My Omega Rival in Love [Interstellar] - Chapter 8

Three minutes later, Gu Jin was obediently squatting in the corner. He Yu sat on a nearby chair, focused on the data in her optical computer and making occasional annotations.

Leaning against the wall, Gu Jin tilted her head and dazed out while watching the focused He Yu. To be honest, she couldn’t quite explain why she trusted He Yu so much, but having grown up together and targeted each other for so many years, she felt she understood her better than anyone.

He Yu had spent most of her childhood by her grandfather’s side. Her personality was cold and detached, as if she were perpetually out of step with the mundane world.

In the Vizer Empire, despite their nearly identical social status, Gu Jin was always surrounded by a crowd of friends, while He Yu was always a solitary figure occasionally shadowed by the annoying, fly-like presence of Gu Jin.

Gu Jin actually thought that He Yu, with her more exquisite features and better grades, should have been the popular one. Her own style of “ruling through violence” should have been the one people hated. Yet, it seemed to be the exact opposite.

Feeling the weight of the gaze beside her, He Yu reached her limit. She temporarily closed her computer and turned to look at Gu Jin. “What are you looking at me for?”

“I’m looking at how dislikable you are.” Her mouth moved faster than her brain; the thought had just crossed her mind, and she blurted it out. By the time she realized it, she knew she had spoken utter nonsense!

“No! I didn’t mean you’re dislikable. I meant your personality isn’t dislikable, but… I… fine, I’m talking about myself. I’m dislikable.” Scrambling to her feet, Gu Jin gestured wildly in an attempt to explain, but finding she was only making it worse, she gave up and pointed at herself. “My personality is dislikable.”

He Yu just watched her, her fists slowly tightening. A trace of hurt flashed in her eyes, so subtle it was gone in an instant.

Standing up from her chair, He Yu turned away, refusing to look at Gu Jin. “I know what you mean. We haven’t been on good terms for a day or two. You hate me; it’s not like I didn’t know. You don’t need to explain, and I won’t let such a small thing interfere with the mission.”

“You should leave. It will take me some time to organize this data. Just come and pick it up tomorrow; there’s no need to wait here.” After speaking, He Yu didn’t spare her another glance and walked toward the balcony, clearly done with her.

Scratching her head, Gu Jin watched He Yu’s back. The more she thought about it, the more she felt her words had been wrong—and they certainly weren’t what she intended. She had to clear this up.

Acting on impulse, Gu Jin caught up to He Yu in a few steps and grabbed her. “You have to listen to my explanation. I… yes, I admit we’ve never gotten along. We’re rivals. But honestly, I don’t actually hate you. Really.”

He Yu stopped and looked at Gu Jin with a gaze that suggested she was looking at an idiot. “Well, I hate you. Is that enough? Let go.”

Gu Jin stared blankly as He Yu shook off her hand. She hadn’t expected her first attempt at a serious explanation to end like this.

Her expression darkened, and she blocked He Yu’s path again. “You have to tell me clearly why you hate me, or I’m not leaving today.”

“Are you a child?” He Yu’s brow furrowed. She found it impossible to maintain her usual calm and airy composure around Gu Jin. “The whole Empire knows I hate you. Does it even need a reason?”

“The whole Empire knows but I don’t? Then it doesn’t count. You’re telling me clearly today.” Gu Jin crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, her mind made up.

“Fine, you want reasons?” He Yu nodded, looking at Gu Jin with a touch of spite. “First, you’re arrogant, conceited, and insolent. I hate people like that. Second, you’ve targeted me since we were children—how could I not hate you? Third, every time I meet you, I have bad luck. Every single time. Plus, you don’t care about others’ feelings, you talk nonsense, you’re unreliable, you only know how to use violence, and you have no brains. You’re just that dislikable. You’re full of flaws. Are you satisfied?”

She finished in one breath, her face set with determination, though she secretly felt a twinge of regret. To be fair, Gu Jin wasn’t that bad, but… whatever, she asked for it.

Instead of the fury or storming out that He Yu expected, Gu Jin lowered her head and started to laugh. She reached out to pat He Yu’s shoulder, then suddenly remembered who it was and that she might die if she did, so she awkwardly pulled her hand back.

“I really didn’t expect you to have such a deep misunderstanding of me. I was wondering how anyone could hate a perfect person like me. Turns out it was all a misunderstanding.”

As always, she was annoyingly overconfident. Gu Jin seemed completely unfazed by He Yu’s words, brushing them off with a lighthearted “misunderstanding.”

He Yu hesitated, her own words turning over in her mind, but she ultimately said nothing. She just frowned slightly, stepped around Gu Jin, and left. This time, Gu Jin didn’t stop her. She just stood there with her head slightly bowed.

By the time He Yu realized the evidence storage key was still in her hand, Gu Jin was nowhere to be found.

After tucking the key away safely, He Yu looked at the data on her screen, but for the first time, she couldn’t focus. Her mind was occupied by the scene that just occurred.

She had to admit she lost her logic too easily around Gu Jin. Perhaps because she had never met anyone else who could infuriate a person so thoroughly with a single sentence.

But regardless, her words just now had been harsh. When she saw Gu Jin’s dazed expression as she said “I’m looking at how dislikable you are,” He Yu’s heart had constricted. It felt like being struck—a suffocating sensation.

