DALOA CH28

“You have that much confidence?”

Song Jin set down his cup and looked at Li Xiao with suspicion. “You’ve said things before that suggested you understood him well. When and where exactly did you two meet?”

Li Xiao leisurely picked up his tea cup. “What do I get in return for answering you?”

“Is it that you don’t want to answer, or you don’t dare to?”

Song Jin crossed his long legs and leaned back comfortably, though his posture remained ramrod straight. He added coolly, “Don’t tell me you’re that old man’s illegitimate child, doing everything in your power to get into Shengya just to ‘recognize your father.’”

Pfft—cough, cough, cough, cough… Li Xiao choked on a mouthful of hot tea, coughing uncontrollably.

Hearing such violent coughing, nearby students looked over with worry.

“Li Xiao, are you alright?”

Qi Ge’s strike must have been ruthless; to think he was still so sickly three days later.

Li Xiao wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and waved them off, signaling that he was fine.

That little golden lion really has a knack for stirring up my emotions.

“Why so excited?” Song Jin leaned over and patted his back, his tone filled with feigned concern while his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Which noble or royal family doesn’t have a couple of illegitimate children? I know plenty; I wouldn’t look down on you.”

Li Xiao caught his breath, finally calming down, and looked at Song Jin gloomily. “Do I look like him in any way?”

Song Jin looked him over with mock profoundness. “You both have two eyes and a mouth; you look like a decent human being.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin draped an arm over Li Xiao’s shoulder, leaning in close and lowering his voice: “It must be that the old man played around and ran off, leaving your mother to raise you alone until she passed away from the hardships of making a living. You witnessed your mother’s suffering since you were young, so you decided to test into the First Military Academy, swearing to come to Shengya to seek revenge on the old man, reclaim your rightful inheritance, seize his throne, and then drag him to your mother’s grave—”

As he spoke, Song Jin made a throat-slitting gesture.

Li Xiao’s gaze followed Song Jin’s movement, landing on those slender, attractive fingers and his fair neck. “…………”

For a moment, he couldn’t tell if this kid was roasting him or roasting Song Yu.

Are all the Song family members this insane?

Jiang Hao felt his temples throb: “…!”

The logic is so tight, I almost believed it.

Song Jin asked with sincere-looking eyes: “Am I right?”

Li Xiao wiped his hands, grabbed Song Jin’s face, which was leaning in too close, and pushed him away. “Right—your head! Stop hanging out with those weird friends; it’s affecting your intellectual development.”

Song Jin grabbed his wrist and pulled it down, pressing him: “If you aren’t the old man’s illegitimate child, then who are you?”

Facing Song Jin’s eager gaze, Li Xiao hooked his finger: “Since you want to know so badly, I suppose I can tell you, but you have to keep it a secret.”

Song Jin hesitated for a second, then leaned his ear in.

Li Xiao whispered into his ear in a low, serious tone: “Actually, I’m already sixty-eight years old this year, here at Shengya to find my long-lost son.”

Song Jin: “…………”

Jiang Hao’s expression was one of total cognitive collapse: “…………”

Big Brother, how did you go crazy too?

Hearing his knuckles cracking, Li Xiao quickly retreated before Song Jin could strike, grabbing his fist mid-air and asking innocently: “Why the sneak attack?”

Song Jin smiled coldly: “Doesn’t that make me a ‘father by surprise’?”

Li Xiao: “Helping you take a shortcut of several decades, isn’t that a good deal?”

Jiang Hao: “…”

Turns out, no matter how strong an alpha is, when they get childish, they are no different from spoiled brats.

In a fit of pique, Song Jin wiped out the entire plate of cookies in front of Li Xiao, leaving him none.

Li Xiao simply ordered three more identical plates, placing them specifically by Song Jin’s hand, then ordered a new plate of spicy snacks for himself, watching the live combat assessment with great pleasure.

Song Jin chewed on a cookie, glancing over, feeling that he was the one getting agitated.

This kid is definitely here to be my bane.

At 4:00 PM, the final live combat assessment ended. The rankings were released in the viewing area.

A massive virtual screen displayed the results, a truly spectacular sight.

A crowd of students swarmed the screen. Since there were so many, students in the middle or bottom of the rankings couldn’t easily find themselves; it was simpler to just check the notifications on their terminals. This public display was just to let everyone see, in the most direct way, who had taken the top spot.

“It’s Li Xiao and Song Jin’s team, holding the #1 spot by a huge margin!”

“They earned 500 points just from that excavator rescue mission. They completely blew us out of the water.”

