Just look at how tiny the babies are... ?

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Aiden felt that after Carlo graduated and returned, he became more and more mature and thoughtful. He was very considerate of him; when the weather turned cold, he"d always tenderly shelter him in his arms, and when the place they were walking to was a bit far away, he"d worry that he"d get tired, and insist on carrying him. Aiden was happy to be carried. So every evening, on the boulevard near Randy"s house, you could see the scene of a tall alpha carrying his omega and slowly walking along.

Carlo had never expected that after always disliking omegas when he was little for being troublesome and needing someone to take care of them, he"d now feel that no matter how he took care of Aiden, it wasn"t enough. If Aiden just gave a small cough, he"d be worried to death that he was in poor health and he"d get sick again. He hated that he couldn"t have Aiden turn into a cute little palm-sized version of himself, so he could carry him around in his pocket every day, and be together with Aiden at all times.

The two of them dated for a while, attached at the hip, and their relationship naturally advanced by leaps and bounds.

On Christmas Day, the two of them celebrated around the Christmas tree. The atmosphere was great, so Carlo felt bold enough to give Aiden a kiss. The latter didn"t resist, but took the initiative to kiss him back. The two of them held each other and kissed, unwilling to let go. If it wasn"t for the setting not being right, Carlo wouldn"t have been able to hold himself back from marking Aiden on the spot.

After a few days pa.s.sed, it was New Year"s Day. Carlo once again boldly took out a ring, knelt down on one knee in front of Aiden and said, “Aiden, I can feel that I"m in your heart. You should like me too, right? This is my second time proposing to you, do you have the heart to reject me a second time?”

Faced with his shining eyes, Aiden couldn"t help but smile. “How do you know you"re in my heart?”

Carlo said very directly, “Because I carried you, held you, and kissed you, and you weren"t against it, but were very happy instead.”

Aiden found that in front of him, he couldn"t help the corners of his mouth rising. He deliberately hardened his face and said, “Did I? I"ve liked smiling since I was small. It wasn"t because I liked getting closer to you that I smiled, you"re thinking too much.”

Carlo dejectedly dropped his head. “Is that so...and I was thinking you liked me. This just means I haven"t been good enough to you. I"ll do better in the future.”

Hearing his wronged voice, Aiden"s heart finally softened. He put away the thought of bullying him, smiled and rubbed his head. “I haven"t said no.”

Carlo"s eyes suddenly lit up. “What did you say? You...you"re really willing to put this ring on?”

Aiden smiled and reached out his hand. “Help me put it on.”

“...Okay! Then I"ll put it on for you.” Because he was too excited, the hand Carlo had the ring in was trembling slightly. The fingers Aiden stretched out in front of him were slender and fair, beautiful to the extreme. Carlo lightly kissed the back of his hand, and only then managed to calm down. He slid the silver diamond ring onto the ring finger of Aiden"s left hand.

There was a saying from long ago that the ring finger was connected most closely to the heart. By putting a ring there, you could encircle the other person"s heart.

When he saw the ring he had bought sitting on Aiden"s finger, a feeling of satisfaction and pride immediately rose up in his heart, a feeling of “he"s mine now.” He stood up and took Aiden into his arms, saying in excitement, “How wonderful, Aiden, you"ll be my omega from now on. I"ll be good to you.”

Aiden smiled and nodded in his arms, gently tightening his hold.

Maybe this decision was a little impulsive, maybe he still didn"t love him enough, but Aiden felt he would never meet someone better than Carlo in all his life. The painstaking love and care Carlo showed him, the thoughtful and gentle way he cradled him in his hand to protect him, all made him feel safe and warm.

He"d been looking for a suitable partner for all these years. When all was said and done, wasn"t he looking for someone who"d treat him well from the heart?

Now he had found him.

He had been far away past the horizon, yet right under his nose. He was a little clumsy, but very sincere—the Carlo he had known for many years.

If he really had to entrust the rest of his life to someone, Aiden felt that the alpha in front of him was just right.

On New Year"s Day of the year 795, Carlo and Aiden held each other and happily listened to the sound of bells in the Imperial Plaza. Across the capital planet, many families were welcoming the new year amid the sounds of cheers and laughter. No one knew that at the border of the Empire, at the outer rim of the Iswell galaxy, the Glory Corps vanguard had met with a blockade from the Stelan Federation"s Direwolf Corps. Their unmanned aircrafts had been wiped out, and more than half of their mechas were damaged.

To make matters worse, because the vanguard was completely surrounded, communications had also been cut off by the wide-range electromagnetic interference.

In the control room, Major General Jenny frowned tightly. If things went on like this, the vanguard might be completely finished off here!

