◇ Chapter 46: Soft-hearted
Lin You was in distress for the next few days.
The sad parts of the novel are progressive. If the chapters before the coming-of-age ceremony are torture, then the chapters after the ceremony are destruction.
Next, he would deprive Lan of his military power and imprison him in the prince's mansion, imprisoning him like a parasite.
In the original text, the Third Prince fed Lan an addictive pheromone, but threw him back to the Third Army without any consolation, wanting to see Lan begging for mercy in pain.
And Lann's reaction was very strange. He didn't say a word in the past few days, not even a message of pleading, which made the third prince doubt the effect of the addictive drug. But one day his attitude changed drastically. He suddenly let go of his self-esteem and became what the third prince wanted, begging softly, chanting one aria after another.
The original description is: "The Third Prince nodded with satisfaction. It seems that even the most distinguished major general of the Third Army could not stand the pain of pheromone addiction."
But Lin You didn't think so.
Lann must have received some news that day, that something had to be done, even worth him giving up his personality and self-esteem and trying to please others with compromise.
After Lan En begged for mercy, the Third Prince was very proud and took Lan En to his residence. At that time, Lan En was already weak and could not hold the gun steadily. A major general who could not hold the gun steadily was certainly not qualified to lead the Third Army, so after a hasty handover, Lan En gave up his military power and completely became the Third Prince's pet kept in the back room.
What we are going to move on to now is this plot.
Lin You knocked his head with a headache: "How should I start this?"
They were still cuddling on the couch two days ago. Lan En taught Lin You how to fly a flying vehicle without knowing it, and even changed his profile picture to a pious knight's salute. But now, Lin You wants him to give up his power and retire?
66 hesitated: "Just say it?"
Lin You stared at it blankly: "What did you say directly? Just say 'Don't worry about the Third Army anymore, just give up your power and come to my back room to be my male/pet?'"
He punched the pillow and said angrily: "What kind of scumbag is this!"
But no matter how outrageous the plot was, Lin You still had to go. He opened the chat interface, found Lan En, typed and deleted, repeating this process for half an hour without sending a single word. Instead, the other party showed that he was typing and sent a message first.
The major general sighed softly: "Your Highness? Is there anything I can do for you? Please just ask."
Lin You pinched the quilt. The more Lan En cooperated, the more guilty he felt. After tossing and turning for a long time, he finally made up his mind: "Major General, I want you to live in the prince's mansion."
He tried to be as tactful as possible: "This month, please hand over your power to my subordinates and temporarily leave the Third Army."
“…”
No matter how euphemistic the seizure of power is, it is still a seizure of power.
Asking a general to give up his life's work and live with the prince was really too much to ask, but he had the leverage over Lan En, so Lan En had to agree. Lin You turned his laptop upside down as if to escape and buried his head in the pillow.
66 poked him and said, "Host, stop playing ostrich. The major general is replying to you."
Lin You took a deep breath and opened the computer.
Lane quickly responded, “Of course.”
His tone was relaxed, and he seemed to have no problem with it: "I am in the Third Army now, do you want to send someone to pick me up?"
In fact, Major General Lann of the Third Army has been living in seclusion and has not been seen for three days.
His orders continued to be issued one by one, and the combat readiness training of the Third Army was carried out in an orderly manner. The top leadership underwent a series of personnel changes, with many old faces being transferred and new faces being promoted. Colonel Devin, who had been away on annual leave, also rushed back.
The Third Army was discussing this privately, and many messages were spread, saying that Major General Lann had been tortured by the Third Prince and was so weak that he could not get out of bed.
These remarks were recorded one by one by someone and placed on the desks of some high-ranking Zerg officials the next day.
Some nodded in satisfaction, some expressed a little regret, but everyone was certain: Lann had taken the addiction drug - the once brilliant genius of the Third Army was indeed ruined.
When Devon rushed back, the rumors were at their most rampant.
When he was walking towards the major general's residence with his suitcase, Lan had just finished taking a shower.
The major general was wiping his long hair with a large bath towel, and was applying some maintenance products to his silver hair with great interest - he was sure that the third prince liked his long hair.
Then he looked at the face in the mirror and couldn't find any fault with it. It was as beautiful as ever. Then he changed his clothes, tied his hair up and went around to the main hall.
