After that day, Lu Qiao felt that Yan Qiu had done so much for him that a simple word or two of thanks was no longer enough to repay him. He had to do something for Yan Qiu as well.
After thinking it over, he had no money, and he did not know how to do many things. The only thing Yan Qiu might care about, and that might actually surprise him… seemed to be clothes he made himself!
He really had to pick up this old trade again!
Thus, Lu Qiao picked up some sweater yarn, designed a pattern, and secretly worked on it.
Except for that one time at the hospital, during this period Lu Qiao still transferred to Yan Qiu’s side every day. However, Lu Qiao was fairly vigilant. To prevent Yan Qiu from suddenly transferring to his side one day and unexpectedly seeing what he was doing too early, thereby losing the element of surprise, whenever it was close to seven o’clock, he would hide all his tools.
And his vigilance was clearly necessary, because on this day, Yan Qiu finally transferred to his place.
The man was probably coming here for the first time as well. Standing inside Lu Qiao’s cramped little room, his eyes swept over the somewhat old desk and the several boxes of genetic stabilizers and nutritional supplements placed by the window, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Lu Qiao felt somewhat embarrassed. Thinking about how Yan Qiu’s bedroom was several times larger than his, he blurted out, “How about we go get a room outside!”
Yan Qiu: “……”
He turned around and looked at Lu Qiao with a very subtle expression.
Lu Qiao realized what he had said, his face turning red as he explained, “I-I was just worried you wouldn’t be used to staying here!”
As he spoke, he hurriedly reached out and smoothed the wrinkles in the blanket on the bed behind him, becoming awkward and flustered himself.
Yan Qiu probably had never stayed in a place like this in his entire life.
However, upon hearing this, Yan Qiu merely reached out and ruffled his hair, saying, “I won’t. There’s no need to go out.”
He glanced at the bed that would become extremely cramped once two people lay on it and said calmly, “This place is fine.”
Lu Qiao lowered his head and muttered, “Then… dinner… should we order takeout?”
“Okay. You order. I’m fine with anything.” Yan Qiu’s voice was gentle.
Lu Qiao did not want Yan Qiu to suffer along with him, so he deliberately ordered more food, trying his best to make the dinner look a little more sumptuous.
The two of them did not go out either. They squeezed together inside Lu Qiao’s tiny room, talking and eating at the same time.
After all this time, there still seemed to be no progress online regarding the world’s virus…
Naturally, some people had tried the whole “啪啪啪” thing, but the result was that it still did not unlock anything. Everyone was completely baffled about what counted as “infinite intimacy.” There was even a group of people who suspected that it was a matter of “depth,” constantly starting rather filthy discussions.
Lu Qiao actually was no longer in a hurry to unlock it. Anyway, everyone was in the same situation, and Yan Qiu’s life… did not seem to have been affected too much. He himself was almost accustomed to this mode. If it suddenly unlocked one day, he might actually feel a little unaccustomed to it.
In addition, during the few nights Lu Qiao slept at the Yan residence, he continued to have strange dreams intermittently. He had finally entered the last room at the end of the corridor on the left, only to see some fragments of floating points of light above a hospital bed.
After listening, Yan Qiu looked him over and suddenly asked, “Is your Level-3 gene a Consciousness-type gene?”
“Yes.” Lu Qiao was startled. “What’s wrong?”
Yan Qiu pondered for a while before finally shaking his head and saying, “I’ve never heard of a consciousness manipulator having dreams like this.”
“Right?” Lu Qiao muttered. “I actually wish I could have a genetic outbreak.”
But it was more likely that he was simply dreaming about what he thought about during the day.
Ever since Yan Qiu told him what had happened to Marshal Yan, he often thought about it whenever he was lost in thought. The more he thought about it, the more he sighed for Yan Qiu.
Putting this matter aside, Lu Qiao suddenly thought of something and said, “Oh, right. Ellie and Chris aren’t coming here anymore. I heard they were sent to the military headquarters and given a very strict instructor.”
Seeing Yan Qiu calmly eating, he leaned over and whispered, “Was that you?”
