In Yun Xunlan’s impression, even though he and Mu Xingyu were both royal princes and referred to each other as “brothers,” their relationship couldn’t really be described as close.

Especially since three years ago, when Mu Xingyu joined the Beidou Tianquan Legion and headed to the border battlefield, their meetings had become fewer and fewer. The last time they met was on the anniversary of his father—the late Empress He Chubai of the Empire’s death. Every year on that day, not only would Mu Xingyu return, but his father, Emperor Yun Qihe, would also come back. For three years, without exception.

This year, with nearly five months still to go until his father’s death anniversary, Mu Xingyu had returned early, and during a sensitive period, no less. Upon meeting, he immediately released his pheromones in Yun Xunlan’s territory, making Yun Xunlan think that Mu Xingyu was here to provoke him again. After all, this was something Mu Xingyu had done since childhood.

To the public, Mu Xingyu had few flaws aside from being a flirt with no commitment, but Yun Xunlan knew just how terrible his character was behind the scenes. He usually didn’t hold it against him, considering Mu Xingyu was still younger than him, almost like a grandson.

Who would have thought that this time, Mu Xingyu wasn’t here to provoke him but to give him a birthday gift—

“This is the twenty-five planets I’ve reclaimed over the past three years, each one a pseudo-planet formed from crystal ore fragments.”

Mu Xingyu sat on the bed for a moment before suddenly getting up and walking straight to the sofa, ignoring the standing Yu Chen beside him, and handed Yun Xunlan a transparent cube.

Inside the cube simulated the weightless vacuum environment of space, with a slowly rotating black rock suspended in the center. The surface of the crystal ore constantly refracted dazzling shards of light, resembling a rocky asteroid trapped in the palm of one’s hand.

Holding it, Mu Xingyu said to Yun Xunlan, “Lanlan, happy birthday.”

This gift wasn’t expensive, but its significance was clearly extraordinary. So, Yun Xunlan accepted it with both hands and, using simple words but a sincere tone, thanked him, “Thank you, Brother Emperor.”

After saying this, Yun Xunlan fell silent.

There was no helping it; he and Mu Xingyu really had nothing to talk about.

With the two of them silent, Yu Chen had even less to say, continuing to stand quietly by the side, observing the strange interaction between these royal half-brothers.

In the end, it was Mu Xingyu who broke the silence first: “The second border line is busy with war, I really… couldn’t come on your birthday.”

Yun Xunlan replied softly, “It’s okay.”

“I haven’t been home to see you in almost a year,” Mu Xingyu asked him, “How have you been lately?”

Yun Xunlan nodded, “Pretty good.”

Mu Xingyu’s gaze gradually fell, moving from the red mole at the corner of his silver-haired alpha eyes to Yun Xunlan’s right hand: “The Empress said your hand was injured a few days ago…”

Yun Xunlan extended his hand, pulling up his sleeve to show Mu Xingyu his wrist: “It’s already healed. The second border line is busy with war; Brother Emperor doesn’t need to worry too much about me.”

For a moment, Mu Xingyu had nothing to say.

After listening to their conversation for a while, Yu Chen realized that perhaps it wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t keep up with Yun Xunlan’s words; it was just that no matter who Yun Xunlan spoke to, it was hard for anyone to respond, and even Mu Xingyu, his second brother, was no exception.

But Mu Xingyu’s “determined” personality was fully displayed at this moment. No matter how difficult it was to continue the conversation, he was determined to find a new topic to discuss with Yun Xunlan, and this search led him to Yu Chen.

He fixed his gaze on Yu Chen, as if just noticing that there was a third person in the room: “By the way, Lanlan, why did you bring your guard into your bedroom? Places like the bedroom aren’t suitable for outsiders.”

Suddenly called out, Yu Chen silently agreed in his heart: Yes, yes, I’m an outsider; hurry and let me out.

Yun Xunlan, however, strongly disagreed with Mu Xingyu’s statement.

First of all, Yu Chen was his future good brother, not an outsider.

