After Su Zinan’s actions against Yun Xingze were exposed, those who had supported him were deeply disappointed. Especially those who had criticized Yun Xingze in the black posts Su Zinan had made. They now realized they had been manipulated.
The flood of posts titled “Su Zinan, Get Out of Starsea Military Academy!” made Su Zinan’s breath hitch. With trembling hands, he clicked on one at random, only to find the replies unanimously condemning him.
“I must have been blind to think Su Zinan was the most refreshing and genuine Omega. I even told my partner to learn from him. Now I feel sick just thinking about it.”
“How could Su Zinan be so hypocritical? Using alt accounts to post so many smear threads about Yun Xingze while pretending to be an uninvolved bystander more like a ‘Yellow Spring’ bystander!”
“Who said he was the model of the new independent Omega? He’s nothing but a scheming villain!”
“All those posts were just to prop up his own image. What a drama queen. Stop calling him the pride of Omegas, he’s the disgrace of Starsea Military Academy!”
“Fabricating accusations and reporting people; how low can you go? And I actually praised him before? Disgusting!”
“Looking back, Su Zinan is just a master manipulator, fooling so many people.”
“He always made a point of calling himself the ‘brother of Alphas’ now that phrase makes me cringe.”
“Turns out he only made the substitute team because Chi Yu went easy on him. What a joke. He should just withdraw already.”
This forum had once praised Su Zinan as the vanguard of Omegas in the academy, a role model for all. Now, these scathing words shattered his composure.
Su Zinan shut off his terminal, his eyes red as he glared at Yun Xingze, voice trembling. “Yun Xingze, how dare you do this to me? Chi Yu is the son of a general, he’ll fix this for me. He’ll help me.”
“Chi Yu?” Yun Xingze raised a brow. “I think he has his own problems to deal with first.”
While going easy in a mech competition could be handled leniently, once the entire student body took notice, the consequences would be severe.
Speak of the devil, Chi Yu appeared backstage with a grim expression, striding toward Su Zinan and Yun Xingze.
Seeing Chi Yu, Su Zinan immediately switched personas, turning to Yun Xingze. “Junior Xingze, was this really necessary? Just because I have more supporters than you, you had to smear me out of jealousy.”
Before he could finish, a sharp slap landed on his face.
It was from Chi Yu.
Su Zinan staggered, clutching his cheek in shock. Yun Xingze and Lu Ranxu were equally stunned.
Su Zinan stared at Chi Yu, disbelief in his eyes. “Brother Yu… You hit me for Yun Xingze?!”
“Only today did I realize why so many people at the academy held grudges against Xingze,” Chi Yu said coldly, his expression dark. “I always thought it was his own fault. But now I see, it was all your doing, Su Zinan.”
He practically spat out the last words.
On Yun Xingze’s very first day at the academy, someone had joked in front of Chi Yu that Yun Xingze had “married into the military school.”
After Yun Xingze completed his physical and mental aptitude tests, his results quickly spread, making him the laughingstock of everyone. Many went up to Chi Yu, saying, “Your fiancé came from the Omega Academy, didn’t he?”
Later, when Yun Xingze proposed breaking off the engagement to Chi Yu, the mocking phrase “Yun Xingze got returned like defective goods” became widely circulated among the second-year students. Chi Yu himself was reluctant to bring up the topic and found it strange why so many people knew about it.
One major reason Chi Yu disliked Yun Xingze was because everyone around him despised Yun Xingze. As a result, whenever he walked with Yun Xingze, he felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.
And all of this was actually orchestrated by Su Zinan.
“Brother Yu, do you actually like this guy?” Su Zinan’s tears fell as he pointed at Yun Xingze. “Why are you defending an Omega like him?!”
Chi Yu pressed his lips tightly together, his gaze icy as he stared at Su Zinan.
Su Zinan continued, “Brother Yu, we’ve been teammates since enrollment. The first time we teamed up, you said we had the best synergy, that our bond as teammates was so strong…”
“Then why did you do it?” Chi Yu clenched his fists and shouted, “Why did you treat Yun Xingze like that?! I thought you were different from other Omegas, pure-hearted and easy to get along with. But I never expected you to be so malicious!”
