Seeing the message, Bai Ruonian tilted his head.
He’d meant to close the message window, but after stabbing at it a few times with no success, he finally realized his fingertips were trembling.
Was it the residual body reaction of the original host?
Mom.
Such an unfamiliar word.
But so warm.
The original host’s mother had been very good to him, Little Bai knew.
When the original host was unwell, she would stay by his side all night long, wishing she could trade ten years of her life for his health. She’d weep profusely, cry tears of joy when Bai Jianyin got into Imperial Academy, and throw herself protectively over him whenever he had a big fight with Bai Shouyi.
Bai Ruonian pressed down on his trembling fingers and typed a reply: Okay.
He wanted to see what his mother looked like, too.
Before leaving, he thought he should tell Lu Mingjin, but ultimately decided against it.
Actually, he wanted his owner to go with him…
But recalling that morning’s message about urgent military affairs… he definitely couldn’t disturb his owner now.
After contacting Old Cao, Bai Ruonian technically stepped into Lu Mingjin’s world for the first time.
The previous time didn’t count; that time he’d been carried straight back by his owner.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Ruonian sat in Old Cao’s car. He carefully rolled down the window. Wind blew in, the streets bustled, various scents washed over him. Bai Ruonian’s eyes sparkled. He inhaled deeply.
So vivid.
Through the rearview mirror, Old Cao watched the Major General’s Young Madam brimming with excitement. The wind tousled his hair, his expression radiant. Pretty and clever, like a cat venturing out for the first time, curious about everything.
“This area is the Capital Planet’s Commercial Street. They have everything. Weren’t you going back to visit family? Want to buy something? I think the fresh flowers here are excellent.”
They were excellent.
The Capital Planet had abundant sunlight, so even the flowers were exceptionally vibrant.
Bai Ruonian paused, tilted his head, decided Old Cao had a point, hopped out of the car, and entered a flower shop.
The shop was filled with fragrance. Colorful blossoms, sprinkled with water, were stunningly vivid. A few even had plump, fuzzy bees resting on them.
His innate nature flaring up, Bai Ruonian couldn’t resist poking a drone’s fuzzy bottom with his finger.
Startled, the bee fluttered its wings and landed on the tip of Bai Ruonian’s nose, making him stumble back two steps. A hand reached out, caught the bee, and tucked it back into a flower.
The little bee wiggled its bottom, forgot its previous grudge, and went back to napping in the nectar.
“Drones don’t usually attack, but they’ll sting if pushed too far.”
A voice chuckled.
Bai Ruonian let out a light breath, patted his chest, and found the voice familiar. He suddenly looked up. “Chen Zhenghe, you’re here too?”
Chen Zhenghe grinned. “Just waiting for Imperial Academy to start. Helping my dad watch the stall. You buying flowers?”
Bai Ruonian nodded, eyes bright. “Mm!”
“What’s the occasion?”
Chen Zhenghe looked at Bai Ruonian somewhat nervously, afraid he’d say it was for his hubby. Ever since Bai Ruonian was taken away by his matched Alpha, Chen Zhenghe hadn’t seen him. But judging from his appearance today, he seemed to be well taken care of.
Chen Zhenghe was relieved, but still felt a sour pang in his heart.
He was really well cared for. Looked much better than when he was at the Bai Family Residence.
“For… my mom.” Bai Ruonian hesitated slightly saying the word. That term felt very strange and alien rolling off his tongue. He looked down. “Mom is sick.”
“Madam Bai is sick?”
Chen Zhenghe frowned.
How come he hadn’t heard…
Seeing Chen Zhenghe’s silence, Bai Ruonian blinked, looking a bit lost. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah… nothing.” Chen Zhenghe rubbed his nose. “I was just thinking what flowers would be good. Tulips and Carnations are perfect right now.”
He deftly turned and wrapped a bouquet of tulips.
It was a bouquet kissed by morning dew. The petals had a silken texture, glowing softly under the sunlight. The pale golden buds hadn’t fully opened, a faint blush of red bleeding at their edges.
A very precious variety, especially in this era. They needed specific soil, specific light, even simulated climate conditions from mother Earth’s spring to survive. So each stem was almost obscenely expensive, only available on the Capital Planet’s Commercial Street.
Chen Zhenghe ran his fingers over one bloom, pulled it out, and offered it to Bai Ruonian. “It’s fragrant. Smell.”
Bai Ruonian leaned in to sniff. His azure eyes perfectly matched the flower. “It really is fragrant!”
His owner always used to bring him flowers, too.
He’d have to bring a few back for his owner when he returned.
