CH 46

Name:Deliberate Mark Author:
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey, sleepy~

Seeing that the two still had the intention to continue, Ye HongFeng yelled again, “Brat, you can’t hit your wife!”

Ye Fei turned off the engine, stopped his hands, and obediently moved the mecha to the side at his dad’s behest. The battle couldn’t go on, so Gu Ang opened the hatch and jumped down, striding over to explain to Ye HongFeng, “I’m not his wife. Besides, even if we’re together, I’m still the husband.”

Even if he turned into an Omega, he didn’t want this tired sounding lovey-dovey crooked name, it wasn’t cool at all.

“You can call each other wife, I don’t understand how you two Alphas are called together.” Ye HongFeng narrowed his eyes slightly, seriously discussing with him, “What do they usually call each other?”

“Ah, who?”

“Just each other, two Alphas together kind of thing.”

Gu Ang’s ears flushed red as he thought back to his last life, as if he hadn’t really called him husband. Both of them were straight A’s of steel, neither one of them would give in, and when they couldn’t get a result, they didn’t bother too much about such details. He was usually called Brother, occasionally calling Ye Fei by his first name, and when they were more lovey-dovey, it was the superimposed Brother.

Cat-like, with sharp little paws, but with some sappy softness to his voice. Ye Fei called him Guang Guang, sometimes Baby, Guang Guang Baby. That was all in bed, compelling like a siren with his low, sexy voice.

Gu Ang sighed inwardly at the thought, he hadn’t heard Ye Fei call him Guang Guang in a long time. Ye Fei’s voice was very low and soft, and sometimes when the word Gu Ang was called, it was pronounced so quickly that it created an illusion that there was something more to come. But no more came.

Now it was just Gu Ang, not Guang Guang.

Gu Ang looked back and shook his head honestly at Ye HongFeng, “I don’t know what to call the other double-A in a relationship.”

Ye HongFeng indulged in the conversation, “You can call him baby or sweetheart or whatever you want if you don’t mind, that’s what my wife called me.”

Invariably, another show of affection.

Gu Ang: “…” With a serious face he reiterated, “Uncle, I repeat, the two of us really aren’t together and there’s no point in discussing this.”

Ye Fei put the mecha together before slowly walking over and looking at the two who looked odd, “Discussing what?”

“Talking about calling you baby.” Ye HongFeng patted Ye Fei’s shoulder, “Gu Ang is a bit shy, so you should take the initiative. Being in love is only fun when you’re cheeky.”

Ye Fei had a little smile on his lips as he glanced at a flushed Gu Ang, “You guys were talking so enthusiastically.”

Gu Ang glared at him. Why didn’t he dispel the misunderstanding?! What was going on? If this misunderstanding wasn’t explained, he was afraid that the next time he saw Ye HongFeng, according to the old man’s amazing brain, he would think that the two of them would be ready to have a wedding ceremony.

Ye Fei received a warning glare and added on without fear of death, “This Gu Ang guy, he’s just thin-skinned.”

Gu Ang sighed. Forget it, his own camp had all fallen back. Alone on his own, he couldn’t speak to this father and son. Where he was thin-skinned, he simply couldn’t resist such a joke with ambiguity. How come he was still climbing up the pole? Gu Ang coughed, ending the strange conversation, “Ah, I think I’m hungry again, let’s go get some more food.”

Ye Fei looked at him, “You ate so much this morning.”

Gu Ang choked half to death, “I’m still growing.”

Ye HongFeng was still chattering in the background, “You can’t have any kids together, so do you want to get a dog? Do you want me to help you pick out a nice breed?”

Gu Ang covered his ears. He couldn’t stand the father and son.

Ye HongFeng was fine for starting a ruckus, but Ye Fei was also following suit. He hadn’t seen such upward mobility when he was chasing him before, but he’d really turned the tables. These days Gu Ang was actually a little shaken in his heart, but reason talked him down in time.

Ye Fei was so nice, he deserved someone better and more sound than a self that couldn’t even figure out a gender.

In the following days, every time Gu Ang made an excuse to leave, he was stopped by Ye HongFeng. It dragged on and on, so he stayed for over a week until it was time to return to the school assembly, and only then did he manage to escape.

