TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 37

“But—mmph!”

“I said no, and I mean it!” Lin Mingfei’s tone left no room for argument.

“Fine… I won’t sing…” Xia Tong muttered reluctantly once Lin Mingfei let go. His big eyes blinked with faint resentment.

The Omega’s warm, damp breath lingered on Lin Mingfei’s palm, sending a faint tingling sensation up his arm. The Alpha pulled his hand back as if burned, pressing it to his chest with a soft sigh.

He glanced at the pink robot near Xia Tong’s pillow.

The little machine seemed to sense his gaze, its LED eyes blinking as though winking at him.

Winking? This thing is provoking me!

Damn it, Lin Mingfei thought, his mood thoroughly ruined. He scowled and stormed out of Xia Tong’s room.

Downstairs, all was calm. Zhou Yanjun lay sprawled on the sofa, lazily rubbing his stomach, clearly satisfied from his earlier outburst. He Youjin, having abandoned any attempt to salvage Zhou Yanjun’s image, was now grumpily packing up his laptop.

“I’m going to organize the league’s report materials,” He Youjin grumbled. “Xia Tong!”

“Hey! I’m here!” The little Omega dashed out from the room upstairs and leaned over the corridor, responding crisply.

“I’ll give you some forms. Fill them out truthfully. Later, hand me both the original and photocopies of your ID,” He Youjin said.

“Got it! Originals and… what? Photocopies?” Xia Tong tilted his head.

“Forget it. Just give me the originals, and I’ll make the copies for you,” He Youjin said. “You stay at the base and train well with the others.”

“Okay!” Xia Tong nodded enthusiastically like a little chick pecking at rice, incredibly obedient.

Shi Ya grinned and looked up, “Oh, formal registration, huh? Now you’re officially one of us at Polaris. I’ve never worked with an Omega before—kind of looking forward to it!”

“Same here,” Bo Yu said. “Xia Tong, want to queue for the three-player arena later?”

“Sure!” Xia Tong agreed happily.

Zhou Yanjun wrinkled his nose. “Is ‘sure’ all you ever say? As the first-ever top Omega player in esports history, you need to show some backbone! Stop being such a soft, fluffy little lamb! Come on! Say something intimidating!”

Xia Tong squinted at him, puffing out his cheeks slowly. His petal-like lips pursed and quivered as he bit down on them.

“You’re so annoying!” he huffed, sounding fierce.

Zhou Yanjun: “…Fair enough.”

Lin Mingfei walked out of Xia Tong’s bedroom, casually pressing down on the little Omega’s head as he passed, then descended the stairs with a cold sneer. “Speaking of aggression, isn’t one Zhou Yanjun in the team enough?”

Zhou Yanjun instantly deflated, swallowing hard and letting out a nervous chuckle. “Captain, you’re too kind.”

Lin Mingfei said, “Everyone’s been slacking off for the past two years. I think it’s high time we held a team meeting to whip Polaris back into shape.”

“A meeting?” He Youjin said, “Wait for me. I’ll join you once I’m done here. I can take meeting minutes.”

“We even keep meeting minutes?” Shi Ya asked, surprised. “Isn’t that a bit too formal?”

“A meeting without minutes is like it never happened,” He Youjin retorted with a roll of his eyes. “That’s basic company protocol!”

“Manager He is right,” Lin Mingfei said coolly. “I don’t care how laid-back you’ve been these past two years. Now that you’re back at Polaris, if you want to keep playing professionally, you have to get back on track. As the saying goes, ‘No rules, no order.’ Meeting at 7:30 tonight in the conference room. Any objections?”

“Nope, none,” Shi Ya shrugged. “You’re the captain; I follow your lead.”

Zhou Yanjun yawned lazily, “No objections here, either. We’re all family, anyway.”

Bo Yu: “No objections.”

Suddenly, Xia Tong raised his little hand high and said in a crisp voice, “I object!”

