Chapter 83: Rebirth?

Chapter 83: Rebirth?

The spaceship glided into the endless night sky.

Passing through the space station of the Dragon Realm, it steadily headed towards the outer regions.

The radar's blips aligned with the navigation path.

The pilot pushed the lever, allowing the craft's engine to slowly consume his psychic energy, putting the system into automatic navigation mode.

The white dog in the back seat lowered its head to grab a piece of bread, swallowed it in one gulp, and then looked up towards the silhouette in the pilot's seat.

Xu Qingran held a sweet roll in his hand, having taken a small bite half an hour ago.

The bread still had only that single bite taken out of it, and the person holding it remained motionless, lost in thought, weighed down by worries.

"Shen Tingyu? The Shen and Xie families have always been close; we've known each other since childhood."

"How young? Probably as young as kindergarten? But our relationship wasn't that good back then; we just went to the same school, and our elders often brought us together during gatherings. Mostly, he had a terrible temper as a kid, gloomy, withdrawn, and quiet, always scowling at everyone."

"It wasn’t like I didn’t want to be friends with him, but as soon as I got close, he punched me!"

Xu Qingran was recalling his conversation with Xie Nanjun.

To be precise, it was Xie Nanjun's one-sided rant.

"Yes, I was especially defiant toward him as a kid, thinking he was too full of himself, always fighting with him!" Xie Nanjun, recalling the past, grew angrier and spoke at length about Shen Tingyu's bad temper in his youth.

In short, he was a classic early-stage E-type.

Cold and detached, treating everyone around him as enemies, with a strong sense of personal space. If anyone came near or touched his stuff, he would turn into a little monster, beating them to a pulp.

Always irritable, never cracking a smile.

"Our relationship only got better after he went to the Tower of Evil."

Shen Tingyu was a rare genius of the empire.

His soul and spirit had already stabilized by the age of ten, confirmed as an E-type. Normally, he should have been sent to the Tower of Evil for education immediately, but backed by the Shen family, he managed to avoid major incidents, only minor skirmishes.

Until he was twelve, when he frequently got into fights with the royal children in the palace.

He even hurt the much older Crown Prince, and at the Queen’s insistence, the Shen family was forced to send Shen Tingyu to the Tower of Evil. What went down in the Tower of Evil is likely only known to its staff and the Crown Prince who went to seek revenge on him from time to time.

Xie Nanjun said: "You know what happened later, he put his life on the line, using his spiritual pool to fight the Tower of Evil, and seriously injured the Crown Prince. After gaining the opportunity to negotiate with the Tower Master, he proved his emotional stability, obedience, and strength in about a year, and was released."

The Shen Tingyu who came out seemed to have truly changed under the guidance of the Tower of Evil.

No longer the person who disliked everyone and couldn't control his temper. He became gentle, humble, diligent, and hardworking, placing the defense of the camp and the empire's citizens as his top priority. The Golden Wing Battalion’s people went from rejecting and distrusting him to blindly adoring him.

"Not only did his way of dealing with people change, but after coming out, he actively sought out me and my sister!"

"Do you know what he wanted from us? He actually apologized for the things that happened in our childhood!" Xie Nanjun still found it surreal, his tone particularly exaggerated, "An E-type, humbly apologizing to us, and even offering to be friends!"

"I almost thought he had an ulterior motive!"

Xu Qingran, hearing this, suddenly felt like laughing for some reason.

Xie Nanjun continued: "My sister and I truly treated him as a close friend about a year later."

At this point, he hesitated and stammered for a while before lowering his voice and continuing, "Actually, my sister was once recommended by the Soulmate System as a 50% match for the Crown Prince. Although it didn’t reach the official marriage suitability data, you know how it is, the royal family has its privileges."

Figures like the prince and future king are allowed to have multiple partners.

The principal wife just needs to have the highest compatibility, while other lesser consorts can be married as long as the royal family members are willing, even if they don’t meet the official compatibility data, provided the compatibility isn’t excessively low.

"That shameless Crown Prince, who is more than ten years older than my sister, actually proposed that she become his concubine or something in the future," Xie Nanjun said indignantly.

