Chapter 321: Observatory

Chapter 321: The Observatory

Ye Wang reached out, pulled Jiang Qi onto the aircraft, then yanked the control stick and fired up the engines.

Jiang Qi fastened his seatbelt and turned to look at Ye Wang. "Sir, where are we going?"

Ye Wang: "The supermarket."

He had promised to buy milk for Jiang Qi yesterday.

They walked into the largest supermarket in the Federation.

Ye Wang took out his salary card from his pocket, holding both his salary and the allowance from his father.

Ye Liao parented haphazardly—sometimes giving a large sum on a whim, other times forgetting for long stretches. Fortunately, the commander didn’t rely on that money to get by. But after rescuing Jiang Qi yesterday, Ye Liao, out of the blue, silently dumped a small fortune on Ye Wang. Now, the commander was rolling in dough, enough to buy half the supermarket.

The commander handed the salary card to Jiang Qi. "Here ya go."

Unlike the supplementary card Pei Gu had given him, this one bore the emblem of the Federation Military Department—clearly Ye Wang’s primary card.

Jiang Qi looked at the card, then at Ye Wang, then back at the card, as if to verify, "For me?"

Ye Wang stared at the ceiling. "When I give you something, take it. What kind of money do teachers make anyway? And you still have to support your siblings. Spend mine."

Jiang Qi accepted it with both hands and slid it carefully into his pocket.

He pulled out a shopping cart and began browsing the aisles side by side with Ye Wang.

This shopping trip felt entirely different from those in the Empire.

Jiang Qi suddenly seemed fascinated by the colorful array of products, as if trying to make up for everything he’d missed before—especially the variety of cookies and snacks. Before long, the cart was piled high.

Ye Wang indulged him, letting him grab whatever he wanted, but noticed Jiang Qi picking up a pack of cookies, flipping to the back of the packaging, then putting it back.

Ye Wang: "Not this one?"

Jiang Qi firmly: "No."

Ye Wang stretched out his arm, curiously picked it up to look, and burst out laughing.

It was a pack of baby's first teething cookies, with pink packaging featuring fairies and a magic castle on the back.

Jiang Qi speed-walked the cart away, leaving the baby food section behind.

When it was time to pay, Jiang Qi ran the card himself.

After using up the commander’s card and eyeing the mile-long receipt, he got suddenly self-conscious. He crumpled the receipt and buried it under everything before returning the card to Ye Wang.

Ye Wang: "Hang onto it. We have spare fliers back home—you can come out and shop on your own later."

"..."

Jiang Qi tucked the card back into the commander’s jacket and grumbled something too quiet to hear.

The supermarket was noisy, and Ye Wang missed it the first time. Jiang Qi repeated himself, and only then did Ye Wang understand what he’d said: "I don’t know how to fly an aircraft."

"...?"

Ye Wang was baffled. "What the hell? You fly star destroyers, but you can’t handle a little flier?"

Jiang Qi: "I've never flown a civilian aircraft."

Starfighters are starfighters—they're military craft. Civilian ships require licenses, and after leaving the lab, Jiang Qi had stayed with the military, never got the chance to get licensed.

Later, after marrying Pei Gu, he had neither the time nor the financial means. By the time he reached the Federation, he had neither the drive nor the interest.

Ye Wang took a quiet breath.

He glanced down at Jiang Qi, catching sight of the two crown whirls on his head—traditionally a sign of stubbornness. Yet at this moment, with his eyes lowered toward the window, Jiang Qi looked unexpectedly gentle, a world apart from his usual edge.

Ye Wang reached out casually, brushing against Jiang Qi, only to have his hand immediately grasped in return.

Ye Wang: "It's easy. Want me to teach you?"

It was already late at night, and the training courses at Jingji Military Academy had ended. The flight paths were clear. After reaching the starting point, Ye Wang handed the controls over to Jiang Qi, leaning in to guide his hands across the instrument panel, explaining each component's function before letting him take over.

Hands that had once maneuvered starfighters could hardly struggle with a civilian aircraft.

