Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Upon returning to A District, preparations for Le Jiamu and Fan Sinian's return to the training camp were promptly put on the agenda.

News from F District wouldn't reach A District so quickly, much less the front lines where Le Hongguang was stationed, to make him change his mind.

Thus, Le Jiamu wore a thoroughly dejected expression as he packed his belongings for the training camp.

Le Hongguang hadn't revealed a single word about how he had communicated with the training camp or what the outcome of those discussions had been. This time, Le Jiamu had no idea how the training camp officers would arrange things for him—it was a state of complete uncertainty, like opening a mystery box.

Fortunately, his planned training session with Fan Sinian still offered a slight lift to his spirits.

Mu Qi watched his son swing between dejection and restless excitement like a pendulum, and asked, “Do you want to fight your father?”

Le Jiamu looked up in horror. “Do you hate me, Papa? Why are you sending me to my death?”

Mu Qi rested his chin in his hand. “You’re not weak either. Who knows? You might actually win.”

Le Jiamu dismissed this as Mu Qi seeing him through rose-tinted glasses and didn’t take it seriously. “I’m nowhere near Father’s level. That kind of thinking would only become reality if I actually went to the battlefield and gained experience first.”

“Fine.” Mu Qi had only brought it up casually and didn’t insist on convincing Le Jiamu. Instead, he shifted to another topic. “This year, he won’t be able to make it back for your and Fan Sinian’s birthday banquet. The combat situation on the front lines is intensifying, and they’re severely short on personnel. He feels that the prolonged war of attrition is about to reach its breaking point, so he can’t leave.”

Le Jiamu paused in his packing. “I’m not unreasonable. I won’t blame him.”

Mu Qi sighed. “I’m not worried about that. I gave birth to you—of course I know whether you’re reasonable or not. What I’m worried about is that Emperor Mackintosh might interfere with the training camp’s plans for you two in the second half of this year, pushing forward your final evaluations and then—”

“Sending us to the front lines,” Le Jiamu finished.

Mu Qi nodded. “Unlike your father, I’m not so dogmatic as to believe Omegas can’t take on combat positions or go to the front lines. But if things unfold as I suspect, your training time will be far from sufficient. I’m worried you won’t be able to handle the dangers you’ll face there.”

Le Jiamu fell silent.

After giving him a few seconds to think, Mu Qi continued, “We can’t change Emperor Mackintosh’s decisions. So, you and Fan Sinian will have to take stock of yourselves and respond to the changing circumstances, doing as much as possible within the limited time you have.”

“I understand,” Le Jiamu said.

Mu Qi recalled Le Hongguang’s words caught in his throat during their video call and decided to mediate between the at-odds father and son. “As for your father… Neither he nor I want you to endure hardship for nothing. But there are many things we can’t experience for you. All we can do is try our best to steer you away from situations that might hurt you. From your perspective, it might seem like we’re overly controlling—always interfering, forbidding you from doing this or that. But at our core, we don’t see you as an extension of ourselves.”

Le Jiamu listened quietly.

Mu Qi gazed in the direction of the front lines. “Someone like me might still share my real thoughts with you, but your father has been overwhelmed to the point of exhaustion with front-line matters lately. He hasn’t had the time to talk to you about any of this. Don’t let it create an estrangement between you.”

Le Jiamu hummed in acknowledgment. “I won’t. I know he means well. I just feel that if I don’t persist with military service, I’ll regret it deeply in the future.”

Mu Qi relaxed and smiled. “He thinks the same. That’s why he told me that if you meet the requirements for a top cadet by the time you finish training, he’ll agree to let you continue serving.”

Le Jiamu’s joy lasted less than a second before he remembered the training camp’s past passing rates. He grumbled, “So that’s his game.”

Mu Qi grinned, eyes crinkling. “Your father was a top cadet back in his day. Shouldn’t you outdo the master?”

With that kind of challenge, Le Jiamu couldn’t back down. “I’ll definitely be a top cadet too.”

“Don’t just say it—prove it. Bring that badge of honor back for your father and me to see.” Mu Qi patted his shoulder and stood up. “Alright, it’s about time. Fan Sinian’s probably waiting outside. Go on. After that huge fight a few days ago, I thought you two would stop speaking altogether. Who knew you’d act like nothing happened and stick together again so soon?”

Le Jiamu hesitated for two seconds, remembering that Mu Qi still didn’t know Fan Sinian’s true Secondary Gender. “He lied to me. His Secondary Gender is Alpha, but I always thought he was an Omega. Since Omega-Omega relationships aren’t allowed under imperial law, I wanted to put some distance between us and go back to being just friends.”

Mu Qi, leisurely poised, asked, “And what were you two before that?”

Le Jiamu struggled for a long moment but was at a loss for words.

Since he was adamant about not dating early, he and Fan Sinian had never officially defined their relationship. By all accounts, they had always been just friends. But ordinary friends didn’t act as intimate as they had.