Xu Qingran suddenly understood why Xie Nanjun had previously mentioned Mu Ziyue with such gnashing of teeth, as if he were talking about a piece of trash.

The father of the Xie siblings, Xie Shaoming.

He is a liberal-minded parent, making decisions based on his children's wishes. Knowing that Xie Nanyi was unwilling, he immediately rejected Mu Ziyue's request.

Mu Ziyue, on the other hand, didn’t push the matter.

So the Xie family assumed the matter was settled.

A few days after the incident, Shen Tingyu happened to drop by, saying he was in a bad mood and wanted to go out and clear his head. They drove around without a destination and ended up coincidentally in the city where Xie Nanyi was staying at the time.

Xie Nanjun suggested surprising Xie Nanyi to give her a scare.

But they couldn’t find her and only found out from her university classmates that she had been kidnapped. It was Shen Tingyu who deduced where she might have been taken and arrived in time to rescue her from a group of people about to harm her.

Before Xie Nanjun and Shen Tingyu killed those thugs, using Shen Tingyu's interrogation techniques, they finally forced one of them to spill the beans.

This was a premeditated scheme, set up by Mu Ziyue to get back at Xie Nanyi for turning him down.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingran had only one thing to say: "How could you stand for this?"

"After something like this happened, the fact that you’ve let Mu Ziyue live this long is what surprises me the most."

Xie Nanjun: "..."

"You make it seem so simple!"

How could Xie Nanjun not be angry? He was on the verge of storming Mu Ziyue's place to give him a beating.

But relying solely on the perpetrator's testimony was too flimsy; they had no other decisive evidence. Causing a scene could have led to Mu Ziyue and his mother's family retaliating with pressure, potentially destroying the Xie family. Moreover, the Xie family's interests are deeply intertwined with the Golden Wing Battalion. A single move could affect the whole situation. As long as Mu Ziyue remains in the position of Commander-in-Chief, they cannot afford to break ties with him.

"Not everyone can act as freely and recklessly as you," Xie Nanjun said with a mix of resentment and envy.

"And Mu Ziyue is better at controlling his subordinates than Mu Ziyu. They are all very obedient and listen to him, unlike your Silver Dragon's little commander who is so easy to manipulate."

As a fellow member of Silver Dragon, Xu Qingran felt a bit embarrassed for their commander.

"However, Shen Tingyu did help us get some revenge," Xie Nanjun said, his voice even lower.

Xu Qingran cooperatively listened quietly.

—Although he didn’t understand why Xie Nanjun had to be so cautious even in his own bathroom.

Then, Xu Qingran heard something quite shocking from Xie Nanjun.

To help the Xie family seek revenge, Shen Tingyu found an opportunity to knock Mu Ziyue unconscious and then locked him up with an 'in heat' E-type. This E-type was also a wanted criminal by the Tower of Evil at the time, a homosexual with somewhat perverted preferences, targeting good-looking men.

This person had just been caught by Shen Tingyu and hadn’t been sent up yet.

Anyway, later, this pervert was never sent to the Tower of Evil because it was said that after the incident, Mu Ziyue had him killed. Since then, Mu Ziyue has never troubled the Xie family or Xie Nanyi again.

He himself doesn’t like to go out casually unless it’s necessary.

Even when he does go out, he makes a big production of it, only feeling at ease with a large entourage.

After hearing this, Xu Qingran struggled to keep from grinning ear to ear.

He really is my man.

"Anyway, there are so many stories that could take days to tell... Plus, we seemed to click with Shen Tingyu right away, and after he dropped his bad habits, we started hanging out."

Xie Nanjun talked until his mouth was dry, then realized Xu Qingran had called late at night just to ask about this: "Wait, why are you suddenly asking me about all this old stuff? Did Shen Tingyu get into some trouble?"

"No," Xu Qingran paused, then added, "I just wanted to know if he ever went through any hardships growing up."

"What I mean is, did the Shen family ever reject or exclude him because of his E-type identity, leaving him to fend for himself in some remote wilderness?"

Xie Nanjun was puzzled: "Qingran, where did you hear such weird stories?"

"Shen Tingyu... he’s not close with his family, but as far as I know, the Shen family treated him pretty well. From birth to entering the Tower of Evil, they always treated him like a young master from a noble family."

