Chapter 19
When he opened his eyes the next morning, his fever had broken, his body felt light, and his mind was clear.
He Yuan scrambled up from the bed. Noticing Wen Su wasn’t around, he got off the bed and walked toward the door leading to the common area.
He had just cracked the door open a sliver when he heard voices outside. He immediately stopped pushing the door but, overcome with curiosity, carefully pressed his eye to the gap.
Admiral Wen Su was sitting on the sofa having a drink, and there was someone standing next to him…
At that moment, both people in the living room looked over. He Yuan was startled and quickly tried to pull the door shut, but it was too late.
“He Yuan,” Wen Su said in a steady voice.
“… I’m here.” After bracing himself, he walked out and stood prudently, his eyes politely lowered, avoiding the other person’s face.
Yet, he distinctly felt that person glance at him.
“How do you feel now?” Wen Su asked.
“I’m fine!” As soon as He Yuan said it, he coughed twice, but stubbornly added, “R-really fine! No fever, no dizziness, and my body doesn’t hurt anymore!”
“Understood.” Wen Su looked at the person beside him. “He will depart after he finishes breakfast and takes his medicine.”
“Very well, I will prepare it immediately.” The person bowed slightly, turned, and walked away.
Soon, breakfast and medicine were delivered.
Just for He Yuan alone.
He walked over in surprise. “Admiral, have you already eaten?”
“Mm, I ate a long time ago.”
“Huh? What time is it?” He Yuan sat at the dining table, looking around but finding no clock.
Wen Su sat opposite him holding his cup and said, “Almost nine-thirty.”
“Ah!” He Yuan was shocked. He had never slept in so late! “The competition… are—are we going to be late?!”
“I told them to wait until we arrive before starting.”
He Yuan was instantly even more terrified: What kind of privilege is this?! This is terrible! He immediately began to wolf down his food.
“Eat slowly, don’t rush,” Wen Su said. “If you don’t listen, I won’t take you.”
He Yuan: …
Admiral Wen Su meant what he said and never joked.
He had no choice but to comply.
He was forced to chew slowly and swallow carefully.
“You were sick. It is only right for a patient to sleep until they wake up naturally. Moreover, strictly speaking, you fell ill because of me, so I must fulfill what I promised you. The competition was postponed, and the rescheduled time was up to General Tulip and me to decide anyway. You don’t need to feel any burden.”
He Yuan, who was feeling guilty, froze.
He lifted his eyes to look at Wen Su. Wen Su’s expression was the same as usual, as if he were talking about something as trivial as eating or drinking, but in reality, Wen Su had considered his feelings and specifically offered an explanation.
Behind that steady to the point of cold, hard face, there was actually a very gentle and sensitive heart.
He Yuan felt a sense of security he had never felt before.
He was an orphan. Although he had received state aid since childhood and hadn’t truly suffered hardships, and although he had always been grateful and optimistic, feeling that his life was already super lucky, still…
He was, after all, an orphan.
Deep down, there was always a hidden sense of insecurity.
But now…
He… he couldn’t quite put it into words, but he increasingly felt that he was very lucky and very happy.
He had to properly repay the country that brought him all this…
And Admiral Wen Su.
After finishing breakfast and his medicine, He Yuan went to wash up and change clothes.
Yesterday’s clothes had been washed and dried, carrying the comfortable scent of dryer sheets.
Wen Su, however, frowned at him and said, “The clothes are too thin; you are still coughing.”
He turned and walked to the wardrobe, opening it to select something for a moment.
Some of his own spare clothes were kept here, so in the end, what was added to He Yuan’s body was a thick trench coat that reached his ankles and a scarf almost as tall as He Yuan himself.
He Yuan: ……
It wasn’t that he didn’t know he was short, but today he realized just how short!
Hot and humiliated, his cheeks turned red.
He must look ridiculous right now, because Admiral Wen Su, who never smiled, seemed to smile slightly. He reached out and pressed down on He Yuan’s head as if playing with a plush toy, saying, “Let’s go.”
It was still raining outside, lighter than yesterday, but windy and chilling to the bone.
He Yuan tucked his chin further into the scarf and collar, thinking that Admiral Wen Su was indeed farsighted!
It was a pity they forgot to bring an umbrella though…
With a soft whoosh, a sturdy, large black umbrella opened above his head.
“Let’s go,” Wen Su said again.
He strode toward the arena with his long legs. He Yuan followed; given Wen Su’s leg length and walking speed, he was at a slight disadvantage and had to quicken his pace.
His body soon warmed up slightly, which was good—he’d count it as exercise!
This umbrella was huge. Covering the two of them, it wasn’t crowded at all; in fact, there was plenty of room to spare!
And Admiral Wen Su was really tall!
The closer they were, the more obvious the height difference became. For instance, the umbrella above his head didn’t feel like a normal umbrella; it felt like a moving canopy!
