ICAWZ Chapter 70

[Di! You have new spending!]

[Di! You have new…]

Gaien was originally sitting in the classroom attending class when notifications kept popping up on his wrist terminal. He lowered his gaze to check and realized it was a spending order from Han Yan. Without showing any emotion, he muted the notifications.

The access to that star card was shared between him and Han Yan. Whenever the other party made a purchase using the card, he would receive synchronized notifications.

Male lord spent more than he had anticipated.

Gaien felt the need to work hard and earn more money.

The instructor specially hired by the military stood on the podium, passionately delivering a lecture on war theory. Gaien, immersed in writing, wasn’t taking notes on the lecture but was instead composing an internship application report.

At the Bardell Military Academy, all students would be assigned to military positions upon graduation. Although Gaien still had some time before completing his studies, he had already self-taught all the courses. By applying for an internship at the military through the instructional director, he could avoid staying on campus every day.

The students around were unable to resist stealing glances at Gaien. He had always been like an invisible zerg in the class, with a low presence. He remained indifferent to sarcastic remarks, appearing unsociable and unpopular.

On the first day of class after his marriage leave, everyone expected Gaien to look weary. After all, how could there be a male zerg who liked such a lifeless female zerg? However, Gaien’s condition was as normal as it could be. His demeanor was even less melancholic than before, and the colors of the zerg markings on the back of his neck were vibrant, evidently well-nourished by the male zerg.

It’s truly baffling.

Those female zergs withdrew their gazes one after another, their minds filled with confusion. Could it be that the male zerg of the Admon family have such a peculiar taste, specifically preferring Gaien’s seemingly lifeless appearance?

They felt somewhat disgruntled but didn’t take any action. After all, Gaien was a Crown Prince, and at most, they would exchange a few mocking words. However, he always responded with a numb and indifferent attitude, eventually making them feel it wasn’t worth the effort.

Last time, the young master of the Durant family did kick Gaien’s leg, forcing him to annul the marriage. However, he suffered quite a beating from the Seventh Prince, Yusto, and at this point, no one dared to provoke Gaien.

As the bell for the end of the class rang, Gaien had just finished his internship application report. He got up from his seat and limped out of the classroom.

There was an electronic display screen on the corridor walls, listing the names of the top one hundred female zergs in the grade before the exams. Yusto ranked first, and Gaien was second. These two brothers consistently excelled in their studies, always securing the top positions. However, due to Yusto’s frequent failures in cooking class, he usually ranked second, with Gaien often claiming the first spot.

However, since Gaien’s right leg became disabled, preventing him from participating in physical education classes, his ranking slipped from first to second and remained unchanged.

“…”

Gaien stared at the grade column for a moment, contemplating something. After a while, he withdrew his gaze and limped towards the director’s office.

On the other side, Han Yan had already rented the office building he had set his eyes on earlier. He also purchased a bunch of office supplies, and the desks and chairs were fully equipped. The dozens of holocomputer they had ordered were expected to arrive in a few days.

Seated in the freshly cleaned office, Han Yan glanced out of the floor-to-ceiling window. The evening darkness had set in, and the neon lights of the towering buildings gradually lit up, illuminating the bustling “people” below.

This was the most prosperous business district on the main star, and even after nightfall, it remained the liveliest.

Han Yan uploaded the carefully drafted job advertisement to the star network. After sitting at his desk for a while, he stood up, walked to the outer area, and said to Johnny, who was wiping the desks and chairs, “Let’s go.”

Today, Han Yan deliberately assigned the most arduous and tiring tasks to Johnny, wanting to test his endurance. He thought Johnny wouldn’t last long, but to his surprise, Johnny gritted his teeth and persevered.

Johnny, sweating profusely from wiping the tables, instinctively looked up and asked, “Where are we going?”

Han Yan lowered his gaze to check the terminal time and replied, “Military Academy.”

“Why are you going to the military academy…” Johnny’s words trailed off as he belatedly realized something, “You’re not thinking of picking up Gaien, are you? The military academy only has weekends off; they usually stay on campus during the week.”

“…”

Han Yan had already reached the door, and at Johnny’s words, he slightly paused, as if touched on something. He remained expressionless, furrowed his brow briefly, and then slowly relaxed. This time, he uttered just two words, calmly saying, “Go home.”

Usually, the four zergs would sit together for meals at home. Today, with Gaien absent, the atmosphere felt strangely off. If Admon had to describe it, he would say it was nerve-wracking and frightening.

Han Yan ate in complete silence. Whether the food on the table was delicious or terrible, he ate it without any change in expression. If he didn’t like something, at most, he would just leave it untouched. He was like a block of ice, devoid of any warmth.

