On the rescue ship bound for the Ice Wasteland Star, there were diplomats, military officers, and logistical staff, nearly a hundred people in total.
To ensure that this group could work without a single worry, the ever-generous Minister Jiang personally paid out of pocket to hire one of the Capital Star’s top culinary teams, available around the clock to provide meals.
With a wine lounge, cinema, and swimming pool among the ship’s entertainment facilities, the three-day voyage felt less like a mission and more like a luxury vacation.
That morning, Lin Zhen entered the dining hall and happened to see Jiang Yun eating breakfast alone by the window.
He hesitated for a while, even rehearsing a few lines in his head, before finally carrying his tray over.
“Good morning, Mr. Jiang,” Lin Zhen greeted with a smile. “May I sit across from you?”
Jiang Yun nodded and poured him a glass of nutrient-rich fruit and vegetable juice. “Please.”
Relieved not to be turned away, Lin Zhen secretly let out a breath and launched into the topic he’d prepared, “Did you read this week’s Academy Journal? It published the latest progress report on the Academy’s research into interstellar aberrants. Quite fascinating, actually.”
“Not yet,” Jiang Yun replied cooperatively. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”
“According to the study, under certain rare conditions, aberrants can experience DNA chain breakage and spontaneous recombination and repair…”
The two quickly fell into an easy discussion.
Halfway through, Lin Zhen’s communicator suddenly chimed. He quickly apologized, “Sorry, Mr. Jiang, I’ll set it to silent.”
“No problem, go ahead,” Jiang Yun said patiently. He was always gentler with Omegas than with Alphas, perhaps because Omegas never ended their conversations by asking him out for coffee.
Lin Zhen glanced at the message, then gave a small, helpless laugh. “It’s my husband.”
“Something urgent?” Jiang Yun asked.
“No, no,” Lin Zhen said, smiling as he typed a reply. “He’s just picked out a few baby cribs and wants me to choose one. But how would I know? I’ve had no time to research that kind of thing.”
Jiang Yun looked at the gentle smile on Lin Zhen’s face, silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “We’ve done some research on that.”
Lin Zhen blinked, startled. “Eh?”
Jiang Yun folded his hands calmly on the table, his tone utterly composed, like he was discussing official business. “Perhaps I can offer some constructive advice.”
Lin Zhen couldn’t help darting a look at the minister’s impeccable suit, which did nothing to hide the elegant curve of his waist.
Against his will, his imagination began to wander, what would Jiang Yun have looked like during pregnancy…
“Jiang Mu, I was drinking with Maurice last night!”
“Drinking? You mean sipping milk, right?”
The familiar voices of Jiang Mu and Lu Chao drifted over, cutting off Lin Zhen’s entirely improper train of thought.
Not wanting to intrude on a family breakfast, Lin Zhen stood quickly. “I’ll get back to work now, Mr. Jiang.”
“No need to leave,” Jiang Yun said mildly. “Finish your meal first. Your breakfast’s protein content seems insufficient.”
Lin Zhen could only sit back down, half-embarrassed. “Thank you, Mr. Jiang.”
The twins slid into the seats on either side of their father.
“Good morning, Dad. Good morning, Dr. Lin,” Jiang Mu greeted politely.
“Morning, both of you!” Lu Chao waved cheerfully, so cheerfully he nearly sent Jiang Yun’s coffee flying.
“Good morning,” Lin Zhen said with a laugh. “You all seem to be having quite the lively chat. What’s the topic?”
Lu Chao’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Maurice was telling me yesterday…”
“‘Uncle,’” Jiang Mu reminded sternly. “You forgot to add ‘Uncle.’”
Lu Chao frowned in confusion. “Why would I call you Uncle?”
Lin Zhen: “…”
A faint headache pressed behind Jiang Yun’s temples. While dabbing the spilled coffee with a napkin, he asked Lin Zhen, “If I remember correctly, you’re still a professor at the Interstellar Academy? I’d like to take him there for an evaluation, if possible.”
