FT DR Chapter 128: Gossip is Too Brutal

Chapter 128: Gossip is Too Brutal

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Zhi Fu Chain Nebula, Alpha Defense Line.

The Tian Chai Fleet Hospital was bustling. Medical interns from the capital were about to arrive, and administrative staff were busy arranging dormitories and preparing pre-job training. Doctors were rubbing their hands together, ready to bully the rookies in the coming year.

As the name suggests, the Tian Chai Fleet Hospital was a military hospital under the Navy’s Independent Fleet’s Tian Chai Fleet, located on the largest asteroid base of the Alpha Defense Line – the Star Core. Originally, it was a small medical clinic of the Second Army Group two years ago, which was renovated into a hospital. This year marked the first time it received interns from the capital’s prestigious universities.

Wu Chenghe hurried out of his office and accidentally bumped into an administrative assistant. He quickly grabbed him and asked, “Have the newcomers arrived? Has the starship landed?”

“It will land in half an hour. The port just received the news, and the field workers have already gone to pick them up,” the administrative assistant explained, surprised, “Why are you at the hospital? Didn’t the fleet captain leave with a squadron for patrol yesterday? Aren’t you supposed to go with him?”

“Oh, yeah, this patrol is short. I have some things to take care of, so I didn’t go with them,” Wu Chenghe had to accompany Jin Xuan according to regulations when he went on missions. But the Star Core was far away, and occasionally taking a break was no big deal. Besides, his good friend Chen Miaomiao was starting his internship at the hospital today, so he should greet him.

Anyway, Jin Xuan was like a ninja turtle, used to enduring.

It had been two years since Wu Chenghe followed Jin Xuan to the Alpha Defense Line. Two years ago, the Federal Legion and the Voyager Army jointly suppressed the rebellion of the Second Army Group. After that, they stationed themselves on each side of the Zhi Fu Chain Nebula, with defenses named the Alpha Defense Line and the Beta Defense Line, respectively.

The Zhi Fu Chain Nebula was a chain-like dispersed nebula, wrapping around many stars, reflecting the light of the stars, presenting an extremely beautiful appearance from afar, almost soul-stirring. But there was no beauty in being stationed here. Patrol fleets faced intense radiation, harsh environments, and various storms brought by stellar fluctuations. Fortunately, as a full-time military doctor, Wu Chenghe could stay at the Star Core Base, which was relatively far from the frontline. Here was the headquarters of the Tian Chai Fleet, with a command center, military hospital, logistics center, and supply station, all with very good protective measures.

Children always adapt better than adults. It took Wu Chenghe half a year to gradually adjust. But Wu Qian and Jin Xiao, the two brothers, were jumping around just two days after arriving. Because they could go to the hospital’s daycare here and play with other children, the two of them were quite reluctant to leave even for Planet Dunkirk.

Yes, Wu Qian and Jin Xiao were originally Wu Chenggong and Jin Shengli. After marriage, Jin Xuan and Wu Chenghe took the twins to register for citizenship. The household registration officer was very speechless about those two names full of rural flavor, and tactfully suggested that they choose decent names. Wu Chenghe originally didn’t want to change, but Jin Xuan was itching to do so, and Jin Zhe strongly supported it, so he just went along with it. With the genealogy of the Jin family, the two sons were given a set of high-class names – Wu Qian and Jin Xiao.

You know, changing the label makes the whole product different. Instantly becoming aloof, right?

But why did Mr. Wu sound a bit poor?

The starship would land in half an hour. Wu Chenghe took this time to check his post at the daycare center. He saw his two sons happily smearing pumpkin puree on each other and ran to the port to meet his good buddy…no, his good brother. Chen Miaomiao had finished his fourth year courses and would start his medical internship in the latter half of the year. Because he applied to the Tian Chai Military Hospital, he would spend the next four years here.

Although he got along well with his hospital colleagues, the feelings with his childhood friend were different. Wu Chenghe was very happy and drove to the port in his hovercar. He happened to see the starship from Tian Que docking at the port. Several young medical interns walked out among the soldiers and medical personnel.