Su Zinan trembled at the outburst. He bit his lip, closed his eyes, and large teardrops kept falling, making him look pitiful yet he didn’t answer the question.
At that moment, Luo Wenchuan and Ke Lei arrived.
Yun Xingze watched Su Zinan’s crying act coldly. “Finished with your performance?”
“I’m sorry, Yun Xingze. I apologize to you,” Su Zinan said hoarsely, feigning weakness. “I did post those threads, but I never outright badmouthed you—I only raised questions. If you check carefully, you’ll see I never insulted you. There’s no need for you to treat me like this.”
“Enough!” Lu Ranxu cut him off angrily. “Su Zinan, you deliberately posted those threads to incite others to slander Xingze. You must’ve been thrilled watching them tear him apart, weren’t you?!”
“Even so, Yun Xingze has already retaliated against me!” Su Zinan gasped between sobs. “He exposed my private matters on the forum, and now everyone is cyberbullying me! If this was his goal, he must be satisfied now?!”
A voice interjected from the side: “I posted those threads. It has nothing to do with Junior Xingze.”
The speaker was Ke Lei.
Yun Xingze was stunned.
“I thought you’d only posted those disgusting threads, but then I found more evidence in Da Chuan’s room,” Ke Lei said, glaring at Su Zinan with a frown. “Su Zinan, the proof of you framing Junior Xingze is undeniable. And last year’s competition, our team always suspected Chi Yu went easy on you. Now we’ve found solid evidence for that too.”
Ke Lei’s voice dripped with disgust as he enunciated each word: “So I believed it was necessary to expose these truths to everyone. That’s why I posted them on the forum without consulting Junior Yun Xingze.”
Ke Lei said this because Luo Wenchuan had mentioned that he didn’t want Yun Xingze to be dragged into forum controversies or suffer any undeserved harm again.
“So, it was you who banned my account.” Su Zinan’s fingers tightened. “Ke Lei, we’re both on the school team. How could you betray your own like this?”
“If I hadn’t banned your account, that post slandering Yun Xingze for releasing pheromones backstage to seduce Alphas would’ve spread long ago,” Ke Lei said coldly.
Hearing this, Chi Yu turned to Su Zinan in shock: “You actually planned to post something like that? Didn’t we agree this would stay private between the three of us? That no one else would ever know?!”
Su Zinan’s face turned ashen, genuine regret finally surfacing in his eyes as he realized the gravity of the situation.
Tears streaming down his face like pear blossoms in rain, Su Zinan asked Yun Xingze: “Junior Xingze, what do you want from me to be satisfied?”
“Expulsion. Deportation back to the wasteland planet.”
The speaker was Luo Wenchuan.
His narrow eyes fixed on Su Zinan as he delivered these brief yet bone-chilling words.
Su Zinan’s legs gave way upon hearing this, nearly collapsing. Clutching Chi Yu’s arm, he trembled: “Brother Yu, I don’t want to be expelled! Don’t want to be sent back to the wasteland. Brother Yu, save me.”
All eyes in the room turned to Chi Yu and Su Zinan.
“Brother Yu, remember our first competition in Rainbow Rain Forest?” Su Zinan swallowed hard, looking at Chi Yu with hopeful eyes. “When that starbeast nearly bit you, I took the hit for you. And during the national championships, our perfect teamwork in the 3v3 match. How I destroyed that Comet mech trying to ambush you—we crushed the opponents.”
Su Zinan played the emotional card with pitiful vulnerability.
Chi Yu regarded him coldly, closing his eyes briefly before stating: “Su Zinan, kowtow ten times to Yun Xingze. Now.”
Su Zinan never expected Chi Yu to be so merciless.
His eyes, already swollen from crying, had never felt such humiliation not even after losing the match.
Yet he complied.
With a thud, Su Zinan knelt before Yun Xingze, suppressing tears, fists clenched tightly. Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and knocked his forehead against the floor: “I’m sorry, Junior Xingze.”
