Chapter 112: Reunion

Jiang Miao was slumped on the sofa, her head pounding. Hangovers were definitely not worth it.

She couldn’t care less about the two idiots on the floor whose spring dreams were shattered by a single sentence. Almost crawling, she managed to get up, swaying as she held onto the wall and went upstairs.

After a bath to refresh herself, she came back downstairs to find the robot had already cleaned up last night’s mess.

They had drunk too much last night. All three of them had gone wild. Jiang Miao couldn’t remember everything she did but vaguely recalled dreaming of He Yan, who wore Yan He’s face in her dream. She was so angry that she kept trying to pull off that face, but to no avail.

Speaking of which, where was everyone?

“Dr. Tanaka is applying a facial mask,” the AI responded. “Major Yan has taken Jiang Rui out to play.”

Yan He and Jiang Rui both loved outdoor activities.

Jiang Miao’s laboratory was far from the city, surrounded by a pristine forest. Because transportation was all airborne, there were no roads on the ground, preserving the forest in its natural state.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Mbwp, kv bye clnsxl y ryayekpl qsa Zyd Tl yde Kkydt Swk. Mblu bye lhld elpktdyvle y prlnkyz oyzjkdt yaly qsa Kkydt Ykys yde Mydyjy. Kkydt Ykys yde Mydyjy eyale dsv hldvwal clusde vbkp yaly clnywpl swvpkel sq kv, vblal olal xydu vayrp plv cu Zyd Tl yde Kkydt Swk.

Kkydt Ykys oyp tayvlqwz vs Zyd Tl qsa yzzsokdt Kkydt Swk vs taso wr kd pwnb fsu. Mbkp oyp y pktdkqknydv alypsd clbkde bla nsdpkelayvksd sq byhkdt ydsvbla nbkze — kv oyp lhkeldv Zyd Tl oswze xyjl y talyv qyvbla.

Xq nswapl, yp y Qkvy rlapsd, bl oswzed’v ldvlavykd dsvksdp sq y zkqlzsdt nsxxkvxldv okvb Kkydt Ykys. Ms ldpwal vbl ckavb sq yd lmnlzzldv nbkze, bl bye alpvaykdle bkp rwapwkv sq Kkydt Ykys, xlalzu plljkdt nssrlayvksd kd nbkze-alyakdt. Gv xspv, bl oswze zkhl okvb vbl nbkze qsa sdzu vball ulyap.

Gqvla vball ulyap, kq vblu zkhle dlyacu, vblu xktbv byhl qaliwldv kdvlaynvksdp, xwnb zkjl dso okvb Kkydt Swk. Rd Qkvy hyzwlp, vbyv oyp yzalyeu nsdpkelale y hlau nzspl ryaldv-nbkze alzyvksdpbkr.

Mbkp oyp lmynvzu obyv Kkydt Ykys bye saktkdyzzu elpkale.

Kkydt Ykys oydelale yaswde vbl zkhkdt assx sd vbl qkapv qzssa, qkdekdt dsvbkdt vs es — lhlauvbkdt vbyv dllele vs cl esdl oyp yzalyeu nsxrzlvle, yde dso kv oyp vbl plypsd vs pkv cynj yde nszzlnv vbl aloyaep.

Fbl vbld pvsse cu vbl okdeso, pvalvnble, yde tygle kdvs vbl qsalpv, osdelakdt oblal Zyd Tl bye vyjld Kkydt Swk vs rzyu vbkp vkxl.

Brpvykap, Mydyjy oyp eskdt usty okvb y qynkyz xypj sd.

In the forest, Yan He made a military hand signal to Jiang Rui, who understood and quietly raised his gun, aiming at a small animal.

At that moment, a loud rumbling sound erupted.

Jiang Miao lowered her stretching arms. Tanaka peeled off his facial mask and walked to the window. The small animal, startled, scampered away. Yan He and Jiang Rui both looked up, squinting, at the aircraft bearing military insignia that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

The aircraft landed in the clearing outside the laboratory. First, two Gita soldiers disembarked, and then… He Yan walked out.

Tanaka clung to the floor-to-ceiling window like a giant gecko.