Bai Ruonian contentedly hugged the bouquet. He was even more beautiful than the flowers. Staring at the blooms in his hands, he suddenly remembered something.
Uh oh.
Chen Zhenghe raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”
“I… it seems I didn’t bring any money… Wait here!”
Bai Ruonian remembered Old Cao outside. Just as he was about to head out, Chen Zhenghe pulled him back, still wearing that cheeky grin. “Consider this a small thing. It’s all going to the old man anyway, he’s not short on cash. Besides, Auntie is sick, I gotta contribute too. Let’s go, I’ll head to the Bai Family Residence with you.”
“But your stall… won’t your dad be mad?”
“He couldn’t care less.” Chen Zhenghe said confidently. “He owns the whole street. Even if he wanted to manage it, could he?”
=
At that moment, Old Cao stared into the rearview mirror, watching as that roguish punk slung an arm over his Young Madam’s shoulder and boarded a starship.
He knew exactly what that kid was up to!
Wasn’t this the proverbial punk?
Old Cao mulled it over. He had to report this to the Major General. No matter how busy he was, this had to take priority.
Poaching right under his nose.
A 99% matched Omega was truly rare. Where would they find another if they lost this one?
=
Lu Mingjin received Old Cao’s Communication Stream. The Marshal was briefing his men, detailing everything from combat deployment to marching routes. He’d been speaking with fervent passion.
Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence.
Lu Mingjin’s Communication Stream, which almost never made a sound, rang out right then.
Because of the Adjutants, virtually all messages went through the Military Command intranet to his inbox. The only alerts that came directly to Lu Mingjin’s Terminal right now were likely…
Just like last time…
A family matter.
Everyone present heard it, but no one dared glance towards the source of the sound.
A combat briefing personally held by the Marshal for his direct subordinates. The United Operations Department, Special Operations Department, Intelligence Analysis Department, Strategy Department, Logistics Department, even the Publicity Department were all here. Taking a call, let alone slacking off, was absolutely forbidden.
Seeing the Marshal’s sour expression, several high-ranking officers cast sympathetic looks at Lu Mingjin.
But the looks went unacknowledged. Lu Mingjin was reading the Terminal message.
Went back to the Bai Family Residence?
With a punk?
Who was the punk?
He meticulously checked the missed messages on his Terminal again. No signal from Bai Ruonian.
Ji Shiyu, sitting right beside him, leaned over. With his 1.2 unaided vision, he saw Old Cao’s message at a glance and let out a nonchalant, schadenfreude-filled chuckle.
He raised an eyebrow. “I told you there was something fishy. Maybe he went to pick up a mission.”
Seeing Lu Mingjin’s expression visibly darken, he fearlessly added, “Don’t believe me? Let’s bet.”
He didn’t have a good impression of this randomly matched 99% Omega.
“No bet.”
Lu Mingjin himself wasn’t certain.
“Lu Mingjin! Ji Shiyu! Listen carefully! Do I need to re-emphasize discipline to you?! Don’t you know a fish rots from the head down? What kind of example will you set for your soldiers?!”
“A fish rots from the head down…” Ji Shiyu repeated thoughtfully.
Gu Changde then realized he’d just insulted himself.
The Marshal’s face was black as iron. If he had a piece of chalk in his hand, he’d definitely have thrown it at them.
They’d all been granted general-grade rank—how could they still lack discipline!
“So what exactly was sent to his Terminal?” Qi Jiheng, the 7th Division Commander sitting next to Ji Shiyu, couldn’t help asking.
“Wifey issues…” Ji Shiyu said mysteriously.
Gu Changde looked at the three men below him—one completely indifferent, the other two muttering to each other. He couldn’t help but explode.
“Get lost, all of you. Lu Mingjin, Ji Shiyu, and Qi Jiheng, get lost. You’re young, you’re powerful, you’re fearless—I’m done caring!”
“Yes, Marshal.”
It seemed Lu Mingjin had been waiting for exactly those words. He saluted, smoothly complied, and turned to leave.
Ji Shiyu and Qi Jiheng exchanged glances, offered an awkward smile, leaving Gu Changde choking on his fury, unable to swallow it or spit it out.
These guys…
Zhang Huaijin had been waiting outside the meeting room. This was a General-Grade Officer level meeting, so he wasn’t included. Happy for the break, he was just about to slack off when he saw his superior striding out purposefully.
Zhang Huaijin’s heart lurched.
Trouble was coming. Something was about to happen.
He quickly fell into step. “Major General, where are we headed?”
“To the Bai Family Residence.”
