Forcefully Doting On You - v2c12

 

Chapter 44

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The sprawling Milky Way presents itself like a long satin ribbon, dotted with countless shining stars. It's akin to a band of silk filled with tiny sequins, but this ribbon is much more splendid and vast.

Mu Cai, on his seat, peered out of the porthole, his face showing an undisguised sense of surprise and excitement as he took in the majestic scene.

Claire, sitting next to him, couldn't help but chuckle, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Mu Cai, unwilling to tear his eyes away from the scenery, could only nod incessantly, appearing as though he was pecking like a hen at feed, "Gorgeous!"

This was not the first time Mu Cai had seen such a sight. He had previously travelled with the national extraterrestrial energy exploration department on a spacecraft to a target planet. Prior to entering the energy field, he had always been able to witness such a spectacle.

However, no matter how many times he saw it, Mu Cai continued to express deep admiration for the mysterious and beautiful universe.

They were now on a spaceship, precisely on a flight from the Milky Way Empire's capital planet to the Randt Star of the Kale Federation. They were heading there to participate in the mecha tournament.

Earlier, when Claire had asked Mu Cai if he would be willing to join him in the upcoming mecha tournament, Mu Cai had promptly agreed without much deliberation.

In the original plot of the story, the original body participated in the mecha tournament too. However, the original body was a mecha repairer, whereas Mu Cai participated directly as a mecha combatant.

The registration for the mecha tournament was in the middle of the new academic year. At that moment, the A-level test on Qingluan was done, and Master Baze had already upgraded it into an S-grade mecha. Despite taking a break from his studies, Mu Cai returned to the academy with Claire to register for the tournament online through the academy's intranet.

As a mecha repair major, he was technically not eligible to register. However, the academy received special approval from the military department that adjusted the system settings, allowing him to successfully register.

The preliminaries for the mecha tournament took place in the Randt Star in the Kale Federation. Prior to that, the ten mecha academies in the Galactic Empire held a preliminary screening for all the mecha combatants. They eliminated roughly 20% of the participants to reduce the number of entrants from the empire down to less than 5000 students.

Mu Cai has spent a lot of time training with the mechas in the military department. He received personal guidance from Claire and sometimes even tips from Lieutenant Colonel Nolan. Therefore, though his physical prowess was not high, his proficiency in operating mechas was a bit higher than most first-year students specializing in mecha combat. Thus, he successfully entered the preliminaries and boarded this flight.

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Interstellar flights are generally medium to long-haul journeys, particularly when you factor in the considerable distance between the capital star of the Galactic Empire and the Randt Star of the Kale Federation. Even though they were taking a military warship specially allocated for this trip, which was faster than the average flight, the journey was still expected to take a whole day.

At this time, it was the lunch hour. Several crew members, pushing food carts, began serving meals to the mecha academy students, who occupied the seats lining either side of the aisle. The dishes differed on each cart.

Of course, the conditions aboard the warship could not compare to the cafeteria at a mecha manufacturing base. The food here was mainly instant, ready to eat after heating. On the plus side, there was a wide variety, offering plenty of choices.

Having spent a long time with Mu Cai, Claire had a clear understanding of his tastes. He selected smoked meat jerky, a garlic bread sandwich filled with bacon and a fried egg, a cup of grape juice, and added an apple to the tray for Mu Cai. As for himself, Claire had no particular preferences. He gathered a bit of everything, making a small mound of food on his plate.

The aroma of the food finally lured Mu Cai back from his transfixed gazing at the scenery outside the window. He obediently repositioned himself while Claire had already set out a folded table for him and placed the tray, laden with food and a beverage, on it.

Mu Cai held the warm bread, freshly heated, in both hands and took a big bite. As he pulled away, his rosy lips left behind a row of tiny teeth marks on the bread. His cheeks were puffed out, moving up and down with his chewing, making him look like a little hamster snacking away.

He differed from the students around him, who were watching pre-downloaded movies on their smart devices while eating. Mu Cai focused intently on the bread in his hands, eating seriously, as if each bite was taken after some thought.

The sight managed to stir a greater appetite in the onlookers.

