☆ Chapter 4

The journey from the Central Star District to the Violet Star District took a day by spaceship, and Ling Shaoze had booked a luxury suite.

By the time he boarded the ship, it was already dinner time, so Ling Shaoze headed to the restaurant to eat.

Although nutrient solutions were convenient, they could never compare to the deliciousness of the real food. Given the choice, of course, proper meals were better.

Ling Shaoze was strikingly handsome — an arrogant, flamboyant, and exquisitely beautiful young man with a slender, perfectly proportioned figure. As he walked through, he drew countless stunned glances from both men and women alike.

He was just considering whether to find a handsome older guy on the ship to hang out with for the next few days of travel…

But as soon as he stepped into the restaurant, he spotted a familiar figure. Sitting at a table directly facing the entrance, eating dinner — wasn’t that the same Y-gege he had just had a passionate night with last night?

What the hell — why was he here?!

At the same moment Ling Shaoze noticed He Yi, having just finished his meal, happened to look up and glanced in his direction.

When their eyes met, He Yi didn’t seem surprised at all. That cold and sharp yet handsome face even gave Ling Shaoze a faint, barely noticeable smile.

Not many people could make the Marshal smile.

But Ling Shaoze didn’t feel honored at all. His face darkened instantly, and he suddenly felt his waist aching and his legs going weak—any thoughts of finding a new handsome guy on the ship were completely gone.

He quickly stopped in his tracks, turned around, and headed back to the accommodation area. After all, he could order room service if necessary — and if worse came to worst, he still had backup nutrient solutions in his space ring.

However, he had barely taken a few steps when his shoulder was effortlessly pulled into an embrace from behind by a man nearly a head taller than him.

The man’s deep and indifferent voice brushed against his ear as he spoke softly, “Xiao Ze, what a coincidence. We meet again.”

Last night, after learning his full name, this man had decided that calling him by his full name was too formal. He’d even forced out of him that his family called him “Xiao Ze,” and promptly started using the name himself.

But Ling Shaoze didn’t believe for a second that this trip — a spur-of-the-moment decision to take a tour to the Violet Star — could just coincidentally lead to running into this guy again.

There was no doubt in his mind — after getting his private communication number, this guy must’ve found a way to track his whereabouts and had even chased him down!

Ling Shaoze twisted his body, trying to break free from the man’s embrace, but found that he couldn’t.

He had no choice but to lower his voice and growl angrily, “Coincidence my ass. You’re clearly doing this on purpose. What exactly do you want?”

He Yi didn’t respond directly.

He had, in fact, been monitoring Ling Shaoze’s movements.

The moment he found out the boy was leaving the Imperial Capital Star, he had rushed to wrap up his urgent military affairs, dumped the rest onto his subordinates, and went on leave.

He hadn’t taken a proper break in over twenty years — he’d accumulated nearly two years’ worth of unused leave. Now that the Zerg had been dealt with, if not now, then when?

Training subordinates and disciplining new recruits didn’t hold a candle to training and disciplining his soon-to-be little spouse.

He Yi moved his arm from the boy’s shoulder to his hand, his large, calloused hand — rough from years of holding guns — gently squeezed Ling Shaoze’s pale, delicate fingertips — the sensation was quite satisfying.

He pulled the boy toward the restaurant. “Besides nutrient solutions, you haven’t eaten anything today, right? I ordered you a nutritional set meal.”

He Yi paused, then added meaningfully, “As for other matters — we’ll talk after you’ve eaten.”

Ling Shaoze didn’t want to cause a scene in public. Even though he was frustrated and resistant, he could only let himself be dragged back to the restaurant obediently.

Ling Shaoze knew he wasn’t a match for this man physically anyway — better to fill his stomach first and regain his strength before arguing with him.

Soon, the robot server brought over the nutritional set He Yi had ordered.

All the dishes were mild, nourishing, and easy to digest.

