TMWTGD CH95

“Sorry.” Yan Ke kept his head down, apologizing to Loren as he stepped aside.

Loren paused. Alcohol and surprise jumbled together, leaving his mind in a bit of a mess.

Feeling incredibly awkward, Yan Ke turned to leave, but he had barely taken a step before someone grabbed his wrist.

Both of them froze at the same time.

Loren let go quickly, as if he had been stung.

Yan Ke thought for a moment and asked, “Admiral… is there something you need?”

Loren was so nervous his heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest, but thanks to his thick skin and the darkness, it didn’t show on his face.

He didn’t speak, so Yan Ke asked again, “Admiral?”

Loren finally snapped back to reality. He cleared his throat and said something utterly meaningless, “Are you here to attend the Marshal and Military Advisor’s wedding anniversary?”

Yan Ke: “…”

Loren also realized he had asked an incredibly stupid question. Trying to salvage the situation, he asked again, “Are you alone, Dr. Yan?”

After asking, Loren wanted to beat himself up. It would have been better not to ask at all. What if Yan Ke said, “My female companion is over there, I’m going to find her”? What would he do then!

Yan Ke was just about to speak.

Loren abruptly blurted out, “I am alone.”

Yan Ke was taken aback, slightly confused by the logic.

Loren couldn’t continue either. It was too embarrassing! What the hell was he even saying? He was practically incoherent!

Yan Ke looked up at Loren, smiled faintly, and said, “Has the Admiral had too much to drink?”

Hearing this, Loren clung to it like a lifeline, finding his excuse. “I had a little to drink.”

Yan Ke said, “Today is a happy occasion for the Lord Marshal, it’s normal for you to drink a bit much.”

Loren added, “Actually, I didn’t drink that much.”

Yan Ke said, “Did you come alone today?”

Loren quickly agreed, “Yes!”

Yan Ke asked, “What about Miss Chang Ge from last time…”

Loren looked blank for a moment, clearly not remembering who she was.

Yan Ke smiled to himself. “It’s nothing.” Over half a year had passed; Admiral Loren was clearly not a sentimental man and had probably even forgotten what that beauty looked like. Asking this now made things a bit awkward.

Seeing that the two of them had nothing to say, Loren grew anxious.

He hadn’t spoken with Yan Ke alone like this for many years, and he didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

But what could he say…?

What did Yan Ke like to hear?

Right, Loren had an idea. “Want to go to Starry Night for a drink together?”

Starry Night was a well-known hotspot on the Capital Planet for picking up people. Yan Ke frequented it, and since returning to the Capital Planet, Loren had gone quite a few times just to “coincidentally” run into him.

Yan Ke, however, wasn’t really in the mood today. He said, “Maybe anoth…”

Before he could finish, his eyes met Loren’s, and he abruptly stopped.

Loren was also staring at him unblinkingly, his dark eyes filled with expectation.

This feeling was truly too familiar, so familiar it made Yan Ke’s heart flutter.

He paused and forced himself to change his tune, “Okay…”

Loren’s eyes instantly filled with joy. “Great!”

Yan Ke looked at him. “Is the Admiral looking for a companion?”

Loren wasn’t looking for a damn companion; he just wanted to spend a little more time with him. But at this moment, he had to pretend, adopting his playboy persona as he said, “Let’s try our luck.”

Yan Ke felt he was being ridiculous and a bit blind. He looked away, a self-deprecating smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Loren’s hovercar was flashy and ostentatious, a legendary chick-magnet.

Yan Ke sat in the passenger seat, his expression indifferent.

Loren keenly noticed the shift in his mood. He had no idea what was wrong; everything had been fine just a moment ago.

Loren was already worried he was doing something wrong, and with Yan Ke keeping a straight face, he became even more uneasy.

He should say something.

But what?

He didn’t want to talk about women with Yan Ke. With this hard-won alone time, he really didn’t want to bring up things that pierced his own heart.

What else could they talk about?

Loren was a rough brute. He had tried to learn a bit about the medical field, hoping to have a proper conversation with Dr. Yan about it in the future. But those medical books were like reading an alien language; though, they worked exceptionally well as a sleep aid.

How were people from different professions supposed to chat? He really wanted to go ask his roughneck boss for advice.

Unfortunately, there was no time!

Luckily, the hovercar was incredibly fast, and Starry Night wasn’t far. They arrived at their destination in no time, avoiding further awkwardness in the confined space.

After Loren parked, an AI approached and asked, “Would you like to use the VIP entrance?”

The AIs on the Capital Planet possessed recognition systems, and Loren’s status guaranteed him special treatment anywhere.

