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Character List
=The Chu Family=
Qiao Zhiya: Half-elf, half-dwarf MC.
Chu Rong: Marshal ML.
Chu Yan: ML’s younger brother. Is the same age as MC, currently attending intermediate college.
Zhuang Yu: A doctor in ML’s army.
Chu Huai: ML’s older brother, he’s in politics.
Gu Yan’an: Chu Huai’s wife. She’s a doctor.
=The Xiang-Wei Family Alliance=
Xiang Kun: Chu Yan’s mortal enemy. Xiang Hui’s younger brother. Mecha manufacturing student.
Xiang Hui: A colonel. The Xiang family’s current heir. Xiang Kun’s older brother.
Xiang Lingyun: Xiang family’s head. Xiang Kun and Xiang Hui’s father.
Xiang Jing: Xiang Kun’s paternal female cousin. 22 years old.
Wei Xiongchang: Wei family’s head. A Liutenant General.
Wei Yu: Wei Xiongchang’s grandson. Probably around 20 years old.
Wei Lan: Wei Yu’s younger brother. 14 years old.
=The Ning Family=
Ning Kongran: A fifth-grader at intermediate college. Ning family current heir.
Chairman Ning aka Ning Tianya: Ning family’s head. Ning Kongran’s father.
Ning Kongting: Ning Kongran’s female cousin. 19 years old.
Ning Konghua: Ning Kongran’s male cousin. 21 years old.
=The Presidential Faction=
Long Baorou: the President’s daughter. 24 years old.
Long Ruizhang: Long Baorou’s uncle (her father’s younger brother). Correction: I fucked up and thought he was Long Baorou’s younger brother before…
You Xia: Long Baorou’s maternal male cousin. Older brother to You Yuanyuan.
You Yuanyuan: You Xia’s younger sister.
The audience was speechless.
Why was the Marshal so double-standard… but that’s not the point! What’s the matter with the little Native boy wanting to skip a grade? And what happened to that seemingly incomparably skillful lifting action just now! Didn’t the little Native just arrive in the Federation not long ago, why did he already go to the intermediate college? Did they miss some important information?
Chu Yan said he wanted to ask Chu Rong to come down and walk for a while, and that was exactly what happened. After chatting for a while, he took out his black mecha and brought Qiao Zhiya into the cockpit. As for Chu Yan, the Marshal threw a spare mecha energy box at him. He then took off with Qiao Zhiya to the top of the mountain first.
Chu Yan took out his mecha with a numb face and replaced the depleted energy box. After entering the mecha, he chased after the black mecha that had already flown to the point where there was only a black spot left.
‘Boyfriend over brother! Curse your unrequited love forever!!’
Xiang Kun, who had climbed halfway up the mountain, watched helplessly as a black mecha flew over his head, followed by another familiar gray mech. His foot slipped and he almost fell down the mountain, his eyes widened and he shouted in disbelief, “What’s the situation? Why can they fly with a mecha! This is cheating! It must be cheating!”
Wei Yu looked away, thought for a while, and said, “It seems that Chu Yan’s team didn’t call for help because they were in trouble. He just wants to save some trouble, and be taken directly to the top of the mountain… Let’s go, it’s getting late.”
There was nothing more frustrating than this. Xiang Kun’s expression twisted, and he thought about venting it by cursing. But seeing Xiang Jing’s worried expression, he swallowed the curse words down.
Losing was already a foregone conclusion, so at least they shouldn’t lose too badly. The live broadcast was not over yet, and the show has to go on!
Chu Yan’s team was the first to reach the top of the mountain without any surprises. The second was the Xiang-Wei team, and the Ning-You team was the last because of Ning Kongting’s accidental poisoning.
It was already sunset when the three teams arrived, and the warm dusklight fell on the top of the mountain. It was a gorgeous view – red, yellow, orange, purple, blue… all the colors were in perfect harmony.
The supervisors had already walked off the warship and hugged the children who had worked hard for a week. Then the word “1” on the top of the mountain changed into “Happy Holiday”. The light gradually dimmed, then, eco-friendly fireworks were shot off, bursting in myriad patterns and colors.
The live broadcast stopped at the warm scene of everyone embracing tightly under the holiday greetings and fireworks, and then the screen went dark. As the final greetings for the audience was played, the event was declared over.
The audience looked at the blacked-out screen. They slowly recalled what they had seen this week and felt a sense of bittersweet happiness. Then, they all rushed to the forum to post: [This year’s festival is really great!]
