The Foolish Bookworm of the Aristocratic Boys’ School chapter 117 Side story 1.4

Part 4

On the day he left for the Military Academy, Wen Rong came to see him off. Although Leon and Zhou Xie were there too, they could be automatically ignored.

Shi Ye told Wen Rong repeatedly to visit his villa outside the school often. To achieve his goal, he made up all sorts of lies—that ghosts would appear if no one lived there for a long time, or that the butler and servants would be lonely. But there was only one real reason: that villa had a telephone line that could connect to the Military Academy.

In his second month at the Military Academy, thinking about Leon’s upcoming graduation made his heart bloom with joy.

On the second day of the second month, Leon sent a message saying that Zhou Xie had applied for a graduation deferral just to pester Wen Rong every day. Shi Ye couldn’t help but use his little bit of authority to take a night’s leave, returning to Floriman Academy to drag Zhou Xie out for a “training session.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to meet Wen Rong.

In his second year in the military, Shi Ye transferred units and became responsible for the security of leaders during Congressional sessions.

At the meeting site, Shi Ye heard the development plan for the Outer District and was surprised to find it was written by Wen Rong.

He felt an inexplicable sense of meeting an old friend in a far-off land. He and Wen Rong hadn’t seen each other for nearly a year.

He suddenly missed him a little.

Taking advantage of a break the team gave him, Shi Ye quietly returned to Floriman Academy.

His daily training volume had surged, and he nearly couldn’t fit into his school uniform. After finally squeezing in, he snuck toward the classroom like a secret agent—

It was empty.

Only at the Student Union building did he learn that today was the club recruitment fair.

Last year during the recruitment fair, he had been tricked by Zhou Xie into taking a psychological test and missed the major event where Wen Rong first rebuked Zhou Xie, then thrashed Zhao Zeyang, and finally stunned the entire crowd. This had always been a regret of his, and now was his chance!

Shi Ye ran excitedly toward the recruitment site. Being tall, alone, and wearing a mask, he stood out significantly among the freshmen.

Shi Ye was a public figure, after all, and didn’t mind the attention, but his plan was to appear quietly and surprise Wen Rong. With such a commotion, what if Wen Rong spotted him first?

So, his eyes scanned the crowd and spotted someone from the old Tennis Club. He waved them over and lowered his mask.

The person was stunned. “Shi… Brother Shi.”

“Keep it down.”

“Understood! You want to play a ‘roleplay’ with the Emperor.”

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Shi Ye: “What?”

“That’s how all the palace dramas go lately. A concubine in the Cold Palace wants to regain the Emperor’s favor, so they dress as a eunuch to sneak in and see him.”

Damn, in just one year, he had gone from the Main Palace to a concubine in the Cold Palace?!

“Who’s the ‘Main Palace’ now?” Shi Ye asked.

“You and Concubine Leon are in the Cold Palace. The Emperor just tearfully saw off Concubine Lotus.”

“Concubine Lotus?”

“The Croupier (He-guan).”

Shi Ye: “…”

Shi Ye: “It’s a pity you guys don’t write palace dramas.”

After that conversation, Shi Ye realized the people at Floriman Academy were getting more and more unreliable. He just kept chatting as they walked toward the lawn of the recruitment fair.

Wen Rong stood at the entrance, his Floriman Academy armband neatly fastened to his sleeve. The lion encircled by laurel leaves seemed to come to life, making the freshmen have to be cautious.

With a clean-cut undercut, his features were handsome and elegant. There was a thin scar on his fair brow.

That scar had been left in the Outer District. It hadn’t seemed like much then, but looking at it now, the scar somehow made Wen Rong look even more refined and vivid.

Before, he was like mist; now, he was like a living person within the mist.

The crowd pushed Shi Ye forward, closer and closer to Wen Rong.

For no reason, Shi Ye’s heart began to race—much like the first time he had seen Wen Rong take off his glasses. There was an indescribable excitement.

It had been so long since they last met. What would Wen Rong say to him?

Maybe he wouldn’t recognize him. With daily drills, he had become terrifyingly tanned.

Zhou Xie had been pestering Wen Rong every day while he was gone; maybe he had been saying bad things about him. What if Wen Rong believed them?

As Shi Ye’s thoughts wandered, Wen Rong was already standing before him.

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He seemed taller; maybe his hair added some height too.

His gentle face had a natural warmth, and his features were soothing.

Those lips he had kissed held a faint smile—it was very beautiful.

Thump, thump, thump.

Shi Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

The audible sound made Wen Rong look up.

But those light-colored eyes merely scanned his face casually. “Not going in?”

Shi Ye walked inside sullenly.

Wen Rong hadn’t recognized him.

He wanted to turn back, but then he saw Wen Rong talking to a freshman. He didn’t want to interrupt Wen Rong’s work, so he could only wander aimlessly through the recruitment fair. He saw Zhang Jincheng’s new design display and remembered Wen Rong had worn such a beautiful dress before, which made him feel a bit better. He saw a few people with cameras taking candid shots and remembered the Journalism Club Wen Rong used to love, which made him feel even better. Seeing the Tennis Club displaying the trophies he had won the year before last and last year made his mood best of all, because those trophies had been displayed in his villa—their presence here meant Wen Rong had likely borrowed them.

