Missing a month of classes, the credits from the league match rewards were barely enough to cover the gap, but the monthly exam was a genuine ranking based on scores.

A betting thread targeting Rong Shi’s scores popped up on the forum—

“Elder Qian said the test paper isn’t difficult this time. I’ll bet on A—Daddy Rong will still be first.”

“Lord Rong’s understanding of the meaning of life is just to pass, so I choose B—still 60 points.”

“He missed a whole month of classes, right? If he gets first again, wouldn’t it make everyone else seem really bad? For the sake of face, I have to choose C—both first and 60 will abandon him.”

“If the paper isn’t difficult, it’s hard to get first with 60 points, so D—both first and 60—must be ruled out first.”

While the betting was in full swing here, the neighboring thread was buzzing all night because Rong Shi had caught Qian Li’s eye.

Many believed Rong Shi wasn’t diligent enough, nor had he achieved anything remarkable. For Qian Li to view him differently, there must be some unspeakable inside story.

“He does have some skill, but not to the extent of being noticed by Lord Qian, right? Does he deserve it?!”

“His study attitude is seriously problematic. He never studies hard or strives for progress. Can such a person be relied upon to serve the country if he joins the military?”

“Not to mention distant examples, but among the top three experts in our third year, which one isn’t stronger than him?!”

“It’s too unfair! Ordinary people work so hard but go unnoticed, while some people play around all day and still thrive.”

Among the students who paired up in their first year, almost every one was talented and serious, and their paired partners were also linked to their own strength.

Those with high potential were mostly taken by general-ranked officers, while those less capable were taken by colonel-ranked officers.

Although others were envious, they had no objection, as strength was clearly demonstrated.

But Rong Shi was different; he had too many controversial points.

His salty fish speech at matriculation wasn’t even criticized, and yet he managed to firmly secure the position of chairman?

He casually married an alpha, and they still display their affection to death every day!

He never takes exams seriously, yet consistently gets first place!

He said the league match was for an outing, but he took on a Level 4 mission personally issued by Lord Qian!

He’s simply a winner in life!

Damn it, he’s too hateful!

If not him, then who to curse?

This matter became the last straw that broke the camels’ backs, directly maxing out the almost overflowing hate value, and everyone’s mental state collapsed.

For every opposition, there was support—

“Your eyes are probably red from jealousy, right? Whether Chairman Rong deserves it is all up to your mouths, huh?”

“Lord Qian definitely has better judgment than you. I think there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“If only you spent a little of your gossiping time on studying, you wouldn’t have to complain here!”

Fierce comments flooded the forum all night, completely overshadowing the betting thread.

The next day, Qin Luo went to the classroom first to save seats and clearly felt something was off with the atmosphere.

Did they all go out to be thieves in the middle of the night? Why were their dark circles so prominent?

And they were looking at him with such eager eyes, it was a bit creepy!

Did he get up on the wrong side of the bed today?

As he walked down the aisle towards the back, two betas suddenly rushed out, their eyes bloodshot, fiercely blocking his path.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” Qin Luo was startled and took a step back.

The two betas grabbed his shoulders, one on each side, and dragged him towards a seat, their eyes vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Both paths were blocked, and Qin Luo was utterly baffled. He cursed under his breath, taking a long stride, ready to escape.

Before he could even step out, he was pushed back.

“Damn it!” Qin Luo said impatiently, “Speak if you have something to say, otherwise scram!”

The beta on the left: “Brother Qin—”

Qin Luo gave him a sharp rap on the head: “Who’s your ‘brother’?”

The beta immediately corrected himself: “Lord Qin, let’s discuss something.”

The beta on the right chimed in, lowering his voice: “For this mecha competition, can you persuade Chairman Rong to participate?”

Qin Luo was full of questions: “What does his participation have to do with you guys?”

“It has everything to do with it!” The beta leaned closer and whispered a few words to Qin Luo, “If he doesn’t participate, it’ll be really hard to end this.”

