Killing Marriage [ABO] - Chapter 12

 Chapter 12: The Whole Story

“Anyway, you’ve made plenty of money before, and with four parents to sponge off, you should be fine getting through this. Tell me the details after I get back from rehab; I’ll be late if I don’t leave now.”

With that, Ren Zhong packed up his rehabilitation documents and headed to the rehabilitation center.

Waiting until Ren Zhong got back? Wouldn’t that be too late for everything? Shang Liwei plopped onto the sofa and started chatting with Zhang Qingyuan.

Zhang Qingyuan’s gaze involuntarily darted back and forth between Shang Liwei and Mitong’s handbag next to her on the sofa, his heart pounding in anxiety.

“…Why are you dressed like a penguin?” Shang Liwei teased.

Zhang Qingyuan pulled out a tissue, wiped the sweat from his forehead, his lies becoming increasingly practiced. “I was fixing the air conditioning in the cold storage room earlier.”

The two didn’t dwell on the down jacket topic for long and moved on to the reason for Shang Liwei’s unemployment.

“I was fired from the research institute because the institute had to protect itself.” She casually picked up Mitong’s lime water from the table and took a sip. “My research findings are seriously inconsistent with the government’s advocated direction. If they were published, the consequences would be quite severe.”

Hearing that her research went against government advocacy, Zhang Qingyuan suppressed his inner excitement and asked casually, in a tone of everyday conversation, “How severe?”

“About as severe as overturning the worldview of most people. A few centuries ago, I’d probably be burned at the stake as a witch.”

Then, she dropped her playful tone. “Let me put it this way: at some distant point in the future, the characteristics of Alpha and Omega genders are bound to disappear. Everyone will become Beta males and females.”

Zhang Qingyuan’s eyes flashed with surprise. “So, the continuous decline in Alpha and Omega birth rates over the past decade is because… Alpha and Omega gender characteristics are destined to be eliminated in the evolutionary process?”

The genders that had always been considered “nobler” and “stronger” had, in fact, already reached a dead end.

Shang Liwei nodded. “Precisely. Only stable development strategies have the highest survival rate and are most likely to persist. Unstable traits like definite ruts and vulnerability periods for Alphas and Omegas are no longer suitable for modern life.”

She added, “But this is far off, many generations from now – grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren. It has nothing to do with us now. What’s more relevant to us, what’s enough to affect the present, is something else.”

“What is that?” Zhang Qingyuan asked.

She said, “The compulsory marriage matching method and the way this society operates—with Alphas at the top of the pyramid, Omegas as precious yet lowly reproductive resources, and the large number of ‘worker bee’ Betas at the bottom. But is that really the truth?”

Zhang Qingyuan pondered briefly, saying, “Not necessarily. Deconstructing the world from the perspective of vested interests will inevitably distort the facts.”

“Exactly.” Shang Liwei saw that the other party was a discerning person who could communicate, so she continued. “Regarding Omegas, especially male Omegas, the truth is very likely completely different from our conventional understanding.”

To make the originally abstruse content easier to understand, Shang Liwei chuckled mischievously and told a story from the animal kingdom.

…

Spring arrived, and it was again the mating season.

The male snake “Little Zhang” had a slender body, beautiful patterns, and two hard, thorny balls.

Today, he was going to pursue the snake of his dreams. As long as one egg in her clutch was his, “Little Zhang’s” reproductive mission as a male snake would be perfectly accomplished.

However, on his way to pursue the goddess snake, he encountered a snake blocking his path.

It was a beautiful “female snake” emitting sweet feminine pheromones, instantly replacing the goddess snake in Zhang Qingyuan’s heart.

“Little Zhang” eagerly wrapped himself around this “female snake,” ravaging, cherishing, and conquering it amidst its soft, alluring, feigned protests of “yamete!” Afterwards, he heartlessly pulled away, marked, and left this female snake, certain she would lay his eggs.

He thought, surely the baby snakes would be beautiful?

Little did he know, that beautiful “female snake” not only had a slender body and beautiful patterns like him, but also two hard, “thorny balls” just like him.

The male snake who had drained “Little Zhang” then suppressed his female pheromones, found the true goddess snake, and had her lay his sole clutch of eggs.

This was “Zhongzhong.”

A cunning Omega, an evolutionary genius and hero.

“Zhongzhong” endured humiliation, biding his time, and at the cost of his own… ahem, he expended his competitors’ stamina and stole their genetic information, becoming the ultimate winner.

And “Little Zhang,” the male snake he deceived, was still thinking about having “Zhongzhong” lay snake eggs for him again next year.

…

“…” Zhang Qingyuan felt like he was being alluded to, and he had ample evidence.

However, through the other person’s teasing, he seemed to understand what they wanted to say.

