CH 50

Early the next morning, Ji Xingjue arrived at the Alliance Research Institute on time and joined other people. After a few days of being here, he finally met other people in the laboratory and politely greeted them.

Several people gave him a quick glance before they gathered around Dr. Chen and got into the car with laughter. 

Ji Xingjue raised his eyebrows.

Was he… being shut out?

Being surrounded by a group of people, Dr. Chen was obviously not impatient. Seeing that no one was paying attention to Ji Xingjue, he lifted his eyelids and grabbed Ji Xingjue who was passing by with the intention of pretending that he didn’t exist. He folded his hands and said, “Let me introduce my new assistant to everyone. The breakthrough in this experiment is also thanks to him.”

Ji Xingjue said a few more words intentionally or otherwise during the chat, helping Dr. Chen moved forward from a place where he had been stuck for a long time.

In this way that Dr. Chen came to like him more and more.

The eyes of the others suddenly became somewhat weird as they smiled and greeted each other with thoughts. 

Surely, Alliance technology was really advanced.

Ji Xingjue smiled perfunctorily, and didn’t bother to answer those false greetings as he thought to himself, too many people were overwhelmed.

According to the information he obtained, during this period of time An Tang lived with his elder brother, An Hong, the Chairman of the Alliance Council—the two brothers had a very good relationship, so today could be considered to be a visit to the Chairman of the Council.

Ji Xingjue thought about it all the way while listening to the chatter of a few people around him. The situation of the current state affair wasn’t stable, and it seemed that the Imperial Envoy had arrived in secret last night. The chairman of the Council was receiving the Envoy in the assembly building.

It was unknown which old man His Majesty the Emperor would send over knowing how tiring the journey was.

It took less than half an hour for the suspension car to cross several avenues and arrive at An Tang’s home.

The house was a rather spacious villa; in terms of luxury, it wasn’t as luxurious as the Marshal’s Mansion bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor to Qi Qing. At the sight of the door were already people waiting to welcome them with manners. 

There was a scanning machine at the entrance, which was of a very high level.

Ji Xingjue calmly crossed the scanning barrier. Fortunately, the ring had been upgraded several times on the way, which was quite reliable and he could pass smoothly.

Because they were old acquaintances from the Research Institute, and with Dr. Chen led the team, the interrogation wasn’t too strict. After confirming that they weren’t carrying any other items, they were let in.

An Tang, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, sat leisurely in the backyard, waiting. His face was as pale as ever, and when he saw Dr. Chen, he stood up with a smile. “Uncle.”

Dr. Chen hummed in return.

“Sit anywhere you want,” An Tang turned to look at the others, with a very approachable and gentle manner, “The tea is new tea, specially prepared for everyone.”

Several people were flattered: “The Admiral is very polite.”

An Tang swept a glance at Ji Xingjue, and asked with a smile, “Is this the newcomer who just came to the lab that I haven’t met before?”

Ji Xingjue lowered his head in fear and trepidation. “Hello Admiral, I am Armon, Dr. Chen’s new assistant.”

An Tang smiled and said, as if unintentionally, “Uncle’s last assistant has only been absent for half a month, it’s rare to see uncle bring a new person here.”

Dr. Chen didn’t hear the meaning in his words, and poured a cup of tea on his own. “I brought him here specially to introduce to you. Armon is very talented, and he can take over from me to manage the project in the future.”

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the others changed drastically.

Dr. Chen never cared about the eyes of outsiders in his work. This was an understatement, but the amount of information in the words want’t at all overwhelming for a blockbuster, and it blew everyone else into confusion.

Even An Tang was stunned, mixed with endless amazement. He looked at Ji Xingjue again. “Really? This is the first time I’ve seen my uncle be so optimistic about someone.”

Dr. Chen snorted again, “Can I be wrong about people?”

As a professor of the Imperial Laboratory who sneaked into the Alliance Research Institute, Ji Xingjue felt like there was a thorn on his back, and the corners of his eyes twitched.

…you are deadly wrong.

With such a high evaluation from Dr. Chen, An Tang treated Ji Xingjue quite differently. After chatting with Dr. Chen for a while and learning about the progress of the project, he greeted Ji Xingjue, motioned him to come over. Looking at him, he smiled and said, “You don’t look like a native of the capital.”

Of course, I am from the Capital of the Empire.

Ji Xingjue replied in his heart, yet pretending to be dull, and answered only a question asked. “Yes, I come from the Sixth Galaxy.”

—The Alliance ruled over nine planets, with a vast territory, stronger than the newborn Empire.

This was a fact that His Majesty the Emperor and the entire Empire were very unwilling to admit, but had to.

Before Qi Qing defeated the Alliance army, the Empire was always overwhelmed by the Alliance, extremely aggrieved.

“It’s really far away. How do you feel about the capital?”

Ji Xingjue answered honestly, “It’s very big and prosperous.”

An Tang’s eyes fell on the ring on his hand. “Are you married?”

This was the truth, Ji Xingjue was calm and collected as he caressed the fake ring on his ring finger, and nodded—although he was planning to knock Qi Qing unconscious and used his fingerprint on the divorce agreement when he returned to the Empire.

“I heard from my uncle that you live alone in a hotel near the Research Institute,” An Tang asked unhurriedly, “Didn’t you bring your wife to the capital?”

Ji Xingjue thought for a while, and decided to turn Qi Qing black as said with a gentle and nostalgic face, “He is more than five months pregnant now, and isn’t suitable for transition on a starship. When the child is born, I will take them to the capital for a family reunion.” [T/N: 他 ta ; he/him.]

