After Being Forcibly Marked By My Fiancé’S Best Friend Chapter 11
byThe two looked toward the doorway simultaneously, only seeing a few cadets quickly flash past their view. A commotion immediately broke out in the corridor, and the cadet who was about to enter to have his pheromones drawn couldn’t resist his curiosity, pulling the person next to him and asking them to go first.
He Yu stood up to leave but was quickly pressed down by a fair, jade-like hand.
“What exactly do you mean?!”
“The literal meaning.”
A brief look of astonishment flashed in Xie Shata’s eyes. Perhaps she couldn’t believe that He Yu was the type of person who enjoyed playing with emotions.
She vaguely remembered meeting him a few years ago during a rigorous team assessment for practical combat. He Yu’s reckless fighting style had frightened her. He had practically eliminated every enemy on the simulated battlefield.
Although Xie Shata was scared, she realized this person held no malice, but was instead permeated by an inexplicable sense of fear and sadness.
The greatest significance of teamwork was mutual cooperation. Although He Yu hadn’t paid her any mind and had single-handedly taken down an entire squad, they were teammates, and he had even blocked a fatal blow for her at a critical moment. Xie Shata steeled herself and helped He Yu stop the bleeding, unable to resist asking him, “Do you want to enter the Star Tower that badly? You’re risking your life just to pass.”
To this day, Xie Shata still remembered He Yu’s dull eyes staring intently at the distant, battered Mech, as he said coldly, “Yes, the person I’m looking for is there.”
“Is it someone very important? Is it your family or… a lover?”
He Yu said nothing more.
After the practical combat team assessment ended, Xie Shata never saw He Yu again until she became a member of the Star Tower Medical Center and saw him while bandaging the wounds of training officers.
Both his parents were deceased, and his only older brother held a position at the base. If he wasn’t looking for a relative, then only one possibility remained…
Xie Shata didn’t dare speculate too much. It was only later that He Yu inadvertently said, “I might never find that person again. He hates me, so he doesn’t want to see me.”
But not long after, He Yu emerged from his slump and became the cheerful, carefree Alpha she had never seen before. He said, “See that Omega running in the front? He’s the top scorer in this Star Tower assessment, my cadet.”
At the time, Xie Shata hadn’t realized what was so boast-worthy about that statement.
Later, on that rainy night, she began to understand. But He Yu’s words today once again overturned her speculation.
He Yu’s heart was truly like a needle at the bottom of the sea.
Xie Shata was utterly confused. Combining this with everything that had happened before, she could only draw one conclusion. He Yu hadn’t moved on; he had given up on himself. Because he couldn’t find the person he longed for, he was going to become a scummy Alpha who played with Omegas!
Shameful!
“I don’t understand. What good does this do you?”
He Yu lifted his eyelids to look at her: “I…”
“Team Leader Lian!” A loud voice suddenly rang out from outside the door, interrupting He Yu.
The two realized that the commotion outside had disappeared and looked toward the doorway in unison. A dark shadow flashed past, and then they saw a strong, burly Beta standing at the door, peering inside with a somewhat dazed look: “Instructor He… can I come in now?”
He Yu nodded, his gaze remaining fixed on the doorway.
That figure never reappeared.
“Was… Team Leader Lian at the door just now?” He Yu’s tone was somewhat uncertain.
The cadet turned his head: “Oh, right. Team Leader Lian was at the door when I arrived. I greeted him, but he ignored me and just walked away.”
“What was his expression when he saw you?”
The cadet thought for a moment: “I didn’t look closely, but he seemed… unhappy.”
However, Team Leader Lian had been frowning and unhappy ever since he arrived at the Medical Center, so it wasn’t anything noteworthy.
He Yu glanced at Xie Shata and suddenly stood up: “I have something else to attend to. Please keep an eye on the testing.”
Xie Shata: “…”
He Yu’s mind was a mess right now. He had been preoccupied with his thoughts and hadn’t noticed the extra person outside the door. He didn’t know when Lian Xu had arrived or how much he had heard.
When he chased after him, the Omega’s figure was long gone. So, he randomly grabbed a cadet who had just finished having his pheromones drawn and was leaving the medical room, asking, “Did you see Team Leader Lian?”
“Team Leader Lian?” Wasn’t he in the medical room next door? “Th-that way.”
The cadet pointed to the last medical room at the end of the corridor.
He Yu abruptly released the cadet’s shoulders and rushed toward the end without hesitation.
