The cat’s meow was soft and faint, its tail trembling, carrying a hint of pleading. Neither of them moved, and the cat hesitated, lowering its head, cautiously stretching its paw toward the space between them, meowing more urgently.

Ji Yuzhou looked at Jiang Xunyu with interest. “What’s it doing?”

“It probably misunderstood you, thinking you were like those people before, here to hurt me.” Jiang Xunyu bent down slowly, reaching out to stroke the soft fur of the black cat’s head. “It’s okay, go on now.”

The black cat narrowed its eyes, making a purring sound from its throat, looking at Ji Yuzhou a few more times, as if confirming something. Finally, it reluctantly turned and disappeared into the grass, looking back three times.

Ji Yuzhou silently laughed behind Jiang Xunyu. “I didn’t expect you to be so close to the cat.”

Jiang Xunyu, unable to read Ji Yuzhou’s expression, mumbled an unclear explanation, “I just feed it occasionally.”

Ji Yuzhou loosened his collar and slowly walked up to Jiang Xunyu. The sound of his boots was crisp and steady, in sync with Jiang Xunyu’s heartbeat. Ji Yuzhou remained silent for a while, and Jiang Xunyu’s tension grew.

People probably don’t like children who don’t tell the truth.

Jiang Xunyu slowly clenched the hand hidden under his sleeve… It’s fine if Ji Yunzhou hit him, or scold him, just don’t throw him back into the welfare institute.

At that moment, Ji Yuzhou chuckled lightly.

“So cute.”

It was as if a person parched in the desert was suddenly handed a glass of water, or like a criminal awaiting execution suddenly being declared innocent. Jiang Xunyu never expected Ji Yuzhou to react like this.

Jiang Xunyu stood there frozen. Ji Yuzhou’s voice carried more evident amusement: “If you want to visit it again next time, you can just tell me directly, and I’ll have the driver take you.”

“Th-thank you, Mr. Ji…” Jiang Xunyu stammered, his heart pounding steadily, the sound echoing in his chest.

Mr. Ji is so kind.

…..

For the next month or so, Ji Yuzhou was busy with political affairs, spending most of his time away from home. When he did return, it was usually in the early hours of the morning. Jiang Xunyu, being well-behaved, stayed quietly at the house, eating, sleeping, and occasionally talking to Xiao C, never disturbing Ji Yuzhou while he worked in the study, quietly making himself invisible.

The scorching summer heat gradually faded, and the cicadas in the trees became quieter. Before they knew it, autumn had arrived.

The military academy students, like those in ordinary schools, had winter and summer vacations. Every year in the fall, new students would join.

One evening, Ji Yuzhou unexpectedly appeared to have dinner with Jiang Xunyu.

It had been some time since they had seen each other. Jiang Xunyu seemed to have grown a bit taller and paler, but still lacked flesh, his arms and legs as thin as bamboo poles. When he saw Ji Yuzhou standing by the dining table, he seemed a little out of place, standing there awkwardly next to him, unsure if he was interrupting him.

Ji Yuzhou smiled: “Go wash your hands. We’ll eat together tonight.”

Jiang Xunyu gave a soft “mm” sound. Time had created some distance between them, and he seemed to return to the shy state he had been in when they first met.

Jiang Xunyu quickly returned to the table. The dishes were already served, steaming with heat. In addition to the usual meal, there was also a bowl of hot corn and rib soup.

Ji Yuzhou took a sip of his black coffee and said, “I heard from the kitchen aunt that you like this, so I had them prepare some. You’re at a growth stage, so you should eat more.”

“Th-thank you, Mr. Ji.”

Jiang Xunyu carefully glanced at Ji Yuzhou, who had yet to pick up his chopsticks. He only took small sips from his cup of milk. Milk stains left a white circle on the corner of his mouth, which he gently licked away with his tongue.

Ji Yuzhou lowered his gaze and picked up some broccoli to eat. Only then did Jiang Xunyu start eating.

Jiang Xunyu ate quickly, his cheeks puffing up as his mouth was stuffed full, looking like a hamster with its cheeks full of food. The hunger from his years of poverty was deeply engraved in his body’s memory, not something that could be easily changed.

After finishing the meal quickly, he took the bowl of corn and rib soup in both hands. Just as his lips were about to touch it, he suddenly stopped, his bright blue eyes blinking as he glanced at Ji Yuzhou: “Mr. Ji, aren’t you going to have some?”

In the welfare institute, this kind of dish could only be seen during festivals. Because of the disdain he received from others, Jiang Xunyu rarely got the chance to have it, and while he liked the taste, the most important thing was that it was a rare and valuable treat in his memories.

Just as he was about to take a bite, he realized that there was only one bowl of the soup on the table. Such a precious thing should be for someone more important to enjoy.

With that thought, he put the bowl down, his fingers curled as he pushed it toward Ji Yuzhou: “I haven’t touched it yet!”

He looked cautious, his emotions written all over his face. If Ji Yuzhou hadn’t brought him home himself, he would have thought Jiang Xunyu was deliberately trying to make him feel sorry for him.

Ji Yuzhou lightly closed his eyes: “I don’t like eating this.”

