Chapter 46: Look at Me Part 1

His wrist itched, and Li You shrank back slightly, his heart thumping wildly. He pursed his lips as he looked at Li Ye, quietly waiting for the other to look up. Finally unable to withstand those gazes any longer, he pressed his hands on Li Ye’s shoulders and pushed him to turn around. “Alright, alright, you should go now.”

Li Ye stopped at the starship login entrance and glanced sideways at Li Ming, who was still fuming not far away. He lowered his gaze and tapped a few times on the light brain on his wrist, then instructed Li You again. “Teacher Moger will come pick you up soon. Don’t drive back yourself.”

“No need, no need. I know how to drive.” Li You clasped his hands behind his back. “You should hurry and go. Hasn’t the departure time already arrived?”

“You haven’t driven a hover car in a long time. I’m not at ease.” Li Ye looked at him. “Go wait in the office for the teacher. Be good.”

“…” Li You glanced at Li Ming and Li Weier not far away, instantly understanding. He nodded in agreement. “Alright, I’ll go wait in your office.”

Li Ye quietly looked at Li You for a moment before turning to log into the warship. The warship door slowly closed, and the two could no longer see each other.

Li You stood in place. When countless warships on the docking platform lifted off, the wind and waves they stirred ruffled his clothes and hair. He watched the warship fleet grow farther and farther away until it completely vanished from sight. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and head straight toward Li Ming and Li Weier.

The several officers surrounding Li Ming and Li Weier saw this and immediately stepped forward to block Li You. The leading officer nodded. “Your Highness Youyou, please come with us to the office.”

Li You looked at the leading officer. “I have a few words I want to say to them. I know the way to the office. I’ll go there myself in a bit. Is that alright?”

The officer looked somewhat troubled. “But…”

“I guarantee I won’t mention this to Li Ye.” Li You pressed his palms together, his pair of round and pretty eyes sparkling as he looked at him. “Just a few words, okay?”

The officer stepped aside and ordered the others to withdraw to a distance away.

“Thank you.” Li You smiled gratefully at the officer.

“You’re welcome. It’s our honor to resolve Your Highness’s concerns.” The officer placed his palm over his heart, extremely devout. “We’ll wait not far away. If you need anything, Your Highness, just call for me directly.”

With that, he glanced at Li Ming but said nothing before turning to leave.

At this moment, only Li Ming, Li Weier, and Li You remained in this corner.

The wind whistled across the docking platform, carrying a bit of chill. Li You rubbed his arm, which felt cool from the wind, and was the first to break the silence. “I like Li Ye—not in a familial way.”

Li Weier frowned upon hearing this but said nothing. Li Ming directly opened his mouth and roared angrily. “Do you know what you’re saying?!”

“Of course I do.” Li You looked at him. “Big Brother, why are you angry?”

This was the part Li You didn’t understand.

In the past, when he did something wrong, Big Brother got angry, and he could understand that. But now he was just stating a fact—why was Big Brother angry?

“I’m not angry because of you! It’s because that bastard Li Ye misled you!” Li Ming broke free from Li Weier and took two steps forward, stopping just one step away from Li You. “Did he do something to you? Did he force you?!”

Li You shook his head. “No, he didn’t force me.”

He looked straight into Li Ming’s eyes. “I’ve liked him for a long time. I was just too obtuse to realize it before. Now I know.”

“Damn it! What kind of talk is this?!” Li Ming’s face and neck flushed red and purple, his voice mixed with the sound of grinding teeth. “Li You, that’s your brother!”

“Yes, he’s my brother, and I love him.” Li You showed no fear, utterly frank. “I was the one who took the initiative, and I’ll keep taking the initiative in the future. I want my brother—he’s mine.”

He cut off Li Ming, who was about to speak. “Besides, I’m not here to discuss this with you now. I’m just letting you know. Don’t think it’s my brother’s fault, and don’t go causing him trouble. If you have any ideas, come to me.”

“You—” Li Ming was so angry his lips trembled.

Li Weier, who had been silent beside him, spoke up then. “You’re protecting him.”

“Yes.” Li You nodded without hesitation.

“Have you thought about the consequences?” She looked at Li You. “Li Ye and you—whether it’s your publicly known brotherly relationship or the fact that you two aren’t even the same species—these factors could greatly impact the future. Have you considered them?”

“Sister Weier, future matters should be left to the future.” Li You repeated the same line. “I want my brother—now, in the future, he’s mine.”

Li Weier had nothing to say and looked away.

Li Ming’s expression soured to the extreme, and he seemed about to erupt, but Li You no longer wanted to say more. He checked the time, turned sideways, and took a step. “I’m going now. Goodbye.”

The three exchanged few words, and the rare few were all confrontational. Their already strained relationship wasn’t resolved—instead, it deepened further.

Li You arrived at Li Ye’s office, wandered around the lounge for a bit, then sat down in the booth and took out his light brain to look.

