The General's Love Glitch - Chapter 22

Jun Jue returned to her room, walked around the empty bedroom for a moment, then headed into the bathroom to shower.

Just as she turned on the showerhead, the emotionless yet concerned mechanical voice of the AI Xiao Ke sounded in the bathroom, mingling with the sound of water pouring from above.

[General, why are you sleeping in separate rooms from Madam again?]

[Did you and Madam have another argument?]

[Did Madam not use the method I taught her to coax you?]

Jun Jue: “…”

She didn’t understand how Xiao Ke had deduced such a convoluted scenario, but she couldn’t deny she was somewhat looking forward to Ruan Wei coming to coax her.

After finishing her shower, Jun Jue put on her bathrobe and lay down on the bed. Her communicator showed a message from Ruan Wei.

Leaning against the headboard, she opened the communicator, curious about what Ruan Wei might have sent her at this time.

Upon opening it, she saw that Ruan Wei had actually sent her a transfer of 5,000 star credits.

Jun Jue: “…”

A short while later, Ruan Wei sent a voice message.

“General, this is the salary I advanced from the hospital director. Please accept it quickly. I don’t know how much I owe you, but I’ll work hard to pay you back slowly.”

After listening, Jun Jue stared at the transfer. She didn’t want to accept it.

Knock, knock, knock. A knocking sound came from the door.

Jun Jue didn’t get up to open it. Instead, she lightly tapped her communicator with her finger and accepted the 5,000 star credits Ruan Wei had sent.

On Ruan Wei’s end, she received the notification that “the recipient has accepted the transfer” and happily withdrew her hand, which had been poised to knock again, then cheerfully returned to her own room.

Jun Jue, however, wasn’t happy about accepting the money.

She sent Ruan Wei two words: Not enough.

Ruan Wei replied with a voice message: “General, how much more do I owe in total?”

“If we calculate seriously, you might never be able to pay it back if you keep living in my house.”

“Ah!” Ruan Wei was startled and flustered. “Then I’ll go look for a place with cheaper rent so I can pay you back sooner.”

“Saturday is the day after tomorrow, General. I’ll move out as soon as I find a place.”

Jun Jue: That’s not what I meant.

“Goodnight, General.”

Jun Jue looked at the now-silent communicator screen. “Goodnight, little fool.”

…

Early the next morning, Jun Jue woke up promptly at 7:00. When she went downstairs, Ruan Wei was already sitting at the table waiting for her.

“Why are you up so early today?”

“I set an alarm.” Ruan Wei pointed to her communicator. She wanted to take every opportunity to familiarize herself with all its functions.

Jun Jue took her seat at the head of the table and began eating breakfast. Ruan Wei, however, didn’t touch her food.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Jun Jue paused to ask.

Ruan Wei propped her chin on her hands, her eyes not looking at the breakfast on the table, though the aroma made her swallow involuntarily, today’s menu included her favorite shrimp dumplings.

“General, how much does one breakfast cost? I want to see if I can afford to pay you back.”

Jun Jue lifted her gaze. Ruan Wei had clearly taken her words from yesterday to heart and was afraid of being unable to repay her.

“Eat. It’s free.”

“Really?” Ruan Wei seemed doubtful. Jun Jue nodded helplessly. From the moment she decided to bring Ruan Wei back to the Federation, she had never expected anything in return.

“Then I’ll eat!” Ruan Wei finally dug in, glancing up at Jun Jue from time to time.

Uncle Zhang, standing nearby, had no idea what was going on but found it all rather peculiar. Still, young people had their own ways of flirting.

After breakfast, Jun Jue prepared to drive Ruan Wei to the hospital again. Before getting into the car, Ruan Wei asked, “General, how much do I owe you for the ride to the hospital?”

Jun Jue frowned at her. “Now you want to settle accounts with me for everything?”

Ruan Wei let out a puzzled “Huh?” as if she didn’t understand the meaning behind those words.

“How much does a skybus ride cost?” Jun Jue asked.

