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White-Haired Monster & Bald Chicken heart-to-heart talk part 2 lol
Chu Rong directly carried Qiao Zhiya home, without even giving Qiao Zhiya a single look.
Qiao Zhiya was extremely anxious on the way home. After entering the house, he directly pleaded even harder, giving Chu Rong his best apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean not to tell you. I just forgot, that magic circle is actually—”
“Sit down.” Chu Rong interrupted him coldly. He pulled the youth’s back collar so Qiao Zhiya couldn’t plaster his body onto his, spraying his neck with his warm breath until he felt shiver down his spine.
Qiao Zhiya, who hadn’t been given such a cold order by him, froze in place. He could let his body sag as Chu Rong manoeuvred it as he pleases. Seeing that Chu Rong was really, really angry at him this time – no manner of pleading was effective to quell it – and refused to meet his ears. His ears collapsed like a sulky cat. His mood sank into the bottom of the ocean.
‘It’s over, the White-Haired Monster is really angry. And he doesn’t want to look at me anymore…’
Chu Rong, who was just giving orders as per his habit, saw that Qiao Zhiya actually sat down on the ground obediently. He frowned, and his mood became worse. He picked the youth up again, put him on the sofa, while he himself sat down across the coffee table. With a sharp glare, he directly ordered. “Confess.”
Qiao Zhiya looked up at him, then lowered his head. He honestly described the process of repairing the energy blade, and then focused on improving the magic circle. He also mentioned that he was studying the use of magic circles to deal with the mutated red tin ore, as a last ditch effort in improving Chu Rong’s mood.
It’s a pity that Chu Rong was still angry. His face became darker the more he heard it. After Qiao Zhiya finished speaking, Chu Rong finally suppressed his temper and asked with a less cold voice, “So, since more than a month ago, you don’t take a good lunch break everyday. Instead, you go to the laboratory to repair weapons secretly. Do you even understand how dangerous it is? You were saying that you were experimenting with the magic circle usage with such volatile, new ore we haven’t researched fully! Qiao Zhiya, do you want to actively endanger yourself? On top of that, this has been going on for over a month. And you never think of telling me, or anyone, about this matter?”
Qiao Zhiya was stunned when asked about this. He immediately became defensive and tried to explain his reasoning.
“No, no.” He quickly waved his hand. He glanced at Chu Rong, and explained more carefully, “The method of adding the energy of the ore itself to the circulation of the magic circle has always existed, although my people rarely use it. But I know it will not be dangerous, and safety can be guaranteed. For lunch break, I eat proper nutrition! Plus, I go to bed at ten o’clock every night and get up at six o’clock in the morning. My resting time is enough, and there is no need for extra during lunch break. As for more than a month–”
“You get up at six o’clock every morning?” Chu Rong almost screeched as he squinted, interrupting Qiao Zhiya again. His expression became unreadable, “Morning training starts at eight o’clock, and the first class starts at nine o’clock, but you get up at six o’clock every day. What are you doing so early?”
Qiao Zhiya shut his mouth. He stared at the Marshal with wide eyes, and two big words flashed in his mind: ‘It’s over.’
Ancestor Chu was beyond pissed.
Of course, the consequences were serious. For the first time, Chu Rong used his authority as Qiao Zhiya’s guardian to retrieve the life track recorded on the Qiao Zhiya school client. He checked his daily schedule at school in detail.
And this look was the nail in the coffin.
Breakfast was basically ignored, as Qiao Zhiya never went to the cafeteria. He obediently went to the cafeteria for lunch, but then he immediately went to the laboratory after eating, without resting at all. After school, he also finished dinner as quickly as possible, and then went back to the dormitory and stayed there until he answered Chu Rong’s communication request before going to bed at ten.
There were no extracurricular activities, no rest and entertainment, nothing. There’s only one hour blank after he got up early, doing whatever in his dormitory; and also before bed.
A teenage student, but his life was more busy and boring than office workers. He hadn’t been sleeping well, eating well, working from six to ten with minimal rest. Such an unhealthy life schedule.
“What are you doing after getting up early and before going to bed?” Chu Rong turned off the client and asked in a cold voice.
