Chapter 19: Fluff: A Criminal Offense

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Lu Yao stopped walking and turned to look at Mo Feng. “Which department are they filming?”

The Space Environment Laboratory of the First Research Base had previously been filmed, that time in cooperation with the Federation Exploration Corps for a documentary on deep interstellar exploration.

“They said they want to center the filming around you,” Mo Feng explained, “to showcase the mecha industry.”

Lu Yao’s elegant brows drew together, carrying a hint of chill. “Why me?”

The Federation Exploration Corps’ activities in deep space had always carried a commercial angle, and that documentary had been just as much propaganda. But the mecha research base had no need to pursue profit or appeal to the public. Mo Feng’s publicity department barely scraped by with five or six people.

“Because you’re good-looking,” Mo Feng said with a serious expression. But the deeper the furrow in Lu Yao’s brow grew, the more Mo Feng faltered. He sighed and admitted, “I suspect the high-ranking officers and politicians think public enthusiasm for interstellar exploration and beast wars is fading. They want to find a way to reignite people’s passion for throwing money into it. They need a push from public opinion. The documentary is just one piece. Haven’t you noticed the string of space war films coming out lately?”

“So?” Lu Yao locked eyes with him. “Since when do you care about grand theories like that?”

Mo Feng laughed. “Right, you know me. I can’t really refuse. The money they’re offering is too good. If the broadcast numbers turn out well, it might even cover half the funding for your next project. If not for this, I was planning to drag you to all sorts of banquets and use that pretty face of yours to charm investments out of wealthy ladies and old men.”

Lu Yao glanced sideways. “I’m not going.”

“Exactly. I figured you hate socializing. A documentary is actually the better option—switching investment targets from high society to the entire Federation audience.”

Lu Yao considered it for a moment, his expression softening slightly. “How exactly would the filming work?”

Seeing the prospect of funding brighten before him, Mo Feng’s eyes lit up. “Simple. It’s a documentary. You don’t have to act. They’ll set up cameras while you work as usual. Maybe occasionally they’ll ask you to answer questions or explain some science.”

“Understood.”

Central District, New Blue Star. A bar.

An alpha sitting in the corner of the bar pushed a glass of gin toward his alpha friend. “Yan, why the long face?” 

Li Yan stared at the ice cubes in the glass, sighed, and shook his head. “I’m being forced onto the stage, about to sell both body and soul.”

His friend froze. “No way. With your background, and a General for a father, nobody’s dared try to corner you into a casting couch deal all these years. Who could possibly force you?”

“My father,” Li Yan said flatly.

“Ah. A blind date, huh? You’re only twenty-five. They’re that desperate at home?”

“If it were just a blind date, I wouldn’t be this upset. My father…” Li Yan threw back a gulp of gin, the glass landing on the bar with a loud thud. “He clearly wants me to seduce that omega.”

His friend looked startled, then thought it over. “An omega, huh? What’s the big deal? At least it’s not some burly alpha. As long as the omega isn’t too ugly or nasty, you won’t lose out. But who’s important enough to get you—our golden star, son of a General—to play bait? Don’t tell me it’s that retired-and-rehired cabinet official, the one who’s one hundred and eighty-eight and outlived three husbands?”

Li Yan shot him a glare, then stayed silent for a moment before saying, “He might not have the best temper, but he’s beautiful.”

“Who?”

“Lu Yao.”

“What? The Lu Yao I’m thinking of?”

“I don’t know how many Lu Yaos you know,” Li Yan muttered, “but I mean the most famous one.” He sighed again. The radiant, flawless face that usually shone on screen looked wilted and lifeless now.

His friend whistled. “If you could actually land him, you wouldn’t be losing out. No—you’d be winning big.”

“That’s the problem. Do you think I could ever win him over? Do you think I’d dare try? That’s Lu Yao. He’s way older than me. All I feel for him is respect.” Li Yan’s voice cracked with misery. Now that the filming plan was finalized, he was already trapped. “But my father and his old war buddies insist I can do it.”

His friend sighed and clinked glasses with him. “At this point, just make the best of it. But you’d better be careful. If he doesn’t like you, don’t push. He’s not gentle with alphas who cross the line.”

“Huh?”

“Back when he first arrived at the First Base…” His friend leaned in, lowering his voice. “This is military gossip, so keep it to yourself. An alpha once tried to corner him in a lab and force a mark on him.”

Li Yan frowned. “I never heard about that.”

“Of course you didn’t. Listen—before the alpha could even start, Lu Yao grabbed a welding torch and burned a hole straight through his hand. The molten rod fused his bones to the lab table.”

“What the hell?”

His friend chuckled. “You never heard that story, but do you remember the weapon tech leak scandal years ago?”

“Yes, I remember that. Don’t tell me the two were connected?”

“The so-called leaker—that major—was the same alpha. Lu Yao told investigators he was trying to steal military secrets. The case was transferred to a military tribunal.”

“He was really after Federation secrets?”

“Of course not. His only target was Lu Yao. One glance at the surveillance footage would’ve revealed the truth. But Lu Yao claimed he was a leaker and said nothing about the attempted forced mark.”

“Why? Would the tribunal accept that?”

“Attempted forced marking would’ve landed him in the local prison. But espionage? That got him exiled to an ice-world penal colony. Lu Yao chose the harsher punishment.” His friend took another drink. “For the military, it was also easier. A rapist in their ranks would’ve been a humiliating scandal. A failed spy, caught and punished? That turned into a story of vigilance and unity. Lu Yao knew they’d take the deal. The officials at the tribunal knew it too. They accepted the charges without objection. In the end, the Federation saved face, Lu Yao got his revenge, and only that trash major suffered—shipped off to freeze to death on an alien world.” He clapped Li Yan on the shoulder. “I’m not telling you this to scare you. Just… mind your boundaries.”

Li Yan grimaced. “Thanks a lot.”

The drive home never carried the same urgency as the commute to work. Lu Yao steered along the highway cutting through the open fields. Waves of grass rippled in the wind. Overhead, the red sun sank slowly into the western sky, spilling orange fire across the land and deepening the dry, heated air.

The hill where his villa sat wasn’t tall. As his vehicle approached, Lu Yao could already see a small patch of white at the top. His snow leopard was perched by the circular pool, waiting for his master’s return.

Lu Yao pressed the accelerator, his vehicle surging forward in a cloud of dust. Nearing the slope, he tilted the nose upward, switching smoothly back into flight mode, and soared into the garage entrance set into the hillside.

The garage was cavernous and nearly empty, holding only a single flyer that Lu Yao rarely used. Parking the car, he lingered a moment, letting his gaze sweep across the space. By eye alone, he estimated its height, width, and depth.

Leaving such a large space unused felt like a waste, even to him. Perhaps he could build a private laboratory here and shift some of his personal research projects into it. The elevator lifted him to the first floor at the hilltop. As the doors slid halfway open, a swish of fur appeared before him—a large fluffy tail. The tip didn’t touch the floor but arched upward, curling lightly.

It was practically begging a human to commit a crime.

Author’s Note:

The leopard has arrived! Waiting for his husband to come home~

 

 

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