Chapter 29: Because you’re just as hopelessly in love with him, aren’t you?

The room froze. Every single pair of eyes locked onto Shao Ye, stunned into silence.

His head hung low, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. His lips trembled, as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out.

“Sir, you seem... conflicted,” Ye Li’s voice cut through the tension, clinical and detached. “Want me to do the honors and spill it for you?”

Shao Ye gave a barely perceptible nod.

In an instant, a holo-screen materialized, displaying a side-by-side comparison: one frame captured the masked figure’s unmasking, the other showed their mission target.

“Subject E001,” Ye Li announced coldly, “is our target for this Dust Zone operation—Shao Ye’s sister, Shao Lan.”

The words hit like a thunderclap. Lai Xueluan, who had been reaching for a glass of water to hand Shao Ye, shot up from her seat. The glass slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floor.

“What?!”

Yu Mo’s voice cracked, sharp and ragged, like it had been ripped straight out of his soul.

“This—this can’t be real,” he muttered, every syllable strained with disbelief.

But the truth was out there now, and there was no taking it back.

Shao Ye stood there, drowning in silence, the weight of it threatening to crush him. All he could muster was a hollow, useless apology.

But words don’t fix betrayal.

Yu Mo’s face drained of color, his expression twisting into something between fury and grief. In a flash, he grabbed Shao Ye by the collar, yanking him close. His voice shook with rage, his eyes burning with raw pain.

“So you’re telling me,” he growled, “that you had the shot. You could’ve killed her. And instead, you just let her walk away?”

His voice cracked again, his emotions spilling over. “She killed Yas! She nearly took out the boss! She’s been working with the rebels, murdering innocent people in the Eighth Sector! And you let her go?!”

Yu Han stepped forward, prying Yu Mo’s fingers off Shao Ye’s shirt. “Calm down, Yu Mo. Think about what Shao Ye’s going through.”

“Think about him?!” Yu Mo shot back, his voice breaking. “Who the hell is thinking about Yas?! About the people she butchered?! She might be Shao Ye’s sister, but Yas was our brother! We fought and bled together! And now you want to let the killer’s family off the hook?!”

Tears welled up in Yu Mo’s eyes, his voice hitching as he finally broke. He buried his face in his brother’s shoulder, his grief spilling over into silent, shaking sobs.

Nobody else said a word. Nobody even looked at Shao Ye anymore.

And Shao Ye? He knew it. Knew there was nothing left to say that would make any of this better.

They had trusted him. They’d risked their lives to help him track down his sister, knowing full well how dangerous it would be. And in the end? His sister had slaughtered their closest friend.

Who the hell could forgive something like that?

Shao Ye staggered back a few steps, his legs trembling beneath him as if they were about to give out. He glanced toward Lu Zhanxing, who stood silently by, his presence steady but distant.

That last “sorry” echoed in Shao Ye’s mind, followed by the memory of Lu Zhanxing forcing him to stay behind at the lab entrance.

Lu Zhanxing must have known. He’d figured it out long before anyone else—Shao Lan was the masked figure.

Maybe Lu Zhanxing had kept Shao Ye outside to spare him from seeing her like that. Or maybe it was because he knew what Shao Lan had become.

A top-tier Alpha like Lu Zhanxing? Even with the pheromone suppression Shao Lan used, there’s no way he didn’t have the skill to take her down.

And yet, here they were.

Just because she was Shao Ye’s sister—and he knew how much she meant to him—he hesitated for a split second before pulling the trigger on the enemy. And that split second? It was all it took to blow everything to hell.

Now look at the mess.

So, as Lu Zhanxing felt consciousness slipping away, all he could do was choke out a faint, broken “I’m sorry” to Shao Ye. Sorry he couldn’t bring his sister back. Sorry he’d failed to keep his promise. Sorry he didn’t stop it when Boss Bai first dragged her to that damned lab.

Hell, maybe if he hadn’t been such a coward—if he’d just blown his cover and spilled the truth to Shao Ye back then—none of this would’ve happened. Maybe Shao Lan wouldn’t be Enigma now, twisted into something unrecognizable.

Meanwhile, halfway through their retreat, the fighter jet blared out an oil tank warning.

Fuel’s running low. Great.

Lai Xueluan, at the controls, clenched her teeth. She was helpless too, and she hated it. They sent out an SOS to Imperial Star right away, but the cavalry would need at least seven or eight hours to get there, and hauling their asses back to the capital in a larger ship would take even longer.

And Lu Zhanxing? He was hanging on by a thread. Every second that ticked by was another second closer to death.

Ye Li kept a close eye on his vitals, but out in the vast emptiness of space, there was nothing they could do but sit and wait. Agonizing hours dragged on until the crew finally settled into a grim silence.

Yu Han broke it first, walking over to Shao Ye. “You should let Ye Li check you out too. That episode you had back at the lab, doubling over in pain like that? Doesn’t look like some random freak thing to me.”

Ye Li chimed in, clinical and detached. “Mr. Shao’s physically fine. No underlying illnesses detected.”

