Chapter 03: Matching Completed

After the birthday banquet, Shi Chan’s life remained much the same as before.

In this world, Omegas complete basic education at the academy by the age of eighteen. Those who want to continue studying can enroll in normal universities, while those who don’t want to can simply “return home and get married.”

Perhaps because of Shi Chan’s lifelong display of “coasting along” and “lack of ambition,” the Shi family had long formed the impression that Shi Chan wasn’t particularly bright when it came to academics. Since Shi Chan didn’t want to continue his education, Shi Wen didn’t force him.

Thus, Shi Chan had been “idle” at home for two years, living like many other omegas with no ambitions—his daily routine consisting of eating, drinking, playing, and occasionally cultivating. It couldn’t have been more comfortable.

Although the Shi family’s care and protection of Shi Chan lacked genuine affection, it was something Shi Chan never experienced in his previous life. As a result, he didn’t strongly object to the Shi family using his marriage to form an alliance with another noble family.

In this world, Omega’s, due to biological limitations, treat choosing a partner as a top priority. But Shi Chan came from a cultivation world, where the situation for Ger was even more dire—being used as furnaces by cultivators, absorbed for their essence, with many being kept as slaves. The open attitude in that world was far more brutal than here. In fact, in that world, it was common for a Ger to kill their master if they had the ability, and no one would dare criticize them.

Having come from such an environment, Shi Chan’s standards were quite low. After all, in this world, alphas wouldn’t use omegas as furnaces to drain their cultivation. Who they married didn’t matter much. If it didn’t work out, they could simply separate.

However, while Shi Chan didn’t care much about who his future spouse would be, others certainly did.

Shi Wen and Li Manman had been busy these past few days, sorting through eligible alphas with impressive backgrounds. Meanwhile, the system’s matching process was underway, searching for alphas with high genetic compatibility with Shi Chan.

New news flooded the star network constantly. Xu Lihan’s wedding announcement was quickly overshadowed by reports from the Xi family—news of Xi Ming, the notorious criminal, seriously injuring over ten of his servants and expelling them from the household. People quickly shifted their attention to scolding Xi Ming, and Xu Lihan’s engagement drama was forgotten.

The Xu family also released a statement at the perfect time, clarifying that although Shi Chan and Xu Lihan were not destined to be together, Shi Chan would always be treated like a member of their family. With that, even those who knew about the broken engagement in real life had nothing more to say, and the matter seemed to blow over.

A week later, Shi Chan’s match was finalized, with a notification sent directly to both matched individuals’ personal devices.

Shi Wen, who had been keeping a close eye on Shi Chan’s matching status, was the first to receive the identity of Shi Chan’s match, and his eyes narrowed as he read the name.

“Xi Ming…?” Shi Chan read aloud the name of his matched partner from the system notification displayed on his terminal.

His usually calm gaze wavered slightly.

Xi Ming was not a stranger to Shi Chan. In fact, anyone who paid attention to the empire wouldn’t be unfamiliar with the name.

The “823 Incident” from five years ago was known throughout the empire. The empire’s border was breached, the army was defeated, the insect race invaded, six planets became breeding grounds for the insect race, and countless civilians were killed or injured.

Xi Ming had been the lieutenant general responsible for defending the border during the 823 Incident, the highest-ranking officer on the front lines. It was his series of misjudgments and poor leadership that led to the near-total annihilation of the stationed troops, resulting in that tragic event.

For years, the star network had been filled with curses, insults, and death threats aimed at Xi Ming. Only in the past two years had the public’s outrage slightly subsided.

Yet, despite his “heinous crimes,” Xi Ming never faced any punishment. After returning from the battlefield, his only consequence was stepping down from his post.

There were rumors that Xi Ming’s parents, who had died protecting the empire, had earned such great merit that their legacy shielded him from punishment.

Others speculated that Xi Ming had returned with severe injuries—his legs were crippled, his body was riddled with unhealed radiation wounds, and his mental abilities had been damaged by cosmic radiation. Even if he were sentenced, his condition would require him to spend his time in a prison hospital. So, it was better to let him suffer outside.

The star network buzzed with speculation, but Xi Ming never appeared in public again, with only occasional rumors of his crimes resurfacing to fuel fresh waves of insults.

Shi Chan swiped through Xi Ming’s profile on the system, his gaze landing on the photograph. It seemed to have been taken before the incident—Xi Ming was wearing a dark military uniform, his posture straight and proud, his expression cold and severe. His deep eyes conveyed an imposing aura, even through the photograph.

Shi Chan’s eyes lingered on the photograph, and a look of nostalgia appeared on his face…

Xi Ming had once been the pride of the entire empire, an idol to all young alphas, and the object of admiration for many omegas.

Xi Ming had graduated from the military academy at the youngest age with the highest honors. Right after graduation, he was sent to the front lines, where he completed multiple missions with distinction. He led an ever-growing team and successfully repelled the insect race several times, protecting the nation from the invasion.

His outstanding performance, combined with his handsome appearance, made Xi Ming extremely famous. Every time he returned from a mission, the star network would be flooded with praise and admiration. Back then, eight out of ten of Shi Chan’s omega classmates were in love with Xi Ming, dreaming of marrying the empire’s handsome hero.

