Chapter 91 Meeting

Chapter 91: Meeting

After the meal, Ji Anzhi suggested they go for a walk in the school park.

He'd only found out about that park after a year at the school; the school couldn't be bothered to mark it on the map.

Come to think of it, apart from the teaching and residential areas, everywhere else in the school could be classified as a park—the landscaping was just that impressive.

Of course, Qi Yanshen had no objections.

So the two left the cafeteria and wandered leisurely through the park.

They walked in silence, neither sure what to talk about, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

"Ji Anzhi... would you like to know about my family situation?"

Qi Yanshen suddenly spoke up. Ji Anzhi hadn't expected him to bring this up and asked in return, "Then are you interested in my family situation?"

Qi Yanshen hesitated for a moment before nodding firmly.

He really did want to know.

Ji Anzhi didn't have any hang-ups about discussing his family. After all, they were all things of the past, and while they might still have some influence on his present self, it wasn't a big deal.

Ji Anzhi asked, "So, what's your family like?"

Qi Yanshen stated objectively, "I have an alpha mother, who is the Commander of the Third Legion, an omega father who is the head of the Pharmaceutical Department at the research institute, and an omega brother who is three years younger than me."

Ji Anzhi: "…………"

He shouldn't have expected this blockhead to say anything meaningful.

Ji Anzhi sighed softly and inquired, "Hasn't anything interesting ever happened?"

Qi Yanshen thought for a moment and said, "When my father was pursuing my mother, he drugged her." At this point, Qi Yanshen paused. "It's still the same now; he drugs her every time during her physiological cycle."

Ji Anzhi: "…………"

That's... intense. Maybe we should change the subject.

Ji Anzhi changed the subject and began talking about his own family situation: "My family follows a one-alpha, multiple-omega system. My mother is an omega. I have two alpha older brothers and an omega older sister before me. To be honest, I never expected that I would turn out to be a beta."

Qi Yanshen stopped in his tracks, feeling uneasy but not showing it. He just said softly, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Ji Anzhi smiled and shook his head.

He used to resent that he wasn't an alpha, or at least an omega, so he could have taken his sister's place in the arranged marriage.

But it was only after his sister's death that he realized—if he were an alpha, under such an upbringing, he would have ended up just like his two alpha brothers, treating omegas as tools for reproduction and political alliances rather than as living, breathing people.

If he were an omega, his fate might have been even worse than his sister's. He might have even resented his sister, wondering if her striking beauty was meant to seduce those alphas.

This is what society—and the alphas who form the ruling class—wants to see.

All to solidify alpha privilege, trapping those exceptionally talented omegas—who are no less capable than alphas—in the mire, forever subservient to alphas.

Betas could be considered an overlooked group because they pose no threat.

So, when he, as a beta, saw the world clearly, he no longer held his previous thoughts. Instead, he felt fortunate to be a beta.

Because he is a beta, he doesn't possess the arrogant, all-encompassing pride of alphas.

Because he is a beta, he doesn't have to live a life of humiliation and subservience like omegas.

Ji Anzhi stopped walking and continued, "However, of my blood relatives, only three remain now: my alpha father and my brothers. My mother was an orphan."

Perhaps not exactly an orphan, because she was something his father bought at an auction.

A B-grade omega.

Exquisitely beautiful, bought back with the intention of being a plaything, yet she unexpectedly became pregnant and gave birth to someone like him—an ordinary-looking beta.

Qi Yanshen had considered that Ji Anzhi's family situation might be complicated, but he hadn't expected it to be this complex. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

After a long while, Qi Yanshen took the initiative to hold Ji Anzhi's hand, clumsily comforting him: "If you don't like your family, you can build a life in the Federation. The environment there is very good."

The Federation's environment was indeed excellent, both naturally and socially—it was everything Ji Anzhi had ever dreamed of.

However, Ji Anzhi didn't respond directly: "We'll see. Who knows about such things?"

Looking around at their surroundings, they were now under the shade of trees. Outside, it was sunny and bright, with a clear, gentle breeze brushing against their faces, soothing the mind.

Ji Anzhi simply found a clean patch of grass and sat down to rest. He really didn't feel like walking anymore; the inhibitor components made him genuinely tired.

Qi Yanshen also sat down beside Ji Anzhi.

Ji Anzhi asked, "Aren't you curious why only three alphas and I are left in my family?"

Qi Yanshen immediately replied, "No, I'm not curious. There's no need to talk about it."

