From tenth place upwards, when Yun Xingze’s name was called, he stood up and walked towards the podium amidst the admiring and envious gazes of the crowd.
“Wow, is he really the omega who achieved ten consecutive wins?”
“He’s so good-looking, but his aura is so sharp no wonder he got third place.”
“I heard he was just slightly behind Ke Lei in points, and Ke Lei is an S-class contestant!”
“That’s insane.”
Various murmurs reached the ears of Yun Changsheng and Qin Shuang. Although neither of them had paid much attention to Yun Xingze before, at this moment, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. Their son had finally made something of himself.
This was the first time they had ever felt this way about Yun Xingze.
Yun Wu stared blankly at his brother stepping onto the stage to receive his award. The person before him felt both familiar and strange undeniably his older brother, yet completely transformed.
During the award ceremony, the principal specifically said to Yun Xingze, “You are the first omega to become an official member of the school team. You must continue to work hard and never forget the responsibility you now carry.”
With that, the principal handed Yun Xingze an honorary certificate, a bronze medal, and a check for 500,000 credits.
Yun Xingze’s eyes were fixed solely on the check. When it was time for his acceptance speech, he kept it brief: “I’m honored to join the school team. To be honest, I initially just wanted to win this 500,000-credit prize. After all, modifying a beat-up mech worth barely over 100,000 credits was no easy feat.”
The audience burst into laughter, recalling Yun Xingze’s notoriously ugly modified mech.
Meanwhile, Yun Changsheng and Qin Shuang’s expressions darkened.
A parent nearby whispered, “Isn’t Yun Xingze’s family in the mech business? How come he couldn’t afford proper modifications?”
“Probably training his skills. If he could achieve this with no budget, I’d be proud if I were his parent.”
“This is all your fault,” Yun Changsheng muttered to Qin Shuang under his breath. “Why did you cut off Xingxing’s allowance? Look what you drove him to, competing in mech battles just to earn money!”
Qin Shuang pressed her lips together, lowering her head in silent shame, unable to retort.
As Yun Changsheng watched his eldest son standing there, mature and capable, embodying the unfulfilled mech dreams he himself had once harbored, he couldn’t help but sigh, “My son has grown up…”
Then, he joined the crowd in applauding Yun Xingze enthusiastically. From the audience, an omega girl shouted, “Yun Xingze, I adore you! Keep going.”
Yun Wu was startled by the fervent admiration surrounding his brother. Since when had people become so obsessed with him?
At that moment, Yun Wu recalled Qin Shuang’s words and began to doubt himself: Could he really surpass his brother?
Growing up, Qin Shuang had always drilled into him that alphas were superior to omegas, repeatedly hinting that he would inherit the family business while Yun Xingze’s only worth lay in an arranged marriage.
But now, faced with the radiant young man on stage, Yun Wu felt something he never had before uncertainty.
His once love-struck brother was nothing like the person he remembered.
After the principal finished awarding the team members, a virtual screen appeared at the front of the auditorium, playing highlights from the competition about twenty carefully selected clips accompanied by thrilling music and post-match commentary.
Every year at this time, students would count who appeared the most in these highlights. In previous years, it was always top-tier Alphas like Luo Wenchuan who took the lead.
But this year…
Luo Wenchuan’s appearances were actually tied with Yun Xingze’s!
The screen now showed footage of Yun Xingze’s match against Su Zinan. The scene of the “Divine Cat” descending drew gasps from the crowd, followed by stunned silence as the mechanical beast tore off Su Zinan’s arm, a shocking moment for those who hadn’t witnessed the live match.
The commentator’s voice was electric: [“The cat’s going in! It just smashed Su Zinan into complete disorientation! Look at that speed. Oh! Yun Xingze’s photon blade gets blocked by Su Zinan’s particle shield, but the cat’s back up! It’s standing again! The cat is absolutely legendary!”] The commentator’s voice grew hoarse with excitement, his adoration for the “ugly cat” unmistakable.
Yun Xingze facepalmed from his seat, that was clearly a tiger. Was the commentator just inserting his personal bias here?
The reel also included Yun Xingze’s matches against Kalibo and He Haoming, each segment as breathtaking as any duel between S-rank competitors.
If Yun Changsheng and Qin Shuang had been shocked earlier, they were now utterly dumbfounded.
“I… I thought Xingze just got lucky.” Yun Changsheng muttered in disbelief. “But he actually earned his spot on the team with real skill?!”
“When did he become so good at piloting mechs?” Qin Shuang’s eyes widened as she stared at the screen, exclaiming involuntarily, “Wait, when did he even learn how to operate a mech?!”
She couldn’t believe the mech pilot in the footage was her Omega son. How could an Omega possibly fight in a mech?!
Beyond shock and pride, Yun Changsheng felt a deep pang of guilt.
He recalled how coldly he’d always treated Yun Xingze, never showing interest in his affairs. In his eyes, Yun Xingze had neither the capability to inherit the family business nor the maturity to deserve attention.
Now, every time Yun Xingze’s name appeared on the virtual screen, it felt like another slap across Yun Changsheng’s face.
Without question, Yun Xingze became the most talked-about star of the awards ceremony not just because of his gender and achievements, but because he appeared a staggering five times in the highlights (a full quarter of the reel), with three matches making the Top 5!
The judges’ favoritism toward him couldn’t have been more obvious.
