Chapter 140: They Didn’t Have This Kind of Impulse Habit
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Lin Xu bowed his head respectfully to the emperor. When he looked up again, he saw the emperor smile, his gaze never leaving them. It was clear he didn’t intend to just greet Lin Xu and be done with it.
This disturbed the mood that Lin Xu had only just begun to relax. His lips tightened slightly as they followed the stairs down into the main hall’s central courtyard.
A hurried banquet had once been held there. At that time, the large exhibits in the hall had been cleared out; now, they had all been put back in place. The emperor was standing beside a piano displayed in the center.
It was a grand piano from ancient Earth, remarkably well preserved. The only signs of age on its surface were the cracked finish of the wooden piano and the faded metal brand plate.
Lin Xu had barely been able to recognize the brand of this old piano — a famous maker from before the Earth apocalypse. That made sense. Ordinary instruments never had the chance or the status to be brought aboard the Ark Fleet.
Alfred stood waiting where he was as Lin Xu slowly approached. When Lin Xu stopped before him, their tone was calm and flat. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Alfred smiled as always. “Hello, Dr. Lin. Recently, the Imperial citizens have been passionately discussing ancient Earth culture. I’ve long admired it, and today I finally have the chance to visit the museum in person.”
“Hmm.” Lin Xu replied with no more words. This caught Alfred slightly off guard. Lin Xu used to be much more talkative; among crowds, he was the most socially adept. Now, he wouldn’t even bother with a perfunctory reply. But it didn’t matter. Alfred didn’t mind. Lin Xu simply wasn’t engaging, and Alfred could even casually keep the conversation going when Lin Xu sneered or mocked him.
“Dr. Lin, I saw in the information card that you took part in the restoration of this old piano. Might I have your permission to touch it?”
His words made it sound like if Lin Xu refused, he would have to withdraw his request. In practice, Lin Xu did not have the authority to allow visitors to touch relics. But this was the emperor of the Marion Empire. The museum could clear the area during the day’s busiest hours just for him — naturally, they could open the piano for him, too.
“Have you ever played piano?” Lin Xu asked.
“A little.”
Centuries could change human technology, housing, and fashion, but the structure of classic instruments hardly ever changed. Those who had learned piano could still play beautiful music on ancient Earth pianos.
“Please, wait here.” Lin Xu turned and walked toward the staff area on one side of the hall. Alfred’s eyes followed him closely.
When Lin Xu returned, they carried a pair of white fiber gloves. Behind them, another staff member came forward to unlock the protective barriers around the piano. Lin Xu handed the gloves to Alfred. “Please, put these on before touching the piano.”
The wooden parts of the piano were well preserved. The metal strings inside had suffered rust damage, but the museum had analyzed the materials and reproduced the strings one-to-one before installing them.
The piano could be played normally, and it was even lent out to famous performers who played at diplomatic banquets between the Imperial court and the Asaxians. Alfred took the gloves and put them on. Approaching the piano, he lifted the lid and lightly tested a few keys with his fingers. A satisfied smile crossed his face. Then he pulled out the matching piano bench, sat down, and a sequence of orderly notes flowed from his fingertips.
At first, there were some hesitations — it seemed it had been a long time since he last practiced — but soon the melody grew graceful and gentle, echoing through the main hall. The emperor himself appeared increasingly absorbed in the music. The rich, mellow tone of the ancient piano was like a fine wine under the moonlight. Even the guards and ladies-in-waiting standing respectfully nearby were moved, their usual seriousness softening in that moment.
Lin Xu listened coldly to the entire piece. A museum staff member standing nearby was about to quietly speak to him about the music but saw Lin Xu’s expression and hesitated. When the song ended, the emperor came back to himself and turned to ask, “Dr. Lin, do you recognize this piece?”
Lin Xu was silent. “Schubert’s ‘Serenade,’ a composer from ancient Earth.”
Alfred nodded with a smile. “That’s right.”
The song didn’t stir Lin Xu, and the emperor’s friendliness didn’t soften his indifferent expression. Alfred once again truly felt that Lin Xu was different from before. He no longer smiled much. He was stingy with even sarcasm and expressions, and his passion for humanity and power was receding.
Yet he was even more captivating — beneath the suit, as the tide receded, the abyss was deeper and more chaotic. But Lin Xu didn’t seem very interested in the emperor.
Alfred sat on the piano bench, noticing Lin Xu’s faint frown from waiting too long. He removed his gloves, wanting to say a few more words, but then noticed the wrinkles on the back of his own hand. After thinking for a while, he changed the subject and asked Lin Xu, “Dr. Lin, what do you think of the crown prince?”
Lin Xu looked confused and replied politely, “His Highness is a prince close to the people.”
“Do you like him?”
“?”
Lin Xu said, “The Imperial throne isn’t decided by election… but people do like the crown prince.”
Alfred nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly seemed to realize something. “Is this your time to get off work, Dr. Lin? Please, forgive my intrusion. I’ll keep browsing a bit longer and won’t take up more of your time.”
Lin Xu nodded again, then turned without a trace of reluctance, leaving the oddly speaking emperor alone in the exhibition hall. Outside the hall, Lin Xu checked the terminal and saw a message just received from Heinrich—he was coming to pick him up after work. The flyer would arrive at the museum entrance in three minutes.
