OVPBM 32

Chapter 32 – An Emotion Called Jealousy

Driven by a desire buried deep within his heart, Chu Xuanzhou wanted to gently cover Lu Yunwan’s eyes, to stop him from looking at anyone but himself.

And he truly did move to act on it. Almost instinctively, he lifted his hand and slowly reached upward.

Yet at that very moment, Lu Yunwan slowly closed his eyes instead. As though a weight had been lifted, he let his hand rest on Chu Xuanzhou’s shoulder.

For that single instant, Lu Yunwan’s expression was unbelievably calm. He tilted his head back slightly and let out a barely audible sigh.

He looked utterly exhausted.

The human’s pale neck rose and fell gently with each breath. Chu Xuanzhou couldn’t help but think of the warmth of Lu Yunwan’s blood, of the steady heartbeat that symbolized life itself.

The heart that had been suspended uneasily in his chest finally began to settle into a sense of calm.

Music drifted in from the distant hall just then, and Lu Yunwan finally stepped back.

He smiled once more, as if nothing at all had happened, and walked toward the banquet hall alongside Chu Xuanzhou.

But the young man realized that the impulse to cover Lu Yunwan’s eyes simply refused to fade…

Compared to the evening banquet, the luncheon was much simpler overall.

After a brief speech by the principal, Fang Yixue, the event officially began.

Lu Yunwan had no real interest in such occasions. After staying only a few minutes, he left the hall with Chu Xuanzhou and headed toward the lounge.

Two rows of guards followed behind him.

Lu Yunwan had only intended to rest for a while and idle away some time. Yet the moment he stepped through the door, a rush of arguing voices reached his ears.

“What good could someone like Lu Yunwan possibly do? He set up that foundation just to win people over! Once someone receives a scholarship or gets recommended by him, they’ll all become his followers. Do you really think he’s that kindhearted? He’s not a good person at all!”

“Do you really think His Excellency the Regent needs to do something like that? Across the entire interstellar realm, countless people would love the chance to get close to him. I think he’s a very good person! If he weren’t, how could so many people admire him?”

“Hah, better too many than too few. He certainly wouldn’t mind having more—”

Winning people over?

Even Lu Yunwan himself was momentarily stunned upon hearing that. He truly had never considered that something he did on a whim could be interpreted this way.

Was this the legendary villain buff at work?

As Lu Yunwan listened to gossip about himself while pondering that thought, a slightly panicked voice suddenly rang out near his ear.

“Y-Your Excellency the Regent?”

The people inside the lounge had noticed him. Or rather, they had noticed the cluster of guards glaring fiercely, hands already resting on their quantum guns.

Even Chu Xuanzhou’s brows were tightly drawn together.

But Lu Yunwan’s primary concern was something else entirely. The Regent was caught eavesdropping… The more he thought about that sentence, the more embarrassing it felt!

At the very instant all eyes turned toward him, Lu Yunwan made a decision. The only option was to pretend he had done it on purpose!

“No need.” He waved his hand lightly, signaling the guards to stand down, then took his cane and walked slowly into the lounge.

His footsteps were not loud, yet each one seemed to land directly on people’s hearts.

Chu Xuanzhou hesitated briefly before following after him.

Passing a corridor pillar, two young men in sky blue military academy uniforms came into Lu Yunwan’s view. One of them was Shi Jiayue, the pink-tailed merman from the other day.

It had likely been him speaking up in Lu Yunwan’s defense just now.

The black military uniform outlined the human’s slender and graceful figure with striking clarity. Lu Yunwan leaned back slightly, resting against the cold wall.

His right hand, clad in a white glove, rested lightly on his left arm. He looked relaxed, almost leisurely.

The Regent cast Shi Jiayue a faint glance before turning, a half-smile tugging at his lips as he looked at the other young man.

Lu Yunwan did not say a single word. He did not seem angry in the slightest.

Yet the young man abruptly took a step back, all color draining from his face.

—The matter of Lu Yunwan killing a high-ranking imperial official over a personal grievance, and then suspending multiple officials after facing impeachment, had long since spread to the military academy.

He was terrified that in the next second, Lu Yunwan would order the guards to kill him.

But Lu Yunwan let out a brief laugh, as though he had seen something amusing.

“Winning people over, and then?” he asked softly.

“Th-then…” The young man had only spoken halfway before finally realizing he should not continue that topic. He immediately swallowed the rest of his words.

Only then did Lu Yunwan slowly straighten.

Holding his cane, he walked step by step toward Shi Jiayue and the unfamiliar young man.

Chu Xuanzhou saw Lu Yunwan lift his cane slightly and tap the air lightly toward the young man’s calf.

The motion was so small it was almost negligible.

He did not utter a single word, yet the young man who had just been mocking Lu Yunwan felt his knees give way. With a thud, he dropped to one knee before the Regent.

However, what happened next was unexpected.

Lu Yunwan shifted his gaze away at once. He ignored the young man who had ridiculed him and instead smiled at Shi Jiayue.

