Although civilians were not allowed to enter—the mecha training ground was of the utmost importance— Max and Dima were both considered people of significant positions. Furthermore, the ones that they were bringing were their own mermen, so they were not stopped by the soldiers. After all, it was only natural to want to show off your mecha to your mate in order to gain the other's favourable opinion, and worship was something everyone could understand.Only, the one doing this was unexpectedly Max, making many people raise their eyebrows. Clearly, the impression of him the masses had always held was by no means that of a "romanticist".
Since it was him who had begged for this, Ya didn't struggle this time and allowed Max to carry him. This way, the other would not be annoyed and suddenly change his mind, going back on his promise.
It was truly unfortunate that Max didn't seem to appreciate the sentiment. Even though it was a merman in his arms, his face was still gloomy as an incoming storm in the mountains. This expression made the other three people not dare to breathe heavily, as they feared they would accidentally set off this hot and cold man.
This kind of situation continued on until they arrived at the Mecha Training Centre, and only then did the atmosphere ease slightly.
Since he was curious and excited to see the mechas, Ya immediately went from being terror-stricken to normal. He glanced this way and that, as if fearing he would miss something. His mouth constantly opened as he asked all kinds of questions pertaining to mechas.
Still, it was a pity that Max obviously did not have any patience to answer his questions. In order to prevent the situation from turning awkward, Dima, who had already gotten accustomed to acting as a nanny, had no choice but to take his place and patiently explain everything to Ya.
The four people got along very strangely. Max, walking forwards with a long face, carrying a surprised, red-faced merman that held onto his shoulders. Ya, who was constantly looking and chatting with Dima, who was by his side. Dima gently answered his questions, practically forgetting about the blue merman in his own arms. Furthermore, that merman was not noisy nor did he make a fuss. He only opened his glistening eyes wide and entertained himself by quietly looking around .
Sui Yuan was not very familiar with mechas. He listened to Ya and Dima's conversation while also letting 5237 provide him with the general knowledge pertaining to mechas it had found.
Upon entering the mecha standby area, Max received a notice. In the end, he took Ya away with him. Dima sighed a breath of relief and took the opportunity to lower his head and look at his own merman, heart full of remorse for having neglected him just before, "Is there anything you want to see? I'll take you."
Sui Yuan raised his head and saw Dima's tender and sincere look. He was a bit unused to being treated like this by anyone aside from that person. His eyes flashed. After thinking for a while, he softly said, "Can we go see your mecha?"
"Of course."
Seeing that Sui Yuan did not want to show any desire to cry, Dima immediately responded, carrying him to his own mecha. He watched with indulgence as Sui Yuan poked around the cockpit curiously.
Dima was classified as a civil servant. Although he was of a high rank, his mecha was only that of ordinary standard. On its own, it appeared big and powerful. However, when compared to the other mechas stored here, it became a dime a dozen. Fortunately, Sui Yuan was somewhat clueless. Seeing a mecha was already a very new experience for him, and did not make Dima lose face at all.
Dima's mecha had an empty tank and thus could not move. So, no matter what Sui Yuan did, he would not be able to get a reaction. Seeing Dima ignore his actions, Sui Yuan took the opportunity to get familiar with the mecha's operation under 5237's guidance. According to 5237, although he would not be able to use this ability in this world, he could not avoid having to "interact well" with mechas in future worlds. Thus, there was no harm in earnestly learning to the best of his ability—it would even be beneficial.
While Sui Yuan "played" with keen interest, Dima's communication device abruptly sounded. Dima appeased Sui Yuan for a moment, then connected the call. Unexpectedly, he learned that the merman of his family's boss had gotten into a mecha alone!
"How did he get in there?" Dima was very astonished.
"This I also don't really know." The soldier on the other end of the communication device felt extremely powerless and a bit nervous— after all, this could very well cause him to lose his job, "Lieutenant General Max had something to do, so he gave his merman a merman mobility car to conveniently get around. As for how he managed to evade security and enter the mecha, I have no idea……."
"He's seriously……" Dima choked. For a moment, he really did not know how to describe what he was feeling in his heart. "Then, why on earth are you notifying me? Tell Max right away!"
"We naturally alerted Lieutenant General Max first."
The soldier was innocent, "However, Lieutenant General Max is probably very busy right now as no one picked up. We tried many times. In the end, because this is an urgent manner, we have no choice but to turn to you. After all, our authority is not high enough. We are incapable of entering the mecha department……"
Dima exhaled a long sigh, feeling a little tired as he massaged the space between his eyebrows. He looked awkwardly at Sui Yuan who was still fiddling around in the mecha with curiosity and had no choice but to concede. "Fine. I'll head over immediately. You guys wait over there. Make sure Max's merman stays safe."
