After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Husband Fell for Me on His Own - Chapter 15

“I… I…”

Yu Yi was at his wit’s end. Steeling his heart, he decided to just come clean. “I was just talking nonsense to fill the silence! Truthfully, I just want you to take me with you on a mission!”

The words tumbled out in a single, breathless rush. Yu Yi was terrified of being cut off by a cold, sharp glare from Ji Xingxiao, and even more afraid that he had spoken incorrectly again and angered him.

“…”

After hearing Yu Yi’s confession, Ji Xingxiao fell silent for a moment. He was nearly incredulous, and the slightly improved impression he had recently formed of Yu Yi plummeted instantly. “Are you saying you want me to take you to the Contaminated Zone?”

He finally understood why Yu Yi had come running to the Command Academy alone and persisted in pestering him. This seemingly ordinary Beta before him had ambitions far greater than he had imagined.

In name, the Defense Academy stood on equal footing with the other two major academies. In reality, the gap in curriculum and combat resources was vast; it functioned more like a place for high-society Omegas to polish their resumes. Consequently, a five-person mission squad usually had, at most, one slot for a Defense Academy student, and some strictly vetted teams had none at all.

The teams Ji Xingxiao led had never included a student from the Defense Academy. They were too weak; they would drag down the team’s overall rating, and Ji Xingxiao settled for nothing less than first place.

Because of this, many Defense Academy students studied hard for three years without ever receiving a single opportunity for field combat. Yet Yu Yi, a Beta who knew nothing and had only learned how to wake a cockpit yesterday, actually dared to suggest that Ji Xingxiao take him to the Contaminated Zone.

“Yes,” Yu Yi stammered, intimidated by the sudden coldness in Ji Xingxiao’s expression. He added weakly, “Is that not okay? I am very obedient. I will do whatever you tell me to do!”

Ji Xingxiao let out a cold sneer. “Do you even know what is required to enter the Contaminated Zone?”

“I do not,” Yu Yi said, feeling a bit guilty. “But let me explain first.”

Ji Xingxiao crossed his arms expressionlessly. “Speak.”

“It is just that I do not have enough credits, so I have to retake a course. The retake fee is 380,000 Star Coins, and I really cannot afford it.” Yu Yi rarely exposed his financial distress to others, but since he needed Ji Xingxiao’s help, he had to tell the truth. A look of embarrassment crossed Yu Yi’s face as he whispered, “Going on just one mission with you would solve it. Can you please help me?”

“This is a five-person coordinated operation. You know nothing. Have you considered the feelings of the other teammates?”

“I know. I will work hard not to hold everyone back.”

“Every person in the squad has a specific role. What would you be responsible for if you went?” There was no mockery on Ji Xingxiao’s face. Instead, he asked calmly, as if he genuinely wanted to hear Yu Yi’s answer.

“I…” Yu Yi knew he was useless to a squad, but he still refused to give up. “I can learn. I will start learning right now.”

Hearing about the failed credits earlier only fueled Ji Xingxiao’s anger at Yu Yi’s disregard for the seriousness of the mission. “You cannot even manage a passing grade in your basic academy courses, and you want to learn on the fly? Do you have any idea how many people in the Defense Academy wait three years for a combat opportunity they never get? With one casual sentence, you want to take a spot that others have fought desperately for. Do you think that is fair to the people who worked for it, people who are much more capable than you?”

“I…” Yu Yi was momentarily speechless.

From Ji Xingxiao’s suddenly solemn expression, he realized that these missions were not as simple as he had imagined. But he truly could not afford the retake fee. He pushed forward stubbornly. “Any mission will do. I do not want the merit points; I do not want anything. I just want to participate.”

Ji Xingxiao sneered. “You want nothing? Based on your abilities, what do you think you could even get?”

In his experience leading teams, what he loathed most were the delicate Omegas or Betas who were forcibly assigned from the Defense Academy. Ji Xingxiao had no prejudice against Omegas or Betas; he simply hated people who were weak yet lacked self-awareness, like the Yu Yi standing before him.

Yu Yi felt utterly humiliated by Ji Xingxiao’s words. Under that piercing, cold gaze, he finally backed down. “Fine. Forget it.”

Ji Xingxiao watched Yu Yi coldly. His voice was flat, carrying nothing but a sense of distance. “If you make a request like this again, you can move out.”

“I understand,” Yu Yi replied dejectedly.

Yu Yi had not expected to be rejected so harshly by Ji Xingxiao. Or perhaps, he simply knew too little about this world. Compared to the Uptown, the Downtown was like a carefully constructed paradise for the poor. If it were not for his political marriage to Ji Xingxiao, Yu Yi would never have known that the Contaminated Zone existed beyond the two districts, nor would he have known that people truly possessed natural abilities capable of altering matter.

All in all, at least he had not given away the oranges yet!

Before going to bed that night, Yu Yi was packing his battered bag when he saw two bright orange objects lying inside. He remembered he had spent a fortune on these oranges and felt a secret sense of relief.

But wait, Ji Xingxiao’s pheromones were citrus-scented? Yu Yi was a bit surprised. He figured that a powerful Alpha like Ji Xingxiao would have a cold, sharp scent. Who would have thought it was so fresh and light? For the first time, Yu Yi felt a pang of regret that he was a Beta and could not smell pheromones.

He remained relatively optimistic about the retake money. That scumbag Cheng Sui had handed over 200,000 without a second thought. Yu Yi figured if push came to shove, he would go play the victim one more time. Even if he could not get the full 380,000, another 200,000 combined with what he already had would be enough. It was a good thing he had not wasted money on that communicator.

