This book review stunned both Yun Xunlan and the system.
The system, having no brain, recovered faster and immediately proposed a guess: “Could his account have been hacked? This review wasn’t posted by him?”
Yun Xunlan was pragmatic: “That possibility can’t be ruled out.”
He clicked to expand the collapsed comments under this hot review, wanting to see what other readers were saying.
The first comment was again from this reader, providing evidence with a chat screenshot: [Look, this bastard author said it himself! [Image]]
In the screenshot, the author was replying to students’ questions in his writing class group chat—
Student: Teacher, the friendship in your novel is very touching. I’d like to ask, how can we write about a pair of good brothers with deep friendship?
Author-teacher’s reply: You might not believe this, but I actually don’t know how to write friendship either. I just write a couple directly and then say there’s only brotherly affection between them.
Below the screenshot, netizens were arguing—
[This is too much! Aren’t they treating us like fools? Refund! Give me back the tears I cried for them!!!]
[Damn it, I was wondering why they sleep together every day? The male lead hasn’t even slept with the female lead, but he’s almost burning up sleeping with his brother. Turns out they’re gay! And a pair of male alphas at that! I could barely accept omega-omega, who doesn’t like sweet little omegas?]
[Replying to above, actually the sleeping together part is fine… Haven’t you all slept with your good brothers before?]
[I have, but damn, do you sleep with your brother every day? I don’t even sleep with my wife every day.]
[Let’s be precise, the male lead and his brother don’t sleep together every day either. They sleep five days and rest two, it’s not every day.]
…
The system and Yun Xunlan both fell into silence.
Yun Xunlan asked the soul-searching question: “Can good brothers really sleep together every day?”
“I don’t know,” the system said. “But according to the netizens’ heated discussion, good brothers can sleep together, as long as it’s not five days on, two days off. That’s gay, not brotherly. You and Yu Chen have only slept together for two days, it’s not a big problem.”
“It is a big problem,” Yun Xunlan was very clear-headed. “This book isn’t writing about brotherly affection. I can’t continue following its methods to be brothers with Yu Chen.”
“It’s not that bad, is it? Even if the process was all wrong, isn’t it fine as long as the result is right?” the system asked Yun Xunlan. “Didn’t Yu Chen swear to you last night? Whether you’re an alpha, beta, or omega, he’s willing to be brothers with you.”
Yun Xunlan hesitated: “But Ni Chun seems to have started misunderstanding my relationship with Yu Chen. When I just asked him to help me change to a bigger bed, he even asked if I needed condoms and lubricant prepared, and if I had any preferences for scents.”
Ni Chun is a very qualified attendant.
He’s loyal, attentive, reliable, and can diligently complete all of Yun Xunlan’s requirements and tasks, even doing them very well. His only flaw might be an overly vivid imagination, easily conjuring up some unrealistic ideas.
The system, however, felt that Yun Xunlan bore a large responsibility for Ni Chun having such thoughts: “This is a normal phenomenon. Think about you and Jian Wenxi. There’s clearly only friendship between you two, but so many people outside insist it’s love. I heard that in the Nebula Federation, rumors about you and Jian Wenxi have even spread to the point where he’s supposedly had three abortions for you.”
Yun Xunlan felt this rumor was utterly ridiculous: “I just came of age this year.”
“Who can blame people for getting such misconceptions when friendship reaches a certain depth?” The system sighed worriedly. “Therefore, by the same logic, even if there’s only pure friendship between you and Yu Chen, people will similarly mistake it for love. I wouldn’t be surprised if rumors about you having three abortions for Yu Chen appear in the Corona Empire one day.”
Yun Xunlan: “…”
Yun Xunlan reluctantly accepted the system’s consolation, but still felt confused about one detail in its words: “It’s understandable for Wenxi as an omega, but Yu Chen and I are both alphas. Why would I be having abortions for Yu Chen? Why not him for me?”
The system argued confidently: “You’re not like other alphas, you have a reproductive cavity. If anything were to be conceived, it could only be you carrying it.”
“Even if I have one, it’s almost atrophied and non-functional,” Yun Xunlan shook his head. “So such rumors couldn’t possibly appear about Yu Chen and me.”
The system concluded decisively: “Whether it appears or not, you just need to remember one thing: Never pay attention to rumors and slander.”
Yun Xunlan: “…Alright, I’ll remember that.”
He finally discussed with the system: “Then should I still sleep with Yu Chen in the future?”
“Sleep together occasionally, but not every day,” the system advised him again. “If you’re worried about misunderstandings, you might as well invite other guards or attendants to sleep together too. This way, people won’t think you and Yu Chen have any feelings beyond friendship.”
“No,” Yun Xunlan carefully considered for three seconds before firmly refusing. “The rumors generated by Wenxi and Yu Chen are already giving me enough headaches. If we add more guards and attendants, the outside world will only spread rumors about me being promiscuous, not sparing anyone of any gender.”
The system sighed deeply: “Indeed.”
After removing “Interstellar Journey: The Supreme New Emperor” from the “Touching Brotherhood” category in his reading app, Yun Xunlan turned his attention to the laboratory, focusing intently on work for an entire day before leaving to visit Dr. Yu Jianuo at the Imperial Military Medical Research Institute.
