Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 17 Lu Changhui

Pei An was angry, truly angry.

“Lu Changhui, if you think you can’t stay here, I can transfer you to the welfare institution kitchen to help with cooking,” Pei An didn’t even spare a glance at Lu Changhui and walked away.

Lu Changhui turned around, wanting to grab Pei An’s hand, but his hand hesitated and he withdrew it, clenching it into a fist, trembling.

Pei An walked away without looking back. If he had turned and looked at Lu Changhui’s resentful expression, he would have found it unreasonable.

Li Chengrui had prepared a cup of iced coffee with milk for Pei An in advance.

“Lu Changhui, what’s going on? Wasn’t he loved you in secret before? Are you trying to make it public now?” Li Chengrui stirred the coffee and handed it to Pei An.

Pei An, exasperated with Lu Changhui’s actions, responded, “How old is he? Can’t he tell right from wrong? He’s not serious and responsible enough for a promotion to the position of captain. It’s been several years, and he hasn’t improved one bit. How can I trust him with a team?”

Li Chengrui, who constantly complained about needing to find an omega for romance, seemed to have a clearer perspective on matters of the heart. “Lu Changhui is a person with some idealistic beliefs, but not many. He’s doing this for you.”

Pei An turned his eyes, “If everyone wants to come after me, I might as well open a harem.”

Pei An, usually seen as a leader, rarely acted out of character. However, in private, with people like Li Chengrui and Xiaoxue, he could be more lively.

“So, what’s your plan now?” Li Chengrui spread his hands, “Lu Changhui is confused in his emotions, but he hasn’t committed a big mistake. Besides, he’s been at the base for many years, and everyone knows him. You can’t just transfer him to the outskirts.”

Pei An had pent-up emotions and took a sip of coffee to calm his nerves.

“If he behaves himself in logistics, I’ll pretend none of this mess ever happened. But if he continues to be unreasonable, I’ll really send him to the welfare institution kitchen.”

Li Chengrui said with disdain, “How many alphas can cook? Look at our group, who among us looks like they can cook? We all eat in the cafeteria every day.”

Pei An immediately wanted to argue, “Just because you guys can’t cook doesn’t mean others can’t.”

Li Chengrui raised an eyebrow, “Oh! So which alpha’s cooking have you tasted? I bet none of us know how to cook. Why did you eat a meal made by a male nanny?”

Pei An shrugged, “Who else could it be? It’s the male nanny who lives in my house, Major General Xie Yu.”

Li Chengrui was surprised, “I can’t believe Major General Xie, a high-ranking officer, can cook. Is his cooking good? How did he end up cooking for you? Alphas rarely know how to cook, and they’re even less willing to cook for others. Is he interested in you?”

Pei An pushed away Li Chengrui’s head, “Were you infected by Lu Changhui? Can’t you think of something else?”

He didn’t want to discuss romantic topics with Li Chengrui and quickly changed the subject, “How is Fang Qin doing?”

During Fang Qin’s heat period he was marked by Li Chengrui, and it should be over by now.

“Tomorrow, he can be discharged from the hospital. By the way, are you planning to place Fang Qin in the welfare institution?”

Pei An replied, “If you have taken a liking to him, I don’t mind helping you create an opportunity to find a partner.”

Li Chengrui quickly refused, “No, no, no. I just marked him temporarily. If he’s right in front of me, he might think he has feelings for me. I don’t want to lead him on.”

Pei An playfully pretended to hit Li Chengrui, who promptly backed away.

“You are the only one who has a lot of things to do.” Pei An quipped.

“Can I not have too much to do? Let’s coordinate our work first, discuss military equipment issues, and by the way, do we have enough money?”

“I won’t say much about other things, but when it comes to money, you can rest assured. The nobles have plenty of money, and making money off of them is quite fast.” Pei An’s lips curled into a smile.

Li Chengrui nodded approvingly. “It has to be you. Among us who have miraculously survived, you have the most business acumen.”

Pei An raised his chin: “After all, I am the head of the family.”

…

Xie Yu was still unable to contact his own troops, and it was driving him crazy.

Maybe he should sneak into the Administrative Bureau to directly intercept the signal. Doing things this covertly and cautiously, with the added concern of avoiding detection, was terribly inefficient.

But he wasn’t sure about the security levels at the Administrative Bureau. Still, based on how Pei An came and went without a problem, it seemed that security wasn’t too tight. Xie Yu used his psychic power to create a protective barrier and slipped inside.

How could a major general with troops under his command and all the equipment he needed find himself in this situation?

Xie Yu’s eyes suddenly sharpened as he continued to think. As soon as he reestablished contact with his troops, the first thing he’d do was investigate who was trying to kill him. If the opportunity arose, he’d eliminate them, and if not, he’d have to act discreetly. Anyone who dared to try to kill him should be prepared to be killed in return.

