Sir, do you want the pheromones? - Chapter 7

Jin Ran glanced at Luo Xinyang but said nothing.

Luo Xinyang had a strained relationship with him after Jin Ran had beaten him up. They had been subtly competing ever since, but Luo Xinyang dared not be too blatant about it. He could only carefully find small ways to balance his mood.

“Hey, how did Commander Pei end up assigning you to his side? And that S-level pheromone of yours—did our commander’s eyes go bad or is there some cheating involved?”

“Hey, from now on, you won’t be able to train or go into battle with us. But following the commander could be good too. Just be careful, as it seems Commander Pei might have taken a liking to you. Watch out, or you might get marked. Hahaha.”

“An S-level missing pheromone, hahaha. Jin Ran, is this luck or misfortune? A vice officer, hahaha. I’ve never heard of a vice officer with a graduation score of 97.3. Impressive, as expected of my bro Ran. Hahaha.”

Jin Ran, walking ahead, couldn’t be bothered to respond. Luo Xinyang followed behind, annoying him, “Hey Jin Ran, didn’t you say you like Alphas? I heard Commander Pei is the only one who hasn’t undergone pheromone induction. Maybe he’s an Omega. Why don’t you give it a try? You might… What the hell are you doing!”

“Damn it!!”

“Shit!!!”

Jin Ran, with an expressionless face, looked at the group scrambling behind him and raised his leg, about to step on a crucial spot. Luo Xinyang hurriedly reached out to protect himself, “Jin… Jin Ran, don’t do that!”

Jin Ran’s military boot landed half a foot away from him. His silver-gray eyes showed coldness, “Continue talking.”

Luo Xinyang, terrified, looked at Jin Ran’s hard military boot. If it came down, not only would his Alpha status be irrelevant, but his life would be in danger.

“I won’t… I won’t say anything more. Just retract your foot.”

Jin Ran didn’t insist on them making promises, lightly withdrew his foot with a “thud” on the ground, “If you continue to insinuate about me and Pei Xingyu, I’ll kill you. Get lost.”

Luo Xinyang scrambled away, and the others also got up, frowning and adjusting their uniforms, cursing Luo Xinyang, “Can’t you walk properly?”

Luo Xinyang didn’t dare to say that Jin Ran had tripped him and could only apologize, “I’ll be more careful.”

After the commotion, everyone returned to their dormitories.

Zhong Guan, sitting in front of his small cabin door, leaned against it and asked Jin Ran, “Jin Ran, you’re so strong. Why did Commander Pei move you to his side instead of keeping you in the action team?”

Jin Ran paused for a moment, facing away from him, and chuckled softly, “How would I know? He must be unwell.”

“But it seems like Commander Pei is especially cold towards you. Did you offend him by accident? Is he making things difficult for you?” Zhong Guan couldn’t understand why Jin Ran, who was so strong, wasn’t assigned a military position. It seemed very unfair!

Jin Ran didn’t feel it was unfair; in fact, he found the arrangement fortuitous. The opportunity to be close to Pei Xingyu was perfect for him, as he was struggling to get close to Pei Xingyu otherwise.

He took off his right glove, revealing a sapphire blue ring on his index finger, and whispered to himself, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Pei Xingyu gives you an explanation.”

Zhong Guan wanted to say more, but seeing that Jin Ran clearly didn’t want to engage, he stopped talking.

Song Sishen, reading a book nearby, rolled his eyes. He had shared a dorm with Jin Ran at the military academy and happened to know about his engagement to Pei Xingyu, making him the only person aware of this matter besides Jin Shaoyuan.

Jin Ran picked up a small cake from the table and fed it to the little boy, patting his head with a gentle smile, “Sweetheart, if you go out and spread rumors that make your brother unable to divorce, I’ll kill you.”

Song Sishen rolled his eyes and swallowed the cake, “You’re crazy.”

Jin Ran glanced outside. Unlike other fully enclosed warships, Ziwei Yuan had many transparent windows. From his vantage point, he could see Pei Xingyu’s command ship.

Pei Xingyu was slightly leaning over, supporting himself on the edge of the table, but it was too detailed to make out clearly.

Tsk.

–

Inside the command ship, Pei Xingyu was fiddling with the interstellar space integration map. The Interstellar Federation’s vigilance was extremely strict; even the slightest move could make them suspect a rebellion.

“Commander, your pheromone levels are fluctuating,” said Du Yuan, the “cleaning robot.”

Pei Xingyu looked down at Du Yuan, touched the back of his neck, which was slightly swollen. He retracted his hand, leaving behind a faint scent of Dendrobium.

“Entering the legion under a false identity is illegal. Additionally, if your Omega identity is exposed on a ship full of Alphas, your situation would be extremely dangerous,” Du Yuan added.

Pei Xingyu frowned. He was much more aware of the consequences of disguising as an Alpha than this clueless robot. Such a deception not only endangered himself but could also ruin Ziwei Yuan.

“Are there any strong suppressants left?”

Du Yuan presented a syringe. Pei Xingyu turned his head to reveal the abnormal swelling at the back of his neck. The syringe injected the medication into the area. Pei Xingyu winced slightly, enduring the cool, somewhat irritating liquid entering his glands.

The turbulent pheromones were suppressed, and the scent of Dendrobium faded almost to invisibility. Pei Xingyu leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in mild fatigue.

When Jin Ran bit him, his pheromones had immediately dissipated. Luckily, he had managed to knock him out quickly, and Du Yuan had helped control the pheromones in time, preventing the revelation of his Omega identity.

