MWITA CH49
“You’re being that kind?”
Song Yu thought he had misheard. Just a while ago, he was like a ruffled rooster, and today he suddenly wilted?
Rong Shi’s expression was calm: “Helping others is a pleasure, it’s my duty, it’s what I should do.”
“What kind of duty do you have?” Song Yu scoffed. The more he acted this way, the less he believed him. “Are you giving up the competition?”
Rong Shi: “Mhm.”
Competing with whom?
Song Yu leaned closer to him, lowering his voice: “Did he say something to you?”
The sudden proximity brought a faint, cool scent mixed with a hint of alcohol to Rong Shi’s nostrils, yet upon closer sniff, the alcohol scent vanished. The faint scent must have been from Song Yu’s toiletries, a bit better than his mech design taste.
Rong Shi: “Didn’t say anything. I just suddenly understood.”
Song Yu’s forehead was filled with question marks: “Understood what?”
Rong Shi: “Someone like me, destined not to have a wife, should probably not delay him.”
Song Yu: “…”
What kind of stimulation did he get?
Song Yu: “If you suddenly lose all fighting spirit, won’t I be very bored?”
Rong Shi: “…”
Is it more fun to snatch? Are you three years old yet?
After class, Rong Shi was going to Qian Fan’s office to deliver documents. As he walked out of the teaching building, he turned his head to look at Song Yu, his expression serious: “Think it over yourself. Reply today for free; starting tomorrow, charges will apply according to the quote.”
Song Yu: “…Quote?”
Rong Shi: “I can’t just give away his information for free.”
After speaking, he turned and walked towards the Student Affairs Office without waiting for Song Yu to fully comprehend. Song Yu was left alone, bewildered in the spring breeze.
Rong Shi’s claim of withdrawing from the competition was completely unbelievable to him, yet the other party indeed held a lot of information about Bunny. Refusing would be absolutely safe, but he wouldn’t get Bunny’s information. Agreeing carried high risk, but he might learn something about Bunny. Should he take a gamble?
Walking through the corridor, Rong Shi’s peripheral vision caught sight of Song Yu still standing there. His eyes were half-closed, a faint smile flashing across them. Putting everything else aside, with so many years of friendship, why should he be the only one with a headache?
As evening approached, the sunset glow shone through the office window onto Qian Fan’s desk. Rong Shi knocked and entered, seeing him buried in a stack of documents on his desk, diligently approving them.
“At your age, don’t overwork yourself,” Rong Shi placed the documents he brought onto his desk and sat opposite him.
Qian Fan rubbed his temples, feigning anger: “If you didn’t cause trouble for me, I’d definitely be much more relaxed!”
Rong Shi: “I’ve been very well-behaved lately.”
“Say that again?” Qian Fan laughed out of extreme anger. “Don’t know who secretly organized a mech design competition on Star Wars? Do you know how many people are looking for you every day?”
Rong Shi: “I’m just a subordinate.”
Qian Fan’s voice was chilly, “But they’re only interested in you, the subordinate.”
Rong Shi: “…”
The documents delivered this time were the activity plans for new students for the next month, planned by the student council and reported to the director of student affairs for approval. Although it was called approval, it was actually just a formality; usually, whatever the student council decided would be implemented.
Qian Fan flipped through two pages, then suddenly remembered another matter. He pulled open the bottom left drawer, where a single folder lay.
“Take a look at this,” Qian Fan handed it to him. “You heard about this last time, it’s about the Royal Academy and our military academy jointly organizing the ‘Wandering Star Survival Competition’.”
Rong Shi took it and opened it. The first page was a red-headed document, notifying the military academy to organize the selection of personnel to participate in the competition at the Royal Academy. There were many requirements for the selected personnel: from one to ten, they summarized into either having a special skill, good academic performance, or a strong background. In short, “three-no” personnel were politely rejected.