“Heh, I won my bet. Got a month’s worth of meal money now.”

“Meng Tao, who had such high support on the forum, only managed to rank outside the top 200 this time.”

Meng Tao, Zheng Lin, and their group arrived to check the rankings right as they heard the discussion. Their expressions darkened instantly.

They were proper First Military Academy students, and their daily grades were always top-tier. Li Xiao, on the other hand, hadn’t attended a single day of military academy, and the school he attended during his ten years of disappearance was likely some backwater place. Yet, his performance in live combat had completely crushed them.

It was completely unreasonable!

Zheng Lin snorted irritably: “It’s the competition format. They just got lucky; one assessment doesn’t represent true skill.”

Several other exchange students echoed his sentiments.

Compared to Li Xiao, the disgraced prince, Zheng Lin and Meng Tao came from prestigious families and were more worth befriending.

Don’t look at how flashy Li Xiao was now; with a single word from His Majesty, he could disappear completely, just like ten years ago. He wasn’t worth the attention.

“He has the student council president, Qin Le, on his team, so of course he wouldn’t do too poorly.” Meng Tao mocked him, though he felt deeply uncomfortable inside. He vaguely felt that Li Xiao might actually be stronger than them, but he would sooner die than admit it.

The first-year live combat rankings were synced to the student council and administrative office bulletin boards. Soon, the military academy forum was filled with intense analysis threads.

Among the most shocking performers in this assessment, Li Xiao and Song Jin were the clear standouts.

Upperclassmen even opened dedicated threads analyzing their performances, which were upvoted to the hot topics list by numerous students.

Qin Le and the other top students, whose usual grades were always at the apex, had just performed normally this time.

But when Li Xiao first transferred, he was labeled a “pretty face.” In a military academy where strength is everything, a student with only looks and no skill wouldn’t be respected—instead, they would be despised and ostracized by the alpha collective.

Song Jin, who entered at the same time, had always been a mysterious existence. To outsiders, he was an unreachable high-mountain flower with a powerful background—an invisible barrier keeping people away. It was thought he was just here to pad his resume for a few months before leaving.

One “pretty face,” one “slacker,” had ended up putting on a magnificent combat performance for the entire school.

As the first years prepared to return to campus, some snide comments began appearing under the analysis threads on the forum.

“Heh, just carried by his partner. Didn’t see much skill; he doesn’t deserve Song Jin at all.”

“Song Jin’s methods are truly cunning. How did Li Xiao ever catch his eye?”

On the return transport, Qian Can saw the comments trashing Song Jin and, bored, began firing back, one by one.

It evolved into a flame war, with the pro-Song Jin and pro-Li Xiao camps ripping into each other.

Qian Can was so angry that he couldn’t handle the sheer number of opponents, so he pulled Jiang Hao in to help.

Once Jiang Hao saw his “Big Brother” being slandered, he decisively joined the fray.

The two were arguing furiously, while the parties involved were each finding a quiet corner to handle their affairs.

Li Xiao quickly browsed the national news.

Meng Zai had been left in the Nanming constellation, so the Yi family army stationed in the Tianjiang constellation wouldn’t have to move.

The suspension of the troop transfer order hadn’t been lifted yet. Meng Jian probably wasn’t sleeping well lately.

If the Meng family wanted to trigger a civil war like in the previous life to encroach upon the royal family, they had to control the military power in the Tianjiang constellation, or they would inevitably face total resistance from the Yi family.

Among the five great clans, the Yi family had the most intermarriages with the royal family, but the capabilities of the younger generations in these last two generations had become increasingly mediocre. Many talked behind their backs about how the Yi family was just occupying positions. However, relying on those thin ties to the royal family, they just hung in there in a state of neither success nor failure.

Calling the Yi family the royal family’s “watchdog” wasn’t much of an exaggeration.

But with the Meng family—a pack of wolves disguised as guard dogs—as a comparison, and having been constantly whispered to, his brother (The Emperor) had grown increasingly contemptuous of this watchdog.

There was less than half a month left. If the Yi family couldn’t capitalize on this opportunity, he still had to have a backup plan.

The doorbell rang. Qin Le acknowledged it and gestured for the AI to open the door.

An alpha wearing the exchange student uniform entered. He had thick brows, swollen eyelids, and a refined appearance, holding a small box.

“Sorry for the intrusion, I’m looking for Li Xiao.” Jiang Mu scratched his head in embarrassment.

Hearing his name, Li Xiao looked up. Seeing someone whose uniform looked familiar but whose face didn’t, he walked over with some doubt: “And you are?”

