Fu Yuanchuan: [Something is going on here. Don’t wait for me, go ahead and eat first.]

Jun Qingyu: [Ok.]

If he waited any longer, it would be dinner time.

Jun Qingyu got up to open the door, and Shi Kaixin pushed an electric-powered cart in and served the meals inside, one at a time, on the table.

Most of them were fish and there were a few dishes Fu Yuanchuan often cooked at home.

Shi Kaixin stood to the side and opened a bottle of fruit beverage.

Jun Qingyu took a sip. He felt the taste didn’t feel quite right and asked, “Is this alcoholic?”

“It’s not, it’s fruit juice with a small amount of alcohol.” Shi Kaixin explained, “It can be considered as sake, but the percentage is much lower than sake.”

For frequent drinkers, a fruit beverage with a low alcohol content was just fruit juice and had nothing to do with booze.

“How does it taste?”

Jun Qingyu merely took a sip and put down the cup, “It’s ok.”

The fruit beverage was grape juice flavoured, and though it didn’t taste as great as the grape juice made from his space, it was already considered good for interstellar fruits.

The fruit beverage contained in the cup still swayed, Jun Qingyu frowned and saw double in a trance. He asked, “Will drinking this fruit beverage cause drunkenness?”

“Of course not.” Shi Kaixin said with absolute certainty. After all, it was hard to get drunk with this much of an alcohol content, and it seemed unlikely for a person to get intoxicated no matter how much they consumed.

There was no issue in drinking a lot and drinking one’s fill wouldn’t even cause intoxication.

Still…Shi Kaixin felt that Jun Qingyu was a bit slow in raising his hand.

He wasn’t certain if that was an illusion, but it looked pretty obvious that he was.

“Sir, you…why don’t you stop drinking? I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Shi Kaixin’s heart suddenly dropped, “I’m afraid you’ll beat me up if you get drunk.”

Jun Qingyu glanced at him and justified his alcohol tolerance, “I’m not drunk, and besides, Yuanchuan said I’m quiet when I’m drunk.”

Shi Kaixin nodded, “That’s good.” 

The reaction everyone has when they were drunk differed and it was unlikely he was drunk with this bit of alcohol at this point.

After the dishes and drinks were served, Shi Kaixin adjusted the angle of the plates and said, “In that case, sir, you may start eating. Ring the bell when you’re done and I’ll come to collect them.”

Jun Qingyu leaned back on the soft chair and raised an eyebrow, “Collect what?”

Shi Kaixin said, “The plates and any uneaten food.”

Jun Qingyu snorted coldly, “What’s with your act as a waiter? You’re still wearing a colonel’s epaulettes on your shoulders.”

Shi Kaixin: “……?”

Ha?

Something’s wrong…That can’t be right!

Shi Kaixin looked at Jun Qingyu in disbelief, only to see that Jun Qingyu looked normal, and did not appear drunk.

The most crucial thing was that…you wouldn’t become intoxicated with a concentration of little more than zero point zero zero something percent, right?

“Sir?”

“Shut up.” Jun Qingyu appeared aloof, “Identify yourself, what’s the purpose of your visit?”

Shi Kaixin’s facial features wrinkled to the point it was all scrunched up. He gaped and felt his jaw touching something when he did so.

It was a chilling table knife.

Shi Kaixin did not dare to move for the time being and attempted to converse with Jun Qingyu, “Sir, you’re drunk.”

“Drunk? How can I get drunk with a sip?”

Shi Kaixin: “……”

You’re still able to understand me well enough?!

“Cut the nonsense! Where’s Fu Yuanchuan?” The knife against Shi Kaixin’s neck inched closer, “I’m warning you. Hurry up and hand him over.”

Shi Kaixin silently raised his hands, “Where is he supposed to be?”

“You’re asking me? You’ve hidden him and you’re asking me!”

Shi Kaixin hastily denied, “No, I am–I didn’t, but I really don’t know where the marshal is. Think about it. I am a colonel, an Imperial colonel and a symbol of justice. Why would I do such a thing as kidnapping someone, don’t you think so?”

Shi Kaixin believed it was reasonable, but Jun Qingyu said disdainfully in response, “There is no such good thing in the upper echelons of the Empire.”

“……?” Oh gosh, he even cursed himself when he was ruthless, as expected of him.

Jun Qingyu didn’t wait for him to say anything more and shouted, “Cut the bullshit! Hurry up and hand over Fu Yuanchuan! Otherwise, I’ll raze the Empire to the ground!”

All he could think of was what Jun Qingyu had said earlier: I’m quiet when I’m drunk.

Marshal, what were you thinking?!

Besides, it was ridiculous to get drunk on a fruit drink that didn’t even taste like alcohol.

“Sir, I…Eh?! Wait——ah!”

Shi Kaixin wanted to say something, but Jun Qingyu didn’t let him, and instead of using the table knife, he battled him straight on.

At first, Shi Kaixin took into consideration the other person was Jun Qingyu, and he blocked his attacks and retreated in fear of hurting him.

Shi Kaixin realised, however, that it was just his wishing thinking.

Just his wishing thinking.

In Jun Qingyu’s body, there existed a power that rivalled the chaotic metal energy of a robot.

When combined with Jun Qingyu’s athletic body, his assault was clean and effective, with no evidence of halting until he attacked again.

“Wait a minute——!”

Jun Qingyu’s expression remained unchanged, and his offensive movements did not stop, but he heard a subtle ‘click’ sound the next moment.

In an instant, it was as if the pause button had been pressed.