Watching Mu Cai eat, Claire found himself eating more than usual without realizing it. He was about to ask Mu Cai if the garlic bread sandwich filled with bacon and a fried egg really tasted that good. Suddenly, a fluffy head appeared above the two of them. "Brother, is this bread really that good?"

The voice belonged to Mu Feng, who sat in the row behind them. He had stood up and was leaning over the back of their seats, looking at them. With his glossy black head positioned between the two seats, Claire thought he looked like a shiny light bulb. (Note:  电灯泡 [diàndēngpào] = lightbulb or 'third wheel', a friend who gets in the way of two lovers on a date or romantic situation)

This light bulb oblivious to Claire's thoughts, continued to gaze at Mu Cai, mumbling, "Brother, your food smells so good."

Mu Cai, engrossed in his meal, was caught off guard by the interruption and nearly choked on his food. He quickly took a sip of his grape juice to calm his surprise, swallowed smoothly, fluttered his long eyelashes before replying, "It's okay."

After some thought, Mu Cai gave a sincere evaluation. He said, "The bacon is overcooked, and the bread is a bit hard. It's quite an effort to chew. But I enjoyed the egg."

Although Mu Cai's appraisal wasn't exactly full of praise, it didn't affect Mu Feng's enthusiasm for trying the garlic bread sandwich.

Seeing how much his brother was enjoying it, Mu Feng was eager to try it himself. He decided if the bread was available at dinner, he would definitely get himself one.

As he was contemplating, Claire suddenly said, "I have another garlic bread sandwich here. The bacon inside isn't overcooked. How about I take out the bacon and egg for you to eat?"

Mu Cai liked these two ingredients very much, but he didn't feel good asking for it. If the bacon and egg were taken out, wouldn't that leave Claire with only the stiff bread crust?

He quickly said, "That's okay, brother Claire. You eat, I don't need it."

Claire, however, started to laugh. "Cai Cai, you don't need to worry about me. Look, I got plenty. It's enough for me."

As he spoke, he even lowered his arm to show Mu Cai the tray of food on the small table before him.

Seeing the mountain of food piled high, Mu Cai went, "…"

Without a word, he accepted the bacon and egg that Claire had shared.

A smile still lingered on Claire's face. With a napkin in his hand, he carefully wiped off the bread crumbs at the corner of Mu Cai's mouth.

Mu Cai, on the other hand, showed no reaction, simply accepting Claire's actions as the natural course of events.

Observing the affectionate interaction between the two, Mu Feng suddenly felt he had placed himself in the wrong position. He felt like a shining light bulb without electricity, completely unable to fit between the two of them.

At the same time, Mu Feng felt a faint pain in his chest, as if he had been mistreated.

Unable to bear it, he sat back down in his original seat.

His seat mate looked at Mu Feng's dispirited state and teasingly said, "You look like a dog right now."

Then he received an unforgiving elbow strike from Mu Feng.

Having finished feeding Mu Cai, Claire couldn't help but smile.

Finally, he drove away the unwanted light bulb.

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The next morning, the capital star's warship finally arrived at Randt Star.

The Galactic Empire had jurisdiction over more than a dozen planets, with a total of ten mecha academies. These ten academies were mostly located on different planets. They needed to arrange transport for students to the Randt Star through local military departments.

Therefore, the arrival times at Randt Star for each mecha academy varied; the one from the capital star was neither early nor late.

The moment the cabin door opened, Mu Cai, following Claire, descended the staircase, basking in the long-missed sunshine and clear sky.

Members of the Kale Federation were already waiting where the warship was landing.

From the top of the staircase, Mu Cai could see a neatly arranged square formation. The people in the formation appeared young, around his age, as if they were students from the Kale Federation's mecha combat division.

Several figures stood in front of the square formation, presumably officers, nodding in their direction as a form of greeting.

Each mecha academy would assign a general to lead the team. The students participating from the capital star were led by Major General Nolan. He descended the staircase, quickly took a few steps, and saluted the officers opposite. Meanwhile, Claire, accompanied by Mu Cai, followed with the rest of the students behind Nolan, stepping forward to greet the officers.

After the mutual acknowledgments, the leading figures shared brief pleasantries.

A man dressed in a white military uniform, who appeared to be an alpha by his physique and facial features, approached Claire. He offered a formal smile and said, "My name is Leon. You must be Claire, I've heard a lot about you. I was disappointed that you did not participate in the mecha tournament three years ago."