“Miaomiao!” Wu Chenghe waved and shouted. 

Chen Miaomiao immediately saw him, dragged his suitcase, and ran over, throwing himself into his arms. “Senior! I missed you so much!”

As usual, the two started wrestling as soon as they hugged each other, and in the end, Wu Chenghe was defeated. Chen Miaomiao was too strong, even stronger than two years ago. Although Popova didn’t pass down the sentinel genes to him, she did pass down a lot of strength.

“Let’s go, let’s go to the hospital first. After settling in your dorm, I’ll take you to my place and give you a tour.” Wu Chenghe let go of Chen Miaomiao, patted his shoulder, and put his luggage on the hovercar, “I really didn’t expect you to apply to intern in this godforsaken place. Last week when I received your message, I thought you were joking with me.”

“Not all of this is for you!” Chen Miaomiao jumped into the car, holding Wu Chenghe’s face and staring at him affectionately. “To fill the void in your heart, so you won’t feel lonely and empty when King isn’t around, I decided to sacrifice myself and come to this godforsaken place to be your backup. Senior, I truly love you!”

Wu Chenghe was taken aback by his words and felt goosebumps all over his body. He pinched Chen Miaomiao’s cheeks and shook them twice. “Senior may be older than you, but I’m not yet that old and confused. I know you really came here to fill someone’s loneliness, but that person isn’t me.”

Chen Miaomiao smiled awkwardly and let go of his face. He said helplessly, “How can it not be you? Of course, it’s you.”

Wu Chenghe gave him a disdainful look, started the engine, and drifted towards the dormitory. When the car stabilized, he snorted, “You’re here for Marlow, aren’t you?”

A year ago, Marlow graduated from the military academy and voluntarily applied to serve in the Independent Fleet. Hannibal and Lilith both opposed his decision, but he was stubborn like a mule. In the end, he joined General Latika’s “Moon Chariot” fleet as a navigator, responsible for interstellar patrols between the Tianque Spaceport and the Alpha Defense Line.

Wu Chenghe knew Chen Miaomiao’s feelings for Marlow very well. As a top student of the Aston Medical College, he gave up many prestigious hospitals in the capital to intern at the Tian Chai Fleet Hospital. Ninety-nine percent of the reason was to be closer to Marlow—Star Core had the largest logistical supply station of the Alpha Defense Line, and the “Moon Chariot” regularly came here for supplies. As a lieutenant navigator of the “Moon Chariot,” Marlow also came here regularly for rest.

Caught off guard by Wu Chenghe’s insight, Chen Miaomiao chuckled awkwardly, his eyes dodging a bit. He cleared his throat and said, “Well, he’s just a tiny reason. The main reason is to be with you, Senior.”

Wu Chenghe gave him a cool glance. Chen Miaomiao, stimulated by his words, said seriously, “You have a bit of conscience, Senior. If it were just for him, I could have stayed at the Tianque Military Hospital. Why bother coming to Star Core, where the rank is higher?”

What he said was true. Feeling touched, Wu Chenghe patted his head and said, “Well, consider it filial piety.”

“Get lost! I’m just showing pity for you!” Chen Miaomiao, annoyed, pinched Wu Chenghe’s neck and shook it twice. “I heard that King is busy. You often keep an empty house. I came here from afar to help you out a bit so you wouldn’t become a lonely woman!”

“You’re the lonely woman!” Wu Chenghe pushed his hand away. “You envy Marlow’s adolescent looks and can’t get his tender body. Look at yourself in the mirror. You’re the epitome of a lonely woman!”

“Hey, Senior, what’s wrong with you? Did you touch something unclean?” Chen Miaomiao, covering his chest in horror, said, “Are you possessed by Dean Mu? How come you suddenly became so sharp?”

“It’s because you’re so annoying!”

