“Long time no see, sir.”
In the spring of Star Calendar 3297, in the Central Star Field, Weifeng Military Academy.
The setting sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling glass into the spacious corridor of the administrative building, casting a warm-hued backdrop over the two people standing there.
Bai Jinqiu turned his head to look at the Alpha behind him, who had rarely worn casual clothes yet still stood as straight as if he were in the military, and chuckled softly.
“You should call me President Bai, General Cen. Long time no see.”
Cen Yan gazed at the Omega before him, who was wearing a simple white shirt and standing with his hands behind his back, smiling gently and faintly at him. For a moment, he felt somewhat unable to recognize who this person was.
As a former frontline battle general, Bai Shangjiang was someone whose smile was very hard to see on his face.
People usually only saw composure, rationality, keenness, and dignity in him. As a commander on the front lines of battle, he only ever needed to be strong and convincing forever, without needing to use a smile to display his affinity.
Even though he had a face so gorgeous that it could make people lose their minds when he smiled.
If he ever smiled, those who saw it would instinctively back away twenty meters before they could even be captivated. Because that meant someone blind had truly provoked this person into genuine anger.
Yet today, the smile on this person’s face was warm and soft, just like those ordinary Omegas who had never seen blood. But in the eyes of someone who used to know him, it was excessively fake.
Perhaps this smile and elegant demeanor were the disguise he had put on during all these years in Capital Star? After all, this person’s appearance was his innate weapon.
Elegant and dignified. These were words that should have appeared on those pampered young nobles, and if evaluated by the military maniacs under his command, they would call it pretentious. Yet at this moment, used on this person, it didn’t feel out of place at all.
This was too strange. The General Bai he knew was never any elegant nobleman. He was a sharp, aggressive, no-nonsense battle general of decisive execution.
Was the smile appearing on his face now a genuine one, or just another layer of mask worn by this person? Cen Yan found it somewhat difficult to tell.
However, this undoubtedly made him, who used to be a direct subordinate, feel a strong sense of dissonance.
“You have changed a lot,” he murmured.
“That is not surprising. After all, I have left the front lines for nearly thirty years,” Bai Jinqiu said. “I am no longer young.”
Yes, he was no longer young; Cen Yan knew this.
Although not the slightest trace of the years could be seen on his face, Cen Yan caught sight of a few strands of white hair amidst his ink-black locks.
Clearly, according to the average lifespan of the Federation citizens, he had only just entered his prime, a time that should have been the peak of his life and career. Yet his gaze was like that of an elderly person who had already experienced all of life’s storms, finally waited for the winds and waves to subside, and intended to retire behind the scenes, remaining calm and waveless, without even showing any longing for the future.
“Twenty-nine years and eight months,” Cen Yan said. “The brothers and I have always been waiting for your return. I never expected that we would not have the chance to see you again until the war ended.”
“Ah, the war is over,” Bai Jinqiu said, turning his head to look out the window.
The azure sky was the color of peace.
“Facts have proven that even without me, you all can do very well. General Cen, you are very excellent.”
“I…”
“Congratulations. You have not been home for over thirty years, have you? You can finally return,” Bai Jinqiu looked at him and said.
“I suppose this time, you will have quite a long vacation.”
“Sir, I plan to retire,” Cen Yan said.
“Oh?”
“I applied for a transfer to Weifeng.”
“To take over my position? That is not bad either.” Bai Jinqiu touched his chin thoughtfully.
“Please do not joke, sir. I applied for the position of instructor, and it has already been approved,” Cen Yan said.
“So, starting today, you are my superior once again.”
Bai Jinqiu let out a light laugh and said, “Has being my adjutant become an addiction for you? You are unwilling to serve as commander, yet you insist on transferring under my command?”
Cen Yan was still unaccustomed to this person’s teasing and awkwardly changed the subject:
“Actually, many of us still do not understand why you chose to leave the front lines back then.”
“I know that the sacrifice of that person back then was a huge blow to you, but we did not think it was enough to crush you.”
Bai Jinqiu looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and said, “Cen Yan, I am an Omega, and my Alpha died right before my eyes. Do you think I should have no reaction to that?”
“Of course not,” Cen Yan shook his head. “But you were never that kind of person.” Given this person’s personality, after experiencing grief, he would surely transform that grief into fighting spirit, launching an even more ferocious offensive against the rebels, fighting to the death without end.
Just like that famous battle-maniac Major General Ian Frank, who, ever since his partner died, requested to join the frontline blade units, going so crazy that even friendly forces were afraid of him.
To be devastated by a blow and retreat behind the scenes? That might be possible for an ordinary person, but it was far too strange for this person.
General Bai was never someone who backed down so easily. Gender had nothing to do with it; this was his responsibility and courage as a frontline commander.
For a supreme commander to retire and leave the battlefield without warning meant leaving comrades and subordinates behind on the most dangerous front lines, while he, the supreme commander, returned to the safety of the rear. Such an act akin to betrayal was truly something General Bai could never do.
Moreover, for a frontline battle general to retire to the second line and unexpectedly become a hidden anti-war advocate…
It was not to say that being anti-war was something worthy of criticism. Everyone knew the emergence of the rebels was caused by the intensification of internal problems within the Federation. Anyone rational knew the rebels, who should now be called the revolutionary army, had reasonable demands for equal rights, and very few soldiers among them actually liked war.
