Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Shock

Admiral Clan had been holding back at the side, but he finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Go and see if the investigation team is back yet,” he said.

The aide was slightly taken aback. “If they were back, wouldn’t they have…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly realized something and instantly understood. “Yes, sir! I’ll go check right now!”

After all, he hadn’t been by Admiral Clan’s side for just a day or two. The aide knew his superior’s personality quite well.

Even if he hadn’t realized it at first, he certainly saw it now.

’The Admiral thinks I’m getting in the way of his father-daughter time with Lady Lu Xiao.’

’It’s my own fault for getting too excited when I saw Lady Lu Xiao.’

After saying a quick goodbye to Lu Xiao, the aide turned and left. Once he was gone, only Admiral Clan and Lu Xiao remained in the room.

Admiral Clan finally got to say his lines.

“The conditions here can’t compare to home, but don’t feel you have to rough it. If you want anything, just tell me.”

“I know, don’t worry, Father. This place isn’t bad at all, and I’m not that particular about these things anyway. By the way, since I’m staying here for now, if there are any soldiers in the Military Region who need treatment, you can arrange for them to see me. It’s not often I get to visit, so you absolutely can’t let such a great opportunity pass you by!”

As she said this, Lu Xiao gave Admiral Clan a mischievous wink.

Admiral Clan wasn’t surprised to hear this, as this was indeed typical of the young female’s character.

“I know. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, the men below would have come looking for me once they knew you were here. Get some rest today. We’ll talk about things tomorrow.”

“Okay, Father. You should also get some rest soon.”

After seeing Admiral Clan off, Lu Xiao unpacked some of her luggage. Then, she received a voice call request from Ares. Seeing that it was a voice call, Lu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. If it had been a video call, she would have had a hard time explaining why she was here.

’There really shouldn’t be any secrets between a husband and wife. One lie just leads to a hundred more to cover it up.’

’Besides, she really wasn’t any good at lying.’

Lu Xiao composed herself before answering. “Not busy today?”

“Mm,” Ares replied. “We’re already wrapping things up. If things go quickly, we should be able to head back next month.”

’Doing the math, doesn’t that mean there’s only half a month left?’

Realizing that Ares was finally coming back, Lu Xiao couldn’t contain her happiness. “Really? Is it confirmed?”

“Yeah. The mutant beast tide has receded. Barring any surprises, it’s basically confirmed.”

“That’s wonderful! I’ll definitely come to pick you up then!” After saying that, she thought of something else. “I can come pick you up, right?”

She wasn’t sure if the soldiers’ families were allowed to personally welcome the returning heroes when Ares came back.

Hearing the mix of anticipation and apprehension in the young female’s voice, Ares’s heart warmed. Lu Xiao always knew exactly how to tug at his heartstrings.

“You can.” The two simple words seemed to be coated in sugar as Ares said them.

The two of them chatted for a while longer before ending the call. During their conversation, Lu Xiao didn’t tell Ares about the Black Tower incident, not wanting him to worry about her at this final juncture.

’Still, she was already prepared to apologize when Ares returned.’

’After all, she was the one who had hidden it from him first. It would be completely normal if Ares got angry and blamed her.’

「Early the next morning」

Lu Xiao heard the sounds of training outside and groggily remembered that she had temporarily moved into the barracks of the First Military Region.

She didn’t stay in bed, getting up early to wash up. Then she prepared to go to the First Military Region’s newly established cafeteria for breakfast to see what the food was like.

When she arrived, the soldiers hadn’t finished their training yet. The cafeteria was empty, but the food was already prepared.

The young soldier in charge of serving food at the window suddenly saw Lu Xiao walk in, and his eyes widened involuntarily. “Chef! Chef! A—a female honored guest has arrived!”

His voice was so loud that Lu Xiao, who was still at the entrance, could hear him, and she couldn’t help but find it a little funny.

The head chef, who had his back to the window and was already portioning food onto trays, heard him and said, “Are you still half-asleep? We’re not short on anything here except females. What kind of female from a good family would come to a place like the military region?”

“Chef…”

“There’s nothing wrong with a place like the military region. Chef, could you get me a plate of food?” Lu Xiao said, leaning over slightly to look inside.

Suddenly hearing Lu Xiao’s voice, the head chef, still with his back to them, froze. He then turned his head mechanically to look at Lu Xiao, his eyes flying wide open. “Oh my god, am I hallucinating now too?”

Lu Xiao was amused. “Why don’t you take a closer look? I’m a real person.”

The head chef’s old face flushed red. “S-sorry about that. I just never expected to see a female honored guest here. What would you like to eat? I-I’ll serve you myself!”

’This is a first! Not only did I see a living, breathing female in the military region, but she also wants to eat my cooking!’

’Heavens, he’d never even had such a wonderful dream in his entire life, and now it was coming true in reality!’

Lu Xiao smiled and said, “Then I’ll trouble you. I’ll have this, this, and this. And a bowl of soup, please!”

“You got it, you got it!”

Seeing the heaping spoonful of food the head chef was scooping, Lu Xiao quickly said, “A little less, not too much. I can’t eat that much. Yes, that’s enough!”

’Even with her appetite, she felt that one spoonful from the head chef would be enough to feed a pig.’

After her plate was filled, Lu Xiao had originally intended to carry it to a table herself, but the head chef wouldn’t allow it, insisting on delivering it for her. Lu Xiao had no choice but to agree.

As she started to eat, she could feel two pairs of eyes staring at her from behind. She didn’t even have to think to know who they belonged to.

She took a bite and found that it tasted quite good.

So, she looked up and gave the head chef and the young soldier inside the window a thumbs-up. “It’s delicious!”

The head chef immediately broke into a wide, toothy grin!

’Hey, a female praised his cooking!’

Just as Lu Xiao finished her breakfast and was about to leave, the soldiers from the training grounds also finished their exercises and began trickling into the cafeteria.

The moment they saw Lu Xiao walking out of the cafeteria, the originally neat lines immediately fell into chaos, as if hit by some kind of magic spell.

Everyone stared in shock at the young female emerging from the cafeteria.

Someone subconsciously grabbed the collar of the person in front of them and said uncertainly, “Have I gone crazy from missing females? Why am I seeing one walk out of there?”

“I think I might be crazy too. Otherwise, how could I be seeing it as well?”

“Who is she? Why is she here?”

“Damn, don’t you guys remember? That’s Lady Lu Xiao! She came here to do the big physical exams, have you forgotten?”

“So that’s Lady Lu Xiao! I missed her last time and regretted it for so long. I can’t believe I’m seeing her here. Why did she come?”

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep