Chapter 5

Wu Ying forced a bright, fake smile as she took the documents, then slammed the door shut with a bang.

Ivy's words were cut off mid-sentence as the door closed in her face. She frowned, thinking to herself, "With manners like that, how could she possibly convince Lord Asher?"

Inside the room, Wu Ying tossed the documents aside the moment the door shut—just looking at them was enough to irritate her.

Who did he think he was, some exalted figure, making her wait from eight o'clock, and then expecting her to be sweet and coaxing, to persuade him to take her away?

Wu Ying felt a blaze of fury ignite in her chest, burning so hot it made her vision swim. She lunged at the bed in the rest room, snatched up the handsome photo lying on it, and crumpled it in her fingers before she could feel any satisfaction.

Upstairs, Ivy arrived at the director's office to report the situation.

"Everything's been arranged?" Director Xiang asked with concern. He had mulled it over and decided to work through Wu Ying—if she could win Asher's favor, the marriage plan might actually have a chance.

"I gave her the documents. She said she'd handle it herself. I told her everything I could, but she seemed upset—and rather rude. She probably won't catch Lord Asher's attention."

Hearing Ivy's words, Director Xiang grew anxious. "Don't let emotions interfere with the task at hand. Resolve this quickly. Don't anger the Commander."

He frowned. "In that case, go pick her up early today and try to soothe her a bit."

"I've already brought her to the institute. She's in the rest room now."

"Good. The sooner, the better. I'll leave this in your hands."

Director Xiang patted Ivy on the shoulder. The institute hadn't invested much attention in Wu Ying—after all, no one thought she would refuse.

Ivy received the order, and though it gave her a headache, she tried to piece together a plan. After mapping out a set of talking points, she knocked on the door of Wu Ying's rest room.

Knock, knock, knock.

Wu Ying ignored it. Ivy was the only person she knew here, and she didn't want to see her right now.

Soon, a message came in on her Light Brain—it was Ivy asking how she was doing. Wu Ying didn't reply, just turned it off. She draped her slender, pale wrist over her eyes, her long dark lashes fluttering before finally closing her eyes and shutting out the light completely.

She was furious enough to be dizzy, Wu Ying thought indignantly in her dream. It had made her see stars—a pitch-black void before her eyes as she stared blankly ahead, and then, one by one, a few stars emerged from the darkness.

Like fireflies, carrying a green glow—beautiful. Wu Ying's eyes curved into crescents as she surged forward, swinging her arm down like a club, startling even more fireflies into flight. They drifted toward her in scattered points of light, warm and soft, incredibly comforting.

In the silent rest room, a stream of air slowly seeped out of Wu Ying's body, coiled around her once, then caught up her amber hair, curling it into a graceful arc before laying it down on the bed and gradually fading away.

On the bed, Wu Ying's rosy lips curved slightly into a warm smile. Her lashes rested lightly, casting a soft shadow over her eyelids like a shallow crescent moon as she slept peacefully.

At noon, the door of the rest room was knocked on again. The visitor was, once again, researcher Ivy.

This time, she had changed into a white lab coat, looking professional and meticulous. She curled her fingers and tapped the door in a rhythmic knock.

Wu Ying lifted her head in a daze, ran a hand through her hair in a jumble, and caught a strand between her fingers, the sting making her eyes fly open. When she pulled her hand away, sure enough, a light orange strand of hair was wrapped around her finger.

She got up and opened the door. Ivy was taken aback at the sight of her—she seemed incredulous that Wu Ying had actually fallen asleep, and even slept until now.

"Clean yourself up quickly," she said sternly.

If Wu Ying hadn't just checked the time herself, she might have thought it was already three o'clock.

"What's wrong? It's not time yet." Her voice, still husky from sleep, carried a sweet, dreamy softness. Her amber eyes lent her a natural air of innocence and serenity.

Ivy's mind wandered for a moment. She suddenly thought that if Lord Asher saw her like this, he might actually agree.

"It's already late. Tidy yourself up—we need to talk."

Again!

Wu Ying muttered under her breath, "What is there to talk about? It's never anything I want to hear."

"Hm?"

"I said, fine."

Inside, Wu Ying's inner self was sobbing and gnawing on a handkerchief, but on the surface, she was all: yes, whatever you say is absolutely right.

The great and famous so-and-so once said: politeness and decency are byproducts of abundance. Right now, she just wanted to curse. Wu Ying pressed her lips tightly together, her expression grave, thinking—who knew what nonsense this sister was about to spout. She'd better brace her face in advance.

"Go on, then." She arranged herself and readied for battle.

Across from her, Ivy saw her like this and felt her heart sink. She had thought that after resting for a while, Wu Ying would pull herself together, but she was still like this. Ivy felt the task was growing more difficult. A thought flashed through her mind: people from the protection zone really do lack a bit of polish in all respects.

She quickly composed herself and looked seriously at Wu Ying. "I've noticed you seem to be in a bad mood. You'd better adjust it—seeing Lord Asher in your current state is absolutely out of the question. Or, if you need help, you should tell me directly. I'll help you."

"Miss Wu, this afternoon's meeting is extremely important, not just for you but for us as well. So please take it seriously, alright?"