Lin Zhen barely kept a straight face. “You’re always welcome.”
“An evaluation?” Lu Chao asked blankly. “Of what?”
Jiang Mu gave up after a long moment’s hesitation. “Forget it, don’t mind us. Go on.”
“Maurice told me that Colonel Dad used to get first place in every single exam when he was in school!” Lu Chao slammed a fist on the table in outrage. “I’m so disappointed in him!”
Jiang Mu blinked. “Disappointed in who exactly?”
“Colonel Dad, of course! I always thought my bad grades were genetic!”
Because this mission revolved entirely around Colonel Lu, everyone aboard inevitably mentioned him often. As a result, Lu Chao had stopped being shy about bringing up his Alpha father in front of Jiang Yun.
“Use your head,” Jiang Mu said scornfully. “There’s no way Dad was a slacker. Do you think it’s easy to get into the top military academy?”
“I believe Colonel Lu studied at Ovitt Military Academy,” Lin Zhen added thoughtfully. “Getting accepted there is no easier than entering the High Science Institute.”
Lu Chao groaned in despair. “So out of the four of us, I’m the only one who’s dumb? What if I was switched at birth?”
“Stop watching those trashy interstellar dramas,” Jiang Yun said flatly.
“But it’s possible!” Lu Chao insisted. “Mistakes happen in hospitals, you can’t be sure I’m really yours and Colonel Dad’s, right?”
“I can,” Jiang Yun replied calmly.
After giving birth to the twins, hormonal fluctuations had left him deeply insecure for a long time.
Back then, lying weak in his hospital bed, he’d refused to let anyone else hold the babies. Even when Marshal Lu or the Jiang family tried to help, he clung tightly to them, terrified of losing them again.
He’d held one in each arm, eyes fixed on their tiny faces. They had never left his sight, not for a second.
There was no way they’d been switched.
Jiang Mu sighed, genuinely exasperated. “Honestly, have you ever even looked at a photo of Dad?”
Lu Chao immediately pulled up one and compared carefully. Then, with complete sincerity, he declared, “Dad, I think I look more like you! Look, same face, same everything!”
Lin Zhen glanced from father to son and had to fight the urge to rub his eyes. Was he blind?
Jiang Yun took a slow sip of coffee, expression unmoved. “Even if you say that, your allowance is not increasing.”
Lu Chao deflated instantly.
Jiang Mu covered his mouth, chuckling softly. He studied his father’s expression and noticed that Jiang Yun didn’t seem to mind hearing about their late Alpha parent today. So he ventured, “Lu Chao, what else did Uncle Maurice tell you about Dad?”
“Ah!” Lu Chao perked up. “He said Colonel Dad once commented on someone named Zhongmu Youdou.. ”
“…Who?” Jiang Mu blinked.
It was obvious how much the twins missed their Alpha father. Unfortunately, most of what they knew came secondhand, from others’ stories.
At some point, they’d stopped asking their Papa questions about him altogether because they already knew the answer would always be “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember.”
If this kept up, they’d probably end up pestering poor Maurice forever.
Jiang Yun set down his cup and said quietly, “If you want to know about Colonel Lu, you can ask me. No need to bother outsiders.”
The twins froze in shock, wearing two different faces but matching expressions of disbelief.
When neither of them spoke, Jiang Yun asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Mu exchanged a look with his brother. Then, carefully, “But, Papa… do you know?”
Lu Chao nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Every time we asked before, you either said you didn’t know or didn’t remember. We just gave up.”
“You can try again,” Jiang Yun said evenly.
Jiang Mu thought for a moment. “Then… what was Dad’s best subject in high school? What was his average grade?”
Jiang Yun paused, then added a restriction: “Anything before his student years doesn’t count.”
Lu Chao jumped in. “Then what did Colonel Dad think about.. ”
“Also,” Jiang Yun interrupted, “no questions related to mecha.”
Lu Chao: “…”
Jiang Mu: “…”
Lu Chao scratched his head. “Maybe I should just ask Maurice again.”
