Chapter 023 Royal Banquet 02

Chapter 023: Imperial Banquet 02

"Here’s your candy box." Zhou Mo handed the metal box containing candies to Zhou Younan.

Zhou Younan took it, looking at Zhou Mo expectantly.

Zhou Mo’s eyes held a smile. "I sent someone to buy a holographic communication terminal for Luo Luo."

Hearing this, Zhou Younan couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile.

"Here are his contact details. You can call him anytime."

"That’s great!" Thrilled to have Luo Luo’s contact information, Zhou Younan couldn’t wait to dial.

"Wait," Zhou Mo stopped him. "What time is it now?"

Zhou Younan glanced at his terminal. "10 p.m."

"Yaoxing and Kanbela have a time difference. He might already be asleep," Zhou Mo said sternly. "Luo Luo is still a student. You can’t disturb his rest or classes."

Sighing softly, Zhou Younan thanked Zhou Mo for the reminder.

Without Zhou Mo, he might not have realized the issue.

"I understand. Thanks, Brother."

"My job requires me to consider many things." Zhou Mo chuckled, then hesitated before asking, "How did you and Wei Qing get along last night?"

His gaze swept over his palm, and Zhou Younan said with a hint of unease, "It was… alright."

"His attitude toward you before and after marriage is completely different. I think he was smitten with you at first sight." Zhou Mo deliberately emphasized the contrast in Wei Qing’s behavior before and after marriage.

He was probing—testing if Zhou Younan had used the capsule mentioned in the projection.

Zhou Younan lowered his eyes, avoiding his brother’s gaze.

He tapped his terminal lightly. "Maybe. He did say he liked my pheromones."

"That’s wonderful. Pheromones are part of who you are, and you are an Omega. If he likes your pheromones, he likes *you*. You’ll definitely be happy together, grow old together, and spend your lives together."

Zhou Younan’s movements paused. He bit his lip and slowly said, "I hope so…"

Zhou Mo stared intently at Zhou Younan, like a hunter tracking prey, completely focused, not missing any subtle shift in his expression.

Zhou Mo’s smile grew wider. "I’m genuinely happy for you from the bottom of my heart."

Zhou Younan managed a strained smile.

Zhou Mo fell silent for a moment. He had gotten the answer he wanted.

—Zhou Younan had used the capsule on Wei Qing.

Zhou Mo’s mood improved.

He told Zhou Younan about encountering Noah by the riverbank, which surprised Zhou Younan.

"He introduced himself as your friend, didn’t he?"

"No, he is. We just lost touch for a long time."

"He’s from the Hall family. Can I ask where you two met?"

"At the research institute. We were both assistants to the researchers." Zhou Younan glanced at the newly added contacts for Luo Luo and Noah Hall.

"Are the Halls powerful too?"

"They’re not one of the Five Great Families, but the Halls are extremely wealthy. Noah Hall didn’t mention his surname to you?" Zhou Mo continued to probe casually.

"Noah said he ran away from home as a child and was later sold to the institute by traffickers. He only knew his family was rich but couldn’t explain how wealthy they really were."

"So, like you, he was also held at the Short-Tail Star detention center?"

"Yes." Zhou Younan nodded. "His family took him back first. Counting it, it’s been half a year since we last spoke."

Zhou Mo raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment.

"Noah promised he’d come find me and Luo Luo soon after leaving the detention center." Zhou Younan sounded disappointed.

If Noah had followed through and come for him, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up with the Zhou family. But that was just his speculation.

"The Halls are wealthy, and Noah Hall disappeared as a child before suddenly reappearing. He probably has his own troubles to deal with," Zhou Mo consoled him. "That’s why he couldn’t reach out to you and Luo Luo sooner."

Zhou Younan gave a soft "Mm."

Zhou Mo had a point.

"You’ll feel lonely in Torigis without friends. The fact that he’s reaching out now proves there was a reason. Contact him—listen to his explanation."

