Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Bai Chuan withdrew his hand. Yi Ye turned his head and noticed Old Man Kewen standing by the refrigerator.

"...Dad, you’re back so early today?"

"Didn’t find anything worth collecting, so I came back." Kewen’s gaze swept over Bai Chuan’s face, then he spoke to him calmly, "Go to the wine cellar and fetch me a bottle of 21-year-old white wine."

"What’s with the drinking again?"

"White wine’s not that strong. Go!"

Yi Ye, with no comeback, grabbed two cloths and headed to the wine cellar.

As he went down to the basement, Kewen immediately beckoned to Bai Chuan: "Come on, you haven’t been back long. Let’s have a good father-son talk."

*

In the study.

This scene reminded Bai Chuan of the time before he left Qixing for the Imperial Honor Military Academy.

It was also in the study, and the same scene.

Mr. Kewen treated him no differently than he did Yi Ye, and the tone of his inquiries about life at the military academy was the same. But even after seven years in the family, Bai Chuan still felt a respectful distance from Mr. Kewen, something that seemed to be born from his bones and hard to erase.

"I heard you encountered a Zerg attack at the Imperial Honor Military Academy. How are your injuries now?"

Bai Chuan: "They’ve healed."

"That’s good. If anything comes up, reach out to Alva. I know you’re the quiet type, but don’t bottle everything up. If there’s anything you don’t want to tell Xiao Ye, you can also contact me."

"I know."

Silence returned, and Kewen chuckled, rubbing his temples as he sat down, continuing to ask: "Xiao Bai, have you encountered anything in the Central Command?"

Bai Chuan was silent for a few seconds.

"No," he said.

But Kewen’s gaze was sharp, like a bullet piercing through steel. When Bai Chuan met his gaze, he felt utterly exposed. But then, Kewen laughed heartily, as if he truly believed it: "Good! The main planet’s crawling with high-ranking officials and nobles. Even a stray brick could bankrupt someone. But you’ve always been level-headed, so I’m sure you’ll be fine."

"If anything happens, I’ll handle it. Just don’t drag Xiao Ye into it."

Bai Chuan’s body tensed slightly.

Kewen still smiled without any sign of abnormality: "He’s just a student of the Imperial Honor Military Academy. In the future, he’ll either be a clerk or work in logistics, isn’t that what he said himself? He wants a cushy government job. Beyond that, the military, the Senate, the church... they’re all power struggles, too dangerous, and not his thing."

"Xiao Bai, you get what I’m saying?"

Bai Chuan’s voice was rough, "I’m not tied to those places."

"Can you promise you won’t be in the future?"

A long silence. Remembering the main planet, Bai Chuan couldn’t answer.

"Xiao Bai, you’ve got talent and ambition. You’re meant for bigger things. But for Xiao Ye, I just want him happy."

Bai Chuan’s expression made Kewen recall seven years ago.

When they first brought Bai Chuan home, he was scrawny, like a wild cub with sharp but untested claws. He’d inspect everything before using it, refused to eat with them, and always took his supplements or bread to a corner, eating messily.

But as soon as he reached out, Bai Chuan would quickly hide behind Yi Ye, staring at him intently.

Back then, the only person Bai Chuan trusted was Yi Ye. When Yi Ye was around, he would cling to Yi Ye's clothes, keeping an eye on his surroundings; at night, he would silently go to Yi Ye to sleep.

As a father, he naturally hoped that Bai Chuan and Yi Ye would be like brothers, at least becoming each other's most trusted confidants in the future, so he never hindered their relationship, allowing Bai Chuan to become increasingly dependent on Yi Ye. Although after their secondary gender differentiation, perhaps due to the instincts of an Omega, a thin layer of separation began to form between the two brothers, he still chose to remain an observer, staying out of their affairs.

Until just now, when he watched the two young men at the door from the side, he suddenly sensed something was amiss.

Of course, he wanted to be an open-minded father, but human hearts have biases. From the moment he took in Bai Chuan, he knew this child was extraordinary and that his path would be difficult. He could help him as a father from the sidelines, but for Yi Ye, Kewen only wished for him to live the life he wanted.

"Xiao Bai, what do you think the brotherly bond is?"

Without waiting for Bai Chuan to answer, Kewen calmly said, "It's supporting each other in times of crisis, standing side by side in the face of danger, never abandoning one another, and also offering heartfelt congratulations when the other finds happiness. You and Xiao Ye, I hope you can become lifelong good brothers. The bond between brothers is so pure. But if it goes deeper, it will involve many entanglements."

Kewen almost spoke plainly, breaking it down piece by piece, explaining it clearly to Bai Chuan, word by word, yet it felt like shattered glass, sharp and piercing.

Bai Chuan's expression was hidden in the dim light, unreadable.

Kewen didn't even see any changes on his face, just a quiet moment of lowered eyes before Bai Chuan looked back at him.

"I understand, Father."

In seven years, it was rare for Bai Chuan to address him as "Father."

Kewen breathed a sigh of relief.

The two left the study, and Yi Ye came upstairs carrying a dusty wine bottle wrapped in cloth, complaining, "Why is there so much wine in the cellar? The oldest one I found is this 12-year-old."

