When Miao Te stumbled out of the bedroom, half-asleep, he heard the sound of water running from the bathroom.
Taking a shower this early in the morning, the Major General’s cleanliness obsession was no joke.
As he thought about this, he glanced over and saw the door to the room across from him open. The lights inside flickered faintly—it was the training room where he had suffered his ‘ten times gravity’ ordeal.
The diamond-shaped display at the door still showed the record of its last user.
Ten times gravity, for one hour.
Yep, that’s very much like the Major General.
The teenager quickly turned his head away.
That high-density muscle and perfect physique were not achieved by lying around. Though Miao Te envied it, he knew if he tried to train like the Major General, his body would probably give out long before any muscles appeared.
Before long, the Major General emerged from the bathroom. Without even looking at him, he headed straight back to the bedroom.
Miao Te felt a bit disappointed. Despite living with the Major General for several days now, he had never seen him shirtless. He was curious—he wanted to see if the Major General’s perfect physique included the legendary eight-pack abs he’d only heard about.
Clicking his tongue, he walked into the washroom filled with warm steam and began freshening up.
When he returned to the bedroom after washing up, Major General Taylor was almost fully dressed, only missing his black belt.
As soon as he walked in, he heard the Major General give an order.
“Bring it over.”
Major General Taylor spoke as he fastened the silver metal buttons on the high collar of his uniform.
Miao Te glanced around and spotted the black belt on the table not far from him. He picked it up, walked over, and was just about to hand it to the Major General, but before he could extend his hand, he saw the Major General lift his arms and spread them open.
He paused, noticing that the Major General’s dark blue eyes were fixed on him.
…Did he mean for me to put it on him?
Fine, fine, you’re the Major General, you’re the boss, and I’m the subordinate; putting on a belt is no big deal.
Thinking this, Miao Te looped the black belt around the Major General’s waist. Since he had to go around, he ended up in a near-hugging position, his face almost brushing against the Major General’s chest.
Wow, the Major General has a slim waist.
As he admired this, Miao Te lowered his head and began fastening the belt.
While doing so, he noticed that the belt buckle was right at the Major General’s abdomen, and naturally, his hands were positioned there.
Perfect opportunity.
With this thought, he subtly brushed the back of his hand against Major General’s abs, pretending it was unintentional.
The moment his hand brushed past, the Major General, who had been slightly lowering his gaze to watch the fluffy black head of the teenager in front of him, narrowed his eyes, a faint, sharp smile forming at the corners.
Damn, those abs are rock solid, definitely not just for show!
Satisfied with his curiosity, the teenager snapped the belt buckle shut with a click.
When he looked up, he saw those sharp eyes squinting even narrower at him. His heart skipped a beat, nervous about getting caught in his mischief, but he tried his best to appear nonchalant, his dark eyes looking back innocently.
“All done.”
He looked up at the Major General with a perfectly innocent and obedient expression.
Fortunately, Major General Taylor just stared at him for a while without saying anything, then turned around and pulled down the light-colored cloak hanging beside him, fastening the golden cord at the shoulder.
“Clean up.”
The Major General said, his tone devoid of any discernible emotion.
Miao Te gave a soft acknowledgment and walked to the bed, bending over to fold both his and the Major General’s discarded clothes.
There were housekeeping robots for these tasks, but the Major General, for some inexplicable reason, insisted that Miao Te handle his clothes and personal belongings himself.
Maybe he just doesn’t like machines touching his stuff.
The teenager thought as he continued folding the clothes.
While he was tidying up, the Major General’s voice came again.
“How’s the work going?”
“Hm? It’s going well.”
“How are the relationships?”
“Pretty good, everyone treats me well.”
“They’re all quite old, are you getting used to it?”
“…It’s fine.” Miao Te answered casually while thinking about why the Major General was being so talkative today. “Although they’re a bit older and we don’t have much in common, there’s a girl named Maya around my age. We get along well, so don’t worry, Major General, I’m comfortable there. No need to worry about me.”
