FT DR Chapter 78: New Visitors to Aston

Chapter 78: New Visitors to Aston

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The holographic signboard at the entrance of the medical school scrolled a welcoming message – “Welcome to the Tungusic Teachers Training Group to our school for learning and exchange.”

This was the news set by the Aston Main School Academic Affairs Office last week. Mu said it was a tradition of the guide school. Every year, they would organize a group of teachers to various federal universities for study. There were mechanical aspects, literary aspects… but most of all, medical aspects, because the main function of the guide was assistance, and medical-related courses accounted for a large part of their daily study.

However, in previous years, they had always gone to another medical school. This was the first time they applied to Aston Medical College, a comprehensive university medical branch.

Wu Chenghe drove the flying saucer past the holographic billboard and said to Chen Miaomiao, “Yes, next week, a group of teachers from the guide school will come to our college for exchange and training. I heard this is an old tradition. Every year, they send some teachers outside for study. This year, their principal, Mrs. Balon, submitted the application to Aston, and the Ministry of Education approved it. Of course, the school had no objections.”

“Guide school? Sounds fancy!” Chen Miaomiao, harboring a mysterious awe towards the seemingly gentle but internally fierce creatures like his father, clicked his tongue twice and said, “Are all these teachers guides?”

“How is that possible? Half of Aston’s students are sentinels. If there were guides, our college walls would probably be eaten by them!” Wu Chenghe scoffed, “The Protection Law stipulates that all teachers and staff of the guide school are ordinary people, just to avoid affecting the life and study of the guides. So the teachers coming this time are also ordinary humans, understand?”

“Oh,” Chen Miaomiao was a bit disappointed, yet somehow relieved.

“But I heard that some guide students will come to participate in the end-of-term meeting.” Wu Chenghe said, “Maybe we’ll have a chance to meet them then.” 

He realized that he had only seen wild guides for such a long time. Apart from Chen Zhen, he had never seen a domesticated one. He wondered if he would have a chance to meet Monica. It had been over a year since he last saw the little girl. She must have grown up by now.

The freshmen dormitory of this session was in the same building as Wu Chenghe’s, just not on the same floor. After helping Chen Miaomiao arrange his luggage and having some late-night snacks together, it was already late. They agreed to tour the campus together after class the next day, and then Wu Chenghe returned to his own dormitory.

There was a faint smell of pheromones lingering in the dormitory. Jin Xuan had been there. Wu Chenghe opened the fridge and indeed saw the fruits he left behind. The holographic message board on the fridge wrote his message, “Had to work overtime till dawn, couldn’t wait for you to come back. The fruits and pheromones are for you, enjoy.”

Wu Chenghe smiled helplessly. This guy really knew how to tease people. He was annoyed that Wu Chenghe hadn’t come back early to accompany him, so he used this trick. Barbary lion sentinel was a species with very strong possessiveness. Since marking, Jin Xuan had become increasingly clingy to him. He even had the idea once to quit school and NTU’s job, apply to the medical school, and pursue another degree to be with him every day.

The state of guides was relatively stable, and Wu Chenghe was much more rational than him. Whenever he had such whims, Wu Chenghe would suppress his evil thoughts through mental suggestion, urging him to work well and not think about mating like an estrus male dog all day.

“Idiot!” Wu Chenghe muttered softly. In just a short while, his pheromones had been somewhat stimulated, and he felt sweat on his forehead. He quickly turned on the air filtration device to deal with the odor. Jin Xuan was very obedient to him, but absolutely couldn’t stand any neglect from him. Last time they arranged to be intimate at night, Wu Chenghe was busy with an experiment until dawn and forgot to call him. Jin Xuan got angry and left a lot of pheromones in his bed before leaving.

Wu Chenghe was completely unprepared and ended up triggering bonding heat unintentionally. There was no inhibitor in the dormitory, and he didn’t dare to go out to get one, afraid of accidentally letting the scent escape. So he had to resort to the most primitive method – self-relief.

So he spent the whole night relieving himself, almost passing out.