Being rejected by Ji Xingxiao did not actually make him too sad. To put it bluntly, Ji Xingxiao had no obligation to help him. Letting him live here and keeping their failed compatibility a secret was already more than enough. There was no point overthinking it; he might as well sleep and try to attend class properly so he would not have to retake anything else.

Perhaps it was because those two oranges had been so expensive, but Yu Yi’s dreams were filled with the scent of citrus: fresh, sweet, and tart, with a hint of bitterness from the peel.

The next day was Mecha Maintenance class again. This time, Yu Yi was full of energy. No half-measures!

However, he soon discovered that the mecha fragments and the small bottle of maintenance oil provided in class were merely free teaching aids. To maintain a single piece of mecha plating to a passing standard, one would need at least five bottles of oil. Extra consumables were not included in the provided materials.

The class only taught basic maintenance knowledge, but the final grade was strictly based on the quality of the finished product. To get a high score, one had to restore the mecha shell fragment to a perfect, factory-standard state. Yu Yi did not plan on coasting; he was determined to earn as many points as possible in this course.

After class, Yu Yi headed straight for the campus mecha supply store. One look at the prices left him dumbfounded. How could a single bottle cost four digits? Was Uptown in the habit of robbing people? Fortunately, he had taken two weeks of leave. Looking at the small mecha model he had been issued previously, the maintenance products for each part were different. To actually turn in the assignment, he would have to spend five digits. That was enough to buy a communicator.

And this was just a regular assignment. Yu Yi walked out of the supply store silently, feeling a bit discouraged. He realized his previous plan of coasting through the Defense Academy for four years and then finding a job in Uptown was far too naive.

Not knowing what to do, Yu Yi walked toward the school gates in a daze, where he suddenly spotted a familiar figure. Though his hair was cut short, the man’s face was still exquisite and beautiful. He always had a smile in his eyes, projecting a gentle and soft aura.

Bai Ziqi.

What was he doing at the Defense Academy? Because they knew each other, Yu Yi looked his way a few times, but he was not preparing to go over to say hello. They were not close. Plus, the incident where the pheromone liquid leaked and triggered Bai Ziqi’s rut early was quite embarrassing.

Yu Yi had not thought much of it at the time, but in hindsight, he realized how socially mortifying the situation was. The consequence of gene purification in Uptown was that higher-tier Alphas were more dangerous during their rut. Therefore, from the moment they differentiated, they would monitor their cycles regularly and take injections in advance. Due to genetic screening, a high-tier Alpha’s rut had been compressed to just one month per year, making it easy to manage.

If Yu Yi had not given Bai Ziqi an elbow strike that day, something irreversible might have actually happened in that bathroom. If that had happened, Bai Ziqi would not have been affected much, but Yu Yi would have been completely finished.

Yu Yi pretended not to see him and changed direction, his mind already planning a trip to the Cheng house this weekend to beg for money. As his thoughts wandered, he saw Bai Ziqi suddenly walking toward him out of the corner of his eye. The man stopped in front of Yu Yi, the corners of his lips curving into a shallow, graceful smile. He called out naturally, “Brother.”

That single “Brother” left Yu Yi completely stunned. Bai Ziqi had never called him that before. Feeling out of place, Yu Yi responded awkwardly, “Huh?”

“How have you been lately? Are you doing well?” Bai Ziqi’s features were very similar to Bai Changfeng’s; he lacked the typical sharpness of an Alpha and instead felt like a warm spring breeze.

Yu Yi was even more confused. Clearly, he and Bai Ziqi were not on small-talk terms. “I am okay.” Yu Yi looked at Bai Ziqi suspiciously. Remembering that he had left the Cheng house too hurriedly last time without saying a word to him, he said awkwardly, “About what happened last time, I am sorry. It really was an accident.”

“It is fine,” Bai Ziqi smiled gently. “I know.”

“Oh. That is good then.” Yu Yi nodded, having no intention of continuing the conversation. “I am heading back.”

“Brother,” Bai Ziqi called him again. His watery eyes looked affectionate and soft. “It is my birthday this weekend. Will you come?”

Yu Yi was now officially baffled. Had Bai Ziqi taken the wrong medicine? “Me?” Yu Yi pointed to himself. “Why invite me?”

“I just really hope you will be there,” Bai Ziqi said with an innocent smile.

“I am not coming.” Yu Yi refused immediately without a second thought.

The smile on Bai Ziqi’s face stiffened slightly. Only then did Yu Yi notice that Bai Ziqi was not always smiling; it was just that the corners of his mouth naturally turned upward. He was simply born with a warm face. He was practically an Alpha version of Bai Changfeng. Yu Yi thought that if Bai Ziqi were an Omega, he would probably be a good match for Ji Xingxiao.

“Why not?” Bai Ziqi looked at Yu Yi with a bit of a pout.

“I do not have money to buy you a birthday gift,” Yu Yi said bluntly. “Coming empty-handed is rude, so I’d rather not go.”

It was the truth. He was already stressed enough about the retake fee; he did not need a birthday on top of it. Were he and Bai Ziqi even that close?

Bai Ziqi paused for a moment. “I do not want a gift. I just want you to be there.”

“Really? No gift?”

“I would be happy if you gave me one,” Bai Ziqi said, looking at Yu Yi seriously. “But I just want you to come.”

What was going on now? Had Bai Ziqi suddenly grown up after his differentiation and decided to acknowledge his half-brother? Yu Yi was moved by Bai Ziqi’s sincere gaze. He hesitated, especially since he was planning to go to the Cheng house this weekend anyway.

“Alright then. But I am really not bringing a gift.”

“Okay,” Bai Ziqi smiled, looking a bit helpless. “Just as long as you come.”

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