As he was lost in thought, his smart brain received a message from Pei An.

“Going to work overtime tonight, won’t be coming home for dinner.”

Xie Yu’s eyes lit up, realizing that it was already 5 o’clock in the afternoon, around dinner time. Pei An was indicating that he wouldn’t be returning home for dinner tonight but would come home after finishing work.

Pei An in the base’s cafeteria never ordered anything less than four dishes on his tray, and he ate every bite.

“Amazing, you really eat everything; you’re not picky at all,” Li Chengrui exclaimed, giving Pei An a thumbs up.

In the post-apocalyptic world, food was scarce. Before they gathered enough people together, they had all sorts of odd meals. Pei An’s picky eating habits had been cured during their struggle for survival.

Of course, he still loathed large snack packs, and that was one habit that would never change.

Pei An finished his meal and went to the lab to continue his work. They might have to face the Empire’s regular army this time, and he wanted to improve their chances. He decided to finish working on the little guy he hadn’t completed earlier.

Fortunately, he had completed a large part of it, and with some extra hours tonight, he’d be able to finish it entirely. After confirming the parameters, they could begin production.

He didn’t care whether they were dealing with the 286th Legion or the 250th Legion. He’d tear a piece of flesh from the 286th Legion if he had to.

After working overtime, the sky was dark. Pei An decided not to bother Ah Huai for a ride and took his car.

It was already dark in DS009, and the road from the base to the city didn’t have streetlights. The only source of light was the car’s headlights, making it feel dark and desolate.

As Pei An left the base and drove a little further, another car also came out. It took a completely different shortcut, speeding through the darkness.

When he arrived at his residence, Pei An stayed in his car for a while. He had spent a long time in the lab today, and his neck felt uncomfortable. He tried stretching it before getting out of the car.

However, as soon as he got out of the car, he realized someone was watching him in the dark. He stood still, but the person suddenly pounced from the darkness with a strong scent of alpha pheromones.

Pei An’s eyes narrowed, and he quickly expanded his powerful psychic power, capturing the intruder’s movements, then grabbed the person by the throat.

He focused his gaze on the person who had tried to attack him, and it turned out to be Lu Changhui.

For Pei An, the situation was both unexpected and not surprising.

“Pei An!” Xie Yu had been struggling to find a signal all day and had come out to relax a bit. He was taken aback when he saw Pei An’s well-executed move in the dark. “Pei An, hand him over to me! He’s in rut!”

“Why?” Lu Changhui’s pheromones were off the charts as he came running out of the darkness, clinging to Pei An like a madman.

Xie Yu noticed that Lu Changhui was in rut, which explained his behavior. An alpha in rut should have self-isolated, but here he was, tailing an omega in a car. It didn’t look good, no matter how you sliced it.

“Pei… An…” Lu Changhui, struggling to speak with Pei An’s grip around his neck, finally gasped. He was still under the oppressive force of Pei An’s psychic power, keeping him on his knees and unable to get up.

Pei An released his grip, but Lu Changhui, with his sanity almost gone, looked utterly unhinged. “I like you so much, you know that. Why won’t you respond to me?”

Xie Yu couldn’t help but shudder, feeling exasperated. “Just because you like someone doesn’t mean they have to like you back. Are you made of gold?”

Lu Changhui bellowed at Xie Yu, “What’s your business with me talking to Pei An? You little white-faced pretty brat, shut your mouth!”

Once again, Pei An rolled his eyes, wondering why he hadn’t realized earlier that Lu Changhui was so unhinged.

Xie Yu couldn’t help but laugh. Even though he had spent most of his time in space, there was no way he could be mistaken for a pretty boy, right? He had normal yellowish skin, and besides, had he ever seen a pretty boy with an eight-pack?

Pei An was getting a headache from the overpowering pheromones. Lu Changhui’s pheromones during his rut were highly aggressive, and Xie Yu’s own subconscious pheromones were automatically defending against them. Annoyed by Lu Changhui’s words and the noise, Pei An used his psychic power to seal Lu Changhui’s mouth.

“Lu Changhui, I didn’t want to do this to you, but your actions have betrayed the oath you made when you joined the organization,” Pei An sighed, clearly disappointed. He had assumed that Lu Changhui had some ideals or convictions, perhaps a sense of camaraderie. But it seemed that all he cared about was getting close to Pei An. If he had a shred of decency left, Lu Changhui wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing.

“Xie Yu, keep an eye on him. I’ll be back,” Pei An said, opening the car door. He considered Lu Changhui’s pheromones and then turned back to head home. “You watch him for now, wait for me.”

After reaching home, Pei An grabbed a pile of scent-blocking sprays and sprayed them heavily into the air, using nearly ten bottles to suppress Lu Changhui’s pheromones.

Once everything was settled, Pei An got behind the wheel of his car and said, “I need you to come with me tonight.”