After a brief silence, Jiang Yun said coolly, “Colonel Lu and I didn’t have much time for trivial small talk. You can check the military’s work schedule, he spent more time at headquarters than at home.”
Lin Zhen nodded sympathetically. “My husband works in the military medical corps, and even he’s constantly busy.”
“But Maurice said you two took a twenty-day honeymoon!” Lu Chao said, puzzled. “You must’ve been together twenty-four hours a day, didn’t you talk then?”
Jiang Yun nodded. “We did, but our schedule was tight. We were traveling most of the time, so our conversations revolved around the trip.”
“And at night?” Jiang Mu asked. “Didn’t you talk then?”
“Not much,” Jiang Yun replied.
Lu Chao frowned. “But nights are so long! If you didn’t talk, what did you two even do?”
“…” Jiang Yun.
“…” Lin Zhen.
Lu Chao persisted, all innocence. “Wouldn’t you get bored not talking?”
Lin Zhen nearly choked on his juice. He downed the rest in one gulp, leapt to his feet, and stammered, “Ah!! I just remembered something urgent, Mr. Jiang, excuse me!”
Jiang Yun sat there, silent under his son’s shining, curious gaze for a full thirty seconds before saying, “You ask too many questions, Lu Chao. Have you finished your homework?”
“???” Lu Chao stared. Wait, weren’t you the one who told us to ask?
The seasoned diplomat smoothed his expression back into calm professionalism. “I have two free hours to review your assignments.”
Two hours later, several members of the diplomatic corps, Zhong Man, Cheng Chi, and others, passed by the twins’ cabin.
They froze when they saw Minister Jiang stepping out.
Gone was the always-impeccable figure in black suit and crisp white shirt, composed enough for any diplomatic summit.
His face was pale, his tie loosened, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, he looked like a man who had just survived a disaster.
The staff immediately panicked.
“Minister Jiang! Are you alright?”
“Did Orlin tear up the treaty again? I knew it!”
“Those shameless Orlins!” Cheng Chi slammed a fist into his palm. “I swear, I’ll fight them myself!”
“Should we take you to the med bay, sir?”
Jiang Yun waved them off. “I’m fine.”
Having worked with him the longest, Zhong Man took a wild guess, “Minister… were you perhaps tutoring Xiao Chao just now?”
Jiang Yun didn’t answer. Even speaking of it hurt. Instead, he noticed Cheng Chi holding a large framed photo. “What’s that?”
Cheng Chi stiffened. “Ah, well… Some of us thought it might be nice to hang Colonel Lu’s portrait in the temporary office, for good luck, you know. His spirit is watching over us and all that.”
And, well… he’s nice to look at.
“…” Jiang Yun said nothing.
Zhong Man hurried to explain, “If you think it’s inappropriate, we won’t hang it up!”
Normally, Jiang Yun stayed in his private office, so they rarely dared try something like this.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Yun said after a pause. “Do as you like.”
After all, the ship was already filled with traces of Colonel Lu. One more photo wouldn’t make much difference.
Cheng Chi brightened. “Then we’ll go ahead and hang it up?”
Jiang Yun nodded. “Go ahead.”
He watched as his subordinates walked off, the framed picture clutched to Cheng Chi’s chest.
From Jiang Yun’s angle, he could only see a sliver of emerald-green uniform and a pair of deep brown eyes, eyes that, even when the man behind them tried to restrain himself, still shone with untamed pride and brilliance.
Even through the photo, that gaze seemed to pierce time and space, landing quietly on Jiang Yun.
He stared as the image receded into the distance, and, almost without thinking, called softly, “Colonel Lu.”
Perhaps it was the loosened tie, or the exhaustion of tutoring Lu Chao’s homework, but at that moment the years seemed to melt away.
For a fleeting instant, the cool, composed diplomat’s face softened, the calm mask replaced by something almost boyish, a trace of the warmth and innocence he had long since buried.