Ye HongFeng watched the two men packing their bags, forcing old tears and almost losing the high-handed demeanor of an Imperial Marshal, “You two have been so lively these last few days at home, it’s kinda hard to get used to you being gone. I’m a lonely, lousy old man, and am so sad.”

Ye Fei glanced at him, “Lousy old man? Dad, you’re only in your early forties, you don’t have to be old.”

Ye HongFeng rubbed his wrist, “But it feels like my body isn’t working these days, so I guess I’ll be left behind by the times in a few years.”

“No, you’re healthy.” Ye Fei thought to himself, I’ve seen you after eight years and you’re still a man of steel.

Gu Ang also helped, “Really, you’re the Imperial Marshal who flipped both of us mecha around and hung by yourself, don’t worry much.”

Gu Ang had long since figured out Ye HongFeng’s temperament. He seemed to be a high-flying, iron-blooded fierce general, but at heart he was actually quite cute. That was why he quite liked Ye HongFeng.

Gu Ang thought of his dad again and his emotions hit rock bottom once again, “I have to trouble you about my dad’s matter. When we return from the Ice Blue Star, I would like to see you again.”

“Fine, fine, come over for dinner more often when you have time.” Ye HongFeng rubbed his chin.

Ye Fei asked him, “Haven’t you been very busy lately?”

Ye HongFeng glared, “If you two were around, I’ll have to move back even if I’m busy.”

Gu Ang lifted the trolley down and pressed it down again several times before mumbling, “Uncle Ye, you’re so nice, I envy Ye Fei for having a father like you.”

Ye HongFeng sent the two to the door before replying, “His father is also your father, didn’t you even call me that when we met for the first time?” He tsked, “Why is it just Uncle Ye now?”

Gu Ang choked, “That was a slip of the tongue.”

Ye HongFeng teased him, “You can call me that again now.”

Gu Ang scurried away like a cat with hackled fur, carrying his suitcase, “Next… next time.”

By the time he got into the car and sat down, he recalled that he had been wound up by Ye HongFeng. Nope, next time, he couldn’t call him that either!

The car pulled up steadily in front of Red Flame and the two men got out. Ye Fei dragged his luggage in one hand ahead of him, and Gu Ang was happy to be free. The two headed directly to the Red Flame Military Academy’s warp ship takeoff pad, where the eight other men who had gone along had already arrived.

Bai SiNing waved excitedly, his head bobbing around, “Just waiting for you two, why did you arrive together?”

Gu Ang said vaguely, “It was along the way.”

“Hell yes.” Lin XiuYong poked him mercilessly, “Look at those two suitcases, like you were on vacation together.”

Bai SiNing’s eyes lit up and his luminous CP soul burned, “Even if you live together at school, you also live together on holidays. So lovey-dovey. So, which one of you two went back to whose house?”

He could brainstorm so much mini-theater just living together on vacation. Was this the stage of meeting the parents, no matter whose house they’re going to? And after that, was it time to talk about marriage? Bai SiNing touched Lin XiuYong’s hand with a manic face and frantically invited him to eat sugar together.

Gu Ang couldn’t stand it and broke his head back to square one, “Listen to the Principal words, he’s talking a lot.”

A simple pledge ceremony had begun, and the speaker was none other than Zhong Zhan, Principal of Red Flame, the Empire’s number one military academy, and one of the Empire’s top five dukes, “First of all, congratulations to all the students who were able to represent their respective classes in the school’s annual Undifferentiated Combat Games and compete in style. And as for the rewards given by the school for this competition, I believe you have all heard about it.”

Several of the students below had cold faces and unmoving eyes.

Not bad for the best of the best, each one arrogant as hell.

Bai SiNing saw that the field was cold and immediately cupped back, “Principal, I haven’t heard of it!”

It was okay not to reply, but the cry made the scene even more awkward.

Zhong Zhan coughed and continued to himself, saying,”The reward is— the right to collect taxes on one of the more than thirty-two thousand super planets throughout the Empire that were suitable for life! As one of the few planets in the Empire capable of direct life, Ice Blue was also known for its rich deposits of mineral resources.”

The students’ expressions finally loosened up a bit. The right to collect tax on a planet was definitely a tempting reward for a school student. Everyone was calm on the surface, but each of them had already started to secretly calculate in their hearts how they could take this tempting piece of fat meat.

