War and Love

"Ah, this is the deputy commander life I envisioned!" Zichuan Xiu looked with satisfaction at his newly and luxuriously renovated spacious office, the imposing large desk (with wine and erotic books hidden in the secret compartments), and sat comfortably in the leather chair. He could even loudly order his beautiful secretary, dressed in a miniskirt, "Bring me that ten-year-old logbook from the top of the cabinet!" As she climbed onto the stool, Zichuan Xiu propped up his chin and tilted his head, concentrating intently on admiring her... We're all men, no need to explain it so explicitly!

And the work wasn't hard either—Zichuan Xiu, as the deputy commander, was clearly not highly valued. His main job every day was to count how many chairs and teacups each legion had, and which glass windows were broken and needed people to fix them—Director Gushan hadn't assigned Zichuan Xiu any important tasks, but at least she hadn't treated him unfairly or with discrimination.

Zichuan Xiu exclaimed, "Heaven!"

Suddenly, his gaze caught some "things" that shouldn't be in heaven.

"Roger, Shirakawa, Chuan, why are you in my office?"

"Oh, sir, you forgot, we are your 'Deputy Director Assistants'!"

"I'm not talking about that—don't you have your own offices, why are you all..."

"Don't mention it, our offices are narrow and dilapidated, and the lighting is poor!"

"Exactly, they don't even have air conditioning!"

"The secretary is as ugly as the Demon Race's mother—sir, have you seen 'Midnight Terror'? You don't need to buy a ticket to the cinema, just come to our office and look at our secretary."

"And they don't even supply Coca-Cola!"

"Sir, you know, we are Flag Bearers—in the Far East, a Flag Bearer is a high official in charge of a million people!"

"But here, we're worse off than refugees trying to petition!"

Zichuan Xiu felt dizzy listening: "Stop, stop arguing—and why is Zichuan Ning here too?"

Zichuan Ning calmly replied, "Oh, I'm here to inspect the work of the administrative department as the heir of the family—does Deputy Commander Xiuchuan have any questions?"

"Then why is Princess Kadan here too?"

"Brother! You're too selfish, you all came out to play and left me, a girl, all alone at home, so lonely—don't you feel guilty? Doesn't your conscience condemn you?"

"If they see so many people gathered here, they'll have opinions..."

"Oh, Deputy Commander Xiuchuan, you don't need to worry about that!" Kadan casually hung a "Meeting in Progress, Do Not Disturb" sign on the door: "At worst, they'll say, 'Deputy Commander Xiuchuan holds meetings seven days a week.' They'll even praise you for being dedicated to your work!"

"Hell!" Zichuan Xiu cried in despair.

"What are you yelling about hell, Ah Xiu?" Sterling appeared at the door, smiling, "Sorry to interrupt your meeting!"

"Not at all!" Everyone stood up to welcome him, only Kadan remained seated.

Since their farewell that day, Sterling had visited Zichuan Ning's home almost every day. Everyone was not foolish, and they quickly understood that Lord Sterling's frequent visits were not solely due to his close friendship with Deputy Commander Xiuchuan—and Sterling himself did not hide it much: as soon as he arrived at Zichuan Ning's home, he would open his eyes wide and look around until he found Kadan's graceful figure, only then would he breathe a sigh of relief.

Roger once sighed to Shirakawa, "Look at Lord Sterling, he's like a lovesick middle schooler—he's lost his mind."

Shirakawa replied, "Above all, everyone is a prisoner of emotion, and no one is exempt." Then she fell into deep thought...

However, Kadan, the other party involved, seemed oblivious to Sterling's infatuation. He came and went as he pleased, treating him no differently from others. She didn't push him away, but she didn't show any warmth in return either.

Sterling was a celebrity in the Imperial Capital, and this matter should have caused a stir, but under Zichuan Xiu's pressure: he gathered his household staff and subordinates and threatened them fiercely, "Anyone who doesn't want to live can just spread the word!" Even to Zichuan Ning, he rarely put on his elder brother's airs, strictly forbidding her from revealing even a word to her confidante, Li Qing. —Thus, it was fortunate that the matter did not leak from Zichuan Ning's residence.

Everyone watched with smiles as Sterling walked in as if nothing had happened. Chuan, sitting next to Kadan, quickly made room: "Please sit, sir!" Sterling also sat down without being polite, as if it were the most natural thing in the world—even the usually shameless Zichuan Xiu had to admire the man's thick skin.

"What are you all talking about?" Sterling said "everyone," but his eyes were only on Kadan.

Kadan didn't answer, and Zichuan Xiu replied on her behalf, "We're discussing the battle situation of Di Lin in the Far East!" He handed over a newspaper.

Sterling had actually read it long ago, but he pretended it was the first time he had seen it, unfolding it and reading it. He made sounds of "En, en," as if the news was very interesting. After a few minutes, he asked, "What do you all think?"

"We all believe that Di Lin's situation is not good," Roger replied first, hoping to give his idol an image of shrewdness: "Deeply into enemy territory, no reinforcements; strong enemies blocking the way, unable to advance."

"En, Ah Xiu, is that what you think too?" Sterling looked at Zichuan Xiu. Their eyes met, and they immediately understood each other's meaning.

