After walking a few steps, Li Shu realized that Lu Yao was referring to those rumors that had been circulating around the school.
Due to Li Luo’s relentless efforts, his reputation at school was anything but good. Originally, he had planned to apply for a single dormitory, but unfortunately, it was already some time after the semester had started, and no single rooms were available.
To be honest, his new roommate’s attitude toward him was quite surprising. Although they were in different majors, thanks to Li Luo’s deliberate promotion of the rumors, they had spread so widely that almost everyone knew about them. This was the reason he wanted a single dormitory—if his new roommate had any hostility toward him, it would certainly be a hassle.
At this time of day, there weren’t many people around the school; everyone was busy with their own affairs, and they didn’t run into many students on the road.
“I thought you were the type, how should I say it…who is a bit domineering.” The two walked forward in silence, and just when Li Shu thought he wouldn’t hear his new roommate speak again, the other party opened his mouth.
“How long have you been around me to think I’m not that kind of person?” Li Shu was curious.
“Sometimes, the truth is something you need to see with your own eyes. I trust my own judgment.” Lu Yao smiled. No matter how many rumors circulated, they couldn’t compare to seeing things for yourself.
“Since you put it that way, I can’t betray your trust.”
Since they had only just met, they didn’t dwell on this topic for long and naturally shifted to another. After learning that this was Li Shu’s first time living on campus, he began to share some advice about living in the dorms.
Aside from the frequent video calls from this body’s father, urging him to come home, Li Shu was actually enjoying his time living at school. His new roommate wasn’t much of a talker and, unlike most Omegas, spent most of his time absorbed in the model mecha on his desk.
Life gradually fell into a routine. It would have been even better if the blonde Omega didn’t always look like he wanted to say something but hesitated every time he saw him. The number of people bothering him had decreased, though there still weren’t many who took the initiative to communicate with him. No one disturbed him, and Li Shu was happy with the peace and quiet.
He spent some time familiarizing himself with the various majors at Empire Star University. If it weren’t for the fact that the original owner was already a junior, he would have tried to switch majors. Looking at his current major—Horticultural Appreciation—it was essentially about tinkering with plants, a major tailored for noble Omegas who just wanted to earn a diploma.
If Li Shu had to choose, he’d definitely choose something more interesting. If he were still a sophomore, he could change majors. Holding the assignment he needed to submit—a pot of bright and vibrant Cymbidium—he thought about the news he had just seen online that Marshal Gu Lin was about to arrive at the Empire Star. Lost in thought, he walked right into a man stepping out from around the corner.
The man didn’t move aside, and caught off guard, Li Shu stumbled backward. His reaction was quick, and just as the man reached out to steady him, he had already regained his balance on his own. Even the flowerpot he was holding only wobbled slightly without falling.
“Are you okay?” The man’s deep voice rang out from above.
After stabilizing himself, Li Shu looked up at the other man.
It was a tall Alpha with sharp and cold features, and dark eyes like cold stars that can suck people into the abyss.
This was the Omega Academy. How could an Alpha be here?
“I’m fine, sorry for bumping into you,” Li Shu didn’t intend to probe further. The Alpha had the aura of a soldier, and was probably here on some mission.
He had plenty of his own problems to deal with and didn’t want to get involved in someone else’s affairs.
After Li Shu left, the man stood there without moving until his adjutant came looking for him.
“Marshal.”
By the time the adjutant arrived, Li Shu had already been gone for a while. What he saw was his marshal staring off into a certain direction, his eyes flashing with an indecipherable emotion.
The man withdrew his gaze. “How are things?”
“As the marshal predicted, several of the major legions seem to be forming alliances. The royal family is also not as stable as it appears. Word is they’re preparing to select brides for some of the young princes.”
The official reason for the bride selection was clear, but in reality, it was a maneuver to ally with any possible force, with the aim of suppressing Gu Lin, the increasingly uncontrollable weapon of mass destruction.
Who could have imagined that the poor boy from a remote star system would rise to such heights? They had tried every tactic but couldn’t suppress Gu Lin’s rise. Lacking funds and lacking resources—they had figured out how to survive on their own. It could be said that the Chiyan Legion had grown to its current scale entirely on their own efforts.
“They probably didn’t expect us to return at this time. Many of their small moves were left unfinished, and we’ve managed to catch quite a few loose ends.”
“Right. I heard the Alpha from the Helian family is set to be engaged to an Omega from the Li family. Do you know who it is?” With a quick glance just now, he had seen a “Li” character on the flowerpot the young man carried when he bumped into him.
“Ah?” The adjutant didn’t know why the marshal was asking about this all of a sudden, but he answered dutifully, “It’s the youngest son of the Li family, Li Luo. Oh, right, there have been rumors lately about how the eldest son of the Li family stole Li Luo’s fiancé.”
This matter wasn’t a secret. Anyone at school could easily find out. Seeing how the marshal, who was usually indifferent to anything unrelated to the Zerg, was interested, the adjutant eagerly recounted the gossip to Gu Lin.