“As long as we beat them into submission, no one will dare to blabber again!”

Qin Luo stroked his chin, pondering, then scoffed: “So many excuses, you just want to see Rong Shi fight, don’t you?”

The two betas’ expressions stiffened.

“Mainly we want Chairman Rong to prove himself! Watching a fight is just a bonus, really!”

Qin Luo: “…” I believe your radish (idiom, meaning ‘I believe your lies’).

---

In the dormitory, Song Yu sat at the bar counter, reading a book while waiting for Rong Shi to clear the dishes.

He turned a page and casually asked, “The Qian family’s support won’t be given for free. What are your plans?”

“Father might not be dead. I need to find him.” Rong Shi dried his hands, put down his rolled-up sleeves, and walked out. “If I have to rely on the military’s power, then the Qian family is the best choice.”

In his previous life, he had agreed to pair with Lu Youqi, but in fact, the other party had never provided any substantial help. After he was promoted to major general, the other party even exploited his gratitude.

He agreed purely because Lu Youqi was his father’s friend. He never expected to gain anything and didn’t think deeply about why the other party would do that.

Thinking about it now, the other party might not just be opportunistic; their intention to pair with him from the start might not have been out of good will.

A military academy student could only pair with one military officer, like a mentor-apprentice relationship.

After pairing with Lu Youqi, others could no longer recruit him, which meant he was isolated in disguise.

At this thought, a sudden idea flashed through Rong Shi’s mind.

Lu Youqi privately withheld the family’s survivor’s pension, making his father bear the charge of being a deserter for so many years, and then isolated him. Why? Did he have a significant grudge against his father?

Could his father’s accident also be related to him?

Seeing Rong Shi suddenly stop halfway, Song Yu closed his book and walked over: “What’s wrong?”

Rong Shi shook his head: “I suddenly feel that Lu Youqi is also very suspicious.”

His father was usually unreliable but never dropped the ball on major issues. A simple reconnaissance mission’s failure, even costing his life, seemed illogical no matter how he thought about it.

After joining the military, he tried to investigate but found nothing.

His father’s experience was like the virus leak at V99; only a line of text on his personal information remained, and important information had been erased.

Rong Shi analyzed the parts he could talk about with Song Yu.

Song Yu’s expression turned cold: “I’ll help you investigate his affairs.”

Using 01’s database, with enough time, he could investigate all of Lu Youqi’s experiences from his military academy enrollment to the present.

But the little cat said he wanted to help him—

Rong Shi’s eyes flickered: “Will it be very troublesome?”

Song Yu said nonchalantly: “Your business is my business.”

Opening the door, Rong Shi didn’t follow. Song Yu was puzzled: “Is there anything else?”

Rong Shi snapped back to reality, walked over, and kissed him on the corner of his mouth: “Thank you.”

This feeling of having someone to discuss things with, no longer being alone, was something he had never experienced before.

Caught off guard by the kiss, the hint of murderous intent that had just surged in Song Yu immediately dissipated.

This dead rabbit was getting better and better at flirting with him.

Rong Shi lowered his gaze and chuckled softly, teasing: “It’s really good to have a wife.”

Damn it! He’s getting more and more presumptuous.

Can this be tolerated?

Song Yu put his arm around Rong Shi’s shoulder, pressed him against the wall, and kissed him back without question.

He tilted his head to avoid his nose, holding back his strength to avoid knocking their teeth together.

This time, it was very successful; no mishaps.

Other students rushing to class in the hallway: “!!!”

Ahhhhhh, damn it!

Is this something they’re allowed to see?!

Noticing a group of petrified students out of the corner of his eye, Rong Shi frowned and raised his hand to block them.

Little Song Cat’s expression was completely exposed to them.

What a loss.

---

By the time they reached the classroom, the topic #SongBeautyWallSlamKissesChairmanRong# was trending on the forum, quickly rising to the homepage.

