The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 5

The elevator slowly ascended, carrying Yu Ruan upward.

Taking this opportunity, Yu Ruan checked the ingredients in his hands to make sure nothing was missing. Fortunately, everything was there, and it seemed he could smoothly prepare a lavish meal.

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Who could be contacting him at this time?

Puzzled, Yu Ruan pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen.

Due to his financial struggles, he couldn’t afford a more advanced communication device, so he was still using a model that most citizens would consider outdated. Luckily, this model was almost identical to the phones from his previous life, so Yu Ruan was actually quite comfortable using it.

On the lit-up screen, a text message read:

“Your StarNet account ending in XXXX received a transfer of 15,000 credits on X month X day at X hour. Available balance: 15,089.26 credits.”

Yu Ruan: “!!!”

What just happened?? How did he suddenly have money??

His hand trembled slightly as he held the phone. Yu Ruan stared at the message in disbelief, strongly suspecting that someone had mistakenly transferred money into his account.

He was about to call the StarNet Bank customer service to inquire when his phone buzzed again.

This time, it was an unfamiliar phone number.

So it really was a mistaken transfer, right?

Yu Ruan thought regretfully.

He answered the call and smoothly said, “Hello, this is the account holder of card number XXXX. Did you transfer the money by mistake? It’s alright, I won’t touch the funds. You can contact StarNet Bank’s customer service they should be able to handle a reversal from their end.”

“Ah, Student Yu Ruan.” An awkward, middle-aged man’s voice drifted from the receiver. “Ahem, it’s me, it’s me.”

Only then did Yu Ruan realize that the caller wasn’t the person who had lost the money, but the dean of students who had harshly reprimanded him not long ago.

He had mistaken the caller!

He quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I thought you were the one who transferred the money by mistake. My apologies, truly! I didn’t expect it to be you!”

“No worries, no worries,” the dean repeatedly assured. He cleared his throat, as if gathering his thoughts. After a long pause, he finally managed to say, “Student Yu Ruan.”

“Yes?”

“I’m really sorry about what happened today!” the dean suddenly apologized, sobbing uncontrollably. “This matter involves too many complications and could damage the school’s reputation. We didn’t want to handle it so severely, but the situation forced our hand.”

He hiccupped. “Ah! The school’s staff were misled by troublemakers this time, which led to this decision. Next time, we’ll investigate thoroughly and make sure nothing like this happens again. So, could you please help explain things to Professor Ye and put in a good word for the school.”

If not for the phone between them, Yu Ruan suspected the dean’s tears and snot might have splattered onto his face.

Honestly, a middle-aged man sobbing so dramatically even without being face-to-face felt, a bit greasy.

What surprised him, though, was just how influential Ye Yizhou turned out to be.

Just this morning, the dean had been arrogant and domineering, full of himself, but now he was like a defeated, disgraced dog. The change in attitude was just too swift.

Yu Ruan felt a sense of relief wash over him.

If Ye Yizhou really had such a powerful background, then even if he himself encountered misfortune, it probably wouldn’t affect Ye Yizhou. That was good.

However, he felt he couldn’t intervene in the matter the dean had mentioned.

After all, Ye Yizhou had done it to help him. If he took it upon himself to forgive the other party, it would be too ungrateful to Ye Yizhou.

So he tactfully declined, “Dean, I understand your intentions. But I think Professor Ye has his own ideas, and it’s not for outsiders to comment. He’s a good person, so you probably don’t need to worry about the school being implicated.”

Upon hearing the first part, the dean’s heart had already sunk into despair. But with the latter part, a spark of hope ignited within him. He couldn’t help but ask eagerly, “Really?”

“Probably.” Yu Ruan wasn’t entirely sure.

“…” The dean immediately deflated again.

An awkward silence lingered for a while before the dean gritted his teeth and said, “By the way, Xiao Ruan, you received a transfer notification on the Star Network, right?”

“Yes,” Yu Ruan answered honestly, immediately catching on. “Did you transfer the money by mistake, Dean? Wait a moment, I’ll return it to you right away!”

“No, no,” the dean quickly denied, his tone ingratiating. “It’s just that we recently learned about your difficult financial situation and poor family background. It’s truly unacceptable that an outstanding student like you has never received any poverty assistance!”

He spoke passionately, “Government subsidies should be used where they’re most needed, to help good students live better lives!!”

Then he shifted gears, “The money transferred just now is the subsidy the school has decided to provide you after discussions. Keep it and buy yourself some good food. There will be more in the future, so no need to return it, really no need.”

Yu Ruan: “…”

So, had he suddenly struck it rich?

Happiness had come a bit too abruptly.

He responded dazedly and stepped out of the elevator as the chime sounded, not even noticing when the call ended.

Although 15,000 star coins wasn’t a huge amount, Yu Ruan, who was set up with a “poor” attribute, had never seen so much money in his life. Getting this much now was truly unexpected.

Should he thank Ye Yizhou?

After all, he had applied for subsidies before but was always ignored. If not for what happened this morning, he probably wouldn’t have received this windfall.

Feeling grateful, Yu Ruan stood at his doorstep, scanned his iris to unlock the door, and entered.

Once inside, he first put the things in his hands in the kitchen and went to wash his hands. Then he unpacked the items one by one, arranging them in order, and placed the more perishable ingredients in the refrigerator.

Yu Ruan didn’t know Ye Yizhou well, let alone his preferences. Judging by the man’s usual demeanor and speech, he felt that even delicacies like exotic treasures wouldn’t be anything novel to Ye Yizhou.