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Even if it was someone she didn’t particularly like, they had known each other for years, and… well, being told you’re hated must be painful. She felt she had been a bit cruel. Gu Jin probably didn’t feel great either, right?

Fretfully pacing the room, He Yu glanced at her computer and opened Gu Jin’s contact window, but in the end, she sent nothing.

Three seconds after leaving the He residence, Gu Jin’s aircraft landed at Gu Ting’s doorstep.

The door opened automatically. Gu Ting, busy working inside, looked up at Gu Jin—who had been pestering him constantly since her return—and felt a wave of Zen-like resignation.

“What now?”

Lying back in a conjured hammock, Gu Jin looked up at the circular dome. The distribution maps of all the Vizer Empire’s planets were displayed there, including several nebulae. Compared to the tiny human race, the scale was unimaginable.

At the very edge was a ring of defense planets. In the far east, a massive azure planet glowed faintly: Planet Rota, the main satellite of the Vizer Empire’s eastern defense line.

“I want to go to Planet Rota.” Gu Jin raised her hand, palm up. With a flick of her fingers, the starry sky on the dome moved, descending until the entire room was filled with the galaxy.

Raising his head from his documents, Gu Ting tapped a small star system nearby and frowned. “Because of the He family case?”

“Yeah. The incident happened at Rota, and the mech wreckage is still there. I have to see it for myself. Otherwise, I’m just guessing. Where else am I going to find evidence?” Gu Jin reached out and magnified Planet Rota, letting it spin in her palm. Also, she wanted to go back to see her former comrades, she needed to say a proper goodbye to them.

Gu Ting knew she had taken the case; he had authorized it himself. But he hadn’t expected her to be so serious about it.

“It’s really not necessary. My uncle and Elder He will handle it. The He family won’t be in trouble; you just need to go through the motions. Besides, you just recovered. A long-distance space journey might make you collapse again.”

Gu Ting didn’t want her to go. First, she was severely injured. She looked fine on the surface, but the damage was immeasurable. It had caused irreversible harm to her Super S-rank physique. She was the only person to ever survive a treatment that essentially required body reconstruction; no one knew if there would be long-term side effects.

Second, she hadn’t been home in ten years. She deserved a rest. His uncle only had this one daughter; he shouldn’t let them be apart any longer.

Gu Jin remained unmoved, spinning the holographic Planet Rota. “The motions? So we just stop looking for the truth behind the accident? We just let it all be swept under the rug? How do you explain that to the Empire?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. The truth will be investigated. The He couple are Elder He’s only son and daughter-in-law; they won’t be allowed to come to harm. As for the explanation, my uncle already has a plan.”

Knowing her temperament, Gu Ting tried not to be too explicit, hoping she wouldn’t meddle.

Gu Jin’s brow furrowed. She was blunt, but not stupid. Hearing Gu Ting’s words and combining them with what her father had said, she pieced together the puzzle.

“You and Elder He reached an agreement to protect the family. And my father’s ‘plan’ is likely to label the new mechs a failed R&D project, blame the tragedy on an accident, scrap the designs, and start over.” Her eyes turned cold as she stood up slowly. “Killing three birds with one stone. You get favors from Elder He, you smear the He family’s reputation, and you restrict their control over mech production. What a lucrative bargain.”

Gu Ting was somewhat relieved that she had grown up enough to see the political reality, but also worried she wouldn’t be able to accept it.

“Gu Jin, sometimes you have to remember: in this world, truth is the cheapest commodity. It becomes whatever interest dictates. The victors say what it is, and that’s what it becomes. As for what it actually was it doesn’t matter.”

Having been Emperor for years, Gu Ting indulged Gu Jin, but he was not a soft-hearted man. Within the shackles of the throne, he had long ago learned what was important and what was secondary. It was time Gu Jin learned too.

Gu Jin stared at him. Gu Ting let her look. After a long silence, she turned her head. “And the real culprit? You’re just going to let them go? Let them continue their crimes?”

“According to the investigation, it really was a problem with the mechs. Every step from production to deployment is recorded. The verdict is that the initial stress-value estimation for the operators was handled incorrectly. As for why the previous prototypes were successful, experts say they are still researching it.” Gu Ting handed her a stack of blueprints. “This is the original design for the new mechs and the accident assessment conclusion. Do you want to see?”

Knowing she wouldn’t understand them anyway, she just scanned them into her computer and handed them back. “So, it’s the He family’s mistake?”

“It’s not certain. But rest assured, my uncle and I have strengthened monitoring everywhere and made many secret arrangements. Even if there is a culprit, no more ‘accidents’ will happen.”

Gu Ting thought she had finally understood and accepted the plan, only worrying about a culprit. He let out a breath of relief.

But before he could even finish exhaling, Gu Jin spoke again.

“Your plan is great. But you made one wrong move: you shouldn’t have let me get involved. Since I’m in, I’m digging to the bottom. I’m going to give all the soldiers on Planet Rota a real explanation. When the time comes, the actual culprit must pay the price.”

Gu Ting’s breath hitched. He looked at the expressionless Gu Jin, nearly dying of anger on the spot. “What exactly do you mean by that?!”

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