Chapter 159
Chapter 159: Showing off your love feels great once. Showing off all the time feels great all the time. And the annoying people show up immediately
Commander-in-Chief tilted his head, and Adjutant Ai saw the bite marks even clearer. Not just one—several irregular bite marks clustered together.
They were red and swollen, with tiny beads of blood. One bite was dangerously close to his Adam’s apple, so close it looked like the next bite would land right on it.
Romance. This was romance between Commander-in-Chief and Jiang Tea Tea.
Adjutant Ai nearly lost his awareness and blurted out something stupid about the medical room again. He caught himself just in time and snapped to attention.
“Reporting to Commander-in-Chief, the marks Jiang Tea Tea deliberately left on your neck are extremely beautiful. There’s no need to go to the medical room!”
Such flirtatious bite marks would be a waste to erase.
Chong Ming’s lips curved. “I also think there’s no need. Notify everyone. Fifteen minutes from now, meeting at the Military Department.”
Adjutant Ai answered, “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Chong Ming strode past him.
Adjutant Ai stood there, only realizing afterward—did Commander-in-Chief just show off to him?
Like: Look. She bit me.
And the way he did it almost felt… sly.
No. That had to be his imagination. Commander-in-Chief couldn’t possibly be sly.
—
Chong Ming’s ship reached the Military Department in under ten minutes. He didn’t dock it directly with his office window.
He had the ship hover above the building, then took the elevator down from the rooftop to his office.
Along the way, not only the ship’s staff and guards, but even the Military Department office workers all learned that Commander-in-Chief had someone he was pursuing.
That pursued person was bold and passionate. One bite wasn’t enough—she’d practically covered his neck in marks like a declaration.
And Commander-in-Chief indulged her. He walked around with his collar open, letting people see. He wasn’t a wild dragon anymore.
He was a claimed dragon.
Some staff couldn’t hold back their curiosity. During breakfast and water breaks, small groups gathered to whisper.
“Commander-in-Chief is 150 years old. Dragon heart is rippling. What kind of female is it? She hasn’t come to the Military Department with him.”
“Of course she hasn’t. If she had, they’d probably already be registered and announced it.”
“Yeah. If she hasn’t come and Commander-in-Chief is still hiding it, that means it’s not time yet.”
“What do you mean not time? Didn’t officials certify recently that the traitor Jiang Yi Cheng colluded with the insect clan to target the Crown Prince and seriously injure an imperial family cub?”
“That means Commander-in-Chief and his mate have already registered marriage. His mate and cub are recovering safely in the Imperial Palace or somewhere else.”
“Right, right. Haven’t you noticed Commander-in-Chief has been getting off at nine lately instead of working until midnight? What does that mean?”
“It means going home, dating, raising cubs, warming the bed, kissing and hugging his mate!”
“Man. I always thought Commander-in-Chief was like an iceberg. Would never marry, never have cubs. Who knew at 150, he found his mate, and he has cubs.”
“I’m so curious what our Commander-in-Chief’s madam princess consort looks like. What kind of ability does she have to take down Commander-in-Chief, to make him parade around with a neck full of bite marks?”
“That shows Commander-in-Chief truly likes his mate. Only when you like someone do you show off love marks.”
“Sweet love showing up on Commander-in-Chief is ridiculous but also reasonable. I hope Commander-in-Chief has two cubs in three years and five cubs in ten, and the gold dragon clan flourishes!”
—
Jiang Tea Tea returned to school and rushed into the cafeteria. She ordered over twenty delicate breakfast items, stared at them, and found them bland and tasteless.
No appetite.
She told herself it was because of these days of Chong Ming’s psychic force soothing, plus drinking his blood, plus rooting into the earth last night. That had to be why she wasn’t hungry.
As for why she craved Chong Ming, and why she bloomed, and why the flower was gone…
Jiang Tea Tea reached up and felt her head. No flower.
Only then did she realize it must’ve fallen off at some point. She didn’t know when or where.
Fine.
She craved Chong Ming because he was a tonic. Because he was food.
And blooming? She bloomed because the dragon blood hit right and she felt good. That was all.
Anyway, there was no way she was moved by her food. No way she’d treat her food like romance.
“Roommate, what are you thinking?” Sui Xuan Chu asked, voice dripping with mischief. “You look all springy and dreamy. Tell me—after your date with my uncle last night, did you go be romantic again?”
Sui Xuan Chu originally didn’t want to talk. But he’d sat across from her for two full minutes, and she still hadn’t noticed him. Her eyes were fixed on the tabletop like it was covered in delicacies.
Jiang Tea Tea snapped back. “Romance your head. Shouldn’t you be running and training right now?”
Sui Xuan Chu grinned. “The school thought I went home last night, so I’m slacking this morning. No running, no training. I came early to find you.”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded slowly. “I’ll tell your uncle later.”
Sui Xuan Chu clicked his tongue. “Roommate, I’m realizing you’re not acting spoiled because you’re favored. You’re just bullying people by borrowing someone else’s power.”
Jiang Tea Tea pointed at herself. “Sounds like you’re asking for a beating.”
Sui Xuan Chu circled around and sat beside her, grabbed her pointing finger, and spoke sincerely. “Roommate, how about you register marriage with my uncle and become my aunt?”
“If you’re my aunt, you can skip my uncle and just manage me directly. Super convenient!”
Jiang Tea Tea yanked her finger back and wiped it on her uniform in disgust. “Is your uncle some irresistible treasure? Why would I register marriage with him?”
“I’m telling you, give up. I’m not becoming your aunt.”
Sui Xuan Chu covered his mouth, leaned close, and whispered, “Roommate, don’t say it so absolutely. Later you’ll slap your own face, and it’ll be loud.”
