Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 51

When Xie Yu brought in a plate of fried rice, Pei An was still engrossed in his work.

 

“I knew you wouldn’t go to the cafeteria to eat,” Xie Yu said, placing the plate on the table. He pulled up a chair and sat next to Pei An, taking the pen from his hand.

 

The pen in Pei An’s hand was badly worn, clearly used for a long time. While he spent generously on building welfare homes and providing non-nutritional supplies for everyone, he was frugal with spending on himself.

 

“I got carried away and forgot,” Pei An said, pulling the tray in front of him. “Besides, didn’t you bring me food? No one else gets this treatment.”

 

The fried rice was made with bacon and eggs, topped with caviar sent by Lao Geng.

 

Xie Yu propped his elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand. “Do you know what time it is? The cafeteria is empty now. It’s only because no one is there that I could make something just for you.”

 

Pei An refused to discuss the matter further and slowly ate his meal with a spoon. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but now he realized his stomach had been protesting for a while and felt quite uncomfortable.

 

He placed his left hand on his stomach and gently rubbed it.

 

“What’s wrong? Is it a stomachache?” Xie Yu’s attention was entirely on Pei An. Seeing him rub his stomach, he became flustered.

 

Pei An shook his head with a spoon in his mouth, his words slightly muffled, “Not pain, just discomfort.”

 

Xie Yu moved his chair closer until it was next to Pei An’s, then reached his left arm around Pei An’s back and placed his hand on his stomach. Although his pheromones were icy and cool, his hands were very warm, as every healthy alpha’s body temperature was higher than that of betas and omegas.

 

“I’ll warm it up for you. Just focus on eating,” Xie Yu said, pressing his palm over Pei An’s stomach. “When my dad’s stomach was uncomfortable, my father would warm it with his hand, saying it made him feel better.”

 

Pei An silently glanced at the large hand on his stomach and turned his head to speak to Xie Yu, “Xie Yu, why do you think I can focus on eating in such an intimate position?”

 

Was this any different from being hugged?

 

Only then did Xie Yu realize that the way he was warming Pei An’s stomach seemed less proper. He coughed awkwardly, “How about I move to your left side?”

 

On the left side, he could use both hands.

 

“No need,” Pei An said, focusing on his meal. After all, it was his own alpha warming his stomach. Why should he be embarrassed?

 

Xie Yu’s ears turned red, and he couldn’t think of a reply. He could only concentrate on warming Pei An’s stomach, silently watching him eat.

 

Pei An ate very elegantly, chewing each bite with closed lips, making hardly any noise. It was clear he had grown up in a well-mannered family.

 

Xie Yu watched Pei An eat, mesmerized. How could someone look so good even while eating?

 

Pei An finished the plate of fried rice quickly. Xie Yu instinctively took the tray, “You go back to your room and take a shower. I’ll wash the plate in the cafeteria and then come back.” He planned to continue sleeping on the floor in Pei An’s room.

 

Pei An didn’t respond, placing his pen in the slot on the side of the virtual screen and putting the screen away, “I’ll go to the cafeteria with you and then come back.”

 

Xie Yu smiled, “That works. You’ve been sitting for hours; it’s good to move around.”

 

They turned off the lights and headed to the cafeteria. According to the ship’s schedule, it wasn’t too late, so they encountered quite a few people along the way. What should have been a short walk took over ten minutes due to stopping to chat with people.

 

In the cafeteria kitchen, Xie Yu washed the plate, put it back in the cabinet, dried his hands, and whimsically smelled the hand soap. It was lemon-scented, not pleasant.

 

“Let’s go rest,” Xie Yu said, coming out of the kitchen.

 

Pei An was silent for a moment, then hugged the virtual screen and extended his left hand to Xie Yu, “Aren’t we going to hold hands?”

 

“Of course!” Xie Yu’s hand moved faster than his words. As soon as he spoke, his hand was already holding Pei An’s.

 

Perhaps due to an omega’s natural physique, even though Pei An was much stronger than many omegas, his hands were still somewhat cool.

 

Xie Yu’s warm hand held Pei An’s, continuously transmitting warmth.

 

They didn’t encounter anyone on their way back to the room, which seemed unusually smooth.

 

In fact, some people had seen them and wanted to come over to greet them, but their companions pulled them back, covering their mouths.

 

“Why are you pulling me? We should greet the Commander and Chief Pei when we see them.”

 

His companion was exasperated. “What are you, blind? Didn’t you see the Commander holding Chief Pei’s hand? Do you think the lights on the Liao Yuan are insufficient and you need to act as a human flashlight?”

 

“The Commander holding Chief Pei’s hand?!” He was shocked. “So the rumors are true…”

 

His companion was puzzled. “Rumors? What rumors?”

 

He said, “There’s a rumor that our Commander hired Chief Pei as the technical advisor by seducing him. Haven’t you heard?”

