Chapter 266
Chapter 266: You Hate That We’re Holding Hands? Fine, I’ll Hit You with Something Stronger. Mutual Damage Time
Jiang Tea Tea stared at him in disbelief. “Your Highness, Chief Executive Zhong is your friend. You’re really going to screw over your friend like this? Where’s your image? Your morals? Do you want to survive in the M31 star system?”
Chong Ming answered with righteous shamelessness. “Because he’s my friend, I can have no image and no morals and screw him over.”
“This is my territory. No matter what I do, nobody will leak it. So relax. I’ll still survive just fine in the M31 star system.”
He hadn’t caught his mate yet. He couldn’t openly hold hands. He couldn’t be seen by the world. Why should he have to sit here watching them hold hands?
Zhong Li He: “!!!!”
Worst friend ever.
Back in Da Xi Nation, he’d block him.
Cooperation? Fine—they’d already signed.
Once it was done, they’d never speak again.
Jiang Tea Tea studied Chong Ming and came to a conclusion she’d apparently have to keep updating: he was endlessly new. Every day he refreshed her understanding of how outrageous he could be.
It was his personality, sure. But if she didn’t know better, she’d think he did it on purpose—hooking her, forcing her to learn more about him.
Jiang Tea Tea refused. “Sorry, Your Highness. Chief Executive Zhong and Lieutenant General Kong Que have strong levels and strong endurance. I can’t make them roll around in pain.”
Chong Ming sighed theatrically. “Fine. Then we can only watch them support each other.”
One of their hands gripped the chair arm. The other stayed interlaced, fingers locked tight.
Veins bulged. Cold sweat dripped. They feared squeezing too hard and hurting the other, yet still borrowed each other’s strength to endure the pain of mind-sea grooming.
Following Chong Ming’s gaze, Jiang Tea Tea looked at Zhong Li He and Kong Que—and suddenly realized.
Old Loach wasn’t really asking her to intensify the grooming so they’d roll on the floor. He was reminding her: gossip. Look at the gossip.
Jiang Tea Tea kicked his boot. “You don’t need stabilization or mind-sea fixing. Get back to work. Stop hogging the seat.”
She could watch gossip on her own. He could get lost.
Chong Ming didn’t even frown. He shifted and gestured downward. “Sit.”
He was insane. Sit with him?
Who wanted to sit with him and watch gossip?
Jiang Tea Tea shook her head. “If you won’t move, I’ll sit elsewhere.”
The moment she stepped back, Chong Ming stood. “You sit. I’ll go work. When their psychic power and mind-sea are groomed, come to my office.”
If he left, she didn’t need to leave. She’d have the seat.
Jiang Tea Tea immediately took it. She had to admit it—Old Loach’s chair was comfortable. The view was wide. You could see everything.
Chong Ming handed her a cup. “Watch them here. If anything happens, call me.”
Jiang Tea Tea took it and waved him off. “Got it. So noisy.”
Chong Ming gave her a long look, then left.
Inside the sealed training grounds, Jiang Tea Tea’s power filled the air. Out of eighty-plus people, only Zhong Li He and Kong Que looked okay. Everyone else was a mess—rolling and groaning, crashing into each other.
Jiang Tea Tea thought the cup was water. When she opened it, it was blood—dragon blood, backup blood Chong Ming had given her.
Pouring out magic power to treat and groom them did weaken her. Aside from faint merit light blessings, the fastest way to replenish was Chong Ming’s blood.
She took a sip. Fresh blood, still warm. Chong Ming had even chosen a good cup. Next time she’d make him use this cup again.
She sipped dragon blood while watching Zhong Li He and Kong Que, happily eating gossip.
Time passed quickly.
After thirty minutes, many people stopped rolling like they were dying and managed to sit up, soaked with sweat, eyes red as if they’d survived a calamity.
Their mind-seas still held lingering pain, but mentally and physically they felt unbelievably light, like years of grime had been scrubbed away.
Medical department personnel entered to take those no longer in acute pain for checkups.
Over the next two hours, the eighty-plus people went in four batches to the medical department for cleanup and examinations.
Afterward, ten percent rose two levels, two percent rose three levels, and the rest either rose one level or had their ability backlash pain vanish.
Jiang Tea Tea’s treatment strength made everyone’s gaze toward her change again and again. They reaffirmed her power every time they looked.
A few strands of merit light fell onto Jiang Tea Tea. She couldn’t tell if it came from these eighty people or from others’ faith and worship.
