WMSR — QT Chapter 167

 

WMSR – QT Chapter 167

By

siofra

"It's alright." Seeing the opposite omega turn deathly pale and look as though he were on the verge of tears, Bai Yichen hastened to offer reassurance: "It's completely fine, I'm not particularly hungry either. Just enjoy whatever you like."

Following Bai Yichen's flurry of soothing words, the opposite omega gradually regained his composure. Internally, Bai Yichen heaved a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that omegas were indeed fragile creatures—nearly driven to tears over something so minor, meaning one had to tread carefully around them at every turn. Yet he couldn't help feeling that this particular omega possessed a remarkably sweet disposition; he wondered where those internet rumors claiming omegas were temperamental and high-maintenance had ever originated. Still, pondering the empire's gender ratio between alphas and omegas, alongside the fierce competition alphas faced to secure an omega partner, Bai Yichen felt he had stumbled upon the naked truth: perhaps it was merely a case of sour grapes, with unsuccessful suitors spreading malicious falsehoods everywhere out of bitter envy.

Meanwhile, having been tenderly coaxed for a prolonged stretch by his beloved alpha, Colin's heart was already hammering like a frantic war drum. Deploying an extraordinary degree of self-restraint to maintain an outward appearance of calm, he allowed only a faint blush to color his cheeks: My Bai is so gentle.

Yet, having triggered such an awkward blunder, he felt a strong compulsion to make it up to Bai Yichen. Glancing at the untouched seafood sitting directly in front of Bai Yichen, an idea sparked in Colin's mind. Lifting his head once more with spirits and smiles fully restored, he offered brightly: "As an apology, let me shell these for you."

Without waiting for Bai Yichen to issue a refusal, Colin reached out and picked up a spiral-shaped ingredient whose surface was densely covered in features resembling a seamless hybrid of scales and shell. His slender fingers deftly pried away a specific, designated scale, whereupon the remaining segments appeared to instantly loosen, allowing Colin to peel them off layer by layer until the pristine, snow-white tender meat was exposed at the core.

When only a microscopic fraction of the spiral casing remained, Colin transferred the morsel onto a small side plate and pushed it across the table toward Bai Yichen with an effulgent smile: "Try this, it's delicious."

Unable to brush aside such earnest hospitality, Bai Yichen picked it up and took a bite.

"How is it? Is it good?" Colin watched Bai Yichen's facial reactions with an expression of intense, nervous anticipation.

Swallowing down the savory, melt-in-the-mouth tender meat, Bai Yichen nodded.

As if fueled by some profound encouragement drawn from that single nod, Colin immediately radiated renewed drive, peeling into another novel variety: "Here, try this one too, hurry up and taste it—this is also fantastic."

"Mhm."

"This one is quite good as well, and these two here—I'm quite fond of them too, you really must give them a try."

"Since we agreed it's an apology, you simply have to sample them. Oh, and the one currently in my hand tastes exceptionally divine when paired with a specific dipping sauce; let me whip it up for you."

While Colin sank deep into the unadulterated bliss of the feeding ritual—his slender, oil-stained fingers diligently hacking away at a pile of shells without the slightest intention of halting—the multitude of spectators populating the livestream room expressed absolute shock at the trajectory of events. Witnessing Colin personally shelling seafood to wait hand and foot upon his companion, while the alpha sat back and leisurely enjoyed the pampering, left viewers feeling as though their brains were on the verge of short-circuiting. The unfolding spectacle completely upended their foundational worldview and violently assaulted their nerves. As alphas, failing to proactively shell food for an omega was typically grounds for classification as a derelict partner; yet this particular alpha had somehow engineered a reality where an omega proactively shelled food for him.

Had he given even a fraction of a thought to the plight of poor, desolate alphas across the empire who couldn't even manage to secure a single extra word from an omega?

Spurred by the absurdity, a cascading wave of synchronized commentary flooded the livestream:

"Anthony is weeping himself to sleep in the restroom."

"The three alphas who dated Colin previously are weeping themselves to sleep in the restroom."

"Every single participating alpha in this year's matching cycle is weeping themselves to sleep in the restroom."

"The entire empire's alphas are weeping themselves to sleep in the restroom."

"Even I am weeping myself to sleep in the restroom."

Regardless of how tumultuous the internal monologues of the livestream audience ran, Colin remained entirely consumed by a deep sense of achievement and bliss as he watched the opposite alpha ingest the morsels he had personally peeled. Buoyed by the success of these interactions, he felt he had successfully bridged the psychological distance separating him from Bai Yichen. Consequently, he began casually tossing out questions he had previously suppressed out of fear of appearing too abrupt: "Bai, isn't this flavor wonderful? I'm partial to savory profiles myself—my absolute favorite dish is steamed starry sky fish. What about you? What kind of flavor profile do you favor most, and what is your favorite dish?"

"Bai, you used to serve in the military department, didn't you? Must military life be dreadfully monotonous? What do you typically enjoy doing during your personal off-duty hours?"

"Oh, Bai, to think you actually enjoy reading! That matches my hobby precisely; my absolute favorite work is Master Krolo's novel The World of Bill. Which book is your favorite? Tell me, let's see if I've read it."

Colin's inquiries cascaded forth in an unbroken stream. Bound by the unspoken social contract of accepting another's hospitality, Bai Yichen found himself compelled to offer responses, though he deliberately kept them monosyllabic and brief. He harbored zero ambition to perform well or secure the match; his singular objective was to bumble through the mandatory procedure as a mere formality. Yet no matter how terse his replies grew or how wooden his demeanor remained, the opposite omega maintained a radiant smile, brimming with eager enthusiasm while nimbly latching onto every conversational thread to keep the dialogue afloat. As the questions grew progressively more granular, Bai Yichen began to feel his composure fraying at the edges. After all, how on earth was he supposed to possess working knowledge of this world's literary canon when he had only just arrived? Moreover, weighed down by the perpetual crisis surrounding his physical abnormalities, he naturally possessed zero leisure or emotional bandwidth for reading novels.

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