Early in the morning, Xia Ze was awakened by the alarm clock. When he opened his eyes, everything seemed as usual. It wasn’t until he sat down at the dining table and saw the steaming breakfast that he snapped back to reality.
There was now another person in the house.
However, the man was temporarily absent. Beside the breakfast was a note he had left, stating that he had gone out for official business and would return in the afternoon.
The handwriting was bold and powerful, full of vigor, truly a reflection of the man himself.
Xia Ze took a deep breath. I need to get used to this, he thought. It’s just cohabitation. Back in my previous life, I even shared a dorm room with classmates during school. Sure, we barely spoke, but we still lived under the same roof.
Now, it was just about sharing the same house, with Qi Jing sleeping in the room next to his.
Truthfully, Xia Ze felt a little lost.
It had been too long since he had interacted with someone like this.
In his past life, his parents were often away on business trips, leaving him alone at home. After all, as botanists and green plant cultivators, they frequently had to travel to places with dense vegetation environments unsuitable for children.
In this life, his grandfather’s health had been poor, mostly resting in the backyard. In his final years, he was bedridden and unwilling to trouble Xia Ze.
Now, with another person around, it was inevitable that he felt somewhat uneasy.
But soon, Xia Ze threw himself into work as usual, starting his morning by tending to the plants.
Some of the greenery in the small greenhouse had been crushed by those thuggish neighbors and needed careful restoration.
Speaking of which, those two had even tried to plead for leniency, but they were swiftly rejected and sent off to mine in the borderlands.
Xia Ze felt no sympathy for them! In fact, he even felt a sense of vindication.
He had no grudge against those two, yet they had tried to steal the plants he had painstakingly cultivated and even attempted to imprison him!
Fortunately, General Qi had resolved everything.
Lost in thought, Xia Ze watered the plants and carefully selected flowers to sell that evening.
After all the chaos yesterday, he hadn’t been able to go live, missing out on a hefty sum of money.
Xia Ze continued with his routine tending to the plants, then heading to the small shop at the front, where he placed only two or three small potted plants as usual before cleaning up.
By the afternoon, he transplanted the potted plants he planned to sell that night.
Additionally, he needed to sell more flowers recently.
In just a month and a half, he would be moving to the main planet, where he would stay for at least a few months. Without care, these plants wouldn’t survive, so he had to sell as many as possible.
As noon approached, Xia Ze assumed the shop would once again earn nothing that morning and prepared to close. Unexpectedly, an unanticipated guest arrived.
“Xia Ze, you, you’re here alone?”
The visitor turned out to be Gao Zhou.
Seeing him, Xia Ze immediately smiled. Even behind his mask, his genuine happiness was evident, his eyes sparkling. “Yeah, I’m here by myself.”
Gao Zhou visibly relaxed, though his expression remained troubled as he looked at the young shopkeeper. Hesitantly, he asked, “I heard, you’re not actually a Beta, are you?”
When the thuggish brothers were convicted, one of the charges was attempted assault on an Omega, a serious crime.
At the time, not only had the brothers vehemently denied it, but even Gao Zhou had been shocked. Everyone who knew Xia Ze found it strange the little shopkeeper who ran the flower shop was a Beta, as far as they knew.
In the end, General Qi’s adjutant had explained that the young shopkeeper had lived as a Beta to avoid trouble, but was actually an Omega.
This wasn’t uncommon.
Only when Betas try to pretend to be Alphas or Omegas do people criticize them, seeing it as an attempt to pose as higher-class humans.
But if high-status Alphas or Omegas pretend to be Betas, no one bats an eye.
It’s like how a poor person pretending to be rich would be scorned, while a rich person pretending to be poor would only draw surprise, never disdain.
When Gao Zhou heard that the little shop owner was an Omega, he froze in shock, even slacking off at work.
However, the case involving the rogue brothers no longer needed his involvement, General Qi’s people had taken over, handling it swiftly and efficiently.
Gao Zhou wandered around in a daze all day, prompting a familiar colleague to whisper, “Don’t even think about General Qi’s Omega.”
That wasn’t it.
He wasn’t thinking about General Qi’s Omega.
He was just thinking that, whether the little shop owner was an Omega or a Beta, he was still the same person.
