IRDFPFCIW Chapter 55

“Brother Jiang, your friend is here to pick you up again~”

Jiang Tang straightened up and took off his gloves, too lazy to look at his colleague Xiao Song who was winking and speaking in a charming tone.

Perhaps because there were too many younger generations in his family in his previous life, Jiang Tang had always been strangely tolerant of such eccentric “little friend” who liked to stick to him. He reached out and pushed Xiao Song’s head aside. “Don’t talk nonsense. Why do you mean by my friend?”

Xiao Song looked like a middle school student, but due to his extremely high IQ, he had entered the research institute early and was considered Jiang Tang’s senior here. After being pushed, he wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he leaned in closer like a dog.

“Hey, it’s that hover car that comes to pick you up every day. It’s waiting outside the research institute again. That’s the latest limited edition from K Company released last month. I can’t believe it, Brother Jiang, a rich person is right beside me!”

“Cough, cough.” Jiang Tang was stared at by Xiao Song’s gossipy eyes. For some reason, his face became a little hot. “Is that so? It’s just a friend picking me up.”

Jiang Tang lowered his eyelashes and opened his lightbrain. The message panel still displayed earlier messages.

[Y: I’ll pick you up at noon today. Let’s go to the military together.]

[Jiang Tang: Okay.]

“He’s been here for a while, why didn’t he message me and instead stayed outside…” Jiang Tang muttered softly.

[Jiang Tang: I’ve finished my work today. Are you there yet?]

A beep sounded, as if the other side had been staring at the lightbrain. A quick reply came back—

[Y: Yes, I just arrived. No need to rush.]

Jiang Tang poked the screen and muttered “liar” under his breath.

He didn’t realize how soft his smile was at this moment.

Seeing all this, Xiao Song was speechless: “…”

With a smile like that, he’s just a friend? He clearly looks more like a boyfriend!

“Xiao Song, I’m heading out.” Jiang Tang grabbed his things and hurried out, even his steps became brisk.

“Go on.”

Xiao Song pretended to sigh dramatically. How could he not see the hint of impatience in Jiang Tang’s back?

“Is Tang Tang leaving?”

Xiao Song glanced at another colleague who had her hand resting on his shoulder but didn’t move it away. He merely shrugged and said faintly, “Yeah, Brother Jiang is ditching me for a date.”

As soon as the colleague heard this, her eyes lit up. She stretched her neck to look outside and asked, “Is that handsome guy driving the K car back again?”

“Tsk, you can’t see his face, yet you already know he’s handsome? What if he looks worse than me!” Xiao Song gritted his teeth at her infatuated expression.

He didn’t know what wild boar managed to snag his Brother Jiang. It was infuriating.

“Achoo—!”

Wen Renyuan suddenly sneezed.

Unaware of this, Jiang Tang: ?

He felt Wen Renyuan’s eyes on him, which lingered for a long time. Jiang Tang suddenly recalled Xiao Song and the other’s teasing. He didn’t know why he felt a bit nervous. He unconsciously gripped the lunch bag in his hand.

“Well, actually, I can go to the military headquarters by myself.” Jiang Tang felt the atmosphere in the car becoming a bit awkward. He couldn’t help but glance at Wen Renyuan. “It’s too much trouble for you to come pick me up every time.”

Say something quickly, don’t keep staring at me!

Jiang Tang only heard Wen Renyuan chuckle softly. “It’s not a trouble.”

Then Wen Renyuan leaned towards his seat.

Jiang Tang: !!!

Jiang Tang’s eyes widened as Wen Renyuan leaned closer. His body leaned back slightly and he couldn’t help but breathe more quietly.

Wen Renyuan was already handsome, and the closer his chiseled face got, the more striking his features became. Jiang Tang, who had experienced it personally, found himself staring at him blankly. Jiang Tang felt as if their noses would touch any moment, but Wen Renyuan stopped just before that.

The air around them was filled with each other’s breath.

Jiang Tang couldn’t help but close his eyes but suddenly he heard a click.

Jiang Tang: ?

He opened his eyes in confusion, only to see that Wen Renyuan had already returned to his seat and the sound had come from the seatbelt he had just fastened…

!!!

So it was just that he pressed the seatbelt button for him!

Realizing this, the awkwardness in Jiang Tang’s heart transformed into warmth, flooding his cheeks and ears.

He wanted to find a hole to hide in quickly, but the person beside him didn’t notice and asked, “What just happened? Why did you close your eyes?”

Jiang Tang: …

Jiang Tang: “Nothing happened! I wasn’t thinking about anything! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Wen Renyuan: ?

Once they arrived at the military headquarters, Jiang Tang felt the heat on his face dissipate. He jumped out of the car and quickly walked into the training ground with ease before Wen Renyuan.

Having moved to the Imperial Capital Star for some time now, Jiang Tang had gradually reduced his live streaming frequency and spent more time at the Academy and the military. Under Wen Renyuan’s guidance, Jiang Tang had officially started learning basic mecha piloting a few days ago and was beginning to try driving the mecha.

“Can I sit in the main pilot seat today?” Looking at the dual-pilot mecha that had been accompanying him, Jiang Tang felt a surge of excitement. Wen Renyuan at the side watched his eager expression and couldn’t help but pinch his fingers. In the end, he was unable to resist resting his hand on Jiang Tang’s head.

