The sunlight streamed onto the soft blanket, and Jiang Xunyu hummed as he turned over.

Suddenly, he woke with a start, rolling out of bed. His mind was blank from the sudden movement.

He remembered… he had been working on his assignment at his desk, and he had kept looking at the papers Ji Yuzhou had written. Eventually, he had gotten sleepy and planned to rest his head on the desk for a while. But when he opened his eyes again, it was already broad daylight, and he was no longer at the desk but in his own bed.

The sound of Jiang Xunyu getting up startled Xiao C. Its indicator light glowed, and it flew up to Jiang Xunyu.

“Umm… good morning!”

Jiang Xunyu sat on the bed, staring blankly at the blanket covering him. After a while, he slowly asked, “Xiao C, how…did I end up back in bed last night?”

Xiao C, now fully charged and in startup mode, replied naturally, “Mr. Ji carried you back.”

Its tone made it sound like the most ordinary thing, but Jiang Xunyu knew it wasn’t.

Before returning to his room, Jiang Xunyu had already said goodnight to Ji Yuzhou, who had reminded him to go to bed early… but in the end, Ji Yuzhou caught him and even carried him back to bed.

The most critical part was that his desk had been cleaned up, which meant that the things he had been secretly keeping—Ji Yinzhou’s handwritten notes—had been discovered.

Jiang Xunyu lowered his eyelids, and his face slowly turned pale.

He had lied to Ji Yunzhou, saying he would go to bed right away, and had secretly hidden his belongings without permission. Lying and hiding things, regardless of the reason or the size of the matter, were absolutely prohibited in the Corps. Moreover, the person involved was the highly ranked Corps Commander.

Jiang Xunyu slowly got dressed and finished washing up, gently opening the door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“Good morning.”

Ji Yuzhou’s calm, magnetic voice came through. Jiang Xunyu froze for a moment while closing the door, turned around, and stiffly greeted Ji Yuzhou, “Good morning, Mr. Ji.”

Ji Yuzhou was sitting at the dining table, leisurely watching him.

“Come down.”

Jiang Xunyu walked down and stood in front of Ji Yuzhou, his voice low, “Mr. Ji…”

“What’s wrong?” Ji Yuzhou didn’t lift his head, his tone neutral.

“Last night…”

Jiang Xunyu spoke slowly, trying to find the right words, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn’t come up with anything, so he simply closed his mouth.

Ji Yuzhou saw his reaction and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

He could probably guess what the boy was thinking.

But, honestly, he didn’t mind.

This kid didn’t have so many complicated thoughts; he secretly studied at night just because he wanted to improve quickly, and the things he hid were just a few pieces of scrap paper.

No, in Ji Yuzhou’s eyes, they were scrap paper, but to Jiang Xunyu, they were treasures.

Jiang Xunyu’s entire body was tense, and Ji Yuzhou couldn’t bear to tease him any longer. He said, “If you like my handwriting, I’ll write some specifically for you next time.”

Jiang Xunyu’s eyes brightened suddenly, blinking at Ji Yuzhou like a little animal, “You’re not mad at me…?”

Ji Yuzhou smiled, “You’re just a kid.”

However, there still had to be some discipline. Ji Yuzhou’s tone became a bit more serious, “Next time, let me know in advance if you’re going to study till late, got it?”

Jiang Xunyu quickly nodded, feeling that Ji Yunzhou was truly too good to him.

A small crisis was averted, thanks to Ji Yuzhou’s indulgence.

…..

After a few months of non-stop work on a remote planet, Ji Yuzhou finally had some time to relax at home. After breakfast, he continued to sit at the dining table reading the newspaper.

But it wasn’t the weekend, so Jiang Xunyu still had to go to school.

Jiang Xunyu cleaned up his bowl, put on his backpack, and with his large hood on, he was about to leave. Ji Yuzhou watched his actions, suddenly remembered something, and called out to him.

“Wait.”