“You saved me in the test site the other day.” Jiang Mu stated his name and handed over the box. “It was because of me that everyone was put in danger; I felt so bad about it. I thought about it and decided I had to come over and say thank you.”

This attracted the attention of everyone in the rest cabin.

Qian Can, seeing some excitement, rushed over to look Jiang Mu up and down, then suddenly remembered: “You’re the one who was chased by the wild boar pack? You had so much mud on your face, I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Seeing Jiang Mu nod, Li Xiao said coldly: “I already saved you, don’t worry about it.”

Jiang Hao, having lost his opponent, picked up a green date from the table and bit into it, turning to Jiang Mu: “Your combat skills are terrible. You got separated, took the wrong path, and attracted such a huge wave of mutant beasts. If this had been a real battlefield, you’d be dead already.”

Jiang Mu’s expression twisted. He pulled at the corner of his mouth, offering a strained, forced smile: “I will step up my training.”

Li Xiao didn’t reach for the box. Jiang Mu’s expression grew stiff: “This isn’t a valuable gift; if you don’t accept it, I’ll feel terrible.”

“If it had been any exchange student being chased, I would have intervened. Don’t feel burdened.” Li Xiao stood firm; if he wouldn’t accept it, he wouldn’t.

Seeing the situation growing awkward, Qin Le patted Jiang Mu’s shoulder to mediate: “On the battlefield, it is natural for partners to help each other. If Li Xiao accepted your gift, he would feel burdened by it instead.”

Seeing Li Xiao ready to turn back, Jiang Mu panicked and suddenly raised his voice: “It was them! They intentionally led me away from the team to ‘keep watch’ and didn’t notify me when they discovered the danger. That’s why I got separated and almost got trampled to death by the boar pack!”

The people in the cabin were shocked. Even Song Jin, who had been enjoying the pleasure of working, looked up.

Li Xiao turned around and looked at Jiang Mu suspiciously: “Who do you mean by ‘them’?”

Jiang Mu gritted his teeth: “Who else but my own teammates?!”

Qin Le frowned: “Did you report this to the instructors?”

Jiang Mu shook his head: “It’s useless. Even if I told them, they would just deny it.”

Qian Can whistled: “Selling out your own teammates on the battlefield? That’s a serious offense, punishable by heavy penalties.”

Li Xiao didn’t know Jiang Mu and didn’t fully believe what he said. Even if it were true, he had no interest in getting involved.

“You can try asking the student council for help. You might be able to find evidence.”

Qin Le nodded: “If you want to file a complaint, I can show you the procedure.”

“Thank you.” After thanking him, Jiang Mu looked at Li Xiao again, solemn. “That day, I really thought I was going to die. I am truly grateful that you saved me. I chose this gift after asking for my father’s advice. Please, accept it.”

With that, Jiang Mu shoved the box into Li Xiao’s arms, bowed, and ran off.

As the door closed, Song Jin sauntered over to Li Xiao’s side, his tone carrying his usual mockery: “One moment of inattention, and you’ve attracted another crazed bee or butterfly.”

Li Xiao: “…He shoved it into my hands.”

Song Jin looked at the small box: “Open it and see.”

The others curiously leaned in.

Danse preserved cultural traditions from various ethnic groups, often resulting in all sorts of strange and curious items.

Under the gaze of five curious onlookers, Li Xiao reluctantly opened the box.

Inside lay a neatly folded handkerchief. One could tell from the texture and sheen alone that it was of excellent quality.

“A handkerchief, pretty ordinary. I thought it would be a love letter or something,” Qian Can said, disappointed.

Qin Le: “Who writes love letters these days?”

As Jiang Mu had said, it wasn’t a particularly expensive gift, at least not one that would burden the recipient.

“Nice texture,” Song Jin said dismissively.

Li Xiao offered it to him: “You like it? It’s yours.”

Song Jin: “This was given to you by someone else.”

Li Xiao: “You played a part in that rescue too. It wasn’t just for me.”

Song Jin originally had no interest in the handkerchief, but since Li Xiao was offering it, he wanted to accept it and use the opportunity to tease him a bit.

But just as his hand lifted, Li Xiao snapped the lid shut and pulled it back.

Song Jin frowned: “Toying with me?”

Li Xiao said expressionlessly: “I’ll buy you a better one; forget this one.”

“I want this one.” Song Jin reached out to snatch it.

Li Xiao retreated and dodged, turning to leave: “This one is no good; it will scratch your delicate skin.”

Song Jin chased after him: “You worry too much. Steel wool wouldn’t scratch me. Hand it over!”

The two chased each other into a small side lounge.

