Deliberate Mark

de that Ye Fei had entered Class S in second place, did Gu Ang realize that… 

They were going to be in the same class?

—

After traveling back in time and the arduous fight off, Gu Ang was tired and sleepy.
He rubbed the back of his neck and prepared to go back to sleep.
He followed the manager’s directions to dormitory 404 and punched in the door code.
His luggage was neatly placed by the bedside.

The dormitory at Red Flame Military University wasn’t bad, each room had two beds and a small living room.
No one had moved in yet, so it looked a bit empty.

Gu Ang saw black luggage next to the other bed, it looked like his roommate hadn’t arrived yet.
He changed out of his dirty tracksuit and threw them in the laundry basket, then pulled open his suitcase and simply took out a change of clothes and hung them in the left cabinet.
His toiletries were arranged in an orderly manner by the sink.

Military personnel moved fast, and he finished unpacking within five minutes.

Gu Ang was about to take a shower and take a breather when the communicator around his wrist vibrated slightly.
He looked down at the display and stopped in his tracks.
On the screen showed the incoming caller’s name: Mom.

His breathing and heartbeat seemed to have stopped for a second.
His fingers trembled and it took him a moment to calm himself before answering the call, “Hello?”

His voice came out hoarse, filled with layers of tension.
He wanted to hear the other’s voice, but feared disappointment.

“Little Ang, ah, Principal Zhong told me you took first place?” A gentle voice sounded, rambling as she continued, “My son is really the best alpha! I told you that you’re very talented in this area.
You didn’t put your heart into it before, now you have to work hard since you’re in Class S.”

Gu Ang cleared his throat and asked abruptly, “Mom, is it really you?”

“What are you talking about, child? Who else could it be if not me?” 

“…” Gu Ang’s eyes were a little red, and his voice trembled uncontrollably, “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

In his other life, his mother, Qin LeHe suddenly passed away, leaving only a suicide note.

A living person suddenly disappeared from the planet, like snow that melted, there was no longer any trace of her, only a shovelful of soil and a tombstone.
He had been close to Qin LeHe since he was a child, and the moment he got the news, he almost lost control, but there was no way for him to vent.

Now that he was able to talk to her again, it felt like a lifetime ago.
At that moment he realized, traveling back in time didn’t seem to be all that bad anymore, at least some of the people he lost were back again.

Qin LeHe was still chattering away, but Gu Ang suddenly interrupted, “Can you come to campus when you have time?”

Qin LeHe laughed out loud, “Don’t tell me you’re homesick now.
As a citizen of the Empire Star, you’re not allowed to be so clingy.
Your father and I haven’t returned to Empire Star yet, and we won’t be on short time’s notice.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you guys to come together.”

Gu Ang remembered Qin LeHe’s complaint from before, saying that he was too unapproachable and never knew how to act cute4, so he added, “Mom, I kind of… miss you.”

He didn’t dare to reveal too much emotion, and hung up the communicator after hurriedly exchanging pleasantries.

As the screen showed the end of the call, Gu Ang was still staring at the dialer screen, dumbfounded.
He was reluctant to exit the screen, as if once he exited, this would all just become an illusion.

A cold droplet fell on the back of his hand.
As if it was imaginary, Gu Ang hurriedly raised his hand to wipe off what was on his face.

He was crying, Shit, so useless.

A light cough came from behind and Gu Ang turned around in a panic to see Ye Fei standing in the doorway, his cuffs casually rolled up his forearm, his long fingers still wrapped around the door handle.
He wasn’t sure how much he had heard.

Gu Ang felt a little embarrassed to be caught acting all spoiled with his own mother, he simply wanted to find a hole and bury himself.
He couldn’t lose face in front of his ex-husband, especially not after he had won first place today.

Gu Ang got up with his back against the table, and changed to a flippant tone, “You’re my roommate?”

“Ye Fei,” Ye Fei briefly introduced himself, while gently closing the door, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, sorry.”

Not bothering to even pretend or cover up, it was like slapping him in the face5.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, I’m Gu Ang,” Gu Ang combed the loose strands of hair that blocked his eyes back and acted as if it was the first time meeting the other, “And it was nothing important, it’s okay even if you overheard.”

Even if it was ‘I kind of miss you’…

It was super greasy6.
It didn’t match his identity as the most A7 person in the universe.

Gu Ang pressed the tip of his tongue up against the roof of his mouth, Thank goodness he didn’t see me cry.

He recalled only ever crying three times; one was when his mother passed away, once after the divorce and the third time was just then.

The two of them fell silent, the only sound in the room was from the slightly rattling curtains being swept by the breeze.

Ye Fei peeled off his tracksuit jacket and folded it on the table next to him, then grabbed his suitcase and began to unpack.
He did pull some strings to get the two of them placed in the same dorm room, but now that they were in the same room, he realized it wasn’t as easy to stay calm as he had imagined. 

He had mixed feelings when it came to Gu Ang.
He could clearly analyze any situation at war, he could study the enemy’s trickery thoroughly, but he didn’t know how to deal with this complicated relationship.
He wanted to ask Gu Ang why he hid the reason for their divorce.

Ye Fei wanted to humiliate him, he had already trampled on his self-esteem once, so why did Gu Ang want to provoke him again? But now, he could neither ask him nor bear to humiliate him.

Once he finished unpacking, he realized Gu Ang was still standing in place and didn’t move an inch, so Ye Fei looked at him.
His gaze rested on the top of Gu Ang’s chestnut hair and then moved down to his face, the corners of his eyes were red and the tips of his eyelashes were wet, softening his cold and sharp features.

When he saw this vulnerable side of Gu Ang, his heart broke.

This person had always worn his pride and high spirits as his armor, so it was rare to see this ‘delicate’ and vulnerable side of his.
Ye Fei didn’t know what went wrong.

If someone who didn’t know what was going on walked into this, they’d think that he had bullied Gu Ang.

At that thought, Ye Fei suddenly felt like his mortal heart was possessed by something.

He wanted to tear off Gu Ang’s clothes into shreds, tie his hands above his head with a tie, cover his eyes with his palms, leave bite marks on his lips, bully him, and listen to his low moans of pleasure.
He wanted to sink into the raging storm with him, wanted to let their soul and body intertwine together.

He wanted to own him, wanted to make him cry.

But Gu Ang dumped him, fuck.

As if a basin of cold water was poured on top of his head, his muddled thoughts cleared suddenly.

Ye Fei found a packet of tissues from his suitcase and handed it over, “Here, don’t cry anymore.”

When the tissues were shoved into his hand, Gu Ang came back to his senses, his eyes became red again, but he still raised his chin and acted tough, “I8 didn’t cry.”

Translator Notes:

Referring to what is better known as purple star; generally describing Gu Ang as someone who is blessed and lucky.
Read more here: https://www.masterseanchan.com/case-studies/ziweidoushu/introducing-the-zi-wei-star/  hyperbole of one’s own abilities. any Tom, Dick or Harry To show a childlike manner/throw tantrum affectionately esp in front of family/someone you love. To embarrass someone.
MonkeyNote: Metaphorical faceslapping is the best faceslapping. To describe something so excessive that it gets borderline icky; overly sweet Slang for cool,i.e.
cool person Pompous ‘I’ used here.