Chapter 18
Shen Shiqian's home is in the Kainan District, while Shengya Middle School is in the Central District near Xipu District. After moving to a new residence, Feng Ran had to get up early to take a hovercar across most of the Central District to get to school. Shen Shiqian also got up early and had breakfast with Feng Ran, but he didn't seem to have any work today. He had faint dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't rested well yesterday, and he looked unexpectedly haggard.
But Feng Ran was not to be outdone. She was woken up by messages on the terminal in the middle of the night. Fran seemed to have started looking at the data from the research projects she had sent him. He was excited all night and was even more talkative than Basil, sending one message after another without stopping, asking all sorts of questions. Feng Ran's brain was twitching and her nerves were aching. She decided that she must severely discipline Fran's schedule. She might as well modify him into a medical assistant and give him a sleeping pill injection every day at ten o'clock.
After finishing breakfast, Shen Shiqian insisted on taking Feng Ran to school, which Feng Ran found strange. She couldn't refuse and could only comply with Shen Shiqian's wishes. Sitting in the hovercar, she had a headache because she hadn't rested well and didn't really want to talk to him.
Monday morning air traffic was exceptionally congested. Even travel routes planned according to real-time traffic conditions were extremely slow, and the 40-minute journey was bound to be tedious.
Feng Ran recalled his villa in Fengting, located within the Fourth Ring Road in the Central District. It was surrounded by complete public facilities, commercial and entertainment venues, and convenient transportation. In particular, it was very close to the school, a mere twenty-minute walk away. Looking at it this way, Xing Tong really knew how to buy things.
The car's LCD screen displayed today's weather: pollution index 46, air humidity 32%, perceived temperature 25, clear and windless, exceptionally comfortable weather. Feng Ran blinked and looked out the window. If he changed lanes ahead, he would enter a zone where honking was allowed. When would the central area completely ban honking? If not, at least a ban on modifications would be acceptable.
Feng Ran hated noise. On such a rare good day, the sharp horn of a modified car always made her feel like her brain was about to be shattered. She listlessly retreated from the window. Feng Ran glanced at Shen Shiqian, and the next second, the hovercar seemed to have been hit and violently jolted. Feng Ran was thrown directly out of her seat.
Feng Ran's position was with her back to the autonomous driving cabin, so she suffered the most severe impact from the collision. Shen Shiqian was sitting at the rear of the car, directly opposite Feng Ran. Faced with the sudden situation, he reacted quickly and held Feng Ran firmly, protecting her head.
The sound of a close-range collision is no better than a horn blaring, because Feng Ran perceives and "hears" external sounds through her mental power. She is very sensitive to all kinds of sounds. For some reason, the hovercar rear-ended the car in front of her. The violent vibration of the collision felt like a thorn was stuck in her brain nerves and mental power. The sharp pain seemed to pierce through her instantly. Feng Ran closed her eyes and felt as if she had gone deaf again.
She covered her ears, unable to react for a long time. She was still very scared of that moment, and even felt palpitations due to the emotional fluctuations. She could only take small breaths to calm herself down.
Shen Shiqian gently patted her back, seemingly trying to comfort her. Feng Ran was completely protected in his arms. The hovercar had already stopped. Her head was resting in the crook of Shen Shiqian's neck. She could feel the vibration of his vocal cords and the up and down movement of his Adam's apple. He was talking to her.
But the roar of the explosion still lingered in her ears, and Feng Ran was hesitant to use her mental power. She tugged at Chen Shiqian, lifted her head in his arms, and said slowly, word by word, "I'm not feeling well. Can I take a day off?"
She stared at Shen Shiqian, slowly understanding what he was saying: he was asking if she should go to the hospital.
Feng Ran shook her head. She didn't know how much Shen Shiqian would indulge her, and she pleaded with him cautiously, "Let's go home, okay?"
"good."
Feng Ran felt that the ear that wasn't completely dead heard a very small sound. Because the vibration frequency was so low, it even sounded a bit distorted. After nodding to Shen Shiqian to confirm that it wasn't a hallucination, she slowly snuggled closer to him and stayed still in his arms.
The long-lost pain in her ear made her feel terrible, but it was just a phantom pain caused by a nerve illusion. Her ear had lost sensation a long time ago, but the pain and fear from when it was injured still lingered in her mind. Feng Ran even felt a little cold and nauseous.
She curled herself into a small ball, her hands pressed against her ears, her fingernails touching the metal sensors, causing a slight tingling sensation. Feng Ran tightly closed her eyes, forcing herself not to think about those things, but tears kept flowing down her face.
Shen Shiqian never expected to encounter such a thing when he went out. If it weren't for his clear memories from his previous life telling him that he didn't have any enemies or adversaries during this period, and that the car accident was very clumsy and caused no casualties except for a minor collision, he would have been tempted to start speculating about a conspiracy.
However, a car accident involving a marshal is no small matter, and the military guards quickly arrived at the scene to handle the situation.
The incident was quite simple. The hovercar blocking Shen Shiqian's way was a third-rate modified car. While moving forward, its metal fatigue controller suddenly malfunctioned and it reversed violently, causing the two cars to collide. In the face of this level of collision, Shen Shiqian's car only suffered some deformation of its outer shell, but the other hovercar that caused the accident had its exhaust pipe broken, and its engine fuel mixed with half of its body exploded.
