Chapter 50
The air was filled with an invigorating aroma, and steady footsteps could be heard at the door.
Heinrich's brows relaxed, he put down the documents for the moment, and turned his gaze towards the door: "No need to stand outside, come in."
"It's been a while since we last met." The general smiled, his voice a little muffled by fatigue. "I should have spoken with you a long time ago, but now it seems that plan will have to be postponed a little."
"Yes, General."
A light-blond officer stepped through the door, his posture erect, his neat white gloves clinging to the sharp seams of his trousers. He lowered his eyes and said, "You need to rest now."
"It's still early, Rein," the general said without taking it seriously. "I'm thinking about something."
Lei Yin's ice-blue eyes were calm as he waited silently for the general's next words.
"More than a dozen days have passed. Have you gained anything from these reviews?"
However, while Rain was waiting, the general suddenly brought up the matter thoughtfully: "You have also been with Shigure for a long time. What is your impression of her?"
Rein stood there, his expression unchanged, as if he had anticipated this question. The officer replied calmly and fluently, "I've conducted deep self-reflection during my review. I shouldn't have relaxed my supervisory responsibilities and prepared for other tasks just because there had been no incidents during the training. From now on, I must give my all to every task."
"As for Shigure," Rein paused and thought for a moment before saying, "We haven't spent much time together, so I don't have any special impression of her."
The general nodded, without reacting to Rein's reply about the review, and only glanced at him: "Rein."
"yes."
"I was just thinking," the general said calmly, "whether I should leave Shi Yu to you to raise."
…The room fell into an unusual silence. As the general's voice fell, Rain Davis's upright back stiffened imperceptibly for a moment.
The light-blond officer then frowned deeply and asked the general for confirmation, "You mean, you want me to adopt her? I remember that according to the protection law, Omegas in the care home can only leave after a successful match at adulthood."
Federal regulations require Omegas from ordinary families to be protected and educated in nursing homes until they reach adulthood. Therefore, except for a small number of nobles, most Omegas active in society already have partners.
"Due to some circumstances, Shi Yu can no longer stay in the nursing home. At the moment, it seems that she has no intention of staying here."
The general said.
"...Maybe you could consider other candidates." Rain's face was tense, his brows still furrowed. "I have no experience raising Omegas, and I'm not suitable."
"You're a perfect fit."
The general seemed tired, pressing his hand between his brows as if to relieve himself. "You're still being targeted for everything because of that training camp, and now Shigure needs a surname, a family to support her. If she's willing to be adopted by you, you can use this as compensation."
"Shigure is still nearly eight months away from adulthood. If we just spend that time, the rumors and disturbances will surely subside a lot."
Lei Yin lowered his eyes, his deep icy blue light slightly hidden by his long eyelashes, his face was cold and profound.
If his quick denial had been born of rejection and absurdity, he now understood his mentor's intentions without further reflection. Because of the incident, his rank was still held by the assessor, and it was unclear when the impact of the incident would be completely eliminated. The Davis family had long been anxious about Ryan's future, and Ryan had been recalled by the family multiple times because of it.
"Even if it's not for these reasons, I should still make some amends for her." The general frowned, wondering if there was anything he had overlooked. "If you're not used to living with an Omega, then you don't have to take care of her all the time. I'll take care of Shigure's daily needs, or you can send her to me after the adoption observation period is over."
"I will discuss this matter with the family's internal communications. Thank you for your advice."
His military uniform and blond hair were meticulously done. Lei Yin ended his hesitation and lowered his head calmly with a stern expression.
"This incident was caused by my mistake. If Shigure is willing," he said, "I will do my best to take care of her."
The general sighed deeply, and a smile faintly appeared at the corners of his eyes.
"If it's confirmed later, then next... you'll need to apply. You can adopt under the family's name and find a supervisor who will be responsible for and oversee your actions. You're an Alpha," the general said. "That's not enough for you. You'll also need to voluntarily wear a monitoring ring and sign some agreements."
"Then ask Shigure's wishes. However, even if she agrees, the protection organization will probably still make it difficult for you regarding the procedures."
"There are many things you need to pay attention to, and you can seriously consider it."