“Maya?”
“Yeah, not sure if you know her. She’s a lovely girl—kind, lively, and looks after me. She’s been a great help these past few days—oh, right, she was the girl standing next to me at the virtual meeting yesterday.”
“You like her?”
The sudden question caught him off guard.
“Haha, well, Maya’s pretty, has a great personality, and she’s caring—what guy wouldn’t like a girl like that? I’m no different.”
Talking with the Major General felt like chatting with a friend, and Miao Te let his guard down, accidentally saying what was on his mind.
As soon as he finished speaking, he realized his mistake, and his heart skipped a beat.
Damn!
He instantly remembered the persona he had set up for himself.
Sure, most guys would like a cheerful and caring girl like Maya, but he wasn’t supposed to be like most guys—that wasn’t the persona he had crafted for himself. The thought of the Major General discovering his deception made his heart race. Thinking quickly, he tried to cover his tracks.
“Uh, well, Major General, you know, my kind of ‘like’ is different… I mean, it’s like liking a brother—oh, no, more like liking a sister… yeah, like a sister kind of like!”
After stumbling through his explanation, he finally heard the Major General’s response.
Major General Taylor had already fastened the cloak over his shoulder, the golden cord gleaming against the black collar of his uniform under the light.
Major General said, “Oh.”
Then he turned around, the light-colored cloak fluttering with his movement before softly settling on his body.
With a beep, the door closed, and the young Major General’s figure disappeared from the room, leaving the teenager, who had just finished folding clothes, completely lost in the middle of the room.
…So, what exactly does that ‘oh’ mean? Could you give me a clear answer, Major General?!
***
It was already noon.
The teenager rested his head on the light-colored wooden desk, his dark hair spread across it. He lay there, eyes vacant, exhaustion written all over his face.
A cold drink was placed in front of him, the icy glass gently tapping his forehead.
“You’ve worked hard~”
Maya, who had tapped his forehead with the cup, smiled brightly. “Freshly squeezed juice—it’s really good.”
Miao Te raised his head and took the cup.
“Thanks.”
He took a sip, and the cold, sweet-sour juice spread through his mouth, making him smile.
“Mmm, it’s good.”
“Seeing how hard you’ve been working, I even put my share in to make it for you. What’s wrong? You look really tired.”
“…I’m fine.”
He was indeed tired, but more so mentally.
While others were painstakingly deciphering every word, term, and sentence in ancient texts, he was desperately trying to filter out the non-adult-themed parts from a book filled with explicit content.
And leading a group of elderly scholars and a young girl through an adult book study session… The scene was just too much to bear—beyond awkward, it was sheer embarrassment overload!
Miao Te thought, feeling drained.
To be honest, even though he was an adult back on Earth and legally allowed to look at R-rated content, he had spent most of his time in the hospital from age twelve or thirteen onwards, constantly monitored. Even after turning 15, he had never actually been exposed to such material.
And now, he’d gone straight past rated 15 material to explicit N25 content…
After just one morning, the teenager felt like his entire body had been drained.
What made it worse was that the afternoon session was still—to—continue.
Miao Te glanced resentfully at the elderly researchers happily discussing the explicit book nearby… Seriously, making a bright, upright, and pure young man like him read this kind of book—is that really okay?!
While he was pondering excuses to avoid the afternoon session, an urgent beeping filled the room.
Professor Terry stopped his conversation with his colleagues and walked over to the communication station, answering the call.
A holographic screen appeared in front of Professor Terry, showing Lieutenant Colonel Via’s familiar serious expression.
“Professor Terry, new orders are now being issued.” His face remained stern. “Effective immediately, Miao Te Uriel is being transferred from the Historical Research Department to the Strategy Department.”
Professor Terry was taken aback and quickly grew anxious.
