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Chapter 3: Dashing Brother A

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　　【15】

Not long after Da Ji was taken away, Silly Brother B, who had been injected with the modifier, came back from the training school. No no, I should be calling him “Silly Brother A” now.

Seeing him back, I led the Beta chickens on this mountain into a line, and we all shouted in unison, “Hello Silly Brother A! Welcome back!”

He said with a depressed expression, “Stupid chickens, call me ‘Dashing Brother A’!”

Us bunch of stupid chickens with me as the lead, “…”

Oh. As long as you’re happy.

Hence, Dashing Brother A was greeted with our enthusiastic welcome upon his return. A smile finally appeared on Owner’s face after a long time.

But one night not long after Dashing Brother A’s return, I heard sighs come from inside Owner’s room. It was then that I accidentally heard the conversation between Owner and Dashing Brother A and realised that everything was just a misconception.

In reality, Dashing Brother A had graduated from the training school early. Due to the limit of his qualification, he had to pay a large school fee if he wanted to further his studies. He also had to try a new modifier.

The new modifier was unstable and very dangerous. Owner didn’t agree to it and didn’t want Dashing Brother A to continue staying in that money-sucking school, so he let him come back early.

Dashing Brother A was currently considered a partly finished product. Was he considered successful or not? We would have to see if he is able to make an Omega chicken or Beta chicken pregnant and successfully conceive the next generation of chickens with good genes.

But because he was modified to become an Alpha chicken and couldn’t guarantee a successful breeding, other Omega chickens were afraid. Even the Beta chickens felt fearful. They worried that a gene mutation might form and turn them into a monster chicken.

Dashing Brother A was actually not dashing at all. I understood the pain in his heart.

Therefore I patted Dashing Brother A’s back and told him not to force himself. No matter what happened, he would always be the upright Silly Brother B in my heart.

　　【16】

However, the upright Silly Brother B suddenly became bent.

“Xiao Ji, I like you!”

Dashing Brother A had a change of heart and confessed to me, saying that he wanted to mark me.

I was stunned. “…”

“You… are you scared of me too, Xiao Ji?”

I shook my head. Seeing how pitiful he looked, I couldn’t bear rejecting him straight away, so I told him to give me some time to consider.

Normally, an Alpha chicken could mark multiple Omega chickens, but an Omega chicken could only be marked by one Alpha chicken.

If I was unable to conceive, Dashing Brother A could still find other Omega chickens to mark. But as for me… I could only stay with him for the rest of my life.

That night I couldn’t sleep.

I thought of my daddy and mommy. They were a very affectionate chicken couple. Maybe I was silly and naive. Even with the appearance of ABO hormones, I still looked forward to living my whole life with another chicken as a pair.

All this while, the cockscomb flower I picked on the day Da Ji was sick was put in a vase. The flower had long withered by now. I stayed in my little nest alone. It actually felt empty and a little cold.

I hugged the feather Da Ji gave me and looked at the bell that previously hung on his neck. I missed Da Ji so much.

I shook the bell. Ding ding ding. I used to feel so much joy listening to it before. Now that I listened to it on this silent night, I suddenly felt like crying… 

Despite being unable to release hormones as an Omega chicken, Da Ji always said that I smelled fragrant, that I had a unique scent that was especially nice to smell. 

It was definitely warm when Da Ji squeezed into the same nest as me. He also didn’t argue with me when I plucked his feather in anger. And he even thanked me for plucking away his stray feathers and complimented that I had good mouth technique and oral skills.

Da Ji wasn’t disgusted with the worms and rice stained with my saliva. He helped me fight against the chicken bullies and wanted to give me a flower even when he was sick… 

The more I thought of Da Ji, the more lonely I felt. We already parted ways. What was the point of me thinking about this now?

Da Ji had already been gone for half a year. According to my calculations, the time we were separated was longer than the time we spent together.

I rejected Dashing Brother A decisively the next morning as I chicken friend-zoned him.

Dashing Brother A accepted it calmly and also said that he already predicted this outcome.

Because this bunch of Owner’s chickens still mentioned Da Ji and missed him. They also missed the trouble Da Ji and I stirred up. Although it was very noisy back then, it was also full of laughter.

After knowing about my true feelings, Dashing Brother A was very supportive of me. He placed his claw on me and gave me his blessing dashingly, saying, “Xiao Ji, you can do it.”

I then went to bid farewell to Owner. I told him that I made up my mind to find Da Ji.

Although Owner was reluctant to part, he still waved his hand and said, “Fine, fine. Once a child grows up, he doesn’t want his mother to control him anymore. Once a chicken grows up, he doesn’t want his owner to control him anymore. You have grown up, and it’s your estrus period. It’s time for you to find your true love.”

Me: “…”

　　【17】

I searched around many mountains and looked out for information relating to Da Ji. The closer I was to the city, the more information I obtained. Da Ji and his owner were famous because they were too rich.

It was said that Da Ji’s owner was the richest in the entire eastern mainland, and Da Ji was the pet chicken of this rich family.

As long as it was a rich person complimenting Da Ji, even a phoenix from heaven couldn’t compare to the chicken.

Rich people were so wilful!

The rich owner also raised a bunch of chickens. But he wasn’t like my poor owner. All the chickens in the rich owner’s home lived in a large and luxurious chicken manor. It was very famous here and was also the dream home of every ordinary chicken. They all wished to live in such a big manor and live a noble life.

Among all of the rich owner’s chickens, Da Ji was the Alpha chicken most doted upon. I remember Da Ji mentioning it before. That’s right. He received all the doting and caused the envy of countless chickens.

The rich owner was reluctant to let Da Ji mate with other chickens easily. He wanted to find the most beautiful Omega chicken that could match Da Ji. Only then could chicks of the best genes be conceived.

