The next morning, Lin Yuan woke up and found himself leaning into Caesar 's arms like a body pillow. He seemed to get more and more used to the scene of "waking up in Caesar's arms", watching the sleeping Caesar with his eyebrows smoothed out and relaxed, Lin Yuan couldn’t help smiling, he reached out his hand and patted Caesar’s face, softly saying: “Caesar, get up.”
Caesar had actually woken up a long time ago, but being called out of bed by Xiao Yuan is much more enjoyable than getting up by himself. He would naturally play a bit of pretend.
Seeing that Caesar's eyes were still glued shut, Lin Yuan then pinched his nose closed, “It’s almost time to get up, why are you still being lazy and sleeping?”
Caesar who had his nose pinched and was unable to breathe was forced to reluctantly open his eyes.
In reality, he was hoping for Lin Yuan to wake him up as passionately as he did last night with a kiss… Of course, Lin Yuan obviously had not come to this understanding yet.
Facing the smiling eyes of Lin Yuan, Caesar couldn’t help but kiss his forehead and quietly say: “Good morning.”
Lin Yuan looked at Caesar and leaned over to give him a kiss on the forehead as he had learned, saying with a smile: “Good morning.”
The two had embraced one other, slept under the same quilt, greeted the first light of the morning dawn together, kissed each other’s forehead, and said good morning… This kind of feeling is particularly warm, as if they had already been together for a long time, a complete mutual understanding as a married couple would.
Caesar wanted to take the kissing even further, but Lin Yuan tore the quilt off and got out of bed, saying, “Go wash your face and brush your teeth. My family eats breakfast every morning at 7:30 without fail.”
At Lin Yuan’s house, Caesar was naturally not going to be unbridled and was forced to obediently follow Lin Yuan out the door.
When the two came out of the bedroom together, they both smelled a heavy aroma at the same time. Lin Yao was baking bread in the kitchen, an apron wrapped around her. Mrs. Lin was warming milk and when she saw the two, she smiled and said: “You're out of bed?” Go wash up and get ready to eat breakfast.”
Lin Yuan couldn’t help but redden in shame. Coming out of his bedroom door with Caesar and being faced with his mother felt unbelievably embarrassing. Especially since the two of them had been intimate under the same quilt for quite a long time last night, both their lips were practically kissed swollen.
Lin Yuan met his mother’s gentle gaze and hurriedly looked away, scurrying off into the bathroom.
The surface area of Lin Yuan’s home is not large, there is only one bathroom, so to wash his face in the morning, he'd have to get in line. Lin Yuan went in to wash his face and Caesar stood outside and chatted with Mrs. Lin, “Auntie, do you all usually get up this early?”
Mrs. Lin said: “Yeah, it's become a habit after so many years.”
Caesar asked: “Xiao Yuan too?”
Mrs. Lin said with a smile: “He actually was quite fond of lazing around in bed when he was a child. He refused to get up and would roll around with his quilt in a death grip. He refused whenever I called him down to eat breakfast too. He was even late for school several times back in elementary school from sleeping in. Later on, A-Yao devised a method, she balled up a big snowball and pitched it into his bed at 7:30 every morning, right on time. Xiao Yuan was so frightened that he never dared to sleep in again.”
Caesar: “………”
Big Sis' Lin Yao really had her ways of sorting this naughty little brother of hers.
Despite Xiao Yuan growing up in a single-parent family and never experiencing the love of a father during his childhood, he, however, had such a gentle and kindhearted mother along with a candid and cheerful sister to foster his optimistic and cheerful personality.
It can be said that Xiao Yuan inherited Marshal Rosen and General Ling Yu's excellent genes, but his character was completely molded by his adoptive mother and sister.
Having this kind of mother and sister, his childhood must have been very happy and warm then?
Thinking of this, Caesar suddenly admired the woman in front of him a bit. Her husband had lost his life a long time ago. She raised a son and daughter all on her own and still taught Xiao Yuan so well. It really mustn’t have been easy.
Seeing Mrs. Lin carrying a few large glasses of milk she had poured into the dining room, Caesar hurriedly said: “Auntie, I'll come help you.”
