Chapter 29 Not One Bit

Chapter 29: Not the Slightest Bit Fond

He bent down in front of Zhu Shinian and helped him unbuckle the neck restraint and wooden stocks.

His body had been locked in the chair for so long that it was stiff and barely felt like his own.

"Your legs might be numb," Gu Zhen warned, "Don't just..."

Before Gu Zhen could finish, Zhu Shinian fell off the chair entirely.

They were close, so Gu Zhen caught him without much effort. Zhu Shinian fumbled to sit back up, but his legs felt like walking on cotton—completely useless.

"You see," Gu Zhen said matter-of-factly, turning to Adjutant Qian, "If he stays any longer like this, his legs would be ruined."

Adjutant Qian had been punished the same way by Commander Gu back in the day, so he knew that less than half a day in the chair wouldn't really cripple anyone's legs.

But he also understood—this cadet was only seventeen years old. Punishing him for such a reason was nothing short of unjust.

Since the young master had said so, there was no reason for him to oppose the young master.

Adjutant Qian fell silent for a moment, then stepped back to the door of the confinement room.

"Young master... if the Commander asks, I'll have to tell him the truth."

In other words, as long as Gu Liancheng didn't ask about it, he'd pretend it hadn't happened.

Gu Zhen gave a faint smile and replied, "I understand."

Adjutant Qian pushed the door and left. Gu Zhen supported Zhu Shinian by the waist and lifted him back onto the chair. His face was still pale, but his arms were steady and strong.

He's okay... Thank goodness.

He hadn't killed him. Zhu Shinian thought.

"Being nervous your first time on the battlefield isn't your fault," Gu Zhen said, noticing the boy's gaze fixed on his lower abdomen where he'd been shot. "Grandpa had no right to punish you. Don't take it to heart. I'll handle it."

"You're here because I recruited you. As long as you haven't done anything wrong, you won't be punished. Understand?"

Zhu Shinian raised his head to look at Gu Zhen. His eyes, still unaccustomed to the light after so long in the dark, stung when he looked up, tears streaming down from the sting.

The face before him blurred. Calloused fingers wiped away his tears, and he could see Gu Zhen's face clearly again.

.......

The faces of Gu Zhen at twenty-one and Gu Zhen at twenty-five overlapped, leaving Zhu Shinian dazed.

If he had to say what the difference was between twenty-one and twenty-five, Zhu Shinian couldn't really put it into words.

He knew that if he was in danger, the twenty-five-year-old Gu Zhen would still risk his own safety to save him. He knew that even the twenty-one-year-old Gu Zhen would not tolerate anyone betraying him.

At his core, Gu Zhen was an arrogant man who couldn't bear to have anything of his touched by another.

If he were a swordsman's destined blade, or a general's warhorse, belonging to Gu Zhen would be a supreme honor.

An omega belonging to Gu Zhen—was that any different from his sword or his horse? A voice inside him questioned.

You're his omega. There's nothing wrong with whatever your alpha does to you.

Shouldn't it be an honor to be owned by an alpha like him?

When that thought came to him, Zhu Shinian shuddered.

Why... did he think that way?

Even if he didn't blame Gu Zhen, even if he thought he was partly at fault,

it should be because he loved Gu Zhen, not because... he was his omega.

Gu Zhen turned away to take a call, not deliberately avoiding him. Zhu Shinian heard Jiang Huaiyan's voice from the other end of the communicator.

Gu Zhen said little, and when he did answer, his tone didn't sound particularly angry, as if he were just going through the motions.

Zhu Shinian silently looked away, toward the window on the other side, without turning to look at Gu Zhen's expression.

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

The call ended quickly. Gu Zhen's eyes lingered on Zhu Shinian for a second, as if picking his words.

"I have something to deal with later," he said. "For now, I'll take you to the hospital first. We'll extract some pheromone solution for you to keep."

"...I didn't know before that omegas need pheromones. I won't forget in the future."

Having been with Gu Zhen for many years, Zhu Shinian could tell that this was his way of apologizing.

Someone as proud as Gu Zhen would never say "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong" outright. For him to willingly lower himself and explain like this was already rare.

"It seems a bit better now," Zhu Shinian said softly. "I don't think that's necessary. Getting pheromones extracted also hurts. You don't need to go."

Gu Zhen looked at him for a few seconds. Zhu Shinian's tone was gentle; he didn't seem to be sulking.

"When did they extract your pheromones?" Gu Zhen asked. "Did the matching center make you do it? Why didn't you tell me?"

Zhu Shinian simply nodded without elaborating.

"Is it work-related? You should go ahead. I'm much better now. Maybe... maybe by tonight I'll be okay."

"It's about military expansion. They called me to discuss..." Probably touching on something classified, Gu Zhen stopped abruptly, awkwardly changing the subject. "I'll take you back first."

He took off his uniform jacket and draped it over Zhu Shinian. Zhu Shinian nodded, asking no further questions.

Gu Zhen's jacket carried the scent of his pheromones. Though Zhu Shinian hadn't yet been tested to determine his rank as an omega, he knew his body well enough to know his stability wouldn't be too low.

To get through this heat cycle, just this jacket would probably be enough.

He could sense that something major was happening in the Empire, but since Gu Zhen didn't bring it up, he would never ask.

He didn't want to make things difficult for Gu Zhen, nor did he want to arouse unnecessary suspicion.

