Chapter 32

Wu Ying was still waiting for him to come over, but the moment Asher got close, before her outstretched hand could even push him away, he grabbed her and swung her up into his arms.

Her slippers were left behind on the floor as Asher carried her striding forward. Her flailing hands kept appearing from around his frame, occasionally shoving and slapping at him.

Asher paid no attention. He carried her into the bedroom, and just as he set her down on the sofa, she grabbed a throw pillow and started whacking him with it in a flurry.

Her hair was loose and disheveled, her bright eyes blazing with anger, the pillow in her hands swinging so fast it left afterimages. "Who told you to touch me? You stink—your sweat is all over me now!"

"I don't stink. I smell good."

Asher patted her head, letting her pummel him with the pillow, then took his clothes and went to take a shower.

Wu Ying watched his retreating back, her brows furrowed, her face red with fury. She shouted after him, "This is my room! You're not allowed to wash up in here. Don't you dare make my bathroom reek, you disgusting, filthy creature!"

After a few days of their cozy domesticity, Asher had long since moved into her room, even bringing over his everyday clothes. Wu Ying had accepted his presence, mostly because he'd been serving her so well.

Asher, being scolded, simply ignored her. Truly, once you let go of your pride, you're basically invincible. Through her rigorous training, Asher had learned to naturally tune out her words and just do his own thing.

"I've run into a bit of trouble here. Wait for me, guys! I really want to come!"

Wu Ying followed up in the group chat with a string of crying emojis. The others knew who she was and all expressed their understanding. Su Yi, especially, generously declared that even if Wu Ying decided to join at the last minute, she could still squeeze her in.

Wu Ying replied, "As expected of you, my awesome friend!"

She was in the middle of showering Su Yi with flattery when she heard movement behind her—Asher had finished his shower and walked out with a faint fragrance clinging to him.

Wu Ying raised an eyebrow. She'd been sprawled on the sofa, but now she sat up straight, grinning openly. "Hahaha, did you secretly use my body wash? Wow, Asher's now a fragrant, fresh-from-the-bath beauty."

"I used some. Not secretly."

Asher stated he'd used it openly and honestly.

He sat down beside her, his broad shoulder brushing against hers, his tone gentle. "Tell me about your practical training."

Asher reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, but Wu Ying slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!"

"I took a shower."

"Even after a shower, no. I'm mad at you right now."

Asher withdrew his hand with a light sigh and asked, "Mad at me, but still want to talk about your field trip?"

Of course she did. Wu Ying, with every justification, relayed the information Su Yi had told her. She talked while washing up, the bathroom door left open—her voice carrying from inside while Asher listened from outside.

By the time she finished her nightly routine, Asher had already done a fair amount of research on the situation.

Feng-2 Star, located in the Mengxi galaxy, was the planet with the richest variety of interstellar plant life. Most students from the College of Plant Science would choose this planet as their preferred site for practical training.

Asher paid extra attention to the recent conditions on Feng-2 Star—any sudden incidents, accidental events, or other matters of concern.

"You can go. Take Jiujiu and the mech with you. Do you want me to arrange for a guard?"

Wu Ying, naturally, valued her life more than anyone. She hesitated at his words, then asked if there would be danger there.

She'd truly been frightened by what happened last time; sometimes she still felt scared just thinking about it. If she hadn't been fighting with Asher back then, distracting herself, it wouldn't have been just a few nights of nightmares.

Asher shook his head. Based on the current situation, the safety level was quite high, and since it was in the interior, even space pirates hadn't touched it. Still, for the sake of caution, no amount of preparation was unreasonable.

"Then let's not bother. Su Yi said they've hired mercenaries for protection, so it should be fine."

Asher nodded, planning to have Meng Ke look into the mercenaries they'd hired and slip some of his own people in to put his mind at ease.

"Great! Time to pack!"

Wu Ying raised her hands happily and began scouring the room for her luggage.

Asher paused mid-motion and asked when she was leaving.

Wasn't there still some time before departure? Why was she packing now? Was she planning to go early to play around?

He thought that was entirely something Wu Ying would do. Her attitude toward this practical training didn't seem serious at all—more like she was off on a trip. And considering she'd be with her usual close-knit roommates...

"I'm just preparing ahead of time. This is my first time going out, you know—there's a lot to think about."

Wu Ying didn't turn around, so she missed the helpless frown that crossed Asher's face. Though he'd half-expected it, hearing her say that still made him want to say something.

But when it came to lecturing Wu Ying, he'd never once succeeded.

Take the other day, for instance: he'd deliberately rearranged his schedule to come back, determined to make her understand and stick to a plan. In the end, everything had gone completely sideways.

He couldn't even bring it up—she'd just throw a tantrum and drag him into bed.

Asher pressed a hand to his forehead. These past few days had been chaotic; not only had Wu Ying's plans gone off the rails, even his own had started to fall apart.

After a moment of thought, he decided to head to the study to deal with work.