“Ahhhhhh, who’s so lucky? Why have I never seen it?!”

“Excited heart, trembling hands, where are the photos?!”

“Those who know what’s good for them, hand over the secretly taken photos quickly, or I’ll stay here and not leave.”

“Curious if their pheromones will clash when they kiss?”

“Exciting! I bet they’ll clash, kissing while fighting, no one can hold anyone back, hehehe—”

“So intense, I love it!”

This incident was posted as important corroborating evidence in the “True Love” thread, and the boosted “True Love” post gained thousands more replies.

Rong Shi looked at the forum, his face darkening.

He knew this would be brought up.

[I’ve searched the entire network, no photos were left. Should these posts be forcibly deleted?]

Rong Shi: “…”

What’s the point of deleting posts? They’ve already been seen.

The ideological and political class was making people drowsy. Song Yu rested his chin on his hand, leisurely watching Rong Shi fret, feeling quite pleased.

“…brother, what do you think?”

Hearing Qin Luo’s words, he slowly said, “Think what?”

“Participating in the mecha competition.” Qin Luo was speechless and repeated what he had just said, “It’s been a long time since I played mecha. Shall we invite sister-in-law to join?”

Song Yu lifted his eyelids, looked at him lazily, and chuckled, “Want to play with my wife?”

“…”

Qin Luo shrank back: “…No, I don’t.”

Song Yu turned to Rong Shi and asked, “How about we just go with what they want?”

Although the opinions of these students in the school had no impact on them, too many flies could be annoying.

“No interest.” Rong Shi was solving a physics problem on scratch paper.

Song Yu: “Really?”

Rong Shi: “Beating up a bunch of kids, it’s embarrassing.”

Song Yu: “…These kids are all older than you.”

Qin Luo, who heard the whole conversation: “…”

My lord, do you self-identify as 81 years old?

---

In the basement of Qin Zhao’s mansion on the Imperial Capital Star, Qin Zhao knelt on the ground, his face pale.

Lin Jing stepped on his shoulder, giving orders with a superior posture: “Rong Shi is very troublesome. The higher-ups want to eliminate him.”

Qin Zhao: “He’s already part of the Qian family now. It might be difficult to make a move.”

With the Qian family’s power, what kind of assassination couldn’t be investigated? If they clashed, the Qian family might use it as an excuse to wipe out the Qin family.

The higher one stood at the peak of power, the more precarious it was. Any small loophole could become a fatal point.

The omega’s pheromones in the air grew denser, carrying an invisible sense of oppression.

Qin Zhao’s face was flushed red, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

“I understand. I’ll have someone handle it immediately!”

Lin Jing’s face relaxed, and his pheromones immediately became sweet and cloying: “That’s a good boy.”

Qin Zhao hugged his leg, like a drowning person clinging to a life raft.

“Give it to me, give it to me! I can’t wait!”

Lin Jing was pressed down, his gaze at Qin Zhao full of disgust.

His terminal rang, and he casually swiped it open.

[The First Prince did not dispose of He Nian. The information is reliable.]

He narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth, his gaze icy.

The omega he had cultivated for almost ten years was just gone!

He didn’t know if he could find a more suitable recipient than He Nian.

Even if he cloned, he would have to wait another 19 years!

He should have had a backup body in the first place.

---

No matter how heated the discussion was on the forum, Rong Shi remained in a state of deep meditation.

After his workout, he took a quick shower and accepted the towel 01 handed him.

“The order for the nanomaterials has been accepted. If nothing unexpected happens, it should arrive in twenty days.”

“En.” Rong Shi dried his hair and walked to the living room. “What about the chip components?”

“All components were purchased from twenty different companies. They should arrive in three days at the latest.”

01’s chip technology was fifteen years ahead, luckily all components were acquired, but it would take a lot of time to modify and process them.

Rong Shi: “Switch to standard mode.”

