I Married A Proud, Beautiful Omega First, Then Fell In Love - Chapter 11

After the incident, Elan and Douglas were sent to the same hospital. Consequently, under the pressure of work, Bauhir braved the situation alone and charged into Elan’s ward to demand an explanation.

It was impossible for Douglas to go in with Bauhir. He didn’t want to see Elan at all right now; he sat outside Elan’s ward, staring blankly at the white wall.

No one knew what was said inside the room, but after a while, Bauhir emerged with an indescribable expression on his face.

“What exactly did you two do that night?” He seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. “Neither of you will say a word. Were you playing some kind of scandalous ‘play’? I went to ask your partner; even though he had an elegant smile on the surface, that look in his eyes… it made me feel chilled to the bone.”

Having said that, he walked past Douglas with his arms crossed, muttering to himself, “I need to drink a cup of hot coffee in a bit to warm up.”

“Take me to the Special Action Department, and I’ll treat you,” Douglas said, looking up at him.

“Alright,” Bauhir said helplessly. “It’s a good chance to go see little Fu Ling anyway.”

The two went to a food store together to buy some green organic snacks. Douglas stopped Bauhir, who was tossing everything into the shopping cart. “She can’t eat this much. If she eats something and gets sick, Qin will come to have a talk with you.”

In name, it was a “talk”; in reality, it was settling a debt.

Bauhir laughed awkwardly and withdrew his hand.

When they arrived at the Special Action Department, Fu Ling was in the middle of a 3D call with Petrovna. Fu Ling sat on the department’s only sofa, while Petrovna’s 3D projection stood opposite her.

Petrovna seemed to be talking to someone else, but upon seeing Douglas and Bauhir enter, she quickly ended the conversation, made a walking gesture, and the background behind her shifted—clearly moving to a private location.

She glanced at the seated Douglas. Her usually stoic face crumpled in an instant, and her eyes turned red as tears began to fall.

“Doug, these planets destroyed by the Zerg haven’t been rebuilt yet. The lives of the residents there are truly tragic—worse than we were back then. No food, no fresh water; even basic survival is an issue. How are they supposed to take the exams?”

“Do you know? Even taking into account the backward education and living conditions of the frontier planets and lowering our assessment standards, 80% of the young people still can’t pass. They have no way to come to the Capital Star for school; their lives might just end like this. If it weren’t for the restrictions of the assessment criteria, I would truly want to bring all these children back to the Capital Star!”

The difference between a desolate, ruined frontier planet and the safe, prosperous Capital Star was not the traveling distance of a starship, but the span of a lifetime.

These people might be trapped on those desolate planets destroyed by the Zerg for their entire lives.

Upon realizing this, Petrovna felt a bitter ache in her heart.

The atmosphere in the Special Action Department grew heavy. Douglas felt as if his heart were being squeezed tightly by a pair of hands; his breathing became uneven. After a long while, he finally said, “Then in the future, we will open schools on the frontier. That way, they can go to school.”

Seeing this, Bauhir and Fu Ling also comforted Petrovna.

Fu Ling looked at Petrovna. Though her face lacked any expression, she was very serious. The mechanical bird said, “Petrovna, don’t cry. Things will eventually get better.”

That said, even the opening of the first school was facing setbacks, let alone opening schools on the frontier.

How could they run a school without funding?

Douglas’s eyes grew dark with thought. Seeing that Bauhir and Fu Ling had finished comforting Petrovna, he suddenly stood up. “I’m going to find Contanyi.” Having said that, he strode out.

Bauhir was stunned for a moment, then chased after him. “You didn’t take your starship! Wait, I’ll drive you!”

Inside the Tansan King’s private office, Contanyi was utterly surprised to see Douglas barging in.

This man had looked like an absolute scoundrel this morning; why did he now have a face full of “I was wrong” and “I’ve repented”?

Douglas had a dark expression, seemingly hiding the embarrassment of his rapid “kneeling” surrender. In a serious tone, he said, “I will follow your requirements and apologize to Elan, apologize to the Riemann family, and apologize to the citizens of the Empire. But I need you to handle the logistics. I cannot accept the condition mentioned by Alexia to increase the noble enrollment quota to 80%.”

“You only need to go and apologize,” Contanyi quickly processed Douglas’s proposal. “While you were being stubborn, I already negotiated with Alexia. I promoted her partner Catherine’s younger brother to Chief Security Officer. So now, as long as you apologize, she should be very happy to agree to provide you with funding.”

There was no helping it; when dealing with a stubborn subordinate, Contanyi ultimately had to find his own way to break the deadlock.

Douglas nodded and walked out of the office.

Bauhir followed him. “Where are you going?”

Douglas’s tone was not pleasant. “To apologize to the Swan.”

Bauhir frowned, confused. What “Swan”? He didn’t understand. Was it some new internet slang?

However, he didn’t dwell on it for long. Instead, he scanned Douglas several times before finally asking, “Aren’t you angry?”

“I’m angry, of course I’m angry,” Douglas said without thinking. “It clearly wasn’t my fault, yet I’m the one who has to apologize. Wouldn’t you be angry if it were you?”

“Not about that.” Bauhir hesitated. “Aren’t you angry that the King promoted Catherine’s brother to Chief Security Officer?”

Douglas found it strange. “Why should I be angry that he got a promotion? It’s not like I was demoted.”