Hearing the word "protection organization", Rein's pair of slender and neat white gloves seemed to move slightly. He was silent for a moment, suppressing the scenes of the recent confrontations with those people in his mind.
"...If the family's opinion agrees with yours, I will remember and prepare everything you said." Lei Yin added in a low voice.
"We will also maintain sufficient patience and negotiate with the staff of the protection organization."
…
As expected, Xia Feng remained under guard, acting quite calmly. He kept a distance from Wayne and found a place to sit down and rest in this enclosed space.
More than ten hours later, the heavy door was slowly pushed open, and light came in. Xia Feng squinted his eyes.
A Beta dressed in the uniform of a nursing home manager put a tablet on the ground at the door and left woodenly, as if he had completely forgotten about closing the door. However, neither Xia Feng nor Wayne paid any attention to the door.
"The lighting here doesn't seem very good."
As Wayne picked up the tablet with an expressionless face, a magnetic and elegant male voice rang out from inside. As if deliberately provoking the little lion, he said, "Why are you detained here? With your ability, getting out shouldn't be a problem."
Xia Feng watched silently as Wayne turned his wrist, as if he was about to smash the annoying sound and the tablet to the ground, but he was stopped by the number the red-haired patriarch said with a smile.
"Okay, remember the ship number and come back early," Leonard said. "You still need to make some preparations for the trip, otherwise your little pet will be left crying alone."
"Not a pet."
The boy denied it coldly.
Xia Feng sat against the wall, resting his elbows on his knees, and turned to look at Wayne, his dark eyes showing no emotion.
A strong male voice on the line said with a smile, "Really? I was wrong. So, you should have said goodbye to her too?"
Wayne narrowed his green eyes, too lazy to talk to him any more.
The two Alphas packed up and prepared to leave. However, just as they were about to step out the door, they were stopped by a voice from the tablet.
"Xia Feng stay."
Xia Feng stopped silently, and his dark eyes met Wayne's.
"If you leave too, it will be hard to explain to Heinrich." The red-haired patriarch pondered for a moment and said, "Just stay here and let him punish you for a few days. Let him cool down first."
…
A few days later, when Shi Yu was listening to music on his tablet, he suddenly heard the general's voice coming from outside the door after a long time.
She quickly put the tablet down and shouted cheerfully outside, "General!"
Her attending physician and the general pushed the door open together. Seeing Shi Yu's lively smile again, Heinrich couldn't help but smile calmly and said, "Long time no see, Shi Yu."
Ed, who was standing silently beside the bed, looked at them, then nodded to the general and reached out to take a few apples that Natasha had brought to wash.
The general asked the doctor about Shi Yu's physical condition, and then the doctor left with an excuse, leaving only the two of them. Shi Yu quickly pointed at his eyes to the general.
"I've recovered well, General," Shigure said. "It's just that I still need two days to remove the bandage from my eyes, although I feel fine now..."
"Follow the doctor's orders," the general reminded her, a smile of tolerance in his voice.
"It seems your friends are taking good care of you."
Heinrich sat on a chair beside Shigure's bed, his gray eyes glancing at some food-related sticky notes. He thought the people who sat here must have been very attentive to her. But Shigure froze for a moment after hearing the general's words, then revealed an awkward, unsure expression.
"Yeah...well, Ed does take good care of me."
Thinking about how she and Ed hadn't talked much together these days, Shi Yu felt a little guilty.
"Natasha and Susu were here these past few days, and then..." Shi Yu's face showed guilt as he apologized softly, "They told me a lot of things. I caused you a lot of trouble. I'm sorry."
The nursing home did not disclose the cause of the incident. The explanation for the commotion was that the circuit damage caused a safety accident. When Natasha and Susu arrived, they did not know where Shi Yu's injury came from. They just thought that she was accidentally injured that night.
...What could Shi Yu not know? The general tolerated her time and time again, but she didn't appreciate the general's kindness. Her heart became heavy and guilty.
"There's no need to apologize to me." The general sighed and smiled, then spoke slowly and comfortingly, his tone always calm and steady, which made Shi Yu feel at ease. "Shi Yu, are you willing to talk to me?"
Shigure perked up and nodded.
"You are not old enough to enter society yet," said the general. "This is an institution set up for everyone's better growth. I hope you can live safely and comfortably here.
