This festival was held outdoors in the royal palace’s garden due to the added spectacle of a mecha competition.
To call it a garden is an understatement—it was enormous. After all, the capital planet was seven times the size of ancient Earth, and the royal palace alone occupied one-tenth of the entire capital. That meant the garden was nearly as large as ancient Earth itself.
Since there were many duties during the Star Rising Festival that required Emperor Ye Qin’s attention, and General Fu Mingxiu was not yet the empress, he could not accompany Ye Qin in presiding over the ceremonial processes. Furthermore, Fu Mingxiu was more than happy to enjoy some leisure time, so he was left alone in an area furnished with tables and chairs.
This space was intended for resting, but the banquet for the Star Rising Festival was a grand affair, attended by the Empire’s elite. The prominent figures were busy with their own plans, while the less significant individuals tried to ingratiate themselves, leaving Fu Mingxiu as the sole occupant in the area.
However, Fu Mingxiu was well aware that Ye Qin had stationed several strong individuals to keep watch over him. According to Ye Qin, not only had he assigned people to monitor Fu Mingxiu, but the palace’s security system had also been activated at the highest level of command. If Fu Mingxiu tried to escape or make any suspicious movements, he would be held accountable.
Fu Mingxiu didn’t take the threat to heart. Ye Qin was good at many things, but his stubbornness in speech didn’t fool him. His words were harsh, but his actions were much more honest, and Fu Mingxiu had long since become accustomed to it.
At the moment, Fu Mingxiu was eating a piece of red berry cake, nibbling at it absentmindedly, his interest seemingly waning.
What he didn’t realize was that a young man in the crowd, about ten meters away, was staring at him intently.
This was an extremely beautiful omega boy, about 175 cm tall, with curly, adorable golden hair. His blue cat-like eyes were framed by long, thick eyelashes, and his skin was so smooth it seemed almost translucent. Even his lips were a vibrant red, making him look like an angel painted in an oil painting.
He stared at Fu Mingxiu, pouting slightly, looking quite displeased.
He tugged at the alpha next to him and asked, “Brother, is that General Fu?”
The alpha, also exceedingly handsome, was tall and good-looking, with brown hair neatly cut and falling gently across his forehead.
He was interrupted while conversing with someone and gave them an apologetic smile before turning to pay attention to his younger brother’s question.
Following the omega’s pointing, he noticed Fu Mingxiu sitting alone.
His gaze immediately turned cold. “Yes, that is indeed General Fu.”
When he said “General Fu,” his tone rose and he spoke slowly, clearly gritting his teeth.
This omega, named Nan Yi, had once been seen as the top candidate for the empress position by the people of the Empire before Fu Mingxiu and Ye Qin’s relationship became public. Nan Yi was the only omega child of the former Marshal Nan Chongshan of the Empire.
After Ye Qin gained some success on the border, Nan Chongshan developed a deep admiration for him. Apart from Ye Qin’s own abilities, it also helped that Nan Li, Nan Yi’s brother and an alpha, had fought alongside Ye Qin, becoming one of his most trusted subordinates. When Ye Qin became the enemy of the former crown prince, the Nan family had not hesitated to stand by Ye Qin’s side, thus earning his favor. After Ye Qin ascended the throne, the Nan family, due to their contributions, had risen to become one of the most powerful families in the Empire.
Influenced by his father and older brother, Nan Yi had long admired Ye Qin. He was good-looking, from a family that had supported Ye Qin, well-educated, and a graduate of the Empire’s top music academy. As a result, he had amassed a large fan base early on, becoming the Empire’s favorite choice for the future empress.
Nan Yi had pursued Ye Qin for a long time, but after Ye Qin became emperor, his rivals increased exponentially. Nan Yi had suspected that he might lose to a strong competitor, but he never expected that the person he would lose to would be Fu Mingxiu.
He knew that Fu Mingxiu had a close relationship with Ye Qin—Ye Qin had personally helped Fu Mingxiu rise to prominence. The two of them had become inseparable comrades, even sharing credit for the killing of the Zerg Queen. In fact, much of Ye Qin’s earlier success was built with Fu Mingxiu’s help.
Moreover, Nan Yi’s older brother, Nan Li, had once been one of Fu Mingxiu’s subordinates. Every time Nan Li returned, he would always praise Fu Mingxiu, showing deep admiration. It wasn’t until later, after some personnel changes, that Nan Li became one of Ye Qin’s subordinates instead.
It was unclear when exactly, but Nan Yi noticed a drastic change in his older brother, Nan Li’s attitude toward Fu Mingxiu. Generally, Nan Li would avoid speaking of “Fu Mingxiu” altogether, gritting his teeth if he had to mention it at all.
In the past, Nan Yi had no idea why his brother acted this way, but ever since he learned that Fu Mingxiu and Ye Qin were together, he, too, began to feel a similar animosity toward Fu Mingxiu.
An alpha—how could he be so shameless as to seduce another alpha?!