Sigh, as a life assistant, he was letting his superior hold the umbrella for him…
But there was no helping it. He was so short that if he held the umbrella, Admiral Wen Su would be uncomfortable.
…
He Yuan let his imagination run wild as he walked in the rain.
After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the arena.
The arena was super large and luxurious, but since it was only an internal event for military generals, there weren’t many people, making it seem less lively than it could be.
Generals and staff were sparsely distributed in the stands, chatting in twos and threes. It was He Yuan’s first time deep inside a core national department. He was incredibly curious but knew he had to show restraint, so he kept his head still, letting only his big eyes dart up, down, left, and right.
After becoming Wen Su’s life assistant, he gained access to the internal military network. He recognized several people he had seen on the website, basically all famous generals of Wen Su’s rank.
So impressive…
His eyes were full of curiosity and admiration. occasionally, people looked at him, and he quickly offered a polite and humble smile, feeling that the military atmosphere was much softer than he had imagined.
“Wen Su! Come sit over here!”
Someone stood up and waved in their direction… It was the legendary General Tulip!
There were a few other people around General Tulip.
Wen Su paused, seeming to consider it, but finally walked over.
He Yuan hurriedly followed.
After taking their seats, Wen Su was as silent and expressionless as ever. The others were probably used to it and acted naturally, though they did take a couple of extra looks at him, the stranger.
General Tulip was just as charismatic as the rumors said. He was the first to strike up a conversation with him, smiling as he said, “Compared to being covered in mud and looking half-dead yesterday, you certainly look much livelier and cuter after cleaning up!”
Hearing this, Wen Su stared at General Tulip.
He Yuan was a little embarrassed by the comment. Blushing, he said, “Hello, General. My name is He Yuan—’He’ from geometry, and ‘Yuan’ meaning distant. I am Admiral Wen Su’s life assistant.”
Wen Su shifted his gaze to He Yuan.
Song Pei pretended not to notice anything and said, “I know. Wen Su already introduced you yesterday.”
Admiral Wen Su really acknowledges me!
He Yuan felt a surge of excitement. He turned his head to smile at Wen Su, meeting the gaze of Wen Su who had been looking at him the whole time.
He didn’t think much of it, but Wen Su suddenly felt awkward and quickly looked away again.
General Tulip smiled knowingly and added, “Appearing in such a public setting for the first time, Omega, are you nervous?”
He Yuan looked back at General Tulip. Subconsciously, he wanted to emphasize that his name was He Yuan, but on second thought, it was their first meeting, General Tulip’s tone was friendly, and he was a colleague of his superior—seemingly one with good personal ties. Retorting would be impolite, so he held back and said earnestly, “I am a little nervous, but not too much!”
Song Pei laughed heartily. “Is this what Omegas are like? Truly too cute!”
He Yuan’s face turned even redder. Suddenly feeling pressure coming from beside him, he turned to see Admiral Wen Su with his arms crossed, looking a bit… displeased?
Why? Did he say something wrong?
“Not all Omegas are cute,” Wen Su said coldly.
He Yuan, who was already confused, became even more baffled.
It sounded like a response to General Tulip, but what did it mean?
Denying General Tulip, meaning he didn’t think He Yuan was cute?
That didn’t matter much; he didn’t care if he was cute or not. It was just… not long ago on the school’s west lawn, Admiral Wen Su clearly said his hair and eyes were beautiful, and that being short was cute. Why the sudden change?
Hmm…
Maybe Admiral Wen Su was stating a general truth?
Being matter-of-fact was indeed his style.
…
Confusion, contemplation, and sudden realization played out clearly on He Yuan’s face. Song Pei laughed loudly.
He walked to Wen Su’s other side and sat down, whispering something in Wen Su’s ear. He Yuan couldn’t hear it clearly; he only saw Wen Su’s expression gradually become impatient. Finally, Wen Su stood up and took the mecha exterior program box out of his pocket.
“Chongming’s exterior is already installed. You hold the remote.”
He Yuan accepted the box in a daze, and Wen Su turned to leave.
He Yuan looked back, even more confused. Wen Su stopped and said, “I have something to do. I’m going to make a call.”
So that’s it.
He left the venue specifically to make the call, and fearing he wouldn’t make it back for the start of the competition, he gave the remote to He Yuan. It seemed it was a very important call that would take a long time.
If he really couldn’t finish talking by the time the competition started, Admiral Wen Su wouldn’t be able to see Lord Chongming’s exterior debut.
Sigh.
He Yuan lowered his head in disappointment.
At this moment, General Tulip leaned in with a smile and said, “Wen Su never explains the reasons for his actions. You, this Omega, are indeed very special to him.”
He Yuan was stunned.
This sentence was somewhat beyond his comprehension.
It was easy to interpret in a strange way, but that would be too strange. He had to say something not strange!
So he looked at General Tulip seriously and solemnly advised, “General, I haven’t fully recovered yet. Although ordinary pneumonia isn’t contagious, it’s better if you stay a bit further away from me!”
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