TSBSPAAM Chapter 51

Chapter 51:The Repaired Mecha

 

Ignoring the group of people who had disappeared, Qin Luzhi looked down at Shen Bumian. “Are you alright?”

Shen Bumian shook his head and stepped out of Qin Luzhi’s embrace. “How did you get here so quickly?”

It felt as if Shen Bumian’s warmth still lingered on Qin Luzhi’s fingertips; he was a bit reluctant to let go. “I had some business back at school and just happened to be nearby.”

No wonder, Shen Bumian thought. He looked up at the already darkened sky, thinking he should get back soon.

I owe Qin Luzhi again. I’ll just have to pay him back next time.

“I should get going now. Thank you for what you did just now.”

Qin Luzhi followed Shen Bumian out of the alley’s entrance. The sky in October darkens faster than in the summer, but a sliver of white could still be seen on the horizon.

By this faint light, he could clearly see Shen Bumian’s back. He looked very slight, and the sound of the wind was audible. Without hesitation, Qin Luzhi took off the jacket he was wearing and draped it over Shen Bumian’s shoulders.

Shen Bumian’s steps faltered. His voice was a bit soft, or perhaps the wind was just a bit loud. “I’m not cold.”

Qin Luzhi didn’t stop walking and had already moved ahead of Shen Bumian. He heard his words and nodded but didn’t take the jacket back.

Shen Bumian pursed his lips and pulled the jacket tighter, accepting Qin Luzhi’s kind gesture.

The black jacket still held a bit of warmth and the faint scent of mint. Shen Bumian thought that perhaps Qin Luzhi had accidentally stained it with his pheromones when he used his ability just now.

It smelled quite nice. He didn’t dislike it.

Just as he was in a bit of a daze, Qin Luzhi’s cool voice came from ahead. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

Huh? Qin Luzhi is going to take him home? But they don’t live in the same direction.

Only after walking out of the alley did Shen Bumian see a starship that looked expensive at a glance. It turned out Qin Luzhi had come in his own starship.

Looking at the starship, Shen Bumian touched the ginkgo leaf ring hanging around his neck. Only then did he remember that Qin Luzhi’s mecha was still at his house.

He didn’t refuse Qin Luzhi’s offer and got into the co-pilot’s seat of the starship, watching as Qin Luzhi skillfully began to operate it.

Shen Bumian pointed in a direction, not having Qin Luzhi stop at the Shen family estate’s starship docking platform, but instead steering towards a building behind it.

Qin Luzhi didn’t think about what Shen Bumian was up to. He flew wherever Shen Bumian pointed, not feeling that there was anything wrong at all.

Finally, the two stood in front of a gray-white building. Shen Bumian walked to the main entrance. After a pupil scan, the doors opened to both sides. Shen Bumian gestured for Qin Luzhi to follow.

Only after entering did Qin Luzhi realize that this was not an ordinary building, but a massive mecha laboratory, a place he was all too familiar with.

There were many spaces here: a place for mecha maintenance, a place for mecha combat, and another space that housed many different types and configurations of mecha.

It was enough to show that this building had cost a fortune. And when he looked up, he saw a familiar mecha—his mecha, Jiang Zhi.

There was no one else here. Qin Luzhi guessed the staff had probably gone home for the day. And with a single glance, he could tell that Jiang Zhi was different from usual.

Jiang Zhi was originally a solid silver-gray, but now there was a touch of wine-red next to the cockpit door. It wasn’t in a very obvious place, but Qin Luzhi saw it instantly.

He knew it was painted with the same material as Shen Bumian’s mecha, Mess.

Shen Bumian also noticed Qin Luzhi’s gaze and began to explain, “Um, last time your mecha was damaged because of me, so I brought it back and had someone repair it.”

However, the Shen family didn’t have much of the original material Jiang Zhi was made of. After the repairs were done, they found that a tiny bit was missing. Since it was just a small spot, Shen Bumian simply had the repairman use Mess’s material.

But this tiny, inconspicuous spot, not even the size of a fingernail, was caught by the mecha’s owner in a single glance.

Shen Bumian was actually a little worried that Qin Luzhi would be angry, because this wasn’t his mecha, and this could be seen as him modifying it without permission, and a modification to its appearance at that.

