Chapter 48

The comments seemed to have guessed who was calling, too.

They were all laughing, convinced that Shen Tingyu had called to scold him.

Xu Qingran raised an eyebrow, a meaningful smile curving his lips.

His tone went through a thousand twists and turns before he finally said, as gently as a spring breeze, "Darling, how did you know I was just thinking about you?"

The broadcasts at Golden Crow City's military headquarters had already been cut off.

Shen Tingyu paused the meeting and stood in a corner of a seldom-used corridor, gazing at the view outside in silence for a full ten seconds. The voice from the communicator was so unfamiliar that it left him momentarily dazed. He could hardly imagine the person on the other end being so gentle and well-behaved.

It made his ears itch.

After a moment, he said, "Although that's my private account, I generally only use it to announce important news to the empire or the Golden Wing Camp. To put it more seriously, the moment you started streaming, the Golden Wing Camp's headquarters and all its branches automatically began broadcasting it live."

This time, it was the person on the other end who fell silent.

A hint of amusement finally appeared in Shen Tingyu's eyes as he reminded him, "You can use Asteroid if you want, but you'd better end my livestream soon."

Xu Qingran's answer came quickly. "Okay, I know you're worried I'll tire myself out. I'll be good and listen to you."

His voice was still soft, as though he wished he could make it even gentler and sweeter, enough to drive the viewers in the livestream mad.

Shen Tingyu ended the call, but before he had time to collect himself, another call came in.

This time, it was someone from the main branch of the Shen Family, though he didn't know which of his great-uncles it was. As soon as the call connected, the man demanded, "Tingyu, what's going on with that fiancée you're keeping for Tianyi? He's made such a huge fuss!"

Shen Tingyu shifted his stance and leaned back against the metal railing, chuckling. "I warned you long ago that the person matched to the Shen Family was no pushover."

"So, are you sure you still want to drag this out for another year and arrange another compatibility match for me?"

His gaze abruptly turned cold. "Don't think I don't know what you were planning when you insisted on making me bring him home. Instead of counting on me to develop some kind of relationship with him, you'd better worry about whether, with his temperament, your Shen Family will end up with another E-Type."

The aged voice offered no reply. Only heavy breathing could be heard.

"Of course, the most important thing right now is the Shen Family's public relations response." Shen Tingyu spoke casually. Though he was one of the main subjects of public opinion himself, he sounded as relaxed as if it had nothing to do with him. "I'll leave this matter to you elders to discuss. Thank you."

Having said that, he politely waited for the person on the other end to hang up in a huff.

Outside, the sky was gradually turning golden, and dark red clouds rolled in layers like waves. Far in the distance, an enormous red-foreheaded bluebird flew leisurely past with its children, its tail feathers swaying in the wind and giving off a refreshing chime.

Shen Tingyu turned sideways and gazed absentmindedly at the scenery outside for a long while, then suddenly chuckled.

It was both infuriating and funny.

After the unexpected incident, the people in the meeting room had been groaning in dismay. Shen Tingyu had already been in a bad mood, and then this had happened, leaving them on pins and needles as they waited for the admiral to return.

About thirty minutes passed before Shen Tingyu came back in.

Everyone braced themselves for an even harsher scolding, only to hear him say calmly, "That's all for today."

"Once all personnel from the Aquila System's branch camp units return, double your training workload for three months. Drill every emergency response you failed to carry out this time. In three months, I'll personally oversee the examination."

"Management will forfeit three months of performance bonuses and submit a ten-thousand-word self-criticism within a month."

"Meeting adjourned."

With that, he really did leave, abandoning the stunned crowd behind him.

...It was as though the light of resurrection had descended upon them.

Xu Qingran didn't end the livestream immediately after hanging up.

Because the viewers had started accusing him of wasting ingredients again, he decided to eat the braised pork trotters with grapes and apples he had stewed himself, one mouthful at a time, right in front of them to prove his innocence.

They could call him shameless, flirtatious, or wicked.

But they couldn't say he wasted food.

The comments were filled with question marks and exclamations.

[Since the streamer actually ate it all, I'm sending a tip too!]

[Wait, does that stuff actually taste good?]

Xu Qingran held up his empty bowl and the pot, scraped down to the bottom, and replied, "It's delicious."

At the hardest point in his previous life, he had dug worms out of the earth to stave off hunger, and even put more disgusting, harder-to-swallow things in his mouth. So in this world, he found anything cooked with fresh ingredients delicious.

Having done his part for the clean-plate campaign, Xu Qingran made a point of telling the viewers before ending the stream, "My personal Starlight payment code is below. If you want to tip me, feel free to send the money directly. I don't want the platform taking a cut."

Relying on the fact that it was Shen Tingyu's account and the official platform wouldn't dare ban it outright, he did as he pleased.

Absurdly enough, his phone really did receive transfer notifications.

Xu Qingran's eyes curved as he smiled sweetly and waved to the viewers he had nearly driven to tears that day, then ended the livestream.

Sister-in-law Song returned not long afterward. Unaware of the incident between him and Shen Tianyi in the kitchen, she diligently prepared them another delicious dinner. Xu Qingran ate his portion with a hearty appetite, then pulled Shen Tianyi aside to tutor him on his kindergarten math homework again.

By the time Shen Tianyi finished correcting his mistakes, he was so sleepy that his eyes were watering.

Xu Qingran patted his head and offered some timely praise. "Thank you for today."

Thinking about the mistake they had made, Shen Tingyu might very well take his anger out on this poor kid too.

Shen Tianyi proudly puffed out his chest again. "It's what I should do!"

Then Sister-in-law Song took him off to bathe and get ready for bed.

Xu Qingran sat by the tea table, chin propped in his hand, and watched them leave, a faint smile unconsciously appearing in his eyes.

Just as he got up to return to his room, a sound suddenly came from the front door.

The person who came in was Shen Tingyu, who wasn't supposed to return for another seven or eight days. He was still wearing his formal, distinguished work clothes. Perhaps because he had hurried back, the wind had mussed his hair a little, giving him an extra touch of indescribable wildness.