Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The first thing Bai Luming did after receiving the money was to order a lavish, money-themed lunch for Mr. He Shibei.

After repairing some mechs at the shop, Bai Luming returned home earlier than he had the past couple of days.

He was beginning to understand the anxieties of having dependents.

He Yilan had clearly still been feverish when Bai Luming left that morning. Now, alone at home with no means of contact, Bai Luming worried about his condition.

At this point, Mr. He Shibei was a walking, high-yield investment, deserving of serious attention.

Bai Luming stopped by the pharmacy. As he approached his building, Charlie, sitting at the bar entrance, hailed him from afar.

Neighbors usually saw each other often, but this time, Charlie’s gaze held a subtle nuance as he looked at Bai Luming. "I saw someone delivering food to your place earlier. What, is that man who came with you last time still living with you?"

"Yeah, he’s here," Bai Luming replied. "He’s got nowhere to go, so he’s temporarily renting a room and working at the repair shop."

The corner of Charlie’s mouth twitched slightly.

He knew exactly what Bai Luming’s attic was like—who would believe it could be rented out? If he remembered correctly, there was only one bed in that place. Two men squeezing together? Clearly, they were cohabiting!

Charlie hesitated, then asked very delicately, "Does Old Lu know about your sexual orientation?"

Charlie didn’t want to overthink it, but as soon as Lu Wuchen passed away, Lu Ming brought a man home. It was hard not to make connections.

He was starting to suspect that Old Lu might have died of a sudden heart attack, enraged by the news of his son coming out.

"Sexual orientation?" The topic shifted too quickly. Bai Luming was momentarily stunned, but after catching the look on Charlie’s face, he immediately realized the misunderstanding about his relationship with He Yilan and was amused.

He was about to explain, but then it occurred to him that, in a way, passing as a gay couple would make his cohabitation with He Yilan seem more plausible. So he decided to let the misunderstanding stand. "Don’t worry, Old Lu knew long ago."

Bai Luming said this, patting Charlie’s shoulder with a laugh. "I'm heading up now, bro. Don't want him waiting."

Charlie: "...Oh-ho, I understand, I understand. Go on, go on."

Bai Luming carried the medicine bag and climbed the iron ladder outside the building. Sensing something, he looked up and saw He Yilan leaning against the doorway, looking down at him.

He didn’t know how long He Yilan had been standing there.

Bai Luming: "Morning. You look like you’re in better spirits today."

He Yilan glanced at the sunset-tinged sky and responded, "Morning."

His gaze drifted downward, lingering on Charlie’s bar. "So you all like discussing sexual orientation here."

The dilapidated building was short, so Bai Luming wasn’t surprised He Yilan had overheard the conversation.

He casually handed the medicine bag to He Yilan and pushed the door open. "Just chatting. Why, are you interested in the topic too?"

He Yilan followed him inside. "A bit. It’s quite a coincidence—my sexual orientation is men too."

Bai Luming had asked offhandedly, but now he paused while taking off his shoes and looked back at He Yilan, catching his word choice. "Too?"

The word felt suggestive, hard not to take as pointed.

He Yilan nodded. "Yeah, I like men. Just like you."

Bai Luming found the tone more and more sarcastic. Assuming where this was coming from, he suggested, "If you think being associated with me hurts your reputation, I can clarify things with Charlie for you."

He Yilan: "No need."

Bai Luming: "You said it."

Implied: if anything happens later, I'm not responsible.

After changing his shoes, he washed his face. When he came out, his sleeves were rolled up, and he signaled to He Yilan from a distance. "I’m ready. Come on, start by taking your clothes off."

He Yilan’s tone lifted slightly. "We just discovered our sexual orientations, and already this eager?"

Bai Luming: "...It’s to change your bandages."

He was starting to wonder which of them was the real scoundrel. "The medicine from the day before yesterday has probably worn off. I bought new supplies. Time for a change."

He Yilan had already seen the prices on the medicine. While not top-tier medical brands, they were far better than the shoddy products hastily used on him earlier.

