Chapter 32 1/2

Cen Lang’s eyes revealed sympathy, and he said, “Jiang Wanlan entered the sanatorium early this morning.” “It’s not a change in his condition; there’s another reason.”

“In the evening, I’ll fly the spacecraft to send Jiang Li back to school, and you can wait at the sanatorium.”

Jiang Li seemed to look forward to the meeting of the two, and Cen Lang didn’t mind helping out. “I’ll grant you access, except for Jiang Wanlan’s building.”

All the sanatoriums were single buildings; if Lu Jing was interested, he could stand downstairs and call out to Jiang Wanlan. At worst, special forces could even climb the outer wall with their bare hands.

He granted access so readily; why was the old demon so calculating?

Jiang Li looked at the closed cockpit door; his eyelids twitched, and he walked back and forth at the door, hugging his arms. What were they talking about? Lu Jing probably didn’t like chatting with Cen Lang, right?

After a while, Cen Lang opened the door and brought a bottle of grape juice, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Jiang Li, saying, “Take a sip, then eat.”

Jiang Li: “I’m not nauseous anymore.”

He emphasized the word “nauseous” to distinguish it from “vomiting.”

Cen Lang: “Grapes are grown under abundant starlight, sweet and slightly sour, better than tomatoes.” Jiang Li thought of the sweet and juicy tomatoes and took a sip of the grape juice. It was sweet, slightly sour, and not low in sugar.

Cen Lang pinched his fingers; he really wanted to pinch Jiang Li’s face. Indeed, if you couldn’t eat well on a business trip, you’d lose weight, and Jiang Li had slimmed down.

It was the end of February now, and there was a chill in the central area of the Earth. “We’ll land in the evening; take out the thickest clothes to wear.”

Jiang Li: “Okay.” It was warm inside the battleship, and he had almost forgotten the spring chill when he came.

Jiang Li carefully took out the thick coat from the bottom of the suitcase. He compared the thickness with a down jacket, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes.

He was almost three months pregnant, and his belly didn’t show, but he could feel some differences. Some slender Omegas in winter, when pregnant for five or six months, completely couldn’t tell with thick clothes covering them.

“If only it were winter next.”

However, the weather was gradually getting warmer, and as the clothes became thinner, it would be difficult to hide. He hoped this summer would come slowly so he could wear a short-sleeved shirt over a shirt. He planned to stay in the laboratory until graduation, and after graduating, he would rent a house near the hospital for his first prenatal checkup, far away from here.

At noon, Cen Lang took out all the food. The battleship had to stop at the transfer point, and the food would expire if not consumed.

He cooked a pot of mixed noodles, throwing in ham, mushrooms, seafood, and baby bok choy. The aroma was rich. When Cen Lang was cooking, Jiang Li insisted on standing beside him, asking him whether he wanted this or that. Jiang Li nodded before he put it in the pot.

Lu Jing quietly closed the cockpit door.

Cen Lang: “Did you not make an effort to eat? There’s too much leftover ingredient.”

Jiang Li was speechless. “It’s only a two-day round trip, and you stocked up on food at the research base for ten days.”

Cen Lang thought, What if there’s an unlucky emergency landing? He couldn’t bear to see Jiang Li eating bread.

Jiang Li saw that he was about to add shrimp to the pot and said, “This pot can’t be finished.”

Cen Lang: “Use up the ingredients.”

Jiang Li thought, according to the old demon’s plan, there was no need to use up everything. It wouldn’t expire before he returned to the space forces.

Cen Lang: “Did we add an extra person?”

Jiang Li: “Lu Jing only drinks nutritional supplements.”

Cen Lang said, “I’ll go call him for a farewell dinner.”

Jiang Li: ‘If Cen Lang talks about the sense of ceremony, it’s indeed worth having a good meal.’

Before leaving the research base, the old demon quietly told him that he would find an opportunity to transfer Cen Lang to space for a few months; he wouldn’t let him come back before graduation.

Jiang Li planned to move as soon as he graduated.

Jiang Li set up the dining table. There were only two chairs on the battleship, so he folded the marching bed and sat on a sofa. He scooped three bowls of noodles onto the table, prepared chopsticks, and placed soft drinks.

Cen Lang opened the door and asked Lu Jing, “Do you want to join us for a farewell dinner?” It would be better if he declined; it was enough for him and Jiang Li.

