Chapter 21

A knock sounded at the door. Meng Ke had messaged him—the matter was settled, and the base had agreed to let Asher carry out Wu Ying's punishment.

The doctor slipped in quietly to remove Wu Ying's IV. Asher stood and moved aside. The doctor looked up at him nervously, barely able to believe his eyes. He was actually seeing Commander Asher in person, and his voice trembled with excitement.

Asher frowned inwardly at the man's flustered state. A doctor this jittery couldn't inspire confidence in his patient's care. "Doctor, be careful."

At Asher's words, the doctor stiffened, quickly composed himself, and withdrew the needle with steady hands, placing a styptic bandage over the spot with practiced efficiency. He absolutely did not want to look unprofessional in front of His Excellency the Commander.

"I'm taking her with me. My own physician will continue her treatment. Please brief my people on the aftercare."

"Yes, of course. Actually, the lady's condition has largely stabilized. From here, it's just a matter of recovery treatment."

Asher nodded, thought for a moment, then finally bent down and lifted Wu Ying from the bed. Her warmth seeped through her clothes and burned against his palm, and he paused, momentarily unsettled.

Holding her fully in his arms, he realized just how light Wu Ying truly was. A small thing, really—he could hold her with one hand. So how could she go to a battlefield? She ought to stay home, be happy, live an easy life.

After all, the girl had never shown much ambition anyway.

"Meng Ke, arrange for someone to coordinate with the doctor."

Meng Ke nodded and led the way ahead. Asher followed, carrying Wu Ying without a sound. Guards flanked them on all sides, keeping the two tightly protected in the middle.

On Boska Star, Asher didn't stay at the residence assigned by the local government. Instead, he went to a villa in his own name.

The hover vehicle drove straight ahead. Asher kept his eyes on the road while Wu Ying leaned against him, sleeping quietly. Her soft, shallow breathing was the only sound during the entire ride.

The accompanying physician was already waiting at the villa. The moment Asher stepped inside, the doctor hurried over. On his Light Brain was the medical record from the hospital, showing that Wu Ying's situation was serious but that she had already received targeted treatment. The specifics still required further confirmation.

Asher watched as the doctor ran a series of instruments over Wu Ying, scanning and examining her, drawing blood, and finally leaving behind some medication.

"The lady's mental power is overdrawn, but it's the most optimistic scenario for mental power damage. The hospital's measures were timely. Your Excellency, there's no need to worry. She simply needs rest and to take her medication on schedule."

...

Wu Ying opened her eyes. Her surroundings had completely changed. She shot up in bed, staring around in confusion. The walls were decorated in a medieval style, and a massive floor-to-ceiling window sat angled across from the bed, soft light filtering through the curtains into the room.

The sheets were soft and skin-friendly—a completely different tier from the hospital's. Just as Wu Ying was wondering whether she'd transmigrated again, someone finally appeared to clear things up.

The first thing she saw was a pair of long legs in black military uniform. Military uniform?

It was Asher. His familiar—and infuriating—face emerged from beside the window curtain. He didn't seem surprised to see her awake, and even when her expression soured immediately, he remained perfectly composed. Since he was indoors, he wore only a shirt.

Wu Ying didn't speak, just followed him with her eyes as he moved to the bedside. Asher held out the medicine in his hand. "Take your medicine."

Wu Ying looked at him, then at what he was offering. She'd thought he might be handing over divorce papers. But what was this for?

"You're ordering me?"

At this point, Rebel Wu Ying wasn't about to comply—even if he'd explained what the medicine was for, she wouldn't have obeyed so easily.

Wu Ying felt she'd been too obedient before. She'd thought she was latching onto a powerful figure and would humor him. But now? Why should she?

Asher watched her brimming-with-defiance expression and felt his brow twitch. He'd guessed Wu Ying would oppose him, but to have her start with a provocation the moment she opened her mouth—he found himself momentarily speechless.

After a pause, Asher finally spoke. "No. It's prescribed by the doctor. To treat your condition."

No matter what she was fighting against, she shouldn't fight her own body. Wu Ying took the medicine, downed it with a gulp of water.

The bitterness hit straight to her heart. Wu Ying's face scrunched up, and she chugged water to wash it down. When she was done, she demanded, deeply annoyed, "Did you deliberately not tell me it was bitter, so I'd take it off guard?"

Asher stayed silent, choosing not to engage.

"You just love seeing me suffer, don't you? You scheming dog!"

"You—!"

Asher got cursed at again. He forced himself to stay calm, recognizing that letting Wu Ying rattle him so easily wasn't right.

"Wu Ying, can we talk civilly? Let's both calm down."

"I am calm. I'm talking civilly. Everything I said is true."

She showed absolutely no fear of Asher. Anyone else would've been trembling and silenced long ago, but she tilted her chin up, practically daring him to get angry.

Asher crossed his arms and closed his eyes, deciding not to take the bait.

