IPC Chapter 36: Rival in Love

Interstellar Power Couple

Translator: Asuka

Quality Check: Leslie

Editor: Chesh

First Published on Chaleuria

Chapter 36: Rival In Love

In front of He Jie’s house, the group of young people were shocked. They had always thought that Lei Jue was a timid person with no definite views of his own, but who would have ever known that he was actually this bold! And this unconstrained, too! Not only had he calmly brought a crimson flame lion as his pet, he even had a hot and lewd kiss with Xiao Lingyu in front of so many people! Everyone could see him sticking his tongue into Xiao Lingyu’s mouth and intertwining it with Xiao Lingyu’s tongue.

The contrast was so great that they needed a moment to calm themselves down.

In fact, not long ago, some of the people present had felt that Xiao Lingyu was only putting up a front. After all, it wasn’t easy for a playboy to just change in the snap of a finger. Even if they really met an outstanding person, they would usually change their target when they started to get sick of them. They had never heard of any playboy being tied down to only one person. However, after these people had seen Lei Jue, they suddenly realized that perhaps it was possible for the situation to be different.

Most of the people present felt that if they were liked by such a person, they would be very likely to fall for him too.

The point was, Lei Jue was just too much of a pretty boy. It was no wonder that Xiao Lingyu was so obedient recently. He wouldn’t roam around at night, and would even refuse to go out during the daytime.

He Jie felt that if he was in Xiao Lingyu’s shoes, he would also wish that he could just die in Lei Jue’s hands. Taken aback by his own thoughts, He Jie quickly retracted his gaze. Xiao Lingyu and Lei Jue finally stopped just then. Xiao Lingyu looked at the lips that had been ravaged to the point of being swollen and couldn’t help but plant another kiss on those lips before whispering in Lei Jue’s ear, “You’re really something!” 

Lei Jue licked his lips. “So as to prevent some slow-witted people from thinking that they can snatch you away from me.”

Xiao Lingyu sighed. “I should obviously be the one who needs to worry that somebody will come to snatch you away. Besides, I’m almost glued to you now, so who can snatch me away from you anyway?”

Lei Jue nodded. “You have a point.” He took off his coat and handed it to Xiao Lingyu. “Hold this for me, please.”

Xiao Lingyu knew that Lei Jue wanted him to cover the disobedient little brother of his, which had insisted on rising up on its own, so he took the coat in his hand. Once again hugging Lei Jue, he looked at He Jie and the rest. “What are those expressions on your faces?” 

The person next to He Jie replied, “An expression that is taken aback by your partner’s… erm… passion.

Lei Jue smiled, then turned his head to ask Xiao Lingyu, “Am I passionate?”

Xiao Lingyu replied, “Why don’t the two of us slowly ponder this question when we get home later? Let us go in, first.”

Since Lei Jue was going inside with Xiao Lingyu, the lion would naturally follow. He Jie didn’t say anything when he saw this, but He Yunshu—who had been outside for a while, already—didn’t continue maintaining her silence. With a smile, she said, “I guess it’s better for this lion to be left outside, right? All of the guests here are distinguished people, so who’ll be responsible if it bites someone?”

Xiao Lingyu’s expression turned grave right away. “My man brought it, so of course I’ll be responsible for it.”

He Yunshu had already left a bad impression on Xiao Lingyu because of ‘Plan A3’, but unfortunately she also didn’t know how to read the mood.

Lei Jue had originally been hesitant about bringing the lion in, but now that the situation had developed to this point there was no longer any need for him to hesitate at all.

He Yunshu’s expression turned glum at once from being talked to like that, but she couldn’t sing a different tune. With no other choice, she could only remain quiet with reddened eyes.

At this moment, He Jie smiled and chimed in, “I can see that this lion is obedient to Lei Jue. Coupled with the fact that Lei Jue also has healing abilities, I don’t think there’ll be any problem. Just go in.”