After hearing Dima's promise, the soldier on the other side, who had finally found someone to help him, felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Dima turned off the communication device and carefully carried Sui Yuan while softly speaking, "Lan, I have a bit of business to attend to right now. I have to take you away. I'll bring you to see the mechas again, ok?"
Sui Yuan had heard Dima's earlier conversation and already knew that it would be like this. Immediately, tears formed in his eyes. He began to sob and sniffle angrily, unwilling to leave. It was unfortunate that while Dima would give in to him any other time, this time, he absolutely could not. Seeing Sui Yuan cry made him feel very softhearted, but he could only harden his resolve and take him out of the mecha.
As holding a merman made it difficult for him to move about, Dima handed Sui Yan over to a soldier upon leaving the mecha. Furthermore, it was to prevent the situation with Ya from occurring once again. Afterwards, he left in a hurry.
Towards this situation where he had to watch his "mate" leave while he himself had no way to follow, Sui Yuan thought that according to his own character settings, he must be feeling extremely anxious. And so, not only did his tears not stop, but he began to cry even harder. The soldier by his side, who had been incessantly persuading him to stop, fell silent as he felt utterly helpless while facing this crisis. Soon after, the soldier shouted loudly, "Sir!"
Sui Yuan choked, and paused his crying. Through his bleary eyes he saw Max, who had arrived who knows when, standing before him. Sui Yuan slowly blinked his eyes, eyelashes fluttering.
"You can withdraw. I'm here."
Max lowered his head to look at Sui Yuan, resisting the urge to wipe away his tears, and spoke coldly.
The soldier naturally did not doubt him. After making a sound of agreement, he quickly left. Only until he made sure there was no one around, did Max squat down. He lifted his hand, half discontented, half distressed, and with a hint of dislike. He covered Sui Yuan's tear-stained face. "Have you cried to the point of dehydration yet? You're really dedicated to your work."
Sui Yuan: "…………Do you have any water? I'm thirsty."
5237, looking at the two people who had quit the scene in an instant, felt a headache and worried endlessly.
Next, Max handed over a bottle of water. At once, Sui Yuan drank several mouthfuls before his throat had begun to feel much better. "What are you planning? Are you going to give all your scenes to Dima?"
According to the original story, upon hearing that Ya had secretly entered a mecha, the one who had hastily gone over had been Max, not Dima. Evidently, Max had ignored Ya climbing into the mecha and blocked off his own communicator's signal. His intention was to push this plotline completely onto Dima.
This was supposed to be the first milestone in Max and Ya's relationship, letting Max find out his merman was not like the others. Now, this important scene had been altered by Max who had, without hesitation, changed the partner. Obviously, this had been planned ahead of time.
"Isn't this quite logical?" Max was not concerned in the least, and shrugged his shoulders. Seeing that Sui Yuan's eyes were still a little red, he carefully helped him rub them. His tone, on the other hand, was one of jealousy. "What, are you upset that I made Dima abandon you?"
"How could that be."
Sui Yan could not understand why he was deliberately provoking him. His gaze towards Max was full of bewilderment. "It's just that the plot……"
Pausing, Sui Yuan vented his anger as he spun his head to one side. "Forget it. It's no use talking to you."
"As long as you know, that's good." Max patted Sui Yuan's head like one would a dog, satisfied.
Soon after, he took him into his arms. "I estimate that Dima and Ya will take a little longer before they're done. Let's go somewhere else to wait for them."
Nestled in Max's embrace, Sui Yuan's whole person began to stiffen. His expression became wary. "What do you want to do?"
"What do you think I want to do?"
Max's lips raised to a smile. Acting like a pickpocket who was calling "stop thief", he said righteously, "Don't think about such messy things all the time. Or could it be that you are looking forward to it?"
Sui Yuan:"………………"
"What did you want me to do to you just now?" Max's eyes revealed a smiling expression as he lowered his lips and intimately nipped at Sui Yuan's nose. "Say it. I'll satisfy you."
Sui Yuan: "…… I wasn't thinking anything at all just now."
Fortunately, they were currently at the army base that was under strict surveillance. Max also had no way to grope Sui Yuan undetected while also avoiding people's eyes and ears. So, he only took advantage of Sui Yuan for a little longer before having to regretfully stop.
Of course, it was also possibly because the notification of Dima's injury had come too quickly, forcing Max to stop.
In the original plot, this crisis could pass by smoothly due to Max's familiarity with controlling the mecha. However, Dima, who had replaced Max, did not have this capability at all. So, regrettably, after succeeding in saving Ya, he was injured and brought to a hospital bed.
