That Chu Xuan should appear here left Zhao Chen a touch surprised — yet it was within reason too.
In the affair at the Quicksand City Interstellar Fortress, that Brigadier Song had said he'd keep Zhao Chen's secret, but then brought up the Chu River Governor to him — the meaning in the words was already plain enough.
The Chu family had surely already fixed their eye on him.
Then they'd certainly send someone to make contact with him.
And now, by the look of it, that someone was the eldest miss of the Chu family, the woman with whom Zhao Chen had a few chance meetings.
The surprise was that she'd come so soon.
"Since Cadet Zhao Chen and Miss Chu Xuan already know each other, there's no need for me to introduce you. Please, sit." Vice-Dean Hong looked with a smile at the two young people.
That a student of his own academy could be prized by the Chu family was a pride for their Northstar Academy too.
And the Northstar Academy had always been on good terms with the Chu family.
Else that T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship would not have been jointly developed by their several parties.
Zhao Chen looked at the sofas on either side: Vice-Dean Hong sat on one, Chu Xuan on one.
He certainly couldn't sit on Vice-Dean Hong's side, so he could only choose to sit beside Chu Xuan.
"Have I got thorns on me?" Chu Xuan looked at Zhao Chen, who'd sat down a good way off from her, and teased him wryly.
"My station is lowly; I dare not disturb the eldest miss of the Chu family." Zhao Chen found a lame excuse.
You have no thorns on you, eldest miss — but that signboard of the Chu family is simply too great a thing.
"Then, Vice-Dean, you go ahead and speak of your business first; just take me as not here." Chu Xuan paid Zhao Chen's words no mind, and looked with a smile at the vice-dean.
Vice-Dean Hong nodded, then looked toward Zhao Chen. "By the task report the imperial military furnished, in this task Cadet Zhao Chen performed outstandingly, and may earn a further portion of assessment credits. Your total credits now exceed three times the fourth-year assessment credits; we'll now arrange your grade-skip. Does Cadet Zhao Chen have any objection?"
Zhao Chen shook his head. "None."
Vice-Dean Hong raised a hand and opened an electronic dossier, altered some information upon it, and then said, "From this moment, you are a student of Fifth-Year Class One. But if, before the school year ends in June, you cannot amass credits enough for the fifth-year assessment, then at that time you'll be held back a grade. Does Cadet Zhao Chen understand?"
"I understand," Zhao Chen answered.
"Good." The grave look on Vice-Dean Hong's face dispersed, turning kindly. "Zhao Chen, you're very fine — to have won the imperial military's commendation, and the recommendation of a one-star brigadier besides, shows your ability is strong indeed. As the vice-dean of the academy that raised you, I feel proud for you. I hope you'll press on and press harder, and make a splendor all your own."
"Thank you for your fostering, Vice-Dean; this cadet will strive." Zhao Chen spoke the official phrases too.
"Then let's speak of another matter. This person you also know — Miss Chu Xuan. The eldest miss of the Chu family; for this while, the eldest miss of the Chu family will be pursuing advanced study at our Northstar Academy. You take charge of receiving her." At Vice-Dean Hong's finishing, Zhao Chen made ready to refuse.
"This too counts as an academic task; it can earn 30% of the fifth-year segment's assessment credits," Vice-Dean Hong said.
Zhao Chen at once put on a smile and looked at Chu Xuan with all modesty. "To be of service to Miss Chu is my honor."
For assessment credits, one bears it!
"Then I have some other matters on my side; Zhao Chen, you take the eldest miss Chu Xuan for a look round the academy at your leisure first," Vice-Dean Hong said.
"Yes."
Zhao Chen and Chu Xuan walked out of Vice-Dean Hong's office.
"By the look of it, you're none too glad to have me." Chu Xuan clasped her hands behind her back and looked at Zhao Chen with a smile.
Zhao Chen looked at Chu Xuan in her casual dress; from when she'd worn imperial-military uniform before, her whole bearing was wholly different — now she seemed more an ordinary lovely girl.
"You're the eldest miss of the Chu family; wherever you go, who would dare not be glad?" Zhao Chen said with a light laugh.
"But I don't like this identity." Chu Xuan came out with this line all at once, her gaze gone a touch dim.
Zhao Chen looked at Chu Xuan and asked, taken aback, "Why? This is a station others dream of."
"I know it's a life others dream of; perhaps in your eyes I'm one who, blessed, knows not her blessing. But the Chu family's station has indeed bound me with a great deal. Take this cosmic-bug-nest task of mine: I held that I was only doing what a soldier ought to do, but in the end my grandfather hauled me straight back to the family. Only because, to their minds, I was courting danger," Chu Xuan shrugged and said, helpless.
At this moment Zhao Chen and Chu Xuan happened to walk beneath a transparent skydome within the academy through which the cosmos outside could be seen; one could watch some starships voyaging through space.
Chu Xuan halted, looking at those ships, and murmured, "My dream is really very simple — to become an imperial-military officer as fine as my parents. To command my own interstellar fleet in battle for the people of a star system, to guard our interstellar territory! Yet because of this identity of mine now, I can't even do this much."
"On this point, it does seem your grandfather keeps you reined in too tight," Zhao Chen muttered.
"Isn't it so! My grandfather's just afraid some mishap will befall me — he even put that one-star brigadier, Little Song, at my side to watch me. Maddening!" Chu Xuan couldn't help groaning.
But then she murmured again, "Actually I can understand what my grandfather's thinking too; he fears I'll walk the old road of my parents."
A piece of information Lilith had once mentioned to him flashed through Zhao Chen's mind.
Chu Xuan's parents had both been imperial-military soldiers, but in one military operation the interstellar fleet the two commanded had been surrounded and wiped out by a Mechanical Race fleet — the whole force lost!
And it was after that campaign that the Chu River Governor led tens of thousands of ships on an expedition across dozens of star systems, and did not withdraw until he had wiped out to the last every Mechanical Race fleet that had taken part in surrounding his son's and daughter-in-law's fleet.
In that span, of the Mechanical-held star systems he passed through, wherever there was intelligent mechanical life upon them, the Chu River Governor had his ships carry out orbital bombardment, sparing not an inch of ground!
Were it not that those were intelligent mechanical lives, conduct like his would likely long since have been branded, by his own nation's people, the butchery of a slaughterer of innocents.
Even so, a portion of the Starlight Empire found the Chu River Governor's conduct deeply distasteful.
For such conduct was very radical!
And there were some — a body of idealists who held peace-talks with the Mechanical Race possible — who thought the Chu River Governor was simply slaughtering life, a butcher's deed, and ought to be brought before a military tribunal!
Of course, because this small handful had little say, they had no great bearing on the Chu River Governor's standing.
It was precisely because of this affair that the Chu River Governor doted so upon this granddaughter of his, and would not have her come to the least harm.
Less still would he let her become a true imperial-military soldier; before this, she'd had to sneak off to her maternal grandfather's North Wind Star Region even to get a taste of an imperial-military officer's life.
Chu Xuan poured out a great deal to Zhao Chen all at once; most of the time it was Chu Xuan speaking and Zhao Chen answering.
To speak truly, were it not for that identity behind Chu Xuan, Zhao Chen would rather admire this girl Chu Xuan.
"We've talked a good while — I think you've likely guessed my purpose in coming. I'm one who doesn't like to talk in circles."
Chu Xuan suddenly halted and looked Zhao Chen straight in the eye. "My grandfather has looked over your relevant data — including the Blizzard Zero, the T2 Black-Rhino-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escort, and the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship in your hands! My grandfather's meaning is this: will you cooperate with our Chu family!"