Ling Shaoze liked spicy food and bold flavors. But in his previous life, he’d had a weak body, and his family had been very strict about his diet. He’d rarely gotten the chance to eat what he liked, and was forced instead to consume bland, healthy meals every day.

The moment he saw the plates being brought out, his expression twisted in disgust. “I don’t want this. I want spicy chicken, boiled beef in chill oil, braised pork ribs, roast duck…”

He Yi frowned and refused. “You can have those later. Your body’s not in great shape right now — it’s best to eat something light.”

Ling Shaoze wanted to say he was perfectly fine and could eat whatever he damn well pleased…

However, after the exhausting night before, even with the highly effective medication of the interstellar era, Ling Shaoze was still experiencing some mild aftereffects — his waist was still sore, and down there was slightly uncomfortable too.

Though he had started thinking about scouting out a new handsome guy, it was more about having a companion for the upcoming tour — he hadn’t planned on doing anything tonight. His body still needed at least another two days of rest.

Left with no choice, Ling Shaoze shot He Yi a fierce glare and began eating the nutritional meal, clearly reluctant.

And honestly, despite being on the lighter side in terms of flavor, the food was actually quite delicious — many of the ingredients were things he’d never even had before.

Ling Shaoze quickly got immersed in the food and forgot that the man sitting across from him was yesterday’s charming “handsome gege,” and today’s super annoying “that guy.”

A satisfied smile crept across the boy’s face, which still had a hint of baby fat, and even the little tuft of hair sticking up on his head gave a happy wiggle.

So. Damn. Cute.

Marshal He Yi’s aging-but-still-very-alive heart went biu~, struck right in the center, and he barely held back the urge to reach out and pat the boy’s head.

After sipping some chicken soup, the boy’s naturally pink lips turned glistening and glossy…

They looked especially delicious.

He Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, forcing himself to look away.

Ever since this old Iron tree had “bloomed,” it now wanted to “bloom” every day.

But the flowers weren’t willing.

He Yi had no choice but to suppress the raging desire in his heart.

After Ling Shaoze finished eating, the internally tormented older man finally couldn’t resist. He pulled out a handkerchief from his space button, intending to help the boy wipe his mouth.

Ling Shaoze’s peach blossom eyes widened in alarm. He dodged his head to the side, snatched the handkerchief from the man’s hand, wiped his mouth himself, then stuffed the now-greasy cloth back into He Yi’s hand and got up to leave.

He Yi calmly folded the handkerchief and quickly followed.

Back in the luxury cabin section, Ling Shaoze finally realized — this man’s room was right next to his own.

He didn’t really dare talk to this man inside a room — in case the last night’s “events” decided to repeat themselves.

Seeing that the hallway was empty, he crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and looked up at the man two meters away. “Maybe I wasn’t clear enough last night, and you misunderstood. So let me make myself perfectly clear—”

He Yi took two steps closer, placing one hand against the wall above Ling Shaoze’s shoulder in a textbook kabe-don move. His gaze lowered, locking intently onto the boy’s softly moving lips: “Mm, go ahead.”

Ling Shaoze instantly felt the pressure skyrocket: …How the hell was he supposed to talk like this?!

After spending a short but very intimate amount of time together, Ling Shaoze had learned one thing — trying to rely on his physical strength to get away from this man was hopeless. If he tried to dodge now, the guy would probably just grab and hold him tight on the spot.

Y-gege really was ridiculously handsome — that face looked like it had been meticulously sculpted by the gods: sharp, striking, and dangerously attractive…

Up close, it was pure visual devastation.

And it wasn’t just the face — the man’s body was also top-tier. Total alpha material. The absolute dreamboat in the gay scene.

Aside from needing to unlock a few more skills and level up a bit, he was practically perfect.

And honestly, Ling Shaoze was fine with that. He himself was still a total newbie — if he ended up with someone whose skillset was maxed out, wouldn’t he just get completely wrecked?