Qian Can and the other three: “…”

Every single day, are we just not allowed to live as single people?

They couldn’t admire the scenery in the lounge, so Qin Le sat down, accessed the student council backend, and used his presidential authority to pull up the test site surveillance.

There was a lot of footage, and even Qian Can and Jiang Hao stopped their online flame war to sit around and help.

Da Bei was thoughtful: “Can you tell anything from this?”

Qin Le explained: “The surveillance doesn’t have audio, but based on behavioral logic and backend operation logs, we can reconstruct what happened to a certain extent.”

Qian Can said to Da Bei: “You Danse students really aren’t united at all. Never mind the ordinary ones, even a top expert as strong as Li Xiao gets bullied. You’ve really opened my eyes.”

Da Bei struggled to refute this, finally managing to stammer: “Everyone has their own… personality.”

Qian Can asked with a grin: “I’m very curious. When your troops go on an expedition, do they each just do their own thing too?”

Da Bei: “…”

How am I supposed to answer such a trap question?!

In the small lounge, Song Jin pinned Li Xiao in a corner.

“Give it.”

Li Xiao: “How old are you? Are you not acting childish?”

Song Jin: “Whatever age my opponent is, that’s how old I am.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Are kids nowadays this difficult to deal with?

Li Xiao looked into Song Jin’s eyes, appearing profound: “I don’t want you using a handkerchief sent by another alpha.”

Song Jin: “…”

Li Xiao: “Why don’t we go out for a walk after we get back to school, and I’ll buy one you like for you?”

Song Jin raised an eyebrow: “A date?”

Li Xiao: “We’re already married; is a date strange? Or are you afraid to go out alone with me?”

“What is there to be afraid of?”

Song Jin scoffed. “It’s a deal, then.”

Having successfully tricked Song Jin into leaving, Li Xiao reopened the box.

Just now, when he handed it to Song Jin, the handkerchief had shifted slightly, revealing a pattern underneath.

Li Xiao took out the handkerchief and unfolded it. One corner was embroidered with a complex circular pattern. It was the Yi family crest.

Asking for his father’s advice meant this?

Jiang Mu? Surname Jiang?

Could he be from the branch of Yi Yongning’s brothers?

He had no impression of this “Jiang family.” In his previous life, he had only heard his subordinates mention the name a couple of times while investigating Yi Yongning. At that time, the Jiang family had already been almost completely wiped out.

After confirming the pattern, Li Xiao tossed the handkerchief into the document shredder. Only after confirming it was completely destroyed did he leave.

The next day at noon, the entire first-year cohort returned to the Central Military Academy.

The first announcement issued by the student council was regarding the punishment for Qi Ge.

“Due to personal reasons, Qi Ge used his pheromones to attack Li Xiao in the rest area, resulting in Li Xiao suffering mental damage. The incident was severe and had a negative impact. After consultations with multiple departments, it has been decided to deport him back to the Danse Empire.”

A group of students gathered around the bulletin board outside the cafeteria, discussing it incessantly.

“Great! As expected of the student council, they never let me down.”

“That’s how it should be! Exchange students shouldn’t have special privileges!”

“And he hurt Li Xiao, who is also an exchange student. I don’t know what they were thinking.”

“No, no, no—Li Xiao is our Shengya’s ‘daughter-in-law’ now.”

Alpha Dormitory Area.

Meng Tao locked himself in his bedroom, flying into a rage.

The limited space projected a holographic display showing a beta official from the Danse Foreign Ministry in charge of exchange student affairs.

“Qi Ge was framed by Li Xiao!” Meng Tao roared. “Even if he were stupid, he wouldn’t attack Li Xiao in a corridor full of people, right?! If he really gets deported, it will have a huge impact on his future!”

The beta official: “Yelling at me won’t help; this is the decision from above.”

Meng Tao sneered, his knuckles thumping against the desk: “Which ‘above’?! I want to see who dares to go against our Meng family!”

The beta official glanced at him: “His Majesty issued the order personally.”

Meng Tao’s eyelids twitched violently: “How could His Majesty bother with such trivial matters?! If Qi Ge is deported, Li Xiao should also be sent back for investigation!”

“Why don’t you go notify His Majesty directly? No one dares to go against the Meng family’s will anyway.”

With that, the official cut the video call.

“What do you mean—you!” Meng Tao, furious, swept the books off the desk onto the floor.

Still fuming, Meng Tao sent a message to his father, Meng Zai.

[Father, Qi Ge is being deported. They say it’s His Majesty’s wish. You need to step in and handle this.]

