The Omega Attacked the Alpha - Chapter 21

“I want glory to submit to me, to conquer the world without looking back. Not just for happiness, not just for desire, but for something special.”

Song Tao hummed as he sifted through the childhood photos he’d recovered from the safe. Nearly a thousand photos spanning five years—what was little Qin Zheng thinking when he took these?

“I’ll use love as a blade; I want the power to control the Book of Life and Death.”

Song Tao flipped a photo over, eyeing the inscription Qin Zheng had left on the back: The brat lost a tooth. He looks hideous; I don’t like him one bit.

“Not just respect, not just a smile—I want it all!” (Note 1)

He sang softly, his thumb pressing over the words I don’t like him one bit.

He began organizing the photos by age. Qin Zheng had started taking pictures of him about two weeks after he first arrived at the Qin household. He tried to remember what had happened during that specific window of time.

When he first arrived, he truly thought he was going to get a wonderful older brother.

But Qin Zheng clearly hadn’t shared that sentiment. Song Tao’s warm advances were met with Qin Zheng’s cold shoulder. After being yelled at, kicked out of Qin Zheng’s room, and eventually ending up with a bleeding head, he finally realized his “brother” didn’t like him.

He decided it was fine; he’d just go back to acting like he didn’t have a brother, same as before.

He stopped trying to please Qin Zheng and essentially began ignoring him. Their dynamic did a total 180 as they both pretended the other didn’t exist, until…

“So, it was that incident that opened up your heart,” Song Tao murmured. He laughed and cursed under his breath, “Pervert.”

He tucked the photos back into the safe.

Leaving the bedroom, he saw his knee-high domestic robot cleaning the litter box. The kittens were lined up by the window, bobbing their heads as they soaked up the sun.

Song Tao finished washing up and scooped up Black Snow Princess, who was acting all lovey-dovey with Black and White Knight. He felt lucky he’d had the Knight neutered; otherwise, the Princess would definitely be pregnant again by now.

He placed a tiny maid’s hat on her head and snapped a photo to post online.

In the photo, the cat wore a look of utter disdain.

He captioned it: The kitty maid is very displeased to be at your service.

Giggling, he pulled the cat into his arms for a vigorous “cat-huffing” session. “Our Black Snow Princess doesn’t have a resting bitch face. We’re a cute girl with big, innocent eyes.”

It was all about the angle. If you looked up from below, she looked innocent. But looking down from above, her face practically screamed: Kill them all!

She looked a lot like Qin Zheng—mostly due to the high brow bone and the way her brow naturally pressed downward.

Black Snow Princess sat patiently while Song Tao squeezed and kneaded her, even showing off her “paw-flowers.” Black and White Knight came over to find his “wife,” and to suck up to his father-in-law, he began giving Song Tao a massage with his little paws.

In this house, only Mantou remained detached and transcendent, far above the worldly fray.

Song Tao was in the middle of playing with the cats when his phone rang.

“Master, Daddy is calling~”

Song Tao answered, flopping onto his back. “Daddy, can you sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?”

“I’ll sing it to your thick skull. What are you doing?”

“I’m in the middle of a battle against evil four-legged beasts. The cats want to overthrow humanity and become the masters of the house. As the savior and last hope of mankind, I cannot allow it!”

The twenty-pound Black Snow Princess was currently sitting on his chest. It was a stifling case of “feline forced love.” He tried to get up, but the cat gave a little kick with her back legs and pinned him right back down.

Does he have no dignity at all?

Song Chijing stopped listening to his nonsense. Since his son seemed fine, he got straight to the point. “Your mentor called me again. He’s asking when you’re coming back to school.”

Song Tao, who had been wrestling with the cat, suddenly went quiet.

He heard Song Chijing sigh. “Everything is in the past now. Sooner or later, you have to go back, finish your studies, and graduate.”

Is it really in the past? Song Tao asked himself.

He couldn’t find the words. He had been backstabbed by the person he trusted most, had labels shoved onto him, and was branded a bully. Meanwhile, the traitor enjoyed the fruits of Song Tao’s labor with an innocent “victim” face, even having the audacity to “forgive” him publicly.

He couldn’t get over it.

Moreover, the incident occurred during a period of pheromone instability, causing his entire system to collapse. He had spent six full months in the hospital recovering.

All that pain. He couldn’t just let it go.

He remained silent.

“You’re an adult,” Song Chijing continued. “You have to face these things eventually. If you keep dragging this out, what about your degree? What about your future?”

Song Tao opened his mouth several times before he found his voice. “Dad, do you believe me?”

“Of course I believe you. You’re my son; who else would I believe?”

“Do you believe me entirely? Or do you only believe the part where Pang Zhijie stole my work?”

“I…”

Song Chijing hesitated. Song Tao and Pang Zhijie used to be best friends. They shared the same major and interests; the two Omegas told each other everything and were always stuck together. They were even under the same mentor.

But then Song Tao accused Pang Zhijie of stealing his designs. It turned into a massive scandal. Song Tao couldn’t produce evidence, and Pang Zhijie turned the tables on him, eventually jumping off a building to “prove his innocence.”

Pang Zhijie didn’t die, but that extreme act won him everyone’s sympathy and trust.

Meanwhile, Song Tao lacked substantive proof.

People began to interrogate him, asking if he was satisfied only if he drove Pang Zhijie to his death. They accused him of bullying.

The ordeal ended with Song Tao collapsing during a public denunciation. His already fragile health had been extremely unstable, and he had to be hospitalized. His classmates simply said he was a coward, hiding away because he was guilty.