When Sui Yuan and Max arrived at the army's hospital, Dima had already been treated. Ya, who was not the slightest bit injured, hung his head dispiritedly, sitting by his bedside. His face was full of shame and unhappiness. Obviously, he had just truly come to understand the weakness and powerlessness of mermen. Because of his own willful impulse, he caused Dima to get injured. This made Ya feel terribly guilty and he blamed himself.
Appearing calm and collected, Max brought Sui Yuan who was in his arms and placed him in the chair furthest from Dima. He then coldly inquired about what had happened. Sui Yuan also looked at Dima with teary eyes full of concern, but because it was difficult to move about, he could not get closer.
Dima first hurriedly calmed Sui Yuan down. Soon after, he good-naturedly consoled Max who was angry with him and Ya. Because mermen were precious, Dima, who was always gentle-hearted, did not believe that him getting injured on behalf of Ya was anything wrong. After seeing Ya's remorseful expression, any discontent he originally had instantly disappeared. He was even worried that he would upset Max.
Because he was quite calculative, Max did not lighten up despite Dima's coaxing and fully expressed his dissatisfaction with Ya. Despite Dima's repeated attempts to pacify, Ya still sunk into a gloomy state of self-reproach.
Seeing that the gaze Ya used to look at Dima was full of gratitude, Max felt that the situation had gone on long enough and coughed, "You saved Ya. I'm very grateful."
Dima sighed. He knew Max's temperament. This basically meant that the matter was settled. "Who was it that made you have no time to come and resolve the situation? I did what I should have."
Max nodded and glanced at Sui Yuan who was sitting far away. "Since you're now at the hospital and cannot take care of your merman, I'll take care of him while you recover in return."
Dima hesitated for a moment. Although he was a bit unwilling to be apart from his merman, he knew that in this situation, there was not much choice. He could only bitterly smile and reply, "Then I'll have to request this of you. If you can…… bring him to come see me often."
Knowing that he could not get ahead of himself, Max pursed his lips and held back his discontent, then nodded affirmatively, "I will, as much as possible."
Temporarily taking Sui Yuan into his arms, Max was fully content with what he had accomplished, and Sui Yuan could not help but suspect that he had this kind of "kill two birds with one stone" plan from the beginning. Before leaving, a teary-eyed Sui Yuan tightly hugged Dima, responsibly and diligently acting like a proper merman who was about to be kept away from his mate.
"Remember to be obedient at Max's. Wait for me to get better. I will then come to take you back."
Holding Sui Yuan, he tenderly stroked his blue hair. Dima had spoken in a soft voiced filled with concern, gently persuading him. Finally, he placed a light kiss between Sui Yuan's eyebrows.
Sui Yuan's body became rigid, regretting that he may have overdid his acting. Ya shivered, and carefully looked at the silent Max who had been watching expressionlessly. He then unobtrusively operated the merman mobility car to move to a far away place, trying to reduce his sense of existence—after the last scolding, he had become really afraid of Max.
"Time to go." Max stepped forward, directly taking Sui Yuan from Dima's arms.
Dima knew that his family's boss was swift and decisive. What he absolutely could not stand was this sort of sticky, unable to bear being torn apart kind of farewell. He did not dare to delay any longer, and could only watch as his own merman was carried off by another man.
Sui Yuan raised his head to glimpse at Max. He discovered that the other's cold gaze was firmly stuck to his forehead. He couldn't help but tremble, and reluctantly squeezed out a smile to flatter and curry favour.
Seeing Sui Yuan and Max's interaction, Dima, who was laying on the hospital bed, began to sincerely worry. His family's cowardly merman would be scared to death by his boss……
"What did you want me to do to you just now?" Max's eyes revealed a smiling expression as he lowered his lips and intimately nipped at Sui Yuan's nose. "Say it. I'll satisfy you."
Eve: I hate to say it but ZXH is like… my favorite kind of (fictional) man. Absolute bastard, yes. Should avoid in real life, yes. But dayum, bad boys makes these panties drop. Dima on the other hand is an absolute sweetheart and definitely boyfriend material. Poor man is gonna end up wearing a green hat at this rate or something. Yikes.
Bear: *raises hand* i'll take him ʕつ ͡◔ ᴥ ͡◔ʔつ
Cat: *pats Bear*, sweetie that man is already taken, you should steal find another man you can have
Little behind-the-scenes in the comments section of the google doc:
To Eve's comment, Sora: mood mood MOOD
Cat: lmao, not you too why are people always dropping their panties or pants down, KEEP WEARING YOUR PANTS OR YOU WILL GET A COLD!!!