Lu Yang pulled Liu Minghu up from the ground and was about to leave the training ground when Li Zhan suddenly stood up, blocked his way, and said with a smile: “Major General, since you are already here, come and compete with me.”
Lu Yang raised his eyebrows slightly and agreed, “Okay.”
Since he was already a sweaty, smelly wolf, he might as well take the opportunity to tidy up these troublesome kids and make them behave properly instead of causing trouble every day.
Li Zhan excitedly cracked his wrists. If there was anyone left in the army who could spar with Lu Yang, it would be him.
Lu Yang initially thought Li Zhan could exchange a few punches with him, but he didn’t expect Li Zhan to be so distracted today. He kept smiling at him and glancing at Ruan Mian from time to time. Rather than saying he was engaging in a serious fight, it was more like he was just showing off.
After Lu Yang threw a few punches, he stopped impatiently and frowned at him, “Are you going to fight or not? If not, forget it; don’t waste time here.”
“Fight!” Li Zhan was shocked and said quickly, “I- I didn’t adjust my state just now; I will fight seriously now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he punched Lu Yang fiercely. Although he was a Beta, he trained strictly day and night, so he was very strong.
Lu Yang narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly returned his fist, hitting him on the chin without hesitation. The two of them punched and kicked, and the fight was very intense, and it was hard to tell who was better.
Ruan Mian stood by, watching them, his gaze following their movements. This was the second time he had seen them fight. He could tell they had become much stronger than a few years ago, with each punch more powerful than the last.
Every time Li Zhan’s fist landed on Lu Yang, Ruan Mian’s heart skipped a beat. He watched in fear and trepidation until Lu Yang’s strikes became faster and fiercer. Finally, with a sweeping kick, Lu Yang knocked Li Zhan to the ground, allowing Ruan Mian to breathe a sigh of relief.
He calculated in his mind that Lu Yang probably wasn’t seriously injured. At most, he would have a few bruises, and some herbal liniment should take care of that.
Although Li Zhan was knocked to the ground, he was not discouraged at all but smiled happily.
“Brother Yang, fighting with you is the most refreshing!”
Lu Yang reached out and pulled him up, saying in a flat tone: “Don’t call me Brother Yang anymore; I’m not used to it.”
The smile on Li Zhan’s face froze on his face. He was stunned for a moment, raised his hand and pointed at Ruan Mian, and asked in a deep voice: “Why didn’t you feel uncomfortable before? Now that he is here, you suddenly feel uncomfortable?”
He was unwilling to accept it. He had been using that term for years, privately using it to prove his close relationship with Lu Yang. He never allowed anyone else in the army to call Lu Yang that. Why, just because Ruan Mian didn’t like it, was he no longer allowed to use it?
Ruan Mian was squatting on the ground, rummaging through his bag for bandages and disinfectant. He happened to have these items with him, as he had just noticed a small scrape on Lu Yang’s hand and wanted to treat the wound. Focused on his task, he didn’t notice the conversation between Lu Yang and Li Zhan or the tension in the air.
Lu Yang looked at Ruan Mian, a trace of warmth in his eyes. He turned back to Li Zhan and said calmly, “Li Zhan, I’ve said it before. Please show some respect to Mian Mian. This is my final warning. If you still want to be my brother, you need to learn to respect Mian Mian. He is my bottom line.”
Li Zhan’s face was pale, his eyes darkened, and he finally couldn’t help but get anxious, “What do you like about him?”
When Lu Yang heard his words, it was like hearing a funny question. He answered without hesitation: “I like everything about Mian Mian. Of course, I like him the most.”
Li Zhan: “…” I’m asking you a serious question, not asking you to show your affection with me!
After speaking, Lu Yang removed the wrist guard from his hand, tossing it onto the training mat. Ignoring Li Zhan, he walked over, lifted Ruan Mian from the ground, and carried him towards the steps at the edge of the training ground.
Ruan Mian was very light, and now Lu Yang could easily lift him. Ruan Mian didn’t resist being carried; he obediently lay on Lu Yang’s shoulder.
The soldiers cheered again when they saw this scene. Liu Minghu was punched in the face a few times just now, and he was screaming and grimacing in pain, which looked extremely funny.
Lu Yang put Ruan Mian on the steps, looked at the gauze and disinfectant in his hand, smiled gently, and said in a low voice: “I’ll take a shower first, and you can apply medicine to me when I come back.”
Ruan Mian nodded and reminded: “Baby Lu, be careful when you take a shower; don’t let your wound get wet.”
“Okay.” Lu Yang rubbed his head, “If you are really worried, come with me to take a shower, and help me take care of the wound.”
Ruan Mian quickly shook his head. If he was a child, he might agree, but now he couldn’t help blushing and his heartbeat skipping whenever he thought of the scene of taking a shower with Lu Yang, and he didn’t dare to look at Lu Yang.
Lu Yang just wanted to tease him, and now looking at his flushed cheeks, he finally floated away contentedly.
He thought of Li Zhan’s question just now and couldn’t help but sneer. Someone actually asked him what he liked about Ruan Mian. There was nothing he didn’t like about the little lop-eared rabbit.