Loren nodded in agreement.

He and Yan Ke walked into the bar, but upon entering, both of them froze.

The interior decor of Starry Night was usually a dense starry sky, making everyone feel as though they were surrounded by stars in the night sky, creating a very dreamy atmosphere.

But this place was bathed in moonlight, the bright, clear rays gentle as a lover’s hands.

Yan Ke blinked. “This… this is Moonlit Night, isn’t it?”

Loren’s old face flushed, and he hurriedly said, “I parked in the wrong place!”

Starry Night and Moonlit Night were adjacent and owned by the same person, but their target audiences were completely different.

Starry Night was for heterosexuals, while Moonlit Night was for homosexuals. Walking through the wrong door was a pretty critical mistake.

Loren truly hadn’t done it on purpose, but this accident made it seem like he harbored “ulterior motives.” Terrified of upsetting Yan Ke, he hurriedly said, “My mistake, my mistake. Let’s go to Star…”

Before he could finish, Yan Ke unexpectedly said, “Let’s stay here.”

Loren visibly stiffened.

After saying it, Yan Ke also felt it sounded a bit strange, so he explained, “We’re just getting drinks anyway, anywhere is fine.”

Loren was stunned for a long moment before it registered. He was so ecstatic he nearly brought out the Griffin to fly three laps around the Capital Planet!

Still fearing Loren might misunderstand, Yan Ke offered another explanation. “Well… it’s quieter here.”

Yan Ke really didn’t want to go to Starry Night. Every time he went, he would be surrounded by a group of girls. Normally, he was willing to chat and have fun with them, but today he truly wasn’t in the mood.

However, he quickly realized, “If the Admiral wants to go to Starry Night…”

“This place is great!” Loren said quickly, his voice rising a few pitches.

Yan Ke didn’t say anything more, and the two walked into Moonlit Night, finding a quiet spot to sit down.

It wasn’t necessarily less crowded than Starry Night, but no one came to bother them.

In reality, they were quite eye-catching, but since they arrived together, most people assumed they were a couple and wouldn’t come over asking for a snub.

Loren was so thrilled he was about to explode. While ordering drinks, in a fit of excitement, he ordered “Drinks on the house.”

Yan Ke blinked.

Loren cleared his throat and said, “Today is an important day for the Lord Marshal and the Lord Military Advisor. Even though we slipped away, we still need to keep celebrating.”

Yan Ke understood. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Admiral.”

Loren was so happy he wanted to order a “Three-Day Carnival.”

He was simply too happy. He wished all the citizens of the Capital Planet could share in his joy.

Unfortunately, while he was happy, Yan Ke looked listless.

After the drinks arrived, he downed three glasses in quick succession.

Seeing him reaching for a fourth, Loren’s excitement finally cooled, realizing Yan Ke was in a very bad mood.

“Dr. Yan…” Loren asked carefully, “Has something happened?”

Yan Ke downed two more glasses. The strong liquor made him gasp, nearly choking him.

“Nothing…” His voice was a bit hoarse. “Nothing really.”

Loren didn’t feel it was appropriate to pry. Mainly, their relationship was too “distant,” and bringing up deep topics during a shallow acquaintance would only cause annoyance.

Yan Ke didn’t say much else, just continued to drink sullenly.

Loren was both anxious and heartbroken, opening his mouth but finding no comforting words to say.

Comfort was hollow. It seemed all he could do was keep him company.

God knew how much he had drunk, but Yan Ke’s face was flushed, his eyes brimming with moisture. It was probably the alcohol, but he looked like he was about to cry. “Has the Admiral ever liked anyone?”

Asked such a question so suddenly, Loren instantly grew nervous.

Without waiting for an answer, Yan Ke smiled to himself. “Probably not… if you had someone you liked, you would certainly have been with her long ago.”

Loren looked at him, his dark eyes dimming.

Swirling his glass, Yan Ke finally said, “It’s good not to have anyone.”

Loren’s heart clenched, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, “Does Dr. Yan have someone he likes?”

Yan Ke smiled gently. His usually somewhat cold features suddenly became delicate and adorable as he said softly, “Yes, there is one.”

Almost uncontrollably, Loren asked urgently, “Who!”

Yan Ke shrugged and said slowly, “You wouldn’t know him.”

Loren was stunned for a long time. The surging joy from before, like lake water suddenly meeting the dead of winter, froze completely into ice.

He managed to force the words out, “Why… why aren’t you with her?”

Yan Ke shook his head.

Loren didn’t even know what his own voice sounded like anymore. “Does she not like you?”

