Chapter 37: Lingering Feelings or Rekindled Flames?

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

“It was still about the same matter,” Kong Yu said. “The mecha quota.”

“Li Yan never brought it up with me.” Lu Yao recalled the conversations they had shared.

“Teacher Lu… if he had asked you directly, that would’ve required the quartermaster to step in. Clearly, Qingshan must have heard something strange and started to think, to think…”

“Think what?”

Was Kong Yu about to say that General Li Qingshan had drunk too much at a banquet and assumed Lu Yao would be interested in someone as young as Li Yan?

“Think that, although the legion’s quartermaster often visited, he couldn’t get any more mechas, so Qingshan wanted to try a softer approach.”

“If that was the reason, wouldn’t it have been better for you to bring it up with me directly?”

“He didn’t know you and I were acquainted.” Kong Yu gave a helpless smile. “When I first mentioned you, he even asked me how I knew Chief Engineer Lu if I hadn’t studied at Morningstar Military Academy.”

Morningstar Military Academy only admitted students with graduate-level technical degrees in fields such as starship design, mecha design, and space weaponry. After graduating from Federation Central University, Lu Yao entered Morningstar Military Academy.

Kong Yu, on the other hand, had gone straight to the Exploration Corps after graduation, specializing in intelligent starship systems control.

“Still, Teacher Lu, if I were to negotiate with you as the representative of the corps, would that truly increase the number of mechas allocated to us?”

“The base had plans to expand the production line next quarter,” Lu Yao answered. “The number of mechas released would rise, but I couldn’t guarantee they’d be the latest models.”

“That would still be great!”

“The additional mechas could be distributed to the Azure Dragon Exploration Corps,” Lu Yao continued, “but I have one condition.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“General Li is on New Blue Star right now. Where’s his fleet?”

“Part of it returned to the Rose System. I, along with other officers, was stationed in the G90 sector unloading energy ores we’d brought back from exploration.”

“And the mechas?”

“Transport didn’t require mechas. Most of them remained in the Rose System.”

“Good. The base would soon need to conduct field tests for the new mechas. I’d need a batch of active mechas and fighters to cooperate with the trials.”

Fighters to assist with testing? The snow leopard, sprawled behind Lu Yao, caught the word. His ears twitched. The Silver Halberd Fleet also possessed many mechas and fighters. Compared with the Azure Dragon Corps, whose focus was pioneering uncharted planets, the Silver Halberd Fleet’s soldiers had far more combat experience.

“No problem. I can assure you, he will agree.” Even if Li Qingshan refused, it would not matter.

The snow leopard’s tail swayed lazily across Lu Yao’s leg. With a half-smile, Lu Yao reached down to catch it. The plush, thick tail was so large he could not wrap his hand around it completely. Zhou Yunchen would see to it that the Silver Halberd Fleet cooperated with Lu Yao’s testing.

At the First Research Base.

That morning, Lu Yao arrived just as he ran into Mo Feng. The two walked toward the central offices together and noticed Zhao Minghe standing by a massive sealed container, waiting.

“Aide Zhao?” Mo Feng blinked in surprise as he approached. “What brings you here?”

“I came to deliver something to Chief Engineer Lu.” Zhao Minghe offered a cordial smile.

Lu Yao stepped forward. “You could have contacted Deus directly. There was no need to wait here for me.”

“I did contact Deus. But the General ordered me to hand this over to you personally. He wanted to come himself, but urgent military matters kept him away.”

Mo Feng raised his brows at Lu Yao. “So what exactly is in that crate?”

“It’s…” Lu Yao paused, choosing his words with care. He had no intention of dragging Mo Feng into the mecha drift incident. “Perhaps, a gift.”

Only a gift meant for one person could reasonably be left unopened without explanation. Zhao Minghe faltered at the excuse but quickly caught on, replying smoothly, “I don’t know what it is either. The general only said it was extremely important.”

The deliberate vagueness made the box’s contents seem even more mysterious than a clear answer would have.

“Aide Zhao, please come with me. I’ll see it stored safely.”

Leaving a baffled Mo Feng behind, Lu Yao led Zhao Minghe toward the base’s museum, a cargo robot hauling the enormous iron crate behind them.

He placed the mental-core device in the underground storage vault—kept at constant temperature and humidity, shielded from light and radiation—before bidding Zhao Minghe farewell.

Lu Yao did not rush to examine the mental core. Instead, he encrypted the vault with the highest-level clearance and returned to his office, planning to deal with it after finishing the day’s work.

Just as he rounded a corner in the corridor, Mo Feng suddenly popped out, holding a carton of yogurt and a sandwich. Startled, Lu Yao stepped back. “What are you—”

“You hadn’t had breakfast, right? I figured you’d be gone for a while, so I went to the cafeteria to grab something for you.” Mo Feng grinned.

“I thought you usually ate breakfast at home,” Lu Yao remarked.

Speaking of that, Mo Feng couldn’t help shaking his head. “Yeah, but Chengcheng’s an athlete. Every meal he eats is a fitness meal. I can’t stand it. If I want something greasy, sugary, or high in carbs, I have to come here to the base.”

“Mm.” Lu Yao didn’t think much of it and kept walking toward his office.

“Lu Yao,” Mo Feng pressed, quickening his steps to keep up, “what exactly is going on between you and Zhou Yunchen now? I thought the two of you had completely split.”

If Zhou Yunchen had only invited Lu Yao to service Distant Star, it could still be explained as a purely professional relationship. But now he had suddenly sent a gift—what was that supposed to mean? Lingering feelings? A spark rekindled?