The cadet froze in place, mouth slightly agape and face full of terror, sucking in air to calm his wildly beating heart. When Instructor He rushed over and grabbed him, his soul nearly flew out of his body. Fortunately, the instructor was only asking about Team Leader Lian and not about anything else.
Stopping at the doorway, He Yu paused, looking sideways at the figure inside with his back to him. After about two seconds, the cadet inside finished having his pheromones drawn and stood up, and only then did He Yu step inside.
“Our Team Leader Lian is truly dedicated!”
Lian Xu turned his head at the sound, seeing He Yu leaning against the white wall of the medical room with his chin raised and a slight smirk, looking somewhat punchable in his casual demeanor.
“Want to fight?” Lian Xu said casually in his usual tone, “I don’t have time right now.”
He Yu licked his back molars: “Can’t your brain hold anything besides fighting?”
“Yes, killing you.” This was said with utmost sincerity, without a hint of pretense.
In He Yu’s view, this was blatant provocation. His serious demeanor was even more irritating and tempting to bully than when he usually smiled while hitting him.
He flexed his fingers, producing a cracking sound.
“Have you been here the whole time?”
Lian Xu looked at him like he was an idiot: “Otherwise, should I go look for you to fight?”
“I’m busy.”
He Yu: “…”
The Alpha clenched his fist, grabbing the collar of Lian Xu’s uniform at the back of his neck, dragging him out, and pinning him against the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the corridor.
“Lian Xu, stop pretending. Where were you just now?”
If Lian Xu could read He Yu’s thoughts right now, he would surely curse him as a stupid lunatic. He didn’t even bother to act, just stating it so plainly and directly.
Why was he shouting?! Was this something that could be openly discussed?!
He felt a little guilty: “Did… did you see everything?”
He Yu’s pupils contracted sharply. Sure enough!
“That was an accident. I… I didn’t mean to, but I really couldn’t hold back then.”
Couldn’t hold back from eavesdropping?
He Yu smiled. He had known for a long time that Lian Xu was a clumsy idiot who loved to listen in on private conversations and couldn’t hide it. He hadn’t expected that after all this time, he was still so good at exposing himself.
Such a foolish Omega, if he took his eyes off him for a second, he’d cause trouble.
He caged Lian Xu beneath him, rubbing his thumb across his own lips as he pressed the question: “Since you did it, why did you run?”
“Nonsense, if I didn’t run, should I wait for you to catch me?”
Lian Xu looked at the Alpha’s increasingly dangerous eyes, thinking that it was a good thing he ran quickly, otherwise, if he were caught, he would never be able to recover.
He Yu, however, found it strange. He admitted it so readily, yet wasn’t angry?
Did he not care, or was he holding it in, waiting for a chance to bring it up later?
“Don’t you have anything to say?”
“What… what can I say?” Lian Xu blinked his eyes, looking around, afraid to meet He Yu’s gaze directly.
One cadet had a peculiar pheromone; the liquid drawn out even contained white floccules. When he saw that white substance being sucked into the syringe, he suddenly remembered something and couldn’t help but rush out to vomit.
His reflection in the mirror was pale, looking no different from a dead person. He washed his face with cold water to barely recover, but the sight of him kneeling on the ground dry-heaving was truly pathetic. He didn’t know how much He Yu had seen. He had just returned to the medical room when this person chased after him to mock him.
However, judging by his uncertain demeanor, he probably hadn’t seen the whole process, otherwise, why would he only mock him briefly?
Thinking this, Lian Xu suddenly gained a bit more confidence, acting brazenly, assuming He Yu hadn’t witnessed the entire thing.
“What, trying to threaten me? Then I advise you to stop dreaming!”
He Yu narrowed his eyes, wondering if this person had any conscience about peeking into other people’s secrets.
He pushed his leg forward, trapping Lian Xu against the floor-to-ceiling window, making it difficult for him to struggle significantly, especially in a crowded corridor.
“Let go! The testing isn’t over. I need to go back and supervise.” Lian Xu twisted his wrist, which was held by the Alpha. The excessive movement left a red mark, but he seemed not to feel it.
He Yu leaned down slightly, close to his ear: “Team Leader Lian shouldn’t move around too much. The cadets might think we’re doing something inappropriate!”
Lian Xu sneered: “Stop pretending to be a good person.”
Pretending?
He Yu didn’t quite agree with that description.