"After leaving the Tower of Evil, he smoothly got into the Grandis Military Academy the next year."

"After graduating, he joined the Golden Wing Battalion with top grades. What you said about him wandering the streets and fending for himself... that probably never happened, right?"

Xu Qingran asked again, "I also heard he got a serious eye injury in the Tower of Evil."

"His eyeball was necrotic, completely beyond use."

Xie Nanjun laughed, "You must’ve mixed him up with someone else?"

"Yeah, someone did get that badly hurt in the Tower of Evil, but it wasn’t Shen Tingyu—it was that jerk Mu Ziyue."

"They say Mu Ziyue still refuses to get a prosthetic eye to this day, to always remember the pain."

"He only shows up with one eye."

Xie Nanjun complained, "Who fed you such a sad story?"

"Shen Tingyu’s childhood might not have been great, but after he got his act together and left, his life’s been smooth sailing. Even Mu Ziyue can only pull small stunts behind his back, too scared to actually take him down."

"Anyway, if you ask me, I don’t recall him ever being homeless or having a prosthetic eye."

Xu Qingran sighed deeply.

He said calmly, "Okay, I get it. Thanks for telling me all this."

Before hanging up, he said, "Don’t tell Shen Tingyu about the stuff I asked you tonight."

Xie Nanjun hesitated, "Why?"

Xu Qingran said without changing his expression, "As his friend, I just want to understand more about his past and verify the rumors I've heard."

"I just want to get along well with him, but I don't want him to feel pressured after knowing."

Xie Nanjun, thinking Shen Tingyu’s too thick-skinned to feel pressured, also thought Xu Qingran was a great friend.

Feeling warm inside, he responded repeatedly, "I understand, I won't tell."

After a pause, he added for Shen Tingyu, "Ah, Shen Tingyu’s little habits and E-type personality can indeed be a bit troublesome at times."

"But after knowing him for so many years, he doesn't easily let people into his heart. Once he considers you a friend, he treats you sincerely. Given all the help he's given you in the past, don't hold his little quirks against him."

Xu Qingran's eyelids lowered slightly, a faint glimmer flickering in his eyes.

His tone softened, almost imperceptibly: "I know, I don't mind him."

Reassured, Xie Nanjun ended the call with a smile.

After hanging up, Xu Qingran absentmindedly grabbed a piece of bread from the bag, took a bite, but found it flavorless, and drifted into a daze.

So, why did Shen Tingyu make up things that never happened to deceive him?

—Wait, did those things really never happen?

At least the desolation Shen Tingyu endured in the Tower of Evil was something he had personally witnessed.

This was something Shen Tingyu had never mentioned to him.

The relationship between Shen Tingyu and Mu Ziyue was also quite intriguing.

Xu Qingran was confident he knew Shen Tingyu quite well.

Even though his temper and personality were worse in his childhood than they are now, with his pride, he wouldn't bother with others unless provoked. Like Mu Ziyu back then, who got beaten up because he had bullied him first.

So, Shen Tingyu must have beaten Mu Ziyue because Mu Ziyue had provoked him.

However, what Xu Qingran was curious about now was that Mu Ziyue's hatred for Shen Tingyu seemed much greater than Mu Ziyu's.

So great that even knowing the consequences of clashing with an E-type like him—if he scraped off a layer of his skin, he would bite back a piece of flesh—he still persisted stubbornly.

Moreover, as the commander of the Golden Wing Battalion and the empire's eldest prince, Mu Ziyue wielded absolute power. Yet, he preferred to torment Shen Tingyu, trying every way to annoy him, rather than directly eliminating him.

Could it simply be because Shen Tingyu is now a major pillar of the Golden Wing Battalion, making it inconvenient?

Xu Qingran took another disinterested bite of the bread, his mind elsewhere.

Once again, he sank into deep thought.

...

On the third day of the spacecraft's journey through space.

They checked in at another space station, entering a new star system without pausing to rest.

Inside the vehicle, Xu Qingran was reviewing documents he had just received on his light pad.

After his conversation with Xie Nanjun, he had also requested Shen Tingyu's health report from Shen Tianheng.

And some medical records.

Shen Tianheng had promptly compiled and sent them to him without questioning the reasons.

