Upon hearing the doctor’s words, Yun Changsheng was so shocked he nearly fainted, barely managing to steady himself after great effort.
Just moments ago, he had been dreaming of “his son marrying into the royal family.” Now, the doctor was telling him Yun Xingze had become a Beta.
The crushing disparity between his fantasy and reality sent him plummeting from heaven straight into hell.
“Doctor, I beg you. You must find a way to save him!” Yun Changsheng grabbed the doctor’s arm in agitation, his voice trembling. “He’s been an Omega his entire life. If he becomes a Beta, he might as well be dead!”
The doctor gave Yun Changsheng a helpless look and replied, “Sir, your son clearly suffered a severe shock, which led to excessive force when removing his gland. This trauma has caused irreversible failure in the cells responsible for synthesizing pheromones. ”
“How is that possible? He’s always been afraid of pain. How hard could he have cut?” Yun Changsheng refused to accept this. “I don’t care, Doctor, you must restore his gland! You need to understand, he’s the one the Second Prince favors.”
Luo Wenchuan frowned, deeply repulsed by Yun Changsheng’s words.
To him, Yun Xingze’s secondary gender didn’t matter.
Still, anyone would struggle to cope with such an abrupt change overnight.
Concerned about how Yun Xingze would react upon waking, Luo Wenchuan asked, “Is there truly no way to reverse this?”
After a brief silence, the doctor answered, “I’m sorry, Your Highness. We’ve done all we can.”
Luo Wenchuan stood motionless, his expression unreadable, though his fingers tightened imperceptibly.
Meanwhile, Yun Changsheng was on the verge of tears, his face deathly pale as he muttered in despair, “It’s over! Everything’s ruined.”
As the doctor left, Luo Wenchuan closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the emotions in his gaze before calmly entering the ward and shutting the door behind him, blocking Yun Changsheng and Qin Shuang’s view.
His demeanor appeared utterly composed.
Had the door not closed with uncontrolled force, Qin Shuang might have mistaken his indifference.
But she knew no one was grieving more deeply than Luo Wenchuan at this moment.
Watching Yun Changsheng wipe his tears in regret, Qin Shuang frowned and said, “Enough. Xingze is alive, isn’t he? What’s wrong with being a Beta? It might even help him perform better in NCLM.”
“What do you, a mere woman, understand?!” Yun Changsheng glared at her. “Didn’t you see how the Second Prince favored Xingze? Our son was about to become royalty! Now that he’s a Beta, do you think the imperial family would still want him?!”
To Yun Changsheng, Yun Xingze’s new status rendered him worthless.
Qin Shuang refused to engage further.
Even now, Yun Changsheng saw their son as nothing but a tool.
“Besides, the Chi family won’t take him back either. How are we supposed to get intel from the Mecha Research Institute now?” The thought drove Yun Changsheng to utter despair. “We’ve lost our son and our technological edge.”
Luo Wenchuan sat beside the medical pod.
As the hatch slowly opened, its occupant remained asleep.
Yun Xingze seemed restless; his brow faintly furrowed.
Luo Wenchuan reached out, gently smoothing the furrowed brow with his rough fingertips gliding over the smooth skin, treating him as carefully as the most precious treasure.
Countless messages flooded into Luo Wenchuan’s neural communicator nonstop.
The royal family questioned why he had left the press conference publicly.
Classmates curiously asked why he had concealed his identity.
Teammates excitedly congratulated him on becoming the heir.
It seemed everyone who knew Luo Wenchuan had sent him messages during this momentous occasion.
Yet Luo Wenchuan’s eyes could only hold Yun Xingze, this person who couldn’t respond to him right now.
Then, Luo Wenchuan suddenly remembered that Yun Xingze had sent him several messages before the engagement banquet began.
He had only read the one containing the location, not having time to see the subsequent content.
Luo Wenchuan opened his neural communicator and clicked into his conversation with Yun Xingze.
[Senior, I’m at the Polis Hotel. Let’s return to Noah Star together after it’s over.] Sent at 4:40 PM.
[Senior Da Chuan, I might not be able to accompany you back tonight.] Sent at 4:52 PM.
From initially looking forward to returning to Noah Star with Luo Wenchuan, to later saying “I can’t accompany you back.”
Luo Wenchuan had no way of knowing what had happened during that time, but he guessed Yun Xingze must have learned the truth about the engagement banquet.
And when sending that message, Yun Xingze must have already resolved to remove his gland.
Luo Wenchuan couldn’t imagine how strong Yun Xingze’s mentality must have been to make such a decision in just twelve minutes.
The next two lines abruptly stabbed at Luo Wenchuan’s eyes:
[Rose-scented.]
[Don’t forget.]
The last two messages were sent at 4:58 PM.
