LABMY CH72

Because he had something on his mind, Lu Qianyun woke up early. When his consciousness was still muddled from sleep, he thought about getting up quickly and returning to his room before Jian Yuanbai discovered him.

But when his mind cleared from the haze, Lu Qianyun felt the continuous warmth beside him, with a hand resting on his waist as he nestled in the arms of the person next to him.

Without raising his head or opening his eyes, Lu Qianyun rubbed lightly against the faintly cold bamboo-scented embrace.

Like a kitten, he affectionately nuzzled against Jian Yuanbai’s chest.

The grievance he felt before sleeping disappeared in this embrace. Lu Qianyun quietly turned off the alarm he had set in advance and closed his eyes again.

After eighteen years of separation, Lu Qianyun instinctively found the position he liked, snuggling deeper into Jian Yuanbai’s arms.

He thought: It doesn’t matter if he lost his memory. Now that I’ve remembered, we’re destined to be together.

Jian Yuanbai crossed two worlds to reach him. In this world, it was his turn to firmly hold on to him.

Lu Qianyun had no idea that every little movement he made was felt by Jian Yuanbai. With his SSS-level Alpha physique, Jian Yuanbai woke up the moment the person in his arms stirred.

Jian Yuanbai opened his eyes and looked helplessly at the person sleeping on his chest. He didn’t speak immediately, which led to the current situation where he wasn’t sure whether he should wake up the person who had squeezed back into his arms.

At 1.93 meters tall, Jian Yuanbai made Lu Qianyun, who was nestled against him, seem petite. With his eyes closed, half of his porcelain-white face was exposed, and his long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath his eyes. The edge of a white medical bandage peeked out from the back of his neck.

Delicate and fragile, like an easily shattered porcelain doll.

Jian Yuanbai increasingly felt that Lu Qianyun resembled a little fawn. This thought stirred an inexplicable protective instinct within him, so he indulged and pretended to be asleep, allowing Lu Qianyun to sleep in his arms a little longer.

Jian Yuanbai knew Lu Qianyun’s background well. He lost his parents shortly after birth and was taken to the main family after awakening his SSS-level physique.

Now that he was injured and so clingy, was he mistaking Jian Yuanbai for his dad?

He was just his uncle. If he treated him like a dad, wouldn’t that directly upgrade their relationship?

But then again, what is an uncle? An uncle is essentially a reliable father figure. Lu Qianyun being this clingy didn’t seem like a problem.

Jian Yuanbai’s thoughts ran wild like an untamed horse, endlessly complicated. Yet, his body remained completely still.

Until the sound of a notification from Lu Qianyun’s optical brain broke the morning silence.

Jian Yuanbai didn’t want to bring up the fact that Lu Qianyun had slept at his door last night, sparing him some dignity. So he asked, “Someone looking for you?”

Lu Qianyun checked the message and smiled at him. “Nothing important. Just a reminder that my leave is up, and I need to return to school.”

Both of them naturally avoided the fact that Lu Qianyun had woken up in Jian Yuanbai’s bed.

Jian Yuanbai lifted the blanket, changed his clothes, and asked, “I’ll drive you to school. What flavor of nutrient solution do you want for breakfast?”

Lu Qianyun watched as Jian Yuanbai carelessly pulled clothes from the wardrobe and changed. The discarded pajamas fell onto the bed, forming natural folds.

His broad shoulders and narrow waist were exposed in front of Lu Qianyun, the smooth lines of his muscles stretching down his back. Jian Yuanbai’s physique was lean and powerful, full of strength and aesthetic beauty.

The dark green military uniform’s inner lining covered his back, hiding those eye-catching muscles as he buttoned up.

Jian Yuanbai, now dressed, asked again, “What flavor of nutrient solution do you want?”

Lu Qianyun replied, “Anything is fine. You really only drink nutrient solutions in the morning?”

“It’s convenient,” Jian Yuanbai answered briefly before asking casually, “What were you daydreaming about just now?”

