Chapter 37: Rebirth from the Brink of Death Part 1

Yan Xinfeng carried Wei Tingxia all the way into the comprehensive command room. Once the door closed, he playfully bounced his arm, and Wei Tingxia jumped down, stretching lazily.

He had already taken off his combat suit and hung it on Yan Xinfeng’s shoulder while going upstairs. Now, he only wore a smooth white shirt on his upper body. As he stretched, it lifted at the waist, revealing glimpses of skin.

Yan Xinfeng’s eyelids twitched at the sight. He stepped forward, tugged the shirt down, and tucked it in, saying in his mouth, “Wear your clothes properly.”

Wei Tingxia, who had been inexplicably tugged, turned his head with a puzzled look. “What?”

“Nothing,” Yan Xinfeng withdrew his hand. “What did you come to find me for?”

His body still carried the fuel scent naturally emitted after the mecha’s exertion, evoking images of steel, gunfire, and desolate battlefields. But beyond that cold hardness, Wei Tingxia could smell his own scent.

Few alphas were willing to let an omega leave marks on their gland. To them, it seemed like an invasion, a bizarre compensation for dignity. Therefore, when Yan Xinfeng agreed to let Wei Tingxia leave a bite mark, even Wei Tingxia himself was quite surprised.

“I feel like we didn’t talk it out properly,” he said slowly, walking step by step to stand before Yan Xinfeng. His fingers rested on Yan Xinfeng’s shoulder. “So I came to make amends.”

Yan Xinfeng glanced at his fingers, his expression unchanged. “The problem might be that you made me climb out the window.”

The lack of a marriage certificate didn’t mean their de facto marriage didn’t count. Yan Xinfeng was actually a very traditional alpha, and Wei Tingxia’s various actions had hurt him deeply.

Wei Tingxia guessed, “You think this somewhat infringes on your status as a bonded alpha?”

Yan Xinfeng didn’t speak, but his expression showed that Wei Tingxia had guessed right.

“Don’t be like that…”

He sweet-talked, and the fingers that had been steadily on the shoulder grew restless, slipping toward the collar. After touching the warm skin at the back of the neck, Wei Tingxia smiled and adjusted their position, ultimately pressing down on the circle of bite marks embedded in the gland.

Yan Xinfeng suddenly raised his hand to stop Wei Tingxia’s movement, his voice restrained. “What do you want to do?”

Wei Tingxia didn’t answer. He leaned in closer again, hooked his arms around Yan Xinfeng’s neck, stood on tiptoe, and planted a kiss on his forehead. Then, in a small voice, he said, “I missed you.”

His heartbeat pounded wildly in his chest. Every instinct of Yan Xinfeng screamed that something was wrong. The seductive feast before him was a trap—one step in, and he would be skinned and boned. Afterward, Wei Tingxia could search him left and right, and he wouldn’t have a single coin left.

He glared fiercely at the omega almost pressed against him. Unbeknownst to him, his nasal cavity had filled with sweet, thirsting pheromones. A bonded alpha was like a dog with a rope around its neck—fierce yet controlled by another. The other end of the rope was in his omega’s hand; one tug, one pull, and he forgot even his own surname.

Yan Xinfeng uncontrollably bent down and buried his face in the side of Wei Tingxia’s neck, sniffing deeply to uncover more scent information. A low growl overflowed from his throat. “…What are you trying to do?”

Wei Tingxia idly brushed the hair at the back of his head, his fingertips threading through the strands.

At the edge of his vision, a blue progress bar was slowly advancing.

Wei Tingxia chuckled lightly and turned his head to leave a kiss by Yan Xinfeng’s ear.

“I’ve said it several times already, haven’t I? I missed you.”

The vines of love and desire entwined around their bodies. Even knowing there was a scheme, Yan Xinfeng still closed his eyes.

Perhaps some past enemy had been right—he was too soft-hearted and could never achieve great things.

Clinging to the last shred of resolve not to do it in the command room, Yan Xinfeng took a deep breath, scooped up Wei Tingxia’s waist in one grab, and rushed into the lounge like a whirlwind. When he threw the man onto the bed, his eyes were already red.

“I don’t care what you’re thinking,” he yanked open his collar buttons and laid down harsh words. “You’ll regret it.”

Wei Tingxia’s smile deepened. He lazily adjusted his position to lie comfortably, his gaze hooking over Yan Xinfeng’s neck and chest like a snare.

“Fine,” he laughed. “Let’s see if I regret it.”

…

Scarface sneezed eight times in a row. He rubbed his nose vigorously and slumped into the chair in the monitoring room, asking the young guy working nearby, “Has the door opened?”

“No,” the young guy stared at the screen, worry hidden in his voice. “Uncle, those guys still haven’t left.”

Those guys referred to the mecha troops that had come with Wei Tingxia. These steel monsters were arrayed outside the base, as if ready to launch an attack at any moment, filling everyone with unease.

Scarface raised his hand and smacked the back of the young guy’s head.

“What uncle? Call me bro!” he corrected gruffly. “Am I that old?”

The young guy rubbed his head. “Sorry, Knife Bro.”

Demoted one generation, Scarface felt much better. He slumped back into the chair, glanced once more, and pursed his lips. “No matter. Let them wait.”

Once Yan Xinfeng finished dealing with his omega, everyone could talk calmly. Scarface refused to believe that such a decisive, daring alpha could be completely under Wei Tingxia’s thumb.

It was truly baffling.