Claire responded with a similarly formal smile, "I felt regret too. I hope we will be able to compete this year."

Claire didn't attend the mecha tournament three years ago due to his grandfather's severe illness. This was a known fact throughout the Galactic Empire, and even the Kale Federation was aware of it. Therefore, Claire didn’t feel the need to explain further.

Upon hearing the name Leon, Mu Cai became immediately alert.

In the original plot, Leon was the second male lead, with his powerful S-rank psychic abilities. He was the most outstanding alpha of the young generation in the Kale Federation and the champion of the last mecha tournament.

Claire, on the other hand, was the future head of the Léon family, having started piloting mechas and earning military merits at a young age. He had a strong reputation within both the Galactic Empire and the Kale Federation.

As alphas naturally strive for victory, Leon, who saw Claire as a rival, could not yield to him easily.

Initially, Leon just disapproved of Claire and wanted to attract the attention of Mu Feng, who was important to Claire. He wanted to prove he was not inferior to Claire. However, things did not go as planned—Leon eventually fell genuinely in love with Mu Feng, even to the point of betraying the Kale Federation.

Leon gave Claire a polite nod, his gaze quickly drawn to Mu Cai standing nearby.

The young man before him had soft, raven-black hair that gleamed under the sunlight. His complexion was white as snow, with rosy lips, and his large, inquisitive eyes seemed to be curiously observing himself. Around his very slender neck, almost too delicate to bear a crease, was a black restraint ring.

The black suppression ring, much like a collar, contrasted sharply with the white skin it encased, exuding an indescribable charm.

Leon had seen many beautiful omegas, but an omega as striking as this one was a first for him.

His gaze locked firmly onto the other person, just as he prepared to strike up a conversation, a large figure blocked his view.

Looking up, he discovered it was Claire.

The formality that had previously been on Claire's face was gone, replaced by intense eyebrows and a cold expression.

Leon raised an eyebrow, "Is this your mecha repairer?"

His tone was somewhat flirtatious and hinted at a hidden meaning.

Claire sternly corrected, "This is one of our participants for mecha combat."

Surprise showed on Leon's face, quickly replaced by a mocking smile, "Has the Galactic Empire run out of alphas now, letting an omega pilot a mecha?"

As he spoke, Leon unabashedly stared in the direction of Mu Cai, "Omegas, by nature, are gentle creatures. They should be nestled under the wings of alphas, pampered at home. Especially a beautiful omega like this one! The worst policy ever implemented by the Galactic Empire is the establishment of the suppression ring. It blocks an omega's pheromones, leading to a decreased birth rate. And you, who are witnessing such a policy without trying to change it, seem to have lost your alpha instincts."

Mu Cai, listening from the side, felt that Leon's remarks held no more weight than the popular belief in the Galactic Empire that "omegas should be strong and handsome."

Originally, he had no intention of speaking up, after all, what the other said didn't concern him. However, upon seeing Claire's furrowed brow, he couldn't help but retort, "I am a citizen of the Galactic Empire. Whether I wear a suppression ring or not, it has nothing to do with you. Plus, I think the suppression ring is quite good. At least I can do what I want to do and the alphas here don't lose their sanity like beasts the moment they smell pheromones, like yours do."

Leon's face stiffened.

The number of alpha riots in the Kale Federation was indeed much higher than in the Galactic Empire. One hundred percent of the reasons were due to omegas suddenly going into heat in the streets, leading to traffic jams and random marking, among other negative consequences.

The young man across from him was no longer paying him any attention. Instead, he grabbed the arm of Claire beside him and said, "Brother Claire, let's go."

Claire felt a stir of emotion in his heart.

The young man was defending him.

Thinking of this, Claire's gaze softened. He put his arm around the other's shoulder, gently smiled, and said, "Let's go."

The two walked away together, leaving Leon behind, angrily staring at their retreating figures with resentment.

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Author's Note:

Claire: One light bulb was abused by me. Another one got scolded away by Mu Cai. I hope they reflect on their actions and realize the fact that they're still single.

Mu Cai: Um, it seems like you're also single...

Claire: I'm not listening! I'm not listening!

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