Zichuan Xiu said softly, "No, I think Di Lin currently holds the strategic initiative."

Sterling said briefly, "I feel the same!"

"Why?" several voices asked simultaneously.

Zichuan Xiu smiled: "You only see that facing east, Sterling has the city of Gemara, where 200,000 Demon Race troops are stationed, led by the famous general Yun Qianxue. It can be said to be as solid as a fortress, so Di Lin must attack Gemara, and he will definitely not be able to conquer it—right?"

Sterling interjected: "But what if Di Lin doesn't attack Gemara? For example, he could turn and attack the weaker defended city of Yika to the southeast—if he takes Yika City, Di Lin can link up with the defense forces of Deputy Commander Lei Bang to the southeast, without worrying about his rear or reinforcements. At the same time, he can completely isolate nearly five thousand square kilometers of Demon Race territory and slowly nibble it away bit by bit..."

Zichuan Xiu said, "Even if Di Lin doesn't attack Yika, he can advance northeast to the Guosen Grassland. Occupying Guosen Grassland means destroying the Demon Race's Magic Stone and Walking Dragon production sites. Di Lin can use the captured Walking Dragons and Magic Stones to establish a magic dragon cavalry force of

Kadan cried out, "Then what about our civilians? Are we just going to let them starve?"

All the Zichuan Family officers in the room turned their heads, not daring to meet the young girl's bright eyes. Only Roger muttered softly, "War is cruel..." but no one paid him any mind.

"That feeling just now was so sinful," Zichuan Xiu said softly when only he and Sterling were left in the room. "I was so caught up in the excitement, I almost forgot Kadan is from their side."

Sterling just sighed.

Zichuan Xiu continued, "If it were anyone else, I'd have plenty of arguments to retort with: 'Don't you see how the Demon Race has been bullying us for hundreds of years? This small return is barely even interest!' But looking into Kadan's eyes, I couldn't say anything..."

Sterling sighed again.

"Honestly, the way Di Lin is handling things in the Far East, this mess will be hard to clean up later," Zichuan Xiu said. "He's only thinking of his own convenience, slaughtering all the prisoners. Who will dare surrender to us in the future? They'll only fight to the death. Also, massacring civilians and plundering their food... I really can't agree with these methods. If we lose the people's hearts, how can our family establish a foothold in the Far East?"

Sterling remained silent, recalling Di Lin's domineering and forceful voice: "I don't need the support of those lowly people, I only need them to fear and obey! Ultimately, the reason we can rule the Far East isn't through popular votes and elections, but through the swords in our hands!"

Sterling actually disagreed with Di Lin's brutal methods, but Di Lin was their elder brother after all. Zichuan Xiu, the younger brother, could complain a little, but from his position as the second brother, it was inconvenient to condemn him.

He sighed once more.

"Sterling, stop sighing like a resentful woman in a deep boudoir. Say something."

"Any news recently? I mean, here in the Imperial Capital, from your end."

"Nothing new. First, Yang Minghua refused to re-equip the Border Defense Army under Ming Hui, so that batch of equipment ended up with Lei Xun's Central Army. Second, Director Gushan argued with Luobo Minghai about this matter, saying Yang Minghua shouldn't break tradition; new equipment has always been allocated to the Border Defense Army first. I'm a bit confused about this old maid's stance."

"Oh, is that so? It seems I can work on her. Perhaps I can win her over."

Zichuan Xiu glanced at Sterling sideways, with a peculiar expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Pervert, please tone down your pursuit of women, alright? You like Kadan, but don't be so blatant about it. I'm afraid it'll get out... I can barely suppress it!"

Sterling was speechless.

"Does Li Qing know?"

"She only suspects. She suspects I have another woman on the side, but she doesn't know who it is yet."

"Tsk, women's intuition is truly terrifying! She asked Zichuan Ning to help her track your whereabouts. I had to talk and coax her for a long time to temporarily appease her. Next time, it won't be so easy to get past. What's Kadan's reaction?"

"You saw it: no reaction! She never gives me a chance to be alone..."

Zichuan Xiu cursed, "That little vixen! So cunning! I say, why don't you just tell the Chief directly? As long as he supports you, others can hardly interfere. Then you won't have to sneak around!"

"I will, but not now. Yang Minghua and his faction will definitely seize this opportunity to attack us. At worst, he could force me to resign due to my mistakes. Besides, I don't want the Chief to be distracted by my affairs at this time."

"That's true."

Zichuan Xiu looked at Sterling's face, which had become noticeably thinner. His cheekbones protruded, and his eyes were sunken deep. He couldn't understand why his close friend was suffering so much for love, yet had to pretend to be unfazed every day, handling heavy military duties, engaging in schemes with Yang Minghua's faction, and exhausting himself...

He sympathized with Sterling, and even more so admired his resilience. He even thought, "If it were me, I couldn't do it. Fortunately, I wouldn't be so foolish. Love? Bah! Those young women loitering downstairs in the Imperial Capital's grand hotels, any of them are as beautiful as celestial beings, and it's only three hundred yuan a night. Why bother with the trouble of love!"