“As long as you’re clean in your heart, don’t worry about what I might do.” Chu Wenyu thought about Lien, whom he brought back to the warship with just a thought. Lien is still safe now, but if Alpha doesn’t act right, it might not stay that way.
However, Chu Wenyu wouldn’t spill the beans about this to Jiang Ling, whom he hasn’t reconciled with yet.
When Jiang Ling heard this, he sensed something was off. Chu Wenyu’s questioning just now seemed serious, as if he had already confirmed someone close to him.
This wasn’t the first time Jiang Ling experienced this. He immediately thought of something.
“Did you check the surveillance on the starship?” he calmly asked.
“Why so tense?” Chu Wenyu indirectly admitted, his tone sounding like he deserved a beating. However, his muted voice still evoked sympathy.
Jiang Ling didn’t press the matter further; indeed, among all the things Chu Wenyu had done, this was just child’s play.
It was a bit amusing, he thought. His tolerance had unconsciously increased. As long as Chu Wenyu didn’t harm innocent people, there was nothing he couldn’t endure for now. However, it did make him more alert.
Nevertheless, Jiang Ling was still contemplating. He should find an opportunity to have an open and honest conversation with Chu Wenyu. He just wasn’t sure if Chu Wenyu’s reaction would align with his expectations.
But, at least, now wasn’t the right time when the other party is feeling wronged and angry. It wasn’t a good time to speak up, and selfishly, Jiang Ling didn’t want to further provoke the situation. Let’s delay it a bit.
The warship quickly returned to Burke Star. Under Chu Wenyu’s instructions, Jiang Ling didn’t encounter any of the ‘acquaintances’ brought back by Chu Wenyu.
The days leaving Burke Star felt like a dream. Waking up, he found himself back in the palace, back within the besieged city.
Everything was as it was.
News had spread that the monarch of Burke Star personally detained the criminal, but nobody knew the identity of the criminal, nor could anyone guess how the monarch would punish him.
Not only did events unfold on Burke Star, but during this time, the monarch of Charles Star had returned with the second prince after performing ancestral rites.
However, it was said that the day after the ancestral rites, the king immediately sent the second prince back to the Holy Dan Academy to continue his studies, perhaps hoping for the son to excel.
This kind of news had nothing to do with Chu Wenyu. In his eyes, Jiang Ling was already a part of Burke Star, no longer belonging to Charles Star. Therefore, when the Charles King contacted him for the first time regarding his eldest son, Chu Wenyu was genuinely surprised.
“How have you been, King Chu?” On the video call, there was the face of Charles, now well past his fifties.
“Everything’s fine, and you, King Charles?” Chu Wenyu’s attitude remained neutral, showing no difference because of Jiang Ling’s relationship.
Certainly, during serious exchanges between the two, with occasional mentions of Jiang Ling, Chu Wenyu felt a subtle thrill.
“Thinking about it, my son has been bothering your Burke Star for quite a while. It has indeed troubled King Chu.” King Charles cautiously brought up.
The implication was clear – he wanted to take his son back.
Chu Wenyu remained unfazed, not picking up on his implication, “Prince Jiang Ling likes it here. As long as I’m around, he can consider Burke Star his second home.”
Chu Wenyu said this without a hint of embarrassment, as if he hadn’t just captured an escaping alpha.
King Charles thought Chu Wenyu was negotiating a price, understanding that taking the person back without offering something in return didn’t align with Burke Star’s interests.
He hadn’t expected that there would be a day when he would consider paying a price to bring Jiang Ling back. Recent events, however, forced him to reconsider.
There is no doubt that Charles attaches great importance to Jiang Qian. SS-level spiritual ability is also rare in the royal family, along with an extremely superior bloodline, so he has long considered his second son as the future heir.
However, after the return from the ancestral rites, he began to doubt this thought because Jiang Qian had not been recognized.
The secret behind this was known only to each reigning king, and he hadn’t revealed it to Jiang Qian yet. But, it made him suddenly think of his eldest son, Jiang Ling, forgotten in an enemy country.
He knew clear as day that Jiang Ling had no spiritual ability and could never inherit the throne. Still, he started contemplating redeeming Jiang Ling back to Charles.
“My eldest prince lacks spiritual ability, and his personality is proud and arrogant. I’m afraid he might bring a lot of trouble to King Chu. It’s better to send him back to Charles Star.”
Chu Wenyu couldn’t understand why this old fox suddenly cared about his abandoned son, but he wouldn’t agree to let him go.
When it came to spiritual ability, it seemed that Charles was genuinely unaware of his eldest son’s strong spiritual talent. With more practice, he might grow into a formidable force. Deep down in his heart, he actually hopes that the rumors were true, that the other party was just an ordinary person without spiritual ability, so he wouldn’t have to constantly worry about him escaping.
“Let’s not beat around the bush, King Chu. You can propose conditions in exchange for Charles’ eldest prince. You should understand how much impact the long residence of the eldest prince in another country would have on a nation’s prestige,” Charles’ proposal was a painful opportunity for Chu Wenyu to make a hefty deal.