But if he had known earlier that the little shop owner was an Omega, he wouldn’t have waited until now.
He would have confessed long ago.
An Alpha falling for a Beta would be laughed at.
But an Alpha loving an Omega? That was only natural.
Too bad he was too late. By the time he hesitated over the little shop owner’s Beta status, the chance was already gone.
Now, standing before the little shop owner, Gao Zhou even felt a twinge of guilt though he couldn’t quite explain why.
Noticing his troubled expression, Xia Ze asked softly, “Are you feeling unwell? Or didn’t sleep well? I can see dark circles under your eyes.”
Gao Zhou forced a smile. “Just didn’t sleep well.”
Xia Ze quickly poured him a cup of hot water. “Then take a break.”
“Oh, wait a moment.”
With that, Xia Ze hurried to the backyard and returned with a potted plant originally meant for sale. The greenery inside was thriving, even larger than the ones usually sold in his shop.
“This is for you.”
“Thank you for last time. Because of you, the patrol team didn’t ask too many questions.”
Otherwise, the secret of his little greenhouse would have been exposed.
Gao Zhou shook his head hastily. “This is too generous. Besides, I didn’t do much, it was all General Qi. If anyone deserves thanks, it’s him.”
His voice grew quieter, his head lowering further.
Xia Ze smiled. “Officer Gao, please take it. It’s just a small token of my gratitude.”
“As for General Qi, I’ll thank him separately.”
At this, Gao Zhou studied Xia Ze’s face, then glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before adding in a hushed tone, “Actually, there’s something else. I heard General Qi has a fiancée. The news has already spread on the Capital Planet and the A-grade planets.”
A fiancée?
Known on the Capital Planet and A-grade planets?
Xia Ze blinked hard. Hearing it online was one thing, but hearing it from someone in person hit differently.
Gao Zhou looked at him sympathetically. “They say the fiancée is incredibly beautiful. You’re beautiful too, but… what can you do?”
This was the real reason Gao Zhou had come.
Rumors claimed General Qi’s fiancée was stunning, and as his betrothed, her status must be equally lofty.
Neither of these applied to Xia Ze. Though Gao Zhou thought Xia Ze was attractive, he still fell short of the rumored “peerless beauty.”
Gao Zhou had risked offending an Imperial General just to tell Xia Ze this.
Even within the patrol team, whispers circulated that the legendary General Qi wasn’t as principled as believed, already engaged to an Omega yet still toying with one from a backwater planet.
As for the remaining unpleasant rumors about Xia Ze, Gao Zhou didn’t even want to recall them.
In his eyes, the naive little shop owner probably had no idea about this matter, so he felt compelled to inform Xia Ze personally.
“Huh?”
Xia Ze’s startled reaction further fueled Gao Zhou’s misunderstanding. As Gao Zhou took a step forward, an icy voice cut through from behind: “What are you two discussing so closely?”
Gao Zhou froze instantly, his body trembling slightly.
General… General Qi!
Had General Qi overheard what he just said?
Qi Jing had spotted the two conversing in the shop from afar. Though he couldn’t make out the specifics, this Alpha’s presence irritated him immensely.
Xia Ze couldn’t help but facepalm at the absurdity of the situation, yet he felt grateful to Gao Zhou for mustering the courage to “warn” him despite the pressure.
The Omega in those rumors was none other than himself.
Still uncomfortable with the “fiancée” label, Xia Ze replied vaguely, “It’s alright, I’m aware of everything.”
Aware?!
Gao Zhou was stunned.
What did that even mean?
An overwhelming urge to flee seized Gao Zhou as he glanced between General Qi and Xia Ze, instinctively preparing to leave.
By now, Qi Jing had positioned himself beside Xia Ze. Though they maintained physical distance, the space between them unmistakably hinted at their unusual relationship.
Qi Jing glared coldly at the patrol team member.
As Gao Zhou turned to go, Xia Ze swiftly pressed a potted plant into his hands: “Don’t forget this. It’ll help with your insomnia, you’ll sleep much better with it.”
Gao Zhou stared at the plant, then at the pair before him.
This had to be Qi Jing’s coercion!
The young shop owner was clearly being forced!
None of this could possibly be Xia Ze’s fault!
General Qi was nothing but a scoundrel!
