The Luo Lian school network exploded.

It was the time when Luo Lian was either on vacation or about to be, and there were more students than ever playing “Duel.”

After the announcement was made, the Luo Lian school network was filled with posts featuring only two names.

[Is there anyone at Luo Lian with the same name as “Nian Keyi” or “Chu Bai”?]

[Professor Chu also plays Duel! Looking for friends!]

[Who is the brave soul dueling with Captain Nian?]

[Ahhh, I also want to bomb Captain Nian’s star port.]

[The flawless Professor Chu finally has a tiny flaw, love him even more; single AO playing games together and getting reported, not loving it anymore :)]

[Professor Chu and Senior Nian together???]

[Full starship announcement, group photo]

[Captain is so generous! Although we got beaten, we didn’t die of embarrassment hh]

After Chu Bai and Nian Keyi logged off, Chang Ran, Chang Ye, and Chu Lan didn’t leave. They exchanged contact information and awkwardly chatted.

Chang Ran glanced at the school network, happily noting, “It’s really a grand event, too bad Keyi can’t see it.”

Chu Lan said, “Send me a copy too.”

Chang Ran asked, “Are you sending it to Professor Chu?”

Chu Lan: “Yeah.”

Professor Chu would definitely like it.

Chang Ran: “Warrior!”

“Thanks to you, we won,” said Chang Ye.

Chang Ran excitedly said, “Super awesome! You did what we’ve always wanted to do!”

Chu Lan gave a fake smile, unable to respond, “Thanks to Chu Bai.”

He couldn’t figure out what Chu Bai was up to, afraid of saying too much and causing trouble, so he changed the topic first, “Is your family the Chang family that makes inhibitors?”

Chang Ran paused, then laughed, “Yes.”

“Let me introduce myself.” Chu Lan extended his hand, “I’m the president of Chong Xia Warship, Chu Lan.”

The warship suffix applied by Chong Xia is -c9, undoubtedly the most promising warship manufacturing company this year, even faintly overshadowing many established companies.

Moreover, since Chong Xia started releasing warships, there’s been only one collaborator, the top-tier Cheng Bai Group in the industry.

In interstellar warfare, warships are the core weapons of the Federation’s military, with the highest strategic position, making the industry highly competitive. Warship manufacturing is different from others; having a name relies on one’s hard-earned strength.

Chang Ran and Chang Ye widened their eyes upon hearing this. They weren’t clueless spendthrifts; at twenty, they were at the age to take over the family business, so they naturally knew the value of “Chong Xia.”

Chang Ran eagerly shook hands, “I absolutely love your zi45! It’s my favorite warship!”

Chu Lan smiled, “Glad you like it, I like it too.”

Chang Ye followed, more excited than when he defeated Nian Keyi, “I study warships, and Chong Xia’s chief technician is my idol. Can I meet him?”

“Of course,” Chu Lan said kindly, “there will definitely be opportunities in the future.”

All thanks to Chu Bai, there will be plenty of opportunities.

Usually, such promises are just polite words, but Chang Ye didn’t feel it was perfunctory at all. Judging by the frequency of his idol’s new warship releases, he must be super busy!

As they continued chatting, they were less reserved and exchanged information more smoothly.

Before logging off, Chu Lan mentioned he would arrive at Luo Star the day after tomorrow. Chang Ran said, “If Professor Chu is busy, we’ll come to pick you up.”

“No need, someone will pick me up,” Chu Lan replied, “I have other things to attend to.”

He had received an invitation when he boarded the starship and hadn’t had a chance to tell Chu Bai. In any case, someone would pick him up and arrange accommodation, saving money for his family.

“Are you coming for the x75 star’s Golden Wolf Mine?” Chang Ye asked casually. Seeing Chang Ran looking over, he explained, “Dad said after the meeting in a couple of days, we’ll go back to the company.”

“Not exactly, just a coincidence,” Chu Lan said, “you’ll find out in a few days, I’m logging off now.”

“Okay, okay.” The twins bid him farewell.

After Chu Lan left, the twins logged off too. Chang Ye slapped his forehead in frustration, “I forgot to ask, are President Chu and Professor Chu brothers? There don’t seem to be many people with the surname Chu.”

“No way, didn’t Professor Chu say they’re friends?” Chang Ran said, “Didn’t they say after the Prime Minister took office, there were a lot more people with the surname Chu?”

Chang Ye said, “That was the census on poverty-stricken stars, it has nothing to do with them. Do you think Chong Xia’s chief technician was introduced by Professor Chu?”

Both are technical experts in academia.

Chang Ran said, “It’s possible.”

Chang Ye paused, then said, “I agree with Keyi’s marriage.”

Chang Ran typed, “Right, right, I need to remind him.”

[Captain Nian, calm down, domestic violence is not good.]

Three days later.

Seeing Chang Ran’s message, Nian Keyi sneered, opened the keyboard to reply, typed a line, paused, moved to the delete key, and deleted it word by word. He sat up, his lips flattening, and his lazy eyes revealing a sharp edge.

Nian Keyi pressed his temple to wake himself up.

The star port was bombed, the duel was lost, and he was publicly criticized. The person he was most dissatisfied with in the whole situation… should have been Chu Bai, given Captain Nian’s personality.

But it wasn’t.

Seeing Chang Ran’s message, the anger in his heart was greater than when facing Chu Bai. He was mad at Chang Ran’s jinx.

The heat cycle is really a deadly thing.