No. Mo Feng had witnessed their entire arranged marriage, and judging by Lu Yao’s attitude, the two of them had never developed any sort of chemistry. There hadn’t been any lingering feelings to begin with, so there was nothing to rekindle. Unless… maybe Zhou Yunchen only realized what he had lost after it was gone.

Lu Yao answered calmly. “The divorce agreement took effect a month ago.”

“What divorce agreement?” another voice cut in. “Did something go wrong with your divorce from General Zhou?”

Chang Jian appeared at the end of the corridor, two aides following behind. When he realized the conversation touched on private matters, he waved his assistants off, leaving them behind.

“No,” Lu Yao replied. Mo Feng jumped in at once. “I think Zhou Yunchen’s trying to crawl back.”

Chang Jian frowned, skeptical of Mo Feng’s usual exaggerations. “He’s been pestering you?”

“No,” Lu Yao repeated. But Mo Feng insisted, almost as though tattling. “Zhou Yunchen insisted on having Lu Yao test a mecha for him.”

Chang Jian opened his mouth, then closed it again, staring at Lu Yao’s serious expression. After a moment, he said, “I’ve been troubled by Zhou Yunchen’s decision to return to New Blue Star in secret. Some of my colleagues suspect his motives aren’t pure. You’ve just given me another angle—he’s not concerned with political maneuvering at all. His real target is the omega who divorced him.”

Chang Jian had come today at Lu Yao’s invitation to observe FL03’s first field test and hear the base’s progress report to the Space Planning Department. He hadn’t expected to stumble into such a personal mess first.

“He’s not pestering me. He only came to have me repair a mecha,” Lu Yao emphasized again.

“The Silver Halberd Fleet doesn’t lack mechanics,” Chang Jian reminded him.

“Distant Star is a TL01/01 I built myself. It was never mass-produced, and no other mechanic has the schematics to work from.”

“TL01/01?” Mo Feng blurted. “How the hell did he get his hands on that machine? She should’ve been sealed away in storage.”

Chang Jian’s brows drew together. “Distant Star appeared in the public eye over ten years ago. Lu Yao, back then you and Zhou Yunchen didn’t even know each other, did you?”

“We didn’t,” Lu Yao said. “Before the match, we had never met.”

Now that he thought about it, Chang Jian found it odd. This alpha—so often thought of as cold and distant with his spouse—seemed to have far too many subtle ties to Lu Yao. But Zhou Yunchen truly hadn’t been present in Lu Yao’s life before the match, and the Central AI’s pairing process was entirely data-driven. It wasn’t possible to tamper with it.

Even if Zhou Yunchen had harbored improper feelings, all he had to do was refuse to sign the divorce agreement. Lu Yao might not have…

Lu Yao had wanted the divorce because he believed there had been no genuine feelings between them. No point in prolonging an arranged match. But what if General Zhou had, in fact, wanted to build a real emotional bond with him?

“Lu Yao,” Chang Jian asked cautiously, “when you were still married, how did Zhou Yunchen treat you?”

Lu Yao gave him a strange look but still answered. “Polite. Normal.”

…Was that really a normal way to describe a marriage?

“And… your sex life? Were you two compatible? Did you like it?”

Lu Yao’s brows knit together. Both Chang Jian and Mo Feng held their breath, nervous that maybe Lu Yao had suffered in that area and had rushed into divorce because of it.

“There wasn’t one,” Lu Yao said evenly.

“No sex life at all?”

“No. It never happened.”

Mo Feng asked, “Was it that Zhou Yunchen couldn’t do it? Or was it you? Or did you just not like him?”

Lu Yao thought for a moment. He couldn’t be certain about the first question, but out of respect for another’s privacy and dignity, he answered, “None of the above. We just weren’t familiar with each other, and that subject never came up.”

“Not familiar? So what?” Mo Feng shot back. “If I saw a handsome guy at a bar at night, even if it was the first time we met, it wouldn’t stop us from hitting it off and ending up in bed.”

Chang Jian immediately countered, “I don’t support that kind of lifestyle. Before engaging in sexual activity, it’s necessary to evaluate the other person’s health and moral character.”

“Secretary Chang, don’t be so rigid. You need to learn how to feel the fire and passion inside.”

“Supervisor Mo, fire and passion can lead to regrets. A burst of dopamine can cloud a person’s judgment.”

Lu Yao had no idea how the conversation had shifted into an epic debate between a libertine and a champion of pure love, but since they were no longer pressing him about Zhou Yunchen, he felt relieved. Listening to their back-and-forth, he slipped into his office to handle his work. When the time was right, he led the two chatterboxes down to the ground control room for the mecha test.

Over a hundred staff members sat at their monitors and control stations, each holding their post as they carried out final preparations for the test.

“Wide-angle infrared tracker functioning normally.”

“Gamma-ray imager functioning normally.”

“High-energy charged particle detector functioning normally.”

At the center, the image-simulation screen displayed the field control station several kilometers away, where three FL03 prototypes stood ready. Chang Jian and Mo Feng shed their banter and returned to a serious, professional state, taking their seats in the central section. A documentary film crew was recording.

“Reporting to Chief Engineer: pre-test checks are complete. No issues found in any department. Requesting authorization to begin,” the head of the assembly and testing division announced to Lu Yao.

Lu Yao rose, his gaze sharp and cold as steel. “Begin the test,” he ordered. The division chief relayed the command to the field station. “FL series, model 03 mecha, first ground test—commence!”

The mechas powered up, faint blue light glowing from the core engines in their chest cavities as dust and gravel trembled across the ground. A heartbeat later, three steel giants—each over seventy meters tall—took their first step.

Boom—

Author’s Note:

General Zhou, if you don’t make your move soon, your husband really will start doubting your capabilities.

 

 

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