46 4.8

During the next five months, Chen Yu managed to 'somehow' carry out all the small missions from the military and also to reinforce his first-place position by winning another quarterly assessment. His parents, the academy, and the military were all very pleased with his performance, the only one who wasn't happy was Hou Yi.

The two had been sparring almost every day throughout this period, both in the gym and from their pods. In the process, they'd predictably become closer than ever. Even the cold-blooded Hou Yi had genuinely bonded with the other boy, so much so that seeing Ah Guang's bright grin and clear eyes made him automatically relax. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt that this boy was special, this boy was precious, this boy was his.

As teenagers who shared such deep feelings, however, they were rather easy to stimulate, simply rubbing against each other during their fights was enough to arouse them.

Jin Yongguang casually accepted the matter without a fuss as a biological reaction, but how could Hou Yi let such opportunities go?

Thus, whenever this happened, he would tighten his hold on Jin Yongguang and tempt him, occasionally going so far as to 'help' Ah Guang release. Unfortunately, the Chen Yu whose thirst had been quenched would then 'regain his senses' and stop Hou Yi as soon as he tried to advance further, citing his previous claim that restraining himself would improve his stamina.

So Hou Yi's desire remained unfulfilled, their relationship technically remained platonic.

Nevertheless, tacitly understanding that their training sessions were bordering on indecency, the two got into the habit of blocking out surveillance options for their exercise room, much to the dismay of the couple's fans.

Finally, after this period of suffering Chen Yu's teasing, Hou Yi's birthday rolled around.

That afternoon, Chen Yu was reclining on his bed before dinner, his eyes narrowed. He'd intended to cut his punishment off today, but he found that he really wasn't in a very good mood.

For one thing, once the academy had sanctimoniously declared that Murong Wen had been expelled, the boy had returned to his parents and hidden away, there was no sign that he ever left home these days. This would've been irrelevant to Chen Yu, except that he was sure that the protagonist wouldn't disappear so easily yet couldn't investigate due to his lover constantly sticking to him. Just mentioning 'Ah Wen' would make the whole area smell of vinegar, so displaying his interest openly would no doubt bring on terrible, back-breaking drills in the gym. Nor could he hack into the public records to locate the protagonist in his rare time alone, since even when they weren't together, the pervert diligently monitored him through the nanobots.

Furthermore, even with his generous help, the military still hadn't finished gathering evidence on Jin Zhong's conspirators. Because Chen Yu was too lazy to deal with Jin Jia himself, he had to wait for his parents to be tried for treason before he could put his plans for the military in motion. Watching those soldiers scurry around, Chen Yu could only sigh at their incompetence.

Still, perhaps he wouldn't have taken his irritation out on Hou Yi if the boy hadn't provoked him yesterday evening.

As usual, they'd been working out in the gym together when the exertion from their match forced both of them to collapse onto the floor. A few seconds later, Hou Yi rolled over and planted his arms on either side of Ah Guang, caging him in his embrace. Breathing heavily, he buried his face in the crook of his neck, grinding their hips together and whispering in a magnetic tone, "Ah Guang, just let me touch you a little, all right?"

Chen Yu's heart jumped at that hoarse murmur, feeling as if it had penetrated through his ears to the pit of his stomach, by the time he regained his senses, Hou Yi's palm was already wrapped around him. While a small moan escaped uncontrollably, Chen Yu sneered inside, did he think this young master was an idiot? This bear child obviously wanted to go all the way ah! Of course, he wouldn't give in, but...that voice was foul play, touching him there was foul play...

Remembering that the original owner's life had revolved around fighting, however, he pushed the other boy away and stared directly into his eyes. Panting, he refused, "No, Ah Yi. You said doing this kind of thing isn't good for our health. We have to keep up our strength for our last assessment, you know it'll be different from the ones we've had before."

Swearing silently, Hou Yi lowered his head and indignantly bit down on Ah Guang's throat.

How could Ah Guang be thinking about that stupid competition right now? The academy insisted that the trials preceding their graduating term were 'different,' but with his military background, he knew that basically, the assessment would only amount to a battle simulation on an isolated planet. How could that be more important than their current situation? Could it be that Ah Guang wasn't as frustrated as he was? But he was definitely excited...

Hou Yi controlled himself at the proof that Ah Guang desired him too, thoughts spinning round and round. Since Ah Guang was crazy about battling, Hou Yi decided, he would use that to his advantage.

Putting on a dignified expression, he asked, "You're right, it'll be our last assessment together, we should make it special. So...why don't we make a bet?"

Chen Yu's eyes shone. "What kind of bet?"

Stuck in his fantasies, Hou Yi rasped, "How about..whoever ranks lower in the trials will have to listen to the other person's wish?"

At the unimaginative stakes, Chen Yu hummed, but in the end, he concluded that there was no harm to taking this on. With his competitive spirit ignited, Jin Yongguang confidently agreed.

Hou Yi was very satisfied, he happily lay on the ground, clasping the other boy to his chest. Although he didn't usually invest so much time if the other party wasn't immediately interested, feeling Ah Guang's long eyelashes gently fluttering against his cheek, he couldn't imagine holding someone else.

On the other hand, glancing at that contented face, Chen Yu vaguely felt this boy was a bit pitiful. If he had waited just one more day, he could've enjoyed this body thoroughly. Now, however, he would have to endure at least another month until the assessment trials had passed, because there was no way Chen Yu would yield on a bet.

Well, he shrugged, this was what it meant to be too clever for his own good, he'd brought this upon himself.

Hearing his communicator ring, Chen Yu woke up from his musings, apparently Hou Yi was wondering why he wasn't at the dining hall yet. Chen Yu silently complained about how bothersome he was, but his eyes unconsciously softened.