Xu Qingran spent several hours carefully reviewing them but found no records of Shen Tingyu having his eyes repaired.

The health check results showed he was healthy in every aspect—almost a perfect specimen.

He had also subtly confirmed with Shen Tianheng that Shen Tingyu had indeed stayed with the Shen family before entering the Tower of Evil.

The story of him wandering the streets was essentially non-existent.

Xu Qingran had no reason to doubt the words Shen Tingyu had spoken to him.

He was merely trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

In fact, up to this point, all the relevant information collected pointed to an absurd yet most fitting answer.

But it wasn't hard to guess.

Yet, Xu Qingran couldn't shake off a sense of disbelief.

Could it be that Shen Tingyu was a reborn person?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"

The system, which had been eavesdropping on his thoughts for a while, shrieked.

"The target of the mission cannot be reborn!"

It seemed adamantly opposed to accepting this fact.

Xu Qingran leaned back in his chair, his mood and expression completely calm: "Why is it impossible?"

"You allow me to time-travel, but you don't allow others to be reborn?"

"That's different," the system retorted. "Host, it's only because you have my system's help that you can have an advantage!"

Xu Qingran: "What if he also has a system?"

The system raised its voice: "That's completely out of the question!"

"To prevent task conflicts, only one system is assigned to guide a host through a mission at the same time in a world."

"Even if there was a bug in this world and a second system somehow slipped in, according to the task allocation of the management bureau, the tasks of each system cannot overlap. This means that the mission target assigned to the host can't have a system and is definitely a native of this world!"

The system's tone was confident.

Xu Qingran frowned: "So, give me another explanation?"

The system stammered: "Well, maybe General Shen must have lied to you!"

Xu Qingran: "You told me yourself that soul memories cannot be fabricated, right? Then how do you explain the scenes I saw?"

"Are you saying he was also possessed by another soul like me? But you also said that what the soul memory sees is the true appearance of the soul, and the person I saw was clearly a younger version of Shen Tingyu."

So this possibility is pretty much ruled out.

The system fell silent.

Xu Qingran chuckled: "Admit it, it's just a mistake in your management bureau's assignment."

The system: "..."

Impossible! It absolutely refuses to admit it!

"In any case, the possibility that the mission target made up lies cannot be ruled out. Even if there are no records, it doesn't mean it didn't actually happen. To confirm General Shen's rebirth, more evidence is needed."

Xu Qingran didn't say anything else.

—What the system said made sense.

The sixth day of the spacecraft's journey through the vast expanse of stars.

Halfway through the voyage.

For this part of the journey, only Xu Qingran and the white dog were in the vehicle.

Luckily, the white dog kept him company; otherwise, flying solo in this endless void would have been too lonely.

Xu Qingran thought he was used to being alone by now.

But now, it hit him that after being with Shen Tingyu, he began to feel uncomfortable again.

Six straight days of travel had drained Xu Qingran's mental energy.

He finally made a quick stop at a passing station.

Space stations aren’t like land-based checkpoints.

They just need to park in a designated rest area to rest directly in the car and leave when ready. Of course, the interior space is equipped with oxygen supply and gravity devices, and if you’re bored, you can head down for a walk and grab a bite or a drink.

Xu Qingran didn’t plan on going down.

He decided to catch some sleep in the car.

When he woke up, he noticed an unread message on his phone.

It was from Shen Tingyu—no text, just a photo. The photo showed a starry sky and a slightly chubby gibbous moon.

However, Xu Qingran recognized the angle and part of the background under the starry sky.

He typed back, "Have you returned to Tianlang?"

"Shen Tingyu: Yes, I need to go to the palace in a few days, so I came back to rest first."

Heading to the palace was probably for the same reason as him.

Xu Qingran thought it over and decided not to mention that he had also received an invitation.

"Shen Tingyu: So tired."

"Shen Tingyu: Crying.gif"

General Shen Tingyu, who normally sticks to the app’s default emojis, somehow managed to find a cute animated image.

A brown bear sprawled on the ground, throwing a fit, with tears spraying comically from the corners of its eyes like a fountain.

Xu Qingran wondered, is this him being clingy?

He even sensed that the words and the emoji were really saying, "I miss you."