Things escalated until, for the sake of his mental and physical health, he had to take a leave of absence.

Pang Zhijie had visited a few times, wanting to see Song Tao in the hospital. Since he couldn’t get past the door, he only saw Song Chijing. He claimed Song Tao told him that he had to die to pay for the “theft” or else Song Tao would never let him go. He said that was the only reason he’d been forced to jump.

Song Chijing knew his son’s temper. Song Tao was indeed hot-headed and definitely wasn’t someone who took things lying down or had a soft heart.

So, regarding the claim that Song Tao had forced Pang Zhijie to jump… he truly found it hard to believe his son was innocent.

“I understand.” Song Tao hung up. The only relative he had in the world didn’t believe him.

“Master, Daddy is calling again.”

Song Tao didn’t answer. After a few more tries, Song Chijing gave up.

Song Tao’s grey-blue eyes stared fixedly at the ceiling light. He knew that if he didn’t return to school, he would always be a deserter. He should go back and fight.

But the moment he thought of Pang Zhijie’s disgusting face that feeling of a betrayal like maggots crawling through his flesh—the moment he thought of that mess and those six months in the hospital, he…

“Urgh—”

Song Tao rolled over abruptly and began to retch.

Black Snow Princess darted to his side, her large eyes watching him with a mix of worry and confusion. She tentatively raised a paw and began patting him on the back.

“Daddy’s fine.”

Just the memory made him feel nauseous. Pang Zhijie was simply too repulsive; the mere thought made Song Tao never want to see him again.

He had truly been deeply scarred.

Song Tao washed up again. Su He had been stuck at the film set for several days and hadn’t come back, though his social media feed was full of drive and hope.

Song Tao invited Wei Siqi out for a drink.

To his surprise, Pang Zhijie actually had the audacity to seek him out. The man’s thick-skinned nature exceeded all expectations.

Song Tao was a bit drunk and was swaying as he walked. Wei Siqi, acting as a bodyguard, had escorted him all the way to his door. In Wei’s mind, although Song Tao was a capable fighter, he was still an Omega.

A drunk, solitary Omega was unsafe; a drunk Omega plus a drunk Beta was… well, slightly safer.

The two were leaning on each other when they saw Pang Zhijie. Both thought they were seeing things. They stared at him for a moment, then looked at each other.

Song Tao: “I see someone I hate.”

Wei Siqi: “I see him too.”

Both wore expressions of pure disgust.

Pang Zhijie took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Song Tao.”

Song Tao stopped smiling. He realized the person in front of him wasn’t an illusion. Goosebumps instantly erupted across his skin, and the shock sobered him up a little.

Wei Siqi, still quite tipsy, stumbled forward and pushed Pang Zhijie. “Get lost, you disgusting jerk! You’re not allowed to show up here!”

Pang Zhijie, pale-faced, staggered back from the shove. The petite Omega looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Wei Siqi: “Pah! Stop playing the victim with me! I’m not falling for it!”

Pang Zhijie adopted a look of stoic endurance and tried to move around Wei. “I came to talk to Song Tao. Please step aside.”

Wei Siqi wouldn’t budge, blocking him with an arm. “Talk to him? You’re just here to hurt him! Not on my watch!”

Song Tao watched Wei Siqi, and his goosebumps subsided. At least he hadn’t chosen the wrong friend. He didn’t need to let one failure define him…

Besides, the person who should be afraid to face him was Pang Zhijie, the thief. If the thief had the guts to show up, why should he hide?

As he stepped forward, he covertly turned on the recording function on his device. Supporting the still-ranting Wei Siqi, he asked coldly, “What do you want?”

Pang Zhijie looked at him deeply, but there wasn’t a trace of guilt in his eyes. “I want you to come back to school. I’m about to graduate; there’s no reason for you to avoid campus just because of me. You’ve already been away for two years. If you don’t return soon, your enrollment will be canceled.”

He sounded so “sincerely” concerned.

“Isn’t that exactly what you want? For me to become a total failure who can never get back up and never reopen the case?”

Song Tao sneered. “If you truly wanted the best for me, you’d tell the truth. Admit you stole my work and admit you framed me for ‘forcing’ you to jump.”

Even though Song Tao was the one who had suffered, it was Pang Zhijie who was currently sobbing.

Disgusting.

Pang Zhijie shook his head. “Xiao Tao, I didn’t. Please stop living in your own delusions.”

“You didn’t? Do you dare to swear it?! Swear you didn’t steal my work! Swear you didn’t frame me! Swear that if you did those things, your whole family will die a horrible death!”

Song Tao ground his teeth, glaring at him.

Pang Zhijie stepped back. “I dare. I swear…”

Song Tao lost interest in listening. Pang Zhijie was always bulletproof in these situations. He’d tried to get him alone before to record a confession, but it had never worked.

Two years later, Pang Zhijie still wouldn’t let his guard down.

“I swear I didn’t steal—”

“BLEGH.”

Wei Siqi vomited right onto Pang Zhijie’s shoes. Apparently, even a drunk couldn’t stand the sound of a liar’s oath.

A foul smell began to fester in the hallway. Pang Zhijie’s face turned bright red with fury.

Song Tao laughed. “Look at that. Your karma is starting. Get lost before you get struck by lightning don’t take me down with you.”

He opened his door and helped Wei Siqi inside.

After the door closed, he heard Pang Zhijie stomping his feet in rage. Once he was sure the man had left, he sent out Housekeeping Robot No. 1 to clean up the hallway.

By all rights, I should have graduated by now, Song Tao thought grimly as he listened to Wei Siqi’s snoring.

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