Today, the Federation enemy troops had suddenly hyperleaped here through a mysterious wormhole, then quickly encircled them and cut off their lines of communication. It was clear that they had planned this in advance. The Empire and the Federation had been experiencing constant friction at their borders for the last few years, but both sides had been relatively peaceful internally, and no large conflicts had broken out at the borders. Because of this, Jenny had been careless. She had never thought that she"d be caught in an enemy ambush.

A man with long hair appeared on the viewscreen. He had on an all-white military uniform and a gentle smile. “Major General Jenny, long time no see. Is your marshal still doing well? He"s probably spending the New Year all alone by himself again, right? How about I wrap you guys up and send you to him as a New Year"s present?”

Jenny clenched her fist tight and slammed it down on the console. She said between gritted teeth, “d.a.m.n! It"s this son of a b.i.t.c.h again!”

The marshal had arranged for Klaire to be Major General Jenny"s student. Recently, he"d been constantly at her side patrolling the front lines. He"d seen the Federation enemy troops many times, but this was his first time seeing the legendary commander of the Federation"s Direwolf Corps, General Mikel.

With one look, you could tell he was a vicious, merciless and extremely sinister man. He had been called the Federation"s evil genius, and it was only this kind of unpredictably changing, all-pervasive, dirty style of combat that had allowed him to contend against Marshal Rosen at the front lines for so many years.

Klaire naturally didn"t have a good opinion of the Empire"s enemy. The Federal general"s image had evidently appeared on the viewscreen because he was controlling the vanguard"s communications signal. If they couldn"t get in contact with the Glory Corps mothership, trying to go up against the Federation"s Direwolf Corps with only one division"s worth of troops was no different from attempting the impossible. Today, they might all be buried in the middle of this vast, obscure universe.

Major General Jenny thought it over calmly, and then moved to Klaire"s side and said softly in his ear, “Klaire, this is a critical time. I have to give you a mission.”

Klaire nodded. “Please say it, Major General.”

Jenny said, “I"ll deal with them here, while you go out back and escape from the emergency exit. Go to the mothership as fast as possible and inform them, and ask the marshal to try to rescue us.”

Klaire stared blankly. Giving such an important task to a new recruit like him didn"t seem quite appropriate, under the circ.u.mstances… But before he could think about it carefully, the major general hit him on the shoulder and said, “Don"t hesitate. As a soldier, you have to obey the orders of your superiors!”

Klaire could only straighten his back and give her a standard salute. “Yes, Ma"am!”

When he drove Bluestar out of the emergency exit, Klaire"s hands were covered with a layer of cold sweat. This wasn"t a scene in a movie he was shooting, but a real battlefield. If he was the slightest bit careless, his life might come to an end here. In the near distance, the numerous white battleships formed a distinct contrast with the black battleships of the Glory Corps. The immense disparity in numbers was enough to make his heart tremble in fear.

Klaire took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He looked at the navigation system on the viewscreen before him and decisively issued Bluestar an order: “Go!”

Although Bluestar had been pretending to be a C-cla.s.s military mecha during this period, his real speed was still more than ten times higher than a C-cla.s.s mecha. Maybe he was influenced by his owner"s focused state of mind, but Bluestar stopped jumping around for once and seriously started up the navigation and flight systems. He turned the power up to the max and flew quickly into the pitch-black universe.

A blue mecha slipped through the battleship encirclement like an agile fish. General Mikel noticed something wasn"t right, and he immediately sent down an order. “Attack at full strength! Don"t let that mecha leave!”

After that, beam after dazzling beam of white light shot out, and explosions sounded one after another.

“Owner, owner! They"re hyper particle cannons! If we"re hit, we"ll definitely be blown to pieces!”

Bluestar jumped up and down in agitation. “Is that Major General Jenny crazy? Why have us complete such a difficult task?! The Federal corps"s encirclement is so dense, I don"t want to be blown to pieces!”

“...Shut up.” Klaire kept his calm and used all his mental strength to pilot Bluestar, dodging left and right and narrowly avoiding the Federal corps"s pincer attack. At a speed too fast for the eye to see, he flew sideways through a gap between two large battleships. Afterwards, he disappeared like a comet from everyone"s sight.

“Who was that?” Mikel looked at the blue dot fading from the viewscreen, and couldn"t help but frown. “His mecha piloting skill is extraordinary. In the Glory Corps vanguard, only Major General Jenny can reach this level...no, even Jenny can"t reach it.” Mikel thoughtfully stroked his chin. “This mecha"s origin is also very suspicious, so that I can"t help but think…”

A brilliant streak of red flashed through his mind. The deputy general at his side couldn"t help but say, “General, are you thinking of the Empire"s former War G.o.d—Phoenix?”

“Yes, besides Marshal Rosen and Major General Ling Yu from back then, there"s very few people in the Empire with this much skill in mecha operation. Back then, it was only Phoenix who could use this high of a speed to break through our encirclement.” After he said this, Mikel"s eyes couldn"t help but narrow. “If I didn"t judge wrongly, that blue mecha from just now should be an S-cla.s.s mecha. If not, how could he break through our encirclement this quickly… An S-cla.s.s mecha, who could it be?”