Gu Zhen took him home. He didn't bother to remove his shoes and enter, but at the door, he grabbed Zhu Shinian's wrist and told him he had already arranged leave, so he should rest at home. Zhu Shinian turned and entered his room. After closing the door, he finally activated Lieutenant General Yu's communicator.

"Lieutenant General," he came straight to the point, "I want to transfer to the Third War Zone. I know you must have Commander Gu's redeployment order on hand."

There was a brief silence on the other end. Lieutenant General Yu was visibly taken aback by the question.

"...You already know?"

"Is the transfer... a demotion?" Zhu Shinian hadn't immediately understood what that meant, so he asked tentatively.

After a few seconds of silence,

In that brief silence, Zhu Shinian had already understood everything.

Commander Gu wanted to get rid of him, so at first he promised that as long as he was willing to leave the capital, he could be promoted to another war zone.

But Gu Liancheng, after all, hated him and didn’t want to give him a chance to smoothly climb the ranks in the Third War Zone and one day return to the capital to continue pestering Gu Zhen. So he casually fabricated a trumped-up charge to demote him before sending him to the Third War Zone.

The more remote and desolate the place, the more people suck up to the powerful and bully the weak. Those who got a promotion to be transferred from the capital to another war zone were just there to gain experience, eventually meant to return.

But being demoted from the capital to another war zone meant offending someone. Even if his current rank seemed high, the chances of getting promoted again were next to nothing.

"Xiao Zhu," Yu Jing finally spoke, "the transfer order was indeed sent by Commander Gu in advance, but Major General Gu Zhen hasn’t accepted it. He’ll definitely try to get you a new transfer order."

Zhu Shinian lowered his eyes, the corner of his lips curling up almost unnoticeably.

"I understand."

So that was it.

His guess... had been spot on.

"I know you feel wronged... Commander Gu is old," Yu Jing seemed to sense his emotions. "His decisions aren't as sharp as they used to be. You know, the more someone feels like they're losing their edge, the more they want to use whatever power they still have."

"He... doesn’t have much time left. Just think of it as a spat between grandfather and grandson. Don’t take it to heart. After all, Gu Zhen trusts you. Once you get through this, things will get better. Don’t rush to leave—Gu Zhen probably doesn’t know yet that Commander Gu plans to send you away. With his personality, he might even go head-to-head with Commander Gu for your sake."

"I know. But if the transfer order comes through, please let me know as soon as possible."

"Of course. You still have family to take care of, so I’ll definitely notify you in advance to prepare."

After the call ended, the room was eerily quiet. Zhu Shinian thought of his grandmother and frowned slightly. He sat for a moment before getting up to pack his things.

He had several courses of the special medication on hand, so that should be fine. But his grandmother had grown accustomed to life in the capital now. Having to make his grandmother follow him to a new city made him feel guilty.

Still, his grandmother was an optimistic, adaptable old lady. She certainly wouldn’t blame him.

Even if only to put his mind at ease, she would make sure to adjust quickly.

Zhu Shinian sent his grandmother a message, saying there might be a work reassignment and that they would need to move elsewhere, asking her to pack her things in advance.

His grandmother cheerfully agreed, saying that wherever A Nian went, she would follow. She didn’t have much luggage, and the capital had no mountains, no water, and no room to raise chickens or ducks—it wasn’t good for much anyway.

Zhu Shinian put on sunglasses and a mask, then went straight to the black-market clinic he'd memorized long ago.

What Gu Zhen had left was just a temporary mark that would fade in a few days.

But Zhu Shinian was still a little afraid.

He was terrified of that feeling—where being near someone brought comfort, and without their pheromones, he would instinctively feel craving and misery, as if he were under their control.

He was already pathetic and powerless in front of Gu Zhen.

Seeing Gu Zhen engaged to someone else made his heart ache. A little kindness from Gu Zhen, and he would be overjoyed.

He should never have loved Gu Zhen in the first place. It was already hard enough for him to get Gu Zhen to love him equally.

He could never make Gu Zhen love him as much as he loved Gu Zhen, nor make Gu Zhen belong to him alone the way he belonged only to Gu Zhen.

He didn’t want to lose control over his own body's reactions.

The doctor at the underground clinic had no medical license, but the queue was long. An omega holding a child was jostled and accidentally bumped into Zhu Shinian, apologizing profusely.

"It’s fine," Zhu Shinian said with a polite smile. "Is the child running a fever? Go ahead of me—I’m just getting some meds, no rush."

Old Li was quick and brisk, and soon it was the turn of the mother and daughter who were ahead of Zhu Shinian. Word had it that Old Li had come to the capital many years ago, and no one knew where he was from—perhaps a refugee, or an ordinary person without a work permit.

He charged little, worked fast, and his skills were no worse than those of doctors at big hospitals. He had a good reputation. Zhu Shinian came to him whenever he didn’t want to leave a medical record. Over time, he had seen him seven or eight times, but Old Li saw nearly a hundred patients every day and wouldn’t remember him.

The mark-removal process was swift. Old Li, who had performed countless such procedures, worked with practiced efficiency, like a routine.

Probably used to seeing people like this, he didn’t even ask why Zhu Shinian wanted to remove even a temporary mark.

When the mark was erased, there was a quick, sharp sting on his neck.

He didn’t even wince. Before the next patient or Old Li could hurry him, he grabbed his coat, shrugged it on, and walked out of the clinic.

Author’s note: