Chapter 46

Chapter 46

"Let's go home, please?"

Realizing what he intended to do right there in the car, Lin Ze pleaded shyly.

Li Xiujin's gaze darkened, his chest heaving. He finally gave in, for the moment, burying his sweat-dampened head into the crook of Lin Ze's neck, breathing him in desperately...

Seeing him like this, Lin Ze's pity overcame his embarrassment. Two months without... he must have been suffering...

Lin Ze unbuttoned his own shirt, pulling it open. Then, with slender hands, he cradled Li Xiujin's face, his own cheeks flushed pink. "Xiu Jin, you can... have this first..."

However, seeing Lin Ze in his military uniform offering his chest only made the ache in Li Xiujin's lower abdomen intensify...

Li Xiujin's favorite thing was when Lin Ze would wrap his arms around his neck like a koala, while he supported Lin Ze's buttocks with his hands to carry him. But now, concerned about Lin Ze's pregnant belly, he just carried him bridal-style.

From the car to the bedroom, Lin Ze hid his face against Li Xiujin's chest. Only upon reaching the bed did he finally lift his pale face, meeting Li Xiujin's gaze for a few fleeting seconds before lowering his trembling eyelashes again. "Xiu Jin, I haven't reached the point where I can't walk yet. Next time..."

Li Xiujin tuned him out, cupping the back of his head to kiss him deeply, until Lin Ze was breathless and speechless. Once again, Li Xiujin parted his long legs and hooked them over his shoulders...

When Lin Ze came to his senses, he protested, "Xiu Jin, wait... let me take my clothes off..."

He was still wearing his uniform...

"I want it just like this."

Lin Ze began to tremble slightly.

But that gave Li Xiujin an idea. He exposed Lin Ze's snow-white, swollen belly...

Lin Ze covered his burning face...

Finding this position didn't allow for the same depth as before, Li Xiujin patted Lin Ze's buttocks, guiding him to straddle him...

The prominent swell of Lin Ze's belly rubbed against Li Xiujin's shirt...

Li Xiujin's breathing grew ragged as he placed Lin Ze's slender arms over his own shoulders.

"Hold on tight."

Shy but obedient, Lin Ze did as he was told.

"Sit down."

Lin Ze's ears and face flushed pink, but he still clung tightly to Li Xiujin's neck, slowly lowering himself, taking him in bit by bit.

Then he trembled, dampening the sheets.

"Did you miss your husband this much?"

Li Xiujin nuzzled his nose, then lifted Lin Ze's thighs, suspending him before thrusting upwards sharply, making him ride up and down, taking him in repeatedly...

When Lin Ze regained consciousness after blacking out, he was no longer straddling Li Xiujin. Instead, his legs were hooked over Li Xiujin's shoulders, as Li Xiujin moved inside him gently...

Sensing he was awake, Li Xiujin pressed their foreheads together and captured his lips.

Lin Ze responded to the kiss shyly...

There were fifteen days left before departure.

The seven soldiers underwent their final physical evaluation. Once the results were in, they were promptly delivered to Lin Ze.

Lin Ze reviewed them carefully.

Three months of effort had not been in vain. All seven individuals showed significant improvement compared to their initial training data.

He let out a sigh of relief, set down the data sheet, and intended to give them some final instructions. As he stood up, he caught sight of his increasingly rounded belly. His ears turned red, and despite the hot weather, he put on his jacket.

The seven were still training in the simulation pods. Seeing him approach, they immediately stopped and saluted him respectfully.

Lin Ze nodded gently, then gestured for them to continue. He observed from outside the glass.

Each person's condition had reached the level they had during their initial mission to the snowy mountains. In fact, their stress tolerance and teamwork were even better now than before...

After the training session ended, the group removed their protective gear and gathered around Lin Ze.

"Colonel, are there any issues we still need to address?" Wang Wei asked.

Lin Ze shook his head. "You're already performing excellently."

"Really?"

"Yes."

The group happily high-fived each other.

"Head back early today. Get some good rest, and assemble promptly at eight tomorrow morning."

"Yes."

Everyone left except for Su Qian. Su Qian hung his head. In just three short months, his once youthful and naive face had matured considerably.

"Su Qian, what's wrong?" Lin Ze asked softly.

"Nothing."

"Are you scared?"

Su Qian didn't deny it.

Lin Ze sat down beside him. "I was scared too when I first went on missions."

"Every single time."

Su Qian looked up at him.

He was only eighteen. Fear was perfectly normal.

"Afraid of mission failure, afraid of getting injured or dying, afraid of teammates getting hurt or dying," Lin Ze said gently. "Even now, when I'm not on the front lines myself, I still feel fear."

"But there's another conviction that outweighs the fear."

"Since others weren't chosen, and I was selected for this task, it means I possess greater capability and strength than others. I should also bear greater responsibility..."

Su Qian stared at him, lost in thought.

Lin Ze smiled and patted his shoulder. "Go home and rest early."

Comforting others was easy, but when it came to himself, he lay awake, unable to sleep.

To avoid disturbing him, Li Xiujin made a point of staying in the study until midnight before returning to the bedroom, only to find Lin Ze with his eyes wide open, staring at the tassels on the curtains.

Li Xiujin gently turned his face and nuzzled his nose: "Nervous?"

"A little worried..."

Li Xiujin pulled him into a tight hug: "If it fails, we'll face the consequences together."

Lin Ze's gaze cleared, then he blushed slightly and buried his face against Li Xiujin...

"Xiu Jin, thank you..."

Suddenly remembering something, Li Xiujin cupped his face.

"Classes start tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Still planning to go?" Li Xiujin narrowed his eyes.

"I want to..."

"You don't." Li Xiujin gave his cheek a firm pinch. "Tomorrow, I'll go with you to resign."

Indeed, he no longer had the energy for school. Lin Ze felt a little self-conscious: "I'll do as you say, Xiu Jin..."

"Mm."

Early the next morning, Li Xiujin accompanied Lin Ze to the school.

The principal already knew the reason for the resignation and readily signed Lin Ze's resignation application.

Holding the contract terminating his employment, Lin Ze felt a bit dazed.

Going from colonel to teacher had been a step down at first, but he quickly found it rewarding and fulfilling. He had thought this would be a job for life, never expecting he would resign in the end.

After completing the resignation procedures, Lin Ze went to the office to clear out his desk.

There wasn't much to pack, and Lin Ze could have handled it with no trouble, but Li Xiujin insisted he sit in the chair and not lift a finger.

Once everything was packed, Lin Ze and Li Xiujin were about to get into the car when someone called out "Teacher" from behind. Lin Ze turned around and saw some of his former students running over.

"Teacher Lin, you're not going to be our teacher anymore?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Why? Was it something we did?"

"Of course not." Lin Ze immediately shook his head.

"Then, Teacher Lin, can you come back to visit us often?"

"I will." Lin Ze felt a pang.

He had always thought he was his students' least favorite teacher, never expecting so many of them would be sorry to see him go after his resignation.

The class bell rang, and the students reluctantly headed back. Lin Ze spotted Li Xiaoyang among the crowd.

Li Xiaoyang glanced at him but said nothing, following the others as they left.

Back in the car, Li Xiujin settled Lin Ze on his lap. Seeing Lin Ze's eyes slightly moist, he kissed his cheek in comfort.

"After the baby is born, we'll come back."

"Mm."

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the phase for official execution of Regeneration Plan 2 was approaching.

"Weren't you supposed to stay at the training ground? Why are you going with them?" Li Xiujin sat in Su Wang's office chair, his face dark as he asked.

"Originally, the plan was to direct operations from the training ground, but we later realized it was too far from the snow mountain. That would make it impossible to relay commands fast enough, so we decided to go with them," Su Wang explained while wiping cold sweat from his brow.

"But don't worry, we're only establishing a communication base at the foot of the snow mountain. The base is located in a local mountain household and is absolutely safe."

Finally, Su Wang added, "Colonel Lin himself agreed to this."

Li Xiujin said coldly, "Of course he would agree."

After pushing the door open and stepping out, Li Xiujin saw Lin Ze standing right outside. He shot him a dark look, said nothing, and walked straight away.

Lin Ze hurried after him: "Xiu Jin, wait for me, okay?"

Li Xiujin didn't slow his pace.

"Xiu Jin..."

Hearing Lin Ze's breathing quicken, Li Xiujin finally stopped and turned around. Lin Ze, still moving forward out of inertia, bumped his head against Li Xiujin's chest.

"What are you doing running around pregnant?" Li Xiujin steadied him.

Lin Ze stared intently at his face. "Don't be angry."

"Aside from the cold, there's no danger."

Li Xiujin only said, "We'll settle this when we get back."

Lin Ze watched him get into the car and slowly drive away.

When it got dark, Lin Ze didn't linger and returned home.

Seeing Li Xiujin's car parked at home and hearing from the servants that he was in the study, Lin Ze put on his military uniform, which he hadn't worn in a long time, and went upstairs.