Jiang Tang was suddenly touched on the head and froze. Since he heard that being patted on the head would stunt growth, he hadn’t let anyone do it since then. But when Wen Renyuan’s large hand landed on his head, he felt the warmth from another person’s palm. Jiang Tang’s first reaction wasn’t to pull away.

When he came back to his senses, he realized that he had rubbed his head against Wen Renyuan’s hand a few times.

For some reason, Wen Renyuan didn’t withdraw his hand either. Jiang Tang looked up and they both found themselves staring at each other.

For a moment, the air was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.

“Ahem…” Jiang Tang shifted his eyes to the side, breaking the eye contact. Naturally, he didn’t notice the slight smile that curled at the corners of Wen Renyuan’s mouth.

Jiang Tang was currently piloting a basic mecha designed for students, which had both a main and co-pilot seat. Previously, Jiang Tang had always sat in the co-pilot seat, but today he finally had the chance to sit in the main pilot seat and let Wen Renyuan sit beside him as the co-pilot.

“Nervous?” After they took their seats, Wen Renyuan asked in a low voice.

Jiang Tang on the side skillfully opened the central control panel. He shook his head while checking the safety systems, saying, “Of course not.”

Assisting others and piloting a mecha himself were two entirely different experiences. Although Jiang Tang hadn’t reached Wen Renyuan’s level of performing difficult maneuvers in the air, he could at least control the balance while flying the mecha, which was exciting enough.

Once the mecha stopped, Wen Renyuan exited the cockpit first. Jiang Tang placed his hand in Wen Renyuan’s palm and also jumped down from the cockpit.

The distance between them closed suddenly. Jiang Tang stood firmly on the ground. Tiny beads of sweat formed on the tip of his nose, shining in the sunlight. His eyes were filled with excitement. They sparkled as he looked at Wen Renyuan.

Feeling Jiang Tang’s eyes on him like this, Wen Renyuan felt his heart race at an unbelievable speed. Everything around him faded into silence, and he could only hear the pounding of his own heart.

Jiang Tang waved his hand in front of Wen Renyuan twice. “What’s wrong?”

Wen Renyuan snapped back to reality. “…What did you just say?”

“I said, piloting the mecha feels amazing!” Jiang Tang was overjoyed, but the intense focus from earlier made him feeling exhausted and a bit hungry.

Suddenly, he remembered what he had brought… “Huh? Where’s my bag?”

Jiang Tang looked around but didn’t see the bag he had brought from the Academy. Could it be he forgot it in the car! He slapped his hand and was about to rush outside when he was stopped by Wen Renyuan.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Is something wrong?”

“I left my bag in the car!”

“Is this what you mean?” Wen Renyuan pulled out a beautifully wrapped package from the side like a magic trick.

“That’s it!” Jiang Tang took it from him in surprise. “Did you bring it for me?”

“You rushed out as soon as the car stopped. When did you become so forgetful?” Although he said this, there was no hint of blame in Wen Renyuan’s tone.

Jiang Tang stuck out his tongue. It was because of the strange actions of the man in the car earlier that he felt so embarrassed and left the bag behind!

“Alright, alright, I won’t do it again.” Jiang Tang opened the package to reveal a square lunch box. He couldn’t help but cheer a little, “I’m starving, let’s go eat quickly!”

Wen Renyuan looked at Jiang Tang who was the first to walk out of the training room with the lunch box. He smiled helplessly with doting eyes.

The two arrived at Wen Renyuan’s exclusive dining room. Jiang Tang pressed a button, and the lunch box layers unfolded. There was a translucent layer of rice at the bottom, with each layer above it filled with colorful and fragrant dishes, and even including a layer of dessert.

The lunch box used interstellar high technology, keeping the food fresh and steaming as if just cooked.

Jiang Tang was already hungry, and the aroma of the food made him even hungrier. To avoid his stomach growling too loudly and causing embarrassment, Jiang Tang pointed at the lunch box and said to Wen Renyuan as if seeking praise, “Look, this is the lunch box I made myself. Just press this button and it unfolds automatically. Isn’t it convenient?”

After receiving Wen Renyuan’s approval, Jiang Tang looked obviously satisfied. It was as if a little tail had sprouted behind him, wagging proudly. He pointed at the dishes on the table and introduced them to Wen Renyuan:

“This is Mapo tofu, this dish is called Kung Pao chicken, this is stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and this is pumpkin crisp…”

“Aren’t you hungry? Hurry and eat.” Seeing him like this, Wen Renyuan’s heart softened. He handed Jiang Tang the utensils very naturally and coaxed him softly, “Our Tang Tang is really amazing!”

“Hmph…” Jiang Tang let out a small and proud hum, scooping a spoonful of Mapo tofu onto his rice. He loved eating like this, with the deep red sauce wrapping around the rice. He mixed a spoonful of rice with the tofu and put it into his mouth. It was spicy and fragrant and the tofu had a smooth texture. The taste was simply delicious with rice.

Wait a minute… After eating a few bites, Jiang Tang suddenly realized, when did he become their Tang Tang?!