“Heh, heh,” Qin Zhen said as he used two fingers to pinch the waistband of Peng Yunhan’s pants and pull them back up. “Sorry about that. My bad. Anyway, we are all brothers-in-arms; there is nothing we haven’t seen before. Ha, ha, ha.”
He retreated back into the line.
By the time he snapped out of it, the female soldier had already run off. The redness on Peng Yunhan’s body was no longer confined to his face; it had spread everywhere, radiating a heat so intense that it seemed to warp the surrounding air.
“Yunhan,” Lu Yanqiu noted his embarrassment, “Do you want to stop?”
“No need. He is right; we are all comrades, and the base only has public baths anyway.” Peng Yunhan’s response was unexpected.
Half the group had yet to take their turn. If he stopped now, it would make him look petty. He could tell the others were just laughing for fun and not out of malice.
Being only two meters away, Qin Zhen naturally overheard him and immediately relaxed.
Exactly. For a soldier, showering in public is daily life. What is the big deal?
That said, he did behave himself, at least for a while. But as the line moved slowly forward, thoughts of cubs and showing bellies once again occupied his mind, pushing the previous awkwardness to the back of his head.
Finally, it was his turn.
Peng Yunhan glanced at Qin Zhen but said nothing.
Qin Zhen felt completely at ease. Staring at the slight, subtle bulge at the other man’s waistband, a surge of envy and excitement rushed through him.
He hunched over slightly, trying to bring his line of sight level with the bulge. After rubbing his hands together in anticipation, he spread his fingers wide, his ten digits twitching with eagerness.
“Little darling,” he whispered, and he could not help but swallow hard. “Here I come, little darling.”
“AH TAT!” The nearby Peng Yunhan suddenly unleashed a flying kick.
Qin Zhen’s vision went black. Before he knew what was happening, the world spun, and he was sent flying with two streams of blood erupting from his nose.
“Qin Zhen!” Lu Yanqiu cried out.
“Brother Qin!” Ni Hong hurriedly chased after him.
“Lust is a blade over one’s head,” Leng Fei huffed dismissively. “He deserved it.”
“Commander, Qin Zhen has been reported again!”
The door was pushed open. Adjutant Qi’s voice arrived before he did, his tone barely suppressing a hint of glee.
Cang Bai looked up from a pile of classified documents. “Reported?”
“Yes! Dean Lao informed me that Qin Zhen harassed a male expectant father in broad daylight, causing the victim deep psychological trauma! There were over a hundred witnesses on the scene!”
Adjutant Qi placed heavy emphasis on the word “male.”
“That fellow dared to commit such a lewd act in front of so many people. Coupled with his morbid obsession with you, Commander, I worry that in the future”
“How does Dean Lao intend to handle it?” Cang Bai interrupted, seemingly uninterested as he lowered his head back to the documents.
“Well, considering you are Qin Zhen’s incubation specialist, Dean Lao wanted to ask for your opinion first.”
“I see. Establish the facts and proceed according to military law.”
“Understood!”
Qin Zhen lay on his bed with thick gauze pressed against the bridge of his nose. Half of his face was swollen high. Peng Yunhan’s kick had been incredibly powerful. Had years of combat instinct not caused Qin Zhen to tilt his head at the last second, his nose would likely have suffered a comminuted fracture.
As for his current injuries, they were not too severe, at least not enough to keep him bedridden.
However, since he had taken a heavy fall, Lu Yanqiu insisted that bed rest was necessary to stabilize the fetal breath.
“Brother Qin, you” Ni Hong sat by the bed, having hesitated to speak several times already.
“What are you sighing for? Did Dr. Lu not say I am fine? Do not worry, your big brother has a solid constitution. I am practically made of iron. If it were not for this bracelet nagging me, I could go run a hundred laps on the training ground right now!”
“No matter how good your health is, you cannot keep trashing it like this. Excessive indulgence harms the body. Brother Qin should understand such a simple truth, right?”
“What? Excessive indulgence?”
The term baffled Qin Zhen. He gave Ni Hong a sidelong glance, but just then, a knock sounded at the door.
“Qin Zhen, it is me, Lu Yanqiu.”
“Quick, quick, open the door and let Dr. Lu in.”
Lu Yanqiu entered but did not walk far in. She said to Ni Hong, “I have something to discuss with Qin Zhen. Could you please excuse us for a moment?”
“Sure, sure. Dr. Lu, please talk some sense into Brother Qin. If this continues, I am worried he”
“Do not worry, it is fine now.”
The two were completely unaware that they were talking about two entirely different things.
Lu Yanqiu closed the door and approached the bed. Among this batch of expectant fathers, she and Qin Zhen were considered well-acquainted, so she did not stand on ceremony and sat directly in the chair Ni Hong had occupied.
On the bed, Qin Zhen looked completely drained. His head rested sideways on a stack of pillows, his eyelids were half-drooped, and he let out feverish whimpers from his nose.
“A complaint was filed against you to Dean Lao.”
“What?!”
