Chapter 30: Together
Jiang Xu paused for a moment. He had thought Fei would be coming back quite late; he hadn’t expected him to return so early.
“Come in.” Jiang Xu organized the contact lists on his desk and set them aside. He never expected that one day he would actually be doing telemarketing.
He took one look at the entering Fei and was startled. “Under a lot of pressure?”
It hadn’t been that long, so why did the other’s complexion look so terrible?
“No.” Fei denied it directly without a second thought.
“…” Jiang Xu looked at the bug whose face practically had the word “worried” written all over it, and shook his head disapprovingly. “Because of the Western Battlefield matter?”
He thought for a moment before continuing, “When are you leaving?”
Fei pressed his lips together, a trace of disappointment adding to his exhausted face.
He didn’t see any worry on Jiang Xu’s face, even though he clearly knew the place they were going to this time was very dangerous…
Of course. The other hadn’t agreed to this marriage to begin with.
Jiang Xu stood up from his chair, walked over to Fei, and lifted his face with a hand. “What’s wrong? Whose family’s bug is feeling so wronged?”
Fei looked at Jiang Xu in surprise. Hearing the teasing tone in his voice, he finally realized what he had just been thinking.
“I…” He opened his mouth, wanting to say he wasn’t feeling wronged at all.
Jiang Xu suddenly laughed, raising a hand to lightly rap him on the forehead. “Stubborn as a mule.”
If he wasn’t feeling wronged, why did his tone sound so incredibly awkward?
If he wasn’t feeling wronged, what was up with that look he was giving him?
Jiang Xu withdrew his hand and asked again, “When do you leave?”
Astonished by his own internal emotions and wondering why he was seeking care and concern from Jiang Xu, Fei replied blankly, “The day after tomorrow.”
“Mm, the day after tomorrow.” Jiang Xu thought about his start-up. The preliminary work was mostly arranged now, and there shouldn’t be anything urgently requiring his attention. “Are family members allowed?”
Fei doubted his own ears. He looked at Jiang Xu in confusion, waiting for the other to clarify.
“I happen to need to make a trip to the west during this time, so I’ll be going the same way as you. It shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“No. You cannot go.” But as soon as the words left his mouth, Fei realized he had no standing to say such a thing.
His reaction was too strong for Jiang Xu to ignore. “Is this… you worrying about me?”
The words were caught in Fei’s throat. He couldn’t choose to worry or not worry, so he ultimately remained silent.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Jiang Xu comforted him: “I am a Xiongchong.”
If he remembered correctly, regardless of whether they were in the east, south, west, or north bug regions, as long as he was a Xiongchong, he would enjoy the protection of the Xiongchong Protection Association.
“Don’t worry.”
Jiang Xu’s words did alleviate some of Fei’s worries, but some things were not absolute.
“Xiongzhu,” Fei said slowly, “Do you absolutely have to go?”
After saying it, he realized: Why did that sound so familiar?
He suddenly remembered—last night, the other had asked him the exact same question.
Jiang Xu thought about it. “If it’s inconvenient for you all, I can go over by myself.”
He truly had other things to do in the west this time. Of course, he could also conveniently keep an eye on this Cichong while he was at it.
“It’s convenient.” Fei found that he couldn’t persuade Jiang Xu either. Since he was going to go regardless, having him right under his nose would actually be more reassuring.
“Alright.”
Time flew by, and the day after tomorrow arrived as scheduled.
Jiang Xu rested his head on his hand and looked out at the street. Because the agreed-upon time was so early, there were hardly any bugs walking around on the road, and only a handful of shops were open.
He looked toward the end of the road. It was his first time going to a military district, so it was quite a novelty.
What was the Zerg army like? He didn’t move, only withdrawing his gaze to cast it upon the Cichong beside him. Were they all like him?
Soon, a massive building slowly emerged from the ground at the end of the road.
A standard complex of local Zerg architecture stood isolated in the suburbs, appearing both massive and majestic.
As the flyer drew nearer from the distance, the main gates of the military district were fully revealed to Jiang Xu.
By this time, several bugs were already waiting in front of the military district gates.
Leaning against the wall, Parker spotted the familiar flyer. He stood up straight and walked toward the parked vehicle.
After a hiss, the flyer’s doors slowly opened from the inside, and Fei stepped out.
Due to the dim lighting, he didn’t see the bug behind Fei.
“Major General Fei, you’ve arrived. Was the trip smooth?” Parker greeted him as usual.
“Mm.” Fei looked toward the main gates. “Has Kenan arrived yet?”
“He’s here. We just got here not long ago ourselves,” Parker replied.
After stepping off the flyer, Fei didn’t continue forward; instead, he stepped aside and stood there.
“?” Parker looked at Fei in confusion. Why was he standing there?
Amidst his confusion, he saw a leg step out of the flyer, followed by someone disembarking with steady steps.
“We gained an extra brother?” He turned to look at Fei. He hadn’t heard about this.
Before Fei could even react, Parker had already slung his arm over Jiang Xu’s shoulder. “Brother, which path are you from? Did you temporarily join our secret mission?”
He acted completely familiar, putting on a chummy, buddy-buddy display.
Jiang Xu’s eyes turned cold as he glanced at the hand on his shoulder. “Remove it.”
Just as Parker opened his mouth, Fei beside him reacted a step faster, directly dragging him to the side.
“When will you ever change this personality of yours?” His voice held a ruthless edge. Without looking at Parker—whose face was now stretched into an exaggerated expression of shock at his words—he turned and said to Jiang Xu in a low voice:
“Xiongzhu, Parker has always had this personality. He’s careless and lacks discipline. Please don’t blame him.”
“Ah? Ah!!” Parker froze in place as if petrified, turning his stiff head to look at Jiang Xu. “A Xiongchong?”
His exclamation of surprise alerted the other bugs as well. Kenan, seeing Parker suddenly yelling, narrowed his eyes and ran over to them:
“What happened?”
It was only when he reached the flyer that he realized there was an extra bug beside Fei. He frowned slightly and looked at Jiang Xu.
“Shouldn’t Major General Fei explain this to us?” A voice interjected.
Jiang Xu looked in the direction of the voice. Not far away, a bug was sitting on the ground. Due to the dim light, he hadn’t noticed him earlier.
“Major General Morgan still loves eavesdropping just as much as ever.” Fei’s tone was very flat, as if he was completely accustomed to this.
“Not at all.” Morgan pushed himself off the rock to stand up, patting the grass and ash off his clothes. He looked at Jiang Xu curiously. “Major General Fei brought a Xiongchong along; shouldn’t he explain?”
He took a few steps toward Jiang Xu. “Good morning, Lord. I am Major General Fei’s colleague, Morgan Eyre. You can just call me Morgan.”
Jiang Xu’s gaze assessed his face for a moment. Only after confirming the other harbored no ill intent did he speak: “Hello. Thank you for your usual care of my Fei.”
His words were very proper and simultaneously declared his identity.
“Not at all, not at all. Major General Fei usually takes great care of me. Right, Major General Fei?” Morgan’s words carried a slight hint of sarcasm.
“?” Jiang Xu was puzzled. He turned to look at Fei, a question in his eyes: Enemies?
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