Xinya Sanatorium was a high-security facility directly under the military’s control. It boasted the best medical and nursing teams in the entire Alliance, an exclusive place reserved for those of high rank or those who had rendered exceptional service to the nation.
Marshal Lu Zhengqing was already a hundred years old, no great age in an era where the average lifespan reached a hundred and twenty.
But injuries and illnesses from his early years had accumulated, and the deaths of his wife and son had taken an irreparable toll.
When his only grandson later died heroically on the battlefield, the old marshal seemed to crumble overnight.
He had spent the last decade confined to a wheelchair. Now, even his lucidity came and went in fleeting intervals.
Jiang Yun followed behind the nurse, Cecil, through the spotless white corridors of the sanatorium, carrying a bouquet of champagne colored carnations in his hands.
The soft warmth of their hue offset the severe black of his suit, lending a gentleness to the face that was otherwise breathtaking in its cold precision.
His presence drew glances, curious, restrained. Cecil, encouraged by Jiang Yun’s calm demeanor, even dared to strike up a conversation.
“It’s been a while since your last visit, Mr. Jiang,” she said with a smile, “Work’s been keeping you busy?”
Jiang Yun gave a quiet hum in reply, his voice low and even. “Has anyone else come to see the Marshal recently besides Jiang Mu and Lu Chao?”
“No,” Cecil said. “Per your standing instructions, only your two children are permitted. Anyone else requires your authorization before visiting the Marshal.”
Inside the villa’s living room, Dr. Owen had just finished the old marshal’s routine checkup. He turned and brightened at the sight of Jiang Yun.
“Mr. Jiang, perfect timing,” Owen said, his smile showing even behind his mask. “The Marshal’s in unusually good spirits today. He’s even watching some of his old holographic recordings.”
The once mighty hero of the Alliance sat upright in his wheelchair. The years and illness hadn’t managed to bend his spine, though his frail left hand was tethered to an IV line and his nose never free from the chill of a feeding tube.
Even on good days, it was difficult for him to form complete sentences. His eyes, though clouded and pale, held a fleeting clarity as they fixed on the flickering hologram before him.
At first glance, Jiang Yun thought the old man was watching Lu Chao’s childhood footage. But Lu Chao had never owned a mech model with those wide, ornate wings.
Then he realized the boy in the projection, sharp eyed and arrogantly bright, was not Lu Chao at all. It was Lu Huai, at seven years old.
Jiang Yun lowered his gaze and placed the carnations gently into a vase.
Lu Chao had inherited too much of his father’s flawless looks. Jiang Yun often wished the boy had resembled him more, it would’ve hurt less to see that face every day.
Lu Huai’s parents had died in battle when he was still an infant. It was the Marshal and his wife who raised him. When the boy turned seven, the Marshal ordered a genetic test to predict his secondary gender differentiation.
The result: Lu Huai had over a ninety percent chance of becoming an Alpha.
The hologram captured that very day.
Back then, Marshal Lu had been a man of commanding presence, thick black hair, sharp features, bearing a perfect embodiment of the nation’s warrior ideal. When he heard the results, he had smiled with rare satisfaction and told the boy:
“When you grow up, you can marry an Omega like your grandmother, strong, steadfast. The two of you will serve the Alliance together.”
Little Lu Huai had not been impressed. “I don’t want to.”
The Marshal’s brows furrowed, “What did you just say?”
The oppressive authority that made hardened soldiers tremble had no effect on the child.
“I don’t like cold and stiff Omegas,” Lu Huai said matter-of-factly, still fiddling with the mech’s wings. “I like ones who are soft and sweet like little cakes.”
“Where did you even learn to talk like that?” the Marshal demanded, his voice deepening.
“I didn’t. I just thought of it myself.”
Jiang Yun stood silently, lips tightening ever so slightly.
He had never seen this particular recording before, but Lu Huai’s taste hadn’t changed in twenty years.
“Soft and sweet, like a little cake.” Even grown, even after all that time, his preferences had remained absurdly consistent.
Jiang Yun couldn’t help the faint curve of irony at his lips. If it had been him who’d gone to that blind date years ago instead of… well, perhaps those twins would never have been born.
He switched off the hologram and leaned down slightly, his voice soft but formal. “Marshal, shall I take you for a walk?”
It took Lu Zhengqing a long while to turn his gaze toward him, comprehension slowly dawning in his clouded eyes, then, finally a faint nod.
Jiang Yun dismissed the attendants and pushed the wheelchair alone. They moved along the path by the fence, sunlight spilling across the small garden road. Every so often, he would lean down, speaking quietly near the old man’s ear, repeating himself patiently until the meaning sank in.
By the time the sun dipped low and shadows stretched long, the Marshal’s strength had waned. He drifted into an exhausted sleep.
At dusk, Jiang Yun departed the sanatorium.
A retro-style black car waited by the gate. By it stood Miyazawa, who had clearly been waiting for some time. He smiled when Jiang Yun approached.
“Jiang Yun.”
Outside of official settings, Jiang Yun dispensed with all pretense of diplomacy. “What are you doing here?” he asked coolly.