Devin looked at him suspiciously, not seeing any sign of fatigue on his face: "Are you really okay? But where did the wound on your wrist come from?"
There was a circle of gauze wrapped around Lan's wrist, with traces of blood seeping out.
Lan En said: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I'm fine. I cut my wrist myself."
He was not a fool. The glass of wine that was similar in color to the addictive drug, the camera on the glass screen, and the bug on Lin You's collar all clearly indicated that the eldest prince wanted him dead, but the third prince wanted to protect him.
Although he didn't know where the Third Prince's favor came from, Lan En would return the favor and would not reveal any flaws in front of the First Prince.
As soon as he returned to the military, he took sick leave. He was bedridden and looked like he was about to die. He also mixed a lot of blood-stained tissues with the domestic garbage to create the illusion of coughing up blood. Even if someone looked through the garbage and even did a DNA test, they would come to the conclusion that the blood was indeed from Major General Lane and that he had suffered heart failure and exhaustion.
After that, Lan En took three days to take care of all the affairs of the military department, and then he had some free time, just waiting for the Third Prince to ask to take him in as a pet.
——A major general who can't even hold a gun steadily should not be in charge of the legion. This play must be completed and the eldest prince must be completely convinced. He cannot stay in the military, but must go to the third prince and create the illusion of being imprisoned.
But Lan En waited and waited, but Lin You didn't say anything.
Not only did he not say anything, he also completely ignored Lan En, and did not reply to anything Lan En sent on his computer.
Lan En secretly guessed the Third Prince's plan, but couldn't figure it out. He inadvertently swiped to the chat, only to find that the other party had been stuck in the editing interface for half an hour, typing and deleting, deleting and typing again, as if he was troubled by something.
Lan En couldn't help but ask, and Lin You hesitated for a long time before slowly asking, "Can we live in the prince's mansion?"
"Never mind the Third Army."
He spent half an hour editing just a few sentences, and even spoke so tactfully about resigning, as if he was afraid that Lan En would be sad.
Lan En seemed to be able to imagine the Third Prince poking at the screen and choosing his words through the light brain. His cold brows softened unconsciously, and a certain place in his chest suddenly felt filled and unbelievably soft.
Why do this for him?
After he handed over the Colette family, he would be just a useless person to the prince. Why would Lin You spend so much time on a useless person?
Devin looked at his old friend, taking in his expression, and then he sighed, pulled out a stool and sat down: "I'm glad you're okay. You've overcome half of this hurdle, which is good news. What a coincidence, I also have two good news."
Lann raised his eyebrows: "Any progress on District 23?"
Devin lowered his voice and said, "Yes, I found the address of the 'pheromone factory'. You are right. It is located next to the 'planet graveyard'. The surface of the 'factory' is covered with invisible paint that shields electromagnetic waves. It took a lot of effort. I intercepted their tracks and access list, as well as the latest research direction. I will send it to you later."
Lann nodded: "It is indeed good news. What about the second one?"
"Secondly, I have made a replica of the Third Prince's pheromone, using black market methods. You know the side effects, so I won't go into details. Anyway, it can only last for a year at most, and then the body will collapse."
Devin looked him up and down. "Although I don't think you need it, you should still bring it with you just in case."
He took out a black leather suitcase from the luggage and pushed it to Lane. Inside were 48 neatly arranged injection needles. The liquid was a highly saturated ice blue, like a melting glacier.
Lan nodded: "Thank you."
At this time, a huge roar of machinery was heard in the distance. Lann and Devin looked into the distance at the same time. The shadow of an aircraft appeared faintly above the sky. The royal emblem was painted on it, which was the one often used by the third prince.
Devin stood up and said, "It looks like His Highness's men have arrived, so I'll take my leave."
Lann nodded: "I have to clean up too."
*
Lan was carried out of the Third Army by the waiter.
His face was as pale as gold paper, his lips were bloodless, beads of sweat kept rolling down, his shirt was wet and stuck to his body, his beautiful blue eyes were tightly closed, and he was dragged by the waiter across the 400-meter-long front square of the Third Army. His steps were unsteady and the waiter was rough, not taking into account his identity as a major general, as if he was dragging another piece of cargo.