Caesar swiftly took the milk and fried eggs in hand one by one and set them down in the dining room. Mrs. Lin looked at the back of the tall youth bustling about and she couldn’t help a small smile floating on her face— in the Empire, the Omegas in the household are given full responsibility for doing housework and raising children. Alphas work away from home and for the most part, Alphas are all a bit sexist, the kind of Alpha who is willing to lend a hand in doing household duties is already very few and far in between.
She had always been worried that Xiao Yuan would be wronged when he became an Omega, but Caesar gave people the impression that… he will take good care of Xiao Yuan and pamper Xiao Yuan. Even Mrs. Lin can see that this young man really loves her son.
Mrs. Lin was silent for a moment and finally couldn’t help but ask a question that had always been in the back of her mind: “Caesar, you and Xiao Yuan… Since you've already marked each other, you should know of his origins? Do you have any plans for his future? “
As an elder, Mrs. Lin asked Caesar’s thoughts about their future, which also proved her heart’s approval of Caesar.
Caesar gave a slight smile, looked back at Mrs. Lin, and said seriously: “Auntie, rest assured, I know everything there is to know about Xiao Yuan. He wishes to continue injecting inhibitors and attend the military academy. I will respect his decision and support him doing whatever he likes…” Caesar made a pause, “After graduation if he wants, I will officially marry him. If he doesn’t want to, then I will wait for him for however many years.”
Lin Yuan came out of the bathroom and suddenly stopped in his steps at the corner of the dining room.
“…If he wants, I will officially marry him. If he doesn’t want to, I’ll wait for him for however many years…”
Caesar’s deep voice passed clearly to his ears word by word, making the rims of Lin Yuan’s eyes suddenly sting.
He didn’t know how to describe the mood of that moment. The feeling of being understood, considered, valued, and accepted by a single person was just like his heart being carefully cradled by a pair of warm hands.
—Caesar, when you treat me like this, how could I disappoint you?
Lin Yuan took a deep breath and repressed the heat emerging from his eyes. He then tightly clenched his hands into fists and turned the corner into the dining room. He smiled in front of Caesar, saying: “Go wash your face after you're done washing, come eat breakfast.”
Caesar nodded and turned to enter the bathroom to wash his face. He looked at the clean towels and toothbrush placed on the vanity. There was even a dollop of toothpaste squeezed onto the toothbrush, warm water was poured in a cup, obviously something Lin Yuan had prepared moments ago…
Caesar always uses a smart toothbrush when he stays in the Imperial Palace. Lin Yuan 's family situation isn't well off. They still use the traditional toothbrush, but seeing Lin Yuan 's considerate preparation of everything for himself, Caesar 's heart felt like warm rays of sunshine had rained upon it.
The weather on Planet Rennes is particularly cold, but Lin Yuan's passion last night and his thoughtfulness this morning gave Caesar the illusion of being in a tropical climate.
After Caesar’s surprise visit last night, there wasn't any leftover food and today’s breakfast was especially well prepared.
In addition to the steaming hot milk and the soft yellow omelet personally crafted with Mrs. Lin's own hands, Lin Yao obviously wanted to show off her own culinary talent this morning too. She made a lot of different cakes and pastries, taking up a whole table to display them.
Lin Yuan loved to eat the cakes made by his sister and immediately ate them up without any manners, eating one mouthful at a time with great relish.
Caesar originally had no interest in sweets, but since this was something personally made by Xiao Yuan’s sister, he also ate a good few of them to outwardly show grace.
After breakfast, Lin Yao went to her cake shop, Mrs. Lin stayed at home to watch TV, and Lin Yuan dragged Caesar out to view the snowy scenery.
The two changed into thick clothing. After leaving, Lin Yuan took Caesar directly to a shopping mall. The shopping mall on Planet Rennes is extremely small. While it is called a shopping mall, it is actually more like a small shop made up of pedestrian streets. It was deserted and there weren't many people around either.
Caesar said, a bit puzzled: “What did we go to the mall for? Do you want to buy something?”
Lin Yuan nodded, “En, let's walk around and look.”
