Yan Jie bowed his head and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, instead of replying to Le Yao's question. He had opened and closed his mouth three times already, but still couldn't manage to make himself voice his thoughts.
Le Yao also had no intention of prying too deeply into this matter. Seeing Yan Jie fidget and sit in a tense posture, he decided to bring over the promised nougats and cookies, as well as some of his handmade flower tea.
Nowadays, he had much less time to make sweets since there were also three children to look after. However, because a certain someone liked to eat sweets, he would still try to make some occasionally, whenever he could find the time.
"Here are the cranberry nougat and some cookies I made recently. Please, help yourself." Le Yao sat down opposite Yan Jie.
"Oh, this is delicious. Do you like sweet food, Mr Xiao Le?" asked Yan Jie. Almost every once in a while, one could find all kinds of snacks and sweets at Le Yao's house.
"It's not that I like it, it's that your brother likes them. I'm actually not that good with sweets, just one or two bites would be enough for me."
"Then it's a good thing that I came here." Yan Jie remarked, as he also liked to eat sweets. He ate two pieces of nougat and drank some tea but didn't show much interest in the cookies. Perhaps, he needed a special sweet treat to make himself happier during this time.
Sure enough, Yan Jie was in a visibly better mood after eating the snacks and not at all in a hurry to leave. It was strange to say that, although he had so many friends and companions here, he was closest to Le Yao. What made it stranger was that the time he had known the other was also the shortest.
He was too embarrassed to talk about this matter with his other brothers, but it seemed comfortable and natural to discuss it with Le Yao.
Maybe it was because even if he didn't say it, Le Yao would have been able to figure it out?
Yan Jie unwrapped another piece of nougat and his attention was momentarily drawn to the incubator at the side. The three white little buns were sleeping soundly. He looked at them for a while, and just as he was about to look away, he saw that the biggest one had woken up. The baby twisted his body uncomfortably and whined lightly.
"Hey, it's you again!" Pretending to be angry, Le Yao arched his finger and tapped against the incubator twice. "So naughty!"
"Is something wrong with him?" asked Yan Jie.
"It's nothing really. He's fine. Just this morning, he was calling your brother 'Dad' and still clinging to him for a long time before your brother left for work." Le Yao smiled and took the eldest son out of the incubator. "Hanghang, let's talk about it. Is it right for you to be naughty and delay your father from heading to work?"
"Wu ya~" Xu Hang fluttered his little legs, clenched his fists and watched Le Yao with a grin.
"Mr Xiao Le, it seems that your and Brother Xu's genes are very good. He's already growing at such a fast pace."
Yan Jie had only seen a few children, but none of them could match Xu Hang's growth. It was clear that the parents' genes played a vital role in their development.
"It's better for them to grow faster, because that way it'll be easier to take care of them. In the beginning, I really didn't know what to do. I was so afraid even when changing their diapers." Le Yao continued with a smile, "But, thankfully it's not like that anymore. Isn't that right, Hanghang? Say 'Daddy' or 'Lele'."
Little Young Master Xu continued to show off his 'arrogance' and turned his head around to ignore a certain person, as if to say: you two can chat by yourselves; I'm here by myself, don't disturb me~
His gesture gave off a particularly laid back feeling that seemed strangely familiar.
Le Yao felt both angry and amused. He really didn't know what to do with this child.
At this point, Yan Jie said, a little abruptly, "Actually, I'm a bit troubled."
"Ah? What is it?" Le Yao turned his attention to Yan Jie.
"It's about the encounters that take place between two people. I used to think that I would marry a gentle and virtuous Beta. I didn't expect Yang Hengtian to enter my life the way he did." It was really a case of the Alpha who boiled the frog in warm water!
"It's destiny, don't worry too much because it's truly not something you can dissect with logic."
Le Yao continued, "And, you can also try thinking about it from a different angle. If you look for a gentle and virtuous wife, you will be the one working hard to earn money and supporting the family. Right now, you have to just lie down and let that person take care of you, isn't that much better?"
"… A man must pursue." Yan Jie said, "And, at my level, I can support my own family without much hard work."
"Well, that's my view on things." Le Yao smiled, "Anyway, we should think about everything positively. As human beings, we must learn to adapt to changes quickly. Just look at me and your brother here. I'm responsible for making delicious food for him, taking care of the family and these three little guys. It's not easy for him to make money to support us either."
