ARIPOEC Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Partner

Chapter 4: Partner

The atmosphere in the room was unusually tender. Holding his beauty in his arms, Ye Mingyuan finally felt some comfort after a day of frustration.

However, before he could rejoice for long, a rapid knocking sounded at the door: “Academy Inspection Team!”

Ye Mingyuan was stunned.

Lin Jun was already mortified. Hearing the commotion outside, he struggled to get up.

Ye Mingyuan was taken aback by his reckless struggling. Afraid of touching Lin Jun’s stomach, he quickly held down his wrist: “Don’t rush…”

The Academy Inspection Team outside shouted a few times without getting a response. They directly took out the Academy Inspection Team’s universal terminal and swiped it under the doorknob. The dormitory door opened with a click: “Inspection Team.”

With a loud bang, people in inspection uniforms swarmed in, each holding an electrical taser, as if facing a formidable enemy, pointing them at the two people in the room.

Although Ye Mingyuan had released Lin Jun as quickly as possible and sat up, the messy clothes and bedding still exposed the situation in the room.

Lin Jun raised his head and saw countless eyes staring at him, almost causing him to lose control.

The inspectors, who had been prepared for a major confrontation, didn’t expect this situation. They looked at each other, unsure of whether to speak.

Lin Jun hadn’t recovered from the stimulation. The corners of his eyes were still red and moist, giving him a somewhat alluring appearance.

Ye Mingyuan frowned. He took off his jacket and threw it over Lin Jun’s head.

The world suddenly darkened, and his nose was filled with a clear, cool scent belonging to Ye Mingyuan.

Lin Jun was about to lift the jacket when a hand rested on his forehead through the fabric: “Do you want them to see you like this?”

“…” Like this?

Lin Jun paused for a moment, then suddenly understood the meaning of Ye Mingyuan’s words.

Damn it…

Lin Jun cursed Ye Mingyuan five hundred times in his heart, wondering who had caused him to become like this!

For the sake of his reputation, Lin Jun refrained from arguing with Ye Mingyuan. He turned his back with the jacket over his head and quickly burrowed into the quilt.

Ye Mingyuan: “…”

A large bulge appeared in the middle of the quilt, and a fluffy head could be seen peeking out from the edge of the quilt on the bed.

Lin Jun thought he was well hidden, completely unaware that his behavior was like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, deceiving only himself.

The eyes of the surrounding members of the inspection team became even stranger.

Ye Mingyuan straightened his collar, which had been askew, and resumed his usual calm expression: “What do you want?”

The inspectors looked at each other. Finally, the team leader at the front took out the inspection team’s internal terminal. A semi-transparent light screen popped up.

“You used a combat mech illegally in the public area of the living area, which is a serious violation of school regulations and imperial law. Please come with me.”

The light screen repeatedly played the scene of Ye Mingyuan releasing his mech and driving away amidst the exclamations of passersby.

Ye Mingyuan had anticipated this outcome when he used the combat mech to travel, but he didn’t expect the inspection team to arrive so quickly.

Combat mechs were too lethal. Imperial law stipulated that combat mechs were absolutely not allowed to be used in living areas to prevent them from harming people.

Ye Mingyuan knew he couldn’t deny it, so he didn’t resist.

Ye Mingyuan nodded, indicating that the inspection team should wait a moment. He turned his head and patted the large bulge on the bed, lowering his voice: “I’m going to the inspection office. I won’t be back tonight. Rest well in the dormitory, don’t run around, and wait for me to come back.”

The person under the quilt didn’t move, as quiet as if they were asleep.

Ye Mingyuan reached out and rubbed the fluffy head, then turned and walked towards the inspection team: “Do you need handcuffs?”

“Oh, no need.” The inspection team leader took out a small box: “But you need to deposit the Space Button for holding the mech here first.”

Ye Mingyuan nodded. He took off the necklace Space Button from his neck, placed it in the box, and turned to leave the room.

The inspection team thoughtfully closed the door behind them. After a period of chaos, the dormitory returned to tranquility.

