Chu Li smoothed the damp strands of hair at his temples before looking up at Evans. Meeting Evans’ incredulous, earth-shattering gaze, he spoke slowly. “Evans, thank you. Today’s sparring was wonderful.”
Whether out of rage or terror, Evans’ arms were shaking, and his legs were trembling too. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but only a hoarse cry escaped: “Chu Li…”
Fu Lin stepped forward and quickly ordered men to take Evans away. A person covered in blood with urine dripping down his legs standing in front of Lu Jin was that not an eyesore for the Admiral?
Evans seemed as though his brain had been struck by a massive boulder. Suffering a psychological blow, he allowed himself to be led away like a piece of wood without offering any resistance.
Fu Lin said eagerly, “Admiral, your performance just now was incredible. You sent the sparring partner flying with one punch. The guests below were laughing like crazy.”
Lu Jin imperceptibly avoided the other man’s overly close proximity. “Fu Lin, thank you for your hospitality. We have matters to attend to and must leave now.”
“Wait, Admiral, there is a banquet after the mixer. Will you and your… friend not attend?” Fu Lin’s gaze swept past Chu Li, his words laced with hidden implications directed at Lu Jin.
The banquet was the biggest attraction of the annual mixer. Held on a cruise ship, it invited the scions of every major family and gathered all sorts of beauties to accompany them. It was a place of fine clothes, flowing wine, and toast after toast, exuding an air of decadence and luxury. Consequently, the family scions of the Upper District viewed participation in such a banquet as a symbol of status.
Lu Jin was a man of few words. “No need. I have urgent business to handle.”
He did not linger. After speaking, he left the crowd with nothing but the sight of his retreating back as he and Chu Li boarded the spacecraft to depart.
The focus of today was not on this mixer. He and Chu Li were going to eat. Was this… their first date?
The group of family scions stood where they were, waving goodbye to the spacecraft with elegant and appropriate smiles. Once the ship vanished into the sky, their decorum vanished instantly, and they crowded around Fu Lin, chattering away.
They had originally thought only Admiral Lu Jin was inside the mecha; who would have known a Beta from the Lower District would emerge from it? Not having the courage to ask Lu Jin directly, they could only question Fu Lin in private.
“Who is that Beta from the Lower District? Surely he is not the Admiral’s fiancé?”
“That is impossible. Admiral Lu’s fiancé could not possibly come from the Lower District.”
“Then what did the Admiral mean by bringing a Beta to the mixer?”
Fu Lin did not understand why Lu Jin had brought a Lower District Beta to the mixer either. However, facing these incessant questions and wanting to show he had some private rapport with Lu Jin, he put on a look of profound mystery.
“Did you not see how the Admiral and that Beta interacted? The two of them seemed a bit ambiguous, but not entirely. My guess is that the Beta is not the Admiral’s fiancé, but perhaps…”
Fu Lin intentionally left his sentence unfinished, leaving them to their own wild imaginations.
In their circle, some secrets were not secrets at all. For example, to endure their rut, Alpha nobles from the Upper District would buy a Beta or Omega from the Lower District to keep at home for a period of time. Once the rut passed, the transaction was complete, and they went their separate ways. In recent years, Alpha officers in the military were also permitted to use this method to endure their ruts for fear that suppressing them for too long would affect their health.
Seeing the crowd still looking puzzled, Fu Lin added with feigned hesitation, “I heard that Nebula’s housekeeper drugged the Admiral recently. Though the Admiral is fine, his rut could arrive at any time. That is probably why he has a Beta following him around.”
The crowd nodded in understanding. There had always been a rumor about Lu Jin—that compared to Omegas, he preferred Betas. Thinking of it this way, it seemed to make sense.
In the distance, Evans’ dull eyes flickered, and his shattered expression gradually reformed. His lips curled into a twisted grin, and he let out a few strange laughs.
Yes, that had to be it. Chu Li was just a plaything Lu Jin bought to vent his needs. If they were truly in a relationship, how could Chu Li not have flaunted it in front of him? He was just a Beta plaything; there was nothing to be afraid of.
Despite these self-comforting thoughts, Evans could not help but punch the wall twice. Afterward, he gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, hating himself in his heart for not being a Beta. Otherwise, the person sitting next to Lu Jin right now would be him.
After greeting the guests, Fu Lin had Evans brought to a private booth. Evans quickly gathered his emotions and followed him inside with a sycophantic air.
Fu Lin pulled out a skull token and showed it to him, gesturing with a finger. “Ten.”
Evans’ jaw dropped in surprise. “What do I need to do?”
