Chapter 11: Will He Lose Control?
Mu Feng buried his head in his arms, counting silently in his heart.
Eighteen.
Nineteen.
Twenty.
“Do you dare do it again next time?”
Liang Yuhang hadn’t gone easy on him. After all, the base was filled with messy, dangerous components. If he didn’t discipline the cat this time, it might end up drinking sulfuric acid next time.
He had brought this cat home a while ago, but it was proving harder to discipline than he had imagined.
It hurt a little. Mu Feng looked up, a hint of tears still welling in his eyes, but he didn’t forget his manners: “……Thank you, Daddy.”
Human and cat communication—they were practically speaking two different languages.
Liang Yuhang lowered his gaze, looking at his pitiful appearance, and remained utterly cold. “Reflect on your actions.”
Mu Feng extended a paw to touch him, but it was dodged.
He reached out again; Liang dodged again.
He was truly angry, and truly hard to coax.
Sigh, forget it. Since he had received a little “reward” today, he would clean up this mess for Mumu.
Liang Yuhang left the cat there and got up to go into the bathroom to shower. Mu Feng and 0717 were left staring at each other.
“Deserved it,” 0717 said, mean-spirited just like its owner. “You’re going to get abandoned by Liang Yuhang.”
Mu Feng ground his teeth. “I’m dismantling you into a pile of spare parts tomorrow.”
“Can’t understand. So hard to guess.” 0717 tilted its head. “You must be cursing me. Bad cat, hee hee. Too bad you can’t talk, you can only meow.”
Mu Feng: “…………”
He now felt absolutely zero sympathy for this robot that had to work 360 days a year. Add more, increase its workload by a hundred times.
0717 leaned in, whispering like a devil: “If you do something bad next time and get me involved, I’ll mix water into your kibble and mud into your canned food.”
“Vicious,” Mu Feng evaluated. “You are truly vicious.”
“If you keep making noise, both of you get out.” Liang Yuhang pulled the door open and walked out. Steam billowed out with him; he was wrapped only in a bath towel—an absolute feast for the eyes.
Mu Feng looked up at him.
Getting out was impossible. Even if he died, he wanted to die in Liang Yuhang’s arms.
“Hug.” Mu Feng extended his claws, but was ignored once again.
Liang Yuhang leaned against the headboard, closing his eyes to rest while organizing his subsequent work schedule in his mind.
The mission was heavier than expected; he couldn’t even spare an hour to help Mu Feng prepare for the upcoming exams.
But since he had promised, he had to make some time.
deep in thought, he felt fluffy paws tread onto him, moving slowly up from his waist before stopping at his chest and lying down.
No noise, no fuss, just lying there quietly.
Liang Yuhang opened his eyes and met the cat’s gaze. “It seems you know you were wrong.”
The cat’s tail swept very lightly across his skin, and it let out a very soft cry.
Most of his anger from earlier dissipated easily. If he had to be harsh again, he wouldn’t have the heart to scold it.
“Good baby.” Liang Yuhang rubbed the back of its neck. “Same mistake—don’t make it again.”
Mu Feng pressed against him, listening to the strong, powerful heartbeat. Thump, thump. It was no different from a normal person’s.
He wondered… Liang Yuhang had undergone such a dangerous surgery. With a mechanical heart, would it only ever beat steadily like a programmed procedure?
Could it feel excitement?
Could it lose control?
Did any human emotions remain?
With a mechanical heart, was it impossible to ever fall in love with someone?
He had looked through countless past medical cases, but he could never find the answer.
Mu Feng’s paw touched that scar very gently. “It must have hurt a lot.”
Liang Yuhang patted the back of his head. “Stop fussing. Sleep.”
Mu Feng slept lightly; he had to go back before dawn.
When he opened his eyes again, his consciousness had returned to the dormitory. He turned his head and found Green Hair staring at him wide-eyed.
“When you were sleeping, you lay there like a corpse, completely motionless.” Green Hair looked like he had seen a ghost. “Now it looks like a corpse reanimating.”