Several minutes later, the bulging quilt on the bed finally moved, and a frazzled head peeked out from the edge.

Although it was a bit embarrassing, at least Ye Mingyuan, the lingering ghost, had left! Anyway, those people didn’t see his face clearly, so they probably didn’t know who he was.

“Huff, huff…” After holding his breath under the quilt for a long time, Lin Jun finally breathed in fresh air. He lay on the edge of the bed and took several deep breaths.

The school inspection office wasn’t an ordinary place. Unless there was a very serious problem, they wouldn’t be easily mobilized.

Moreover, Ye Mingyuan had committed the offense of using a combat mech in the living area, which could lead to several years in prison.

Knowing that Ye Mingyuan wouldn’t appear in front of him for a while, Lin Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He struggled out of the quilt. As he got out of bed, something fell to the ground with his movement.

Lin Jun looked down and saw a blue jacket.

“…” Remembering the purpose of the jacket, Lin Jun’s ears turned a strange shade of red. He picked up the jacket, opened the closet, and threw it inside.

—

When he woke up again, it was already dark.

Lin Jun reached out from the quilt and touched the Personal Terminal that had been tossed on the bedside.

The Personal Terminal was vibrating non-stop, and the transparent light screen showed a call request from [Meng Yi].

Lin Jun tapped to answer and retreated his hand back into the quilt: “Spit it out.”

His voice was nasal, clearly indicating that he had just woken up.

The person on the other end of the Personal Terminal was silent for three seconds, then a loud, boisterous voice came through: “Lin Jun? Are you sleeping?! What time is it? Even old people don’t sleep this early!”

Lin Jun’s morning grumpiness hadn’t dissipated. Hearing that he hadn’t said anything useful for a long time, he hung up the phone directly.

In a few seconds, the Personal Terminal vibrated again, with another call request from [Meng Yi].

This time, an image appeared on the transparent light screen. Meng Yi scratched his head: “Why did you hang up? I wasn’t finished talking.”

Lin Jun squinted his eyes and glanced at him in annoyance: “Get to the point. If there’s nothing important, I’m leaving.”

Meng Yi seemed to just remember: “Oh, I received a message from Ye Mingyuan in class. He said you weren’t feeling well and asked me to come see you after school. I just went to your dormitory and knocked for a long time, but no one answered.”

Hearing Ye Mingyuan’s name, Lin Jun became much more awake. He rubbed his temples and sat up from the bed: “Where are you now?”

“In the dormitory.”

“…” Lin Jun gritted his teeth: “Where is your dormitory?”

“Huh?” Meng Yi was a little confused: “608, next to yours, did you forget?”

Lin Jun didn’t bother to waste words with him. He took out two pieces of clothing from his closet and put them on, then turned and hung up the phone: “Wait, I’m coming to find you.”

Lin Jun had just reached the door of 608 and hadn’t had time to knock when the door was opened before him.

The person who opened the door was a boy. He was tall and slender, with soft chestnut-colored hair falling across his forehead, and gold-rimmed glasses on his nose.

Lin Jun looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar face and was stunned for a long time.

Yu Chenhong adjusted his glasses uncomfortably: “You’re staring at me like that, is there something on my face?”

“No!” Lin Jun shook his head vigorously, his eyes feeling hot.

Yu Chenhong and Meng Yi had both grown up with him since they were children. The three of them went to the Imperial Military Academy together and joined the army together after graduation. He and Meng Yi joined the front-line combat units, while Yu Chenhong joined the research and development department as a researcher.

Originally, Lin Jun thought that Yu Chenhong should be the safest among the three of them, but who would have thought that when the war started, Yu Chenhong’s research and development department became the primary target of the Zerg. Not long after the war started, the Zerg sent elite troops to attack Yu Chenhong’s department. By the time Lin Jun received the news and rushed over, he only saw Yu Chenhong’s battered body.

The person in front of him was younger than the Yu Chenhong in his memory, with baby fat still on his face. Who would have thought that this person would later become the mech core developer who shook the entire empire?