"Okay. You’re right, Brother."

"Well, I *am* older than you." Zhou Mo spread his hands.

The brothers exchanged a smile.

***

After Zhou Mo left, Zhou Younan sent Luo Luo a message: [Luo Luo, it’s your brother. Call me on holographic comms when you wake up.]

Only after cleaning the pork belly did Zhou Younan contact Noah.

The holographic call connected instantly.

Noah’s image was projected by the personal terminal—curly hair, with noticeable freckles on his face.

His eyes sparkled with surprise as he leaned closer to the terminal camera, excitedly calling out, "Nan Nan!"

"Yes, Noah. My name is Zhou Younan."

"Then I’ll call you Younan from now on!"

"Mm."

"Younan! This is great—you finally contacted me!"

Because he was too close, the holographic projection couldn’t display Noah’s full body. Only a severely distorted, oversized face appeared before Zhou Younan.

"I was so afraid you wouldn’t want to see me again."

Noah’s lip trembled.

"Younan, you have to listen to my explanation. I didn’t mean to not come for you. I…"

"Wait," Zhou Younan interrupted Noah's rambling, "move away from the camera first. I can't see you clearly."

"Okay, I'll move back. I just got too excited." Noah wiped the tears from his eyes.

Hearing the sob in his voice, Zhou Younan knew Noah was crying again.

Noah was 24, four years older than Zhou Younan, but his personality was rather careless. At the institute, he was prone to crying and somewhat dependent on Zhou Younan.

"I saw your wedding live stream with Marshal Wei Qing," Noah grinned. "Everyone online says Marshal Wei Qing really loves you. That's awesome."

Zhou Younan frowned. He hadn’t checked online news lately. How was Captain Fei Li’s wager going?

"What’s wrong? Is the situation not as simple as I saw?" Noah asked.

Zhou Younan stepped away from Pork Belly, who was watching a drama, and walked out to the corridor.

The rain outside was heavy.

Zhou Younan didn’t want to tell Noah about using the capsule on Wei Qing or his plans to escape with Luo Luo.

So he changed the subject: "How are you now? You said you’d come back for me and Luo Luo. We waited five months."

"Younan, I told you—I’m the second child in my family. No one likes me. My parents focused all their attention on raising my older brother."

"My younger brother, six years my junior, was always smart. My parents adored him. I was slow-witted, never the favorite. That’s why I ran away."

After explaining his family situation, Noah began recounting what happened after he returned to the Hall family.

"My parents are gone now. My eldest brother runs the Hall household. My younger brother graduated early from a top university and helps manage the family business."

"But because I ran away and didn’t finish my education, I became an Omega who couldn’t show his face in polite society."

"After returning, my brother sent me to an Omega finishing school. He told me if I wanted to make demands, I had to finish my studies first."

"You know… my memory isn’t very good."

"That took me half a year."

Zhou Younan stayed silent. Noah truly had his struggles.

Noah lowered his head, sniffling. "I’m sorry, Younan… I really tried. Later, I went to find you, but the detention center said you’d been taken away by the Zhou family two days earlier."

Zhou Younan inhaled slowly. Back then, he had thought Noah would never return. It was only for Luo Luo’s sake that he agreed to go back to the Zhou family.

Fate had played a cruel joke on him.

He only needed to wait two more days to have Noah arrive.

"I was too late. I know nothing I say now matters… I’m so sorry, Younan."

Noah wiped his tears.

"It was you who found a way to hide me and Luo Luo, so we could escape the institute."

"I really wanted to get you and Luo Luo out of the detention center. I wanted to do something for you, but in the end, I failed."

The more Noah spoke, the harder he cried, tears streaming down his face.

"When the director interrogated you about where we were hiding, and you got beaten… I felt so guilty."

Zhou Younan bit his lip. "Noah, I told you—don’t bring that up again."