Encountering such a thing can only be attributed to bad luck, because it is indeed difficult to evaluate. After all, the other car owner was blown up and had to be rushed to the emergency room, while neither of Shen Shiqian's two people had any obvious external injuries. However, Shen Shiqian still felt that it was necessary for the council to propose a ban on modifications at the next meeting.
Feng Ran still seemed very scared. After the guards and traffic police arrived, their hovercar made an emergency landing to investigate. She was still clutching Shen Shiqian's clothes and crying unconsciously, which made Shen Shiqian feel very sorry for her. He even couldn't help but condemn himself for his suspicion of Feng Ran yesterday.
Regardless of what kind of person Feng Ran was in her past life, the current Feng Ran is just a weak, helpless, and pitiful child. She is even afraid of being rear-ended by a hovercar, so how could she possibly come into contact with vicious space pirates?
During the investigation, Shen Shiqian held Feng Ran in his arms the whole time, patiently trying his best to comfort her, even though she seemed to have no reaction at all. Although Feng Ran looked tall, she was very thin and slender, almost weightless. She always ate very little, as if she had some anorexia.
Accompanying the military guards was Shen Shiqian's confidant, the commander of the Third Army Corps, Saroo. After the investigation concluded, Saroo arrived in a small land-based vessel to take them home.
After boarding the land-based ship, Feng Ran finally recovered from the shock of the accident. Her eyelashes were wet with water droplets, and her violet-like eyes were clear and bright as she stared unblinkingly at Shen Shiqian.
Shen Shiqian's fingers had a thin layer of calluses and were somewhat rough. He gently wiped away Feng Ran's tears, rubbing them under her eyelids to leave thin red marks.
It wasn't very comfortable; it was a bit itchy, and even so itchy that Feng Ran felt she might cry again at any moment.
Lately, she's been seeing Qin Xin's shadow in Shen Shiqian—the Qin Xin who hasn't changed. When she was little, Feng Linye would occasionally stay at his maternal grandparents' house, while Feng Xiqiao rarely came home. It was just her and Qin Xin at home. If the weather was nice, Qin Xin would take her to play in the flower room and hold her while feeding her snacks.
The roses in the greenhouse smelled wonderful; it was probably one of Feng Ran's few fond memories of his mother. But after Feng Linye went to middle school, he turned the place into his own private game room, and Feng Ran couldn't keep anything there.
While Feng Ran was indulging in that wonderful illusion, the faint bitterness emanating from Shen Shiqian would remind her, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, who was holding her now. A man's embrace was not as soft as a woman's, but Feng Ran had confirmed one thing in the past two days: a man's pectoral muscles were soft.
She let Shen Shiqian hold her in his arms like a doll, and soon the smell of bitter chocolate made her sleepy. Before falling asleep, she thought randomly: Why did he have to train to be so big?
Unaware that he was being targeted, Shen Shiqian saw that Feng Ran was asleep and gently tidied her hair. Then he glanced at Salo in the driver's seat, who kept turning his head to look at him, and his expression returned to its usual cold and solemn state.
"Focus on driving."
Saroo could tell that his boss was in a bad mood, so he turned his head away quickly, but he couldn't help being curious. Several times he was so excited that he almost stepped on the gas and sped off.
Who wouldn't be curious? This is Shen Shiqian, the most unattainable beauty in the military. Others may not know, but Salo, as his confidant, has been by his side since he was promoted to commander of the Third Army Corps, and knows his personality very well.
Although Shen Shiqian has a face that is both outrageous and infuriating, he is also born into a noble family. He has an SSS rank in both physique and spirit. Even before graduating, he was already active with the halo of genius. He usually seems unapproachable and otherworldly, but in reality, he is a clean freak and a fussy person. He can take a shower for an hour after each training session. He is fussy himself and also complains about others, so he never gets close to anyone. The only person who can get close to him is Dr. Kalishu, a friend he has known since childhood.
But all the big shots have this little flaw, so there are still plenty of handsome men and beautiful women vying to confess their love to their boss. But Shen Shiqian seems to be born immune to love, rejecting one after another. If they come again, he will invite them to the training ground to beat them up. However, no one who can beat him has appeared yet. So after seeing his rival being carried out of the medical pod, the others gradually gave up on such thoughts.
He slowly waited until he was twenty-eight years old this year, and had even been promoted to Grand Marshal, but he was still single. Although he was not old by the average lifespan of the Empire, and could even be considered young, the girl looked much younger, and was even wearing a high school uniform.
Did his boss actually like this type? Delicate as a dodder vine, Shen Shiqian was known for sending his admirers into medical pods, so everyone assumed he preferred strong men, perhaps even interested in gay relationships. For a time, bodybuilding even became popular among Alphas in the military because of this. But, this is… a beta, right? Salo didn't detect any AO pheromones on Feng Ran. Although his face was undeniably beautiful, Shen Shiqian's pheromones were inhuman; it was impossible for him to be so close without any reaction.
Despite being so close, his boss's mysophobia didn't seem to react at all; it must be true love.
When the car was driven downstairs, Feng Ran was still asleep. Shen Shiqian couldn't bear to wake her, so he gently picked her up again. Salo ran down to open the car door for him and stared at him excitedly. Shen Shiqian waved at him with some disgust.
"That's all for you, you can go back now."
"Yes, Marshal."
He's going to share this big news with his brothers when he gets back!
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