The corners of Yan Ke’s mouth curled up, his smile full of sweetness. “He likes me.”

Loren’s heart was punctured into a honeycomb. He continued to ask masochistically, “Then congratulations to you both. Um… when do you plan to get married?”

“We can’t.” Yan Ke slumped back into his chair, saying quietly, “We can’t get married.”

Loren couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”

Yan Ke paused for a long time before answering in a voice on the verge of tears, “He’s dead.”

Loren’s pupils shrank sharply. He stared at Yan Ke unblinkingly, fully experiencing his immense despair and agony. Then, these emotions compressed rapidly, gathering and instantly filling his own heart…

Loren couldn’t utter a single syllable.

He didn’t know how to feel. He ached for Yan Ke’s loss of his beloved, yet felt a twisted sense of relief that the person was dead, but soon that was entirely swallowed by a profound, bone-deep disappointment.

Yan Ke had someone in his heart—someone he couldn’t forget, someone he loved deeply.

This was practically telling Loren: You will never have him in this lifetime. You can only watch from afar for the rest of your life. You will never get what you wish for in this lifetime.

Why wouldn’t he leave him even a sliver of hope? Since there was absolutely no hope, why had they ever met in the first place?

Loren suddenly felt deeply unreconciled. It had been nine years, hadn’t it? He had loved him for nine years.

But in the end… in the end…

Loren was truly too unreconciled. He wanted to know exactly what kind of person Yan Ke liked, so he asked.

Yan Ke must have been drunk, drunk on beautiful memories. He chuckled softly, his delicate features looking somewhat childish. “He was very cute, incredibly cute.”

Cute, huh… Loren thought about himself, his heart turning completely cold. As a crude, rough military man, he would never have anything to do with that word.

He couldn’t help but ask again, “She… she must have a great figure…”

Yan Ke tilted his head in thought, smiling. “Not really.” Perhaps it was great, but all wrapped up like a mummy, who could tell?

Loren was taken aback.

Yan Ke said with crinkled eyes, “At any rate, he didn’t have a pair of beautiful, big boobs.”

Loren’s heart was smashed to pieces. He knew Yan Ke’s preferences all too well—he liked sexy women, liked beautiful chests, and even possessed the skill to deduce bra size with a single glance…

But he said the person he liked didn’t have these.

He must have truly loved them to death, then.

If he hadn’t loved them to his very core, how could he abandon his own preferences?

Loren couldn’t utter another word. He raised his glass and downed the burning liquor in one gulp, but no matter how strong the alcohol was, it couldn’t suppress the sourness churning in his chest.

It hurt. It hurt too much.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have asked him out.

Give him a little delusion, and he was willing to fantasize forever.

But now… what now?

What the hell was he supposed to do now!

Yan Ke was truly drunk. He kept talking about his deceased lover, talking about how good he was, how interesting he was, and how, when he was cute, he could melt Yan Ke’s heart…

Loren listened masochistically, his glass never empty.

No matter how high his tolerance was, drinking like this was absolutely unsustainable.

God knew on which glass it happened, but after downing the liquor, Loren suddenly felt immensely bold.

He didn’t want to hear Yan Ke talk about that woman anymore; he didn’t want Yan Ke’s mind to be full of someone else. He stood up abruptly.

Yan Ke looked at him blearily. “Leaving?”

Without a word, Loren grabbed his wrist and pulled him up.

“Hey…” Yan Ke stumbled, barely managing to stand steady. “Ad-Ad-Admiral?” He was so drunk his tongue was thick.

Loren dragged him out of Moonlit Night and quickly boarded the hovercar.

Yan Ke sat in the passenger seat, his head still spinning.

Loren engaged the autopilot and turned to look at him.

Yan Ke’s eyes were wide open, but his consciousness was clearly muddled.

He called out in a soft, pliant voice, “Ad… Admiral?”

Loren cupped the back of his head and kissed those lips he had yearned for day and night for nine whole years.

Yan Ke was completely stunned.

Admiral Loren, who had been a coward for so long, was finally no longer a coward. He forced his way into his mouth, ravaging him wildly with a deep, despair-filled love.

It took Yan Ke a long time to register what was happening, but when he finally regained some awareness, he found himself with his arms wrapped around Loren’s neck.

—He hadn’t pushed him away; instead, he had responded.

A single spark started a prairie fire, raging out of control.

A hazy, chaotic night. From the hovercar to the General’s estate, Yan Ke went from crying and struggling in agony at the beginning, to whimpering with his legs hooked around Loren towards the end…

Loren simultaneously felt that he was doomed, that waking up would be hell, yet also deeply intoxicated by this pre-apocalyptic revelry, abandoning himself to take whatever he wanted.

