AIDDPD Ch6

Bai Li brought the food to the table and turned to the fridge to look for a drink.

After all these years, he had basically integrated into life in this world. Whether it was the three genders of ABO or the occasional interstellar trips, Bai Li had become no different from the native people here.

If he had to say there was anything different, Bai Li felt he was still quite obsessed with the taste on his tongue.

The taste of meal replacement nutrition liquid wasn’t too bad, and it could meet the body’s caloric and nutritional needs, but Bai Li still preferred hot, freshly cooked rice porridge and enjoyed chewing on stir-fried, flavorful meat with a mix of fat and lean, savoring the satisfaction as food slid down his throat.

The taste preferences of the people here were somewhat different from Bai Li’s. He still retained the taste and preferences of his previous life from a gourmet nation, so he had no choice but to occasionally prepare food for himself.

Bai Li opened the fridge and found there weren’t many drinks left. He rummaged around and pulled out an unopened bottle of juice. Looking at the production date, he called out, “Flower, do you drink juice?”

After waiting for a few seconds and hearing no reply, Bai Li stood up with the juice. He saw Lu Zhao sitting on the sofa, engrossed in his personal terminal, seemingly unaware.

Bai Li thought to himself that the Major General’s work was probably quite busy and didn’t intend to ask a second time. He washed two cups, placed them on the table, and poured the juice into them. Then he called again, “Flower, I’m hungry!”

Only then did Lu Zhao look up, slowly standing up.

Bai Li felt a little confused under Lu Zhao’s gaze, but he was used to any gaze directed at him. He raised an eyebrow and smiled naturally. “Look at me a little more. It feels great when you look at me.”

Lu Zhao: “…” His mind was filled with the phrase from the forum: “A once-in-a-century flamboyant A.”

The food on the table was steaming. The forum post had left Lu Zhao dizzy, but now, smelling the distinct aroma of freshly cooked food, his lips unconsciously moved. It had been a while since he had hot dishes and rice. The last time was at the Legion’s gathering last month, where he barely had any rice but drank a lot of alcohol.

Lu Zhao sat down across from Bai Li, who handed him a cup of juice filled to the brim.

The two bowls of porridge on the table were steaming, and the tomato scrambled eggs had a bright color. A small handful of chopped scallions had been sprinkled on top when it came out of the pot, with bright red and soft yellow, accented by a few green flecks, and the smell was fresh and sweet.

Lu Zhao sniffed, catching a slight spicy scent that irritated his nostrils. He instinctively rubbed his itchy nose, only then noticing the chili in the stir-fried pork with radishes, which highlighted the strong aroma of the meat.

“Can you eat spicy food?” Bai Li already had his chopsticks in hand, about to pick up a piece of meat. “I cook based on my own taste. Try it.”

He was being quite bold, not even considering Lu Zhao’s taste, acting very arrogantly.

Lu Zhao immediately set aside his discomfort about eating food prepared by someone else and took a sip of juice to whet his appetite.

Bai Li, unable to keep quiet even while eating, continued talking to Lu Zhao, who was so quiet: “I see you’re still busy with work, looking at files on your terminal at this hour. When I was in the Legion, we’d just hand this kind of work off to the adjutant. You should have Ho Cun do more work; he looks like he has a lot of free time. Give him something to do so he doesn’t keep messing around with simulated battles and ruining the game atmosphere.”

His words revealed that he was still brooding over almost falling out of the top 200. Lu Zhao found it amusing and explained, “I gave the paperwork to Ho Cun. I wasn’t working just now.”

Bai Li couldn’t think of anything else that could keep someone like Lu Zhao, who was either training or sleeping, so engrossed. He asked, “You weren’t working just now? I called you, and you didn’t even hear. Flower, what were you so focused on?”

His tone carried a teasing note, and Lu Zhao could tell. He didn’t respond to Bai Li, realizing that someone like Bai Li wasn’t just any Alpha. The more you resisted him, the more pleased he became.

