“Didn’t you say he’s in a relationship?”
“Perhaps he just wants his susceptibility period to end quickly so he can see the person he likes. It probably has nothing to do with me.” Yu Chen thought Pei Xingting was overthinking things. “The list of selected guard members won’t be announced until tomorrow morning. I’m going to sleep now—you can continue your night shift alone.”
With that, Yu Chen really did hang up.
Pei Xingting admired this quality about Yu Chen. He often felt that Yu Chen was like a star—though his core was constantly undergoing intense nuclear fusion reactions, he was paradoxically labeled with the character for “constant,” representing another kind of unchanging, stable existence, as if he could remain calm and composed no matter what happened.
Yu Chen had dropped such a bombshell on him that Pei Xingting felt he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight even if he didn’t have a night shift. And those hundred alphas who had participated in the interviews and were awaiting results—how many people besides Yu Chen could sleep peacefully tonight?
Pei Xingting didn’t close his eyes all night, not even for a nap. At exactly seven o’clock the next morning, he immediately checked the military department’s official website for the royal guard selection results.
Fortunately, Yu Chen’s name was on the list, ranked first.
Pei Xingting had initially thought Yu Chen’s selection was definitely due to his perfect score in War Psychology. However, once the list was released, he became less certain, since all nine alphas who ranked highest in the combat assessment had been selected without exception. This gave the impression that Yun Xunlan didn’t actually care who these alphas were and had simply followed procedure by selecting nine people.
But the truth didn’t really matter as long as Yu Chen hadn’t been unexpectedly eliminated.
Just then, another doctor came to take over his shift. On his way back to his apartment, Pei Xingting called Yu Chen again to tell him: “Have you seen the list? You’ve been selected.”
There was a rustling sound on Yu Chen’s end, as if he was packing luggage: “I already know. The notification came down an hour ago.”
Pei Xingting then asked: “When will you move into the North Palace?”
The North Palace was Yun Xunlan’s residence. He lived there when he wasn’t at the Seventh Military Research Base. His attendants, medical team, and the newly selected alpha guards would also be stationed nearby.
“Six o’clock this evening. It’s very rushed,” Yu Chen said. “Guards can’t leave their posts even during leave. I don’t know when I’ll be able to go out next, so I need to go bring my baby home before entering the North Palace.”
Ordinary soldiers had to report to their superiors in advance if they wanted to leave the military department during non-annual leave periods. Now that Yu Chen had become the Third Prince’s guard, his movements would be even more strictly controlled and restricted. Even during holidays, he would have to remain on duty 24 hours a day, maintaining the highest state of combat readiness, awaiting orders.
Fortunately, the commander had given them half a day of leave to see their families and handle personal matters. Yu Chen decided to use this time to personally bring his Comet-S7 home.
For this, he posted a selfie wearing a helmet: [Blue: Got promoted, decided to bring my baby home earlier. [Photo]]
Less than three seconds after posting, Yu Chen noticed an account called “Novice Fish Keeper” had liked his post and commented: [Novice Fish Keeper: Congratulations~ [Cheering]]
With the wavy tilde and emoji, the message had a strong tone of ingratiation. But Yu Chen remembered this was the same person who had provoked him yesterday with green heart emojis in the comments section. What was this about now?
Yu Chen clicked on “Novice Fish Keeper’s” profile to see if this was an alternate account created by Fu Yanxi or someone else he had insulted before. Instead, he saw that “Novice Fish Keeper” had posted a new update an hour ago:
[Novice Fish Keeper: Baby looks so good~ [Photo]]
The image was a full-body shot of a Comet-S7, with “Novice Fish Keeper” himself in the frame.
He was wearing the riding suit that came with the Comet-S7 purchase. With his left leg slightly bent, he leaned casually against the heavy motorcycle. His well-proportioned body was tightly wrapped in a layer of deep black fabric, creating an extremely slender curve at the waist. But his tall, slender figure—more impressive than most omegas and betas—combined with that unique aura of authority possessed by those of noble birth and power, told observers that this was a top-tier alpha.
However, Yu Chen couldn’t see his face because the young man was also wearing a helmet.
He glanced at “Novice Fish Keeper’s” IP address and found that the young man was also on Imperial Star, and coincidentally in the same central city as himself.
Being able to afford a Comet-S7 and currently located in the central city… Fu Yanxi did meet these conditions, but judging from the young man’s figure, he clearly wasn’t Fu Yanxi.
Yu Chen saved the photo, planning to pick up his own Comet-S7 first before carefully analyzing who “Novice Fish Keeper” might be—whether an old enemy with whom he had a grudge, or simply a mindless hater who disliked him online.
However, when he arrived at the Semyu Company pickup point, the staff informed him that the last Comet-S7 on Imperial Star had been picked up that morning. A new Comet-S7 was currently being rushed in transit, and he would need to wait another day to get his vehicle.
Yu Chen laughed with anger on the spot: “I placed my order a month ago. And three days ago, you sent me a message saying it had been delivered to Imperial Star and was ready for pickup. Now that I’m here, you’re telling me I have to wait again?”
The Semyu Company employee bowed apologetically: “Mr. Yu, you only need to wait one more day…”
“Only?” Yu Chen asked coldly. “I don’t even have half a day to wait.”
