When Miao Te woke up, it was just dawn, and the entire room was bathed in a soft, simulated glow of early morning sunlight by the AI. Since he had already napped the previous afternoon, he found himself awake at the crack of dawn. Groggy and half-asleep, he rubbed his eyes, and as he moved, the young man lying beside him opened his eyes.
Those dark blue pupils, sharp and intense, snapped open like a startled beast, exuding an intimidating aura that sent chills down one’s spine. But in the next moment, when the drowsy, eye-rubbing youth came into view, that fierce presence subsided.
Major General Taylor’s initially wide-open eyes narrowed halfway, his long lashes lowering softly, and he slowly closed his eyes again, drifting back into a calm slumber.
Still half-asleep, the teenager hadn’t realized that his movements had already woken Taylor once. Rubbing his drowsy eyes, he sat up and stretched lazily. It was only after stretching that he remembered someone was lying next to him. He turned his head and looked.
The Major General was quietly asleep, lying on his side. Half of his face was buried in the soft, snow-white pillow, with his jet-black hair gently splayed across it. The white shirt he wore was partly unbuttoned, revealing the elegant line of his neck and one side of his collarbone, giving off a subtle yet disheveled charm.
Anyone else seeing this might have been struck breathless, heart pounding, and ready to pounce at such an enticing sight.
However, as a straight guy who only liked girls, Miao Te’s first reaction, after groggily glancing at the Major General, was to immediately snap awake in full alertness.
Immediately, his first reaction upon seeing the Major General was to reach back and touch his backside.
He moved cautiously, afraid of pressing too hard and causing himself pain.
After yesterday’s harsh spanking session at the hands of the Major General, his butt had been so sore that he couldn’t stop crying out in pain, losing all sense of dignity. The pain had been unbearable then, and now, after a night’s rest, he was sure the affected area must be swollen and tender—he just didn’t know how many days it would take to heal.
Feeling indignant, Miao Te gently prodded his bruised rear, wincing slightly at the soreness still lingering from the punishment.
Huh? It doesn’t hurt?
Feeling a bit confused, he pressed harder but still didn’t feel much pain. He rubbed his backside again—yeah, there was a slight pain now, but it was very faint, barely noticeable unless pressed firmly. Plus, it didn’t seem swollen at all.
That doesn’t make sense. It was so painful yesterday.
Miao Te rubbed his backside, thinking in confusion.
Unbeknownst to Miao Te, Major General Taylor’s mastery of the human body, down to every muscle and bone, was at an unparalleled level. The spanking techniques he used yesterday, while certainly painful, were designed specifically to sting without causing any real damage, so by today, the soreness had mostly faded.
After mulling it over for a while, Miao Te decided it wasn’t worth the effort to think too hard about it. It’s too early to be fixated on butt-related matters anyway.
He glanced once more at the still-sleeping Major General, then quietly climbed out of bed, thinking he hadn’t disturbed him. As he tiptoed out of the room, he couldn’t help but absentmindedly touch his backside again.
Weird. It doesn’t hurt at all.
Miao Te had no idea that as he thought he was sneaking out quietly, the Major General, lying in bed, had slightly opened his eyes once more.
The Major General’s narrowed phoenix eyes followed Miao Te’s retreating figure, observing as the teenager rubbed his butt on his way out.
The Major General’s lips unconsciously curved into a slight smile.
***
After freshening up, Miao Te headed straight to the kitchen, tinkered around for a while, and finally emerged with his culinary creations, feeling quite satisfied with himself. Just as he stepped out of the kitchen, he bumped into Major General Taylor, who had also just finished getting ready and was coming out.
The two nearly collided head-on, and Miao Te froze for a moment before reflexively flashing a bright smile at the other person.
But the Major General merely glanced at his smiling face with an indifferent expression before looking away. Then his eyes shifted to the items Miao Te was holding.
There was a perfectly pan-fried egg, crispy and golden at the edges, still glistening with drops of fragrant oil.
A small dish of dark-colored meat sauce emitted a rich, spicy aroma, with the strong, tangy scent of chili and pepper assaulting the senses.
A few slices of soft bread, toasted to a perfect golden brown.
And a large fruit sliced into pieces laid out on a white porcelain plate. The milky white flesh glistened with juice, pooling at the bottom of the plate, releasing a sweet, creamy fragrance.
Seeing the Major General’s slight frown, Miao Te’s heart skipped a beat. Fearing that his breakfast would be snatched away and discarded again, he quickly spoke up before the Major General could say anything.
“Look, Major General, I’ve prepared breakfast just for you!”