“Oh, I get it.” Mu Qi pretended to have an epiphany. When Le Jiamu looked at him, he said, “You two were in that will-they-won’t-they phase.”

Le Jiamu was momentarily speechless before forcing the conversation back on track. “Aren’t you surprised that Fan Sinian turned out to be an Alpha?”

Mu Qi shook his head. “I always thought he’d undergo presentation as an Alpha. Take off your blinders and look—does he resemble a frail Omega in any way?”

Le Jiamu’s mind flashed back to Fan Sinian’s cold-blooded neutralization that day. He pressed his lips together, pushed the memory aside, and retorted, “That’s just prejudice. I’m an Omega too—do I look delicate to you?”

Mu Qi, unable to argue, nudged him toward the door. “Him being an Alpha is for the best. Now our rule-following Le Jiamu won’t have to worry about breaking any rules.”

Le Jiamu huffed. “It’s not about the law. I was worried Fan Sinian might have better options but would choose me out of habit because we’ve been together for so long.”

Mu Qi teased him, “I never realized before—you like Fan Sinian so much that you’d prioritize his happiness over keeping him for yourself?”

Le Jiamu, having rarely spoken so sincerely, flushed scarlet at the ribbing and refused to say another word.

Fan Sinian, waiting outside the Le residence, was utterly baffled by Le Jiamu’s demeanor.

The “kind-hearted” Mu Qi explained, “Le Jiamu was just telling me how much he likes you. Then he got so embarrassed he turned red.”

Now Fan Sinian’s face burned too.

Mu Qi watched the two blushing tomatoes board the hovercraft, murmuring to himself in amusement, “How hopelessly romantic.”

On the hovercraft, Le Jiamu relayed Mu Qi’s advice to Fan Sinian.

Fan Sinian pondered for a moment before saying, “Even if I graduate early, I’ll most likely end up doing civil service work.”

Le Jiamu countered, “But A District isn’t risk-free either.”

Fan Sinian smiled. “I know. I’ll adjust my training intensity accordingly.”

Only then did Le Jiamu seem satisfied. He then brought up the birthday banquet. “Father won’t be back for this year’s banquet, so your dad might have to take on more work.”

Fan Sinian, showing no filial piety, said, “He should. Every year, he skates by during the banquet. It’s about time he put in some effort. But that’s not important—have you picked out my birthday gift yet?”

“Of course I have.” Le Jiamu grew pleased with himself just thinking about it. “You’ll never guess what I’m giving you. I scoured for ages to find it.”

Every year, Le Jiamu’s gifts were different, but they were always things Fan Sinian had mentioned wanting. Fan Sinian wracked his brain, trying to recall what he might have hinted at recently, but even by the time the hovercraft landed at the training camp, he still had no clue.

And that was exactly the effect Le Jiamu wanted.

A gift was meant to be a surprise. What was the point if the recipient knew beforehand?

After disembarking, the two first checked in with the training camp officers, agreed on a time to meet at the training grounds, and then went their separate ways to unpack in their dorms.

They hadn’t arrived particularly early—by the time Le Jiamu reached his dorm, his roommates were already there, patiently awaiting training schedules.

He greeted them, and one particularly perceptive roommate remarked offhand, “Le Jiamu, have you undergone presentation?”

Le Jiamu nodded. “But I haven’t had time to apply for dormitory reassignment yet.”

“None of us have undergone presentation either, so there’s no rush.”

“Why hurry? The training schedules probably won’t come for a while. We might not even have training this morning.”

“You’ve got enough time to process the dorm reassignment.”

The roommates buzzed with chatter.

Le Jiamu smiled. "I already made plans with Fan Sinian for a one-on-one sparring session at the training field. I won't have time to handle the dorm transfer this morning."

The roommates immediately got hyped. "We’re coming to watch!"

Le Jiamu didn’t mind. "Yeah, whatever."

Le Jiamu was the top fighter trainee, while Fan Sinian was the top book-smart trainee. A one-on-one match between them was bound to be thrilling.

With that thought in mind, the roommates eagerly helped Le Jiamu pack his stuff.

They were racing against time—if the training notice came too soon, they’d miss the epic showdown between the best of both fields.

Thanks to their efforts, Le Jiamu was ready ten minutes ahead of schedule. With them staring expectantly, he sent Fan Sinian a message pestering him to hurry.

Fan Sinian: "?"

Fan Sinian: "This fast?"

Le Jiamu: "Tough luck. Everyone wants to watch us fight."

Fan Sinian: "?"

Fan Sinian: "...Can I back out and reschedule?"

Le Jiamu replied coldly, "No. There's nothing else to do here. Even if you reschedule, there’ll still be an audience."

Fan Sinian: "Then can I at least ask for one thing?"

Le Jiamu: "No. Si Xiao Nian, Mr. Dignity himself—today, I’m gonna wipe the floor with you."