He understood. Wu Ying was still in a fury, speaking without reason or filter. He was mature enough not to quibble with her.

"What? Don't want to look at me?"

Wu Ying grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him. Asher's eyes snapped open, dark as the deep sea. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Asher, we're fighting here. Are you trying to pretend nothing happened before? Stonewalling, saying nothing, mentioning nothing—what's that supposed to accomplish?"

Wu Ying didn't mince words. "What about the divorce agreement you wrote? Aren't you going to bring it out? What's the holdup!"

"No need for a divorce. Last time, I spoke without understanding the situation. I apologize."

Asher looked at her and added, "I don't want to fight with you."

What did that mean? Wu Ying was stunned by the apology. This man had his eyes practically blazing with fury a moment ago, and now he'd just apologized, clean and simple.

So what was she supposed to do?

Wu Ying had come prepared for battle, only for her opponent to lay down their arms and surrender on the spot. That left her in an awkward spot—if she kept pressing, wouldn't that just make her look unreasonable?

She mulled it over for a moment, decided she needed to rethink things, and with a grand gesture of her hand, ordered Asher out of the room.

Asher didn't object. He relayed the doctor's instructions and left immediately.

Wu Ying stared at the door, then flopped back onto the bed in defeat. She'd genuinely been ready to divorce. Though Asher was usually easygoing on the surface, Wu Ying could see the pride running through his bones. He was the type people groveled to and fawned over, and after getting cursed out like that by her, he'd actually held it together.

And the man was generous, too. His wealth was worth who knew how many planets. She wouldn't have lost anything in a divorce.

But no—the man apologized just like that.

Wu Ying thought back to that day, and thinking about it still made her angry. She'd been so looking forward to seeing him. The drill instructor's harshness, the teacher's scolding—none of it had bothered her.

But Asher, without even asking for the facts, had launched straight into accusations, revealing a prejudice and contempt he'd never once shown before. She couldn't accept that. In this world, Asher was the first person to show her kindness. Whatever else, he was her husband.

He was supposed to be different. He had to be different from everyone else.

So Wu Ying was angry. It felt like a betrayal, and a pride and disappointment she could hardly name fanned her fury into a towering blaze.

She hadn't forced Asher into this marriage. Since he'd chosen to accept it, then as his wife, she was entitled to her rights. She had every right to demand that her husband meet her emotional needs.

Now that Asher wasn't divorcing her, fine, then they wouldn't divorce. This rigid, insufferable interstellar man—hah, she'd make his life a living hell.

With her current situation and future plans sorted out, Wu Ying felt an immediate lightness in her chest. Her Light Brain was back, snug around her wrist. She needed to find something fun to do.

The little paper she'd written earlier—she absolutely had to back it up properly. It might come in handy again later.

Only beautiful flowers could truly heal her, after all. Wu Ying had Jiujiu video-call her, and the robot butler dutifully showed her every single flower in the greenhouse from all 365 degrees.

Even though Jiujiu recorded everything daily, Wu Ying could still roughly assess the flowers' growth through the video feed.

She'd put in so much effort in the early stages, and now the flowers were thriving. If she had a license, she could even sell them.

Unfortunately, this whole garden of blooms would have to remain her own private treasure.

A bunch of people had also messaged her. Huo Lin said they were being confined and given demerits. Huo Lin herself didn't care much, but she still felt she'd dragged Wu Ying down.

Wu Ying could only keep reassuring her, though the other side seemed to have been locked up already—no reply came.

Then there was Teacher Nova, who must have heard about the incident and reached out to check on her. People who lived their whole lives in safe zones, working in unrelated fields, might never face the insect race face-to-face. And Wu Ying—an E-level mental power—had run into an insect attack.

Nova was very worried, asking over and over about her condition.

Wu Ying told her everything she could, and finally assured her that she was eating and drinking fine and recovering steadily, so she shouldn't worry.

Finally, Wu Ying patted her stomach. She was hungry.

She hadn't eaten well at the base, and she hadn't even finished that bowl of noodles before leaving. Just thinking about all the delicious food made her mouth water uncontrollably.

Jiujiu wasn't around, so Wu Ying had to get up herself and figure out how to get a meal.

She slipped on her slippers. The living room was empty. She tentatively called for a robot—houses like this were supposed to have them.

Sure enough, a robot walked out from a corner. Wu Ying didn't stand on ceremony, tapping her finger through the menu and picking out several dishes.

"Understood. Due to missing some ingredients, it will take approximately two hours."

Two hours? That was way too long. She wanted to eat right now. Wu Ying moved the dishes with missing ingredients to the back and had the robot focus on the quick ones first.

She felt like she could gnaw on the couch right now. Wu Ying curled up on the sofa, playing with her Light Brain while watching the robot cook.

Wu Ying noticed that Asher seemed to have a peculiar attachment to system defaults. She didn't need to check the backend to know the robot was using the default face, the default voice, even the default display mode. What an uninteresting man.