It was clearly Lian Xu who had provoked him first, and yet his friendly reminder was not appreciated. There was a saying from Old Earth: ‘A dog bites Lü Dongbin, mistaking a good person for a bad one.’ The person in front of him was the perfect example.
“Instructor He! Have you seen Team Leader Lian? He said he needed to see me after his pheromones were drawn, but he’s gone. Have you seen him?” The Alpha cadet came out of the medical room and didn’t see Lian Xu, but unexpectedly found Instructor He standing at the end of the corridor with his back to the crowd, hands braced against the floor-to-ceiling window.
It was strange. He had just seen Team Leader Lian watching him draw his pheromones, but in the blink of an eye, the person had vanished. Seeing that He Yu didn’t speak, the Alpha cadet scratched the back of his head, preparing to leave.
“If you haven’t seen him, then… I’ll look elsewhere.”
“Wait!” He Yu called out to the cadet.
He looked down slightly at Lian Xu, his eyebrow suddenly arching, and he mouthed with a mischievous smile: “Be good!”
Lian Xu could clearly understand those three short words, and without thinking, he nodded vigorously. The meaning was clear: as long as he wasn’t exposed, anything was fine.
Lian Xu considered himself quite knowledgeable in the art of lip-reading and believed his understanding was completely correct, unaware that He Yu meant something entirely different.
Seeing him nod without hesitation, He Yu was first stunned, then a faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
His thumb brushed past the Omega’s slightly pale lips. Those eyes, always shrouded in a distant mist, darted around, his gaze uncertain. He Yu narrowed his eyes, clearly capturing every subtle movement.
The humiliating words, enough to plunge someone into an ice cellar, whether they were spoken sincerely or as a performance for others, no longer mattered now. Whether Lian Xu listened or not, the outcome wouldn’t change. Lian Xu would eventually push him away and throw himself into the embrace of another Alpha; it was only a matter of time.
If he took one step back and moved slightly to the side, exposing Lian Xu pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window, the cadet would surely be unable to resist accurately describing the scene and posting it online. With the spread of the Star Net, it would be enough to bring shame to the illustrious Inner Cabinet Prime Minister, thus forcing the annulment of the engagement.
But doing so would come at a great cost. Lian Xu’s self-esteem would be shattered along with the annulment of the engagement. He merely moved his arm slightly, and the Omega was so frightened that he desperately clutched the buttons on his military uniform.
“It’s nothing. You can go.” He Yu spoke, deciding to preserve the Omega’s dignity after all.
After the cadet left, Lian Xu breathed a sigh of relief.
He had almost thought that his embarrassment, after being witnessed by He Yu, would also be gawked at by the cadets. If that had happened, he would have left the Star Tower and buried himself in some wilderness.
“You owe me a favor,” He Yu said with a smile.
Lian Xu’s mouth twitched. He pushed the man away, truly turning on him faster than flipping a book: “Oh, then I’ll owe you. I’ll pay it back when you’re about to die.”
The two were separated by over a meter. He Yu had no suitable leverage to threaten him again and could only accept defeat. The Omega was too cunning. He seemed to have no choice but to swallow his resentment.
Seeing him frustrated, Lian Xu felt immensely satisfied. So what if he was caught? He still couldn’t do anything to him.
He smiled provocatively, then turned and left.
Xie Shata was true to her word, completing the task in just half a day. Pheromones from all two hundred and eighty cadets were drawn, and she promised to upload the absolutely accurate results back into the archive system within three days.
However, Lian Xu requested that the upload only happen after the Commander announced the results. He intended to use the Commander’s authority to silence everyone.
If Qu Baijing’s pheromone threshold still showed problems at that time, the Commander would certainly not spare him, nor any of the chief examiners who participated in the assessment.
Colluding with a candidate to cheat and tampering with a candidate’s scores both violated Star Tower regulations.
After leaving the Medical Center, Lian Xu drove directly to the SCA Base where the Mechs were kept.
With the changing of the interstellar era, four-wheeled vehicles were gradually phased out. Planets with higher civilization chose advanced flying vehicles as transportation, and only the Imperial Planet still kept these old relics.
Although they were relics, four-wheeled vehicles were not without their advantages. Their energy consumption was extremely low, making them the most common choice for transportation on the Imperial Planet, which was currently plagued by frequent wars and resource shortages.
Not everyone could afford a flying vehicle, even at the Star Tower.
Lian Xu arrived at the SCA Base, where a three-meter-tall humanoid Mech came into view.