“Ugh—!”

A cry of pain suddenly echoed in his ears.

This was followed by a dull thud.

The imagined sharp pain didn’t arrive. Wu Han was stunned for a moment, then a pair of hands helped him up.

“Are you alright?”

Wu Han trembled uncontrollably. He looked up, surprised to see it was Rong Shi.

“Chairman?”

Rong Shi brushed the dirt off his right-hand fingers, then gently pressed his knuckles a few times, confirming no bones were injured.

“Damn it!”

Zhou En was pushed against the wall, his emotions growing more agitated. But seeing that it was Rong Shi, he could only suppress his anger and prepare to slip away.

“Stop right there.”

Rong Shi tilted his head to look at him: “As a former student council member, you’re bullying a junior on campus, and you just plan to leave?”

“Heh, which eye did you see me bullying him with?” Zhou En sneered maliciously, his gaze sweeping over Wu Han. “You ask him yourself.”

Wu Han clutched his reddened right hand, his lips pressed tightly together.

“Chairman,” he whispered, “It was just a misunderstanding earlier.”

“Did you hear that?” Zhou En straightened his collar, which Rong Shi had messed up, and chuckled twice. “Even if you’re the Chairman, you can’t meddle in everything. You should learn more from Jiang Xingze in this regard.”

After saying that, he walked away brazenly.

“I’m sorry,” Wu Han said, his face full of remorse. “I… I have something else to do, I’m leaving first.”

His former subordinate was repeatedly bullied by others, yet didn’t fight back.

Rong Shi frowned, feeling very annoyed.

Seeing Wu Han hobbling away, he followed him, supporting Wu Han as they walked towards the infirmary.

Wu Han quickly shook his head: “No need, it’s just a minor injury—”

Rong Shi: “I’m going myself. Taking you is just a convenience.”

Wu Han hastily asked: “You… where were you hurt?”

Rong Shi: “Punched him, my hand hurts.”

Wu Han: “…”

He pursed his lips, but ultimately said nothing.

In the infirmary, Jiang Huai smiled, but that smile sent shivers down Wu Han’s spine, making him tremble.

“Well, well, secretly slipped out and came back after getting beaten up? It seems I treated you too well, too fast, giving you the ability to get out of bed.”

Wu Han shrank back against the headboard, meekly saying: “I’m sorry, I caused you trouble.”

Rong Shi looked at this young doctor.

He had an unlit electronic cigarette dangling from his mouth, his white coat was worn sloppily, and especially that face—he didn’t look like a doctor, but more like an entertainer.

“What, did I say something wrong?” Jiang Huai noticed his gaze and retorted.

“No, you’re right.” Noticing Wu Han’s emotional state out of the corner of his eye, Rong Shi said calmly: “I have two questions I’d like to ask him. Doctor, please go about your business first.”

Jiang Huai, clutching the medical record, walked to the door, then suddenly turned to look at Wu Han: “Luckily, no bones were injured. If he had used a little more force, that hand of yours would never have been able to do delicate work again.”

That light remark made Wu Han’s face instantly turn pale.

The door closed in front of him. He couldn’t control his emotional breakdown and burst into tears.

With an outsider present, he frantically tried to wipe away his tears, but they just kept coming.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be fine in a moment.”

Rong Shi pulled up a chair and sat by the bed: “You haven’t done anything to offend me. You don’t need to keep apologizing.”

The more he tried to control his emotions, the more uncontrollable they became. Wu Han felt hopeless and simply started wailing loudly.

“I… I don’t want to live anymore, boohoohoo—”

He was eighteen and crying in front of people, especially in front of the Chairman he admired. He might as well dig a hole and bury himself.

Rong Shi: “…” No need for that.

Twenty minutes later, Wu Han finally managed to stop his overly active tear glands, gasping and sobbing as he took deep breaths.

“Calmed down?” Rong Shi asked.

For Wu Han, it was a mortifying public scene, but for Rong Shi, it was quite normal.

In his previous life, his stupid apprentice’s bursts of inspiration were always faster than his hands. Often, before one inspiration was completed, another would pop up, leading to an endless cycle of unfinished work.

Every time a new inspiration struck after an all-nighter, he would run to Rong Shi, crying and yelling, “I can’t finish! I really can’t finish!” and “If I build another battle armor, I’m a complete idiot!”

After crying, he’d obediently go back to work.

Wu Han: “Calmed down.”

After calming down, he wanted to die even more.

Rong Shi: “Still don’t want to talk?”

Wu Han’s eyes were red and swollen. Thinking of Zhou En, his eyes welled up again. “Senior Zhou is someone I met in middle school. He’s very gentle and enthusiastic. To me, he’s the best friend and teacher.”

Rong Shi gently asked: “Then why would he hurt you?”

“I don’t know either.” Wu Han wiped his eyes, shaking his head hesitantly. “He wasn’t like this before.”

Both their parents were mechanics. Both of them were exposed to mechanics since childhood and developed a strong interest in them.