“Yes.”

The metallic orb hovering in mid-air dropped to the ground, gradually transforming into a human-sized battle suit.

With the large energy stone Song Yu provided, all of 01’s previously damaged areas had been repaired.

Rong Shi’s slender fingers drew and tapped in the air, and a virtual image identical to the battle suit was duplicated next to it.

He made a rotating gesture, and the virtual image instantly shattered into countless parts, slowly rotating.

He watched in silence for a while, then summoned a virtual keyboard and began typing on it.

Corresponding parts increased or decreased in response.

The indicator lights on 01’s eyes lit up, and the empty battle suit quietly moved next to Rong Shi, its voice sounding wronged:

“Master, I’m so cute, why do I still need a little brother? Will you not want me after you have it? Who’s more important, me or little brother? Wuwuwu—”

Rong Shi: “…”

Was this useless battle suit talking more and more?

“Because I’ve been constantly checking the database recently!” 01 made a crying motion. “I’m working so hard, are you really going to abandon me?”

Rong Shi: “…Little brother isn’t for my use.”

“Holy crap! I worried for nothing.” 01 paused, straightened its posture, and instantly became imposing.

Rong Shi: “…”

Rong Shi: “Activate mute mode.”

“QuQ I won’t say anymore.”

01’s battle suit was very different from conventional mechas. Large mechas could be up to a hundred meters tall, with the smallest being four or five meters. They had independent cockpits and were usually controlled by operating consoles and mecha AI.

Battle suits, on the other hand, were made of nanomaterials, could expand and deform, didn’t require an operating console, and could be controlled by thought through a chip implanted in the brain.

Mechas, as one of the main combat tools of an era, possessed very powerful combat capabilities, but their drawbacks were also obvious.

In actual combat, once a mecha sustained significant damage on the front line, it was generally discarded. Transporting and repairing them was too costly.

But battle suits didn’t have this constraint.

As long as the chip wasn’t damaged and the energy stone was sufficient, even if it was bombed to just a single piece, it could be completely repaired.

A mission was scheduled after the monthly exam. A battlefield was not a competition arena; there was no AI intelligent control over beast movements, and there were too many unexpected events.

He had to finish the little cat’s battle suit before deployment.

---

Once he got busy, Rong Shi lost track of time.

By the time he came to, it was almost one o’clock.

He lay on the bed, just about to sleep, when he caught a faint, spicy-sweet scent of wine from his pillow. This was left by Xiao Yu, who had slept there two days ago.

The instinctive clash of pheromones dispelled Rong Shi’s sleepiness.

He stared at the ceiling for a long time, then raised his hand to open his terminal and logged into Star Wars.

Not there?

Rong Shi looked around, opened his friends list, and indeed, a certain night owl was online.

Before he could warp over, the other party’s laughter already sounded beside him.

“Bunny, long time no see.”

Rong Shi: “…” Playing the ‘pretend not to know each other’ game?

Rong Shi reached out and wrapped his arms around the soft Persian cat, leaning into his neck.

Even though there should have been no scent, he distinctly smelled an elegant wine aroma.

The little cat hugged back: “Oh, I’m so shy, Bunny actually initiated a hug.”

Rong Shi released him expressionlessly: “This is the last time.”

He’s not playing by the rules?

Little cat: “Why?”

Rong Shi opened a training room and pulled him in.

“My wife is very domineering and doesn’t like me being intimate with others.”

The little cat couldn’t help but curve his lips upward, feigning anger: “Who’s more important, your wife or me?”

“Of course it’s you.” Rong Shi clasped his hands tightly, his expression serious, “Compared to you, a wife is nothing.”

The little cat’s expression froze, and the smile on his face gradually turned fierce.

“What did you say? I didn’t hear clearly.”

Rong Shi: “You’re more important than him—”

Before he could finish, a cat-leg strike swept over.

