In the morning, Qi Yan was awakened by the reminder sound of his personal terminal. He connected the communication and heard Xia Zhiyang's cheerful voice on the other end: "Qi Yan, Chen Mingxuan and I will be there in an hour!"
Qi Yan closed his eyes and said "OK". After hanging up the phone, he lay in bed for another half an hour before getting up.
When he went downstairs in slippers, Lu Fenghan had completed his daily exercise and prepared a simple breakfast, just like every morning before.
Qi Yan has never understood why some people can be so self-disciplined, as if they have a chip implanted in their body that strictly controls their biological clock at all times.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why Lu Fenghan gets up on time at seven o'clock every morning, while he usually wakes up between nine and eleven o'clock.
After eating two slices of bread from the toaster, Qi Yan finished drinking the water in the cup and remembered: "Xia Zhiyang and Chen Mingxuan will arrive in ten minutes."
"Come and bring you clothes to wear tonight?"
"Yes, and a tailor."
"Tailor?" This term confused Lu Fenghan for a few seconds, then he raised his eyebrows, "This profession can only survive on a planet like Leto."
Qi Yan held the empty cup and agreed with Lu Fenghan: "Yes."
Being able to pursue this inefficient and retro lifestyle is itself a manifestation.
Ten minutes later, Xia Zhiyang and Chen Mingxuan appeared at the door on time.
As soon as he entered the door, Xia Zhiyang exclaimed: "It's so comfortable to live alone, isn't it? But, Qi Yan, your place is a bit too empty, it's either gray or white, wouldn't it be lonely living there alone?"
Qi Yan corrected him: "Two people."
"That's right," Xia Zhiyang said without hesitation, pointing at the people he brought with him, "Leto is the most famous custom studio. From childhood to adulthood, Chen Mingxuan and I have had our clothes made by their tailors. Each of us has a different version, so there will never be two identical sets of clothes."
The brown-haired middle-aged man holding a tape measure smiled and said, "It is our honor to have your trust."
Xia Zhiyang sat down on the sofa without any hesitation, "I have given you a good opportunity. Once the clothes are made and our Master Qi is satisfied, we will definitely have your business in the future!"
The tailor smiled and thanked him.
After Qi Yan stood up, his arms dropped naturally. The tailor half-knelt on one knee beside Qi Yan and whispered, "I'm sorry."
After saying that, he pulled out the tape measure, placed it close to Qi Yan's wrist, and prepared to measure the wrist data.
"pain."
The tailor didn't respond: "What did you say?"
Xia Zhiyang was chatting with Chen Mingxuan. When he heard Qi Yan's words, he looked over and said, "Qi Yan, what's wrong?"
Qi Yan stood there and said nothing.
The first one to react was Lu Fenghan—tsk, his little problem of being delicate and afraid of pain came back.
After all, if the tip of a blade of grass pricks your earlobe, it can be considered an injury.
He took two steps over and held out his hand to the tailor: "Is the tape measure new? Give it to me. Tell me what data you need and I'll measure it."
"It's new, I'm using it for the first time."
Before the tailor could react, he subconsciously followed Lu Fenghan's instructions and handed over the tape measure.
It was not until Lu Fenghan unfolded the tape measure that he suddenly came to his senses.
Too embarrassed to ask for the tape measure back, the tailor had to whisper to Lu Fenghan what data needed to be measured. Then Lu Fenghan operated and he recorded.
Guessing that it was the sharp edge of the new tape measure that scratched the back of his hand, Lu Fenghan wondered in his heart how Qi Yan had survived to this day, while leaning over to measure his data.
From wrist to arm length to shoulder width.
When measuring the waist circumference, Lu Fenghan stood in front of Qi Yan, half hugging him, reaching one hand behind his waist, and using the other hand to pull the tape measure to circle Qi Yan's waist.
Tightening the tape measure, Lu Fenghan looked down at the number, raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile: "How did it grow, huh? It's so thin."
Because they were too close, Qi Yan's nose was filled with Lu Fenghan's extremely aggressive scent, and he could even vaguely feel the other person's body temperature.
Qi Yan ignored him.
Lu Fenghan didn't care and casually wrapped the tape measure around his fingertips twice, "Raise your chin, now it's time to measure the collar." He also commented, "Making clothes is really troublesome."
Qi Yan looked up as she was told, revealing her fair and slender neck and a slightly protruding Adam's apple, which made people subconsciously want to rub that arc with their fingertips.
Lu Fenghan quickly followed the tailor's instructions and wrapped the tape measure around to confirm the number.
When you retract the tape measure, be very gentle.
After reporting the data one by one, the tailor asked again: "Do you have any specific requirements for the material of the clothes?"
Touching his itchy neck, Qi Yan looked at the tape measure in the tailor's hand, paused, and replied, "I am used to wearing silk shirts."