When dawn broke, Loren sat up abruptly.

He opened his eyes; the room was already empty. The person who should have been in his arms was long gone.

But the person was gone, yet the traces remained. The madness of last night was scattered all over the bedroom. It seemed they had been tearing at each other’s clothes from the moment they walked through the door, tumbling together right on the carpet. Loren’s mind was full of last night’s pleasure, but it was quickly replaced by immense panic.

He forced himself on Yan Ke. He had actually forced himself on Yan Ke!

What should he do? Would Yan Ke, in a fit of rage…

Fear seized his heart. Loren hurriedly threw on his clothes and bolted out the door to find the Marshal.

He had to get the Boss to beg the Military Advisor. He had to get the Military Advisor to talk to Yan Ke. Nothing… absolutely nothing could be allowed to happen!

As for Yan Ke, when he woke up, he truly fled in a panic. He had drunk too much, but he remembered everything that happened last night with crystal clarity.

He had actually… actually…

Yan Ke’s face was impossibly pale. Without a second thought, he rushed to the Marshal’s estate, frantically looking for Xie Jianwei.

Xie Jianwei had actually had a pretty relaxing night. Even though it was their wedding anniversary, the “brothers” had been too effective, actually managing to drink Lu Li under the table through sheer numbers.

The Lord Marshal had planned to go at it all night for their anniversary, but ended up sleeping like a log…

With no one to toss him around, Xie Jianwei woke up feeling refreshed. After handling some official business early in the morning, he returned to the Marshal’s estate and was out in the garden tending to those few Sweet-Sweet fruit plants that weren’t acclimatizing well.

Yan Ke was actually “half-dead” last night, but being a doctor was basically a cheat code. He set up a healing program for himself and immediately recovered mostly. Otherwise, never mind running to the Marshal’s estate, he’d probably have collapsed to his knees the moment he got out of bed.

Catching sight of him, Xie Jianwei warned cautiously, “The Sweet-Sweet fruits haven’t fruited yet!” Yan Ke had previously expressed great curiosity about how delicious these fruits were. Hearing that the Lord Marshal had transplanted a few plants, he had drooled over them for ages.

That was why Xie Jianwei guarded against him like a thief.

Yan Ke burst into loud wails. “My Lord! Save me, My Lord!”

Xie Jianwei was puzzled. “What’s wrong?” He didn’t believe Yan Ke was in any real danger. After all, this was the Capital Planet, and that cowardly Loren, who cherished him like the apple of his eye, had just returned. It would be a miracle if he encountered any danger.

Yan Ke said anxiously, “I might be beaten to death by Admiral Loren.”

Xie Jianwei: “…”

Yan Ke dropped a bombshell. “I’m really in deep trouble! I… I… I forced myself on the Admiral!”

Xie Jianwei: “!!!”

Yan Ke cried miserably, “Save me, My Lord. Besides you, no one can save me now.”

“Wait…” Xie Jianwei’s expression was exceedingly strange. “You… you forced yourself on Loren…”

Before he could finish, Yan Ke nodded vigorously, indicating that he had indeed done something incredibly beastly!

Xie Jianwei pondered for a moment, very surprised. “I couldn’t tell.”

Yan Ke: “I didn’t expect to be so crazy when I drank too much either!”

Xie Jianwei couldn’t help but ask, “Loren… that big guy… um…”

Realizing he had misunderstood, Yan Ke hurriedly clarified, “It’s like this. The Admiral and I went drinking, and we both drank too much. And then… I kissed the Admiral, and then… we went to bed, um… I was the one on the bottom, but, but I definitely seduced him. The Admiral is a straight man, he…”

Xie Jianwei: “…”

Yan Ke was still explaining incoherently.

Xie Jianwei patted his shoulder and said earnestly, “Don’t worry, he won’t beat you to death.” A certain coward is probably already in seventh heaven.

Then Yan Ke added in agony, “I shouldn’t have been drinking, I shouldn’t have drunk so much. I mistook the Admiral for someone else. I… I…”

Xie Jianwei interrupted him, “Mistook him for someone else?”

Yan Ke said with a bitter face, “I mistook him for the person I like.”

Xie Jianwei asked again, “You have someone you like?”

Yan Ke was thoroughly vexed. “Yes, I have someone I like, but I actually… actually…”

Xie Jianwei suddenly felt a bit sorry for cowardly Loren. He asked Yan Ke, “Who do you like? Why have I never known about this?”

Yan Ke’s expression darkened. “That was from before the Empire. And… and he died in battle, so I never mentioned it.”

