Omega Manual chapter 23

You Look Better When You Smile

The drizzle persisted throughout the night.

Shelley remained sleepless until the latter part of the night, only managing to sleep intermittently. Chaotic scenes intertwined in his dreams, sometimes working overtime at the company until late at night, sometimes falling off a horseback from his childhood memories, and sometimes it turned into that night at the Lansai Bar, where several Alphas with lecherous smiles blocked him against the wall. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t muster any strength, only able to watch helplessly as his clothes were torn to shreds.

This time in his dream, there was no one to rescue him. He saw Irey leaning against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth, leisurely observing, without any intention of intervening.

“Halton!” He shouted his name with all his might.

Smoke emanated from Irey’s mouth. “What’s up, boss?”

“Help me!” Shelley struggled desperately.

Irey laughed, a mocking smile curling his lips, “What’s there to help? Aren’t you an Omega? It’s an Omega’s duty to mate with Alphas. You should feel honored.”

At this point in the dream, Shelley suddenly woke up.

It took him a dozen seconds to realize that the pale surface in front of him was the ceiling of the old house he had just bought last night, with a corner of the wall peeling off, illuminated by the sunlight seeping through the gap in the curtains.

He slowly exhaled a breath from his lungs, sitting up against the headboard. As he touched his forehead, he realized it was damp with cold sweat.

How could he have such a ridiculous dream?

He got out of bed barefoot and drew open the bedroom curtains. It was still early, the sun had just peeked half its head over the horizon, and the city had not yet awakened from its deep slumber, with only birds chirping on nearby branches.

He opened the window, and a little sparrow flew over and perched on the window frame.

“Come here.” Shelley waved to it, and the sparrow cocked its head and looked at him for a moment before hopping closer.

Just then, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open, and Irey walked in, “Up already, boss?”

The sparrow was immediately startled and flew away in no time.

“…,” Shelley turned around, “Couldn’t you knock on the door before entering?”

Irey had a look of sudden realization on his face. He pulled his head back and closed the door, then pretended to knock twice, cleared his throat, “May I have the honor of meeting the noble, beautiful, handsome, and charming Mr. Shelley Manta? I beg your pardon for this abrupt intrusion.”

Shelley chuckled, “You’re insane.”

Irey casually pushed the door open and walked past, before Shelley could react, Irey’s warm palm was already against his forehead.

“Having nightmares?” Irey asked. Shelley was stunned.

“The sweat on your forehead is almost forming a small pool,” Irey casually grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and wiped Shelley’s forehead, “And I heard you crying and fussing again last night, shouting ‘Irey’ ‘Irey’ over and over…”

Shelley’s face turned red in an instant, but under Irey’s mischievous gaze, he realized something was off in just a few seconds.

How did Irey hear him through two closed doors? And even if he did shout, he wouldn’t have said “Irey,” he would have said “Halton,” right?

At this moment, Irey burst into laughter in response, and this time, Shelley picked up a pillow and threw it at him.

Irey laughed as he dodged backward, but inadvertently hit the back of his head on the door frame, making a dull sound.

“Damn…” Irey held his head, grimacing in pain.

“Serves you right,” Shelley chuckled, scolding.

Irey leaned against the door, lifted his head, and his gaze lingered on Shelley’s face for a moment. Suddenly, he said with a smile, “Boss, you look better when you smile.”

The sun had fully risen now, casting golden sunlight through the window glass into the room, giving an ordinary and mundane touch to everything. Tiny specks of dust danced in the air. Irey’s eyes stared straight at him, almost transparent under the morning light.

It’s a new day again.

Shelley suddenly realized.

He had inexplicably gained another day to breathe in this world.

During the day, Leisau looked more like a city than at night.

The sunlight illuminated the dark corners unseen at night, and people began to flow on the streets. There were scavengers pushing rudimentary wheelbarrows picking up garbage piled up overnight, stray dogs wagging their tails eagerly around newly opened food stalls, only to be scolded loudly by the stall owner and chased away.

“One burger.”

Irey leaned against the table in front of the colorful signboard, gesturing a “1” to the owner.

“It’ll be ready soon.” The owner wiped his hands on his apron and immediately lit the stove to prepare it. The meat patties sizzled on the iron plate, and the aroma quickly spread.

Shelley watched as the owner skillfully placed the grilled patty into the bun, sprinkling various unknown spices and vegetables inside.

