IMAO Chapter 8

Ji Rong glanced to the side, his expression tinged with existential doubt.

Jiang Yuan changed into fresh clothes. Noticing Ji Rong’s skeptical look, he mistakenly assumed Ji Rong was still bothered by his earlier comment about his scent. Before leaving, Jiang Yuan patted Ji Rong’s shoulder and said, “Uh… you don’t smell that bad, actually.”

Ji Rong: “…”

“Thanks for the washing machine. I’ll head back to my cabin now.”

Jiang Yuan turned, opened the door, and waved goodbye without looking back, leaving Ji Rong alone in the room.

Ji Rong: “…” Not comforted at all!

Ji Rong sniffed himself. He could understand why another Alpha disliked his scent—like repels like, after all. His fragrance drove countless little Omegas wild!

By now, everyone on the ship knew they’d narrowly escaped a hijacking. They were quietly expressing relief to friends and family about the Fearless’s timely arrival.

Ji Yang fidgeted in his seat, longing to talk after their brush with death. With Jiang Yuan absent and luggage to guard, he felt as antsy as a cat with itchy paws.

It was truly torturous for this talkative guy. He even wondered if Jiang Yuan had fallen into the toilet!

When Ji Yang finally spotted Jiang Yuan’s return, he eagerly waved him over as if afraid he’d get lost. “Jiang Yuan, over here!”

As Jiang Yuan approached, Ji Yang joked, “I thought what happened earlier left you too scared to come back!”

“I just got lost,” Jiang Yuan replied, glancing at Ji Yang.

“We saw General Xu earlier. He’s the Federation’s youngest general and quite handsome too!” Ji Yang gushed excitedly.

Jiang Yuan nodded, “I saw.”

Noting Jiang Yuan’s impassive expression, Ji Yang exclaimed, “Aren’t you excited at all?”

Jiang Yuan shook his head. What was there to be excited about? It’s not like he was looking for a partner.

Ji Yang chatted animatedly with Jiang Yuan for a while before finally calming down.

Soon after, Jiang Yuan received concerned messages from Jiang Tianze and Fang Shi. News of the incident had already spread across the Starnet—the entire Federation now knew what the Goddess of Destiny had just experienced.

Jiang Yuan had barely finished replying to his parents when his communicator chimed again—this time with a call request.

Jiang Yuan paused briefly upon seeing the caller’s name, then accepted. Song Yirui’s worried face instantly filled the screen.

“Xiao Yuan, are you alright? I just saw the news about the Shadow Hunter near the Goddess of Destiny. I was so worried about you.”

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath, schooling his expression. Given Song Yirui’s relationship with the original Jiang Yuan, he wasn’t sure how to address him.

Facing the handsome man, Jiang Yuan hesitated before replying coolly, “I’m fine. No need to worry.”

“Thank goodness,” Song Yirui said. “I panicked when I couldn’t reach your communicator earlier.”

Jiang Yuan murmured a vague response, neither warm nor cold. Song Yirui didn’t notice anything wrong—the original Jiang Yuan had always been like this.

Just then, a coquettish voice drifted from Song Yirui’s communicator, “Rui-ge, what are you and my brother talking about?”

It was Qiu Jingming. Jiang Yuan recognized the voice immediately and soon saw Qiu Jingming’s pretty face appear on the screen.

“Ge, isn’t this ring beautiful?” Qiu Jingming asked, waving his hand to show off the ring.

Song Yirui stiffened when he saw Qiu Jingming enter his room wearing his clothes. He opened his mouth, wanting to explain to Jiang Yuan, worried he’d misunderstand.

Earlier, while shopping, Qiu Jingming had stained his clothes with ice cream. Not wanting to return to the Jiang house, Song Yirui had lent him something to wear once they reached the Song residence.

Normally this wouldn’t be an issue—they’d known each other since elementary school, after all. But Qiu Jingming had confessed to liking him, and they’d even kissed (though Qiu Jingming always initiated).

Song Yirui felt terribly guilty. Beside him, Qiu Jingming grasped his hand holding the communicator, subtly caressing it. Song Yirui shuddered.

As Song Yirui fretted, Jiang Yuan simply said, “It’s nice.”

Qiu Jingming beamed, toying with the ring. He looked at Jiang Yuan and said softly, “Rui-ge gave me this ring as a birthday gift. I fell in love with it on our way back, and he bought it for me right away!”

After parting with Jiang Yuan, Jiang Tianze and Fang Shi had to work, so they asked Song Yirui to take Qiu Jingming home. Seeing an opportunity to be alone with Song Yirui, Qiu Jingming naturally wouldn’t let it slip away. He’d pestered Song Yirui to take him shopping and buy him the ring.

A birthday gift, Jiang Yuan thought, nodding slightly. It was appropriate to give a gift. As a brother, should he give one too?

After pondering, Jiang Yuan asked, “Is there anything else you’d like as a gift?”

Hearing Jiang Yuan’s words, Qiu Jingming was taken aback. He realized his block-headed brother hadn’t even noticed he was wearing Song Yirui’s clothes.

Qiu Jingming shook his head, pointing at the ring. “Thank you, brother. This is enough to make me happy!”

Jiang Yuan nodded. Seeing no unusual reaction from Jiang Yuan, Song Yirui was relieved he hadn’t noticed Qiu Jingming’s earlier gesture. After a few more concerned words, he ended the call.