"That's why the nursing home has established certain rules to ensure that your peaceful life is not disturbed."
"Omegas are easily injured, and I'm especially worried about you getting into an accident. I thought you'd be happy and comfortable in this nursing home, enjoying everything here. I didn't consider your feelings, Shigure."
Shi Yu shook his head somewhat dejectedly: "That's not the case, General."
The general smiled and recalled it gently.
"When you first came here, you always seemed lost and sad during the few phone calls I had with you. At the time, I thought you just hadn't gotten used to it yet. Even if you were going to meet those two kids from the military academy, I would still be willing to spend more time with you. You just had too much accumulated emotion inside and needed to vent."
"But the other day, the moment you turned around."
The general paused, and then his gentle and generous voice sounded again.
"I understand. Your feelings haven't changed. You haven't accepted this place from the beginning to the end, right?"
That day... Shi Yu thought that the general was talking about the time when she came out of the iron gate and ran back to Wayne again - her fingerprints easily opened the door that imprisoned Xia Feng and Wayne.
In fact, Shi Yu had no recollection of her fingerprints being recorded anywhere else besides her own room. The general's words at that time had given Shi Yu ample hints. He seemed to have anticipated the outcome, yet he still gave Shi Yu one last chance. It wasn't a test; Shi Yu felt the general was merely confirming and acknowledging her wishes.
"I discussed it with them and decided to use this method." The general realized that Shigure understood and asked, "Do you mind?"
"No." Shi Yu immediately shook his head in denial; "I'm very happy, thank you!"
"So they..." Now that that matter was brought up, Shi Yu couldn't help but want to ask, "Have they come out by now?"
"Well, it's just that I still need to be punished."
Shigure:!
After hearing the general's calm and affirmative reply, Shi Yu didn't know what to say for a moment. This was a reasonable result. Even though she was worried, it was not easy for her to plead with the general again.
"And I've been thinking these days, Shigure, that perhaps nursing outside the institution would be more suitable for you."
The general stared at her and said.
Shi Yu was silent for a moment.
The general's words connected the whole thing, as if he was also going to punish her, but Shi Yu knew that wasn't the case. She heard the general say, "Outside is freer than in the nursing home. You can do what you want. Maybe that will make you happy."
"Of course, you can still choose to stay here," the general suggested, his broad, resolute face showing a touch of the gentleness and helplessness of an elder. "After all, I'm still a little worried about you being out there."
Shi Yu had actually already made the decision.
"I know, General." The girl's voice was gentle and without hesitation. She was silent for a moment, then put on an embarrassed smile and said, "I'm really sorry for causing you a lot of trouble. I believe in and accept all your arrangements!"
Ed stood by the door, his eyes lowered to the apple in his hand, his pale eyes as still as water. Drops of water wet his fingertips, and he let the coolness linger and slide down, his figure like silent porcelain under the light.
Inside the room, the general's voice was still gentle: "Shi Yu, you can think about it before making a decision."
"I've already caused you a lot of trouble, and..." Shi Yu said, "It's not that bad outside the nursing home. I can call the general anytime! I can also call anyone who misses me."
"..." The general smiled helplessly, "There's no signal shielding outside the nursing home. You can indeed call anyone at any time."
The general discovered Shi Yu's little thoughts. She lowered her head in embarrassment but couldn't help smiling.
...Before Ed split into two, he always looked at Admiral Heinrich of the Federation with the eyes of an Alpha. He was cold and wise, with strong decision-making and military command abilities. He once defeated pirates in an entire star field with a medium-sized fleet. People called him the "Iron Admiral."
Before he left his family and came here, he had never imagined that the general was so gentle and generous in life.
Likewise, he never knew that although the general showed a friendly side to many Omegas in the nursing home, he always kept a sense of distance. However, when it came to treating Shigure, this general had an unreserved indulgence and closeness that was different from theirs.
"Your wishes are yours," the general agreed. "As long as you are healthy and happy."
"Thank you for your care all the time. I have troubled you with many things... You have really helped me a lot."
"I'm not troubled. If your wish can be fulfilled, it will also relieve me of my worries and guilt."
...?
Huh? Shigure was a little confused, not understanding why the general said that.