“Oh.” Jiang Xunyu quickly understood. With Ji Yuzhou’s status, he must have seen everything there was to eat, so he hesitated and silently ate the soup.

Jiang Xunyu ate happily and seriously, rarely making any noise, still maintaining basic table manners. One could tell his upbringing was good. Watching him eat seriously, even Ji Yuzhou, who was accustomed to not having much for dinner, found himself with some appetite, adding more food to his plate.

When Jiang Xunyu had almost finished eating, Ji Yuzhou tapped the wooden dining table with his fingers and asked, “Tomorrow is the first day of the new military academy semester. Have you decided?”

Although Ji Yuzhou had already asked Jiang Xunyu earlier if he wanted to attend the military academy, he still needed to confirm, as the teaching methods there were quite different from those of ordinary schools.

Jiang Xunyu put down his bowl and chopsticks, pressed his lips together: “Will you be there?”

“Of course,” Ji Yuzhou smiled faintly, “If you go to the military academy, you should see me often.”

“I want to go.”

Without much hesitation, Jiang Xunyu blurted out the answer.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt like he had been too straightforward, and awkwardly touched the tip of his nose.

Ji Yuzhou noticed his unease and found it somewhat amusing. He grabbed a document from the side table—it was the military academy’s voluntary enrollment application.

“Take a look. If you have any questions, you can ask me. If everything’s fine, sign it. Do you know how to write your name?”

“Mm.” Jiang Xunyu nodded, flipping to the last page. Without hesitation, he signed his name clearly.

Ji Yuzhou raised an eyebrow: “Can’t read? I can…”

“No need,” Jiang Xunyu finally looked up and met Ji Yuzhou’s eyes, replying firmly, “I’ve secretly learned a little, and I trust you.”

Since he was willing to follow Ji Yuzhou back, he had already entrusted himself to him. From now on, whether he lived or died depended entirely on Ji Yuzhou’s will.

Ji Yuzhou raised his eyes and seriously studied Jiang Xunyu’s face. The boy still had the youthful freshness that was unique to adolescents, but his expression was resolute. This kind of expression Ji Yuzhou often saw in soldiers who willingly pledged loyalty to the Empire or the military, but the boy’s loyalty was directed solely at him, a “person,” setting aside reputation, status, and identity, focusing on him as an independent individual.

Ji Yuzhou silently withdrew his gaze and slowly spoke, “The military’s education system is different from external schooling. It’s a two-year program. The first year focuses on cultural studies and basic combat techniques. After the second year, you’ll specialize and can choose to study mecha, aircraft carrier operations, or small-scale weapons like photon guns. After two years, you’ll enter a ten-year service period, during which you’ll be assigned based on your preferences and the system’s distribution to various corp jobs. You cannot retire early unless there is a special reason.”

Ji Yuzhou took the last sip of his coffee, leaving a ring of brown stains on the cup. “You can take time to think about it.”

Jiang Xunyu absentmindedly scratched the edge of his bowl. His head drooped again as he repeated, “I want to go.” He quietly added in his heart: because you will be there.

“Alright,” Ji Yuzhou didn’t say anything else. He extended his long fingers and took back the document from Jiang Xunyu. “Rest early. I’ll take you to report tomorrow.”

……

At midnight.

Ji Yuzhou stood by the window in his study, gazing at the distant lights. The house was floating, and the surrounding night view was in full view. He rested his hands on the window’s railing, silent for a moment, then returned to his desk without a word. Under the bright desk lamp lay the document Jiang Xunyu had signed during dinner.

The document was turned to the last page, and “Jiang Xunyu” was written neatly, much better than Ji Yuzhou had expected.

Ji Yuzhou picked up a pen and signed his name in the guardian section of the form.

He didn’t have any special feelings about this relationship. He simply signed as Jiang Xunyu’s guardian because the boy was a few months shy of turning 18. It gave the boy a legitimate reason to stay with him.

When Ji Yuzhou first brought Jiang Xunyu back, he planned to cultivate him as a trusted confidant. Over the past few days, he had been quietly observing Jiang Xunyu’s behavior.

As he had guessed, Jiang Xunyu was self-conscious, introverted, and would devote himself to you as long as you showed him kindness, eager to serve and sacrifice. 

Everything was going according to his plan. He should send Jiang Xunyu to school to learn basic knowledge, then, with a mix of coercion and inducements, gradually train him and send him as an undercover agent to the pirate faction.

According to Ji Yuzhou’s intelligence, the pirate leader was cunning and ruthless, with yellow eyes, different from normal people. Sharing similar experiences would likely lead to greater empathy and trust. Even if Jiang Xunyu’s identity was discovered, it wouldn’t matter. After all, he was just an adopted child, unaware of the corp’s internal secrets.

The plan was perfect, but as he recalled the boy’s clear, bright blue eyes earlier that night, Ji Yuzhou hesitated.

He closed the pen cap, placed the document in the lowest drawer of the desk, and locked it. Then, he turned off the desk lamp.

The study was suddenly plunged into darkness. Ji Yuzhou quietly walked back to his room.

The boy had just arrived at the corp, and Ji Yuzhou still had plenty of time to make a decision.