"I… I’m sorry. I really am. To you, and to Luo Luo." Tears streaked his face as Noah looked genuinely remorseful.

"Noah, you used to take care of Luo Luo for me all the time. Do you want me to cry and thank you over and over again?"

"No, no, don’t!" Noah waved his hands hastily.

"Wipe your tears. We’re friends. Friends helping each other is how it should be."

Noah wiped his face and nodded firmly. "Okay."

After a moment, Noah asked, "Where’s Luo Luo? Isn’t he with you?"

"He’s on Yaoxing. I’ll go back for him soon." Zhou Younan managed a thin smile.

Noah’s purple eyes filled with concern. He quickly asked, "Are you okay now?"

"I’m fine," Zhou Younan replied.

"Younan, can I visit you when I’m free? We can play that new game together—the one that just came out. You promised, back when we were still in the institute, that after we escaped, you’d play with me."

"Okay."

"Great!"

Noah was thrilled.

They agreed to meet the next day and ended the call.

Zhou Younan sat in the corridor.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

As he listened to the rain, his eyelids grew heavy.

Zhou Younan dreamed—he was a light sleeper who dreamed constantly.

He dreamed of returning to that cold, damp research institute.

Small cells with glass walls, flickering lights in the hallway, murmurs from dark corners…

He couldn’t make out the words, but he listened hard, desperate for answers—maybe a way to escape with Luo Luo.

He moved closer, straining to hear.

The voice grew louder, until finally, a shrill, piercing scream cut through:

"You deserve to die—"

He jerked awake.

Someone had draped a red blanket over him.

The rain had stopped. Warm golden sunlight slanted across Wei Qing’s figure.

Wei Qing sat across from him, lounging in a chair, back relaxed. He wore his military uniform, belt tight at his waist, a black service cap shading his eyes.

The brim was pulled low, shadows obscuring his gaze—only the teardrop tattoos under his eyes were visible, like distorted, unnatural eyes.

Tilting his head up slightly, Wei Qing lifted the brim of his cap with his index finger, revealing one eye. He raised an eyebrow and asked Zhou Younan, "Nightmare?"

Perhaps seeing Noah had triggered some memories from the institute.

Zhou Younan bit his lip but kept the institute matters to himself.

Wei Qing was the empire’s marshal—he couldn’t possibly understand how Zhou Younan felt.

Zhou Younan shook his head. "No, I just…"

Wei Qing stood up and placed his military cap on Zhou Younan’s head.

Zhou Younan’s chin was tilted up, and his words were cut off by Wei Qing’s kiss.

Licking his lips, Wei Qing blinked at him. "Our deal about lip-biting wasn’t just for yesterday."

Zhou Younan resisted the urge to bite his lip again. "I thought you’d be back late."

"Originally, yes. But I missed you and couldn’t wait to see you, so I came back early." Wei Qing pinched Zhou Younan’s cheek.

Zhou Younan let out a hollow laugh. Truthfully, he was way more relaxed when Wei Qing wasn’t around.

"Master!" Pork Belly waddled over to Wei Qing, circled him once, then stopped in front of him.

Somehow, Zhou Younan could practically see the smugness in Pork Belly’s movements.

The robot was clearly flaunting its freshly cleaned, pristine body to Wei Qing.

Unfortunately, Wei Qing didn’t notice the change. He snapped, "What do you want?"

"Don’t you think Pork Belly looks a bit special today?"

"Special enough to be thrown out?" Wei Qing shot back with a wicked grin.

Pork Belly went rigid, then trembled and hid behind Zhou Younan’s feet.

Zhou Younan thought it had finally been properly scared.

Unexpectedly, Pork Belly peeped, "Madam allowed Pork Belly to watch dramas. It wasn’t sneaking around."

Wait—this robot—was it ratting him out?

Zhou Younan looked up and met Wei Qing’s gleaming green eyes.

"Is that so? Disobedience calls for punishment."