Chapter 10

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At dusk, Chi Xun carried three plastic bags downstairs and left. This old residential building had six floors, with two households per floor. Their family lived on the third floor, but as neighbors gradually moved away, their unit became the only one left in the entire building.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, just as she threw away a used suppressant, a shadow suddenly brushed past her shoulder. She felt something snatched forcefully from her hand—the black bag disappeared.

The chance of being robbed right at one’s doorstep was very low.

But not zero.

Realizing what had happened, Chi Xun broke into a run in pursuit. Perhaps from consuming too many nutritional supplements over the past four days, she ran far faster than before. Although the figure ahead seemed tall, he was excessively thin, and several times she nearly caught the hem of his clothes.

The boy, sensing trouble, tried to pull out the contents of the bag and run. He fumbled inside, only to pull out a soft, springy object.

Looking closely, this was something he himself carried.

“Eww!” He shook off the dirty thing hastily, his face flushing bright red. “I thought it was something valuable. How did it turn out to be this?”

The item and the bag rolled on the ground twice before Chi Xun snatched them up quickly.

Luckily, they were only a little dusty.

Fuming, she tightened the bag and, seizing the boy’s moment of distraction, dashed forward to grab the hem of his clothes, pushing him to the ground.

They tumbled into a heap. Chi Xun initially tried to grab his thigh but feared being kicked, so she flipped over and sat on top of him.

“Caught you stealing!” she said, pounding him with her fists. “You dirtied my organ!”

“What organ? Are you crazy? It’s so fake and tiny!” He struggled like a slippery eel beneath her.

Chi Xun, improvising from what her boss once said, taunted, “Oh yeah? Yours is big then?”

“You…” The boy’s neck reddened. “Enough! I already gave it back!”

“Should I thank you? It’s all dusty now. You owe me a cleaning fee!”

“Just wipe it on your pants and it’ll be clean!”

“Sure, then I’ll wipe it on your face. Your whole body will be as clean as your face.”

“You pervert! You’re harassing an Omega!!”

Above, a flying vehicle hovered.

Inside, a man in military uniform covered his face, muttering, “These people really have no shame, even in broad daylight.”

The tall man beside him in a suit chuckled, “If it were you, living in a place with no access to any real entertainment, barely able to fill your stomach each day, what would you do?”

“Alright.” The military man sighed, gazing towards a group of barefoot children running wildly among broken buildings. “At this rate, the number of Betas and low-tier Omegas will only grow, and security will worsen.”

“That’s a problem you should consider now, Colonel He Yunhai.”

“Ah, the military academy’s been in chaos lately over the new crown prince. I’m barely keeping myself safe, and the person you’re looking for has been off the radar. For now, we have to let it go.”

The suited man looked back at the writhing pair below. A gust blew the hat off the one on top, revealing a tousle of light golden-brown hair that shone brilliantly in the sunset.

Such a rare hair color—he had only seen it on one other person before.

His gaze fixed, he told the driver, “Stop here.”

…

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“You’re an Omega? No wonder you fell over with just one push.”

Chi Xun muttered this, then immediately scowled and grabbed the boy by the collar. “Then why did you steal my bag?”

“I… I just… I’m hungry, okay? I just wanted to steal a bag to exchange for food, what’s wrong with that?”

The boy shut his eyes, exuding a defeated air. “If you don’t like it, call the police.”

Chi Xun released him. “You have hands and feet, why not earn money by working?”

The boy’s face flushed again, glaring at her. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll never sell my body in this lifetime!”

Chi Xun was speechless.

Looking at his delicate face, she realized he wasn’t joking.

A fragile Omega in the lower city was indeed easy prey.

She thought for a moment, then dug out two unopened nutritional supplements from her bag and slipped them into his coat pocket. Then she poked his nose with a finger and warned, “My fists are tired. I’ll let you off today.”

The boy was stunned by the sudden gesture. “What did you just give me?”

“Can’t read?”

Only then did he look at the writing and his expression shifted repeatedly.

“Something that can barely be considered a staple food. One bottle should keep you energized for most of the day.”

Chi Xun clapped her hands, about to leave, but her hem was tugged.

She looked down. The boy turned his head awkwardly, squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth: “…Sorry for dirtying your stuff.”

Seeing the bite marks on his neck and the cheap band-aid covering his gland to mask pheromones, with edges already curling slightly, Chi Xun fell into thought.

If not for her brother, would she be in the same situation as this boy now?

“Do you have a neural implant?”

Chi Xun squatted again, tilting her head as she recited a string of contact information and an address. “My job was found through someone here. You could try, too.”

Though her clothes weren’t exquisite, they were neat without holes or patches.

Chi Xun guessed the boy wanted to verify her words’ credibility, so she turned around and showed herself clearly. Seeing his stunned look, she added, “It’s a legitimate job, if you can get hired.”

Bathed in sunset light, her skin looked translucent and pale; her large black eyes shone with a clear, soothing light.

The boy clutched the nutritional supplements warmed by her touch, lost in thought.

Seeing no reaction, Chi Xun prepared to leave.