Recalling their conversation about poverty from the previous day, he fell silent for a moment before asking, "Did you rob a bank this afternoon?"

"I’m a law-abiding citizen. This is all legitimate income from honest work."

Bai Luming’s gaze dropped, lingering on He Yilan’s slightly open collar. He arched a meaningful eyebrow. "Are you taking it off yourself, or should I help you?"

He Yilan sat on the edge of the bed, his hands already on the buttons. Hearing this, he paused and suddenly changed his mind.

He slowly lowered his hands, resting them on the bed on either side of his body, assuming a relaxed, nearly inviting pose. "The wound hurts a bit. How about you do it?"

If Bai Luming had this level of injury, he’d probably be moving about effortlessly. But He Yilan, after days of recovery, was still complaining of pain. Clearly, he was used to a life of comfort.

Bai Luming thought to himself, shaking his head, and walked to the bedside. "Fine, I’ll do it."

He Yilan had been waiting to see his reaction but hadn’t expected Bai Luming to actually proceed.

The faint smile on his lips stilled subtly at the movement.

As the buttons were undone one by one, the coarse calluses on Bai Luming’s fingertips occasionally brushed against the skin on He Yilan’s chest. The light sweat from He Yilan’s fever seemed to grow slightly heavier.

This was the second time he’d been stripped by a man—and by the same person, no less.

After the shirt came off, he slowly unwound the bandages. He carefully wiped with a damp towel around the wound, and the dressings were changed one by one.

The room fell into silence, with no one speaking. For a long time, only the sound of their breathing remained.

He Yilan looked down, his eyes landing on the handsome face framed by silver-gray hair. There was none of his usual cheeky grin while treating the wound—instead, he was serious, like a different person.

Bai Luming’s movements were skillful, as if he’d done this countless times.

Only someone who’d confronted life and death could remain so calm.

Having just returned from the repair shop, Bai Luming’s hair carried a faint smell of motor oil mixed with sweat—an aroma that fit perfectly with this lower-city environment.

If not for his overly skilled bandaging and wound treatment, everything about him here would blend in seamlessly.

But clearly, he didn’t belong here.

A sharp pain shot through his abdomen as fingers touched it. He Yilan took a deep breath.

When he looked down, Bai Luming glanced up at that moment. "Done. All the wounds have been treated—"

Their lips almost touched unexpectedly, cutting him off.

Bai Luming was stunned for a moment before finishing the latter half of the sentence: "...done."

"Mm, good work." A few seconds later, He Yilan responded. He wasn’t in a hurry to put his clothes back on. Instead, he met Bai Luming’s gaze directly and asked with keen interest, "Speaking of which, you never once asked about my identity or background. Why?"

The question, both probing and straightforward, was met with Bai Luming’s equally puzzled retort: "Why should I ask?"

He pointed at He Yilan, then at himself, making a clear cutting gesture between them: "You are you, and I am me. What we have is the purest transactional relationship. Once you move out of here, we probably won’t cross paths again. In such a situation, the less I know, the safer it is for me. At the very least, it lowers the chances of me getting killed to silence me."

"..." He Yilan accepted this explanation. "Fair enough."

He looked down at the bandages on his body, thought for a moment, and said, "The gunshot wounds should have mostly healed by now. Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to the repair shop."

Bai Luming glanced at He Yilan and calmly agreed: "Sure."

He hadn’t expected He Yilan to be so enthusiastic about going to work, but in a way, it wasn’t entirely surprising.

Two days had passed since the attack that night. Timing-wise, it made sense that Mr. He would be ready to make a move.

*

This was He Yilan’s first time visiting the repair shop Bai Luming had mentioned.

Calling it a repair shop was generous—it was essentially a warehouse area with a sign hung outside.

Several old warehouses were connected with internal passages. In terms of size, it was roughly one-twentieth of any micro-parts warehouse in Zhong Sheng Machinery’s partitioned zones.

As for the environment—

The moment He Yilan stepped inside, the pungent smell of oil nearly made him cough uncontrollably.