The cold wind outside the door kept pouring in, and Yu Chenhong greeted Lin Jun: “Come in quickly. I’m discussing mech core improvements with Meng Yi.”

Lin Jun walked in with a smile: “With Meng Yi’s brain, can he even understand how to improve the core?”

Before Lin Jun could finish his sentence, a loud voice came from inside: “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t look down on people, how can I not understand!”

“I don’t understand either, there’s nothing embarrassing about that.” Lin Jun slapped the fluffy head: “You’re going to the front-line unit in the future, so learn how to operate a mech, and let others worry about the core.”

Yu Chenhong followed Lin Jun into the room, pursing his lips and smiling. He nodded lightly when he heard this: “Yeah.”

“That seems right too.” Meng Yi held his head and thought for a while, then raised his head to protest: “You hit my head again, what if you make me stupid?!”

Lin Jun: “You’re already stupid.”

Meng Yi was unhappy and made a gesture to jump up and fight Lin Jun. Yu Chenhong held his shoulder and patiently persuaded him in a low voice.

Looking at the two friends in front of him, Lin Jun’s tense expression unconsciously relaxed. He hooked the corners of his lips, revealing a genuine smile.

Yu Chenhong finally appeased Meng Yi, then turned to look at Lin Jun: “I heard from Ye Mingyuan that you’re pregnant?”

“…” He really brought up the topic that shouldn’t be brought up.

A fire instantly flared up in Lin Jun’s heart. The face that had finally shown a bit of a smile instantly darkened.

That dog Ye Mingyuan! He told everything!

Yu Chenhong was stunned for a moment. He patted Meng Yi’s shoulder.

Meng Yi, who had just been making noise, stopped talking when he saw Lin Jun’s expression.

The two of them exchanged a look. Meng Yi carefully opened his mouth: “Did you guys quarrel?”

“No.” Whenever he thought of Ye Mingyuan, Lin Jun felt a headache: “What I have with him is really…”

Lin Jun pondered for a long time but couldn’t think of how to describe his relationship with Ye Mingyuan.

Lovers? Partners? They even had a child. Wouldn’t he even have gotten a marriage certificate?

The more Lin Jun thought about it, the more alarmed he became. Meng Yi and Yu Chenhong on the other side also had shocked expressions: “You really lost your memory?!”

Before Ye Mingyuan was taken away by the inspection office, he was really worried about leaving the “amnesiac” Lin Jun alone in the dormitory. Since he couldn’t get out of the inspection office for a while, he had to ask Meng Yi, whom Lin Jun still “remembered”, to go take a look.

Meng Yi didn’t take it seriously when he received the message. Amnesia? Such a fantastical thing happened to Lin Jun? He must be lying!

Looking at the two friends’ equally surprised faces, Lin Jun didn’t know how to explain it to them.

Meng Yi: “Do you still remember me? Who am I?”

“…” Lin Jun gave him a look that said he was an idiot.

Fortunately, there was someone present who wasn’t stupid. Yu Chenhong patted Meng Yi: “Lin Jun definitely remembers us.” Otherwise, he wouldn’t have joked with them so freely just now, but…

Yu Chenhong frowned, tentatively saying his guess: “You remember everyone else, but you don’t remember Ye Mingyuan?”

Lin Jun was silent for two seconds, then nodded.

Yu Chenhong frowned even more tightly, seemingly thinking about the reason for this.

Meng Yi’s eyes gradually widened. He seemed to remember something, and his eyes darted back and forth.

There were some things Lin Jun wasn’t willing to ask Ye Mingyuan directly, but he didn’t have so many reservations with his friends: “Ye Mingyuan said he’s my… Do you know what’s going on?”

Yu Chenhong was about to speak, but Meng Yi had already answered first.

“Lin Jun, do you really not remember? You were the one who pursued Ye Mingyuan first.”

“You were also the one who insisted on having a baby with him.”

“I have videos here, do you want to watch them?”

Lin Jun: “???”

His worldview collapsed again.