IMAO Chapter 122.1

Ji Yang was about to put down his communicator when a message popped up: “It’s the weekend tomorrow, want to grab a meal together?”

While Ji Yang was thinking about how to respond, another message came through: “I miss you.”

Ji Yang blushed as he replied: “Okay.”

Seeing Ji Yang’s flustered and lovestruck expression, Ma Lin nudged Armand and whispered with pursed lips, “Look at Ji Yang being all lovesick. Did he get a secret lover or something?”

Armand swatted away Ma Lin’s nudging hand and gave a noncommittal grunt before lowering his head to continue chatting with Mu An.

“What secret lover?” Ji Yang’s ear tips turned red. “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Ma Lin rubbed his nose, “Your ears are all red.”

Ji Yang touched his burning ears and mumbled in defense, “It’s just hot.”

Ma Lin glanced at the snow falling outside the window.

Ji Yang: “The dorm is warm.”

Ma Lin: “…”

Despite his words, Ji Yang’s hands remained on the chat screen, reading the messages over and over again.

…

Night, Star Wars.

[Team] I’m So Cute: Black Tiger-gege! I got killed, wuwuwu ┭┮﹏┭┮

[Team][Captain]Black Tiger: Don’t worry, I’ll kill them to avenge you!

[Team]I’m So Cute: Black Tiger-gege is the best, I like Black Tiger-gege the most!

[Team][Captain]Black Tiger: Haha.

Jiang Yuan had just finished training and was about to log off when he casually glanced at the chat list. He didn’t expect to see such a conversation. These two really weren’t shy about being mushy.

Since he and Ji Rong had been secretly playing on their alt accounts, they hadn’t been using their main accounts anymore. In the team chat, he mostly saw messages from these two players.

Jiang Yuan took a look at Ji Rong’s old account, with the ID ‘Yuan Rong’. With a quick search, he found that Ji Rong’s account had ranked quite high on the Interstellar ladder rankings. It could have been even higher, but since Ji Rong started school, he stopped using his old account and switched to the alt account 7592102, so he didn’t continue pushing for higher ranks.

Jiang Yuan thought to himself that since they weren’t very familiar, having only played together once about two weeks ago, he didn’t say anything in the team chat and quickly logged off.

The bathroom door opened, and Jiang Yuan snapped out of his thoughts, turning to look at the person coming out.

The man wore a bathrobe, walking while drying his damp hair with a towel. He came over and plopped down next to him, “Come out with me tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Isn’t that when the Marshals are returning to Earth?”

Calculating the time, it should be tomorrow, given they’re using a jump ship which is much faster than civilian vessels.

Ji Rong’s two fathers were returning to Earth. Originally, he and Ji Rong had planned to pick them up, but for whatever reason, the military decided not to dock at the civilian spaceport this time and chose the military spaceport instead.

While it wouldn’t be an issue for just Marshal Alfonso and Marshal Ji Chong to land at the military spaceport, Ji Rong’s Omega father of Hoyt nationality was also returning with the Federation warship. Strictly speaking, this didn’t comply with military regulations.

Regardless of whether it followed protocol, since both Marshals had agreed to land at the military spaceport, he certainly wouldn’t say anything.

But even if they weren’t picking them up, Ji Rong should at least have a meal with his family.

Jiang Yuan took off his sweat-soaked shirt, “You’re not meeting your fathers tomorrow? Why are you asking me to go out?”

Ji Rong said softly, “Well, they want to meet the person I like… Just for a meal. I’ve already booked the restaurant. Father has been away from Noth for a while, and they’ll return there after the meal. It won’t take too long.”

Jiang Yuan was stunned. He had met Ji Rong’s two fathers in Hoyt and talked with them, but back then they were just classmates and friends. Meeting a friend’s parents naturally didn’t cause any pressure, but now that he and Ji Rong were together, it felt different.

Seeing his hesitation, Ji Rong thought he was unwilling and tugged at his sleeve, “It’s just a meal, like before. Just keep me company, okay?”

Seeing Ji Rong’s pitiful look, Jiang Yuan found it amusing. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to go; he just felt unprepared for suddenly meeting the parents. “Okay.”

The moment he agreed, Jiang Yuan noticed Ji Rong’s eyes lit up with joy, bright and curved into crescents, making his heart skip a beat.

…

The next day.

Estimating Ji Chong and his partner’s arrival time on Earth, Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong headed straight to the private room at the restaurant Ji Rong had booked in the city.

“They’ll be here in twenty minutes,” Ji Rong told Jiang Yuan softly after ending the call with his father.

Jiang Yuan nodded. Although he had met Ji Rong’s fathers before, and the situation was different now, he still didn’t feel much pressure. “Okay.”

Earth’s First Military Spaceport.

Horace looked displeased at the two Federation soldiers assigned to protect him. “Marshal Alfonso, I don’t need protection. I’m just an ordinary person now, not the emperor of Hoyt.”

“Don’t worry, they won’t interfere with your freedom. They’re just following you to protect you when necessary,” Alfonso explained gently, but felt helpless inside.

Although Horace had abdicated, he still held more authority in the hearts of Hoyt people than the current Emperor Hosea. An ordinary person? How could he be just an ordinary person?

If Ji Chong wasn’t stationed at the border planet Noth, they wouldn’t even want Horace to go to Noth, considering the border’s instability. Who knew how Hoyt would react if something happened to their former emperor in the Federation?