Yan He frowned slightly, then picked up Jiang Rui. “Let’s go back and check it out!”

Only Jiang Miao stood there, staring blankly at the man outside the glass window.

The sunlight on Lily Star at this time of year was soft, gently illuminating his shoulders, with his epaulettes glistening.

In the span of two or three years, his face had remained unchanged; he was still the handsome and upright young man. Yet, he seemed like someone from a different century.

He Yan spoke with the accompanying Gita soldiers, who nodded and then returned to the spacecraft.

He Yan walked to the door, which opened automatically. Standing before him was the person he had longed for day and night, her eyes as clear and bright as autumn waters, calmly gazing at him.

What should he do now? Should he hold her tightly in his arms?

He Yan raised his hand and took off his hat. “Sorry, I could only come to see you now.”

“Jiang Miao, I am…” The graceful and upright young man looked at her earnestly. “He Yan, from the Republic of Nash. Can we… start over and get to know each other again?”

Jiang Miao gazed at him for a long moment, then stepped aside. “Come in.”

Barefoot, Tanaka was afraid of making any noise so he crawled up the stairs on all fours to eavesdrop.

There was the sound of water, as if Jiang Miao were making tea. The clinking of teacups being set on the table could be heard, then Jiang Miao’s voice asking, “What is this?”

What is what?

Tanaka was dying of curiosity!

“This?” He Yan glanced at his right hand, which he had extended to take a teacup, a silver-colored metal band on his wrist.

It was clearly not a smart device, which would typically be worn on the left wrist unless one was left-handed.

“It’s an ID for the members of the delegation here,” He Yan said. “It includes identity verification and location functions. We can only move within designated areas. To leave these areas, we need special permission.”

The delegation’s main activity area was in the capital star circle. For He Yan to come to Lily Star, he had to apply and be accompanied by Gita soldiers for supervision. Now that both sides were negotiating peace, past transgressions were forgiven. Otherwise, given what he had done in Gita under the identity of “Troy,” he would have been arrested and held accountable immediately upon exposure.

Jiang Miao looked at the silver bracelet and made a sound of acknowledgment, not saying anything further. She turned and sat down opposite He Yan.

He Yan took a sip of the tea. It was his favorite red tea. He looked up and asked, “Where’s Rui Rui?”

“Playing outside,” Jiang Miao replied, then suddenly raised her voice and called out, “Tanaka! Call Rui Rui back!”

A second later, Tanaka Minhe’s reluctant voice echoed from the stairs, “Okay!”

In the next moment, he appeared, somewhat disheveled, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

“Tanaka,” He Yan greeted.

“Heh heh heh, Major He,” Tanaka responded. “Oh no, it’s Lieutenant Colonel He now.”

Tanaka Minhe would have loved to sit down and listen in, but Jiang Miao glared at him. “Have you called yet?”

Tanaka had to say, “I’ll go upstairs and call. You two chat, you two chat.”

He reluctantly went upstairs.

After sending away the eavesdropper, the living room became quiet again.

“He likes playing outside a lot?” He Yan asked. “Won’t he get lost?”

From above, He Yan had seen that Jiang Miao’s lab was located in a remote area, with a vast forest and mountains nearby.

“First, he has a smart device with him,” Jiang Miao said calmly. “And his wilderness survival skills have been well taught. Even without any auxiliary equipment, he can find his way back on his own.”

He Yan was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

Jiang Miao replied, “No need.”

When Jiang Rui was still a little baby, He Yan had promised to take him on many outdoor activities and teach him survival skills.

As a father, he had not fulfilled his promises.

Jiang Miao had done it instead.

He Yan apologized for that.

It was Jiang Miao who broke the silence again. She asked, “How long can you stay?”

He Yan answered, “The entire plan for the delegation is five months, but I only have today.”

Jiang Miao thought of the Gita soldiers outside the house in the spaceship, either accompanying or supervising, and nodded knowingly, lowering her head to take a sip of tea.

“I saw the paper you and Tanaka published on spatial compression technology,” He Yan said. “The members of the delegation have already sent your paper back to Nash.”