That time, Wu Chenghe was also angry and didn’t speak to him for a whole week. It wasn’t until Jin Xuan received a notice to go on a business trip to Gabriel, and his apology emails almost flooded his inbox, that he forgave him. After that, Jin Xuan didn’t dare to play such a trick again, at most leaving a little bit of pheromones in the room to show his dissatisfaction, but definitely within the range he could bear.

Just like today.

Wu Chenghe couldn’t do anything about it; it was the lion’s instinct. Jin Xuan had already shown considerable restraint. Throughout the Dunkirk Federation, there hadn’t been a sentinel who would place their guide kilometers away from them, like Popova, unless they were on the front lines. Chen Zhen, for example, would definitely stay where she could sense him. For someone like Wu Chenghe to have such freedom was practically a miracle. Others might think Jin Xuan was crazy or sexually impotent.

Everything has its pros and cons, but overall, the pros outweigh the cons. Wu Chenghe could only console himself. At least for now, he only had to deal with this one sentinel. Without the bond, he’d have to deal with a whole lot more.

So, he tried to get used to it. With that, he wished himself sweet dreams, and the next day, Wu Chenghe went to class feeling refreshed. After class in the afternoon, he went back to the dorm to find Chen Miaomiao, intending to take him around. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at his dorm, he saw Marlow.

“Why are you here? Isn’t it time for training?” Wu Chenghe wondered. The Strategy Academy started later than the medical school, but once it started, it was time for military training. Shouldn’t he be in the Grand Canyon by now?

“The brigade is not leaving until early tomorrow morning,” Marlow said, sitting on Chen Miaomiao’s exclusive flying chair. His caracal was glaring at a box of lemon cake on the table, looking quite resentful. It seemed like they had just been through a fierce battle over whether to eat it or not.

This time, it seemed like Marlow had won. It wasn’t surprising; he had military training tomorrow, and he probably couldn’t afford to consume too many calories.

“Mind if I join you guys?” Chen Miaomiao looked apologetically at Wu Chenghe. He knew Wu Chenghe and Marlow didn’t get along very well, but Marlow was already here, and he couldn’t just send him away.

“Why not?” Wu Chenghe said, giving face to Chen Miaomiao. Besides, Marlow hadn’t done anything wrong. “Let’s go together.”

The medical school wasn’t very big, and the three of them didn’t need to take a car. They walked around the campus, with Wu Chenghe explaining the various facilities while chatting about interesting things. Occasionally, they passed by other students, who greeted Wu Chenghe enthusiastically. 

Chen Miaomiao admired, “Senior, you’re really popular. They all like you.”

Wu Chenghe was relieved that Jin Xuan wasn’t around; otherwise, he might get jealous again. He modestly said, “Medical students have good temperaments, and it’s easy for everyone to get along. With your cheerful personality, you’ll definitely make many good friends.”

Walking on Chen Miaomiao’s other side, Marlow commented casually, “Yeah, your personality is really unbeatable.”

Wu Chenghe was surprised. In his eyes, Marlow was a typical stoic with a bit of chuuni syndrome, never bothering to argue with anyone he had known for so long. It was a miracle to see him so open in front of Chen Miaomiao!

Chen Miaomiao smirked, “I bet you’re really popular at the Strategy Academy too, huh? Look at that ‘I owe a beating’ expression on your face!”

Marlow rolled his eyes at him, “We are warriors; we don’t need the kind of cheap friendship you guys have, like girlfriends. We have battle camaraderie, understand?”

Wu Chenghe felt a slight pain in his knee. Walking together with Chen Miaomiao did give off a strong “girlfriends” vibe.

“Junior, I think you really deserve a beating!” Chen Miaomiao pounced on Marlow, trying to choke him.

Marlow agilely dodged and ran to Wu Chenghe’s side, teasing, “Come back when you grow taller, shorty.”

