The curious gazes on Jiang Xunyu made him feel disoriented. For a moment, he remembered when he first arrived at the orphanage and was surrounded by people. Someone had shouted “monster,” and the children who had gathered around had scattered, only to return with rocks and wooden sticks in their hands.

The physical wounds had long healed, but Jiang Xunyu would never forget the despair and confusion he had felt back then: he had done nothing, so why did he have to endure such cruel treatment?

Jiang Xunyu closed his eyes, forcing himself not to dwell on the memory.

He gritted his teeth and walked slowly to the front.

….

That night, Ji Yuzhou returned home, and Xiao C hurried over to him. “Mr. Ji, since Xunyu got home, he’s been locking himself in his room, doing homework while crying. You should go check on him!”

Its eyes were glowing red, and its mechanical voice became sharper due to its excitement.

Xiao C’s tone was indeed exaggerated. Ji Yuzhou changed his shoes and followed Xiao C upstairs. When he opened the door, Jiang Xunyu was hunched over the desk, head lowered, writing something. A pile of used draft paper was stacked on the bed behind him.

Ji Yuzhou silently approached and picked up one of the papers. The handwriting was forceful, and some strokes even pierced the paper. There were also scattered dry water stains around the writing, looking like dried tears.

Ji Yuzhou paused for a moment, put the paper down, and walked to Jiang Xunyu’s side. “Are you done?”

Jiang Xunyu froze for a moment. He had been immersed in his own world and only now realized someone was in the room. He instinctively pulled the paper close to his chest, not wanting Ji Yuzhou to see it.

Ji Yuzhou’s hand rested on the desk, his fingers pointing at the homework Jiang Xunyu was trying to hide, frowning. “Don’t hide it.”

Jiang Xunyu relaxed his grip, allowing Ji Yuzhou to take the paper.

Ji Yuzhou glanced at it briefly. It was math.

His gaze flickered in surprise.

Although Jiang Xunyu had left half the questions blank, most of the answers were correct. For a child who had not received formal education, achieving this level was clearly the result of hard work.

Ji Yuzhou placed the homework back on the desk. “The answers are pretty good.”

“Th-thank you, Mr. Ji.”

Jiang Xunyu’s voice was hoarse, almost unable to produce sound. He struggled to say his thanks. Ji Yuzhou had originally thought Xiao C was exaggerating, but now it was clear that Jiang Xunyu had indeed cried and lost control of his emotions.

He propped himself up on the desk and looked down at Jiang Xunyu’s round, curly head. “Why were you crying?”

Jiang Xunyu shook his head through gritted teeth.

He didn’t want to tell Ji Yuzhou that he had embarrassed him.

During his self-introduction, he had gritted his teeth and managed to get his name out, and the class teacher hadn’t pressed him further.

But later, during math class, when the teacher called on people to answer questions, he had been chosen. He had never learned the material, and although he tried to listen carefully, it was as if he was hearing a foreign language.

As expected, he couldn’t answer.

Thinking about this moment again, Jiang Xunyu lowered his head, silently clenching his teeth.

The boy didn’t want to speak, but Ji Yuzhou could probably guess what had happened. He had studied in the corp himself and knew the situation there. Most of the students there performed well academically, and the teachers taught quickly. Jiang Xunyu had never received formal education, so it was normal that he couldn’t understand.

Ji Yuzhou paused for a moment, then pointed at Jiang Xunyu’s homework again. “You missed one possible answer in this problem.”

Standing behind Jiang Xunyu, Ji Yuzhou’s arm lightly circled his body, making it look like he was hugging him.

They were very close. Jiang Xunyu could smell the faint fragrance from Ji Yuzhou’s body, the same scent of shower gel he used, which Jiang Xunyu also used.

The sudden physical contact distracted Jiang Xunyu: “W-What possible answer…?”

Ji Yuzhou picked up a pen, grabbed a piece of scratch paper, and began explaining while writing down the steps: “The range of values for X is…”

Ji Yuzhou’s handwriting flowed smoothly like a stream, and his deep, magnetic voice fell into Jiang Xunyu’s ears. Jiang Xunyu felt an inexplicable flush on his face, his focus slipping as his eyes landed on Ji Yuzhou’s well-defined hands.

Ji Yuzhou cleared his throat softly: “Do you understand?”

Jiang Xunyu snapped back to attention, subconsciously pressing his lips together and nodding: “Yes, I understand.”

“Good,” Ji Yuzhou set down the pen, glanced at him, “Now explain it back to me.”

Jiang Xunyu blinked, a little stunned.

His attention had been distracted by Ji Yuzhou’s hand, and his head felt fuzzy. There was no way he could remember the steps.

“I… I…”

Jiang Xunyu hesitated, looking down and apologizing: “Sorry, Mr. Ji.”

Ji Yuzhou chuckled teasingly: “What were you zoning out about, kid?”

His tone was full of teasing, making Jiang Xunyu’s face flush even more. His tone was less tense than before: “Sorry, Mr. Ji, I was distracted…”

“The Corps just expects passing grades in cultural classes, and there’s still a year left. There’s no need to rush.”