“Do you really not get beaten up when you go out talking like that?” Mu Feng turned on his side. Liang Yuhang had hit too hard; it actually hurt a bit.
Clearly, it was Mumu who got spanked, not him, yet his nerves had retained the pain signal, leaving a phantom ache.
Green Hair stared at him. “Your eyes are pale green. You’re the one who should dye your hair green. It would look so cool.”
Being chattered at early in the morning gave Mu Feng a headache. “Did you not sleep all night?”
“Nope.”
“And you’re still this energetic? Did you take stimulants?”
Green Hair said proudly, “This is the strength I’m most proud of. I only need two hours of sleep a day to fully recover my stamina.”
“Oh, then you and Little Jiang are two extremes. He needs ten hours of sleep a day.” Mu Feng lifted his chin. “Look, we’re being this loud and he hasn’t woken up. Sleeps like a baby.”
“Really?” Green Hair turned into the bathroom, soaked a towel in cold water, and with a thwack, threw it wet and heavy right onto Jiang Yuan’s face.
The latter snapped his eyes open, clawed the towel off, and glared furiously. “Are you sick?!”
“See? Awake.” Green Hair smiled faintly. “No need to thank me. If you don’t get up, you’ll be late.”
Jiang Yuan gritted his teeth. “Well, thank you so much. I don’t know why a slacker with a sixty-point average is so active about going to class.”
“You scored eight points lower than my average, and your total score is seventy-two points lower than mine, Brother Barely-Passed,” Green Hair stated rigorously.
Mu Feng shook his head and got out of bed. The dorm was so noisy. 0717 and Mumu were also noisy. He now somewhat understood Liang Yuhang’s desire to tell everyone to get out.
“Mu Bao, why are you walking with a limp?” Jiang Yuan turned his head, noticing his slightly awkward movements.
“Probably rolled off the bed while sleeping.” Mu Feng gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
After sweetness comes endless pain, indeed.
Jiang Yuan looked sympathetic. “Too tragic. I feel like your horoscope clashes with this base. Let’s find a chance to run away.”
The studious Green Hair was shocked. “So many people fight tooth and nail to get in, and you want to run? Aren’t you afraid of getting a demerit?”
“What’s so good about this place?” Jiang Yuan scratched his messy hair. “The cafeteria food is terrible, there are exams, and even sleeping involves getting assaulted by you, you idiot. I’m practically undergoing a tribulation.”
Mu Feng bent over to change his clothes, thinking that Liang Yuhang really disciplined cats ruthlessly.
“Mu Bao, why aren’t you talking? Didn’t you always skip class with me before?” Jiang Yuan frowned.
“I’ve decided. From today on, I’m turning over a new leaf and studying hard.” Mu Feng revealed a genial smile.
Green Hair was very happy, walking over to hook an arm around his shoulder. “From today on, you are my comrade-in-arms. Hello, my name is Zhou Tiantian.”
“Zhou Tian Tian (Sweetie) Hahahahahahaha.” Jiang Yuan laughed uncontrollably. “Where are you sweet? Might as well change your name to Zhou Green-Green.”
Zhou Tiantian squeezed the voice through his teeth: “Tian as in field.”
“Tian Tian, the cafeteria has donuts (Tian Tian Quan) today. Want some? I’ll treat you for free,” Jiang Yuan said with a grin.
“I want to kill you.” Zhou Tiantian reached out to strangle him, and the two started fighting playfully.
Mu Feng took half a step back and yawned.
When Omegas fight, Alphas had better not get involved.
The group noisily finished breakfast and returned to the study room.
Because the assessment was in three days, some students were reviewing with their mentors. However, the upper floors were busy, so not everyone was receiving one-on-one tutoring.
“Bro, why aren’t you busy?” Jiang Yuan saw Lu Zhuo sitting there early and his face fell.
“Holy crap, your mentor is Combat Officer Lu Zhuo? You lucky bastard,” Zhou Tiantian said, extremely jealous.