Gu Ang didn’t care about taxing rights, it was just this winning desire to be able to grab the rewards in the middle of a fierce struggle that had him jumping at the chance to do the same.

Zhong Zhan glanced at Gu Ang with a meaningful glance, “Everyone here was an Imperial **Team Spark that I, Red Flame, have carefully cultivated, so the taxation rights of this one planet wouldn’t be directly rewarded to you according to the number of points……”

After all, the four-thousand point player was just too arrogant for Red Flame’s entire history, too.

Bai SiNing, who was standing aside, let out a long sigh of relief, “It’s good that the distribution wasn’t done directly according to the points. Otherwise, the rest of us wouldn’t have any soup left according to your score, Brother Ang.”

“Don’t interrupt, listen to the Principal properly.” Gu Ang quietly kicked Bai SiNing, signaling the other to stop muttering. Not only because the Principal was paying attention to him, but also because it was what was going to be said next that was key.

Zhong Zhan gestures for silence and continues, “But this planet on the frontier has had a small rebellion and the resident army has been beaten back and needs the forces of the Empire to suppress it. And after a special request from the school to His Majesty the Emperor, this opportunity for you all to fight in the real world has been requested!”

The students, who were waiting to receive their rewards in a beautiful manner, were dumbfounded.

They thought they were going to lighten up and get their reward easily, but now it looked like they were using their life to get it… It was still unknown if they would come back alive if they engaged in real combat. This time, unfortunately, it was a bit too big a gamble.

“Wait, ten of us? To suppress the rebellion?”

“Is it that exciting? Fuck, no wonder the school specially invited Dean Jiang to customize mecha for us, I didn’t think there was such a play waiting here.”

“Is the school not treating us like human beings anymore? To put us straight to the front of the line? We’re only freshmen.”

Bai SiNing was dumbfounded by Principal Zhong’s words.

Lin XiuYong looked at him, “The school probably didn’t expect that five of our top ten individual points in the Undifferentiated Combat Games would be freshmen.”

Bai SiNing muttered, “That’s true, but thanks to Brother Ang and God Ye, I’ve earned enough face with my parents this New Year’s Eve back home.”

Lin XiuYong looked at him, “What about me?”

Bai SiNing doggedly flashed a smile, “You’re certainly the most important one who helped me a lot.”

Gu Ang and Ye Fei had a rippling face. Small local wars were just that, they even experienced bigger battles, life and death havoc, bloodshed, those were the most brutal parts of war. After waiting for a while for the ten people below to discuss, Zhong Zhan continued to speak and explain, “Fear not, you’re the pride of Red Flame, the first sun of the Empire. Though you have not yet seen blood, you’re no match for those hillbillies. This time it’s a special opportunity for you to go to the battlefield and gain some insight. It will be a very colorful addition to your resume when you graduate later. In addition, this time, Dean Jiang would lead the team to provide you with technical support throughout the mecha aspect and to record your contributions in the pacification operation.”

After saying that, Principal Zhong gestured to Jiang RuiYuan who was on the side, and Jiang RuiYuan took over from Zhong Zhan and continued to explain this operation in detail, “This quelling operation would consist of ten of you forming a special elite squad. There’s only one goal, and that’s decapitation!”

With that, Jiang RuiYuan tapped on her watch a few times, and a huge “wanted” was projected in three dimensions in front of several people, “On the screen was the target of this one, the soul of the rebellion, Cordon. There were even rumors that there were even federal agents behind all of Cordon’s choices to rebel this time around. So the enemy you face this time is not only the rebel army, but also to give me constant feedback of the Federal’s sneak attacks. Now, everyone gather and head to the front of the warp ship to claim your mecha.”

After saying that, Jiang RuiYuan nodded to Zhong Zhan, signaling that the explanation was finished. At the moment a row of ten mecha was standing in full order, waiting for their master to come and turn them on. The sheen of metal matched the faint scent of special machinery as a weapon of various shapes and sizes was placed in different locations in the mecha. No one would question that these things, which now look like big toys for men, would be the sharpest scythes for harvesting lives on the battlefield.

“Go ahead, everyone, say hello to the most important partner you’ll ever have in your lives and get familiar with the operation.” Jiang RuiYuan looked at the students who were already getting restless and spoke with a smile.