“Died in battle?” Xie Jianwei frowned. “What was his name?”

Bringing this up filled Yan Ke’s eyes with profound sorrow. “Xiao.”

“A single-character name?”

“Mm.”

Xie Jianwei thought for a moment, then looked astonished. “If I remember correctly, Xiao was a logistics soldier, a hundred and eighty years old. Because he had no family, he absolutely refused to retire. His so-called death in battle was actually his body failing, collapsing in the logistics department…”

“Huh?” Yan Ke said, “Impossible, Xiao was very young!”

Xie Jianwei thought again, shaking his head. “I remember the casualty lists perfectly. I would absolutely not leave out a single person.”

Those were the soldiers who had fought through life and death alongside him and Lu Li. For every casualty, he had etched their information into his mind.

Yan Ke trusted Xie Jianwei implicitly. Hearing him say this, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious too. “But… Xiao was in his twenties at most. He…”

Xie Jianwei asked him, “Do you remember what he looked like?”

Yan Ke explained, “He was severely injured at the time, with massive burns covering his skin. He was always wrapped in bandages.”

Xie Jianwei paused. “So you have no idea what he looked like.”

Yan Ke smiled wryly. “His throat was injured too, so he couldn’t even speak clearly.”

Xie Jianwei was amazed. “You really have quite the eye, actually falling for a mummy?”

Yan Ke: “…”

“Speaking of which…” Xie Jianwei’s memory was truly exceptional, recalling events from so long ago with crystal clarity. “I do know of someone who was indeed burned beyond recognition during that time.”

Yan Ke’s heart skipped a beat. “Who?” Could it be that he hadn’t died after all?

Xie Jianwei gave him a strange look, but just as he was about to speak, footsteps sounded from outside.

Before Loren came over, he had called Lu Li.

Lu Li, half-asleep, listened lazily. “What’s all the noise? Finally got a day off.”

Loren was anxious to the point of liver pain. “Save me, Boss, save me!”

Lu Li said, “Go out the door and turn left, have a safe trip, hell welcomes you.”

Loren: “Don’t leave me to die, Boss, something huge really happened.”

Lu Li thought it sounded like nonsense, but considering this bastard’s sweetheart had been a huge help to him and A-Wei, he decided to give him some face. “Spit it out, what’s wrong.”

Loren said very mournfully, “I… I forced myself on Dr. Yan… Dr. Yan!”

Lu Li: “…”

Loren was in extreme agony. “I got drunk, the blood rushed to my head, and… and I made a massive mistake!”

Lu Li was just about to remark that alcohol was truly a wonderful thing, actually capable of launching a coward into the stratosphere.

Then Loren hit him with another line: “It’s over, it’s really over. Dr. Yan has someone he likes. He is deeply devoted to that person, poured his heart out to me for ages, he…”

Lu Li was puzzled. “Never heard A-Wei mention it.”

Loren sighed, “He had his reasons, so he didn’t say, but it’s absolutely true. I really… really…”

Lu Li said seriously, “If Yan Ke truly has a lover, then what you did is a sin. I can’t protect you. You’d better go offer a humble apology and beg for forgiveness.”

What Loren feared most was, “Boss, Dr. Yan wouldn’t, in a fit of rage… in a fit of rage, seek… seek…” He didn’t even dare say the word “death.”

Lu Li said, “You can rest easy on that front. If Yan Ke dies because of this, A-Wei will definitely make you be buried with him.”

Loren: “…” Truly experiencing what it means to have a heart turned to ash.

He hung up the communicator, pacing restlessly in his room, and finally decided to pay a visit to the Lord Military Advisor. Whether he lived or died depended entirely on a single word from Dr. Yan. He had to apologize to him. Never seeing each other again in this lifetime would be his own doing, but he absolutely couldn’t let Dr. Yan go down a dark path.

Loren was convinced that Yan Ke was a straight man, a straight man who deeply loved a woman.

If a straight man was subjected to this and that for a whole night, most people wouldn’t be able to handle it, right?

He was truly terrified that Yan Ke wouldn’t be able to handle it, so he rushed to the Marshal’s estate in a panic.

Who could have imagined that the two people who had just separated that morning would run into each other again like this.

Xie Jianwei looked at cowardly Loren and asked directly, “Nine years ago, in the third month of the Star Calendar, did you take a hit from a Centipede Cannon to save the citizens of Planet A1578?”

Loren was confused. Why was he suddenly asking about this?

Xie Jianwei continued, “I remember your armor was completely melted, your skin completely ruptured, and you were disfigured quite thoroughly.”