“Wait! Lieutenant Colonel Via! Miao Te possesses extensive knowledge—we need his guidance—”
“Professor Terry, this is an order.”
Lieutenant Colonel Via’s tone was icy as he shifted his gaze toward Miao Te.
He said, “Miao Te, report to me immediately.”
With that, he cut the call, and the screen blinked off.
…So that “oh” this morning was because of this?
Miao Te thought silently as he stood up.
“Well, it’s an order, so I need to report to the Strategy Department now.”
Though he didn’t fully understand why Major General Taylor had issued such a transfer or what he was supposed to do in the Strategy Department, he felt somewhat relieved—at least he wouldn’t have to continue the awkward study sessions with Professor Terry.
Professor Terry watched Miao Te stand, his face full of reluctance and displeasure, but he knew that orders from higher up couldn’t be disobeyed. He could only sigh in resignation.
“Does this mean we won’t be able to see each other anymore?”
Maya looked at Miao Te with sad eyes, reluctant to see him go.
She had finally found a friend her age, and now they were being separated so soon. She felt sad.
“Of course not. Even though we won’t be working together, you can come see me anytime during breaks.”
Miao Te smiled and added, “Or I can come visit you.”
Hearing this, the brown-haired girl’s spirits lifted immediately, and she clasped his hand tightly.
“Then it’s a promise. You must come find me!”
“I definitely will.”
Maya let go of his hand and watched Miao Te leave, her eyes filled with reluctance.
As the metal door automatically closed, blocking Miao Te’s figure, she sighed, slumping into her chair, lowering her head as her mood dropped again.
Professor Terry stroked his white beard, glancing between the closed metal door and his unhappy granddaughter, deep in thought.
That night, there was a conversation between the grandfather and granddaughter.
“Maya, are you reluctant to part with Miao Te?”
“What does it matter? He’s already been transferred.”
The girl, who had been listless all day, replied.
“Do you want to be with him all the time?”
“Of course, if we could stay together, that would be great, but it’s not something we can decide.”
“…I see.”
The conversation ended, and Professor Terry watched as his granddaughter gloomily climbed into her top bunk.
He nodded slightly to himself.
He thought he had found a perfect solution.
Professor Terry had always been a bit worried.
His granddaughter constantly talked about how handsome the Major General was, idolizing him so much that she even insisted on boarding the Ishtar flagship with him. Of course, Maya knew her limits—admiration was one thing, and she wasn’t delusional enough to think she’d end up marrying the Major General; she only said she wanted to marry a dashing soldier like him.
But this was something Professor Terry disapproved of.
With wars raging across the stars, a soldier’s life was always at risk. If something happened, what would happen to his granddaughter?
So he had been trying to dissuade Maya from marrying a soldier. But despite his efforts, Maya remained stubborn, insisting she would marry a soldier, leaving Professor Terry distressed.
However, now he felt he could rest easy.
Maya had feelings for Miao Te.
Good.
Miao Te was knowledgeable, young, talented, humble, and polite—he had the skills but wasn’t arrogant. There was no way Maya would be mistreated by him.
Most importantly, given his unique status, he would undoubtedly be stationed in safe locations under strict protection, allowing Maya to live a stable life.
Moreover, from yesterday’s incident, it was clear that Major General Taylor valued Miao Te highly, so he would certainly be well-treated in the future.
And once Miao Te married Maya, he’d become his grandson-in-law—making it much easier to learn from him.
After all, at that point, he’d be his grandfather, right? Hmph, would he dare keep any secrets from his grandfather?
Professor Terry grew more convinced of his plan.
Yes, a good grandson-in-law like this doesn’t come easily; he’d better act fast.
Pulling at his beard, he pondered.
Tomorrow, he’d go talk to Lieutenant Colonel Via, maybe ask him to help set things up… Better yet, he could shamelessly bring it up with Major General Taylor—if he could get the Major General to officiate the wedding, that would be even better!
***
Translated by NightOwll
***
thank you for the chapter!