Chen Miaomiao was the same age as Marlow, just over a month younger, but because he inherited Popova’s appearance, he still looked like a child, lacking the masculinity that Wu Chenghe possessed. This comment struck a chord with the little shorty, and Chen Miaomiao almost exploded. Wu Chenghe had to persuade him, and at the same time, give Marlow’s caracal a suggestion to chase after the birds on the roadside. So Marlow had to focus on controlling his quantum beast, and temporarily forgot to argue with Chen Miaomiao.

Wu Chenghe was exhausted by their antics and worried about how to walk the rest of the way without attracting attention. But to his surprise, his worries were unfounded. After a while, the two of them made peace, and they started to communicate normally again, occasionally making jokes or teasing each other, patting each other’s heads and kicking each other’s feet.

Finally, Wu Chenghe realized that these two probably always interacted like this. He was just unnecessarily worried and had fallen behind them. Suddenly, he felt like he was shining too brightly…

Little Light Bulb nestled on his shoulder sent him a message through shared consciousness: “My name is yours, you’re welcome.”

Wu Chenghe replied, “Heh, why didn’t you give me some wax?”

The little Light Bulb corrected, “Candle.”

Wu Chenghe: “…”

The strange trio had finally finished most of their circuit. It was already dinnertime, and Chen Miaomiao said he wanted to treat them to dinner at the restaurant. Wu Chenghe didn’t want to interact with Marlow any more than necessary, so he politely declined, saying he had something else to do, and took his leave.

He felt like Chen Miaomiao and Marlow were getting a bit too close, but since both their sexual orientations were unclear, and Chen Miaomiao seemed to prefer girls a bit more, he thought he might be overthinking it. Perhaps they were just ordinary friends. After all, there were more people with normal sexual orientations in the world. Boys fooling around together was perfectly normal. Wu Chenghe laughed at himself for judging others based on his own experiences. Just because he was gay didn’t mean the whole world was abnormal. He needed to change his perspective in the future.

On the way back, passing by the teachers’ dormitory, Wu Chenghe stopped by to see Mu. Mu had been feeling a bit down lately, so he had reduced his workload. After dark, he seldom went out and just stayed in the dormitory.

When Wu Chenghe entered, he saw Mu lying on the rocking chair, grading student assignments. Without looking up, Mu said, “Tell your whatever, Miao Miao, not to send too much. I can’t finish it all. Cut it in half next time.”

“Huh?” Wu Chenghe was puzzled. Seeing the sumptuous dinner on the table, he asked, “Wasn’t this sent by Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune? But I haven’t told him yet.”

Mu glanced up and said, “Wasn’t it him? Then who? I didn’t order it. Was it you or Jin Xuan?”

“Jin Xuan doesn’t have money,” Wu Chenghe immediately denied his speculation. Ever since the incident at the Outer Ring, Jin Zhe had cut off the family allowance, and refused to pay his credit card bills. Now that kid was even poorer than he was— at least Wu Chenghe had a substantial amount of money left by his mother and received federal student aid, but Jin Xuan was just living paycheck to paycheck.

“Then who the hell is it?” Mu put away the assignments, opened the communication panel, and called Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune to ask who had ordered the dinner today. The customer service representative on the other end politely informed him that it was ordered by an anonymous platinum customer for him, and it would last for four months. Starting from today, a dedicated Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune delivery person would bring him dinner every afternoon.

Male pregnancy lasted five to six months because the male body couldn’t sustain a nine-month pregnancy or give birth, so the baby would be surgically removed at five or six months and further incubated in an artificial womb. Now that Mu was more than three months pregnant, plus four months, it would be just in time for the surgery and recovery.

“A platinum customer? Who could it be? What’s the name?” Mu also thought of this and asked in surprise. 

The customer service representative apologized, “I’m sorry, ‘platinum’ is our highest-level customer, only directors or employees with special contributions can achieve this honor. We strictly keep their information confidential, and we absolutely cannot disclose their identity without the customer’s consent.”

Mu fell silent for a moment and said, “Then don’t send it starting from tomorrow.”

