Chapter 7 | TOC | Chapter 9

Chapter 8: Strangers

The hospital would always be the busiest place.

Xu Tangzhou tried his best to sign in. The nurse couldn’t hold herself back from peeking at him multiple times, and the other visitors were also looking at him. At this time, he didn’t realize it was because of yesterday’s hot search on Flow. He only felt goosebumps on his skin as he hurriedly took out and inhaled the pheromone blocker again.

Perhaps he would appear on the news under the headline “Shocking! An Omega died from using expired inhibitors in the 22nd century. Was it from ignorance or stupidity?”

Xu Tangzhou went straight to the Department of Omega Medicine, taking the report to find Qiu Yin.

“You’re overreacting, it’s only a false estrus*.” Qiu Yin looked at the report and wisely said, “Don’t claim that the inhibitors in our hospital have problems. Look, the report stated that the inhibitor is still effective for more than half a year.”

TN: see glossary for false estrus

Qiu Yin was only 19 years old, and he was Xu Tangzhou’s roommate.

They’re roommates on paper, but this young adult Omega was currently busy studying for his doctorate, as well as interning at the hospital with his professor. He doesn’t return home for around 20 days per month.

Xu Tangzhou emphasized: “I even had a nosebleed.”

His whole body felt feverish after waking up this morning. The glands that began to bulge yesterday showed no signs of receding. Slowly, an unspeakable feeling began to dart about his body. When he got out of bed, he knew something was wrong with him when his legs went soft and he almost fell down.

Xu Tangzhou’s knowledge of physiology was passable, and he carefully told everything to Qiu Yin.

Qiu Yin adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and frowned: “Has your genital cavity* been opened yet?”

TN: In lay terms, organ to give birth. Just a note that I’ll try to use some jargon for Qiu Yin to keep him in character, but I’ll define some stuffs underneath!

Xu Tangzhou blushed: “... I don’t know.”

Qiu Yin sighed: “You’ve watched so many videos, and you still haven’t understood this fundamental concept-”

Xu Tangzhou: “Hey! Can theoretical knowledge even be comparable to practical knowledge? You’re also the same, so you can’t say anything either!”

Qiu Yin ignored his previous statement and asked with a straight face: “Then have you checked it yourself? Was there any discharge of fluids? If so, how much?”

“......” Xu Tangzhou faceplanted on the table as his whole body turned red, looking as if he was about to boil over. “No… I shouldn’t have come to you…”

“Then if it isn’t a false estrus, then what is it?” Qiu Yin spoke professionally and calmly. “You differentiated late and you also haven’t been marked yet. If you come into frequent contact with an Alpha within a short period of time, then a false estrus would be easily triggered. The nosebleeds are indicative of your glands being sensitive to his pheromones, and your body wants to be marked by him. I recommend asking him to give you a temporary mark, you won’t get pregnant during a false estrus anyways.”

People who learn medicine are naturally scumbags.

Xu Tangzhou covered his face. His ice-cold beauty persona completely shattered, leaving behind a boiled egg: “... Impossible, it’s too difficult.”

Asking Ling Che to mark him, he’d be asking for death.

Qiu Yin said: “If you don’t want to be marked, then try to avoid meeting with the other person as much as possible. It would be best not to meet the other person, to prevent the glands from being stimulated again.

It’s over.

Xu Tangzhou felt a bit of despair: “We might be working together, even though the chances are low… Is there no hope?”

Qiu Yin used his doctor’s gaze to look at him and quickly began to write a prescription on the computer: “Of course… there is hope. You could take medication. Take these medications on time. Once your glands have been accustomed to his pheromones, your symptoms would gradually disappear after stopping the medication.”

Xu Tangzhou: “My friend, could you not break in the middle of your sentences?”

TN: The little gasp Zaizai did in the audio drama after hearing the “Of course…” XD

Qiu Yin usually doesn’t go online aside from browsing professional papers. As a result, he is oblivious to Xu Tangzhou’s matters.