This sentence sounded normal, but somehow Xiao Lingyu could sense from his tone that He Jie was trying to cozy up to Lei Jue, which sent a wave of irritation through his heart. However, he didn’t want Lei Jue to freeze, so with a lack of better options, he decided to bring Lei Jue and the lion into He Jie’s banquet hall first.

Since He Jie lived alone, it was natural for the house to be smaller than the main house of the He family. Overall, it looked to be about the same size as that of Xiao Lingyu’s floating mountain villa, with the exception of an extra story.

After Lei Jue brought the lion in, he found that the interior was quite spacious, with high ceilings and beautiful, majestic decorations. Most importantly, it wasn’t too cold, so he took off the lion’s clothes first before letting it follow him.

There were roughly more than twenty guests in the entire hall, and they were all about twenty years old and above, but not as ‘distinguished’ as He Yunshu claimed them to be. It was apparent that some were here as escorts, and one could tell the difference of their status based on the way they got along with the others. Based on Lei Jue’s observation, there were only five or six proper guests, including Lu Xian and Si Qing, who he already knew.

While Lei Jue was studying these people, they were observing him, too. They all knew Xiao Lingyu, but not all of them had seen Lei Jue before. They had long heard about Lei Jue’s outstanding appearance, but now that they finally saw him with their own eyes, they finally understood what it meant by the saying, ‘there’s always a faster gun’. It was as if Lei Jue were naturally born with a halo of light that made them unable to tear their eyes away from him. 

“Xiao Lingyu, oh Xiao Lingyu, where have you gotten your luck from? You always manage to get all the good things.” Pang Zheng, who used to study in the same military school as Xiao Lingyu, took a look at Lei Jue. “And here I was wondering why you hadn’t brought your wife out to show us after being married for so long. So it’s actually because he’s so beautiful that you want to keep him to yourself, eh?”

“Your lips flap too much. Can’t I be well-behaved after getting married?” Xiao Lingyu crossed his legs and rested an arm on the sofa behind Lei Jue. “Even alcohol can’t stop your damned mouth.” With that, he pointed the cigarette in his fingers at the aforementioned person and told Lei Jue, “Pang Zheng, my classmate. He just so happened to have been gone for training when we got married, so he couldn’t make it in time. The person beside him who looks exactly identical is his elder twin brother, Pang Yuan.”

“Nice to meet you, just call me Lei Jue.” Lei Jue nodded. With how eloquent Xiao Lingyu was when he was introducing the two people, Lei Jue could tell that they were pretty close with each other. These two men sported army haircuts. They had slightly tanned skin and thick lips, with honest and kind features on their faces. The one called Pang Zheng had a particularly loud voice, but it remained unknown whether his brother was the same too. 

“Oh, Lei Jue, I really want to ask you a question,” Pang Zheng said. “Why does this lion listen to you so well?” It wasn’t that nobody had seen such a large animal before, but they had never seen such one that was so docile. While there may have been people who successfully tamed them using various methods, there was still a big gap between succumbing to fear and willing submission.

The lion was lying next to Lei Jue right at this time. Due to his large size, he was a massive lump when he laid down. He now seemed lazy, probably because he had been too excited chasing birds in the snow during the daytime. As if he knew that somebody was talking about him, he whipped his head around and looked at Pang Zhen when the word ‘lion’ was mentioned.

“My goodness! Look! It even turned its head around to look at Brother Pang!” somebody next to Pang Zheng said. “It really is intelligent.”

“Lion, c’mon boy—“ Lei Jue patted the lion’s back, “say hello to everyone.”

When the lion heard Lei Jue’s words, he lifted his big, thick paw and waved, causing the crowds to burst into a babble of excitement at once. Someone even whistled and asked, “What else can it do?”

Lei Jue asked, “Lion, who do I like the best?”

The lion nudged Xiao Lingyu with its head. Feeling delighted and triumphant, Xiao Lingyu patted the lion’s head. “Good son of mine! I’ll feed you something delicious when we get back later.”

He Jie smiled upon hearing him. “Xiao Lingyu, you really are something. You’re already calling him your son, so why didn’t you give him a name?”