Lu Zhao’s chopsticks hovered between the tomato scrambled eggs and the stir-fried pork with radishes, but he couldn’t resist the overpowering spicy scent and picked up a piece of meat. Casually, he asked, “Do you usually check the Empire’s forum?”

“Of course, I do. How could I not? The people on the forum are really interesting.” Bai Li didn’t mind that Lu Zhao had avoided his earlier question, as long as Lu Zhao didn’t leave him in awkward silence, Bai Li was happy. “I even post there often.” Though every time he posted, he’d be cursed at for several days.

Lu Zhao hummed in acknowledgment. “So, what kind of things do you post about?”

Without missing a beat, Bai Li responded, “I post about harmonious marriage relationships and stuff like that, trying to encourage people to be good.”

Lu Zhao choked on his drink, coughing violently.

Bai Li quickly put down his chopsticks, grabbed a couple of napkins, and handed them to Lu Zhao. “If you can’t eat spicy food, don’t force it. There’s still the tomato scrambled eggs.”

Lu Zhao held the napkin to his mouth, coughing, and waved his hand to signal that he was fine. Now, when he saw Bai Li, he couldn’t get angry. He was utterly speechless at Bai Li’s audacity to spread rumors in a forum post, but he was too embarrassed to ask him what he was thinking. Bai Li was really something.

“Ah, I almost forgot.” Bai Li picked up his personal terminal and took a photo of the food on the table.

Lu Zhao heard the sound of him sending a message and took a sip of juice to calm himself. “What are you doing? What mischief are you up to now?”

After sending the message, Bai Li continued eating, then took Lu Zhao’s empty glass and refilled it with more juice. “I haven’t cooked in the past few days, but today I managed to make such a well-balanced meal. I’m sending a photo to my buddy at the research institute.”

“You cook often?” Lu Zhao had regained his composure and picked up some tomato scrambled eggs.

As soon as it hit his mouth, Lu Zhao raised his eyebrows. It tasted pretty good—perhaps it was because the tomatoes were locally grown. The flavor was strong. While Bai Li’s cooking wasn’t as refined as what you’d find in a restaurant, it had a comforting warmth, and Lu Zhao liked it.

Bai Li spoke between bites: “Not really, I cook sometimes. I don’t make complicated dishes, just simple and easy ones.”

Lu Zhao, meanwhile, was taking another bite of the spicy stir-fried pork with radish. “Why don’t you just hire someone to cook?”

In noble circles, young masters and mistresses were pampered, of course, and wouldn’t settle for the single flavor of meal replacement nutrition liquid. Most of them hired chefs, and Lu Zhao had seen quite a few such cases in the Legion.

Bai Li shook his head. “Food made by others doesn’t suit my taste.”

Although he had only eaten a few bites, Lu Zhao could already tell that Bai Li’s taste was strong, whereas the Empire’s capital star preferred milder flavors. This spicy stir-fried pork with radish was his first time eating something like it, and it had left his tongue tingling.

“Well, it’s pretty good,” Lu Zhao admitted, still feeling the spice but not planning to stop. He alternated between eating the stir-fried pork with radish and the tomato scrambled eggs.

Bai Li looked up at him. “Flower, you’re the only one who’s ever complimented my cooking.”

Lu Zhao was surprised. “Really? That’s impossible.”

“Really,” Bai Li smiled. “It’s because this is the first time I’ve ever cooked for someone else.”

Lu Zhao paused in his movements and instinctively glanced at Bai Li.

Just then, Bai Li’s personal terminal beeped with a new message. He picked it up, read it, and couldn’t help but laugh. “My buddy at the research institute saw my photo and replied.”

Lu Zhao asked, “Did he compliment you?”

“Well, sort of,” Bai Li chuckled. “He said, ‘Are you so bored that you’re losing your mind?'”

Lu Zhao: “…” You’re really something.

