After He Qing finished his planned challenges, Zhang Yi and the others gathered around to congratulate him. Zhang Lin, who was checking the forum, continued to act oblivious. “Things should go even more smoothly from here.”

“Let’s hope so,” He Qing replied as he glanced at the time. It was already six in the evening. “It’s getting late. I need to log off.”

“See you tomorrow,” Shi Lei waved as He Qing left.

He Qing took off his virtual helmet and suddenly heard voices outside. He went to the balcony and looked down, seeing a large group of people noisily dragging their hunt back as the sun set.

Upon closer inspection, one of the animals was a fish, and another seemed to be a fish-dragon hybrid. He thought about it for a moment and realized it was probably a type of prehistoric creature.

He ran downstairs to meet them, just in time to see Duan Chenhui directing Duan Yi. “Leave it here for now. Cover it with snow.”

“Yes!” Duan Yi immediately hopped into a mecha and built a massive snowman over the catch.

He Qing stood nearby, his hands hidden in his coat, and remarked, “A natural refrigerator. Amitabha.”

Duan Chenhui walked over, casually asking, “Finished your game?”

He Qing released his hands from his coat, clasping them together in mock prayer with a smile. “The General has finished fishing, and I’ve finished my game. Now it’s time for dinner.”

The two exchanged glances, both pretending not to understand the subtext behind each other’s words.

Duan Chenhui returned the smile. “Indeed. The fish we caught today was quite the surprise.”

Big fish He Qing blinked and replied, “It must be delicious.”

Duan Yi ran over, laughing. “Of course! This is deep-sea silverfish. It’s amazing no matter how you cook it—whether in soup, stew, or grilled. It’s especially good in lotus root soup!”

“…” He Qing turned to look at him. Brother, talking about lotus root soup is a bit much. As a lotus root spirit, I feel kind of sad.

“…” Duan Chenhui also turned to Duan Yi. “All you think about is food.”

“???” Duan Yi’s eyes widened. What did he say wrong? Wasn’t it delicious? “But, bro, you love eating it too!”

He Qing then glanced back at Duan Chenhui, smiling mischievously. “The General does have quite the appetite.”

“…” Duan Chenhui, now embarrassed thanks to his well-meaning brother, brushed off his sleeves. “Let’s head back for dinner.” He swiftly changed the subject. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll be raising the New Year flags.”

Raising the national and festive flags was an annual tradition for the Empire. The next day, He Qing was roped in by Duan Chenhui’s group of brothers to help with the task.

As the family’s most delicate Omega, He Qing was assigned the job of ensuring the flags were symmetrical. Duan Yi climbed onto the roof to hang the flags, while Duan Chenhui supervised the whole process.

He Qing stood below, looking up. “Duan Yi, the angle is a little off. Move it to the right.”

“Oh, okay, wait a sec,” Duan Yi said, inching across the dome-like roof like a gecko.

He Qing looked at the snow beneath Duan Yi’s feet. “Be careful of the snow. Don’t fall—” Before he could finish his sentence, Duan Yi slipped and tumbled headfirst into the thick snowbank.

He Qing took a few steps back, then stepped forward again. “You okay?”

Duan Yi’s hand emerged from the snow, struggling to grip something. “I-I’m fine.” Just a little embarrassed…

Duan Chenhui couldn’t bear to watch and went over to pull him up. “I told you to just stand on the roof and hang the flag, but you insisted on climbing up.”

“It felt more ceremonial,” Duan Yi sighed. “I’ll climb back up.”

“Good luck, Brother Duan,” He Qing cheered him on with a smile.

Duan Chenhui turned to He Qing. “You’re getting quite comfortable with that nickname.”

He Qing smiled and opened his screen, changing the subject. “The flags look great, really beautiful. From above, they probably look like a giant rainbow chrysanthemum.”

Duan Chenhui glanced up and, for some reason, agreed with He Qing’s description.

Once the flags were hung, the evening barbecue began. Everyone gathered outside, setting up a tent. He Qing held a cup of tea and watched TV with great interest.

On the screen, there was a typical soap opera scene: “You lied to me!” “You’re being unreasonable!” It seemed dramas hadn’t changed much over thousands of years.

Duan Chenhui sat down next to him and glanced at the TV. “Is it good?”

He Qing nodded. “It’s pretty melodramatic.”

Amused, Duan Chenhui asked, “Why do you think so?”