Unexpectedly, Chu Wenyu seemed entirely unmoved by the proposal. “There’s no need to discuss this further, King Charles. Rest assured, I will take good care of Prince Jiang Ling,” Chu Wenyu swiftly ended the video call with courtesy.
His mood wasn’t great. Now, not only was the alpha trying to escape, but Charles also posed a threat. Fortunately, it could be resolved. As long as Charles couldn’t touch Burke Star, keeping Jiang Ling by his side forcefully would work.
The crucial factor was Jiang Ling’s attitude.
During Jiang Ling’s absence, the Interstellar Therapist Match had kicked off. In just a few days, due to Jiang Ling’s disappearance, the Warwick team struggled to catch up in points. They were on the verge of elimination in the first round, and the members were getting anxious.
One day, the team captain went to leave a message for Jiang Ling, feeling somewhat discouraged. They had hoped that Jiang Ling’s presence would make a significant difference this year, only to be disappointed at this crucial juncture.
The past chat records still showed messages inquiring about Jiang Ling’s situation. The captain sent another message, not expecting a reply since Jiang Ling hadn’t been responding. To his surprise, Jiang Ling came online.
[Sorry, I had some issues these past few days, so I couldn’t participate in the point matches,] Jiang Ling also felt a little guilty, but he checked the schedule and realized he could still make it.
[What happened?] The captain asked with concern.
Jiang Ling pondered for a moment before answering, [I had a little disagreement with my boyfriend, but it’s fine now.]
[Sorted things out?] The team captain still remembered Jiang Ling’s possessive boyfriend. Some members in their group had predicted that Jiang Ling’s partner’s strong personality might be hard to tolerate, and it seemed their prediction was accurate.
Even though this was his account, the information was very easy for Chu Wenyu to snoop on, so Jiang Ling had no choice but to reply, [Yes, we’ve made up.]
For that person, if he started chatting with others more than usual, it wouldn’t seem normal. There was a chance he might try to find out their chat records. Jiang Ling had to be cautious.
Chu Wenyu’s spiritual strength had some issues, he had actually noticed it back on the warship. However, he was too angry at the time and felt a significant part of it was Chu Wenyu’s own fault, so he chose to ignore it.
Of course, he couldn’t continue to ignore it. Jiang Ling decided to wait for the right moment to treat Chu Wenyu and then be honest about his thoughts. Even if Chu Wenyu couldn’t accept it at first, he wouldn’t feel sorry for him just because he looked pitiful.
Both of them were men, and both were alphas. Sometimes, Jiang Ling didn’t understand where his tenderness towards Chu Wenyu came from, especially when Chu Wenyu’s actual combat strength was even higher than his.
[That’s good. Now, you can participate in the point matches. Warwick is counting on you to turn the tide!] The team captain initially thought the two might have broken up, but as long as it didn’t affect the competition, he was fine with it.
Jiang Ling responded with a simple ‘yes’ before diving into the point matches.
Now, the point matches served as a convenient excuse for him to avoid facing Chu Wenyu all the time.
The preliminary rounds would filter out the top 200 teams, which might not sound too challenging at first. However, the contestant pool wasn’t limited to a specific star system but included therapists from across the entire interstellar community. This expansive base resulted in the majority of teams being eliminated.
Even after brief training improvements, Warwick could only hover around the 200th position. However, ever since Jiang Ling’s profile lit up, the team’s points skyrocketed at an astonishing speed, leaving the displaced teams dumbfounded.
[Is this for real? Can one person really carry a bunch of mediocre teammates like this?]
[Yeah, an individual’s points relative to the whole team are usually negligible. Even for top-tier players who grind day and night, this is just too exaggerated.]
[Could they be cheating?]
The showdown between Jiang Ling and Zheng Ziang had long been forgotten in the ever-evolving internet landscape. The less active Jiang Ling didn’t have much presence in the eyes of the public.
The forum buzzed with gossip, and many of those affected were displeased. It was precisely because of Jiang Ling’s appearance that their team’s ranking was pushed down.
Some busybodies kept a close eye on every match Jiang Ling played, hoping to catch him in the act. However, numerous attempts to report him for irregular behavior in the game were consistently rejected.
This led people to realize that rapid point accumulation was indeed achievable. The competition rules allowed for double points if a PK match concluded within an extremely short timeframe. Initially overlooked by many, this advantage stemmed from the fact that healing matches, unlike mecha battles, didn’t hinge on overpowering opponents instantly. True victory required completing an entire healing process.
And this person truly achieved it.
[Damn, even if his team gets eliminated, I bet he’ll be specially invited by the officials as an individual,] someone sourly remarked.
[But it’s so strange. If I had that kind of skill, I wouldn’t stay anonymous.]
Similar discussions spread across the forums, and many moderately skilled therapists became familiar with this mysterious figure. Of course, Jiang Ling rarely paid attention to these gossips, so he was blissfully unaware.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