Qiao Zhiya tightly grasped his trousers, knowing that he had to be frank and truthful. He gave a nervous glance and whispered, “I’m taking virtual classes…”
Chu Rong saw Qiao Zhiya’s collapsing and trembling ears. The irritability in his heart mixed with a sour emotion, made him unable to lose his temper, but he was also unable to speak soft words.
He knew about Qiao Zhiya’s virtual classes. The two had a conversation on this topic before, and he expressed his support at that time.
He knew Qiao Zhiya’s high intelligence, and knew that the school’s teaching progress was far from meeting the self-study speed of this smart child. He also hoped that the other party would skip a grade and go to the military academy with Chu Yan earlier to keep him company, so as not to be alone and bullied. It made him take a laissez-faire attitude towards the youth’s behavior of making up lessons on the Internet.
It was normal for a teenager like him to have his own plans, and Chu Rong understood to be less authoritarian and overbearing. But he didn’t expect that this daring Bald Chicken would spend all his time studying, eating, sleeping, and going to class. He even got up an hour earlier and sacrificed sleep time to speed up his learning progress.
This was not in line with his expectations. Chu Rong couldn’t figure out why a teenager who didn’t need to worry about his livelihood would have any reason to squeeze himself dry like this.
“Why did you do that?” He suppressed his explosive anger. He reached to lift Qiao Zhiya’s head up, and let them have direct eye contact. Chu Rong’s brows were tightly frowned because of the strange emotions rushing in his heart. With a lower, tired tone, he asked, “Why are you so desperate? What is your reason to spend all your waking time studying? Is it because I’m urging you? Or is it because your schoolmate’s ire towards you? Or is it just your own initiative, or is it something else? Please give me a reasonable explanation. Please…”
This was an unexpected turn of tone. Qiao Zhiya stared at him blankly, feeling that he might have had an illusion. He actually saw a trace of frustration and helplessness in Chu Rong’s eyes. There was a sudden tug in his heart, and all other messy emotions disappeared in an instant, leaving only his distress for the taller man in front of him.
He didn’t know why he felt guilty. Chu Rong was angry, and Qiao Zhiya kinda understood why. But he instinctively felt that if he didn’t comfort Chu Rong now, the Marshal would probably be secretly sad for a long time.
“I’m… I’m sorry…”
He didn’t lower his head again this time, but stood up, met Chu Rong’s gaze, leaned over and hugged tight. The blond youth’s height was short, so when he had to cross over a coffee table like this, he could only barely reach Chu Rong’s chest. He pressed his head on Chu Rong’s chest, and draped his arm on Chu Rong’s neck. He reached to stroke Chu Rong’s hair, just like what Chu Rong used to comfort him in the past. With a barely-heard whisper, he said, “I just want to learn faster… Xiao Yan will go to the Advanced College next year, and I want to attend it with him. And I also want to become stronger as soon as possible… Don’t be sad. I’m not tired, really. I’m sorry, I made you worry.”
Chu Rong was stiffened by this hug. By pure reflex, he wanted to push Qiao Zhiya’s arm, but after feeling the touch on the back of his head, he silently put down the half-raised hand on his lap instead.
For the first time in many years, he actually felt the feeling of being carefully coaxed and comforted like a child. This scene was too absurd and weird, but it was strangely… warm. Comforting. He wanted to indulge in it for a while.
Chu Rong’s ear was pressed near Qiao Zhiya’s heart; he could hear the youth’s steady heartbeat. His nose was also close to Qiao Zhiya’s neck line; he could smell the refreshing, grassy, body scent. It was warm and healing.
Chu Rong’s mood strangely calmed down. Then, a weak emotion secretly appeared in his heart, which made his voice go lower, with a hint of tremble.
“Why do you want to become stronger?” Chu Rong asked as he moved his fingers, feeling an urge to tightly wrap the youth tight in his arm. With the steady thud-thud-thud of heartbeat he heard, it was enough to suppress that urge. With a hoarse yet calm voice, he continued, “Do you want to become stronger quickly, and then…leave the Chu family…”
‘Leaving me also?’ was left unsaid. Chu Rong wasn’t brave enough to ask it out loud.
The Bald Chicken he picked up has already obtained the official federal resident status and was about to come of age. If he wanted to leave, Chu Rong couldn’t keep him from doing that.