Lin Xu waited outside for a while, then spotted Heinrich by the fountain, holding the black-and-white little dragon. They approached, and Yuanxiao immediately stretched out a small white paw as if asking for a hug. Lin Xu took Yuanxiao in their arms, ready to head back to the parking lot with Heinrich, but Heinrich stopped them.
“Wait a moment,” he said quietly, looking in another direction. Lin Xu followed Heinrich’s gaze and saw the emperor, dressed in white uniform, standing on the second-floor platform of the museum.
Heinrich had noticed the emperor when he arrived, and the emperor had noticed Heinrich Chu. Their eyes met, and Heinrich couldn’t just pretend nothing was wrong and leave. He stopped, raised his hand, and gave the emperor a military salute. The emperor waved back.
When it seemed the emperor had no more orders, Heinrich led Lin Xu and Yuanxiao away. Alfred watched the family of three recede through the floor-to-ceiling window and lifted his chin. When Alfred first heard Lin Xu was married, he thought he must have misheard. And now, barely a month later, they even had a child. A dragon, no less.
The news of Heinrich bringing the little dragon cub curled in its egg to register its ID hadn’t escaped StarNet’s gossip radar. Although only one or two blurry photos leaked, the black-and-white dragon Volans was already as popular on StarNet as another rare ancient Earth animal, the black-and-white rolly-polly. Fans flooded the site with comments like “Baby, come give me kisses!!!”
This sparked another question—since Dr. Lin Xu was human and human organs couldn’t complete egg-laying, that egg must have been laid by Marshal Chu, who had dragon blood. Suddenly, rumors exploded online accusing the Imperial Marshal of being kept by a heartless capitalist, enduring humiliation to bear their child.
“Look, on the day little Volans registered, Marshal Chu was the only one there—proof the capitalist didn’t think Volans was human and even looked down on Marshal Chu!”
The devoted fans of Marshal Chu’s genuine feelings and the nosy gossipers on StarNet argued endlessly over this topic. Alfred refused to believe such baseless internet gossip. Lin Xu choosing Heinrich wasn’t a whim. He didn’t have that kind of impulse habit.
Alfred had met Lin Xu in college. After graduation, they went separate ways but kept shallow online contact. Later, once Lin Xu established himself in the Eastern District base, he reconnected more closely with Alfred, the leader of the Northern District.
They never met again. The only arranged meeting was cut short when Lin Xu’s convoy was attacked by zombies, forcing the meeting and talks to end abruptly. What happened after that… better left unsaid. But Alfred was certain: Lin Xu had never had anything like a lover before. Heinrich Chu was the exception. They even had a child.
Did he really like him that much? Heinrich’s figure gradually disappeared into the distance. Alfred watched it all and narrowed his eyes. By interstellar human lifespan standards, Heinrich was still young—mature and deep-featured, yet with no wrinkles. Tall, strong, cold, and authoritative.
Was this the type Lin Xu liked? And what about him? Alfred looked down at the hands of his own body—it was no longer young.
“Have Admiral Neumann brought in to see me,” he ordered the lady-in-waiting behind him.
In the following days, Heinrich accompanied Lin Xu on several visits to the military exhibition halls on Ares. Lin Xu confirmed the identity of the new official taking over the position at the approval office, then toured the entire exhibition again, spotting some suspicious machinery marks.
They suspected that the large device once used to alter time traces on the Ark Fleet ships was hidden somewhere in the exhibition hall’s basement.
However, the basement was specially encrypted. Even Heinrich’s clearance couldn’t open it. Lin Xu had to jot down the clue and move on.
Soon after, news of a rebellion in the Dionysus District disrupted Lin Xu’s routine of daytime work, evening investigations, and nights spent petting the little dragon cub and stroking the big dragon’s tail.
The rebels suddenly launched an attack on the Imperial military’s stationed planet. The situation was urgent. The Sixth Legion had already rushed to the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Supreme Military Council requested that the Abyss Fleet begin their patrol plans early in the Dionysus District to help restore peace.
Heinrich was about to depart. Lin Xu spoke with him, saying he would stay in the Crescent District to continue the investigation, and that Yuanxiao would remain by his side.
Heinrich was silent for a few minutes, not contradicting Lin Xu’s decision. He knew Lin Xu didn’t want to spend his life looking over his shoulder. Especially now that they had Yuanxiao.
With the Dionysus District in crisis, Heinrich’s military duties would be heavy, and he wouldn’t be able to bring Yuanxiao along to care for. The best choice was to leave them with Lin Xu.
“I’ll have Metz and Arnold stay in the Crescent District. Maybe they can help you. If your clearance isn’t enough somewhere, ask Zhou Pingbo. His rank is high, and he has unrestricted access to most Imperial military bases,” Heinrich instructed. “Ika’s still at Haven and can provide remote technical support. If you run into any urgent problems you can’t handle… put your own life first.”
Lin Xu looked at Marshal Chu, who seemed to be suffering from separation anxiety, and asked, “What about you? Will you put me first?”
“Of course,” Heinrich replied without hesitation. Yuanxiao let out a soft little cry nearby. Lin Xu smiled, a bit soothingly. “Good. That’s your promise. I have one request first. According to the promise, you have to follow it.”
“Okay.”
“I won’t die, and please protect your own life,” Lin Xu said. “If later on I need you to do anything else, I hope you’ll still keep today’s promise.”
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