The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 55

Yu Ruan hastily expressed his thanks.

Struggling to suppress the heat rising to his face, he looked up at the person who had helped him and was surprised to find that it was Si Yuxiao.

Si Yuxiao handed the box to him, his amber eyes shimmering with a warm smile. “Be careful. It wouldn’t be good if something so valuable were to break.”

“I’ll be more careful next time. Thank you,” Yu Ruan said gratefully as he took the box from him. “What a coincidence, are you working today too?”

He couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but it seemed like every time he visited, the other man was always busy in the shop. The rotating rest system mandated by the Gaia Empire seemed to be completely nonexistent when it came to him.

“No, actually, I’m off today,” Si Yuxiao said, his eyes crinkling as he glanced at the nearby chair. “May I sit here?”

“Of course,” Yu Ruan quickly replied. “Please, go ahead.”

“Alright, thank you.” Si Yuxiao pulled out the chair and sat down. “It’s mainly because I’m not used to being idle, so I decided to drop by the shop and look around. I didn’t expect to run into you. It seems we really have some fate connecting us, don’t you think?”

Before he said it, Yu Ruan hadn’t thought much of it, but now that he mentioned it, he too felt it was quite a coincidence.

Running into someone once could be considered chance, but encountering them every single time he visited, the probability of that was just too low.

Adding to that, Si Yuxiao always gave him a strangely familiar feeling. If he weren’t certain that he had no acquaintances on the capital planet, he would have almost believed Si Yuxiao was someone he knew.

“It really does seem like fate,” Yu Ruan said with a smile. “Are you always this busy every day?”

“I do slack off occasionally,” Si Yuxiao replied. “But my heat cycle is approaching soon, so I wanted to work a few extra days beforehand to take time off later. With so many Alphas around Nebula, it would be quite troublesome if any issues arose.”

At this point, he paused slightly, as if casually asking, “It must be tough for you at Nebula too, right? After all, unlike me, you can’t just take time off whenever. The heat cycle is really hard to endure, isn’t it?”

Yu Ruan instinctively touched the back of his neck, hesitating. “No, I haven’t yet.”

He hadn’t been at Nebula for long, and this upcoming cycle would be his first since arriving. However, Gu Yu had already given him a temporary mark, so the heat cycle no longer existed. He really didn’t know how to respond to Si Yuxiao’s question.

“Has it not started yet?” Si Yuxiao asked with a cheerful smile, leaning closer. “I can recommend a few high-quality inhibitor brands to you. They’re absolutely reliable. How about it, want to hear them?”

Feeling flustered, Yu Ruan took a slight step back, about to refuse, when he noticed the other man suddenly furrow his brow.

Si Yuxiao sniffed the air lightly, his expression shifting. “You’ve been marked by another Alpha?”

Could he really tell just like that?

Yu Ruan looked at him in surprise, finding it hard to believe. Until now, no one he knew had noticed he had been marked. He never expected Si Yuxiao to figure it out just by sitting across from him.

He felt his face burning intensely but didn’t feel right lying. After a long hesitation, he silently nodded.

Hearing these words, the person sitting across from him immediately furrowed their brows deeply. A faint, shadowy light flickered in their amber pupils as they stared intently at Yu Ruan.

For some reason, the temperature around them seemed to drop several degrees in an instant. Yu Ruan blinked nervously, gazing at Si Yuxiao, who had suddenly lost his smile, and instinctively asked, “Are you okay?”

“No.” After a long silence, Si Yuxiao finally spoke. “I’m just worried that you might be deceived by a bad Alpha. You should know, many Alphas are very good at pretending. They act all innocent and vulnerable just to gain your sympathy.”

“That’s right! Your Highness, you mustn’t be fooled by those bad Alphas!” Le Meng, who had just walked back over, chimed in with deep conviction. “So many Alphas appear polite and well-mannered on the surface, but behind the scenes.”

She made a face, rolling her eyes dramatically.

“So, next time, don’t do something like this again,” Si Yuxiao continued, a smile returning to his face. “It’s just a fever cycle inhibitors are more than enough. Compared to those unpredictable Alphas, they’re far more reliable, don’t you think?”

Yu Ruan had a vague feeling that Si Yuxiao might have misunderstood something, but he was too embarrassed to repeat what had happened earlier. Yet, it also felt unfair to lump Gu Yu into the “bad Alpha” category over this. So, he could only reply vaguely, “Mm, if there’s a next time. I’ll be more careful. Thank you for the reminder.”

“You’re welcome.” Si Yuxiao shook his head with a smile, as if about to say something more. Suddenly, however, his expression darkened, and he frowned, his gaze shifting to something behind Yu Ruan.

Yu Ruan blinked in confusion, then belatedly followed his line of sight and turned to look behind him.

A familiar figure was sitting at a table surrounded by laughter and chatter.

Pausing with his hand on the glass door, Gu Yu swept a glance inside, his eyes landing on that smiling face. An inexplicable wave of displeasure surged within him.

He remembered this person.

It was that Omega named Si Yuxiao.

A stifling feeling tightened in his chest, and an irrational impulse urged him to stride forward and pull his Omega away from that conversation.

His expression cold, he pushed the door open.

The people inside seemed to have anticipated his intentions, immediately turning their attention toward him, their expressions stiffening slightly.