“If this were real life, it would just mean they aren’t meant to be together. Why force it?” He Qing took a sip of tea, then turned to look at Duan Chenhui. “What do you think, General?”

Duan Chenhui narrowed his eyes slightly and handed him a gift box. “You’re right. This is something I exchanged for with points. Open it later.”

He Qing took the box and, with a glance, used his spiritual sense to see inside. It was a mech button—specifically for storing a mech. In other words, his New Year’s gift was a mech. He frowned. “Did the ancestors give me the wrong present?”

Duan Chenhui chuckled. “Even if it’s the wrong gift, it’s still fate. You said it yourself. Would you return it? That’s bad luck.”

“The General is right.” He Qing sighed, holding the gift. Duan Chenhui had turned his own words against him.

“What are you two talking about? Not eating the barbecue?” Duan Yi ran over with skewers, handing them out. “Eat more.” He carried a large platter and dashed off to share with the others.

He Qing tried a bite of the prehistoric animal’s meat but found it tasted no different from regular meat, just a bit tough. He quietly passed the rest to Duan Chenhui.

“You’ve had enough?” Duan Chenhui was genuinely concerned by how little He Qing ate.

“I got the flavor from one bite. It’s probably just not my thing,” He Qing said in a deeply philosophical tone.

Duan Chenhui: “…Are you saying it’s a bit tough?”

“…You’re the one who said that,” He Qing retorted, tapping his wooden fish for a moment before Duan Yi came running back to drag them into a bonfire dance.

With Duan Chenhui on his right and Duan Yi on his left, He Qing joined the group dancing around the bonfire. At the end of the night, they took a family photo in front of the flames.

The next day, He Qing noticed that the photo had been placed on the bedside table in Duan Chenhui’s room.

He picked it up and stared at it for a while, thinking this might be the only photo left behind after he left.

He quietly put it down.

A day later, He Qing and Duan Chenhui returned to the General’s Mansion. Without missing a beat, He Qing immediately went to see the dean. Standing outside the dean’s office, he knocked on the door.

“It’s open. Come in.”

He Qing turned the handle and entered. The dean was drinking ginseng tea. When he looked up and saw He Qing, he almost spat out his tea. He choked instead. “Cough, cough, cough… He Qing?!”

Qiao Yi hurried over to pat his teacher on the back. “Teacher, you need to sip your tea slowly.”

The dean, his jaw practically hitting the floor, swatted Qiao Yi’s hand away. “He Qing, I have important matters to attend to today—”

“I have something important to discuss as well, which is why I’m here to see you.” He Qing smiled as he approached.

The dean took another big gulp of ginseng tea to steady himself. “So… what do you want?”

He Qing pulled out a contract. “After thinking it over all night, I’ve decided I want the dean to keep my identity a secret. Please sign this contract.”

“You’re He Lian?” The dean glanced at the contract, his mouth twitching. He Qing was the infamous “dark horse”?! The one who had been mercilessly fighting his way through seniors and coaches alike!

“Yes,” He Qing admitted openly, watching the dean’s hand. “Will you sign?”

Qiao Yi stood nearby, barely able to contain his laughter. This was indeed a real contract, though he wasn’t sure how He Qing had pulled it off. Could there actually be magic in this world?

The dean shot Qiao Yi a glare—clearly, Qiao Yi had known all along. With a deep sigh, the dean muttered, “Fine. As long as nothing goes wrong, I won’t spill the secret.” He mentally added, If something does go wrong, though, that’s another story.

“Thank you, Dean. I trust there will be no accidents.” He Qing urged him, “Please sign.”

Under the intense gazes of both He Qing and Qiao Yi, the dean reluctantly extended his finger to sign the contract. As soon as he finished, a chill ran down his spine, as if something wasn’t quite right.

He Qing efficiently tucked the contract away. “Thank you, Dean.”

The dean gave a wry smile and pulled out a livestream contract. “Does General Duan know?”

“I don’t know if he knows or not.” He Qing’s words danced around the question.

The dean squinted at him. “Impressive. You young people are sharp.” He even kept it from Duan Chenhui? Or maybe Duan already knows… Either way, the couple had certainly put on a convincing act!

With a “snap,” the dean set down his electronic pen. “Sign here as well.”

He Qing quickly scanned the contract before signing, which irritated the dean. “I am the dean, after all. I wouldn’t trick you.”

He Qing looked up after signing. “I’m just wary of whoever drafted the contract.”

