The Shattered First Love (Haha) …

“Not only is your love ridiculous—but your self-importance is also unparalleled,” Levi said as he turned away casually. “Remember our agreement, ‘no kissing, no sexual harassment’.”
“I also remember my response: I said ‘I’ll try.’” Levi snorted and walked out of the control room—grabbing a can of beer and finishing it in one gulp.

Due to Levi’s outstanding performance—Z-Zone had given him a special one-week holiday, of course, provided the invaders didn’t cause any trouble during that time.
“Oh, Lilith—today I finally get to take a break! Guess what I’m going to do?”
“Pick up girls.” Lilith answered without hesitation.
“Are you kidding? Who taught you that phrase?” Levi changed into a casual T-shirt and slightly loose-fitting sweatpants, looking radiant.
“Major General Sean said that your hobbies outside of work are beer and picking up girls.”
Levi paused for a moment, then laughed—holding his belly, “Yeah, only he can describe me so accurately! As long as I can pick up girls today, he just can’t show up.”
However—while Levi planned to drink beer today, picking up girls wasn’t on the agenda. It was Ensign Cosley’s birthday, who was responsible for the aircraft equipment—he had invited a group of friends and colleagues to the bar for drinks, and of course, Levi was included. That guy even warned Levi that if he dared not to show up—he would ensure Levi’s color lady wouldn’t have enough oxygen. This was a life-and-death matter and how could Levi dare to miss it?

The entire bar was booked, making it even harder to meet beautiful women—there were just too many guys in the bar, and nothing exciting could be discussed.
As soon as Levi walked in—he and everyone else clapped in unison.
“Yo! Cosley, you really have some face—even Levi came to support you!”
Cosley was a boisterous guy. When he saw Levi—he slammed a large glass of beer in front of him. “It’s my birthday today, so I’m in charge. Hurry up and drink it—otherwise, there’ll be no fried squid to eat!”
Ordering fried squid at the bar had become a well-known habit of Levi’s among everyone.
“Alright, alright, wishing you a long life!” Levi took the beer and drank it down amidst the applause of the crowd.
Soon everyone was happily chatting, with the beer serving merely as a mood enhancer. Just when Levi thought it was boring with only beer and men—he realized that Cosley had truly spared no expense for his birthday. A few women in bikinis walked up to the stage, performing sensual and alluring pole dances that made the men present lose their minds, causing their noses to bleed.
Cosley stroked his chin and said, “See? Even on my birthday, I know that only women can be the main attraction for men.”
Levi naturally enjoyed such a scene—tapping his fingers on the bar in time with the music, mentally calculating whether he could take one of the beauties home with him tonight.

At that moment—no one noticed that a new guest had entered the bar.
He silently approached Cosley and placed a gift box on the table. “Happy birthday.” His voice was pure and cold, like the crisp sound of wind chimes—effortlessly piercing the heart. Everyone couldn’t help but stare at the newcomer.
His flowing shoulder-length hair fell elegantly by his ears, and his exquisite features made all thoughts slow down just by his presence, until Cosley spoke up “Hey—Leslie! I was wondering if you were having too much fun talking to my wife to come over!” Leslie snorted lightly, “This is your birthday gift from your wife.”
“Ha! Have you seen everyone staring at you? Who told you to look so much like Vivian LeClerc?” Cosley draped his arm around Leslie’s shoulders. “Let me introduce my middle school classmate, Leslie LeClerc. No doubt about it—he is the only son of the classic screen lover, Vivian LeClerc. Although he looks just like his mother, I advise everyone not to stare at him too long—he might blow up.”
Everyone laughed and greeted Leslie warmly. He took a large sip of beer—his smile somewhat mechanical but still charming. He moved to a more secluded corner to sit down—but everyone occasionally glanced over at his position.
Levi couldn’t deny that he was easily seduced by beautiful things, like the ocean, pure ladies—and, more recently, Leslie LeClerc.
“Your flying skills are great,” Levi said, sitting down opposite Leslie with his beer. A person like Leslie didn’t enjoy being stared at, nor did he want his appearance to overshadow his abilities—Levi understood this the moment he saw him.
“You can recognize me just by my voice?” Surprisingly, Leslie didn’t show any aloofness—instead, he smiled with interest, causing the beer in Levi’s hand to tremble slightly.
“Of course, your voice is so unique.” Levi mimicked Leslie’s smile—looking at him with a hint of teasing. “But you recognized my voice and still didn’t know who I was? Little Snotty?” Leslie’s smile grew wider, like a gust of wind sweeping away the dust of time.
“Huh?” Levi paused. Little Snotty?
His heart dropped, and he squinted at Leslie, then leaned back in disbelief. “Oh no… it’s impossible… How can you be Lacey? Lacey is clearly a…”
“A what?” Leslie lifted his chin—signaling Levi to finish.
“A girl!” Levi’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. “Wait—are you Lacey’s brother or something? That’s why you look so much alike! That’s why you know Lacey called me… called me…” That word was something Levi would never utter.
“Lacey is just a nickname for Leslie, and I told you many times when we were kids that I was a boy and to stop following me.”
“You’re joking! You must have heard about my crush on Lacey from one of my elementary school classmates, and now you’re deliberately making up this story to mess with me!” Levi’s shout drew everyone’s attention in the bar.