"Why are you just standing there?" Bai Luming turned back and saw He Yilan stopped about a meter from the entrance. He waved enthusiastically. "Come on, time to get to work."

He Yilan shuffled a small step forward. Several seconds passed before he took another.

As he approached, Bai Luming shoved a stack of things into his hands.

"These are the orders, and these are the blueprints. Just assemble according to these." Halfway through his explanation, Bai Luming seemed to remember he wasn’t supposed to know the other’s background and added appropriately, "The blueprint I drew is very simple. You seem well-educated—surely you have some theoretical knowledge of mechanics? You should be able to understand it?"

"I understand." He Yilan glanced at the thick stack of orders in his hand. "This shop has this many orders?"

"Not usually. I just took all of these on." Bai Luming tidied up some repair tools. "They’re all from parts shops, due within a week. But this week, I have an urgent mech repair to handle, so I probably won’t be much help. You’ll need to complete these on your own."

He Yilan silently looked at the hefty stack of orders in his hand.

No time, yet he took on so many orders—and he didn’t seem the least bit worried about delivery. It was clear he had planned this all along.

Sure enough, Bai Luming patted him solemnly on the shoulder: "But then again, these orders were prepared specifically for you. I believe you can complete them smoothly even without my supervision. Since you agreed to work here, you need to prove your worth. Do your best."

He Yilan understood: "Maximizing the exploitation of free labor?"

Bai Luming grinned, slinging an arm over his shoulder: "How can you say that? It’s more like—with great power comes great responsibility. Your task today is to complete two of these orders. I’m sure you can do it. Work hard—I’ll go attend to my own tasks now."

Watching Bai Luming disappear into the repair bay, He Yilan found a table nearby and unfolded the blueprint in his hand.

When he saw the thruster assembly structure, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

It was true that Zhong Sheng Machinery possessed the most advanced technology in the entire star system, but that technology was entirely built upon equally advanced equipment and instruments. As for thrusters with the efficiency shown on the blueprint, they had hundreds of production methods—but none as crude and straightforward as this.

Yes, crude and straightforward.

Almost entirely using the most basic parts and materials, and the simplest mechanical theories, yet achieving the most perfect possible outcome.

Rapid technological development had set certain thresholds for cutting-edge tech, but the freehand strokes on the blueprint seemed to strip away all the unnecessary, expensive packaging of the thruster, leaving only its core functional value.

He Yilan couldn’t help but glance again at the closed door inside the shop, quietly mulling over the name: "Lu Ming."

Assembling a thruster of this level was child's play for He Yilan. He quickly completed the orders according to the blueprint.

After placing the finished products to the side, he gathered all the required components from the parts pile. After a series of systematic assembly steps, a simple temporary communicator was put together.

The signal connected.

A harsh burst of static cut through, followed by a blurred, tense voice from the other end: "Who is this?"

He Yilan: "Me."

That single, direct word was met with brief silence. A moment later, the voice of his assistant, Tang Siqin, came through again, trembling with excitement: "Boss! I knew you were alright!"

"Mm." He Yilan knew time was limited and kept it concise. "I was attacked—likely my private communications were monitored. I won’t be making any public appearances for now. Use this time to observe the situation on their end. Keep an eye on their movements."

"Understood!" Tang Siqin replied, though with a hint of concern. "Where are you now? Are you safe? Is there anything you need me to do?"

"I need a new identity under the name 'Yi Lan'." He Yilan paused briefly in thought, then added, "I also need you to look into someone’s records. A resident of Barren Star 6-23, named 'Lu Ming'."

"Noted!" Tang Siqin asked, "How should I contact you once it’s done? Still through this comm channel?"

"No, this channel can only be used once." He Yilan said, "Just do as I said. I’ll contact you again through this number when the time comes. Be careful—your external comm line is likely monitored as well. Be extremely cautious in all conversations."

Tang Siqin: "Understood!"

The conversation ended, leaving only the hum of static in the air.

He Yilan disassembled the temporary communicator back into parts.

Through the door, he could hear that the repair bay had been quiet for a while.

