Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Had it not been for the knowledge of what had just been destroyed in the explosion, hearing He Yilan’s tone alone would have led one to believe it was merely a kitchen mishap due to a cooking blunder.

Bai Luming had always known Lu Wuchen was fond of pulling chaotic and flashy stunts, but he never imagined that, at the very end, he would play such an enormous joke on him.

The "Eternal Day" technology had just exploded.

Was this what Lu Wuchen considered its "best end"?

Bai Luming gazed at the charred corner for a long time, confirming there was truly no hope of recovery, before letting out a slow sigh. "What do we do now?"

"Don't know."

The reply brushed lightly past his ear, spoken so closely that the hot breath seemed to instantly moisten his earlobe.

Bai Luming’s mind had been entirely focused on salvaging the memory slot earlier, and only now did he vaguely realize something.

Without even turning around, he could feel his back pressed tightly against someone’s toned, muscular chest. Through the thin fabric, he sensed a powerful heartbeat and warm body heat.

Bai Luming: "..."

It suddenly occurred to him that He Yilan’s first instinct hadn't been to worry about the "Eternal Day" technology, but to scoop him into his arms without hesitation and pull him away from the danger zone.

He Yilan’s words were met with no response.

Amid the suddenly awkward silence, he slowly lowered his gaze, his eyes settling on the body pressed seamlessly against his chest: "..."

A moment later, Bai Luming turned, nimbly rising from He Yilan’s embrace, and smoothly resumed their previous topic. "Don't know? So many people have gone through great pains, practically turning this barren planet inside out. I'm sure the existence of this technology isn't solely about personal interests, right? Can we really just let it go like that?"

He Yilan’s arms suddenly felt empty, the warmth that had been pressed against him moments ago now gone. "It's no longer a matter of letting it go or not. The destruction of 'Eternal Day' is now an established fact."

The warmth in his arms faded in an instant. He leisurely rose to his feet, meticulously brushing off the dust from his clothes, and looked at Bai Luming. "Or can you find a way to restore the destroyed content?"

Bai Luming also straightened his own clothes, though unlike He Yilan, he didn't bother to brush off every speck of dust—he had no habit of being particularly fussy.

Facing He Yilan’s question, he answered without hesitation. "The dead can't be brought back to life, and neither can technology. My sympathies."

He Yilan gave a light laugh. "Mind if I borrow some parts from your shop?"

Bai Luming gestured with a "please." "Help yourself."

Bai Luming stood to the side, watching as He Yilan sifted through the pile of parts, swiftly assembling a makeshift communicator. His eyebrows raised slightly.

He had guessed before that this man must have his own way of contacting others—turned out it was through this.

As the communication went through, a sharp burst of static later, Tang Siqin’s voice came through on the other end, almost crying with relief. "Boss, you finally contacted me! Where have you been all this time? Do you have any idea what kind of life I've been living? If you don't come back soon—"

He Yilan cut off the torrent of complaints emotionlessly. "Hold the complaints for now."

Tang Siqin’s words caught in his throat. "Okay..."

He Yilan got straight to the point. "Any activity on their side?"

"No, they've been fairly quiet," Tang Siqin replied. "Since you haven't shown yourself, they probably can't figure out your specific situation, so they've been keeping a low profile."

"Good," He Yilan nodded. "Keep watching a while longer."

There was a long silence on the other end. Tang Siqin clearly didn't want to face it but still asked anxiously, "You... you're still not planning to come back? Have you found any clues about that item?"

He Yilan let out an emotionless "Yeah": "Found it."

Tang Siqin’s tone immediately lifted, brimming with surprise: "Found it?! You got it?"

"Not in hand," He Yilan replied. "It's blown up."

"Oh, so it blew— wait, what???" Tang Siqin’s words cut off abruptly, as if he'd only just processed it. "What blew up?"

"'Blew up' means exactly what it sounds like," Bai Luming, who'd been listening for a while, finally couldn't help but cut in. "It went completely boomshakalaka, totally destroyed without even a fragment left. Understand?"

Tang Siqin: "?"

This time, of course, he understood, but what shocked him more than the target being blown to bits was this suddenly unfamiliar voice.

How come there was someone else with the boss?!

After a long silence, Tang Siqin asked, his tone laced with wary curiosity: "May I ask who you are..."

Bai Luming cleared his throat and introduced himself: "Your boss's creditor."

At this, He Yilan glanced at him with a faint, amused smile.

Tang Siqin fell silent for even longer.