Ji Yuzhou handed the piece of scratch paper back to Jiang Xunyu, straightened up: “If you have any problems with the questions, come to my study. I’ll reserve half an hour for you every night from 9:30 to 10.”

It was only at that moment that Jiang Xunyu belatedly realized what Ji Yuzhou had done. He had personally comforted him, helped him with the problems, and even granted him access to his study… all because he couldn’t keep up with the lessons.

The Commander of the Second Galactic Corps, the youngest General of the Empire, had such a tender side—no one would believe it if they were told.

Ji Yuzhou was so kind that it almost felt unreal. Jiang Xunyu felt like he must have saved the entire galaxy in his past life. He secretly pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“Thank you, Mr. Ji. You’re really a good person,” Jiang Xunyu said with sincerity.

“Good person?” Ji Yuzhou paused in surprise, then slowly closed his eyes.

He remembered the initial reason he had brought Jiang Xunyu home.

“Maybe,” Ji Yuzhou whispered softly, encouraging Jiang Xunyu to continue studying as he left the room.

With a soft “click,” the sound of the door locking filled the air, and the room fell back into quiet, just as it had been before Ji Yuzhou arrived. However, the faint scent that belonged to Ji Yuzhou lingered in the air, refusing to dissipate.

Jiang Xunyu patted his slightly warm face and pulled out the scratch paper Ji Yuzhou had written on earlier.

Using the light from his desk lamp, he carefully copied the contents of the paper, then carefully cut off the part where Ji Yuzhou had written, folded it, and placed it neatly in the bottom drawer of his desk.

As he continued working on his problems, the mathematical symbols that once frustrated him now seemed much more pleasing. Each one was round and cute, like little tadpoles—adorable beyond words.

…..

Later that evening, Ji Yuzhou could not shake the image of Jiang Xunyu’s ocean-blue eyes from his mind. He took a sip of the black coffee on his desk, the bitter, slightly sour taste spreading in his mouth. He tried not to dwell on it and focused on handling the documents in front of him.

Jiang Xunyu was like a weed by the roadside—unnoticeable at first glance, but with a vigorous life force, growing lush and strong. Under Ji Yuzhou’s guidance, he was adapting to life in the Corps at an astonishing speed. Even the head of the military school had praised him in front of Ji Yuzhou more than once.

Although Ji Yuzhou knew there was some exaggeration involved, he was still quite pleased. The child he had chosen couldn’t possibly be bad.

Life was progressing smoothly until… two weeks later.

While Ji Yuzhou was working, he suddenly received a communication request from the head of the school.

He put down his pen and answered the call.

The head of the school sounded flustered, with a hint of hesitation: “General Ji, are you available right now?”

Ji Yuzhou tapped his fingers on the desk and asked, “What’s going on?”

His eyelids twitched involuntarily.

“It’s like this…” The head of the school hurriedly explained, “Xunyu got into a fight with another student in his class. Both of them are now in the hospital. Since you’re his guardian…”

Ji Yuzhou’s brow furrowed, and without letting the head of the school finish, he interrupted: “Which hospital?”

“The First Affiliated Hospital of the Military District.”

“I’ll be there right away.”

He hung up the phone with a dark expression, grabbed his coat from the rack, and quickly left his office.

By the time he arrived at the hospital, both students had already been treated and were sitting in separate beds. Jiang Xunyu had a few bruises on his arm, but there didn’t seem to be any serious injuries. The other student, however, was in much worse condition, wrapped up in layers of bandages, almost unrecognizable.

When the head of the school saw Ji Yuzhou, he hurried over: “I’m so sorry, General Ji, it’s just that…”

“No need for excuses,” Ji Yuzhou cut him off and walked straight to Jiang Xunyu, giving him a once-over from top to bottom. “What happened?”

Jiang Xunyu was still wearing his large hat, his head lowered to avoid Ji Yuzhou’s gaze. He muttered softly, “Sorry, Mr. Ji.”

Ji Yuzhou’s voice was low and firm: “I don’t want to hear an apology.”

Jiang Xunyu’s fingers tightly gripped his clothes, wrinkling them as he hesitated for a moment, then repeated, “Sorry.”

Ji Yuzhou wasn’t used to being in the spotlight. The other student sitting nearby hadn’t recognized him yet and assumed he was Jiang Xunyu’s parent. He quickly began to complain, “He started it, he hit me first!”

Jiang Xunyu turned his head and glared at him fiercely but did not argue back.

The student was still unwilling to give up, continuing, “He suddenly started attacking without a word. Uncle, look at my arms and legs, they’re all bruised!”

While speaking, he showed his injuries to Ji Yuzhou.

Ji Yuzhou frowned and called the head of the school to a quiet spot: “Was there a teacher there at the time?”

“Yes, yes,” the head of the school quickly nodded, “It was our class teacher, Teacher Ran’s class. She’s waiting in the corridor right now.”

“Call her in.”

Soon, a petite woman walked in, and as soon as Jiang Xunyu saw her, he let out a pained moan.

Teacher Ran was holding something vaguely in her hand.