A few days ago, Federation commanders had met to discuss Noth’s future security. They hadn’t planned to keep Ji Chong at the border forever, but since he was the Federation’s youngest Marshal, they weren’t in a hurry. However, Horace’s presence now forced them to consider recalling Ji Chong earlier.

Horace raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need anyone’s protection.”

If this were in Hoyt, seeing Horace raise his eyebrow would have sent all the ministers to their knees in fear. Fortunately, this was the Federation.

“Well, since you insist,” Alfonso said gravely, “may I have the honor of joining you for the meal? I haven’t seen Ji Rong and Jiang Yuan in a long time. I’ll just ask the kids directly. I don’t think they’d refuse.”

Horace: “…”

Ji Chong grabbed Alfonso’s hand as he reached for his communicator and said with amusement, “Alright, sir, just let them follow. You haven’t rested in a long time either, you should go home and rest.”

“Is this really okay?” Alfonso asked Ji Chong, but his eyes were on Horace. Horace didn’t want to be disturbed. He wasn’t even willing to have two escorts, let alone Alfonso. Alfonso had just been trying to make a point.

“Don’t worry.”

After seeing Alfonso off, Ji Chong raised his hand, hesitated for a second, then finally placed it on Horace’s head, ruffling his hair. “Marshal Alfonso means well. Let them follow for now. They can stay outside during the meal and won’t disturb us, okay?”

“If this was Hoyt, I would have cut off your hand for this long ago,” Horace said suddenly after walking a few steps with Ji Chong in silence.

Ji Chong froze for a moment.

Then reached out and ruffled Horace’s hair again.

Horace: “…”

The two Federation officers ordered by Alfonso to follow Horace knew who they were guarding, the Iron-Blooded Emperor Horace. Who in the entire galaxy didn’t know him?

But knowing his identity was different from knowing the details of the situation. Seeing their nation’s War God pat the Iron-Blooded Emperor’s head, their jaws dropped to the floor, unable to pick them back up.

They looked at Ji Chong with increasing reverence.

Their War God was too fierce!

He dared to pat the Iron-Blooded Emperor’s head!

War God is mighty!

War God is awesome!

…

Twenty minutes later.

Ji Chong and Horace arrived at the restaurant, entering through a special passage rather than the main entrance. The robot guide led them and the two military officers to private room 12-1 without a sideways glance.

Since the entire restaurant was staffed by robots, Ji Chong deliberately avoided other people, and their arrival went unnoticed.

“Beep—”

Jiang Yuan was speaking quietly with Ji Rong in the private room when the closed door opened from outside. There were four people at the door.

He was startled.

Four?

Ji Chong spoke quietly to the two men at the door before entering the private room. “No need to stand guard. Get another room across the hall and wait there while having your meal.”

After arranging for the two men, Ji Chong entered the room and draped his coat over a chair.

“Dad,” Ji Rong called to Horace, then turned to Ji Chong and thought for a moment, “Father.”

Ji Chong nodded slightly, while Horace’s earlier irritation completely vanished at Ji Rong’s “Dad.”

Jiang Yuan also stepped forward, “Hello, uncles.”

After exchanging greetings, Ji Rong, who had noticed the two men outside when opening the door, asked curiously, “Who were those two outside?”

Ji Chong said casually, “Military personnel. They insisted on coming to protect your father.”

“You need protection? I didn’t see anyone following you when you came to Earth before?” Ji Rong asked, puzzled.

Ji Chong shook his head. “They’re not protecting me.”

Ji Rong paused, suddenly understanding that these men weren’t following his father, but rather his newly acknowledged Dad, whose identity wasn’t simple.

The military’s decision to send escorts made sense.

Listening to the father-son conversation, Jiang Yuan’s gaze naturally fell on Ji Rong’s Omega father. He knew from Ji Rong that this father had given up his position in Hoyt and would return to Planet Noth with Ji Chong. Yet the military still assigned special protection despite him relinquishing his Hoyt status, which showed his identity wasn’t ordinary.

While Jiang Yuan was thinking about the other party’s identity, Ji Rong pulled him to sit beside him. Once the four were seated, both fathers casually asked about their recent lives.

After some chat, the awkward atmosphere eased considerably, and they were all talking and laughing like a simple family.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Jiang Yuan stood up and said to everyone, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Ji Rong also stood up, wanting to accompany him, but Jiang Yuan pressed on his shoulder to keep him seated, saying with amusement, “You don’t need to follow me everywhere, right? At this rate we’ll be like conjoined twins. Chat with uncles, I’ll be right back.”

Ji Rong grabbed Jiang Yuan’s hand, “I’m worried about your condition…”

Jiang Yuan chuckled softly, “Don’t I know myself? It’s fine.”

Leaving the room, Jiang Yuan closed the door and smiled helplessly, feeling warm inside. He knew Ji Rong was worried about his sudden onset of dependency syndrome, but since getting together with Ji Rong, he hadn’t experienced any attacks… not to mention those chaotic heat periods…

He seriously suspected it was because of Ji Rong’s insatiable demands, after all, both dependency syndrome and heat periods were manifestations of pheromone growth and accumulation, but with someone like Ji Rong around…

Growth?
Accumulation?
Not possible.

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