Arc 6: Interstellar Literary Soldiers Chapter 3
After leaving the shooting range, Tao Yuan asked Zuo Lei, “If I’m assigned to your base, can I come to see you when we both have free time?”
“Yes, as long as it’s within the designated time and doesn’t violate military regulations,” Zuo Lei replied.
“Would you find me annoying?” Tao Yuan looked at him, smiling. “If you think it’s troublesome and don’t want me to come see you, just tell me directly. I won’t mind.”
Zuo Lei looked at his slightly raised corner of the mouth, cute yet cunning, and those spirited and bright eyes, which seemed to hold a mysterious and enticing constellation within them.
“Okay, then I’ll tell you directly…” Zuo Lei looked at him, slightly leaning closer and said earnestly, “I don’t find you annoying.”
Tao Yuan smiled at him and continued walking with him.
Zuo Lei felt that it was rare to come across someone with whom he felt comfortable being together. He was certain that he didn’t find him annoying, but as for other emotions, he needed some more time to further confirm them.
……
Zuo Lei returned to the base after his leave, while Tao Yuan waited at home for the assignment notice. Although they couldn’t meet for at least a week, Zuo Lei kept his promise and fulfilled all the requests made by Tao Yuan.
Finally, the school’s notification arrived, and it was no surprise that Tao Yuan was assigned to the Lion Fleet. Two days later, Tao Yuan would be returning to school, waiting for the personnel from the base to pick them up.
Yi Sha paced back and forth at home, every time she thought of something that Tao Yuan could bring with them, she quickly went to fetch it and placed it in the suitcase.
“Mom, just bring the things I usually use, and leave the rest behind. The dormitories at the base are definitely not spacious enough to accommodate so many things. Moreover, everything brought into the base has to go through inspections. If you bring so many things, when will they finish inspecting? And once we’re on the warship, the dormitories will be even smaller, and we’ll be allowed to bring even fewer things.”
Yi Sha finally stopped in her tracks and worriedly said to Tao Yuan, “While you’re still at school, Mom can often bring you things. But once you’re at the base, I won’t be able to visit you frequently, and when you don’t have leave, you won’t be able to come home. How can I not bring some spare items for you?”
“If there’s anything I need, I’ll let you know, and you can just send it to me, right?” Tao Yuan pointed to the largest suitcase and said, “Let’s leave everything in this suitcase at home. I’ll just take the smaller one.”
Tao Yuan walked over, pulled Isa to sit on the sofa, and said, “Mom, don’t worry. Even if I don’t have these things, I won’t suffer in daily life. Besides, I’m not going on a trip or for leisure, so I don’t need so many things.”
Yi Sha sighed, holding Tao Yuan’s hand and said, “If you’re going with the warship to the Border Constellations, you should be careful with your health and stay safe.”
“I understand, I will be careful. Don’t worry, Mom,” Tao Yuan assured.
……
Two days later, Tao Yuan took his luggage and went to the school in the family car.
After registering the suitcase at the central check-in point, Tao Yuan entered the waiting room assigned to the Lion Fleet.
Erman was happily chatting with someone nearby when he suddenly noticed Tao Yuan walking in. He paused for a moment and immediately had an ugly expression on his face.
Tao Yuan glanced at him and casually found a seat to sit down.
“Erman, Erman, what’s wrong with you?” the person next to Erman nudged him when they noticed his dazed expression.
Erman snapped out of his thoughts and quickly masked his expression, saying, “Nothing, I just suddenly remembered something, so I spaced out. Sorry, what did you just say?”
“I heard that Instructor Ke Ning is also at the Lion Fleet base. You must have been assigned to the Lion Fleet because of him, right? Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?”
Erman couldn’t hide the sweetness in his eyes. He smiled and said, “Indeed, he personally spoke to the assigning officials to ensure that I would be assigned to the Lion Fleet.”
“That’s great! You’ll be able to see your boyfriend more often now. It must feel really sweet, right?”
Erman didn’t answer directly but simply embarrassedly smiled. His smile already revealed his thoughts.
“Instructor Ke Ning is from the Arnold family, and the Vice Commander of the Lion Fleet is his uncle. Instructor Ke Ning himself is also highly skilled and talented. If you were to marry him in the future, you would be marrying into a prestigious family. I wonder how many people would envy you.”
“I don’t know about others, but I would definitely be extremely envious,” the person next to them whispered. “Once we join the fleet, if I could also find a capable officer with a prominent background as a boyfriend and eventually marry him, it would be a dream come true for me after all these years. It is also the reason I became a literary soldier.”
