"Lou Miao'an, you're back after taking leave?"

Lou Miaoan had just arrived at the student council when she heard someone greet her.

He looked up and saw several student council members he was on good terms with. "...Yes," he said softly, "we just got back."

The others didn't care about Lou Miao'an's answer, except for one Alpha, who asked, "Can non-Alphas take leave too?" He knew the answer already, "I thought only those in their vulnerable period could take leave to go home."

Lou Miao'an's mind wasn't on that, because he noticed that Bai Jinyu's office door was marked as "visitor in progress," which meant someone was in his room at the moment.

Who is it?

Lou Miao'an couldn't help but think that he always hoped it was Cen Yu.

Since the competition was approaching, Cen Yu hadn't been seen in the dormitory much. Lou Miao'an had passed by the dormitory supervisor's office several times but hadn't seen Cen Yu... After making inquiries, he learned that Cen Yu had been living in the training ground for the time being because of the competition.

He was really not good at fighting, and since he was a logistics personnel, he almost never went to the training ground.

After seeing some photos of Cen Yu leaving the simulator in the Black Mud Area, Lou Miao'an still mustered up the courage to go to the training ground.

Unfortunately, he encountered Cen Yu's pheromone outburst just as he was about to enter the training ground... Even though he couldn't smell anything, he looked around blankly as people either covered their noses or suddenly sprayed odor-blocking agents.

Then he saw Cen Yu, Wen Xi, and others standing together in the crowd.

Lou Miao'an could understand Li Chonghe and the others, but Chi Jiazhen's presence here was somewhat perplexing... He was not tall to begin with, and among the tall and strong Alphas, he was practically invisible, so Cen Yu didn't see him at all.

That little genius from the mecha department could push through the crowd, but he couldn't.

He was just a Beta whom Cen Yu had met a few times, someone he wasn't very familiar with, and perhaps someone whose name Cen Yu couldn't even remember.

Even though Cen Yuping looked down on all Betas, in Lou Miaoan's view... there was a hierarchy among them. Li Chonghe was the second prince, a born prodigy. Jiang Yan came from an ordinary background, but was a genius in the mecha department. He was selected by the Fifth Legion when he was a sophomore. And Chi Jiazhen?

Lou Miaoan thought that Chi Jiazhen had just enrolled in the conducting department and had already gained the trust of many classmates.

Aside from being backed by the Lou family, he had almost no other conspicuous features.

Even when he returned to the Lou family this time, his older brother and sister looked at him with pity, not understanding why the Lou family would have a Beta, especially one with such ordinary appearance and abilities.

"If it's not a Beta..."

“But that won’t work either.” His brother looked him up and down. “Too ordinary.”

His sister immediately scolded him and asked him with concern why he had asked for leave to come back... Lou Miao'an only said that he was a little tired. After returning to his room, he took out the medicine he had secretly purchased.

This medicine really looks like some kind of counterfeit or substandard product. Perhaps to make it easy for people to see what it is for, the three bottles of medicine are labeled with the letters A, B, and O respectively.

Lou Miao'an had vaguely heard about this drug that could change a person's gender in some anonymous Beta gathering places when he was on school vacation, but at the time he thought it was nonsense and had no interest in it.

It wasn't until this moment... when he stood outside the training ground, that Lou Miao'an finally had an idea. He didn't even know what he was thinking. He just felt that if this was the case, perhaps next time, he wouldn't be standing outside the crowd, in a place where Cen Yu couldn't see him.

He just couldn't make up his mind, which is why he bought all three kinds of medicine.

When they returned to the Imperial Military Academy, they were very careful and brought the items into the school discreetly.

Perhaps because he was still pondering the potion, he was somewhat distracted when faced with the almost provocative and mocking question from the Alpha in the student council.

"Can I take leave to go home even if it's not my vulnerable period?" the Alpha asked again.

Lou Miao'an then shifted his gaze from Bai Jinyu's tightly closed office door to the Alpha.

He remembered him. Although this person was an Alpha, he wasn't a poor Alpha like Wen Xihe. He came from a secondary planet that was only slightly better than a remote planet. Although he was considered outstanding locally, after coming to the Imperial Military Academy... he was nothing.

This person seemed to find Lou Miao'an's presence very annoying, and said several times that the other party should not come to the student council at all, as this is a place for elites.

Lou Miao'an found it amusing. If Bai Jinyu, such a hypocrite, were to choose, he estimated that 100 Alphas from secondary planets would not be as useful to him as the Lou family.

"It can't be a privilege reserved for the Lou family, can it?"

“Perhaps it’s just a privilege of the Lou family,” Lou Miao’an casually echoed the Alpha’s words.

He looked up slightly at the man. "This privilege is very useful, isn't it?"

The man seemed surprised that Lou Miao'an, who was usually as quiet and unassuming as a nobody, would actually contradict him. He instinctively reached out to raise his hand—Lou Miao'an stood still, not moving an inch, because he knew that Alphas who bluffed like this usually wouldn't dare to do so.

"Too much nonsense."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Lou Miao'an looked expectantly toward Bai Jinyu's office, much like a small dog hearing its master's footsteps.

Cen Yu and Bai Jinyu walked out of the office together.

They seemed to have just been discussing something. When they came out, Bai Jinyu was standing a little behind Cen Yu, whispering to him.

Cen Yu listened absentmindedly, occasionally nodding perfunctorily. He was wearing a formal school uniform with a very high black collar. When he noticed Lou Miao'an and the Alpha looking at him, he impatiently added—

"...Where did this poor Alpha come from? Doesn't he know that the school rules state that you can ask for leave in special circumstances?"

Bai Jinyu, standing behind Cen Yu, seemed surprised that Cen Yu would speak like that. He looked at the two arguing, and was also wearing a school uniform, as if he had just returned from some formal occasion with Cen Yu.

"What are you talking about?" Bai Jinyu put away her feigned surprise and returned to her warm attitude.

"Why does this sound so tense?" he asked the Alpha standing opposite Lou Miao'an with a smile.

The Alpha immediately started stammering, after all, his statement about suspecting the Lou family of having special privileges... was somewhat of a veiled criticism of Bai Jinyu, who had recruited Lou Miao'an.

“…It’s nothing,” the Alpha said.

“Since it’s nothing, then apologize.” Bai Jinyu stood by the door and said with a smile, “After all, Lou Miao’an did take leave to go home because he was not feeling well. Your speculation is not only bad for Lou Miao’an.”

"They also seem to suspect that our school is a third-rate school that acts according to the whims of the great nobles."