After much thought, he decided to fall back on some desserts he had learned from elders in his previous life and give them a try.

In this interstellar era, many ancient recipes had been lost. The traditional desserts common in his childhood were now hard to find, let alone tasted by anyone.

Fortunately, although the recipe had been lost, the ingredients were still available. The ingredients Yu Ruan bought today were intended for making this dessert.

He planned to try making a bowl of osmanthus jelly.

To be honest, since coming here, he hadn’t attempted any Chinese recipes for a long time. Most people in the Gaia Empire favored Western-style dishes, and traces of Chinese cuisine were rarely seen on dining tables.

Because of this, while working at the restaurant, Yu Ruan seldom had the chance to cook the Chinese dishes he was familiar with.

When it came to cooking, if you didn’t practice for a long time, your skills would inevitably become rusty. Yu Ruan was already prepared to fail more than a dozen times today.

No sooner said than done.

Yu Ruan placed all the ingredients into a bowl and rinsed and soaked them in water. Considering that the jelly was a sweet treat, he had also specifically bought ingredients for sour plum soup, planning to make it as an accompaniment.

While waiting for the ingredients to soak, he opened the packet of mesona seeds, placed them into a gauze bag, put on gloves, and immersed the bag in water, starting to knead and rub it repeatedly.

In this era, the method of making jelly had been lost, and it was even more impossible to find instant jelly powder, so he had to rely on the traditional method. Luckily, the ingredients were still available, and the process wasn’t too difficult.

After squeezing out all the liquid from the mesona seeds, Yu Ruan set the gauze bag aside, mixed a bowl of water with edible lime, and after it clarified, poured it into the mesona seed liquid.

While waiting for the jelly to set, he scooped up the soaked sour plum soup ingredients, poured water into a pot, turned on the heat to simmer the sour plum soup, and casually steamed a small taro.

Yu Ruan was bustling about busily when suddenly, a noise came from the living room.

The previously closed door opened, and from behind it emerged a person wearing a bathrobe. His appearance was somewhere between a teenager and a young man, with peach blossom eyes and dark pupils tinged with a hint of deep, tranquil blue. His eyelids drooped lazily, giving off a somewhat world-weary vibe.

He walked into the living room and headed toward the kitchen, seemingly to grab a bottle of cold water from the refrigerator. However, the scene before him made him stop in his tracks, standing silently in place.

Hearing the noise, Yu Ruan instinctively glanced toward the source.

Sure enough, it was his neighbor next door, Gu Yu.

Gu Yu’s hair was slightly damp, with stray strands at his temples clinging wetly to his fair skin as if he had just taken a bath, carrying a moist aura with him.

Dewdrops gathered on his delicate collarbones, and the Alpha pheromones, usually loosely restrained, drifted toward Yu Ruan’s nose with the ventilation system’s breeze, instantly making his scalp tingle and forcing him to avert his gaze.

This was the downside of sharing an apartment with an Alpha.

Since there were no gender-related concerns, two Alphas living together naturally wouldn’t pay much attention to trivial precautions or be overly mindful of controlling their pheromones.

This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but Yu Ruan was actually an Omega disguised as an Alpha, which made the situation rather suffocating.

His Omega nature, which instinctively submitted to stronger beings, made his body go weak and his fingers tremble slightly. Yet, he couldn’t reveal his true identity, so aside from the first day he moved in, Yu Ruan had mostly avoided crossing paths with the other.

Fortunately, Gu Yu seemed to be a wealthy young master who lived a refined life every day, with no need to understand the hardships of the world like he did. By the time Yu Ruan finished his part-time job and returned home, the young master had already turned off his lights and gone to bed, so the two rarely crossed paths.

Running into each other so directly like this was actually the first time.

He awkwardly smiled at the other and greeted, “What a coincidence, did your class end early too?”

Gu Yu glanced at him. “I don’t attend classes.”

Yu Ruan felt even more embarrassed.

Luckily, the young master didn’t seem interested in dwelling on their superficial cohabitation relationship. He merely withdrew his gaze indifferently and walked toward the refrigerator.

Standing in front of the refrigerator, his slender fingers casually picked out an unopened bottle of mineral water from the empty fridge and twisted the cap open.

His Adam’s apple, glistening with condensation, bobbed slightly as he drank, the motion causing a small patch of his collar to dampen.

Seeing that Gu Yu had no intention of engaging with him, Yu Ruan wisely averted his gaze and continued focusing on simmering the osmanthus syrup.

The thick, amber-colored syrup bubbled and foamed in the pot, releasing a sweet, fragrant aroma.

It seemed like it would be ready to take off the heat soon.

And it looked surprisingly successful?

Overjoyed, Yu Ruan picked up the pot and poured the syrup into a bowl, planning to let it cool before mixing it with the ice jelly.

Just then, a peculiar sound suddenly came from beside him.

Yu Ruan looked over in confusion and saw the young master, still holding the water bottle, staring coldly at him. The unmistakable sound of hunger echoed in the room, making the other’s expression grow even darker.

Yu Ruan: “…”

He stood by the stove, locking eyes with Gu Yu.

The other frowned irritably, clearly in a foul mood. He casually screwed the cap back on the water bottle, tossed it into the trash, and turned to leave the kitchen.

Yu Ruan felt extremely awkward. Watching his superficial neighbor about to exit the kitchen, a rare surge of pity stirred within him.

After a moment’s thought, he tentatively asked, “I made quite a lot. If you don’t mind, would you like to try some?”

Hearing this, the foot that was about to step out of the room suddenly paused.

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