“Tell me, Colonel,” Jiang Yun murmured with quiet exasperation, as if simply making small talk with his long-lost husband, “How did the two of us ever manage to give birth to a dunce like Lu Chao?”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
☕ (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑ translator fuel acquired?
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Who can compare to Colonel Lu?Chapter 2 · He should be deadChapter 3 · How were we born?Chapter 4 · That’s where Colonel died..Chapter 5 · No one knows my pheromone than Colonel LuChapter 6 · Colonel Lu’s remainsChapter 7 · Heat is approachingChapter 8 · CheckmateChapter 9 · A dream liked married lifeChapter 10 · What might be his pregnancy be like?Chapter 11 · He thought he would be the father of two childrenChapter 12 · So we just hang Colonel Lu on the wall?Chapter 13 · Finally, I have something to say to my wifeChapter 14 · Why doesn’t Colonel Lu understandChapter 15 · He doesn’t Love MeChapter 16 · You’ll see him soonChapter 17 · So casual, so carelessChapter 18 Part 1 · He.. He’s looking at meChapter 18 Part 2 · He..He’s looking at meChapter 19 · Lu Huai is still aliveChapter 20 · Wait until I bring back your zombie Alpha dadChapter 21 · Long time no see, Jiang YunChapter 22 · I still have that qualificationChapter 23 · It still tastes sweet when you kiss itChapter 24 · He seems to have forgotten how to act cuteChapter 25 · The two unfortunate children were completely terrifiedChapter 26 · Please make yourself at home.Chapter 27 · Hello, UncleChapter 28 · Am I not your deceased husband?Chapter 29 · Don’t you love me anymore?Chapter 30 · Our home is No. 5, Qianshui RoadChapter 31 · Is he… here to keep him company?Chapter 32 · What exactly did Alpha bring me?Chapter 33 · Thanks a lot, brothers!Chapter 34 · Hi?Chapter 35 · I only let you take care of the child for one dayChapter 36 · Did you have thoughts when you ‘died’?Chapter 37 · Put a double bed in your homeChapter 38 · They both suffered heavy lossesChapter 39 · Welcome back to the Alphas’ arena.Chapter 40 · Why should I lower myself?Chapter 41 · I have learned that Colonel Lu Huai is still aliveChapter 42 · They are sensitive and vulnerableChapter 43 · He would also feel regret.Chapter 44 · When a child is quiet, they’re definitely up to somethingChapter 45 · Dad, you have such a good eye for choosing a husband!Chapter 46 · Who made it wear a colonel’s uniform?Chapter 47 · I love him very muchChapter 48 · Okay, I believe youChapter 49 · I remember you went pretty hard on him at the end.Chapter 50 · Colonel Lu, don’t be too fierceChapter 51 · To…make up for the regretChapter 52 · A perfect match!Chapter 53 · Colonel Lu, let’s get married!Chapter 54 · When will you finally learn to stop talking nonsense?Chapter 55 · My darlings, we’re homeChapter 56 · Babies, please stopChapter 57 · I’m about to enter my heat cycle, not my due dateChapter 58 · Is he complaining to his wife?Chapter 59 · The only lieChapter 60 · Colonel Lu, the babies are all crying.Chapter 61 · Dad, Colonel Lu bullied me.Chapter 62 · A large number of foreign ministersChapter 63 · Jiang Mu definitely likes handsome guys tooChapter 64 · First time bringing a partner to a major diplomatic occasionChapter 65 · You’re still as handsome as you were back thenChapter 66 · Bedtime Strategic PartnerChapter 67 · How can you be so good at threatening people?Chapter 68 · I’m waiting for youChapter 69 · I’ll stay by your side, from beginning to endChapter 70 · Can you handle Lu Chao’s… educational session for me?Chapter 71 · The First SpringChapter 72 · Extra 1Chapter 73 · Extra 2Chapter 74 · Extra 3Chapter 75 · Extra 4Chapter 76 · Extra 5Chapter 77 · Extra 6Chapter 78 · Extra 7Chapter 79 · Extra 8Chapter 80 · Extra 9