“In the future at the Lion Fleet, we’ll all have to rely on Erman. While Instructor Ke Ning takes care of you, don’t forget to help us out as well,” they added.
“Yes, yes, those of us from ordinary families should stick together. We can’t let those who rely on their family backgrounds to become literary soldiers bully us,” one person agreed.
“Don’t worry, as long as I can take care of it, I will do my best to look after all of you,” Erman said with a smile.
“Thank you so much. I will let others know. From now on, we’ll follow your lead. If there’s anything you need from us, we will do our best to help you,” another person expressed their gratitude.
Erman nodded with a smile, feeling a sense of pride and happiness inside. However, when he instinctively turned his head and glanced at Tao Yuan, that feeling of happiness immediately diminished. He hadn’t expected Tao Yuan to be assigned to the Lion Fleet as well. Considering Tao Yuan’s family background, he could have been assigned to any fleet, but he hadn’t managed to avoid being assigned to the Lion Fleet. There must be a reason or purpose behind it, which made him feel somewhat uneasy.
Once it was time to depart, the personnel from the Lion Fleet arrived to pick them up. They immediately called out the names and escorted them outside to get on the vehicle, leaving the school and heading towards the base.
After Tao Yuan got on the vehicle, he chose a window seat and settled down on the spacious sofa seat.
Once everyone was seated and the vehicle started moving, the person sitting next to Tao Yuan extended his hand and greeted, “Hello, my name is Lin Ya, from the Bennett family. Nice to meet you, and please take care of me in the future.”
Tao Yuan shook their hand and replied, “Hello, I’m Luo Xi, from the Duweisi family. Nice to meet you too, and I’ll be sure to take care of you as well.”
The two people sitting in front of them also stood up and introduced themselves, shaking hands with the others.
They came from different classes, and now everyone in the vehicle began introducing themselves, which was essentially a way of stating their family backgrounds, allowing everyone to know who they were and facilitating potential connections. Those who mentioned their names and followed it with their family affiliations were from influential and prominent families. Those who only mentioned their names had more ordinary family backgrounds.
Although the military has clear regulations against forming cliques and engaging in internal conflicts, it doesn’t prevent some individuals from forming small groups in private.
Among this group of literary soldiers, there were no women, as women were already scarce in this world, and even fewer chose to become military personnel. To succeed as a literary soldier, one needed to have good looks, as well as be talented in various artistic skills. They should not only be skilled in playing various musical instruments but also be able to sing, dance, and perform. These requirements were applicable to both men and women. However, the main reason for the scarcity of female literary soldiers was that they also had to meet the combat skill standards required of literary soldiers.
Although literary soldiers primarily focus on performance and are often protected, they are also required to have combat capabilities and not be a liability during times of crisis. This requirement becomes even more crucial for soldiers deployed to border regions, where strict combat proficiency is necessary. The demanding training and harsh conditions make it difficult for most women to persevere, which is why the majority of literary soldiers are cixing, even though they are primarily performers.
Among all literary soldiers, those from ordinary family backgrounds make up the majority. Some of them join with the intention of finding a capable officer to pursue a romantic relationship and eventually marry. A small portion, like Tao Yuan, comes from privileged backgrounds and becomes literary soldiers to obtain military ranks quickly, facilitating faster promotions in the future.
In short, everyone has their own thoughts and objectives. So even if some people form cliques, as long as they don’t cause any trouble, those in higher positions tend to turn a blind eye and don’t invest too much time and effort into managing their thoughts and actions.
After arriving at the base, the first step was team and group assignments.
Tao Yuan and Erman were assigned to the same team but not the same group.
A team consisted of five groups, and each group had five individuals. Tao Yuan was appointed as the team leader of Team One, Group One, with Lin Ya as the assistant group leader. Erman was the group leader of Group Two.
Then, they were assigned dormitories and given military uniforms and various military supplies.
Each person had their own room, which was a relatively spacious suite with a bathroom and a small living room.
The team captains led their respective team members to the floor where their team was located.
After informing them of their room numbers, the team captains left to attend a meeting.
As everyone was about to head back to their respective rooms, the elevator doors opened, and a person stepped out. They first greeted the team leader of Team One and then found Erman in the crowd, walking towards him.
“Hello, Instructor Ke Ning,” several people watched as he greeted him.
Ke Ning nodded at them and then looked at Erman, asking, “Do you need any assistance?”
The person next to them playfully joked, “We have things to ask for help too, Instructor Ke Ning. Can you help us?”
“Yeah, Instructor Ke Ning, help us too.”
“Don’t call him Instructor Ke Ning anymore. We’re not in school anymore. It should be Captain Ke Ning now.”