"General? Why, don't say that..." Shi Yu suddenly felt flattered and flustered, and even his curiosity was suppressed.
"then."
Amid Shi Yu's wildly fluctuating mood, the general remained silent for a moment, his gray eyes seeming to be filled with clouds and lead.
"I saw the incident on the surveillance video, but I don't have access. I can only wait for Rein's return."
She was brought out by Rayne. The girl, injected with a tranquilizer, was pale and silent. Omegas' lives were too fragile. A gust of wind, a rainstorm, could extinguish their candle-like vitality. Like fine sand that could not be contained, it would disappear from this world in the next second.
Heinrich had experienced this kind of pain before, and now those scenes appeared before his eyes again. But the difference was that this time, the candle representing her life burned firmly.
He took Shigure under his wing, protecting her more carefully than he had ever treated anyone else.
"Thank goodness you're safe."
Finally, the general smiled and sighed.
…
After the general left, Shi Yu sat on the bed, not sure whether he was confused or nervous.
——The general told her that after her eyes recovered, she would meet her adoptive parents for the first time. If all went well, she would be able to leave the nursing home the week after next.
She didn't really feel like she had to leave, but she had already started thinking about how to say goodbye to everyone. It felt like...
"Ed?"
Shi Yu's ears twitched, interrupting his own thoughts.
Having been blind for the past few days, she had become very familiar with Ed's scent. She hesitated for a moment, then said in the direction of the footsteps, "Ed, are you back?"
The boy walked into the room and after a while, he said "hmm" lightly.
He pulled open the curtains of Shigure's room. The glaring sunlight made him squint slightly. Ed looked at the scenery melting in a sea of gold, and listened to the girl's voice with an unchanged expression: "Um... Ed, I'm leaving the nursing home next week, or the week after next."
"Really?"
"Because I've caused the general a lot of trouble." Shi Yu scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Also, I'm a little bit unaccustomed to the nursing home, so this is also my decision."
"I will call you often, and if the General agrees, I will come here to visit you every once in a while."
Shi Yu couldn't see Ed's expression. When she finished speaking carefully, the room fell into the familiar, suffocating silence again.
Ed stared at the boundless sky, and the silhouettes of the flying birds shrank into a dot in his eyes.
"Bless you."
He said calmly.
——Although he said so that day, Ed became more and more distant from her as if he was avoiding trouble.
This made Shi Yu very depressed.
They were almost losing the daily communication of a sentence or two. If Shi Yu hadn't been able to feel Ed's gaze frequently, she sometimes wouldn't even know whether Ed was there or not.
She thought it was because she had wasted a lot of Ed's time. He came to take care of her because they had a close relationship, but after so much time had passed, he had been delayed by the patient. No matter how she looked at it, she would not feel good...
Shigure decided to find a way to make amends.
"Ed, um...I want to talk to you."
When Shi Yu finally made up her mind to call out to Ed, Ed replied in a cold tone: "What?"
"We haven't talked much lately, so I thought..." Ed interrupted her: "I'm here to resume the research I put aside before, and I need a quiet space."
"If you don't need anything, then you don't have to talk to me."
…Shigure choked.
But after the depression, she thought to herself that this also had its advantages.
Natasha and Susu would probably find it difficult to adapt for a while after learning that she was leaving, but Ed was different.
——My departure will not affect Ed in any way. After separating from me, he can focus more on research, which is good.
Two days later, Shi Yu's eyes recovered completely. She took off the gauze with the help of the doctor. Because she had spent too much time in the dark, Shi Yu was not yet used to seeing things and had to squint to see things clearly.
When she returned to the ward holding on to the wall, she didn't see Ed. Shi Yu sat on the bed and noticed that the quilt was not folded when she left.
…She silently folded the quilt neatly.
Afterwards, Shi Yu was like a cat that was curious about everything. She couldn't sit still and went to tidy up her small bedside table.
Unfortunately, Ed took good care of it for her, so Shi Yu didn't find any work to do. But just as she was about to close the cabinet door, Shi Yu's hand suddenly touched a very familiar, cold tube.
Shi Yu's heart moved.
This thing... Shi Yu thought that the medicines she usually used should be kept outside.
