Back in the room, Ji Yuzhou stood by the window, looking out, his brow tightly furrowed, unusually upset.

Just now, he had clearly seen that Jiang Xunyu’s eyes were red, yet he stubbornly kept quiet. Since Jiang Xunyu came to his house, he had been obedient, but when it came to this matter, nothing would work on him.

Ji Yuzhou silently gazed out the window for a while, then thought about how Jiang Xunyu had reacted when Teacher Ran entered. It was clear he was afraid of something.

Teacher Ran had been Jiang Xunyu’s homeroom teacher since he enrolled and he had never heard of Jiang Xunyu being afraid of her. The only possibility seemed to be… he was probably afraid of the photon gun in her hand.

Ji Yuzhou took out his own sidearm from his waist and traced its smooth surface under the moonlight.

As a new type of weapon in the interstellar era, the photon gun was small and exquisite, looking more like a delicate home decoration than a military weapon. People who had never seen its power, even three-year-old children, rarely feared it. Furthermore, to ensure safety in teaching, teachers used model guns that were completely harmless.

Under the moonlight, the small photon gun gleamed with metallic luster.

Ji Yuzhou remained silent for a while, then quietly put his gun away and connected to the communication device of the military academy’s head.

The call was quickly answered, and after Ji Yuzhou said something, the person on the other end of the line sounded quite surprised.

….,

The next day, when Jiang Xunyu woke up, Ji Yuzhou was unexpectedly still there. He was sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper. Jiang Xunyu froze for a moment, and just as he was about to lower his head and walk past, Ji Yuzhou called him.

“Xunyu,” Ji Yuzhou clearly sensed that the boy was avoiding him. “Come here.”

Jiang Xunyu shuffled over to Ji Yuzhou’s side, still keeping his head down.

Ji Yuzhou sighed softly and softened his tone, “Does it still hurt?”

“Huh?” Jiang Xunyu was momentarily confused, standing there awkwardly. Ji Yuzhou reached out and grabbed his hand, lifting it up. “Your hand, the one I hit yesterday, does it still hurt?”

The palm of his hand, exposed under the light, made Jiang Xunyu instinctively want to pull it back, but Ji Yuzhou had a firm grip on his wrist. He stood there awkwardly and shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

But the still red and swollen palm couldn’t lie.

Ji Yuzhou let go of his hand. “Still not willing to speak?”

Without the strength of Ji Yuzhou’s grip, Jiang Xunyu quickly hid his hand behind his back. “Mr. Ji, I was just impulsive. You… you can punish me.”

“You little brat,” Ji Yuzhou shook his head helplessly, momentarily dropping the subject. “Come on, let’s have breakfast first.”

During breakfast, the two of them ate peacefully, and neither mentioned what happened the day before. After they finished eating, Ji Yuzhou drove Jiang Xunyu to school and then went back to work. As he approached his office, he saw the head of the school waiting for him.

“Is there something?” Ji Yuzhou opened the door, gesturing for the person to sit down, and casually poured two cups of tea.

The head of the school hurriedly took the tea and, after a moment’s hesitation, cautiously looked at Ji Yuzhou. “General Ji, are you really going to be the instructor for the photon gun training class?”

Ji Yuzhou twirled the teacup in his hand, watching the golden tea swirl inside, clear and bright, reminding him of the boy’s bright eyes.

He was silent for a moment. “What, don’t you trust my shooting skills? I graduated with a major in photon guns, and I even won the individual championship in the interstellar photon gun competition back in the day.”

“How could we not trust you!” The head of the school quickly waved his hand. “Your skills are well known throughout the empire.”

Ji Yuzhou was famous for his precise shooting, and even without any big competitions, if anyone claimed to be better than him, no one would dare say it aloud.

Ji Yuzhou lowered his gaze. “Then, is there a problem?”

Most activity classes were divided into theoretical and practical parts, each taught by different instructors. From what Ji Yuzhou knew, Jiang Xunyu’s class hadn’t found a suitable instructor for the photon gun practical training.

“Not exactly,” the head of the school shook his head, looking at Ji Yuzhou with some curiosity. “It’s just… Why did you suddenly decide to teach?”

Ji Yuzhou smiled lightly, not directly answering the question, and simply said, “It’s interesting, don’t you think?”

Those words left the head of the school speechless.

….

Two weeks later, the first photon gun practical class.

Jiang Xunyu was nervous and sluggishly packing his things, delaying going to the training ground.

“Xunyu!” Suddenly, someone slapped him on the back. “Why haven’t you gone to the training ground yet? Let’s go together.”

