translator: baumkuchen editors: serefina, glitterypanda
That night, after the promise was made, Ji Zuoshan didnât sleep at all. He thought about a lot of things.
In the mecha academy, no one dared to bully Ji Zuoshan.
Of course, it wasnât because Ji Zuoshan was tough. It was because Zhan Yanchao didnât allow him to fight with anyone at all, to the point that everyone joked behind their back that Zhan Yanchao wasnât raising a human sacrifice, but was raising a little wife.
Since he was the Omega Zhan Yanchao had set himself on long ago, of course no one dared to touch him.
There were, of course, ugly words and speculations, but whenever Ji Zuoshan heard them, he never took them to heart.
Heâd been hearing barrowloads of ugly words from Zhan Yanchao for so many years now, a few comments that barely brushed the skin were nothing.
Every time he heard those sarcastic little barbs of âlittle Young Masterâ, Ji Zuoshan would always think, not without a tinge of pride, Yanchao promised me that I wonât be a human sacrifice.
Because he had been given hope, Ji Zuoshan also had many thoughts he shouldnât have had.
Zhan Yanchao liked him. This, Ji Zuoshan could confirm.
After all, other than him, practically no one else of his age was willing to tolerate his horrible temper.
This kind of being each otherâs âonly oneâ, the tyrannical Zhan Yanchao liked it very much, and found it very suitable.
This personâs love and hate were both incredibly intense. When he hated, he hated so much that he would want nothing more than to tear the flesh off Ji Zuoshanâs body. When he loved, he would then become clingy, sticking himself to Ji Zuoshan and force Ji Zuoshan with threats to say how much he liked him.
Ji Zuoshanâs ears reddened slightly. He said, âDonât fuss.â
Hanging off of him, Zhan Yanchao bit his ear. âIâll stop when you say it.â
Ji Zuoshan thought for a moment. âI like you as much as I like my siblings.â
Zhan Yanchao glared. âSurnamed Ji, youâre just asking to get lashed, arenât you?â
Ji Zuoshan had no choice but to say. âI like you more than I like mechas.â
Zhan Yanchao laughed loudly, âNot enough. Not enough not enough not enough.â
Ji Zuoshan, given no other choice with how the other was wrapped around him, thought for another moment, then replied, âI like you more than I like myself.â
After that, Zhan Yanchao wrapped him in a hug and kissed him, kissing him until Ji Zuoshan couldnât make any more noise.
Every single thing Ji Zuoshan had said was true.
In his heart, he himself was of course placed last, mechas were number two, and his siblings and Zhan Yanchao were the ones he valued most.
He thought, if he could become a top Alpha, he would be able to leave the Zhan home and build two gardens bigger than the Zhan home. One would be for his siblings, and the other would be for Zhan Yanchao, to avoid the two fighting.
He, Ji Zuoshan, didnât have that big a dream. He just wanted to be on equal footing with the person he liked. As they shopped together in the winter, they would share a scarf, and share a baked sweet potato.
......Just like what heâd seen when he was younger as he held his older sisterâs hand, following behind his Beta parents on the streets.
His promises were like mountains, so he had thought Zhan Yanchaoâs promise to him would be like a mountain too.
Thinking of those past, unrealistic dreams of his, Ji Zuoshanâs cheeks burned.
But what other choice did he have.
He had been bought as a human sacrifice for Zhan Yanchao. Over these few years, the Zhan family had taken care of his younger siblings and his life. How could he say that he didnât want to do it now?
Ji Zuoshan had known the rules of the mecha tournament for a long time.
Winning or losing decided who had ownership of the energy, and how much by which one had won or lost decided how much energy was to be transferred.
The amount of energy that could be obtained from a crushing defeat, a decisive victory or a draw was completely different.
Sometimes, one loss was enough to result in the majority of the energy in oneâs body transferred away.
Therefore, in the tournament, as long as one side had the advantage over the other, they would want nothing more than to pressure the other until they were half-dead. And those who were pushed into a disadvantage would also do their absolute best. Even if they managed to get it to a draw before admitting defeat, it was much better than losing miserably.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
After all, the slightest difference was like the difference between heaven and earth. So in every tournament, there would inevitably be deaths.
Those they were called soldiers were cultivated in these kinds of battles that could determine oneâs life or death.
Having lost his hope, Ji Zuoshan just carried out what Zhan Yanchao asked of him in the mecha tournament, winning dully and unenthusiastically.
Zhan Yanchao was even quite unhappy. âWhy arenât you crushing them? I wanted you to give them a shock.â
Ji Zuoshan used a dull tone to hide his resignation, âIf my performance is too outstanding, then when the time comes and I lose to you, they would think I purposely let you win and would doubt your abilities.â
Actually, even without Ji Zuoshan letting him defeat him, Zhan Yanchao was also a very remarkable mecha pilot.