“Do you want to eat again tomorrow?” Bai Li looked at his terminal for a moment, noticing there were continuous messages from Si Tu. “If you want, I’ll go to the supermarket to buy more ingredients. I won’t go to the research institute for now; I’m afraid he’ll beat me.”

Lu Zhao couldn’t hold back and smirked.

He felt that Bai Li lived an extraordinary life. The more others got angry, the happier he seemed. It wasn’t like Bai Li was purposely looking for trouble, but at least Lu Zhao found Bai Li easy to get along with—he never deliberately picked fights with him.

“I have something tomorrow,” Lu Zhao remembered. “The new recruits have a mecha simulation battle training.”

Bai Li was surprised. “What, are you training them yourself?” Major Generals typically didn’t do this kind of work.

Lu Zhao’s tone was casual. “This batch of recruits is pretty interesting.”

Bai Li was intrigued. “Tell me more.”

Lu Zhao, sipping his porridge without looking up, replied, “Talk too much, need to train.”

His flat, composed words carried a subtle tone that reminded Bai Li of his late grandfather. Every time before his grandfather beat him, he would use such succinct phrases to give the reason.

Bai Li didn’t know what these new recruits had done to end up on the bad side of Major General Lu Zhao, but he firmly took a stance: “Alright, fine, it’s stable. You should beat them; kids won’t improve without discipline.” He topped off Lu Zhao’s juice again. “Drink and eat more, Major General. Don’t get too tired tomorrow. We need to take it slow. Talent doesn’t come out in a day; you’ve got to train them for a few days.”

Lu Zhao glanced at him, paused, then couldn’t help but ask, “Have you been thinking about anything from the forum?”

Bai Li stopped eating his porridge and looked at Lu Zhao, immediately understanding what he meant. He put the bowl down. “Yeah.”

Lu Zhao mimicked Bai Li’s tone. “Tell me more.”

Bai Li ruffled his hair. “So many people are jealous. I’m really the center of attention.”

Lu Zhao: “…You should eat more.” Shut that mouth of yours.

The two of them quickly finished a whole pot of porridge, and there was nothing left of the food. Lu Zhao didn’t handle spice well; the heat made him sweat, but he still ate nearly half of the spicy stir-fried pork with radish, which amused Bai Li greatly.

After the meal, it was time to wash the dishes. This part wasn’t as convenient as meal replacement liquids, where you could just drink and toss the container without a worry.

Bai Li carried the two plates to the sink and was about to return to grab the rest, only to see that Lu Zhao had already gathered the remaining bowls and chopsticks and brought them over to the sink.

“Put them here,” Bai Li nodded toward the sink.

Lu Zhao didn’t say anything, just placed the dishes in the sink, turned on the water, and began washing them.

“Nice, Major General. You’re so well-mannered, unlike those people who just eat and do nothing. Your class consciousness is really high,” Bai Li praised him.

Lu Zhao said, “I remember when we registered our marriage, I saw you looking older than me.”

Bai Li replied, “I am older than you.”

Lu Zhao: “…” There’s a reason people call you shameless.

To show his high class consciousness and good manners, Bai Li didn’t leave and stayed there washing his own dishes.

The sink area, which was originally quite spacious, now felt cramped with the two big men standing close together, making the kitchen seem like it needed an expansion.

“Flower, does Huo Cun have work tonight?” Bai Li asked while washing.

Lu Zhao thought for a moment. “No, he’s not busy recently.”

After saying that, he heard Bai Li curse, “Damn, I’m not doing the simulation battle tonight.”

Lu Zhao couldn’t hold back and chuckled.

Once the washing and drying were done, Lu Zhao and Bai Li prepared to return to their respective bedrooms.

To put it plainly, this marriage was more like a partnership. They had set some rules before getting married. Bai Li didn’t interfere with Lu Zhao’s work, and Lu Zhao would help Bai Li with military connections whenever needed. As for other matters, they both tacitly avoided mentioning them.