Caesar really couldn’t understand why it was necessary for Lin Yuan to take him to the mall. The amount of goods in any one of the malls in the Capital Star has the one here beat by a hundredfold.
Until Lin Yuan took Caesar to a small shop selling hats.
The shopkeeper auntie clearly recognized Lin Yuan, and when she saw Lin Yuan, she was all smiles and said: “Xiao Yuan is back, ah? Didn’t you test into that Saint… Saint whatchamacallit military academy to study? Is this for a vacation?”
Lin Yuan smiled and said: “Yes, Auntie, I just came back for a vacation.”
The shopkeeper looked at the boy next to Lin Yuan in wonder, “And this is?”
Lin Yuan said: “Oh, this is my classmate, he traveled with me here.”
For outsiders, Lin Yuan naturally dares not to say “Caesar is my Alpha”. He thought that just his family knowing was enough, there is no need to tell the whole world. Of course, Caesar has no objection to this. His relationship with Lin Yuan is not convenient for public disclosure, he completely agrees with Lin Yuan's low-key approach too.
Meeting at the shopkeeper’s gaze, Caesar nodded and smiled at her, “Hello Auntie.”
The shopkeeper spoke quickly and with enthusiasm: “Oh, so it turned out to be Xiao Yuan’s classmate. Quickly come in. What do you want to buy, look as you please!”
Lin Yuan circled around in the store as if earnestly looking for something.
Caesar said somewhat confused: “Xiao Yuan, what do you want to buy?”
Right at that moment, Lin Yuan’s eyes suddenly lit up and he made a grab for a light gray hat from the corner. He turned around and walked in front of Caesar, stood on his tippy toes, and carefully put the hat on Caesar. He looked around, then smiled cheerfully: “Not too shabby, how about you take a look?”
As he spoke, he fetched a large mirror and put it in front of Caesar.
Caesar was stunned, swiveling his head to look at himself in the mirror— the light gray hat Xiao Yuan had put on his head had a simple and elegant style. It didn't look thick, but it could retain warmth well, giving it a tug, it was just enough for him to cover his ears.
Caesar: “………”
He finally realized the reason why Lin Yuan brought him to a shopping mall.
Only because on the way to his home from the space station that day, his uncovered ears had gone red from being blasted by the frigid wind. Caesar had not cared, yet Lin Yuan had surprisingly kept it in his mind. When they went out today, he took him to a nearby shopping mall to get him a hat first thing…
Caesar was so suddenly touched that he couldn’t bear to take off the hat he had put on his head.
When Xiao Yuan wants to treat a person well, while it is that kind of blunt and serious display, simple and pure, it strikes right to the bottom of the heart.
The feeling of being cared about by Xiao Yuan made Caesar feel especially warm.
He has never worn a hat throughout his entire life, but today, he now dons this simple elegant styled hat that Lin Yuan personally selected, just like a child receiving a gift for the first time, his glee nearly makes him unable to speak.
Lin Yuan carefully looked Caesar up and down, saying: “Actually, there won't be an occasion to wear a hat after going back. It's really just these few days on Planet Rennes. If you don’t wear a hat when you go out your ears will get frostbitten… How is this color? If you think it's alright, we'll buy it? “
Caesar hurriedly smiled and said: “It’s really nice, I like it a lot.”
Lin Yuan grinned happily and went to swipe his card.
After all, Caesar is a prince. The things he usually wears are most certainly different from that of ordinary people. The things sold on Planet Rennes are definitely not as good as the Capital Star in terms of style and quality. Lin Yuan took a long time to pick one that was pleasing to the eye. He was naturally very happy that Caesar could approve of his dress sense.
The two walked out of the shopping center together. Lin Yuan eyed Caesar from the side and abruptly said: “Hold up.”
Caesar turned his head around, “What is it?”
Lin Yuan stood up on the tips of his toes and reached out to help Caesar tug the sides of his hat down, carefully tucking in both of his ears into the hat. Only then did he smile and say: “Have you never worn a hat before, ah? Half of your ears are out, are they not cold?”
The action of the little monster helping to straighten out his hat made the bottom of Caesar’s heart erupt in warmth, he couldn't help but stretch out his arms and steal a hug from him.
