ISMW Chapter 34

Yun Xunlan hadn’t forgotten how Mu Xingyu scolded him.

 

No.

 

Not only had he not forgotten, he remembered it very clearly. After all, his memory had always been good, so good that sometimes Yun Xunlan felt it was a burden.

 

For example, looking at Jian Wenxi’s furrowed brows now, he could immediately recall why Jian Wenxi despised Mu Xingyu—he was only five years old then, and Mu Xingyu wasn’t much older, just fourteen, but it was the most rebellious and wayward period for a teenager.

 

And he vented all the negative emotions and malice of that age onto Yun Xunlan.

 

Robber, thief, disgusting parasite, if it weren’t for you, if only you had died instead… These were his names and curses for Yun Xunlan.

 

Yun Xunlan had always listened silently, until these words were overheard by a third person.

 

“You bastard!”

 

That was the first time Yun Xunlan heard Jian Wenxi swear.

 

Originally, he thought Jian Wenxi was just an introverted, well-behaved child who would cry if surrounded by too many people. So when he first heard this swear word, Yun Xunlan thought someone else had said it. But the next second, Jian Wenxi burst out from the bushes behind him and Mu Xingyu like a cannonball, fiercely pushing Mu Xingyu—though he didn’t budge.

 

However, he fiercely threatened: “What are you saying to Lanlan?! I’m going to tell the Crown Princess! You’re the one who’s doomed!”

 

But Jian Wenxi’s threats didn’t intimidate Mu Xingyu. Instead, they startled Yun Xunlan, who had to persuade Jian Wenxi at length to keep this secret for him and not let a fourth person know.

 

Jian Wenxi agreed to Yun Xunlan’s request but still couldn’t understand why Yun Xunlan would tolerate Mu Xingyu’s insults.

 

“He’s pitiful, but his misfortunes aren’t your fault, they weren’t caused by you,” Jian Wenxi said emotionally, his eyes red with anger. Forgetting to maintain distance, he grabbed Yun Xunlan’s sleeve through his gloves and said urgently, “Before, we could say he was young and didn’t know better, but how old is he now? If Mu Xingyu dares to say those things again, I won’t just call to scold him, I’ll smash his mouth!”

 

Jian Wenxi’s level of social anxiety was well-known even among interstellar pirates.

 

Yun Xunlan had known him for over a decade and had never heard him make a phone call except for urgent work.

 

He never expected that now, for his sake, Jian Wenxi would actively call Mu Xingyu, and to scold him at that. Yun Xunlan was very touched, but he refused Jian Wenxi’s offer: “Wenxi, my second brother came back during his susceptible period this time. His temper is still not good, but he really didn’t scold me.”

 

Hearing this, Jian Wenxi fixed his gaze on the silver-haired alpha’s face, observing whether he was lying.

 

But even after confirming that Yun Xunlan was telling the truth, Jian Wenxi’s expression still didn’t brighten. He continued to ask: “Are you speaking up for him?”

 

“No,” Yun Xunlan shook his head gently, looking directly into Jian Wenxi’s eyes, “I’m just stating the facts.”

 

Those golden eyes were calm and undisturbed, but looking at them, Jian Wenxi felt inexplicably sad. He let go of Yun Xunlan’s sleeve: “Have you been seeing Dr. Yu recently?”

 

“I go for regular check-ups,” Yun Xunlan said. “I have a comprehensive full-body examination every three months and a monthly psychological health evaluation. I’ll see Dr. Yu this weekend.”

 

Dr. Yu’s full name was Yu Jianuo, a psychologist exclusively serving the royal family.

 

Jian Wenxi’s tone sounded almost like a plea: “Go as soon as possible.”

 

Yun Xunlan didn’t refuse him: “Then I’ll go after work tomorrow.”

 

Hearing this, Jian Wenxi finally felt somewhat relieved, though there was still one matter he wanted to ask about: “You took sick leave the past two days. Did something happen to your health again?”

 

Yun Xunlan told him: “No, it was just a nosebleed. Dr. Edmund only asked me to rest in bed.”

 

Jian Wenxi completely relaxed, finally letting go of the tension he’d been holding in his throat for so long. He nodded and said: “Alright, then I’ll go back to work.”

 

With that, he turned and left Yun Xunlan’s office.

 

As he exited, he happened to run into Lu You and Yu Chen, who were coming to relieve Ji Bai and Luo Di for their shift. Jian Wenxi paid no attention to Lu You but glanced several times at Yu Chen.

 

Ji Bai found this strange: “What did Young Master Jian talk about with the Third Highness in the office? Why did he come in so angry but leave with slightly red eyes?”

 

Luo Di added a detail Ji Bai hadn’t noticed: “He kept staring at you, Yu Chen.”

 

Yu Chen had also noticed this but was equally puzzled, not understanding why. After all, he had never interacted with Jian Wenxi before.

 

The only connection they had in real life was that both Jian Wenxi and Yu Chen knew Yun Xunlan.

 

But Jian Wenxi’s relationship with Yun Xunlan wasn’t just a simple acquaintance—they were childhood friends and often rumored to be romantically involved.

 

Yet last night, Yu Chen had slept with Yun Xunlan.

 

So after hearing Ji Bai and Luo Di’s observations, Yu Chen’s first reaction was: Could Jian Wenxi have come to confront him?

 

Confront him about what?

 

—The “crime” of sleeping with Yun Xunlan.

 

However, this thought had barely surfaced in Yu Chen’s mind for a few seconds before he dismissed it himself.

 

The reason being that Yun Xunlan and Jian Wenxi had publicly stated multiple times that they were just good friends without any romantic feelings. Therefore, who Yun Xunlan wanted to sleep with or how he wanted to sleep was none of Jian Wenxi’s business.