“Thank you, Sister Tea! I feel like I’m full of energy!”
“Thanks, roommate! I feel like I can conquer the universe!”
After washing and checking, Sui Xuan Chu and the other seven ran to Jiang Tea Tea, clenched fists, and posed, showing how energized they were and how much they worshiped her.
“Sister Tea, Beast God first, parents second, you third. You’re my reborn parents. I’ll love you forever—finger heart!”
“I’ll love you forever, worship you forever, be your lackey forever—finger heart, finger heart!”
Jiang Tea Tea looked at them and thought: they’re too idle. Way too idle.
She cleared her throat. “Don’t love me. I have a back-to-school gift for you.”
The seven instantly lit up. “Back-to-school gift! School starts tomorrow and you’re giving gifts today—Sister Tea, you’re not about to throw money at me, right? That’s so embarrassing.”
“Yeah! Sister Tea, if you want to smash me with something, smash me with the newest flyer, smash me with glittering gemstones—I’ll go bathe and change first, then come back to receive it!”
They were dreaming with their eyes open.
Jiang Tea Tea pulled out a thick stack of materials from her storage button and slapped one into each of their arms. “Read it carefully. I’m going to report back to the Commander-in-Chief. See you!”
She left before they could open them.
The seven looked down, and their pupils shook at the first word. After three pages each, they all lifted their heads to stare at one another, faces pale.
“This is… our second-year homework?” someone asked in a dead voice. “This is what we have to learn?”
“No. This isn’t second-year homework.” Another flipped the page like it might bite. “This is just what we have to learn in the first half of second year. The second-half plan isn’t out yet.”
“Hahaha. We’re beastfolk, not beasts. Did the Commander-in-Chief forget we’re people?”
“Congrats, you’re right.” The next voice was hollow. “Every item on that plan is beyond extreme. He didn’t treat us like people. He’s treating us like livestock.”
“And even if we’re young and our levels keep rising, sleeping five hours a day… we won’t drop dead?”
“Strictly speaking, five hours won’t kill you,” Cheng Lin Yue said calmly, as if delivering good news. “Because there’s a half-hour lunch and a half-hour nap at noon. Before sleep, there’s a small checkup daily, and every ten days there’s a big checkup.”
“If any organ overloads, you get dragged to treatment. The chance of sudden death is basically zero.”
She smiled slightly. “Right. The daily checkups are my job. To keep you and me from dropping dead, I’ve decided we’ll do checkups three times a day—morning when we meet, before lunch, and before sleep.”
“Three times a day. Don’t worry. I won’t let you die on the road of learning.”
The other six stared at Cheng Lin Yue, who had turned once-a-day checkups into three-a-day and still insisted they wouldn’t die.
What could they say?
They could only scream in their hearts—amazing, incredible, so damn impressive—and cry inside.
Jiang Tea Tea went to find Chong Ming. Coincidentally, Zhong Li He and Kong Que were also in his office. After being groomed and soothed, then washing and changing into casual clothes, they looked younger and refreshed.
Zhong Li He’s sapphire eyes looked freshly washed, pure and bright. He didn’t look like someone who held power, schemed, and handled endless affairs as Da Xi Nation’s Chief Executive.
When Jiang Tea Tea walked in, he ignored Chong Ming and waved at her. “Classmate Jiang Tea Tea, come. Sit by me.”
Kong Que sat on his left.
So Zhong Li He wanted her on his right?
Was she clueless?
Of course not.
She sat on a separate sofa and spread her hands. “Keep talking. Don’t mind me.”
Zhong Li He stared straight at her. “I’ve already signed cooperation with him. The news has been released. There’s nothing left to talk about. Now I want to talk to you.”
Jiang Tea Tea met his gaze. “Oh? What do you want to talk about?”
Zhong Li He had been sitting with Kong Que but felt too far from Jiang Tea Tea. He stood up and squeezed onto her single sofa like he belonged there, sitting close.
Chong Ming leaned forward slightly, picked up his water, and gave Kong Que a meaningful look while drinking.
Kong Que caught the look, acted like nothing happened, and picked up his own water to drink too.
Seeing Zhong Li He lean in, Jiang Tea Tea leaned away. “Chief Executive Zhong, say what you want. Why are you so close to me?”
Jiang Tea Tea leaned away; Zhong Li He leaned after her. “Why are you so wary of me? I’m not going to eat you.”
Jiang Tea Tea shot back, “I’m not wary. You’re high-status, and I’m not your kind. Watch your influence.”
