Chapter 11: The Kiss that Falls from the Sky…

“How can I stop?” Claude was still smiling—the helplessness in his laughter known only to him.
“Stop what?” Miller walked into the hospital room.
Claude lowered his eyes indifferently, not answering.
“It’s late—aren’t you going to go get some sleep?” Seeing him not answer, Miller switched to another question.
“What about you? Aren’t you going to go sleep? Workaholic Major Miller.”
“Do you think I can sleep knowing that guy is still unconscious?”
The two sat quietly in the hospital room until the next morning—when Levi let out a mumble and reached up to grab his hair.
“Lilith—why aren’t the lights on?”
Claude and Miller watched Levi as if they were watching a movie while he fumbled to get up. When he realized it wasn’t that the lights were off but that he was wearing bandages—he froze in place.
“What happened to my eyes?”
Levi’s head throbbed, making the cold sensation he felt in his eyes even more pronounced. He started to anxiously reach for the bandages covering his eyes—prompting Miller to finally lose patience, standing up to grab his hand.
“Can’t you be a little more obedient?”
“Miller?” Levi stopped— “Is this a hospital?”
“Yes, it is a hospital.” Miller shrugged off Levi’s hand, “Do you want me to tell you what happened to your eyes?”
“What happened?”
“Your vitreous body has all leaked out. When we were cleaning up the glass shards in your eyeball, the doctor said your nerve fibers were severed.” Miller’s voice was icy, simply stating an objective fact, “You are a scrapped fighter pilot—the good news is that you are now a lieutenant, so you will receive a higher pension when you retire. It’s just that you wasted too much time for us in Z-Zone.”
Levi tilted his head—his brow contorting into a twisted shape.
He didn’t know that Claude was crossing his legs, elegantly watching his expression.
After a while, Levi suddenly doubled over in laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” Miller’s gaze could kill, but Levii was always impervious to it.
“I laugh because you really love me.”
“I love you—what evidence led you to that conclusion?” Miller gritted his teeth—his thoughts could never reach the outer space of Levi’s brain.
“First, my eyes were injured, and you couldn’t wait to come see me. Don’t deny it—I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that I woke up and heard your voice right away. Second, if my eyes had really gone blind—you definitely wouldn’t have stayed here. Major Miller wouldn’t waste time on unnecessary matters—you’d be looking for the next pilot. But you’re not. The only reason you’re here despite my value being nonexistent is that you love me. Third, lovely Miller—every time I look at you in the training room, you instinctively adjust your glasses. Is it because I said last time that you look great without them? Did that touch your heart—making you particularly conscious whenever I look at you?”
“Fallacy!” Miller’s fists clenched as he turned and walked away quickly.
Levi lay back on the bed, his smile wide.
As Miller’s footsteps faded down the corridor, all of Levi’s expressions gradually fell silent. He reached out to cover his eyes—maintaining that position for a long time.
One moment, the hospital room was filled with Li Wei’s laughter—the next, it was as quiet as death, solidifying with his expression.
Claude turned his face—quietly sketching Levi with his gaze, his fingers tracing his nose and the slightly melancholic line of his lips.
Then Levi took a deep breath and curled back into the blanket.
“I thought you weren’t the least bit afraid of going blind”—Claude’s voice rippled through the room, spacious yet not abrupt.
Levi frowned and coldly asked, “How long have you been here?”
“A long time.”
“I didn’t hear you come in…” Realizing something, Levi tilted his head, “You wouldn’t be like Miller, rushing over as soon as I got hurt, would you?”
“Should I also put forth the argument that I’ve fallen in love with you and elaborate on that?”
“That’s a fallacy.” Levi mimicked Miller’s tone—sounding ridiculous and mismatched.
Claude stood up and walked to the side of Levi’s bed, lying down beside him, looking at him up close without any concealment.
“Why do I feel like you’re staring at me?”
“I’m not.” Claude’s gaze never left Levi— “Levi, why do you always pretend not to care about anything?”
“Because I truly don’t care about anything.”
“Liar. You just acted very afraid of losing your eyesight.”
“If it were you, would you not be afraid?”
“Yes, I would be afraid—afraid that you would be hurt in any way.” Claude softly whispered in Levi’s ear, then ignored Levi’s expression as he seemed to want to argue again and left the hospital room.
That afternoon—Sherron’s ex-boyfriend, Captain Gorin, was summoned to General Montel’s office, but the person sitting at the desk was not the general, but Claude.
When Captain Gorin saw it was Claude—his expression first showed surprise, then he couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“You’re wondering why I’m the one in this office, right?” Claude’s smile contained a certain pressure—commanding respect without anger.
Gorin didn’t know how to start.
“You are an Air Force captain—a seasoned veteran remaining after numerous battles. I believe your spirit, your courage, and your abilities should not be wasted on a woman who doesn’t love you.” Claude said quietly.
“I’m sorry, Major General. I shouldn’t have injured Lieutenant Levi Van Pelt’s eyes…” If this incident had led Claude to take action personally, Gorin felt he had no hope.
“The reason I called you here is not because you injured Lieutenant Van Pelt but because I want you to understand who you are. You were promoted to captain because of your achievements as a soldier—not because of your jealousy and irrationality, nor because of your obsession and impulsiveness. Have you figured out who you are? Is it that your shiny epaulets make it hard for you to see how you appear in others’ eyes?”
Gorin lowered his head—his brows trembling, and after a long while, he said, “I understand.”
Claude nodded, “Then I won’t waste time making you write a self-reflection report or anything like that. By the way, Lieutenant Li Wei Van Pelt had it coming—he did indeed pursue Lieutenant Sherron.”
“Huh?” Gorin looked as if he still hadn’t processed what had been said.
Claude would not repeat what he had already said—he simply gestured for Gorin to leave.
Meanwhile, in the hospital room—Levi was so bored he felt like he was going moldy. The entire space was silent, with not even an intelligent system to talk to. Until noon, when a nurse came to change his dressings and deliver his meal, he became lively again—charming the little nurse into staying for a chat.
“Nicole, your voice is really pleasant. Did you study vocal music when you were younger? If my home’s intelligent system had a voice like yours—I wouldn’t feel like it was torture to be woken up by it.”
“Hehe, you really know how to flatter. I haven’t studied vocal music, but I did participate in the school’s vocal team when I was a child—I sang contralto.”
As they chatted—Levi didn’t know when he had taken Nicole’s hand, and their conversation progressed to where they would go on a date once he was discharged.
Claude entered without him noticing, arms crossed against the wall—looking extremely patient as he waited for Levi to finish his performance.
Nicole turned to see Claude, startled, and quickly stood up, “General Sean!”
Levi sighed immediately—“No way, are you going to ruin my good time again?”