“I told you before, I wanted to visit Marshal Lu.” Miyazawa’s eyes flicked toward the staff behind him, his tone faintly exasperated. “But they wouldn’t even let me past the gate. Said I needed your permission. Is that true?”
“It is,” Jiang Yun said simply.
Miyazawa paused, sighing. “Don’t you think you’re being a little too controlling? You don’t have that authority.”
“That’s your opinion,” Jiang Yun cut him off coldly.
“…Alright.” Miyazawa’s voice softened in reluctant defeat. “At least tell me, did you break the news to the Marshal? About Lu Huai?”
Jiang Yun opened his car door without a glance back, “No need.”
No one knew what the old general and his grandson’s widowed husband had truly spoken of that bright afternoon.
But afterward, Marshal Lu’s condition worsened. His moments of clarity grew fewer and farther between.
Dr. Owen later confided that in his delirium, the Marshal would murmur the same name again and again, soundless, fervent.
Perhaps no one in the world wished more than he did for Lu Huai’s return.
Meanwhile, the Alliance Congress had finally agreed to the proposal: to trade five percent of the nation’s core mining rights in exchange for the recovery of Colonel Lu’s remains. The Olin Empire appeared willing to accept.
The only person who refused to yield was Jiang Yun.
With both the Lu and Jiang families behind him, his influence extended far beyond that of an ordinary diplomat. Without his consent, no negotiation could move forward.
Talks stalled.
In an effort to ease the deadlock, Ian organized a small private gathering. He claimed it was merely for “fostering deeper personal friendship.”
Besides Jiang Yun, the guests included Miyazawa from Congress and Maurice from the military.
Jiang Yun’s hormone levels had already begun to fluctuate, his AI assistant had warned him that his heat cycle would arrive within hours. But he accepted Ian’s invitation anyway.
The meeting took place beside the pool of Ian’s hotel. It was informal to the point of indecency, the Olin envoy wore nothing but swim trunks, while the three Alliance men were still in full uniform or suits.
Four men sat around a small table, smiling thinly, chatting about nothing.
Three Alphas. One Omega.
“Why didn’t you bring those adorable twins tonight, Minister Jiang?” Ian asked, offering him a cocktail, abs glinting under the lights. “I was hoping to meet them.”
On any other day, Jiang Yun would have maintained his composure out of diplomatic habit. Tonight, his patience had frayed to threads. “They’re busy,” he said curtly.
“Children? Busier than their father, the great diplomat?” Ian laughed. “Ah… but I suppose you haven’t told them about Colonel Lu yet, have you? Still keeping that from them?”
Miyazawa’s sharp glance was warning enough. He smoothly intercepted the topic, steering it elsewhere. “I heard, Lord Ian, that His Majesty of Olin joined you for a game of golf recently. I’d love to hear more about that.”
He could navigate these tedious social games better than most politicians, even better than Jiang Yun himself.
Maurice, however, wasn’t listening. His gaze remained fixed on Jiang Yun, his soldier’s instincts picking up what the others missed, the slight tremor in Jiang Yun’s fingers, the feverish flush beneath the pale skin.
“You don’t look well,” he murmured quietly. “Are you feeling alright?”
The question froze in the air. The other two men fell silent. Three Alphas turned their attention to Jiang Yun.
His eyelashes trembled. The stem of the glass was almost slipping from his too warm palm. “I’m fine,” he said softly, though the faint color on his cheeks betrayed him.
Ian’s nostrils flared, amused. “Hmm? That reaction…” He smiled lazily. “Minister Jiang, could it be that your heat is approaching?”
Maurice surged to his feet, the table nearly toppling.
Even Miyazawa’s expression hardened. “Watch your words, Lord Ian.”
“Come now,” Ian said with a smirk. “Don’t act as though you’re not curious yourselves. You’re Alphas, same as me. Don’t pretend you’ve never wondered what the great Jiang Yun smells like.”
For once, neither of the other two Alphas could find an answer.
Jiang Yun closed his eyes briefly, and in the quiet of his mind came the low chime of his AI assistant, “Your heat cycle will begin in one hour. Please make the necessary preparations.”
One hour. That was all the time he had left, to finish this.
Enough.
He tilted his head back and drained the rest of his drink. The alcohol burned down his throat, and when he looked up again, the slight glaze of heat in his eyes turned his usual composure into something perilously beautiful.
The air thickened, vodka, lavender, and amberwood, three distinct pheromone traces began to stir and clash.
Ian’s smile deepened. “So, tonight, it won’t just be Colonel Lu who knows your scent anymore, will it, Minister Jiang?”
As the atmosphere grew taut, Jiang Yun parted his lips, his voice still calm, his words as precise as ever but what came out was not a plea or a flirtation.
“An hour ago,” he said evenly, “Marshal Lu called me. He demanded that I recover Colonel Lu’s remains at any cost.”
He looked up, the faintest trace of light glinting in his eyes, “His stance is firm. If I refuse, he will keep pressuring me until the end.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
You clicked all the way to the end. That deserves one final button press. ☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
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