Chapter 5: The Bathroom

"Hello. I saw the hiring notice outside, so I came to ask about it."

As he spoke, Song Qiu pushed aside the thick foliage.

The hidden space behind it revealed a completely different scene.

A charming Omega woman was reclining sideways on a hammock covered in flower petals.

She had a graceful figure and wore a white camisole. Her curly brown hair flowed all the way to her ankles. Every movement exuded elegance and allure.

When she saw Song Qiu, she froze for a moment.

Then her eyes lit up.

"You're the one applying to be my employee?"

"Yes."

Song Qiu nodded.

"Are there any requirements?"

"If it's you, then there are no requirements."

She chuckled softly.

That easy?

Song Qiu was surprised.

"Don't I need an interview or something?"

"No need."

The Omega smiled mysteriously.

"You and I are kindred spirits."

Song Qiu didn't really believe in things like fate, but he was already satisfied just to have found a job.

After all, he was a fake Beta with no money and no connections.

"I'm a student at the First Military Academy. I can only come on weekends. Is that okay?"

The Omega seemed to hear something amusing and laughed even harder.

"Of course~"

Although Song Qiu thought this shop owner was a little strange, he still wanted the job.

"Then... what's the hourly wage?"

"How much do you want?"

After a moment's thought, he cautiously asked,

"Thirty Star Coins an hour?"

Before coming, he'd checked other job listings.

Most paid between thirty and forty coins per hour.

"Sounds good."

The Omega nodded.

"Then let's start right now."

The job came so suddenly that Song Qiu was caught off guard.

"Right now? What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"What do you think a milk tea shop sells?"

The woman yawned lazily.

"Stop standing there. There's a book at the counter. Read it yourself."

"I'm going to sleep."

"And don't disturb me."

Everything happened so quickly that by the time Song Qiu recovered from the shock, he was already standing behind the counter wearing an apron.

He found the book the owner mentioned.

"How to Make Delicious Milk Tea Using Mutated Plants."

And so Song Qiu began teaching himself how to make milk tea.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

After an entire afternoon of trial and error, he finally succeeded in creating something that resembled proper milk tea.

All the catastrophic failures had ended up in his stomach.

Still, even the bad ones tasted better than nutrient solution.

Not long afterward, the shop finally received customers.

Two female Alphas entered.

Their orders arrived through the terminal system, and Song Qiu quickly prepared them.

With a smile, he set down a tray.

Inside the glass cups was a dark green liquid, each topped with a spiral vine-like straw.

"Hello, your Exploding Ink Tea is ready. Please enjoy."

The short-haired Alpha accepted it with a blush.

After Song Qiu walked away, she couldn't help whispering,

"That Beta is so handsome."

"Control your pheromones."

Her companion laughed.

"The scent is getting too strong."

"So what?"

The Alpha shrugged.

"Betas can't smell pheromones anyway. Besides, there's nobody else here."

"True."

Her companion sighed regretfully.

"It's a shame, though. How can someone that good-looking be a Beta?"

"No gland. Can't smell pheromones."

"If only he were an Omega."

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

When Song Qiu finished work and returned to the dormitory, it was already 9:30 p.m.

The room was quiet.

Mu Qianling was showering.

Shu Dian was lying on his bed playing with his terminal.

Xi Zhou wore nothing but a pair of shorts while lifting dumbbells.

As soon as Song Qiu entered and saw Xi Zhou's impressive physique, he looked away enviously.

I wonder when I'll have a body like that.

Noticing his gaze, Xi Zhou grabbed the smallest dumbbell from the workout equipment and handed it over.

Even the smallest one weighed twenty kilograms.

"Here. Give it a try."

"Okay."

Song Qiu accepted it.

To his surprise, it felt incredibly light.

He weighed it in his hand.

"Do you have anything heavier?"

Xi Zhou raised an eyebrow and tossed him a larger one.

Song Qiu tested it.

Still easy.

Xi Zhou threw another.

Song Qiu caught it.

Again and again.

Eventually, the situation evolved into Song Qiu casually walking around the dormitory carrying a barbell loaded with one hundred kilograms of weights.