“What do you want?” Irey asked, hands in his pockets, leaning against the signboard. “There’s no supermarket in Leisau, but you can buy vegetables at the market after seven. It’s unlikely to have meat, but you might get lucky with some eggs… Thanks.”

The stall owner handed the prepared hamburger to Irey, who counted out a few coins from his pocket and placed them in the owner’s hand.

Opening the paper bag, he unabashedly took a big bite of the hamburger. Shelley could even hear the crisp sound of the meat patty.

As Irey chewed, he continued, “As for condiments, you have to play it by ear, but a simple sandwich or noodles would do when you get back…”

Shelley couldn’t help but interrupt him, pointing to the hamburger in his hand, “What’s in this?”

Irey looked at the hamburger in his hand, “Well, this one is seventy percent cornmeal, and the remaining thirty percent is some meat from sparrows, wild birds, and rabbits, not something fancy.”

“Oh,” Shelley pursed his lips.

Next second, Irey smirked, suddenly holding the hamburger up to him, “Want to try?”

Shelley stared at the partially bitten hamburger, seemingly in inner conflict, “This kind of thing…”

“Just a taste, it won’t kill you,” Irey wiggled it, “So many people buy and eat it.”

Shelley’s psychological defense finally broke with this statement. He lifted a lock of hair and hesitantly took a bite from Irey’s wrist.

The fragrance exploded in his mouth instantly. The crispy meat patty paired with just the right amount of spices, blended with the wheaty aroma of the bread, every bite was full of flavor.

Shelley’s eyes lit up suddenly.

“Delicious?” Irey asked.

“Delicious,” Shelley struggled a bit to swallow the food in his mouth, still somewhat shocked in his eyes, “How can something like this be so tasty?”

“Welcome to the Lower City,” Irey smiled, then turned to shout at the hamburger cart vendor, “Another hamburger!”

In the end, it only took Shelley five minutes to devour his hamburger completely. Not only that, he also developed a strong interest in other street snacks.

This street was the busiest snack street in Leisau, with fast food, barbecue, drinks, and bars, everything you could think of. As Irey had said, many shops had hung up ribbons and balloons in front of their doors, decorated their signs with colorful confetti, welcoming the upcoming beer festival.

Shelley pointed to a long line of people at a stall selling elongated fried snacks and asked Irey, “What’s this?”

“Fried snake,” Irey said, “A whole snake wrapped in dough and fried. It’s better not to eat it; you might get a dead mouse inside the snake’s belly if you’re unlucky.”

Shelley looked shocked, then pointed to another stall with good business, “And this one?”

“Grilled insects,” Irey glanced, “Cicada pupae, spiders, not much meat, but they taste pretty good.”

Shelley immediately moved away from that stall a bit, but was quickly drawn to another new stall, “What’s that shiny green thing?”

“Wild vegetable cake. You probably won’t get used to the taste; it’s bitter at first, you need to put a lot of chili to suppress it.”

Noticing the fleeting look of disappointment in Shelley’s eyes, Irey laughed and put his arm around his shoulder, directing him elsewhere, “In that case, you can try this. Mr.! Get us a Sweetheart Bun!”

“Alright!” The vendor responded loudly in the crowd, and soon, a palm-sized dark brown dough was handed to Shelley.

“Is this bread?” Shelley looked up at Irey, “Why is it this color?”

“Try it and see,” Irey lifted his chin.

Shelley held the bun in his hand, cautiously took a bite.

Unlike regular pastries, it had a tougher texture. As he bit into it, yellow syrup oozed out from the center of the dough, filling his mouth with sweetness.

A very pure taste.

“Sweet,” he said, “This isn’t made of wheat flour, is it?”

“Wheat flour is limited in supply in the Lower City, most of the pastries here aren’t made of wheat flour,” Irey said, “What you’re eating is made of sweet potato flour, and the filling isn’t white sugar either.”

“What is it?” Shelley asked.

“It’s wild bee honey,” Irey said, “Since the production system collapsed after the disaster in the Lower City, honey has become much easier to obtain than white sugar.”

“I see,” Shelley said softly, looking at the dirty-colored bun in his hand.

The taste of sweet potato flour wasn’t as good as wheat flour, and the honey inside had a hint of wild grass, but together, it was a taste he would never experience living in the Upper City.

He opened his mouth and ate the rest of the bun, chewing the slightly sweet snack. He suddenly realized that despite being out of Nantes for so long, this seemed to be the first time he had truly tasted the food that Irey would normally eat.