Ji Yuzhou lowered his eyes and casually pointed to a student in the front row. After the student answered, Ji Yuzhou praised him, then unceremoniously put the gun back and started discussing practical shooting techniques.

Without the gun in sight, Jiang Xunyu’s body quickly stopped shaking, though he still kept his head lowered, not daring to meet Ji Yuzhou’s eyes. Ji Yuzhou seemed to be contemplating something before asking, “Who’s the class leader?”

A boy wearing glasses stood up, “Teacher, it’s me.”

“Mm, you take a few people and bring the guns from the equipment room. We’ll start official practice.” Though Ji Yuzhou was speaking to the class leader, his eyes were still on Jiang Xunyu. As expected, when Jiang Xunyu heard they were going to practice with guns, his body, which had seemed steady before, began to tremble again.

Taking advantage of the time when the students went to fetch the guns, Ji Yuzhou approached Jiang Xunyu quietly, wanting to check what was going on with the kid. About three meters away, he saw the student who had fought with Jiang Xunyu last time.

The student sneered as he saw Ji Yunzhou approaching Jiang Xunyu, “See, I told you, you got in through connections, but I didn’t expect your connection to be the Corp’s Commander. Tsk, pretty impressive to have such a big backer.”

…

Silence. Just silence.

“You better not talk about him!” Jiang Xunyu suddenly flipped out.

Jiang Xunyu’s head was fuzzy after seeing the gun, his blood circulating faster than usual, and with Zuo Xingchang chattering beside him, he just couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed Zuo Xingchang’s collar and pushed him hard.

“Hey! Why are you hitting me?!” Zuo Xingchang stumbled back two steps, immediately raising his voice.

Ji Yuzhou’s expression darkened as he quickly stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Xunyu’s arm. Just at that moment, the class leader entered with a box full of guns, shouting, “Everyone, come help! I brought the photon guns!”

Jiang Xunyu’s body suddenly stiffened, his face turned pale, and he instinctively leaned back. Ji Yuzhou quickly reached out and caught him in his arms.

At this moment, Ji Yuzhou finally saw the expression on Jiang Xunyu’s face. The kid’s face was covered with beads of sweat, his lips white with no color, his eyes tightly shut, seemingly enduring great pain.

Ji Yuzhou didn’t have time to think about anything else, ordering the class leader to manage the class discipline, and then he hurriedly carried Jiang Xunyu out of the training room.

….

At 3:00 PM, at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Military District, Jiang Xunyu was lying in bed with his eyes tightly shut, his brow furrowed in pain, with various monitoring devices attached to his body.

When he was brought to the hospital, his emotions were extremely unstable, so the doctor had to inject him with a sedative.

Jiang Xunyu quickly fell asleep, but it was not a peaceful sleep. He continued to sweat coldly and would occasionally hum quietly.

Ji Yuzhou stood by the bed, frowning as he asked, “What’s going on with him?”

The doctor hesitated for a moment, then replied, “We initially suspect it’s a stress response. We’ll need to do further checks once he wakes up.” He looked at Ji Yuzhou and cautiously asked, “Did he undergo any kind of stimulation before coming here?”

“That seems likely.” So it really was the photon gun? Ji Yuzhou closed his eyes slowly.

He had guessed that the kid was probably afraid of photon guns, but he never imagined it would cause such a strong reaction. If he had known earlier… Well, there was no point thinking about it now. Ji Yuzhou remained silent for a moment, then asked, “What should we do now? Wait for him to wake up?”

The doctor nodded, “Yes, the sedative will last for about one to two hours. Once he wakes up, we can arrange further checks according to his condition.”

“Alright.” Ji Yuzhou nodded and glanced at Jiang Xunyu, who was sleeping uneasily on the bed. The kid’s fingers had somehow gripped onto his shirt, holding it tightly as if it were a lifeline.

The doctor noticed Ji Yuzhou’s gaze and was about to forcibly pull his clothes free, but Ji Yuzhou stopped him, “No need, just let him hold onto it.” He adjusted Jiang Xunyu’s hand so he could comfortably grip the fabric without straining.

The doctor stood awkwardly for a while, then tentatively asked, “Should I step outside for a bit? You can call me with the bell once he wakes up.”

“Mm.” Ji Yuzhou nodded, his gaze still fixed on Jiang Xunyu.

The doctor closed the door, and the room fell into silence. Even Jiang Xunyu’s faint murmurs became clear.

Ji Yuzhou lowered his head slightly and listened closely to Jiang Xunyu’s muttering: “Dad… don’t…”

Dad?

Ji Yuzhou frowned and opened his communicator. He sent an email to the intelligence unit, asking them to investigate Jiang Xunyu’s family situation further. Previously, they had only focused on Jiang Qin, and after learning of his death, they had stopped digging. Now it seemed Jiang Xunyu’s fear of photon guns might be related to his father, Jiang Qin.

Just as Ji Yuzhou pressed the send button, his communicator buzzed urgently, the red indicator light flashing—a sign of an emergency message.

The system had detected an abnormal energy fluctuation at an interstellar jump point, suspected to be the pirate group’s main force, and requested Ji Yuzhou to investigate.

What bad timing… when it rains, it pours

The situation was urgent. Ji Yuzhou glanced at Jiang Xunyu, who was still clutching his shirt tightly. He took off his coat, draped it over him, and strode out of the hospital room.

…..

About an hour later, Jiang Xunyu stirred awake.

His eyes opened to a stark white ceiling. He stared blankly for a moment before realizing where he was.

Memories of what had happened before he passed out came flooding back. Jiang Xunyu suddenly became alert and buried his head in the blanket.

Once again, he had failed to control his emotions and lost his composure in front of Ji Yuzhou.

What had happened that night had left too deep a mark on him. As long as he saw a photon gun, he couldn’t control his body’s reaction. In fact, this time was relatively mild. Before, even just seeing a photon gun on TV could cause him to tremble, feel chest pain, and collapse unconscious.

However this time, as he fell, there was a warm body to catch him. That chest was strong, and in his daze, he could almost feel the steady heartbeat of its owner.

Even now, it seemed as though Ji Yuzhou’s scent still lingered faintly in his nose…

Something felt off. Jiang Xunyu quickly stretched out his hand and found he was still clutching a piece of clothing—Ji Yuzhou’s coat.

Jiang Xunyu had thought Ji Yuzhou would be disappointed in him and that sending him here meant he might never take him back. But to his surprise, Ji Yuzhou had left a coat for him.

The autumn wind howled, rustling the leaves outside the window. In the quiet hospital room, Jiang Xunyu hesitated for a long time before slowly lifting his arm and pressing his cheek against the white military coat.

It carried Ji Yuzhou’s scent, a scent that brought him comfort.

Feeling guilty, Jiang Xunyu took a single sniff before quickly letting go.