Yun Xunlan explained the origin of the thirty billion star coins to Jian Wenxi.

“Oh, just this little bit of money? You don’t need to pay me back,” Jian Wenxi casually waved his hand after listening, indicating that he refused to accept it, allowing the thirty billion star coins to be returned to Yun Xunlan’s account. “If you mind that this money used to belong to my third uncle, then you can donate it.”

Knowing that Young Master Jian had a strong financial background, Yun Xunlan didn’t stand on ceremony: “Alright.”

Young Master Jian even invited him to have lunch together: “The food I ordered today is really delicious. Do you want to join me?”

Yun Xunlan politely declined: “No, I’ve already eaten.”

“Another nutrient solution?” Jian Wenxi immediately guessed what Yun Xunlan had for lunch. “Aren’t you tired of drinking that?”

“As long as it fills me up, it’s fine.”

Yun Xunlan really wasn’t tired of it. He didn’t have many worldly desires; after he reached the Foundation Establishment stage in his previous life, he hadn’t eaten a single bite of food. If it weren’t for the fact that he would starve to death in this life without eating, he wouldn’t even drink nutrient solutions.

“How’s Professor Ran’s manuscript coming along?” Yun Xunlan shifted the conversation to business.

“I’ve read most of it,” Jian Wenxi replied. “With my level, I currently have two feasible improvement plans.”

Jian Wenxi placed Professor Ran’s manuscript and his own handwritten proposal in front of Yun Xunlan: “The first one is relatively simple; just replace the superconducting material used in the core power source. The second one is to completely overturn the existing 3S mech structure and redesign a new generation of 3S mechs.”

Yun Xunlan picked up both manuscripts, glanced at them, and raised an eyebrow: “The first one is simple?”

The flame42 superconducting material used in the core power source of the 3S mechs was already the best and most stable superconducting material in the world today. Almost all starships and warships used this superconducting material in their nuclear fusion energy reactors. For Jian Wenxi to say they should replace it meant they would need to develop a new superconducting material with overall performance superior to flame42. How easy could that be?

Jian Wenxi, however, said, “Compared to the second one, it’s quite simple.”

Yun Xunlan: “…”

That was indeed the case.

“Anyway, based on Professor Ran’s manuscript, I can only think of these two improvement methods,” Jian Wenxi made it clear to Yun Xunlan. “After all, the manuscript only contains theoretical ideas and basic frameworks. Who knows how it compares to the actual 3S mechs?”

Understanding the implication behind Jian Wenxi’s words, Yun Xunlan smiled and told him, “The 3S mech that Duke Hurst sent me will arrive next month.”

Jian Wenxi said with great anticipation, “Great! Everything is ready, just waiting for your mech.”

Yun Xunlan nodded: “Alright.”

“You can take both manuscripts with you to look over,” Jian Wenxi called out to Yun Xunlan before he left, stuffing both manuscripts into his hands. “What if you come up with a third improvement plan?”

Yun Xunlan agreed: “I’ll take a look, but mech design isn’t my strong suit, so the chances of me coming up with a third feasible improvement plan are very low.”

However, no matter how low the chances were, Yun Xunlan still seriously studied it for several days. It wasn’t until the weekend arrived and Yu Chen’s sensitivity period ended that Yun Xunlan decided to shift his focus to something he was good at—developing his friendship with Yu Chen.

The method of development, of course, was to get Yu Chen to sleep beside him.

But he needed a good reason for it to make sense; otherwise, just saying, “Yu Chen, come sleep with me tonight,” would sound really off.

Coincidentally, it was Yu Chen’s turn to be on duty that weekend. Yun Xunlan planned to wait until after work on Friday, using the excuse of needing a tutor for “War Psychology” to lure Yu Chen into his room. Then, they could study until the evening, and to save Yu Chen some energy, he could just stay in his room for the night instead of patrolling outside. That way, they could naturally and reasonably end up sleeping together.

So on that Friday, after leaving the Seventh Military Research Base and returning to Zhan Yue Peninsula, Yun Xunlan immediately called out to Yu Chen as soon as he got out of the car: “Major Yu Chen, I have a small request, and I hope you can agree.”

Yu Chen was a bit afraid of Yun Xunlan calling him or talking to him now because Yun Xunlan wanted to date him, and most likely, what he was about to say would be flirtatious. How was someone like Yu Chen, who only had experience arguing with trolls and no romantic experience, supposed to respond?

If he accidentally misstepped in the conversation, he might end up with romantic experience, and that would be a disaster!

Fortunately, there were others around them, including Ni Chun, Fu Yanxi, and Gui Yan, so Yu Chen felt that Yun Xunlan’s request would definitely be something he could accept, and he replied, “Your Highness, you flatter me. Please, go ahead.”

Sure enough, Yun Xunlan said, “I’d like to ask Major Yu Chen to be my tutor and teach me the course on ‘War Psychology.’”

Logically speaking, this request was indeed something Yu Chen could accept.

However, in the past, Yu Chen was afraid that Yun Xunlan wouldn’t ask him for tutoring and would just flirt with him.

Now that Yun Xunlan was asking him for tutoring, Yu Chen was worried that Yun Xunlan was using tutoring as an excuse to flirt with him more conveniently.