Secondly, Yun Xunlan had already said that if he wasn’t in a safe area, then even if he was making love, at least one of his guards, including Yu Chen, had to be there to watch. How could that be considered an outsider?

If Yu Chen could watch him make love, then Mu Xingyu, his second brother, wouldn’t even have the chance to watch.

So, Yun Xunlan presented a legitimate reason: “We’re here to catch up on our studies, specifically ‘War Psychology.'”

Mu Xingyu asked, “What kind of class are you catching up on that requires being in the bedroom?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Chen began to think that the second prince’s mouth was truly remarkable; he could ask the questions he wanted to ask just by opening his mouth.

But then Yun Xunlan replied, “Brother Emperor, didn’t I say? We’re catching up on ‘War Psychology.'”

Mu Xingyu: “…”

Yu Chen: “…”

Mu Xingyu also thought Yun Xunlan’s mouth was truly remarkable; every time he opened it, it left him speechless.

However, Mu Xingyu was ultimately a soldier who had been tempered on the battlefield, and with his determined personality, he continued to ask, “If you want to catch up on studies, you should find a tutor. What use is it to find a guard?”

Yun Xunlan told him, “Major Yu Chen graduated with full marks in ‘War Psychology.'”

“War Psychology” with a graduation score of 89 points left Mu Xingyu speechless: “…”

What kind of freak can score full marks in this subject?

Mu Xingyu finally took a good look at Yu Chen.

The first thing he noticed was those deep, ice-blue eyes—this alpha with blue eyes stood in the brilliant light cast by the ceiling lamp, his gaze cold and sharp as he looked back. His tall and sturdy figure loomed beside Yun Xunlan, complemented by his wild, wolf-like black hair, resembling a fierce, untamed lone wolf.

To be honest, the two of them were similar in height and build, and judging by appearance, it was hard to tell who was the top-tier 3S alpha. Yu Chen, with a 2S rank, should have been suppressed by Mu Xingyu, but at this moment, he was able to maintain his composure, calmly meeting Mu Xingyu’s gaze, unaffected by the wave of rosemary pheromones. This indicated that Yu Chen’s resistance to high-level pheromone pressure must also be quite excellent.

No matter how much Mu Xingyu disliked him, he had to admit that Yu Chen, who had stood out from the layers of selection in the Empire’s seven legions to become Yun Xunlan’s first guard, was certainly not an unknown figure.

Perhaps they would meet on the battlefield in the future.

But for now, as long as Yu Chen stood beside Yun Xunlan—at such a close distance—Mu Xingyu couldn’t help but find him displeasing.

After a few seconds of silence, Mu Xingyu once again became Yu Chen’s mouthpiece: “But places like the bedroom aren’t really suitable for studying; the study would be more appropriate.”

Did Yun Xunlan not know that the bedroom wasn’t suitable for studying?

He knew.

In Yun Xunlan’s mind, he had thought that Yu Chen might say this. Now that it was Mu Xingyu saying it, the difference wasn’t much. After all, Yun Xunlan was already prepared for this—

If Yu Chen didn’t mention that studying in the bedroom was inappropriate, then they would study in the bedroom and sleep there afterward.

If Yu Chen did mention it, then they would change locations and go to the study to study.

As the third prince of the Galactic Empire, did he not have a bed to rest on in the study? They could sleep there after finishing their studies.

In short, Yun Xunlan had made up his mind: he was definitely going to sleep with Yu Chen tonight.

“I brought the simulated battlefield helmet into the bedroom.” Yun Xunlan followed Mu Xingyu’s words and walked to the bedroom desk, picking up a silver-gray metal helmet. He turned to Yu Chen with a smile in his eyes and said, “Major Yu Chen, let’s take the simulated battlefield helmet to the study together.”

Yu Chen thought about leaving Yun Xunlan’s bedroom and going to the more suitable study for studying, so he agreed: “Yes, Third Prince.”

Unbeknownst to him, there was another narrower bed waiting for him in the study.

Unfortunately, that bed was placed in the inner room of the study, completely invisible without opening the door.