“We don’t even want to team up!” Qian Fan grumbled. “So many requirements, they’re really spoiling them.”
While it was called a joint effort, the military academy had no real power. All implementation rights for the competition were controlled by the Royal Academy. All they could do was find their best students and send them thousands of miles to Capital Star to be tormented by the noble children of the Royal Academy.
“You and Song Yu must participate,” Qian Fan added.
The last time Rong Shi heard about this, he was thinking it was a good opportunity to go to Capital Star, and he needed to figure out how to participate without alarming anyone. Now, he didn’t need to find an excuse to participate, but the fact that they were being forced to participate was somewhat subtle.
Rong Shi: “Did they say why?”
Qian Fan threw the documents in his hand onto the desk and leaned back in his chair: “Because you two ranked in the top two in the monthly exam.”
Rong Shi was a bit of a slacker, but he always managed to come in first, even if his quality wasn’t top-notch. This made things easier. Rong Shi flipped to the time section; the start date of the competition was the same day he and Song Yu had planned their fight. It seemed the fight would have to be postponed.
The competition venue was set on Satellite A08 near Capital Star, a Class 3 danger zone, a desolate planet often used by the Royal Academy for events. Seeing his silence, Qian Fan thought he was unhappy.
“I refused this matter, but the higher-ups were firm. They want to use this competition to review the military academy’s educational achievements over the past two years. Prepare yourself; you absolutely have to go. I’ll try my best to get you benefits.”
Rong Shi: “Higher-ups?”
Qian Fan frustratingly ruffled his hair: “The very top.”
Qian Fan’s father, Qian Li, was one of the top three marshals. Even though he was retired now, he still held significant influence in the military. Without him saying it, Rong Shi could guess some things about matters that even Qian Fan was helpless about. If it was the royal family, then their target shouldn’t be him.
Rong Shi: “Then I’ll participate. I don’t want to make things difficult for you.”
Qian Fan sighed in relief internally, but playfully teased: “Oh, so obedient?”
Rong Shi: “If I cause you to grow more gray hairs, Professor Qin will definitely take me to his lab for tea.”
“Tea where?”
Just as he was speaking, Qin Lin opened the door and entered, carrying a thermos.
“Fanfan, I brought soup. Drink some before you work overtime.”
“At your age, isn’t that mushy?” Qian Fan playfully scolded, then obediently got up to meet him.
Qin Lin: “My meat’s old, it can’t get mushy anymore.”
This made Qian Fan genuinely angry: “Are you f*cking calling me old?”
Qin Lin: “…I’m not, don’t talk nonsense.”
Listening to their daily bickering, Rong Shi’s features softened, and the fluffy little face of the Little Cat unconsciously flashed before his eyes.
He had once fantasized that the most perfect ending for him and the Little Cat would be such ordinary happiness. Now, his best fantasy with the Little Cat was the two of them holding hands, being carried into the hospital together as patients.
Qin Lin beckoned to Rong Shi: “Xiao Shi, you come have some too. Today’s soup is light; it won’t make your nose bleed.”
Rong Shi: “…”
Rong Shi got up: “No thanks, I have something to do in a bit.”
Qian Fan drank his soup, teasing: “You’re all people with wives now, don’t be shy. Drink some soup to nourish yourself.”
Rong Shi: “…”
That wife from the blind box was just a decoration, unusable. Nourish what?
Rong Shi: “It’s better for someone with a husband like you to drink.”
Qian Fan: “…” That brat!
As he opened the door, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Qin Lin. “Professor, if you’re free recently, I’d like to bring Mianmian to see you.”
The last time he had 01 give Mianmian a physical, it showed slight deviations in various indicators. The effects after stopping the medication were gradually appearing.
“Okay, just tell me a day in advance,” Qin Lin readily agreed. “Is Mianmian feeling unwell?”
Rong Shi didn’t elaborate: “Then this Saturday. I want to test his physical indicators.”