Shang Liwei explained, “The essence of male Omegas is very likely to use pheromones to disguise themselves as females, deceiving competitors. As a gender whose primary responsibility is genetic transmission, male Omegas are not parasitic on Alphas; they are even in a competitive relationship with Alphas.”

“There have been news reports and sociology papers before describing how many male Omegas, after being ‘marked,’ cannot fool around with other Alphas, but can cheat with Beta females and Omega females… Is this also why?” Zhang Qingyuan mused.

Shang Liwei nodded in agreement and added, “Male Omegas are beings whose priority is passing on genetic material, so they gradually evolved to use the semen of other male snakes within their bodies to get pregnant, leaving behind offspring that are absolutely their own. Dual-purpose, double-insured.”

This was her conjecture based on the sexual research of a certain snake species.

A new theory capable of overturning the entire fixed social cognition is usually initially labeled as “heresy.”

“No wonder your mentor was so eager to fire you…” A chill ran up Zhang Qingyuan’s spine. “If something like this were proven, it would cause major social upheaval.”

Shang Liwei shrugged. “You can say that again.”

She slumped back on the sofa, reclining. “I think this matter needs to be put off for a bit longer before I can tell Mitong. Can I just hide out at the Captain’s place today?”

When she said “Captain,” she deliberately emphasized the word.

“Of course, no problem,” Zhang Qingyuan smiled helplessly. “I have guests upstairs. Please make yourself at home. If you’re thirsty or hungry, there’s everything in the fridge. Just text me if you need anything else.”

She seemed perfectly at ease. “Alright, thanks for the hospitality!”

With that, she skillfully turned on the TV and projected her phone screen, immersing herself in online media like any unemployed slacker.

It seemed Shang Liwei had completely given up, like a salted fish that couldn’t stir up any more waves.

But after Zhang Qingyuan went upstairs, she secretly pulled out her phone, opened an email address noted as “Mysterious Hacker,” and prepared to reply.

…

Zhang Qingyuan slowly ascended the stairs, organizing his thoughts.

This bombshell news had not only significantly impacted his action plan but had also shaken his very way of thinking about the world.

He needed to take a moment to process it.

Reaching the second floor, he took a deep breath.

He then remembered there were two significant problems waiting for him to solve up here.

Zhang Qingyuan decided to leave his sister for now and go check on Lawyer Mai.

The study was empty, the gym was empty, the storage room was empty, the guest bathroom was empty…

“She wouldn’t have hidden in the Captain’s room, would she?” Zhang Qingyuan knocked a few times and pushed the door open.

Inside, in Ren Zhong’s room, his sister was sobbing loudly, clinging to Lawyer Mai’s leg.

A small soup pot was overturned on Ren Zhong’s favorite rug, soaking it with the smell of quick-frozen wontons and seaweed and egg drop broth.

“Sister Mai, your immense kindness, I’ll never forget! You’re truly a living Bodhisattva for Xiao Heng and me!” Zhang’s sister wiped snot and tears, almost smearing them on Lawyer Mai’s suit pants.

Zhang Qingyuan: “…”

His world had collapsed too many times in one day!

Helplessly, Zhang Qingyuan could only take on the responsibility of a virtuous wife and clean up the mess alone.

He first peeled his sister off Lawyer Mai’s leg, then used a tissue to wipe his sister’s tear-streaked face clean. After that, he brought a basin of water and cleaning solution, hand-washing the small rug on the spot since it couldn’t be machine washed, all while multitasking his work.

“I only knew she was Zhan Heng’s girlfriend before; I truly didn’t know she was your sister,” Lawyer Mai said, pushing up her glasses.

Zhang Qingyuan wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I only found out about her ‘glorious’ deeds today too.”

“And me, I only found out today that Lawyer Mai is also a member of KFM,” Zhang’s sister said cheekily.

KFM stands for Kill Force Marriage.

The organization is composed of people who oppose the “Compulsory Marriage Matching Method.” Its sole purpose is to dismantle the compulsory marriage matching system.

Lawyer Mai was surprisingly open-minded. “I’m a firm believer in celibacy. There’s no place for love in my life plan, yet I was forced to match and marry. The boy I married is a very good kid, but I couldn’t give him the affection and response he wanted.”

She recalled, “When he proactively confessed this relationship, he also said there was nothing more between them than ‘what I want, she can give, and what I can give, she wants.’ It’s a simple matter; if it weren’t for matched marriages and difficult divorce procedures, it wouldn’t have escalated like this.”

“Chirp!”

A childish computer notification sound broke the current atmosphere.

“Excuse me, that’s mine,” Zhang’s sister pulled out her laptop from her dirty crossbody bag. “I’ll just mute it now…”

However, she froze after opening the laptop screen.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Qingyuan asked her.

Zhang’s sister chuckled and turned the screen towards them. “Look, Shang Liwei decided to join us.”