When you got home, it was already ten o 'clock in the evening. The stars in the sky were still shining, and the whole starry sky was like a picture scroll. Stars twinkled in it, and occasionally, thin clouds floated by. It was beautiful.

You pushed the door open, and the suitcase in your hand was taken away by a robot. There were two people sitting in the living room, and they raised their heads when they heard the door being pushed open.

"Eretta … your brother, he …" One of the women choked, and she couldn't finish her sentence. Tears kept rolling down her face, leaving a trail of tears. It was a shocking sight. Alpha, your father, who was beside her, hurriedly comforted her.

You also hurried forward, sat next to your mother, and hugged her.

Your mother held a tissue in her hand, crying so hard that she couldn't breathe. Your Omega mother was just like other people's evaluation of Omega — fragile and sensitive, just like a small animal.

Your hand gently patted her back, and you lowered your eyes and said, "The results are not out yet, but my brother will be fine."

This inexplicable certainty made your words sound very reliable, but in the eyes of others, you were just deceiving yourself.

Under that kind of attack, it was a miracle that he survived. If he was lucky enough to escape from the hands of the grim reaper, he would be severely disabled. In this era, medical standards have improved correspondingly, so even if he was disabled, he could be cured, or he could be fitted with mechanical prosthetics. But no matter which plan, the cost required was a heavy burden for ordinary families, and most families couldn't afford it.

Fortunately, for your family, this kind of cost was still affordable, but the premise was that Ebner really miraculously survived.

Next, your job is to keep comforting your parents. Although your Alpha father has been clumsily passing tissues by the side, with only a faint panic on his face, you know that he is also suffering from great sadness and fear, so you, who have never favored one and discriminated against the other, are like their protector. After comforting their emotions, you coax them to go back to sleep.

After finishing all these things, you returned to your room and lay down on the soft bed with your arms and legs spread out. The soft feeling under your body was like touching cotton candy, making your tense nerves relax at once.

You stared at the ceiling, then stiffly raised your wrist and clicked on the contact's message.

The notification popped up impatiently. Countless text messages popped up one after another. One after another, they overlapped one another. This went on for a few seconds.

You've seen the information. There are classmates whom you're friends with, mentors who take care of you, and friends whom you're familiar with.

Your finger scrolled through the contacts one by one, skipping countless messages, and finally stopping at your brother, who was almost squeezed to the bottom.

When he opened it, there was still a lonely message from a few days ago hanging on it. It was written in black and white.

[You: Have a safe trip, brother.]

It's hanging on the back.

The other party had already read four words.

You stared at the message in a daze for a long time, your mind blank. In the end, you raised your other hand and typed the message word by word.

[You: Brother, are you okay?]

[You: … I hope you're fine.]

[You: I believe you are still alive.]

[You: … Brother … I suddenly miss you so much.]

You knew that the other party wouldn't reply, but you still stared at the chat interface for a long time. Until … you suddenly felt your stomach sink, and you suddenly couldn't breathe.

You put down your hand and touched your stomach. Sure enough, you touched a creature.

So you hugged it and straightened your body. Then you saw the ruru that was lying on your stomach roll onto your bed. Then it saw you straighten your body and leaned over to sit on your lap.

It rubbed its head against you softly, and then called out, "Hey!"

"Meow ~"

It looked at you with its round brown eyes, and its tail wrapped around your hand. The soft touch made you suddenly feel that you hadn't felt it in a long time. It lowered its head and licked your arm. The barbs on its tongue made you feel a little numb. The whole process seemed to be hinting at something.

You looked at the ruru that was much more obedient than usual. Suddenly, you felt a piece of your heart collapse, and it was a mess.

You stroked its head softly and laughed.

If someone saw your expression at this moment, they would definitely be shocked. You laughed a lot, and you had many kinds of smiles, but none of them were so soft and fragile. The misty blue eyes were like a drop of water in the vast ocean, and it didn't know where to go.

"Thank you, ruru."

You saw it tilt its head with a confused expression, then it rubbed against your arm naturally. Then it buried its head, and the whole cat curled up on your lap. Its warm body seemed to pass through that piece of skin to your body.

You hugged it and gently placed it on the bed.

Then you softly packed your luggage and went to take a shower. After that, you placed ruru beside you. Your hand gently stroked its back. It was meaty and felt very good.

You turned off the lights.

"Goodnight, ruru."

"Goodnight, brother."

In the darkness, your hand was still on ruru's back. After saying goodnight, you gradually fell into a deep sleep. It was rare that you didn't dream on this day.