After being tired for a week, the juniors all went back to their rooms to rest after returning to the warship. Qiao Zhiya also went back to his room. But instead of going to wash and rest, he laid down by the window, looking at the blurry forest below. After distinguishing the position of the giant beast, he touched the window glass lightly.
‘Without human disturbance, the animals in this forest should be able to live freely and happily again. I hope the fireworks at night did not scare them.’
Suddenly, there was a sound at the door, he came back to his senses and turned his head to look.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Chu Rong walked in with a frown. He saw Qiao Zhiya lying by the window, and went up to hug him.
Qiao Zhiya quickly returned the hug and put his head on Chu Rong’s shoulder. He buried deeper, and whispered directly into Chu Rong’s ear, “Mm… I can’t sleep.”
The warm breath tickling his ears, Chu Rong only hugged the youth tighter. He lifted the youth, then put him on the bed while forcing him to lie down. Then, Qiao Zhiya was tucked into a quilt as Chu Rong laid down beside him and hugged him through the quilt. The Marshal was still frowning as he said, “Don’t think much. Shut your eyes and go to sleep.”
Qiao Zhiya buried his face in the quilt and smiled. His mood suddenly improved, he rolled up the quilt and arched towards the Marshal, deliberately saying while giggling, “But I haven’t bathed yet.”
“Do that tomorrow morning,” Chu Rong pinched the exposed fluttering ears, gently rubbed the back of his head, and coaxed him in a low voice, “Sleep, I’ll be with you.”
With this familiar scent enveloping his body, his tense nerves finally relaxed, and a week’s amount of exhaustion finally hit him in the face all at once. Qiao Zhiya covered his mouth and yawned, wriggling inside the quilt as he slowly closed his eyes. He mumbled, “Actually, I miss you so much…”
‘Because I miss you, I can’t even fully enjoy myself in the forest…’ He buried these words in his heart, and finally fell into a deep sleep.
The moment Qiao Zhiya’s breathing became slow and steady, Chu Rong stopped patting the quilt. He leaned over slightly, looking at every perfections and blemishes on the youth’s peaceful sleeping face. For a fraction of a second, he kissed his cheek.
During the short return trip, all the families settled down, guarding their juniors and asking about their health, while dealing with the explosion of public opinion after the online live broadcast ended. When the juniors regained their vitality and the supervisors were able to free up their energy to fight with their opponents again, the Capital Planet was already close at hand.
Before landing, the supervisors of each family stood at the exit hatch, preparing for the contact with the President and media interviews after landing. Chu Rong still stood alone on the other side with an indifferent face, not getting involved with the others.
Seeing him like this, Xiang Lingyun, who was standing with Wei Xiongchang, suddenly felt an urge to call him over. After realizing this, he hurriedly shook his head. This “propinquity” thing was scary, making him cultivate “revolutionary feelings” towards Chu Rong of all people, regarding his own wish.
He suppressed this impulse, but Wei Xiongchang took the initiative to open his mouth and called out, “Marshal Chu, why are you standing there alone? The President will bring the media to greet you later. It’s better for us to stand together.”
Xiang Lingyun stared blankly.
When Chu Rong heard the call, he turned his head and looked over. After thinking for a while, he actually walked up to Wei Xiongchang and stood still, but he still kept his indifferent face and did not speak.
Xiang Lingyun’s eyes widened. ‘What’s going on? Is the confrontation between the Xiang-Wei family and the Chu family going to be over because of a live broadcast?’
Xiang Hui, who was standing behind Xiang Lingyun, saw that Chu Rong had really come, and his expression was a bit complicated.
He was the one who handled the matter of public opinion. After the Chu family was targeted, the Xiang family suffered the most suspicion. He originally hated the Chu family to death, even if Chu Yan helped the Xiang family say something at the last moment. No words could alleviate the tension, but later he discovered that the Chu family’s public relations team was secretly cooperating with the Xiang family’s clarification, and shifted the public’s attention to the President without looking suspicious.
It made his hate lessen a bit, but that wouldn’t stop the years-long enmity between the two families.
“Don’t think too much, the Chu family just disdains being a villain,” Chu Rong suddenly said lightly, startling Xiang Hui. The Colonel looked up at him, and saw that he still had a cold face and didn’t look at him directly.
Xiang Hui frowned, turned sideways towards the exit hatch.
When Xiang Lingyun and Wei Xiongchang heard what Chu Rong said, the “revolutionary friendship” that had been in their hearts disappeared instantly, and they stopped trying to talk to Chu Rong.