Bauhir now deeply felt how little his friend knew about his own partner. He took a deep breath. “Catherine’s brother, Owen, is your partner Elan’s former fiancé. However, after Elan lost his status as the heir to the Riemann family, the engagement was canceled.”

Douglas’s footsteps faltered for a moment before returning to normal. He didn’t want to show any keen interest in matters related to Elan, so he simply gave an “Oh.”

Bauhir’s eyes widened slightly, deeply dissatisfied with his friend’s reaction. “Oh? That’s all you have to say, ‘Oh’?”

Douglas thought he was making a fuss over nothing. “Otherwise? What do his affairs have to do with me?”

Bauhir said disappointedly, “You’re really not curious?”

Douglas: “…”

Bauhir’s tone made Douglas feel that if he didn’t ask, it would be his own sin. With this excuse, Douglas finally allowed his shameful curiosity to drive him to ask: “So why did he lose his heir status? Why was the engagement canceled?”

Bauhir was delighted. “See! I knew you were interested!”

But his next sentence made Douglas want to hit him.

“But I don’t know the reason for the loss of heir status or the cancellation of the engagement either,” Bauhir said with a beaming smile, seemingly unbothered by Douglas’s impending outburst.

Douglas arrived at Elan’s ward. The room was quiet, without a single sound. He hesitated for a moment, and under the pressure of Bauhir’s gaze, he raised his hand, gave a casual knock, and pushed the door open.

The blonde Omega was sitting on the hospital bed with his head lowered, reading a book. Strands of hair fell forward, shining brilliantly under the sunlight. Hearing someone enter, Elan looked up. His pair of azure eyes looked over, shimmering with light; when they landed on the awkward-looking Douglas, they even carried a hint of pity.

Douglas frowned. He felt that the way Elan looked at him was very strange.

Moreover, after doing something as coercive as using pheromones to force a situation, did he really have no sense of shame?

At this moment, shouldn’t he be feeling ashamed or annoyed by his actions and avoiding eye contact?

To treat Douglas with such boundary-crossing behavior so easily, and then to brush it off so lightly—it seemed that from beginning to end, the only person who cared about this matter was Douglas himself.

Elan’s thick skin made Douglas very angry. Consequently, he used a bit too much force when closing the door, startling Bauhir beside him.

Bauhir’s eyelid twitched as he offered a forced smile and explained, “He isn’t usually like this. He just hasn’t fully recovered yet, so he’s a bit… agitated.”

“Mr. Elan, he is here to apologize to you.” Bauhir smiled and pushed Douglas toward Elan’s bed, his hand patting Douglas’s back as a warning.

Elan closed his book and looked up with interest, his gaze sweeping over Douglas’s “heroic sacrifice” expression.

Douglas cleared his throat uncomfortably. Enduring the humiliation, he said, “The matter from that night… was my fault.”

Elan spoke with a half-smile, “What did you do wrong?”

Douglas choked, feeling extremely dissatisfied with this person who was taking the opportunity to push his luck. He wasn’t wrong at all; the apology was only due to the pressure of the situation. How was he supposed to know what he did wrong?

After thinking for a long time, he said, “…I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“Mm.” Elan raised an eyebrow, accepting this less-than-satisfactory answer, and continued to ask, “And?”

Douglas continued to fabricate through his teeth. “…Also, I shouldn’t have left under those circumstances.”

Elan also knew that these words weren’t sincere. But since Douglas had taken the initiative to apologize, he would accept it and planned to turn the page on this matter.

He had also come to a realization.

Douglas had fled the scene not because he himself lacked charm, but because Douglas “couldn’t.”

If he “couldn’t,” it could be treated.

It was just… Elan was still a bit disgruntled. He tilted his chin up and said, “Even though you already know what you did wrong, isn’t an apology made only with words lacking a bit of sincerity?”

“Don’t you dare—” Douglas’s head buzzed, fire rising in his chest. But remembering Petrovna and Contanyi’s words, he gritted his teeth and continued to endure. “Then what do you want?”

Elan thought for a moment. “I’m hungry.”

Douglas laughed—laughed out of sheer anger.

He immediately turned around and dragged Bauhir to the hospital’s food supply station, packing a portion of high-nutrient protein egg drop soup. He didn’t ask what Elan wanted to eat, nor did he care about Elan’s dietary restrictions; it was entirely his own improvisation.

He truly couldn’t bring himself to shamelessly ask about Elan’s tastes.

A soldier can be killed, but not insulted.

Today, he deeply understood the meaning of that ancient Earth proverb.

Returning to the ward, Douglas unceremoniously flipped open the thermal container and pushed the egg drop soup in front of Elan. “Eat.”

Elan frowned, glancing at it with quite a bit of disdain. “I don’t eat scallions.”

So picky. Such a drama queen.

The veins on Douglas’s forehead throbbed with rage. With trembling hands, he reluctantly picked out every single scallion from the soup, then pushed the container back to Elan.

Elan still didn’t move; he just looked at him.

Douglas suddenly understood what that look meant. In his mind, he tore Elan into a thousand pieces. Then, with a cold face, he picked up the spoon, scooped up a mouthful, and held it to Elan’s lips. His tone was like a robot: “Is this enough?”

Bauhir wore a mysterious smile, using his brain-computer interface to capture this scene from the side.

Douglas noticed this instantly and turned his head. “What are you doing?”

Bauhir said cheerfully, “I need some material to increase the credibility of the clarification news I’m writing.”