 

His companion gave him a withering look. “That’s just talk. The Commander and Chief Pei aren’t the type to be swayed by looks. What do you know?”

 

He protested, “Why can’t it be because of looks?”

 

His companion rolled his eyes affectionately. “Obviously because of their noble characters!”

 

Their Commander was something else— the son of the Commander-in-Chief, destined to lead the Third Legion in the future. Having seen countless beauties on the central star, how could he care about mere looks?

 

Xie Yu first went back to his room to freshen up. After washing up, he grabbed his blanket and pillow to go sleep on the floor in Pei An’s room. 

 

He had considered the hassle of moving his things back and forth every day and thought about just keeping his bedroll in Pei An’s room. But he figured he couldn’t exactly take a shower in Pei An’s room, so he brought his stuff back.

 

Back on DS009, even though he and Pei An lived under the same roof, they had separate bedrooms. Even if they shared a bathroom, they wouldn’t hear much of each other showering.

 

Xie Yu imagined what it would be like if he stayed in Pei An’s room, hearing him shower. He might go crazy on the spot. He couldn’t help but picture the water flowing from Pei An’s head, down his body.

 

Indeed, alphas are no good. No matter how restrained and respectful he was, he couldn’t be completely indifferent. Lately, he was busy with administrative work. If he could just take his fighter jet and battle some space pirates, or train with Lika and the others for a couple of hours, he wouldn’t have all this pent-up energy with no outlet.

 

Xie Yu entered his bathroom with a towel, whispering Pei An’s name as he showered. Finally, he turned the water to cold, letting the steam quickly disappear.

 

Why couldn’t his pheromones have a cooling effect?

 

After freshening up, Pei An continued working on the defense system. He had given Xie Yu access to his room, so he wouldn’t have to open the door every time.

 

Pei An’s desk was by the porthole, offering a view of the vast, ever-changing universe. He worked diligently at his desk.

 

“Still working on the defense system?” Xie Yu asked, bending over to look at the densely scribbled virtual screen.

 

Pei An looked up. “I’ve almost got it. I should have a draft ready by tomorrow. You can call Lika and the others to review it and see if there’s anything that needs improvement.”

 

“Good thing you’re not my enemy. If I faced you, I’d be completely defeated,” Xie Yu joked.

 

Pei An disagreed. “No, it’s a good thing you chose not to be my enemy. Otherwise, all my efforts over the past decade would be for nothing.”

 

Though he had weapons and talent, they hadn’t experienced real warfare. They couldn’t match Xie Yu’s team, especially in combat awareness.

 

“Your people are smart and quick learners. Many officers praise them,” Xie Yu, who was helping train Pei An’s troops, naturally kept an eye on their progress.

 

Pei An smiled. “I heard they’re almost traumatized from losing to these seasoned veterans.”

 

Every real warrior must be tempered, and Xie Yu provided the best whetstone for them.

 

“How much is left? I’ll help you,” Xie Yu offered, having no urgent tasks himself.

 

There were no extra chairs in Pei An’s room, and the desk couldn’t fit another chair. Thinking for a moment, Pei An gave up on the desk and moved to the bed, leaning against the wall.

 

Patting the bed, Pei An said, “Come, sit.”

 

Xie Yu’s throat felt dry. Pei An was inviting him to sit on the bed, the bed where Pei An slept, imbued with his pheromone scent.

 

“Maybe we should forget it. I’m afraid if I get on your bed, it’ll affect our work.” He’d want to kiss him, hold him, and engage in intimate activities.

 

Pei An spread his hands. “Either sit on my bed or on the floor you set up. There’s no other place unless we go find an office.”

 

If they went to an office, they wouldn’t need to come back to the room.

 

Xie Yu wavered for a moment before eventually sitting on Pei An’s bed.

 

Indeed, the floor he set up lacked the ambiance of the bed. It was just a thin layer on the floor, hardly soft. Pei An’s bed was much more comfortable since the Liao Yuan originally accommodated experts from the Imperial Academy of Sciences, offering a better living environment than the military.

 

Pei An suddenly said, “If you finish this work with me, I’ll let you kiss me.”

 

Xie Yu’s breath hitched, and his mind went blank, unable to recover for a long time.

 

Pei An poked Xie Yu’s face with the tip of his pen. “Hurry up, help me with the work.”

 

“Oh, okay, okay.” Xie Yu quickly focused on the virtual screen, wishing he could speed up.

 

However, the workload wouldn’t change because of Xie Yu’s eagerness. They discussed back and forth for over half a star hour, revising and finalizing the draft, which took a full star hour.

 

“Send it to me first, and I’ll forward it to Lika and the others. If they’re free, they can review it now.”

 

“Alright.” Pei An packaged the draft and sent it to Xie Yu.