He had asked the director, but this time even the director did not know. The director only knew that the instructor their parents had found was indeed very capable and very strict. After the two children went there, they certainly were not as relaxed as they had been at the training hall, though their parents were quite happy about it.
Yan Qiu merely tapped his forehead with his chopsticks and said nonchalantly, “If something like this happens again in the future, tell me.”
That was an admission!!
Lu Qiao’s heart was touched. He felt that Yan Qiu treated him to such an extent that he really had to properly prepare that gift. After settling his thoughts, he put a chicken leg into Yan Qiu’s bowl and solemnly said, “Yan Qiu.”
Yan Qiu gave him a look.
Lu Qiao said seriously, “Let’s take a shower together later.”
Yan Qiu’s movements stopped.
He stared deeply at Lu Qiao.
Since the night Lu Qiao had gotten drunk, they had not showered together again. They always finished showering before seven o’clock.
And today, Lu Qiao had deliberately saved his shower for after seven.
His face red, he coughed and said, “Your… your toiletries, I-I prepared them all for you.”
Yan Qiu put down his chopsticks and quietly looked at him.
Lu Qiao lowered his head and stammered, “Even if you’ve already showered, j-just shower again.”
Then he heard the man’s very low voice say, “Okay.”
After saying it, Lu Qiao felt that his intentions had been far too obvious! Yet Yan Qiu had agreed without even asking anything???
Even Lu Qiao himself found it surprising!
After dinner, he stuffed a large blue washbasin into Yan Qiu’s hands. Inside were pajamas he had borrowed from the assistant director and new toiletries.
The two of them each carried a washbasin and walked together toward the bathhouse.
Lu Qiao glanced at the person beside him, but Yan Qiu kept his back straight and his eyes looking straight ahead.
…S-so calm. Was this man really not curious at all?
The two of them took off their clothes, carried their washbasins, and entered the bathhouse hand in hand, stopping at a spot.
Lu Qiao saw Yan Qiu silently turn on the shower. He did not know whether it was just his imagination, but the man’s expression seemed somewhat stern. He swallowed and said, “Yan Qiu.”
The man turned his head to look at him, his voice husky. “Hm?”
Lu Qiao said awkwardly, “L-later, let me scrub your back…”
“……” Yan Qiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Okay.”
…He really wasn’t asking anything! Why?!
While feeling amazed, Lu Qiao turned on the shower. When the water was ready, he pulled over a small stool and had Yan Qiu sit down so he could scrub his back.
He put a scrub glove on one hand, while his other hand lightly touched Yan Qiu’s back.
The solid muscles were right beneath his hand. They felt really good. Before he had even scrubbed much, Lu Qiao could not help rubbing them twice.
Yan Qiu turned his head and glanced at him, his eyes somewhat dark.
Lu Qiao’s face reddened, and he immediately behaved himself.
Actually, what he wanted to do today was simply to secretly take measurements of the various parts of Yan Qiu’s body. Of course, he did not necessarily have to trick him into coming to the bathhouse just to take measurements. Lu Qiao simply felt that he could conveniently provide Yan Qiu with a little service as well, which could count as repayment!
Just like the teacher at school had said—
“You work so hard every day. It must be really tiring for you!” he said obediently while scrubbing energetically.
Yan Qiu had originally been looking at Lu Qiao with a meaningful expression. Upon hearing this: “?”
“You’ve taken care of me for so long. It’s only right that I scrub your back for you.” Lu Qiao smiled and said, “Come to think of it, when I was little, I even scrubbed my dad’s back. You’re the second man in my life whose back I’ve scrubbed. Hahahaha!”
Yan Qiu’s back suddenly stiffened.
As Lu Qiao spoke, he became even more enthusiastic. “How about I give you a massage later, too? I’ve massaged my dad before. My technique should be pretty good!”
Once he started talking about the things he had done for his father, Lu Qiao became unstoppable. “I also cooked for my dad. How about I cook for you next time, too? My dad likes egg fried rice the most. Do you like it? I also cleaned my dad’s ears. Do you want to let me try? Ah, Yan Qiu, you’re really too good to me. I really want to do everything I’ve done for my dad for you. Otherwise, I don’t even know how to repay you—”
Under Lu Qiao’s words, Yan Qiu’s expression gradually darkened until he could not help interrupting him.