In the past, when Gaien was around, Admon could feel somewhat at ease. Even if they angered Han Yan, at least there was another zerg to help mediate. Now that Gaien was absent, it felt like they were without a talisman for protection.

The table remained eerily quiet, with only the sound of utensils clinking against bowls. Admon resisted his curiosity for a while but couldn’t hold back any longer, finally asking, “Where’s Gaien?”

Han Yan stayed silent, quietly eating his food.

Johnny lifted his head from his bowl and said, “He’s studying at the military academy. He can only come back on weekends.”

Weekends? That meant five days.

Admon felt a bit overwhelmed. Was he really going to live under Han Yan’s low pressure for a whole five days? This was truly too painful.

Perhaps sensing Admon’s thoughts, Han Yan adjusted his glasses and suddenly spoke, “I’ll be staying at the company for the next few days. I won’t be coming home. You guys can handle your own meals; no need to prepare my portion.”

After saying this, he ignored Admon’s surprised expression, stood up, and went upstairs to his room. Johnny, seeing this, followed suit, leaving his meal and telling Admon, “I’ll be helping the boss with the company for the next few days. I won’t be coming back for meals. You can take care of yourself.”

With a staff cafeteria in the company, there was no need for them to cook themselves. Taking advantage of the convenience was a no-brainer for Johnny.

Admon was a bit perplexed and instinctively asked, “Company? What company?”

Johnny, tired from a day’s work and eager to get some rest, waved his hand without looking back, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Starting a company? What kind of company? That was a good question, and Johnny himself didn’t know. He had spent the entire day moving furniture and had no idea what Han Yan was up to.

Han Yan’s company was just getting started, and these days were the busiest. After returning to his room, he sat in front of the holocomputer to start working. Opening his email, he sifted through resumes one by one. Normally, it might be challenging to attract network elites, but Han Yan’s offered salary was quite generous, drawing in quite a few applicants.

Han Yan opened each resume, checked them one by one, and then sent replies to notify them to come for interviews tomorrow. He also sent a prepared proposal to Prince Pei’s inbox before finally wrapping up today’s work.

The night was deep, already reaching ten o’clock. The temperature dropped, and a silent chill permeated the air.

Han Yan sat behind the desk, his fingertips moving slightly. He felt like something was missing in his arms. Lifting his eyelids, his gray-blue eyes gazed at the empty and neatly made bed in the distance—

Usually, at this time, Gaien would carefully spread out the blanket and remind Han Yan that it was time to rest.

Unfortunately, Gaien was still studying at the military academy, so there was no one to remind Han Yan to rest. The spacious room felt eerily empty, unnaturally quiet.

Han Yan, strangely devoid of any sleepiness, sat in his chair, silently lit a cigarette. The white smoke wafted, and the gold-rimmed glasses were veiled in a thin layer of mist, which dissipated shortly after.

His refined brows furrowed slightly, as if contemplating something.

He wanted to explore the unfamiliar feeling deep within his heart, but he couldn’t quite grasp its origin.

Han Yan flicked the cigarette ash, picked up the terminal on the table, and checked for messages. To his surprise, it was empty, so he put it back. However, three seconds later, the white terminal suddenly vibrated twice—

“Ding!”

Gaien, considerate of not disturbing Han Yan’s work, intentionally sent two messages during the time when he assumed Han Yan would be asleep. Two simple messages appeared on the terminal, reflecting Gaien’s usual silent and unsociable nature:

[It’s ten o’clock at night; you should go to sleep.]

[I’ll rush back home on Friday night.]

Gaien had already submitted the internship application today, but it hadn’t been approved yet. He needed to stay at the academy for a few more days before he could go back. Lying alone on his dormitory bed, he felt somewhat uneasy on this night without Han Yan. He kept staring at the time, and as it reached ten o’clock, he finally sent out the pre-edited message.

Han Yan picked up the terminal and stared at the message for a long time. He slowly typed out a line, then deleted it, typed another line, continued to delete it, repeating this process for quite a while. Finally, he edited the reply and gently clicked send.

[Hmm.]

Just one word, as simple as it could be, in line with Han Yan’s usual style.

Gaien stared at the screen for a moment, moved his fingertips lightly, and finally edited a message. He clicked send: [Goodnight.]

After a pause of about three seconds, Han Yan replied: [Goodnight.]

Upon seeing Gaien’s message, Han Yan finally gave up thinking about the earlier question. He extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray, took off his glasses, and went to the bathroom to take a shower. The spray overhead dispersed the nighttime chill, helping him gradually adapt to the solitary night.