Lin Yuan was startled and said nervously: “What are you doing…”
Caesar tightened his arms and whispered: “Let me hug you for a second, nobody will see it anyways.”
Lin Yuan surveyed their surroundings. Today’s weather was still just as awfully cold. There really wasn't a person out in the streets this early in the morning, and moreover, no one would know Caesar in a place like Planet Rennes, all would be well so long as he doesn't run into an acquaintance.
Thinking about it like that, Lin Yuan could no longer resist and was tightly held by Caesar.
Today's snowfall was not too heavy and the air temperature was not as cold as it was last night. Bits and pieces of snowflakes dance in the air however the wind blows. The buildings in the distance and the streets in the vicinity are all covered by a thick layer of snow, it looked like the white snow stretched on for an eternity before their eyes.
Lin Yuan took Caesar’s hand and led him down the street, fearing that he would be frozen into a popsicle, and even thoughtfully put Caesar’s hand into his own pocket.
Being led by Xiao Yuan as they held hands and walked the roads, listening to him giving an introduction of the various sceneries and social customs of Planet Rennes, Caesar was very happy and the vast expanse of the whiteness of the snow scenery here looked more and more pleasing to his eyes.
In reality, Planet Rennes does not have a specially designated scenic spot, the entire planet is a world of ice and snow and you can enjoy the magnificent snowy scenery no matter where you go.
Of course, if you want to see the panoramic view of the town, you can still go to a nearby sightseeing establishment to take a suspension car.
Lin Yuan took Caesar on a suspension car tour. The sealed suspension car was like a glass ball and the scenery outside could be admired from all directions.
The two stood side by side, looking at the boundless snowfield below their feet, Lin Yuan excitedly gave an introduction: “The one up head is the Gudao Icefield, there isn't anyone living there, it is said that the snow there is very deep and underneath it is a thick layer of ice.”
(TN: Leaving it in Chinese because it doesn't make much sense in English. Gudao means Isle of Grain (corn/grain, island)… Isle of Grain Icefield… Grain Island Icefield…. Yeah, I don't think so lmao.)
“Gudao Icefield?” Caesar followed along with Lin Yuan’s introduction and looked below him. The boundless icefield stretches out very extensively and there is no end in sight at all. This is the largest icefield in the whole Empire, it's surface area even surpassed Po Military Starfield's Sherman Forest.
Seeing Lin Yuan’s excited look, Caesar couldn’t help smiling as he said: “Do you like traveling a lot?”
Lin Yuan nodded and said: “Yeah.”
Caesar suddenly held Lin Yuan 's hand gently, interlocking his fingers together, and said softly: "When there is a chance in the future, I'll take you to check out another galaxy… we'll go traveling together, how about it?"
Lin Yuan turned his head around to be met with Caesar’s deep gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and before he had time to look away, Caesar gently pinched his chin and kissed him softly.
“Mnn……”
Lin Yuan, who was given a surprise attack kiss, panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down and shakily responded with a red face.
There are large, boundless snowfields at their feet, the snowflakes in the sky still continue falling, dancing in the breeze, and there seems to be only the purest white left between the sky and the ground. The two people hug and kiss in the suspension car unruffled by sentiment and the vast field of snow outside has become the most beautiful backdrop for their kiss.
“Mm… mmph… mn…”
A pure kiss without any lust, the gentleness and softness intoxicate one's heart.
Lin Yuan couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Caesar’s neck and opened his mouth to move with him, letting him get his fill of kissing.
There was only each other between the vast and obscure sky and ground, and Lin Yuan’s heart suddenly beat like a drum, as if— when he has Caesar with him, he has the whole world.
Lin Yuan took Caesar to see the snowy scenery for the full day and it wasn’t until half-past six when dinner time came around that the two of them came back after enjoying themselves to the fullest extent.
Despite a full day of playing around, he didn’t feel the slightest bit tired at all, he was currently in a constant state of extreme happiness and excitement. On the way back, Lin Yuan was still planning to take Caesar to the ski slopes tomorrow for skiing. Caesar also expressed his feelings of looking forward to it.