“Same as a baked sweet potato, 10 star coins,” Ruan Wei replied.

“Then it’s 10 star coins. Get in.”

Once inside the car, Jun Jue watched as Ruan Wei fastened her seatbelt and then kept tapping away on her light screen. She asked what she was doing.

Ruan Wei said, “I’m calculating how much I owe you now, General.”

Jun Jue: “…”

The hovercar landed in the parking lot of Second Citizen Hospital. Ruan Wei was still calculating when Jun Jue reminded her to get out.

Stepping out, Ruan Wei waved goodbye and told her not to pick her up in the afternoon before turning to walk toward the hospital.

Jun Jue didn’t leave immediately. Through the window, she saw a short-haired woman run up to Ruan Wei, chatting and laughing with her.

“Madam General!” Tian Tian spotted Ruan Wei and dashed over, saying enviously, “It’s so nice that the General picks you up and drops you off every day.”

Ruan Wei gave a bitter smile. Her mind was preoccupied with how much she still owed Jun Jue.

Tian Tian sighed. “This is what they call a sweet burden. Who would’ve thought the cold, revered General of the Federation would be like this after falling in love?”

Ruan Wei wanted to say the truth that she and Jun Jue weren’t actually in a relationship but she didn’t dare. She glanced back and saw Jun Jue still there.

Tian Tian followed her gaze and smiled. “The General must want to watch you go inside before leaving.”

Ruan Wei thought Jun Jue was probably just resting in the car before heading off.

…

Even after Ruan Wei went inside to work, Jun Jue didn’t start the hovercar. She stayed parked a little longer, wondering about the girl who had suddenly appeared beside Ruan Wei and what their relationship was.

She had been so sure Ruan Wei liked her, but Ruan Wei’s obsession with repaying her and the appearance of that girl made her doubt whether Ruan Wei’s affection was just her own delusion.

Unable to find an answer, Jun Jue decided to go to the military district to work overtime. Zhuo Hanjun had already cleared all her belongings from the office except for that one piece of paper on the floor.

“General.” Before Jun Jue could even enter her office, Zhuo Hanjun rushed over. This time, she skipped the pleasantries and asked directly, “I think I left a document in your office last time. Can I go in and look for it?”

Jun Jue nodded and opened the door for her.

“Is it that one on the floor?” Jun Jue asked. She had left it there after reading it last time.

Zhuo Hanjun picked it up, hugged it to her chest, thanked her, and left.

Jun Jue sat at her desk, recalling Zhuo Hanjun’s expression just now, trying to determine if her nervousness had been feigned.

…

At 11 o’clock, Jun Jue received a video call from Lin Qiyue, the daughter of the Chief Executive. She didn’t answer.

Lin Qiyue bombarded her with calls. Suppressing the urge to block her, Jun Jue finally answered.

“Jun Jue, something seems off with your girlfriend. You’d better come to the hospital.”

“What’s wrong with Weiwei?” Jun Jue stood up from her chair.

“I don’t know.” Lin Qiyue’s voice was laced with panic. “I went to work at the hospital today too, taking care of the children with her. We had a little… disagreement, and I accidentally knocked over a child. The kid scraped their knee and it started bleeding. Then Ruan Wei started acting strange, her breathing became rapid, almost like an asthma attack. She just told me to take care of the children and ran off.”

“And then?” Jun Jue asked coldly as she strode out of her office.

“She’s locked herself in a storage room at the hospital now. I don’t know why she won’t come out.”

Jun Jue hung up on Lin Qiyue and dialed Ruan Wei’s number, but there was no answer.

Without hesitation, she took off in her flying car, accelerating toward the hospital while her neural interface continued calling Ruan Wei.

Finally, the call connected, and Ruan Wei’s helpless voice reached her ears.

“General, can you come to the hospital and get me?”

Jun Jue pressed a button inside the flying car, and two brilliant blue beams shot from the front, instantly clearing the way as all other airborne vehicles yielded.

She slammed the throttle to maximum. “Weiwei, I’m on my way.”