Chapter 55: The Admiral’s Confession

After Luo Ran woke up and was accompanied through his rehab sessions by Lucas, he ate a very satisfying bowl of hot porridge. Before, Shen Xiluo had been worried that his body was too weak so his meals had all consisted of nutrient tubes.

The two sat face to face at the dining table, Lucas with a bowl of plain white rice and Luo Ran with a bowl of plain white porridge. It looked quite bleak, so much so that anyone looking at them might wonder if the life of an admiral was really so miserable.

“Admiral!”

They were halfway through their meal when Wang Qiuyang and several other adjutants barged in.

Wang Qiuyang jumped when he saw Luo Ran.

“Knock when you come in next time,” Lucas said.

“Uh, yes…” Wang Qiuyang rubbed his chin with a dry smile. Thankfully he hadn’t interrupted any steamy scenes, otherwise he might be silenced.

Over the course of several expeditions in the past, Lucas and his adjutants had developed the habit of not bothering to knock when they went into their rooms.But now that the admiral’s Secretary Luo was here… hehehe.

“What’re you in a hurry for?” Lucas ticked up an eyebrow. “Going to give birth?”

Wang Qiuyang went closer. “Sir, it’s not good, the pirates went to Luobing’s east district.”

“East district?” Luo Ran frowned. “The UNK mines?”

“Yes!” Freeman replied. “According to the projected route given by our scouts, their goal should be the UNK mine.”

There were two UNK mines which had been discovered and excavated thus far: one was on M4 which had been destroyed, and the other was on Luobing, close to a spaceport. If pirates wanted to raid it, there was a good chance that they would succeed.

“They’ve really gone crazy, are they trying to gamble their last hand?” Lucas sneered.

“Sir, we can’t let them take Luobing’s mines so easily,” Luo Ran said. “What arrangements are there on Luobing’s side?”

Freeman reported, “They’ve already requested help from the Empire, but His Highness the First Prince said to let Major General Mokka take the lead, and we should go back to the capital to rest.”

“Rest?” Lucas laughed in anger.

“Damn!” Wang Qiuyang snorted coldly. “The first prince is a maggot blinded by profit! For the sake of his little benefits, can he even give up the mine!”

“It’s not a little benefits, it’s a lot,” Freeman corrected him.

If the research into UNK continued, then as the leader, the first prince would naturally earn a lot; and if he then succeeded the throne, his contribution to the economy and the sciences would be a big advantage.

“Okay! Stop talking about the royal family,” Lucas said, waving his hand. “Go get ready, we don’t care about whatever orders they give! Tell Major General Mokka not to bother, we’re going straight there!”

“Yes sir!”

After the adjutants left, Lucas shovelled in the rest of the rice, then looked over to Luo Ran who’d already finished his food. “Since there’s still a bit of time, I’ll take you outside to take a walk.”

“Yes…? Are we going to patrol the camp?” Luo Ran asked.

“Just taking a walk.”

“…Purely a walk?” Luo Ran frowned ever so slightly. He didn’t understand why Lucas wanted to do such a meaningless thing with him. It would have made sense if they were going to an amusement park to relax like during his vacation, but now…?

“The scenery on Phainon is pretty good, and there’s a famous chocolate factory here,” Lucas said proudly. “I checked.”

“Okay.”

Just to see the scenery and eat chocolate…

This was too weird. There weren’t any objectives or anything, it was completely unlike Lucas’ usual style.

But since Lucas wanted to go, he might as well keep him company.

The two left the battleship and transferred to a hovercar.

* * *

The hovercar soon arrived at the chocolate factory. Luo Ran glanced at the plain and monotonous square factory, paused, then his gaze slid to Lucas.

“I’ll go and buy some for you.”

“Okay.”

Five minutes later.

As Lucas boarded the hovercar, he tossed a bag of chocolates at Luo Ran. “Done, there’s one of every type.”

He said it as if checking in while on a mission.

Someone who didn’t know what was going on would think he was conducting an investigation.

Luo Ran opened the bag mechanically, and started eating mechanically.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Next stop.” Lucas opened his terminal and frowned. “Phainon’s great tree, it’ll take ten minutes.”

Luo Ran: “…”

Luo Ran felt that something was wrong. He leaned closer to take a look at the terminal.

“What are you looking at! Sit properly!” Lucas reacted very quickly and hid the screen.

But Luo Ran had managed to catch a glimpse of the first line.

Luo Ran: “…”

[Phainon’s Romantic Getaway for Two! The 10 Best Places for Couples!]

Luo Ran: “……”

Was he crazy or was Lucas crazy.

Luo Ran hugged the chocolates and nestled in the hovercar’s cushioned seats, his face so red that it burned.

Chunks of dark chocolate liquor melted in his mouth, and its bittersweet taste stung on his tongue.

He clearly had a good capacity for alcohol, but now this little piece of chocolate was so potent that he felt dizzy.

No wonder, no wonder when he woke up, Lucas had been so… strange.

Can it be…

No, why?