As Su Zinan performed his kowtow apology, a figure rushed backstage, helping Su Zinan up while glaring at Yun Xingze: “Fellow Omega, why are you being so cruel to Su Su?”
Yun Xingze looked bewildered at the stranger, asking Lu Ranxu: “Who’s this?”
“No idea…”
“He Haoming, this doesn’t concern you!” Ke Lei widened his eyes. “After what Su Zinan did, you’d actually defend him?”
He Haoming, another former school team member, was the Alpha closest to Su Zinan besides Chi Yu.
“I know he did wrong, but he’s still an Omega,” He Haoming said to Yun Xingze. “Moreover, Su Su came from the wastelands—just like me. The journey from those distant, backward planets to the imperial capital is life-threatening. How can you send him back?”
Su Zinan held back tears as he looked at He Haoming: “Senior Haoming, I made a mistake and should face the consequences.” His voice was filled with infinite grievance.
He Haoming’s eyes showed a trace of pity as he turned to Yun Xingze and Lu Ranxu, saying coldly, “Omegas already have it hard enough in military school, especially those from barren planets. Why must you two go this far?”
Lu Ranxu was so angry he wanted to kick him: “What the hell are you talking about with this Omega nonsense? Su Zinan slandered Yun Xingze he should be groveling in apology no matter what!”
“Junior Yun, Su Su only tarnished your reputation,” He Haoming frowned deeply. “But you’ve already destroyed his mech, and now he faces expulsion back to a barren planet! Do you have any idea how devastating that is for an Omega?!”
Luo Wenchuan furrowed his brows and stepped forward to speak, but Yun Xingze beat him to it: “If you truly believe Omegas have it hard in military school, then stop shielding Su Zinan. Every Omega who painstakingly builds their reputation in the arena if that reputation is destroyed by someone like Su Zinan, it’s an injustice to all the other Omegas who compete honestly and work hard.”
Yun Xingze had always maintained a calm and composed demeanor, even when dealing with idiots like Chi Yu—at most, he’d offer some sarcasm.
But He Haoming’s actions ignited a fire of anger in his heart.
During the grueling pain of mental training, facing constant skepticism from Alphas both on and off the field, or having to compete despite the effects of his heat Yun Xingze understood all too well the limitations Omegas faced in military school.
But that was no excuse to indulge Su Zinan.
“You don’t have to keep groveling in apology,” Yun Xingze said coldly, staring straight at Su Zinan, enunciating each word. “I don’t need such a cheap apology. But you must take responsibility for everything you’ve done.”
The last four words landed like a hammer, making Su Zinan tremble slightly.
In that moment, Su Zinan seemed to forget that Yun Xingze was also an Omega.
In Yun Xingze’s eyes, he saw a resolve, decisiveness, and ruthlessness he had never witnessed before.
After speaking, Yun Xingze didn’t even bother looking at Su Zinan again and simply walked out of the backstage area.
“The school has formed an investigation team regarding you and Chi Yu,” Luo Wenchuan said coolly, looking down at Su Zinan. “Both of you, come with me.”
Su Zinan leaned against He Haoming, his face pale: “Senior Haoming, thank you for standing up for me today…”
“Yun Xingze has gone too far.” He Haoming whispered in Su Zinan’s ear. “I’ll make sure he pays for this.”
However, Su Zinan’s thoughts were entirely on Chi Yu. He subtly pushed He Haoming away and grabbed Chi Yu’s pant leg: “Brother Yu, no matter what, you have to help me.”
The look Chi Yu gave Su Zinan was now laced with disgust.
It was the same look he had once reserved for Yun Xingze; one Su Zinan knew all too well.
Su Zinan’s heart sank into a dark abyss. For the first time, he understood just how painful it felt to be despised.
Soon, the incident involving Su Zinan and Chi Yu spread throughout the entire school.
First was the matter of the two conspiring with Karl and Director Huang to falsely accuse and report Yun Xingze, which nearly got Karl expelled. Due to his good attitude in admitting fault, his punishment was reduced to probation, while Director Huang was dismissed. When faced with the disciplinary outcome, Director Huang cried and begged not to leave.