Within twenty minutes, Jiang Qi was flying with remarkable steadiness. Like a child who had just gotten hold of a favorite toy, he practiced dives and slides along the training lane.

Ye Wang: "You've flown starfighters before. Why is this so exciting to you?"

Jiang Qi pulled off a smooth 180-degree turn: "It's different, sir."

One was a matter of necessity, surrounded by monitors, where anything less than perfection meant elimination. The other was cruising along a training lane, with Ye Wang relaxing next to him.

Oddly enough, despite Jiang Qi being the one teaching at the academy, his life followed strict routes—cafeteria, classroom, dormitory, nowhere else. Meanwhile, Ye Wang, who hadn't visited in years, knew the place far better.

Mid-conversation, Ye Wang asked, "Professor Jiang, do you like teaching here?"

If not, Ye Wang could always transfer him elsewhere.

Jiang Qi chuckled: "I do. You know I never got proper schooling."

The more vibrant the students were, the more Jiang Qi wondered—if he had been born in the Federation, would his youth have been this free? Maybe he’d even have been in the same class as Ye Wang, his fellow student.

So Jiang Qi said, "Go on, sir. I enjoy hearing this."

Ye Wang pointed out where he used to live during university, which back alleys dodged surveillance, which cafeteria windows served the best food. He chattered on about the weapons in the exhibition hall, the mineral specimens in the labs, and a dozen other things. Finally, as they flew over the academy’s small hill, Ye Wang pointed to the top—a decommissioned observatory.

"An old military observatory from years ago. The equipment became outdated, so it was retired and left here as a toy for students. Back then, Wen Muyuan and I would come here to stargaze when we had nothing better to do. The telescope’s angle was preset—aimed straight at the Empire. Here, fly a bit to the right."

Jiang Qi obeyed.

The commander reclined his seat and opened the aircraft’s skylight curtains. Gazing leisurely at the starry sky, he suddenly pointed at a cluster of stars: "That’s the Empire’s star sector."

It was too far—just a speck of light no bigger than a sesame seed, its structure indiscernible.

Jiang Qi looked up as well, staring at those familiar yet foreign stars: "So that’s what it looks like."

The lower districts were too polluted for starlight. As a child gazing at the night sky, Jiang Qi likely never imagined that one day, he’d be peering at his birthworld from a distant galaxy.

Then Ye Wang said abruptly, "You’ve probably heard—the Federation and the Empire are at war."

Tensions had always simmered between the two, but this eruption was particularly fierce. The news was flooded with war hype, slogans and ads everywhere. Students were itching to fight, eager to graduate and charge into battle. Yet every time Jiang Qi saw their fresh-faced cadets, he couldn't find the words.

He couldn’t tell them what they might face.

Ye Wang said quietly, "In about a month, I’ll be shipping out. Are you coming with me?"

As Commander, Ye Wang naturally hoped Jiang Qi would come, but as Ye Wang himself, he didn't. He only wished to keep Jiang Qi safely hidden in his home on the capital planet, the safest place in the Federation.

So, he handed the choice to Jiang Qi.

Ye Wang: "If you want, you can leave with me in a month, but you might have to go through a rigorous Federation background check first, along with a psych eval."

Jiang Qi had PTSD from such screenings—Ye Wang knew that. But if he wanted to join, this was a necessary process. The Federation couldn’t just enlist a former Imperial captain without reason, even if Ye Wang’s father was the Commander. He couldn’t shoulder that responsibility.

"……"

Jiang Qi paused, his hand on the control stick stilling. He said nothing.

The moment he fell silent, Ye Wang quickly added, "It’s fine. The capital planet is nice too. Just don’t stay in the dorms—they’re old, shabby, and not soundproof. Move straight into my place."

At that moment, he couldn’t tell whether he felt more sorrow or relief. Relief that the battered star could finally be tucked safely away at home, nursed back with warmth and care. The Imperial military had only brought Jiang Qi crushing weight—away from there, Ye Wang wouldn’t have to worry about him falling into depression or illness again. But the sorrow was...