“As far as I know, Rosen never married, so he wouldn"t have an heir. In the Empire, it"s generally only the heirs of generals who have the qualifications to obtain S-cla.s.s mechas.”

“Could he be the son of a general?” Mikel frowned slightly and waved his hand. “Stop the attack. Take the entire vanguard captive, I want them alive!”

“Mikel, you"re thinking too much.” A handsome man suddenly appeared in the middle of the screen. He was wearing a well-ironed black military uniform, and his expression was hard and cold. He said unhurriedly, “Playing cheap tricks and fighting unpredictably like a guerrilla, don"t you get tired of it after a while?”

Mikel looked blank—he hadn"t expected that Marshal Rosen would arrive this quickly!

“After knowing me for so many years, did you think that I"d send the vanguard to their deaths by leaving them without the slightest defense?” Rosen looked at him calmly, then said blandly, “Look into the distance.”

Mikel immediately opened up the viewscreen to take a look. In the distance, at the periphery of the Federal corps"s encirclement, he saw innumerable black battleships crowded together, slowly approaching them. The golden navigation lights on those battleships were just like the eyes of wild beasts hidden in the jungle, waiting for the chance to pounce.

A layer of cold sweat suddenly formed on Mikel"s palms. He planned a surprise attack to encircle them, but didn"t expect that he"d actually become the prey who walked into a trap!

Rosen said coldly, “I don"t want to start a fight with you today. Let go of Major General Jenny from the vanguard, and I can let you leave.”

Jenny heard his words through the screen that had restored its communications signal, and couldn"t help but say, “Marshal!”

Rosen raised his hand to have her be silent, and continued with Mikel, “Well? Or do you want to die together with the vanguard?”

Actually, seizing the opportunity to blow the three-star general Mikel to pieces would undoubtedly be to everyone"s satisfaction. However, Rosen never did things carelessly. The Empire and the Federation had been relatively at peace for so many years. If he destroyed Mikel today, the Federation"s major five corps would all send out their troops, and it would lead to a full-scale war breaking out between the Empire and the Federation.

He didn"t like war. He had gone through many heart-rending farewells, and in his years on the front line, he had gotten used to death. If Mikel didn"t provoke him, Rosen wouldn"t take the initiative to attack. In the Glory Corps"s defense of the border, they relied mainly on intimidation to deter invasion.

Mikel had dealt with him for many years, and he knew Rosen"s temperament. He immediately smiled and said, “Marshal, you"re joking. Dying together sounds so b.l.o.o.d.y. It"s the New Year, I just came over to say h.e.l.lo.”

As he said that, he gave the order to retreat. The Direwolf Corps"s style really deserved to be called ign.o.ble. In the blink of an eye, they completely retreated with their tail between their legs. Rosen was too lazy to stop them. With a wave of his right hand, he gave the order for the Glory Corps mothership to close in, and then had Major General Jenny and her people board.

When Jenny stepped into the control room, she saw Klaire standing to the side. Rosen looked back at her and said, “You"ve brought up this student of yours pretty well. I saw the whole process of how Klaire broke out of the Federal corps"s enclosure today. At the critical moment, he kept a cool head. His performance was outstanding.”

Jenny smiled, saluted and said, “Yes, Marshal, I was thinking he could graduate already. I don"t have much more to teach him.”

Klaire had a face full of surprise, seeming to say “You"re playing with me.” He looked at Jenny, and then looked at the marshal.

Rosen gave a rare smile and patted Klaire on the shoulder. He said, “I knew beforehand that Mikel would set up an ambush there. Today, I purposely sent the vanguard there to sit back and wait. Jenny only sent you out to report in order to test your skills. Your father told me that you have a mecha, and I wanted to see your skill in piloting it. I"m happy you didn"t disappoint us.”

Klaire smiled and said, “Thank you for the compliment, Marshal!"

Since these words were already said, Klaire immediately understood that though the danger had seemed extreme, since the marshal dared to let him go out to test himself, he must have still had a card up his sleeve. If his Bluestar really did get blown up, he supposed the marshal would have personally rode into battle in his war-G.o.d mecha to save him.

It really was a false alarm. So after surviving that disaster, could he expect good fortune to come?

Just as he was thinking that, he heard the marshal say, “Starting today, you"re with me. I"ll personally teach you the skills for command.”

Overjoyed, Klaire immediately saluted and said, “Yes, Marshal!”

This little New Year"s episode soon spread to the capital planet. The media trumpeted the story of how Klaire broke through the Federal corps"s encirclement in his mecha. As it was repeated, the story grew more and more and more miraculous, until Klaire practically became a genius.

