Chapter 46: On Edge

Whether it was that phone call or something else, Wen Qi had a fitful sleep that night.

Throughout the night, Wen Qi felt a constricted feeling in his chest, so oppressive that he struggled for breath. Finally, after gasping for air once more, he frowned, drowsily opening his eyes.

The sky was already beginning to lighten, and the air was slightly cool. The weather forecast had said today would be a sunny, beautiful day.

Tsk.

Wen Qi, bleary-eyed and half-conscious, scanned the dim room. He should have sat up and gotten out of bed, but strangely—

Why couldn’t he muster any strength?

His gaze drifted downward, and he suddenly caught sight of a furry mass. This round, fuzzy ball was currently pressing down on his chest, its entire weight bearing down on him, along with the well-built frame honed from years of combat training.

Wen Qi struggled to sit up, his mind going blank for two seconds—

Why was Ji Yaoming here?

Oh, right, he had been sleeping here recently.

Wait! How did this guy get in?!

Wen Qi sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, blinking a few times while maintaining his position. He stared without moving at the person who was clearly sleeping soundly and lazily for a full five minutes before gently pushing him aside, sitting on the edge of the bed, and preparing to put on his shoes to wash up.

"Where are you going?"

A slightly hoarse voice came from behind. Wen Qi turned to see Ji Yaoming half-opening his eyes and looking at him. Ji Yaoming remained lying down but had pulled a pillow under him, replacing Wen Qi’s previous spot.

"Just washing up, eating, and heading to work," Wen Qi said with a crescent-moon smile. "There’s no need for you to rush getting up. I just received Dr. Xu’s orders—he asked me to remind you to take it easy at home recently. Brother Sien will handle the meetings and reports."

Wen Qi got up and moved around. He wasn’t in the habit of sleeping in pajamas, so he usually slept shirtless, wearing only comfortable shorts. At this moment, his slender yet muscular, fair-skinned legs were fully visible in someone’s line of sight. Wherever Wen Qi went, that someone’s gaze followed.

Unbeknownst to him, Wen Qi quickly found his casual clothes and took them to the bathroom to change, then began washing up. Finally, as Wen Qi splashed his face with water for the third time, his eyes involuntarily drifted to the mirror, where he saw the person propped against the doorframe behind him, lazily watching.

"Um..." Wen Qi said to the reflection, "Do you need to use it?"

Ji Yaoming shook his head.

"Then maybe you could step out?" Being watched while washing up felt strange. "I’ll be done soon."

But the alpha remained silent and made no move. Wen Qi had no choice but to quickly finish up and slip out the door to bring in breakfast.

Ji Yaoming stared for a couple of seconds but eventually took it, silently unpacking each item and placing them on the table as Wen Qi explained, "Dr. Xu had this delivered for us. He said you should eat lightly, and these next few days, meals will follow his standards."

Ji Yaoming remained silent, staring at the table full of porridge and a bowl of soup made from some unknown creature, not even touching the spoon.

Wen Qi, however, ate with relish. "It’s really good. You should try it."

"Dr. Xu is so thoughtful. He’s going on a business trip for a month, and it feels a little odd without him."

Ji Yaoming raised an eyebrow at that. "What? You miss him?"

Wen Qi paused, thought about it, and actually nodded. "A little. After all, I’ve been spending a lot of time with him downstairs these past few days. Suddenly being apart is a bit..."

His voice trailed off completely because the person across from him was staring at him with an increasingly intense look—as if he wanted to tear him to pieces.

Had he said something wrong? Or was there some grudge between Ji Yaoming and Dr. Xu?

Then he heard Ji Yaoming ask, "Why did you lock me out last night?"

Wen Qi felt wronged. Wasn’t it normal for two people living together to return to their respective rooms at night and lock the door for privacy?

Even Wen Qi thought Ji Yaoming was being absurd. "I haven’t even asked how you got in."

"Used the spare key to unlock the door and come in," the other said with a raised eyebrow.

Wen Qi: "...Are you bragging about that?"

"So why did you lock me out?"

Wen Qi’s hand, holding the spoon, paused as he looked at the last bite of porridge. Ji Yaoming waited for him to speak, but all he saw was Wen Qi putting down the spoon.

"I didn’t lock you out. I just had some things to handle."

Wen Qi stood up, said he was done eating, and walked to the entrance to grab his work bag. After a moment’s thought, he turned around but suddenly everything went black and he nearly crashed to the floor.

Some alpha had followed him to the entrance without him noticing. Ji Yaoming reached out and caught him, saving Wen Qi from kissing the floor on what should have been a beautiful morning.

Ji Yaoming: "What is it?"

Wen Qi looked at him, opened his mouth twice, and finally said, "Captain Ji... I’d like to request leave to go home in five days." After a pause, he added, "You know, because of that matter with Wen Mo. I want to go back and see about things."

"I’ll prepare the application materials and send them to you today."

Ji Yaoming released his hand.

He had already received and read the report he’d sent someone to gather about Wen Mo, so he knew Wen Mo was perfectly fine. Not only that, but the person who’d gathered the information had also mentioned that Wen Mo would be renewing his contract with the Abernathy family in a few days—living quite comfortably.

He fell silent for two seconds, and Wen Qi’s heart began to race. But just a moment later, Ji Yaoming said, "Wait for me a moment."

The shirtless man returned to his own bedroom, and Wen Qi waited by the entrance.

If Ji Yaoming didn’t approve, it would be troublesome.

