Chapter 73: Sweet as Honey Milk

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

That afternoon, after finishing the model simplification work for NTL, Lu Yao rode his motorcycle to Pavilion Lake to meet Zhou Yunchen. On the western shore of Pavilion Lake stretched a vast maple forest. It seemed the garden keepers here had already grown tired of summer and, eager to enjoy the crimson leaves of autumn, had lowered the surrounding temperature ahead of schedule. Though it was only early autumn, more than half the maples had already turned red.

When Lu Yao found Zhou Yunchen waiting under an old maple tree, he was immediately draped in the man’s military coat and handed a cup of hot milk. “I brought some nutrient solution too. Do you want it?” Zhou Yunchen asked.

“I already had mine. No need.” Lu Yao tried to lift the lid of the cup, but his leather riding gloves made the small movement clumsy. He bit the tip of one glove finger and tugged it off with his teeth. A moment later, Zhou Yunchen reached out, took the glove, and told Lu Yao to switch the paper cup into his other hand. Then he helped him remove the glove from his other hand as well. The warmth of the milk seeped unreservedly into Lu Yao’s palm, making it easier for him to peel off the lid, cool the drink with a light blow, and finally take a sip.

“I added sugar,” Zhou Yunchen said, watching Lu Yao’s lowered lashes. “Then I remembered you can’t taste sweetness.”

Lu Yao took a small swallow. Though his tongue registered no flavor, the rolling heat still sank warmly into his stomach. “It’s fine. Sweetness doesn’t always have to be tasted with the tongue.” The calories from sugar were enough to trigger dopamine and endorphins, filling the body with unmistakable joy.

“Mm.” Zhou Yunchen brushed a fallen red leaf from his hair. The sinking sun cast its glow across Pavilion Lake, carrying the hue of the leaves with it. Ripples spread in waves like layered fish scales, blooming outward like a rose with brilliant, many-petaled layers. The maple leaf that had been brushed from Lu Yao’s hair also twirled through the air, settling on the water’s surface before drifting slowly toward the lake’s heart.

There were few visitors by the lake. Lu Yao and Zhou Yunchen walked in quiet steps, gradually entering the shade of the trees where the scarlet colors fell over their figures. Lu Yao asked, “You came to see me for…?”

“There are some things I want to discuss with you.” If it were only a matter of discussion, face-to-face wasn’t necessary, and neither was strolling together through the Pavilion Lake forest. But Lu Yao didn’t press further, because Zhou Yunchen went on: “I also wanted to see you.”

“You’ve seen me now,” Lu Yao replied. As the snow leopard, Zhou Yunchen could see Lu Yao every day. Yet seeing him as a man was entirely different. Being with him as a lover was something Zhou Yunchen had never witnessed before.

Lu Yao’s face still carried its usual indifference, but the sunset painted his pale skin, and his hair drifted with the wind and the leaves, as if blending into the cool air of early autumn. The world fell silent. It seemed only the two of them remained, walking together as though time itself had stretched, giving them eternity in this moment.

“Yes,” Zhou Yunchen murmured, “I’ve seen you.” Hearing the trace of a smile in his voice, Lu Yao raised his brows in surprise and shifted his gaze from the deepening path ahead to the alpha at his side.

General Zhou’s lips indeed held a faint curve, and his strong, handsome face tipped toward sculpted beauty under the soft light, tempered with a noble air that softened his usual iron-blooded edge. Lu Yao caught his sleeve, pulling him to a stop.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Go on.” That was what Lu Yao said, but his eyes stayed fixed straight on Zhou Yunchen’s face, showing no intention of moving away. It was as if he had stopped walking for the sole purpose of studying Zhou Yunchen’s expression.

If it had been only a few seconds, it wouldn’t have mattered. But Lu Yao showed no hint of averting his gaze. Zhou Yunchen felt as though he had turned into a lonely mecha under the Chief Engineer’s severe inspection—one flaw and he’d be sent back for rebuilding. Yet Lu Yao’s eyes, glinting like perfectly cut gems in the afterglow, were so beautiful that even the discomfort couldn’t outweigh the irresistible pull of his attention.

“It’s about the upcoming exercise,” Zhou Yunchen said at last. At that moment, Lu Yao’s gaze slid to his thin, sharp lips.

“The military decided to carry out the first round of exercises in the Rose System—around New Pluto, New Neptune, and the Fragmented Belt. I’ll set out in five days and return in half a month to a month, depending on how the exercises go.”

“The military sent people to Production yesterday to rush the next batch of mechas,” Lu Yao said. “When does the war start?”

Zhou Yunchen hadn’t expected his mind to leap straight to war. It was true—the Federation rarely launched large-scale exercises. Training drills for the interstellar police were common, but those were always organized locally within each star sector.

All formal armed forces belonged to the central Federation military, who rarely interfered in the internal policing of star domains. The stationed fleets remained at the outermost edges of Federation territory.

Whether or not exotic beasts understood human exercises was unknown. Researchers mostly agreed that displays of strength carried no deterrent effect. Only when starships struck in real combat—burning beasts to ash and causing heavy losses—did they learn fear.

A Federation-wide exercise was nothing but a self-indulgent performance. Too many of these shows would only breed boredom. In the past hundred years, the military had rarely bothered with the ritual. Unless… Some greater plan lay hidden behind the details.

“There will be three rounds of exercises, lasting around three months in total,” Zhou Yunchen said. “Including logistical preparations, about half a year from now, the Silver Halberd Fleet will depart for the Alien Void to meet this incoming beast tide. As for how long the war will last… I can’t say. It depends on how long the tide endures.”