Pregnant women were indeed not suitable for long-term interstellar voyages, let alone accept the stimulation of leaps.

An Tang nodded understandingly, and changed the topic, “But you came to the capital during her pregnancy, won’t she blame you?” [T/N: 她 ta ; she/her.]

He stared at Ji Xingjue’s eyes, which expressed generous emotion.

Ji Xingjue’s smile became more and more sweet with happiness. “No, he is a very gentle and lovely person, and he understands the decision I made for work.”

The expression on the ordinary looking face in front of him didn’t seem to be fake, and when he mentioned his wife, his eyes were gentle and longing. This kind of sincere emotion could not be acted out.

An Tang dispelled some doubts, and smiled. “It seems that you two have a very good relationship.”

Ji Xingjue nodded happily, “We are childhood sweethearts and grew up together.”

An Tang asked a few more questions, all of which were answered by Ji Xingjue seemingly sincerely. Soon, the imperceptibly tense atmosphere relaxed a lot.

Dr. Chen drank a few cups of tea there, and finally said impatiently, “Admiral, how long are you going to question my assistant? You brothers are overly suspicious, and will someday suspect that there are monitors on the bird’s eyes when you see a bird.”

An Tang was a little helpless, but wasn’t angry at all, and said in a kind manner, “Uncle, can you save me some face?”

Dr. Chen obviously didn’t want to save it.

He glanced at Ji Xingjue: “Don’t you have a question and want to ask Admiral An? Ask.”

An Tang raised his eyebrows, and his eyes instantly became alert again.

Ji Xingjue showed a nervous expression at the right time, and after hesitating for a while, yearning and enthusiasm for research rose in his eyes. “Admiral An, actually, when I was in my hometown, I heard that the scientists of the Randa Empire had left information on bionics in the Alliance. I’m very curious, but if it’s not convenient for you, you can…”

“So this is it?” An Tang was not surprised. There were many researchers who were interested in this material, but very few dared to ask him directly, “You may be disappointed. The research direction of that material isn’t the same as yours, completely irrelevant.”

Dr. Chen had a proud personality. He had devoted himself to research for many years and it was smooth sailing. He had a somewhat rebellious mentality towards the material that was passed on miraculously, just like in the martial arts novels on the ancient Earth where the real expert would dismiss the secret books that would bring forth foul wind and bloody rain. However, he was still stunned after hearing it. “There really are.”

An Tang also didn’t hide anything. “Of course.”

Facing those who were currently in charge of the project as well as those who were asserted by his uncle that they would take over the project, he pondered for a moment before slowly glancing at his lower body. “There is no need to keep this secret. The things recorded in that document ain’t so much scientific research materials, but more like wild imaginations. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have kept it out.”

After all, it was he himself who most wanted the experiment to progress. 

Ji Xingjue listened to his words, his drooping eyes flickered, and there was an expression of disappointment on his face, but a current of excitement passed through his heart.

It seemed that what was inside was indeed what he needed.

It was inconvenient for him to ask An Tang where the information was. Just as he was thinking about it, Dr. Chen, who wasn’t interested at first, was aroused by An Tang’s words and asked, “So mysterious? Where is the data? I know the database of the Research Institute, but there’s no such thing.”

Ji Xingjue turned the tea cup around pretending not to care, but his ears perked up.

An Tang smiled and said, “Originally, it was kept at the Council. An Hong transferred the materials last time and there should be some at home. If uncle is curious, you can ask him.”

Dr. Chen had a strange expression as he shivered. “Come on, your brother’s face can freeze me to death.”

The atmosphere in the backyard was generally not bad. Compared with collecting information and reporting back, it was more like Dr. Chen brought people to dignitaries to get acquainted.

Ji Xingjue played with the teacup, turned it over and over again but didn’t drink it.

Thirsty but couldn’t drink.

There were sufficient reasons for country bumpkins from the Sixth Galaxy, who may not understand the rules about drinking tea.

So to avoid the possibility of An Tang asking someone to do a biological test with the saliva stained on the teacup, it would be a lot of fun to have Professor Ji of the Empire out of nowhere.

Several researchers were leaning in front of An Tang to explain some research possibilities, when suddenly someone came from the front hall and said, “Admiral, the Chairman of the Council is back.”

Everyone was taken aback.

Anyone with eyes can see that the Chairman of the Council, An Hong, was a workaholic, and it was simply magical to get off work and go home early in broad daylight. 

The soldier who came to report scratched his head and added: “He also brought the Imperial Envoy.”

An Tang nodded calmly, “Understood.”

Ji Xingjue raised his eyelids but didn’t care much.

It didn’t matter who the Emperor sent over, even if it was Admiral Rand who had always supported his project and was quite familiar with him, he wasn’t worried.

He reckoned that even if Qi Qing came standing in front of him now, Qi Qing wouldn’t even recognize him either.

Soon, the Chairman of the Council led the Imperial Envoy into his mansion and came to the backyard.

After a burst of sporadic footsteps, Ji Xingjue’s eyelids twitched.

Councilor An Hong’s cold voice sounded: “I heard that my brother-in-law was taken care of by the Marshal when he was in the Empire.”

Another colder voice replied: “You’re welcome.”

The arrival of the two of them caused the temperature in the backyard to drop drastically.

Ji Xingjue: “…”

Ji Xingjue stared blankly at the very gentle and lovely “wife” who was far away in the Sixth Galaxy and unable to move because he was five months pregnant.

Why, Are, You, Here!

The author has something to say:

Xiao Qi: Shouldn’t I be the one asking this question?

Happy weekend (*^▽^*)