Luo Ran felt a string in his mind snap.

Why…!

What kind of development is this!

“Does it taste good?” Seeing Luo Ran’s face turn red, Lucas stretched out a hand curiously. “Give me one too.”

Luo Ran clutched at the bag. “It’s good. I-I’m sorry, the last piece of chocolate liquor I ate.”

Lucas: “…”

Lucas rubbed his nose and said, “Did you see it, the terminal?”

“No.” Luo Ran immediately shook his head.

“Then we’ll go to Phainon’s tree now?” Lucas asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No need, I think we should go back…” Luo Ran, not daring to look at Lucas, lowered his head. He very much resembled a ripe apple right now.

Lucas smiled, then completely ignored his opinion.

Phainon’s tree, like the Empire’s tree of marriage, was a remnant from the time of ancient Earth. It too stood tall and unwavering throughout the ages, and so it became another symbol of romance.

It’s just that the one in the capital had people seeking marriage, while this one was for lovers wishing for a good life together.

Once the two got off the hovercar, Lucas followed the guide and bought a ribbon from a nearby stall, wrote his and Luo Ran’s names on it, and hung it on a branch.

“Task complete,” Lucas said stiffly. “Next stop.”

Luo Ran: “…”

“Okay.”

With Lucas being so stilted, it relieved a lot of Luo Ran’s embarrassment.

Just endure it for today, he thought, I’ll just pretend I don’t know what he’s doing.

Anyways, Lucas was the one who made this ‘date’ into a mission.

* * *

For the next stop, Lucas took Luo Ran to an open, remote space. The barren and flat land stretched as far as the eye could see, without a single blade of grass, but the sky above glowed with beautifully psychedelic colours. Unlike the plain night sky of the capital, the sky here was more like a painter’s colour palette, with purple, pink, and blue nebulae slowly drifting overhead as if in a dream.

“What’s going on?” Lucas frowned as he looked out the window at this quiet scene. “Didn’t they say you can see meteor showers at this time?”

He’d wanted to make the hovercar AI turn on the candlelights on the ship when the meteors fell, then he could take out roses and confess his love to Luo Ran.

He’d already practised his confession script.

99 roses to represent my dedication, a sky of meteors to represent my sincerity! Meteors may be fleeting, but my love for you will never change!

I like you, be with me!

This was what he found on the internet, and Lucas was very satisfied with it.

Luo Ran smiled dryly. “Maybe we missed it.”

“No way, right? Wait a bit more.” Lucas glared upwards.

Luo Ran reluctantly waited with him.

After a while.

“Admiral.” Luo Ran hesitated, then opened his mouth again. “Are you…”

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

Half an hour later.

Lucas thumped the window frame angrily. “The internet is full of liars.”

Luo Ran could only lean back on his seat and close his eyes to rest in preparation for the next battle.

They waited for a long time until it was clear that it truly wasn’t happening before Lucas indignantly brought Luo Ran back.

He also shot a fierce glare towards the sky as he left.

Luo Ran: “…”

Luo Ran let out a relieved breath.

—— XXX ——

Upon returning to the battleship, everything had been prepared, and their fleet was ready to leave M4 and chase the pirates down to Luobing’s frontier town.

They were about to take off. Luo Ran, eager to avoid Lucas, said, “Sir, I’ll go check on Lion One’s progress, I’ll see if it’s fixed yet.”

Then he slipped away.

Lucas wanted to follow, but he had to go to the bridge to set their route, so he could only let him go for now.

Luo Ran soon arrived at the repair hangar.

People came and went within the hangar, and they were all there for Lion 01; after all, the big guy was really complicated to repair.

“Secretary Luo, you’re here.” The leader of the mechanics was a male alpha about the same age as Xia Zhi who looked very scholarly, and was currently looking through some papers.

“We’ve troubled you, Mr. Qi,” Luo Ran said, knowing exactly how difficult Lion 01 was to work on.

“No trouble, it’s my honour to work on the ‘wife’ of the Empire’s god of war,” Mechanic Qi Wen smiled at Luo Ran, and then, as if thinking of something, hurriedly added, “I mean the concubine, please don’t mind, Secretary Luo.”*

“…” Luo Ran didn’t want to speak.

He turned to look at Lion 01. The big guy looked a little cramped here; its exposed parts and circuits where its arm had been cut off had already been repaired, but the new arm hadn’t been installed yet.

The arm was currently placed nearby. “The new parts need to be painted after they’re finished, but that would make Lion One’s old and new colours uneven, so we’re planning to simply repaint the whole thing,” Qi Wen said.

Luo Ran nodded.

With a smiling glance at Luo Ran, he continued, “The admiral came to see me personally yesterday, to tell me to use Lion One’s original colour, since that’s his lucky colour.”

Luo Ran stiffened.

Qi Wen looked back at Lion 01 and said with emotion, “Lion Origin and Admiral Alton fell in battle a long time ago. When Lion One was just made, wasn’t that the second year you were the admiral’s secretary? Your relationship hasn’t changed for so many years, I really admire it.”