Ji Yuzhou walked up to him, “I heard from your teacher that you’ve been wearing the hat at school.”

Jiang Xunyu stiffened, remembering what Ji Yuzhou had said about slowly taking off the hat. He didn’t want Ji Yuzhou to wait too long. He had tried, he had made an effort, but as soon as his fingers touched the brim, his body would tremble uncontrollably.

Then, those painful memories would rush back.

Jiang Xunyu’s voice was dry and strained, “Mm…”

He lowered his head, each word coming out one by one from his throat, “Sorry, Mr. Ji, I… I’ll…”

Ji Yuzhou’s heart softened instantly. He had intended to ask him to take off the hat, but the words didn’t come out. Instead, he hurriedly stopped Jiang Xunyu’s actions, “Don’t force yourself.”

Ji Yuzhou sighed inwardly, his tone gentler, “I just wanted to ask, has anyone, teacher or classmates, bullied you because of it?”

Jiang Xunyu’s fingers gripped the brim of the hat tightly, shaking his head vigorously.

“No… the teachers and classmates are all very nice.”

It was precisely because they were so kind that Jiang Xunyu treasured this moment of calm and feared that, after removing the hat, he might see the cold stares and fear that he had seen in the orphanage.

Ji Yuzhou understood Jiang Xunyu’s concerns. He fell silent again, and for Jiang Xunyu’s sake, he changed his mind.

Psychological barriers weren’t something that could be overcome in a day or two. Besides, Jiang Xunyu wearing the hat didn’t affect anything; he could take it slow.

Ji Yuzhou nodded, personally helping Jiang Xunyu adjust his hat, “Be careful on your way.”

….

Even after leaving the house, Jiang Xunyu still felt dizzy, as if every step he took was on cotton. Ji Yuzhou hadn’t blamed him, even personally adjusting his hat… Jiang Xunyu almost wanted to find a place to scream, but his pride stopped him.

When he arrived at school, just as he sat down at his desk, Shen Qiuyang leaned over, “How was it last night? How did it feel to be personally tutored by General Ji?”

Jiang Xunyu didn’t know how to answer. He lowered his head, pretending he didn’t hear, and opened his bag to put his books in the desk.

Shen Qiuyang wasn’t going to give up easily and kept pestering him, “Come on, tell us, satisfy the curiosity of us common folk! Quick, quick, if you don’t say, I’ll keep bugging you.”

Jiang Xunyu, at his wit’s end, mumbled, “N-nothing special.”

“Tch,” Shen Qiuyang shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with the answer, “That’s too vague. Didn’t anything memorable happen last night?”

Memorable? Was being caught for his little secret and being carried back to bed considered memorable?

Jiang Xunyu’s face heated up, and he lowered his head even further.

Having spent enough time with Jiang Xunyu, Shen Qiuyang could tell from his actions what he was feeling, even if he couldn’t see his expression. He chuckled, just about to continue his “interrogation” when their homeroom teacher entered and shot him a glare.

“Alright, everyone, please stop talking and get into the morning study mode as soon as possible.”

Jiang Xunyu felt like he had been granted amnesty. “Let’s study.”

Shen Qiuyang stopped his teasing just in time.

As the morning study session was about to end, Teacher Ran began her usual summary of the class’s progress, which the students had heard so many times that they could practically recite it themselves. Jiang Xunyu was no exception.

But this time was a little different.

After the summary, Teacher Ran said, “In two weeks, we’ll have our final exams. Everyone should review well. After the results come out, the school will hold a parent-teacher meeting, where your performance in school will be shared with your parents.”

Jiang Xunyu wasn’t too worried about the final exams. Although his foundation was a bit weak, after a semester of hard work, he should have made noticeable progress. But the parent-teacher meeting…

He no longer had parents. Was he supposed to ask Ji Yuzhou to attend?

Given Ji Yuzhou’s position and status, suddenly introducing him as an inexplicable “relative” would probably be difficult to explain.