Chapter 20 Sparks

Chapter 20 Sparks

Xu Qingran's outstretched hand was quickly seized by a strong force.

Behind the desk, Shen Tingyu could no longer maintain his gentle smile. His gaze, cold and fierce, seemed as if it could drag someone into an icy abyss. Despite this, his tone remained mild: "Nephew's spouse, I think you should be well aware of the privacy of the spiritual imprint."

"Don't blame me for not reminding you, no one alive has ever dared to bring their spiritual imprint this close to me."

Xu Qingran met Shen Tingyu's gaze but did not fall into those icy depths.

His eyes slightly curved, and within those captivating peach blossom eyes, a unique aura bloomed: "Honestly, I'm not very familiar with it."

"I only know that you all keep bringing it up, and I find it annoying."

Shen Tingyu was silent for a few seconds, then offered a more impactful explanation: "What you're doing now is akin to a rogue flashing me."

"For ordinary people, this is like asking to be overpowered."

Shen Tingyu paused before continuing in a deeper tone: "For someone like me, it's a challenge, daring the other to take you down."

Xu Qingran looked down at Shen Tingyu's hand still tightly gripping his, silently digesting the shocking response he had just received, then pursed his lips and said: "Understood, then please release my hand, your grip is too tight."

Shen Tingyu: "..."

He silently released his hand, then stared at his palm for a few seconds, as if it had been tainted by Xu Qingran's words.

System: "..."

True to form, its host really doesn't care about anything in this world.

When Xu Qingran withdrew his hand, his wrist was already red. He shook his hand a few times and put the source crystal back on the table.

Suddenly, he asked Shen Tingyu: "So, General Shen, which one are you?"

The person behind the desk gradually regained his composure, showing no trace of his earlier emotions, and replied with a slight smile: "I believe you've known since our meeting at the Tower of Evil that I've always seen you as an equal."

Xu Qingran listened, then also smiled.

"Funny, I feel the same way."

The system, observing the nearly tangible tension between them, suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Isn't its host supposed to be seducing? How did things end up like this again!

When Xu Qingran entered, he could tell from the room's decor and overall atmosphere that Shen Tingyu was a man with his own set of principles, possibly even a bit of a cleanliness freak, with a strong sense of territoriality.

He knew Shen Tingyu disliked it, which only made him want to do it more.

So not only did he not leave after the not-so-pleasant conversation ended, but he also boldly lay down on the bed, playfully rolling around to leave his scent everywhere, knowing Shen Tingyu would hate it, before snuggling contentedly under the covers.

Before falling asleep, he thought of the spiritual imprint again and asked the system: "Is the spiritual imprint random, or does it actually mirror one's personality?"

The system replied: "It's random; having the mark on your hand doesn't mean you're flirtatious."

Xu Qingran thought for a moment, then said: "I can be quite the flirt."

"If I weren't, would I have the nerve to join you on these tedious missions?"

System: "..."

It admitted it so openly.

Shen Tingyu's bed was very comfortable; Xu Qingran fell asleep shortly after lying down. However, his sleep was not deep, and he would occasionally be awakened by louder noises from the study. But the system said that any chance to touch Shen Tingyu's personal items counted as progress, so he had to put up with it.

On the other side, Shen Tingyu appeared to be handling official business seriously, but in reality, his attention was not as focused as usual.

He even regretted allowing Xu Qingran in.

He had intended for Xu Qingran to back off, but underestimated him.

Despite the distance between the study and the bedroom, Shen Tingyu's restlessness lingered after Xu Qingran entered and unexpectedly came close to his spirit mark. He couldn't pinpoint the source of his irritation, but it felt similar to encountering other E-types in Tower No. 2.

So, deep down, did he still want to pin Xu Qingran down and break him?

Shen Tingyu smiled faintly.

It was a shame he was still too young; he'd have to wait until he fully matured to destroy him, which would be more satisfying.

·

Xu Qingran kept a strict routine, waking before six to wash up and head out for exercise. When he got up, the study light was still on, but he ignored it and left immediately.

He got back home just after seven in the morning. Auntie Song had already made breakfast, and Shen Tingyu was gone. He removed the towel from his neck, ready to shower, and spotted Auntie Song carrying bedding and a cleaning robot up the special corridor.

"Good morning, Mr. Xu," Auntie Song greeted him cheerfully.

"Good morning," Xu Qingran replied. He liked this woman who worked hard to cook delicious meals for them daily, so he chatted with her a bit. "Are you cleaning up for a new guest?"

Auntie Song laughed. "No, the general asked me before he left to deep clean his bedroom and study and replace the bedsheets with fresh ones."

"They were just changed last week. Maybe they got dirty by accident."

Xu Qingran watched Auntie Song head upstairs and let out a cold laugh.

What a jerk.

The system: "..."

Its KPI seemed to be slipping away.

While waiting for school to start, Xu Qingran had little to do besides physical training. Xiao Zhang was back and sometimes took him to other towns on Fei Star to explore and try local foods.

Shen Tingyu, meanwhile, was gone for over half a month.

But his little nephew, Shen Tianyi, started his vacation soon after, so they inevitably spent more time together.

But Shen Tianyi was just a clueless kid, and Xu Qingran didn't see the five-year-old as a real target. They interacted more like brothers with a big age gap, and the initial awkwardness faded.

