Chapter 19: The Secretary is Persuaded

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Luo Ran opened his eyes to a wooden ceiling.

Before he could get his bearings, he heard Xia Zhi clucking over him. “Ranran you’re awake…! You passed out at the military camp, why were you so careless? Didn’t I tell you to take care of yourself? Yes, your physique is very good and your spiritual power is SSS, but in the end, you’re an omega. To do this high-intensity work while in heat, are you crazy??

“You have a temporary mark, but omega are fragile during heats! Not to mention your alpha hasn’t given enough intimacy or pheromones, you’ve even been refining the UNK recently since those two from the research institute got injured. You still dare to work so much?

“You fainted from overwork! I really have no words!”

Luo Ran, who only just woke up and was still a little confused, instantly became stunned by Xia Zhi’s barrage.

“Ranran, are you listening to me?!”

“Ah…”

That’s right… he did feel very fatigued for the last few days. He probably passed out because his body reached its limit.

When Luo Ran sat up, he realized that he was in Xia Zhi’s guest room.

“Ranran, don’t be like this, please just take a holiday,” Xia Zhi said helplessly. “Be good. Take a rest, you can go back to work after your heat.”

This workaholic, he’s really…

Xia Zhi even wondered if Luo Ran had a crush on Lucas.

“Okay.” Luo Ran rubbed his temples. “I’ll consider it.”

“I’m not saying this for fun, with your condition… you might go into heat right in front of the admiral at any time,” Xia Zhi warned. “You were lucky this time. If you really can’t control it, I don’t know what will happen.”

Luo Ran stilled.

He thought for a moment then said, “I’ll ask for leave.”

The heat will take another three days, so let’s rest for three days.

“That’s better.” Xia Zhi was very satisfied, like a mother whose child finally listened to their nagging.

Luo Ran flexed his limbs and stood. “Right, who was the one who sent me here, Adjutant Lu?”

“No…” With a strange expression, Xia Zhi replied, “It was the admiral who carried you in. But the military department over there still needed him, so he went back after I told him you collapsed from exhaustion.”

“Huh?” Luo Ran immediately frowned. “Why’d he come when they’re in the middle of exercises?”

Seeing Luo Ran still thinking about his work matters, Xia Zhi paused then asked with furrowed brows, “Ranran, I want to ask…”

“Hm?”

“What do you think of the admiral?”

“What ‘what do I think’?”　

“Just, what do you think of him as a person?” Xia Zhi smiled broadly. “I’m curious.”

“Didn’t you meet him while you were a combat medic? He…” Luo Ran stretched as he considered his words. “He’s a very powerful alpha. His spiritual power and combat ability are both at the empire’s peak, and he’s honourable.”

Xia Zhi: “…”

Xia Zhi opened his mouth. He originally had something to say, but in the end, it didn’t leave his lips.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it… oh, that’s right!” Xia Zhi clapped his hands. “The admiral asked Adjutant Lu to stay and let him know if we need anything. He’s sitting in the living room, you can go tell him you’re up.”

“…Say this earlier, why don’t you.”

Luo Ran brushed his hair, straightened his clothes, then made his way downstairs.

“Secretary Luo…!” Upon seeing Luo Ran, Lu Cheng subconsciously got up and saluted again.

“Adjutant Lu, sorry I’ve troubled you.” Luo Ran bowed in return.

“No trouble, no trouble.” Lu Cheng examined Luo Ran up and down, then stood straight and asked, “May I report your condition to the admiral, Secretary Luo?”

“…You may.”

“Yes!”

Lu Cheng immediately bowed his head to give Lucas a report.

“Adjutant Lu.”*

“Here!”

“Can you do me a favour and ask the admiral for a holiday for me?” Luo Ran requested.

“Huh…?”

“Just say that I fell sick from overwork so I plan to rest for three days, but I’ll make sure to finish all the urgent tasks at the company beforehand.”

“Yes…” Lu Cheng wondered, why doesn’t Secretary Luo ask the admiral himself?

But he couldn’t work it out, so Lu Cheng dutifully passed the message to Lucas verbatim.

Lucas only replied with a ‘yeah.’

So began the top secretary of the empire’s first vacation in many years.

* * *

To be precise, it half began.

Luo Ran couldn’t abandon all his work without a word. He still had to go to the company to sort and hand over everything, as well as leave instructions for Rong Duo and the others.

He left for the company after resting a short while at Xia Zhi’s home.

When he arrived, it was already late at night. The employees had long finished their shifts, the whole building was dark, and the only people present were the soldiers and guards on duty.

Luo Ran went to the highest floor and sat at his desk to organize his documents.

After a while, he heard footsteps.

The admiral returned from the military camp…

Luo Ran looked up and saw Lucas standing there, watching him with a slightly sullen expression.

He’s angry…?

Because I asked for a holiday?

With a stack of folders in hand, Luo Ran asked in a tentative tone, “Admiral is back, did the parade go well?”

Lucas didn’t answer, instead grabbing the folders from Luo Ran with rough movements. “Why didn’t you tell me you were exhausted?!”

“I…” Completely unprepared for Lucas’ anger, Luo Ran looked at him in a daze when his hands became empty.