Luo Wenchuan’s pupils constricted sharply, his fingers trembling slightly.
Before removing his gland, Yun Xingze, afraid Luo Wenchuan might never smell his pheromones again, had specially sent messages telling him not to forget. His pheromones were rose-scented.
After a long while.
Luo Wenchuan turned off the neural communicator still receiving endless messages.
He sank into a prolonged, sorrowful silence.
Luo Wenchuan didn’t know what frame of mind Yun Xingze had been in when sending those messages.
Looking at Yun Xingze’s sleeping face, his lips pressed tightly together, his eyes reddening.
As time ticked by in the hospital room, quiet except for the beeping of machines, Luo Wenchuan’s hoarse voice broke the silence, thick with remorse: “…I’m sorry, Xingze.”
Luo Wenchuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his heart full of regret and self-reproach.
If only he had noticed the royal family’s movements earlier.
If only he had stayed by Yun Xingze’s side the whole time.
If only he hadn’t given Yun Xingze that self-defense box.
Then perhaps Yun Xingze wouldn’t have had to endure all this.
At this thought, Luo Wenchuan mustered his courage and slowly looked toward the gland on the right side of Yun Xingze’s neck.
The wound had been bandaged, but it still instantly stabbed at Luo Wenchuan’s eyes, telling him this was irreversible.
Luo Wenchuan slowly reached out, wanting to touch Yun Xingze’s cheek, but stopped midair.
Finally, he swallowed and said softly, hoarsely:
“I’ll always remember your pheromones are rose-scented.”
Compared to the sorrow and quiet in the hospital, the star network had already erupted into chaos.
First, the news about the heir directly crashed the empire’s largest star network forum for ten seconds.
The second prince, who had returned from the barren planet, walked out of the press conference in front of everyone, yet the king still designated him as the heir.
Every word of this news had the public on the edge of their seats.
Next was the amendment to the marriage law, the rule that “highly compatible Alphas and Omegas must be together” was expanded from the barren planets to the entire nation.
This law had long been criticized by many, but since it didn’t affect regions beyond the barren planets, most people had adopted an indifferent attitude.
After the amendment, it sparked unprecedented heated debates, with the majority strongly opposing it.
Just as these two pieces of news captured the attention of the entire empire and even the federation, a third bombshell hit the trending list.
Yun Xingze publicly severed his gland at the engagement banquet.
If it had been an ordinary Omega, this might have been just another notable social headline.
But Yun Xingze had recently risen to fame with his outstanding performance in the NCLM, and his fiancé was Chi Yu, the son of General Chi Yin. Moreover, the newly appointed royal heir, Luo Wenchuan, was also involved.
For a moment, public interest in this news rivaled that of the heir and the marriage law.
Someone at the scene recorded the incident and uploaded it to the empire’s largest news platform.
Every word Yun Xingze spoke at the banquet was a scathing critique of the Yun and Chi families, as well as a denouncement of the oppressive rules imposed on Omegas by policymakers. His calm yet powerful delivery struck deep, each syllable dripping with pain yet resonating with defiance.
The moment he cut his gland, Omegas across the empire shared an overwhelming collective feeling.
A mix of exhilaration and heartache.
“Oh my god, that looks so painful. I admire Yun Xingze’s courage!”
“Honestly, if it were me, I might not have the guts to do it. But being forced into an engagement with someone I don’t love would be even worse.”
“Seeing the regret on the faces of those who forced the engagement, I just want to say they deserved it. My heart aches for Yun Xingze, but damn, it feels satisfying. An Omega’s worth isn’t defined by their gland!”
“What’s the point of such a marriage law anyway?!”
“We’ve been calling for resistance against this law for ages, but everyone turned a blind eye. Now that it affects us all, who can stay untouched?”
“Yun Xingze has the strength and courage to do this, but countless other Omegas will be silently crushed by this unjust law.”
“The scariest part is, some don’t even realize they’re being crushed.”
Yun Xingze’s act further fueled public outrage against the marriage law, prompting waves of petitions to the royal palace demanding its revision.
Beyond that, the appearance of Luo Wenchuan at the end of the video also caused a sensation.
Only then did people realize that Luo Wenchuan’s abrupt departure wasn’t just due to his disdain for the absurd marriage law; his true purpose had been to save Yun Xingze.
Speculations about the relationship between Luo Wenchuan and Yun Xingze instantly ran wild.
For a time, discussions about the two dominated the headlines.
The members of the Starsea team soon caught wind of the news.
When they learned that Yun Xingze had publicly severed his gland, each of them wore expressions of shock and concern.
“Coach, we need to go to the imperial capital and find Xingze—now!” Oliar immediately halted his training, gripping Richard’s arm in urgency. “He’s in danger!”