For a physical, a regular physical exam AI could do it; there was no need to specifically go to the research institute for a check-up. Qian Fan suppressed this question but didn’t ask it aloud.
That night, Rong Shi sat at his desk, flipping through the physics workbook Jiang Huai had given him. No matter how many times he flipped through it, even completing all the problems in the textbook, he still found no clues. Was it really just given to the wrong person? Rong Shi recalled Jiang Huai’s expression at the time; although there were no flaws, his intuition told him there was a secret in this workbook.
“01, what about the scan results?”
[Scan shows normal, no strange substances.]
After thinking for a long time without any clue, his terminal suddenly rang. Seeing that it was from a special contact on Star Wars, he casually swiped it open.
[Bunny, are you coming online tonight?] This was the first time the Little Cat asked him if he was going online.
Rong Shi replied.
[Coming right away.]
As soon as he logged into the game, Rong Shi’s hand was taken. The Little Cat seemed to know where he would log in and had been waiting there early. After completely separating Song Yu and the Little Cat in his mind, Rong Shi successfully let himself off the hook. Once they met, they wouldn’t be able to hold hands, so he might as well enjoy the last few days of apocalypse carnival.
Rong Shi clasped his hand back and casually opened a training room: “How did you know I was here?”
The Little Cat smiled, “With so many years of tacit understanding between us, it’s not hard to guess.”
He was going to Capital Star to participate in the competition, and thinking of Song Yu’s mediocre skills, Rong Shi planned to give him special training. Although he didn’t intend to win any awards, his Little Cat absolutely couldn’t be bullied.
“Bunny, you—”
“I recently learned a new set of self-defense techniques—”
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
Rong Shi: “You first.”
The Little Cat cautiously said: “Has anyone been bothering you recently? Like a big, black-haired, fierce-looking Alpha?”
Rong Shi: “…”
You are fierce-looking.
Rong Shi remained silent for two seconds, then sat cross-legged, his face melancholic: “Used to, not anymore.”
The Little Cat immediately sat next to him: “Used to? Who? Why not anymore?”
From the corner of his eye, Rong Shi saw the Little Cat’s curious little eyes. He said calmly: “My childhood friend, he’s tall and handsome, always the most perfect Alpha in my eyes—”
“Just him?” The Little Cat sounded utterly disgusted. “Bunny, broaden your horizons. Don’t limit yourself to just neighbors. He’s at most ‘acceptable’; he has nothing to do with ‘perfect’.”
Rong Shi: “…”
Rong Shi sighed, continuing his act: “Two days ago, he suddenly said he wouldn’t love me anymore and wanted to keep his distance. What do you think he meant by that?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the Little Cat’s eyes light up, and his whole being radiated joy.
Little Cat: “He really said that?”
Rong Shi slowly nodded: “Mhm.”
Little Cat: “That’s great!”
Rong Shi: “Great?”
“Cough, it’s better for adult Omegas and Alphas to maintain some distance,” the Little Cat put an arm around his shoulder, leaning very close. “It’s not your fault; you don’t need to be sad.”
Rong Shi: “…” You’re certainly leaning close.
Not long after logging off, Rong Shi heard a knock on his dorm room door. Before he could even leave his bedroom, his terminal also rang. As expected, it was a message from Song Yu.
“Old man, open the door!”
Rong Shi lingered on the words “old man” for two seconds, then closed his terminal and walked out.
“Not sleeping late at night, randomly knocking on doors?” Rong Shi’s face was taut, his voice very faint.
Song Yu: “What you said, I agree to it.”
Rong Shi glanced at the time: “It’s already past midnight.”
Song Yu: “Name your price.”
Rong Shi nodded, in a good mood. The fish had taken the bait; time to reel it in.
Author’s Note:
Rong Bunny: Anyway, it’s not my wife, so messing around is fine, right?
Later—
Rong Bunny: Wifey~ Don’t ignore me~