She hesitated for a moment, then picked it up and held it before her eyes, trying to make out the words on it bit by bit.
"...short-acting, inhibitor."
"Yes." The boy's calm and cold voice echoed as her weak and confused words overlapped. "So, what were you peeking at?"
Shi Yu was a little panicked for a moment, and couldn't help but clench the cold tube in her hand. She thought quickly and wanted to tell Ed that she just accidentally found it when she was packing up, and she had no intention of stealing his things.
However, Shi Yu looked straight at him, then turned his head slightly away, and his palms trembled slightly.
She asked gently, "Are you using suppressants, Ed?"
...Shi Yu still remembered that time when Ed entered the passionate period unexpectedly. When she mentioned the inhibitor, an expression of extreme rejection and disgust appeared on the boy's face, as if using the inhibitor was a very humiliating thing for him.
"You're surprised I used an inhibitor." The boy's cold, emerald eyes stared directly at her, then glanced at the tube in her hand and asked bluntly, "Why? If I don't use this, do I have to ask you to hug me twice?"
Shigure: “…No.”
She held the tube of inhibitor stiffly and subconsciously denied it. The word "no" was enough for Ed to hear. He became inexplicably anxious: "Why do you care about this kind of thing? Why do you care about this kind of thing? You are leaving soon. If you want to be with them, then..."
This was the first time Ed had spoken so much to her in recent days.
The boy's voice stopped.
"Bring it here."
His expression was tense, and his strong self-esteem prevented him from continuing to speak some incoherent words. The boy's breath was disheveled, and his beautiful silver hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his neck.
Shi Yu clutched the suppressant tightly in his palm, eyes reddened, unwilling to give it to him. Ed panted deeply, his snow-like lashes concealing a red even more striking and humiliating than Shi Yu's. Sweat drenched his hair, neck, and cheeks. His chest heaved, and the bitter smell of lemon suddenly filled every corner of the room.
"It was you who wanted to leave," he said. "...it was you who abandoned me."
A whisper fell into Shiyu's ears, and he forcefully pulled out the tube of inhibitor. Shiyu was unable to resist Ed's strength, but she could use other actions to stop him. She pounced on Ed, and the boy was defenseless.
They hugged each other and fell on the bed. Shi Yu trembled as she felt the hot body temperature under her. The silver hair and slightly reddish and moist green eyes came into her sight. She finally realized that Ed was in heat.
"I'm sorry..." Shi Yu said. Ed's words made her feel confused, as if she had taken control of Ed at some point and made him become like this. This made her feel panic and an indescribable bitterness.
She hugged Ed tighter.
——The Omega in front of him had never been so proactive. This was supposed to be a scene that only appeared in Ed’s dreams.
The moment Shiyu hugged him, Ed became completely quiet, like a mad cat being soothed. He looked at her angrily but tenderly and heard her whimper.
"I won't abandon you."
The vague voice seemed to come from far away, and she seemed to be crying too.
"...I won't abandon you."
——Among Sturga's three children, Noah and Phil are both Alphas with top talents in certain fields, and Ed is not inferior to his brothers in talent. Since he was a child, he has shown extraordinary mathematical ability and learning talent.
Influenced by his family's elite education and the expectations placed on him, Ed, who had gradually grown into a teenager, never imagined that he would have a life path other than differentiating into an Alpha, entering a military academy, and striving for military merit and rank - but that tiny possibility did come to him. In the months after Ed differentiated into an Omega, he remained very calm.
He was no longer allowed to go out at will, his reading time and meal calories were strictly restricted, and the family's mecha center and fighting arena were no longer open to him.
More than a dozen servants and waiters accompanied the good-looking noble Omega all the time. The suffocating following was like protection and imprisonment.
During the time he was kept in captivity, Ed Sturga's beautiful and indifferent face was like an exquisite crystal statue. He showed no signs of resistance, as if he had calmly accepted his future life as a canary.
Whether he was trained as an Alpha for more than a decade or differentiated into an Omega now, Ed is still the child of Sturga who is so outstanding that he can be called a model student. No one has ever doubted that Ed will rebel and embark on a path that goes against the expectations of his family.
I was not even treated as a victim of marriage alliance, nor did I ever hear any discriminatory remarks within the family.