“Nothing,” Lu Qianyun replied, his ears turning red beneath his hair, though his face remained calm.

After a moment, Lu Qianyun asked, “What does your pheromone smell like? Is it cold bamboo?”

Jian Yuanbai froze and turned to look at him.

In the world of adults, asking about a person’s pheromone scent was considered extremely impolite—basically a form of flirting.

But looking at Lu Qianyun’s serious expression, which seemed like pure curiosity, Jian Yuanbai still answered, “Yes. You can smell it?”

Lu Qianyun pursed his lips and said, “Just a little.”

Jian Yuanbai frowned slightly. “Sorry, I didn’t control it properly.”

He was quite certain he had suppressed his pheromones, but seeing Lu Qianyun, who had his gland removed, Jian Yuanbai blamed himself.

In his heart, though, he was already considering arranging a full-body checkup for Lu Qianyun. Logically, someone who had their gland removed shouldn’t be able to smell pheromones anymore.

Because he was… broken.

Lu Qianyun brushed past Jian Yuanbai and casually said, “It’s fine. It smells really good.”

Jian Yuanbai stood frozen behind him, completely stunned by this statement.

Complimenting someone’s pheromone scent as “good” was essentially a straightforward way of saying…

“You turn me on.”

In the autopilot hover car on the way to school, Jian Yuanbai kept looking at Lu Qianyun with hesitation.

His expression was so obvious that Lu Qianyun couldn’t ignore it even if he tried. Finally, he asked, “What’s wrong? Do you have something to say?”

Jian Yuanbai remained silent and shook his head.

Lu Qianyun sat quietly for a while, but the way Jian Yuanbai kept staring at him made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but ask again, “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

After being asked repeatedly, Jian Yuanbai hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lu Qianyun with a conflicted expression.

Jian Yuanbai opened his mouth, and Lu Qianyun waited seriously for him to speak. But before Jian Yuanbai could say a word, he closed his mouth again.

Lu Qianyun: ……

He could tell that Jian Yuanbai was on the verge of speaking but kept hesitating.

Moreover, on Jian Yuanbai’s cold and handsome face, Lu Qianyun actually saw… shyness?

Could it be… he’s going to confess to me?

No way… That’s too sudden.

Lu Qianyun’s eyes suddenly lit up. Did Jian Yuanbai regain his memory and feel too embarrassed to say it?

Or…

In the sealed hover car, the two of them sat face-to-face. The atmosphere slowed to a crawl, and even the wind seemed to stop flowing. Jian Yuanbai’s hesitation and nervousness made Lu Qianyun tense up as well.

Lu Qianyun even felt he could hear his own heartbeat, thumping wildly out of rhythm.

Jian Yuanbai took a deep breath, and Lu Qianyun subconsciously held his breath as well.

Here it comes!

In the next second, Jian Yuanbai’s deep, magnetic voice sounded: “Did the Lu family give you proper education?”

?

???

What kind of brainless question is this?

Lu Qianyun barely managed to keep his expression in check, but his gaze was incredibly complicated. “What kind of brainless question are you asking?”

Jian Yuanbai also felt that his question was a bit dumb, but that wasn’t really his main point. He was just trying to probe, so he asked indirectly, “What kind of classes do you usually take?”

“Physical training, combat techniques—what else would there be?” Lu Qianyun replied irritably.

Jian Yuanbai: “So that means no other classes? I mean, they don’t teach you anything else?”

He hesitated before adding, “And no one else has ever taught you anything?”

Lu Qianyun: “All the general education subjects are covered in school.”

After a brief silence, Jian Yuanbai let out a deep “Oh,” leaving Lu Qianyun completely baffled.

That single “Oh” carried an air of tragic heroism, as if he were lamenting the passage of time and preparing for a journey of no return. What the hell?

Jian Yuanbai truly felt a sense of tragedy. He hadn’t expected the cold-blooded people of the Lu family to only care about whether Lu Qianyun was strong, completely neglecting his mental and emotional well-being.

