CR CH16

Chapter 16: Rumors

On the other side.

He Qian also seemed to notice the lingering glances from the surroundings. She raised her hand to dismiss her entourage first, then led Jiang Tianji toward the office area, where team members rarely passed by.

“Tianji, your test results are out.”

He Qian handed him a stack of paper reports. “The results show that you are perfectly fine—completely healthy. However, we still haven’t found the cause behind your abnormal pheromone perception. For now, we suspect it might be psychological. If there are any updates, I’ll let you know right away.”

“As of now, just come to the lab every Wednesday for a routine suppressor injection.”

“Alright, thank you for the trouble.” Jiang Tianji flipped through the paper report in his hands, his gaze suddenly freezing at one spot.

He Qian smiled. “Congratulations. A top 1% elite Alpha in the Federation—that kind of talent is incredibly rare. Even Captain Ling was shocked when he saw it. He spent a long time staring at the report.”

Jiang Tianji kept his head lowered and remained silent for a moment, seemingly stunned as well. “Wow… it’s almost a waste to give this kind of talent to me. Just today, Officer Zhao was talking about sending me to logistics.”

As for Captain Ling staring at it for so long, he was probably wondering if there was a glitch in the testing equipment.

He Qian didn’t say much else, merely patting his shoulder as a reminder.

“I’ll be in the lab here for the foreseeable future. If you have any issues, feel free to come find me anytime.”

Jiang Tianji handed the report back to her and said with a smile, “Alright, thank you.”

Looking at his smile, He Qian seemed to want to say something else, but in the end, she only let out a sigh.

“I’ll head out first then. Go on back.”

“Alright, take care.”

Jiang Tianji watched He Qian walk away. After a long while, he slowly stretched his arms and began making his way back.

Reaching the cafeteria entrance, he passed the facial recognition scan. Jiang Tianji was just about to lift the heavy, largely useless inner curtain when a sudden burst of force came from the other side.

Someone pushed their way out first, and the heavy curtain slammed right into Jiang Tianji’s head and face. Getting struck out of nowhere like that was enough to spark a bit of temper in anyone.

“Hey man…” Got quite a grip, don’t you?

Muttering to himself, he rubbed his face and looked up, only to lock eyes with a pair of deep, icy blue eyes.

Jiang Tianji: “…”

Ling Kongmiao lowered his gaze, his lips twitching slightly as if his first instinct was to say “sorry.” But when his eyes focused and he recognized who it was, he suddenly fell silent. The words seemed to tumble around in his mind before transforming into a cold sneer.

“Excuse me.”

Jiang Tianji figured the captain’s impression of him must have hit absolute rock bottom; otherwise, a simple apology wouldn’t have sounded like a death threat.

Stepping aside, he gestured with a polite, submissive hand. “Good day, Captain. After you, Captain.”

The captain didn’t move.

With the captain standing still at the entrance, the people trailing behind him didn’t dare move either, forcing everyone to wait in a bottleneck.

Sensing the burning glares coming at him from all directions, Jiang Tianji looked up, attempting to prompt the other man to move.

Right at that moment, Ling Kongmiao moved again. He pressed a hand against Jiang Tianji’s shoulder and leaned in close.

“A top 1% talent. Don’t waste it.”

To outsiders, the posture looked incredibly intimate, causing Jiang Tianji’s entire body to stiffen. The warm breath brushing against his ear felt more like the cold flick of a snake’s tongue. But before he could even take a step back, the other man had already pulled away.

Before leaving, Ling Kongmiao’s gaze crossed his for a fleeting second, carrying a flicker of some indecipherable emotion.

Without giving him time to dissect it, the captain strode away, leaving behind nothing but a cold, detached silhouette.

Jiang Tianji frowned as he lifted the curtain and walked briskly into the cafeteria.

Though he couldn’t read the exact meaning behind it, that smirk looked malicious no matter how he sliced it. And that tone—it sounded less like encouragement and more like pure sarcasm.

A sudden wave of foreboding washed over him. Jiang Tianji rubbed the back of his neck, temporarily suppressing the unease in his chest.

He headed toward the second floor of the cafeteria, planning to regroup with his teammates.

Along the way, quite a few people threw covert and overt glances his way. Jiang Tianji didn’t pay them much mind. Once he spotted his team, he waved and smiled.

“I’m back. What are you guys eating? Let me see what’s good.”