“Take them to the Lower District. Remember to be discreet. Boss Hai Tu and the one above do not want any more commotions right now.” A year ago, the incident had caused such a stir that the Star Pirates had to hide their tracks. Now that the heat had died down, they planned to pull off something big.
Fu Lin patted Evans on the shoulder and added, “Do a good job. When the time comes, I will take you to see the one above.”
“Yes.” Evans nodded excitedly, repeatedly swearing his loyalty. If he got to know the one above, he would not even fear Lu Jin in the future.
Chu Li, did you think you were the only one who could get close to the powerful?
On the spacecraft, Chu Li suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he murmured, “Evans must be cursing me.”
Lu Jin looked up at him, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Admiral, if you do not have any preferences, I will pick the place myself.”
“Mm.”
Chu Li lowered his head to look at restaurant information. The constantly scrolling holographic images reflected in his eyes, as if his gaze were veiled in a multicolored glow. Lu Jin sat beside him, his eyes watching him quietly.
“Chu Li, let us go to your house,” Lu Jin said suddenly.
“Ah…”
Chu Li turned to look at him, just about to say something, when Lu Jin’s communicator suddenly flashed.
Lu Jin did not hide it from him and opened the communication directly. His eyes swept over the content; it was from Lu Tao.
[Brother Jin, come quickly, something happened to Song Xu!]
Below the message was a real-time location of a white spacecraft, showing it surrounded by a group of unidentified objects that were rushing toward it at extreme speed.
Lu Jin’s expression turned solemn. He stood up and changed the direction of the spacecraft. “Chu Li, an emergency has come up. I will send you back first.”
“Alright.” Chu Li’s gaze crossed Lu Jin’s light brain. “Is it serious?”
Lu Jin went silent for a moment. “Not serious.”
The spacecraft traveled very fast, reaching the Lower District in less than ten minutes. Chu Li did not enter the house immediately. He stood at the door, watching the spacecraft. The hull grew smaller and smaller, finally vanishing like a dark speck into the dim sky. Only then did he turn back into his home.
That night, he lay in bed reading the news and found that someone on a gossip site had anonymously posted a picture. It was a picture from today’s mixer.
In the picture, Lu Jin was walking down from the mecha, while Chu Li was just bending down to step out, his side profile only faintly visible. The poster claimed they had risked their life to post an internal photo, stating that Lu Jin had brought a Lower District Beta to the mixer. As soon as the picture was posted, it attracted a large crowd of onlookers, and the comment section was filled with guesses about Chu Li’s identity and their relationship.
While Chu Li was scrolling through the comments, the post was suddenly deleted, and the poster’s account was banned. He checked the network platforms; not a single image from today’s mixer had leaked out. Even searching for the phrase “Lu Jin Lower District Beta” yielded no content.
To be able to delete and block information on the Star Net so quickly, there were very few people in the Empire capable of doing so.
Sunday.
Chu Li packed his things and rushed to Old Man Zhong’s repair shop. He had originally requested leave to train extra at the military academy, but now that he was back in the Lower District, he might as well go to work.
Today’s weather did not seem very good. It was gloomy and humid, as if the air were thick with water droplets clinging to his face. By the time he reached the repair shop, a fine mist of water had settled on his hair.
Old Man Zhong leaned against the doorframe wearing flip-flops, rubbing his calf with one foot while looking at the sky. “Looking at this weather, it is probably going to rain today. There likely will not be any customers. Sigh, I am going back. You stay and watch the shop. If you run into anything you do not know, just call me.”
“…” Chu Li.
Who leaves right after an employee arrives for work? Forget it, he was the boss; he could do as he pleased.
After Old Man Zhong left, Chu Li decided to slack off as well. He turned on the television and flipped through the book in his hand, “How to Pilot a Mecha While Ill,” while listening to the news.
Since his training ended a few days ago, he had been reading this book whenever he had a spare moment. He had already finished the sections on piloting techniques during cervical pain, cardiac relapses, and intestinal or gastric spasms.
As the news played on the television, the broadcaster’s voice suddenly dropped in tone.
[According to the latest news, at one o’clock this morning, Major General Song Xu was attacked by a mysterious person on his way back to the country. Currently, through satellite imaging, only a photo of the attacker’s back has been captured.]
Chu Li looked up at the photo of the attacker. The person wore a white uniform with a diamond-shaped pattern embroidered on the sleeves. His silhouette was tall and handsome, his short silver hair swaying without any wind. He looked like someone stepped out of a manga—noble, elegant, and flawless.
The only problem was that the person on the television now seemed to have suddenly appeared in front of Chu Li.
“…” Chu Li.
Chu Li looked at the television, then at the silver-haired man who had appeared beside him at some unknown point, and fell into a strange silence.
“Little Master, long time no see.”