At that moment, fireworks exploded with a bang, and cheers rose from below like waves of the sea.
On the observation deck, Jiang Jianming’s eyes widened.
By the dazzling light of the fireworks, he saw Ryann’s burning eyes.
He wanted to force a smile, but couldn’t.
He only said softly. “Has Your Highness had too much to drink?”
Ryann’s fingers tightened on the railing as he said hoarsely. “I did indeed drink alcohol.”
His long, curled eyelashes fluttered once, then lifted again, “But that was so I could say these things to you, Jiang. I’m very clear-headed.”
“Will you be my lover?”
Jiang Jianming’s heart suddenly ached. He lowered his head and let out a light gasp, feeling as if he had been stabbed. What gushed out was not blood, but endless sorrow.
But my little highness, he thought blankly, my life has little left, while you…
Jiang Jianming pressed his lips together, swallowing the words that almost came out.
He reached out and smoothed Ryann’s long curly hair that had been tousled by the wind.
“Your Highness, your understanding of this world has only just begun. To speak of love now would be unfair to you.”
Ryann gripped his fingers tightly. “I don’t understand.”
Jiang Jianming gazed wistfully at the distant starry sky, “I mean, Your Highness still has a long road ahead. You will meet many, many people, and then discover how vast this world truly is.”
This was the only subtle hint he could give. If he directly said he wouldn’t live long, the person before him would certainly lose his temper.
But these words also cut his throat like razor blades, coating it with a bitterness he shouldn’t have tasted.
“There will be people more outstanding than me, people more suitable than me, and people who can accompany you for longer than I can. Your Highness, you deserve better.”
Jiang Jianming gently gripped Ryann’s hand in return.
It was very warm. His Highness’s temperature was much warmer than his own.
This also meant that when they held hands in the cold winter, it would always be Ryann who got chilled.
If only it were the warm spring season, Jiang Jianming thought as he gazed at Ryann’s features. He was momentarily lost in thought – if they had met in spring…
“Please be patient and wait a little longer. Perhaps decades from now, on a holiday, Your Highness will be holding your partner’s hand and remember one night many years ago, when a disabled human said these words to you.”
“At that time, you will remember me fondly, but no longer love me.”
“Perhaps?” Ryann frowned.
“As long as you agree now, there will be no ‘perhaps’.”
Jiang Jianming remained silent.
The young ruler seemed a bit urgent. He stepped forward and gripped the disabled human’s shoulders, “I know what you’re worried about. Don’t think about it. You don’t need to think about all that messy nonsense.”
“I accept the unfairness.”
“I’ll bear all the consequences.”
“I’ll sweep away all obstacles.”
“I just want to love you now,” Ryann embraced Jiang Jianming’s thin back, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he said hoarsely, “I want to… kiss you.”
He lowered his head, touching his forehead to that of the person in his arms, nuzzling and entangling like a small beast. His eyes were moist and bright, “May I?”
“…”
Jiang Jianming opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t – Ryann’s thumb suddenly pressed against his lips.
“Don’t.”
Perhaps sensing something from the disabled human’s expression, Ryann refused to hear that answer. He said softly. “Don’t say it now.”
…Jiang Jianming closed his eyes, feeling the thumb’s skin lingering on his lips.
By his ear was a low, suppressed voice. The youth’s breath was heavier and more rapid than usual, faintly brushing against his eyelids.
“There are still a few months until my coming of age. I’m just giving you advance notice. You don’t need to answer now.”
“The next battle will be against Woll. By my calculations, the timing is just right.”
Ryann nuzzled Jiang Jianming’s nose tip again, restraining his molten-hot desire deep within his words, “After the triumphant return, I’ll say it to you again. You can answer then.”
Having said this, the youth reluctantly withdrew. The cold winter night wind dispersed the warmth between them.
Jiang Jianming shivered.
He felt a sense of bewilderment and fear growing in his heart.
This was completely different from what he had imagined years ago.
When Ryann first kissed him, although he was startled to the point of losing composure, he truly felt that Ryann was just a young cub.
Despite having the strange power to instantly slaughter hundreds, his nature was straightforward and pure. So easy to deceive, and to frighten.
Later, Ryann told him that he had spent his childhood in the Gray Owl laboratory and the palace of Yongle Garden.
Jiang Jianming immediately understood – those were not places for humans to live.
So he once thought that after two or three years of properly raising the young cub by his side, Ryann would lose that kind of interest in him.
Now, several years had passed. Ryann had indeed matured quite a bit, changing from a little monster into a somewhat presentable young ruler.
But their relationship grew closer with each passing day. Ryann never showed such intense attachment and desire towards anyone else.
Jiang Jianming began to feel afraid. He feared that His Highness truly loved him.