Yu Chen truly wanted to curse. He could have had the Semyu Company staff deliver the Comet-S7 directly to his home, but he loved that motorcycle so much that he wanted to give it a complete homecoming ceremony, which was why he had gone to such trouble. Who would have thought it would be a wasted trip.
Seeing the man’s gloomy face surrounded by an aura of hostility, looking as if he might explode into violence at any moment, the Semyu Company employee bowed even lower, saying bitterly: “Mr. Yu, we’re truly sorry. We’ll gift you ten years of vehicle insurance to express our apologies… please be understanding.”
“Fuck, do you think I need your ten years of insurance money?”
Yu Chen cursed under his breath, but he also understood that the Semyu Company employee wasn’t deliberately making things difficult for him.
Although the Semyu Company staff hadn’t said anything explicitly, Yu Chen knew there was only one explanation for this situation: his baby had been snatched—by some idiot whose status, power, and wealth were above his own, someone the Semyu Company couldn’t refuse.
Returning in low spirits, Yu Chen’s mood turned from sunny to stormy. As soon as he stepped out of the Semyu Company’s entrance, he immediately posted an update on the galactic web cursing the unknown person who had snatched his baby: [Blue: Annoyed. Which son of a bitch took my baby?]
Fu Yanxi instantly liked it: [Forever Guarding the Third Prince: Good, this is fate encouraging you to donate your money for the benefit of society. [Well Done.jpg]]
[Blue: What are you barking about? Why don’t you tell the person who stole my baby to donate money?]
[Forever Guarding the Third Prince: I don’t know who took it either, so I can only advise you.]
[Blue: Is something wrong with you? Get lost already.]
At the same moment, Yun Xunlan lowered his eyelashes to look at Yu Chen’s new post, then raised his eyes to glance at the black heavy motorcycle in front of him, and froze: was there only one Comet-S7 in stock on Imperial Star?
The Comet-S7 was what he had asked Ni Chun to buy. When Ni Chun delivered it, he hadn’t said anything, so…
Had he snatched Yu Chen’s baby?
The system offered its scathing commentary: “It’s over. You two probably really can’t become brothers now.”
Yun Xunlan quickly deleted the post with the Comet-S7 photo from his alternate account profile, pretending nothing had happened: “No, Yu Chen might not have seen my post yet. If he doesn’t see it, he won’t know I’m the one who took it, and we can still be brothers.”
“You didn’t actually need to delete it,” the system said. “Your post didn’t specify when you bought it. Deleting it only makes you look more suspicious.”
Just as these words were spoken, Yun Xunlan found he had received a private message, from Yu Chen’s account no less—
[Blue: ?]
A simple question mark, carrying who knows how much meaning.
The system continued its assertion: “Oops, he definitely saw your Comet-S7 photo, and then noticed you deleted it. He thinks you’re feeling guilty, so he’s come to confront you.”
Yun Xunlan: “…Not necessarily.”
Yun Xunlan, stubborn as ever, calmly typed a question mark in response to Yu Chen’s private message: [Novice Fish Keeper: ?]
[Blue: That Comet-S7 photo you took looked pretty cool. Why did you delete it?]
Yun Xunlan: !!!
Yu Chen had indeed seen that post!
The system reminded Yun Xunlan: “Small matter, stay calm. He has no evidence to confirm that the Comet-S7 is the one he was supposed to get. As long as you don’t admit it, you stand undefeated.”
Yun Xunlan nodded: “Alright.”
Yun Xunlan borrowed Fu Yanxi’s admonishing words from Yu Chen’s comment section to respond: [Novice Fish Keeper: Showing off wealth isn’t good, so I deleted it.]
[Blue: That black glazed antique tea set you showed off in March was 3 million more expensive than the Comet-S7. Why didn’t you delete that post?]
[Novice Fish Keeper: That tea set was actually a high-quality replica, not worth much.]
[Blue: Oh, so the Comet-S7 you bought is genuine, right? That’s good—you’ve learned to support authentic products. When did you buy it?]
[Novice Fish Keeper: A month ago.]
[Blue: You bought such a beautiful baby and waited a whole month before showing it off?]
[Novice Fish Keeper: Yes.]
[Novice Fish Keeper: Is something wrong? [Green Heart][Green Heart][Green Heart]]
After sending the simple “Yes,” Yun Xunlan felt his response might seem a bit cold, so he added three healing “Green Heart” emojis to express his friendliness.
Finally, Yu Chen seemed to sense his goodwill and stopped asking about the Comet-S7, instead asking: [Blue: Nothing, just wondering if I know you?]
To ensure his answer would be satisfactory, Yun Xunlan decided to consult his trusted strategist, the system: “Little Hermit, how do you think I should respond?”
The system thought for a moment, then told Yun Xunlan: “As the saying goes, ‘Online fate connects with a single thread; be sure to cherish this connection.’ You should reply with something that shows you two are destined to meet, encouraging him to cherish your encounter.”
Yun Xunlan adopted the system’s advice and replied to Yu Chen: [Novice Fish Keeper: I feel like we knew each other in our previous life.]
—Past lives and present incarnations—this was a connection even deeper than destined mates. How could Yu Chen not cherish to the utmost a brother whose bond had survived through two lifetimes?
1 Kofi = 1 Extra Chapter
Someone tell him this is called flirting 😭😭