Especially when that other alpha was his former comrade, his crush, and most importantly, Ye Qin!
Finally, the chance to encounter Fu Mingxiu presented itself, and Nan Yi couldn’t hold back the frustration in his heart any longer.
“Brother, I want to go talk to him,” Nan Yi tugged at Nan Li’s sleeve.
“Go ahead,” Nan Li replied quietly, his gaze darkening. “I should go have a chat with General Fu as well.”
So, while Fu Mingxiu was casually nibbling on his cake, he suddenly heard a bright voice from ahead: “Is this cake not to General Fu’s taste?”
Fu Mingxiu looked up in surprise and saw a strikingly handsome omega youth speaking. “May I ask, who are you, sir?”
“Apologies, I am Nan Yi, the son of Nan Chongshan, honored to meet General Fu,” the youth said as he extended his hand.
Upon hearing that the youth’s father was Nan Chongshan, Fu Mingxiu immediately made the connection in his mind.
Nan Chongshan had once held Fu Mingxiu in high regard, and if truth be told, Nan Chongshan had even been one of Fu Mingxiu’s mentors.
Fu Mingxiu stood and shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. There’s no need to call me General Fu. I’ve retired. I’ve received much guidance from your father, so please convey my regards to General Nan.”
“My father hardly deserves your regards, General Fu,” Nan Li, who had remained silent up until now, suddenly spoke.
“Nan Li?” Only then did Fu Mingxiu notice the person standing beside Nan Yi was Nan Li, who had been silent all this time. He had mistaken him for Nan Yi’s servant.
Now, having finished shaking hands with Nan Yi, Fu Mingxiu paused for a moment before smiling at Nan Li. “Xiao Li, long time no see.”
“Don’t call me Xiao Li,” Nan Li replied coldly, a hint of disgust in his tone. “I find it nauseating.”
Fu Mingxiu wasn’t surprised by Nan Li’s reaction.
In the past, Nan Li and Fu Mingxiu had been very close, but he was one of the few who knew that Fu Mingxiu had betrayed Ye Qin.
Their admiration and trust in Fu Mingxiu had turned to disgust and hatred once they learned the truth.
Had it not been for Ye Qin’s gag order and his protection of Fu Mingxiu, Nan Li and the others would have likely wanted to tear him apart.
Nan Li then sat down without saying another word.
Slightly helpless, Fu Mingxiu shifted his focus to Nan Yi.
Since the two of them had approached him, they must have something to say, and since Nan Li wasn’t speaking, it seemed that Nan Yi was the one with a request.
He was about to speak when Nan Yi beat him to it.
With his striking blue cat-like eyes, Nan Yi looked directly at Fu Mingxiu and said, “General Fu, I heard that you’ve recently become His Majesty’s lover?”
Fu Mingxiu was taken aback by the question.
Most people wouldn’t dare to speak so bluntly. Everyone in the Empire knew about Fu Mingxiu and Ye Qin’s relationship, so there was no need to say “I heard.” Furthermore, defining their relationship as “lover” carried a hint of insult.
Fu Mingxiu then took a closer look at Nan Yi and realized that he was likely an extraordinarily beautiful omega, which gave him an inkling as to why Nan Yi had come to speak with him.
“System, system, is this person in love with my old gong?” Fu Mingxiu thought to himself, calling out to his system.
The system lazily appeared, replying, “Nan Yi’s admiration for Ye Qin is well-known throughout the Empire. Haven’t you seen the gossip on the star net?”
At first, Ye Qin had forbidden Fu Mingxiu from using any online devices, but he had been allowed access in recent months. However, Fu Mingxiu wasn’t very interested in gossip, so he hadn’t heard about it.
Suddenly, Fu Mingxiu become energized. A living rival!
He adjusted his facial expression, trying to adopt a more seductive demeanor, and smiled as he said to the omega in front of him, “I thought this was no longer something that needed to be asked.”
He didn’t deny the label of “lover” because, in fact, it was the relationship that both he and Ye Qin had openly accepted.
Though deep down, they both knew they wanted to be together for life.
“I also heard that you underwent a secondary differentiation to become an omega. At your age, it’s rare to find someone who can still differentiate,” Nan Yi continued.
Fu Mingxiu couldn’t help but rub his forehead. It felt as though he had mistakenly wandered into some palace intrigue.
“System, help me out. Can you block the signals around here? I’m about to engage in a little palace drama!” he told the system.
System: “…”
Though my host is a bit of an idiot, I still have to work tirelessly, sigh.
“In truth, I didn’t undergo a secondary differentiation. That’s just something Ah Qin told the public,” Fu Mingxiu said directly, his words dripping with sarcasm, “I underwent surgery to become an omega because I love Ah Qin so much.”
Nan Yi: “……???”
Hello? Is this for real? Was he being this direct?
Even Nan Li, who had been looking down and silent all this time, finally raised his head, looking at Fu Mingxiu with an expression that said everything and nothing at the same time.