Everyone: “Huh??? What’s your objection?”

Several shocked gazes immediately focused on him.

“Uh… can’t I… have an objection?” The little Omega flinched, slowly lowering his arm, his voice trembling timidly.

“You can,” Lin Mingfei said, not annoyed, and tilted his chin patiently. “What’s your objection?”

Xia Tong took a deep breath, then grinned and said, “I think—” He paused midway, his smile fading. Then he scratched his head vigorously and groaned, “You all asked so quickly, I… I forgot what it was…”

Everyone: “…”

—

Xia Tong handed over his ID to He Youjin, who quickly went off to handle the paperwork. Xia Tong played a few more rounds of arena matches with Zhou Yanjun and the others. Time flew by, and the sky began to darken.

“Not bad!” Zhou Yanjun exited the arena map and checked the match stats. Clicking his tongue, he said, “Our all-melee team’s win rate is already up to 50%! Amazing!”

“That’s thanks to Xia Tong’s talent and good coordination. But if only he didn’t stand still so much during fights,” Bo Yu commented.

Zhou Yanjun agreed wholeheartedly, patting the little Omega’s head like a basketball as he scolded, “Exactly! Every time, you’re like a statue, just standing there. Are you afraid people won’t notice you’re an unfeeling damage-dealing machine?”

“I’m not!” Xia Tong tried to defend himself.

Zhou Yanjun ruthlessly cut him off. “Those matches we lost before—if you had just moved a little, you wouldn’t have died midway, wasting 10+ minutes of effort.”

“I can’t chant spells while running!” Xia Tong protested pitifully. “When I focus, I lose track of everything else…”

“Stutter-stepping is a basic skill for pro players. In PvP, sometimes positioning is more important than damage output,” Bo Yu said. “Don’t worry; just keep practicing.”

Zhou Yanjun glanced at the time. “Whoa, it’s already this late! Let’s log off and head to the meeting. It’s P Team’s first meeting of the year. We can’t afford to be late!”

“Mm,” Bo Yu nodded.

Xia Tong was still hung up on the stutter-stepping issue, his mind swirling with too much to process. He had an inexplicable feeling he’d forgotten something important but couldn’t remember what.

Hesitantly, he logged off, gripping the pod’s handrails as he climbed out. Without returning to his room, he headed straight to the conference room next door.

Shi Ya and Lin Mingfei were already inside, preparing. The holographic projector illuminated the screen, giving the room an impressive, almost presidential aura.

Zhou Yanjun pushed the door open and exclaimed, “Whoa! This is pretty fancy!”

“Right on time,” Shi Ya teased, crossing his legs. “I was just betting with Zero that you’d be late.”

“And if I had been late, what would you have done?” Zhou Yanjun swaggered over, dragging a chair to sit down.

“Beat you up,” Lin Mingfei said bluntly.

Zhou Yanjun: “…”

Bo Yu and Xia Tong followed shortly after. Xia Tong looked a little out of sorts and even tripped on a chair leg as he entered, nearly falling over. Bo Yu quickly caught him, carefully helping him settle into a chair.

“What’s wrong?” Shi Ya asked, puzzled. “Why does little Xia Tong look so out of it?”

“Maybe I played too much today…” Xia Tong murmured softly, resting his forehead on his arms at the table’s edge.

“Don’t go all out from the start!” Shi Ya chided. “I told you to take it step by step, but you just went along with those two troublemakers.”

“Why don’t you go back and rest?” Lin Mingfei frowned. “I can go over things with you later.”

“No need for that… I’m okay, really. Just a bit sleepy. Zero, go ahead with the meeting. Don’t worry about me.” Xia Tong shook his little head, propping himself up on the table and forcing a bright smile toward Lin Mingfei.

Bo Yu handed him a cup of hot coffee. “Here, drink this to wake up.”

“Thanks,” Xia Tong replied gratefully, taking the mug with a smile.