---

Although the military was slow by Chen Yu's standards, in fact it had been chugging along steadily. It was simply that many of the people involved had influential backgrounds, raising the bar for how concrete the evidence of their treason had to be.

With Jin Yongguang's unexpectedly useful actions, however, they had at last built up a fairly solid case, General Hou was ready to present it to the eleven other generals of the Federation. Once the resolution to eliminate the traitors was passed by a simple majority vote, General Hou would directly send in his troops.

If this were any other situation, the politicians would have been brought in to spin a cover-up for the event, but the general planned to publicly announce the scandal this time. This was due not only to the fact that the sheer mass of the treasonous network would make any evasion meaningless, but also due to the number of criminals with political connections, which raised the likelihood of them being tipped off.

It went without saying that following this disclosure, Jin Jia would collapse; Jin Yongguang would almost certainly be caught in the crossfire. As an informer's son, he would never receive a position in the military, regardless of how talented he was.

While everyone in the First Division felt it was a pity since they'd quite liked watching the silly boy complete his tasks by the skin of his teeth, no one objected.

This was after all the nature of war, there would inevitably be collateral damage.

So a mere week after Chen Yu celebrated Hou Yi's birthday, all the media platforms were seized by the military for a broadcast. On holograph projectors and communicators everywhere, a general with flinty eyes reported the details of all the traitors they'd located.

The news was coincidentally released in the middle of the academy's afternoon class, which Hou Yi had signed up for with Ah Guang. Looking at General Hou's mouth calmly spit out, "Jin Zhong: responsible for the deaths of more than 28,000 Federation soldiers," Hou Yi instinctively reached out to turn Jin Yongguang away from the holograms that had popped up from everyone's communicators. Burying the boy's face against his chest, Hou Yi covered the other's line of sight with his taller body.

At this moment, he hated more than ever that he'd inherited his father's features, he wished he could tear off his skin and crush his bones, anything to deny their connection. Aching to soothe Ah Guang, he started to look down but jerked to a stop, unable to bring himself to meet Ah Guang's eyes. He was afraid of what he'd see in them.

Damn it, he'd been too late to warn Ah Guang before the captain had roped him into his father's plot, but why had the fool not listened to him when he'd begged him not to follow their orders? Right now, on top of the shocking notice of his parents' upcoming execution, Ah Guang also had to absorb the hurt of discovering that the people he'd helped had abandoned him. At least if he hadn't met the First Division, he wouldn't have to suffer so much.

Hou Yi tightened his arms around Ah Guang, uncertain how to fix this, what to do to prevent this boy from leaving him.

The practice hall stayed eerily hushed throughout the steady recitation of names. When the general stood up and saluted, however, the students slowly turned toward Jin Zhong's son.

Shaking with anger, a boy whose whole family had died in battle stepped forward. "Jin Yongguang, what right do you have to stand here? How many of our people have died because of your parents, and you dare pretend to be honorable?"

With this explosion, the dam burst.

The rest of the students also moved forward menacingly, shouting at this taint on the academy's cadets, but they were blocked by Hou Yi, who was gripping Jin Yongguang behind his back.

A few who had recognized the general as Hou Yi's father yelled, incredulously asking him if he'd missed the briefing, that Jin Yongguang's family was an enemy of the Federation!

While the boy smiled as always in response, the people who caught a glimpse of his freezing gaze hastily stepped back. There was no emotion in those reflective eyes, as if he was looking at mere corpses, or wind-up toys that he could knock down with one strike. In a mild tone, Hou Yi corrected, "Please don't twist my father's words. The name of the accused was Jin Zhong, not Jin Yongguang."

A reckless child snorted. "Hng, aren't they the same Jin, who's to say that Jin Yongguang wasn't helping his father?"

Hou Yi creased his brow with a faint hint of concern. "Are you accusing my father of not investigating thoroughly or of shielding a criminal?"

Before the sputtering boy could defend himself, however, Chen Yu judged that the show had gone on long enough. Pushing the hand that was holding onto him away, he stepped out and confronted the hostile glares directed at him. Except for his pale complexion, his face was as fearless as ever.

Sweeping his eyes over his peers, he solemnly spoke, "I apologize for what my parents have done." Then, without waiting for a reaction, he walked out with a straight back, shrugging off the hand that Hou Yi had reached out.

Hou Yi's eyes followed that slim figure, his mouth flattened. Only after it had disappeared from his sight did he gaze down at his hand, flexing and opening it repeatedly. Was it because of these pestsaround him that Ah Guang had ignored him? At his malicious stare, the mutters dwindled, the students hurrying to escape.

Chen Yu strode to his villa, ignoring the whispers along the way. Having locked all entry points, he flung himself onto his bed, somewhat gloomy. This was what he'd predicted the military would do, but that guilty, insecure expression truly didn't suit his lover, he'd have to speed things up and get rid of it.

As for what the academy would do, Chen Yu didn't worry. The faculty wouldn't automatically expel him over this, they would wait until after the next assessment trials—firstly to test how much his talent was worth and secondly, to wait for public scrutiny of the administration's treatment of its students to die down. Thus, he stayed in the villa for the next couple weeks, focused on perfecting his plan.

Outside Jin Yongguang's villa, Hou Yi closed his bloodshot eyes and leaned his forehead against the closed door, his throat tight.

He'd been waiting here every day, but Ah Guang hadn't met with him even once. The only reason he knew that the other boy was alright was that he'd seen the academy deliver food sometimes.

Tapping his fingers against the door, Hou Yi carefully restrained the increasingly frantic urge to break down these walls. Not yet, he wouldn't scare Ah Guang until he had no other choice.

Jin Yongguang was guaranteed to appear for the assessment tomorrow. If he couldn't persuade him to return to his side, then...Hou Yi opened his eyes.

Then he'd show him that he couldn't escape.