Obviously, it was impossible for me to be that Omega chicken.

But the rich owner still kept me. His reasoning was: I’ve never seen such a thin and ugly Omega chicken before!

Since he already had the most handsome Alpha rooster, he should also raise the ugliest Omega chicken. If his sense of beauty changed one day, it wouldn’t be bad to look at this ugly chicken.

Me: “…”

Wasn’t he afraid of ruining his eyes? I couldn’t comprehend how a rich person thought.

Am I really that ugly? Am I really the ugliest Omega chicken?

In fact, I understood it myself. However, having people emphasize it every time was pouring salt on my wound.

I hated the rich owner at first glance. My owner was much cuter and kinder than him. Afterall, my owner had no issues except for loving pomelo tea so much.

　　【18】

I finally met Da Ji.

He had completely slimmed down, and now he looked very handsome. His red cockscomb stood upright, and his eyes were especially bright. His neck and legs were long, and his tail was raised up high. He looked so mighty. What a god!

My eyes shone brightly. It was the first time I realised that I could be lovestruck due to someone’s appearance

But Da Ji didn’t remember me.

Da Ji’s eyes have become cold, perhaps due to experiencing his friends’ betrayal and having to stay in a poor and remote countryside for a period of time because he was sick. He looked at me as if he was looking at a stranger chicken.

I didn’t know what he went through. Why didn’t he remember me?

There was no way Da Ji would answer me, and no other chicken told me either. No matter how I asked, they kept their mouths sealed and didn’t say a word, as if someone set out a death order.

I worked hard and tried different ways to approach Da Ji. Finally, I became one of the servant chickens that served him.

Although Da Ji didn’t remember me, his first reaction was still to call me “Xiao Jiji’ when he heard my name.

It sounds so unpleasant and dirty! Da Jiji!

I cursed in my heart, but I couldn’t help laughing. I was used to this way of address, especially if it came out of Da Ji’s mouth.

Although the way Da Ji called me didn’t change, his behaviour had changed.

He disdained my body for having a strange smell. He shook his head, saying that he could tell I was a wild chicken from the countryside with one sniff.

I… no, Ore^[1] am a wild, countryside chicken. What about it!

Previously, he had complimented me saying that I smelled nice. He must have been coaxing me with his silver tongue. Humph!

I could no longer pluck his feathers even when I was angry. Other than the owner, no one was able to approach him. Da Ji said that he didn’t need friends and that he would never trust other chickens again.

Out of habit, I fed him with my mouth. Da Ji quickly retreated and said with extreme disdain, “Stay away from me! You crazy chicken. Do you countryside chickens take care of others this way!”

Me: “…”

He used to like it so much. Everything was definitely different now.

　　【19】

I met a Beta rooster in my days living in the chicken manor. Or more accurately, he was physically an Alpha rooster.

That’s right. He was a very strange chicken. He was clearly a noble Alpha chicken, but he wanted to act like an ordinary Beta chicken. Therefore I called him “Fake Brother B”.

Fake Brother B had his own view. He explained to me that he only wanted to be an ordinary rooster, plus the Beta chicken was currently the most normal sexuality.

However, I felt that Fake brother B couldn’t hide his nature no matter how much he acted.

The “ge ge ge” chicken sound he made sounded much nicer than other the chickens. And he was a great singer amongst the roosters because he had a good voice. Since he was born extraordinary, he was fated to be unable to live an ordinary life.

Later, I discovered that Fake Brother B was once Da Ji’s good friend.

However, Da Ji felt that Fake Brother B was degrading himself. The two chickens argued about Fake Brother B’s behavior, which eventually led to a cold war. They gradually stopped talking to each other, and their relationship was now similar to broken friendship.

Fake Brother B had a high EQ and could tell that I liked Da Ji with one glance. And every time I mentioned Da Ji, he couldn’t control himself and would curse that Da Ji was a lunatic!

Lunatic?

I nodded my head. Haha, it’s quite suitable for Da Ji now. He has a bad temper and doesn’t allow other chickens to approach him.

　　【20】

Although Fake Brother B had a foul mouth and always said that he hated Da Ji and found him annoying, his heart definitely wasn’t evil.

After we became closer, Fake Brother B secretly told me something one day. Half a year ago when Da Ji was brought back from the countryside by the rich owner, he tried to slip out secretly after his eyes were cured. Unfortunately, he was caught and brought back by the rich owner many times.

At the time when he was retaliating and trying to escape, Da Ji had hit his head, causing him to lose his memories of being with me in the countryside.

So this was why he had forgotten me.

I quickly went to find Da Ji and took out many tokens. There was the feather he gave me and the bell, etc. I also told him about the things that we experienced and the flower language of the cockscomb.

But Da Ji had no impression no matter what I said. He gave me a cold laugh and refused to listen to my one-sided story. He felt that I was bullshiting.

When Da Ji saw his own feather, he even thought that I was a pervert. He thought that I must have stolen it when his feather dropped, just like the many Beta and Omega chickens that were infatuated with him.

Or perhaps I plucked the feather when I bullied him while he was injured and sick in the countryside.

Da Ji angrily snatched back the beautiful feather.

He also shook the bell and sneered, “Haha, I was injured and silly for a period of time, so you took me as a dog and walked me? This is your so-called ‘utmost care’?”

I quickly interrupted, “No, that’s not true!”

However, Da Ji didn’t care to listen to my explanation and left in anger.

I was stunned as I stared at Da Ji’s heartless, retreating figure. My heart felt inexplicably sour.

Da Ji’s eyes have recovered, but his heart had turned blind.

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Footnotes:

[1]Ore – For Japanese men, they can use three ways to say I: watashi, boku and ore. Ore is the most informal. More information: https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/08/watashi-boku-ore-meaning.html#ore

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