The tailor wrote down: "Okay, the clothes will be delivered to you this afternoon."
Prayer: "Thank you."
After the tailor left, Xia Zhiyang collapsed on the sofa and called out, "Come on, it's still a long time before evening! Do you want to play games?"
Chen Mingxuan sat more straight, and raised the game terminal in Qi Yan's hand: "The Empire Glory is online today, do you want to try it?"
Xia Zhiyang was very interested: "Qi Yan, what games do you usually play?"
Qi Yan shook his head: "I don't play games."
He had never touched either "Imperial Glory" or anything else.
Xia Zhiyang was surprised, and then he remembered that Qi Yan had lived on a remote planet in the Messier region before. Maybe the elders at home were very strict with him. He shouted, "How can you miss the excitement of the game! Come, we will take you to discover a new world!"
A Leto sidereal year is 360 days, 3 hours, 9 minutes and 34 seconds. In the calendar, according to the tradition of the Earth calendar, it is divided into twelve months, each month has thirty days, and each day has 24 hours.
August is the summer month, and it gets dark relatively late, not until after seven in the evening when it gets dark. Leto's unique double moons are like the eyes of the sky against the blue sky.
The Qi family's hall has been newly decorated with bright lights. Under the three-story dome, countless golden notes are floating, swaying rhythmically with the music.
Jiang Yunyue was wearing a gorgeous evening gown that made her waist look extremely slim. Her appearance was not particularly outstanding, but her temperament was gentle and elegant.
"Today, you are the center of everyone's attention." Jiang Yunyue smoothed Jiang Qi's collar and gently reminded him, "When Mengge comes, remember to behave well. This way, when you graduate from Turan and join the military as a civilian, it will definitely be smoother."
Jiang Qi looks 60% like his mother. After more than ten years of pampering, he looks more noble than his peers. He nodded: "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you and dad. However, Mengge is only a colonel in terms of military rank. Why does dad treat him as a guest of honor?"
"What do you mean by 'just a colonel'? You're used to seeing administrative officials coming in and out of our house since you were a child, so you say that." Jiang Yunyue smiled and tapped Jiang Qi's nose, and then explained, "The military... is different. The military and the administrative system of the same level are actually half a level higher, because they hold real power, and the internal divisions are clear, forming their own system, and it is very difficult for outsiders to deal with them. It doesn't matter if you don't understand now, just do as your mother says."
Thinking of the news he got some time ago, Jiang Yunyue was worried: "If that person comes-"
Jiang Qi: "You should call him brother."
"Also, he grew up in the Messier region, which is not as good as Leto. He will definitely have a lot of trouble adapting—"
"As his younger brother, I will take good care of him," the mother and son understood each other tacitly, and Jiang Qi showed a harmless smile, "I remember everything."
Monger arrived at eight o'clock sharp.
Qi Wenshao and Jiang Yunyue brought Jiang Qi to greet them. After the two sides exchanged greetings, Qi Wenshao put his hand on Jiang Qi's shoulder and said, "Come on, Jiang Qi, say hello to Uncle Mengge."
Jiang Qi greeted politely.
"Hello," Monger, who was dressed in a military uniform, said simply, "You've been admitted to Turan College, not bad."
Jiang Yunyue smiled and said, "No, although this child is smart, his temper is still unstable. Wen Shao and I are worried about him every day. As for the future, maybe he will have to rely on his uncles to take care of him more."
Monger nodded but didn't respond.
In order to avoid embarrassment, Qi Wenshao brought up a new topic, and someone approached with a glass of wine and naturally joined the conversation. Jiang Yunyue was good at dancing, and took this opportunity to push Jiang Qi in front of everyone.
Jiang Qi was talking to these elders who appeared in the news from time to time, looking around while enjoying the feeling of being noticed and praised by everyone.
The prayer has not come yet.
I couldn't help but sneer in my heart. He arrived even later than Colonel Munger. He was indeed from a remote planet and didn't know the rules.
At this point, he already understood what Jiang Yunyue meant when she said that people in the military held real power yet were difficult to deal with.
The most obvious thing is that many people gathered around him, their target is Monger. And Monger is obviously very accustomed to such enthusiasm, and he handled it perfectly.
This gave him a vague idea of the "military".
Just as everyone was chatting and laughing, the door of the hall was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Gradually, the noise around them died down, and half of the people turned their eyes towards the entrance.
Jiang Qi also looked over with some surprise, following everyone's gaze.
The first person to step into the gilded carved door was a young man in a black suit. The tailoring of the suit fitted his body and accurately outlined his slender and upright lines.
Anyone would have to admit that this person was indeed loved by the Creator. With narrow nose wings, a high nose bridge, beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and thin lips with fine lines, he looked like a colorful oil painting. But because of his cold white skin color, he also had a sense of fragility that could not be broken.