A few minutes later, the man returned dressed and ready. Wen Qi frowned. "Where are you going? Dr. Xu said you need to rest."

"It’s nothing serious," Ji Yaoming said, pulling him outside. "Let’s go. I’ll take you there."

They soon arrived at the training base entrance. Ji Yaoming stopped the car, leaned over, and naturally hugged him. Wen Qi instinctively hugged back. At some point, it had become a routine for Ji Yaoming to insist on a hug every morning before letting him out of the car.

It had become a reflex.

...No.

Wen Qi suddenly jolted.

He couldn’t keep going like this. If he kept sinking deeper, it would only make it harder to let go.

Wen Qi suddenly pushed Ji Yaoming away with force. Caught off guard, Ji Yaoming looked stunned, but Wen Qi didn’t even glance at him. He simply pushed the door open, got out of the car, and hurried into the building.

"Hey, good morning, Xiao Wenqi... Wait!" Lu Sien, who often dropped by their department, boomed loudly as he hurried over. His large eyes sparkled as he scrutinized Wen Qi up and down, as if trying to see through him inside and out.

"Why are you coming to work on your day off?"

Wen Qi jumped at the sudden address. "...Well, since I had nothing better to do."

I can't exactly tell him that I'm leaving in a few days and just want to work a bit more.

After hearing this, Lu Sien suddenly let out a long sigh: "It's like wishing iron could turn into steel..."

Knock, knock—

"Shouldn't you be in the meeting instead of doing here?"

"Who wants to listen to those old men's pointless boasting... Captain Ji? Aren't you on leave too?"

Lu Sien looked left and right, eyeing the two main characters of his perfect date plan. Ideally, they should be leisurely enjoying breakfast together right now—

But one is wielding a large blade, and the other’s face looked so grim it looked like he could send him to the Black Gate for three days and nights any second.

Lu Sien: "......"

Could it be that his perfect plan went wrong? Did something drive a wedge between these two?

......Should he say something now to avoid the latter actually throwing him in there to leave him to his fate?

But Ji Yaoming just stood there silently for two minutes before leaving. Not only that, he also asked for the meeting notes and went back to work as usual.

Hmm.

Lu Sien watched Wen Qi, who had just finished repairing a blade and was now switching to working on a gun, sighing and shaking his head.

Two workaholics—what's there to talk about?

--

"Regarding the recent Alien Wave battle on Falkbai Star, the outcome was highly successful," Marshal Holleschel Abbott began. "The First Unit played an indispensable role in this mission. Additionally, Ji Yaoming, the emergency document you submitted mentioned an unidentified Alien Species. What’s the story behind that?"

Ji Yaoming: "Generally, the shapeshifter-type Alien Species we know can transform into people they’ve seen and live under disguise."

"So they aren’t particularly aggressive, and due to their hormones, they are relatively easy to detect." Ji Yaoming recalled the scene from that day. "But during this major battle, we encountered a species capable of blurring or altering environments—something not currently in our database."

"Environments?" someone questioned. "How is that possible?"

"Rather than blurring or altering environments, I’m currently leaning toward the idea that it might be a form of hypnosis or something that causes hallucinations."

Marshal Holleschel Abbott nodded. "The specifics will require further investigation. We’ll update you as soon as we have more information."

After that, reports and discussions followed regarding incidents and risks in the regions under several generals’ jurisdictions. Marshal Holleschel Abbott also mentioned that the CEO of the Second Unit would take up their post in two days.

It’s quite unusual, actually—it’s someone Ji Yaoming has never even heard of.

But he didn’t particularly care. Glancing at the time, he noted the meeting had lasted nearly three hours, but today felt different. He was feeling an inexplicable restlessness, especially since this morning... No, truth be told, it had been several days of Wen Qi’s resistance toward him.

His interlaced fingers clenched unconsciously. Finally, Ji Yaoming heard the meeting adjourn and, unusually for him, decided to leave the meeting quickly like the other rapidly disappearing old-timers.

"Yao Ming."

Marshal Holleschel Abbott stopped him.

"How’s your health?" Marshal Holleschel Abbott was aware of his condition—after all, Ji Dufeng had tried every method to keep him from joining the military back in the day.

"About the same as before, no change."

Marshal Holleschel Abbott gave him a concerned look before adding, "You’ve really been working hard lately. But Falkbai Star should stabilize over the next six months, and you’ve finally been given a break. Why not consider traveling somewhere to relax?"

Ji Yaoming responded politely, "Not at the moment."

Marshal Holleschel Abbott suddenly broke into a smile, as if struck by a pleasant thought. "Well, in that case, why not join us? When the weather gets a bit warmer, we’re planning to visit the newly built mountain resort in the south."

"Are you free then? If so, come along. Don’t worry about us old folks being boring—my grandson, along with Jian Youan and Wen Qi, will be there too. Ah, now that I think of it, aren’t you all old acquaintances?"

Ji Yaoming didn’t miss the particularly bright, kindly expression on Marshal Holleschel Abbott’s face when he mentioned Wen Qi. He frowned.

"Is it confirmed that they’re going?"

Marshal Holleschel Abbott was cheerful. "The Wen family said he’s already agreed to come along. Surely they wouldn’t deceive an old man like me about something like that."

Ji Yaoming’s mind began to race.

If that’s the case, then Wen Qi must know that Wen Mo is doing fine.

He logged off, his fingers clenched until his knuckles turned white.

So does that mean Wen Qi lied to him?