Teacher Moger: 【You little brat, your ‘urgent matter’ was joyriding through campus to the Imperial Military? How come I never saw you with such guts before?】

Teacher Moger: 【Stay right there! Don’t touch that car again!】

The courage he’d had during the confrontation with Big Brother and Third Sister vanished completely after seeing these two messages from the teacher. Li You sat up straight and proper, cradling the light brain in both hands, and replied obediently: 【Okay, Teacher. I’m waiting for you right here.】

After sending the message, he stood up to head back to wait by the Little Yellow Car on the docking platform. But after just two steps, the light brain received two more messages. He tapped them open and was stunned for a moment.

Bro: 【Don’t go on Starnet lately. Wait for me to get back.】

Yulian: 【Youyou, you’ve been photographed by military academy students and posted on Starnet.】

Li You stopped in his tracks and unhesitatingly opened Starnet to browse. He saw various photos of himself looking lost on the military academy grounds going viral online and instantly understood.

He skimmed through the comments at a glance without reading too closely, exited the interface, and returned to his chat with Li Ye: 【I went and looked.】

Li You: 【I’m fine. This is nothing compared to getting trashed across the whole net over ten years ago.】

Li You: 【Hehe.JPG】

Bro: 【You’d better not be forcing a smile.】

Li You held down the voice send button. “I’m really fine. I do hate being gossiped about, but honestly, I don’t care about Starnet at all right now.”

He paused, his tone solemn. “Really, not one bit.”

Then he fake-coughed twice, glanced around to confirm the area was safe and empty, and lowered his voice. “Bro, my head’s full of you right now. There’s no room for anything else.”

After sending the voice message, he immediately exited the chat with Li Ye, quickly switched to Yulian’s conversation, and replied: 【Got it.】

Right after, he shut off the light screen and didn’t dare look again.

When nervous, or after doing something thrilling, people either became unusually fidgety or unusually quiet.

Li You was special. He first quietly walked toward the edge of the Imperial Military, and once he reached a deserted spot, he broke into a run all the way. Upon arriving at the docking platform, he dove straight into the Little Yellow Car, grabbed the pillow, and pounded it fiercely several times. His heart raced, and his little face flushed red.

Just then, the light brain chimed with a notification. His heart beat even faster as he nervously pulled it out to check.

Moger: 【I’m here. Where are you, kid?】

Li You blinked in disappointment. He was just about to open the door to get out when Li Ye’s message followed—a voice note.

His heart pounded like a rollercoaster again. He tapped it open, and upon hearing his brother’s voice, his ears tingled.

“Then you’re only allowed to think about me. I’ve had someone take down those photos on Starnet. Train properly with the teacher for the next few days.”

After hearing the three sentences, only the first one remained in Li You’s mind.

Only allowed to think about him.

Only allowed to think… about him.

Li You’s face burned. A knock on the door pulled him back from the wave of heat. He hurriedly opened the door and got out, standing at attention with a goofy grin at Moger. “Hello, Teacher.”

“The teacher’s not doing well.” Moger crossed his arms and glanced at the chubby banana-yellow hover car behind Li You that looked like a ball. He grumbled, “What kind of taste do you have, kid? Picking the ugliest one to drive.”

“It’s very cute.” Li You reached out to pat the Little Yellow Car. “And it’s easy to drive. Don’t underestimate it, Teacher.”

“You’re defending it so much, but you still let it speed?” Moger pulled out a fine ticket. “The higher-ups issued this to the military academy, but now it’s in my hands. So, what do you say, Student Li You?”

Li You scratched his cheek, his tone sincere. “My fault. I’m willing to accept the punishment.”

“Good. Now you have two choices.” Moger handed him the fine ticket and crossed his arms again. “First, I take you to enroll in the military academy right now. You start team training tomorrow, and I’ll be the instructor for that class. You handle this fine ticket as a military academy student—lose points, but you can earn credits to make up for it yourself.”

Li You was stunned.

“Second, you or your brother handle this fine ticket yourselves, and tomorrow we continue training at the Imperial Combat Arena.”

Li You was silent for a moment before looking up. “Teacher, is this your idea?”

“Yes.” Moger nodded.

“You said this afternoon that you’d respect my thoughts, that I didn’t have to go to the military academy.” Li You looked at him. “You’re proposing this now because you saw the comments on Starnet?”

“That’s part of it.” Moger admitted frankly. “You know I hate those loose-lipped idiots the most. The overall vibe on Starnet is positive, but there are still a few vermin stirring trouble.”

His tone grew indignant. “You’re indeed the bottom performer among the imperial students I’ve taught, but your strength could easily crush a bunch of military academy students out there. Who the hell thinks people from the imperial family are just freeloading? I can’t stand those keyboard warriors!”

“Even if my student laid low for ten years, he couldn’t possibly lose to those online nobodies.” Moger laughed angrily but then suddenly changed his tune. “Damn it, I’m getting too worked up. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Forget it, pretend I was joking. I’ll hand this fine ticket to Li Ye and settle it privately for you.”