Chapter 45
Leaving the restaurant, He Yuan, Chu Xi, and He Yao all headed back to the school together. Only Wen Su’s path was different.
He Yuan asked, “Is Your Excellency heading back to the base tonight?”
Wen Su gave an “Mhm.”
He Yuan said considerately, “Then you should head back quickly. Although a General’s private air-rail car is fast, it’ll still take nearly two hours! Who knows what time it’ll be by the time you actually get into bed.”
Wen Su agreed.
Although his heart was filled with conflict right now, he didn’t want He Yuan to feel conflicted at all.
After saying their goodbyes, He Yuan and his friends chatted idly on the way back. Chu Xi and He Yao were clearly in low spirits; the atmosphere could only be described as barely harmonious.
Back at the dorm, He Yuan took off his suit jacket, washed his hands, and started pacing around.
He wasn’t full.
He searched for a bit, but there were no snacks in the dorm. He thought about going out to buy some but felt it wasn’t necessary. Besides, he had eaten a very expensive meal tonight; he needed to be frugal!
He might as well just go to sleep. Once he was asleep, he wouldn’t be hungry.
Just as he was about to shower, his phone rang. It was Admiral Wen Su!
He picked up and greeted him seriously.
“Hello, Your Excellency.”
“Mhm.” Wen Su’s deep voice came through. “Asleep yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Hungry?”
He Yuan froze.
Admiral Wen Su really was amazing.
His toes curled slightly.
He whispered, “A little.”
“I’m a bit hungry too,” Wen Su said. “So I bought some food. I accidentally bought too much; would you be willing to help me finish it?”
He Yuan: “!!!”
His face turned hot and flushed.
They met at the west lawn again.
There were few people here to begin with, and at night it was even more secluded. The two sat on that same bench again, leaving some space between them for the night snacks.
The packaging was intact, without a single trace of having been touched. “Buying too much” was just an excuse; the two of them understood this tacitly and didn’t need to look into it.
He Yuan opened the containers one by one.
Western desserts, Chinese braised snacks, grilled and fried foods, small portions of various fried rice and noodles, fruit, drinks…
It was very rich—the usual way Wen Su prepared food and drink for others.
“There really is so much, Your Excellency…”
“It’s a rare late-night snack. Just try a little bit of everything.”
“But how did you know I wasn’t full?”
Wen Su smiled, saying as if it were obvious, “As a top-tier Alpha, how could I not perceive such a small thing?”
He Yuan’s mouth hung open slightly.
That made perfect sense.
With delicious food before him, a hungry person couldn’t hold back anymore. He Yuan began to eat happily, a smile playing at his lips and the corners of his eyes. From time to time, he would hand something to Wen Su, urging him to eat as well.
Wen Su never refused. He would take it, put it in his mouth, and chew slowly, not caring what the flavor was. As long as the person before him was eating happily, he was happy too.
After eating for a while, Wen Su provided a napkin at the right moment.
He Yuan mumbled, “Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Just as he wiped his mouth, Wen Su handed over a bottle of apple juice he had already uncapped. “To cut the grease.”
“Oh!” He Yuan tilted his head back and drank. His cheeks puffed out, showing a look of total satisfaction.
Then he realized he might have been eating a bit too voraciously. He felt embarrassed, shifting his gaze elsewhere, his cheeks flushed pink.
Wen Su asked with a smile, “Is it good?”
He Yuan nodded and asked Wen Su, “Which one does Your Excellency like best?”
“I don’t like any of them.”
He Yuan looked at him in surprise.
Wen Su said, “I can eat them, but I wouldn’t call it ‘liking.’ In all these years, only the meals you made have ever made me feel a sense of longing.”
He Yuan: “!”
He wasn’t a chef; he only knew how to make daily home-cooked meals, and he could only say they were decent. He had eaten many meals better than his own. Wen Su held a high position; the grand meals he had eaten went without saying. How could he possibly…
He realized something and suddenly grew nervous.
But Wen Su stopped there and didn’t let him stay nervous, immediately changing the subject. “By the way, which character do you like?”
He Yuan froze again. “What? Which character?”
“I want to change my name,” Wen Su said with a calm exterior. “I wanted to hear your suggestion.”
He Yuan: “?”
He looked Wen Su up and down.
He confirmed it was indeed Wen Su.
But it didn’t seem like him at all.
“Everything is fine, why does Your Excellency want to change your name?”
Could it be some super-special, super-secret mission?
He Yuan grew tense.
Instead, Wen Su said, “I don’t like my current name.”
He Yuan: “…”
After all these years, he only just now realized he didn’t like it?
“Then… does Your Excellency’s current name have a special meaning?”
“No. It just combines my parents’ surnames.”
“Isn’t that the greatest meaning of all?!” He Yuan’s eyes lit up. He unconsciously scooted closer to Wen Su. “A child’s name is a combination of characters representing their parents’ names. It’s a constant proof of the blood connection between these three people! It proves they are a family, proves their kinship and love!”
Wen Su asked in confusion, “Is it really like that?”
He Yuan nodded vigorously. “Of course! Before, I just thought Your Excellency’s name sounded cool. Now that I know the reason, I like it even more!”
“You like my name? You think it’s cool?”
He Yuan nodded even harder. “Your Excellency’s name is the coolest name I’ve ever seen! Simple but profound! I’m so jealous. I wish my name was a combination of my parents’ names too. I really want… that feeling of a family being linked together. But I’ll never have that.”