After Jiang Xunyu had fought with someone, Teacher Ran had moved them apart. This was Jiang Xunyu’s new deskmate, Shen Qiuyang, who was very outgoing and could chat non-stop even if Jiang Xunyu ignored him.

Jiang Xunyu couldn’t help but think of Xiao C back home. Over time, he had become a bit familiar with Shen Qiuyang.

The inevitable was still coming. Jiang Xunyu nodded and followed Shen Qiuyang out of the classroom.

Shen Qiuyang was brimming with excitement. While walking, he excitedly said to Jiang Xunyu, “Hey, guess what? I heard we’ve got a really big shot for our training class, someone whose shooting is perfect every time.”

Jiang Xunyu didn’t care about who the teacher was; he only wanted to figure out a way to skip the class.

He was genuinely afraid of photon guns. He had seen someone holding one… Jiang Xunyu’s mind wandered as fragments of that moment flashed in his mind, causing a sharp pain in his head.

Shen Qiuyang was still chatting away beside him, and Jiang Xunyu, not wanting to kill his excitement, just mumbled a low “Oh,” trying to brush him off.

They reached the training ground, and most of the students had already arrived. When Jiang Xunyu appeared, Zuo Xingchang, with a malicious smile, came up to him. “Are you excited? You’re about to see your favorite photon gun.”

Jiang Xunyu kept his head down and didn’t respond. Standing next to him, Shen Qiuyang glared at Zuo Xingchang. “Can you stop stirring up trouble?”

Zuo Xingchang snickered, leaning toward Jiang Xunyu’s ear. “Already have a little follower? Tsk, tsk, it’s okay, when the class starts, we’ll get to see that panicked look on your face again.”

Jiang Xunyu’s hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched into a fist, his teeth gritted in anger. He thought of Ji Yuzhou and swallowed his fury.

Zuo Xingchang was about to say more when a sudden commotion near the training ground entrance caught their attention. The noise quickly spread throughout the entire arena, and the chatter grew louder.

Teacher Ran, standing at the side, hurriedly tried to maintain order. “Quiet down, everyone, quiet!”

The effect was minimal.

Shen Qiuyang excitedly nudged Jiang Xunyu. “Hey, hey, hey, the big shot is here.”

Jiang Xunyu wasn’t used to the sudden contact. He instinctively looked up, and there, at the entrance of the training ground, stood a man.

He was wearing a white military uniform, with a serious and distant expression that Jiang Xunyu had never seen before. The training ground was semi-open, and sunlight poured down from above, casting a shadow from the brim of the man’s hat over his face.

The man spoke. “Hello everyone, I am your photon gun practical training instructor. My name is Ji Yuzhou, but you can call me Mr. Ji.”

The large training ground immediately fell silent, as quiet as a pin drop.

It took a long time before a girl from the front row timidly asked, “Are you General Ji…”

Ji Yuzhou interrupted her expressionlessly, “We’re not discussing anything else here. My identity is simply your teacher.”

Teacher Ran, finally realizing, hurriedly introduced Ji Yuzhou to the class, “This is our training instructor. Everyone must listen to him, understand?”

“Mm, just be obedient,” Ji Yuzhou repeated, his gaze scanning the students in the class before it eventually landed on Jiang Xunyu in the corner, with some implication. 

If the kid were more obedient, he wouldn’t have had to come here to be a training instructor.

Jiang Xunyu instinctively lowered his head and tried to avoid eye contact. Why did it have to be Ji Yuzhou as their instructor?

What he feared the most was losing face in front of Ji Yuzhou.

It wasn’t just Jiang Xunyu; Zhuo Xingchang, who was standing nearby, was also shocked. He hadn’t remembered who Ji Yuzhou was, but now that it suddenly clicked, his face turned pale. How could it be that Jiang Xunyu’s relative was the Corps commander?

Even if Jiang Xunyu was reluctant, the training class still began as scheduled.

After Teacher Ran finished briefing the students, she saluted Ji Yuzhou and closed the training room door on her way out.

Ji Yuzhou approached the students, drawing out a gun from his waist, closely observing Jiang Xunyu’s reaction. His voice was calm and steady, “You’ve all learned about the structure of a photon gun in theory class. Now, who can point out the names of each part?”

As expected, when Ji Yuzhou drew the gun, Jiang Xunyu’s eyes instinctively shifted downward. The small movements of the kid were clear to Ji Yuzhou. The body hidden under the large coat and hat was trembling.