Mechanics have their own circles, and they met in that circle. Due to their shared hobby, they quickly became friends.

“Two years ago, we partnered up to participate in the All-Round Competition. I was framed, and only Senior Zhou stood up for me.”

At this point, Wu Han’s mood was low. “Although the matter was cleared up, my state was very poor. I was afraid of affecting Senior Zhou, so I withdrew from the competition midway.”

Rong Shi: “All-Round Competition?”

The name sounded a little familiar.

Wu Han nodded: “In my hometown, the Galaxy, it’s the most prestigious competition for teenagers.”

Rong Shi thought back carefully, finally remembering where he had heard it.

When he was on campaigns before, there weren’t many entertainment activities. Liu Hong was loud-mouthed and big-voiced, and he could be heard “reminiscing” all day long, gathering a bunch of loyal listeners.

Rong Shi had indeed heard him mention it once or twice.

This competition was divided into multiple domains, with a wide variety of events, such as calligraphy, Go, various musical instruments (artistic), combat, figure skating, various ball sports, as well as mechanical and intellectual categories.

It was said that as long as one had a special skill, they could find a corresponding event to participate in this competition.

Wu Han: “I chose to go to military school also because Senior Zhou is here.”

Rong Shi: “And joining the student council too?”

“Not that,” Wu Han looked at him with swollen but bright eyes. “I think you live a very free and easy life. I want to learn from you.”

Rong Shi: “…”

No need for that; Old Qian would be after his life.

Having asked enough questions, Rong Shi told him to rest well.

As he stood up, seeing Wu Han still looking downcast, he comforted him: “Keep walking the path you believe is right. Don’t easily give up on your dreams because of others’ harsh words.”

Thinking of Wu Han’s achievements in his previous life, Rong Shi added: “I think you’re very talented.”

The door closed again. Wu Han snapped out of his daze, suddenly realizing his fingertips were no longer trembling.

Leaving the infirmary, Rong Shi immediately contacted Liu Hong. The latter was about to go out for dinner, so they agreed to meet at the Sixth Cafeteria.

“All-Round Competition?” Liu Hong took a big mouthful of braised pork rice, chewing. “I know about that. Old Hu even won an award!”

Old Bai chimed in from the side: “Yeah, Old Hu was really something back then, he walked on air.”

“Go, go, go! Don’t seize the opportunity to badmouth me.” Hu Feng rolled his eyes at him, then looked at Rong Shi. “Do you have a friend who’s participating?”

Rong Shi: “Mhm, I want to know more about the situation.”

Because of the previous incident, Hu Feng’s favorability towards Rong Shi was off the charts. As soon as he heard the other party asking for help, he immediately shared everything he knew.

Liu Hong ate with an oily mouth, reminding him: “Are they eighteen yet? If they are, they can only participate in the youth group. If not, then hurry and participate. Winning an award gets bonus points for military academy applications.”

Rong Shi: “You all participated?”

Liu Hong: “How could we? Such a boring competition. Only Old Hu was interested.”

Hu Feng gnashed his teeth: “What do you mean? Do you want to fight?”

The two bickered halfway, then suddenly realized Rong Shi hadn’t spoken for a while, and reined themselves in a bit.

“I’m full. I have something to do, so I’ll leave first.” Rong Shi picked up his tray and stood.

Liu Hong quickly called out to him: “How are you full already? Want to have a match after dinner?”

Knowing that the student council had a lot of things going on lately, he hadn’t dared to ask Rong Shi for a fight, and he was almost at his limit.

Rong Shi tilted his head to look at him: “Did you pass your test?”

Liu Hong: “…”

Damn it! Just when he didn’t want to talk about it.

Leaving the cafeteria, Rong Shi walked to a less crowded area and said in a low voice: “Pull up Gu Yan’s middle school files.”

[Already pulled it up! He also participated in the All-Round Competition and got third place in combat.]

Rong Shi’s face darkened, and he sped up, heading towards the dorms.

He knocked three times on the door of the opposite dorm, patiently waiting five minutes before someone opened it.

Song Yu leaned against the doorframe, smiling lazily: “Chairman Rong actually came to knock on my door himself. How rare.”

It was peak hour after dinner, and people were constantly coming and going in the corridor.

“Is there a problem with looking for my wife?” Rong Shi pushed him inside, closing the door behind him.

Passing students: “…”

Let us see what happened? How petty.

“Where are those medical records?” Rong Shi didn’t waste time bickering and went straight to the point.

Song Yu shrewdly caught something from his expression: “Did you find something new?”

The two walked into the living room. Song Yu opened his terminal and brought up all the scanned medical records.

A total of 3561 people, the oldest 45 years old, the youngest 17 years old.

The small living room was filled with over three thousand virtual windows.

Rong Shi gently swiped his finger, making one of the windows fly in front of him. He asked calmly: “Is there any way to check the public files of these people?”

Not all content in public files is publicly accessible; only government departments, schools, and companies where one is employed can access them.

Song Yu looked at him deeply, opened the Empire Public Database website, and after an iris scan, entered the query backend.