His voice dropped, and his head and shoulders slumped.
Wen Su’s heart tightened. He felt he had done something wrong.
Being jealous over nothing had ended up making He Yuan sad.
“I’m also very jealous of Xiao Xi. Although he often complains—says he and his dad fight all the time, says his dad always causes trouble for him—I can feel that they love each other very much! Even a slightly chaotic family life is so interesting!”
“Um, speaking of which, I want to say a few more words. I hope Your Excellency won’t be angry! I’ve never seen you interact with your mother, so I can’t comment. But you and your father… although it was wrong of him to force you and Xiao Xi into a blind date, I… I believe he loves you very, very much. It’s just that his way of showing it is wrong!”
“You are both super powerful Alphas. You both have pride that absolutely cannot be violated. But it’s precisely that strength and similarity that made you choose the most confrontational way of interacting. But I think, perhaps, there might be another possibility.”
“Your Excellency, deep down, you must love your parents very much too, right?”
“Please don’t change your name, okay?” He Yuan looked up at Wen Su, his bright eyes blinking. He raised a hand. “A humble request!”
Wen Su naturally said “Okay” immediately.
He didn’t need to think or analyze. He didn’t need a single second of hesitation.
Simply because He Yuan asked it, and He Yuan wanted him to do it, he would comply.
He would do anything.
“Xiao Yuan.”
“…Mhm?”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, it’s nothing.” He Yuan scratched his head in embarrassment. “Maybe I’m just projecting. Because I… I’m an orphan, you see. I crave parental love. I feel that having parents is always better than not having them. But… to those people who have truly been deeply hurt by their parents and family… I probably sound like someone who’s talking without having walked in their shoes.”
“Being able to think from both sides is already quite a feat,” Wen Su said. “And you have always been so thoughtful. Perhaps you should let yourself be a bit more relaxed and uninhibited? Don’t think so much, and don’t worry too much about right and wrong. Besides, speaking of being hurt by parents and family—isn’t the hurt of being abandoned deep enough?”
Wen Su reached out and gently rubbed He Yuan’s head.
“I’ve never been good at pretty words. You are indeed pitiful. That pity often brings you pain, and it cannot be erased or changed. The only way is to constantly pursue happiness in the future.”
“Xiao Yuan, promise me. Put aside all the trivial details and only do things that make you happy, okay?”
Wen Su’s large hand pressed down on the top of his head. It wasn’t heavy, yet it held an undeniable power.
He Yuan’s heart thundered in his chest, and his downcast eyes couldn’t help but grow moist.
“Thank you… thank you, Your Excellency.” He sniffled.
“You’re welcome,” Wen Su said. “In return, would you be willing to answer one question for me honestly?”
“What question?” He Yuan turned his face curiously.
Admiral Wen Su had a lot of questions tonight, and he had been proactively keeping the conversation going. He was being very lively.
Wen Su said, “Between me and that Jian Mingguang—when we wear the same clothes, who is actually handsomer?”
He Yuan: “?”
He Yuan: “…”
He really cared about this way too much.
No matter how he tried to dodge it, he couldn’t escape.
“Tell the truth,” Wen Su even emphasized.
“Then… let me do a careful comparison first!”
He Yuan pulled out his phone and searched for photos of Jian Mingguang. He wasn’t a fan, so it wasn’t easy to find a photo of him wearing that specific outfit immediately. But he wasn’t in a rush; in fact, he deliberately slowed his pace.
He would stall for as long as possible.
He hoped he could stall until Admiral Wen Su changed his mind or shifted the topic.
Unfortunately, it was not to be.
His finger swiped and swiped on the screen, and that photo actually appeared!
Just as he was about to pretend he hadn’t seen it and swipe past, Wen Su said, “That’s the one.”
Sigh.
It was destiny.
He could only open the photo.
Wen Su added, “Do you need me to stand up so you can compare?”
He Yuan: “……”
“No, no need! I… I remember what you look like!”
Wen Su was very satisfied. “Good. Then compare us.”
But this is so hard!
“Why does Your Excellency want to compare yourself to Jian Mingguang?” he asked, on the verge of tears.
“Because Young Master Chu said I wasn’t as good as Jian Mingguang. I want to know what you think.”
He Yuan: “?”
Suddenly, his thoughts went in a different direction.
“You think Young Master Chu was wrong?”
“He clearly has strong personal feelings. His words cannot be taken as evidence.”
“Oh.”
He Yuan thought he understood. It was the stubborn competitive streak of a top-tier Alpha!
Then he had to give a good, objective answer!
He zoomed in on the photo, then peeked at Wen Su from time to time.
He organized his words in his head, then finally turned off his phone screen with an incredibly serious expression.
“Your Excellency, although I’ve never met Jian Mingguang, I know he’s definitely not just a handsome face and a good body. He is a ‘super’ powerhouse of talent!”
When he said “super,” He Yuan’s expression and tone also became “super.”
And just like that, Wen Su’s heart went cold.
It was true. The Omega clearly liked singing, dancing, and all kinds of arts. But all he knew how to do was hit people, hit mechas, lead people to hit mechas, or lead mechas to hit people. He really couldn’t cater to the boy’s interests.
Thus, having just abandoned the idea of changing his name, he suddenly developed a strong urge to change his career.
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