Gu Yu stood casually at the entrance, hands in his pockets, his gaze lifting to meet Si Yuxiao’s. The two locked eyes in silence for a moment before the Omega sitting across from Si Yuxiao noticed something and turned to look.

He seemed completely taken aback to see Gu Yu here, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. But then, as if remembering something, he quickly averted his gaze, the tips of his ears tinged with a faint blush.

Noticing Gu Yu, Le Meng broke into a smile. “Good morning! Are you here to buy some pastries too, Your Highness?”

Gu Yu gave a noncommittal nod and replied, “Morning,” before shifting his gaze to Yu Ruan beside her.

Yu Ruan was still reeling from the shock of seeing Gu Yu and was momentarily stunned. He had no idea whether Gu Yu had noticed him sneaking glances earlier at school. Swallowing his unease, he managed to greet him, “What are you doing out? Shouldn’t you be resting a bit more?”

“It’s nothing.” His gaze shifted from Yu Ruan to Si Yuxiao, pausing briefly. “I was just passing by to help someone out. If there’s anything you need to buy, you can tell me, and I’ll bring it back for you later.”

“Oh, right!” Le Meng suddenly realized. “The competition yesterday was so intense, Your Highness must have expended a lot of energy!” She wore a guilty and self-reproachful expression. “I’m sorry! It’s my fault for not thinking of that earlier. I even wanted to drag you out to have fun,I truly apologize!”

“…” Yu Ruan quickly glanced at Gu Yu and hurriedly reassured her. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I just happened to have the day off today and actually wanted to go out for a stroll. Please don’t overthink it, I’m not that fragile.”

Gu Yu lowered his gaze, watching as Yu Ruan comforted Le Meng, his lips twitching slightly. After a moment, he asked, “Why didn’t you rest a bit longer?”

Yu Ruan hesitated before replying, “Cheng Mu asked me to go pick up the medal. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I just went. It wasn’t a big deal anyway.”

At this, Gu Yu raised an eyebrow.

His expression seemed to say: Then why didn’t you ask me to come along?

Yu Ruan felt extremely guilty and quickly explained, “You just got out of the hospital, and I thought you should rest more, so I didn’t have Cheng Mu tell you. I went to collect it by myself.”

Hearing this, the restless emotions that had been stirring within him since earlier seemed to be soothed, slowly calming down. His mood improved considerably, and Gu Yu let out a faint “Mm,” not pressing further.

Yu Ruan cautiously watched him, noticing that his expression seemed to have brightened, and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, just then, someone else spoke up on his behalf.

“The competition? Is it the famous Nebula Academy Tournament I’ve heard so much about?” Si Yuxiao showed a hint of curiosity and asked proactively, “I’ve heard it’s incredibly difficult, and opinions online are all over the place. So, is it really as tough as they say?”

“Of course!” Before Yu Ruan could respond, Le Meng eagerly answered for him. “Every edition of the tournament is challenging, but this year’s was especially tough! But both Your Highnesses were amazing not only did you overcome the difficulties together, but you also won the championship as a team! You’re the only pair in the entire school who weren’t eliminated by the tournament rules. That’s seriously impressive!”

Yu Ruan blushed at her praise and couldn’t help saying, “No, not really. Winning the championship was mostly thanks to Gu Yu.”

Le Meng immediately raised her eyebrows. “Your Highness, how can you belittle yourself like that?! You’re already more outstanding than many excellent Alphas. That championship was earned through your own strength, please be more confident!”

Seeing her earnest expression, Yu Ruan felt utterly embarrassed. He instinctively glanced toward Gu Yu, who was walking over, casting a pleading look his way.

But as if deliberately opposing him, the other man gave him a calm, indifferent glance and said in a detached tone, “Mm, don’t belittle yourself.”

Yu Ruan: “…”

This guy is really too much.

Unable to hold back, Yu Ruan lifted his head and met Gu Yu’s downward gaze, trying to silently accuse him of his excessive behavior. Yet, in the depths of those dark blue pupils, he caught a fleeting, faint trace of amusement.

But that hint of a smile quickly vanished back into indifference, so fast it might as well have been an illusion.

Yu Ruan was momentarily stunned, then interrupted by Si Yuxiao’s voice: “Oh, is that so?” He said with a light laugh, glancing sideways at the box on the table. “Then this must be the medal case for the Nebula Academy competition?”

Yu Ruan nodded.

“Learned something new.” Si Yuxiao chuckled softly before asking again, “So, I take it you two are teammates for the competition? After all, I’ve heard that Nebula’s school competitions are usually in pairs, right?”

“Yeah.” Yu Ruan felt a little embarrassed. “He’s the one who’s really skilled. If it were just me, I’d probably be stuck at the first stage.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Getting into Nebula Academy is already an impressive feat.” Si Yuxiao smiled warmly. After reassuring Yu Ruan, he leisurely turned his head and met Gu Yu’s gaze.

Gu Yu’s expression was cold as he stared indifferently at the person who claimed to be an Omega.

Si Yuxiao’s smile remained unchanged, though the curve of his lips grew slightly colder. He stared back at Gu Yu, seemingly unfazed by the suddenly oppressive pheromones in the air. Still smiling, he lightly pointed to the back of his own neck, his voice tinged with a chill:

“So, this wounds here.” He paused briefly, “was left by you, wasn’t it?”

Support