This was impossible! How could it be! Lacey’s curled, thick eyelashes, her fair and delicate skin, her cute little nose—how could she not be a girl?
That was the most beautiful dream of his childhood! Even now, he would instinctively notice those fair-skinned, blonde girls!
“I’m not joking.” Leslie lifted his chin. “Do you want me to recite the love letters you wrote to me when we were kids?”
“What? Even if you could recite them—maybe you just peeked at the letters I wrote to Lacey!” Levi’s face turned beet red, and he leaned on the table.
Leslie smirked—pushing aside the hair from his forehead. “Take a good look at me—I think I haven’t changed much since we were kids.”
Yes, the delicate contours of those eyes, the lines of the nose—those were all replicas of childhood.
Like a thunderclap, Levi stood up. “I’m not interested in staying here.”
“Goodbye, Little Snotty.” Leslie stretched out his arm, clinking his cup with Levi’s—then leisurely took a sip.
Levi left with a cold face—not even responding when Cosley asked him why he was leaving.

As he exited the bar, Levi quickened his pace—almost as if he were running for his life back to his room.
“Little Snotty? How dare he call me that? Ha?” Once in the living room, Levi began kicking everything in sight—the sofa and chairs bore the brunt of his rage—until he kicked the table and fell to the ground, clutching his foot in pain, unable to scream.
“Master, what’s wrong?” Lilith’s voice rang out.
Levi just shook his hand and said nothing.
At that moment, Claude and the other researchers were adjusting the performance of the Pristine Lady. Morris walked in—observing the group’s focused demeanor. “Hey, Claude, I’m curious about something.”
“What is it?” Claude didn’t look up.
“About Leslie LeClerc. You saw how he transported X-II, right? Even with his escort team wiped out, he still made it to K11. I don’t even want to talk about his flying skills. I’m just curious why Leslie has never come to our Z-Zone for training with the Pristine Lady?”
“Before coming to K11, Levi wasn’t on the training list either,” Claude replied calmly.
“Levi is different—his grades in the Air Force Academy were notoriously bad, but Leslie is a top student.”
“If you evaluate Levi like that, he’ll be upset with you,” Claude said with a faint smile.
“I just want to know why. Maybe if Leslie’s Pristine Lady had flown long ago—we wouldn’t have had to wait two years for Levi.”
“Morris,” Claude’s voice turned cold, “firstly, to answer your question—Leslie LeClerc’s name was originally on the training list, but someone with a higher rank than both of us crossed him off. Secondly, and most importantly—I’ve never regretted choosing Levi as the pilot for the Pristine Lady. Even if I could go back in time, I would still choose Levi Van Pelt.”
“Someone crossed off his name? You’re already a Major General—if you picked him, who else could cross his name off?”
“You’ll have to ask Leslie himself about that,” Claude continued to focus on the Pristine Lady.

At that moment—Levi was drowning in frustration. He knew Leslie wasn’t messing with him, though being called “Little Snotty” was indeed insulting.
Then Levi began to laugh, realizing it wasn’t such a big deal—it was just the shattering of a beautiful dream he had firmly believed in during childhood.
“Lilith, help me find Captain Leslie LeClerc’s phone number.” Levi had never been one to dwell on past matters.
Soon, Lilith connected him to Leslie’s dorm phone.
“Hey, I said, Your Highness Princess—how’s the officer dorm assigned to you at K11?” Levi’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“You’re back from the dead, Snotty,” Leslie scoffed, half in sarcasm. “Just like the unkillable cockroach you were in childhood.”

Proofreader/Editor: meowrii