Rong Shi: “Let’s get to work.”

Song Yu was confused: “Look for what?”

Rong Shi’s expression was serious: “Filter out the list of those who participated in the Galaxy All-Round Competition.”

Song Yu frowned, but didn’t ask further.

The matter was too important; they could only close the door and filter it themselves.

By the time they finished checking all 3561, it was almost midnight.

Song Yu leaned back on the sofa, tiredly rubbing his temples: “This is so damn unbelievable.”

Investigating an illegal stimulant actually led them to something so significant.

From these people, they filtered out 1809 who had participated in the competition, all within the age range of 17 to 25.

Rong Shi compiled the list, his mind no calmer than Song Yu’s.

This list at least proved that their targets were not random, but highly purposeful.

Now he had one more thing to confirm—

Whether the Omega in heat that day was real.

He stood up, copied the compiled table, and gave it to Song Yu: “Have them filter for patterns against the chemical solutions again.”

As he was about to leave, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by Song Yu.

Song Yu looked directly into his eyes: “What organization are you with?”

Rong Shi shook off his hand: “No comment.”

Song Yu chuckled: “We’re in the same boat. Isn’t it better to be honest?”

Rong Shi said calmly: “If you agree to leave him, I might consider it.”

The smile on Song Yu’s face stiffened.

Why did every conversation always circle back to this topic?!

“How could I possibly quit before you?”

Rong Shi nodded slowly: “Actually, whether you quit or not makes no difference to him and me. After all, you’re just an outsider.”

Song Yu laughed in exasperation: “He and I think the same way.”

Discovering a love rival when you can’t even confess or meet is a huge pain in the neck for anyone.

The key is that he also had a marital relationship with his love rival, which was quite ridiculous.

There was nothing he could do but satisfy his verbal addiction every day, venting his dissatisfaction.

In the tense atmosphere, Song Yu’s stomach suddenly growled.

Song Yu: “…”

Just as he was about to mock, Rong Shi’s stomach also growled.

Rong Shi: “…”

“Curse after you’ve eaten.” Song Yu walked towards the kitchen, his words laced with sarcasm. “A guest is a guest. I won’t be like some people who make the guest cook their own food.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Ten minutes later, Rong Shi divided the instant noodles cooked in the pot into two bowls.

“Which host just said they were going to cook supper for the guest?”

Song Yu had no psychological burden whatsoever, walking out with his bowl: “Host Qin isn’t here, so the two guests can only do it themselves.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Song Yu had never eaten instant noodles in his life. Unfortunately, the dorm kitchen didn’t have a stove, and there was no snack inventory, only the junk food Qin Luo had casually bought.

Seeing Rong Shi eating with relish, he picked up a noodle with his chopsticks, saying disdainfully: “Is this stuff even fit for human consumption?”

Rong Shi: “Then don’t eat it.”

It smelled pretty good, and his stomach was truly hungry. It would be too embarrassing if it growled again.

Song Yu reluctantly took a bite.

Damn! It was really good.

It was his first time eating noodles, and he even drank all the soup.

Seeing the Crown Prince enjoying instant noodles so much, Rong Shi was a little amused: “That good?”

Song Yu put down his chopsticks, very satisfied, and uncharacteristically praised his rival: “Barely edible.”

His terminal suddenly chimed. He casually opened it; it was Qin Luo.

“Brother, I’m not coming back tonight.” Qin Luo saw Rong Shi was also there, with bowls and chopsticks in front of them. “Ah, you’re secretly eating behind my back!”

Rong Shi: “…”

Song Yu: “I’m eating openly. Do I need to be secretive?”

Qin Luo whispered: “But those are my limited edition instant noodles.”

Song Yu: “What’s up?”

Qin Luo composed himself, sounding a little wronged: “Stimulants have entered another location, a small clinic in the East District. They’re staking it out.”

Song Yu and Rong Shi exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other.

Song Yu looked at the screen: “Tell them to hold their position and not move. I’ll go check personally.”

“Checking yourself again? That’s too dangerous!” Qin Luo clearly disapproved.

Song Yu, however, didn’t intend to listen to his opinion and hung up the call.

If it were just stimulants, he wouldn’t need to check personally, but if it was related to test subjects again, then he had to be cautious.

Rong Shi stood up, his voice very faint: “Let’s find a time for a date.”

Song Yu scoffed: “What, are you going to keep your promise?”

Rong Shi didn’t even spare him a glance, opening the door without looking back.

As he closed the door, his peripheral vision caught something on the reclining chair, which was turned away from the room. What was exposed seemed to be a bunny ear?

Why did it look so familiar?

Rong Shi’s heart suddenly fluttered, his heartbeat inexplicably quickening.

He squinted, trying to get a closer look, but his view was blocked by Song Yu, who had walked over.

Song Yu: “What are you doing? Don’t want to leave? Want to stay and sleep with me?”

Author’s note: 

Rong Bunny: Mhm, can’t sleep without hugging my wife.