After returning to his bedroom, Lu Zhao planned to check out the military section of the Empire’s forum. Now that he had some free time, he could catch up on it. The entertainment section had been overwhelming today, and he needed something from his professional field to refresh his mind.

Just as he lay down, the robotic butler knocked and entered, carrying a small tray with a bottle of milk.

Lu Zhao picked it up and saw that the packaging had a message written on it: [Flower, eating spicy food irritates the stomach, have a couple of sips.]

The robotic butler happily took the empty tray and left, and Lu Zhao drank the milk while fiddling with his personal terminal. He was reading a post about the indigenous people of a certain satellite planet when Huo Cun sent him a text message.

Huo Cun: [Major General, what’s Bai Li doing? He’s not online for the simulation battle, and I’m climbing the ranks tonight!]

Lu Zhao glanced at the milk in his hand, then at Huo Cun’s message, thinking to himself, So getting married means giving you a break, huh? Normally, I’d let it slide, but today I’m eating and drinking his stuff, and you’re here trying to rank up? Go ahead and climb. Climb to your grandpa. He quickly typed a reply: [He’s tired and already asleep. Don’t bother him.] Cooking is tiring, he deserves to rest.

Huo Cun: “……He’s already tired this early? Bai Li really can’t handle it.”

The next day, when Lu Zhao woke up, Bai Li had already left. He had left a note for him, stuck on the robotic butler’s head.

Lu Zhao picked it up and read: [I’m heading to the research institute. If my buddy hits me, I’ll report your name.]

The signature “Bai Li” was written in bold, very much in line with his personality.

Lu Zhao folded the note and put it aside. He patted the robotic butler’s round head, took the nutrition liquids from its little arm—one meal replacement type, and one recovery type.

Bai Li still remembered that he had been injured and needed to take recovery nutrition liquids regularly.

After changing his clothes, Lu Zhao went downstairs and drove to the Legion’s base. As soon as he left the residential area, Huo Cun called to report the work for the day.

There wasn’t much going on—mostly paperwork. Huo Cun told Lu Zhao about it, but he would handle it himself. Since Lu Zhao joined the First Legion, he had followed the combat route, always participating in major battles. His sharp mind, command skills, and good physical condition made him one of the top figures in the Legion. Therefore, no one ever asked him to handle paperwork—it was unnecessary. As long as he could fight, that was enough.

After Huo Cun finished the report, Lu Zhao suddenly said, “The new recruits are supposed to have mecha simulation training today. Add me to the list of training officers.”

Huo Cun was confused. “Major General, at your level, you don’t need to train new recruits.”

Lu Zhao replied calmly, “I’m not training them.”

Huo Cun: “Then…?”

Lu Zhao thought for a while, unable to find a good explanation, but suddenly remembered what Bai Li had said yesterday, and blurted out, “I’m encouraging them to be good.”

Huo Cun: “?”

Huo Cun still didn’t understand, but that didn’t matter. Whatever Lu Zhao told him to do, he would do.

It was easy to add a training officer, especially Lu Zhao. As soon as the news spread, the new recruits went into an uproar.

Although their group of new recruits was large, only about half of them would be able to stay in the First Legion after assessment. Some would be eliminated for being unqualified, and even those who passed might not make it to the frontlines, let alone train alongside a high-ranking officer like Lu Zhao.

The chance to witness the imperial eagle’s prowess, even if they got beaten, was worth it.

The new recruits were like they’d been injected with adrenaline, arriving early and waiting in the mecha simulation training room. They were led by several instructors to familiarize themselves with the First Legion’s simulation chambers. Although they had trained for some time and were already quite familiar with the simulation chambers, today was more about getting acclimated—essentially just a warm-up.