At the Song residence, Song Yirui fell silent for a moment before turning to Qiu Jingming with a furrowed brow. “Jingming, you can’t do this. What if your brother noticed? He might misunderstand!”

Hearing Song Yirui’s rebuke, Qiu Jingming clenched his fists tightly, took a few deep breaths, then hung his head dejectedly. “I’m sorry, Rui-ge. I’m not like my brother who can stay so calm around you. When I see you, my mind goes blank. Seeing you care for my brother makes my heart ache.

“I know I shouldn’t like you, Rui-ge, but I can’t help it…”

Song Yirui: “This… Don’t cry. I’m not angry with you.”

“I know you’re not angry,” Qiu Jingming looked up, his smile more heartbreaking than tears. “It just hurts.”

Song Yirui: “I’m sorry…”

Seeing the pretty Omega’s expression, Song Yirui recalled their earlier shopping trip when Qiu Jingming had asked him to buy the ring.

He had refused at first. Though diamonds weren’t expensive nowadays, rings still held special meaning as gifts for lovers.

But watching Qiu Jingming stare at the ring with tears streaming down his face, this usually proud Omega crying so brokenly, looking so lost and pitiful, his heart softened and he bought it…

Song Yirui was at a loss for words. Thankfully, Jiang Yuan hadn’t been upset about the ring. He patted Qiu Jingming’s head.

Qiu Jingming: “You don’t need to apologize, Rui-ge. I know I can’t compare to my brother. It’s natural for you to like him/ After all, he’s so outstanding. Even as a Beta, he got into the First Military Academy and the best mecha program. I’m so ordinary compared to him.”

Song Yirui paused before consoling him, “You’re an Omega. That’s not something you can control.”

Tears fell from Qiu Jingming’s eyes. “Thank you for comforting me, Rui-ge! I know how extraordinary my brother is. He’s the only Beta to get into the mecha program at the First Military Academy this year. He’s stronger than many Alphas!”

Hearing this, Song Yirui’s expression changed slightly. Jiang Yuan was indeed strong, surpassing most Alphas—including himself. Apart from his Alpha status, he couldn’t compare to Jiang Yuan in any way. His parents had often criticized him using Jiang Yuan as an example.

These thoughts left Song Yirui feeling uncomfortable.

They chatted a while longer. As they were about to go downstairs for dinner, Qiu Jingming suddenly darted forward and pecked Song Yirui’s cheek. He quickly turned and opened the door, glancing back with a flushed face before running downstairs.

Left in the room, Song Yirui unconsciously touched where he’d been kissed.

…Sigh, this little Omega was really something.

After ending the call, Jiang Yuan searched his memories.

Qiu Jingming’s birthday was in two months. Originally, since Qiu Jingming was only three months younger, they should have been in the same grade. But when Qiu Jingming’s biological father suddenly died and he came to the Jiang family, he was very withdrawn. Worried about bullying, Jiang Tianze had Qiu Jingming take a year off school, hiring a professional psychologist to counsel him. Only when he seemed recovered did they send him back to school.

Although he was called Jiang Yuan’s younger brother, they were actually less than three months apart.

Qiu Jingming said he didn’t want a gift, but as an older brother, Jiang Yuan felt he should still give one. In the original’s memories, this adopted brother was a crybaby—who knows if he’d cry if he didn’t receive anything?

Beside him, Ji Yang asked, “Who called you earlier? Your boyfriend?”

“No, just a friend,” Jiang Yuan replied after a pause.

Ji Yang nodded. Since that man wasn’t Jiang Yuan’s boyfriend, he’d keep quiet. Having seen countless little Omegas with his cousin, he’d bet his life that Jiang Yuan’s brother felt something special for that man! He could tell just from the look in his eyes!

And mentioning rings and such—perhaps that man liked Jiang Yuan, while Jiang Yuan’s brother liked the man.

Ah, what a messy love triangle.

Ji Yang mused silently.

Jiang Yuan was oblivious to Ji Yang’s imaginings, though in some ways, he’d guessed correctly!

“What’s a good birthday gift for an Omega?” Jiang Yuan didn’t know much about this, so he decided to ask Ji Yang.

Ji Yang thought seriously about what birthday gifts his Omega cousin liked. “Probably suppressants? My cousin loves them! For his last birthday, I gave him a ten-year supply!”

“Suppressants? Do Omegas really like that sort of thing?” Jiang Yuan asked skeptically.

Ji Yang scratched his head. “They should, right? Omegas have a hard time during heat. Suppressants help a lot. My cousin says he doesn’t want to be controlled by pheromones. He doesn’t want to be like an unevolved animal driven by instinct. He says suppressants are the greatest invention in interstellar history.”

Jiang Yuan nodded in agreement. Having researched Omega heats, he strongly agreed with Ji Yang’s cousin’s words. Surely every Alpha and Omega would prefer not to be controlled by pheromones, including his adopted brother?

After thinking about it briefly, Jiang Yuan decided on Qiu Jingming’s birthday gift. He asked Ji Yang, “Where can I buy suppressants?”

Ji Yang perked up, winking at Jiang Yuan. “You’ve asked the right person! My family sells suppressants! I’ll give you a 20% discount off the market price!”

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.

You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.