His presidential father berated him angrily and mercilessly. “This is the person you’ve been living with day and night, and you know nothing about it?”

Arthur retorted, “Did he really retire? You approved it? Why didn’t you tell me before approving it?”

The President replied, “What else could I have done? It’s in accordance with laws and regulations, reasonable and justified, with no procedural errors.”

Arthur exclaimed, “Aren’t you the President? Can’t you stop him from retiring?”

The President sneered. “You’re his partner but you didn’t even know he applied for retirement.”

The two engaged in a heated argument, neither giving an inch.

“Anyway, you must bring him back to me. You’re his partner; you need to find a way to convince him to come back. We can’t lose such a talent.”

“I certainly don’t want him to leave! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Then the slow-witted President also realized it. His lips twitched. Looking at Arthur, he hesitated to speak before asking, “Do you like him?”

Arthur neither confirmed nor denied.

The President pointed at him and said angrily, “Could it be that you were pestering him so much that you scared him away as soon as the final battle was over?”

Arthur felt annoyed by this groundless accusation and retorted, “Don’t make it sound like he dislikes me. He doesn’t dislike me at all! If he did, how could our synchronization rate be so high?”

The president asked, “Why didn’t you deny that you were pestering him?”

Arthur couldn’t argue. “…”

At this moment, the usually silent mother finally spoke, soothing the two by saying, “Stop arguing. I don’t understand what you’re arguing about. Your goals are the same, aren’t they? You both want to bring back Mr. Yan.”

Arthur even began to doubt himself.

Could it really be that he had scared Yan Xueshan away, because of that incident that happened the night before the final battle?

He thought back carefully, and then, it came to him.

Something Yan Xueshan had said.

—”I think I’ll go home and get married after this battle. I’ll buy a farm, do some farming, and enjoy my retirement.”

—”My dream is to live a peaceful retirement without the need to work.”

Could it be that he had really given up piloting mechas and gone off to become a farmer?

He knows that Yan Xueshan was a man of his word. He rarely spoke, but when he did, he never lied.

However, Arthur was briefly overwhelmed by a huge sense of defeat. He couldn’t help but think: Why hadn’t Yan Xueshan said anything to him? Even if he wanted to retire and become a farmer, it couldn’t happen so suddenly, could it? He thought they still had unfinished work to do after the battle; the aftermath hadn’t been dealt with yet!

No, no, that’s not the point.

The key point was, even though they’ve already been intimate, how could he still be treated like an outsider without any special treatment?

Was that night, that hour, meaningless?

Even after their close proximity and intimacy, could Yan Xueshan still not include him in his private world?

Six whole years.

Even raising a dog would surely create a strong bond, right? Does Yan Xueshan have feelings for him? Or does he merely consider him a compatible colleague? An overly clingy, assertive disciple?

So was it really impossible to touch the heart of someone who was born with an emotional defect?

At this moment, Arthur received a message from Yan Xueshan: [Arthur, I’ve completed my retirement formalities].

Arthur was instantly energized. Good! At least Yan Xueshan had personally informed him! Yan Xueshan still had him in his heart!

Arthur hurriedly sent a message back: [Master, why did you suddenly retire? Did someone bully you? Don’t you be anxious. Wait for me, I’ll go back right now. Give me an hour, I’ll fly the airship back.]

He attempted to make himself appear anxious, very anxious, hoping this would help retain Yan Xueshan’s presence.

Soon after, he heard Yan Xueshan’s cold and merciless reply: [I didn’t understand a word of your rambling. I already said it before. I’m going home to get married after the battle. That’s why I retired.]

Then, everything Arthur sent seemed to sink like a stone in the ocean, receiving no response.

Arthur had a pretty good idea that Yan Xueshan had simply turned off the communicator. Yan Xueshan was least patient with idle chatter.

Still, he remained restless.

He imagined that Yan Xueshan probably felt nothing. If they were to meet, Yan Xueshan might even curiously ask, “What’s wrong with you?”

He really wanted to go immediately, straight away, to find Yan Xueshan.

But it wasn’t that simple.

Yan Xueshan retired, and he didn’t. Not only did he not retire, he was promoted and had a pile of official duties waiting for him!

He couldn’t just abandon all those responsibilities and chase after Yan Xueshan directly, could he?

Arthur recalled that he once told Yan Xueshan about a love-stricken Master Sergeant, who neglected his work for his lover.

Yan Xueshan had sneered, saying twice that he couldn’t understand and asked, “Why would someone like that become a Master Sergeant?”

If he truly acted irresponsibly, that would probably earn Yan Xueshan’s disdain, Arthur thought.

So, after feeling down for a few days, Arthur swiftly attempted to lift his spirits, handle the complicated official matters, and resolve them quickly so that he could free up some time and find Yan Xueshan.

In theory, he believed that Yan Xueshan’s emotional deficiency and aloofness would prevent him from seeking someone else, even if he were on his own. Yet for some reason, Arthur remained uneasy, fearing that things might go awry.

His worries didn’t end there.

 

Edited by: Antiope1

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