Chapter 30
He Yuan was doing exercises in the courtyard. He ran back panting, wiping sweat with the back of his hand while picking up the phone to look.
It was General Wen Su!
Just as he was about to answer, the other side hung up first. He was a little confused.
He called back. The call connected, but no one answered.
It seemed that he was free to find him just now, but was suddenly interrupted by something important.
Then he couldn’t disturb him anymore.
Oh, but before leaving, General Wen Su specifically said not to consider too much and do whatever he wanted. So he sent a message—
[Hello, General Sir! I was exercising outside just now and didn’t answer the phone in time, sorry! Then let’s chat when you’re done!]
Suddenly thinking that Wen Su didn’t like him calling him “General Sir,” he quickly retracted it and resent it.
If Wen Su asked him why he retracted it, he would say…
Accidentally made a typo!
Plan passed!
But Wen Su didn’t ask at all.
When calling He Yuan, the longer he waited, the more afraid he became. Finally, as if telepathic, he hung up right before the moment He Yuan was about to answer and the imagined bad thing was about to happen.
He retreated spinelessly.
Then he watched helplessly as He Yuan sent a message, retracted it, and sent another message.
In his subconscious, he was still “General Sir,” just like Song Pei in the eyes of that Beta.
Three minutes were up. Free activity ended. Wen Su returned to the meeting room, looking no different from before. Only Song Pei felt the subtle change in air pressure.
The next day, He Yuan received a notice from his teacher saying that the Military Logistics Management Department took advantage of the gathering of core generals to conduct a physical examination and psychological test for them. Now the results were out. As the most powerful research data, the project team members also had to assemble to make a phase summary report.
It was a big deal!
He Yuan, who had been a bit down and lazy due to recent changes, suddenly cheered up and hurriedly packed his things to leave the base.
But not long after leaving, General Wen Su called again!
This time he didn’t hang up in advance. He Yuan answered very nervously.
“General Sir… oh no, um… I was just about to tell you. Because something important suddenly happened at school, I have to go back. I was afraid of… disturbing you, so I asked the robot butler to open the exit permission for me.”
He didn’t want to lie, but the research project was confidential, so there was no other way for now.
It was very quiet on the other end of the phone. He was even more nervous, his heart pounding. After a long while, a “Mm” finally came from there.
Wen Su’s usual deep voice.
Just sounded not very high-spirited?
“Last time… something did come up suddenly, and then meetings continued back-to-back. Sorry.”
He Yuan realized Wen Su was explaining why he hung up and didn’t reply to the message earlier. He busy said: “It’s okay! No need to apologize, no need to apologize!”
It really sounded like a tone of not caring at all, completely indifferent.
Wen Su was silent for another while, and finally asked again: “What’s the matter back at school?”
“Mm.” He Yuan froze. The lie wasn’t prepared in advance. “Heard from classmates that… next year’s course selection… has some problems, not sure yet.”
“How long will you be back for?”
“… Also, also not sure.” He Yuan sweated coldly as he spoke, fearing he would be discovered if he messed up.
Fortunately, Wen Su didn’t continue to ask, but fell silent again, and then changed the subject.
“Have you been well these past few days?”
Finally an easy question where he could tell the truth!
He Yuan felt as if granted amnesty, nodding vigorously: “Mm mm! Had a great time! Very happy every day!”
Wen Su: …
He Yuan looked at his phone to confirm the signal wasn’t cut, and probed: “Hello?”
“I’m here.”
The voice seemed a little tired.
Generals meeting must be discussing very, very important matters, so it consumed a lot of energy.
“You…”
“You…”
Both spoke at the same time, then stopped at the same time.
Finally, Wen Su took the initiative: “What did you want to tell me?”
“Huh?”
“Do you… have nothing special you want to tell me?”
“Special?”
“If not, then never mind.” After a long time, Wen Su said, “If there’s nothing, I’m hanging up.”
“Oh.”
“Tell me when you arrive at school.”
“Oh.”
“Feel free to speak up if you need help with anything.”
“Oh.”
“Tell me when you’ve confirmed when you’re coming back.”
“Oh.”
He Yuan answered mechanically all the way.
Finally realizing this wasn’t good, he racked his brains and said a sentence too: “You tell me too when you confirm when you’re coming back.”
“… Good.”
One word, but the voice and tone were different from all the words just now. He couldn’t say exactly where it was different, but, but it was just different!
He Yuan was very sure.
Then he said: “Then I’m hanging up.”
“… Xiao Yuan.”
He Yuan had already moved the phone away from his ear, but brought it back at this moment.
“I’m here!”
But he waited and waited, and Wen Su finally only left a sentence: “Forget it, it’s nothing.”
The call ended. He Yuan was very confused.
Forget what?
What turned into nothing?
In the corridor outside the large conference room at the military headquarters, Wen Su leaned against the wall. His slightly bowed body and lowered head were standing postures that shouldn’t belong to a soldier.
He finally called He Yuan, but the result added more psychological burden to himself.
At this time, Song Pei turned out from a corridor opposite. Like usual, he had a profound yet very frivolous smile on his face.
“Bonding with little student He Yuan?”
Wen Su stood up straight and ignored him.
Song Pei walked up: “But it sounds like the bonding isn’t very smooth. Quarreled?”
Wen Su still ignored him.
Song Pei added: “It doesn’t seem like a quarrel in the traditional sense either… Awkwardness? It must be your fault, after all, little student He Yuan is so sensible.”
“Don’t guess blindly.” Wen Su couldn’t bear it anymore. “And don’t eavesdrop on my phone calls anymore.”