The two quarreled all the way and soon arrived at the dormitory area. Wu Chenghe first took Chen Miaomiao to the intern dormitory, helped him unpack, and then took him to pick up the twins. The four of them went home together.

As the head of the Tian Chai Fleet and the emperor of the Star Core, Jin Xuan’s dormitory was quite spacious, covering about two hundred square meters, with the kitchen alone being thirty or forty square meters. Chen Miaomiao clicked his tongue when he entered the house. “Wow, are you serious? Four people occupying such a large space! I’m curious why you didn’t buy a house when you got married. It turns out you have such a big palace here.”

“We only found out after we came here that the authorities arranged such a large dormitory for us. But living here is indeed quite comfortable. The children’s room is spacious enough. The twins can even drive their hovercars in there.” Wu Chenghe said as he took the twins to the bathroom to bathe them, then took off their dirty clothes and washed them in the sink—these two little guys were too messy, covered in pumpkin puree. No self-cleaning material could break down such a large amount of garbage!

Chen Miaomiao wandered around the living room, put the toys he brought for the twins in the children’s room, and Wu Chenghe finished washing the dirty clothes and went to the bedroom to get new ones for the kids. He shouted loudly, “You sit first. There’s fruit on the bar counter, juice in the fridge, and even wine. Help yourself, as if you were at home.”

“I got it.” Chen Miaomiao sat on the high stool, grabbed a bottle of beer, but before he could drink it, the bathroom door suddenly banged open. Two naked little beans ran out, the older one tall and long-legged, running fast, while the younger one, though short-legged, had good balance. Stepping on the water on the floor, he slid sideways and ended up in front of his brother. The two stood in front of Chen Miaomiao, blinking their big eyes and saying in unison, “Brother, what are you drinking? We want some too!”

“What brother? You should call me uncle,” Chen Miaomiao said sternly.

“Uncle, uncle,” the two naked kids stared at him like puppies. “We want some too.”

“This is for adults. Kids can only drink juice. Wait for me to get it for you.” Chen Miaomiao put down the beer and went to get the juice. When he turned around, he saw the two kids had climbed onto the bar counter and were hugging the beer bottle, trying to pour it into their mouths. He was scared out of his wits and snatched it away. “Hey, who told you to steal and drink?”

Wu Chenghe rushed out of the bedroom with clothes in hand and grabbed the two boys from the bar counter, spanking their butts lightly, making crisp sounds. “Go put on your clothes! What if you catch a cold running around naked?”

The two little beans screamed and crawled away, dragging their clothes to the sofa to put them on. Wu Chenghe threw a towel at each of them. “Dry yourselves!”

The twins were almost three years old. Because their dads often went on patrols, they were quite independent. They used the towels to dry their front, then each other’s backs. They struggled to put on their clothes and rubbed their hair with the towels.

“Don’t be too harsh on them. Look how well-behaved they are,” Chen Miaomiao, an only child, had never been around such big boys before, finding it fascinating. 

Wu Chenghe, accustomed to dealing with these two little rascals, was immune to their cuteness and just chuckled. He took out some food from the refrigerator to thaw, preparing dinner for everyone. Thankfully, Jin Xuan had left many semi-finished dishes for him to process before leaving. With a little effort, the taste wouldn’t be too bad.

“By the way, don’t you plan to have another child?” Chen Miaomiao asked gossipingly, leaning on the counter.

“We don’t have that plan.” Wu Chenghe had no intention of going through the ordeal of childbirth again. Besides, male pregnancy was very difficult. Even if they wanted to, it might not be possible.

“Ah, children are so cute. Two is too few, but four is…” Chen Miaomiao sighed, but when he turned around, the word “better” got stuck in his throat— the two brothers were manically rubbing their hair, towels spread on the floor, their butts sticking up as they rubbed their heads on the towels, sticking out their tongues.

Chen Miaomiao’s face twitched, standing up. “Let me help them dry their hair.”

“No need.” Wu Chenghe, seeing it all before, didn’t even lift an eyelid. “They’ve already dried it. They’re just playing. Back home, our dog used to do this to dry its fur. They’re expressing nostalgia for our dog in this way.”