In the following days, Han Yan stayed at the company without returning home. He personally recruited a group of highly skilled technical developers and, with the help of Prince Pei’s resources, gathered a batch of network elites. Once the team was formed, the project finally started to make progress.

At the same time, the Durant family and the minister of the Chamber of Commerce, both deceived by Prince Pei, switched to the catering industry, investing a large portion of their wealth. Blissfully unaware, they indulged in dreams of getting rich, oblivious to the traps Han Yan had set for them ahead.

Since the day the banquet ended, Sande hadn’t come to apologize. After all, he was the one who had followed the female zerg into the dressing room with improper intentions. If he were to apologize in person, it would only confirm his guilt, and the Durant family couldn’t afford that kind of embarrassment.

Han Yan knew that Sande wouldn’t admit fault. On that day, he intentionally targeted several acupoints on Sande’s back. Male zergs were relatively weak, and it was enough to make him sore for a week or two.

Having done what he needed to do and set up the necessary traps, on Friday, Han Yan packed up at the company, left early, and returned home. As soon as he entered, he found Gaien sitting on the living room sofa, having returned even earlier than him.

“…”

It seemed like Gaien deliberately sat downstairs waiting for Han Yan. Seeing the male zerg return, he instinctively stood up from the sofa, took two limping steps toward Han Yan, and then slowly halted, softly uttering two words, “My lord…”

His voice carried an unmistakable tenderness and affection.

Han Yan paused at the words, saying nothing. He silently unbuttoned his suit, draped the coat over his arm, and fixed his gaze on Gaien, as if contemplating something. After a moment, he finally spoke in a low voice, “Come here.”

After speaking, Han Yan turned and went upstairs.

Gaien had no choice but to limp along behind him.

Han Yan took a few steps, then casually turned to look back, only to see Gaien struggling to follow. He paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, he turned back and, without warning, bent down to lift Gaien horizontally.

Gaien’s pupils slightly contracted, “My lord?!”

“Hush.”

Han Yan gestured for him to be silent, and he carried him steadily upstairs. The light cast a white glow on the lenses, and he spoke softly, “Father is still at home.”

Gaien had to remain quiet. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly reached out, encircling Han Yan’s neck, and leaned in to carefully sniff near him. It was still the familiar scent of pheromones.

Gaien took the initiative to kiss Han Yan’s cheek. His lips were warm and moist, but not as sweet as the words that were about to be uttered, “My lord,”

He said with sincerity, “I missed you.”

A lot.

Gaien used to think that staying alone in an empty room was nothing, but when he truly experienced it, he found it somewhat unbearable.

Han Yan’s steps paused upon hearing the words, then he resumed walking as usual. He made a nonchalant sound, “Hmm.”

Gaien gently rubbed against Han Yan’s side, and due to his thick eyelashes, a slight itch was caused when they brushed against the skin. His red teardrop mole under his eye looked enchanting, like a seductive and alluring spirit. Suddenly, in a hoarse voice, he asked, “Do you know where I miss you the most?”

Han Yan carried him into the room. With a nudge of his elbow, he closed the door. Placing Gaien steadily on the ground, he embraced him, but instead of loosening his grip around the female zerg’s waist, he tightened it a bit, “Where?”

Gaien gently held Han Yan’s well-defined hand, placing it over his abdomen, where the female zerg’s reproductive organ was located beneath the military uniform. In a soft voice, he said, “I miss you a lot here…”

His figure trembled for a moment, whether out of embarrassment or excitement was unclear.

After his words, Gaien continued to guide Han Yan’s hand, moving it to his chest where something warm was throbbing. He looked up at Han Yan, his eyes resembling two beautiful rubies. His silver-white hair contained no impurities, displaying the purest and most enchanting colors in the world. He whispered, “And here, I miss you the most here.”

It seemed as if he truly wanted to take his heart out to show it to Han Yan.

Upon hearing this, Han Yan abruptly tightened his embrace, pressing Gaien forcefully against the wall. His gray-blue eyes, visible behind the lenses, stared at the female zerg as if observing his own prey. He appeared contemplative, thinking about how to devour him more conveniently later. Absentmindedly, he asked, “Is that so?”

The man’s chilly voice carried a slight huskiness.

Gaien nodded, still remembering the promise he made to Han Yan. He raised his hand to unbutton the platinum-colored buttons on the military uniform, his voice alluring, “Shall I undress for you?”

Gaien continued, “I purposely wore the military uniform today…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a fierce and deep kiss from Han Yan.

Han Yan, in matters like this, always displayed a refined yet ruthless demeanor. He pressed Gaien against the wall, engaging in a passionate kiss, thinking that those who said this female zerg looked lifeless had clearly underestimated him—both the outside world and himself.

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