The soldiers of the Third Army were originally in training, but now they all looked sideways. They had heard about Lann's incident to some extent, and many of them had sad faces. They silently made way and watched the major general being dragged onto the spacecraft.
When his back disappeared, there was another chorus of sighs and regrets.
When the hatch of the spacecraft was closed, blocking all external sight, the waiter let go of his hand, and Lann stood up straight, without any embarrassment just now. He nodded to the butler and asked politely: "Can you let me tidy up?"
Lan's face was still as pale as a ghost, but his posture was relaxed and upright. The housekeeper opened the bathroom door and said, "Please come in."
He then turned on the water valve and washed off the paint that decorated his face. After all the disguises were removed, he smoothed his silver hair and tied it up carefully.
Thirty minutes later, the aircraft landed at the prince's residence.
The butler led the way for Lan En and pushed open the heavy door with one hand: "This is the guest room that Your Highness has prepared for you. We will deliver all your luggage later. Please have a good rest."
This was a very high-standard guest room with exquisite design and decoration. Even the murals on the wall were painted by famous artists. The waiters replaced the mattress and quilts with brand new pure white ones and cleaned the whole house. All corners were spotless. Judging from the room alone, he was definitely a distinguished guest valued by the owner.
Lann didn't care about these, he just asked: "Where is His Highness?"
The butler looked straight ahead and said, "I cannot reveal your Highness's whereabouts."
Lan En asked again: "When will His Highness summon me?"
He missed the smell of citrus.
The butler said in a businesslike manner: "I don't know. It depends on your Highness's opinion."
Lan En had no choice but to say, "Then I will wait here."
This wait lasted for several days.
The honorable Third Prince seemed to have forgotten that there was such a guest in the mansion, but the necessary food and clothing were still prepared. Every time it was mealtime, the meals were delivered to the room like water. Lan En made a brief assessment and found that they were prepared completely according to the standards of a prince.
He was not restricted in his movements. Lann tried to walk out of the room, out of the palace, and finally stopped in the garden. No waiter stopped him the whole time. They just bowed slightly when passing by Lann and politely called him "Major General."
Lan En was sure that he was indeed the most distinguished guest in the prince's mansion, but this guest could not see the host, even once.
In the past few days, Lan En stopped the housekeeper several times to ask about Lin You's whereabouts, but he only got one reply.
"I'm sorry, His Highness didn't summon me, so I can't reveal his itinerary."
*
In the study, Lin You let out a long sigh.
The system lay on the windowsill and watched a movie: "Host, this is the eight hundredth time you have sighed today. Are you really not going to meet the Major General?"
Lin You: "Wait a minute."
Lin You felt that he had done something unkind. He had spent a night with her and then turned hostile in the blink of an eye. He just comforted her and then quickly took over her power, as if he was having a mental illness attack.
At this stage of the novel, there are a few lines that are extremely outrageous but have to be said. Saying them out loud makes him sound more like a mental patient. He has not figured out how to break the impasse, so he simply plays ostrich and avoids seeing it.
These days Lin You has been staying in the study, constantly reading the original text of the novel. The more he read, the more headache he got. He also made some notes here and there, but still had no clue.
No matter how the following plot is played out, it is a bit difficult to bear.
First, the eldest prince will visit in a few days and specifically ask to see Lann. There are many indescribable scenes in between.
Afterwards, the Third Prince accepted Lann as his servant, but without holding a wedding or any other ceremony, he rudely took over the eldest son of the Colette family, who was the proudest of the family, as if he had taken over a cheap commodity.
In the end, although he was pardoned through marriage, at the request of the eldest prince and the acquiescence of the third prince, Lan still had to attend the trial. He had to wear handcuffs like a criminal, stand in the center of the court, listen to the judge read out the crimes he had not committed under the gaze and scrutiny of everyone, and publicly confess his guilt.
“…”
Lin You clenched the draft in his hand.
Seizing power, imprisonment, humiliation, after going through this series of plots, how could Lann not hate him?
Although the original owner was a villain and Lin You had always played the role like this, he still felt uncomfortable when it came to this point.
66 lay on the side bored and yawned loudly: "Host, the major general sent you another message, are you really not going to read it?"