 

Xie Yu immediately forwarded it to Lika and the others. They weren’t the type to sleep at this hour and could indeed review the draft.

 

With the work done, Xie Yu could now kiss Pei An as promised. But he wasn’t sure how to start, so he sat cross-legged, his ears turning red.

 

Pei An couldn’t stand it anymore and took the initiative. He wrapped an arm around Xie Yu’s neck, one hand touching Xie Yu’s lips.

 

“Xie Yu, aren’t you going to kiss me?”

 

Kiss him? At a time like this, only a saint or someone extremely naive could resist.

 

In an instant, Pei An’s perspective shifted as Xie Yu pressed him onto the bed, his hand supporting the back of Pei An’s head.

 

The lips Pei An had touched met his own, and he slightly tilted his head to accept Xie Yu.

 

Unlike other couples, they couldn’t go to the movies, share a bucket of crispy popcorn, stroll by the river or in the park, or often meet with flowers.

 

They were different from other couples but also the same. They kissed passionately, inhaling each other’s pheromones, cherishing this simple yet beautiful moment.

 

This kiss lasted a long time, over ten minutes, until Pei An’s eyes teared up from the prolonged kiss, and he was gasping for breath after Xie Yu released him.

 

No wonder couples liked kissing. It was truly pleasant.

 

However, Xie Yu seemed a bit too comfortable.

 

“I’ll go take a shower.” Xie Yu felt embarrassed for losing control in front of Pei An again.

 

Pei An stopped him. “Did you forget there are cameras in the hallway?”

 

If the duty officer in the surveillance room happened to see Xie Yu in this state, his reputation would be ruined.

 

“Just shower here.” Pei An got out of bed, pulling Xie Yu towards the bathroom. “Go on, I’ll bring your towel over.”

 

Xie Yu couldn’t guarantee the duty officer wouldn’t see him, so he decided to listen to Pei An.

 

However, as soon as Xie Yu entered Pei An’s bathroom, he regretted it. Pei An didn’t frequently use scent blockers, so his pheromones lingered in the bathroom more than outside.

 

Xie Yu looked down and cursed silently: You useless thing!

 

Pei An had access to Xie Yu’s room. He went in, grabbed Xie Yu’s towel, and also took his toothbrush and toothpaste.

 

This way, Xie Yu could brush his teeth in Pei An’s room the next morning. After all, he’d already used the bathroom once; what difference did it make?

 

Besides, he wasn’t a naive kid but a man in his twenties.

 

“Xie Yu, your towel.” Pei An returned and knocked on the bathroom door.

 

Xie Yu, hiding behind the door, extended a muscular arm with defined lines.

 

Pei An glanced twice before handing over the towel. He felt the cold air from the bathroom, indicating Xie Yu’s considerable stamina.

 

Hmm, was this a good thing or a bad thing for him?

 

Xie Yu took a bit too long in the cold shower. If Pei An hadn’t been outside and able to hear the noise from the bathroom, Xie Yu would have even considered giving that disobedient guy a lesson himself.

 

Pei An also understood that for an alpha, restraining their nature and not developing a closer relationship with their loved one was challenging. So, he wouldn’t intentionally provoke Xie Yu at a time like this. He casually stood by the porthole, looking outside.

 

As the apocalypse approached, while countries were developing vaccines, they were also accelerating breakthroughs in space technology. Just in case humanity lost to the zombies, they wanted to at least leave some sparks in space to seek a new home. If someone could survive on a new planet, human history wouldn’t be completely severed.

 

However, the destructive power of zombies was formidable. Several satellite launch bases in the country had been overrun by zombies. The only one still operational was the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, which had escaped destruction because it wasn’t connected to the mainland. However, having a satellite launch center alone couldn’t change the situation. At that time, no country in the world had developed a spaceship capable of carrying humans out of the solar system.

 

Pei An remembered an old man telling him, “When I was young, my goal was for our country’s space capabilities to rank first in the world, to build our own space station. Later on, I just wanted to go to space once, to see the Earth from the perspective of space, to see this universe.”

 

But that old man was now too old. Even if there were manned spaceflight technology, it wouldn’t be possible to send an elderly man into space. He couldn’t fulfill his wish.

 

But Pei An had achieved it in another way.

 

Pei An had calculated that the Earth he grew up on and the ancient Earth mentioned by Xie Yu were not the same Earth but parallel worlds, so it wasn’t possible to estimate the technological level.

 

But now he was in space, able to move around as if he were on land, without needing a spacesuit. This was unimaginable at that time.

 

Human strength should never be underestimated. Even ordinary people could create miracles.

 

“What are you looking at?” Xie Yu, finished with his shower and slightly steamy, walked up to Pei An.

 

“I just suddenly wanted to look outside. Most of the time, I’m busy and rarely have the chance to calmly admire the scenery,” Pei An turned around, surveying the freshly showered Xie Yu. Yes, it seemed he had calmed down.