Zhan Yanchao of course didnât want to be misunderstood by others. Pulling Ji Zuoshan into his embrace, he curled Ji Zuoshanâs hair around his index finger and murmured, âIâve also taken pains. Isnât it because Iâm scared youâll run?â
Ji Zuoshan asked back, âWhy would I run?â
Zhan Yanchao said, âIf you become an Alpha, wouldnât you run?â
Ji Zuoshan, âI wouldnât run.â
Zhan Yanchao slung his arms around his neck. He snickered, âIâd be a fool to believe you. All Alphas are ambitious. If that time came, youâd definitely run so fast I wouldnât even be able to catch your shadow. If you become my Omega and I mark you, thereâll be nowhere for you to go. Youâll be mine for the rest of your life.â
Zhan Yanchao had been born lacking this cord called âtrustâ, and Ji Zuoshan had no way of making Zhan Yanchao believe him, believe that his promise was true.
It wasnât like he could rip out his heart for Zhan Yanchao to see.
He could only dully win all his matches, until he met Zhan Yanchao.
Even Zhan Yanchao hadnât expected Ji Zuoshan to let him have his way to this extent. Mechas were naturally heavy. Ji Zuoshan only gave him a single gap, yet three of his ribs ended up broken.
But he still forced himself to bear it, never showing even a hint of defeat. Even as his fortunes declined, he still wouldnât admit defeat. Against reason, he acted exactly the same as he had in his previous matches. Anyone would think that Ji Zuoshanâs defeat was reasonable and fair.
Only after fighting for a long time did Zhan Yanchao realise something wasnât right. He took the initiative to stop, got out of his mecha and slipped into Ji Zuoshanâs.
Upon feeling his sunken-in ribcage, Zhan Yanchao slapped him across the face in rage. âAre you crazy?! Youâre already this hurt, why didnât you call for me to stop?!â
Ji Zuoshan lay in Zhan Yanchaoâs arms. As he endured the slow dissipation of his energy and spiritual force, he thought, that debt from all those years of kindness, itâs all been paid off now.
After close to a year of rest, Ji Zuoshan degenerated into an Omega.
The smell of his pheromones was the light scent of red wine, with a note of orange mixed in.
On the other hand, Zhan Yanchao was so angry he spent every day swearing at others.
His pheromones had the slightly sweet scent of milk, smelling especially unintimidating.
However, there were still a lot of benefits to being an Alpha. Zhan Yanchao marked Ji Zuoshan practically the moment he was able to. He spent every day hanging onto him, claiming that he wanted his scent to move over to him.
After becoming an Omega, Ji Zuoshanâs body was simply feeble compared to before. He could only let Zhan Yanchao rub him, and when he received the occasional lashes from Zhan Yanchaoâs whip, the intense pain was simply impossible for him to bear.
Every time they joined, when he couldnât bear it anymore, Ji Zuoshan would say to Zhan Yanchao, it really hurts, slow down.
Zhan Yanchao said, âWhy are you being so unreasonable? You werenât like this before.â
Even though he would pay a little attention to his strength afterwards, those words made Ji Zuoshan feel utterly powerless.
Indeed...... he hadnât been like this before.
A little more than half a year after they got together, the Zerg swarm invasion broke out once more.
When the overwhelming mass of armoured insects attacked, the city turned into a battleground. Broken and burning pieces of steel limbs and mechas melted into one, making it impossible to distinguish between humans and insects.
Zhan Yanchao of course needed to go to the frontlines, but he had yet another one of his untimely âbrilliantâ ideas.
He said to Ji Zuoshan, âCome with me.â
Ji Zuoshan didnât know whether to laugh or cry. âI canât.â
He had originally planned on retreating with his younger siblings to the underground fortresses, where there were abundant resources and resting points for Omegas to gather, which could provide comprehensive services for these Omegas with low combat power.
Zhan Yanchao said, âIâll send your younger siblings away, you come with me.â
Realising that Zhan Yanchao wasnât joking, Ji Zuoshan truly didnât know how to talk him down. âWhat would I do if I went with you? I currently canât help you anymore.â
Zhan Yanchao said, as if it was obvious, âI want to see you ah.â
To Zhan Yanchao, Ji Zuoshan had long since become a basic life necessity.
On the battlefield, how could he not bring his towels and toothbrush?
Ji Zuoshan said no, and Mister Zhan also didnât agree. In response to this, Zhan Yanchaoâs temper flared up, saying that if Ji Zuoshan wasnât going then he wouldnât go.
Ji Zuoshan said, helpless, âYou canât not go, thatâs unreasonable.â
Zhan Yanchao was filled with the power of shamelessness. âIâve done a lot of unreasonable things.â
Upon realising that this person wasnât going to listen to sense at all, Ji Zuoshan could only give in, and at the same time, pack a huge amount of suppressants in his luggage.
On this planet, Omegaâs heats came on a monthly basis. Ji Zuoshan had just had his last heat, but he still needed to be prepared.
Out of every tragedy that occurred in this world, most stemmed from this moment of inaction.
sere: OOOOK so my least favorite people are arrogant spoiled brats. I hope CXC smashes his ass