Le Yao added, "I think the best relationship between a couple is one where, individually, they can stand on their own, but still depend on each other. You and President Yang are both able to achieve things by yourselves, but you're clearly distressed when separated from him. Obviously, you need him. When he is here, he also can't bear to be away from you for even half a step. Even the blind can see that he also needs you very much. Isn't that enough? This is what people mean when they say 'to be each other's sunshine!'"
Yan Jie's ears gradually reddened. He could still say that up to the instant when Yang Hengtian was about to leave, he didn't feel the emotions he was experiencing now. He had even thought that it would be good for the other to leave.
But, he didn't expect that nothing would feel right anymore after he was really gone! He used to be so focused and rarely distracted from his work. However, since this morning, he couldn't count the number of times he had found himself trying to gather his stray thoughts and stop his mind from wandering.
To say that he didn't want Yang Hengtian… let alone others, not even he himself would believe such a sentence.
There was a very popular saying: a person in the midst of falling in love would lose their intelligence. It turned out to be true.
Le Yao looked at the time. "Do you want to go and have lunch together?"
Yan Jie thought for a moment before replying, "No. I won't go to the cafeteria today. I need to go to the Systems Room. Thank you, Mr Xiao Le, for inviting me for tea and sweets."
"You're welcome. Come back anytime you want. Also, take some of these sweets with you if you like."
Yan Jie thought about it and, not being overly polite, grabbed a handful before turning to leave.
Le Yao didn't ask any more questions, and quietly watched Yan Jie board his hover car from the window.
It took some time to set up the living quarters and start the operation of some of the large-scale energy production equipment. It was already lunch time by the time most of the groundwork was finished.
Thus, Le Yao brought the children to the cafeteria.
It was a very rare time of the year, the temperature outside was 'normal' and pleasant, and most importantly, there was no need to wear that cumbersome sunscreen suit. Le Yao and the little Xu trio looked very happy together.
Le Yao and the children were noticed as soon as they walked towards the cafeteria. A lively greeting sounded, "Good afternoon, Madam!"
The one who greeted them with this loud and lively voice was Zhang Xuwei.
"Good afternoon, you are very energetic today."
Zhang Xuwei said, "Hehe, it's mainly because the General is in unusually high spirits today. We don't know what happened to him, but he allowed us all to have dinner together! Usually, we just gather in our own small units and rarely have the whole division bustling together, but today the General agreed to it. How could I possibly not be happy?"
After a short period of adaptation, the soldiers once again became familiar with Le Yao. They knew that, regardless of how powerful Le Yao was, it didn't change the fact that he was still very kind towards them. So, they no longer constrained themselves when talking with him.
Liu Yi then added, "Yes, Madam, do you happen to know the reason why the General is so happy today?"
Le Yao still hadn't said anything, when suddenly a small noise came from the incubator.
"Wu wa~"
As soon as Le Yao heard the sound, he remembered the events that had occurred earlier that morning. Taking the eldest child out, he said, "It should be due to being called 'Dad' for the first time, which is what is making him this excited."
The soldiers were all dumbfounded. "Who was it? Who dared to call the General 'Dad'? Is their courage that big?"
It was evident that all three children were still too young and it would be impossible for them to call for the General. Since that was the case, it must be an adult! In this way, they discounted the 'culprit' who was right before their eyes.
Suddenly, the little guy in Le Yao's arms called out excitedly, "Da, Dada!"
The people around Le Yao felt their mouths open instantly in shock, only stopping when their jaws reached the floor. Then, they heard laughter echo from the direction of the cafeteria door.
"Hey! Good son, can you see your Dad from so far away?"
With his little arms stretching out, Xu Hang then called 'Da~' again with a louder voice.
Xu Yao kissed his eldest son in Le Yao's arms and asked happily, "Baby, did you miss Dad?"
Obviously, Xu Hang still didn't know how to say 'miss', so he could only voice 'Da~' again and again. He smiled sweetly, then stretched out his small white arms towards him, as if wanting to be held.
The soldiers in the cafeteria looked on foolishly as Xu Yao took his eldest son into his arms. He displayed a smile full of satisfaction.
