Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Yi Ye and Bai Chuan were in a cold war.

To be precise, it was Bai Chuan who was ignoring him unilaterally.

This time, the emotional tension was more intense than ever. Yi Ye lay awake all night without coming up with a solution, and the system kept pestering him like a nagging parent. Frustrated, he pulled the blanket over his head and decided to forget about it for now, resolving to deal with it when he saw Bai Chuan in the morning.

The first round of assessments would last for three days, and Yi Ye had no more matches scheduled. Kaiser was also nowhere to be seen. He took the opportunity to sleep in a little longer and arrived at the cafeteria close to nine. The place was still crowded, the stuffy air filled with the scent of male hormones and sweat, clearly from a group that had just finished training.

Yi Ye awkwardly balanced his tray with one hand and found a corner that hadn’t been tainted by the smell of sweat. He fumbled with his fork in his left hand, trying to cut the steak, wishing he had made a different choice. He wished he had dislocated his left hand instead; now he couldn’t even eat a piece of meat properly.

"Yi Ye!"

A voice suddenly rang out above him. El, with a sunny smile and a tray full of food, sat down across from him.

Yi Ye looked listless. "Oh, it's you."

"You don’t look so good," El said, reaching out to touch Yi Ye’s forehead. Yi Ye didn’t dodge, letting him check. "Good, no fever. Oh, by the way, I heard about your match yesterday. How’s your hand?"

He glanced with concern at Yi Ye’s right hand, which was bandaged up like a mummy.

Yi Ye pouted. "It’s okay. It’ll be better in a few days."

El shook his head. "Your brother is pretty tough on you. I thought he treated you well. It was just a fight; why did he have to dislocate your hand?"

"I hurt it when I fell. It’s not his fault," Yi Ye deflected, looking at El’s tray. "What about your match? Aren’t you afraid of throwing up all that food with one punch?"

"I lost in the first round."

El speared a piece of ham and stuffed it into his mouth, savoring the burst of salty meat juice on his tongue. He shook his curly head in satisfaction. "Mmm… I’m just not made for this. If it weren’t for taking care of my brother, I wouldn’t have come to the Imperial Honor Military Academy. Losing isn’t so bad; at least I get to eat a lot since there aren’t many classes."

"Aren’t you worried about being eliminated?"

"If things don’t work out, I’ll just go home. I’d like to help my dad with his shop anyway," he said, swallowing the ham, his eyes round like coins. "You might not know this, but my dad runs a dessert shop. It’s famous all over Baozuan Star. I’ll take you there someday to try it."

Seeing his goofy grin, Yi Ye’s mood lightened for no reason. He propped his chin on his other hand, smiling gently. A few strands of his soft, black hair fell down, his skin pale, and his almond-shaped eyes filled with warmth.

El looked closer and noticed the youth’s eyes had a slight upward tilt. But he always seemed so carefree, so few people paid enough attention to notice that his clear, bright black eyes were filled with tenderness, like ripples of water spreading out, one after another, making your heart flutter.

El was momentarily speechless, his ears turning red. He quickly looked down and began sharing the food on his plate with Yi Ye.

"You’re too skinny. You should eat more. Oh, right, it must be hard for you to eat like this," he said, immediately putting down his knife and fork. "I’ll cut it for you. How big do you want the pieces?"

Yi Ye didn’t refuse out of pride and gestured for El to do as he pleased.

El’s caregiving skills were undeniably thoughtful and precise. He neatly cut the steak into pieces and even arranged the other meats and vegetables on the side. Was it because his family owned a dessert shop? His movements were so smooth.

Yi Ye suddenly remembered the last time at the training ground when El was carrying bags of all sizes and holding an unusually delicate water bottle, which clearly wasn’t for his own use—probably for his Omega brother.

"There you go!"

El pushed the plate toward Yi Ye, blinking his eyes. The next second, his gaze shifted to the bowl of cream soup beside him.

"...Should I feed it to you?"

Yi Ye coughed and quickly refused. "No, no, that’s not necessary."

"It’s no big deal," El said, scooping up some soup and holding it to Yi Ye’s mouth, his eyes bright with excitement. Yi Ye hesitated, torn between drinking it and refusing, but not wanting to seem ungrateful, he opened his mouth and took a sip.

Just as he swallowed, he looked up and saw Bai Chuan standing a few meters away.

Bai Chuan remained silent, his expression blank.

He glanced at the intimate scene between Yi Ye and El, his face icy, before turning and walking away.

Yi Ye immediately leaned back, raising his uninjured hand: "Little Chuan!"

His voice wasn't quiet, and many people turned to look, but Bai Chuan only quickened his pace.

El frowned. "What's up with your brother? You're the one hurt, and he's the one mad?"

Yi Ye didn't have time to explain much, grabbing two pieces of bread and hurrying after him.

He caught up with Bai Chuan after running some distance from the cafeteria. His wrist throbbed from the exertion, but Yi Ye gritted his teeth and looked at the youth: "I remember you have a game today, right? Did you get enough rest yesterday?"

Bai Chuan stared at him unblinkingly. "You came all this way just to say that?"

His lips twitched slightly. "So, did you see the message I sent you yesterday?"

"I saw it," Bai Chuan cut in coldly before he could continue. "But why should I have to reply?"

Yi Ye scratched his head, genuinely surprised by the seriousness, and raised three fingers. "How about this? I swear I'll give it my all next time, no holding back."

Seeing Bai Chuan still silent, he took his hand earnestly. "Come on, don't be mad."

