Chapter 217: Mutation (Part XV)
“I never said I couldn’t stand,” Xiao Ji replied candidly, then sat back down.
Bai Yinnian was momentarily speechless. Indeed, Xiao Ji had never said he was paralyzed; he had only ever mentioned that his legs were “inconvenient”.
He opened his mouth but found no words.
Xiao Ji didn’t bother pursuing the topic further. He turned his wheelchair toward the dining area, turned on the lights, and pressed the button on the microwave.
The sound of the microwave was particularly loud in the silent room.
Soon, a beep sounded. Xiao Ji opened the microwave, took out the food, and placed it on the table. He said to Bai Yinnian, “Time to eat.”
Bai Yinnian had been doing exhausting physical labor all day. He had likely been too hungry to even think about food when passing the canteen on his way back.
Now, smelling the aroma of the food on the table, his stomach began to growl loudly.
He sat down at the table and began to devour the food like a whirlwind.
Xiao Ji sat opposite him, eating slowly and deliberately.
After a few bites, Bai Yinnian found a moment to ask, “Why didn’t you eat either?”
Xiao Ji was very good at being direct in moments like this. He didn’t offer a polite excuse about not being hungry; he said simply:
“I was waiting for you.”
Bai Yinnian was used to living alone. This was the first time someone had prepared a meal and waited for him to return home.
He stopped chewing and looked at Xiao Ji’s face under the warm yellow light of the dining room. Suddenly, he felt a tangible sense of the word “home”.
He stood up, poured a glass of warm water, and placed it by Xiao Ji’s hand. After a long silence, he said with his gaze lowered:
“If I have things to do in the future, I’ll try to come back earlier as well.”
By tacit agreement, neither of them brought up the matter of the punishment.
After the meal, Bai Yinnian took the initiative to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. He looked back at Xiao Ji, who was still waiting for him in the living room, then walked over and pushed him back to the bedroom.
“I have something I want to discuss with you,” Bai Yinnian said, sitting on the chair opposite the bed after pushing Xiao Ji over.
Xiao Ji gave him a look, signaling him to speak his mind.
Bai Yinnian thought for a moment. “Regarding you joining 【Divine Wings】… I suddenly have another idea.”
Xiao Ji nodded.
“According to the Commander’s intention, he was very satisfied with your performance against Subject 3 today. If you’re willing, you can formally join 【Divine Wings】 at any time and receive the status of a regular soldier.”
“That was my original intention, but now, I have different thoughts, Xiao Ji.”
Bai Yinnian had been considering this all day.
Xiao Ji had no combat power. He had promised Xiao Ji that if he came, he wouldn’t be forced to do anything; he would only stay by Bai Yinnian’s side and wouldn’t be easily dispatched on missions by others.
Before today, Bai Yinnian was indeed confident he could guarantee that.
But Zhao Yi’s actions today had caused him to deeply doubt that confidence. Bai Yinnian wasn’t stupid; Zhao Yi releasing Pollutants from other cages and injecting them with frenzy agents was absolutely not because Bai Yinnian was present to control the situation.
Even if Bai Yinnian hadn’t followed Xiao Ji into Pit 3 today, Zhao Yi would have done the same thing.
In that case, if Xiao Ji hadn’t made Subject 3 show him affection, or if Subject 3 hadn’t taken Xiao Ji into consideration, the consequences would have been unthinkable. At worst, Xiao Ji might not even have a corpse left right now.
Bai Yinnian looked into Xiao Ji’s eyes. “Would you be willing to be an off-site member of 【Divine Wings】 as my personal family dependent? You would only have to follow my orders.”
Xiao Ji pondered for a moment. “A dependent? For example?”
Bai Yinnian suddenly felt a bit awkward.
His intention was indeed just to protect Xiao Ji—at least to prevent Zhao Yi from giving Xiao Ji orders behind his back.
But the status of “dependent,” to put it bluntly, couldn’t be reported as an adopted son or a foster father. Brothers wasn’t realistic either.
The only dependent status that would legitimately allow someone to rely on Bai Yinnian’s influence to act freely in the base without being threatened by anyone was that of a partner.
If last night hadn’t happened—if Bai Yinnian’s conscience were perfectly clear—then he could have naturally proposed this as an agreement. It could have been in name only, a mere transaction where he would look after Xiao Ji’s livelihood.
But now, looking at Xiao Ji’s face and the bed they had shared the night before, he couldn’t say it without ulterior motives. It almost felt like he was using Xiao Ji’s well-being as a pretext to satisfy his own selfish desires.
He hesitated for a long while and eventually couldn’t bring himself to say it. He let out two light coughs to hide his embarrassment. “Never mind. Just stay here for now. I’ll… find a way to explain it to the higher-ups.”
But Xiao Ji directly exposed Bai Yinnian’s little scheme. “Do we need to get married?”
Bai Yinnian froze and let out an “ah.” “You think it’s a bit strange, don’t you?”
After all, the one who wanted Xiao Ji to stay and the one who needed him more was Bai Yinnian. With Xiao Ji’s skills, he had no reason to stay at the base. Bai Yinnian had nearly led Xiao Ji into danger this morning, and now he was asking to marry him—it seemed strange no matter how one looked at it.
But to his surprise, Xiao Ji said, “What’s so strange about that? It’s just marriage.”
Bai Yinnian was stunned. “You’re willing?”
Xiao Ji knew what Bai Yinnian was thinking. He only said, “While I could survive on my own outside, I find your place quite comfortable. I can talk to you when I’m bored, and the resources are all right here. I don’t have to go out searching for things myself.”
Sensing that Xiao Ji wasn’t repulsed by the idea, Bai Yinnian said hurriedly, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you.”
He wanted to add, “If you meet someone you like in the future and want to leave, I won’t stop you.”
But the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back for some reason.
In the current situation, the laws of society had long since become meaningless. No one would care if a marriage partner was the opposite or same sex. As long as a report was filed and the process was stamped, Xiao Ji could continue living here as his partner.
Xiao Ji raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
After a moment of silence, Bai Yinnian said, “If there are no objections, I’ll go and file the report tomorrow.”
Xiao Ji nodded but still didn’t speak.
Bai Yinnian felt awkward again. He checked the time, intending to make a tactical retreat. “It’s late. I won’t disturb you. Get some rest early.”
He finished speaking and was about to stand up and leave when Xiao Ji spoke. “There’s someone upstairs. Xiao Cui is already asleep.”
Bai Yinnian blinked. “Xiao Cui?”
Xiao Ji gave a grunt of affirmation. “Subject 3.”
Bai Yinnian was speechless. “The name you gave him?”
Xiao Ji didn’t admit it, nor did he say if he had come up with it. He only said, “He told me himself.”
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