Half a day later, Wei Tingxia really did regret it.

In the dim room light, the bedding rustled, and then a fair arm slick with sweat stretched out.

“I… I admit you’re the greatest star pirate,” Wei Tingxia panted. “Satis… satisfied now?”

Yan Xinfeng wasn’t satisfied. “Not even granting me a title or something?”

The bedding shifted abruptly as Wei Tingxia scooted upward, his voice sharpening. “What title do you want!”

“How should I know? I’m an uncultured star pirate. You have to be more understanding.”

With that, Yan Xinfeng reached out again. Wei Tingxia hurriedly pressed him back through the blanket, his tone urgent. “Anything’s fine—duke or prince?”

He really didn’t want to continue; he was scared, his voice trembling.

Yan Xinfeng leaned to his face and kissed him. “A prince too? The Second Highness wields great power.”

“Yes, yes, yes. If you want it, it’s yours.”

At this point, forget prince—even if Yan Xinfeng said he wanted to be emperor, Wei Tingxia couldn’t object.

He slowly exhaled, relieved to see tomorrow’s sun. Then he lifted the blanket and got out of bed, heading to the washroom. At the door, his steps paused slightly as he looked back.

Yan Xinfeng leaned obliquely against the headboard, gazing over with curved brows and smiling eyes. The blanket covered only up to his waist. The soft, dim light fell on his waist, enough for Wei Tingxia to clearly see that ferocious, ugly scar.

A layer of gossamer thin as the naked eye couldn’t discern lay between him and Yan Xinfeng, hazily and beautifully veiling all their indecent secrets, leaving only the surface of their love.

That scar was the key to lifting the gossamer—one that Wei Tingxia had left himself and would personally uncover in the future.

He entered the washroom and closed the door. System 0188’s voice timely sounded: [Preparation complete.]

Wei Tingxia turned on the shower. “Speak.”

[I discovered a storage-type intelligent robot in the base not connected to any network,] 0188 reported. [After a brief interaction, I found anomalies.]

Hot water poured down. Wei Tingxia idly fiddled with the stream. “Hm?”

[The robot stored a large amount of top-secret data, as well as some romance novels. After comprehensive analysis, I conclude—]

0188 paused. [He is.]

Yan Xinfeng was the rebel army.

[Based on partial one-way communication records and financial flows, this army is secretive but powerful. Yan Xinfeng holds an extremely high position within it, very likely the supreme leader.]

A top alpha, a natural leader. Yan Xinfeng could build Deep Blue Base from ruins, so naturally he could also assemble this rebel army single-handedly in the unnoticed shadows.

Wei Tingxia wouldn’t lie to himself and claim he was shocked.

But…

“What about my throne?” he asked in bewilderment. “I really want to be emperor.”

0188: [……Don’t even think about it.]

Yan Xinfeng was prepared to raze the entire Empire to ruins—how could he allow an emperor to exist? No wonder his reaction had been so intense when he learned Wei Tingxia was the Second Prince.

In his plan, all nobles connected to the emperor had to die, and Wei Tingxia became the sole variable in the entire scheme. Yan Xinfeng couldn’t bear to let him die, so he hesitated, torn and conflicted.

The water flowed steadily. Wei Tingxia’s heart turned to dead ashes. He silently squatted down, only half his head above the water, bubbles gurgling up as he breathed.

As soon as Yan Xinfeng entered, he saw this ridiculously adorable scene.

“Whoa,” he exclaimed novelly, leaning over to pat Wei Tingxia’s head. “Little sea turtle?”

The little sea turtle glowered darkly at him and swatted away the eager hand reaching to pat his head.

Wei Tingxia sat straight up in the tub. “I’m done washing.”

His voice was stiff.

With that, he lifted his leg over the tub’s edge, grabbed a bath towel, and wrapped it haphazardly around himself. Without glancing sideways, he brushed past the baffled Yan Xinfeng and left the steamy bathroom.

Yan Xinfeng stood stunned for two seconds before wiping the water droplets from his face and following out of the bathroom.

In the lounge, Wei Tingxia stood in the center of the room with his back to him, stiffly toweling his hair. The soft skin at his nape was taut.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Xinfeng stepped forward in a few strides, reaching to help tighten the bath towel. “Throwing a tantrum? Was the water too hot?”

Wei Tingxia whipped around, tossed the towel onto the bed without using it, and looked at Yan Xinfeng with unusually serious eyes. “I want to be emperor.”

The old topic resurfaced. No amount of sweet intimacy could cover the sudden chill rising in his heart.

Yan Xinfeng’s expression didn’t change. He still fastened the bath towel for him and said softly, “I know.”

“You don’t know,” Wei Tingxia remained very serious. “I really, really, really want to be emperor.”

Yan Xinfeng asked, “Is there any brother of yours who doesn’t want to be?”

“No.”

“Yeah, I knew that long ago.” Yan Xinfeng lifted his head. “Why tell me this all of a sudden?”

Because I can’t anymore.

“Because you seem to dislike this outcome,” Wei Tingxia said lightly. “Is it because you think I’m an omega and unworthy to be emperor?”

A massive pot slammed down on him. Yan Xinfeng’s first reaction was to chuckle, like a poor, helpless farmer standing in his field with hoe in hand, watching a fat rat drop from the sky and devour all his grain.

It was too absurd and helpless; he wasn’t even angry anymore, just felt his fate was bitter.

After laughing, he countered, “When did I say you’re an omega, so you can’t be emperor?”