Hunting Game [Interstellar]

Before he finished speaking, Su Shichuan raised his hand to touch his brow bone, and pursed his lips with restraint.

Sifa thought his wound was hurting again, so he hurriedly got up and planned to call a doctor for examination.Glancing inadvertently from the corner of his eye, his finger that was about to press the calling device stopped suddenly. With the help of the dim light of the bedside lamp, he noticed a trace of water slowly dripping down from the gap between the back of the opponent's hand and the eye socket.

Why are you... crying?

The two had known each other for more than a year, and in his impression, this man would only show a bit of fragility in line with his age when the high fever persisted, and the rest of the time he looked capable and capable.There will be no gaffes, no anxiety and tension in him, and it is the first time that such a thing as crying.

Xifa has never coaxed anyone at such a young age, and immediately froze in place at a loss.

Sure enough, he should not have asked nonsense, Xifa regretted it, and his brows furrowed unknowingly—whether he was a crow or why he pretended to be a crow, he was injured and bled that night, he had done enough to be an empire There is no reason to accept doubts about what soldiers should do!

Why not trust him?Obviously, I have always been willing to believe him!

On the one hand, there are unreasonable behaviors detected by reason, and on the other hand, there are increasingly deep feelings and dependence. Xifa is caught in the middle and has no idea how to choose, or who to trust more.

But now—Sifa took a deep breath, and temporarily abandoned the center of the balance controlled by reason and sensibility. He only made one thing clear—he was used to seeing this person's calmness, so he couldn't see him crying weakly, like a man begging for forgiveness. The way my child says the word "sorry" like that.

It hurts so much, I'm such a jerk!

Xifa put down the ridiculous beeper, walked quickly to the other side of the hospital bed, sat sideways on the edge of the bed and carefully bent down to avoid touching his wound: "I shouldn't doubt you, from now on, what do you say? Believe me, don't cry..." He grabbed Su Shichuan's hand in front of his eyes and wanted to take it off, but he didn't expect the other party to press it even tighter.

"Shichuan," Xifa said, "can you take a look at me?"

Perhaps the long-suppressed emotions finally found an outlet. Su Shichuan kept his mind and listened to every word Xifa said, but he didn't know why these tears were shed. , maybe thinking of the past, or maybe thinking of the future, but in short, there is no one around, so he can indulge himself for a while.

The tears that rolled down seeped into the temples, and finally left a small wet trace on the pillow.

Xifa was still questioning and blaming himself for his impulsiveness. He wanted to hold him in his arms but was afraid of pain, so he could only wrap his arms around his shoulders and accompany him until he finished venting.

I don't know how long it took, Su Shichuan felt his eyes were sore, and then he managed to get out of the indelible negative emotion: "You are right, you did the right thing, the environment is like this, everyone Be suspicious, don't let your guard down because of me."

"No, I was wrong."

Xifa took off Su Shichuan's hand that was blocking his eyes, this time Su Shichuan did not refuse, but raised his head slightly to look back at Xifa.His eye sockets were reddened from the pressure, dripping with water, and his eyelashes were glued into clusters. His eyes were defenseless, lacking the usual calmness and wisdom, as thin as an ordinary person.

"It's my fault for making you sad, no matter how many reasons you say, it's useless."

Su Shichuan was startled, then laughed dumbly, and said, "Come here."

Seeing that the person stopped crying, Xifa breathed a sigh of relief, and obediently obeyed, thinking he was going to say something.After a while, he only felt two soft things rub against his cheeks, and after a few seconds, he realized that it was a kiss.

"Don't go down, lie down with me for a while." Su Shichuan whispered, "Have you not slept for a few days?"

Xifa lay down on his side, opened his arms to let him lean into his arms, and replied: "If you don't wake up, I won't dare to close my eyes."

"What are you afraid of?" Su Shichuan smiled, "I don't die so easily."

"Knowing that you won't die and not worrying are two different things," Xifa said stubbornly, "You are too tired. Even though you are only an instructor, you have done more than those in the military department."

"It's nothing to be tired," Su Shichuan closed his eyes, "It's worth it."

Knowing that he was tired, Xifa stretched out his hand to stroke the hair blocking his eyes, looked at him, and stopped talking.

After another week, the wound healed well, and Su Shichuan was able to carry out moderate activities.

The person in charge of the military department who took over the aftermath came to conduct routine interrogation in person, but due to Su Xingchuan's identity, the interrogation process was simplified a lot, mainly for greetings.Su Shichuan was much more rigorous than him. After he could sit up, he wrote a detailed report by hand, and when the other party was almost flattered, he took it out and handed it to him.The person in charge was flattered, thinking that he had won the favor of Instructor Huang, and was able to hand over the matter to his superiors. After receiving the report, he left contentedly.

