If he guessed correctly, the news of Shen Ning’Er staying in his dorm for three days and three nights had blown up.

In fact, this was well within his expectations. After all, the entire Eastern Capital Military Academy knew about it. It would be truly bizarre if *that person* still hadn’t heard.

Gao Neng studied the man carefully. He didn’t look too old, perhaps under forty. ’Is it because of his training? That must be why he looks so young.’

’A love rival?’

’I hadn’t considered that.’

’Besides, I’m not afraid of any love rivals. Who would dare to openly march into the Eastern Capital Military Academy and cause trouble for me? If that were the case, Song Tianyun would never have brought him to me in the first place.’

’Of course, the most important thing is that this Alliance Major General in front of me bears a slight resemblance to Shen Ning’Er.’

"Uncle, it’s a pleasure to meet you!" Gao Neng reacted instantly. Before the man could speak again, his attitude did a complete one-eighty as he offered a polite greeting.

"What do you mean, ’Uncle’? I’m Ning’Er’s fourth uncle!" The man shot Gao Neng a look, his brow furrowed. ’What’s wrong with this kid’s eyes? I’m only thirty-seven. How could I have an eighteen-year-old daughter?’

"Oh, so you’re her fourth uncle... Are you here to see Teacher Gui? I’ll let you two talk. I’ll just be on my way!" Gao Neng said, feeling a bit awkward.

’I guessed wrong!’

’He’s not even Shen Ning’Er’s father.’

’What a waste of a perfectly good ’Uncle’.’

"So *now* you decide to call yourself my student? Then how come I’ve never seen you in one of my classes at the War Academy?" Gui Zian sneered. He’d been stewing over this for days.

Gao Neng was a little speechless.

’Gui Zian has changed. He’s become so petty.’

’Or was he always this petty to begin with?’

"Not so fast, kid. Why don’t you first explain what you meant earlier? Since when is Ning’Er your wife?" the man said, cutting straight to the chase.

Gao Neng groaned inwardly.

’He came out swinging with a barrage of questions right from the start.’

’I wasn’t prepared for this at all.’

’Still, judging by this fourth uncle’s posture, he’s definitely here for me. But the Eastern Capital Military Academy is one of the four great military academies of the Alliance. They wouldn’t just stand by and watch me get beaten to death, would they?’

’I’m a genius, for crying out loud! A freshman who already made it onto the combat rankings!’

At this thought, Gao Neng immediately looked over at Song Tianyun, who was standing beside the "fourth uncle."

"Ahem. Gao Neng, allow me to introduce you. This is the commander of the Alliance’s Third Army, Fourth Division, Shen Fei." Song Tianyun deliberately emphasized the name "Shen Fei." Then he proceeded to tilt his head back and stare at the sky, putting on an air of complete detachment, as if this had nothing to do with him.

’Sure enough, this old fox is completely unreliable.’

’And Gui Zian has changed, too.’

’Now he understood completely. In this world, if you wanted something done, you had to rely on yourself.’

"Fourth Uncle, a dignified Division Commander of the Alliance military wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a junior like me, would he?" Gao Neng tried again. Even though Shen Fei hadn’t stated his purpose outright, Gao Neng had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

’This Commander Shen Fei is here to call me to account, but he must not have gotten a straight answer out of Shen Ning’Er. Otherwise, he would’ve just had me arrested by now.’

"You’ve guessed wrong on that one," Shen Fei sneered at Gao Neng. "When it comes to Ning’Er, our Shen Family absolutely holds people accountable. And while I didn’t come here specifically for you today, you’ve been running your mouth all over the Eastern Capital Military Academy, claiming Ning’Er is your wife and that the Shen Family is your backer. You owe me an explanation for that, don’t you?"

"Fourth Uncle, do you want the truth, or a lie?" Gao Neng’s mind raced. Shen Fei hadn’t made a move, which suggested he really might have other business to attend to.

’However, it’s clear I’ve become a loose end for him to tie up while he’s here.’

’That leaves me with two options: deny everything, or stick to my story. I’ve thought it through, and both are dangerous.’

’Since that’s the case...’

’I might as well confess and hope for leniency.’

"What do you think? If you tell me a single lie, I’ll kill you, and no one will even be around to collect your body." Shen Fei’s aura shifted subtly. He spoke with absolute confidence.

Gao Neng didn’t doubt for a second that Shen Fei could back up that threat.

This whole affair wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was by no means a small matter either.

Even though they were at the Eastern Capital Military Academy, if Shen Fei decided to pin him with the crime of tarnishing the Shen Family’s reputation, probably no one in the entire Alliance could save him.

’What do I do?’

’Getting beaten to death by Shen Fei here would be such a raw deal, wouldn’t it?’

"Since you want to know, Fourth Uncle, I’ll tell you the truth," Gao Neng said, gritting his teeth and deciding to come clean. "Ning’Er and I met in the Forgotten Land. We went through life and death together, and I even saved her life. We also worked together to eradicate the three great underground factions of the Forgotten Land. After all that, we got together."

Of course, his story was a mix of truth and lies, but he wasn’t afraid of an investigation. After all, his deeds in the Forgotten Land were on record with the military.

He and Shen Ning’Er really were responsible for the incident with the underground factory. He’d even received 1,000 Merit Points for it and attended a commendation ceremony.

As for the part about them getting together...

Unless Shen Fei asked Shen Ning’Er herself, no one else would know the truth.

"So, you’re saying... there really is something going on between you and Ning’Er? You weren’t lying, and you weren’t just faking it?" The smile never left Shen Fei’s lips.

But inwardly, he was taken aback. He had been ninety percent sure that Gao Neng would deny everything. After all, he couldn’t imagine Shen Ning’Er actually having feelings for someone like Gao Neng...

That was why he had accused Gao Neng of posturing from the very beginning.

However, Gao Neng’s composure surprised him. Not only did he not deny the claim, but he had even recounted the story of how he met Shen Ning’Er.

And his story sounded logical and well-substantiated. ’They met in the Forgotten Land? Went through life and death together? He even saved Ning’Er’s life?’

’All of this...’

’I did look into some of this before I came.’

’Gao Neng had indeed earned military merit in the Forgotten Land, and Shen Ning’Er herself was the one who reported it. However, the report never mentioned anything about Gao Neng saving her life.’

"Well, I suppose I was getting a little ahead of myself... After all, Shen Ning’Er hasn’t officially married into the family yet, right?" Gao Neng grinned. Seeing that Shen Fei had no intention of getting violent, he knew his gamble had paid off.

’Shen Fei didn’t come here just to bust me.’

’That makes this a whole lot easier...’

’Maybe I can even get another backer out of this. The Commander of the Third Army, Fourth Division... How impressive!’

"You’re a sharp kid; you know when to push and when to pull back. Let me ask you one last question. What did the two of you do during the three days Ning’Er was here at the Eastern Capital Military Academy looking for you?" After a moment’s thought, Shen Fei went ahead and asked.

It was an awkward question for him to ask directly. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

But the news of Shen Ning’Er’s visit to the Eastern Capital Military Academy was common knowledge now. Even the old man, far away on the battlefield, had heard about it.

If he didn’t get an explanation, the old man would probably charge straight back from the front lines.

"Fourth Uncle, that’s not a very appropriate question! You, of all people, should know Ning’Er’s character. Do you really think she would do anything to cross the line with me *now*?" Gao Neng deliberately emphasized the word "now." In doing so, he was also telling Shen Fei that while nothing had happened yet, that didn’t mean nothing ever would.

Of course, this was also his way of salvaging the reputation Shen Ning’Er had put on the line by staying in his dorm for three days and nights.

Shen Ning’Er might not care about such things.

But Gao Neng, on the other hand, cared a great deal. He’d only used the situation to complete a mission; he never actually wanted Shen Ning’Er’s reputation to be damaged.

Besides, the mission was long over. Clearing Shen Ning’Er’s name was the right thing for him to do.

"So you’re saying nothing happened between you and Ning’Er?" Shen Fei’s eyes lit up at his words. This was, in fact, the answer he had been hoping for.

"Of course not," Gao Neng said immediately. "Ning’Er is pure and innocent. There is nothing between us but the purest of love."

"Alright, you’re done here. Scram," Shen Fei said, waving a hand to dismiss him.

"Heh heh... Fourth Uncle, there’s just one more thing I wanted to ask," Gao Neng said, not leaving just yet. He had one more thing to confirm.

"What is it?" Now that Shen Fei had the answer he wanted, his attitude was much better.

"Do I have any love rivals? What I mean is... are there any political marriage alliances? An arranged betrothal from birth or something like that?" Gao Neng asked tentatively.

"I have no idea if you have any love rivals or not. While the Old Master is extremely strict with Ning’Er’s training, he dotes on her in all other matters. As for arranged betrothals and political marriages, the Shen Family scorns such things. There are very few people in the entire Alliance that the Shen Family would bother currying favor with at the cost of Ning’Er’s happiness!" As he spoke the last sentence, Shen Fei radiated an immense confidence.

"That’s a relief... Fourth Uncle, since this is our first meeting, please accept this small token of my respect!" Gao Neng nodded, then quickly fished out a piece of Magnetic Crystal Ore.

It was the very piece he had dug out of the magnetic core in that underground factory.

’How does that saying go again?’

’Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This Fourth Uncle wouldn’t look twice at an ordinary gift, but Magnetic Crystal Ore was a different story. The Military Department would definitely need it.’

’Besides, Gao Neng understood a simple principle.’

’The more valuable the gift I give...’

’...the more valuable the gift I get in return!’

Sure enough, the moment Gao Neng produced the Magnetic Crystal Ore...

Shen Fei’s eyes visibly lit up. And it wasn’t just him; even Song Tianyun and Gui Zian were gaping at Gao Neng.

’This kid actually has Magnetic Crystal Ore on him?!’

"Where did you get this?" Shen Fei didn’t reach for it, but he didn’t refuse it either.

"A Magnetic Core appeared in the Forgotten Land, remember? Fourth Uncle, you must have heard about that, right?" Gao Neng paused. Seeing Shen Fei remain silent, he knew he was on the right track. "That night, when Ning’Er and I found the underground factory, I dug this out from beside the magnetic stack. Ning’Er knows about it. In fact, it was because she detonated the stack that I got the chance to save her life."

"You really saved Ning’Er’s life?" Shen Fei hadn’t believed him at first, but now that Gao Neng had produced a piece of Magnetic Crystal Ore, he didn’t know what to think.

"Of course it’s true!" Gao Neng affirmed.

"Fine. In that case, I’ll accept this gift. The Military Department needs this, and you don’t have a use for it yet. But I won’t take such a valuable gift for nothing. When the time comes that you need one, I’ll find you another of even higher quality... I hear you have five talents, and one of them is Silver?"