Editor: Decembery
All members of Team Eagle Riders boarded a long-distance spaceship to the Western area of the Sixth Star District on the fifth of August, a week from the opening ceremony of the Star Alliance Cup.
The journey would take three days as the destination was extremely far. It would be quite inconvenient for the team to fly back anytime during the competition, therefore the Eagle Riders decided to bring along the players’ habitual game cabins which were to reside in Western Sixth Star District’s league headquarters for the entire Star Alliance Cup.
As there was now an Omega in the team, it would be unsuitable to arrange for the members to stay in regular cabins. Although there was a separate area for Omegas on the spaceship, it would mean that Qiu Yu would be separated from the rest of the team. Moreover, as Qiu Yu could also be somewhat considered a public figure, it would be a bit of a hassle if he were to be recognised.
In consideration of all the factors, Li Tingzhen put a foot down and bought tickets to a ten-person package that afforded them the privacy of their own cabin. The VIP cabin had five bedrooms and a lounge. There was also a simple kitchen on one side of the lounge, as well as two additional bathrooms and a shower room.
As there was limited space within the spaceship, none of these rooms were very large. The layout prioritised efficiency—there were two bunks above and below each other in every bedroom, and the small sofa in the lounge had barely enough space to fit five of them at the same time.
He Jingxing originally intended for Qiu Yu to have a room to himself, however, that idea was quickly vetoed by Doctor Qi.
“His adverse reaction to jumping through space is still quite intense, so he needs someone to look after him,” Qi Zhefeng spoke in a business-like tone, “It’s better for him to stay with me.”
However, after much debate, it turned out that no one wanted to stay with the Coach—whoever was arranged to do so immediately turned green at the thought.
Huffing in anger, Coach He conceded, “Fine then, Doctor Qi will stay with me. Qiu Yu, pick a Beta and stay in the room next to ours.”
Their cabin wasn’t very big anyway, so it would be convenient for Doctor Qi to check up on him at any time.
Qiu Yu chose his little apprentice Lu Cun—Yuan Lu, as a female, had a room to herself.
Even though he had already attended two Star Alliance Cups, this was Zhou Shu’s first time enjoying a private cabin. He looked around everywhere excitedly the moment he entered and chattered nonstop, “Woah damn this bed is awesome…woah dayum the toilet is one of those vacuum ones… woah damn there’s even a kitchen here… woah damn this shower! It’s actually pretty big?”
Mu Feibai, who had seen more of the world, introduced some theories to everyone. “There’s very few net gravitational fields outside of the spaceship, so in order to prevent accidents resulting in the loss of gravity inside the spaceship which may have various consequences, running water is heavily regulated in the spaceship. If you have a look, there’s no running water in the kitchen and the bathroom. The only place you’ll see running water is in the shower room—which is designed to be easily sealable and should be directly connected to the spaceship’s water supply.
Running water has to be concentrated in one place, thus this shower room would have to be for public use.”
“Hahaha ah fuck that’s so awkward,” Zhou Shu smiled, “I’ve never been to a public bath before.”
As he spoke, he leaned towards Lin Jinxi and placed an arm around his neck, “Wanna go in with me later? Let’s experience Eastern District Two’s traditional public baths…”
Lin Jinxi pushed his face away with his palm, “Go away.”
At this time, He Jingxing had already had a walk around outside their cabin. He entered with a smile, “It’s pretty good, there’s a gym right next to us, just outside the door. Don’t slack off during these three days, alright? Two hours of mandatory training each.”
The young team members instantly groaned in despair.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
After the spaceship took off, it quickly entered the first jump.
There would be at least one jump per day for the next three days and the spaceship was to stop at a total of nine stops throughout seven Star Districts. This was another reason the journey took so long.
The good thing was that Qiu Yu had gotten quite fit after some training and the discomfort during jumps wasn’t so severe anymore.
His complexion turned a little pale at the beginning of the space jump. After drinking the medicine Doctor Qi passed over, he recovered most of his energy and even managed to call Lu Cun along to go to the gym.