Then came the kicker. “What happened in the lab was a psychosomatic reaction. His wedding ring—designed to sync with Officer Lu’s—triggered it. It’s a failsafe. Whenever there’s danger or an intense emotional surge, the connection lets one feel what the other’s going through.”

Shao Ye blinked, lifting his hand. He’d forgotten he was still wearing the damn thing—the wedding ring Lu Zhanxing had given him. He didn’t even feel it anymore, like it had fused with him, part of his body now.

Yu Han snorted. “You barely know the guy a few months, and he locks you down with that ring already.”

“Huh?” Shao Ye stared at him, confused as hell.

Yu Han sighed, leaning against the wall. “Did he ever tell you about his mother?”

Shao Ye nodded. “Yeah. He mentioned it.”

“Well,” Yu Han muttered, voice low and rough, “that ring? He spent half his life designing it. Started after his mom died.”

“See, our boss—he’s terrified of turning into his old man. Cold, detached, leaving his Omega to fend for herself. That ring? It’s his way of making sure he never does. He wanted to feel everything his Omega feels—their love, their hate, their pain, their joy. To be right there with them, no matter what.”

“But don’t forget who he is. A Lu family heir. Top-tier Alpha. A noble among nobles. If he wasn’t strong enough, his marriage would’ve been nothing but a pawn in some power game.”

“Tradition says he’s supposed to marry some fancy Omega from the same circle, crank out a kid, and keep the bloodline strong. But with his messed-up pheromones? The family would’ve scoured the galaxy for the perfect match to breed with him, no matter the cost.”

“And you know who gets chewed up and spit out in all that bullshit?” Yu Han’s voice dropped, sharp as a blade. “The innocent Omegas. Every damn time.”

“Boss has been fighting tooth and nail to free Omegas, to give them basic human rights. He’s pissed off a lot of people doing it.”

“And honestly? His goal’s dead simple. He just wanted to protect his Omega. That’s it.”

“But something that straightforward? In this messed-up alliance, it’s revolutionary. A war that never ends.”

“It’s noble, yeah. But it takes balls of steel to keep at it.”

“You get that, don’t you, Shao Ye?”

“When O'Dell Academy told him they found an Omega with a high compatibility rate, his first thought wasn’t relief. Wasn’t hope for curing his pheromone disorder, either.”

“His first thought was dread—dread that this would be the start of another Omega’s misery.”

“You know what he said once? This ring? He’d only give it to someone he’s willing to protect with his life. Someone he wants by his side for the rest of his damn days.”

“And maybe, just maybe, the universe decided to cut a good man some slack. Because look where that ring is now—on your finger. Like it was meant to be.”

Yu Han exhaled deeply, clapped Shao Ye on the shoulder, and added, “Yu Mo was too hot-headed earlier. Don’t take it personally.”

Shao Ye rubbed the ring on his finger, his voice low. “I won’t...”

Yu Han nodded, turning to leave, but stopped halfway. He glanced back.

“Shao Ye, you know something? I envy you. To be loved so fiercely by someone like him.”

Shao Ye looked at him silently.

Yu Han smirked. “And I envy him too, for finding someone like you.”

Shao Ye blinked, then asked slowly, “Why... why would anyone love someone like me?”

He couldn’t compare to Lu Zhanxing.

Not even close.

A dirt-dwelling nobody from the slums. No manners, no skills. And the reason Lu Zhanxing got hurt in the first place.

Would Lu Zhanxing even give him a second glance without the pheromone compatibility?

Yu Han just said, “Why? Because you love him just as deeply.”

With that, Yu Han walked out.

Shao Ye sat there for a long, long time.

His clear, bright eyes were like a lake kissed by the gentle breeze of early spring.

And he whispered, almost to himself, “…Love him deeply?”

He couldn’t understand why everyone who saw them thought they were perfect together. Soulmates.

He was straight, damn it. Back then, Lu Zhanxing was just his buddy. His bro-friend.

And Lu Zhanxing? Did he even really like him?

What was there to like about Shao Ye, other than the high compatibility?

His mind drifted to the words of his therapist. He started to question himself.

What did he feel for Lu Zhanxing? Brotherhood? Or… something else?

He couldn’t find the answer.

Quietly, he asked, “Ye Li, what does it even feel like to love someone?”

Ye Li, the AI, responded in its usual calm tone, “Sir, I am an AI. I cannot fully comprehend human emotions.”

Shao Ye snorted. “Figures. Stupid question to ask you.”

“Sir,” Ye Li continued, “I do know that Commander Lu loves you deeply. If you wish to understand love, perhaps you should recall the resonance you shared during that crisis in the lab. I believe that is love in its purest form.”

Shao Ye placed a hand on his chest.

That overwhelming ache, like dying yet clinging to life at the same time. That desperate, all-consuming need to return to him, no matter the cost. That inexplicable happiness, just thinking about his smile, warm as sunlight.

Was that what it meant to love someone?

He asked again, “Ye Li… what does Lu Zhanxing even see in me? Is pheromone compatibility really that powerful?”

“Sir, pheromones are a biological response. Love is a psychological one. And with your gland defect, you cannot emit pheromones that would attract Commander Lu.”

Shao Ye’s eyes snapped open, his breath catching in his throat.