He feared that there really would be such a holiday decades from now, when Ryann was no longer an innocent, unrestrained little monster, but a man who had experienced the vicissitudes of life.
A man who still loved him.
By then, the east wind would herald spring, and songs would fill the air.
The man would pass through the dazzling lights, searching and seeking through the celebrating crowds. He would be looking for him, wanting to say “I love you” again, wanting to act spoiled and ask for a light kiss.
Or perhaps just to intertwine their fingers, to nuzzle close, to steal a moment of time in each other’s gaze.
But he would already be dead.
Many years earlier, when the man was still a youth.
****
Time waits for no one. The wild celebrations of victory on Blue Mother Star lasted only one night. When Zone A was once again illuminated by the sun, the army had already regathered.
Because the uprising on Blue Mother Star had been conducted in secrecy, and the revolt happened so quickly that the other side surrendered before it developed into a starship battle, the Empire had not yet realized something had happened on Blue Mother Star. They were seizing this gap in information.
“Blue Mother Star lacks resources after all, and cannot serve as a base for the uprising. Moreover, with its large civilian population, once an interstellar battle begins, it would be easy to become constrained.”
Jiang Jianming’s finger moved, marking a red symbol on the three-dimensional star map. “We need to take Woll.”
Woll Star City was located in the Empire’s secondary star system. It was rich in resources, and right next to it was Eden Star City, known as the “Great Granary”. The cosmic environment made it difficult to defend but easy to attack. The only issue was frequent invasions by alien life forms, which was why it had long been called the Great Wall of the Frontier.
“Tsk, you really dare to say it…”
Lin Ge crossed her legs, frowning as she glared at the star map. “Dawn, this place won’t be easy to take, right?”
“That’s why this is our only chance. The rebel army can only hope to contend with the Empire if we secure a foothold in Woll Star City.”
Jiang Jianming quickly glanced at Ryann beside him with his peripheral vision. “This is also His Highness’s intention.”
Tang Ren scratched his head in difficulty. “But Your Highness, none of us have any real experience commanding a starship battle. If we directly attack a major star city, who will lead the troops?”
“I will.”
“I will.”
Ryann and Jiang Jianming spoke in unison.
“……”
In an instant, no one in the meeting room dared to speak.
“…” Ryann’s lips tightened, his fingers pressing against his temple, clearly a bit intimidated as well.
A few seconds later, he closed his eyes and took a breath, forcing himself to put on an air of authority. “Aslan, you’re not going on this trip. Stay behind and guard Blue Mother Star for us.”
Jiang Jianming’s expression turned cold. “If we can take Woll Star City, that will be the rebel army’s future headquarters. What would I do staying on Blue Mother Star?”
Ryann laughed in extreme anger. “Do you have any sense at all? Your body can’t handle the front lines. Woll is crawling with alien life forms. Do you have a death wish?”
“Your Highness, I don’t lack the resolve to die wrapped in horsehide.”
“You-!”
“Hey, hey, hey…”
Seeing that the two were about to argue, Lin Ge hurriedly steeled herself to mediate, “Dawn, listen to me. Communication projections are so convenient now, you can command the fleet from the rear too. Stay on Blue Mother Star to recover first. In a year or two, when the situation in Woll settles and the alien life forms are expelled, we’ll come get you, okay?”
But she also knew these were just empty words.
The battlefield situation changes in an instant. Interstellar communication can easily be disconnected or eavesdropped on. It’s possible to provide some strategic guidance from the rear, but for actual combat leadership, it’s impossible to wait for instructions from someone not on the scene every time.
Blue Mother Star didn’t have much strategic significance. If Jiang Jianming stayed here, he would just be helping the rebel army guard their birthplace and human mother star, nothing more.
If Lin Ge knew this, Jiang Jianming certainly knew it too.
He looked deeply at Ryann for a moment, remained silent for a while, and didn’t insist further.
He said, “I obey Your Highness’s orders.”
Ryann’s face immediately darkened, gloomy as if he wanted to bite him.
But Jiang Jianming didn’t give His Highness the chance to bite.
He stood up and left the meeting.
That evening, the starships broke through the twilight and rose majestically into the sky.
Jiang Jianming sat on the steps of his small sickroom. Seth, not having seen him for days, whined continuously, pawing at his knee and wagging its tail with its tongue out.
“Good dog.”
Jiang Jianming bent down, burying his face in Seth’s soft fur, thinking secretly: It seems the farthest he could go was just here.
But perhaps it was a good thing. This separation would naturally cause Ryann’s feelings for him to fade.
Perhaps the next time they met, that “more suitable person” would have appeared by His Highness’s side.