It was through Xi Ming that Shi Chan realized the world wasn’t as safe as he had once imagined. He thought life was peaceful because people were fighting bloody battles at the border, keeping danger at bay. Because of this, Shi Chan had a favorable impression of Xi Ming.

That was until the 823 Incident. After that, everyone’s attitude toward Xi Ming changed. Whenever Shi Chan’s classmates mentioned Xi Ming, they couldn’t help but speak with disgust. Feeling uncomfortable, Shi Chan stopped paying attention to the matter.

But he didn’t expect that after five years, the empire still hadn’t convicted Xi Ming. A thought crossed Shi Chan’s mind—citizens with criminal records are not allowed to participate in the matching system. Even those who had committed crimes in the past would be pushed down the list. Since Xi Ming was matched with him so quickly, it meant that he hadn’t been convicted of any crime.

Shi Chan stared at Xi Ming’s picture thoughtfully. Although Xi Ming’s command errors leading to the border’s downfall were widely spread on the star network, it seemed the government had never officially “convicted” him.

Before Shi Chan could ponder further, someone knocked on his door urgently. Glancing at the information on Xi Ming, Shi Chan knew exactly who it was.

“Chanchan!” Li Manman’s emotions were even more intense than last time. Fear and disgust filled her eyes as she expressed her dissatisfaction with the match. “Did you see your match? Don’t be afraid! I don’t understand how Xi Ming can still be eligible for a system match…”

Since they were going to apply for a postponement and find another alpha anyway, it didn’t matter much who Shi Chan was matched with. But the moment Li Manman saw that Shi Chan had been matched with the empire’s notorious criminal, she immediately felt disgusted. “Honestly, even if the royal family was lenient and spared him from punishment, shouldn’t the people below have stripped him of his social benefits? And now, they’re still allowing him to be matched with an omega? Has he forgotten how many people he got killed? How could someone like him ever be worthy of an omega…”

Shi Chan typically didn’t react much when Li Manman spoke, but this time he furrowed his brow slightly.

Li Manman thought he was agreeing with her, so she continued to rant even more passionately.

Shi Chan no longer listened to what she was saying and brushed her off with vague responses, suppressing the unease in his heart. His thoughts shifted to his future after leaving the Shi family…

Over the past few years, Shi Chan had taken on some part-time jobs on the star network, and he’d saved up a decent amount of money. If his new “husband” didn’t provide him with an allowance, he still had some personal savings.

He could continue doing part-time work online to supplement his income. The only thing he wasn’t sure of was whether his future spouse would allow him to go out and have fun like he used to. He had heard that it wasn’t as easy for many omegas to go out after marriage…

Shi Chan blinked. He had once hoped that his new “husband” would be like Xu Lihan, constantly out on missions, leaving him alone at home for long periods. But if his new spouse was Xi Ming…

Shi Chan was still lost in thought when Li Manman finished her rant. She stayed with him a while longer, comforting the “perpetually wronged” Shi Chan before finally leaving.

Shi Chan didn’t pay much attention to her. After she left, he sat on his bed and began cultivating.

For several days, Shi Chan didn’t see Shi Wen or Li Manman, even though she was supposedly home doing nothing like usual. Even during mealtimes, Li Manman made a point to “coincidentally” avoid Shi Chan.

When the butler once again expressionlessly informed him that “Madam had gone out to dine with her friends,” Shi Chan sat alone at the large dining table in silence, becoming increasingly convinced that the two of them were plotting something against him again.

A few days later, just as Shi Chan had managed to regain some inner peace, his personal terminal suddenly rang with an urgent tone, as if foreshadowing the truth behind his earlier suspicions.

“Chanchan!!!” The voice was even more terrifying than when Xu Lihan had broken off their engagement. For the sake of his ears, Shi Chan immediately moved his personal terminal on his wrist further away.

“What’s going on?” he asked. His engagement had just been canceled not long ago, and he had barely left the house since. He wondered what shocking thing those two people, who had been avoiding him, had done this time.

“Chanchan, sob… they’ve gone too far…” The person contacting him was one of his old omega classmates, Lan Ying, who, like Shi Chan, had no ambition. After graduating from the academy, Lan Ying had married an alpha he’d known since childhood, who was now a successful businessman. He often invited Shi Chan out to eat, drink, and gossip.

But this time, it seemed the gossip was about Shi Chan.

“Ying Ying, stop crying. What happened?” Shi Chan’s tone was a bit helpless. Lan Ying was a typical sensitive omega of this era, prone to crying when emotionally agitated but laughing like a warm little sun when happy.

“Your parents… they secretly negotiated terms with the Xi family, voluntarily giving up the opportunity to delay the match. They’re going to marry you off to Xi Ming…” Lan Ying sobbed as he spoke. “Chanchan, I’m so sorry. I just found out about this. If I’d known earlier, I would’ve told you to apply for a delay sooner. Sob…”

Even though Shi Chan was the one who would be marrying Xi Ming, Lan Ying was crying as if he were the one being forced into the marriage.

Shi Chan was momentarily stunned but then shook his head. “Even if I had applied, they would’ve found a way to suppress it for a year and prevent me from getting married. It wouldn’t have worked.”

It was clear that the Xi family had offered something that tempted Shi Wen. While others might at least consider their omega child’s well-being, Shi Wen and Li Manman… The last flicker of warmth in Shi Chan’s heart for them was snuffed out.

---