Affected by the alliance's raid, the military exercise was completely cancelled. These days, the military academy was deserted, and most of the students were sent home immediately. The resumption of school may have to wait until after a thorough investigation.

Su Shichuan has been busy for a year like a non-stop second hand, and he was not able to catch his breath until he lay on the hospital bed.Right now, Xifa has something to do and is asked to leave by someone. Su Shichuan dismissed the person in charge who talked a lot. He took the optical brain when he was bored, and planned to formulate the professional training plan for the students in the next stage in advance.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and just as Su Shichuan clicked on the document, he responded without raising his head: "Please come in."

After getting permission, the door was opened, Fengchen came straight to take away the optical computer after entering the room, and after scanning the contents, he turned it off and threw it into the drawer, saying: "You can take care of yourself before you leave the hospital, and Ah Ning will take care of the students' affairs for you. Well, if you don't do well, you will punish him directly." Feng Chen pulled the armchair and sat down, with a smile in his eyes, but a reproach in his tone, "Don't even look at what's going on with you, do you want to die?"

Su Shichuan was taken aback, thinking, was the commander-in-chief of Air Combat Team A used to be a chatterbox?How can you say so much in one breath!

"I've been lying down until now, if I don't find something to be a man, something will go wrong." Su Shichuan said with a smile, "Why are you back? There is still something to do here?"

Feng Chen saw that he was only wearing the school hospital hospital gown, so he got up and pulled the quilt directly to Su Shichuan's neck, pressing both sides behind him, making sure that the cover was tight enough, and then sat down again, and replied: "I don't I didn't leave, but I was too busy and didn't take time to come and see you."

Su Shichuan was wrapped into a rice dumpling, and he couldn't laugh or cry, but because of Feng Chen's uncompromising temperament, he didn't make unnecessary struggles, and calmly accepted the setting of "my friend thinks I'm cold", saying : "Your Highness is worried?"

Feng Chen gave a "hmm" and said: "After all, it's the alliance. It's okay for the two sides to be in a stalemate in the far galaxy before, but now they have penetrated into the White Emperor Star, and there are all mecha starships. It seems to be mocking the empire. His Highness was furious and dismissed the principal and vice-principal, and several senior officers from the military department were implicated and handed over to me for interrogation."

"I also thought about it that day. The military department is probably an undercover agent who got into the alliance." Su Shichuan said seriously, "But it's hard to check. Have you found anything?"

Feng Chen slowly shook his head: "I don't like dealing with secret agents the most. It's fine if you hide them deeply. If you find them out with difficulty, you will commit suicide by swallowing poison at every turn."

Su Shichuan: "..."

Su Shichuan smiled unkindly, and teased him: "While there is still a chance, Admiral Feng can consider breaking off relations with agents like me as soon as possible."

Feng Chen: "..."

Only then did Feng Chen realize that he even scolded Su Shichuan, he couldn't help laughing, and said, "You are different, how can I have the chance to interrogate you?"

"It's hard to say," Su Shichuan said casually, "In special times, there are no absolutely trustworthy people, including you and me."

Feng Chen was startled, the corners of his mouth still had the same curvature as when he was smiling, but his eyes became serious: "Speaking of this, I actually wanted to remind you a long time ago." He paused, as if thinking about his words, and fell silent. It took a while before he spoke again, "You are too close to His Highness the Third Highness."

"I am his instructor and he is my student. I don't think there is any problem." Su Shichuan said lightly.

"I don't want to talk about the relationship between you, and I won't force you to change that relationship." Feng Chen stared at Su Shichuan, his voice softened but serious, "We have known each other for more than ten years, and I don't want to be in front of you. Going around in circles. Shi Chuan, Xisai has credited you with military exercises, and has already mentioned to the emperor the matter of canonizing him as the emperor's mentor, and you will officially take office in a few months at most."

"You are a smart person, and you should know it well. As the tutor of His Highness the Crown Prince, you have maintained a closer relationship with His Highness the Third Highness. Do you think it is appropriate?"

Su Shichuan was noncommittal and did not speak.

Feng Chen observed his reaction intently, and after a while, he said again: "Xisai is sensitive and suspicious, and a single detail is enough to make him wary, let alone a move like yours to save the Third Highness at risk. I should have said something, everyone knows the cause of the eldest prince's death, there are no brothers in the royal family, only competitors, and this will never change."

"He didn't make a move, just because the remaining opponents are still young and have nothing to do. However, since he hasn't made a move now, it doesn't mean that he won't do it in the future, and it doesn't mean that he won't let you do it for him."

Su Shichuan heard the deep meaning, and suddenly raised his head to meet his gaze: "Say it again."