Long Baorou, who was left alone, looked at the scene of them standing together and talking “intimately”. She clenched her fingers tightly. She couldn’t help turning her head to see Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya who were standing obliquely behind and ruining her plans. As a result, as soon as he turned his head, Chu Rong, who was standing far away, looked over coldly. The warning and murderous look in his eyes were completely undisguised.
She was startled, quickly looked away, and moved behind her uncle Long Ruizhang, with a very ugly expression on her face.
“Baorou, you’ve passed this time,” Long Ruizhang took everyone’s reaction into his eyes. He turned his body around to block her from Chu Rong’s hostile sight. He whispered, “Even if you want to attract Chu Rong’s attention, it shouldn’t be done that way.”
“Who said I want to—” Long Baorou immediately retorted.
Long Ruizhang interrupted her gently, sighed, and said: “Baorou, uncle is someone who has been there, you can’t fool me. Chu Rong is not something you can think of, just give up. Remember, in front of the Four Great Families, what is the identity of the President’s daughter?”
“Don’t think too highly of yourself. If it weren’t for the great war ten years ago that hurt human beings and delayed many things, do you think that your father can sit firmly in the position of President for so long?”
These words really poked her heart, making  Long Baorou stared at him almost fiercely. She outright hissed, “Uncle, you are a coward. Stop making people think that our Long family is like you! My younger brother1uh… I fucked up. I don’t remember about Long Ruizhang character (bc he’s not important in later chapters lol) but I remembered Long Baorou’s younger brother instead. So I thought that those two characters are the same :DDD I’m dumb, I know. has been taught badly by you, so don’t try to teach me badly again! Since some things have been delayed once, then why can’t we continue to delay the second time?”
“You…” Long Ruizhang was startled by her outrageous words. He looked at her in disbelief for a few seconds, and was about to say something more. But he was halted by the opening of the warship’s hatch, followed by the overwhelming flashes of the media’s camera lights.
He shut up, skillfully put on a diplomatic smile, but sighed in his heart.
This overly smart niece was still influenced by his increasingly lost elder brother.
The president was a middle-aged man with a good temper. He has an amiable aura and smiles at any time, which was completely different from the icy Long Baorou.
Qiao Zhiya stood at the back and looked forward curiously. He saw Long Baorou, who was standing at a corner, suddenly stepped forward and hugged the President. She then forcefully intervened in the conversation between the President and Chu Rong. Somehow, it made him upset.
“Oh, she’s still here. Wasn’t she deprived of the right to enter the military headquarters? Do you know why she can be here?” Chu Yan couldn’t bear to look straight at him, so turned his head, and saw Xiang Kun staring viciously at this side.
Chu Yan raised his eyebrows, turned up his voice’s volume and mocked, “Hey, that loser over there. What are you looking at me for, jealous?”
Qiao Zhiya heard the movement and turned his head to look. Ning Kongran, who happened to be showing his figure after Xiang Kun walked away, met his gaze, froze for a moment, and then smiled at the older youth.
Ning Kongran smiled back, and then, as if thinking of something, he took the initiative to come over. With a polite smile on his face, he whispered, “At the celebration gala later, Ning Kongting may find someone to approach you on purpose. Remember, don’t split up with Chu Yan, and don’t reveal anything about the medicine. If necessary, tell Chu Rong about it and let him protect you.”
Chu Yan who heard this sentence raised his eyebrows slightly. He was a little surprised.
Ning Kongran smiled at him again, then raised his voice and said, “Thank you for the medicine, it’s very useful.”
After speaking, he nodded politely, turned and returned to the Ning family’s side.
After Ning Kongran left, Chu Yan dragged Qiao Zhiya a little farther, and asked in a low voice, with strange eyes. “You have a good relationship with him?”
Qiao Zhiya was still digesting Ning Kongran’s instructions just now. He half-heartedly nodded and honestly replied, “I don’t know if I can say we have a good relationship. He and I have known each other in school before, but during the activities he kept pretending he didn’t know me.”
‘So they knew each other before? Why does it feel weird…?’ Chu Yan rubbed his chin, then looked back at Ning Kongran.
The Ning family, who had always been neutral, suddenly came to remind him to guard against his own family.
‘–Does Ning Kongran have some thoughts about Qiao?’
1uh… I fucked up. I don’t remember about Long Ruizhang character (bc he’s not important in later chapters lol) but I remembered Long Baorou’s younger brother instead. So I thought that those two characters are the same :DDD I’m dumb, I know.