The gym on the spaceship was quite different from the one in the Team’s base. There was only some cycling and strength equipment, all of which were secured to the floor. However, perhaps in consideration of the passengers’ need for entertainment, the cycling equipment could be connected to VR glasses and one could compete in a simple virtual game with friends.
Intrigued, Lu Cun went back to their cabin to retrieve some glasses and played on the cycling machines with Qiu Yu. After an hour, he mournfully left the cycling machines behind and went to do some strength training.
After around two hours of training, an announcement notified everyone that the next jump would begin in fifteen minutes. Everyone was asked to leave the gym, Qiu Yu and Lu Cun returned to their cabins still dripping with sweat.
Remembering that there were only ten or so minutes left before the jump was to begin, Qiu Yu didn’t think much and said in the interests of time, “Let’s go, the shower is big enough for both of us.”
Lu Cun’s face instantly turned as red as a tomato.
“Nonono,” He flusteredly gestured with his hands, “No thank you, Master! Please go ahead first, sir!”
See, he’s so scared he even started using honorifics.
Only then did everyone who stood frozen in shock in the lounge by Qiu Yu’s words react.
And then everyone’s shocked eyes fell onto Mu Feibai’s face.
Mu Feibai: ……
“What are you looking at me for?” He gritted his teeth, “What’s this got to do with me?”
Zhou Shu’s smile broadened into a devious grin, “Oh, it’s got nothing to do with you. What are your ears turning pink for then?”
And then, Lu Cun had to choose this particular time to stutter, “S-s-sorry captain!”
Mu Feibai raised a hand to support his forehead, “You… what are you apologising to me for…”
Qiu Yu glanced at the people with odd expressions on their faces. Not wanting to waste more time trying to figure out what was going through this bunch of little kids’ heads, he quickly headed to his room to get a towel and a change of clothes before entering the shower.
Seeing the door to the shower close, Mu Feibai’s stiff back finally relaxed.
Noticing that his expression didn’t look very well, the others didn’t chat further and quickly excused themselves using the impending jump and returned to their rooms, leaving space for Mu Feibai in the lounge.
Mu Feibai sat alone on the couch, irritation building inside.
He had never encountered an Omega like Qiu Yu, who acted with so little regard for his own body—it could be considered a good attitude during training, and it was also fine for him to casually use the hem of his shirt, or for him to initiate physical contact with others. However, he even managed to invite someone else to shower together???
So does Qiu Yu understand that his body is… it’s not something just any Beta, any person, can intrude on?
Right—also those idiots, what were they all looking at him for?
Flames of irritation built up in Mu Feibai’s heart—Qiu Yu wasn’t even his Omega so no matter who he invited into the shower, he has no standing to intervene!
Heh, he has no right to intervene at all.
…Realling angering him to death.
……
That night, the spaceship stopped silently in space above a man-made fort located in the Eastern Fifth Star District.
Qiu Yu sat on the couch in the lounge, looking up at the circular window in the centre of the room. Throw the window, he would see half of a magnificent purple-pink planet—it seemed that the fort wasn’t too far from that planet.
“That’s Lover Planet. It’s beautiful, right?” Mu Feibai exited his room and arrived at the spot next to Qiu Yu, “Do you want to see the entire planet?”
“Lover Planet?” Qiu Yu searched around the original body’s memories and found some recollections regarding it, “Oh, that one? The one the prince gave to the person he liked? Private property, no landing?”
That was a very old legend, passed down from generation to generation.
Eastern Fifth Star District was still a monarchy today, and also the only surviving regime in the Star Alliance where the crown was passed down by birth. Unlike some constitutional monarchies, the royal family in this Star District still retained actual governmental powers, which meant that every marriage would involve politics.
This “Lover Planet” was a gift from an exceptionally rebellious prince to the girl he liked.
Afterwards, that prince attempted to overthrow their current regime but was suppressed by his younger brother’s military forces. However, his brother didn’t take back this planet. It was said in the stories that that rebellious prince faked his death and escaped with the girl he liked, buried their surnames, and lived a happy life on this very planet.
“It’s a nice story.” But Qiu Yu didn’t believe the ending of the story was real.