At that moment, Feng Chen was stabbed by the coldness in Su Shichuan's eyes: "This is just a hypothesis, maybe it's a way to test your loyalty, and now I'll say it, if—" He breathed a sigh of relief. "If the person you are facing is replaced by Cisse, how would you respond?"

Eyelashes drooping, Su Shichuan said truthfully, "I can answer Cisse, but I can't answer you."

Feng Chen frowned, as if he couldn't believe it: "Could it be that you... would choose His Highness Baosan?"

Su Shichuan didn't respond directly, but said calmly: "Feng Chen, we are all ministers who serve others, so before the people above issue formal orders, we should stop putting pressure on each other like this, so as not to cause disagreements because of disagreements. Necessary disagreement."

Feng Chen fell silent suddenly, and the tense atmosphere just now eased up, as if it had returned to an ordinary visit in the ward in the afternoon.

"I'm just..." Feng Chen leaned back in the armchair, his usual meticulous sitting posture was rarely relaxed, "I'm a little worried about you."

"Don't worry." Su Shichuan said in a low voice, "Ah Chen, we just let nature take its course, otherwise we won't be able to force it."

Feng Chen compromised and said, "Okay, since you don't like it, then we won't talk about political affairs in private from now on."

"This is the best." Su Shichuan said.

"But you still have to pay more attention," Feng Chen couldn't help but urged, "If he doesn't get suspicious, nothing will happen."

Su Shichuan nodded slowly: "Understood, don't worry."

……

Three months later, another year's bi-monthly sacrifice is coming.

The gold-plated hall was renovated, this time Su Shichuan no longer went to the banquet alone, but followed the crown prince as an entourage throughout the whole process.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the master of the Luo Yin Empire came to the dinner in person. After the traditional speech, the emperor's mentor conferring ceremony, which was scheduled to be held that night, began.The current emperor personally announced that Su Shichuan would be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and commander of the Royal Guards.

There was applause at the scene, and gold powder was sprinkled all over the sky. Except for the advanced time, all the progress completely coincided with the previous life.

After the conferment ceremony was over, Su Shichuan walked off the main stage. In order to avoid unnecessary pleasantries, he deliberately left from the back, instead of returning to the atrium, he turned into the corridor of the rest area.Not far away, as if he had known that he would come here, Austin walked up slowly and handed one of the goblets to Su Shichuan.

After the exercise, the two had no chance to meet each other. Su Shichuan heard that he was fine, so he didn't deliberately contact him. After recovering from his injury, he returned to the imperial capital with Xifa Fengchen.

Su Shichuan was slightly surprised by being stopped by him suddenly, but he didn't show it.He took the wine glass from Austin, touched him lightly, did not drink, and explained: "There is still business tonight, so I can't drink."

Austin nodded in understanding, drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp, and said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Su Shichuan smiled politely, "I heard that you had a broken bone that day, how is your recovery?"

Austin said: "Teacher, don't worry, there is no sequelae, and it will not affect the training."

"That's good, otherwise I will feel guilty." Su Shichuan said.

"I said this to protect me, otherwise you wouldn't be so seriously injured, and you wouldn't be hijacked later." Austin laughed at himself, took the cup in Su Shichuan's hand and drank it , "When I later remembered that I was protected by you, I felt incredible."

He looked at Su Xingchuan, with both daze and sarcasm in his eyes: "The gap between me and you is too great. Unfortunately, I always feel that I am pretty good, and I still can't understand why my professional grades are so good that you can't see me. What's the use of thinking about it now? In actual combat, I'm nothing, I don't even have time to react..."

"You're still young, you'll be fine in the future." Su Shichuan comforted in a warm voice, "It's not a shame to be protected. The teacher protects you, not to see you despise yourself afterwards."

Austin shook his head, hesitatingly said: "But..."

"No but." Su Shichuan interrupted him, "This is your first year in the military academy. You can't expect yourself to be like a regular army, and you can't just deny your professional achievements with a failure in actual combat. It can't erase your reputation. Excellent, and—" He smiled, "The teacher can see you, so he will choose you as the partner of the same group when we are in groups."

"Really?" Austin is taller than Su Shichuan, and has a more muscular figure, but when he said this, he looked at him seriously like a child who has received praise, "You chose me?"

Su Shichuan said with a smile: "Of course, important exercises, how can I let others arrange them, my partner must personally confirm."

After being affirmed, Austin smiled with relief, and after a while, he suddenly said: "There is one more thing, I'm not sure how to deal with it, I want to ask your opinion, but I haven't found a chance, so I'm waiting for you here .”

"Tell me." Su Shichuan said.