He Yilan stood up, pushed open the bay door, and walked in: "I’ve finished over here. You—"

His words cut off abruptly at the sight that greeted him.

The operating instruments occasionally emitted the sound of grinding parts. The dim environment felt even more oppressive due to the thick smell of oil.

The person in the room was peacefully slumped over the worktable, his silver-gray hair falling softly beside his ears. Under the overhead light, it seemed to emit an alluring glow even in such a dismal setting.

He’d fallen asleep.

He Yilan suddenly realized—after staying at Bai Luming’s place for so many days, he had always been the first to fall asleep. This was the first time he’d seen this man’s sleeping face.

As he took a step forward, he unconsciously softened his footsteps.

Drawing closer, He Yilan looked down. The first thing he saw was the loosely half-open collar, revealing the firm skin of his chest: "..."

It seemed that no matter the situation, this man never lost his core instinct of not bothering to dress properly.

He meant to glance and look away, but He Yilan’s peripheral vision caught something flickering faintly.

A very faint glimmer of light, but one all too familiar to He Yilan—it was unmistakably the electronic beam used in micro-scale equipment.

And just now, that light seemed to have come from…

He Yilan lowered his gaze, then slowly bent down, trying to locate the source of that light.

Several of Bai Luming's shirt buttons had already come undone. As He Yilan's hand moved downward, the lower buttons were gently undone, letting the already loose collar slip down further.

He Yilan's hand continued to move downward, apparently about to undo the next button, when the person in front of him suddenly moved without any warning.

It was a completely instinctive reaction to sensing someone approaching.

A brief, sinister killing intent flashed.

In an instant, everything spun violently. Without any chance to react, He Yilan found himself pinned firmly to the desk by a hand with distinct knuckles, his throat tightly constricted.

Bai Luming's body had already completed its alert response to the sudden event, but his expression suggested he wasn't fully awake yet.

He frowned slightly, finally recognizing He Yilan's face. After a brief silence, a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes: "...Why are you attacking me?"

"..." He Yilan allowed himself to lie back on the hard surface of the desk, raising a meaningful eyebrow as he countered, "Ambush?"

Following his gaze, Bai Luming noticed the hand still resting on his collar, and just a little further down, the half-undone button.

After a moment of silence, he rephrased his question: "Why are you making advances on me?"

He Yilan gave a silent smile: "In this situation, who exactly is taking advantage of whom?"

Bai Luming's gaze drifted downward, catching sight of He Yilan's body fully relaxed on the desk, and his own suggestive seated position pressing firmly against the other's lower body on the tabletop.

One of his hands gripped He Yilan's jaw, while the other pinned the latter's left wrist firmly from above. If he wished, he could easily take things further at any moment.

Most importantly, He Yilan remained in this position, appearing completely compliant, without the slightest intention to resist.

Bai Luming: "..."

Silence.

A long, eerie silence.

Finally, Bai Luming released his grip completely, letting the other go.

After stepping off the desk, he casually straightened his disheveled clothes, adopting an indifferent, deflecting attitude: "If you hadn't been acting suspiciously, I wouldn't have misunderstood. Don't make any strange moves while I'm sleeping from now on. If you get hurt, I won't take responsibility."

He Yilan sat up from the desk, leisurely smoothing the wrinkles in his clothes.

He rubbed his slightly reddened wrist joint, his mind quickly replaying the series of agile, alert reactions he had just witnessed. He looked at Bai Luming and asked, "With reflexes like that, were you in the military?"

Bai Luming, who was picking up scattered parts from the floor, paused briefly before calmly retrieving a nearby screw: "No way. Military life is too exhausting. I'd never subject myself to that kind of hardship in this lifetime."

He Yilan watched Bai Luming's movements closely and was about to speak again when loud, forceful knocking came from outside.

A robust voice, accompanied by the vibration of the rolling door, echoed from a distance: "Is anyone in there? We're from the Garrison Recruitment Office! Defending the empire is everyone's duty—care to learn about our new recruitment benefits policy?"