Lu Yao lowered his lashes, frowning. “The Federation’s Hephaestus Mecha Design Tournament only lasts two months. That’s impossibly short for R&D. I’d thought it was careless planning by the organizers. Now it seems likely they anticipated the beast tide and wanted a batch of new assault mechas ready for the battlefield.”

“Do you have confidence you can win it?” Zhou Yunchen asked. “Maybe.” Lu Yao never dealt in absolutes when it came to probabilities. “If NTL managed to win, once mecha production went online, I could go for on-site inspections. That way, I’d get to see you at the front line.”

Zhou Yunchen fell silent for a moment at that. “The front line is dangerous. The Federation’s Mecha Chief Engineer shouldn’t be there during wartime. After the war ends, then you can come. Just like last time—I’ll have the mecha combat records saved for you.”

Lu Yao didn’t press the matter. He simply said, “We’ll talk about it when the time comes. It isn’t something just the two of us can decide.”

“But there’s one thing that you need to decide,” Zhou Yunchen said. “This time, for the exercises, I want to bring the snow leopard with me.”

“You miss him?” On the surface, Zhou Yunchen neither admitted nor denied it. Lu Yao didn’t question the General further. He nodded in agreement. Bringing a big cat along for stress relief at work wasn’t such a bad idea, and since Zhou Yunchen was the snow leopard’s former owner, he knew how to care for him. Lu Yao’s approval allowed Zhou Yunchen to exhale quietly, almost imperceptibly.

There could only be one existence between him and the snow leopard. If he didn’t bring the leopard along, he couldn’t exactly project a three-dimensional hologram into the middle of a military exercise to command fleets. But the thought also dragged Lu Yao back to the dream he’d had the previous night—Zhou Yunchen with leopard ears and a tail… and without clothes, no less.

Lu Yao stepped back and let his gaze travel over Zhou Yunchen’s immaculate military uniform, imagining what the General would look like with ears and a tail sprouting from that sternly pressed attire. “What is it?” Lu Yao sipped his milk. “I was thinking about a dream I had yesterday.” Zhou Yunchen instantly tensed all over. He forced himself to ask, “What kind of dream?”

“I dreamed you had grown leopard ears and a tail,” Lu Yao replied with perfect honesty. Zhou Yunchen: “!!!” It felt as though a hundred sharp claws raked across his chest. With difficulty, he asked, “Did you like it?”

Like what? Lu Yao recalled Mo Feng’s wild comments about props earlier that day. After a moment’s consideration, he said, “Yes.” Zhou Yunchen’s taut muscles went numb. Just that one word from Lu Yao sent a shock through him, like a current running down his spine.

The sun sank below the horizon, darkness gathering. The milk in Lu Yao’s cup had cooled, with only a few sips left. He glanced at the logo on the paper cup. It wasn’t from a standard vending machine but from an artisan beverage shop. The sweet milk had been mixed with either sugar or honey, which tended to settle at the bottom. The last few sips were always the sweetest.

Lu Yao considered for a moment, then pulled a scent stimulator from the pocket of his leather jacket and fitted it on. He drank the last of the milk, the concentrated sweetness spreading across his tongue and down his throat. The long-forgotten taste made him squint his eyes in pleasure. Zhou Yunchen, however, looked uneasy. “Can you smell my pheromones now? Wouldn’t that interfere with you?”

“Not at this distance.” As he said it, Lu Yao suddenly leaned close to Zhou Yunchen’s shoulder, his nose brushing against the fabric of his uniform as he inhaled lightly.

“And now?” Zhou Yunchen’s throat worked, his hands hovering at Lu Yao’s back, ready to steady him at any moment. Lu Yao raised his head, his eyes in the night deeper than the autumn lake. “You smell like steel.”

Zhou Yunchen nearly bent to kiss those shining lashes, but Lu Yao continued, “0807-grade titanium-nickel alloy.” He caught Zhou Yunchen’s hand, bringing it to his nose with greedy insistence. The rarity of the sensation made him inhale like a small animal, eager for new scents. “TPT solid-state particle coolant… JX90 lubricant… mixed high-carbon steel glass… You fired a gun. A photon rifle. And—” He caught another whiff, tilting his head. “You added honey to the milk.”

When Lu Yao began to release his hand, Zhou Yunchen suddenly caught his jaw instead, rough, hot fingers clamping down. Lu Yao blinked, puzzled, his gaze locking onto the pitch-black eyes before him.

Zhou Yunchen’s stare pinned him in place. The pale, flawless face—utterly unaware of just how provocative his little gesture had been—now bore a faint red mark where he’d been held.

“Mm.” Lu Yao gave only the faintest hum, his fingers resting on Zhou Yunchen’s wrist without struggle. The grip hadn’t been hard. It didn’t hurt. It was just that his face was so rarely touched—any pressure at all left color behind.

In the shards of memory flashing through his mind, Zhou Yunchen remembered how Lu Yao had subdued him, how he’d willingly crawled at the feet of a god. But so many times, in a heartbeat, the alpha’s drive to conquer surged up, clashing against that humility—thrilling and tormenting all at once. “Honey milk,” Zhou Yunchen murmured, his voice low. “Sweet?”

“Mm.” The sound came from deep in Lu Yao’s nose. The next instant, a shadow fell across his face. All of Lu Yao’s clinical experiments with kisses scattered into smoke. In their place came a predator, fierce and uncontrolled, bent on devouring every trace of sweetness—and with it, the trembling of his tongue and the haze in his mind. Lu Yao’s fingers clenched tighter around Zhou Yunchen’s wrist, heat pulsing through the veins beneath his skin.

Author’s note:

Of course kisses are sweet!

 

 

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