“Hmm… In that case, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Pierre will find out that I deceived them,” Jiang Miao tilted her head slightly. “The algorithm I gave them was incorrect. Following that direction, they would never solve the problem of spatial compression in their lifetime.”

He Yan’s expression was subtle. “They…”

“Hmm?”

“They’ve been detained and will probably be prosecuted for leaking secrets.”

“As they should be.”

Jiang Miao took another sip of red tea and said, “They claim to be from the National Academy of Sciences? It’s unbelievable that such information could be in personal hands, so easily accessible and shared with personnel from an enemy country at war. Even private companies like Allison wouldn’t allow a shred of information to be taken out, let alone voluntarily leak it to others. The management of your country’s National Academy of Sciences is truly astonishing.”

“But you didn’t say anything,” He Yan said. It was not an accusation, just a statement of fact.

“Because I had no obligation to,” Jiang Miao’s voice was calm and cold. “Because I am not a citizen of your country.”

“You’re right,” He Yan nodded.

Jiang Miao paused, then asked, “Will this implicate you?”

“It won’t,” He Yan said. “I didn’t understand any of the things you discussed, nor did I know what you were talking about.”

If He Yan had known at the time, he would have stopped the three of them. But not just him—even Jude, when he first met Jiang Miao and saw the room full of floating equations, didn’t know what they were. They were soldiers, and the divide between fields is vast.

“I heard from the people in the delegation from the Academy of Sciences,” He Yan continued, “that Dr. Johnson and Dr. Pierre were responsible for the spatial compression project but had made no progress for years. The project was frozen five years before the Trojan Plan even started. The spatial button was stored in the Academy’s warehouse until the Trojan Plan requisitioned it.”

“But Dr. Johnson and Dr. Pierre were always obsessed with that project. They secretly copied the research data and continued their work in private. Then, during that mission, they met you…”

Those two couldn’t resist the lure of Jiang Miao’s new algorithm and revealed the data to her.

In fact, all three of them, including Jiang Miao, were taking advantage of He Yan. They all knew how classified this information was, yet they brazenly discussed and researched it in front of He Yan, filling the air with equations he couldn’t understand, and nonchalantly asked him to serve them tea.

“They were bullying me,” Jiang Miao said. “Just by discussing my new algorithm, they revealed this kind of information. You might not understand, but to us, it’s like… well, someone showing you the latest model of a weapon fresh off the production line. Could you resist tinkering with it?”

He Yan’s lips moved slightly. “So they wanted…”

“You guys probably think we scientists are all nerds,” Jiang Miao put down her teacup. “But every circle has its political struggles, and scientists are no exception.”

Before meeting Jiang Miao, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Pierre, although unaware of the details, had a rough idea of Jiang Miao’s identity and the reasons she defected to Nash. Jiang Miao was an exceptional scientist, and she defected to the prestigious Bardock family. The Bardock family, having acquired her, would certainly try to maximize their benefit by integrating her into the National Academy of Sciences.

With their intelligence, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Pierre could foresee all of this.

“Taking advantage of my unstable mental and emotional state at the time, they used this information to tempt me into exchanging it for my new algorithm,” Jiang Miao said. “I remember you told me later that they jointly recommended me to the National Academy of Sciences? You didn’t elaborate then, but I guess the recommendation had nothing to do with spatial compression or teleportation technology?”

He Yan was silent for a moment before admitting, “Yes, they recommended you for weapons research.”

“They wanted to benefit from me and then curry favor with me and the Bardock family. They probably didn’t even think they were deceiving me, likely believing from the bottom of their hearts that it was an equal exchange,” Jiang Miao spread her hands. “See, don’t think of us scientists as simple-minded.”

He Yan gave a wry smile.

“I was the most foolish one,” he said. “Is this how you saw it?”

Beneath his long brows, his eyes were angled and deep.

Jiang Miao picked up her teacup. “At that time, you were simply trapped in a misconception.”

“After you left, my elder brother found out that I had told you many things I shouldn’t have, and he reprimanded me severely.” He Yan’s lips were slightly pursed. “Looking back, it’s indeed incredible that I made such a basic mistake and broke such an important principle.”