Jin Ran’s memory of that sensitive period was not retained, so he still didn’t know that Pei Xingyu was an Omega.

If the Omega identity was exposed, Jin Ran would definitely use it as leverage to force a divorce. Pei Xingyu still hadn’t investigated the cause of the destruction of the ‘Tianji’ or the whereabouts of his parents.

He must not let Jin Ran find out!

“At ten o’clock particle time, should we connect to the Interstellar Federation?”

“Requesting connection.”

Pei Xingyu leaned back in his chair, watching the holographic projection flicker twice before an elderly man appeared. This time, it was the old marshal himself calling.

Pei Xingyu sneered, “What’s this? Think I’m about to rebel, so the old marshal comes to lecture me personally?”

“Stop speaking in that sarcastic tone,” the old marshal said, clearing his throat and looking sternly at him. “I’ve heard you’ve dispersed the students you were given and only kept a few to form a new Tianxiu Action Team. What are you planning?”

Pei Xingyu replied, “Since the people were assigned to me, I’ll arrange them as I see fit. If you think it’s unreasonable, I can personally handle their transfer back to Hoer.”

The old marshal scrutinized Pei Xingyu’s expression, his hands trembling with anger. “The search for the Star of the Galaxy is a major task. Have you taken it seriously?”

Pei Xingyu answered calmly, “No.”

The Star of the Galaxy was just a legend. No one had ever seen where it actually appeared. There were hundreds of entries about it on the interstellar search engine, each with a different claim.

From being able to open a lost interstellar civilization to providing endless energy, to even bringing someone back to life with just a touch—there were all kinds of rumors.

Believing in such tales was foolish.

The old marshal knew this was just to provoke him and steadied his emotions before asking, “It’s said that the Star of the Galaxy could be the key to opening the interstellar gate. It might even help you recover your lost memories.”

Pei Xingyu sneered, “You’re just painting a pretty picture. Aren’t you afraid of choking on it? Have you found the people from the ‘Star Officer’ project? In front of me, who’s really losing face here, the Interstellar Federation or you?”

“Jin Ran is requesting to enter the command ship. Should we allow him?” Du Yuan suddenly asked.

Pei Xingyu’s fingers, resting on the table, paused. He looked up at the old marshal and said, “I will handle the Tianxiu Action Team as I see fit. If you try to interfere again, you’ll see them all sent back to Hoer tomorrow.”

“Du Yuan, cut the connection.”

“Pei Xingyu…!!”

Pei Xingyu pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed slightly in fatigue, and then said to Du Yuan, “Du Yuan, let Jin Ran in.”

Jin Ran walked in and first gave him a formal military salute. “Commander.”

“What brings you here now?”

Jin Ran approached and, not smelling the Dendrobium fragrance, frowned slightly and said, “I came to apply medicine for the bite you received today.”

Pei Xingyu withdrew his hand from the table. “It’s nothing serious.”

Jin Ran, quicker in action, examined the back of his hand, which indeed had a deep bite mark that was almost scabbed over.

“Biting me once, and you knocked me out. We’re even now,” Jin Ran said, holding Pei Xingyu’s hand while opening the medicine bottle, pouring a bit of powder onto the wound.

Pei Xingyu winced slightly, probably from the pain. Jin Ran paused, then quickly sprinkled more powder and wrapped it with gauze, doing a rather crude job.

After a while, seeing that Jin Ran hadn’t left, Pei Xingyu asked, “Is there anything else?”

Jin Ran replied, “Yes, of course. Commander Pei, you’re so blatant about keeping me as your vice officer. What’s the plan? Trying to build a relationship so I won’t want a divorce?”

Pei Xingyu interrupted, his eyes still cold, “No one is trying to build a relationship with you. The position you’ve been given is the result of careful consideration.”

Jin Ran pulled up a chair and sat down, propping his chin on his hand, and asked, “So, what does a vice officer do? You, for one, won’t be able to handle it.”

Pei Xingyu’s brow briefly furrowed and then relaxed, not responding to Jin Ran’s inappropriate comment.

He looked up into Jin Ran’s eyes, making sure he could see his expression, and said, “Managing the ship’s personnel distribution and statistics, assisting the commander’s inspections, handling the replenishment of items for the command center, conveying orders, managing correspondence and documentation for the military corps’ ships, and all miscellaneous duties at the command center, including security.”

Jin Ran listened, struggling to process the information. “Wait, with all that, doesn’t that make me your babysitter?”

Pei Xingyu said, “If you can’t do it, I won’t force you. I have another vice officer to handle these tasks. You can idle at Ziwei Yuan for three years, and when the time is up, I’ll personally escort you back to Hoer for the divorce.”

Jin Ran smiled upon hearing this. “Babysitter, huh? Let’s see if you can handle my service.”

Pei Xingyu nodded slightly and then asked, “I see there’s a six-month gap in your records. How did you end up at Ziwei Yuan?”

Jin Ran leaned back, resting his hands behind his neck, and said, “What, are you probing for Jin Shaoyuan?”

Pei Xingyu replied, “I won’t tell Minister Jin. I’m not interested in the conflict between you two; this is a personal question.”

Jin Ran scoffed, “Personal question? Do you think you’re my wife? I’d rather be blind than deal with you. Got it?”

Pei Xingyu raised his chin slightly, returning the cold sarcasm, “I have no intention of dealing with you. Now, leave.”