After the ceremony, the Yun family rushed to meet Yun Xingze.
“Xingze, you’ve lost weight,” Yun Changsheng said emotionally, embracing him the moment they met. “I never imagined you’d make the team. Your father is so proud of you!”
Yun Xingze froze. In his memories, this father had shown nothing but indifference to the original host. Many times, Qin Shuang’s favoritism toward Yun Wu had been silently endorsed by Yun Changsheng. If he truly cared, how could he have allowed Qin Shuang to cut off his living expenses?
Yun Xingze remained unmoved, not even returning the hug. His voice was flat: “I never imagined you’d come either.”
Hearing this, Yun Changsheng stiffened momentarily but quickly plastered on a smile, saying to Yun Xingze, “Though I’m usually busy, how could I miss your award ceremony?”
As the owner of a mecha company, Yun Changsheng had already recognized Yun Xingze’s capabilities from just a few short videos. Naturally, he no longer treated him the same way as before.
At that moment, Qin Shuang also stepped forward, smiling as she addressed Yun Xingze, “Xingze, I had no idea you bought a mecha yourself and even found someone to modify it for you. If I’d known, of course I would have given you the money! Look at you participating in competitions without even discussing it with the family. We didn’t even know you’d won an award.”
Yun Xingze still remembered how, when he had broken off the engagement, Qin Shuang had looked like she wanted to crawl out of the screen to hit him, shouting, “Your only worth is in pleasing Chi Yu!” Now, she had completely changed her tune.
How laughable.
“Empty words mean nothing, just wire the money directly.” Yun Xingze replied politely with a smile.
Qin Shuang hadn’t expected such a blunt response. Her expression faltered briefly before she quickly masked it, saying, “If you need money, just say so. We’re family, it’s not like we’d mistreat you.”
“I’ll transfer it right away.” Yun Changsheng pushed aside Qin Shuang, who was still rambling, and immediately opened his holoscreen, sending a staggering two million-star credits to Yun Xingze’s account. “Xingze, I’m so proud that you can pilot a mecha now. Though I don’t know when you learned, having a mecha dream is an Alpha’s romance… er, an Omega’s too.”
Yun Changsheng had always only respected those with real ability, which was why he had previously looked down on the original host. But now that Yun Xingze had become the center of attention through sheer strength, he didn’t hesitate to transfer two million without a second thought.
Luo Wenchuan watched as the Yun family crowded around Yun Xingze and was about to turn away when he saw Chi Yu approaching them.
The moment Qin Shuang spotted Chi Yu, her face lit up with delight. “Oh, isn’t that Chi Yu? You made it into the school team this year too, right? That’s wonderful! Our Xingxing also got in this is the perfect chance for you two to reconnect. It’s practically fate giving you an opportunity to rekindle things!”
She spoke loudly enough that even Luo Wenchuan overheard, causing the latter to frown slightly.
Hearing this, Chi Yu was naturally pleased. He immediately reached out to drape an arm over Yun Xingze’s shoulder, saying, “Of course, Xingxing and I will.”
Yun Xingze sidestepped, avoiding his touch.
Chi Yu’s hand froze midair.
Luo Wenchuan’s gaze turned even colder.
“Xingze’s temper hasn’t changed,” Qin Shuang hurriedly interjected, trying to smooth things over. “You two shouldn’t let petty issues come between you. Xingxing, look Chi Yu’s already taking the initiative. Why hold onto past grievances?”
Yun Xingze replied coolly, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
“Look at you, always in such a hurry.” Qin Shuang grabbed Yun Xingze’s arm, flashing an ingratiating smile at Chi Yu before lowering her voice to hiss at Yun Xingze, “Stop being difficult. We need the Chi family.”
Yun Xingze responded flatly, “But I don’t.”
“Unless you can find someone of higher status than Chi Yu,” Qin Shuang gritted out under her breath, “you’d better wise up and reconcile with him as soon as possible!”
“Forget it, don’t keep pushing them,” Yun Changsheng said to Qin Shuang. “Let them figure things out on their own.”
Chi Yu stood to the side, pursing his lips in uncertainty.
Yun Changsheng suddenly changed the subject and asked Yun Xingze, “By the way, Xingxing, who helped modify your mecha? Could you give Dad their contact info.”
Yun Xingze understood perfectly well; this whole family only had eyes for benefits.
They never truly considered him family.
“Let’s talk about the mech later,” Qin Shuang rolled her eyes. “Haven’t you already met all the best mech engineers in the capital? What better ones could Xingze possibly find?”
Chi Yu interjected, “Actually, Xingxing’s mechs are all.”
“Chi Yu, you two must reconcile soon.” Qin Shuang grabbed Chi Yu’s hand, cutting him off with a smile. “What does Xingxing know about mechs? No matter how skilled he is at piloting them, he’s still going to marry you eventually. You should focus on building your relationship after joining the school team.”
Yun Wu muttered under his breath, “The school team is for competitions, not dating…”
Yun Xingze couldn’t help but glance at him—his tall, handsome younger brother was one of the few normal people in this family.
“What do you know?” Qin Shuang said firmly. “Our Xingxing and Chi Yu have an 89% compatibility rate. They’re a match made in heaven, of course they should nurture their relationship.”
Hearing the term “compatibility rate” made Yun Xingze’s head throb. Because of this rating, the original owner’s life had been forcibly tied to Chi Yu.