Zhong Li He didn’t care. “High-status my ass. We look the same in human form—one nose, two eyes, two arms, two legs.”
“No this-side, that-side. Nothing to watch.” He leaned in again, voice light. “If you insist there’s a class difference, then tomorrow I go back to Da Xi Nation and you come with me. Whatever you have here, you’ll have more there.”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked. “You still haven’t given up? You still want me to go back to Da Xi Nation with you?”
Zhong Li He looked at her like she was naive. “Give up? With someone like you—no substitute, irreplaceable national-level talent—how could I give up?”
He smiled. “So? Coming with me tomorrow?”
Jiang Tea Tea rested a hand over her belly. The cubs were eight months. By M31 star system dragon hatchling timelines, it was ten to fifteen months.
She really should think about how to deliver the cubs without Chong Ming knowing, then recolor them so he wouldn’t realize there were so many.
Seeing her not answer, Zhong Li He knew poaching her had no chance, but he still wanted to annoy Chong Ming. He glanced smugly at Chong Ming, leaned closer to Jiang Tea Tea, and said, “Classmate Jiang Tea Tea, think about it. Come back with me. Whatever that old dragon gives you, I’ll give you. I’ll even give you more.”
“Come, come. Go to Da Xi Nation with me. In ten or eight years, when I retire, I’ll become a free star pirate. I’ll roam the universe, rob the rich and help the poor. I’ll take you with me. The two of us will live free and wild in the universe.”
A spark lit in Jiang Tea Tea’s eyes. Right—the universe was vast like an abyss. If she entered it, she’d be like a small fish in the sea. Who could find her?
Jiang Tea Tea pressed down the schemes rising in her mind and pointed at Chong Ming. “Chief Executive Zhong, fight him. Beat him, and I’ll go with you.”
Zhong Li He asked, not believing, “Really?”
Jiang Tea Tea answered firmly, “Really.”
Zhong Li He immediately stood and provoked Chong Ming. “Chong! Come on, fight me!”
Chong Ming didn’t even spare him a glance. He looked at Kong Que.
Kong Que met his eyes, set down his cup, stood up, grabbed Zhong Li He’s coat, and walked him away. “Chief Executive, by incomplete statistics, in the last fifty years you and the Commander-in-Chief have fought eleven times. You lost nine.”
“Today, even with your level rise, if you provoke him, you’ll lose one hundred percent. For the phoenix clan’s reputation and Da Xi Nation’s reputation, this fight can’t happen. Today we depart for Da Xi Nation.”
Zhong Li He refused. “I just got stabilization and mind-sea grooming. My level rose three. I still can’t beat him?”
He narrowed his eyes at Kong Que. “Kong Que, why do I feel like you’re boosting his morale and killing mine? Whose person are you?”
Kong Que lowered his eyes, obedient. “I’m the Chief Executive’s person.”
Zhong Li He accused, “Then why are you siding with that old dragon?”
Kong Que’s eyes flashed. He looked up. “I’m siding with you. I got news that Tian Qiong Planet’s Emperor Cong Yan will bring his eldest princess, Cong Bei, to Zhen Lin Empire in about twenty days for a visit and study—and to arrange a match.”
Zhong Li He got hooked instantly. “Cong Bei is coming to Zhen Lin Empire to match? Match who, the Chong family crown prince?”
Kong Que delivered the gossip smoothly. “Not the Zhen Lin imperial crown prince. She’s here to match Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming.”
“From what I know, the merfolk clan imperial family heard Tian Qiong Planet’s princess is coming to match Chong Ming. They also plan to send a princess and a prince together.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s gossip hunger crushed the discomfort that flickered in her chest. Her eyes locked onto Kong Que, bright with thirst. “Lieutenant General Kong Que, quick question. Other countries sending princesses to match Chong Ming makes sense. But sending a prince too is…”
Kong Que caught her hesitation and explained, “Miss Jiang, because Chong Ming is one hundred and fifty. Although he announced to his maternal grandfather recently that he has a mate and a cub, nobody has seen them, and there’s no legal proof.”
“All high-level officials in the M31 star system don’t believe him. They think it was a deliberate lie to stabilize the situation and calm Zhen Lin Empire citizens—a fake mate and cub.”
“There’s also a rumor in the M31 star system: Chong Ming has no mate and no scandals because he was traumatized on the battlefield. He doesn’t like females. He likes males. So the merfolk clan plans to bring an unfavored prince and gift him to Chong Ming.”