The Imperial Military Medical Research Institute is the top hospital in the Galactic Empire, bar none.
All doctors and nurses in this hospital serve only the imperial family, officials, military personnel, and their families. Unless under special circumstances, they generally don’t accept any civilians. So when Yun Xunlan came here, there was no need to clear out other people. He walked straight to the pre-arranged consultation room as soon as he got off the flying vehicle, familiar with the route and needing no guidance.
Today, Yu Chen, Fu Yanxi, Gui Yan, and Lu You, the four responsible for closely following Yun Xunlan, along with attendant Ni Chun, were left outside the consultation room door.
These four were the top-ranked alphas among the nine guards, making them the most suitable escort for Yun Xunlan’s outings.
However, among these four top alphas, three had dark circles under their eyes. One of them, standing in front of the psychological consultation room door, glanced out the window and his eyes reddened, saying nostalgically: “Ah, that sea of flowers—”
“That long bench—”
Fu Yanxi was on the verge of tears: “Perhaps it was here that the Third Highness saw me crying back then, and specially went to the garden to comfort me, calling me ‘big brother’… *sob*”
Yu Chen, Gui Yan, Lu You: “…”
Yu Chen didn’t want to look at Fu Yanxi’s face, nor did he want to hear him go on about his childhood encounter with the Third Highness. He withdrew his gaze, focusing on his own thoughts and just standing guard. However, after a while, he suddenly felt a gaze fall upon him.
He looked back and found that the owner of the gaze was Ni Chun.
Ni Chun’s eyes were complex, his expression a mess, clearly showing he had something he wanted to say but was hesitating.
It must be because he knows about Yun Xunlan wanting to date me, Yu Chen thought. He could understand; when he first realized this himself, his feelings were also very complicated. It took several days of careful consideration before he decided to respond to the prince’s seemingly hopeless feelings.
As expected, Ni Chun hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn’t hold back. He walked up to Yu Chen and said in a low voice, “Major Yu Chen, I have something I’d like to discuss with you privately.”
“Alright,” Yu Chen nodded in agreement, following Ni Chun to a corner.
Ni Chun clasped his hands together, his brows tightly knitted, indicating he was very nervous.
Yu Chen watched from the side, his own nerves also becoming tense. He was concerned about Yun Xunlan’s visit to the hospital today—could there be something wrong with the youth’s health?
But Yun Xunlan was seeing a psychologist, wasn’t he?
Or could the problem be psychological?
He frowned and asked Ni Chun, “Attendant Ni, is what you want to tell me related to the Third Highness?”
“Yes,” Ni Chun clenched his hands, speaking solemnly, “It’s a very important matter.”
Inside the consultation room, Yun Xunlan, dressed in a white suit, sat with his fingers interlaced on his knee. He raised his eyes slightly, a smile on his lips, looking at the male omega in front of him wearing a soft beige turtleneck sweater. He greeted him, “It’s been almost a month since we last met. How have you been, Dr. Yu?”
Yu Jianuo shook his head with a helpless smile, “Your Highness, you’ve stolen my opening line again. I’ve always been well. How about you?”
“I’ve been doing very well recently,” Yun Xunlan answered. “So I think we might be able to shorten our consultation time today.”
Yu Jianuo smiled again, not commenting on the latter part of Yun Xunlan’s statement, only expanding on his first sentence, “So Your Highness has been doing well recently. Did something happy happen? Did you fall in love?”
Yun Xunlan told the truth, “Not that, but I met someone who’s very important to me. Interacting with him makes me very happy. When I’m with him, I feel happy every day.”
Yu Jianuo asked, “Is he your friend?”
Yun Xunlan replied, “Currently, yes, but I hope our relationship can progress further.”
Yu Jianuo listened attentively, “Then you want to progress to…”
Yun Xunlan said, “Lifelong best friends.”
Yu Jianuo encouraged him, “As long as you put your heart into maintaining and nurturing your friendship, it will definitely happen.”
Yun Xunlan nodded in agreement, “Yes, I feel it’s coming soon. I’m looking forward to that day.”
Although he couldn’t directly observe the specific progress of his friendship with Yu Chen, Yun Xunlan had experience with this—after his friendship with Jian Wenxi reached its peak, rumors about them started circulating. So it should be about the same with Yu Chen.
“By the way, Dr. Yu, I want to thank you for your suggestion last time,” Yun Xunlan brought up another matter with Yu Jianuo. “Having a pet really does greatly reduce anxiety and stress.”
“Yes, when you’re feeling down or particularly anxious, petting it can help you relax,” Yu Jianuo asked further, “What kind of pet did you get, Your Highness? How is it going?”
Mentioning his little pet, Yun Xunlan seemed somewhat proud: “It’s going quite well, it’s almost developed a patina.”
Dr. Yu was stunned for a moment: “…A patina?”
“Yes, I’m raising a tea pet, a small blue fish,” Yun Xunlan touched his light brain bracelet, sincerely inviting Yu Jianuo to admire his pet. “Dr. Yu, would you like to see a photo of it?”
Yu Jianuo: “…”