What you didn't know was that this attack was only the first shot, and it opened the curtains of the battle between the Alliance and Klingon.

This battle lasted for several years.

***

After staying at home with your parents for several days, you finally returned to school for the sake of your studies.

On the first day of your return, you were running around everywhere for one thing.

"Hello, director, I'm here to apply for a minor."

You stood in front of the director with the application in your hand, your body straight. The sunlight slanted through the floor-to-ceiling window, and the light fell on your body. Your eyelashes seemed to be dyed with a layer of gold, and the dust around you glittered with a golden light.

"Student Eretta, I can understand you, but according to the rules, you can only apply for a minor after a semester, and this major … is not suitable for you."

The director across the table from you was sitting in a chair. He was wearing old-fashioned round-rimmed glasses that had long been out of date. He had a kind smile on his face, and when he said the last sentence, there was concern and worry on his face.

"I have already received the approval of the two instructors for my major and my minor, and they have also signed their approval. As for the results, I believe that everyone can see it. Also, I don't think this major is not suitable for me. In terms of professional standards, I dare to guarantee that 90% of the students can't compare to me."

After hearing the director's words, you didn't rush to refute his words. Instead, you calmly explained everything that was beneficial to you, and your words were merciless.

When the director heard your words, he could only sigh helplessly.

"I understand that you want to learn more, even knowledge related to mecha, for the sake of your brother … but what I want to say is that people also need to consider their own abilities. This profession not only requires a quick and nimble mind, but it also requires a lot of stamina, patience, and perseverance. To make the most basic mecha, it would take at least a month. Waking up early and working late, even many Alpha mecha can't persevere …"

"If they can't last, that's their problem. Why do you have to drag me into it?"

You interrupted the director's words, and under his stunned gaze, the corners of your mouth slowly curled up, revealing a smile with a hint of sharpness and edge.

"Also, aren't rules and whatnot meant to be broken?"

Your face was reflected in the director's glasses. Your face, which was always gentle and cheerful in daily life, suddenly became flamboyant and sharp, like a sharp ice blade, shining with a cold light.

"… Since you insist …"

After hearing your words, the director adjusted his glasses that had slipped a little, and the smile on his face disappeared. His entire person became very serious, and after two to three seconds of silence, he opened his mouth again and said:

"I agree to your minor application."

He took the document in your hand, signed it, stamped it, and then handed it back to you. The whole action was smooth and without a trace of sloppiness.

You didn't expect to be convinced so quickly. The document in your hand was just pulled out and then stuffed back in. His face carried an obvious sharpness and coldness, and he didn't even have time to take it back.

"I look forward to Student Eretta's future very much."

You heard the director's smiling voice, just like his expression, incomparably cunning.

***

On the way back to the dormitory building, you were still a little absent-minded.

After all, the director of your school was famous for being difficult to deal with. It was said that a student really couldn't continue studying and requested to change his major, but the requirement was to be in the top 10% of the grade. He cried, threw a tantrum, and threatened to hang himself. In the end, the director of the major he wanted to change couldn't stand it anymore and persuaded him to change his major.

But just now, you just said a few words, and you didn't even have to use your verbal skills, and you succeeded … You almost suspected that your family had a background that you didn't know about.

You were a little absent-minded when you were thinking about things, and you bumped into something — —

A hand suddenly stretched out in front of your forehead, and the soft and solid collision made you stop in your tracks. You looked up and realized that it was to prevent you from bumping into the street lamp in front of you.

At this time, you felt the familiar pheromone and turned to look at the person who came.

"Senior Byrd … Long time no see … Just now, thank you."

You pursed your lips, and then smiled at the other party.

Although your smile was still the same as usual, in the eyes of others — —

"… If you don't want to smile, don't smile."

Byrd looked at your smile and paused for a while. His silver-white eyes looked at you motionlessly, and then he lowered his eyes slightly and said this in a suppressed voice.

…

Eh?

You tilted your head, looked at him, blinked, and pursed your smile slightly.

Just when Byrd thought that he had said something wrong and touched your sore spot, you suddenly moved closer to him. The distance between the two of you was suddenly shortened, and you were face to face. You could even feel each other's breathing.

"It's not that I don't want to smile, no one can make me smile when I don't want to."

"I'm just really happy to see you, senior, and unknowingly revealed a smile."

Your soft and gentle voice drifted into his ears like a floating cloud. Byrd's body stiffened, and his eyes gradually widened and his pupils contracted as you spoke — —

Your face was very close, and those misty blue eyes could be seen very clearly.