The customer service representative was taken aback, then spoke even more gently, “I’m sorry, but the customer has already paid, so we must deliver it to you. You can accept it but not eat it, just throw it away.”

“What kind of customer service is this?” Mu was exasperated. 

The customer service had already hung up, saying, “Enjoy your meal, sir. Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune will always provide you with the most attentive service!”

“Attentive my ass!” Mu closed the communication panel and said, “What’s going on? Why is someone giving me free boxed meals? Are they cursing me to death?”

Wu Chenghe was speechless. Dean’s brainwaves were always so malicious; even when considering others, he would never think of anything good. He advised, “Anyway, there won’t be any problem with Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune’s meals. You can consider it winning the lottery and just eat with your eyes closed. At this time, the baby is the most important thing. Do you want it to eat my dark cuisine, or just keep eating nutrition supplements with no cute factor?”

Mu frowned and said, “No one gives without wanting something in return.”

Wu Chenghe thought for a moment and said, “Someone who can be protected by Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune must not be an ordinary person. Didn’t you hear him say it was a director or something? I guess it might be Chen Zhen. He must feel very guilty, so he arranged for someone to send you free meals.”

Mu was skeptical, but Wu Chenghe continued, “Or you can ask him yourself. Seiling Military Harbor is not far from here, just send him an email, and you’ll get a reply within a few days.”

At the mention of Chen Zhen, Mu’s physical aversion was evident. “No, I can’t be bothered,” he said. Then he added, “Isn’t Jin Xuan a super hacker? Why don’t you ask him to infiltrate Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune’s system to see who paid for the meal?”

“I don’t think…” Wu Chenghe was always resistant to such blatant hacking behavior, but seeing the hungry look in Mu’s eyes, he swallowed the rest of his words and changed his tune, “Alright.”

That evening, when Jin Xuan returned from NTU, Wu Chenghe was in his teacher’s dormitory doing homework. He told Jin Xuan about Mu’s request for an investigation. Jin Xuan’s expression was somewhat subtle. “What’s there to investigate? It’s just a meal. Why not eat it? Do you think Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune would poison him?”

“I also think so, but Dean is more stubborn. He won’t eat until he knows who sent it,” Wu Chenghe explained.

“He won’t eat, so you brought it here for us to eat, huh? Can’t let the old man… can’t let Chen Zhen off easily.” Jin Xuan almost let it slip, then quickly covered up, “I guess it must be Chen Zhen who sent it. He’s the chairman of Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune. He felt guilty after he  injured Dean in Gabriel last time, you know. You don’t know, men who have had children always have a soft spot for each other. And besides, his son just arrived yesterday, and the food from Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune came today. Isn’t that a coincidence?” 

Jin Zhen’s cunning plan had finally come to fruition today, waiting until today just to catch Mu off guard?

“You may be right,” Wu Chenghe shrugged, typing away at his homework. “Anyway, you should check it out to put his mind at ease.”

“Alright.” Jin Xuan reluctantly opened his self-made hacking software and infiltrated Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune’s intranet system. After searching for a while, he found Mu’s order. Indeed, the ordering ID belonged to one of the directors, and the IP address was from the Medical School.

“See, it’s ordered by one of the directors, and the address is in your school. It must be commissioned by Chen Zhen through Chen Miaomiao. There’s no escape,” Jin Xuan let Wu Chenghe glance at the result and then closed the holographic screen. “Just tell Mu, so he can eat without worries and not disappoint someone’s goodwill.” 

The Jin family has had shares in Chen’s Sign of Good Fortune for three hundred years, now they were in the hands of Jin Zhe. As for infiltrating Chen Miaomiao’s IP address, it was easier for Jin Zhe than to give a tube of sperm to his crush. Damn, these old men have such twisted tastes!

The next day after class, Wu Chenghe ran to Mu’s place as soon as possible, intending to tell him about Jin Xuan’s investigation. But as soon as he entered, he saw Mu sitting at the dining table, devouring a plate of spicy river prawns, almost half gone.

Wu Chenghe was speechless. “Dean, are you messing with me? Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t eat until we found out who sent it?”