“Is this my very own mecha? Love it, love it!!!”

“I never thought I’d have my own mecha in my freshman year!”

“That’s so fucking cool, I love it.”

“Dean Jiang, I love you to death.”

Even Gu Ang, unable to hold back his inner excitement, walked over to the mecha that belonged to him. Stroking the crimson titanium-silicon coating on the mecha, Gu Ang sighed inwardly. It’s been a long time, my partner.

Since the mecha that Jiang RuiYuan had promised before had not been built yet, Gu Ang chose a mecha to be used temporarily as the ride this time. This was the same version of the mecha he had driven in his previous life, the “Nightlight” mecha.

Although there was no superfine adjustment and some discrepancies in the assembly of the weapons, this was the closest this world had come to the original “Nightlight” mecha. Many of his and Ye Fei’s memories were related to “Nightlight”.

Jiang RuiYuan gave him a lot of rights and maximum mecha options, and he hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he couldn’t cut off this nostalgia.

Ye Fei stood next to his mecha, looking away from Gu Ang, and also recognized the same model of “Nightlight”. He remembered the mecha that belonged to Gu Ang with the initials Nightlight arrogantly emblazoned on the right side of the fuselage, bold in crimson like a burning love. Then Gu Ang took Nightlight with him on various life and death journeys.

Gu Ang’s mecha was called Night Light, and his own mecha, Light’s Night. At the time, he thought he must have been infected by Gu Ang to come up with a silly couple name. These two mechas, at that time, were like a lightsaber that pierced the night and made people scandalized.

But whether it was Nightlight or Light’s Night, it had vanished into the vastness of the universe. He was caught up in the memories of the past, the corners of his lips tensing into a straight line and then loosening. Ye Fei saw that Gu Ang was stroking the brand new mecha with an open hand, like he was treating a precious treasure.

The man was really nostalgic.

Even if it was a mecha, pick one that looked, performed, and was a similar model to the one in his previous life. He just didn’t know if the reading was about the emotion of that fight, or about both of their pasts. Once everyone’s excitement had calmed down a little, Jiang RuiYuan asked everyone to put their mecha away and take it with them to the airship.

Nowadays there was space compression technology that could have these custom mechas reduced to the size of a hand, so that their owners can easily carry them around.

Convenient and space-saving.

After the crowd had shrunk and put away all the mecha, they excitedly began to board the ship one after another. The interior of the ship was quite huge, and even had a game room, bar, and billiard room in addition to the usual weapons room, surveillance room, command room, etc. The most outrageous was the inexplicable one who had a nervous twitch and set up a pet room.

Seven or eight different types of cats and dogs lived inside, eating, drinking and scattering like crazy. The people who worked on this ship could pet a cat in their spare time. The beauty of the name was that it could help build the crew’s heart to be healthy and effectively prevent everyone’s interstellar claustrophobia.

Gu Ang put his Nightlight away properly in his pocket and went off to find his room.

There was cold machinery all around, a chill and silence in the air, just… 

This quiet was soon broken.

Bai SiNing wailed in his ears, “This ship is so luxurious! It’s so cool! So big! Oh my god!!!”

Gu Ang rubbed his earlobe, feeling like he was going deaf, “Stop it, you’re making a lot of noise.”

Bai SiNing shrank his neck and lowered his voice, “I’m rustic, first time I’ve seen it.”

Lin XiuYong came around from behind and rubbed his head, his tone rare and gentle, “It’s okay, it’s my first time too.”

Gu Ang stared at him and gave a light laugh, You can only fool fools like Bai SiNing with that.

Bai SiNing was still rambling on asking, “Really, it’s your first time too? Then why aren’t you screaming?”

“Wow, that’s great.” Lin XiuYong’s face was expressionless, his voice calm and undisguisedly perfunctory.

Gu Ang couldn’t take it anymore and turned around to quickly follow Ye Fei, “Where’s your room?”

Ye Fei glanced at the door sign, “201.”

Gu Ang let out an “oh” and was slightly disappointed, “I’m in 301.”

“What, kinda sorry you’re not living across from me?” Ye Fei joked teasingly seeing his change of expression.

Gu Ang, having had his cat’s tail stepped on, immediately retorted, “No, I’d rather you stay away from me.”