But no matter what Yun Xunlan’s true intentions were in making this request, Yu Chen couldn’t refuse. After all, if he wanted to get close to Yun Xunlan’s 3S mech, he had to earn Yun Xunlan’s trust. Tutoring was the most suitable way for them to bridge the distance and improve their relationship, so he agreed, “It’s my honor, Your Highness.”

Three minutes later, Yu Chen regretted it.

He silently stared at the open bedroom door of Yun Xunlan, starting to hate himself for not being mute. Why did he have to verbally agree to Yun Xunlan’s request?—Why did they have to study in the bedroom?

Could it be that Yun Xunlan wanted to tutor him not to flirt with him, but to sleep with him?

Yu Chen thought his speculation was quite reasonable.

The bedroom was a very private personal space. Zhan Yue Peninsula had so many rooms that could be used as their tutoring venue, yet Yun Xunlan specifically chose his own bedroom. Wasn’t that intention quite obvious?

He didn’t even bother to hide it at all.

Yu Chen wanted to improve his relationship with Yun Xunlan and get closer, but he didn’t want to take it too far and turn their relationship into something negative.

So, taking that step into the bedroom, Yu Chen hesitated, as if he was facing a forbidden place that would lead to irreversible consequences.

At the same time, Yun Xunlan also stopped in his tracks, not entering his bedroom because someone else had stepped in before them.

Yun Xunlan’s bedroom had two doors for entry and exit, one connecting to the main hall and corridor, and the other leading directly to the beach at Yuhai. This person came in through the back door.

He was wearing the dark blue uniform of the Beidou Tianquan Legion, his copper-colored skin slightly darker than the fabric, and when he entered the room, he almost blended into the shadow cast by the sheer curtains by the window. His aura was gloomy and indifferent, with only a pair of bright green eyes looking at Yun Xunlan, shining like peridot born from a magma pool.

Yu Chen heard him speak, softly calling out to Yun Xunlan: “Lanlan.”

Yun Xunlan paused, his golden eyes quietly gazing at the man, then he opened his lips to respond: “Brother.”

After saying that, Yun Xunlan stepped into the room, sat down on the sofa by the coffee table, and then smiled at Yu Chen, signaling him to sit as well—his attitude was even more intimate than the man he referred to as “Brother.”

This distinction made Yu Chen glance at the man a couple more times.

The man also stared at Yu Chen, his striking green eyes particularly noticeable. He asked, “Who is this?”

“My guard,” Yun Xunlan introduced him, “Major Yu Chen.”

Yu Chen lowered his gaze, saluting and greeting, “Your Highness, Second Prince.”

All members of the royal bloodline of the Galactic Empire had golden eyes, but the Second Prince, Mu Xingyu, did not have golden eyes and even did not share the surname “Yun,” because he was an alpha adopted by the royal family, with no blood relation to anyone in the royal family. Naturally, he wouldn’t have the unique golden eyes of the royal bloodline.

However, Mu Xingyu was indeed the second in line to the throne of the Galactic Empire, ranking before Yun Xunlan in the order of succession. He held real power in the military and was the leader of the Beidou Tianquan Legion, stationed at the border battlefield, jointly resisting the Seweir Zerg with Emperor Yun Qihe, reclaiming the lost planets along the first border line. So even though he occasionally made headlines with his romantic escapades involving omegas, he still had a good reputation within the empire.

The public and fans praised him for being brave, gentle, and fearless, viewing him as a heroic warrior defending the empire.

Yu Chen hadn’t particularly admired Mu Xingyu before, but he definitely respected him—every soldier fighting at the border to protect the galaxy from the Seweir Zerg was undoubtedly a hero and deserved respect from the world.

However, one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. After being in such close proximity to Mu Xingyu, Yu Chen found that Mu Xingyu’s personality seemed somewhat different from the rumors.

At least, the “gentle” part was debatable.

Because just as Yu Chen finished saying “Your Highness, Second Prince,” a strong and even aggressive scent of rosemary suddenly spread throughout Yun Xunlan’s bedroom. Although it didn’t carry much pressure, it still gave a strong sense of heavy oppression—this was Mu Xingyu’s pheromone.

The reason an alpha releases pheromone pressure towards another alpha is rarely for anything other than suppression or provocation, especially since Mu Xingyu’s gaze towards Yu Chen held almost undisguised hostility.

But there were more alphas present than just the two of them.

Yun Xunlan also caught a whiff of the rosemary.

“Brother, is your sensitivity period coming soon?” He leaned back slightly, casually reminding Mu Xingyu, “You haven’t controlled your pheromones well.”

“No, I’ve already entered my sensitivity period.”

Mu Xingyu said as he withdrew his gaze from Yu Chen and walked over to sit by Yun Xunlan’s bed: “Where’s your suppressor?”

Yun Xunlan replied, “In the second drawer.”

Yun Xunlan didn’t specify which side or which cabinet, but Mu Xingyu directly opened the second drawer of the bedside table on his left, as if he already knew the answer, and accurately took out the alpha third-generation suppressor, injecting himself with a dose.

The rosemary scent in the room gradually calmed down.

However, even after taking the suppressor, Mu Xingyu didn’t get up, still sitting on Yun Xunlan’s bed.

Yu Chen felt that the atmosphere between these two brothers was strangely hard to describe.

Yun Xunlan also found it strange that Mu Xingyu suddenly returned to the Imperial Capital.