As Shi Ye wandered, time slipped away as happily as if he were holding a bouquet of roses.

When the recruitment fair was about to end, he suddenly snapped out of it—he hadn’t even said a word to Wen Rong!

Shi Ye rushed back to the entrance. Only a few Student Union members remained.

“Where’s Wen Rong?”

“He has a meeting. The President said to find him in his office once you’re done looking around.”

“Thanks.”

Shi Ye walked toward the Student Union building. As he walked, it dawned on him: when they said “The President said,” it meant those were words Wen Rong had specifically left for him. Wen Rong did recognize him!

Shi Ye began to run. When he entered the Student Union building, he couldn’t help but leap up and slap the door frame.

Smack.

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He headed upstairs happily.

Born as a top-tier “nepo baby,” this was the first time Shi Ye truly enjoyed the perks of being one. Just being led into Wen Rong’s office made him feel as if he were enjoying immense power. Everything about it was great, even if no one served tea and the room was so plain it lacked any decoration.

Click.

The moment the door opened, Shi Ye rushed forward and gave him a huge hug. “Why didn’t you call me at the recruitment fair?”

Wen Rong pushed him, but couldn’t move him. “I thought you wanted to experience the recruitment fair.”

“Then how did you recognize me?”

“There isn’t anyone as tall as you among the freshmen.”

Shi Ye was so happy. He leaned down to kiss him. “I missed you.”

“Mhm.”

“You didn’t miss me?”

“The Student Union has a lot of work.” Wen Rong paused. “I only get a chance to think about you every day when I’m not working.”

How was this any different from a young couple who hadn’t seen each other in a long time!

Shi Ye was ecstatic.

He just didn’t know that after Wen Rong became the Student Union President, his days consisted of nothing but work and sleep.

The curriculum at the Federal Military Academy was shorter than the college’s. After graduating, Shi Ye was stationed in the Special Forces, and his chances of appearing before Wen Rong dropped almost to zero.

He couldn’t attend Wen Rong’s graduation ceremony, nor could he attend Wen Rong’s inauguration as President. Even though Shi Ye downloaded the videos onto his offline phone to watch every night, he still felt regretful.

Especially since he was the only one missing on those two important days.

In Wen Rong’s second year as President, Shi Ye finally rose through the ranks of the Special Forces, becoming the youngest Major General in the Federation.

Excitedly, Shi Ye drove ten kilometers until he finally found the only phone in the unit and called Wen Rong’s office.

Unfortunately, the person who picked up was named Zhou. “I was the second-to-last person to review your promotion file, and Wen Rong was the last to approve it. So, you’re the last one to know the news.”

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Shi Ye told Zhou Xie not to close his eyes when he slept tonight.

On the day of the promotion ceremony, the entire military airport halted all usual activities. The entire army was lined up, waiting silently under the sun.

As far as the eye could see, the ranks were perfectly straight, and fighter jets trailed multicolored exhaust across the sky.

Shi Ye watched the smoke slowly dissipate, feeling quite miserable.

The man who had luckily escaped the Wang Sichen case and was about to change Shi Ye’s epaulets—the legacy of the hereditary system, Five-Star General Shi Changyuan—was currently arriving by plane.

This was unavoidable. When Shi Ye had been promoted before, other leaders could step in, but now that he was on equal footing with those leaders, military regulations dictated that only someone of the highest status like Shi Changyuan was qualified to bestow stars upon a Major General.

So, rather than the joy of promotion, Shi Ye was actually more concerned about whether this promotion meant he no longer had to be stationed with the Special Forces.

It had been many, many years since he had played tennis with Wen Rong.

“Hey, Chief. How many days of leave do I get after this ceremony?”

the old Chief coughed twice. “Shut up, we’ll talk later.”

“I want to go back and spend time with my secret partner.”

“You actually have a partner?”

“Yeah. It would scare you to death if I told you.”

“Even if you have one, wait until later. Do you want to run laps?”

Shi Ye shrugged and took off his hat to fan himself.

The sun was blinding today. Without the brim, he could hardly open his eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, a shadow accidentally flickered before his eyes. Seizing the moment he could open them, he saw a familiar figure stepping off the plane that Shi Changyuan was supposed to be on.

His hand stopped. He quickly put his hat back on and pulled the old Chief over. “How do I look? Is my hair messy?”

The old Chief: “?”

“Am I handsome?”

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“??”

Shi Ye looked back in that direction.

The multicolored exhaust of the fighter jets painted the sky once more. Amidst the roaring sound, the falling sunlight illuminated a red carpet.

His leader, and his leader’s leader—including the most detestable Shi Changyuan—all had to put on hypocritical smiles and lower their usual high stances to cluster around the person he loved.

It really brought him a lot of “face.”

Shi Ye thought vulgarly.

For the first time, he felt proud because he loved someone—and that person was about to replace Shi Changyuan to grant him his glory.

How could this not count as family, in a certain sense?

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