 

Xie Yu urged Pei An to go to sleep. “It’s late. Let’s sleep. I’ll supervise you.”

 

Pei An said he knew but crawled into bed slowly. Watching him wrap himself in the blanket, Xie Yu turned off the lights.

 

Pei An shifted in bed. “Xie Yu, aren’t you going to kiss my forehead tonight?”

 

Xie Yu, about to lie down facing away to avoid staring at Pei An, hesitated. “…”

 

You truly are my ancestor. Sleeping with you is going to drive me crazy.

 

Xie Yu got up first, half-knelt on the ground, and leaned over to kiss Pei An’s forehead.

 

In the darkness, sensations seemed to become clearer.

 

“Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight,” Pei An bit his lip to keep from laughing too obviously.

 

Originally planning to sleep facing away from Pei An, Xie Yu turned over anyway. What’s the harm in looking? He could afford to sleep a little less; he had plenty of energy.

 

Pei An fell asleep faster than the previous night, without reciting any poetry or international literature, simply closing his eyes and drifting off.

 

The next morning, after Pei An woke up, Xie Yu had already been awake, using the smart brain at the lowest brightness to avoid disturbing Pei An’s sleep.

 

“Good morning, Xie Yu.”

 

Xie Yu turned off the smart brain and turned on the lights. “Do you want to go to the restaurant together?”

 

Pei An stretched lazily, smiling. “Sure.”

 

While they didn’t usually cling to each other in front of others, it was obvious to discerning eyes that their relationship was not ordinary. Pei An thought, there was no need to deliberately hide it from everyone, nor was there a need to make a formal announcement. Let it flow naturally; as things progressed, it was time to accept it.

 

“I’ll go wash my face and brush my teeth. Will you change first?” Xie Yu had seen Pei An bring his toiletries over yesterday. Since Pei An had brought them over, he couldn’t just take them back.

 

And it was just washing up here.

 

Pei An didn’t mind, and while Xie Yu washed up, he wouldn’t see outside, so changing clothes wouldn’t be an issue.

 

Besides, if there were any problems, it would only be Xie Yu’s.

 

After Xie Yu finished washing up, Pei An went to wash up, and Xie Yu had to return to his room to change clothes. His clothes were in the next room.

 

After they both finished getting ready, they went to the restaurant together. Along the way, they received many eager glances, which puzzled both Pei An and Xie Yu.

 

Here’s the thing: they had been seen holding hands last night on their way back to their room. In a team like this, such good news couldn’t be kept secret. So, after just one night, everyone, whether under Xie Yu’s command or brought by Pei An, knew that they were together for real. It wasn’t just the affection of good brothers or good friends; it was love.

 

Previously, some people had said that Xie Yu had managed to keep Pei An by selling his looks. This was just a joke made during leisure time; Pei An and Xie Yu had never shown anything in front of others, so there was no solid evidence of their relationship.

 

Holding hands last night, that was solid evidence.

 

But no alpha would hold hands with a good brother or good friend. Brothers usually just linked arms, without that pink bubbly feeling.

 

However, there was always someone whose brain worked strangely. Lika arrived with a large plate of breakfast, slammed it down beside Xie Yu’s seat with a clang, and loudly praised Pei An, “President Pei, you’re truly amazing! The defense system you designed is flawless!”

 

Xie Yu’s face darkened. Why did she have to come over at this time? Couldn’t she wait until the meeting later?

 

And there was another problem. Wasn’t Lika on the Changyuan? Why did she suddenly appear on the Liaoyuan?

 

“Lika, how did you get here from the Changyuan? Isn’t it troublesome to come over?” Xie Yu asked darkly.

 

Lika, as expected of the famous one-track mind of the 258th Legion, waved her hand grandly. “What’s so troublesome about it? I flew over in my own fighter jet. It’s just a moment’s work!”

 

Xie Yu gritted his teeth. “Don’t you have anyone else to sit with?”

 

Lika looked confused. “Commander, what’s wrong? Aren’t you welcoming me sitting with you?”

 

This was the consequence of focusing on work and studying the initial draft of the defense system, instead of gossiping. Everyone in the world now knew that Xie Yu and Pei An were together, resolutely not acting as a third wheel. Everyone except Lika, who knew nothing about it.

 

Some officers, unable to bear seeing their former comrade saddled with more work, one person propping up Lika, another carrying her tray, forcibly escorted her away.

 

“Commander Pei, General Xie, carry on with your breakfast! We won’t disturb you!” they said as they removed her.

 

“Thank them for taking Lika away,” Xie Yu thought. Having support made dealing with love and clearing the scene much easier.

 

Pei An said, “It’s tough to be in a relationship, isn’t it, General Xie?”

 

The author has something to say:

 

Pei An: I declare, I didn’t fish, he bit the hook himself.