Jiang Yuan wasn’t happy. Who could be happy studying during a vacation? The nightmare of being forced to grind practice questions before the college entrance exams hadn’t faded yet. “Do you want this blessing?”
“Yes! Want to trade?” Zhou Tiantian asked.
“Don’t even think about it. Come here,” Lu Zhuo said, then looked at Mu Feng to explain, “There’s a lot going on at the Post-War Medical Department. Liang Yuhang is still busy, so I’ll take you two together for now.”
Mu Feng gave an “Oh,” feeling uninterested.
What was the point of looking at questions he already knew? Why was Liang Yuhang the busiest? Everyone else had someone guiding them, yet he had to audit someone else’s class.
Unhappy. Very unhappy.
Mu Feng sat down next to Jiang Yuan, opened the book—headache, backache, butt ache.
“For the first assessment, most of it will test what you’ve already learned. Total of sixteen subjects, four per day, over four days,” Lu Zhuo said. “Nine of them were just tested in the finals, so focus your review on Genetics, Bionics, Prevention and Control, Mechanical Design, Neural Links, and Combat.”
Jiang Yuan already wanted to pass out.
He had managed to pass the previous nine subjects because he had a decent foundation in high school math, physics, and chemistry, which pulled up his average. Now, adding a pile of specialized courses, he just wanted to flip the table.
“I want to transfer schools.” Jiang Yuan looked mournful. “I want to die.”
Mu Feng was calmer than him, propping his chin up. “If Little Jiang tests last place, will you feel ashamed?”
“No,” Lu Zhuo said. “That result is inevitable.”
Jiang Yuan: “…………That’s a bit insulting. I will study for the honor of being second to last.”
Mu Feng felt pity. He opened his book and listened to Lu Zhuo review intermittently.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when his phone vibrated, a message popping up.
Nothing else, just a period . from Liang Yuhang.
Even though he said nothing, Mu Feng’s heart started racing wildly. He remembered saying they could meet, and Liang Yuhang had sent just a punctuation mark.
[M]: You’re done busy! I’ll come find you.
[Teacher Liang]: Don’t move. I’m coming over.
[M]: Okay, I’m in the study room.
Not a few minutes later, he turned his head and saw Liang Yuhang appear at the door. He was still wearing his white lab coat, and he hadn’t taken off his glasses. When he looked straight over, Mu Feng’s heart skipped a beat.
Zhou Tiantian looked up from another cubicle. “Holy crap, your mentor is Liang Yuhang? Wait, what kind of dog luck do you two have?”
Mu Feng felt comfortable now. He boasted, “Right? My luck is good. Not trading with you.”
Zhou Tiantian was indignant but comforted himself: “It’s okay, my mentor is also great. I am not envious, not jealous, not malicious… Ahhhh no, it’s not fair!”
“Smiling so happily… did you read your book?” Liang Yuhang walked over, his fingers tapping the desktop from above.
“Read it. I’ve been diligent for three whole hours.” Mu Feng looked like he was begging for praise. If he had a tail, it would be wagging.
The corner of Liang Yuhang’s lips hooked up very slightly.
Quite silly. Dumb and dazed.
He turned and chose a cubicle: “Come here.”
Mu Feng held a pile of books, walking a bit strangely, but he was incredibly happy.
“What’s wrong?” Liang Yuhang lifted his eyes.
Mu Feng had forgotten about that. He was a doctor; it was easy for him to spot clues. “This… twisted my waist while sleeping.”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Liang Yuhang exposed him in a second.
Mu Feng’s fingers rubbed against the grain of the desktop, his brain spinning fast. “Actually, I fell off the bed when turning over, but it doesn’t hurt.”
Liang Yuhang crossed his arms, looking at him with slightly raised eyes, saying nothing.
The pressure was too strong. Mu Feng’s back was sweating slightly.
He tried to muddle through with a harmless smile. “Actually, it was while sleepwalking. Jiang Yuan and I beat each other up.”
Liang Yuhang retorted methodically, “Beat each other up? Spanking each other’s asses?”
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