Shi Ya glanced at the team’s group chat and looked up. “He Youjin says he’s still dealing with some issues and can’t make it back for now. He told us to start without him.”

“Alright, I’ll keep it brief. No need to wait for the manager—let’s finish this quickly,” Lin Mingfei said seriously. Standing at the front, he tapped the holographic projection. “Polaris—once a renowned name in esports. We aren’t here just because of its legacy; we’re the ones who made it a legacy.”

Xia Tong’s eyes lit up, growing more animated as Lin Mingfei spoke.

“Relentless training, well-thought-out preparation, and an unyielding spirit—these are the essentials of a professional esports player. Starting tomorrow, our previous eight-hour training schedule resumes. No special excuses, no absences. Rankings must also pick up. Moreover, full-dive esports isn’t like traditional esports; it demands physical fitness. From now on, everyone must adopt healthy routines—less staying up late, no sleeping in. Morning and evening exercises are mandatory. And some of you need to think about losing weight. We can’t have anyone hospitalized from health issues before the competition even starts. Don’t expect the team to come pick you up if that happens. Consider this a fair warning.”

Zhou Yanjun ground his teeth. “Lin Mingfei! Stop taking cheap shots at me!”

Xia Tong couldn’t help but giggle at their banter. He leaned back in his chair, hugging himself lazily and shrinking into a ball.

However, the coffee wasn’t helping. Instead of clearing his head, it made his body heat up, sweat trickling down his skin. It was as though he’d been submerged in a warm bath, the water level rising steadily, engulfing him bit by bit.

The sticky, damp sensation spread like a snake across his skin, creeping from head to toe. He shifted his legs uneasily, trying to ease the sensation. Slowly, he raised his eyes to glance at Lin Mingfei.

The Alpha appeared almost haloed in Xia Tong’s blurred vision, his tall and striking figure bathed in a soft, golden glow. Like a celestial being, Lin Mingfei exuded warmth and safety, irresistibly drawing Xia Tong in.

“Lin…” Xia Tong started softly but immediately bit his lip, swallowing the rest of his words along with the impulse that had risen.

Lin Mingfei continued outlining base operations and team guidelines. Time seemed to crawl by, every second stretching infinitely. Xia Tong’s frown deepened.

Unbearable.

His fatigue morphed into discomfort. A scorching heat built up inside him, as if his body no longer belonged to him. He felt shapeless, melting into a sluggish puddle. Desperately, he longed for someone to gather him up, to hide him away in a safe, private place.

“Hmm?” Bo Yu, seated closest to Xia Tong, suddenly straightened and sniffed the air. “What smells so good? Could it be the osmanthus blooming in the courtyard?”

Through the window, the golden osmanthus tree outside swayed gently in the night breeze. Its lush green branches showed no trace of yellow flowers.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Zhou Yanjun said, craning his neck. “It’s not even the season for osmanthus to bloom… Wait, but there *is* a sweet smell. It’s kind of intoxicating!”

Lin Mingfei, standing at the front, suddenly felt as though he were surrounded by a forest of blooming golden osmanthus. The overwhelming sweet fragrance crashed over him like tidal waves, momentarily stealing his breath.

It wasn’t ordinary osmanthus—it was a sugar-coated bombshell.

The others continued debating the source of the scent, oblivious to its true nature. Lin Mingfei, however, realized the truth instantly.

This was no ordinary fragrance. It was the undeniable sign of a high genetic compatibility.

Shock coursed through Lin Mingfei as he turned his attention to Xia Tong. The little Omega had unconsciously curled into a tight ball, occasionally squirming as if seeking relief. His eyes were shut, long lashes casting shadows like feathery fans. His cheeks were an unnatural shade of red, resembling ripe fruit begging to be plucked.

This wasn’t fatigue or overwork.

This was a heat cycle—an Omega’s bonding heat.

Damn it. Why now?

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