CH 97.2

“What the hell is going on?” Chu Rong frowned and hugged Qiao Zhiya, who was foolishly trying to escape. Holding his vine-patterned wrist, his anxiety was clear to all. 

Zhuang Yu, who also had no clue, hurriedly conducted a simple check on Qiao Zhiya and then glanced at the various data displayed on the body monitoring equipment in the room. After a moment of surprise, she replied, “The results show that Qiao Zhiya is completely fine now and is in a deep sleep state.”

Deep sleep?

Chu Rong lowered his head and looked at Qiao Zhiya’s silly and struggling appearance with wide-open eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Is he sleepwalking now?”

Zhuang Yu froze for a moment, glanced at Qiao Zhiya’s obviously uncomfortable appearance, and pondered before guessing, “Perhaps it’s because the power upgrade in his body is too powerful, and his body is not yet accustomed to it, causing him to instinctively, uh, want to move around a bit… Probably when he expends the excess energy, he’ll be able to sleep peacefully.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Rong’s face darkened directly. The constant uncertainty was pushing his patience to the brink of collapse.

Qiao Zhiya was still struggling, and because Chu Rong had been holding onto him, he began to squirm in his arms, even biting his neck with some force.

Zhuang Yu suddenly felt like she should disappear from the room. The Marshal’s current aura of the superior was too frightening.

Taking a deep breath to relax his involuntarily tense body, Chu Rong frowned and pressed down on the back of Qiao Zhiya’s head. Suddenly, he thought of something and turned to look at Zhuang Yu, asking, “Is it just a matter of expelling energy?”

Zhuang Yu was forced to take a step back by his gaze, afraid to say that it was just her speculation. She hesitated and nodded, explaining, “Theoretically, yes, bu-but Qiao’s situation is special. Perhaps we should observe him for a while longer…”

“Go out.” Chu Rong interrupted her suddenly in a cold voice. 

Zhuang Yu was stunned and asked, “What?” The patient wasn’t well yet, so why was the doctor being asked to leave? Has the Marshal gone crazy?

“Get out, seal off this area again, quickly!”

Chu Rong suddenly erupted, causing Zhuang Yu to tremble. Without further delay, she turned around and immediately left. She thought she might find Chairman Chu or Gu Yan’an to come and calm Chu Rong down. They couldn’t afford to have the Marshal fall ill again while Qiao wasn’t yet better. 

After closing the door, Chu Rong immediately released his spiritual power to add another lock to the door. Then, he looked at Qiao Zhiya, who was looking silly after sensing his power. With narrowed eyes, Chu Rong carried him to the bedside. After setting him down, he pressed down on the youth directly.

Isn’t this just a matter of expelling excess energy? Then he has a way. 

Qiao Zhiya moved with confusion, thinking that Chu Rong was playing a game with him. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around Chu Rong’s neck. When Chu Rong kissed him, Qiao Zhiya closed his eyes and responded by nibbling back.

He really did nibble, just like nibbling on fruit.

Chu Rong paused for a moment, then intensified the kiss with Qiao Zhiya, who was trying to escape. At the same time, his hands moved all over the youth’s body. 

By the time Chu Huai and the others arrived, the area near the isolation room was once again overrun by vines and stones. What’s worse, this time there was also a hint of Chu Rong’s spiritual power fluctuations in the air.

Zhuang Yu stood outside helplessly and briefly explained to them the situation inside the isolation room before she left.

After listening to her explanation, Chu Huai, a married man, showed a strange expression for a moment. He carefully sensed the restless energy of Chu Rong in the air, and glanced at the seemingly calmed vines. His mouth twitched. He then cleared his throat, trying to maintain a serious and solemn demeanor. He reassured her, “Don’t worry, Xiao Rong knows what to do. Let’s all disperse and rest. Also, contact the military port and prepare for landing.”

The attention of everyone was suddenly drawn to his last sentence. Fan Xiangnan asked, “Chairman, is it appropriate to land now when Qiao is not yet recovered?”

“Now it’s about 6 PM. At the latest, Qiao should be fine by tomorrow morning. He just needs time for his body and powers to make some final adjustments. If he’s still not well by tomorrow morning, then I’ll go down alone.” After finishing his words, Chu Huai waved his hand to dismiss everyone, saying, “Alright, let’s all disperse. Attend to your own tasks and after you’re done, make sure to rest well.”

With the leader’s orders given, everyone reluctantly suppressed their concerns about Chu Rong and Qiao Zhiya, and turned to leave.

In the dead of night, all the vines and stones near the isolation room suddenly disappeared, and the erratic spiritual power of Chu Rong also vanished.

Having been monitoring the situation here all along, Zhuang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she turned to Chu Yan, who had slipped over to observe the situation at some point, smiled, and handed him a sleep aid, gesturing for him to go rest.

Chu Yan’s expression also relaxed a lot. He thanked her in a low voice and turned to leave.

In the isolation room, Qiao Zhiya, covered with kiss marks, finally expelled his energy and collapsed to sleep peacefully on the bed. Chu Rong sat naked beside the bed, tracing a line on the youth’s spine, then caressing his fluffy hair. He calmly observed the numerous bite marks over his body.

Purely on instinct, he gave Qiao Zhiya’s buttocks a pat. 

Qiao Zhiya, touched in his sleep, kicked his legs impatiently. He then rolled over inside the quilt, turning into a burrito. 

