The invitation in Yun Changsheng’s hand was made of a special material. When he opened it, the text transformed into a floating, three-dimensional projection, displaying Yun Xingze’s competition results and inviting him to the awards ceremony.
When Yun Changsheng saw the results, he doubted his own eyes and double-checked several times.
Then, his voice boomed through the Yun family’s living room:
“T-Ten consecutive wins?!” Yun Changsheng exclaimed in disbelief. “Third place overall?! How is that possible?!”
Beside him, Qin Shuang stared blankly at Yun Changsheng and said, “Third? Yun Xingze, is he third in his class? Or third among the Omegas…?”
“Third in the entire school!” Yun Changsheng declared loudly, his voice trembling with barely contained excitement. “He made it into the school’s mecha team!”
At that moment, Yun Changsheng’s eyes were filled with shock and joy. As an ambitious Alpha in his youth, he had always dreamed of becoming a mecha pilot, but his insufficient mental and physical strength forced him to place those hopes on his son, Yun Wu.
He never expected that Yun Xingze his other son could also pilot a mecha and even join the school team!
Yun Wu nearly choked on his food; his love-struck, delicate Omega brother had made it into Star Ocean Military Academy’s mecha team?!
“Is this a prank?!” Qin Shuang snatched the invitation from Yun Changsheng’s hands, her face equally stunned. “How could he possibly join the team? The team is only for Alphas like Xiao Wu.”
Yun Wu snapped out of his daze. Though he also found it unbelievable, he curled his lip and said, “There’s no rule saying only Alphas can join.”
After repeatedly verifying the school’s official seal on the invitation and confirming that Yun Xingze’s ranking was indeed correct.
Total score: 107.3 points. Win-loss score: 100. Performance score: 7.3. Overall rank: 3.
Qin Shuang covered her mouth in shock. “An Omega actually ranked third in a mecha competition? He didn’t even know how to pilot one, and we never gave him a mech at home.”
“Could he have bought one himself?” Yun Changsheng frowned.
“That’s impossible,” Qin Shuang muttered blankly. “I already cut off his allowance.”
“What?!” Yun Changsheng interrupted sharply. “Why would you cut off Xingze’s allowance? Have you lost your mind?!”
Qin Shuang flinched at his outburst, her expression shifting before she hurriedly defended herself. “It’s not my fault! He was the one who fought with Chi Yu. I was just pushing him to reconcile! Besides, he had his own savings, it’s not like cutting off his allowance would kill him.”
Yun Changsheng snatched the invitation back, his face dark. “How long has his allowance been cut off?”
“Not long, just a month or two.” Qin Shuang rolled her eyes. “Why are you yelling at me? He’s the stubborn one refusing to make up with Chi Yu. If it weren’t for the Chi family’s support, our company’s mech sales would keep dropping.”
“You still shouldn’t have.” Yun Changsheng’s brows furrowed deeply, clearly disapproving of Qin Shuang’s actions. “I’ll attend the awards ceremony tomorrow.”
Qin Shuang widened her almond-shaped eyes in surprise. “You have a meeting tomorrow. How can you go to the school for something like this? Just send an assistant in your place.”
Yun Changsheng cleared his throat and replied, “Since Starsea Military Academy invited me, and Xingze has achieved such outstanding results, of course I should attend.”
Yun Wu silently scoffed in his heart. Yun Changsheng probably just wanted to bask in the glory he’d never experienced himself.
After a moment’s thought, Qin Shuang said, “Then I’ll go too. It’s a good chance to see how things are between him and Chi Yu.”
She then turned to Yun Wu with dissatisfaction. “You’re coming as well. You’ll have to attend military academy eventually anyway. Since your brother made it into the school team, you’d better easily take first place.”
“It’s not that simple.” Yun Wu muttered under his breath.
“I don’t care.” Qin Shuang had always favored Yun Wu since childhood and naturally felt somewhat displeased about this matter. “Practice your mecha skills diligently during this time. You absolutely must not disappoint my expectations.”
Meanwhile, Yun Changsheng examined the invitation with a satisfied smile. The Yun family genes were truly formidable. Even an Omega could be this exceptional.
It seemed sending Yun Xingze to Starsea Military Academy had been the right decision after all.
Why hadn’t they noticed his talent before?
The next day, the award ceremony arrived. Early in the morning, countless robots were setting up the venue, creating a magnificent space that could accommodate tens of thousands of people.
Although Yun Xingze ranked third, he was only 0.2 points behind Ke Lei. Luo Wenchuan, with his outstanding performance score, took first place with an impressive 108.7 points.
Yet Yun Xingze’s achievement was already astonishing.