Wu Ying, meanwhile, cheerfully prepared her things. She looked up guides and packed her bags at the same time. Besides the items she still needed at home, she planned to organize another set to store in her space button.

When it came to packing, all girls shared a common language—the group chat was already discussing the accommodation situation and whether they should bring their own sofa...

According to Su Yi, this field trip group was quite large, and she'd specifically rented a big villa as their base of operations.

With the research team plus the guard detail, there were a solid twenty-plus people. That was indeed a decent crowd, but following Su Yi's lead was never a wrong move.

Wu Ying could kind of see the direction things were heading. Although the senior student had initiated this practical training, Su Yi clearly played more of a leadership role. Thinking about Su Yi's background, perhaps the senior had already been brought under Su Yi's family's wing.

It was a tactic common among well-established families—publicly framed as talent sponsorship, but everyone knew it was really just the family keeping people in their employ.

One could say that in university, there was essentially no one without some kind of background; even those from protected zones had backing powers behind them.

Because the Federation's system dictated that children from ordinary families couldn't afford the hefty tuition and research costs. Some students even struggled just to graduate.

Wu Ying shook her head, trying to drag her thoughts back from where they'd wandered. That topic was too heavy for her to ponder at this stage. Better to focus on whether they could have a barbecue when the time came.

She couldn't wait. Feng-2 Star had a fantastic environment, with an abundance of natural vegetation. Influenced by a special magnetic field, the plants grew tall and dense, lush and verdant—truly a paradise for plant researchers.

Except there didn't seem to be many flowers. The most common ones were towering, mouth-like carnivorous plants.

To most people, these weren't really flowers—just petal-like mutant flora.

This might also be why she hadn't seen many flowers anywhere in the interstellar world. In the interstellar environment, the flower species that once existed on Blue Star seemed to have gone extinct, and among the cosmic vegetation, almost nothing matched the flowers she knew from her past life. Most were bizarrely shaped and massive; even those that looked similar were marked as dangerous plants—mutant plants—due to their extreme threat level.

And this time, their practical project was to evaluate the distribution and evolutionary trends of mutant plants on Feng-2 Star. It was just an assessment, simple enough, much easier than what some seniors did—adapting vegetation on barren planets.

"Jiujiu, come here, quick!"

After organizing her personal belongings, Wu Ying planned to prepare some gifts for everyone, and of course, the essential barbecue supplies. Meat and vegetables could be a chance to sample Feng-2 Star's local specialties, but not everything should be local.

So, in Jiujiu's backup space button, there appeared a variety of specialty items from different regions and planets.

With the aid of refrigeration technology, Wu Ying had all her supplies ready a full week in advance.

Asher could hear the constant running footsteps from outside, and an inexplicable surge of irritation rose in his chest. He didn't even need to see it—just the sound was enough to picture how happy she looked.

He suppressed his frustration and continued reviewing the documents in his hands. These days, all military matters came to him in the form of written reports, and he needed to spend extra time on them.

Asher had a strong need for control, especially over the Fourth Military District. Even when he wasn't physically present, he had to know everything that was happening. His self-discipline was the same—he planned every training regimen down to the last detail, his physique, his weight, even his emotions. Every metric had to be firmly within his grasp.

Some matters weren't suitable to delegate to Da Li, which meant Wei Li'an would have to handle them.

Asher tapped his middle finger on the desk, deliberating briefly, then sent a message to Wei Li'an—he'd be staying on Beta Star for a while longer and needed Wei Li'an to make some arrangements.

After shutting down his Light Brain, Asher took off his gold-rimmed glasses, clasped his hands together, and leaned back. The black chair back cradled his head as he closed his eyes, mulling over recent events.

He needed time—time to think about what had been happening, and to think about Wu Ying. He hated being out of control, so he was more aware than anyone that he was right in the center of it.

His relationship with Wu Ying had entered territory he didn't understand. Their dynamic had changed, and the resulting panic and confusion—Asher caught each of these emotions, and they bounced around inside him like signal flares, unable to find an outlet.

"Asher! Open the door! Open up!"

The door was being slapped hard, Wu Ying's voice calling him over and over, loud enough to give him a headache. Asher stood, and as his fingers touched the cool metal door handle, he felt a subtle tremor in his palm.

It was as if the entire door was shaking from her pounding. A flicker of amusement crossed Asher's eyes before vanishing instantly. "All that strength training, and this is what you use it on?"

Asher opened the door, and the person in front of him jumped back, startled, hand still raised.

"You're about to break the door down."

It was clearly a teasing remark, and Wu Ying immediately shot him a glare, but then she remembered what she wanted to ask and quickly softened her fierce look.

"It's solid enough."

"Asher, I need a favor."

Wu Ying dragged out her words, her big, watery eyes staring up at him, both hands rubbing together beside her face. "Can you write the report for me?"

The military family's departure report was such a hassle, and she didn't want to do it. Plus, if she wrote it badly, Asher would just make her redo it anyway. Since it was all according to his wishes anyway, might as well let him do it all.