“Do you know,” he said, “Being a ‘good person’ is the most foolish title of all.”

Lu Yunwan spoke those words with deep sincerity.

—The young man who had mocked him might have been a coward, but at least his brain worked well enough to know that Lu Yunwan was not a good person.

But where on earth had Shi Jiayue gotten the confidence to think otherwise?

If Lu Yunwan did not correct him now, he feared the young man might one day be sold off and still help count the money for the one who betrayed him.

After hearing Lu Yunwan’s words, Shi Jiayue froze in place.

Though Lu Yunwan was smiling, the powerful aura honed on the battlefield clung to him at all times, pressing others back without mercy.

The young man’s hands clenched tightly.

“If I were a good person, I would have died long ago…” Lu Yunwan leaned closer and said softly beside Shi Jiayue’s ear, smiling as he did. “I would have died on the battlefield, died on the Capital Planet, or even died here at the Imperial Military Academy before graduation.”

At this moment, Lu Yunwan genuinely believed that describing the original host simply as a “very good person” was itself an insult.

An insult to strategy and bloodshed, and even more so to those who had died by his hand.

Shi Jiayue’s eyes widened. His lips parted, yet not a single word came out.

Lu Yunwan no longer paid him any attention. He cast a glance at the young man still kneeling on one knee, then left with a smile, not once looking back.

Everything that had just happened seemed nothing more than a whim of the Regent.

Yet every movement Lu Yunwan had made was deeply imprinted in Chu Xuanzhou’s heart.

A strange emotion called “jealousy” began to sprout from the depths of his heart. Chu Xuanzhou did not like the way Lu Yunwan had spoken to Shi Jiayue.

That side of the Regent ought to be seen by him alone.

* * *

Because of that foundation Lu Yunwan had mentioned so casually, his itinerary on Planet Chenmu was extended by an additional day.

As before, the starship was docked on the night hemisphere of Planet Chenmu. With the lighting systems turned off, the surroundings were left in complete darkness.

Just before going to sleep, Lu Yunwan remembered something.

The mark on Chu Xuanzhou’s collarbone still seemed to be there.

Aside from military uniforms, most formal attire in the Empire, even standard suits, featured slightly open collars.

Yesterday, Lu Yunwan had helped Chu Xuanzhou fasten his buttons, yet the ambiguous glances at the banquet had not decreased in the slightest.

Most importantly, if Chu Xuanzhou changed into an ordinary T-shirt, the mark on his collarbone would be completely exposed, impossible to conceal.

The same madness could not be indulged twice… That mark on Chu Xuanzhou’s body had better be removed as soon as possible!

After a moment of inner struggle, Lu Yunwan finally climbed out of bed, took out a portable treatment device, and left his room in the middle of the night.

Chu Xuanzhou’s quarters were separated from his by only a single wall.

As the owner of the starship, the moment Lu Yunwan stepped up to the door, it slid open automatically before he had even finished preparing himself mentally.

Silver-gray walls, minimalist decor, and the young man lying quietly on the bed all entered his line of sight at once.

By the time Lu Yunwan came back to himself, he had already subconsciously stepped inside.

The hatch closed slowly behind him.

Lu Yunwan: !!!

There was no helping it. Having come this far, he could hardly turn back now.

He took a deep breath, slowed his steps, and walked further into the room.

Chu Xuanzhou’s quarters faced away from Planet Chenmu. Outside the enormous viewport stretched an endless river of stars. Faint starlight spilled into the cabin, like silver ripples on a calm sea at midnight.

Guided only by that dim light, Lu Yunwan pressed onward with a steady, unbroken pace.

…In both his past and present lives, he had never been so furtive.

Lu Yunwan’s mental power was exceptionally strong. He could sense that Chu Xuanzhou’s mental core was unusually calm at this moment. The young man ought to still be fast asleep.

After confirming it was safe and pausing for a few seconds, Lu Yunwan finally gathered his courage once more and walked quietly to the bedside, lowering himself onto the carpet.

He took out the portable treatment device.

After a brief hesitation, Lu Yunwan slowly placed his other hand against Chu Xuanzhou’s neck.

But at that very moment, his mental power detected an unusual fluctuation.

What is going on?!

Realizing something was wrong, Lu Yunwan immediately withdrew the device in his hand.

Yet before he could rise from the bedside, the young man before him slowly opened his eyes.

Awakened abruptly from sleep, the young man’s gaze was filled with vigilance, cold to an extreme.

The deep violet eyes that belonged to a merman were like a dark abyss. In that instant, Lu Yunwan felt as though he might drown beneath icy waters.

Chu Xuanzhou was awake.

“Your Excellency?”

He saw Lu Yunwan sitting at the edge of his bed, dressed in black silk sleepwear.

Countless stars were reflected in Lu Yunwan’s eyes. Hearing Chu Xuanzhou speak, the Regent smiled softly at him, then slowly pressed a finger to his lips.