Every morning and evening, Lan En still sent him greetings at the appointed time, with his words intimate and polite, just like before, as if Lin You had not seized power and imprisoned him, and he had no grudges at all.
The more Lan En acted like this, the more uncomfortable Lin You felt. In the end, he simply put the chat software aside so that he wouldn't be bothered by it.
They lived together in this mansion, but their actions were completely out of sync. It seemed that the intimacy of the past few days was just an illusion.
As the date of the eldest prince's visit in the plot was getting closer, Lin You didn't say a single word of the lines he had hoarded. Not only was Lin You uneasy, but the system also became anxious.
The stalemate continued until one afternoon when the housekeeper knocked on Lin You's door.
The old gentleman with silver hair saluted respectfully: "Your Highness, I want to inform you that the major general said he was not feeling well and might need to see a doctor."
Lin You paused: "Where is he feeling uncomfortable?"
The butler hesitated; "The major general doesn't want to say more, but it seems that he is very uncomfortable."
Lin You frowned.
Lann is the most tolerant person. If he shows any discomfort, it means he is extremely uncomfortable.
He approved the request to see a doctor and asked the butler to dispatch a trustworthy military doctor from Admiral Hoyle. While waiting for the doctor, he unconsciously paced to the second floor. At the end of the corridor on the second floor was Lane's guest room.
The heavy wooden door was closed, and the scent of irises seeped out - that was the smell of Lan's pheromones.
Different from the pheromones of male insects that are wild, passionate and domineering, the pheromones of female insects are always clear and faint. If Lin You did not deliberately restrain his own, he would not be able to smell Lan En.
The male insect tiptoed to the door of the guest room.
He hesitated for a moment and said, "66, go and take a look for me."
The system obediently floated into the room and shared the data inside the house.
There was no light in the room; it was pitch black. There was a human figure on the bed. He was covered with a thick quilt, his cheek buried in the pillow, his body curled up unnaturally, and he was shaking slightly.
Lin You twisted his sleeves.
He had to go for the plot, but outside of the plot, he didn't want Lan to suffer.
66 leaned on the bed and looked at Lan quietly: "He looks so uncomfortable."
Lin You stood at the door: "Can you match the cause of the disease?"
66: "I'll try, analyzing, trying to match, matching results..."
"Hmm?" It flew around in confusion. "The symptoms are not very typical. There is no completely matching disease. The system's preliminary analysis shows that the problem is caused by abnormal pheromones."
Lin You paused.
The problem of pheromones cannot be cured by doctors. Only Lin You, who has marked Lan En, can solve it.
This paragraph is not in the original text, but the problem of addictive drugs was more serious at that time, so even if Lane felt uncomfortable, he would not say it out.
The major general on the screen was sleeping soundly, seemingly very sleepy due to abnormal pheromones. Lin You took a deep breath and held onto the handle.
The brass handle turned, the lock ring engaged, a slight click was heard, and the light from the corridor shone through the gap in the door, slightly illuminating the dark bedroom.
The third prince walked into the bedroom.
Lann quietly hid his arm with the pinholes and smiled a little.
He injected a little bit of the pheromone injection that Devin brought, just enough for his body to digest without causing side effects.
This injection is a comfort to the male insects that lack comfort, but not to Lan. The inferior pheromone will cause a temporary high fever when it hits the filled body, but it is not serious. After about two days, the drug will be metabolized and the high fever will subside.
He needed to exchange information with the Third Prince and express his sincerity. It would be even better if he could gain some intimacy with him, but the Third Prince avoided him, so Lan En had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.
He made the right bet. Lin You not only favored him, but was also very soft-hearted towards him.
If she wasn't soft-hearted, why would she drop everything and show up at his door the moment she got the news?
Lin You has already walked to the bedside.
He sat down gently on the edge of the bed, reached out to test the temperature of Lann's forehead, paused for a moment after touching his hot cheek, and slowly released pheromones.
The scent of citrus permeates the bedroom. The concentration is not high, a concentration that can make the female insect feel comfortable without being overly irritating.
Lin You was afraid of waking Lan En up, so he tried to be careful and only lightly touched the major general's skin with his fingertips to transfer the pheromones. But halfway through the transfer, Lan En took the initiative to rub against him and put her cheek against his palm.