Lu Jing hesitated for a moment and said, “Okay.”

Cen Lang frowned. Was his cooking that good? Could it attract Lu Jing to join for a meal?

The three of them sat around the small dining table. The battleship was warm, and the hot noodles were suitable with slightly colder soft drinks. Jiang Li controlled his sugar intake and drank soda.

Each person had a large bowl of noodles in front of them. The table was small, and the bowls almost touched each other.

Whether it was Cen Lang, Jiang Li, or Lu Jing, they had no memories of three people eating together at such a small table. In the military, they would eat from a communal pot either in the cafeteria, each with their own seat, or squatting on the ground in the wilderness. Farewell dinners were somewhat warm, like a family of three.

Cen Lang: “Is it hot? Why didn’t you wait for me to serve?” He glanced at Jiang Li’s bowl; the noodles were the least, and there was the least seafood.

It seemed that only he would avoid such uneven distribution if he did the housework.

Jiang Li: “It’s not hot.”

Cen Lang wanted to give Jiang Li the shrimp in his bowl but refrained from doing so in front of Lu Jing. He had to eat his own. No one raised their cups, and the soft drinks were quietly drunk by themselves.

After dinner, during the shift change, Lu Jing said, “You can buy a nutritional matching recipe.”

Cen Lang reacted for the first time: “If you don’t want to eat mixed noodles, you can drink nutritional supplements.” Then he realized that Lu Jing must be good at cooking to offer such advice.

Cen Lang only knew how to make a mixed pot of everything; maybe add some outdoor barbecue skills, but stir-frying, frying, and making dumplings and noodles were untouched territories. He never thought about buying a recipe; after all, there was a chef at home, and Jiang Li didn’t mind his cooking.

As the strongest Alpha in the universe, of course, he had to cultivate virtues to win the favor of his crush.

Cen Lang nodded. “Okay, I’ll look into it later.”

The battleship, like a white whale breaking through the sea, entered the transfer point. Cen Lang had no luggage and helped Jiang Li with two boxes, while Lu Jing carried a bag that looked like a tattered sack.

Jiang Li carried a medical box filled with top-grade Alpha pheromones, feeling a bit embarrassed. The food he brought with him was hardly touched, and it seemed like he had restocked in space, resulting in an extra box.

The three changed into a spacecraft to return to Earth and then switched to a flying vehicle. Passing by the sanatorium, they landed on the landing pad in the large square.

“Thank you.” Lu Jing walked out of the spacecraft and headed towards the sanatorium.

The spacecraft had glass windows on all sides, and Jiang Li’s body angled slightly as he looked down through the glass.

“Why didn’t he go in?”

As the spacecraft ascended, Lu Jing’s figure gradually shrank into a dot. Jiang Li saw him walk under a tree and then stand still. Cen Lang couldn’t see below while flying the spacecraft and said, “It’s been a long time since we met; he probably needs some mental preparation.”

Jiang Li: “How long has it been?”

Cen Lang: “Officially, it’s been more than twenty years; privately, I don’t know.”

“Quite a long time.” Jiang Li retracted his gaze, straightened his body, and looked at Cen Lang’s back. From now on, he wouldn’t be able to smell the disinfectant scent of his pheromones. He took a few more breaths while he could.

Cen Lang was reluctant to let Jiang Li go when he suddenly saw an advertisement for a skyscraper on a building. He had an idea: “It’s past one in the morning; don’t disturb your roommate. Let’s stay in a hotel for the night and send you back tomorrow morning.”

Jiang Li nodded. “Okay.”

Adhering to the noble virtues of an Alpha, Cen Lang booked a five-star suite with two bedrooms.

“Go to bed early.”

“You too.”

Jiang Li entered the room and fell asleep.

Cen Lang closed the door and started working. He first had two meetings with executives in different time zones, then contacted pheromone experts. After waking up in the underground city, he went for a blood test the next day, but nothing was found so far.

Suddenly receiving Mr. Cen’s greeting, the expert group thought he had come to ask for test results and said apologetically, “Mr. Cen, we still haven’t detected any other components in your blood. Your pheromones seem to automatically transform into a substance that is gentle and harmless to yourself once generated. We usually call it self-healing.”

Cen Lang: “My pheromones have changed; come back tomorrow for another blood test.”

The expert group was shocked. “Has the storm syndrome relapsed?”