Xiao Lingyu looked at Lei Jue. “That’s right, babe. We should give him a name.”

The reason Lei Jue did not give the lion a name was because he wanted to be certain that the lion would stay with him before he gave him a name. Otherwise, he would be even sadder if he had to part with the lion after naming, just like the case with Blackfur. Even though it was just a spider, Lei Jue would remember it from time to time after it had been released at the Rear Mountain.

However, since Xiao Lingyu had brought this matter up, Lei Jue directly gave him an answer. “Xiao Lei.”

Xiao Lingyu loved the name. With a smile, he nodded. “And it’ll be apparent that he belongs to both of us. You are indeed attentive.”

Qi Yu and Che Heng came in together at this moment. Qi Yu said, “I’m sorry for being late, birthday boy. Happy birthday!” Qi Yu took out a gift box and handed it to He Jie, then tacitly turned and glanced at Xiao Lingyu.

Che Heng handed a gift to He Jie as well before turning to look at Lei Jue. “Nice! Where did this crimson flame lion come from?” 

He had heard of this before from Xiao Lingyu, but he still found it to be quite astounding when he witnessed it with his own eyes.

Pang Zheng also loved it very much. “Lei Jue was the one to bring it. Isn’t it handsome? Ah, I just can’t stop staring at it!”

“Yeah, look how shiny its fur is! And those strong muscles too!” Che Heng walked over. “Can I touch it?”

“Sure.” Lei Jue patted Xiao Lei’s back. “Xiao Lei, let uncle touch you.”

By rights, it was generally impossible for a pet to remember its name immediately after it had been given one, but Xiao Lei evidently remembered his. The instant Lei Jue said to, he obediently allowed Che Heng to touch him without moving an inch.

Xiao Lei became the spotlight in the room at once. Nobody was looking at any beauties anymore; all of them had their eyes on Xiao Lei, instead.

Most men had a strong desire to control, as well as a longing for power and the ability to control strong creatures. It wasn’t only Pang Zheng, but the rest of them were also envious of Lei Jue for being able to raise such a pet. They were also envious of Lei Jue’s obedience to Xiao Lingyu.

It was apparent that Lei Jue wasn’t a person who would give in to adversity. He had his own personality, but in the face of Xiao Lingyu, there would be an additional fondness, indulgence, and tolerance of him, which could all be seen from his eyes. 

He Jie could hardly describe how he felt at this moment. He was clearly the strongest person, and had the most powerful metal elemental power. However, just because Xiao Lingyu was Xiao Zhicheng’s son, he had been deprived of much attention. There were many occasions where he dared not steal Xiao Lingyu’s limelight away, despite being better than Xiao Lingyu, because his family had always been reminding him to avoid conflict with the Xiao family.

He used to be in the same class as Xiao Lingyu and the Pang brothers, Pang Yuan and Pang Zheng, during their time at school. The person he liked preferred Xiao Lingyu, and the Pang brothers were also closer to him. Even the teachers would always praise him, despite them sharing the same score in exams. How could he possibly be content with this?

Lei Jue suddenly sensed a kind of inexplicable hostility, but when he looked at the crowd, the hostility quickly dissipated so quickly that he wasn’t able to catch it again. At this time, the person sitting diagonally to the right of him, who hadn’t had time to introduce himself yet, said, “Lei Jue, do you have any siblings? We grew up with Lingyu since we were children, so if you have any, you gotta introduce them to us first.”

He Yunshu smiled at this and said, “Isn’t he adopted by the Lei family? I think he only has a cousin called Lei Haige, and he even married Feng Gu, right? What siblings does he have ?”

A smile crept up on Lei Jue’s mouth; he seemed to not be angered by those words. Smiling, he replied, “That’s true, but I have many brothers in the Xiao family, each one better than the last. If you want to know then, come to the Xiao residence and I can introduce you to them. But, well, pursuing them will depend on your own abilities.”