Lu Zhao didn’t take the new recruits seriously. He drove his hovering car to the First Legion base. Today, he didn’t call Huo Cun to drive and forgot to connect the system to the military network. As soon as he turned on the radio, the car’s system automatically connected to the Imperial Public Network, landing on a morning radio show where two hosts were discussing recent big events. Lu Zhao wasn’t surprised to hear his and Bai Li’s names mentioned.

Since marrying Lu Zhao, Bai Li’s name had returned to the public eye, and some of his past achievements in the military were being dug up and discussed again. However, the public was more focused on Bai Li’s current situation.

The two hosts didn’t speak as harshly as Lu Zhao had expected. One of the hosts seemed to have a good impression of Bai Li, mentioning several battles he had excelled in while in the Legion. But, as expected, the conversation soon shifted to Bai Li’s current life.

After leaving the military, Bai Li took over the industries left behind by the elder Bai. These matters were handled by specialized people, so Bai Li rarely made appearances. In the past few years, he had kept a low profile, though it was said that he had invested in a research institute developing artificial intelligence products for ordinary citizens, making a significant profit.

The head of the institute and the main developer was Bai Li’s classmate from the military academy, specializing in mecha research. Therefore, in addition to AI products, the institute also dabbled in mecha development.

Although the hosts were discussing things enthusiastically, there wasn’t much substantial information. Lu Zhao listened half-heartedly. When they mentioned Bai Li’s investment in the mecha development institute, he was somewhat surprised. He had thought that once Bai Li left the military, he wouldn’t care about anything related to his past.

The radio show couldn’t help but keep circling back to Bai Li’s current developments and how marrying Lu Zhao had affected him. They couldn’t say much else.

This was largely because Bai Li was quite a unique person. While he was active on forums and blogs, he hardly ever mentioned his personal life, leading the public to focus on his old gossip and rumors.

The public’s speculation painted him as a fallen figure, recently adding the highlight of living off his spouse.

Lu Zhao became impatient listening and turned off the radio.

A while later, Lu Zhao sent Huo Cun a message: [How do you make the public see a person differently from how they think?]

Huo Cun: [?]

On the other end, Huo Cun was puzzled, wondering if the Major General had changed his mind and started caring about the public’s opinion of him?

Huo Cun carefully sent a message back: [Maybe show more of the excellent side? Do something a little different, something that makes people think you’re impressive. I’ve seen those little stars do it, always posting their life photos on their blogs, single ones showing off gym pictures, and married ones sharing love photos.]

Lu Zhao thought about it, didn’t respond to Huo Cun’s follow-up question, and instead pulled out his terminal to open Bai Li’s contact. He sent a message.

Lu Zhao: [Can you send me a picture from last night’s dinner?]

Bai Li, not sure what was going on, quickly replied: [What’s up, Flower? Are you hungry? Craving some food?] He then sent over the photo from last night.

Lu Zhao took a careful look. The scrambled eggs with tomatoes looked delicious, and the stir-fried meat had a nice balance of fat and lean. It was well-presented.

He logged into his almost-forgotten blog account. This account had been created when he joined the First Legion at the military’s request. It was verified under his real name, and the military hoped he would use it for personal image promotion. But Lu Zhao had never really bothered with it, except for posting official statements. His profile picture had been taken by Huo Cun and Han Miao—one of those candid shots of him.

Lu Zhao uploaded the dinner photo and hesitated for a moment while writing the caption.

He had to write something, but what should it be? Too intimate, and Lu Zhao wouldn’t be able to handle it. Partly because that was just his personality, and partly because he and Bai Li weren’t really close. He just felt a bit guilty towards Bai Li and wanted to do something for him, much like how Bai Li would prepare his nutrition liquids in the morning.

After thinking for a while, Lu Zhao decided to just go with his gut feeling: [Bai Li cooks really well.]

He clicked send.

As the hovering car drove into the First Legion base, Lu Zhao recalled the message he had just sent. It felt very everyday, very casual, and very low-key. Nothing was wrong, it was all fine.

Yep, all good.