“That’s why even though landing would be considered trespass, many couples would visit the fort nearby during their honeymoon.” Mu Feibai said, “There’s a viewing platform on the ship, and you could probably see the entire star from there. If you’re lucky, you might even see the famous heart-shaped ocean.”
Travelling among the stars was very new to Qiu Yu. Hearing Mu Feibai’s words, his curiosity was piqued. Qiu Yu quickly decided, “Sure, let’s go have a look.”
The viewing platform was a public area and since they were stopped close to Lover Planet, there were a lot of people there. Qiu Yu walked alongside Mu Feibai and quickly entered the crowd of people.
A young couple suddenly entered their path and almost knocked into Qiu Yu. Qiu Yu nimbly turned out of their way but unfortunately was slammed into from the back by a man walking backwards, as though looking for something.
The man was well-built, but his tone was quite gentle, “Ah, my apologies.”
Qiu Yu scented the rich pheromones exuding from the other and realised that this was an Alpha.
“Ge!” Mu Feibai quickly reached out and grabbed Qiu Yu, shielding the other in his arms. He looked vigilantly at the Alpha.
The Alpha’s gaze roved over them two and seemed to scent the same smell from both of them. He smiled apologetically and turned to leave.
“Are you alright?” Mu Feibai asked nervously.
“What could be the matter with me?” Qiu Yu smiled, “But there are indeed quite a lot of people here.”
After some thought, he relaxed his arm by his side and reached for Mu Feibai’s hand—in the past, in chaotic situations like wind, snow, or fog, soldiers would also hold onto each other’s hands in the absence of ropes. Not only did it prevent each other from getting lost, but messages could also be passed along when talking wasn’t possible. Turns out it could also be used in this situation.
Qiu Yu held onto Mu Feibai’s hands and casually said, “We won’t get lost like this. Let’s go.”
Mu Feibai… his heart was almost going to explode.
There was a great concentration of nerves on human hands, which made the sense of touch so sensitive. It was also because of this that holding hands would rouse a completely different feeling from any other physical contact, making it especially intimate.
Qiu Yu’s hands were very soft, his fingers slightly cool.
Yet this slice of coolness instantly ignited Mu Feibai’s nerves—even when breathing it felt as though flames were licking at his lungs. Under the pulsing of his blood, his heartbeats echoed in his ears, and blood rushed to his cheeks. If not for the fact that lights on the viewing platform were dimmed to better allow for appreciation of the planet, Mu Feibai was certain that he would have stuck out like a signal light.
Yet the cause of all this was completely oblivious.
Qiu Yu held Mu Feibai’s hand among the crowd of people, head raised to look at the beautiful planet outside the glass.
The planet in front of them swirled with colours of pink and purple, covered with spotty and irregular layers of clouds. Under the clouds, one could occasionally see a flash of a pink heart-shape—it was the heart-shaped ocean from the stories.
Looking at the beautiful scene in front of him, fragments of some more memories accompanied by a thick cloud of regret suddenly flashed through Qiu Yu’s mind. Only then did he know that it was rare for less cloudy days to occur on Lover Planet, even rarer if you by chance visit on a day the heart-shaped ocean faced the fort.
Hence, there was a legend in the Star Alliance–lovers who were lucky enough to see the heart-shaped ocean would accompany each other for life.
The author has something to say:
Qiu Yu: What’s that got to do with us? We’re fellow comrades.
Mu Feibai: …Can you act more worthy of your game ID?!
Qiu Yu always unconsciously friend-zoning Mu Feibai 😭😭
feibai is really being involuntarily tortured 🤣
Lol friendzone or comrade zone is strong…
Poor feibai 😅
By the way there’s a slight typo in “realling”…
Not me forgetting who Yuan Lu & Lin Jinxi are omg, I feel bad. I think I’m mixed it all up erm;; could someone have the patience & kindness to remind me? I’d appreciate it!! <33
56 chapters in, and still no “prpgress” in relationship. Mamq, i thought i sign up for a romance novel QAQ (joeks asode, can’t wait for this slowburn to finally pay off)
💖💖💖💖
Poor alpha lol