Under the lamp, he was like a flower blooming on a cliff, high and far away, noble and aloof.
A certain premonition hit Jiang Qi on the head, and he heard his heartbeat suddenly become irregular.
His hand hanging by his side was grabbed fiercely by his mother, and her nails even dug into the flesh.
Ignoring the pain, he looked at his mother's stiff smile, then looked towards the door, and an incredible thought popped up wildly in his mind!
It can't be—
Xia Zhiyang, who was following behind Qi Yan, whispered, "How come these people are staring blankly, as if they have never seen the world before?"
Chen Mingxuan put his hands in his pockets and said to him, "When Qi Yan came out after changing his clothes, not only could a certain person's mouth not close, but his eyes almost fell onto the carpet."
"I was stunning! Do you understand what stunning means? Who knew that Qi Yan would be so impressive just by changing his clothes?" Xia Zhiyang sighed deliberately again, "Although I knew that no one would notice me if I walked in with Qi Yan, but when it really came to this, I felt so disappointed!"
Chen Mingxuan also laughed: "Pay attention to Jiang Qi's expression, it's quite interesting."
Everyone's attention was on Qi Yan, and no one noticed that Monger was staring at the person who followed Qi Yan into the room. His pupils trembled and his masseter muscles tensed instantly.
As the center of everyone's attention, Qi Yan was unaware of anything.
The moment he pushed the door open, the rich fragrance made him feel the air was stuffy. He raised his hand, bent his fingers, and loosened the black bow tie at the collar of his white shirt.
Not noticing Qi Wenshao's gaze, Jiang Yunyue and Jiang Qi were classified as strangers and ignored. Qi Yan took Lu Fenghan, Xia Zhiyang and Chen Mingxuan to a corner and sat down.
Mengge's gums were sore from biting them, but he managed to control himself and not lose his composure. For the first time, he took the initiative to ask the host of the banquet, asking the question that everyone around him wanted to ask: "Who just came in?"
Qi Wenshao was a little surprised, and then he answered: "That's my eldest son."
He didn't even mention the name, obviously he didn't want to say more.
But the people around him all understood it more or less.
For a moment, the look he gave Jiang Yunyue and Jiang Qi had other meanings.
Jiang Yunyue's smile was still generous and gentle, but Jiang Qi felt quite embarrassed and forced a smile towards Mengge, "My brother used to live with his grandparents in the Messier area and just came back recently. I apologize to you for his disrespect just now."
Mengge seemed to be thinking about something and ignored Jiang Qi's apology.
Many people around praised Jiang Qi for being considerate of his brother, but they couldn't help but make comparisons in their hearts.
Jiang Qi is not bad looking, and his etiquette is well practiced, but compared to the boy who just walked in -
There is a huge difference.
In other words, two people should not be compared together.
Xia Zhiyang tossed a red mist fruit he had grabbed from the fruit plate, and his eyes moved around the room. He was happy to see many people looking at Qi Yan, then at Jiang Qi next to Qi Wenshao.
He summoned a service robot and asked it to peel the skin of the fog fruit. At the same time, he told Chen Mingxuan: "I think many people are missing this sentence now."
"What?"
"How can the glow of a rotten grass compare to the bright moon in the sky?"
Chen Mingxuan understood: "Yes, that's right, this sentence is indeed appropriate and can be used."
On the side, Qi Yan asked for a glass of water, swallowed it slowly, and took another sip.
From time to time, he cast a puzzled look at Lu Fenghan.
Why doesn't he leave yet
When he entered the room, he clearly saw Mengge's expression suddenly change, and his eyes fell on Lu Fenghan who was standing behind him.
He believed that Lu Fenghan could not have failed to see it.
So, why is Lu Fenghan sitting next to him and not leaving
Lu Fenghan was puzzled by Qi Yan's gaze.
It was not until Qi Yan finished the second glass of water in small sips that Lu Fenghan spoke: "I'll be away for a while and will be back in a few minutes."
Qi Yan supported his temple with his hand and nodded gently: "Okay."
After hearing Qi Yan's agreement without asking any questions, Lu Fenghan stood up, brought another glass of water and placed it in front of Qi Yan before walking away.
The Qi family's building has a protruding corner, which is made into a greenhouse. Going further ahead, there is a garden landscape with a rockery.
Lu Fenghan stood in the shadow of the rockery, away from the surveillance range, and waited.
Less than a minute later, there were deliberately quiet footsteps approaching hurriedly.
Monger saw the person standing in the shadow of the rockery, stopped three steps away, snapped his heels together, and with trembling fingers, gave Lu Fenghan a standard Alliance military salute.
Lu Fenghan raised his hand, put his fingertips on the end of his eyebrows, and lazily returned the greeting.
