An Ming snapped his eyes open, and LAN’s movements stopped instantly.
With a soft “whoosh,” a thin black afterimage flickered as the dragon tail retracted.
“……My apologies, it was an accident,” LAN’s voice was dark and hoarse.
He had promised not to let it show, yet he had been unable to restrain himself.
An Ming, of course, didn’t mind. Upon realizing what had just whipped against him, he felt a wave of bashfulness instead.
A similar experience seemed to have occurred in his dreams last night…
The place that had been licked felt wet and hot, and his back carried a phantom ache not true pain, but the kind of indescribable soreness within a bearable range.
It felt as though only a specific type of release could alleviate it.
An Ming swallowed hard. “Are you alright? Do you need me to help with a marking?”
LAN opened his green-gold eyes and looked at his right hand; only a moment ago, it had been gently pinching the little merman’s chin.
“I am not in heat; there is no need. Just now… it was enough.”
“Okay,” the little merman nodded.
LAN added, “But you are in your susceptibility period. If you want—”
“I’m fine too!”
“Mm.”
The two sat on the sofa facing each other, yet neither dared to look the other in the eye.
After calming down slightly, LAN’s eyes returned to blue, and the merman’s ear fins receded.
LAN checked his watch. “It’s dinner time. Shall we go down to eat, or have Number Nine deliver it?”
“Let’s go down,” An Ming replied.
Being in this confined space together was becoming too difficult to endure.
LAN stood up from the sofa and took a tissue to lightly wipe the corner of his mouth.
An Ming ran to the bathroom, washed his hands, and carefully wiped his eyes and the backs of his ears with a towel. Finally, he checked the mirror to ensure everything on his face looked normal.
Once they had both tidied themselves up, they headed out together.
When they reached the public dining area, the soldiers were all there. Seeing LAN leading the little merman over, they stood to attention and gave military salutes:
“Boss! Officer An!”
In LAN’s presence, they didn’t quite dare to call him “little brother” so casually.
“Hi,” An Ming felt a bit embarrassed being addressed that way.
LAN also nodded in acknowledgment.
“Do you want to sit out here with everyone, or go to a private room?” LAN asked again.
“Out here, out here.”
An Ming picked a dining table at the edge and sat down.
The soldiers didn’t want to disturb the “private time” of their boss and the little merman, so they consciously kept their distance while finding seats. However, their ears simultaneously perked up, paying close attention to the dynamics over there.
A mechanical arm delivered the menu.
An Ming loved soups and noodles. He flipped directly to the page featuring various spicy rice noodles and wheat noodles, his eyes lighting up at the pictures. Back when he had a terminal illness, he couldn’t eat anything, but now that he wasn’t sick, he didn’t need to restrict his diet!
“You cannot eat spicy food,” the mixed-blood dragon-man said.
Oh? Why? everyone thought.
An Ming wanted to ask as well, but he quickly realized why himself.
The book Merman Anatomy mentioned that one should avoid heavy flavors during the susceptibility period, as it could aggravate symptoms.
He had eaten spicy beef noodles this morning; no wonder he had cried this afternoon.
LAN was so thoughtful.
“Okay,” An Ming said, his eyes curving into crescents as he switched his order to beef fried rice with frozen vegetable bits.
LAN ordered the same thing. Looking at the merman’s smiling eyes, he added, “You can have Number Nine bring an ice pack; your eyes are a bit swollen.”
An Ming touched them with the back of his hand. “It’s fine.”
The crowd: !
The little brother cried? What happened!
Sitting not far away were three soldiers. The largest one, named Shaw, whispered in shock, “Damn, does the Boss even take breaks? He’s tossing him around like that in broad daylight? He messed the little guy up so much he can’t eat spicy food and his eyes are swollen from crying!”
Another named Twist frowned. “Hearing you say it like that… why does it feel a bit weird?”
The third, Ned, said calmly, “Shaw, you’ve got it backwards.”
Shaw: “Huh?”
Ned: “The Boss is an Omega. The little brother is an Alpha just like us. If anyone’s getting made to cry, it’s the little brother making the Boss cry.”
Shaw slapped his forehead like a big oaf. “Oh, right! The Boss is too strong, more Alpha than we are, and his pheromones are so aggressive that I sometimes forget he’s an O!”
Twist continued to frown. “Then why can’t the little brother eat spicy food? And why did he cry like that?”
The three comrades were utterly perplexed.
Over at the table, An Ming and LAN had begun eating their fried rice. It was perfect in color, aroma, and taste; Number Nine was definitely a top-tier chef.
An Ming swallowed a mouthful and asked hesitantly, “Just now… the pheromones, were they really enough?”
He had been so focused on his own panic earlier, but now that he had settled down and thought back on it, LAN’s tail had even come out his mental sea must be in a poor state.
LAN’s movements paused. “Enough.”
Having received a definitive answer, An Ming nodded. Just as he was about to continue eating, he remembered the Care Plan.
He needed to smile more at the patient to provide encouragement.
“LAN,” he called softly. Because Number Nine had reminded him that the others didn’t know about the illness, the little merman’s voice was kept extremely low.
“I wish you a speedy recovery.”
After whispering that, he broke into a large, sweet smile.
“……Mm.” A certain dragon-man felt his heart racing from the sweetness. He took a large gulp of the protein drink by his hand.
Feeling it wasn’t enough, he took another.