But he did it anyway, because what should have been an ideal future was completely severed from him the day he split apart.
After he left, his family didn't send anyone to pursue him. It wasn't until he was taken into a nursing home that he realized he had no identity information - his family had erased all traces of him being a Sturga.
He abandoned his family, abandoned the previous ten years of his life, and his family also abandoned him.
Shi Yu rested her forehead on his shoulder bone, and her hair fell on the side of his neck. Perhaps because Ed was sweating a lot, he felt that the girl's voice seemed to be sticky and damp.
Shi Yu's heart was filled with sour and soft emotions. She tried her best to hug him and stroke his shoulders, as if she was pitying a puppy injured in the rain.
"I won't abandon you."
It was because she hadn't paid much attention to Ed, always thinking that he was just as she saw him, and she liked to withdraw. He cared about her leaving, to the extent that he couldn't easily say it out loud, and Shi Yu only realized it now.
"I should have noticed your thoughts sooner, I'm sorry, Ed."
Ed narrowed his eyes slightly, unable to see the scenery in front of him clearly. His voice was hoarse with breathlessness, and he seemed to speak out in annoyance from his throat: "It's all what you thought..."
She rejected him time and time again, always putting him second, and finally leaving here. Ed painfully and forbearingly planned to tear her out of his heart, and he would never care about her again.
But when she took the initiative to hug him, Ed couldn't even push her away - it was so easy. He felt humiliated, but he remained motionless, enjoying the secret pleasure of showing weakness.
"That's all I thought." Shi Yu said obediently, "I was too much..."
Ed turned his head away, his breath trembling. He pretended not to listen to Shi Yu anymore, desperately hoping she would understand. The more Shi Yu felt sorry for him, the more self-righteously she tolerated him, saying things that were irrelevant but that he could believe at that moment. He almost revealed that ridiculous, pitiful look, begging for mercy.
But Shi Yu, due to his slow observation, continued to say, "I... never listen to you. I'm stupid. Sometimes I make you angry. I often jump to conclusions without understanding many things."
"You can express your dissatisfaction, Ed... I'm willing to listen."
Shigure finally truly saw Ed.
"It's all because you touched me," the boy's chest heaved. He turned his head and stared at her intently, his eyes as dark as rain. "You made the tranquilizer I developed ineffective. Calling me teacher..."
If it weren't for that unusual incident, he wouldn't have had the idea of exploring, wouldn't have shown his affection to Shi Yu, and wouldn't have let her get close to him.
Shi Yu lowered her eyes, clutched the clothes on his shoulders, and said "hmm" in a crying voice.
"You never told me about your past. You used me."
—Shigure had asked him to help contact the Alpha at the military academy, and Ed clearly recalled the conversation, which was tinged with emotion. The boy, in his passionate phase, could no longer suppress his feelings, and this was almost an accusation of injury.
The corners of his delicate and narrow eyes were slightly red, but Ed still looked at her and murmured something with a faint sense of unwillingness.
"…reject me."
Shi Yu was speechless and could only hug him tightly. The smell of lemon and strawberry was intertwined in the air.
“Never again,” she said. “There are so many things I haven’t noticed.”
The Omega's emotions were rich and intense, as if he was infected by Ed's loss of control. Shi Yu sobbed a little and said, "I never realized when I offended you and made you so unhappy. It's all my fault."
"I have also hidden a lot of things from you, I." Shi Yu seemed to be choked by tears, and continued in a broken voice.
"I never knew you hated me calling you teacher."
Ed looked at her, and after a moment of silence, he repeated in a low voice, "...You don't know."
The voice paused: "Why do you hate it?"
Shi Yu shook her head with tears in her eyes. If she had known earlier, she would not have called Ed a name that he didn't like for so long.
Ed remained silent, leaving the room filled with faint gasps and sobs, whose origins were indistinguishable. Shigure was bewilderedly stared at by those pale eyes, which looked as if they had been rained on.
A slightly bitter smell approached her.
The boy lowered his head and gently kissed the corner of Shigure's eye.
The author has something to say:
Ed's home game is over, but he will still appear later.
What a joke, I planned to update daily the day before yesterday, but gave up the day before yesterday, and then hurriedly wrote out the updates for the previous two days today ()
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