After all, he was an Omega with only B-level piloting skills. To carve his way through a field of S-class and A+ competitors, even surpassing Aixili and He Haoming to secure a top-three position, was itself a rare miracle.
Before the ceremony began, Yun Xingze encountered Chi Yu at the entrance.
Despite being penalized ten points, Chi Yu had still managed to enter the school team with his considerable skills, barely maintaining his position as a full member at ninth place.
“Xingze,” Chi Yu approached him immediately upon seeing him, offering congratulations, “Congratulations to both of us for making it into the school team.”
Before he could finish, a cool voice interrupted from the side: “Over here.”
Yun Xingze looked toward the speaker to see Luo Wenchuan standing at the entrance in a crisp dark blue uniform, his expression neutral as his gaze bypassed Chi Yu entirely, locking directly onto Yun Xingze.
Chi Yu’s expression darkened slightly.
Yun Xingze walked straight past Chi Yu toward Luo Wenchuan, curling his lips in a smile as he said, “You’re here early.”
Luo Wenchuan gave a slight nod before turning to walk into the venue, asking as they went, “Will your family be coming?”
Though Chi Yu stood between them, they acted as if he didn’t exist.
Seeing them completely ignore him, Chi Yu clenched his fists, his expression toward Luo Wenchuan turning venomous.
“I’m not sure,” Yun Xingze replied after some thought. “It doesn’t matter whether they come or not. The mecha competition is my event, it has nothing to do with them.”
Luo Wenchuan thought of how Yun Xingze had worked part-time jobs to earn money for mecha modifications during this period. His eyes rested on Yun Xingze as he said after a brief silence, “It really has nothing to do with them.”
Yun Xingze looked up at Luo Wenchuan, appearing rather indifferent, and asked with a smile, “What about you? Your family probably couldn’t make it in time from the wasteland planet, right?”
Luo Wenchuan gave a soft “Mm” in response.
The boy’s smile radiated warmth. Despite being treated this way by his family, he remained optimistic and composed, even achieving astonishing results in the competition.
A fleeting emotion passed through Luo Wenchuan’s eyes.
Noticing Luo Wenchuan’s prolonged gaze and the slight dimness in his expression, Yun Xingze thought he might be feeling sad and comforted him, “It’s not absolutely necessary to have family there. Having friends, classmates, or anyone you care about present is just as meaningful.”
At the words “anyone you care about,” Luo Wenchuan froze for a moment.
Then, the corner of his lips lifted briefly as he murmured, “Mm, you’re right.”
Yun Xingze didn’t notice Luo Wenchuan’s distraction as O’Leary approached to greet him. “Xingze! I placed tenth! Rounding up, that makes me your teammate too!”
“Reserves are still part of the school team,” Yun Xingze said with a smile. “Congratulations, O’Leary.”
O’Leary had been particularly lucky. His opponents weren’t very strong, and as an A-rank competitor who had upgraded to A+ during the matches, he had just barely scraped into the team as a reserve.
Of course, this was partly thanks to Yun Xingze. O’Leary had frequently sought his advice on mech modifications and strategies against different types of mechs.
Not long ago, O’Leary had looked down on Yun Xingze, but now he was practically ready to call him “Big Bro.”
“Honestly, if you weren’t an Omega,” O’Leary scratched his head, his face slightly flushed, “I’d just call you Big Bro Xingze outright.”
“I don’t mind,” Yun Xingze replied earnestly. “Go ahead, call me Big Bro.”
O’Leary hesitated. “But I’ve never seen an Alpha call an Omega ‘Big Bro’ before.”
“Then you’ll be the first in history,” Yun Xingze teased. “Isn’t that great?”
“Alright,” O’Leary grinned, slinging an arm around Yun Xingze’s shoulders. “Big Bro.”
Luo Wenchuan’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly at the sight of O’Leary’s arm around Yun Xingze.
But Yun Xingze didn’t seem to mind at all.
With two students from Class E, Year One making it into the school team, Zhuo Feiyue, their homeroom teacher, naturally basked in the glory. He arrived early to accept praises from fellow teachers and didn’t forget to commend Yun Xingze and O’Leary.
Soon, attendees for the award ceremony began arriving. Once the principal appeared, the ceremony officially commenced.
The school team members sat in the front row, listening to the principal’s speech.
The Yun family arrived late and took their seats in the first three rows reserved for special guests.
“Wow, this is quite impressive…” Yun Changsheng couldn’t help but marvel before spotting Yun Xingze in the front row. “There’s Xingze.”
Qin Shuang glanced at Yun Xingze, her expression faltering slightly. Why did her eldest son seem so different now?
Even from the back, he appeared more upright and striking, like a towering pine.
Soon, the school announced the team members’ results, eliciting thunderous applause and cheers from the audience.