She should have gone earlier—otherwise, she’d miss the last public transport.

She tightened the two bags on her back and instinctively touched the back of her head.

Huh? Where’s her hat?

She scanned around and finally spotted it on a nearby dirt mound, probably blown off by the wind.

She quickened her pace, about to bend down, but a large hand beat her to it and picked up the hat.

“Yours?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Chi Xun reached out to take it, inadvertently noticing the honey-colored forearm beneath the man’s rolled-up sleeve—strong and well-defined muscles, a stark contrast to the thin boy earlier.

At that moment, a voice interrupted.

“Zephyr, don’t tell me you came down just to pick up someone’s hat. Aren’t you afraid of being recognized by fans?”

Chi Xun looked up.

The speaker was a young officer, three blue-silver stars on each shoulder. The man who had just picked up the hat wore a suit so tight every inch was sculpted by muscles. His loosened collar revealed a hint of honey-colored chest.

His deep-set brows framed a mixed-race appearance matching his name.

Beneath those brows, his jade-green eyes sparkled like emeralds, soon softening into a faint smile.

“Of course not. I just wanted to greet an acquaintance.”

The man leaned slightly forward, his deep green eyes fixed on her. “Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

If not for the fact there were only three of them, Chi Xun would have suspected he was hitting on someone else. After all, she had just chased down someone and rolled in the dust, now looking like a field mouse just emerged from its burrow.

A male mouse showing only his eyes.

His gaze was a bit too sharp.

Chi Xun shook her head, smiling awkwardly. “No way. If we had met, you’d remember me.”

She was telling the truth—whoever saw those unique green eyes wouldn’t forget them.

…Wait.

She seemed to have seen them somewhere before.

She remembered—it was in a photo frame in her dormitory!

Among the six people in the Isaro court costume group photo on her bedside table, one had green eyes. She had only glanced casually then, recalling a strong-featured face. Now, it seemed very similar to this man.

Could his “have met” mean he’d seen her photo as a teammate?

No, that couldn’t be.

She only showed her eyes; even acquaintances would find it hard to recognize her at first glance.

After pondering, Chi Xun tightened her grip on the bags and stepped back. “If there’s nothing else, I’d better catch my ride.”

“Sorry to bother you.” The man nodded, watching her leave.

Only after her figure faded did He Yunhai ask in confusion, “Wasn’t the person you were looking for a girl?”

“Yes.”

Zephyr recalled the other person’s appearance. “But counting the time passed, she should be this age now.”

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Chi Xun didn’t encounter any more bag-snatching Omegas on the way and arrived smoothly at the hover station. Showing her pass, she boarded a public flying vehicle back to the upper city. However, her drop-off point was far from the dormitory. She still had to avoid a crowd of unknown stalkers or paparazzi at the entrance and sneak into the villa district through a side door.

Her furtive movements caught the attention of one man and one woman.

One of them protested to the security guard, “Hey, why can he enter but not us?”

The guard exchanged a glance with Chi Xun, then gave a subtle signal to hurry. He explained, “He’s a property owner.”

“Property owner? Dressed like that?”

The girl frowned, scrutinizing Chi Xun as she pulled down her mask and scanned her face. Suddenly, she froze. “What the heck? Could that be Chi Xun?”

Her raised voice drew more attention.

“Chi Xun? That commoner?”

“Let me see, let me see. Is he handsome enough?”

“Can’t see the face clearly, but the style is so tacky. Hard to believe such a trendy group would have a scavenger-style shorty.”

Chi Xun ignored them, clutching the two bags tightly and walking quickly.

Partly because she still carried Dingding and feared being discovered again, partly because she sensed the angry crowd might soon throw rotten eggs and vegetables at her.

Only upon reaching the villa’s entrance did she have a chance to glance at her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window.

Her brother’s clothes were much too large on her; the shorts fit just right as mid-length pants. She wasn’t skilled at matching men’s clothes, thinking loose and comfortable was enough.

Lost in thought, she ascended the last step.

The villa door was wide open. Someone stood with their back to her at the entrance, changing shoes. He bent down to put away his leather shoes, a few strands of brown hair falling onto his deep-set brow.

Hearing footsteps approaching, he looked up and saw Lin Zhouyi quickly crossing the living room, whispering, “You’re back?”

Zephyr lifted the corners of his brows and smiled unexpectedly. “You’re the first to greet me.”

Seeing this scene, Chi Xun instinctively stopped at the doorway, not wanting to intrude.

They were the second couple in the team—perhaps in the budding stages of romance. She didn’t want to be an annoying third wheel.

Bored, she began counting leaves on potted plants to pass the time, her mind flooding with thoughts—Would this kind of scene become more frequent? If she ever stumbled upon teammates being intimate, should she pretend not to see or cover her face and run away?

Outside, a shadow suddenly stopped.

Lin Zhouyi sniffed curiously.

He had clearly caught a scent…

Summoning courage, he stepped forward half a pace, glancing past Zephyr, and asked again, “It’s you who came back, right? Chi Xun?”