If this man hadn’t insisted on making him take responsibility, Ling Shaoze honestly wouldn’t have minded enjoying a few more wonderful nights with him.

Ling Shaoze’s thoughts drifted for a while before he steeled himself and said, “The world is so big — I want to go have fun … oh, I mean, see it. I’m not ready to settle down. I don’t intend to look for a stable, monogamous relationship. What happened last night was just an accident — it’s in the past, and if we meet again, let’s pretend we don’t know each other.”

That was basically the ultimate f-boy declaration!

He Yi had already ordered someone to look into Ling Shaoze’s background, but the report hadn’t come in yet.

From their previous interactions, however, it was already obvious that the boy had a more casual, free-spirited attitude toward these things — otherwise, he wouldn’t have thrown himself into He Yi’s arms the very first night they met.

But even knowing that, He Yi still couldn’t suppress the surge of anger those words stirred in him. He had the sudden urge to drag the boy away, lock him up, and make sure he could never leave again…

The overwhelming possessiveness that flared up so suddenly even startled He Yi himself.

He closed his eyes, telling himself he couldn’t do that.

Besides, even if he locked the boy away, his heart wouldn’t belong to him — in fact, whatever fondness Ling Shaoze might feel now would turn into hatred…

And that was the last thing He Yi wanted.

He stared at Ling Shaoze for a long moment, his eyes dark and unreadable.

Ling Shaoze noticed the man’s expression turning more and more vicious and terrifying — to the point that his legs nearly gave out. God help me — what kind of monster did I provoke?!

Just when Ling Shaoze was trembling with anxiety, half convinced the man was about to strangle him on the spot, the hand He Yi had braced on the wall beside him suddenly withdrew, restoring the two-meter distance between them.

He Yi said coldly, “If you don’t want to take responsibility, I can’t force you. But I’m not someone who gives up easily — I’ve already decided to see you as my future partner. That’s not a mindset I can just change overnight. For the next two years… no, one year—don’t let me find out you’ve slept with anyone else. If you do, I’ll break that person’s legs. I’m not bluffing — I mean what I say.”

One year. If he still couldn’t win the boy’s heart after that, then… he would let him go.

After delivering this completely deranged threat, He Yi noticed Ling Shaoze had turned pale with fright. He softened his tone a little and added, “Don’t worry. I’ve got money. I’ll pay for any medical bills or emotional damages.”

Unfortunately, that only terrified Ling Shaoze even more.

He turned around, used the smart light brain on his wrist to unlock the door to his luxury cabin, rushed inside, and slammed the door shut with a loud BANG.

Like a frightened little bunny, startled by a hunter’s gunshot, scrambling back to its burrow.

He Yi: So cute. I want to…

But all he could do was want.

He’d clearly scared the boy too much. The little guy probably never wanted to see his face again.

Feeling a little frustrated, He Yi thought: Looks like I’ll have to find another way to get close to him.

Inside the locked cabin, Ling Shaoze curled up under the covers, trembling.

How to be a carefree flirt who glides through a sea of lovers without leaving a trace?
Step one: never mess with an unhinged man you can’t handle!

Ling Shaoze now fully understood this principle.

He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Eventually, he pulled up the contact labeled “Y” from his blacklist, changed the name to “Pervert Y,” and sent him a text:

“Hmph. One year, fine. But will you actually stick to your word?”

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Author’s Note:
Little red envelopes for twenty lucky readers, prioritized for those who actually comment something meaningful. Love you, muah! (*╯3╰)~

T/n: New Chapter is up! Even though it’s looking a bit terrifying but don’t worry, our ML is a soldier. Though a bit possessive (very i mean😒😮‍💨🫣🤦), he’s a principled guy. He wouldn’t cross any boundaries he shouldn’t So follow along freely, the journey has just started 💕🤣. You can support the original author here. If you’re enjoying what I’m doing you can buy me a Ko-fi. Happy Reading 🎉😀.