Chen Miaomiao began to feel that children weren’t as cute as he thought.

After the two brothers finished reminiscing about their dog, Wu Chenghe finished preparing dinner. He knocked on the counter. “Kids, it’s time to eat!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The two brothers heard their dad’s call and immediately ran over, kneeling at their respective seats—they were too short to reach the table. They looked expectantly, waiting for the meal to be served.

Wu Chenghe put away the towels in the bathroom, placed the processed dishes on the counter, poured wine for Chen Miaomiao, and juice for himself and the kids. “Here, have a taste first. I wish you success in your studies and find your ideal husband soon.”

“Success!” “Ideal husband!” The twins didn’t understand what was going on, but they echoed their dad’s words obediently, “Success!” They gulped down half a cup of juice.

“Cough, cough, cough!” Chen Miaomiao choked on the wine, his face turning red. He scolded, “Senior, what are you saying? Aren’t you afraid of corrupting the children?”

“I’m not saying anything bad. How could I corrupt them?” Wu Chenghe drank his juice expressionlessly. “Besides, they understand much more than you think.”

“That’s right.” Jin Shengli licked his lips proudly, “An ideal husband is a male pregnancy!”

Wu Chenggong, unwilling to be outdone, said, “Success means I’m awesome! I’m Wu Awesome!”

“Pfft!” Chen Miaomiao burst out laughing. “Senior, how did you raise such weird kids?”

“It’s clearly not my fault.” Wu Chenghe shrugged innocently. “It’s King’s unreliable genes causing trouble.”

“King is my other dad!” Jin Shengli, holding a meatball, sauce splattering on his face, declared proudly. “I already know!”

Wu Chenggong, not wanting to be left behind again, chimed in, “I know too! My other dad is a god!”

Wu Chenghe chuckled sarcastically. “He’s not a god, he’s just crazy!”

The twins turned to him curiously. “Daddy, what does ‘crazy’ mean?”

“Eat your meatballs,” Wu Chenghe patted the heads of his two sons. “These aren’t things kids should be concerned about.”

With two little rascals at the dinner table, the adults couldn’t have a proper conversation. Three-year-old boys were at the age of asking “why” about everything. During the meal, they bombarded Chen Miaomiao with two to three dozen questions, even asking why plates were round. It almost drove Chen Miaomiao crazy.

Fortunately, Wu Chenghe was very skilled at handling them, answering each question with plausible but vague responses or deferring them with “ask your other dad.” This allowed Chen Miaomiao to salvage some of his sanity and not be completely speechless against the twins’ questions.

After dinner, the neighbor’s children invited the two brothers over to play. Wu Chenghe washed their faces and changed their bibs, then sent them off to play. Finally, the two adults could have a quiet conversation.

Wu Chenghe brewed some tea and sat with Chen Miaomiao on the sofa. “Did you see Dean Mu before coming here? How is he?”

“I did. He’s fine, still the same. Cold as winter to the rookies, warm as spring to the senior teachers,” Chen Miaomiao said. “Zhuang Zhuang has grown up. She’s almost as tall as my waist now, incredibly handsome. She’s known as the kindergarten flower of the medical school, with countless boys admiring her. She’s even more like a queen than her dad.”

Wu Chenghe smiled. He talked with Mu through holographic communication every now and then, but because this place was too far from the capital, only military-specific lines could provide real-time holographic communication. So, he didn’t receive many images of Mu and Zhuang Zhuang. However, just from what Chen Miaomiao said, he could imagine the father-daughter duo; they were definitely a queen plus queen combination.

“How about him and the President?” Wu Chenghe asked.

Two years ago, Jin Zhe’s declaration of love during the presidential inauguration speech was like a bombshell, stunning all the gossipmongers in the Federation. After the speech, everyone was speculating about who his love interest was. It was soon discovered that the little girl sitting in the first lady’s seat during the inauguration was none other than the daughter of the Dean of Aston Medical School!