When they arrived home, Mrs. Lin was preparing dinner. Caesar took off his thick coat and hat, then took the initiative to go to the kitchen to help out. Lin Yuan also followed Caesar to help, but ended up being shooed out by Lin Yao, “You kitchen disaster, don't come cause trouble, go with Caesar to watch TV!”
Lin Yuan’s cooking skills were indeed bad, the vegetables were cut crookedly and misshapen. Being kicked out by Lin Yao, he had no other choice but to helplessly say to Caesar, “Let’s go sit in the living room for a bit.”
Lin Yuan had Caesar sit down on the sofa, switched the TV on, and turned around to pour him a cup of hot water before taking a seat beside him.
The two did not have much interest in TV series, movies, and whatnot, Lin Yuan took the remote control to mindlessly change channels, and when he switched to the Emperor's XX Department Channel, he suddenly saw a black and white funeral portrait on the screen, the announcer was right in the middle of reading a message in a serious tone—
“The head of the Glory Legion, Rosen Bessemer, the Marshal of the Empire, was met with an ambush by the Federation's Legions while leading the Glory Legion on a campaign to Naomi Star. His whereabouts had remained a mystery for many days. At eight o’clock this morning, the deputy head of the Glory Legion, Lieutenant General Kerriman, led the private guards into the cosmic wormhole and found a large quantity of mech fragment remains. The Mech Association verified that the fragments were all from Marshal Rosen 's personal mech, Black Dragon…”
“After careful investigation, the military department has confirmed that the Black Dragon’s intelligence is no more, and the Marshal piloting Black Dragon has long since been killed in the cosmic wormhole. The military department has no choice but to announce this grievous news to the people of the Empire and it has been decided that the Black Dragon’s mech wreckage will be transported back to Cepheus where a formal military ceremony will be held for the Marshal in three days time…”
On the screen was the image of Black Dragon's remains. The scene the 3D lens shot was extremely lifelike. In the mass of black mech wreckage was a splash of gold— naturally, it was Black Dragon's eyes, the originally dazzling gold had grown dull and lightless from being coated in the cosmic dust.
A bulk of mech wreckage was loaded on a large carrier vehicle and was set to be transported to Cepheus.
The senior officers of the Glory Legion were neatly arranged in a row, giving the military salute towards the remains of the Black Dragon. The black ramrod-straight military uniforms make the soldiers look very tall and upright, but their faces are nevertheless grim.
The stifling atmosphere of the scene was like a silent burial.
Lin Yuan’s ears were buzzing and he couldn’t understand what the announcer was talking about. He sat stiffly on the sofa, the remote control in his hand dropped to the ground with a crack.
Caesar looked at Xiao Yuan’s pale face, the pain of his heart being broken into pieces nearly made him crazy.
He had lied to Xiao Yuan, saying that he could not reach the Marshal because the destruction of the space station had affected the signal. He thought that the Marshal was only temporarily missing for all this time, and the Hydra Legion would definitely find the Marshal…
How could the Marshal have lost his life? How could he have reached this kind of end?!
Looking at the funeral portrait of the man on the screen, Caesar’s entire heart seized— he didn’t know how to face Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan's appearance as he stared blankly at the TV made his heart shatter until it couldn't be shattered anymore.
Caesar took a deep breath and ultimately held Lin Yuan’s hand gently, whispering: “Xiao Yuan…”
Before he could utter a word of comfort, Lin Yuan’s hand slightly trembled, turned his head around, and suddenly fell into Caesar’s arms, burying his head into his chest.
Caesar immediately tightened the hug and gently stroked his hair.
Lin Yuan 's tears suddenly poured down, like turning a faucet being turned on, the scalding hot tears continued to roll down his cheeks, quickly soaking the sweater on Caesar 's chest…
Seeing the always optimistic and lively little monster throwing himself into his arms and noiselessly weeping, he felt his terrible sadness and his body's violent trembles. Caesar felt so pained that he couldn’t even say a word of comfort.
(TN: Specially dedicated to Maddy who donated some Kofi to me, thank you so much, I really wasn’t expected it. I didn’t read the notification until a few days ago or I would have definitely thrown aside my schoolwork sooner to get this chapter out lol!)