Urban Seduction: Housewives Club

Seeing her capable subordinates, Liu Junyi's demeanor shifted from the affectionate behavior she displayed in front of Ye Fei to her usual stern and composed self. She nodded and said, "Captain Li, congratulations on your recovery. You've all worked hard in my absence. Is everything going well?"

"Same old, same old. We can eat and sleep, but there's no real progress," Zhang Qiang joked. "Now, Li Yun here has managed to become the top guy after you."

"Top guy? It's all thanks to Ye Fei. I'm just reaping the benefits," Li Yun replied modestly. "Captain, let's head inside. Generals Zhou and Xu are waiting for us."

Ye Fei knew that the Xu Commander Li Yun referred to was Xu Ran, the highest-ranking officer in the Wang Hai City Military District.

Like his aunt, Xu Ran was a lieutenant general. With General Zhou Shichang, one of the top three figures in the Longguo military, coming down for an inspection, Xu Ran naturally had to accompany him the whole way.

Zhang Qiang added, "Yeah, General Zhou said he brought some commendations for us, but he wants to wait for you to arrive before announcing them. We've been waiting for a while now."

Ye Fei felt a pang of unease. It seemed odd that General Zhou insisted on waiting for his aunt to arrive before announcing the commendations.

If that was the case, why had he allowed her to go home first? Was it just to wait here? He asked, "Uncle Zhang, you guys didn't just leave the two generals waiting, right? Didn't you arrange some sparring matches or something?"

Zhang Qiang laughed, "The generals' questions kept us busy enough. There was no time for any matches."

"Oh, so what did they ask about? Not trying to get dirt on my aunt, I hope?" Ye Fei joked, trying to mask his real concerns.

Zhang Qiang laughed heartily, "Of course not! Besides our relationship with General Zhou and your aunt's character, there's nothing to complain about. They mainly asked about the unit's affairs and the details of our last mission."

As expected, they asked about that again. Ye Fei sighed inwardly, hoping his suspicions were wrong. He wasn't afraid of anything himself, but his mom and aunts would be heartbroken if something was amiss. After all, General Zhou was like an uncle to them.

Seeing Ye Fei's expression change slightly, Zhang Qiang thought he was worried about being exposed. He reassured him, "Don't worry, we promised you. Your secret hero status is safe with us."

Ye Fei trusted these tough special forces soldiers. However, he couldn't share his real concerns with Zhang Qiang, so he just laughed it off, "Alright, that's a relief. Otherwise, if Grandpa Zhou found out, he'd drag me into the military for sure. I can't handle the discipline here."

Zhang Qiang and Li Yun had been puzzled for a while about why Ye Fei didn't want his heroic deeds to be publicized. It was such an honorable thing that even they, elite soldiers trained to resist temptation, might struggle.

Hearing Ye Fei's somewhat childish remark, they finally understood. Although they thought it was a pity that such a skilled fighter wasn't joining the special forces, they respected his decision.

As they walked into the courtyard, Ye Fei saw that all the special forces soldiers, except Zhang and Li, were gathered on the parade ground, sitting in a semicircle.

In front of them, two elderly men were seated on the ground as well.

One had graying hair and a warm smile, but an imposing aura still emanated from him. He was General Zhou Shichang.

The other, with completely white hair, was naturally General Xu Ran, the commander of the Wang Hai City Military District.

Ye Fei had last seen General Zhou ten years ago. He was surprised to see that the passage of time seemed to have left no mark on him. He still looked as vigorous as Ye Fei remembered, not a single hair whiter than a decade ago. Yet, there was no trace of internal energy emanating from him. It was incredible how well he had aged.

As General Zhou spotted Ye Fei and the others, he stood up with a smile and said, "Great, our biggest hero has finally arrived!" Although his words seemed directed at Liu Junyi, Ye Fei felt like the general's gaze was truly focused on him.

Hearing General Zhou's words, the soldiers facing away from the gate quickly stood up, turned to face Liu Junyi, and snapped to attention, saluting crisply.

Though they didn't say anything, their eyes were filled with admiration and respect. In front of one of the top three military figures, General Zhou, they respected his rank. But in front of Liu Junyi, they respected the person she was. She was, and always would be, the pride of the Wang Hai City Special Forces.

Seeing her capable and unchanged subordinates, Liu Junyi's eyes flashed with a hint of gratification as she returned a standard military salute.

"Well, now that everyone's here, let's get down to business. General Xu, you can make the announcement," General Zhou said with a smile.

Xu nodded and said loudly, "Everyone, please follow me to the auditorium!" Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

The special forces members all knew that the commendations for the unit were about to be announced, and they couldn't hide their delighted expressions. At Liu Junyi's command, they marched into the auditorium in perfect unison.

Ye Fei didn't follow them inside. Although he had been given an honorary position during the last mission, he wasn't officially part of the special forces. So, he stopped at the entrance.

Just then, General Zhou, who had been walking last, came up to Ye Fei and said with a gentle smile, "Ye Fei, right? It's been ten years. You've grown up."

"Hello, Grandpa Zhou," Ye Fei greeted respectfully. No matter what the future held, General Zhou was still the elder of his mother and aunts, and Ye Fei wasn't about to be impolite.

"Good, there's no need to be so nervous," General Zhou's smile became even more kindly. "Come with me. We'll sit in and listen."

Ye Fei didn't refuse. He followed General Zhou into the auditorium and sat down at the very edge of the group of soldiers, while General Zhou went up to the stage to stand beside Xu.

"Now I declare..." After a series of formalities, Xu finally got to the point.

"Each member who participated in the last mission will receive a second-class individual merit award!"

Upon hearing this, the members who had been part of the mission looked proud, while the others looked at them with envious and congratulatory gazes.