Li Shu only realized something was off after he had walked some distance away. His mind had been preoccupied, and it hadn’t hit him immediately. The man he had bumped into was none other than Gu Lin, the male protagonist of this world.
1314 confirmed this for him.
[How come there are no news of Gu Lin arrival at the Empire Star already?]
As soon as the question left his mouth, Li Shu figured it out. Gu Lin and the Empire Star’s aristocracy were essentially on opposite sides of the interest spectrum. There were plenty of people on the Empire Star who wanted to take him down. His return must have been carefully prepared.
There were images of Marshal Gu Lin online, and the man he had just met didn’t quite look the same. He must have been in disguise. It seemed the male protagonist had returned to the capital earlier than expected.
After carrying the flowerpot into the classroom, Li Shu saw that the room was already filled with people, and the professor had arrived.
The teacher for this class was a gentle Omega woman. Seeing Li Shu carrying the pot by himself, she asked with concern, “Student Li, come in quickly. Why did you carry it yourself? Didn’t the school arrange for special robots?”
“I’m fine, professor. This pot isn’t heavy.”
This was something Li Shu really wanted to complain about. In the minds of the people in this world, Omegas were extremely fragile, like flowers carefully cultivated in a greenhouse, unable to withstand the slightest wind and rain.
In the Empire, there was a complete set of Omega protection laws, and Omegas received preferential treatment in all areas. The school was slightly better in this regard.
Declining the teacher’s offer to have a robot help him, Li Shu carried the flowerpot to his seat by himself.
“Li Shu, my birthday is coming up soon. Do you want to join the party?” Before Li Shu could refuse, the blonde Omega continued, “Don’t refuse. Consider it compensation for misunderstanding you for so long.”
“There’s no need. Just make sure you don’t bring people to trouble me in the future.”
After finding out the truth wasn’t as he had originally thought, the blonde Omega had stuck to Li Shu, insisting on apologizing and claiming to owe him justice.
For the first time, Li Shu realized that the Omegas in this world were so scary when they became clingy, he could only avoid him as much as possible.
After class, Li Shu still couldn’t escape the “torment” of Omegas. How should he put it? Sometimes, Omegas were really resilient, like the blonde omega who was now beside him, ay Li Lou who was now standing across from him.
“Big Brother.”
Li Shu thought Li Luo wouldn’t show up for a while. He had instructed the system to monitor this person’s movements at all times, and he usually made a conscious effort to avoid any meetings.
“Big Brother, are you really unwilling to see me anymore?” Li Luo’s small face and large, round eyes easily made him look like he had been wronged.
It was this expression that he always used when meeting the original owner, which convinced others that the original owner had bullied him. Didn’t you see how he was almost on the verge of tears?
Li Shu thought the system summed it up well: Li Luo and his mother were like two white lotuses, one big and one small—no matter what happened, the wrong was always with others. Just like this time, Li Luo only needed to show a bullied expression at the right moment, and people immediately sided with him, blaming the original owner without knowing the full story.
“Big Brother, come back with me. If you keep acting like this, father and mother will worry.” Li Luo moved closer, reaching out to grab Li Shu’s arm.
Li Shu easily dodged him. He couldn’t understand it—Li Luo used the same trick over and over again. Wouldn’t he get tired of it?
“I’m not a child anymore, Li Luo, and I’m not the same Li Shu who believed everything you said. Tell me, now that I know what kind of people you are, do you really think I’ll still obey you and let you keep bullying me? I was foolish before and was played around by you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stay foolish forever.”
“Big Brother, I know you’re angry with me. You’re just speaking in anger, right? I can give you anything, except Ah Zheng. Big Brother, I truly love him.” Li Luo’s face showed a pleading expression.
“Alright then,” Li Shu pulled out his light brain. “I’ll tell him right now that I don’t like him, and wish you two a happy marriage. How’s that?”
Li Luo panicked. He didn’t expect Li Shu to take such a step. He couldn’t afford to let Li Shu confront Helian Zheng like that.
“Li Luo, that’s enough. There’s nothing between Li Shu and your fiancé to begin with. Do you really need to keep harping on this?” The blonde Omega, who had once felt so much sympathy for Li Luo’s situation, now found him more and more unpleasant. This Li Luo had already judged Li Shu without understanding the situation—why was he in a rush to make conclusions?
He couldn’t help but reassess the relationship between the two brothers. Come to think of it, even full-blooded brothers could turn against each other, not to mention that they didn’t share the same mother.
“What do you mean by that?” Li Luo asked anxiously.
“It’s exactly what it means.”
A deep voice rang out from behind. Li Shu turned and saw the man he had just met not long ago striding toward them.
The man was dressed in simple casual clothes, but his temperament made him stand out. His appearance was ordinary, but those eyes were intimidating, making people not to dare look directly into them.
“Who are you?” Li Luo clenched his fingers, unable to ignore the panic rising in his chest.
He searched his memory desperately, looking for any connection to this man, but he came up empty.
“Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is that I’m here to seek justice for this student.” The man stood behind Li Shu and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, asked Li Shu, “Little friend, do you need help?”
