CH 68

T/N: I won’t have access to the computer for the next 1-2 weeks, so no regular or ko-fi releases until Mid-Feb. Updates will resume when I get back.

Thank you for your patience!

-komorebi

The corners of his mouth twitched stiffly. Xu Xinghe didn’t know how to reply to Qin Yuan’s words.

He pondered for a moment, and tentatively asked Qin Yuan stupidly, “Then, that…you know what happened last night?”

Qin Yuan stood next to the bed and stared at him for a moment. “Know what?”

Xinghe turned his eyes to other places, and said hesitantly, “That’s it… He was with me last night.”

——Ling Changfeng confessed to him last night.

In front of such a large room of people, Xu Xinghe couldn’t say these words.

As if the word “confession” would burn his mouth.

Besides, he didn’t know if Ling Changfeng had mentioned this to the people around him.

If Ling Changfeng didn’t say it, then it doesn’t seem very good to say it so rashly.

Under the entanglement, Xu Xinghe planned to go in such an ambiguous way, and let Mr. Adjutant figure it out for himself.

But he didn’t expect Qin Yuan to misunderstand.

He didn’t expect that after leaving out that word, his ears would still burn inexplicably.

It was as if something embarrassing happened last night.

There was an instant silence in the huge VIP ward.

The expressions of everyone in the room suddenly became very strange, very excited, and very shocked…

Qin Yuan’s eyes blew wide open. His lips were trembling for a while, before managing to finish a complete sentence: “No, no way, I thought he was… but he did it directly??”

Xu Xinghe: “?”

He didn’t react for a while, only cast a suspicious look.

Qin Yuan shivered suddenly, and immediately shook his head in denial: “No! He said you didn’t promise him that, so why did you do that?”

Xu Xinghe: “…”

In the eyes of everyone, he suddenly realized what Qin Yuan said.

His face flushed red, and his hair almost exploded on the spot: “It’s not that! Why did your thoughts go in that direction?!”

After speaking, his face turned even redder.

If Ling Changfeng was present, he could probably smell the sweet pheromones in the air at the moment.

Seeing Xu Xinghe’s face, Qin Yuan finally understood what was going on. He waved his hand and bade everyone else in the ward to go out. He sat down on the small chair beside the bed, and asked Xu Xinghe with a somewhat teasing expression: “He confessed to you last night?”

Xu Xinghe nodded, then raised his eyelids to look at him. “Didn’t you already know that?”

“You can’t blame me for thinking crookedly…” Qin Yuan quickly waved his hand under his gaze, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Just talking about a confession makes you blush. I thought you guys just took a step forward, and started creating people.”

Xu Xinghe: “…”

Qin Yuan touched his chin: “I was wondering just now, how did Changfeng come to work this morning. After tasting once, how could he be willing to come to work – shouldn’t he have taken time off to accompany you? Tell me the truth, and I will definitely try my best to cooperate. After all, an alpha’s possessiveness will reach a peak after that, and omega will also need comfort afterwards…”

Xu Xinghe interrupted him blankly: “Stop, we really didn’t do that.”

Qin Yuan tsked twice with a somewhat regretful expression, and then paused and expressed his understanding. “Yes, you still need to rest well now. If he really takes advantage of you this time, he is too much of a beast.”

Xu Xinghe: “…”

He remembered something Qin Yuan had just said, and suddenly asked, “Did the marshal say… I didn’t agree to his confession?”

“Yes. I asked him vaguely this morning if his confession was successful. He answered ‘no’ directly, but I think he was in a good mood early in the morning. It didn’t look like his confession was rejected.” Qin Yuan heard the words and turned to look at Xu Xinghe. “Why are you asking me? Did you actually promise him, but he didn’t hear it?”

Xu Xinghe twitched the corner of his mouth: “That’s not true.”

He felt that he had rejected Ling Changfeng last night, but that didn’t seem to be true.

His words of refusal were pushed back by the other party, leaving things undecided and hanging.

And that budding emotion continued to float in the skies, swaying in the seas, not knowing where to go.

Qin Yuan carefully observed Xu Xinghe’s expression, and suddenly tilted his head and smiled: “Why do I think you’re more entangled than him?”

Immediately, he began a rhetorical Q&A session. “People who make decisions are often more entangled. He understands, but you don’t understand, do you?”

Xu Xinghe turned his head to look out the window, his voice muffled: “Are you here to lobby for him?”

Qin Yuan raised his head and smiled: “He doesn’t need me to lobby for him. I’m here to visit the patient although I’ve heard from the doctor that you’re fine, but it’s more reassuring to come and take a look for myself.”

After a pause, he sat up straight and said, “We’re all really happy you came back safely. Really.”

Xu Xinghe was slightly startled, turned his head to look at Qin Yuan, and smiled, revealing two small dimples on his face: “…Thank you.”

“No need to thank you, and no need to be too entangled, you still have a lot of time to process things.” Qin Yuan said, “Oh yes, on Ark’s side, we’ve already asked for leave for you. You can recuperate at home in the near future. Of course, if you really think staying at home is boring and want to find something to do, you can also go back to work.”

Xu Xinghe nodded and thanked him again.

Qin Yuan waved his hand and stood up: “I still have something to do, so I’ll leave first.”