Ji Anzhi smiled, nonchalantly saying, "I'm not that fragile. Actually, there's nothing unspeakable about it."

"My mother died in childbirth the day I was born. Even with the best medical technology in the interstellar age, they couldn't save her. As for my sister, she passed away when I was twelve."

"Guess what she died from?"

Ji Anzhi asked this lightly, but Qi Yanshen felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

Ji Anzhi didn't expect a reply from Qi Yanshen and continued on his own: "My sister was forced into marriage by our father. He wanted her to marry an alpha duke who was psychologically disturbed..."

Qi Yanshen suddenly looked at Ji Anzhi, his pupils contracting slightly.

Qi Yanshen's throat felt dry. He wanted to say something to comfort Ji Anzhi, but from his own standpoint, he wasn't much different from that duke.

Ji Anzhi hadn't liked him at first either; it was only through his own persistence that they had reluctantly gotten together.

"...I wouldn't do something like that."

Ji Anzhi lowered his gaze, the smile on his face unchanged. He nodded slightly in acknowledgment, indicating that he believed Qi Yanshen.

After that, Ji Anzhi didn't bring up his relatives again, and Qi Yanshen remained silent as well.

They rested quietly like this for over ten minutes. Ji Anzhi checked the time; class would start in another half hour, and it was about time to head back.

He said, "It's about time. Let's go back."

"Mm."

The two stood up and walked leisurely back to the teaching building.

Ji Anzhi went to the Energy Department classroom and sat down next to Jian Fuxu, since only the seats around him were largely empty.

Jian Fuxu remained absorbed in his own world, completely unaware of Ji Anzhi's arrival.

This had something to do with Ji Anzhi's lack of pheromones.

Ji Anzhi was glad for the peace and quiet, and sat to one side, preparing to revise the manual.

Ji Anjue's voice sounded in his mind: "Was that intentional?"

Ji Anzhi didn't deny it and admitted frankly.

Ji Anjue didn't know what to make of Ji Anzhi. At first, he thought Ji Anzhi was just acting on impulse or letting off steam by talking about his family background.

But later, Ji Anjue sensed something was off.

Ji Anzhi just wanted to warn Qi Yanshen not to use force—he was not to be messed with.

And I actually felt sorry for him earlier...

Ji Anjue asked sincerely, "Doesn't living like this exhaust you?"

Ji Anzhi felt nothing inside. His current life was indeed pretty tiring.

But compared to his life in Sol, it was almost laughably easy. In the Federation, he could at least feel like a human being, not an object.

Just an object to be tossed around and discarded at any time.

Sensing Ji Anzhi's thoughts, Ji Anjue fell silent, unable to respond.

Just before class ended, Jian Fuxu finally noticed Ji Anzhi, but he wasn't sure how to act around him.

Last semester, he'd almost gotten Lu Yan killed and hurt Qi Yanshen, yet now Qi Yanshen wanted to chase after him, which left Jian Fuxu feeling conflicted.

Ji Anzhi was also aware of Jian Fuxu's conflict, so he just gave a brief greeting without engaging further, heading straight to the private port parking area to work on modifying the Star Eagle.

The next few days followed a similar routine.

Classes, meals, walks, classes, modifications.

Until the weekend arrived...

"Why are you taking me?"

Ji Anzhi answered as he helped the little dumpling get changed, "The other party is an omega with SSS-level psychic power, and is probably investigating me. He'll probably test my psychic power or try to read my memories without me knowing, so I need your help."

"You're just a kid, so even as a beta, your psychic energy is naturally active and all over the place. All you need to do is suppress it a bit, so we won't arouse suspicion."

Ji Anjue understood, replying seriously in his little, milky voice.

"Got it!"

How adorable.

Ji Anzhi couldn't resist ruffling Ji Anjue's fluffy little head, turning his golden hair into a bird's nest.

For once, Ji Anjue didn't get mad. He used his psychic power to fix his hair and asked, "By the way, do I still need to lose weight?"

Ji Anzhi looked at Ji Anjue in his little suit and pinched his chubby cheeks. "No need. A week is enough for you to become nice and plump."

Ji Anjue mumbled, "That's good, and don't pinch me anymore!"

Letting go, Ji Anjue rubbed his reddened cheeks, vowing to get back at him one day.

After tidying up, Ji Anzhi took Ji Anjue out and headed to the meeting place.

They were meeting at a dessert shop in the permanent trading area. Since Ji Anjue had a sweet tooth, it was the perfect spot.