Luo Ran was frozen in place. After a moment, he asked, “Lion One’s colour… is it really because of my hair? It isn’t a coincidence? It wasn’t the mecha master’s decision?”

“Huh?” Qi Wen frowned lightly, then asked in a surprised tone, “You don’t know?”

Seeing Luo Ran’s expression, Qi Wen hesitated, then explained helplessly, “That year, I was fortunate enough to accompany my teacher during Lion One’s design phase. When they were discussing its colour, my teacher asked for the admiral’s opinion, and after he thought for a while, he said to use the same colour as your hair.”

Luo Ran lost the ability to speak.

“My teacher specially brought me to look at your hair, and it really was beautiful. My teacher was very excited, he drew out the whole design as soon as he got back.” Qi Wen couldn’t resist taking another peek at Luo Ran’s long hair.

At the time, his hair was only shoulder length, it wasn’t nearly as long as now.

“Luo Ran!”

Upon turning, Luo Ran saw Lucas, who’d finished his official duties, striding towards him.

Qi Wen tactfully left.

Luo Ran was still a little unbalanced.

Things were going way beyond his cognition.

“Let’s go, you’re still not fully recovered, go back and rest.” Lucas grabbed Luo Ran’s wrist and dragged him back to his office.

The moment they stepped into the room, they saw the window light up.

Lucas was taken aback.

It was a meteor.

It turned out that they hadn’t missed it, tonight’s meteor shower was just delayed.

Countless bright lights streaked across the sky, trailing their dazzling tails.

Meteors fell like rain.

Luo Ran was rather surprised.

Watching meteors on a battleship in space was a completely different experience from watching it on-planet.

More beautiful, more shocking. In his trance, it seemed like the meteors were right in front of him, like he could touch them if only he stretched out his hand.

He could vaguely see an outline of the rocks within the meteors’ glow, but this hardly detracted from their beauty.

“Luo Ran, when I left on this expedition, I said that I had something to say to you,” Lucas said.

Luo Ran nodded. “Yes.”

Bang!

Lucas abruptly pressed Luo Ran against the window, caging him in his arms.

Luo Ran’s hands were raised above his head into a posture of absolute surrender, with no way to escape.

It made him feel both nervous and embarrassed, though he’d experienced this pose many times before.

“Admiral,” Luo Ran whispered, “let go…”

“It’s a bit late now, and not what I planned. However…” Lucas paused, then looked straight at Luo Ran, a little nervous.

The distance between them was close, very close, so close that their noses were about to touch.

* * *

Bang–!

“Sir! We’re ready to leave!” Wang Qiuyang shouted as he crashed in along with a large group of officers. “Us brothers are just waiting for you to go to the bridge and give the order! Admiral… eh?”

“…”

The most terrifying thing was silence.

Wang Qiuyang stared blankly at Lucas who was pressing Luo Ran against the window.

Oh, he thought, I’m done for.

Fuck.

“Wang. Qiu. Yang.” Lucas looked like a god of death.

Luo Ran thanked heaven, thanked earth, and thanked Wang Qiuyang. He broke free from Lucas’ restraint and smiled widely at the adjutant. “It’s nothing, you can say it.”

Wang Qiuyang: “…”

If the madam wanted the minister to die, the minister couldn’t not die.*

Greeting death like an old friend, he said, “It’s just…”

“You shut up!”

Unexpectedly, Lucas interrupted him. He smirked at Luo Ran. “Fuck! You think I’m too scared to say it with them around?! I’m saying it today even if lightning splits the battleship apart around us!”

With dread building in his heart, Luo Ran turned on his heel and ran away.

Lucas immediately chased after him, and with a sonorous and powerful voice, shouted at the top of his lungs, “Luo Ran! I like you, everything I did today was to tell you, I like you! Not the ‘like’ between a boss and employee, it’s the ‘like’ like I want to mark you! It doesn’t matter if you’re a beta or omega!”

Luo Ran: “…”

“Luo Ran, can you be my wife?”

Luo Ran: “…..”

Luo Ran ran faster, running straight out the office.

“Stop right there!”

Lucas chased him outside. “Or you can be the husband, I don’t care!

“Luo Ran!

“I like you, did you hear me?!”

The entire audience gasped.

Oh, gods.

It’s a wonderful love.

Footnotes:
1. Concubine [小老婆]: lit. little wife; contrasts with 大老婆 (lit. big wife), which refers to the official wife. Dates from the days when a man was allowed multiple wives.
2. If the madam wanted the minister to die, the minister couldn’t not die [夫人要臣死，臣不得不死]: a play on the phrase 君要臣死，臣不得不死, meaning ‘if the lord wants the minister to die, the minister must die’, mainly expressing that the minister/subordinate should be loyal. Based on Confucius’ writings so you know it’s to enforce class/status; the following phrase is 父要子亡，子不得不亡, meaning ‘if a father wants his son to die, the son must die’.