Mengge approached, with countless questions rolling in his throat, and finally he shouted: "Commander Lu."
"Here it is," Lu Fenghan thought that Qi Yan was still waiting, and went straight to the point, "What happened after I died?"
Mengge originally thought that he was hallucinating or had recognized the wrong person, but now when he heard Lu Fenghan say "after I die" in person, it seemed more real.
The conditioned reflexes he developed in the army allowed him to quickly calm down from his excitement.
"According to the information I received, on July 21st of the star calendar, you led your men to support the lost advance fleet overnight. After the jump, you arrived at the outermost edge of the battle circle and encountered an enemy ambush." He paused for a second before saying the next word, "No one survived."
"After our reconnaissance and salvage ships arrived at the scene, they only saw countless starship fragments floating in the universe. Then, due to the cosmic storm caused by the big bang, the reconnaissance ships were forced to return quickly after confirming that there was no sign of life."
Lu Fenghan was silent for a long time before he spoke: "So, apart from knowing that everyone is dead, nothing else has been found?"
His voice was hoarse and cold, like the sand at minus dozens of degrees Celsius on some planets that are not suitable for human habitation.
hall.
Qi Yan sat on a chair and took only two sips of the water in front of him. He tapped on his personal terminal, and a section of his wrist was exposed from his pure white cuffs, with a kind of sculptured beauty.
Xia Zhiyang, who was sitting opposite, was curious: "Qi Yan, what are you looking at?"
Qi Yan didn't even raise his eyes: "Watch the news."
At the same time, he successfully hacked into the surveillance system and erased all the images of Lu Fenghan walking from the hall to the back of the rockery. When he exited, he also turned off the recording function of all the service robots, and deleted the stored images.
After doing all this, he pulled up the page of the Leto Daily. Just after reading a few lines, he noticed someone approaching.
The other person stopped in front of him and said, "Hello."
Behind the rockery.
Out of biological instinct, Monger broke out in a cold sweat on his back.
This man, who graduated from the First Military Academy, joined the Expeditionary Force at the age of eighteen, and was notorious on the front lines of the Southern Cross Region, was not as easy to talk to as some people in Leto thought.
He has served as the "mouthpiece" of the Central Corps and the Expeditionary Force for five years. He knows very well that a jungle animal like Lu Fenghan, who is like a fish in water on the front line and has gradually become the commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary Force, does not rely on mercy.
The night wind made his back feel cold. Mengge calmed himself and said, "Yes, I haven't found anything else."
Lu Fenghan's expression remained unchanged, and no one could tell what he was thinking: "And then?"
"After your death - after your disappearance, the acting commander gathered the remnants of the army. As the number of troops was too small, he asked Leto to retreat to Turin, and the higher-ups quickly agreed. I issued this order."
"So, this retreat gave up 23 planets of the Alliance, including four rare mineral planets. While allowing the rebels to take a big step forward, they were in the mood to celebrate by exploding 21 light pressure bombs on the Alliance. They even reached out to Leto. Really,"
Lu Fenghan spoke straightforwardly, but his eyes were as dark as the night, "Good order."
Monger closed his eyes. "This is a last resort, Command."
"Oh."
Lu Fenghan touched his trouser pocket out of habit.
When Munger saw this, he quickly handed over his cigarette.
With a "pop", the metal lighter burned, and the flame illuminated his facial features for only a moment, and soon, the darkness gathered again.
Lu Fenghan lowered his eyes and lit the cigarette.
"Go on." His voice sounded even hoarse. "Who will take over as acting commander, Erich?"
Monger shook his head: "No, it's Weiss."
After a few breaths, Lu Fenghan's voice sounded faintly: "It's him."
Although it was an extremely simple answer, Munger could sense a storm was brewing.
He also reported in detail what had happened since the great rout—including all the promotions and transfers within the military that he knew of, as well as the current situation on the front lines.
He was not Lu Fenghan's direct subordinate, and he didn't have a deep understanding of Lu Fenghan's style of doing things. When he didn't know what clues he should provide, the best way was to tell everything he knew.
After listening, Lu Fenghan put out the cigarette he had just taken a puff of: "I heard that your promotion was blocked?"
Monger smiled bitterly: "You know that too?"
"Well," Lu Fenghan instructed, "Go find Vincent Feng in a couple of days, he will help you."
Lu Fenghan took two steps forward, and stopped at the moment they passed each other. The bright lights in front cast a shadow in his eyes: "Just pretend you haven't seen me today, understand?"
Monger nodded: "Understood."
He recalled the scene when Lu Fenghan came in, and asked hesitantly: "Are you with the one from the Qi family?"
"Qi Yan?" When he mentioned this name, Lu Fenghan's terrifying aura faded a little. He smiled and said, "He, my employer."