Le Yao was no longer as sour as he had been in the morning after seeing this scene. "Do you have a small wagging tail behind you? You only know to find your father."
The people around them were still dazed by the display and needed more time to return to their senses.
"General, isn't your child still too young? How can he already be calling you 'Dad'? That's too much, ah!"
Xu Yao carefully adjusted the way he held their son as he casually pointed at the group of soldiers. "My son is clever. Hanghang, say hello to the uncles and aunts. They are all from our Flying Wolf Division and are our family."
Xu Hang didn't say hello and didn't wave his hands, but instead gave a sweet smile and laughed happily as if he could really understand the meaning of 'family'.
The soldiers were immediately stupefied in the face of this super sweet smile! They had seen smart children, but never had they seen one as smart and sweet as this!
It's a foul, they're developing too fast!
"General, did you also start to speak this early when you were little?" Zhang Xuwei asked curiously.
"No. Green is born of blue, but beats the blue. My children will be better than me in the future."
Xu Yao turned to Le Yao, "By the way, did Yan Jie not come with you? Didn't he come over to our place for tea earlier?"
"He did but, after that, he went out. He mentioned something about wanting to go to the Systems Room."
"Speaking of which, I think he was acting a little strange today," said the Head of the Explosion-Proof Regiment. "This morning, when I saw him and was just about to greet him, he suddenly turned around and left. I don't know why he would have avoided me, but I'm sure that he saw me."
"Me too, me too!" Zhang Xuwei agreed, "I just wanted to say a few words to him, but he suddenly changed directions."
"I know the reason," Tang Ye smiled meaningfully. "He has the scent of Mr Yang's pheromones all over his body. Isn't it obvious? Didn't you smell it before?"
"Is that true?!" Zhang Xuwei was surprised, "Is Mr Yang that quick?"
"What do you mean by quick?" Le Yao didn't understand the disjointed back and forth and struggled to follow the conversation.
He continued to ask, "Betas don't have glands or an estrus period, right? Can they still be marked? Why does Brother Yan have President Yang's pheromone smell?"
Le Yao asked the questions sincerely, but after he asked, there was only sudden silence.
At last, Tang Ye asked Le Yao, "Mr Xiao Le, did you always sleep through your physiology classes?"
"That's not true… I usually went out to play, hehe."
Tang Ye: "…"
Zhang Xuwei suddenly stood with his meal box in hand. "Ahem, why is there so little food in the box today? I'll go out and see if there's anything else to eat."
After he stood up, others also followed. "It turns out that I'm not the only one who's been having this feeling. Lao Zhang, wait for me!"
In the end, there were only two people left, Xu Yao and Le Yao, and the three small ones.
Le Yao then asked, "Is there too little food? I don't think so."
Xu Yao said with a smile, "The food is enough, they are just a little embarrassed. Alphas can't mark Betas, but if the frequency of intimate contact exceeds a certain amount of times, it is also possible to leave the scent of pheromones on a Beta for a period of time. Depending on the Alpha's ability, it can last from just a single day to an entire year."
"Just one day or a whole year? Isn't the gap too wide?"
"Well, if the Alpha 'shoots' his seeds and one of them sprouts at the same time, it will certainly last for a whole year, right? But Yan Jie is a Beta, it won't be easy for him to have one that quickly."
Le Yao: "…" Oh, too much information! How can you say something like that about your brother?!
Yan Jie simply bought a light meal from the cafeteria before directly heading back to the Systems room. As a result, he knew nothing about the matters his brothers had spoken about behind his back.
If he had known that they had talked about his and Yang Hengtian's relationship, and even speculated that they were already 'together', he would have been furious to death and would have sued them all for being wronged.
However, knowing nothing about the discussions that had taken place, he nibbled on the sausage in his hand and took out the small crystal bottle pendant hanging on his neck.
It was this thing that exuded the smell of Yang Hengtian's pheromones! It was something that a certain someone insisted on placing on his person before he left!
It smells pretty good…
Yan Jie furtively glanced around and, seeing that there was no one else in the Systems Room beside him, he silently took the bottle to his nose and sniffed it. Then, like a thief, he carefully placed it back inside his clothes, all the while expressing great scorn for his own behavior!
It had only been eight hours since they had been apart!
…