“Lu Qiao.”
“What?” Lu Qiao leaned over and asked in confusion.
Yan Qiu slowly said, “I’m not your dad.”
“Ah, I know.” Lu Qiao came back to his senses and awkwardly explained, “It’s just that these are the only things I know how to do, and I’ve done all of them for my dad, so whenever I mention them, I can’t help thinking of him.”
Lu Qiao looked at Yan Qiu’s unhappy expression and placated him, “How could I have a dad who’s only three years older than me? You’re my big brother, okay?”
Yan Qiu paused and glanced at him.
Lu Qiao blinked.
Yan Qiu continued glancing at him.
Lu Qiao tentatively called out, “Big brother?”
The corners of Yan Qiu’s lips curved up. He was finally happy.
Lu Qiao’s ears grew hot, but the corners of his mouth rose as well.
What the heck? He actually liked taking advantage of this kind of thing? He really was exactly as the director had said—a closet flirt.
After Yan Qiu’s mood settled down, he suddenly asked, “Are you leaving the day after tomorrow?”
Lu Qiao was startled, then quickly realized that Yan Qiu was talking about his plans to return to his hometown with Song Yue. They had originally planned to leave the day after tomorrow.
Just as he was about to speak, Yan Qiu calmly said, “It’s just right that I have nothing going on. I’ll go with you the day after tomorrow.”
Lu Qiao was startled. He had not expected Yan Qiu to suggest this. Awkwardly, he said, “Ah… but Song Yue contacted me today and said something happened at his home. We’re leaving tomorrow morning instead. I forgot to tell you just now.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Qiu’s expression tightened again.
Lu Qiao cautiously asked, “If we leave tomorrow instead, can you still come with us?”
…Yan Qiu was the Grand Marshal. Although he had been taking a break during this period, he seemed to have things to deal with every day. It probably was not that easy for him to simply leave whenever he wanted, right?
—And as it turned out, Lu Qiao’s guess was correct.
From then until they returned to the room, Yan Qiu’s face remained dark.
Lu Qiao felt somewhat sheepish.
He had not expected that taking a shower and scrubbing a back would actually result in Yan Qiu coming out with a dark expression.
He rarely saw Yan Qiu angry, much less openly sulking like this, so for a moment he did not know what to do.
When it was time to go online for work, Lu Qiao had previously borrowed a holographic helmet from the assistant director for Yan Qiu to use, so Yan Qiu would not have nothing to do while he was online.
Before putting on the helmet, he glanced at Yan Qiu’s expression. He wanted to say something, wanting to coax him, but did not know how.
Yan Qiu looked at him and suddenly reached out, wanting to pull him over.
Lu Qiao jolted and instinctively stepped back a little, blushing as he avoided Yan Qiu’s hand.
The two stared at each other.
Yan Qiu expressionlessly put on his helmet and did not say another word.
Lu Qiao: “……”
Ah, he seemed even angrier now.
Yan Qiu logged into his account and directly connected to the military headquarters’ intranet through it, entering the online training grounds.
Ji Zhuyun was online as well. When he saw Yan Qiu come online, he immediately teleported to his side and said, “By the way, I just ran into Song Yue. Something happened at his home, and he said he plans to leave with Lu Qiao tomorrow to return to his hometown. So what about you? Are you leaving tomorrow too?”
Yan Qiu happened to slam the virtual opponent to the ground and coldly said, “I have something to do tomorrow.”
The single sentence revealed his deep displeasure.
Ji Zhuyun let out a “pfft” and comforted him, “At worst, you can just leave the day after tomorrow according to the original plan and catch up with them. They should be staying there for two days before coming back anyway, right?”
Upon hearing this, Yan Qiu’s expression eased slightly. But at that moment, he received a message.
Within the intranet, holographic user accounts and personal terminal accounts were connected. Messages received by the terminal could also be received while in holographic mode.
Yan Qiu opened it and saw that it was from Luo Ye, informing him that something had unexpectedly come up the day after tomorrow and he needed Yan Qiu’s help.
Yan Qiu: “……”
The virtual opponent beneath his hands struggled free. Yan Qiu’s face darkened as he once again ruthlessly pinned the man down.