After he finished speaking, he finally remembered the main point: “So, which Alpha is so powerful to make you react? This is very unusual, why don’t you consider chasing him and getting a permanent mark…”

Xu Tangzhou grabbed his medical card: “Goodbye!”

The second day, Xu Tangzhou received a call from Huang Qian.

“Good news! Ya jie and I talked for a long time on the phone last night. It’s been decided that you and Ling Che would be on the show together.” Huang Qian said: “Come to the company and take a few classes to understand what to pay attention to on camera. In addition, we can prepare your makeup and hairstyle for the show.”

Xu Tangzhou didn’t register what Huang Qian said afterward, as he was shocked: “Me… Me and Ling Che?”

Huang Qian said: “Yes.”

Xu Tangzhou: “No, didn’t Ling Che say he would think about it?

Xu Tangzhou still remembered the words Ling Che spoke: “Want me to bring him? Maybe in the next life.”

Huang Qian was elated: “Ya jie meant, both of you had photos taken when we sent him back. The article also wrote that you are ‘friends’. Why not use this exposure to attend a show? It’s easier than finding another person, and Ling Che also knows the advantages and disadvantages.

Xu Tangzhou was speechless.

He and Ling Che aren’t even friends, they’re simply strangers. They don’t understand the other person at all, won’t they slip up during the show?

He spoke out his doubts, but Huang Qian already prepared a response.

“Going on the show requires signing a contract. Ling Che has never gone on a show before, and Ya jie has a lot of terms to negotiate with the platform. It will take them at least a few weeks before the filming begins, so you two definitely have time to understand each other more.” Huang Qian said, “If Ling Che is there, the ratings will definitely explode. The scripts I gave you earlier can be pushed off for a bit?”

Xu Tangzhou currently has two scripts for the third lead.

He doesn’t have experience in acting, and he already scheduled a full month of acting classes for the next month. In this case, it seems the classes would have to be postponed. But Huang Qian meant to make a decision for the script after the show.

However, Xu Tangzhou already looked through a script he liked, even memorizing multiple lines.

“Zhouzhou, jiayou*.” Huang Qian finally said.

TN: jiayou is something like “Cheering you on” sort of feeling

*

After a week, the announcement was made for the comeback of the third season of the most popular variety show for the past two years, [Our Perfect Trip].

As a travel variety show that is a battle of wits (schemes) and courage (deception), it was poorly funded as a show, causing everyone to doubt the deep pit of life. The celebrities participating in this show squabble with each other in front of the camera lens broadcasting everything to the whole country.

Even if netizens were well aware that variety shows have a script, this particular show has become the “most authentic” celebrity reality show.

[Our Perfect Trip] Official V: We are back! Who will accompany us on our perfect trip this year? Move your finger and give us a like! The guests will officially be announced tomorrow evening at 8 pm. We will pick 100 fans who liked this post and gift them 5,000 karupees.

The comments suddenly exploded.

[Perfect? What perfect? It’s clearly a “pit trap” trip.]

[Wait, 5,000 rupees. Can the program group act like a human???]

[Giving everyone an explanation, 5,000 karupees* = 5 RMB (small smile) I feel insulted when I tapped the like button]

TN: This is a made-up location and currency TvT, although 5RMB is a bit less than a dollar

[Hahaha I just want to see which dumb*ss actors lack braincells]

…

A few hours later, [Our Perfect Trip] climbed to the number 1 trending spot with a tag of #Achieving new heights#.

[All the other program groups should come out and receive a beating. Watch how these guys spend 500 RMB to appear on the hot search.]

[Heh, 5 yuan. I can’t even buy a milk tea with it]

[With so many viewers, they should’ve made a lot of money? Don’t the producers have any tact?]

[Wait a minute, I noticed a small detail. Why are they sending karupees? Unless they’re going to Surilan Island?]

