ITF Chapter34

The servants’ dining hall stood beside the kitchen. Though it was less than half the size of the main banquet hall, it was still large enough to seat nearly a hundred people at once. Bai Heting had previously laid down a rule that, aside from the kitchen workers and the waitstaff serving the main hall, all other servants were permitted to take their meals at the same time as those dining in the main hall.

Among the high officials and noble lords, this was absolute nonconformity.

Yet, no one expected that the general would actually appear here during mealtime.

The clamor at the tables silenced in an instant. Luo Congye was nudged by the person next to him, and only then did he belatedly stand up along with everyone else.

Ignoring everyone else in the hall, Bai Heting walked straight toward a corner and halted behind an Omega. The Omega and the several people sitting nearby immediately shuffled a few steps away. Lifting a leg over the bench, Bai Heting dropped into his seat with a heavy thud. He swept the tableware aside and set a plate of freshly baked apple pie on the table.

The dining hall was dead silent. The Omega, whose seat had been usurped, stood at a total loss, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Bai Heting swept his gaze over the people gathered around the long table and casually said, “Sit.” Then he picked up a slice of apple pie with his bare hand, bit into it, and gave a satisfied nod of approval.

The crust was crispy, while the filling soft and sweet.

It was his favorite flavor.

Su Xingchuan, who had arrived late after receiving the news, appeared at the entrance of the dining hall at that moment. Not long after the banquet started, Bai Heting had left the table alone; Su Xingchuan had assumed he was just going to relieve himself, never expecting this man would show up at the servants’ dining table.

This willful behavior reminded him of how Bai Heting used to be when he first arrived in the capital.

He walked briskly to Bai Heting’s side. While clearing up the messy dishes in front of him, he addressed the crowd, “Go eat in the main hall.” He then instructed the caterer behind him, “Tell the kitchen to serve the remaining dishes in the main hall.”

The person hurried off toward the kitchen.

The crowd filed out silently. Bai Heting took the square towel handed over by the steward, wiped the icing sugar off his hands, and looked up across the table.

He didn’t know if it was just an illusion, but even though they hadn’t seen each other for only three months, this kid seemed to have changed. His demeanor was much more composed, and he had probably grown a bit taller too. He blocked out most of the candlelight like a mountain.

“Sit.” He repeated.

Now that only three people remained in the dining hall, Luo Congye took a seat on the bench. Bai Heting nudged the plate toward him again.

“Eat.” He said again.

Luo Congye looked at the plate of apple pie.

The crust was coated in sugar, while the filling was sickeningly sweet.

It was a flavor he disliked.

How could this person love eating something so sweet?

Just as he was hesitating over whether to take a piece and give it a try, Bai Heting suddenly braced a hand against the table and rose to his feet. Reaching across, he pressed a hand to the back of Luo Congye’s neck, then calmly sat down.

“Why is this on again?” Bai Heting asked.

Luo Congye lifted a hand to the back of his own neck as well, peeled off the scent-suppressing patch, and looked at Bai Heting. “Do you want pheromones?”

“No.” Bai Heting picked up a new piece of pie, and just as he was about to put it into his mouth, he suddenly paused, looked at him, and asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”

Luo Congye had no choice but to pick up a piece as well, going through the motions by taking a bite of the crust.

Only then did Bai Heting put the pie into his mouth.

He waited until the food was swallowed at an unhurried pace, then spoke casually, “I heard you and Phtsician Zhou have been getting along quite well.”

Luo Congye put the pie, of which he had only taken a few bites, back onto the plate, using the malt beer to wash down the overly sweet filling in his mouth.

He had long known that this was an unavoidable question. “Is that what he said?” He replied flatly. “He seems very interested in how to control pheromones, always pestering me with questions.”

Bai Heting asked, “He’s a Beta, why does he care about that?”

“I’d like to know too,” Luo Congye said, lowering his head. “I told him everything I could, but he doesn’t seem to trust me much, always thinking I’m still hiding something from him.”

The movement of chewing came to an abrupt halt. Bai Heting lifted his gaze and looked at him in silence.

Luo Congye picked up his glass and took another sip of beer.

The lingering trace of sweetness in his throat was finally thoroughly washed away by the terrible-tasting malt beer.

“General,” the old steward, who was personally attending the meal nearby, spoke up just in time. “I will go get you some drinks.”

The frozen air finally began to circulate again. Bai Heting swallowed the food in his mouth and waved his hand at him. “No need. You may go, I’m full.”

Despite what he said, Su Xingchuan still went to the kitchen and brought him a portion of piping hot roast chicken and a bowl of milk oatmeal soup, only leaving again after making sure everything was settled.

With only the two of them left in the dining hall, the space felt noticeably empty. Bai Heting didn’t touch the roast chicken, instead quietly sipping the soup with a spoon in small, measured mouthfuls.

There was indeed something different about Luo Congye. It wasn’t his demeanor, and it certainly wasn’t his height.

But as for exactly when this change had begun… Bai Heting tried hard to recall.

Since two or perhaps three months before he went south, Luo Congye seemed to have already turned into this. Calm, restrained, like an emotionless machine. Even in bed, he never crossed any boundaries; once his heat subsided, he left without any lingering attachment.

Just as he had once demanded—executing nothing more than an ordinary mission.

Just as he had hoped.

The candlelight flickered unpredictably. A few candles were clearly burning down to their ends with their flames reduced to low stubs.

Luo Congye suddenly said, “Was everything well with you in the south?” He paused, then lowered his eyes before adding a superfluous remark, “Last winter was quite cold.”

Bai Heting raised his head a few beats later and said to him, “The south is very warm.”

Luo Congye opened his mouth but couldn’t find any words.

He had never been to the south. To be precise, from birth until this very moment, he had been nowhere else besides Urdan and the capital.

There was no winter that wasn’t cold in Luo Congye’s world.

Bai Heting slowly finished the soup, set down the spoon, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He then folded the used side inward and placed it neatly back on the table.

“But it wasn’t exactly great either.” Having said that, without giving Luo Congye a chance to respond, he stood up and left the place he never should have appeared in to begin with.

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