Mu ignored his complaint and asked, “Did you find out?”

“Yeah,” Wu Chenghe said, recounting Jin Xuan’s findings. “Now you can eat without worries. If you don’t eat, Chen Zhen will definitely feel guilty.”

Mu wiped his hands, looking completely unconcerned, and said, “I’m full. There’s still half left on the table, it’s for you.”

Wu Chenghe laughed, “Do you want me to kneel down and thank you?”

“No need.” Mu rubbed his stomach, holding a glass of water as he stood by the window, watching the advertisements floating outside the college gate with a cold smile. “What’s this bit of food? They’ve caused me much bigger trouble than this.”

Wu Chenghe followed his gaze and frowned. “Do you think the visit from the Tungusic teacher training team is related to Chen Zhen?”

“I don’t know, just a guess.” Mu said, “After the encounter in Gabriel, I feel like he discovered something and has been suspicious of me.”

“Oh?” Wu Chenghe was surprised. “Is he that strong, able to see through your camouflage?”

“He’s a hummingbird guide, the most sensitive observer in the world,” Mu said in a low voice. “And he’s the most faithful supporter of the Guide Protection Act, with great loyalty to the Federation. I think even if he has a little doubt, he won’t let me off.”

“But it’s also a tradition for the Tungusic to come out and exchange ideas. It’s not necessarily about you,” Wu Chenghe said.

“In previous years, they wouldn’t have chosen Aston Medical School. There are too many sentinels here. At the end of the exchange period, they usually send a few guide students to attend the final meeting, which will be very dangerous,” Mu said with a serious expression. “Moreover, Mrs. Balon is his good friend. Just after I clashed with him, Mrs. Balon changed her exchange school. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

Wu Chenghe fell silent for a moment and said, “Anyway, the Ministry of Education has already approved it, and the central office’s notification has been issued. We can only make the best of it and defend ourselves when necessary.”

“Yeah,” Mu sighed. “It’s this time again. I wouldn’t be worried if it was a few months later.” He placed his right hand on his abdomen. “They don’t want to give me any buffer time at all.”

Wu Chenghe said, “Since they all know you’re pregnant, just stay out of sight during this period. Let Vice Dean Minnie handle all the work.”

“Let it be,” Mu shook his head. “I’ve been avoiding too much. It will only arouse their suspicion. And you should be careful too. Although the teachers who come in the early stages are ordinary, they have been educating guides for a long time and have a keen sense of smell. Try to keep your distance from them. And Jin Xuan, tell him to be careful too, not to get too close to you.”

Wu Chenghe nodded. “I got it.”

On Sunday morning, Aston Medical School welcomed the Tungusic teacher training team. Led by Mrs. Balon, the group consisted of twelve teachers, three of whom had studied at Aston Medical School, making them Wu Chenghe’s alumni.

Vice Dean Minnie arranged their accommodation and expressed apologies to them on behalf of Mu for his poor health. Mrs. Balon still wore a rigid expression, with a standardized smile on her lips. “I’ve heard about the Dean’s condition. Please, let him rest well, no need to be polite.”

In the evening, there was a welcome reception, and Mu had to attend. Worried about him, Wu Chenghe also joined the service team, dressed in waiter’s uniform, helping out at the buffet table and serving drinks, while keeping an eye on Mu’s movements.

Being a closed-door disciple is not easy!

Author’s note: Let’s lay the groundwork, don’t rush, muah muah~

This story won’t have much angst, don’t worry~

Well, I was wrong, emo is going to suffer… but I don’t feel sorry for him at all, hehehe…

[Jin Xuan: (╯°Д°）╯︵ ┻━┻ Flips table!

[Author: ┬─┬ ノ（ ‘ – ‘ノ） I’ll set it right.

[Jin Xuan: (╯°Д°）╯︵ ┻━┻ Flips the table again!!!

[Author: I’ll torture you!]

[Jin Xuan: QAQ Are you even my real dad?!

 

 

 

 

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