The group: Wow, the little brother looks so good when he smiles!
Shaw was still racking his brain over the previous question. Looking at the Boss’s lips after he finished the drink moistened by the liquid with a bit of milky white lingering he suddenly had an epiphany!
“I know!” Shaw whispered in shock. “There’s only one situation where the Boss would make the little brother cry!”
“What is it!” Twist and Ned asked impatiently.
“Gosh… the Boss is really… he must be too forceful!” Big-man Shaw looked reproachful. “The little brother is so considerate, even asking if his pheromones were enough!”
Twist and Ned: “……!”
The truth has been revealed!
After finishing dinner, LAN’s meetings were over, and An Ming had nothing to do, so they returned to the room together.
After entering, An Ming stayed in the living room, standing in front of the bookshelf pretending to look for a book.
The “Ugly Little Merman” and “Handsome Big Dragon” charms seemed to be smiling at him.
“……” This is so annoying, how am I supposed to sleep later.
“An Ming,” LAN called to him.
“I’m going to read for a bit!” The little merman almost dropped the physical book in his hand.
LAN nodded. “Alright. Then I am going to rest.”
From yesterday afternoon until now, he had not slept for nearly 30 hours. Sustaining high-intensity work was exhausting even for an SSS-rank.
Once the bedroom door was closed, An Ming breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he realize the book he was clutching was a text on AI deep learning: Basic Principles and Unified Framework of Geometric DL.
? I don’t understand this at all.
He stuffed the “heavenly book” back onto the shelf. After quietly playing holographic mini-games on the sofa for over two hours, An Ming started yawning repeatedly. Only then did he sluggishly head toward the bedroom.
He felt a bit distressed; it wasn’t very late would LAN still be awake? Perhaps leaning against the headboard in pajamas, processing documents or something?
Should he say hello?
Should he say “Hi” before getting into bed, or after?
Maybe he shouldn’t say anything at all and just go for it?
An Ming braced himself and pushed open the door.
The nightlight was dim and amber. On one side of the large, soft double bed, the mixed-blood dragon-man was already deep in sleep, his breathing rising and falling slightly under the sheets.
“……”
Oh, right. He had slept a whole cycle less than An Ming.
He had worried for nothing. Sigh.
An Ming crept into the bathroom, finished washing up quietly, and finally lay down on the other side.
The double bed was very large. LAN was near one edge, and An Ming was near the other, leaving a gap wide enough for another person in the middle.
The little merman adjusted his sleeping position, trying to drift off.
However, a cool sweetness mixed with the scent of body wash drifted slowly into his nostrils.
An Ming: “……”
He lost all sleepiness.
Sigh, LAN said he needed my scent to soothe his illness, but I don’t need LAN’s scent…
Ugh… I feel a bit restless. My susceptibility period makes me want to eat ice cream…
The little merman suffered from insomnia, unable to stop squirming on the bed stretching a leg here, scratching his waist there.
His movements were light, but they still affected LAN.
The mixed-blood dragon-man frowned in his sleep. With a sudden turn, he rolled into the very center of the bed.
“!” An Ming was so startled he didn’t dare move; one leg was hooked over his other knee, and he didn’t even dare to put it down.
But the dragon didn’t settle there. He suddenly reached out his left hand, grasping urgently at the air.
He grabbed the little merman’s raised foot.
An Ming: “……”
Eep, I think scales are growing there, it tickles…
“Please,” LAN, in his dream, mistook the merman’s foot for someone’s hand, clutching it tightly and pleading, “She is not a traitor.”
An Ming’s attempt to pull away paused.
It didn’t tickle anymore.
Who isn’t a traitor? Him? Her?
Was he talking about that movie they watched this afternoon? The Omega prince who died for love?
……Or was he talking about himself?
But LAN used “him/her,” not “me,” so it likely wasn’t about himself it was probably a relative or friend he knew…
But the word “traitor” was not exactly common vocabulary.
An Ming was now completely wide awake. He searched through the memories in his head but couldn’t find any relevant information in the original book.
……Even the text regarding LAN himself was pitifully sparse.
At this moment, LAN was lying on his side. His hand had naturally slid down, releasing An Ming as he fell back into deep sleep.
In the faint, dim light of the nightlight, his sleeping expression looked uneasy. His brownish-gold eyelashes cast heavy shadows over his deep features, trembling slightly with his slow breaths. His pale gold hair held a hazy glow, scattered across the pillow like a lingering sorrow.
……How does he look anything like a Great Villain?
An Ming watched him for a long time, then retracted his gaze and stared blankly at the ceiling.
It had only been two days since he agreed to stay, yet he was already becoming accustomed to the Phoenix. He felt a sense of closeness toward Number Nine, Evan, and the soldiers.
As for LAN…… he couldn’t say for sure, but he certainly liked him.
How could LAN and his rebel army be the “Great Villains”?
The original book was only half-finished, but according to the summary, the protagonist Omega Prince would eventually kill LAN, wipe out the rebel army, and become the undisputed supreme monarch of the Human Empire loved by the protagonist gong, worshipped by his subjects, and feared by the Zerg Empire.
LAN was the greatest stumbling block in the protagonist prince’s growth, the only true enemy to be defeated. He and his subordinates whether it was Number Nine or Evan could not escape their fate of death.
Thinking of this, An Ming felt a chill in his heart.
No.