Even through the comms, you could almost feel the assistant's brain short-circuiting on the other end with a long string of question marks: "???"

What creditor? Whose creditor? Their boss?!

One shock after another made Tang Siqin feel he needed a moment to process, but He Yilan clearly had no patience to wait for him to digest it all.

He understood Bai Luming’s intention and glanced back, saying to Tang Siqin: "I'll send you an account number later. Help transfer a sum into it."

Tang Siqin, no stranger to trouble, snapped back to attention instantly: "Transferring money at this time—could it compromise your location?"

"No," He Yilan replied calmly. "Just use your personal account. I'll reimburse you later. It's such a small amount, no one will notice."

Bai Luming raised an eyebrow slightly at that.

What did he mean, "such a small amount"? Rich people really knew how to talk in a way that grated.

Tang Siqin also fell silent for a moment before asking for the specific amount, then quickly nodded: "Understood."

After agreeing, he couldn't help adding somewhat dejectedly: "Boss, you've been through so much during this time. When do you plan to return? I can make preparations in advance to properly welcome you back."

Tang Siqin truly couldn't imagine how his boss had fallen to such a state—being chased for debts over such a small sum.

It was hard to imagine how dire things had been recently.

When had their boss ever endured such hardship!

Bai Luming leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, glancing sideways at the daylight outside the window. It was unclear whether he'd heard their conversation.

When He Yilan looked up, what met his eyes was the half-outline of this man hidden in the darkness, his expression as casual and unreadable as ever.

After a moment, He Yilan withdrew his gaze and replied: "I contacted you this time to let you know that the Eternal Day technology has been destroyed, so you can prepare in advance. As for me, it's not yet time to return. Lay low and keep watching for now. If anything comes up, just send some public news alerts as a signal. I'll contact you as soon as I see it."

Tang Siqin responded in anguish: "Yes, boss, I understand... I'll definitely hold my post here!"

He Yilan: "Thanks for your hard work."

After the communication ended, the temporary contact device quickly returned to being scattered parts again.

Bai Luming watched as He Yilan meticulously sorted and returned these components to their original places, and reminded him, "Are you sure you don’t want to go back? Now that the Eternal Day technology is gone, there shouldn’t be any reason for you to stay on this desolate star anymore, right? If you miss this open house, who knows when the next chance to leave the military district will be."

He Yilan looked up at him and answered with a question, "If I leave, how are you planning to explain things when you go back?"

"Me?" Bai Luming chuckled at this. "What relationship do we have? You, Yi Lan, deserting—what does that have to do with me, Lu Ming?"

"What relationship?" He Yilan pondered briefly, then nodded. "True."

The last component fell into the box with a crisp *ping* as he released it.

He Yilan slowly stood up, meeting Bai Luming’s gaze. "But my situation is a bit special. The big fish I’m after hasn’t taken the bait yet, so it’s really not time for me to go back. Returning to the military district as a trainee is fine—at least it’s somewhat interesting."

Bai Luming met his gaze and offered a sincere evaluation: "Oh, so you’re quite the masochist."

He Yilan responded to this comment with a noncommittal smile, smoothly changing the topic. "Weren’t you going to take me home? Are we still going?"

Bai Luming didn’t answer directly this time. Instead, he eyed He Yilan warily. "Why are you so eager to go to my home? Are you after something else hidden in my place?"

"Something else I’m eyeing?" He Yilan pondered the phrase, his gaze glancing over Bai Luming. "Perhaps."

Bai Luming: "?"

He studied He Yilan’s expression for a moment, then shook his head. "Forget it. Even though Old Lu seems quite satisfied with his life, from what I know of him, that technology was probably the only thing he had to boast about."

He turned to survey the messy repair shop and immediately abandoned any thought of cleaning up. "Let’s leave this for now. We’ll deal with it after we officially leave the military district. Let’s go, heading home."

*

The open day granted by the military district lasted three days in total.

On his way back, Bai Luming didn’t forget to stop by Charlie’s bar to support the business, dragging a few neighborhood buddies along for a night of drinking before staggering back to the attic.

As he stepped inside and moved to change his shoes, he swayed and was suddenly grabbed by someone.

Bai Luming looked up and saw He Yilan’s face, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I told you I’d be back late tonight? You could’ve gone to sleep early."

In the dim light, an open essay collection lay on the bedside table, alongside a water glass that had barely been touched.

"Not sleepy yet," He Yilan said, catching the faint, pleasant scent of alcohol on Bai Luming. He supported him with one hand, watching as the man unsteadily put on his shoes. "After what happened during the day, I needed some time to process it."

