Asteroid

Chapter 1: Open mic

December 31, Shenhai TV New Year’s Eve Live Broadcast.

On January 1st at midnight, the host said a few concluding remarks after the countdown.
The people at the scene suddenly began to shout, cry, and shriek, riling up the atmosphere that night to a climax.
At that moment, it seemed as if they had finally accepted the fact that Ling Che didn’t come.

The song emperor Ling Che was immensely popular the moment he debuted four years ago.
In just a few years, he stood at the top of the music world without having experienced any setbacks.

Last week, there was a scandal that shook the music circle.
An Omega female singer was accidentally marked by someone else, leading to a round of ridicule.
Because Ling Che and her boyfriend were considered friends, the media chased after Ling Che asking for his opinion.

While chasing him down, Ling Che indifferently said one sentence.
“Omegas are originally creatures that don’t have any control, the ones who decide whether or not they get marked are Alphas''

Once these words were spoken by the Alpha, it quickly gave rise to a huge uproar.
That day, it firmly occupied the headlines and never stopped being popular.
In an age where Omega’s rights were extremely sensitive, the phrase was spread around and the media took part in condemning Ling Che, aggravating the situation.

Ling Che was already blocked and his fans were endlessly crying, in disbelief that Ling Che could be this affected.
One after another, they flocked to the forums and kept posting topics such as: “#Ling Che, we can’t live without you#”, “#O without power isn’t O cancer#”, “Oppose attacking others because of Omegas”, and “#Alpha Freedom of speech#”, etc.

Ling Che’s absence was announced a long time ago from tonight’s New Year party.
Many of his fans were unable to accept it.

Before the broadcast ended, no one knew who among the audience started it, but the fans sang Ling Che’s hit song [Asteroids].

“Revolving around a galaxy,

The orbit remained constant for millions of years.

I can't stop wanting to get a bit closer to you.

The more impulsive I am, the farther away you are…”

*

Xu Tangzhou opened his eyes.
The New Year’s night sky outside the window was dark, only lit up by fireworks.

He fell asleep on the apartment sofa and if not for waking up upon hearing the familiar melody coming from the TV, he would have probably woken up the next day.

Ling Che couldn’t have actually been blocked? Xu Tangzhou regretfully thought.

The first time he saw Ling Che on TV, Xu Tangzhou was captivated by that person’s amazing innate aura.
He had never seen such an Alpha before-

Ling Che didn’t have the iconic six-pack abs or beast-like physique like a typical Alpha.
He had a tall and slim figure, and his face resembled a mysterious vampire from some anime.
The word “pretty” could definitely be used to describe him.

When Ling Che’s HD close-up glance towards the camera lens was shown in the MV, his amber eyes appeared arrogant and lazy; his powerful alpha pheromone seemed to ooze through the screen, enough to make anyone who looked at him feel like obeying.

The media once said that Ling Che was born to be a superstar.

But the ones trying to pull this superstar down from the altar were also them.

The live broadcast was cut off and the sound of the audience singing [Planet] came to a sudden halt.
The New Year’s Eve party officially came to an end.

Two seconds later, a huge Shenhai TV icon appeared on the screen.
A short line of characters then appeared “Happy New Year!”.

The mobile phone on the table began vibrating incessantly.
Xu Tangzhou's thoughts were dragged back from his sudden disappointed mood while exposing a small smile.

Today is his birthday.

Those “Happy Birthday” text messages were from his relatives, friends, and a few were from his fans on social media.

Xu Tangzhou opened Flow on his phone and started a live broadcast.
The moment he came online, the comment barrage was spammed like crazy.

[Happy birthday Zhouzhou!! [Cake] You finally appeared!!!]

[555 Zhouzhou, Happy 22nd birthday! QAQ]
(TN: 555 sounds like wuwuwu which is onomatopoeia for crying sounds)

[Happy New Year and Happy Birthday! [Heart][Heart][Heart]]

[OMG Zhouzhou became one year older and seemed to have gotten prettier AHHHH I’m deceased]

[Zaizai’s skin is so white, his eyes are also pretty…]

Xu Tangzhou only had a few ten thousand Flow fans, most of whom were true love fans from the time when he was still a minor on the runway.
Although he had no impression of his modeling career from those years, his fans still loved him deeply.
So as soon as his Flow account was opened, they immediately followed him.

His agent, Huang Qian, was very pleased with this, encouraging him to interact with everyone occasionally to help maintain his popularity.

Not long after Xu Tangzhou debuted as an actor, the advertisement he shot earlier also became popular, so there were a good number of new fans in the barrage also wishing him a happy birthday.

“Happy New Year everyone, thank you for your well wishes.” Xu Tangzhou looked at the constant influx of comments on the barrage, greeted everyone, and said, “Have you missed me this much? It’s a new year and you’re still closing one eye while brainlessly praising me.”
(TN: rainbow fart = exaggerated praise)

[Wuwuwu I’ve been shunned by my idol today, humbled.]

[Humbled +1]

[Zaizai, did you catch a cold? Your voice sounds a little hoarse.]

[This voice is so sexy, slightly hard, showing respect.]
(TN: … yes, that hard… took me a while to find this, but this likely is derived from 微微一硬略表尊敬, which is… more or less saying someone looks pretty to the point the speaker has… thoughts…)

……

“Only slightly?” A small smile crept across Xu Tangzhou’s face, “Then don’t.
You guys don’t respect me at all.”

With a smile, his face unintentionally gave off a hint of sexiness.
As a result, the barrage was flooded with comments, and the number of viewers rapidly rose to a few thousand people.

Xu Tangzhou had a stunning face with thin lips, phoenix eyes, and an aggressive look.
Coupled with his pale white skin and his appearance when he doesn’t smile, he looked like a humanoid ice sculpture: ice cold and reserved.

But as long as they are his fans, no one would believe Xu Tangzhou’s nonsense of “ice cold”.

[Haha Zhouzhou was driving cars again]
(TN: Driving cars is essentially thinking R18+ stuff)

[What driving cars, Zhouzhou just got off from me (Dangerous words)]

……

“You guys, I just got off from the sofa.
I was watching the New Year’s broadcast when I accidentally fell asleep.”

Xu Tangzhou peeked at the barrage and used a nasal tone to read the name of a commenter, “‘Pure O is out of control’ En, I think you’re about to go out of control too.
Learn about Mist pheromone blockers.”

Mist, in Chinese, was mist.

The third-generation inhaler-type pheromone blocker, suitable for all Omegas, could rapidly block the transmission of pheromones within three seconds.
It was small in size, exquisitely modeled, and also customizable to each individual’s preferences.
It was the most popular brand of blocker in the world.