Rong Shi bent to avoid it, controlling the hand that was about to strike, dodging left and right.

“No need to be so happy—”

Before he finished speaking, another cat-leg strike came, this time with greater force than before.

The little cat repelled him, drawing back his controlled hands for a stormy attack.

“Today I’ll tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a bunny who could have lived very happily, but he just had a mouth.”

Rong Shi dodged and retreated to the edge of the arena, using a stake to launch himself into a somersault while counterattacking.

“Having a mouth makes one happier.”

The little cat’s moves were fast and vicious: “He found his tongue was poisonous and soon died from the poison.”

Rong Shi: “…”

So cruel.

In the game, there were no injury concerns. The two fought exhilaratingly for half an hour, then sat by the edge of the arena to rest.

Rong Shi: “Not sleeping this late?”

Little cat scoffed: “I couldn’t sleep, that’s why I’m on the game.”

Rong Shi: “Waiting for me?”

That’s what he said, but he knew it wasn’t the case.

With Little Song Cat’s direct personality, if he missed him, he would directly come to his dormitory and cling to him.

Little cat looked ahead, silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile: “I always feel like Dad is waiting for me in the game, so when I can’t sleep, I’ll come online to check.”

Both of them lost loved ones at similar ages, so Rong Shi could deeply understand this feeling.

“Do you need me to accompany you?” Rong Shi said seriously, “Old customer, no price increase.”

Little cat got up, scoffing: “No need, my wife on the bed is so good, I don’t need a dead rabbit like you to accompany me.”

Rong Shi: “…”

---

The next afternoon, the student council was scheduled to hold a deployment meeting for the upcoming simulated mecha competition.

Online registration, coordination, schedule arrangement, and a series of other tasks all had to be arranged by the student council. There was only one class in the afternoon, and some time before the meeting, Rong Shi first went to the student council to handle official business.

Song Yu, having nothing to do, followed him.

The terminal’s notification sound broke the quiet of the office.

Song Yu swiped it open, put down the book in his hand, and walked towards Rong Shi.

“There’s news from the lab.”

Hearing this, Rong Shi looked up from his documents.

A thick analysis report was magnified on the virtual screen.

The two of them looked through it page by page.

“He Nian’s pheromones during estrus are not entirely the same as his usual ones. Only his estrus pheromones are 100% matched with yours.” Rong Shi summarized, combining 01’s pheromone report with this analysis report.

“His physical functions significantly decline after each estrus?” Song Yu frowned, pondering. “So, estrus causes him great harm.”

Normally, an omega’s estrus is just a physiological cycle and doesn’t cause physical harm, but for He Nian, it was more like a toxic onset than estrus.

Each time it occurred, his body would be destroyed once.

Rong Shi thought for a moment and said to Song Yu: “SYT7737, try injecting him with this?”

Song Yu furrowed his brow: “You think this drug is a restorative for them?”

This drug contained stimulant components, and its specific efficacy was still unclear. Song Yu had always thought it was a drug used for modification, but Rong Shi’s words reminded him.

Perhaps this was a drug used to stabilize physical functions after modification.

The office door suddenly knocked, interrupting their thoughts.

Jiang Xingze walked in with an unfamiliar alpha.

“This is Jiang Lin from the third-year Mecha Department.” Jiang Xingze walked to the desk and introduced him to Rong Shi. “He was the freshman chairman before me, and currently ranks first in total score in the Mecha Department.”

Jiang Lin was tall, only a few centimeters shorter than Rong Shi, with a strong and proper appearance.

“You’re Rong Shi?” Jiang Lin walked over, lowered his gaze to size up the seated Rong Shi, his tone not particularly friendly. “I just returned to school after a mission, and it happens to be during the mecha competition. I’d like to invite you to spar with me—”

---

Author’s Note:

Song Cat: My old man’s mouth has intermittent problems, what should I do?

Rong Bunny: Kisses and hugs can cure it. [Obedient]