Ji Zhuyun was surprised. “What happened, what happened?” Why was he suddenly angry again?
Yan Qiu coldly said, “I have something to do the day after tomorrow, too.”
“……” Ji Zhuyun. “Hahahahahahahaha!”
Yan Qiu was genuinely unhappy now. He trained against the virtual opponent for a long time, while Ji Zhuyun repeatedly sighed in amusement.
Lu Qiao might not know, but he did. How could Yan Qiu possibly have so much free time? Even the day after tomorrow had only been freed up with great difficulty. The guy was probably still somewhat bothered by Song Yue. On the other hand, after becoming invested in Lu Qiao, perhaps he also wanted to see the place where Lu Qiao had been born.
The thought was very romantic, but reality was cruel. Even the Empire’s First Grand Marshal had times when he felt frustrated.
After laughing at him, Ji Zhuyun brought up serious business. “Oh, right. The search team sent word.”
Although Ji Zhuyun was not part of the First Legion, because he was close to Yan Qiu, there were some matters he handled for Yan Qiu.
Upon hearing this, Yan Qiu let the virtual opponent go and asked, “What news?”
Ji Zhuyun’s expression turned serious. “Cheng Yi has infiltrated the Empire. He should have come in through the most chaotic area. They caught up with Cheng Yi’s trail, but he escaped them again. He should be carrying quite a few disguise tools. His movements are secretive, and he’s extremely cunning. To be honest… judging from the way he acts, he really has changed quite a lot.”
Ji Zhuyun frowned as he spoke.
Cheng Yi had originally been somewhat introverted and shy. Yet his behavior now was completely different from his former personality.
Perhaps after experiencing that incident back then, his personality really had changed drastically. Moreover, the people Yan Qiu sent were all elites from the military. To escape from these people, Cheng Yi’s strength had already become unfathomable.
Yan Qiu asked, “Where did you lose his trail?”
Ji Zhuyun named a planet and said, “They’ve already dispersed and are searching the nearby star regions. But they’ve lost his trail for more than ten hours now. Cheng Yi could have escaped anywhere.”
Ever since the news from Marshal Lunn’s side arrived, they had started from Blue-Eyed Star Nation. They had caught up with Cheng Yi’s trail several times only to lose it again. This time, it seemed they would have to start over from scratch.
Yan Qiu only said, “Continue the search. At the same time, pay attention to Cheng Yi’s mother’s recent movements.”
Ji Zhuyun immediately agreed.
They both knew that since Cheng Yi had deliberately risked returning to the Empire, he must have some purpose.
But what could his purpose be?
With no clues at present, naturally, they could only first consider his mother, who had divorced his father when he was young and remarried someone else.
Afterward, Yan Qiu disconnected from the intranet, removed his helmet, and glanced at the person beside him.
Lu Qiao was lying there quietly, still online.
Yan Qiu watched him for quite a while… then silently put his helmet back on, switched to the external network, thought for a moment, and transferred to the game arcade in the Xiyue Online Complex.
It was as noisy as ever.
Yan Qiu casually glanced around and walked forward. Suddenly, a figure ran past him. Immediately afterward, a small white shadow crashed into his arm. Apparently dazed for a moment from the collision, it directly fell down!
Yan Qiu caught the bird in one hand.
Lu Qiao was dizzy and disoriented. When he looked up, he saw a familiar handsome man. Wasn’t this the friend of “Luo Ye” online, the “Yan Qiu” online?!
He did not spare much thought for this guy. After recovering, he saw that the Irritable Rabbit had fallen flat on the ground while fleeing and immediately became fired up. His two wings struggled free from the hands of this “Yan Qiu” and flapped angrily again and again as he said, “What deep grudge do you have against Yan Qiu?! If you keep this up, I’m going to bite all the hair off your virtual avatar, too!”
The moment Lu Qiao came to the arcade today, he had heard the Irritable Rabbit making sarcastic remarks about Yan Qiu again, and he immediately exploded!
The Irritable Rabbit climbed back up. Seeing Lu Qiao being held in someone’s palm, he immediately gained confidence and snorted, “Go ahead and bite me! If you’ve got the guts, come bite me in real life! Bleh-bleh-bleh-bleh!”
