Nie Chang's expression eased up. He hadn't really been worried that Su Yan might break up with him but it still wasn't a nice feeling if some guy turned up to see his boyfriend. Especially if that guy was the person his boyfriend's father preferred as his partner. The only thing that could have been worse would have been if that guy brought flowers with him.
Ah, well, all that didn't matter with Su Yan being as adorable as this. How could he keep feeling bad about this if his little darling said things like this? Nie Chang hugged him back and stole another kiss. "Your only male lead, yes?"
"Mn!"
"That's good then. With that Li Ming and now that Yuan Hai around, I was afraid the story of your life might get a harem tag."
Su Yan snorted. "Who wants a stupid harem? I certainly don't!"
"Mn. Well, you don't need it. You already have a great boyfriend, haven't you?"
Su Yan raised his chin and deigned to make his boyfriend happy. "I have."
"Then —"
"Then …" Su Yan clasped his shoulders and gave another foxy grin. "My great boyfriend can continue reading!"
Nie Chang's lips also quirked up. So his little darling hadn't forgotten about that. "Are you sure? Even though you still don't know who the male lead is? Maybe this story is a harem and that Nangong Min will get together with both of them."
Su Yan gave him a look that said 'How could that be?' and plopped down onto his lap again. Mn, this had really been a perfect idea. He should make Nie Chang read to him more often in the future. It was much better than reading himself. So relaxing.
Nie Chang sighed indulgently and rubbed Su Yan's head. Alright, if his little darling wanted him to, then naturally, he would do so. Thus he opened the novel again and scrolled back to the place where he had left off.
[Nangong Min finally got up with a sigh and put his stuff away. Despite being slow to start he only needed a few minutes until everything was in place and the two of them left the room. They weren't the first ones to arrive at the square but about a third of the other cadets were still missing.
The two of them found a place to wait. Nangong Min couldn't help but look around. Nobody from the officers of planet ABO could be seen yet. So naturally, Major Yuan wasn't there either.
Nangong Min instantly deflated when he found out. Ah, it seemed he might not see him again, after all.
It didn't take long for the other cadets to arrive and soon enough the Lieutenant in charge of them walked over. Once again the cadets saluted him and stood at attention while he explained their task for the next few weeks.
"You will form groups of nine with one of you taking over the role of captain for the time being and open up a designated area of planet ABO. Each group will be provided with a means of transportation, the weapons stored on board, as well as rations for the first two days. Your goal will be to reach the designated area, clear it from any dangers and create a map detailing the terrain including water sources and other natural resources. Bonus points will be given to groups that manage to catalog the flora and fauna of their area."
The Lieutenant motioned at one of the soldiers to the side. The man nodded curtly and stepped forward to present him with a silver-colored box that was barely the size of half a human head. The Lieutenant typed a string of numbers into the display on top of the box and held his identificator against it when it lit up blue. The lid folded itself back and several rows of shiny identificators came into view.
Nangong Min withstood the urge to grab Kang Lei's arm. Ah! Those were X3-ISL identificators like the military used them! Not the commonplace identificators they had had as civilians.
He might not have clutched his friend's arm but he couldn't help staring straight at the identificators, almost drooling at their sight. Despite their name, those identificators wouldn't just be used to prove your identity. They would also function as a key that gave you access to areas you could enter with your military rank, record your merits and analyze your combat ability and health values. Other than that, one could do a million miscellaneous tasks with it like cataloging something or generating a map.
In other words, these identificators were worth their weight in gold. Or, well, they were probably worth even more since they were ultralight. In fact, they were so light that you wouldn't even notice you were wearing them.
If asking Nangong Min, the most important feature they had was, naturally, that Major Yuan had one of them too. Ah, it had looked so stylish! That silver identificator that peaked out from the hem of his uniform and sparkled on his wrist … It was as if the indicator wanted to make him shine even more! Ah, he could imagine just how awesome the data on it had to be! Mn, Major Yuan …
Nangong Min earned himself an inconspicuous kick against the leg. "Stop drooling!"
He flinched and peaked to the side where Kang Lei was looking ahead with a dark expression. Uh … He probably shouldn't think about Major Yuan while they were here. Mn? Had the Lieutenant already stopped talking?
Nangong Min looked around and noticed that the two men from planet ABO weren't saying anything and just observed the cadets who were in the process of finding their groups. They hadn't been assigned by either the Dinlas Academy or the men from planet ABO but were forced to look for their own groups.
Nangong Min took one look around and finally grabbed Kang Lei's arm. "I'll be counting on you."]