“…”
Major General Taylor glanced at Miao Te, who was slightly tilting his head up, his dark eyes sparkling as he looked at him.
The Major General didn’t say a word and sat down directly. Seeing his actions, Miao Te felt a surge of joy and hurriedly divided the breakfast in his hands into two portions. Eating less was still better than not eating at all—that’s what he thought.
Major General Taylor sat sideways at the table, his long legs crossed, one hand propped against his cheek. He turned his head slightly, watching the teenager hurriedly slice the bread, insert half of the crispy, tender fried egg, and spread the spicy meat sauce.
As he watched Miao Te’s flustered actions, and for some reason, just seeing the youth bustling around for him lifted his mood a little.
Still, he couldn’t quite understand why this little guy was so fond of these overly strong, spicy foods. Such intense flavors weren’t exactly beneficial to one’s health.
While contemplating how to gently encourage Miao Te to change his eating habits, the Major General picked up his portion of the sandwich. He took a bite, finding the taste surprisingly good, and glanced at Miao Te again.
Miao Te had already finished preparing his portion, and compared to the Major General’s slow, deliberate chewing, his growling stomach had him gulping down his half in just a few bites. After contentedly licking his lips, he picked up a fork and began eating the sliced fruit.
The fruit was sweet, its milky-white flesh juicy with a hint of creamy fragrance. With every bite, droplets of juice inevitably lingered on his lips, prompting Miao Te’s pink tongue to flick out occasionally, licking the remaining juice away.
The creamy sweetness of the fruit balanced out the lingering spiciness in his mouth, and his eyes narrowed in contentment as he happily continued eating, bite after bite.
Miao Te was happily eating when he suddenly noticed that the Major General had been staring at him the whole time. Looking down, he realized that the fruit platter was already empty. He had eaten every single piece, one after another—no wonder the Major General was staring at him; he was probably unhappy about Miao Te hogging all the food.
The last piece of fruit was now skewered on his fork, with a bite already taken out of it.
“Just wait a few minutes, I’ll cut another one—”
“No need.”
The black-haired Major General said this, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the hand Miao Te was holding the fork with. Before Miao Te could react, the Major General had already pulled his hand over.
The Major General lowered his head and, just like that, bit down on the fruit straight from Miao Te’s hand. Right next to the spot where Miao Te had taken a bite, the Major General made another mark. Juice splashed out, staining the corner of his cool-toned, thin lips. Major General Taylor’s gaze fell on the white fruit juice lingering at the corner of the dazed youth’s lips, and he lightly licked the juice from his lips with the tip of his tongue.
“Too much sugar,” the Major General said coolly, but something was flickering in his sharp, narrow eyes—a small, almost imperceptible spark that seemed to burn with an intensity that was both subtle and scorching.
Just as quickly as it appeared, that spark faded, and his deep blue eyes returned to their usual coldness.
After taking that single bite, Taylor stopped and stood up.
“Don’t act on your own.”
He stood, looking down at the teenager from above.
Back on Mia Star, this kid had made the reckless decision to push him into the escape pod while staying behind to face death himself, without his permission. The reason he had punished the teenager was to prevent him from ever doing something like that again.
“You’re not allowed to make that mistake again.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, staring sharply at Miao Te.
“Otherwise…”
The Major General didn’t finish his sentence, but even the unspoken threat was enough to send a shiver down Miao Te’s spine, and he suddenly felt the sting on his backside intensify.
He nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick, eagerly assuring the Major General that he would never make decisions on his own again, never kick the Major General’s backside, and that from now on, he would obediently follow the Major General’s orders without question—if the Major General pointed east, he would never go west.
Then, the Major General reached out and ruffled his hair.
“No more of this tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
Miao Te was about to argue for his breakfast rights, but as soon as he met the Major General’s stern gaze, he clamped his mouth shut and nodded obediently. Of course, deep down, he was already secretly plotting how to sneak in some tasty food behind the Major General’s back.
The Major General ruffled Miao Te’s hair again, then withdrew his hand and turned to leave. But after taking just one step, he stopped and turned back around.
He glanced at the milky white fruit on Miao Te’s fork and said indifferently, “This one’s okay.”
“…”
Why? Didn’t you say it was too much sugar?
***
Once everything had settled down, Miao Te naturally went off to do the work assigned to him. Upon entering the History Research Department, he looked up and let out a sigh of relief.
Just like the first time he came, the group of white-bearded old men were still gathered together, studying an ancient book. To his relief, however, this book wasn’t the same embarrassing n25 “yellow book” from a few days ago. For some reason, the old men had switched to a different book today.