As soon as Fu Yuanchuan opened the door, he was pounced on by the little fish, “Woo…why have you disappeared? I thought they had caught you. I waited a long time for you but you didn’t come. I was so bored underwater…”

""

He could not comprehend what the little fish was talking about, but he realised his condition was obviously abnormal and patted him lightly on the back to comfort him, “I’m fine, I wasn’t caught.”

Jun Qingyu blinked and looked up at him in grievance, “Then why didn’t you come to me?”

Fu Yuanchuan was silent for a moment, distinguishing what time in point the little fish’s memory was at the moment. Waiting in the water for a long time but he didn’t come to find him?

Ever since he had brought the little fish home, he had rarely been separated from him, and there was no such thing as a long time.

Was it during the time he was at the mermaid breeding base, before he brought him back?

Fu Yuanchuan said softly, “It’s because I was at home preparing something for you.”

With that said, Fu Yuanchuan looked at Shi Kaixin, who was to the side.

Shi Kaixin immediately understood and scurried out when Jun Qingyu was not paying attention.

Jun Qingyu looked over as if he had perceived something, but he was bridal carried by Fu Yuanchuan before he had caught sight of anything, “Hmm?”

“Did you have fruit juice?” Fu Yuanchuan sat down with the little fish in his arms and a glass of half-finished fruit juice was left on the table.

Jun Qingyu tilted his head. Apparently, there was a gap in his memory, he couldn’t remember whether he had drunk it or not.

Fu Yuanchuan tasted a mouthful of the fruit drink. The production of Interstellar fruit drink was made by simple fermentation. It did not taste like alcohol, but the bottle had an indication.

This fruit drink could even be drunk by children,

but seeing how drunk the little fish looked, maybe mermaids couldn’t touch alcohol?

No matter what the concentration was, the slightest amount of alcohol could not be touched.

Jun Qingyu burrowed into Fu Yuanchuan’s embrace in silence, with his legs gathered together, and he moved them from time to time like a mermaid moving its tail. All of a sudden, he said, “I want to eat some ice cream.”

“Ice cream? How about candy?” It was not available on the battleship, and considering that it was in the middle of winter, even if the fish was not afraid of the cold, it was better to eat it sparingly.

“I’d like some ice cream.”

“Then I’ll have someone buy it for you.”

“I want to eat it now.”

Fu Yuanchuan patiently coaxed the drunken fish, “But we don’t have any now, we can…”

At this point, he stopped talking.

Jun Qingyu had chomped on his neck and licked the tooth mark there when he let go. He tilted his head with a smile and said, “Delish.”

“……”

Day and night could not be distinguished in the galaxy, and the battleship set sail quietly, carrying everyone back to the Empire.

The curtains obscured the sea of stars, the mattress undulated with barely audible sobbing and occasional questioning.

“Is it delicious?”

The sobbing got a little louder.

“No…”

“Taste some more then.”

“De-delicious.”

“Have more then.”

“?!” A hand poked out the edge of the blanket, “Ee…!”

—

Jun Qingyu didn’t even know when the battleship returned. He was lying on the bed wrapped in a quilt with an unbearably hoarse throat.

Jun Qingyu blinked his eyes in confusion, not quite understanding why a mermaid would catch a cold.

He had never been sick and there was no precedent in the Empire’s history of a little mermaid getting sick with a cold.

Jun Qingyu took it for granted that mermaids would not catch a cold.

It wasn’t until he had a fever that he realised…

Fu Yuanchuan did not dare to carelessly feed the little fish any medicine, so he could only find some good food that tasted good and replenished the little fish’s strength.

While Fu Yuanchuan sat by the bed, he checked the temperature of the little fish’s forehead, and then asked, “Is it still uncomfortable?”

Jun Qingyu shook his head, rested his forehead against Fu Yuanchuan’s palm and thought for a while, “Was it because of the fruit drink?”

After much consideration, the only thing he did differently from usual seemed to be drinking that fruit beverage, given that he didn’t have a fever last time he drank.

He wouldn’t have drunk it in the past, because the Empire’s finest fruits and vegetables were controlled by the Federation, and he wouldn’t have drunk what was left that had been manufactured into repulsive fruit beverages.

This was the first time he’d had it.

“Not necessarily.” Fu Yuanchuan was not certain either, “Take a few days of rest, and take some medicine only if it doesn’t get any better.”

If that wasn’t feasible, he could go straight to the medical bay and save himself the step of taking medicine.

Jun Qingyu nodded. That was the only way. “I seem to have beaten Shi Kaixin up yesterday, remember to give him a pay rise.”

This time, he didn’t have a memory lapse, he clearly remembered what he had done.

Fu Yuanchuan said, “He still wishes to fight with you.”

“A fight?”

“That’s right, those who are at the same level as him can’t beat him one-on-one, and those with a lower rank dare not to fight with him. He stated he could benefit from you.”

Jun Qingyu: “……”

In the short term, Jun Qingyu had no intention of doing anything and had to get more rest.

He clutched and nudged against Fu Yuanchuan’s arm, and said with his eyes shut, “Hasn’t the matter been settled?”

“Mm, it’s been settled.” Fu Yuanchuan patted the exhausted little fish, “When you get back you are free to do what you want.”

The Empire’s miscellaneous tasks were entrusted to him and the little fish was free to do whatever he pleased.

“The villa at home should be done with constructions. You can stay in there and swim in it when we return home.”

“I want to swim with you.”

Fu Yuanchuan thought for a moment and said, “You may not be able to swim, but you can soak and do something else.”

Jun Qingyu: “?”