“So, Captain Ke Ning, will you help us?”
“Yeah, will you help us?”
Ke Ning smiled and said, “What do you need help with? If I can help, I will.”
“We will help if we can, but Erman is the exception, right? He must help regardless of whether he can or not, right?”
“As long as we all understand that, why say it out loud?”
“Let’s go quickly. Captain Ke Ning must have come here on purpose. Let’s not take up more of their time.”
“Yeah, let’s go. Hurry up and get things organized. We have a meeting later.”
“Let’s go, everyone. Let’s go.”
It seems like those people gathered together to block the corridor, preventing others from passing through. Now they are acting as if they are waiting specifically to watch the excitement caused by others.
After the crowd dispersed, everyone went to their respective rooms and used their fingerprints to unlock the doors.
Ke Ning followed closely behind Erman, prepared to enter the room together with him. Suddenly, he turned his head and saw Tao Yuan. He was taken aback and his face displayed a look of surprise. The emotions in his eyes became complicated.
Tao Yuan’s room was right across from Erman’s room. Erman had already opened the door and, seeing Ke Ning still standing there in a daze, he turned back and glanced at Tao Yuan, who was in the process of closing the door. Then, he grabbed Ke Ning’s hand and walked into the room.
Ke Ning had snapped out of his daze and, seeing Erman’s displeased expression, he hugged him and sat down by the sofa, saying, “Why are you unhappy again? I was just surprised when I saw him, so I took another look. I have no feelings for him anymore, so you don’t have to be unhappy because of him.”
“He’s definitely came here because of you,” Erman said, his mood downcast. “With his family’s background and influence, there’s nowhere he can’t go. He knew you were here, yet he didn’t try to avoid you and go somewhere else. If it weren’t for him still having feelings for you, what other reason could there be?”
“Even if I can control everything else, I can’t control who still has feelings for me,” Ke Ning comforted him. “If he still has feelings for me, it’s his own business. After all, my heart only has room for you. I’ve already broken up with him and made it clear to him. I won’t even spare him another glance in the future. In my heart and in my eyes, it’s only you.”
“That’s what you said, from now on, you’re not allowed to even spare him a glance, making him completely give up on you,” Erman said, leaning against Ke Ning’s embrace.
While Ke Ning held Erman, his gaze seemed somewhat uncertain because deep down, he still hadn’t been able to fully let go of Luo Xi.
Ke Ning is the son of Zuo Lei’s cousin. He wants to refer Zuo Lei as “Little Uncle.” Ke Ning’s father doesn’t have much talent and obtained a cushy position through family connections. However, Ke Ning himself has decent abilities and became the squad sub-captain of Combat Team Five through his own merit.
Two years ago, during a period without missions, Ke Ning was assigned as an instructor for practical training to the cultural troops at the military academy. It was during this time that he noticed Luo Xi, who had an exceptionally attractive appearance, and he was instantly smitten by him. Ke Ning then began pursuing Luo Xi. With his own good looks and physique, Ke Ning had a way of pursuing someone, and Luo Xi, who had never been in a relationship before, started to develop feelings for him under his pursuit.
The two of them started dating in secret, as Ke Ning was still their instructor at the time. It was against the rules for instructors and students to engage in romantic relationships. However, no matter how strict the rules were, they couldn’t stop the hearts of these young individuals who desired love. As long as their relationship remained undisclosed, with neither party acknowledging it and without concrete evidence to prove it, there wouldn’t be any issues. Erman, who was in the same class as Luo Xi, took a liking to Ke Ning from the beginning and continuously sought opportunities and ways to capture his attention.
However, Ke Ning was completely focused on Luo Xi, and with so many students hinting at him in various ways, he didn’t pay much attention to Erman.
Later, during their break time, the whole group went out to gather for a party. As Ke Ning was an instructor and usually maintained a serious demeanor, the students took the opportunity to intentionally get him drunk and have some fun. However, Luo Xi happened to go home that day and didn’t join them. Ke Ninge nded up booking a hotel room for himself, wanting to take advantage of the remaining clarity in his mind to get some rest.
Erman immediately took the opportunity to take care of Ke Ning and added something to the tea he gave him. Afterward, the two of them engaged in a physical relationship.
Changing art soldiers to literary soldiers! As well as the arc name 🙂 Also I found a gem called Plane Supermarket ･°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°. Since it has not been updated for more than 3 months, I decided to pick it up( ๑ ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و ♡ The translations will be very slow though since I still have FLBOT and TOTLS (੭ ˊ^ˋ)੭ ♡
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If there are any mistakes/error, feel free to comment it down below.
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