However, expecting them, soldiers who had fought on the front lines for many years and lost an untold number of comrades, to fully support the anti-war movement overnight was simply too difficult to achieve.
Because of this, Bai Jinqiu’s initial reaction was truly unusual.
Cen Yan, along with many of General Bai’s former subordinates, believed that there must be hidden reasons behind their commander’s choice back then, even though his actions were akin to betrayal.
Seeing General Bai himself once again today, Cen Yan confirmed this guess.
Living behind the scenes all these years, it was impossible that Bai Jinqiu had done nothing. Just how much work he had done in secret and how much hardship he had endured, Cen Yan didn’t know, but he could guess.
The overall state of the person before him revealed a fatigue after all matters had settled, coupled with the emptiness of finally finding release. Others might not be able to tell, but Cen Yan, as an old subordinate, could see it.
His commander was very tired.
This inevitably made Cen Yan feel worried.
The setting sun faded, and night descended.
At 22:46, as the biometric lock at the door emitted a soft click indicating successful authentication, that alloy door, indistinguishable from a classified archives room, slid open to both sides.
Bai Jinqiu returned home, took off his coat, casually draped it over the back of a chair, unbuttoned his collar, and let out a deep sigh of relief.
Over thirty years of days where he did not dare relax for even a single moment was no way for a human to live.
Only now did he finally have the chance to catch his breath.
Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and he has to go on stage to give a speech.
This might very well be his last job at Weifeng.
He untied his hair tie, letting his pitch-black hair cascade down and drape over his shoulders, and walked into the bathroom.
Steam billowed, and his slender, blurred shadow was reflected on the frosted glass door. The sound of trickling water soon came from within the bathroom.
A few minutes later, a burst of violent coughing shattered the peace. The person inside the bathroom pressed one hand against the wall and covered his mouth with the other, coughing so hard it seemed as though he would cough up blood from his lungs.
That was the root of an old illness left behind by a penetrating injury that had run through his lungs.
In fact, that slender, gorgeous body was covered in similar old injuries. Many wounds could have healed, but under the cycle of new injuries compounding unhealed old ones and years of exhaustion, sequelae had ultimately set in.
Yet Bai Jinqiu clearly did not care.
The violent coughing in the steam-filled bathroom left him somewhat oxygen-deprived. A momentary lapse in willpower allowed a wisp of a clean, bitter cedarwood scent to slowly diffuse into the air.
Bai Jinqiu turned off the water, braced his arms against the wall to steady his breathing for a moment, and once the dizziness passed, he casually grabbed a hanging bath towel, simply wiped the water from his body, and pressed the bathroom’s automatic cleaning button as he walked out.
His lean, fluid muscle lines rose and fell gently with his movements, only to be quickly covered by homewear. A droplet of water fell from his semi-wet hair, sliding down the line of his neck toward the inside of his collar.
He walked into the bedroom, paused by the bedside, hesitated for a moment, and turned toward the wardrobe against the wall. From the bottom-most drawer, he took out an old military uniform that had seen some years.
That was the exclusive uniform of a Second Legion technician from thirty years ago.
The once-stiff rigid uniform had long since become soft and covered in wrinkles due to the passage of time, its color faded to an off-white. On the uniform’s shoulder epaulets was the major’s rank for a technical specialty, and embroidered in neat lettering on the inside of the collar was a name: Rong Zhiting.
Bai Jinqiu closed his eyes, clutched the uniform to his chest, and gently inhaled the scent at the collar.
That was the position closest to the gland, capable of retaining the most intense pheromone scent.
Even though thirty years had passed, no matter how intense the scent, it would have long since dissipated.
Yet he always felt as though he could still smell faint, wispy traces of iris fragrance.
Perhaps it was psychological, perhaps an illusion, but he did not care.
Because if this illusion were shattered, he feared he would go mad.
He had originally thought he would never be controlled by Omega instincts.
But he was wrong.
In the darkness, Bai Jinqiu smiled, thinking self-deprecatingly.
His little iris always felt that he was indestructible, but he clearly was not.
That ever-indestructible, ever-unconquerable General Bai had long since sunk into the earth alongside his iris thirty years ago.
When he chose to leave the front lines back then, there were indeed other reasons, but another reason was that he judged his own state was no longer suited for the job of frontline supreme commander.
A commander was a position that absolutely never allowed any omissions, and the death of his Alpha partner had a far greater impact on him than anyone imagined.
He had to be responsible for his comrades; he knew Cen Yan would turn out to be an excellent general, and he had other things he had to do. Therefore, he chose to leave.
He did not possess the privilege of wallowing in self-pity and letting himself go.
He could not be fragile, could not have weaknesses, and could not be discovered with any flaws by anyone.
Thus, over these years, he put on a smiling mask. Someone who had always deeply detested the hypocrisy and filth of official circles and was unwilling to delve into it learned to be hypocritical and cunning, embarking on unknown work, planting hidden points everywhere, and walking down a path he once despised for thirty years.
But now, the war was over, everything had settled, and trustworthy people would shoulder everything that followed.
He could finally rest.
In the silent night, the exhausted Omega general clutched the old clothes of his deceased lover, and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.
The clean, bitter scent of cedarwood, carrying a hint of faint iris fragrance, diffused into the air, growing fainter and fainter.