He waited until evening to receive a reply.

[If you don’t restrain yourself, pack your things and crawl back here!]

Meng Tao’s pupils dilated; he couldn’t understand what his father meant.

Isn’t this just a matter of a single word? Why are they acting like it’s so difficult?

Qi Ge’s deportation was scheduled for 6:00 PM the next day.

Li Xiao recalled the feeling of being controlled and wanted to see him one last time before he was sent away. Qi Ge was being held by the security department, and ordinary students weren’t allowed access, so Li Xiao went straight to Song Jin.

“See Qi Ge?” Song Jin was looking at complex mathematical calculations on the lecture screen, fiddling with a pen. “Why look for me? I can’t get in either.”

Li Xiao: “If I see him, I might be able to remember the feeling I had when I jumped off the excavator.”

The pen in Song Jin’s fingers paused. He looked at Li Xiao leisurely, then handed him a draft paper: “Write an IOU and sign it.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Has his credibility really dropped this low?

The detention room was similar to a jail cell.

Li Xiao followed Song Jin to a room with glass walls on three sides, seeing Qi Ge, who was currently undergoing an inspection.

In the examination room, Qi Ge looked impatient: “Didn’t we just do this a few days ago? Why do we need another check?!”

The middle-aged beta school doctor smiled good-naturedly: “Today’s procedure is a standard one before exit, to ensure you aren’t accidentally carrying any Shengya viruses back into the Danse Empire.”

Qi Ge: “Then why do you need to test even my pheromones?”

The beta school doctor fiddled with his equipment and replied: “To see if Shengya’s climate has had an effect on your rut cycle. This is for the sake of your health.”

Having been locked up for so many days, Qi Ge was too anxious to sleep. After hesitating repeatedly, he asked: “Then what were the results of the previous pheromone tests?”

The beta school doctor smiled: “Don’t worry. Your indicators are normal; you are very healthy.”

Qi Ge stared at him, asking persistently: “All normal?”

The beta school doctor nodded: “Yes. Kids your age generally don’t have problems, but the inspection process must be followed as a routine.”

In the observation room next door.

Song Jin looked at Qi Ge coldly: “Thief calling others thieves.”

To ensure nothing was missed, he arranged for the school doctor to perform another pheromone collection on Qi Ge. After all, once the person was back in the Danse Empire, it would be difficult to catch him again.

“What’s wrong with his pheromones?” Seeing the grim look on Song Jin’s face, Li Xiao added, “You haven’t given me the blood sample report you promised.”

Song Jin met his eyes: “Only you are allowed to back out of your promises?”

Li Xiao laughed: “I promise you, I won’t back out of anything today.”

After Qi Ge finished his exam and was taken back, Li Xiao entered the examination room.

Qi Ge’s pheromones had been specially preserved—it was that same smell of rotten tomatoes, but there was no feeling of his heart being constricted like before.

Feeling movement behind him, Li Xiao turned to see Song Jin leaning against the workbench, his brows furrowed.

“How do you feel?” Li Xiao walked over.

Song Jin’s face was dark: “Chest tightness. This smell is disgusting.”

Li Xiao: “What kind of scent do you smell?”

Song Jin: “Some kind of fruit wine.”

Li Xiao: “Does it smell like rotten tomatoes?”

Song Jin’s expression was subtle; he looked at him suspiciously for several seconds: “It does not.”

Li Xiao: “…”

This kid must have been talking trash about him in his head just now.

In other words, the scents they smelled were different.

Seeing Li Xiao looking thoughtful, Song Jin realized something and tentatively asked: “You smell rotten tomatoes?”

Li Xiao: “Mm.”

Song Jin thought for a moment, then grabbed Li Xiao and walked away.

Driving to the medical department, Song Jin had the young beta school doctor follow them: “Simulate the pheromones using the various blood samples collected earlier.”

Li Xiao was pressed in front of the machine by Song Jin.

The beta school doctor: “This is the first one.”

The blood sample was precisely calculated by the machine, releasing synthetic pheromones.

Song Jin: “What scent?”

Li Xiao: “Rotten tomatoes.”

Song Jin randomly clicked on one of an ordinary student’s samples on the screen: “What about this one?”

Li Xiao: “Apple-pear.”

Song Jin clicked again: “This one?”

Li Xiao frowned: “Rotten tomatoes.”

They tried over twenty times, and Li Xiao was always able to accurately distinguish the pheromones of those four problematic exchange students.

Song Jin clicked another one: “How about this one?”

“Ugh—I’m done, no more.” Li Xiao stood up to leave.

Song Jin: “…”