That icy, unflappable, radiant young man at the star destroyer’s controls, luminous as starlight—he wouldn’t get to see him again.

Pushing down that twinge of regret, Ye Wang smiled. "Later, I’ll introduce you to some old family friends who watched me grow up. They’re professors now. I’ll have them keep an eye on you. And Wen Muyuan—he’ll be staying in the capital for a while too. I’ll also—"

"I want to go," Jiang Qi interrupted.

It was the first time he had ever cut off the commander.

Ye Wang: "……What?"

"I want to go, sir."

Through the cockpit glass, Jiang Qi gazed at that distant star system, his pupils reflecting scattered starlight. "I’ll have to go, sooner or later."

Ye Wang hesitated, his emotions growing more complicated. He felt a flicker of happiness but also anxiety. In the end, he only said, "Alright."

Jiang Qi then asked, "Can we go down and take a look?"

He gestured toward the observatory.

Ye Wang: "Of course."

Jiang Qi slowly adjusted the controls and landed on the observatory platform.

Ye Wang tugged him along, and they walked up the mountain path together. Entering the observatory, they climbed the spiral staircase all the way to the top. Only when they were under a blanket of stars did Ye Wang realize they weren’t the only ones there at this hour.

"I forgot," Ye Wang whispered. "This place… well, this place is a hotspot for student dates. You know how students are—they eat this romantic crap up. Back in my department, there was this scumbag who’d bring every new girlfriend here to stargaze, spouting cheesy lines. Cheap and romantic. Anyway, this place—"

Before he could finish, Jiang Qi turned his head, eyeing him with curiosity.

Ye Wang shifted awkwardly.

The commander added, "I don’t just bring anyone here—hell, not even students. I only brought you, Professor Jiang, right?"

The observatory had several viewing platforms. Ye Wang tugged Jiang Qi past the occupied ones, and the two of them, like they were sneaking around, finally found an empty one.

Ye Wang adjusted the equipment settings, took a glance, then motioned Jiang Qi over: "There—that’s the Imperial homeworld."

With the equipment, the view was much clearer than with the naked eye. The Imperial star system spanned vast space. Jiang Qi slowly took it all in when suddenly, a coat was thrown over his head.

Jiang Qi turned, still tangled in the fabric, when the commander pulled him into a hug.

"Don’t move. Someone’s coming," Ye Wang explained, quickly yanking off his rank insignia and stuffing it into an inner pocket. His voice was tense. "School students. Might even be your students."

In the military academy, might makes right, and Jiang Qi has a fearsome reputation as one of the most formidable teachers in the school. No one dares to act out in his class, and he earns deep respect among the students.

—So, if students were to discover their teacher out stargazing at the observatory in the middle of the night with someone, who knows what stories they’d cook up. And if they were to spot Ye Wang's major general shoulder insignia, the situation would blow up even worse.

Thus, Ye Wang blocked Jiang Qi entirely with his back.

Jiang Qi found himself wrapped tightly in the embrace, wiggling slightly to slip out of the coat. When he did, he saw the commander's tightly clenched jawline, his Adam's apple trembling faintly from tension. Looking further up, those alluring thin lips parted slightly as he murmured something.

Jiang Qi stared for a moment. Unable to see past Ye Wang, he could only ask, "Are they gone?"

Ye Wang didn’t look at him. His gaze remained fixed in the direction the students had left. After a long pause, he finally let out a relieved sigh and turned to Jiang Qi. "They're gone. Just a couple, all over each other, making out. They didn’t notice us. It’s fine now. You can go back to stargazing—"

Before he could finish, his eyes widened abruptly.

Beneath the scattered stars, enveloped in the commander’s coat and surrounded by his scent, Jiang Qi relaxed unconsciously—so much so that only instinct remained. It was as if he had never endured that painful past. He was just an ordinary student, sneaking out of the dorm with someone he liked to stargaze at the observatory.

The school observatory under the glow of the stars was indeed the perfect spot to steal a kiss.

And so, Jiang Qi gazed at the commander’s lips, then suddenly leaned in and kissed him.

Sweet.