Only when Qin Luzhi walked closer did he notice a pattern there. It was a rose, with thorns wrapped around it.

It was indeed smaller than a fingernail. Anyone else might have had to get very close to notice it, but he had seen this inconspicuous spot from far away.

Shen Bumian, watching Qin Luzhi’s gaze, continued, “I went and watched the videos of your mecha competitions from previous years, extracted some of your data, and made some modifications to your mecha.”

As he spoke, Shen Bumian walked to a nearby table and found a blueprint. On it were his modification designs, with very detailed data. Shen Bumian handed the blueprint to Qin Luzhi.

As soon as Qin Luzhi took it and looked, his eyes unconsciously filled with surprise.

Jiang Zhi’s various configurations and data were all top-tier, but only its user, Qin Luzhi, knew it still had shortcomings, albeit very subtle ones.

Neither the mecha’s creator nor he himself knew how to change these parameters. But when he saw the data on Shen Bumian’s blueprint, he knew that the places Shen Bumian had changed were exactly the ones he didn’t know how to approach.

Shen Bumian was still chattering on, “I worked out all this data by studying your competitions. If you don’t like it this way, I’ll contact them to change it back.”

Including the wine-red pattern.

However, he didn’t hear a reply from Qin Luzhi for a long time, which made him even more uncertain. He secretly looked up, only to meet Qin Luzhi’s gaze.

Shen Bumian froze, because Qin Luzhi was smiling—a genuine, heartfelt smile. His usually cold eyes were now paved with a gentle undertone.

It made one unconsciously want to drown in them.

The corner of his mouth curved up in a small arc, but it was enough to show his happiness.

The lights overhead cast shadows on them. Qin Luzhi was wearing a black shirt, and an aura of noble asceticism emanated from him.

But his smile was refined and amiable, as if it had neutralized some of his sharp aura.

It held a fatal attraction for others.

Shen Bumian thought he finally understood why so many people liked Qin Luzhi. When an imperial humanoid weapon like him smiled only for you, it seemed no one could resist.

It was like an indifferent, ruthless, and unrestrained god falling from the clouds for you.

Shen Bumian held his breath and placed a hand over his heart, trying to suppress its abnormal beating.

It must be because Qin Luzhi is breaking the rules, he thought.

The next second, he fell into a familiar embrace. Shen Bumian once again smelled that scent of pine smoke and mint.

This time it wasn’t faint; he could clearly tell it was coming from the back of Qin Luzhi’s neck.

Qin Luzhi was hugging him, his chin resting lightly on his shoulder. Since Qin Luzhi was half a head taller, he was slightly bent over as he held him.

With a slight turn of his head, Shen Bumian could see the tall Alpha’s gland. The scent of mint was strongest there.

A part of the body that was equally important to an Alpha was now completely and unreservedly exposed to Shen Bumian.

Shen Bumian felt that he was becoming a little strange. He had a slight urge to bite down, to make even more of that scent pour out from there.

So strange. This is wrong. No Alpha would let an omega bite them; it’s a provocation to their authority, Shen Bumian thought, his mind wandering.

Qin Luzhi’s low voice sounded right next to Shen Bumian’s ear. “Shen Bumian, I like it very much. Incredibly so.”

It was unclear whether he was talking about the mecha or something else.

Shen Bumian’s heart rate hadn’t slowed down. His lips were already very close to the back of Qin Luzhi’s neck. Hearing his words, he subconsciously replied, “Mm, as long as you like it.”

The moment he spoke, the person holding him stiffened.

Qin Luzhi’s hands tightened. When Shen Bumian spoke, his breath fell directly onto his gland. His entire body nearly trembled. Qin Luzhi swallowed with difficulty.

The gland was a very sensitive area for both omegas and Alphas. Qin Luzhi felt he could no longer withstand this kind of teasing.

If anyone else had gotten this close to his gland, he would have already kicked them far away. But this was Shen Bumian.

So he just stood there rigidly, on one hand wanting to pull away a little to keep himself from losing control, and on the other hand wanting Shen Bumian to get even closer. He wickedly thought, Shen Bumian was the one who came closer on his own.

Shen Bumian also froze when Qin Luzhi’s body tensed. He suddenly realized that this distance was too close.

Dangerously close.

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