Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Not winning the sandwich was already bad enough for the clerk but what followed was even worse. Of all the supervisors to get caught by, it just had to be Felix.
Everyone froze up, like chickens that had their throats grabbed. The murmurs in the office came to a dead stop. They couldn’t even look Felix in the eye, stammering out half–hearted apologies for slacking off during work hours.
To their surprise, Felix didn’t seem angry at all. He simply said in a deadpan tone, “Don’t let it happen again.”
It wasn’t until his oppressive presence was completely gone from the room that they all let out a sigh of relief. Shoulders slumped, they exchanged bewildered looks and thought, ‘Do we really just get away with it? No reprimand, no formal apology? Is that really Felix?‘
Back at his office, Felix glanced down at the Intelligent Brain screen, where the words [Sorry, you did not win] flashed.
In the stillness of the office, after a long pause, a soft sigh escaped him. He realized he’d probably lost his mind.
Not only had he, like those reckless young officers, been watching Nyx’s live stream at work, but he’d also felt disappointed.
Felix could rarely sense such an obvious emotion. The more he thought of it, the more ridiculous he felt.
This was such a trivial thing, and yet, here he was, feeling emotions he couldn’t quite wrap his head around. He asked himself, ‘Why am I even affected by something so insignificant?”
Shaking his head, Felix grabbed a file from his desk. He wouldn’t think about Nyx anymore. He wouldn’t give it another second of his attention.
But just as he was about to focus on the paperwork, the Intelligent Brain pinged him with a new notification: [Nyx has sent you a friend request.]
Felix sat up straighter in his chair, his reflexes kicking in. He almost accepted the friend request in an instant.
“He stared at the chat interface for a long while. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but no message came from Nyx. After a moment, he typed the first thing that came to mind:
[Good morning, Ms. Voss.]”
It was just being polite. On this planet, males should always initiate greetings with females.
Nyx was still in the middle of trying to figure out how to message an elder. She had rewritten and deleted her text multiple times. Seeing Felix’s message, she was so shocked. She quickly typed back: [You can just call me by my name, or Nykie works too.]
She thought calling her “Ms. Voss” sounded too formal. She couldn’t bring herself to accept such a formal title.
Felix replied almost immediately: [Alright, Nykie.]
Though Felix felt it was a little too familiar for someone they’d just met, since Nyx had offered the option, he decided to go along with it.
Nyx: [Sorry to bother you, but I’d like to send you some of the breakfast we made. Are you at home right now?]
In the galaxy, sending things didn’t require an address. As long as they knew the recipient, the logistics system could
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Chapter 23
pinpoint the location and deliver it directly.
Felix: [I’m at the Military Headquarters Building. You can send there. Thanks, Nykie.]
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Nyx hesitated and wondered. “The Military Headquarters Building? Can I really send it there? Back in my school days, they wouldn’t even let students bring breakfast into class. Well, perhaps people here must be a bit more relaxed.
She pushed her doubts aside and replied: (Alright, I’ll send it. The sandwiches are the ones Theon and I made together. Hope you like them.] She attached a little bunny bowing emoji as a cute touch.
At 9 AM, the atmosphere at the Military Headquarters Building was serious, with everyone settling into their work routine.
Someone, rushing in that morning and still not having had breakfast, pulled out a nutrient drink and chugged it down, grumbling. “This brand’s drinks are getting worse every time.”
“Why don’t you just order some takeout?” came a quiet suggestion from the desk next door.
There weren’t too many strict rules at the Military Command, and even eating during work wasn’t officially banned.
But the hungry clerk just replied, “Forget it. What if Felix sees us? That wouldn’t be good.”
Felix, as their supreme leader, never ate at work, so his subordinates had to keep their act together. Besides, takeout was never all that great.
The clerk added, “I really wanted a sandwich, but I didn’t win it.”
“You watched Nyx’s livestream too?” asked another clerk.
“Of course. I’ve been following her since the Jade Garden incident. I really like her,” the hungry clerk replied.
Their conversation about Nyx immediately caught the attention of a few others nearby.
Someone chimed in, “Don’t even get me started. We were sneaking in a little live stream during work, and Felix caught us! Lucky for us, he didn’t make a big deal out of it.”
Just as they were about to spill their guts about the awkward encounter, they heard a colleague’s warning cough, and everyone immediately fell silent.
Felix’s tall figure appeared, walking past them as he headed for the building’s exit. The room went still with everyone sneaking peeks at Felix.
To their surprise, he appeared to be carrying something. He signed for a package, cradled it in his arms, and took it back to his office with him.
Curiosity kicked in, and suddenly, everyone had the nerve to look closely at what Felix was holding.
Someone saw it and shouted, “Are those sandwiches?!”
No one in the room could have mistaken what they saw since they were watching the entire live stream.
Those sitting in the clear thermal box were the same plump sandwiches from Nyx’s livestream giveaway. There were about five of them.
A brief silence fell, followed by confused murmurs. No one in the office dared believe it.
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Chapter 23
Someone asked, “Marshal Lane watched the live stream too?!”
“And he actually won the prize?” another replied.
Holding the box in both hands, Fel replied.
sandwiches, examining it for
returned to his office. He carefully washed his hands before picking up one of the
ra moment before taking a bite.
He ate slowly, savoring each bite with an almost solemn concentration.
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If Nyx saw this, she would probably burst out laughing. A simple everyday sandwich was now being treated like a gourmet dish by Marshal Lane.
As he reached for a second sandwich, there was a soft knock at the door. It was one of his subordinates who had been caught watching Nyx’s live stream earlier that morning.
The young male put down the documents he was delivering, but before he left, he couldn’t resist asking, “Is this the sandwich you won from Nyx’s livestream giveaway?”
The familiar, mouthwatering scent of the sandwiches made him fight to hold back his saliva. He was practically on the verge of tears.
He screamed in his mind, ‘Why didn’t I win? Even if it were one of my colleagues, that would be better. At least I can have a bite, but who dares take food from Felix?”
Felix’s expression remained calm, and he corrected that clerk with ease, “It wasn’t from the giveaway. She sent it to me personally.”
His implication was he didn’t fight for a spot in the lottery–this was a special gift, just for him.
The clerk was speechless with jealousy written all over his face.
With a polite nod, the clerk excused himself and hurried back to his desk.
But once he was out of earshot, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and started grumbling to his colleagues. “I tell you what, Marshal Lane is definitely playing tricks! He said the sandwiches were personally sent by Nyx to him.”
Everyone was startled upon hearing that news.
Someone said, “It’s gotta be because he is General Lane’s uncle.”
“I bet you’re right,” another echoed.
Everyone thought there was nothing more to it. After all, Felix was notoriously indifferent to females. Everyone in the empire knew that he wouldn’t be interested in anything romantic.
Theon thought the same.
Though he believed Felix had no interest in females, and even remembered Felix explicitly saying that he wasn’t in competition with him for Nyx’s affection, a sense of unease still nagged at him.
So, when Nyx offered to send Felix some sandwiches, Theon’s instincts flared. The feeling of competition grew stronger. Unable to shake the feeling of crisis, Theon sent Felix a message staking his claim.
Theon: [Got your sandwiches, huh? Nykie’s only sending it to you because you’re my uncle. Don’t get any weird ideas.]
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Chapter 23
He waited a long time, but finally, Felix replied.
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