Qin Zhen bolted upright instantly, showing no trace of a man on his deathbed.
Lu Yanqiu stifled a smile.
“What complaint? Was it Peng Yunhan? No way, is that kid really that petty? It was just pulling down his pants. Worst case, I will go let him pull mine down as much as he wants! Who did not have their pants pulled down by someone back in school? Besides, I did not do it on purpose.”
“It was not Yunhan,” Lu Yanqiu said. “If it were him, it would be easy to handle. As his mentor, I could have reasoned with him. Yunhan has a simple, straightforward personality. After he landed that kick, the matter was settled as far as he was concerned.”
“Then who was it?”
Qin Zhen could not figure it out. If the victim, Peng Yunhan, did not hold a grudge, who else would be looking for trouble?
“Tang Siqing.”
“Who is Tang Siqing?”
“Do you not remember? That female expectant father.”
“A female expectant father?” Qin Zhen frowned, incredulous. “No way. That female soldier? The one who was hesitating and did not dare touch Peng Yunhan’s belly when it was her turn?”
“It is her. But do not blame her; she was just standing up for Peng Yunhan. She felt your actions publicly humiliated him.”
“Then she is being way too meddlesome!”
“Actually, she was not just being meddlesome,” Lu Yanqiu smiled and gave a brief summary of the situation.
Simply put, Peng Yunhan and Tang Siqing were old acquaintances. They had been classmates at the military academy and had feelings for each other back then. However, after graduation, they were assigned to different star sectors, and things fizzled out. They never expected to cross paths again at the Incubation Center.
Having been apart for years, neither had forgotten the other, but they were also ignorant of each other’s current status. Fearing the other had already found a partner, they both pretended not to know each other. It was not until yesterday, when Peng Yunhan was found to be showing, that they had their first real interaction.
What should have been a romantic moment of reunion and mutual testing was completely disrupted by Qin Zhen.
In her shame and anger, Tang Siqing ran out of the activity room and went straight to the Dean’s office to file a complaint. Ironically, this move finally confirmed Tang Siqing’s feelings for Peng Yunhan, leading him to visit her that very night.
With one side taking the initiative, the invisible barrier between them naturally dissolved.
Qin Zhen was stunned for a long while. “So, I actually did a good deed and helped a couple get together? What about my complaint then?”
“Tang Siqing has already withdrawn it. Peng Yunhan also personally explained to the Dean that it was a misunderstanding. Right now, Peng Yunhan is outside; he wants to apologize to you.”
“Well, apologize for what? It was just a false alarm.”
“Even though you were in the wrong first, Tang Siqing’s complaint was a bit of an overreaction. Otherwise, according to military law, in the worst-case scenario, you could have had your incubation sac removed and been expelled from the Center. You might not even have been able to return to the Legion.”
“Removing the sac?!”
This was no longer a false alarm. Cold sweat instantly broke out on Qin Zhen’s back.
Without even knowing it, he had brushed past the gates of hell once again!
“Do not worry, it is all fine now.” Lu Yanqiu comforted him with a smile, then stood up and looked toward the door. “Yunhan, come in.”
As Peng Yunhan entered the room, Lu Yanqiu stepped out.
The soldier was about the same height as Qin Zhen, but his build was nearly half again as broad. He stood somewhat awkwardly at the foot of the bed, like a large bear that had done something wrong, stammering and unable to form a complete sentence.
Qin Zhen was not the type to hold a grudge. Seeing this, he pointed to the chair. “Come and sit. We are comrades, and we have already fought each other now. Do not act like a stranger.”
Peng Yunhan gave a goofy smile and shuffled over to sit by the bed.
“Um, Brother Qin, I came to apologize. Tang-tang only did that foolish thing because she was in the heat of the moment; she was not trying to make life hard for you. And my kick, heh, you might not believe it, but it was just a reflex. I really did not mean to seek revenge.”
“Well, let us not mention the past. I deserved that kick.” Qin Zhen’s voice suddenly trailed off, his tone becoming drawn out. “Yunhan.”
For some reason, the hair on Peng Yunhan’s body stood on end, and his tongue began to tie itself in knots. “Wh-what is it?”
Qin Zhen slowly sat up straighter. His fingers, resting on the quilt, began to twitch and wiggle.
“If you really feel bad about it, why don’t you”
A flickering fire slowly gathered in his eyes as he stared intently at Peng Yunhan’s lower abdomen. Peng Yunhan’s glutes tightened instinctively. The moment Qin Zhen’s hands showed signs of reaching out, Peng Yunhan jumped up as if scalded, knocking the chair over.
“I just came to apologize! Tang-tang is still waiting for me! Brother Qin, I am leaving now!”
He fled in a panic, crashing into the wardrobe and the door frame on his way out. The thud-thud-thud sounded painful even to hear.
Qin Zhen was left completely bewildered.
“I just wanted to feel the spot where you are showing. I did not get to feel it this afternoon. Other people can touch it, so why can I not? Hmph, stingy!”