“Yeah…?” Zhou Mingyu was surprised to learn that Luo Ran didn’t know. “You didn’t know that Shuangye competed against you back then? And she wasn’t the only one. There were several ordinary citizens from the Royal Academy who applied, too.”
Luo Ran fell silent for a moment before smiling and smoothly changing the subject. “That was so many years ago. I’ve forgotten.”
He was somewhat puzzled.
Back then, he had been pulled directly from the first round of screening into the final selection. As a result, he had rarely interacted with the other applicants.
If several candidates had come from the Royal Academy, why had he been the one chosen in the end…?
Zhou Mingyu’s next words interrupted his train of thought.
“By the way, Shuangye will be resigning in a few days.”
“What happened?”
“She’s getting married and plans to focus on her family. So… I’d like to ask for your help again.” Zhou Mingyu sighed. “The new secretary isn’t familiar with many of the duties yet. To ensure the Empire’s administrative affairs run more smoothly, could you come over and help train him?”
“It won’t take up too much of your time.”
Luo Ran replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, “I’ll do my best, but the military and trade departments are both very busy.”
The banquet hall was filled with the clinking of glasses as the two danced and chatted.
……
Upstairs, in a private room.
“He actually dared to lie to me!” Lucas slapped the table. “Luo Ran sure has some nerve. Hah, for many years? So he’s been deceiving me for years!”
“……”
Zhou Mingkai’s hand jerked in shock, sending his dart flying off course instead of hitting the bullseye on the wall.
He stared blankly at Lucas. “What the General cares about is… that he lied to you?”
Zhou Mingkai sat on the table with one leg crossed over the other and opened a bottle of liquor.
Lucas clasped his hands behind his back and paced back and forth.
Zhou Mingkai thought about how Lucas usually reacted whenever someone else confessed their feelings for him. He would be disgusted, disdainful, angry, and annoyed. Once, a noble Omega had presented Lucas with roses and confessed his love at a banquet. Lucas had merely sneered and ordered the guards to throw the person out. In the most literal sense, both the person and the roses had been tossed out through the hotel entrance.
And yet now…
Lucas, who had never given romantic relationships a second thought, was actually standing here in a state of emotional confusion?
Zhou Mingkai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
After a while, Lucas stopped pacing.
“Actually, it makes sense.”
“Huh…?”
Lucas said, “After all, he’s been by my side for so many years. We’re together day and night. Isn’t it perfectly reasonable that he’d fall for me?”
Lucas looked as though this were the most obvious thing in the world, and there was even a note of satisfaction in his voice.
“After all, there isn’t a single Alpha more outstanding than me.”
“The other Alphas and Omegas are all an uneven assortment of trash, and none of them are even good-looking.”
“Having to stay by my side and somehow resist falling for me must have been exhausting.”
Zhou Mingkai: “……”
Lucas frowned. “Then how am I supposed to reject him? What if he gets angry and stops working?”
Zhou Mingkai: “Why would you reject him?!”
Lucas replied, “I’m a dignified General. What would I want with a romantic relationship? It would interfere with my work. I only fight wars.”
Zhou Mingkai: “……”
At that moment, inspiration struck Zhou Mingkai once again. Carrying the hopes of the entire Empire on his shoulders, he thumped his chest and declared, “Secretary Luo hasn’t let you notice anything all these years, nor has he allowed it to affect his work. Why not just let things continue as they are?”
Zhou Mingkai launched into a passionate argument. “The Secretary is already so pitiful! Don’t go rejecting him. Secretary Luo is such a proud, aloof person. If you suddenly bring this up with him, you’ll hurt his feelings!”
Good grief. What a hassle.
Lucas scratched the back of his head, thinking that having all this irresistible charm was far too troublesome.
His foolish little secretary was troublesome, too.
He was just about to say something when someone knocked on the door.
It was one of Zhou Mingkai’s good friends, a young man with bright-red, spiky hair in an exaggerated punk style.
“Brother Kai!” The moment the young man saw Zhou Mingkai, he blurted out, “Your sister-in—”
Then he noticed Lucas standing behind Zhou Mingkai, radiating his usual intimidating presence. The young man shrank back and forcibly swallowed the rest of his words.
“What is it?” Zhou Mingkai frowned.
“Well, Secretary Luo just danced with the First Prince.”
“Huh?” Zhou Mingkai was a little surprised, but he quickly frowned. “You came all the way up here just to tell me that?”
“No, no! After dancing with the First Prince, Secretary Luo got invited to dance by that bastard Xie Ancheng. He agreed, and now he’s dancing with him! Big bro, didn’t you tell me to keep an eye on that bastard?”
Lucas’s expression darkened. “Who is Xie Ancheng?”
“Shit.” Zhou Mingkai’s expression turned ugly, too. “Xie Ancheng is the only son of the old Duke Xie. He relies on his family’s status as an old hereditary noble family with generations of service to the Empire, and goes around seducing good-looking Betas and Omegas. He’s one of my rivals.”
Lucas’s expression darkened even further.
Zhou Mingkai continued, “But in my case, I’m just making friends legitimately. It’s mutual and consensual. That bastard is different. He cultivates this image of being upright and sunny in public, then secretly drugs people when no one’s looking and plays dirty! His family has enough influence to suppress all those scandals. If that bastard hadn’t dared to target my own little sister before, I wouldn’t even have found out!”
Lucas said nothing. He strode out of the private room and headed downstairs.
……
Luo Ran was dancing with Xie Ancheng on the dance floor.
Xie Ancheng had gentle features and a pleasant smile. “It’s rare to see Secretary Luo willing to enjoy himself at an event like this.”
Xie Ancheng was just about to say something else when his legs suddenly went weak. An overwhelming wave of pheromones crashed over him, leaving him almost unable to breathe.
Xie Ancheng stared in shock and confusion.
He was an Alpha with considerable mental strength. How could someone’s pheromones leave him completely unable to move…?
“General…?” Luo Ran looked at the person behind Xie Ancheng in surprise.
Lucas grabbed Luo Ran by the wrist, rather roughly pulled him behind himself, and dragged him out of the banquet hall.
Xie Ancheng watched Luo Ran being taken away, his face pale.
So it had been Lucas…
“General…” Luo Ran was dragged onto the aircraft, looking at the suddenly furious Lucas with confusion.