyes reddening with anxiety. The banquet was indeed being held in the palace, but he didn’t have the qualifications to go!

They arrived back at the Royal Academy near dinner time. The six of them followed the group off the shuttle toward the dorms. The road was full of onlookers, and the names called the most were Li Xiao and Song Jin.

Qian Can clicked his tongue and shook his head: “Good thing the Boss moved early. If [Li Xiao] was targeted by them, wouldn’t his bones be eaten until not even slag was left?”

Up ahead, Song Jin had a headache from the noise: “There are so many calling your name. See any you like? Want me to introduce you?”

Li Xiao: “So generous?”

Song Jin: “Can’t neglect the honored guests.”

“No need,” Li Xiao said without expression. “It’s not too late to introduce them at the wine party tomorrow night.”

Qian Can and the others: “…” Your emotional intelligence is truly a match for each other.

Song Jin, of course, knew what Li Xiao meant, and couldn’t help but tease: “Whether you want an Alpha or an Omega, just ask, there’s plenty.”

Li Xiao: “Then I won’t be polite.”

Song Jin: “…”

On the way back to the dorm after dinner, Song Jin saw Meng Tao lurking downstairs from far away. “How many times has this been?”

Li Xiao ignored him, but was blocked by Meng Tao at the door. “What exactly do you want to say?”

Meng Tao glanced at Song Jin and the others, signaling for Li Xiao to go to the side with him, and asked in a low voice: “You shouldn’t have any interest in that kind of victory banquet, right?”

Li Xiao: “So?”

Meng Tao leaned in: “Give me your spot, and I’ll go in your place.”

Li Xiao found it funny: “You want to enter the palace that much?”

“That’s not the point.” Meng Tao’s expression was serious. “An exchange student attending the victory banquet represents the face of Danse. You don’t even have formal wear for the banquet and would have to wear someone else’s—”

Realizing this was the wrong thing to say, Meng Tao immediately corrected: “My meaning is that you have no interest in attending, so you haven’t prepared. It would be better if I went for you. I’m very familiar with the wine parties of the royal nobility; I definitely won’t make a mistake.”

“What you said makes a lot of sense.” Li Xiao nodded thoughtfully. “The face of Danse is indeed more important.”

Meng Tao’s eyes lit up: “Then is that settled?”

Li Xiao turned his head to the back and raised his voice slightly: “Does anyone know if the spots for the victory banquet can be transferred?”

Meng Tao’s face changed. This was the entrance to the dormitory; many people came and went, and this building housed the Central Military Academy students!

“Transfer the spot?” Song Jin’s eyes looked over. “You don’t want to go to the victory banquet?”

Li Xiao looked innocent: “Meng Tao begged me, saying he wanted to go—”

“No, that’s not it!” The students looked over with subtle gazes. Meng Tao subconsciously shouted in rebuttal: “It’s because Li Xiao doesn’t have formal wear for the party and was afraid of losing face that he said he’d let me go in his place!”

But after this thoughtless remark, he immediately regretted it, wishing he could slap himself twice. Even if Li Xiao had been willing before, he might not be now.

“Li Xiao going to a wine party—how is that losing face?” A student onlooker couldn’t stand it and stood up. “Li Xiao’s appearance is top-tier even in the Imperial Capital Star, and he also took first place in the league. He gave Danse plenty of face. You are being too much by saying that, aren’t you?”

“Li Xiao doesn’t have formal wear? I have some.” Other students spoke up one after another.

“I have some too, brand new! I’ll go get them if you want them.”

“I’ll ask in the group chat and help you find sizes that fit; you can pick yourself.”

Li Xiao thanked them one by one: “I’ll just wear Song Jin’s.”

The students: “…”

Forgot. Li Xiao has a wife with the same build, and one who looks like he has a noble background. Nothing for them to worry about.

Meng Tao’s face grew uglier, but since things had reached this point, he was unwilling to give up on the chance to enter the palace. He looked at Li Xiao with some grievance: “Didn’t you just say you wanted me to go in your place? You’re making me very embarrassed.”

Qian Can, on the side, spoke blandly: “How can the banquet spots be transferred? Are you joking? Do you think the royal banquet is a street food stall where anyone can go if they want?”

The remark made everyone around them laugh.

Li Xiao looked at Meng Tao: “You heard it? The spot cannot be transferred. There’s nothing I can do.”

Meng Tao gritted his teeth, his voice low enough that only the two of them could hear: “Then transfer Jiang Hao’s spot to me, that’s fine, right? With his status, what if he loses decorum in the palace?!”

Li Xiao: “Why don’t you talk to the instructor group leader directly? I’m just an ordinary student; I can’t call the shots.”

Seeing Li Xiao was about to leave, Meng Tao grabbed him, saying anxiously: “Whatever you want, just say it and I’ll agree to it!”

Li Xiao stopped and looked at him expressionlessly: “Whatever I want, you can give?”

Meng Tao nodded repeatedly, but the moment he met Li Xiao’s eyes, he suddenly realized something was wrong, and his expression changed drastically. No matter how down-and-out Li Xiao was, he was still a Prince, and no matter how powerful the Meng family was, they were just nobles. The two sides were a world apart. By saying something like this, he had already crossed the line.

He had always subconsciously treated Li Xiao as a commoner expelled from the royal family, to the point where he forgot that this person was actually the first heir to the throne.

The next morning, just as Li Xiao and Song Jin finished their morning exercises, a knock came at the door. Jiao Bai brought people over with a pile of formal wear.

Song Jin’s gaze swept over them, picking up a gaudy, multi-colored set and holding it up in front of Li Xiao: “How about this one?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Does he think I’m a peacock spreading its tail?

Li Xiao gestured toward another gaudy set: “Then you wear that one; it’ll just happen to be a couple’s outfit.”

Song Jin: “…”

Two peacocks spreading their tails?

The party started at 4:00 PM, and they had to leave an hour early. Song Jin walked out of the bedroom dressed up. He paused for a moment when he saw Li Xiao standing behind the sofa in a black formal suit, adjusting his cufflinks and tie.

Hearing the movement, Li Xiao turned his head to look. They had eventually chosen relatively simple styles. Song Jin was all in white, which, paired with his blonde hair and amber eyes, made him look even more like an elf who had walked out of another world.

“Am I wearing it wrong?” Li Xiao asked, seeing Song Jin staring at him. He hadn’t worn this type of formal attire in a very long time.

Song Jin: “If you walk out like this, your identity will be exposed immediately.”

Li Xiao looked down. This suit was entirely in the style of Shengya, and he wasn’t wearing any accessories that symbolized his identity; how could it be exposed?

Song Jin didn’t explain further, walked over, and adjusted Li Xiao’s bangs: “Let’s go. The ugly daughter-in-law will eventually have to meet the in-laws.”

Li Xiao: “…”

After the four (Jiang Hao and his team) were dressed and ready, they waited downstairs at the dormitory. Students passing by stopped to look; some Omegas even asked for photos. Hearing footsteps behind them, Jiang Hao turned his head: “Big Brother—”

He stopped short upon seeing them. The others turned to look and instantly went silent.

Li Xiao had changed his clothes, and it was as if he had become a different person. His every gesture was filled with the aura of someone in power; standing beside Song Jin, he was not in the least overshadowed. His Alpha aura was impossible to suppress.

Is he really just a commoner?!