Lin You was startled, but saw that Lan En still had his eyes closed, his face flushed, and he didn't seem to be awake. He pressed his palm and rubbed it affectionately, again and again, like a spoiled animal.
Although he knew that this was the instinct of female insects to absorb pheromones, Lin You still smiled slightly and gently pinched his cheek to increase the concentration of pheromones. He stood there for about seven or eight minutes, and felt the heat in his palms gradually faded, so he wanted to pull his hand away and turn away.
Got pulled.
A pair of arms climbed up silently and held his arms in his arms. Lan En held him tightly, like a dragon guarding treasure. Lin You lowered his eyes. The major general opened his eyes at some point. His azure pupils were still empty and not very clear. His unfocused pupils fell on Lin You, as if he was doubting who the visitor was.
Lin You breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that the major general was still sick and in a confused state. Lan En, who was in a confused state, would not question or ask Lin You to explain, so Lin You leaned over and whispered, "Major General, you have a fever, and the temperature is a little high."
"I've given him pheromones. He should be fine in a while. The doctor will be here soon. You should go to sleep first."
He tried to pull his arm free.
Lann resisted silently and hugged her tighter.
Lin You thought that no matter which race they were, they were like children when they had a fever and needed to be coaxed, so he let Lan En hold him: "Okay, loosen up, I won't leave."
He sat down on the edge of the bed again and stared into the darkness.
“…”
Lan En closed his eyes to hide the overly complicated emotions in them.
——The Third Prince was not only partial to him and soft-hearted, but also very indulgent.
66 poked the host and said, "I say, the eldest prince will visit in two days. Why don't you say those lines you can't say now?"
"The major general is unconscious anyway, so it's okay for you to say anything. When he wakes up tomorrow, you won't be able to say anything."
The system no longer has any extra expectations on the host's business capabilities.
Lin You: “That’s right.”
He nodded, and 66 immediately switched the screen and typed the lines on it.
This is a humiliating line. In the original text, the third prince was not satisfied with taking Lann into his harem, and had to say bad things to provoke him. Typical lines are: "My brother will come tomorrow, do you know what you will encounter?" "Do you think you will have a wedding if you offer up the Colette family?" "The Day of Judgment must proceed as usual."
It can be said that this is a case of a villain succeeding, which is extremely despicable.
One of Lin You's arms was held, unable to move, so with his other hand he casually gathered up a piece of his silver hair and twisted it around in a casual manner.
He glanced at the screen and spoke softly, as if afraid of waking up the dreamer: "Lan En, my brother is coming tomorrow. Do you know what you will encounter?"
His tone was calm, sounding sad and helpless.
"You offer the Colette family, but we won't have a wedding."
"Even Judgment Day...I can't erase it for you, it will go on as usual."
The last few words were barely audible, almost carried away by the wind.
“…”
Lann sighed and thought, "So you're hiding from me just for this?"
The eldest prince was afraid of him, and those rumors were not enough to reassure him. He would definitely visit the prince's residence again, and there would be a humiliation at that time. This was within Lan's expectations.
The third prince was under surveillance, so it was impossible for him to express goodwill to Lann. It was expected that there would be no wedding.
As for the day of judgment, White and the family behind him are pressing forward step by step. They have expressed their dissatisfaction with Lane's escape from punishment. If a light trial can make them stop, it would be a very profitable deal. This is still expected.
Is Lin You upset because of these trivial things?
It was difficult for Lan to describe his mood. He opened his lips, wanting to laugh but unable to. The beating heart in his chest felt sour and bitter. He desperately wanted to hug and kiss the male insect and get intoxicated by the citrus-scented pheromones. He wanted to touch, to stick close to each other, to cling to each other until death. He desperately wanted to accommodate the other person and fill the collapsed and desolate gap.
But he can't.
He is still pretending to be sick, which will scare Lin You.
But the smell of citrus around him was really sweet. Lan's fingertips moved slightly, and he couldn't help but snuggle up to him. He rubbed against Lin You, feeling the heat of his skin, and finally raised his hand gently, wrapped his arms around the male insect's waist, forming a vague hug.
The author has something to say:
Happy 24 years babies!
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