The veins on Lu Qiao’s forehead bulged one by one. He angrily said, “No matter how much you mock him, you’re not as capable as him, not as handsome as him, your hair isn’t as thick as his, and your chest muscles aren’t as developed as his!”
Yan Qiu: “……”
The Irritable Rabbit was provoked and stomped his feet. “Y-you, you! How do you know that I-I-I don’t have—”
“Because Yan Qiu is perfect. He doesn’t need to mock anyone else.” Lu Qiao puffed out his chest proudly.
“You’re still saying you’re not his brainless fan!!!” The Irritable Rabbit exploded as well. “Just you wait! I-I-I’ll come back in a week. If you’ve got the guts, let’s meet in person! I’ll see if you can still say things like that then!”
With that, he angrily logged off on the spot.
A week later? Lu Qiao was puzzled.
The two girls who often chatted with him were sitting nearby. After watching the whole thing for a while, they whispered, “The Irritable Rabbit seems to have been asking about plastic surgery hospitals these past few days.”
Lu Qiao was shocked. “What?”
Another girl said, “Yeah, I heard he’s asked several people. Could he be planning to get plastic surgery?”
“……” Lu Qiao looked completely bewildered. Seriously?
The girl continued, “And apparently, the place he’s asked about the most afterward is Sanguang Planet.”
The other girl was puzzled. “Sanguang Planet? Where’s that?”
Lu Qiao was even more shocked. “Ah, that’s my hometown!”
Upon hearing this, Yan Qiu lowered his head and glanced at the white Java sparrow in his hand.
“Are there good plastic surgery hospitals on Sanguang Planet?” the two girls asked in confusion.
“No. My hometown is only a Fourth-Class Star. There aren’t any good hospitals there at all.” Lu Qiao was puzzled as well. “You guys must have gotten it wrong.”
His hometown was located at the border, where administration was chaotic. There were no good hospitals, but there were plenty of unlicensed underground clinics.
“Then who knows? Maybe it’s because it’s cheaper.”
“Even if it’s cheaper, he can’t just find some random hospital and get it done, right?”
The two girls continued discussing it. Lu Qiao thought about the matter for a while and felt that it had nothing to do with him, so he put it out of his mind.
Suddenly, he noticed that he was still being held by a palm. He looked up and glanced at the man in front of him, saying dryly, “Let me go.”
The man carefully examined him for a moment before releasing him.
Lu Qiao flapped his wings, flying away with a series of “pat-pat” sounds, thinking that this really was a strange man.
After logging off, Lu Qiao looked at the time. It was already almost midnight.
He and Song Yue had agreed to meet at 6:30 the next morning. Song Yue had already left the military headquarters and was staying somewhere else tonight. Tomorrow morning, he would come directly to the training hall to pick Lu Qiao up. They would take the military aircraft Song Yue had borrowed from the military headquarters back to Sanguang Planet. The journey would take about five hours.
Since he had to get up early, it was time to go to bed early.
Just then, Yan Qiu also removed his holographic helmet and opened his eyes.
The two met each other’s gaze.
Lu Qiao tilted his head and asked, “Are you still angry?”
Yan Qiu calmly looked away. “No.”
But Lu Qiao felt that this man was definitely still unhappy.
Lu Qiao thought for a moment and said, “How about I dig bamboo shoots for you to eat when I get home?”
Yan Qiu raised an eyebrow.
Lu Qiao said, “My grandmother’s place should be in spring right now. The bamboo shoots on the mountains should just have started sprouting. After I go home, I’ll dig up a few bamboo shoots. When we meet at seven o’clock, I’ll cook them for you!”
He remembered that Yan Qiu had seemed to reach out just now to stop him from falling, only for him to instinctively dodge. That probably hurt his pride a little too. So now, while forcing down the inexplicable heat on his face, he moved a little closer, almost nestling into Yan Qiu’s arms, and whispered, “I’ve never cooked bamboo shoots for my dad, you know.”
Yan Qiu finally could not help laughing.
He reached out again and pulled Lu Qiao into his arms, saying in a low voice, “Okay.”