So he texted back, "I miss you too."

"Once I wrap things up in a few days, I’ll come see you?"

Surprisingly, there was no quick reply.

Instead, a minute later, just as Xu Qingran was dozing off again, he suddenly received a communication request.

He forced his eyes open and answered, knowing exactly who it was: "Hmm? What's up?"

Xu Qingran's voice was lazy, tinged with drowsiness, sounding unexpectedly gentle.

Shen Tingyu paused for a few seconds and replied truthfully, "Nothing much."

"Mainly, I wanted to confirm whether your phone was stolen, and if the person who just replied to my message was really you."

His tone was unusually serious.

Xu Qingran's mind was a bit sluggish, gradually realizing that his usual way of replying to messages was indeed quite straightforward and aloof, and he rarely took the initiative to say something affectionate to Shen Tingyu.

But, was this bastard really being this serious?

Xu Qingran asked him, "Are you hinting at me, or are you blaming me for not being gentle enough with you usually?"

Shen Tingyu let out a soft chuckle, "No."

"You've never broken my bones when you were angry and struck me, that's already very gentle."

General Shen Tingyu knew how to manipulate himself.

"You don't have to be so humble," Xu Qingran suddenly said, his tone very serious.

"Shen Tingyu, I've never fallen for someone before, nor have I been in a relationship. My natural instincts in emotional matters might not be as sensitive as yours. But I hope our relationship is equal; you don't need to constantly yield to me."

"If I'm not doing well, or if there's where I fall short, you can tell me directly."

As Xu Qingran spoke, a hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes, "I don't intend to treat you as a dominator's subordinate, nor do I want to control you as some kind of human weapon. I just want to build a healthy relationship with you."

"A normal, healthy relationship."

The topic came too suddenly, and Shen Tingyu on the other end went quiet.

Only the soft sound of his breathing could be heard.

Xu Qingran remembered a night from some indeterminate day and took the initiative to ask him, "Has your spirit pool been giving you trouble recently?"

"Have you been taking inhibitors?"

Shen Tingyu first answered his question, "Not fully recovered, occasionally still experience some discomfort."

"But it's not as intense as before."

Shen Tingyu's tone softened unconsciously, "I have been taking inhibitors."

"The duration the medication can support has gradually extended again, now needing one every three to four months should be no problem."

Xu Qingran directly started with blunt words, "If you're willing to be with me a few more times, maybe we can extend that to half a year."

Shen Tingyu fell silent again.

For a long time after, the communicator only carried the soft breaths of the two.

"Xu Qingran, you're great."

Shen Tingyu seemed to have been brewing for a long time before finally speaking.

"I know you don't intend to dominate my thoughts and will like other D-types. Similarly, I don't want to ask you to deliberately cater to me, changing your personality and habits. I'm just very happy that you're gradually getting closer to me step by step."

Shen Tingyu sighed softly, "You've endured pain alone for too long."

"You're normal, not like me, an E-type who's pretty numb to emotions."

So he wanted to pamper him even more.

Shen Tingyu was alone at home right now.

The big mansion was dark except for the study. But now, it felt like someone was with him, so he didn't feel alone.

The other person stayed quiet for a while, and Shen Tingyu chuckled, "I want to do this, and it makes me happy."

Xu Qingran still didn't answer after a few words.

Listening closely, it sounded like he'd already dozed off.

Shen Tingyu laughed to himself.

He'd forgotten to ask earlier - what had he been doing? He sounded exhausted.

Shen Tingyu listened to the steady breathing on the line and couldn't bring himself to hang up.

With it on, it felt like Xu Qingran was right there beside him, resting together.

In the still of the night.

Soon, the study light in the big villa went out too.

When Xu Qingran woke, the communicator had already died.

The system told him Shen Tingyu hadn't hung up after he'd dozed off, keeping the call going until his communicator automatically disconnected due to power loss.

Xu Qingran didn't say anything or think it was wasteful, and directly hung the communicator on the power source at the driving console to charge.

He'd planned to swing by Shen Tingyu's place before heading back to Silver Dragon, to surprise him with a visit.

But it didn't work out.

"...So, Colonel Xu, I'm really sorry, especially with your position, we can't let you through right now."

