Chapter 8#
Night Wind#
Qiao Xi’s face turned pale with fright. He looked around for help but only met sympathetic gazes. Trembling, he took the glass, but just as he was about to drink, someone snatched it away.
“Please don’t bully my team member, Deputy Adjutant Ning.” Qu Yan wrapped an arm around the man’s broad shoulders.
Seeing who it was, Ning Feng’s oppressive aura instantly dissipated, and he returned to his usual lazy demeanor. “Oh? Professor Qu wants to play the hero rescuing the damsel in distress?”
“It’s a hero rescuing a hero.” Without another word, the professor tipped his head back and downed the drink in one go. Ning Feng let out a vulgar wolf whistle, and many around them cheered.
“Any more?” Qu Yan swirled the glass, glancing at the bald thug.
His gaze flitting between the men, Qu Jingshan wiped his bald head roughly and shot him a vicious glare before his subordinates tactfully pulled him away.
With the show over, the onlookers dispersed.
Most of those stationed at the base were hot-blooded soldiers; such minor scuffles happened daily, and no one was surprised. Soon, this small incident was drowned in the revelry.
Yin Beichen stared at Ning Feng’s cold, hard profile. He was about to approach, but Qu Yan was faster, pulling Ning Feng into an embrace.
“I just drank, feeling a bit dizzy. Deputy Adjutant Ning, would you accompany me outside for some air?”
“With pleasure.” Ning Feng slid an arm around the other’s waist. Before leaving, he turned to look at Yin Beichen with a tight, mirthless smile.
“Enjoy yourself, Commander.”
Blue eyes fixed on the departing figures, Yin Beichen pressed his lips together.
“I’m sorry, I made Deputy Adjutant Ning angry again…” Tears welled in his eyes as Qiao Xi whispered, “I really did want to be friends with him, but it seems he doesn’t like me.”
But Yin Beichen showed no reaction. He turned and walked toward the main doors.
“Commander, where are you going?” Qiao Xi hurried after him.
“Back.” Yin Beichen’s voice was cold.
**
Ning Feng stepped out onto the platform and leaned against the steel guardrail, gazing up at the starry dome.
The night was like a vast net, enveloping the base from every direction. The milky-white river of stars ran from far to near, crossing the zenith and slanting down into the cosmos. The breeze brushed his face, dispelling the heat. He let out a long breath, his mind clearing.
“What, calmed down?” Qu Yan leaned against the railing nearby, running a hand through his bangs.
“Mind your own business.” Ning Feng wanted to retort, but the words rolled on his tongue before he swallowed them back.
Qu Yan knew exactly how he felt about Yin Beichen.
Sometimes he couldn’t understand it himself. He thought he’d hidden it well—even Yin Beichen himself didn’t take it seriously. But somehow, Qu Yan had seen through him.
Didn’t that guy only have eyes for sticky samples?
When did he learn to read people?
“Qiao Xi is just a bookworm. He doesn’t know anything except data.” Qu Yan pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, tapped it, and offered one to Ning Feng. “You’ve seen plenty of action. Why bother with him?”
“Then he shouldn’t touch people he shouldn’t touch.” Ning Feng snorted, taking the cigarette.
Just thinking about that kid pissed him off—all clingy and fussy all day, and that ridiculous call… Fine, tomorrow he’d investigate what kind of background that guy had.
“You’re not the only one with ideas about your Commander.” Qu Yan lit one for himself.
White smoke curled up, the thick smell of tobacco spreading quickly. Ning Feng toyed with the unlit cigarette, his agitation gradually easing.
True, he wasn’t the only one.
Many people at the base had different thoughts about Yin Beichen, but the one who got special treatment was Qiao Xi alone. Although Yin Beichen never said anything, Ning Feng could see that he had a distinct kind of expectation toward Qiao Xi that he didn’t have for others.
What was he expecting?
“He’s always hanging around in front of me.”
“That’s his choice.”
“I’m correcting his wrong choice.”
“Then why don’t you correct Yin Beichen’s?”
Ning Feng curled his lip.
If he could correct it, he would have long ago.
He knew Yin Beichen too well—he could even predict the exact reasons the man would use to reject him.
All along, Yin Beichen had never cared about others’ affections. As long as no one confessed outright, he pretended not to know—after all, this was a military base, and they had more important missions to carry out. As for those who seriously confessed, though work cooperation remained normal, in the end, they never even had a chance to talk alone privately.
If he didn’t confess now, at least he could stay by his side as an adjutant; if he did, they couldn’t even be friends.
The man just held the cigarette between his lips without lighting it, staring blankly at the disturbed stardust in the distance.
The towering nebula looked like a wisp of faint haze, gorgeous and colorful, seemingly within reach yet utterly unattainable. His mind was blank, not thinking of anything, yet in an instant, countless impractical thoughts flashed through.
“I can’t be bothered to fix it.”
Qu Yan slowly exhaled a stream of white smoke and chuckled softly.
“The ever-bold Deputy Adjutant Ning, scared after all?” He flicked his hand, ash falling in a flutter. “You were brave enough when slashing the bugs.”
“Pfft, what do you, a single shut-in, know?” Ning Feng rolled his eyes.
“Fine, fine, I’m single, I don’t know.” Qu Yan stubbed out his cigarette. “If you want it, go for it. If you can’t, just hold it in until you can’t anymore.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Yeah, not easy. If you’re not going to smoke it, don’t waste my cigarette.”
He snatched the cigarette from the man’s mouth. In the brief moment of closeness, Qu Yan sniffed. “Hmm? That smell…”
“What?”
“Have you been near someone infected with bug venom lately?”
Bug venom?
Ning Feng’s dark pupils contracted sharply.
Right. How could he have forgotten?
As the head of the research department, Qu Yan handled bug venom samples every day—more than the number of meals Ning Feng ate. He himself had just had an episode today, and his body still carried that strange odor. Of course the other would notice.
“No, why?” Ning Feng said nonchalantly.
“No?” Frowning, Qu Yan leaned in to smell more carefully.
In the bar, the air had been thick, so he hadn’t caught it. Now that the other odors had dissipated, that weird sweet-sour smell stood out starkly. But it was a bit different from the sample’s scent—this one was stronger, more pungent, more aggressive.
“Hey, don’t take advantage of the situation.” Ning Feng laughed, pulling his collar tight and subtly stepping back. “Alright, I think you’ve sobered up too. I have early training tomorrow, so I won’t stay out here with you.”
“Hey, you—”
“Oh, right, I think if you ever lose your job, you might make a good relationship counselor.” Ning Feng winked and quickly disappeared. He darted into a corner, sniffed himself carefully, and decided to go soak in a high-concentration scented bath again.
Staring suspiciously at the man’s retreating back, Qu Yan withdrew his gaze.
He looked down at the cigarette he’d snatched, at the slightly darker filter ring. His eyelids trembled, and slowly, he brought it to his lips without lighting it, just resting it on the railing as he looked up at the starry sky.
**
Starlight splashed through the glass window onto the table, making the pure white peel of the silver fruit gleam even brighter.
Qiao Xi stood in front of the table, staring fixedly at the fruit.
After a long moment, he reached out a finger, touched the blue-purple stain on the peel, and brought it to his tongue to taste.
In the next instant, the smooth lenses reflected white light.