He patted his face, recalling a paper he read during a public lecture in his freshman year. The author was the first scholar to extract “preference substance.” The paper began by saying his reason for researching preference substances was his curiosity after experiencing his first heat cycle, wondering why almost all AO could spend seven days of the heat cycle or susceptibility period together.

Nian Keyi had the same curiosity and knew the answer.

Because AO who spent the susceptibility period or heat cycle together had pheromones containing “preference substances,” which could control human emotions, but only emotions.

For instance, Nian Keyi’s anger in the past few days would subconsciously avoid Chu Bai.

It wasn’t rational; on the contrary, his rationality was controlled.

“Hiss—” Nian Keyi realized, slumping back onto the bed, touching his gland with the back of his hand. It wasn’t as smooth as before; each tiny wound was a reminder of the blushing, heart-pounding moments.

His ears gradually turned red and hot.

He struggled to maintain his composure, thought for a moment, and messaged the homeowner, Chang Ye: [Send me the replay of the duel.]

He needed to calmly and rationally judge how he ended up being publicly criticized.

After doing this, he got out of bed to wash up. The room was a bit too quiet.

His heat cycle had just ended.

Where was Chu Bai?

Chu Bai had gone out.

Chu Lan had arrived at Luo Star the day before, staying at a house arranged by Cheng Bai, also in district A.

Chu Lan, adjusting to the time difference, had just lain down to sleep when the AI woke him up. He came out in just a bathrobe to meet someone: “Bro, why are you here?”

Chu Bai leaned against the bar, his lazy posture naturally charming, turning back to look, clearly not here out of concern for his CEO brother: “I’m here to get the z2.”

“Oh.” Chu Lan ruffled his messy hair, feeling that today he seemed especially pleased, probably not an illusion. The man had just spent the heat cycle with his Omega, covered in pheromone scent, “Is this what it’s like to have an Omega? Running over here first thing in the morning, oh no, you’re in deep.”

Teased, Chu Bai glanced at him, “Yeah, you wouldn’t understand.”

Chu Lan poured two glasses of water, “…I only like minerals and money, an Omega would take half of it.”

“That’s why I trust you to manage my money,” Chu Bai chuckled, “Alright, where did you put the z2? I’ll take it and let you continue sleeping.”

Warships were banned in the city center, so he wasn’t talking about taking the warship itself, but the access key.

Chu Lan had the AI bring a small bag, checked it, and handed it to him, “When are you getting married?”

Chu Bai clenched it in his palm, “Today.”

“You better be serious,” Chu Lan didn’t quite believe him, took a sip of water, and got to the main point, “Cheng Bai invited Chong Xia to participate in the x75 mine development kickoff meeting.”

“Go ahead, thank President Chu for taking Chong Xia to new heights,” Chu Bai said.

A month ago, a new Golden Wolf vein was discovered on x75 star. The raw Golden Wolf material is currently the hardest material, and its application can significantly enhance infrastructure and military capabilities. The development of x75 star is one of the most important things for the Federation right now.

Strictly speaking, the six-month-old Chong Xia wasn’t qualified, and Cheng Bai’s invitation was a gamble.

One has to admit, Cheng Bai’s decision-makers are quite bold.

Now, this gamble was on Chu Bai. Chu Bai smirked, raising a smile, “The person who made this decision is smart. In the future, Chong Xia won’t need top-down support.”

Professor Chu was arrogant and extremely confident.

Chu Lan blindly trusted his brother, nodding, “It might be Bai Yao, I haven’t met her yet.”

Others didn’t seem like it.

Chu Bai heard an unfamiliar name, “Bai Yao?”

“The chairman of Cheng Bai, the Prime Minister and Marshal’s biological daughter,” Chu Lan explained, knowing his brother didn’t care much about the upper echelons but should at least know about the Nian family’s son. He explained, “Bai Yao’s Omega is the youngest son of the Chang family, Chang Ran and Chang Ye’s uncle. The Bai family, Chang family, and Nian family have always been strong supporters behind the Prime Minister, and their families have always been close.”

“There used to be a Nan family, the one whose second son betrayed the Federation twenty years ago. Now, there’s only Nan Cheng left, the eldest Alpha of the Nan family, and he’s of the same generation as his sister-in-law. His parents died in the internal conflict back then. Nan Cheng is quite capable; he discovered the Golden Wolf mine on x75 star.”

“The people I mentioned are likely to attend the kickoff meeting, oh, except for Marshal Bai, who’s stationed on the Western Alliance battlefield.”

Chu Bai listened to a bunch of names. When he came over, he had learned about the political structure and economic pillars and could match them up. He thought of a certain ID that had been spamming in “Duel,” curiously asking, “Does the Prime Minister and Marshal have another son?”

“You actually know?” Chu Lan was surprised, “Yes, they do. I heard he’s an Omega, but the Prime Minister, Marshal, and President Bai have protected him too well. You can’t find any information about him.”

Chu Bai asked casually, not really caring, nodding and asking again, “Is Bai Yao a female Alpha?”

In his previous world, there were no female A or male O. Professor Chu now had his own male Omega, but in the past six months, he had only seen a handful of female A and remained curious about them.

“…Yes,” Chu Lan replied helplessly.

Chu Bai wasn’t really interested.

Chu Bai just wanted to gossip.

Chu Bai didn’t stay long. After getting some information and taking the access key, he drove back home. What he said earlier was true; the day before Nian Keyi returned, they had agreed that on the first day after the heat cycle ended, they would go register their marriage.

Which was today.