“…” Qiao Yi, standing off to the side, felt like he’d been shot. I’m the one who drafted the contract…

The dean turned to Qiao Yi and chuckled. “Indeed, some people can’t be trusted.”

Qiao Yi scratched his head. “Let’s stop poking at each other. We’re all in the same boat now. Let’s live in harmony.”

He Qing grinned as he pocketed the contract. “You’re right, teacher.”

Qiao Yi draped an arm over He Qing’s shoulder as they left. “Well, let’s head to class. Goodbye, Dean.”

“Goodbye, Dean,” He Qing echoed.

The dean waved them off with a heavy heart. “Go ahead. One of these days, you two will be the death of me.” They’re both traitors—student and student’s student!

–

After that, He Qing worked even harder, and his livestream audience quickly skyrocketed. In just over half a month, he had climbed to the rank of 10,000, defeating over 50,000 challengers in the process.

Everyone was stunned.

Zhang Yi sent him a congratulatory message: “Congrats, He Qing!”

Shi Lei also congratulated him: “Congrats, He Qing.” Then he added a comment that was sure to stir up some trouble. “But if you keep climbing, won’t you end up facing Zhang Yi and the others?”

Zhang Yi and the others: ”…Wait a second! That’s true!” They had nearly forgotten about this possibility.

”…Shi Lei, I’m starting to doubt your motives,” He Qing messaged, staring at Shi Lei’s name.

“Hahaha, I didn’t say anything!” Shi Lei acted innocent. “Come on, He Qing, feel free to challenge me anytime!”

Chu Yan: “Let’s have a match.”

He Qing’s response was swift: “I have urgent matters to attend to. Goodbye.” He had to figure out how to avoid battling Zhang Yi and the others.

He Qing rubbed his forehead as he left the room, only to bump into Duan Chenhui outside. “Sorry.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I was thinking about feeding the koi fish,” He Qing replied, nodding to himself.

Duan Chenhui watched him for a moment before adjusting his tie. “I’m heading out. The alien delegation has reached the border.”

He Qing’s eyes lit up. His true body has reached the border?!

“Be careful, General. I’ll be waiting for you to return.” He Qing urged him. “You’d better get to the ship soon, or you’ll be late.”

“You seem more anxious than I am,” Duan Chenhui remarked, suspicious, as he walked downstairs.

He Qing gave a soft smile. “I’ve never seen an alien before.”

Finding his reasoning plausible, Duan Chenhui didn’t question further. He got into his hover car. “Call me if anything comes up.”

“Will do. Goodbye, General,” He Qing waved as the car pulled out of the courtyard. Then he dashed upstairs and immediately called Qiao Yi. “Teacher, I want to go to the border and see the aliens.”

“Why would you want to see those weird aliens?” Qiao Yi warned him, “I’m telling you, they have tentacles, suction cups, gills, eight legs, six arms, flowers growing out of their heads, and some are even transparent. They’re not human.”

“Is there no way?” He Qing touched his own head, wondering if Duan Chenhui would find his true form, with flowers growing out of his head, strange.

“There is,” Qiao Yi shifted his tone, “but why do you want to go? Duan Chenhui can handle them just fine.”

He Qing replied, “Then I’ll talk to the dean.”

“He Qing, that tactic only works on Zhang Lin,” Qiao Yi grumbled. “But… fine. I can sneak you into the diplomatic team. Go ahead.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

After hanging up, Qiao Yi immediately called the king. “Your Majesty, I’ve found you a SSS-level super bodyguard. Guaranteed protection from any assassination attempts by the aliens.”

“Haha, that’s excellent! Does your lab need more funding?”

“Yes, my research lab could definitely use it.”

“Alright, I’ll transfer some from my private account.”

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”

Qiao Yi ended the call after a successful round of shady adult dealings. His junior disciple, standing nearby, shivered. “Teacher… Who did you recommend?” He Qing?! Help! Is this what they call dirty politics?!

“Oh, just the weakest Omega in the family. Good luck to the king.” Qiao Yi patted his disciple on the shoulder. “Let’s get back to our research.”

“…Understood.” He swore he would never reveal this secret—his life depended on it!

Qiao Yi held up a test tube to the light and smiled. The king is smart, which is why he’s on the throne. I wonder if he’ll be shocked when he meets He Qing…

If the king blurted out He Qing’s identity, well, that wouldn’t be Qiao Yi’s problem.