The two arrived at the dessert shop a little past nine.

They went in and looked around, easily spotting Teacher Feng sitting in the corner, still wearing that plain, unremarkable, mask-like face.

But beside him sat someone Ji Anzhi was somewhat familiar with and couldn't forget—their principal, Lin Dusheng.

Seeing Ji Anzhi and the little dumpling beside him, Lin Dusheng enthusiastically waved. "Classmate Ji, over here!"

Ji Anzhi was now one hundred percent certain that Teacher Feng was the omega with SSS-level psychic power and was also in an OO relationship with the principal.

Ji Anzhi sat down with Ji Anjue. The principal smiled and told them to order first, saying they could discuss matters later—they shouldn't let the child go hungry.

After ordering, Teacher Feng spoke first. "Hello, let me reintroduce myself. My full name is Levin Feng, an S-level omega."

Ji Anzhi politely greeted him in return. As for himself, he felt no need for an introduction.

Levin continued, "It's like this, Classmate Ji. Your psychic power is somewhat unusual, which is why I wanted to meet with you privately to discuss it."

Ji Anzhi feigned surprise, asking curiously, "Unusual? Could you elaborate?"

"Your psychic sea is vast, but the activity of your psychic threads is very low. The two should be proportional, but in your case, it's the opposite."

The content matched Ji Anzhi's speculation—it was indeed about the mismatch between his psychic sea and psychic threads.

But he still maintained a puzzled expression, pressing further. "Vast? How vast are we talking?"

Not knowing how to describe it, Levin directly compared it to himself.

"My psychic power is at SSS-level, but my psychic sea isn't as large as yours."

Ji Anzhi was incredulous. Ji Anjue's Guoguo was truly impressive—so much so that he, a beta, surpassed an omega...

"Really? Could it be a misperception?"

Levin said firmly, "No."

He would never misperceive. If even he could get it wrong, no one in the world could perceive it correctly.

A few seconds later, Ji Anzhi seemed to accept the situation and asked, "So why did you seek me out? I don't know much about my own psychic condition either."

Levin stated his purpose. "I want to understand why your psychic power is so abnormal. It may require your cooperation, Classmate Ji."

"...Such as?"

"Such as blood tests for genetic analysis and long-term psychic power assessments..."

"Sorry, I can't cooperate."

Levin hadn't even finished speaking when Ji Anzhi refused. This level of cooperation, regardless of whether he had any issues, was an imposition.

Levin knew this, so his earlier words were primarily a probe.

They'd prefer it if Ji Anzhi agreed, but if he didn’t, they wouldn’t force it. After all, he was a student who had earned his place at the First Military Academy on his own merit and was the only beta-ranked top student in the Star Chart Department in a century.

Levin said gently, “Alright, then may I ask Classmate Ji a few questions?”

Ji Anzhi had no objections and told Levin to go ahead.

Levin asked, “Classmate Ji, do you know why your mental power underwent secondary development?”

Ji Anzhi hesitated for a moment. “...No, I don’t.”

Levin narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke again, lacing his words with mental power. “Really?”

At that moment, Ji Anzhi suddenly felt an urge to tell the truth. Just as he was about to speak, Ji Anjue suddenly called out, “Daddy, I need to pee…”

It was Ji Anjue’s voice that snapped Ji Anzhi back to reality in time. Realizing what he had almost done, a cold sweat broke out down his back.

Was this the ability of an SSS-level omega?

How terrifying…

Levin and Lin Dusheng frowned. How convenient.

But looking at the little four-year-old bun, who timidly called Ji Anzhi “Daddy,” and seeing them glance over, the little bun immediately buried himself in Ji Anzhi’s arms, feigning fear.

They were probably overthinking it. He was just a child—what could he know? Besides, Ji Anzhi hadn’t made any telling gestures earlier.

Ji Anzhi apologized, “Sorry, I need to take the child to the restroom first.”

Levin and Lin Dusheng said it was fine and told them to hurry so he didn’t have an accident.

Ji Anzhi carried Ji Anjue into the restroom. After confirming no one was around, he asked about what had just happened.

Ji Anjue replied, “That omega’s mental power threads were coercing you. Your mental power is unstable right now—you almost spilled everything.”

Understanding the situation, Ji Anzhi said sincerely, “Thank you.”

Ji Anjue turned smug. “Hah, I told you you’re weak, didn’t I? You almost dragged me down with you.”