Li Zhan stood in the distance and looked at them. Lu Yang’s answer just now and his nonchalant attitude echoed in his mind, and he couldn’t help but feel sour and bitter in his heart.
Lu Yang’s reaction just now made it seem as if his fondness for Ruan Mian was the most natural thing in the world, as if it was destined to be so. Even asking the question felt absurd.
He walked to Ruan Mian unconvinced, looked down at Ruan Mian, who was sitting on the steps, and asked in a deep voice: “Why do you deserve Lu Yang’s love? You can neither accompany him to the battlefield nor fight with him like me. If it was you who went on stage just now, how many punches do you think you could withstand from Lu Yang?”
Ruan Mian thought about Lu Yang’s strength just now and answered truthfully: “I can’t even withstand one punch.”
Li Zhan snorted lightly: “You know deep down that you can’t withstand even one of his punches. Ask yourself honestly, do you really deserve to be his partner?”
Ruan Mian put the disinfectant and gauze aside and said innocently: “Don’t worry, Lu Yang won’t fight with me; at most he will use his wolf claws to scare me.”
He remembered how Lu Yang would raise his wolf claws but never actually scratch him, making him smile. Whenever Lu Yang got really angry, he would just retract his claws and pat his head with the soft pads.
Li Zhan looked at the smile on Ruan Mian’s face and felt that Ruan Mian was blatantly showing off, which made him even angrier.
He panted a few times and said angrily: “He is a Major General; he needs a partner who can help him! What can a little Omega like you do to help him? You can’t even join the army!”
“What do you mean by helping him?” Ruan Mian lowered his gaze, looking at the bandages and disinfectant in his hands, and said firmly, “I can make him smile, which helps him be happy. By studying medicine well, I can treat his wounds. Although I don’t have as much strength as you and can’t fight alongside him, I will do my best to be good to him. We’re together not to fight; do I really need to train in martial arts before marrying him?”
“How can you be considered good to him!” Li Zhan was still unconvinced. He felt that Ruan Mian was taking advantage of his childhood sweetheart and was of no use to Lu Yang.
Ruan Mian looked up at Li Zhan, his eyes calm and steady, and asked in a composed tone, “Is this not enough? What exactly does it mean to be good to him? Does it have to mean standing by his side on the battlefield? Although I’m a doctor and stay in the hospital, unable to go to the battlefield, I believe I can accompany him in my own way. I’ve always been striving in his direction. Please don’t dismiss my efforts so easily.”
Ruan Mian lowered his head, feeling a little depressed.
He is an Omega, destined not to walk the same path as Lu Yang. Because of this reason, he had to be separated from Lu Yang for so long, and he was already very sad.
In the past few years, he has been working hard to become someone who does not fall behind Lu Yang and hopes that one day he can help Lu Yang, even if it is just to help Lu Yang simply treat his wounds.
Li Zhan seemed stunned by what he said. He stood there for a while, looking at his drooping eyebrows, and couldn’t help asking with a guilty conscience: “Hey! You’re not going to cry, are you? I won’t comfort you.”
“No, that’s not the case.” Ruan Mian lowered his head, rubbed his eyes gently, and said with a nasal voice: “I’m just a little sad.”
“What are you sad about?” Li Zhan felt even more guilty. He looked at Ruan Mian’s drooping head, and it seemed like he had bullied Ruan Mian.
He likes to be straightforward, and he is also like this when he likes someone. He doesn’t like to beat around the bush. If he has something to say, he wants to say it openly. If he feels dissatisfied, he will work hard to fight for it.
He has always believed that happiness is achieved by one’s own efforts, and only hard work can bring rewards. Otherwise, as a Beta, he would not have fought all the way to today.
Ruan Mian heard his question and answered in a muffled voice: “You are a Beta, but you can stay in the army and sit in the position of deputy general. I admire you very much, but I didn’t expect you to discriminate against Omegas, so I am a little disappointed.”
“I don’t discriminate against Omegas!” Li Zhan was shocked and explained quickly: “I have suffered all the pain of being a Beta; how can I discriminate against you just because you are an Omega? Don’t misunderstand me.”
Ruan Mian raised his eyes and looked at him quietly without saying a word, his eyelashes fluttering gently.
“…” Li Zhan’s voice choked, thinking back to what he said just now, he couldn’t help but say with a guilty conscience: “I just said it casually… Forget it. Just pretend that I didn’t say anything just now.”
Ruan Mian continued to look at him; his big eyes blinked slightly, the tail of his eyes was slightly red, and there was a faint, watery light in his eyes, looking innocent and pitiful.
Li Zhan frowned, looking at the redness at the end of his eyes, clenched his jaw, hesitated for a while, and said in a rough voice: “I’m sorry!”
He said it with some embarrassment and turned around and ran without waiting for Ruan Mian’s reaction.
Ruan Mian rubbed his eyes, looked at the direction he left in surprise, and asked in confusion: “Why did he leave so suddenly?”
He lowered his head and rubbed his eyes again. A willow catkin had fallen into his eye earlier, and no matter how much he blinked, he couldn’t get it out. His eye had turned red from all the rubbing. Now that the willow catkin was finally out, he felt a bit more comfortable.
He couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh, smiled faintly, and held the small medicine bag in his arms, waiting quietly for Lu Yang to return.
