Chapter 81#
Discussion#
The man’s smile had a unique infectiousness. Qu Yan let out a soft chuckle and casually wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “How could I dare miss your match?”
Ning Feng grinned. “Was I handsome?”
“Pretty decent.”
“Then later—”
Before he could finish, Ning Feng suddenly felt his wrist being yanked hard. Startled, he turned around and instantly met a pair of icy blue eyes.
“Ah, General, so you’re here too.” He raised an eyebrow, a hint of mockery in his tone. “Is there something you need from me?”
But Yin Beichen’s gaze was locked on him, silent.
Ning Feng tried to pull free but couldn’t. “You—”
“Radish!”
Just then, Wen Qianyong’s cheerful call rang out from not far away. Ning Feng responded and looked back at Yin Beichen. “My friend is calling me. Could you let go?”
The blue eyes narrowed dangerously. Suddenly, Yin Beichen turned and dragged Ning Feng away. Before Ning Feng could protest, he felt his other hand grabbed as well.
“Sir, let’s talk this out.” Qu Yan held onto his arm, offering a perfunctory smile.
“Let go.” Yin Beichen’s voice was ice-cold.
“It’s not work hours anymore. Where are you taking him?”
“I said let go.”
“You’re the one who should let go, sir.”
Yin Beichen exuded a chilling murderous aura that made everyone too afraid to approach, let alone intervene. No one knew what was happening; they could only watch from a distance.
Pulled in opposite directions, Ning Feng inwardly clicked his tongue.
He glanced at Yin Beichen’s expression, intending to use his agility to break free, but the next second, he was yanked forward and dragged away before he could react.
“Hey!” Qu Yan tried to chase after him but was blocked by Ou Jingshan’s towering figure.
“Hey hey, the General must have urgent work matters with him!”
“But he—”
“Don’t worry, the General won’t eat him.” Clapping Qu Yan hard on the shoulder, Ou Jingshan started loudly shooing people away. “Scatter, scatter! The match is over, nothing to see here. Go do your own thing!”
Though everyone loved gossip, self-preservation instincts prevailed—this was clearly not a story to meddle in. Soon the crowd dispersed, leaving Qu Yan standing rigid in the corridor, teeth clenched, staring at the spot where the two had vanished.
**
The two dragged each other across the base, passing bystanders who all turned to stare. Yin Beichen didn’t care, focused solely on moving forward.
But just because he didn’t care didn’t mean others didn’t.
“General, where are you taking me?” Ning Feng frowned, glaring at the straight-backed figure ahead.
He admitted he loved looking cool and holding grand titles. Formerly the base’s second-in-command and Yin Beichen’s adjutant, now he was First Commander and the Empire’s top mech pilot. In short, he absolutely wasn’t going to be “the Empire’s Flower’s lost love.”
Yin Beichen gripped tightly. Ning Feng could clearly feel each finger pressing into his synthetic muscle. He could try to break free, but going at it forcefully might dislocate his wrist, and reconnecting the wires afterward would be a hassle.
“General Yin!”
“…”
“Yin Beichen!!”
The steps ahead halted, and Ning Feng almost collided with him. Suppressing the urge to throw a punch, he raised an eyebrow.
“What exactly are you doing?”
Yin Beichen was silent for a few seconds, then slowly turned his head to meet Ning Feng’s eyes.
They stood on an open platform, no one around and no lights except for the occasional sweep of a distant beacon overhead. The night wind howled fiercely, stirring their hair into chaotic tangles.
Ning Feng, being a robot, didn’t feel cold, but he sensed the chill in Yin Beichen’s fingertips. Yet this man’s body temperature had always been low, just like his heart—impossible to warm.
Glancing around, Ning Feng sighed in resignation and tugged at his wig.
“Alright, fine here, even if it’s not the best spot,” he muttered, rotating his wrist. “Let go first.”
When the other didn’t move, Ning Feng added, “I promise I won’t run. Let’s talk properly.”
Staring at him for a long moment, Yin Beichen finally turned around fully, loosening his grip but not letting go. Ning Feng tried to shift, and he tightened immediately. Deciding that talking didn’t require hands, Ning Feng stopped pressing.
In Ning Feng’s memory, Yin Beichen was always unreadable. In all their years of knowing each other, he’d never seen the man’s expressions so varied.
His head began to ache. “If you’re angry that I ignored you earlier, I can apologize. But please don’t drag me out in such an… embarrassing way.”
Eyelids half-lowered, Yin Beichen’s voice was low. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ning Feng straightened his clothes. “You pulled me out so urgently. Did you have something to say?”
Yin Beichen remained silent, jaw muscles tightening.
Expected reaction, but playing deaf and dumb wouldn’t solve anything. Ning Feng closed his eyes briefly.
“Then how about I start?”
After a pause, he spoke in as calm a tone as possible.
“Fine, I admit it. I’m Ning Feng.”