Miao Te glanced up at the hovering screen, quickly scanning the text and images. The worn book appeared to be about various landscapes of Earth. The current page, enlarged on the screen, featured a tattered sea chart of a long, narrow body of water with descriptions underneath.
“…The Red Sea, huh…” he muttered to himself.
“What are you talking about?”
“Whoa—I didn’t say anything!”
Startled by the sudden voice right beside him, Miao Te quickly shook his head, denying it.
The voice had been so close it was practically in his ear. Annoyed, he turned his head to complain, “Why are you talking to me so close—?”
As he turned, he froze for a moment.
Standing before him was a girl in a military uniform, about his height. Her short, fluffy brown hair framed her slightly round face, giving her a doll-like appearance.
The girl tilted her head slightly and gave Miao Te an apologetic smile.
“Ah, I’m so sorry. It’s just that it’s rare to see someone my age, so I got a bit too excited.” She smiled sheepishly. “You’re the new guy, Miao Te, right? Did I scare you? I’ve been waiting to see you for days, and when you suddenly showed up today, I just…”
“Oh, right, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Maya, and Professor Terry is my grandfather.” She extended her hand as she spoke. “Nice to meet you.”
Miao Te shook her hand briefly.
“Great, it’s so nice to finally have someone my age to study with,” Maya said with a bright smile. “I’ve always been learning with my grandfather, and everyone around him is—uh, well, they’re all elders. It’s hard to stay motivated when you’re surrounded by old folks all the time. Now that you’re here, I finally won’t be studying alone.”
Having always studied under her grandfather, everyone around her was much older, and she had almost no friends her age. So when she saw Miao Te, she was genuinely delighted. In her excitement, she couldn’t stop talking.
“What did you just say? I think I heard you mention the ‘Red Sea.’ Do you know about the Red Sea? My grandfather and the others are too busy with their research to teach me. If you know, could you teach me?”
Miao Te scratched his head, looking at Maya’s cheerful face and the eager light in her eyes, and nodded. Besides, his purpose in being here was to gradually demonstrate his knowledge of Earth’s languages and prove his worth, but the old professors’ distrust had so far prevented him from showing his abilities.
Talking with this girl could be a good way to start showcasing his skills. This girl seemed to have a cheerful and easygoing personality, and she treated him very well. He was quite happy to have a friend his age.
And so, the two like-minded young people huddled together, chatting away.
Though Miao Te was careful not to reveal too much, only sharing a small portion of what he knew, to Maya, it was already impressive. This teenager not only knew the pronunciation and spelling of “Red Sea” but also some historical anecdotes, like why it was named that and how it formed—information even her grandfather hadn’t taught her.
“You know so much! Did your family teach you all of this?”
She looked at Miao Te with shining eyes as she spoke.
In the Empire, young people who know a lot about Earth either come from families with such heritage or, like her, have grown up learning from a grandfather who is an expert in ancient Earth culture.
“Uh… My grandfather taught me as well.”
“No wonder you know so much—what’s your family’s surname?”
“Uriel.”
“Uriel… Oh! I remember now. Your family has such a long history; they’ve been around since people first left Earth. It makes sense you’d know so much.” Maya nodded thoughtfully. “My grandfather told me you were just another spoiled noble seeking military achievements without any real skills. Tch, he never even gave you a chance—how would he know what you’re capable of?”
“Um, I’m not just messing around, but Professor Terry doesn’t believe me. Can you help me talk to him?”
“Sure thing, I’ll talk to Grandpa tonight. But how are you going to thank me?”
“Well… I can make Earth-style food. How about I bring some for you tomorrow as a thank-you gift?”
“Really? That sounds amazing!”
***
After dealing with the reports submitted by his subordinates, Major General Taylor sat back in his command seat. As soon as he settled in, a circular metal tray floated swiftly to his side, hovering in the air, holding a steaming cup of tea.
The Major General picked up the tea and took a sip.
He glanced around, and from his elevated position on the command platform, he could see the soldiers below, all focused on their work. The entire hall was silent except for the rhythmic tapping of keys.
After a brief pause, his fingers moved slightly, and with a swift motion, a light screen suddenly appeared on his lower right side, lighting up instantly.
Displayed on the screen was a spacious room.
On the left side, a group of elderly professors with white hair were huddled together in discussion.
On the right, two young individuals—a boy and a girl—sat closely together, almost touching. They were intently watching a screen before them, with the teenager pointing at the display while explaining something. The girl’s eyes sparkled as she nodded enthusiastically, both of them appearing quite happy.
Watching the bright smile that the teenager showed to those around him on the screen, the black-haired Major General’s eyes narrowed slightly.
***
Translated by NightOwll
***