The people present immediately understood that he was talking about Xiao Lingyu’s unmarried brothers. Speaking of them, they were indeed excellent. Even though they had no elemental abilities, one must admit that they had great achievements in various fields. Besides, who could say that these people weren’t Lei Jue’s siblings?

He Yunshu had the door slammed in her face, but she still maintained a smile despite the fact that it didn’t seem particularly sincere.

Xiao Lingyu had once saved He Yunshu by chance, and she had been in love with him ever since. This was no secret in their circle, so everyone also understood where her unstoppable hostility toward Lei Jue was coming from. However, since Xiao Lingyu was already married, it was obviously a little insensible for this girl to continue with her antics.

What these people didn’t know was that it was precisely because Xiao Lingyu had gotten married that He Yunshu had become even more hostile to Lei Jue. She felt that she could at least like him blatantly before he got married. Now that he had gotten married, no matter how much she liked him, other people would now have a different opinion of her. At first, everyone thought she was infatuated, but now everyone felt she was cheap and unreasonable. And if Xiao Lingyu hadn’t been married yet, she could still try to win his attention, and perhaps there would still be hope in the future. Now that he was already married, though, everything she did would just be wrong.

Lei Jue couldn’t be bothered with her. He could tell that Xiao Lingyu’s relationship with He Jie wasn’t very good either, so there must have been a reason for him to come today.

Lu and Si Qing came first, while Che Heng and Qi Yu came later. Generally speaking, these people would always be hanging out with each other.

After some pondering, Lei Jue leaned on Xiao Lingyu and said, “The sofa is a little too soft. My back aches sitting on it.”

Xiao Lingyu tacitly understood him and patted his own thighs. “Here.”

The crowd was immediately baffled.

To their great astonishment, Lei Jue actually sat on it. What a tease! He even wrapped his arms around Xiao Lingyu’s neck and intimately whispered in his ears!

“Is there anything I can help?” Lei Jue seemed to be whispering sweet nothings, but his question was serious.

“Yes.” Xiao Lingyu smiled, lightly kissing Lei Jue’s ear. “Remember to heal slowly if somebody gets injured later.”

“Anything else?”

“Anything else?” Xiao Lingyu inwardly sighed. “Babe, you’re dressed so sexily today, and your *ss is perky and round. I really want to pinch you.”

“Don’t be so shameless! I’m being serious! I feel that some people are being hostile to us here, and it’s not only He Yunshu.”

“It’s He Jie. I’m so irritated by the way he looks at you,” Xiao Lingyu replied. “Besides, Wei Li may be present too.”

“Huh? Really?” Once Lei Jue heard those words, Xiao Lingyu answered with a “yeah”. He smiled, leaning into Xiao Lingyu’s embrace before looking at the multitude of people in the hall.

“Oh, did any of you guys smell it? The smell of PDA in this room!” Qi Yu exaggeratedly sniffed the air, and even rubbed his hands on the protesting goosebumps on his own arms.

Just then, a surprised voice reverberated from outside. “Lingyu, are you really here?”

With that, the door was pushed open, revealing a good-looking older boy who was taller than Lei Jue, and seemed very vibrant. He was followed by a man who looked like a bodyguard.

Xiao Lingyu furrowed his brows. Everyone else also looked at Xiao Lingyu. It was apparent that all of them knew who the newcomer was.

With sympathy in his eyes, Che Heng gazed at Xiao Lingyu, boss, you’re so done for today!

A gleam of joy finally flashed across the eyes of He Yunshu, who had been choking back her annoyance all day. She wanted to see if Lei Jue would just turn a blind eye.

Just as everyone thought that Xiao Lingyu was going to be doomed, Lei Jue finally realized that this newcomer was one of Xiao Lingyu’s legendary ‘lovers’.

But did it matter? Nobody knew that Xiao Lingyu couldn’t ‘do it’ except for himself, so there was no need for him to be jealous at all. What he was concerned about the most now was why he found the bodyguard-like person who had come in with this guy so familiar?