Although Xi Wei stayed in the palace, he went online every day, and he followed the empire"s news closely. When he learned about this, he couldn"t help sending Klaire a message out of worry. “I saw the news saying you broke through the Federal corps"s encirclement alone in your mecha. You"re okay, right? It sounded really dangerous!”

But the strange thing was, he didn"t receive a reply within seconds this time, but had to wait until late at night until one came. “I"m fine, the marshal just wanted to give an opportunity for actual combat. I"ve been really busy lately, and haven"t had the time to check messages. How about you? What are you up to?”

Xi Wei smiled and said, “Me? I"m just a big old lazybones. Oh right, I"m going to my little sister"s wedding in a few days.”

“Princess Sia? She"s getting married?”

Xi Wei said, “That"s right, she"ll be nineteen years old after New Year"s. Her wedding date"s long since been set. After New Year"s, I"ll send her over. You know her health hasn"t been good since she was small. I really feel a little reluctant to send her to such a faraway place.”

Klaire couldn"t help but smile. Xi Wei had really gotten used to being a big brother. He was even reluctant to send his little sister off to be married, what was he going to do when his own wedding day came?

“Who"s your sister going to marry? Have you met the groom?” Klaire asked.

“He"s a rich businessman from the Lyra solar system. He seems to have some connections with the palace, and his family is super wealthy. He was attracted by our reputation and came to propose. Father let him meet with Sia a few times, and she felt the alpha wasn"t bad, so they set an engagement.” When Xi Wei spoke of this, he felt a little indignant. “I think my little sister deserves better.”

Klaire said, “That"s for sure, your sister"s so beautiful, she should match with someone better. But things like feelings can"t be helped, it"s fine as long as she likes him. As a big brother, you shouldn"t be too reluctant to let her go. As long as that alpha is good to your little sister, she"ll be very happy.”

“That"s true, girls always have to be married off when they come of age. When she was little, she was always clinging to me, toddling after me and calling me big brother. Now that she"s grown up and has someone she likes, she doesn"t like to cling to me anymore.” Xi Wei gripped his hair helplessly. He suddenly felt that their conversation sounded a bit like an old couple chatting about their family life, and changed the topic. “That"s right, when are you coming back?”

Klaire"s eyes lit up. “What, are you looking forward to my return?”

Xi Wei flapped his hand impolitely. “No no no, what I mean is, you must have a lot of things to learn from the marshal. Take your time and study. It"s best if you study for five or six years, I"ll wait for you!”

Klaire smiled slightly. Did Xi Wei think his thoughts could escape him? This was obviously Xi Wei using him as a beard, wanting to put off marriage for a few more years.

So he"d better not tell him the news that he was coming back at the end of the year. When the time came, he could give him a nice surprise.

This year, all was quiet in the Empire. Harboring his reluctance, Xi Wei personally escorted the Second Princess Sia to the Lyra solar system for her wedding, bringing Princess Alice"s necklace with him. He smoothly took the mecha the Underground Alliance had developed off of the capital planet, and after it had some work done in the Lyra solar system, he successfully brought it back.

Carlo and Aiden were now officially together. Although they hadn"t married yet, they were attached at the hip, and showed off their PDA daily. Every time Xi Wei went out to eat with them and saw Carlo carrying Aiden on the way, he couldn"t help but complain. “Is this necessary? He"s long since gotten over his illness. It"s a ten-meter distance, what do you need to carry him for!”

And every time, Aiden would smile gently and pat Carlo"s back, expressing that this was his exclusive steed.

Carlo would then smirk cheerfully and say, “I"m happy to carry my wife, what do you care?”

“He"s not even your wife yet, and you"re showing so much PDA!” Xi Wei expressed that single dogs also had human rights, and couldn"t be abused like this!

As it happened, just as the three of them were eating, a tall young man suddenly pushed open the private room"s door and walked in.

He wore the black uniform of the Glory Corps, and the trim outfit gave him the resolute air unique to military men. He had a head of fine golden hair, and a pair of eyes as clear of a blue as the sky. A faint smile hung on his lips. He walked slowly up to Xi Wei, reached out his arms and said, “My prince, it"s been a long time.”

At the side, Carlo and Aiden smirked behind his back. Xi Wei stayed stiffly at the same spot.

The man walked forward a step, and hugged Xi Wei tightly with a smile.

It wasn"t until the moment when he was pulled tightly into his arms that Xi Wei managed to react. He thumped Klaire hard on the shoulder and said in surprise, “Klaire! How come you"re back?”

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It"s interesting, but did you know that "long time no see" is a literal translation of 好久不见? The English expression might originate in Chinese pidgin, hence the weird grammatical structure. So I"m literally translating the Chinese expression to an English expression that came from the Chinese one.

If you like this translation, please consider encouraging me on Ko-fi. Extra chapter for every two ko-fis~ ?

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