The youth had a knack for comforting people; even without much of an apology, just looking into his eyes made it hard to stay angry.

But Bai Chuan felt a tightness in his chest.

Yi Ye just didn't get that his frustration wasn't about his careless attitude during the match.

He'd always been like that—indifferent to everything, not caring at all. What really got to him was how Yi Ye, even with him, had that same dismissive attitude. It felt like he was being told: in your brother's eyes, you're just like everyone else—no more important.

But after seven years, how could he still be just another face in the crowd to Yi Ye?

Bai Chuan shut his eyes tight, his throat dry, his voice raspy. He asked Yi Ye, "If even our rivalry doesn't matter to you, then what does?"

The black-haired youth thought for a moment, then looked up innocently. "You."

He almost lost his voice. "...What?"

"We're brothers, of course, you're the most important to me."

Bai Chuan's expression turned unreadable, like he'd ordered a custom animal cream cake, only to find out it was mousse. It wasn't bad, at least sweet, but just not what he wanted.

His frustration instantly deflated.

"Don't be angry, look, my hand still hurts." Yi Ye cradled his right hand, fake-sobbing. "It hurts so bad, so bad, just call it my punishment, okay?"

Yi Ye had never gone this far to comfort someone before. If Bai Chuan didn't cut him some slack, he'd really jump into the river.

"..."

Bai Chuan's face was tense, after a long while, he weakly squeezed out: "Didn't the school doctor give you painkillers?"

"No, he just told me to endure it, saying it'll pass with time. But I don't have the incredible healing ability of an Alpha, do you think the school doctor hates me, deliberately making me suffer?"

"Yes." Bai Chuan gritted his teeth. "Probably hates you to death."

Yi Ye stroked his chin: "But I don’t have any beef with him..."

Bai Chuan turned and walked away abruptly.

He quickly followed: "Where are you off to, bro?"

"To the infirmary," came the cold voice from ahead. "Weren’t you asking for painkillers?"

Yi Ye started crying.

The main character really is a good guy after all!!

After picking up the painkillers at the infirmary, Yi Ye finally felt much relief from the pain in his wrist.

The tension with Bai Chuan finally eased, and Yi Ye breathed a sigh of relief. The two headed to the training ground together.

The match had already started, and the higher-tier matches were even more brutal. The Alphas weren’t about "friendship first, competition second"; once they got going, they fought like their lives depended on it, and the ground was littered with bloodstains.

Yi Ye observed for a bit and asked about Bush Meihua, who was on the same team as Bai Chuan. So far, he’d only heard rumors but never actually seen him, and his curiosity about what he looked like skyrocketed. But Bai Chuan shook his head, saying he hadn’t seen him either.

A nearby classmate overheard and jumped in excitedly: "You missed him! He wrapped up his match half an hour ago and took off."

Yi Ye glanced at the time—so Bush Meihua had won in just a few minutes?

"Is he that good?"

The classmate pondered, "It’s hard to describe—his style’s kind of weird. Like... oh! You know the movie 'The Arrival of the Prophet'? It’s like the protagonist in that movie who can foresee things. It was like he could read his opponent’s moves before they happened, and he knocked them down in less than two minutes, breaking several ribs. Ugh, just thinking about it gives me chills—it was terrifying."

Yi Ye was lost in thought.

If Bush Meihua was as good as they claimed, then it was hard to say whether Kaiser or he would be the final winner of this assessment.

After catching nearly another hour of matches, as lunchtime rolled around, Yi Ye suddenly received a message from Kaiser, asking him to go to the mecha simulation room.

"What’s up?" Bai Chuan asked.

"Someone needs me, you head back, I’ll catch up later."

Yi Ye didn’t tell him it was Kaiser who sent the message and hurriedly left the training ground, heading towards the mecha simulation building.

The simulation room was on the seventh floor, and the hallway stretched on forever, with footsteps echoing in the quiet space. He hardly ever came here, having only been here once with Instructor Clark during his first mecha class.

The freshman entrance assessment didn’t include mecha operation because mechas were too dangerous and highly unpredictable. They weren’t allowed to use them until they had formally mastered the operational norms and awareness.

Why did Kaiser suddenly ask him to come here?

"Why are you so late?"

Just as Yi Ye was about to knock, the door swung open. Kaiser was wearing a black mask and glasses, his lower face completely covered, and Yi Ye almost didn’t recognize him at first glance.

"Young Master?"

"Come in."

He didn’t want to waste any words, grabbing Yi Ye by the collar and dragging him inside, then slamming the door shut.

The mecha simulation room was divided into fifty small cubicles, each separated by walls made of aluminum oxide foam ceramic material, providing excellent sound and heat insulation.

Yi Ye was pushed into one of the compartments, and Kaiser squeezed in after him. In the pitch-black environment, Yi Ye could feel Kaiser standing right behind him, his overwhelming presence and body heat radiating continuously. The space inside the compartment was much smaller than outside, barely enough for two people, making it hard for him to move.

Then, without knowing what Kaiser pressed, the light suddenly turned on. In front of them appeared three large blue screens side by side, along with over a dozen holographic displays projected in the air. Below the screens was a control panel, with hundreds of buttons tightly and orderly arranged in a square formation, most of which he didn't recognize.

Yi Ye looked up at Kaiser behind him.

The latter leaned sideways, his hand reaching over Yi Ye's shoulder. His towering frame nearly engulfed Yi Ye, his well-defined fingers pressing the red button at the center of the control panel. His golden eyes turned to Yi Ye's face.

"You have one day to memorize all the operations."