"Really? Oh, I remember now, I drank that bottle the other day," Kewen grabbed the bottle, "This one will do."

"Don't drink so much that your brain turns to mush."

After Yi Ye grumbled, he turned to talk to Bai Chuan. Before he could speak, Bai Chuan spoke up first, "I'm going upstairs to rest."

With that, he turned and left.

Yi Ye: "...What's up with him?"

...

Yi Ye felt that Bai Chuan's mood was off-kilter, though it wasn't obvious, he could sense it. In the evening, he carried a plate of fruit and knocked on the door, entering the room. Bai Chuan was sitting at the desk, in the process of closing a book.

Without glancing up: "I don't eat fruit, take it back to your room."

"These are the last two pears in the fridge, you sure you don't want them?"

"No."

"Okay." Yi Ye simply sat cross-legged on the bed, smirking, "Then I'll eat them."

Bai Chuan: "..."

"What book are you reading?"

Yi Ye glanced at his hand, but it wasn't a book, just an ordinary notebook, with a slightly larger gap between the pages, as though something was hidden inside. But soon Bai Chuan closed the notebook and put it in the drawer, as if he didn't want Yi Ye to see it.

Catching Yi Ye's curious gaze out of the corner of his eye, Bai Chuan said coldly, "Eat up and leave."

Yi Ye, who had now mastered the art of being shameless, wasn't afraid of Bai Chuan's words. He put the plate aside and sprawled on the bedding, his slender ankles exposed to the air, his shoulder lines smooth and attractive.

"How about we, as brothers, sleep together tonight? You used to share a bed with me every day when we were kids."

Bai Chuan's lips tightened, forcing himself to look away and turn his back: "That was back when we were kids. I don’t need that anymore."

"But being brothers doesn’t distinguish between childhood and adulthood."

"I told you, I don’t need it."

"...Alright. You really liked your brother back then, huh?" Now? Hmph.

Bai Chuan didn't know how to respond to that.

So many words were stuck in his throat, all of them things too terrible to say out loud. His fists clenched at his sides, veins bulging, trembling uncontrollably. Mr. Kewen's words kept echoing in his ears, pushing him to the edge of insanity.

Like? How could it just be 'like'?

But they were brothers—how could he feel that way?

Seeing Bai Chuan wouldn’t even turn his head, Yi Ye had no choice but to get up and close the door. Walking out of the bedroom, he stood in the corridor, lost in thought.

"System, how long is this rebellious phase going to last?"

"System: ...Hard to say..."

The holiday flew by in a flash.

Yi Ye spent his days eating and sleeping, and before he knew it, the holiday was over. On the day they were returning to the Imperial Honor Military Academy, Kewen kicked him out of bed early, under the pretense of "doing a thorough cleaning of the house before leaving is good for your physical and mental health."

*

Good for health my ass! If you have the guts, put down that tequila first, you muscle-headed drunk!

But Yi Ye didn’t dare voice his anger, his hair still sticking up in a messy tuft, swaying on top of his head, inexplicably carrying a sense of resentment. He and Bai Chuan silently cleaned the entire house, and realizing that time was almost up, they quickly tied up the garbage bags and piled them by the door, then grabbed their luggage, put on their protective suits, and headed out.

As for that muscle-headed drunk, he couldn't even be bothered to see them off, standing by the window with a mocking wave, mouthing 'Bye, won’t see you off,' before turning around and collapsing on the sofa, snoring away.

Yi Ye: ...It's a miracle this guy is still alive.

February on Imperial Star was still blanketed in snow, the air bitingly cold.

Yi Ye wore a thick coat, his black hair flattened under a furry hat, a red knitted scarf around his neck. The hat even had cat ears, a clear sign of Kewen's weird sense of humor. Instead of giving him a proper fisherman's hat, he had to stuff some weird-shaped things into his suitcase.

The wind was strong, the snow blinding. The scarf was blown askew, and Yi Ye fumbled to fix it as he walked, but his clumsy hands only made it look more disheveled from behind.

Bai Chuan instinctively reached out, but as his fingers were about to brush against it, he remembered Mr. Kewen's words and clenched his fingers, pulling back.

Yi Ye noticed him standing still: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Bai Chuan lowered his eyes. "Your scarf is messy on the left side."

They were among the first to return to the academy, so the place was still mostly empty. After parting ways with Bai Chuan, Yi Ye pushed open the dormitory door with two large suitcases, expecting the room to be empty, only to find Kaiser sitting on the bed with his legs bent, scrolling through his terminal.

As soon as he heard the noise, Kaiser quickly stashed his terminal, his eyes sweeping over Yi Ye. His gaze lingered on the youth’s nose and cheeks, flushed from the cold wind and snow, and he spoke in a dissatisfied tone: "Why are you so slow?"

Yi Ye was speechless, "Slow? You're the one who's too fast, Young Master. Why did you come back to the academy so early?"

"Didn't want to stay at home, so I came. Isn't that normal?" He quickly brushed past the topic, squinting at Yi Ye's cat-eared hat. "What the hell is that hat? Why does it have ears?"

Yi Ye was even more disdainful: "My dad gave it to me. I don't know what his deal is, liking these kinds of things at his age."

"It's not bad." Kaiser snorted. "Not too ugly."

Damn it, it's really cute.