Xu Hexing stepped into the entertainment industry, a chaotic and filthy world that served as a breeding ground for the nobility.
Everyone knew that the glamorous little stars were just songbirds raised and exploited by the nobility.
Everyone had someone powerful backing them. Those without support had a hard time and could be bullied by anyone. They couldn't get resources and would always be stepping-stones for others.
Everyone entered the industry with their own purpose.
Xu Hexing didn't know why he had entered this world. He only knew that every decision he'd made in the past had set him on a path that led here.
He had a vague feeling that he'd forgotten a very important promise.
Until an Alpha appeared. His pheromones smelled wonderful, like cedar and icy mint.
Xu Hexing didn't know him, but the man always looked at him as if he were a lost treasure he'd found again. He stood up for him time and again, indulged his every whim, and seemed capable of anything.
*
This was a planet called Hertlans, where the evolved humans who lived there had lifespans of 300 to 500 years.
Lin Xiuze had met Xu Hexing many years ago.
The Omega's pheromones smelled of enticing, harmless white peach rum. His face, however, was incredibly alluring. He was among the first art students at the Interstellar Academy, able to sing and dance, with a temper as pliant as the body he'd made exceptionally flexible through years of dance training.
Lin Xiuze had secretly pined for him for many years.
*
The Marshal's estate. Silver-white warships filled the sky overhead, packed together in dense formations. This young general, whose name struck fear across several star systems, didn't even have time to change out of his combat uniform before dropping from an altitude of ten thousand meters and landing in front of him.
Holding a box in one hand, he used his teeth to pull off the glove on the other. Then he knelt reverently on one knee and gently took Xu Hexing's hand with his bare hand. "Will you marry me?"
Xu Hexing frowned slightly.
Lin Xiuze opened the box in his hand. Inside wasn't an engagement ring, but a pale blue memory chip.
It was the memory chip Xu Hexing had lost. It contained all of his past with the man standing before him, as well as his youthful crush.
Lin Xiuze's Adam's apple bobbed. A faint sheen of sweat appeared on his palm as he asked tentatively, "Do you remember me?"
I remember now.
So I really did love you this much.
Extra scene:
Many years later, people in City A heard that top Alpha Lin Xiuze had gotten together with his partner, the heir to a top consortium and the future ruler of the planet, through a publicity stunt. Omegas who wanted to attract attention started trying the same old tricks.
But no matter which publicity agency they approached or how much they offered, the answer was always no.
It wasn't until an employee who had once been lucky enough to work on the matter retired that someone finally explained what had happened.
"It's not that they don't want the job. They don't dare take it. The one at the Marshal's estate gave the order."
"Nobody in the whole galaxy could pull it off today. Back then, it was an outrageously expensive publicity campaign, something no one could replicate. Do you know how much it cost? The one at the Marshal's estate was proposing!"
Author's note:
1. The whole thing is made up, so don't overthink it. If you do, you win.
2. This is a writing exercise. I haven't read much space opera or ABO, so this is really an entertainment-industry story dressed up as a space opera.
3. Clichéd melodrama and Mary Sue elements ahead. Amnesia trope: as cliché as it gets.
4. The blurb is for reference only. Please follow the story itself.
Revised 2022.7.19
Theme: Renaissance.