“Why didn’t you ask for a break if you were tired?” Lucas threw the folders onto the table. “Are these damn things so important?!”

Luo Ran truly didn’t expect Lucas to react like this. After he got over his shock, he subconsciously followed Lucas’ words and blurted out, “Yes… they’re very important.”

Those weren’t just any damn things, they included the empire’s military affairs and economic information on Luobing. Things would become troublesome if anything went wrong.

“…”

Lucas gazed at Luo Ran with a dark expression.

Luo Ran lowered his eyes and said nothing.

“…I can’t win against you. This can’t happen again,” Lucas warned.

Luo Ran nodded.

But Lucas wasn’t stupid. He frowned and asked, “Normally your workload is even bigger than this, why did you pass out this time?”

Luo Ran’s heart jumped and subconsciously moved half a step back. “I don’t know.”

“Are you hiding something from me?” Lucas’ face sank. Luo Ran’s half a step back instantly angered the alpha who was already in a bad mood. He directly pressed Luo Ran against the wall behind him, not letting him slip away.

Luo Ran’s two hands were raised above his hands and clasped together until he couldn’t move an inch.

He suppressed the nervousness in his heart. It’s okay, I didn’t go into heat before I passed out, there shouldn’t be any pheromones, and Xia Zhi couldn’t have revealed anything. It should be fine.

“I am not.” Luo Ran calmly looked at Lucas. “I would not lie to you.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow.

“If I ever lie to you, I will…” Luo Ran abruptly stopped.

Although his face was still, his heart felt weak.

“You’ll?”

Luo Ran hardened himself, continuing, “…I will take your surname.”

He didn’t dare to name too harsh a punishment, like being struck by lightning or not dying in one piece. What if he was actually struck by lightning?

Lucas looked at Luo Ran blankly.

Luo Ran stared back.

The two stayed in the stalemate for a while, until Lucas admitted defeat and said viciously, “If you have any problems, whether that be if you’re tired or sick or whatever, tell me. Don’t lie.”

“Alright.” Luo Ran breathed a sigh of relief to know that Lucas hadn’t noticed anything. He raised his hand. “I promise.”

Lucas loosened his grip on Luo Ran.

“Then I’ll go first,” Luo Ran said.

“Just sleep here, don’t run back and forth.” Lucas pointed to his office.* “You take the bed.”

“…”

With Lucas standing in front of him like a sentry, Luo Ran didn’t even need to think to know that he wouldn’t be able to go home tonight.

Thinking about it another way, if Lucas was the one sick, he wouldn’t want him to run around like that either.

After a pause, Luo Ran tried to justify himself. “In fact it wasn’t a big deal today, I…”

“Go rest.”

* * *

Luo Ran plucked up his courage and followed Lucas inside.

Lucas took off his military uniform and put on clean clothing.

The air was full of the scent of tobacco. Luo Ran took the opportunity to go to the bathroom and give himself a shot of inhibitor just in case.

By the time Luo Ran returned, Lucas had already washed up and was sitting on the sofa with a gloomy expression.

“What’s your relationship with that Xia Zhi?”

Luo Ran: “?”

“Xia Zhi, the one whose name you called just before you fainted.”

Lucas had moved his pillow and quilt to the sofa, and the bed was clearly left for Luo Ran. Luo Ran cautiously sat on the edge of the bed and replied, “Xia Zhi is my friend and happens to be a doctor, so I thought of him. You should have met him before, Admiral. He followed your uncle in the army everywhere when you were younger.”

Lucas tapped a finger on his knee without a word.

The atmosphere cooled again.

No response was forthcoming even after a long while, so Luo Ran turned to get the spare bedding out from the cupboard. Though they were a bit thin, it was fine to make do for a night.

Just as Luo Ran was about to lie down, he heard Lucas’ voice again from outside.

“You like people like this? You like omega?”

…?

Luo Ran said helplessly, “Admiral, what are you thinking? Although Xia Zhi looks young, he can be counted as our elder.”

Lucas nodded in agreement. “As long as you know. He’s old. Even if he’s an omega, his body isn’t able to keep up. Plus he doesn’t look good, and he’s long-winded. Every time I visit with Lu Cheng, he can’t stop nagging.”

Luo Ran: Xia Zhi would spit blood if he heard this.

It couldn’t be said that Xia Zhi didn’t look good when he was acknowledged as one of the empire’s most beautiful people. Back when he broke off his engagement with Shen Xiluo, his suitors could line up around his house several times over.

Lucas sat on the sofa and doggedly pursued this topic. “As your boss, I hope you can keep your mind on work and don’t think about falling in love and getting married all day long.”

Luo Ran: “…”

I haven’t??

“The empire’s top secretary should act like a proper secretary. Work hard.”

Luo Ran: “…”

---

Author:
Xia Zhi: ???

He just fainted, he’s not in heat, so Ranran can keep his cover

Translator:
Kabedon! Kabedon!

Testing a new layout for the previous/next buttons. Should I keep this or go back to before?

Footnotes:

1. The raws call him 陆长官 here, which is Senior Official Lu. I think it’s the only time Lu Cheng’s title is ever senior official instead of adjutant, so I’m fairly sure it’s a typo.
2. The raws don’t say, but I’m guessing his office has a living space attached, similar to an apartment.

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