What was going on? Was the daughter there to represent her father? Was the president really pursuing the Dean of Aston Medical School?

The gossip world was in chaos. Jin Zhe’s private life had been a mystery for many years, as clear as water, but now, such a big scandal suddenly emerged. Moreover, the subject of the scandal was a man of such high academic status. It was unbelievable!

Even more unbelievable was that this man wasn’t Jin Zhe’s guide!

Mu’s identity, occupation, and family situation were all public, and soon it was discovered that he was also a singleist. The little girl was not his wife’s child; she was born through his sperm donation! This made the gossip even more intense. Some insiders revealed that the little girl sitting in the first lady’s seat was also a Barbary lion, just like the president!

Could it be that Dean Mu’s sperm donor was the President? Damn, what a weird story! Two singleists, one wanting to have a child and the other donating sperm, and then, they collided!

Overnight, the whole nation was stirred up. Countless fanfiction stories about the president and the Dean appeared on the internet, ranging from dramatic to romantic, from funny to absurd, and even to indecent… until an adult version appeared. The President was furious and demanded that the information center immediately crack down on pornographic elements and set his and Mu’s names as keywords.

From then on, whenever they were mentioned on the internet, it became a sensitive topic.

However, cracking down on pornography was just a superficial excuse. Wu Chenghe learned the truth from Jin Xuan—Jin Zhe said those pornographic writers had poor writing skills, their adult content lacked aesthetics, which tarnished his reputation as the Seven Times Lord. So, they had to be harmonized!

Wu Chenghe wasn’t too concerned about the harmonization, but he was skeptical about being the Seven Times Lord. “Isn’t he still a virgin? How can a virgin be sure he’s the Seven Times Lord?”

“He probably counts his self-service sessions?” Jin Xuan was also puzzled. “You know, the sadness of a virgin.”

Wu Chenghe nodded sympathetically.

Chen Miaomiao’s eyes lit up when he heard Wu Chenghe asking about the gossip between the Dean and the President. “Hey! Speaking of the Dean and the President, it’s really something. Oh my god, I never imagined they would have an affair. It’s so thrilling…”

Wu Chenghe’s eyelids twitched slightly. Chen Miaomiao truly lived up to his reputation as the king of gossip, immediately recounting all the speculations and deductions made by various sectors of society about the “Federation’s number one CP” over the past two years. From the fact that Mu liked the same brand of coffee as the president, to Zhuang Zhuang often wearing clothes from the same series as the president, to the president’s dog, Jin San Pang, frequently appearing at Mu’s home in York City during holidays… no detail was left out, not even a single strand of hair!

Wu Chenghe listened in a daze for over an hour. When the twins returned, he tucked them into bed. But Chen Miaomiao’s excitement hadn’t faded, so he was dragged into the living room and endured another three hours of gossip before it finally came to an end.

“So, you’re saying they’re doing well now?” Wu Chenghe, relying on his amazing summarizing skills honed by the rigorous primary education of our dynasty, found a clear thread in Chen Miaomiao’s illogical narrative. “Zhuang Zhuang often stays at the president’s place, and Mu also brings the president’s dog to their home in York City?”

“Yes!” Chen Miaomiao said. “We’re all wondering why they don’t get married.”

Wu Chenghe knew the answer to that very well. Mu was a guide. Once married, he wouldn’t be able to leave Jin Zhe. The cooperation between the Free Guide Organization and the Cabinet was in full swing, and the biological experiments with embryo interference agents were showing initial results. Clinical trials were scheduled to begin in six months, and their hospital had received notification about it. They were currently recruiting volunteers for matching with sentinels.

At such a critical juncture, Mu wouldn’t agree to marry Jin Zhe unless it brought greater benefits to the organization.

“Perhaps they have their own considerations,” Wu Chenghe said, feeling reassured knowing that they were slowly progressing. Changing the subject, he asked, “So, what about you? What’s going on between you and Marlow?”

 

 

 

 

 

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