In fact, when he first took in this Bald Chicken, he had already expected that he would leave after he became an adult. After all, this Bald Chicken didn’t want to stay by his side at the very beginning.
At that time, he had thought of taking a roundabout way to fulfil this wish. He would first arrange for the youth to study and work on the planet under the jurisdiction of the Chu family, and slowly cultivate his talents. Then, after he had matured, he finally would be transferred to the Capital Planet.
But now that they have been together for so long… It’s impossible to even think about leaving. This Bald Chicken was picked up by him, so the study and work must be carried out under his nose!
Thinking about this, he finally couldn’t help himself to return the hug, holding Qiao Zhiya very close in his embrace. The sparks of warmth and weakness poofed into thin air.
Then, his original irritation reared its ugly head once again.
With such a thin body, this stupid Bald Chicken probably wouldn’t be able to live for a month without his supervision.
“You want to be independent with that shitty lifestyle and self-care? Don’t even think about it!”
‘Leaving the Chu family?’
Qiao Zhiya was dumbfounded by Chu Rong’s sudden words. He loosened his arms and tried to see the Marshal’s expression, but was suddenly hugged tightly and couldn’t move. His face was smushed into Chu Rong’s firm chest, and despite squirming, he still wasn’t able to escape this death grip.
‘Wait… Is the White-Haired Monster… acting like a baby? So sticky!!’
Qiao Zhiya’s eyes widened, and a strange light glinted as an out-of-nowhere thought emerged. He could only look at Chu Rong’s wide chest, but his ears excitedly moved with his improved mood. His lips uncontrollably upturned into a sly smile.
‘Could it be that the White-Haired Monster has been worried about me leaving him?’
‘Ah, he relies on me so much?’
“No!” With his sudden excited mood, his ears no longer trembled, nor his voice weak. He even stroked Chu Rong’s hair boldly, hugged him back and patted him. With a big smile, he said, “I really want to hurry to make mechas for you. Aren’t you waiting for that? I also want to treat your illnesses and get you a lot of good things. Don’t be afraid, I’ll always be here, by your side.” As he spoke, he twisted his body triumphantly, and touched Chu Rong’s head again, his eyes full of affection.
He got it now. The White-Haired Monster was just an affection-starved child who needed to be coaxed gently when he was sick. He’s just like Qiao Zhiya’s father, who despite being a reliable and stable man, really needed to be coaxed by his mother. They were both awkward yet warm people.
But then, Chu Rong patted Qiao Zhiya’s head, then pulled his hair, and rubbed his ears.
Even with such a promise, Chu Rong still remembered what kind of “effort” Qiao Zhiya had done to achieve that. He quickly broke from his warm thoughts, while his expression darkened at a rapid speed. Finally, his temper erupted. He yanked Qiao Zhiya from sticking to his body, standing up, and shook the youth. He sneered, “Bald Chicken. Are you proud?”
Qiao Zhiya’s fatherly smile froze. He quickly was brought back to the current situation. Full of guilt, he averted his gaze as he stammered, “N-no… no….” As he spoke, he glanced at the Marshal’s messy white hair, while his ears trembled and shook.
‘Ah… I got carried away… QAQ’
Chu Rong saw the youth’s guilty and scared look. Again, he pushed down his anger and put the youth down. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
Without even looking, he ordered A1, who was waiting in the corner, “Go buy a bed online and come back. Put it in the second bedroom.”
Qiao Zhiya’s ears stood up in fright. Without caring about anything else, he turned around and threw himself into Chu Rong, stuttering and asking, “What, what are you buying a bed for?”
“Qiao Zhiya.” Chu Rong raised his hand to press the stupid blond’s head. He rumpled the blond strand until it looked like a chicken’s haystack, and vented his anger into pinching and rubbing the trembling pointy ears. “You are almost an adult. You should sleep by yourself. If you miss your parents, I can customize a set of dolls for you, you can sleep with the dolls.”
After speaking, he let go, and went to the study without looking back, leaving Qiao Zhiya with a cold back.
Qiao Zhiya watched him leave with wide eyes. After a long time,she covered her face as if the sky had fallen—
‘Am I going to sleep in a separate room? Then Chu Rong’s treatment… No!!!! QAQ’