5

The omega browsed the shopping website for a while.

The website had a wide range of categories, from broad sections like clothing and electronics to countless smaller subcategories, which were further divided into even smaller ones. There were thousands of them. The omega didn’t understand all these, so he just clicked into the basic clothing section, casually looking at clothes while observing the models—some beautiful, others slim.

The models included omegas, alphas, and mostly betas. They were all incredibly good-looking, each one a standout.

The more he scrolled down, the more the omega’s mood sank.

God pours beauty into the world, some catch it with bowls, some with basins, but it feels like he’s the only one catching it with an umbrella.

Unable to keep looking any longer, he clumsily clicked a few times and hurriedly bought some clothes, not even sure what he was purchasing.

The young alpha would come to his villa every night, as per their agreement. The omega turned off his neural chip and walked toward the kitchen. Since there was nothing else to do, he decided to prepare dinner for the alpha.

The young alpha liked to eat meat and greasy, salty foods, and didn’t care for nutritional meals. This was at odds with the omega’s usual light diet, but seeing the alpha eat ravenously seemed to bring him an immense sense of satisfaction.

He placed the seasoning bowls into the dishwasher and, with a moment of free time, brushed a layer of butter onto the baking tray and baked himself a small cake.

He loved sweets, and when his mood was bitter, eating something sweet could offer a little comfort.

In the evening, the alpha returned.

The omega happily greeted him, as if he had already forgotten the unpleasant things that happened in the morning. He took the alpha’s backpack, warmly guided him to his seat, and brought the steaming dishes to the table. The lamb legs, caramelized to a golden brown, were brushed with a tempting honey-colored glaze, placed on a clean, white porcelain plate. Even the alpha, who had been wearing a sour expression, couldn’t help but soften his mood. He allowed the omega to softly encourage him to eat more.

After dinner, the alpha finished his schoolwork, and it wasn’t long before it was time for a shower and bed. The omega stood up, a shy tone in his voice as he said, “I’ll go shower first… You should sleep early, don’t stay up too late.”

This was a blatant hint.

If it were any other omega saying this—no, even just a beta he didn’t particularly care for—there’s no way the young alpha’s mood would plummet to such a low, or that he’d feel the urge to vomit.

His body stiffened for a long moment before he finally suppressed his anger, closed the textbook, and threw himself onto the bed in the bedroom. He started chatting with his close friend, barely paying attention to the conversation.

The sound of water running in the bathroom lasted for a long time. When the omega finally came out, he was only wrapped in a towel. Ignoring his unattractive face and bulky figure, at least the scent of his pheromones, steamed by the heat, was pleasant—like a mix of fresh grass and soft milk.

He stepped barefoot onto the carpet and carefully sat on the edge of the bed, whispering, “Uh, I’m done… washing up…”

The alpha remained silent for a long time, then removed the neural chip from his wrist and tossed it aside. He slid on his slippers and slammed the sliding bathroom door shut with a heavy thud.

The omega didn’t dare speak. He sat with his head lowered for a while, when his peripheral vision was suddenly caught by something flickering.

It was the alpha’s neural chip, with a chat box that bubbled up one message after another.

The alpha hadn’t closed it.

The omega hadn’t intended to look, but a brief glance earlier had already made him see a message that remained on the screen.

“[No matter what, you’ve already taken the money. There’s no turning back now. Just do your job well. [wicked smile] [wicked smile]”

The omega’s heart skipped a beat.

Is this… about me?

Is he and his friend talking about me?

The sound of water in the bathroom continued to rush, the impact against the floor was still loud enough, even through the door, to be somewhat jarring. The omega swallowed nervously, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

He really wanted to see what the alpha and his friend were saying, and what tone the alpha used when talking about him to others.

He knew it wasn’t right, but… they were talking about him, after all. If he just took a quick glance, just one quick glance…

He stretched out a cold finger and nervously tapped the alpha’s neural chip.

“[What the hell are you talking about? Do you know how disgusting he is?]” On the screen, the alpha’s tone was fierce. “[Damn it, I’m seriously about to puke!]”

The omega froze.

His eyes reflected the light of the pale blue screen, looking like two glass beads rapidly frozen in place.

“[Bro, this is still an omega. Do you know how rare omegas are? So what if he’s older? Your friend still can’t get one!]”

“[He’s not even a real omega, probably a gene-mutated omega. Old and ugly, paying for sex but no one’s interested. I’m not exaggerating.]”

“[So, you still went ahead and did it.]”

“[Do you believe that sleeping with someone like him takes ten years off your life? If I didn’t need the money, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.]”

The omega felt a cold shiver run through him, as if he had frozen.

The alpha, still wiping his hair, opened the bathroom door without much care, looked up, and froze when he saw the omega. “What are you looking at?”

When the alpha realized, his anger flared up instantly as he yelled, “You’re going through my stuff? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

“I…” The omega snapped back to reality, about to mumble a word, but before he could finish, the angry alpha kicked him to the ground. “Damn, you really have no shame!”