 

But their pheromone compatibility was very high…

 

What does high compatibility mean?

 

It means they are more like a natural pair than others.

 

Yu Chen couldn’t help but think of the lychee rose in his dormitory—a beautiful, fragrant flower he’d carefully tended for a long time but that stubbornly refused to fully bloom and reveal its pistil.

 

—Was it because it knew he couldn’t pollinate it?

 

Yu Chen lowered his eyelashes, hiding the shadow in his eyes.

 

He understood very clearly that he shouldn’t be thinking about such irrelevant nonsense.

 

After all, if he decided firmly not to respond to or accept Yun Xunlan’s feelings for him, then there was no need for him to dwell on these trivial matters. Yet at this moment, he couldn’t control his chaotic thoughts. What did this mean?

 

The answer was on the tip of his tongue.

 

Yu Chen slowly raised his face, looking towards the end of the corridor on his right.

 

At the end of this corridor was a wall of artificial flowers, but Yu Chen seemed to see through it, perceiving a deep blue sea surface that appeared calm but concealed raging waves beneath—on the night Mu Xingyu talked privately with Yun Xunlan in the study, this was the sea he saw standing outside.

 

And the person he truly wanted to see was separated from him by doors and walls, maintaining a distance that, while not far, prevented them from touching each other.

 

Yu Chen’s lips curled into a self-mocking smile—Fu Yanxi had really hit the nail on the head.

 

Even though he too was about to be inevitably and inescapably captured by Yun Xunlan’s gravity, becoming a pitiful celestial body tidally locked, he was still stubbornly struggling, vainly attempting to resist the laws of physics.

 

There was nothing wrong with simply sinking and losing himself in this.

 

At least before crossing the Roche limit, before being disintegrated by the youth’s gravity, their orbiting would never cease; and afterward, he would either shatter and fall into the youth’s celestial body or become his magnificent, beautiful ring. Their destined convergence would never deviate.

 

Yun Xunlan spent the afternoon in his office organizing data and had Ni Chun call Dr. Yu Jianuo to schedule an appointment for tomorrow.

 

For dinner, as usual, he drank a nutrient solution, not even leaving his office. He took a bottle from the office refrigerator and finished it on the spot, voluntarily working overtime until around 10 PM before getting up to finish work and prepare to return to the base staff dormitory to rest.

 

But upon seeing Yu Chen’s figure when he went out, he felt somewhat impulsively inclined to change his mind and return to Crescent Moon Peninsula.

 

Because his dormitory room at the Seventh Military Experimental Base wasn’t very large, with a narrower bed that couldn’t accommodate two alphas sleeping together unless he and Yu Chen tightly embraced each other, sleeping in the “neck-to-neck” position the system had mentioned last night.

 

The problem was that Yu Chen wasn’t gay, so he definitely wouldn’t accept this position that had a high probability of making them sleep like lovers.

 

Tonight, he’d better sleep alone.

 

Yun Xunlan sighed softly. As soon as he entered the dormitory building, he waved to dismiss Lu You and Ni Chun, only letting Yu Chen escort him alone to his room door. He planned to chat casually with him for a bit, engaging in the mutual care expected between good brothers, before showering and going to bed. He’d sleep with Yu Chen again when he returned to Crescent Moon Peninsula on the weekend.

 

“Yu Chen, I didn’t see you when I woke up this morning, and I didn’t have a chance to ask you at the training ground,” Yun Xunlan first inquired about whether Yu Chen had slept well. “Were you comfortable sleeping with me last night?”

 

The blue-eyed alpha replied softly: “I was comfortable.”

 

“That’s good then,” Yun Xunlan felt relieved. “If there’s anything you’re not comfortable with, you can tell me.”

 

Hearing this, Yu Chen paused his steps, falling half a meter behind, and asked in return: “Then you would correct it, to make me more comfortable… sleeping with you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yun Xunlan also stopped, turning around at the dormitory door: “But we’re both alphas. Does that bother you?”

 

Two alphas who weren’t gay sleeping together could easily cause discomfort for an alpha if their pheromones clashed, and since his own pheromones sometimes leaked uncontrollably, Yun Xunlan decided to ask Yu Chen’s opinion in advance.

 

Unexpectedly, after he asked this question, the alpha remained silent for a long while, just gazing deeply at him with those profound, cool blue eyes.

 

Gradually, Yun Xunlan began to feel nervous—could it be that Yu Chen minded this point?

 

He traced Yu Chen’s features inch by inch with his gaze, afraid of missing any change in his emotions.

 

Finally, he saw the man’s Adam’s apple bob as he spoke in a hoarse voice, his tone agitated and uneasy: “…I won’t.”

 

This attitude made Yun Xunlan feel that Yu Chen was lying to him.

 

However, after those two words fell, the tall alpha slightly lowered his head, leaning closer to continue: “If it’s you, I won’t mind.”

 

After saying this, the man straightened his back, pressed his lips together and said no more, his blue eyes no longer looking at him, instead avoiding his gaze by looking elsewhere.

 

Yun Xunlan’s gaze, however, remained fixed on Yu Chen, unable to look away—he saw that Yu Chen’s ears had turned red.

 

Red enough to almost drip blood, looking hot just by sight.

 

And this heat was continuously spreading, slowly expanding towards both cheeks under his gaze.

 

Yun Xunlan asked the system in confusion: “Is Yu Chen blushing because he lied to me?”

 

“Huh?” The system spoke up for Yu Chen, “From what I heard, his tone seemed quite sincere, not like he was lying.”

 

Yun Xunlan became even more perplexed: “Then why is he blushing?”

 

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