Clearly, it was too late.

Yun Xunlan had indeed worried about this matter before. After all, Yu Chen’s “oath” was, from a public perspective, not in line with the mainstream. Military orders are as solid as a mountain; Dick had told Yu Chen that he would definitely say something, but whether he wanted to say it or not was another question altogether. So, calling Yu Chen tonight was actually meant to guide him.

“Major Yu Chen, you don’t need to feel embarrassed,” Yun Xunlan honestly expressed his thoughts to Yu Chen. “I really like your oath; it’s very special.”

However, Yu Chen couldn’t feel a shred of sincerity from Yun Xunlan. He only felt like he had been ambushed by the exam questions set by the chief examiner. During the interview for the Imperial Guard, the last question had been: What strengths do you think you have that can keep you by the side of the Third Prince?

So, Yu Chen had answered that his strength was that he was very good at fighting—he had put it a bit arrogantly. He thought: What others said about “loyalty” and “faithfulness” was just lip service, intangible and unmeasurable. How could that compare to his actual combat ranking, which was number one? Their superficial loyalty could be faked, but his ability to take down one opponent or ten was something that couldn’t be disguised. His answer was so logical and perfect, like a full-score exam paper. What could possibly go wrong?

But something did go wrong—no matter how strong Yu Chen’s mental fortitude was, he wasn’t thick-skinned. When he heard Yun Xunlan repeatedly exaggerating him in a way that defied normal human thinking, his embarrassment was about to solidify into something tangible.

Yet, the prince remained unfazed.

With such mental resilience, how could he not score at least 30 points in “War Psychology”?

At first, Yu Chen thought Yun Xunlan was comforting him with a guilty conscience, trying to brainwash him. But now, he began to suspect that Yun Xunlan was actually punishing him. After all, if Yun Xunlan felt, like Pei Xingtian, that his “oath” had too broad an attack radius and felt offended, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to make Yu Chen repeatedly recite that embarrassing “oath” in front of all the elite Imperial Guard colleagues as punishment.

Yu Chen really wanted to say, “Your Highness, why don’t we just drop the act and be honest with each other?”

However, having learned from past experiences, Yu Chen opted for a less direct approach and admitted his mistake to Yun Xunlan: “Your Highness, you don’t need to comfort me anymore. I know that what I said must have been hard for you to hear—”

Before he could finish, he saw a hint of genuine surprise in Yun Xunlan’s golden eyes: “Not at all! If I don’t hear it for a day, I feel uncomfortable all over.”

Yu Chen: “…”

But he would feel uncomfortable for an entire day after saying that.

Yet, since Yun Xunlan had already said this much, Yu Chen could only swallow the rest of his words and finally accept that this was the consequence of his unfiltered speech: “…Thank you for your appreciation, Your Highness.”

The system was quite pleased: “Ah, it seems he has once again deeply felt your appreciation.”

Yun Xunlan also felt that their brotherly bond was developing well.

“Then let’s meet again tomorrow,” he said to Yu Chen as he bid him goodnight. “Major Yu Chen, I hope you have sweet dreams tonight.”

“Goodnight, Your Highness.”

Yu Chen really couldn’t stay any longer, so he saluted and took his leave.

At exactly midnight, during the peak time for depression, Yu Chen’s star network account, which had been silent for days, suddenly had a new post—

【Lan: From now on, every morning when I wake up, I’ll throw a punch at the air, not for any reason, just to punch this world.】

Yun Xunlan woke up the next morning and, while changing into formal attire, heard his light brain remind him that a special person he was following had updated their homepage. That’s when he saw Yu Chen’s post.

After reading it, he was quite surprised, not understanding what had triggered Yu Chen after he had left his palace in good spirits.

The system was also shocked: “Oh my, why does he want to fight the world now? This is bad; I’m in trouble!”

Even Fu Yanxi, who usually didn’t get along with Yu Chen and would always come to pick a fight whenever Yu Chen posted something new, and who viewed Yu Chen as his arch-nemesis, didn’t mock him this time. Instead, he commented below: 【Forever protecting the Third Prince: I can understand you, sigh…】

There was also a comment from a stranger that Yun Xunlan had never seen before: 【Third Prince’s Longan: I can understand you too, sigh…】

Looking at these comments, Yun Xunlan felt a bit at a loss: “Why can they all understand Yu Chen, but I can’t?”

The thoughts of a future close friend were understood by rivals and others, yet he, as a future good brother, couldn’t comprehend them. How could their friendship develop like this?

Furrowing his brows, Yun Xunlan changed into his formal attire but didn’t leave the palace. He sat on the edge of his bed and carefully discussed with the system.

“Yu Chen is introverted, and he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. We can’t guess what’s on his mind, and there’s a chance we might guess wrong like last time.” The system suggested, “Why not find another introverted person to ask? Get to know what these introverted folks are thinking.”

Yun Xunlan nodded: “Okay, I know who to ask.”

Of course, he would ask his other good brother—Jian Wenxi.

When it comes to introversion, no one could surpass Jian Wenxi.

How introverted was he?

His home had no living people, only mechanical servants; he had to wear gloves when going out to prevent skin contact with humans; he hardly answered any phone calls or video calls, and he couldn’t handle being in the same vicinity as more than ten people. If that happened, he would likely faint on the spot and have his light brain summon an unmanned intelligent ambulance to drag him away.