"Please understand."

Xu Qingran was at a Sirius system space station checkpoint.

It was the first time in days he'd been stopped.

He glanced at the adjacent channels.

All Golden Wing vehicles were waved through, while other residents with Silver Dragon identities were also being stopped.

Xu Qingran had to get back in his vehicle, reverse out of the checkpoint, and park temporarily. He took out his phone to start browsing the internet.

Checkpoint staff said there'd been a tense incident between the two groups just two days ago.

Initially, several internal affairs personnel and management officials from the Silver Dragon Battalion were killed. Investigations showed the attackers were Golden Wing, likely professional hitmen, not accidental conflicts but tasked to assassinate those individuals.

The incident sparked outrage among Silver Dragon citizens.

They thought Silver Dragon's recent wins and third prince Mu Ziyu's rising popularity had made Golden Wing nervous, prompting them to send assassins to kill their important officials.

Soon after, Golden Wing reported their own top officials had been attacked and killed.

So, the people from the two camps, who were already at odds and quarreling daily, escalated into a heated war of words. As the arguments continued, they gradually moved offline. Some hot-headed individuals couldn't resist attacking members of the opposing camp who appeared in their own territory.

Once the offline battles began, they escalated into serious riots.

The patrol guards and police officers from both camps were overwhelmed. Despite their best efforts to stop the violence, the situation showed no signs of abating and instead grew more intense.

The staff at the space checkpoint reported that the Imperial General Administration in the Celestial System had issued a notice early this morning regarding the incident, temporarily prohibiting residents from both camps from crossing into each other's jurisdictions.

Xu Qingran sat in his car, idly scrolling through the news.

Perhaps because the online arguments were too heated, the official media and government posts had disabled comments.

He leaned back in the driver's seat, resting his chin on his hand, his expression gloomy.

Perfect, all the surprises were ruined.

A message icon on the light panel on the passenger seat floated up and down in the air.

He wasn't in the mood to bother opening it. It was a group email from the Imperial General Affairs, announcing that the inter-camp meeting originally scheduled for the end of the month at the palace might need to be postponed. The specifics would depend on the subsequent developments in both camps, and they were asked to stay updated with the latest notices from the General Affairs.

Xu Qingran's mood sank further.

Just great, the chance to meet his boyfriend officially through work seemed to be slipping away too.

While scrolling through the news, he came across a familiar name on the trending list.

#Congratulations to Shen Tingyu on his official promotion to General of the Golden Wing Battalion!#

Oh?

So the Golden Wing Battalion had promoted Shen Tingyu again? But could Mu Ziyue really be okay with this?

After thinking it through, Xu Qingran laughed at himself.

With so many managers in the Golden Wing Battalion, Mu Ziyue's opposition alone wouldn't change anything, right?

At this point, Xu Qingran didn't see the point in hiding his whereabouts.

He simply picked up his phone, without expression, took a photo of the Celestial System's space checkpoint through the windshield, and sent it to Shen Tingyu.

He added, "Congratulations, General Shen."

"When can you get promoted again? I don't like the title of General; Marshal sounds better."

According to the promotion process of the Kayan Empire, Shen Tingyu's next promotion would be to Marshal of the General Battalion.

Or, he could bypass that rank entirely and become Vice Commander.

Shen Tingyu's reply came quickly as usual.

"Shen Tingyu: What?"

"Shen Tingyu: So when I called you that day, you were already on your way?"

Always hitting the nail on the head.

Xu Qingran answered bluntly, "Yes."

Shen Tingyu sent him a crying-laughing emoji.

Xu Qingran was in a mood where everything annoyed him: "You're still laughing?"

"I came back to see you, but it looks like that's not happening either." He tacked on a smiley face at the end.

Shen Tingyu sent him a crying GIF again.

He chuckled in frustration but didn't reply.

The system: "..."

Tsk, men, have you forgotten what you said that day?

With no other choice, Xu Qingran stuck to the original plan and headed back to Bishui Villa first.

Once home, he crashed for two days straight, only managing to recover half the energy he'd spent on the trip back.

His phone was fully charged by then.

He unplugged it, flopped onto the bed, and skimmed through it. There were tons of unread messages and missed calls.