“Compared to your claim that Sherron is involved with me, what I’m doing now is hardly even revenge.” Claude politely nodded at Nicole, “Thank you for taking care of this restless fellow. Without you, he would probably be so bored he’d turn this hospital upside down.”

Levi didn’t need to see to know that Nicole’s face must be showing that kind of youthful expression again. He truly hated himself for not being as good at pretending as Claude.
“I don’t even know when I started getting involved with Lieutenant Sherron—yet Lieutenant Van Pelt can predict it in advance.” Claude chuckled as he sat down next to Levi.
“I just used your name to ‘heroically save the beauty.’ Look, the hero is you, and I’m the one who got injured. Don’t you think you’ve already gained something from this?” Levi lazily leaned back against the pillow.

“Isn’t your time in the hospital super boring?” Claude leaned over Levi—his hands propped up near Levi’s ears. Even though he wasn’t applying any weight to Levi—it created an intense sense of pressure.
“What are you doing?” Levi couldn’t see, but he knew Claude was very close to him. He tried to get up, but Claude pressed his finger against Levi’s forehead—pushing him back onto the pillow.
“This isn’t fun at all. Do you want to compete in strength with me?”
Claude laughed. “Competing in strength doesn’t mean I would lose to you—I’ve undergone all the military training, including close combat. But I’m sure that even if I beat you in strength, you’d still have that nonchalant expression on your face.”
“You know, just get out of the way. I don’t want you to pollute the air around me.” Levi pouted, growing impatient.

“So, I’ve decided to do something that will annoy you—and this will make your time in the hospital no longer boring.”
“What…” Before Levi could react—something soft covered his lips. When his lips were parted, and something surged into his mouth, he froze.
At that moment—his breath stopped. All his thoughts plummeted from the clouds, far beyond his imagination.
The other party’s tongue was seductive, and as the enticing kiss began to imply control and urgency—Levi came to his senses and instinctively tried to pull Claude closer.
What the hell—what’s going on?!
Claude grabbed his wrist tightly—pinning him in place. Levi, trying to turn his face away,—found that Claude was intensifying the kiss, controlling his direction without allowing any resistance.
This kiss, seemingly meant to provoke, gradually transformed. Claude’s tongue swept over Levi’s palate, highly enticing—as if it were some kind of invitation. But Levi wasn’t buying it at all—he just wanted to kick this guy away and crush him to pieces!

—–

Proofreader/Editor: meowrii