Sex education was such an important topic, and yet they didn’t teach it.

And now, the kid had landed in his hands, an absolute blank slate when it came to sex education. Was he, as the little uncle, supposed to take on this responsibility?

What a heavy burden. So heavy that Jian Yuanbai was left speechless.

This cheap little-uncle role was really tough—too tough.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. By the time they reached the school, Jian Yuanbai still hadn’t figured out how to bring up the subject.

Just as Lu Qianyun was about to step through the school gates, Jian Yuanbai hurriedly called him back. “Wait a second.”

Lu Qianyun turned to look at him, his clear, untainted eyes carrying a hint of curiosity.

Jian Yuanbai grasped his hand and gave him a solemn warning: “Don’t ever randomly compliment someone else’s pheromones again. Got it?”

Lu Qianyun was stunned. “You…”

A moment later, he suddenly smiled. His beautiful eyes curved, sparkling brightly. “Alright.”

Could he take this as a sign that even though Jian Yuanbai didn’t remember him, deep down, he still cared? That he had a subconscious possessiveness toward him?

This thought made Lu Qianyun smile even as he walked into the classroom. He had no idea that, at that very moment, Jian Yuanbai was anxiously researching materials on sexual education.

He racked his brain, trying to come up with the right way to phrase things, but nothing seemed appropriate. Sitting at his office desk in full military uniform, the tall man crumpled his drafted speech into a ball and tossed it aside, leaning back against the cushioned chair.

He thought to himself: Maybe I should just let it go. The kid is already this old.

But then, he recalled the look in Lu Qianyun’s eyes at the school gate—so pure and untainted.

Jian Yuanbai let out a long sigh, picked up his pen, and started drafting a new introduction. As a little uncle, it was his duty to protect the world’s purest fawn.

The thing that finally pulled him out of his deep dive into sex education was a phone call from an old friend.

On the other end, a man’s voice teased, “I heard you’re cleaning up the Lu family’s mess, picking up a little tag-along, huh?”

Jian Yuanbai: “He’s not a tag-along. He has a name.”

“I dropped him off at school this morning.”

Fan Youjin clicked his tongue twice. “Lu Qianyun, huh? Who doesn’t know him? What a waste of a promising talent.”

“By the way, since they removed his glands, he can’t stay in the Mecha Department anymore, right? He should be transferring to another department.”

“I wonder if the First Imperial Academy will still keep him.”

In response, the call ended with a series of beeping tones.

Jian Yuanbai stared at the communication panel, then hung up on the second incoming call without hesitation. He didn’t need to think to know it was just Fan Youjin calling back to yell at him for hanging up.

Grabbing his jacket, Jian Yuanbai headed downstairs, got into a hover car, and went straight to the First Imperial Academy, intending to help Lu Qianyun transfer departments.

However, just as he reached the classroom door, before even stepping inside, he saw Lu Qianyun with blood on his face, his gaze fierce as he pinned a student to the ground with his elbow. In his other hand, he held a short knife, its cold, sharp edge pressed against another student’s throat.

Lu Qianyun was still panting, sweat dripping from his temples. With his glands removed, taking down an Alpha wasn’t easy—he had relied entirely on years of training, techniques engraved into his bones. Fortunately, the one who provoked him was only an A-rank Alpha. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have won.

Without waiting for his breathing to steady, he kept his cold, fierce gaze locked on his opponent, his voice steady and deliberate. Loud enough for the whole class to hear, he said:

“A dragon stranded in shallow waters doesn’t mean a dog can bark at it. Do you understand?”

His voice was forceful, his tone nothing short of arrogant. “If you’re a dog that got beaten by a dragon with no glands, then stay put and wag your tail obediently!”

Outside the door, Jian Yuanbai was utterly dumbfounded.

A dragon stranded in shallow waters… was Lu Qianyun calling himself a dragon?

What exactly had the Lu family been teaching him? So arrogant. So melodramatic.

Not a single sex education lesson, but full marks in over-the-top theatrics?