Once the first words were out, the rest came easier. “To be honest, I’m pretty happy I didn’t die this time—it feels like a free second life. But Qu Yan said this chip is unstable. I don’t know when it might fail, so I want to cherish the time I have left.”
This was Ning Feng’s first time talking about his rebirth.
He had a lot he wanted to say, but when it came down to it, much of it felt unnecessary. Better to get straight to the point.
Yin Beichen seemed not to hear him at first, staring intently as if trying to see into his very heart. Only at this point did he interrupt.
“I’ll find a way to deal with the antidote.”
Ning Feng gave a wry smile. “We’re adults here. No need for formalities. You don’t have to force yourself.”
“It’s not force.” Yin Beichen frowned.
“Whatever it is, it’s the same.” Ning Feng shook his head, not wanting to argue. “I wasn’t planning to come back. If it weren’t for the Zerg… Forget it. I’m back now, so the reason doesn’t matter.”
He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “But then, what are we now?”
Friends? How could they barely exchange two words when meeting?
Superior and subordinate? Then what was all the stuff Yin Beichen had been sending?
Ning Feng knew that Yin Beichen was troubled by his death.
Maybe it was out of past affection, or maybe he remembered Ning Feng’s past kindness and wanted to do something to make up for it. But was it genuine? Or just a way to ease his own conscience?
How useful was such superficial compensation?
“My death really isn’t on you. If anyone’s to blame, it’s the Zerg, or maybe Qu Yan for not developing the antidote.” Ning Feng shrugged indifferently. “It has nothing to do with you.”
Hearing this, Yin Beichen’s face grew increasingly dark. “What did you say? Say it again.”
Ning Feng paused, a cynical curve forming on his lips.
“My affairs have nothing to do with you.”
“Ning Feng!”
Grabbing the other’s shoulder hard, Yin Beichen’s expression was colder than ever.
He suddenly felt that Ning Feng was a master of words—how else could a few simple sentences erase their entire relationship, ten years of feelings, so cleanly?
He would rather Ning Feng have teased him, mocked him, or even swung a broom at him like before—anything but…
That smile as he said, “No relation.”
How could they have no relation?
How could they?!
Gritting his teeth, a sour ache surged in Yin Beichen’s heart. He wanted to say more, but his throat felt blocked, words failing him. He could only hold the wheat-colored hand tightly. After a long moment, he opened his lips.
“Ning Feng, I—”
Pfft!
Suddenly, Ning Feng burst out laughing.
To Yin Beichen, that laugh sounded especially cruel.
“Sorry, couldn’t help it.” Ning Feng pressed his lips together for a moment to calm down. “See? We’re just not meant for this kind of lovey-dovey talk.”
He cleared his throat. “Were you going to say you’ve liked me all along?”
Yin Beichen stared at him, unable to comprehend.
“Thanks for thinking so highly of me.” Ning Feng crossed his long legs and lazily raised his eyes. “But Yin Beichen, we’ve known each other for years. And now you’re telling me you like me?”
He paused, then grinned.
“Where were you all this time?”
Yin Beichen froze.
His ears were ringing, and for a moment he couldn’t hear anything. He felt his blood boil and then rapidly cool.
He’d never heard Ning Feng use that tone before—pleasant yet utterly cold, as if talking about someone completely irrelevant.
Yin Beichen felt dazed, clenching his hand unconsciously.
He wanted to make amends with Ning Feng, to hear him call him “Little Chenchen” with that roguish grin, to sling an arm over his shoulder and head to the mess hall. He wanted to duel with Ning Feng in the training ground, to soar through the stars on the Azure Dragon II together, to huddle in front of the projector and study other pilots’ match recordings…
He didn’t want things to be like this. He really didn’t.
But that Ning Feng was already dead.
Slowly realizing what all this meant, a chill crept into his heart—one he couldn’t ignore no matter how hard he tried.
A distant searchlight swept past, making his eyes sting. Yin Beichen looked at Ning Feng, his throat bobbing twice. His voice was hoarse and heavy, carrying an barely perceptible restraint.
“Ning Feng, can we start over? Please?”
“Start over? Did we ever end?” Ning Feng tilted his head, looking at Yin Beichen. “If there was no beginning, how could there be an end?”
He laughed bitterly. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave—at least not until we find that queen Zerg. You’re still my superior, and I suppose I’m your acting adjutant. Our relationship is fine just like this. Let the past be past. Don’t dwell on it.”
Don’t dwell on it?
But how could he take out what was already lodged in his heart?
Yin Beichen closed his eyes, forcing a strained smile, his breath almost gone. “I admit I misunderstood you before. But I can explain.”
Hearing this, Ning Feng curled one corner of his mouth.
He stared straight at Yin Beichen, then slowly but firmly pulled his hands away.
“But I don’t want to waste any more time on you.”
With that, he nodded with a faint smile and turned to leave.
Yin Beichen stood motionless, watching until the man’s silhouette disappeared from sight. His face pale, his blue eyes gradually darkened, blending perfectly with the night behind him.
For a long time, the hand hanging at his side slowly clenched into a fist.