Or perhaps there wouldn’t be a next meeting. He might die quietly in this star city, leaving his urn for the triumphant army. Ryann might be very sad, but who lives in this world without experiencing a setback or two?
As he thought about this, he gradually felt drowsy. Too tired to go back to his room, and with no one to look after him now anyway, Jiang Jianming simply curled up in the rocking chair outside the small courtyard and closed his eyes.
He thought he would sleep until dawn like this.
So when he was awakened in the deep night by dog barks and a rumbling noise, he only felt a splitting headache, unable to react to what was happening.
Intermingled with Seth’s excited “woof woof woof,” a familiar voice came from high above—
“—Aslan!”
“!?”
Jiang Jianming doubted if he was fully awake. The large patch of white light shooting down from above stung his eyes, making it hard to open them. He barely managed to look through the gaps between his fingers, and almost had a heart attack—
God help him, that was the light from a mecha’s searchlight!
In mid-air, the mecha’s cockpit was open. Ryann stood there against the wind, shouting to him with a straight face. “Do you really want to go that badly?”
“—Your Highness!?”
Jiang Jianming couldn’t catch his breath, wishing he could faint on the spot from anger.
He stumbled to his feet, shouting back with a strained voice, “You… have you gone mad? Where’s the starship? Where are the others? Did you turn back halfway by yourself!?”
Ryann: “Do you really want to go that badly?”
Jiang Jianming’s vision suddenly went dark. He felt the blood vessels in his brain pulsing. If Ryann had been in front of him right now, he probably would have slapped him or kicked him.
“Don’t you know that you’re already the leader of the rebel army, the ruler of hundreds of millions of people? If something happened to you, what would everyone else do!?”
He suddenly raised his angry eyes, his breath shaking, “You really are… reckless! Is this how I’ve taught you to be so willful all these years!?”
“I’m not being willful, I just changed my mind. I want you to be the commander of the rebel army.”
Ryann’s face was expressionless as he slowly lowered the mecha controlled by his crystal bones. “Commander, calm down first, or you’ll make yourself sick with anger.”
“You’re just… cough cough cough…!”
“See, I just said so.”
He was helplessly carried into the mecha cockpit by Ryann and then stuffed into the treatment cabin.
His Highness probably feared he might really anger the disabled human to death, so he stopped being stubborn after a few words and started to give in, promising that he would definitely catch up with the main force, that the journey was safe, and that he had calculated the data before coming.
Jiang Jianming still wanted to curse, but a shot of anesthetic was injected, and he immediately went limp, unable to speak.
Ryann closed the lid with practiced ease. “We’re about to jump. Get some sleep. I’ll have someone come for Seth, don’t worry.”
…
By the time he woke up from his induced sleep, the mecha had completed the jump and was following the route to catch up with the last stretch of the main force.
Jiang Jianming sat in the pilot’s seat, looking at the universe outside the alloy glass, vast and quiet.
Ryann pinched his fingers, with an attitude of “I’ve already gone this far, do you dare jump out of the mecha now?”, saying he had already announced the order to the entire rebel army that Dawn Aslan was the commander-in-chief.
Jiang Jianming said calmly. “I am a remnant crystal human.”
Ryann: “You have my crystal bones.”
“Those are yours, how can you say I have them?”
Jiang Jianming felt both angry and amused, “Your Highness isn’t trying to use this to please me and make me agree to that matter, are you?”
…Anyway, if he hadn’t come back this time, that matter would definitely not have worked out.
Ryann hid the words in his heart with a wandering gaze, cleared his throat. “What are you thinking? This is official business, that is private.”
“Whether you agree or not, you were supposed to stay by my side anyway. Being lovers just gives you some more rights on that basis, like kissing…”
“Enough!” Jiang Jianming quickly interrupted, “We’ll talk about those things later.”
Ryann covered Jiang Jianming’s face with his palm, “Then I won’t speak, you sleep.”
After a while, he said in a low voice. “I heard that Woll is famous for producing mechas. After the rebel army occupies Woll, I’ll have someone make a mecha for you.”
“We’ll equip it with two cockpits. The first cockpit for you, with the interior made like a treatment cabin, where I can lock you in…The second cockpit for me…”
The tiny mecha flew through the vast universe.
In the silence, their heartbeats echoed each other.
“Aslan?… Jiang?”
“Are you asleep?”
When the breathing beside him became long and steady, Ryann gently lifted his palm.
His gaze was complex and affectionate as he looked at the pale young man sleeping, seeming to want to say something, but still not speaking.
He tidied the stray hair on Jiang Jianming’s forehead, brushing aside the attractively shaped corner of his eye, suddenly pausing his movement.
Ryann was silent for a long time.
He lightly touched with his fingertip.
Wiping away that bit of moisture from the corner of the young man’s eye.