Xu Xinghe wanted to get up to see him off, but was stopped by Qin Yuan. “Don’t, don’t, just rest in bed.”

Feeling a little helpless, Xu Xinghe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “It’s not like I don’t have arms and legs. Even if my strength hasn’t recovered, it’s not like I can’t get out of bed.”

Upon speaking, he got up and took two steps.

Seeing his neat steps, Qin Yuan nodded. “You’re recovering well, and it seems like you’ll be discharged soon.”

Xu Xinghe smiled: “I’ve bothered you a lot recently. When I’m discharged, I’ll invite you to eat at home. What do you want to eat? I’ll cook at that time.”

Qin Yuan raised his eyebrows and suddenly asked him, “Whose home?”

Xu Xinghe was slightly startled.

He didn’t know since when, but he’s long considered the Marshal’s mansion home…

Qin Yuan didn’t ask any more questions, and waved goodbye as he walked to the door. “I have no opinion about dinner, but…” He turned his head and smiled, “I don’t think my dear boss would welcome me to disturb your two-person world. Let’s talk later, see you.”

——

Ling Changfeng came earlier than Xu Xinghe expected that night.

The bright moon hung in the dark night sky.

Xu Xinghe was sitting on the sofa in the ward reading a book when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps nearing the door.

It was the sound of military boots stepping on tiles.

After all, this is a first-class hospital affiliated with the military, so it’s not unusual to hear such footsteps.

Strangely, there was a faint scent of roses.

Xu Xinghe was wondering who would bring roses to the hospital, and was stunned when he turned his head.

Ling Changfeng, dressed in a military uniform, appeared at the door in a valiant manner.

Holding a bouquet of red roses in his hands.

Xu Xinghe: “…”

He spent an afternoon doing ideological preparation, reminding himself not to think about the confession all the time, and to get along with Ling Changfeng as usual.

That’s the distance and the way that they both feel comfortable with each other. Isn’t maintaining the status quo when you don’t know whether to go forward or backward the best choice?

As a result, his state of mind that had finally settled over the course of reading was suddenly disrupted.

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

He watched Ling Changfeng walk straight in front of him, stretch out his hand, and hand the flowers over. An aroma of roses wafted in his nostrils.

“For you.”

Ling Changfeng’s voice was as calm as ever, but there was a clear shimmer in his eyes.

God knows that Marshal Ling has never done anything like giving flowers to anyone in his lifetime.

Everyone in the Alliance also tacitly agreed that he probably lacks the cells for romance.

Therefore, when he walked all the way with flowers in hand, everyone looked at him as if they  saw the sun rising in the west. Many were so shocked that they almost couldn’t close their jaws.

Xu Xinghe was also surprised.

However, in addition to being surprised, he faced an additional problem compared to everyone else-

The roses were delivered straight to him. He couldn’t accept, and rejecting wasn’t very good either.

If they were carnations, he would probably have accepted them.

But roses…

Xu Xinghe stared blankly at the roses in front of him, blinked his eyes, and tried to fool him: “Were you inspired by Major General Qin, and finally remembered to send flowers when visiting a patient?”

He said this, but raised his hand slightly, as if intending to receive the flowers.

‘Treat it as flowers for visiting a patient, and accept it,’ Xu Xinghe thought to himself.

However, Ling Changfeng didn’t give him a chance with his question: “Have you ever seen someone send red roses to a patient?”

Xu Xinghe: “…”

“Then, why did you suddenly send me red roses?” Team Leader Xu asked with a knotted tongue.

As soon as he finished speaking, he regretted it. Doesn’t he already know the answer in his heart!

But fortunately, Ling Changfeng did not say the words “because I like you” or “roses are meant to be given to loved ones”, making the situation a little easier to deal with.

A smile flashed in his eyes, and Marshal Ling replied in a slightly gentler voice than before: “You can take it as a gift, I think roses suit you well – both have thorns.”

Xu Xinghe: “?”

He just wanted to ask about the thorns, but before he had time to speak, he heard Ling Changfeng add: “They’re also both very beautiful.”

Xu Xinghe’s mouth twitched. “Thank you.”

Ling Changfeng nodded and said: “You’re welcome, please accept them.”

Xu Xinghe: “…”

In fact, what Xu Xinghe was half right. Ling Changfeng’s act of sending flowers was indeed inspired by his adjutant.

When he heard that Qin Yuan was going to take time to visit Xu Xinghe and ordered a bunch of carnations, Marshal Ling suddenly realized that he had never sent his young spouse any flowers since getting married.

Ling Changfeng didn’t know what the romance of sending flowers was, but he knew that it was a way for people to express their love.

And he wanted his little spouse to feel surrounded by love.

That’s all.

Although Ling Changfeng’s tone was still calm, his eyes were already firmly locked on Xu Xinghe.

When he saw his little spouse put down the book and stretched out his hand to take the bouquet of roses, a sense of relief flowed through his body.

He took my flowers.

Marshal Ling looked calm on the surface, but was content inside.

It’s a small step forward.

On the other hand, Xu Xinghe thought to himself, ‘he gave me a gift… So do I need to send a gift in return?’

LCF: Here you go.

XXH: !!!

XXH:

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