Yu Chen only saw Yun Xunlan enter the study, then take out textbooks and notebooks, chatting about nothing but studying, to the point where Yu Chen couldn’t help but reflect: Could it be that he was overthinking? Was Yun Xunlan really just looking for him to catch up on studies, with no other intentions?

So, Yu Chen also temporarily calmed down and focused on the task at hand.

He first asked Yun Xunlan, “Your Highness, have you studied this subject with other teachers before?”

“Yes,” Yun Xunlan admitted, “You are my eighth tutor.”

Only the eighth?

That didn’t seem like too many. Yu Chen thought.

But then Yun Xunlan added, “This year.”

Yu Chen: “…”

Yu Chen couldn’t handle this conversation, so he simply skipped the topic and put on the simulated battlefield helmet, saying to Yun Xunlan, “Your Highness, I want to see your performance in actual combat first to assess your situation, and then we can decide on our study plan, okay?”

“Of course,” Yun Xunlan said, also putting on the simulated battlefield helmet.

The course “War Psychology” had become somewhat special since the first border line of the galaxy fell eighteen years ago; its assessment now required the use of a specially designed simulated battlefield helmet.

When the examinee puts on the battlefield helmet, they enter a virtual battlefield.

In this space, the examinee’s other memories are restricted and deliberately blurred; they will only remember their identity as a soldier. All their actions in this virtual battlefield are based on their innate personality, stress response ability, overall psychological quality, and current mental state, resulting in genuine instinctive reactions.

Thus, the assessors can evaluate the examinee’s mental health based on their behavior in the simulated battlefield, preventing the possibility of the examinee concealing any psychological issues, and determining their true willpower and stress tolerance levels; whether they would disobey orders in a high-stress operational environment, abandon their posts, or flee in fear of death, among other issues.

Yu Chen had not spent much time with Yun Xunlan and had limited understanding of him, so arranging a “baseline test” for Yun Xunlan was the quickest way to figure out why he always failed “War Psychology,” struggling to even score 30 points.

However, Yu Chen never expected that this method would yield results in just 30 seconds—

Because in the virtual battlefield, Yun Xunlan actually refused to step outside after hearing the morning assembly call!

He wasn’t asleep; he was fully awake, feeling neither pain nor discomfort, with no injuries or illnesses, yet he simply wouldn’t step outside.

Yu Chen was shocked.

Even the word “shocked” didn’t adequately describe his feelings; “stunned” would be more fitting.

Yun Xunlan wouldn’t even step outside; what was the point of continuing the assessment?

Yu Chen immediately used his authority as the assessor to give himself a commanding officer identity and went to Yun Xunlan’s dormitory to pound on the door, questioning whether he hadn’t heard the assembly call and why he wouldn’t step outside.

Yun Xunlan’s response was: “I will die.”

Yu Chen was puzzled: “Are you very afraid of death?”

Afraid to the point of not daring to step outside?

But Yun Xunlan replied, “I’m not afraid of death, but if I step through this door, I will die.”

Yu Chen was speechless even through the door: “This is a battlefield, not a safe zone. If enemy missiles come, you won’t step outside this door, and you’ll die anyway.”

“Yes, Commander, so when the missiles come, I will definitely step outside.” Yun Xunlan’s voice was calm, revealing no fear or shrinking back, “But right now, without missiles, my chances of dying here are lower than stepping outside, so I can’t go out.”

Yu Chen took two deep breaths to calm his emotions: “So you mean, you’ll only step outside when the missiles come, right?”

Yun Xunlan gave Yu Chen an unexpected answer: “When someone must sacrifice, I will come out, even if I will die, I will definitely come out.”

Yu Chen: “…”

Absurd, too absurd.

Yu Chen no longer wasted words with Yun Xunlan. He lowered his voice and said coldly, “Yun Xunlan, a soldier’s first duty is to obey orders. Now, I command you to step outside immediately and assemble.”

The tightly closed dormitory door was silent.

A few seconds later, Yun Xunlan’s low voice came through: “…Commander, I’m sorry.”