Jiang Tea Tea stayed firm. “I’m not slapping my own face. Put your heart back in your belly.”
Sui Xuan Chu made a small clicking sound, like calling a dog. “Stay stubborn, then. By the law of the universe, people like you are stubborn early and get slapped later.”
Jiang Tea Tea waved her fist at him. “Keep yapping and I’ll slap your face right now. Believe it?”
Sui Xuan Chu immediately leaned away. “Believe, believe. Eat, eat.”
Jiang Tea Tea huffed. “I’m not eating. You eat.”
Sui Xuan Chu looked at the untouched breakfast. “You’re not eating at all? Not a bite?”
Jiang Tea Tea said, “No appetite.”
Sui Xuan Chu grabbed a plate and loaded it with his favorites, then started eating.
Jiang Tea Tea watched him, one hand resting over her belly, feeling the cubs inside. They were extremely lively early in the morning.
Halfway through, Sui Xuan Chu paused and gestured. “Roommate, your cheap brothers and sisters came to eat.”
Jiang Tea Tea followed his gesture and met the eyes of Lang Xin Rui and the others as the three of them entered the cafeteria, looking around.
That fake-heiress instinct surfaced again, a familiar surge of disgust. She looked away, pretending she didn’t see them.
But Lang Xin Rui, Lang Xin Ping, and Lang Xin Chong lit up and hurried toward Jiang Tea Tea’s table.
Sui Xuan Chu slid closer to Jiang Tea Tea, chopsticks in one hand and a meat bun in the other. “Sorry,” he said to the three. “This seat is ours. If you want to eat, find another place.”
They stopped.
“Sui Xuan Chu,” Lang Xin Rui said stiffly, “you’re the first-year combat department chief. We know you’re excellent, but Jiang Tea Tea is our sister—our real sister.”
“We want to talk to our real sister,” Lang Xin Ping added. “Don’t stop us.”
Sui Xuan Chu flipped his chopsticks and stabbed them into the hard table. The tips punched straight through the tabletop.
“You say she’s your sister, so she’s your sister? Where’s your proof?” His smile turned sharp. “Just because you smack your lips together, you think you can come here and cling to her, pick up leftovers, and claim a sister?”
He snorted. “How is your face that big?”
“Oh, I get it. You tried to steal her credit for those five bugs, failed, and got a major demerit. Your guardians didn’t come, so now you’re playing the family card.” He leaned back. “Your scheming is so loud it’s blowing my face off.”
Lang Xin Rui and Lang Xin Ping turned red with anger.
Their parents had been furious. They blamed them for ruining things with Jiang Tea Tea and ordered the three of them to repair the relationship.
Only if Jiang Tea Tea was willing to go home and acknowledge them would their parents come to handle the school matter.
Otherwise, their parents would refuse to acknowledge them, kick them out of the white wolf clan, and cut off all allowances and resources.
They didn’t want to lose everything.
For days they’d tried to find Jiang Tea Tea, but she was either in class or gone from campus. They’d also been confined to their dorm for committing a serious offense; today they were only allowed out because they’d behaved.
They tried their luck in the cafeteria and actually found her.
Lang Xin Rui forced down his anger and spoke quickly, voice strained. “Tea Tea, we were wrong about the five bugs. We wanted to improve too badly, so we made that mistake.”
“The school already punished us. We got a major demerit, wrote guarantees and apology letters. We know we were wrong. Please forgive us.”
Lang Xin Ping added, “Yeah, Tea Tea. You know we’re your brothers and sisters. We’re family. We should support each other and stick together, not let outsiders laugh at us.”
“We know you’re excellent,” Lang Xin Chong said eagerly. “So excellent that Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming values you. The Commander-in-Chief even made a study plan for you and your squad. We can do it too.”
Lang Xin Chong nodded hard. “Yes, yes. Tea Tea, Sister—we’re all S rank and SS rank. Excellent males and females. Even better than the members of your squad.”
“They gained Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming’s attention because of you, and their ability ranks rose because of you. So, can we also join your study squad?”
“If we join your study squad, we can study together and go home together. Dad and Mom will be happy. Our family will reunite. You’ll be our little princess, the most spoiled daughter.”
Sui Xuan Chu started clapping loudly. “Roommate, I’ve seen shameless people, but I’ve never seen shameless like this. What do you think?”
Jiang Tea Tea’s eyes went cold. “First time seeing white-eyed wolves this shameless and this eager to arrange someone else’s life.”
Sui Xuan Chu stopped clapping. “Should we go tell the principal and the discipline director and all the school leadership, and give them an award or something?”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “We can—”
“Tea Tea,” Lang Xin Rui cut her off, voice tightening. “We’re your real sister and real brother. We’re your family.”
“After we learned about you, we always wanted to acknowledge you. You were the one guarding against us.”
“Sui Xuan Chu is an outsider. Don’t sing along with an outsider to hurt your own family’s feelings.”
Jiang Tea Tea braced a hand on the table and stood. Her voice came out flat, merciless. “There’s no feelings between us. You only came to acknowledge me because you saw my value.”
“If I were a useless pure human with no awakened abilities, you wouldn’t come crawling over.”
“So stop chanting about family. I have no family ties with you at all—”
“Ah!”
Before Jiang Tea Tea could finish, Lang Xin Chong clutched his head and screamed, collapsing hard to the floor. “My head! My mental sea hurts! Ah!”
Lang Xin Rui and Lang Xin Ping’s faces changed drastically. One rushed to calm Lang Xin Chong, and the other shouted anxiously at Jiang Tea Tea, “Tea Tea, your brother’s abilities are in backlash! Hurry—hurry, you have to calm the backlash and untangle his mental power!”