[Ahhh Surilan is absolutely stunning, I also want to go!!!]

Not long after, the great movie emperor Ying Chen liked a popular post and he also climbed up the hot search.

The post he liked said “which dumb*ss actors lack braincells”, and the online fans were about to laugh themselves to death. Ying Chen participated in this show last year. For a moment, his persona almost completely collapsed because of this show. Luckily, he pulled it together with his movie emperor acting skills.

It seemed that this show was truly scary. Ying Chen was pitted heavily against.

The pressure around Ling Che was very low, creating a two-meter radius of a no-trespassing zone around him: “You didn’t say anything earlier.”

“How would I know that you’d go?” Ying Chen turned off his phone and rubbed his chin, “I was fooled when I went. They said as long as I went, I could do whatever I wanted and they would even give me special treatment.”

“And then?”

“And then I truly could do whatever I wanted. The special treatment they gave me… you know too. They tossed a honey peach Omega to me, never using their blocker properly and also acting coy the entire time.” Upon thinking of it, Ying Chen ground his teeth, “It’s been a whole year, and I’m still allergic to peaches.”

Ling Che thought of Xu Tangzhou.

It’s impossible for him to act coy.

Ying Chen didn’t know what he was thinking. He thought that Ling Che was considering quitting, so he said: “It’s not all drawbacks. Although this show likes to pit people, the camera shooting and post-production are first-class in the industry. After finishing the show, my compensation fees were doubled.”

Ling Che didn’t care about those.

Ying Chen understood his goal: “You can just casually attend it. Oh right, who is your partner?”

Ling Che: “A newcomer.”

Ying Chen said: “Let me guess, they’re definitely an Omega. Situ Ya is very reliable, you’d be able to completely free yourself from any accusations after participating in this show. Even if your black fans tried to slander you, with the materials from the show, your little asteroids would instantly slap the evidence in their faces.”

Ling Che remained silent and wiped his sweat with a towel.

They met to play tennis, and a layer of sweat formed after playing. Their two pheromones mixed with mutual disdain within the room.

Ying Chen: “By the way, which newcomer and what’s their name? I’ll search them up.”

Ying Chen was already traumatized after the honey peach Omega. He was just worried that with Ling Che’s temper, Ling Che would drop a rock on his own foot given the same circumstances.

“No need.” Ling Che said, “He’s not that type of person.”

He was certain about that point in regards to Xu Tangzhou.

“Yo, you’re very confident.” Ying Chen raised his eyebrows, “Have you interacted with him before?”

Ling Che ignored him, stood up, and packed his things: “You care too much.”

The more Ling Che refused to say anything, the more interested Ying Chen became: “Tell me, who is it? I have experience with Omegas, how about I teach you?”

“You don’t know them.” Ling Che said without looking back, “Let’s go.”

TN: Chinese terms as pinyin in this chapter

“Jie” (older sister, could be used as a respectful address for acquaintances as well)

See glossary for more info.

Chapter 7 | TOC | Chapter 9

Translator note: Hehe~ my (personal) fav character appears~ (Qiu Yin! I love him dearly~)

Please support the author at jjwxc, there's an Audio Drama S1 and a Season 2, and a simplified physical (You'll need to click on the ones that say 小行星)!

I also added some information regarding false estrus in the Glossary under Omegaverse info

TN (part 2): I specifically checked the simplified version, and some of Qiu Yin’s lines were changed to be not as direct. (Sighs) Truly a pity…

But speaking of the simplified, Asteroid simplified book 2 is out!!! (Uhh… I’m a bit lazy to copy paste the thread of links from my main onto the update account, but go from this tweet and the tweets afterward! https://twitter.com/Stella_Moon7/status/1542454772812357632?s=20&t=6bUfipjUuY_07MECYSSu6w

There's now a Spanish translation too! Gracias a Kuchiki Risa por traduciendo! (Español)

(Just a heads up that if there are any errors, feel free to reach out to me!)