Lin Ze gently opened the study door.

Li Xiujin continued handling official business without looking up.

"The communication base is at the foot of the mountain, where many villagers still live. Su Wang also sent people to investigate. Aside from the cold, it's very safe."

"I only found out half an hour before you did. I hadn't had time to tell you before you arrived."

Lin Ze explained softly.

Li Xiujin pretended not to hear, his face cold as he continued working.

Lin Ze understood that he wasn't really angry but worried. As if making a deeply embarrassing decision, Lin Ze walked up to him and spoke again: "Xiu Jin, could you... help me..."

Hearing rustling sounds, Li Xiujin finally looked up and saw him unbuttoning his military uniform, revealing an area that had grown as large as a small hill.

"It feels a bit swollen here... I don't know what's going on..."

As the pregnancy progressed, the swelling became more pronounced. Now, to get him to calm down, Lin Ze spoke, his cheeks flushing.

Li Xiujin’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he suddenly recalled a subordinate who had defected to the enemy—all over an omega. At the time, he had thought it utterly foolish to abandon a promising future for an omega.

But now, it seemed that if the enemy had sent Lin Ze to sway him, his own actions might not be any wiser than that subordinate’s.

Li Xiujin lifted Lin Ze onto his lap.

“How do you want me to help you?”

Though he had initiated the seduction, Lin Ze looked utterly mortified, shielding his eyes and whispering softly:

“Could you… put your mouth on it and suck?”

Later, Lin Ze cupped Li Xiujin’s face and asked shyly, “Xiu Jin, are you still angry?”

“No.”

“Then… should I ride you like last time? Let you…”

Lin Ze didn’t get to finish the rest of his words.

After a night of being thoroughly worn out, Lin Ze finally got Li Xiujin to agree.

Su Wang, who had been worried about how to get Li Xiujin to agree, was astonished when he learned from Lin Ze that Li Xiujin had already consented.

“He agreed? But he seemed so angry when he left yesterday. I’d actually prepared myself for you not being able to go.”

Lin Ze nodded.

“How did you talk to him? How did you persuade him?”

Even the slightest brush of fabric against his chest sent shivers through him. Lin Ze’s ears flushed red. “After I explained it properly, he agreed.”

“I never thought the day would come when General Li was so reasonable,” Su Wang said incredulously.

Lin Ze didn’t say anything more.

On the night before departure, Li Xiujin nuzzled his cheek against Lin Ze’s back, silent.

Because of important official business, he couldn’t accompany Lin Ze.

“Xiu Jin, I’ll protect myself and the baby,” Lin Ze said, stroking his head.

Li Xiujin said nothing.

At 6:30 the next morning in the training ground, all seven were present. Everything that needed to be said had been said, so Lin Ze added nothing more. Su Wang chattered on and finally stopped in front of Su Qian, patting his shoulder.

At eight o’clock, they were right on time boarding the military vehicle. Besides the one they rode in, five other vehicles followed, mainly carrying drones and excavation and storage equipment.

After they boarded, Lin Ze and the two professors got into another vehicle. Once inside, Lin Ze turned on all the monitoring and positioning devices.

On the small computer in his hands, a clear map of Country A appeared, with a red dot blinking steadily as it moved forward.

After driving for a full ten hours, they finally reached the foot of the mountain. It was already dark, making work impossible, so they could only settle in for the night.

After paying the local villagers, they fixed up places for them to stay.

After eating, they each returned to their rooms to rest.

Lin Ze gazed out the window at the snow-capped mountains, his feelings mixed. He never thought he’d come back here again… Would the extraction be successful? Could they uncover the truth behind his teammates’ and teacher’s deaths?

At that moment, Lin Ze realized he wasn’t sure of anything.

The room had heating, and before long, Lin Ze began to sweat. He removed his heavy coat, revealing his pregnant belly.

Feeling somewhat ashamed, he gently placed his hand on it and began to caress it…

Just as Lin Ze lay down, his phone rang.

Seeing the name, he quickly answered.

“No, it’s not cold. The room has heating.”

“See the baby…”

Lin Ze turned the camera toward his belly.

Then he heard him say to lift his shirt.

Lin Ze pulled up his shirt.

In the dim, dusty environment, his pregnant belly appeared exceptionally pale…

Only rapid breathing remained on the phone, as if right beside Lin Ze’s ear. His ear tingled. It was already very late, but he couldn’t bear to hang up.

When it was finally time to end the call, Lin Ze heard his voice, low and hoarse, say, “I miss you so much.”