Song Pei spread his hands helplessly: “Then don’t make calls in public places. Others will hide when they see you, but I won’t.”
Wen Su frowned irritably.
He couldn’t refute.
Song Pei was reminding him.
Actually, given his personality, he generally wouldn’t make private calls in public places either. It was just that the current him was flustered and confused, and his rationality had dropped significantly.
Just now, he suddenly had an impulse to talk to He Yuan. He was afraid that if he suppressed it blindly, the courage that came so hard would disappear, so he immediately came out of the meeting room.
“You didn’t say why when you left, and didn’t go back for a long time. The higher-ups wanted someone to find you and see what exactly you were doing. No one dared, so I came,” Song Pei said again.
“Sorry.” Wen Su turned to walk back.
“Wen Su.” Song Pei stopped him, his expression rarely serious. “In love, solving minor awkwardness relies on not taking it seriously and coaxing emotions. But to solve fundamental contradictions requires sincerity, honesty, and rationality. Delaying and deceiving oneself only adds injury to injury. It is the worst method.”
Wen Su was startled.
It seemed as if he suddenly saw a ray of bright skylight through the heavy fog.
He was like a ghost. If he walked into that skylight, he would immediately be scattered into ashes. But if he didn’t go, he could linger on under the protection of the fog for the time being. But as an upright person, why live obscurely like a walking corpse?
Moreover, he was one of the top Alphas in this vast interstellar space.
The location of He Yuan’s meeting was a hotel booked by the Military Logistics Management Department.
Arriving at the place, looking at the teacher, representatives of the Logistics Management Department, and life assistants of other generals, dozens of people, all looked like successful people. He counted as the most unreliable one.
He sat silently in the corner, thinking I won’t be criticized in public, will I?
After all, for more than three months, he just cooked for General Wen Su, prepared daily necessities, tidied up inside and out, and chatted about non-nutritious things. It sounded really lame… Oh right, he also made an exterior for the Chongming Bird and won first place in the competition!
This was relatively eye-catching.
He Yuan lowered his head nervously in his seat, completely unaware that others were observing him privately.
The meeting began. The teacher and military representatives explained the content and results of the research project so far. He Yuan took notes while listening, and gradually realized something was wrong—
“Combining the results of this general physical examination and psychological test, our conjecture is reasonable, and the research is necessary to continue.”
“The biggest change in data is Rose Admiral Wen Su. His mental health level has improved very significantly.”
“Of course, the sample base parameters are different, so we can’t generalize. Especially as everyone knows, General Wen Su’s own personality base parameter values aren’t very good. Like learning, improving from 80 to 90 is far more difficult than improving from 20 to 40, but…”
“The importance of the ‘teacher’ should not be denied either.”
“After all, teaching a student with 20 points is also far more difficult than teaching a student with 80 points.”
“Especially for an ‘intern teacher’, daring to actively challenge, work hard to practice, and achieve results is very amazing.”
“We decided to award the ‘Best’ honor of the first phase to General Wen Su’s life assistant—He Yuan.”
… Eh eh eh eh eh?!
He Yuan’s head buzzed. He thought he was hallucinating. It wasn’t until applause from the whole audience rang in his ears and everyone looked over that he was sure, absolutely sure, that he… he really went from the most marginal small character to the most core focal point!
Best Assistant…
Isn’t that the scene he once dreamed of?
Dream come true!!!
He Yuan was so happy. When giving his acceptance speech and sharing work experiences, he was a bit incoherent at first. Slowly he calmed down and found his train of thought, speaking more and more devotedly.
Other life assistants also spoke one after another. Everyone exchanged and discussed together, summarized experiences and skills, and set the direction for the next phase of work.
After the meeting, there was a free dinner. He Yuan added the contact information of several life assistants and chatted with the teacher.
The teacher recognized him very much and encouraged him specially. He was so excited that he couldn’t sleep even lying on the bed in the guest room!
Half of the credit for the “Best” he obtained belonged to General Wen Su. He had to thank him properly when he went back!
Thinking of this, he froze. He Yuan woke up from the joy of his dream coming true and returned completely to the cold reality.
General Wen Su didn’t let him be a life assistant anymore. What was the use of taking “Best”?
Others in the project team didn’t know yet. He… he betrayed everyone!
What should he do next?
Excited insomnia turned into sad insomnia. He Yuan tossed and turned on the bed, feeling so sad he almost wanted to cry.
Should he wait for General Wen Su to come back and have a good talk?
Dragging it out wasn’t a solution. He had to muster up courage!
Just having convinced himself, suddenly a “ding dong” sound rang out. The phone screen emitted a dazzling light in the darkness.
Picking it up to look.
Ahhhhhhhhh!
In the middle of the night, He Yuan was scared into sitting up straight—
It was a message from General Wen Su: [Xiao Yuan, I like you.]
Confession! It’s a confession!!!
General Wen Su was serious?!
But, but…
Six words. He pondered back and forth, imagining various possibilities, and the decision just made collapsed again.
One night passed, He Yuan’s energy was exhausted.
At dawn, for the first time ever, he just wanted to stay in bed. Because the seminar was over, as long as he got up, he had to go back to the base and face the terrible General Wen Su who might come back anytime.
Dragging until the last deadline for check-out, he dawdled packing his backpack and walked out of the hotel dejectedly. Suddenly his spirit tightened.
The person standing in front of him was obviously waiting for him.
But it was completely someone who shouldn’t appear here, let alone wait for him!
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