Now, the little nephew even brought his homework to pester him: "Why is this wrong?"

By the tea table in the living room, the two of them, one big and one small, stared at each other.

Xu Qingran set down the tablet he was about to grab and pointed at the corrected question: "How does 11 + 11 equal 1111?"

Shen Tianyi pouted angrily: "Why not?"

"Two 1s plus two 1s, isn't that four 1s?!"

Xu Qingran: "..."

Makes total sense, can't argue with that.

Shen Tianyi now realizes that as long as he doesn't provoke Xu Qingran into doing something that makes him angry, he's pretty easy to get along with, so he's been getting bolder. He stubbornly sticks to his answer, and Xu Qingran doesn't smack him, but instead asks, "You said your uncle and cousin both want to train you to be the group's successor?"

"Yes, that's what the Shen family told me," Shen Tianyi says, slumped over the edge of the table, continuing to write his answers.

Xu Qingran watches as he writes 88 for the problem 8+8, thinks for a bit, and says, "I suggest you might want to take more art classes to explore other potentials you might have."

The kid's pretty naive and doesn't pick up on the hint, nodding and saying, "I also think I should sign up for classes. The boys in class who sing well, dance, and play the violin are very popular!"

Xu Qingran rests his head in his hand, grabs the tablet he brought from the Xu family, and browses the web aimlessly.

The Star Horizon forum has been buzzing lately.

He first glances at a fresh post on the homepage titled "It's said that your Golden Wing Battalion's General Shen is incompetent," then clicks into another fast-growing thread that is related to him.

Main post:

What's going on between the eldest son of the Xu family from the Silver Dragon Battalion and General Shen from the Golden Wing Battalion? After I mentioned it last time, I received many private messages saying they indeed saw the two of them going out together recently, riding in the same vehicle.

No, when did they get together? How come there wasn't a peep about this before!

"1L: First! But wasn't this topic just reported and deleted last week? How did it appear again?"

"20L: Is it time for another battle between the two battalions? I've already prepared instant noodles, whoever dares to talk trash about Golden Wing again, I'll fight them day and night for several days!"

"275L: ...No, although I also sprayed the fake news last time, later my best friend told me she also saw it. She owns a clothing store near the fairy branch of Grandis Middle School and said she indeed saw the private flying car of Golden Wing, and the person inside looked very much like General Shen!"

"To add, because that car is a limited edition with only 50 in the entire empire, I took a closer look."

Although Xu Qingran doesn't know what the netizens argued about in the previous post, today's post has indeed drawn out a lot of bystanders who confirmed seeing him and Shen Tingyu out. The times and places they provided mostly were near the branch of Grandis Middle School and at various galactic checkpoint rest areas.

It does match up.

Whenever it involves people or things related to the two battalions, a war of words is bound to happen. However, as people in the post argue, they suddenly turn their attention to him.

"6755L: Could it be related to that previous soul high compatibility post? If you think about it, it's kinda scary..."

"8211: Ah?!! If that's the case, I'd rather the eldest son of the Xu family be matched with Boss Chen! Our Golden Wing Battalion cannot accept this general's wife!!"

"11212L: ...As a member of the Silver Dragon Battalion, I also think the eldest son of the Xu family might as well just settle for Boss Chen."

Probably due to the poor image caused by the previous farce, most voices in the post feel that forcing him and Shen Tingyu together is simply a waste of resources. Although there are also voices speaking up for him, they are an insignificant minority.

There are also those who insist it's fake news:

"23889L: Impossible! It's said to be the eldest son of the Xu family and Boss Chen!"

"37665L: I swear it's true, it's Xu Qingran and Chen Shengfei, if I'm wrong I'll eat shit upside down!"

Xu Qingran doesn't feel angry, instead, he finds it amusing and smiles, thinking these netizens are particularly interesting.

At the table, Shen Tianyi finishes the last problem, puts down his pen, picks up his metal sphere, and prepares to start watching live streams and playing games.

Xu Qingran sees this and suddenly asks, "You said this thing called 'Little Planet' can be used for live streaming?"

Shen Tianyi nods, "Yes."

Xu Qingran: "Then lend it to me, I've been bored lately and want to find some fun by live streaming."

Arguing with online friends.

Shen Tianyi clutched the object even tighter, pleading, "I finally finished my homework and can treat myself. Please don’t take it from me."

Seeing that Shen Tianyi wouldn’t let go, Xu Qingran rubbed his forehead and asked, "Your Shen family is so large; surely you have more than just one of these?"

Shen Tianyi was about to nod but suddenly remembered there was indeed another one. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "Wait here, I’ll go get another one for you."

When he left the living room, he even took his own with him, as if afraid it might be stolen. Xu Qingran saw him run upstairs but didn’t know exactly where he went.

Shen Tianyi headed straight for Shen Tingyu’s study, tiptoed to unlock it using his palm print, and peeked through the slightly open door at the desk-side cabinet. In one compartment lay another metal ball, just like the one he held.

Shen Tianyi thought, *They say you should spoil your wife.*

Since Xu Qingran will be his wife in the future, he’s also related to his uncle. So borrowing it shouldn’t be an issue, right?