“Yeah, why?” Jiang Miao asked with a hint of mockery. “Have you figured it out?”

He Yan was silent for a long time, then slowly said, “I realized after much reflection that, at that time, I was convinced you had no other options. I was very aware that you had come to Nash alone and had nothing, relying entirely on me.”

…

Ah, so he finally understands.

Jiang Miao tightened her grip on her teacup.

“Because I was so clear about this, I felt at ease sharing those confidential matters with you,” He Yan said, his gaze dimming slightly. “At that time, I wasn’t unaware of your situation, but I was glad. Because your situation forced you to bind yourself to me. I was so selfish, understanding everything but never considering your position, feelings, and emotions.”

“My elder brother once said, ‘She has nothing after leaving the Bardock family. How dare she have the courage to run away?'”

“When I heard that, I felt terrible. I never expected my elder brother to speak of you in such a tone. I realized then that my elder brother is my family, not yours, and Nash is my country, not yours.”

“…Everyone around me, their attitude towards me and towards you is ultimately different. I can give you everything, lay my heart bare for you, but I can’t control how others feel about you.”

“You came to my side and interacted with everyone here. What was your experience like? I never considered that.”

He Yan laughed self-deprecatingly. “Perhaps I subconsciously thought about it, but the desire to bind you to me overshadowed everything else, so these considerations were subjectively ignored. I painted a rosy picture and convinced myself that everything was perfectly resolved.”

“In reality, it wasn’t.”

“What I considered perfect was only perfect for me, not for you.”

Jiang Miao looked down, her gaze scattered as she watched the dust dancing in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

After a long silence in the air, she finally heard the words she wanted to hear.

“Miaomiao,” He Yan said softly, his head lowered, “…I’m sorry.”

Jiang Miao thought that after so much time, the anger might have faded, and other emotions should have dissipated too.

But a surge of uncontrollable bitterness rushed up, her nose and eyes stinging.

So bitter and so sharp.

Anyone in this world could deceive me, but how could it be you!

Anyone could make me feel wronged, but how could it be you!

Others deceiving and wronging me, I could retaliate, but not you!

You are different from others, don’t you understand?

Bastard!

He Yan’s gaze was intense.

He set down his teacup, stood up, and walked to Jiang Miao, squatting down to look up at her.

Jiang Miao turned her face away.

He Yan reached out and touched her face, sighing.

“Miaomiao… don’t cry.”

The door opened automatically, and both He Yan and Jiang Miao turned their heads toward the sound.

Jiang Miao quickly wiped away her tears and stood up. “They’re back.”

Who? He Yan squinted and stood up.

Sunlight streamed through the door, cutting into a beam of light.

All he could see was a tall, upright figure with their face backlit, and a child sitting on their shoulder.

The man stood at the door for a few seconds, seemingly gazing at the two people inside. Then he suddenly took a big step forward, leaving the beam of light and revealing his true face.

He Yan saw his own child, and despite the years apart, he recognized his child.

But he also saw the man’s face clearly, and his pupils contracted sharply.

The man and Jiang Rui were dressed in identical camouflage outfits, looking like father and son. Jiang Miao had mentioned that Jiang Rui’s outdoor survival skills were well taught, and He Yan hadn’t thought about who had taught his son those skills.

At this moment, he knew.

The tall man stepping out of the light had a cold, sharp gaze and a handsome face. But He Yan was far too familiar with that face.

The former military major of the Gita Republic, Yan He.

---

Sansukini: In the end, I still think He Yan is the perfect fit for Jiang Miao. He was willing to accept where he had been wrong and finally saw it from Jiang Miao’s POV. As good as Yan He is with Rui, he still has a different set of values, Gita values. And you can see, Jiang Miao still has hopes for He Yan.
This novel is near it’s end. I hope those who are reading it can give a good rating and review on novelupdates and give it some recommendations. I think my next novel would be a rebirth to the 70’s from the same author as Bai Fumei in the 70s, one of my fave novels. I’m thinking that one, or a yandere double personality novel.

Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк　чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)

You can also check out my other translations Here