Feng Huo was eating in absolute silence. Li Cheng was rubbing his hands together, looking rather hesitant. The rest of the team were acting as usual, with Huang Qi boisterously recommending his own meal.

江天际 (Jiang Tianji) acutely sensed that something was off. Feeling perplexed, he sat down next to Feng Huo and slung an arm around his shoulder.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Feng Huo didn’t say anything for a moment. Li Cheng hesitated, but eventually spoke up.

“Tianji, I didn’t mean anything by it just now. Don’t take it to heart.”

Jiang Tianji grew even more bewildered. “What do you mean you didn’t mean anything by it? I was only gone for a bit, what happened to you guys?”

The team’s eyes flicked toward Feng Huo. The hand Feng Huo was using to hold his chopsticks paused, and he suddenly stood up.

“I’m not feeling well. Going back to the dorms first.”

Ji Yandong slammed his chopsticks down with a clack, his tone turning cold. “Feng Huo, don’t drag the innocent into this.”

“I know,” Feng Huo snapped, looking incredibly irritated. Even though he was trying to suppress his anger, his tone came off extremely aggressive. “Can’t I just go clear my head? This is so annoying.”

Jiang Tianji slowly pulled back his hand that had been left hanging in the air, remaining seated without a word.

“Sigh, you people are just way too complicated.” Huang Qi, losing his smile for once, tossed his chopsticks aside.

Li Cheng scratched his head. “This whole mess is my fault for running my mouth. Tianji, you’re a good guy, and we all know that from hanging out with you. But keeping this from you makes me worry you’ll overthink it, and keeping quiet just feels weird. Ugh… why are these people’s mouths even looser than mine?”

Ji Yandong calmed himself down slightly and spoke up. “Feng Huo is a special case. He gets overly sensitive about certain topics. Don’t read too much into it.”

Liu Zhaoxi, who rarely spoke or showed much expression, didn’t join the conversation, but he didn’t get up to leave after finishing his food either.

The group beat around the bush, seemingly trying to figure out the best way to explain things.

“Alright, watching you guys try to speak is exhausting… Someone’s spreading rumors, and probably only about ten percent of it is true. We don’t care, but you need a heads-up.” Seeing that the rest of the group was useless, Qi Xiuyi wiped his mouth and cut straight to the point. “A lot of people are paying attention to you for the same reason as Huang Qi—just for laughs. You can’t blame others for that; your behavior has been a bit flashy.”

“But someone leaked the fact that your mother is Commander Jiang. On top of that, there are some old rumors going around about your past. They aren’t very pleasant, so I won’t repeat them. Overnight, you went from being a comical clown to a privileged young master with a powerful background who is actively mocking the discipline of the grassroots forces.”

“Normal people wouldn’t harbor that much hostility toward you, nor would they deliberately manipulate the narrative. And they definitely wouldn’t know your background inside out to the point of making the rumors sound so incredibly detailed. That’s all we know.”

The group fell into a brief silence, hesitantly watching Jiang Tianji’s expression.

“I see. Thanks.”

To everyone’s surprise, Jiang Tianji didn’t show any major emotional reaction. He merely propped up his chin and let out a sigh.

“They really are rumors.”

“See, I told you! How could a guy like him be Commander Jiang’s son?” Huang Qi pointed at him, laughing.

Jiang Tianji choked on his words, glaring at him with a look of deep grievance. “Commander Jiang is indeed my mother. But my mother has always been incredibly strict and frugal. As for mocking the discipline of the grassroots forces… usually, the moment she frowns, I instinctively drop to my knees.”

Except for Ji Yandong, everyone else froze, slowly turning their heads to look at Qi Xiuyi.

Huang Qi: “Tactician, didn’t you say it was fake?!”

Qi Xiuyi twitched his lips. “I said ten percent of it was true.”

Jiang Tianji extended his hand toward him. Qi Xiuyi didn’t quite understand, but shook it out of politeness anyway.

“Brother Qi, you truly live up to the title of Tactician. Back when I first arrived at the Federation Military Academy, I confessed the truth to my roommates on day one. Aside from the one who already knew my background, neither of the other two believed a single word. It’s not easy these days to meet someone who actually treats me like a normal human being.”

Qi Xiuyi pulled his hand back, hesitating for a moment.

“My dad is one of Commander Jiang’s subordinates. He came by the grassroots forces a few days ago for a hand-off and stopped by to see me. When he told me, I didn’t believe it either. I asked him three times if it was really you.”

The smile froze right on Jiang Tianji’s face.