The reason the gunman could quickly lock onto Jian Wenxi during the auction attack was that they thought only someone like Jian Wenxi would stop running and hide when faced with a crowd.

Yun Xunlan also thought that perhaps he had spent too much time with Jian Wenxi, which was why he initially felt that Yu Chen wasn’t introverted.

But the world was so big; it was impossible for every introverted person to behave exactly the same way. While their behaviors might not be identical, there must be some commonalities.

Coincidentally, Jian Wenxi would be attending the banquet tonight, so he could take the opportunity to consult him. Once he understood the common traits of all introverted personalities, he would likely be able to accurately decipher Yu Chen’s thoughts.

And because he was preoccupied with this matter, even though tonight’s banquet was his coming-of-age celebration, Yun Xunlan didn’t focus too much on himself. He kept checking his light brain from time to time—

[Yun Xunlan: Wenxi, where are you?]

[Jian Wenxi: On Yuhai Avenue, I should be there in about ten minutes.]

[Yun Xunlan: Okay, I’ll go meet you at the entrance.]

That was what he said, but in reality, as the main character of this grand banquet, Yun Xunlan had just left Yun Xinguang’s side, stepping out of the social circle of high-ranking officials and business elites from the Galactic Empire, the Daybreak Empire, and the Nebula Federation. He had barely found a less crowded spot to send a message to Jian Wenxi when he was suddenly surrounded by a group of young and beautiful omegas from wealthy families.

But this situation was actually understandable. Among the main members of the Galactic Empire’s royal family, the Crown Prince Yun Xinguang held political power, the Second Prince and the Emperor jointly held military power, while the Third Prince Yun Xunlan had neither political nor military power and couldn’t make any decisions. Thus, in the eyes of high-ranking officials from various countries, his main value was left with marriage alliances.

Moreover, the Third Prince was tall and handsome, even if he couldn’t marry as the Third Prince’s consort, having a brief romantic encounter with him would still be a gain. Therefore, regardless of family directives, these omegas did everything they could to get close to the silver-haired alpha.

If it weren’t for Ni Chun and the Imperial Guard Major Loti, who was disguised as the second attendant, Yun Xunlan would probably have been whisked away by this group of omegas.

He was also fortunate that he wasn’t the center of attention at the banquet like Yun Xinguang, who was busy chatting with officials from the Daybreak Empire and the Nebula Federation, otherwise, even with Ni Chun and Major Loti’s help, it would have been difficult for him to escape to the entrance of the banquet hall.

“Ah, our Third Prince is really popular…”

Guilan, who was also from the Imperial Guard and disguised as a banquet attendant, first sighed at the scene, then turned to Loti, who was able to stay close to Yun Xunlan, feeling a bit sour: “Why do I have to be 188 cm tall? If I were only 175 cm, I could stay by the Third Prince’s side like Loti. This height is really unlucky.”

Fu Yanxi, who was nearby, also expressed his jealousy: “Who says it isn’t? This damn 192 cm height has ruined me!”

Unluckily, he was grouped with these two envious guys, while Yu Chen, who was 195 cm tall, remained silent: “…”

“Yu Chen, why have you been so quiet? Have you been in so much pain that you can’t speak?” Fu Yanxi and Guilan seemed to be competing in their melancholy, trying to drag Yu Chen into their sadness. “Well, you’re even taller than us, no wonder you’re in so much pain.”

Yu Chen’s expression was cold: “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Don’t force it.” Fu Yanxi sighed, “Today we are all sad people in the same boat. Even if you cry, we won’t laugh at you.”

Guilan nodded: “We will only cry with you.”

Fu Yanxi quickly clarified: “I wouldn’t go that far; you can go cry with him.”

“Are you sick?” Yu Chen frowned. “Don’t drag me into your madness.”

Fu Yanxi shook his head and clicked his tongue: “Sigh, you just care too much about your image and suffer for it, still trying to hold on.”

Guilan chimed in: “Yeah, didn’t you post a sad late-night update last night? We all saw it; holding on won’t help.”

Hearing this, and connecting it to what these two had said earlier, Yu Chen finally understood. He asked, “Do you think I posted that update because I can’t stand next to the Third Prince today?”

Fu Yanxi retorted: “Then what else could it be?”

The security plan for the birthday banquet of the Third Prince had been released the day before. Originally, Commander Dick wanted to assign Yu Chen, who was best suited to withstand the prince’s pheromone pressure, to follow Yun Xunlan closely. However, Yu Chen’s height and physique didn’t fit the beta image, so they ultimately chose Major Loti, who was more suitable in appearance, to disguise as the second attendant and stay by Yun Xunlan’s side along with Ni Chun. The other guards would mix in with the banquet attendants, keeping a close watch on the surroundings.

When this news came out at noon, the other guards, except for Loti, were enviously howling in jealousy in the afternoon. As for Yu Chen, who “missed” the opportunity to follow the prince closely, he had acted nonchalant during the day but posted a sad update late at night. Now, when he said he was purely feeling sour and it had nothing to do with the Third Prince, who would believe him?

Anyway, Fu Yanxi and Guilan didn’t believe him.

Yu Chen: “……”