Aside from Shen Tingyu, a few others had messaged him too, including Ni Xiaoyuan and Qi Heqian.

He opened Shen Tingyu's messages first.

When Shen Tingyu saw he hadn't replied, he couldn't help but call a few times. After getting no answer for a while, he didn't think Xu Qingran was sulking or throwing a fit. Instead, he asked, "Asleep?" Then he added, "Let me know when you're up."

But this time, he overslept, and Shen Tingyu ended up calling him a few times yesterday anyway. He asked hesitantly, "...Are you mad?"

Xu Qingran's groggy mood vanished the moment he read that.

He sent a voice message right back: "Slept for two days. Just woke up."

His sleepy voice was oddly charming.

After replying to Shen Tingyu, he switched to Ni Xiaoyuan's messages.

A few texts, and the content was wild.

"Ni Xiaoyuan: What the hell?!"

"Ni Xiaoyuan: Lu Cheng and Xu Qingan are back together! Their wedding date is already set!"

"Ni Xiaoyuan: No, what is this Major General Lu thinking? Xu Qingan is such a scumbag, and he still wants him! It's like a knife to the gut—totally eye-opening and shocking!"

Xu Qingran, on the other hand, was quite calm.

Mainly because the charges that sent Xu Qingan to the Tower of Evil weren't considered major crimes; the original plan was just to send him in for education and minor punishment. With Xu Qingan's high emotional intelligence and adeptness at disguise, leaving the Tower of Evil smoothly was only a matter of time.

As for Lu Cheng—who else could he be with if not Xu Qingan?

The person in the world who was most compatible with him and loved him the most was already gone, and he had invested so much effort into Xu Qingan before. As a man, he understood very well that often, when you reach this point, you've invested too much emotion and energy to bother starting over, and you also feel unwilling to accept the previous failure.

Especially since his initial harshness towards Xu Qingan was also a delusion of reconciling with 'Xu Qingran.'

Since this wish is now out of reach, he has to settle for the next best thing and continue to be with his half-brother. Besides, Xu Qingan shares half the same blood as Xu Qingran, so he's kind of like a 'stand-in,' right?

Thinking of this, Xu Qingran chuckled.

— Lu Cheng, you truly live up to your reputation as a scumbag.

His reply to Ni Xiaoyuan was: "Just play dumb. No need to waste money on gifts for them."

"Those two are really something else. It's still up in the air whether they'll make it. Who knows, this whole marriage thing might just fall through again."

Oh, he hadn't forgotten.

Back then, they had a deal that he'd crash every single one of Xu Qingan's celebrations for the rest of his life.

If Xu Qingan dares to throw this wedding, he better be ready for Xu Qingran to show up and ruin it.

Feeling satisfied, Xu Qingran closed the chat and opened up Qi Heqian's messages.

Busy as if he were going through a stack of official papers.

"Qi Heqian: Did you hear Xu Qingan's out?"

"Qi Heqian: I thought he got out early for good behavior, but after digging around, I found out it was actually the Crown Prince who pulled some strings to get him out."

Xu Qingran instantly understood.

No wonder, it was Mu Ziyue pulling the strings, clearly trying to get under his skin.

Mu Ziyue really knows how to hold a grudge.

There were a few more messages below.

"Qi Heqian: After getting out, Xu Qingan managed to reconnect with the Lu family."

"Qi Heqian: But from what I hear, only Lu Cheng is willing to patch things up with him. Lu Wennian still seems to hold a serious grudge against him."

"Qi Heqian: He can't go back to med school, but Mu Ziyue seems to have set him up to take over Boss Chen's business."

"Qi Heqian: That infamous Chen Shengfei from the Golden Wing Battalion. I heard he got reported again and was hauled in for questioning. This time, thanks to pressure from some 'bigwig,' the investigation was thorough, and all his shady past was brought to light. The evidence was rock-solid, and he got sentenced."

Xu Qingran pondered thoughtfully.

He replied: "I see, thank you."

Just a few days without paying attention to the outside world, and so much has happened.

Xu Qingran was still marveling when the doorbell suddenly rang downstairs.

Glancing at his phone, the time showed a little past eight in the evening.

Who could be visiting him at this late hour?