"At the red base that day, I overheard the conversation of two Union officers after sneaking in." Austin lowered his voice, as if he was worried that the echo in the corridor would transmit what he said to the ears of the third person, "Rex thought Winning Xifa started from the beginning of the treason, and the two have always been in contact, but what they mean seems to be that Xifa did not agree."

Su Shichuan was shocked instantly, he never expected that such an important content would be listened to by him!

Austin thought that Su Shichuan didn't know about this matter, so after roughly speaking, he described the details of the conversation between the two of them again, and finally said: "The three of us heard about this matter, but Song Xiao is an undercover agent. Bella died again. At that time, I hesitated for a long time before not writing it in the report. Up to now, I have only told you one person, because I am not sure whether it is right or wrong to conceal it from the military department."

Su Shichuan restrained his mind and began to seriously think about how to completely stop Austin's mouth.

Keeping in touch with the Alliance Commander - that alone was enough to kill Sifa, literally put the lifeblood in someone else's hands.

Su Shichuan pushed away the people in the nearby lounge and said, "Let's go in and talk."

When the two entered, Su Shichuan closed the door and locked it. He watched Austin's back as he walked towards the sofa. At that moment, he had murderous intentions for the student who had just encouraged and comforted him.

"There are two reasons why I chose to hide it." Austin didn't notice Su Shichuan's strangeness, and sat down and continued, "The first is that Xifa did not agree. I know the seriousness of this matter after it is revealed. After finding conclusive evidence I didn't want to hurt him before."

Su Xingchuan dismissed the thoughts in his mind, walked over and sat down on a set of sofas beside him: "What about the second point?"

"Because of you." Austin said, "I know about your relationship, but I don't know how good this relationship is, in case..." He paused unnaturally, "I mean in case, Sifer and Lake Si's connection is far more than what I heard, if he really colluded with the enemy and treasoned, or turned against the water and acted as an undercover agent for the alliance within the empire, I'm not sure what you would do."

"Will you help him, or will you kill him for the Empire?"

Su Shichuan: "..."

Su Shichuan didn't expect that he would consider this level, let alone ask directly.

Unlike Feng Chen, Austin is just a student who admires his teacher. There is no deep friendship between the two of them for more than ten years. They have differences of opinion, different positions, or even involve the interests of the country. Any slight mistake may cause irreparable damage. result.To put it bluntly, the reason for his secrecy is very weak. He grew up in a serious military family, and influenced by his father's generation, his loyalty to the empire is hard to shake.

"In front of the country, there are no personal feelings." Su Shichuan replied in a low voice.

This answer can be said to be meaningless, equivalent to a piece of empty talk, but it is very suitable for children with inexperienced children like Austin, and it is easy to arouse resonance and win trust.

Sure enough, Austin nodded and didn't speak, but the feeling of "relieved" was obvious.

Su Shichuan took his reaction into his eyes and warned: "You keep this matter secret for the time being. I will investigate it myself. I may need your help." He deliberately revealed the meaning of "cooperation" and said "I need You" expressed it in the most straightforward way, "but you must never let the third person know before you have a definite result, remember?"

"I understand." Austin said.

"Thank you for trusting me." Su Shichuan played the last warm card and affirmed in the most sincere tone, "It's very good that you can make your own judgment, take all possible results into consideration, and don't report impulsively , stop doubting yourself."

Austin let out a "hmm" and didn't say any more. It can be seen that these words are very useful to him.Su Shichuan thought to himself that he was telling the truth, but for this outstanding student in his major who was good at digging out details, the only thing he didn't take into account was that his teacher was the biggest uncertain factor in the whole process.

Then the two separated, and Su Shichuan put on a mask and left the Gilded Hall.

The rose garden outside has been completely renovated, and now it is a large maze surrounded by Rosaceae plants, which is uniquely designed. The stone pavilion and fountain are arranged in the center of the maze, which can only be seen after going around.

Everyone was waiting in the hall for the archbishop's final New Year's address, and there were hardly any other guests in the garden.

Su Shichuan walked into the depths of the maze according to the message from the communicator, and saw Xifa waiting beside the fountain.

Xifa was wearing a snow-white evening dress, with long pale golden hair hanging over her shoulders and back, her long and tall silhouette was straight and elegant, without any trace of frivolity or youthfulness, she was completely different from when they met a year ago.

Su Shichuan stared at him for a while, and then came out from behind the flower wall, and said: "After the dinner is over, I have to go to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I can't stay here for too long. Why are you looking for me?"

"This is the third banquet we have attended together," Xifa turned around, with his left arm behind his back, and stretched out his other hand towards Su Shichuan, "but I didn't invite you to dance."

"—May I ask you to dance, Lieutenant General?"