Ye Fei tugged at the corner of his mouth, his eyebrows raised, “I hope some people don’t sleepwalk at night again and actually shine over and have to go down a staircase this time.”

“Fuck your sleepwalking, bye.” Gu Ang turned his head and walked away, hearing Ye Fei’s voice again from behind him in a hushed voice.

“I won’t lock the door, come if you want.”

Gu Ang curved the corners of his mouth. This guy was so annoying, teasing him.

The ship was complex, and Gu Ang circled around and around for five minutes before he could find his door number. Opening the door, the airy room showcased a one bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, quite spacious and comfortable. Not to be outdone by the meritocracy accommodation, Red Flame really was a great deal for good grades.

Gu Ang could remember that in his last life, as a notoriously poor student in his grade, he had been placed in a room of six every time he participated in a school organized battle outing.

It was still a bunk bed, the kind where the bed creaked and wobbled.

After every mission, a group of Alpha huddled together with sweat, some of them without showering, dizzying people. Gu Ang was already a clean freak, and in that confined space with the smell of sweat, it was almost like he couldn’t sleep all night long. Now, looking at the room, it was soothing.

Gu Ang kicked his suitcase away and threw himself onto the couch with a slump, his eyes looking out the window at the Milky Way. Already on the star track, heading towards the depths of the infinite universe, the Imperial Star was slowly becoming smaller and smaller, turning into nothingness, and they were becoming, in turn, the smallest part of this universe.

Where would this ship take them? What if it was a time ship that was taking them back to the future? Gu Ang still hadn’t figured out how he’d come back. He tried very hard to recall the bits and pieces, but it was as if that part of the memory had been smoothed out or drained away, vanishing into thin air, leaving no trace of it at all. Even the beginning of this accident was pictureless, as if a page had been torn out of a notebook, leaving only a neatly torn edge.

His final fixation on his last life was the day of his divorce. He even wondered if he would fall in love with Ye Fei again if his memory disappeared a little more, erasing the memory of being in love with him and coming back as well?

Gu Ang rolled over on the couch, obviously just now feeling fine living alone, and now looking a little bored. What would Ye Fei be doing at this moment? Gu Ang remembered Ye Fei’s room number, 201. According to the normal plan of the room, it should be directly below him. He casually touched the ground with a toe tap.

Four hard knocks, two long and two short, the army’s common daily communication signal.

Translated, it means: Calling, are you there?

The signals were mostly combat-specific, but a few other everyday phrases have been developed. A bunch of soldiers sometimes chatted with each other by this slight rattle when they were bored of squatting, but it was just a small means of making fun of the bitterness.

Of course, he just knocked casually, not expecting a response to come from the room below.

Gu Ang felt a bit of a brain fart, what was the point of sending such signals? Maybe he didn’t even notice this slight movement. It was frothing when a slight echo came from below, one short and three long.

Downstairs in 201, Ye Fei found a long defensive snatch from behind the door and squeezed the barrel of his gun and poked the roof laboriously in response to Gu Ang’s coded message. He tilted his head and laughed dumbly at his own twisted movements, the titular Admiral, still playing such small games.

Gu Ang heard the ringing and quickly translated the repartee.

Ye Fei said: Yes, always.

He froze, and when he reacted, he realized he had been smiling with the corners of his mouth raised for a long time. Ye Fei was so childish, willing to play this boring cryptic game with him and actually got back to him.

Gu Ang thought, Not bad for a learned Ye Fei, who even learned military ciphers well.

What a coincidence, he was learning pretty well too.

“Forget it, no more games.” Gu Ang rubbed his brow, ready to close his eyes and rest for a while. He had just closed his eyes when, after a few seconds, there was another banging sound from beneath the floor. Densely from all directions, like a rainstorm hitting dense bushes.

It crackled and hit Gu Ang’s heart densely, too.

Gu Ang’s eyes snapped open, and this time, his palms soaked in a fine sweat. He was a little nervous and a little overwhelmed. Through a wall, he didn’t catch the frequency of the pounding too clearly, and could only judge a vague sound.

But he translated it with two possibilities, which one was it?

“Keep in touch.”

Or.

“I like you.”

Author’s Note: 

Ye Fei: Silly, can you guess?