Chu Rong quickly withdrew his hand, waiting until Qiao Zhiya had settled back into a peaceful sleep before leaning in to look at him again. He gazed at his serene sleeping face for a long time, then bowed his head and gently placed a kiss on his forehead.

The next morning, after confirming that Qiao Zhiya’s condition had stabilized completely, the Chu family gathered for a small meeting and decided to immediately land at the military port. The presidential election had already concluded, and it was not suitable for Chu Huai to delay his departure any longer.

After receiving the landing request from the Chu family flagship, the military port immediately excitedly spread the news. In less than ten minutes, all the top officials of the Federation knew about the news that the Chu family flagship was going to land at the port this morning.

Xiang Lingyun immediately put aside what he was dealing with and contacted the Wei family and the media. He also notified Yuan Lie and He Hongjun, rallying officials, and rushed to the port with the fastest speed, organizing a grand welcome ceremony.

The hastily arrived official media also quickly prepared for live broadcasting, ready to start broadcasting as soon as the Chu family flagship appeared in the sky.

At 10 AM, the shadow of the black flagship faintly appeared in the sky. Xiang Lingyun immediately took a few steps forward and positioned himself at the spot where he could quickly rush to greet the arrivals after the flagship landed. The media immediately activated their broadcasting equipment, and the official live broadcast screen reappeared on the Starnet.

The people wandering on the Starnet were initially puzzled, but upon seeing the silhouette of the black flagship in the live broadcast screen, they quickly became excited. They paused what they were doing and looked up at the live broadcast screen.

It’s the Chu family flagship! It’s landing! It’s about to land! The Chu family is coming back! Their new President and Marshal Chu are coming back!

Amidst the anticipation of everyone, the flagship of the Chu family gently settled at the center of the military port ten minutes later.

The people holding their breaths were cheering immediately, expressing their joy with excited screams.

“Indeed, the Xiang family has come again.” Fan Xiangnan handed the live broadcast image from his photon computer to Chu Rong, who was holding Qiao Zhiya, and asked, “Sir, do you want to postpone the departure time?”

Chu Rong glanced at the annoying live broadcast image with a dark expression, tightened his grip on Qiao Zhiya’s arm, and shook his head. “No need, if I don’t show up, the public will probably cause another commotion.” After speaking, he took out a blanket from the spatial button and wrapped Qiao Zhiya, who was still unconscious, tightly, making sure not a single hair was exposed.

Fan Xiangnan silently turned off the photon computer, refraining from expressing any opinion on Chu Rong’s decision to disembark in this manner. He simply looked at Chu Huai ahead, waiting for his confirmation. Once Chu Huai nodded in agreement, Fan Xiangnan gestured for his subordinate by the cabin door to open it.

In the live broadcast, the hatch of the Chu family flagship slowly opened after a moment of silence. Chu Huai and Gu Yan’an walked out first, coincidentally meeting with Xiang Lingyun and the other officials who had come to greet them. Immediately, both sides engaged in friendly exchanges and greetings.

The public’s attention shifted to Chu Huai, confirming that he seemed in good spirits and health, which relieved them slightly. Then, their gaze shifted to behind him, anxiously waiting for what was to come next.

After such a long absence, how would Marshal Chu appear? Would he have any injuries? Did he lose weight? Or would he maintain his usual demeanor, with a faintly annoyed expression, straightforward and reliable as always?

The public was still making speculations. Then, the figure of Chu Rong finally appeared at the door. He was still clad in military uniform, exuding a strong and reliable aura, and his steps were steady. As expected by the public, he had a slightly annoyed expression on his face, but he held someone wrapped in a blanket in his arms, his arms steady, showing a visible hint of caution and care.

The public and the officials waiting at the door were stunned for a moment. Then, Xiang Lingyun was the first to regain his composure. He glanced at Chu Rong’s grim expression and tactfully refrained from further pleasantries. After a brief greeting, he immediately led them towards the inner harbor, while signaling the media to shut down the live broadcast as soon as possible.

The media acted promptly, following the hint to shift the focus to Fan Xiangnan and others who came out behind Chu Rong. Then, they zoomed out to capture the appearance of the Chu family flagship, highlighting the traces of gunfire on it. Finally, the camera panned to capture the backs of the national leaders as they walked towards the distance, accompanied by a stirring speech about the prospects of the Federation. With a click, today’s live broadcast came to an end.

The public finally regained their senses, and then they became angry—Is that all? Did Marshal Chu get even ten seconds of screen time from start to finish? And what about that tall, thin figure behind Marshal Chu that seemed to be Third Young Master Chu? The camera cut away before we could even see his face. What’s going on?

Is this the quality of the official media? What a shitty quality! 

After their anger, their attention focused on the person wrapped in a blanket by Chu Rong. They began to worry.

All of Chu’s family members appeared in the live broadcast. Only Qiao Zhiya, who disappeared alongside Marshal Chu, was not seen. But someone who could be carried so carefully by Marshal Chu must be Qiao Zhiya.

What’s up with him? Why was he carried like that? He couldn’t even show his face. Was he hurt? 

Everyone thought of the simple and beautiful Exoplanet Native boy who involuntarily poured all his positive emotions on the Chu family. They were worrying about his condition.

T/L: after re-reading this… isn’t what Chu Rong did (most likely a heavy make-out session) with Qiao Zhiya was technically non-consensual? QZY isn’t sober (?) to consent, I think?? Whatever it is, this is still fiction. If that happens in real life, don’t do that, yeah.