Song Qiu's face was full of excitement.

He never knew he was this strong!

Could this be the transmigrator's cheat ability?

"Ha!"

With a shout, he lifted the barbell one-handed.

His face wasn't even red.

His breathing remained steady.

"Not bad."

Even Shu Dian became interested.

He jumped down from his bed, grabbed a dumbbell, and tossed it over.

"Catch!"

But the moment he released it, the dumbbell tilted off course.

Instead of flying toward Song Qiu, it shot toward the bathroom door.

At that exact moment—

The bathroom door opened.

Mu Qianling walked out.

"Brother Mu, watch out!"

Shu Dian cried out in horror.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

A flying dumbbell was hardly worth Mu Qianling's attention.

He casually stepped aside.

But then he collided with something soft.

No.

Someone.

Having just finished showering, he was wearing only a T-shirt, making every touch far more noticeable.

A cool, sweet fragrance wrapped around him.

The warmth of another person's body spread through the areas where their skin touched.

In an instant, it felt as though a fire had ignited inside his chest.

Heat surged through him.

Half his body trembled.

Even his soul seemed to tingle.

!!

Mu Qianling shuddered violently.

So did Song Qiu.

But for a completely different reason.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Moments earlier, Song Qiu had seen the dumbbell flying toward someone.

Instinctively, he rushed forward to help.

He never expected the two of them to crash directly into each other.

Everything happened in a flash.

The impact left Song Qiu dizzy.

The force of colliding with an Alpha was far beyond what he could withstand.

To stop himself from falling, he instinctively wrapped his arms around Mu Qianling's waist.

To everyone else, however...

It looked very much like Song Qiu had thrown himself into Mu Qianling's arms.

The other two roommates were completely stunned.

When Song Qiu finally regained his senses, his face was pressed against Mu Qianling's neck.

His gaze drifted downward.

Mu Qianling's white T-shirt was still damp from the shower.

The outline of his broad chest was faintly visible beneath the fabric.

Song Qiu swallowed nervously.

"Um..."

He spoke carefully.

"Sorry. I didn't do it on purpose."

Mu Qianling's index finger twitched.

He said nothing.

Song Qiu could feel the other man's body becoming even stiffer.

Half a second later, Song Qiu scrambled away with both hands raised.

"Can you at least say something?"

He asked cautiously.

"If you want to punish me, I'll accept it."

The warm softness that had been pressed against him was gone.

Yet the lingering sensation only made the blood beneath Mu Qianling's skin surge more violently.

Lowering his eyes, he finally said:

"Okay."

Then he turned around and walked back into the bathroom.

The sound of running water soon followed.

Okay?

What did okay mean?

The dormitory fell silent for several seconds.

Shu Dian looked at Song Qiu with the eyes of someone offering final condolences.

"You're finished."

"But I—"

"Take care."

Xi Zhou sympathetically patted his shoulder.

"I've known Brother Mu since we were kids."

"The last person who threw themselves into his arms like that would have grass two meters high growing on their grave by now."

"But I was trying to save him."

Song Qiu looked as if he were about to cry.

If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have interfered.

"That's what they all said."

Xi Zhou spoke with the confidence of someone who had seen it many times before.

That was true.

An Alpha as powerful as Mu Qianling didn't need saving.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Mu Qianling's parents were said to be the greatest researchers on Blue Star.

They specialized in studying mutant species.

The medicines they developed were critical to the survival of the planet.

Meanwhile, Mu Qianling himself was District One's only double S-rank Alpha.

A specially protected prodigy.

Exceptionally powerful.

Countless scenes from novels Song Qiu had read flashed through his mind.

I'm doomed.

Would Mu Qianling use his family's influence to suppress a poor, powerless Beta like him?

Get him expelled from the First Military Academy and sent back to scavenging in the slums?

Or simply dispose of him on the spot?

In a daze, Song Qiu climbed into bed.

He tucked the blanket tightly around himself, sealing all four corners without a gap.

Then he lay there quietly, waiting for whatever punishment was about to come.