Bai Luming nodded in agreement. "Yeah, definitely need to process that."

He Yilan glanced at the look in Bai Luming’s eyes. "Did you drink much?"

"Not too much." Bai Luming ran a hand through his silver-gray hair. Though his body swayed a little, his steps remained steady.

He casually took off his jacket and tossed it onto a chair nearby, then glanced at the turned-down blankets on the bed and suddenly laughed. "If I didn’t know what kind of person you are, I’d think you warmed the bed specially waiting for me to come back."

He Yilan had initially thought Bai Luming wasn’t drunk, but after hearing that, he changed his mind.

He watched as the man dug through the wardrobe for a change of clothes, curious. "Oh? Then what kind of person do you think I am?"

Bai Luming found his clothes and turned back, smiling. "I won't tell you."

He Yilan: "…"

After a moment of silence, he couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. "Then do you want to hear what kind of person I think you are?"

Bai Luming looked over with interest. "Go on?"

He Yilan said flatly. "Not telling you either."

Bai Luming had no reply. "...Childish."

He Yilan: "Thanks, you’re the first person to describe me with that word."

"You’re welcome." Bai Luming accepted the "compliment" easily. "I’m going to shower. It’s late, you should get some sleep too."

He Yilan stayed where he was, watching as Bai Luming walked into the bathroom.

As the door closed, shower sounds soon followed.

They hadn’t lived in this attic long, but it wasn’t too short either. Unconsciously, they seemed to have gotten used to the exceptionally poor soundproofing of the place.

He Yilan remembered that before coming here, he never allowed any unwanted noise in his environment.

Returning to sit by the bedside, He Yilan picked up the essay collection again, his eyes resting on the words but not turning the page.

After a while, he glanced toward the bathroom again.

That night, he had stepped out of the attic several times, each time seeing the lively scene downstairs of Bai Luming drinking and laughing with others.

It reminded him of how, during the day at the repair shop while watching the recording, this person had faced his deceased old acquaintance with the same easygoing, carefree demeanor.

So, did he really not care at all?

As the water stopped, the bathroom door opened. Bai Luming stepped out, drying his damp hair. The alcohol scent had washed away, and he looked much more clear-headed.

Looking up, he saw He Yilan sitting by the bed and blinked, then grinned. "Looking like that, I’m really starting to think you’re waiting specially to sleep together."

"Yeah, specially waiting to sleep together."

As he spoke, He Yilan set the book down on the bedside table and patted the bed gently, as if issuing an invitation. "Coming?"

"Seriously, this is my bed we’re talking about." Bai Luming gave him an exasperated look, walked over, flipped onto the bed, and pulled the covers over himself. "Turn off the light."

The room went dark.

He Yilan turned off the light and lay down as well.

Bai Luming clearly felt the space beside him fill up. The covers were gently pulled up, and soon the two bodies under the blanket warmed the entire bedding.

Breaths lightly lingered in the already small attic space.

Bai Luming’s eyes, which he had just closed, suddenly opened again.

The well-developed drowsiness from the alcohol seemed to vanish entirely. The warmth of their bodies pressed together seemed to spread to the corners of his lips, and the memory of that soft touch from earlier in the day came back to him.

Bai Luming: "…"

Even though they had shared this small bed for a long time before going to the fortress, it was only now that he finally realized just how close they were when sleeping together in such a tight space.

Maybe it was his imagination, but through the thin fabric of their clothes, He Yilan’s skin under the covers seemed somewhat tense, and his breathing was heavier than usual.

He never remembered the bed feeling this crowded with two people before.

Bai Luming took a deep breath, pushed aside distracting thoughts, and closed his eyes again.

As he turned over, he naturally took the entire blanket with him.

At such a close distance, He Yilan could feel every slight movement from Bai Luming.

The sudden chill on half of his body made him open his eyes as well: "…"

After that brief moment of fussing, Bai Luming’s breathing soon gradually steadied.

As he turned over again, he happened to lie facing He Yilan. His breath brushed right past his ear—ticklish and warm.

He Yilan glanced sideways slightly, his peripheral vision catching the faint outline in the darkness. He thought about reclaiming some of the covers that had been taken away, but his raised hand paused mid-air, and he put it back down without a sound.

After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes as well.

After the destruction of "Eternal Day," he really didn't need to stay anymore.

Yet, for some reason, he really wanted to stick around and see what would happen during the second phase of the reserve selection.

He believed it would certainly be pretty interesting.