Wu Ying couldn't hold back. "How do you know I'm not taking it seriously?"

"I can tell whether you're serious or not. You weren't serious when you looked over the documents this morning—those materials aren't available on the interstellar net, they're very valuable—but you didn't really read them. And besides—"

"If you keep listing off my supposed lack of seriousness, I'm only going to feel worse. What do you suggest we do about that, researcher?"

Wu Ying cut her off with a stiff smile. Ivy was momentarily stunned, then a flicker of irritation rose in her. "Then what do you want?"

"Just don't talk."

Wu Ying's beautiful almond-shaped eyes practically sparked with fire. She'd thought she could bend and stretch at will, but it seemed she'd overestimated herself.

Seeing Ivy's aggrieved, annoyed expression, she felt a sliver of satisfaction. She met Ivy's gaze without giving an inch, her eyes bright and blazing, until Ivy conceded.

"Fine, as you wish. I hope the meeting goes as I wish too." She shot a neither-soft-nor-hard jab at Wu Ying.

Wu Ying gave a light snort and ignored her. It wasn't like things were going well for her at the moment, either—and what did the institute's affairs have to do with her?

Ivy dropped a word about having things to do and left, leaving Wu Ying alone in the room.

This was the institute's reception room, and to show respect, they'd specially booked a private suite. Ivy wasn't worried about Wu Ying wandering off—she didn't have the clearance to go anywhere anyway.

Wu Ying relished her freedom and secretly rolled her eyes behind Ivy's back.

If before she'd thought of Ivy as friendly but not easy to get along with, now it was: go cool off somewhere far away!

Half a word was too much when opinions clashed. Wu Ying watched her leave until Ivy's figure vanished from sight, then let her stiff back relax with a sudden slump. She wrinkled her nose lightly and finally had the leisure to observe her surroundings.

It truly was a high-class reception room—all sorts of decorations and ornaments were on display. Wu Ying spotted a potted flower by the window that looked like a tulip. Its pale yellow petals lent the entire room a distinctive charm.

Wu Ying approached it excitedly, brushing her fair fingers gently over the petals. But before the surprise in her eyes could fade, a bucket of cold water doused it—it was fake.

Technology was just too advanced; there was no telling at all. The lifelike petals even swayed lightly with the breeze. But fake was fake—Wu Ying had discovered it the moment she touched it.

She walked around the room, and eventually, she grew tired. She sat back down on the chair and checked the time: one thirty.

So what was wrong with Ivy? She'd woken her up early just to make her sit here until three o'clock!

Wu Ying forgot that she'd driven Ivy away herself. The original plan had been for Ivy to chat with her and soothe her until two thirty, but Wu Ying had chased her off with just a few words.

"Asher Sicel, you're not a lousy conversationalist too, are you?" Wu Ying began to worry in earnest. At first, she'd thought the most she'd have to deal with was a distant, courteous marriage like Wu Minggang and Xia Li's. But Ivy had now presented her with another possibility: endlessly repeating things you dreaded hearing.

Just imagine—from now on, every day there'd be some self-important man droning in her ear: "You should be thanking your lucky stars I married you. You're not happy treating me like a living ancestor? Smile for me now—have I ever skimped on your food or clothes that you keep wearing that sour face all day?"

Just the thought made Wu Ying's scalp prickle, and even her toes curled with the urge to run. But honestly, it wasn't her fault—that was exactly how Ivy's lecture had felt earlier.

Aide: Nagging? The Commander could barely manage five sentences in a day, let alone lecture anyone.

"Commander, we're expected to reach Yun 8 Star at two in the afternoon. The local defense officer would like to meet with you."

Before the aide could finish, Asher raised a hand. "I understand. I'll reply with a decline."

With that, he stepped aside and took his place beside Asher's guard captain.

Compared with the aide assigned by the military district, guard captain Meng Ke was clearly more familiar with Asher. They had known each other since childhood—Meng Ke had been chosen by the Sicel Family as Asher's guard, following him since he first enlisted. Now that Asher had become the commander of the Fourth Military District, Meng Ke had risen accordingly to captain of the Commander's guard.

The three sat in silence. On the warship, the only sound was the steady ticking of the instrument panel.

The space jump concluded, and the magnificent, massive warship materialized in the space above Yun 8 Star. After docking at the border station, Asher and his guard captain took a separate hover vehicle to the surface.

Asher's hover vehicle bore special markings, so no one dared block it. The vehicle landed directly at the entrance of the research institute.

Because he'd arrived ahead of schedule, no one was there to greet him. Asher had deliberately not informed them in advance, as he didn't want a fuss.

His expression was calm as his deep, ink-black eyes swept over the building before them. The two of them entered. Before they could even state who they were, they saw Xiang Lei hurry down from upstairs.

"Commander, forgive me for not receiving you properly. My apologies!"

He'd intended to give Asher a tour of the institute, but when he heard they still had military duties to attend to, he didn't dare delay and quickly led them toward the reception room.

Director Xiang hastily sent a message to Ivy, telling her not to bring Wu Ying over—lest they run into each other on the way in a flustered state and make a scene.

On the other side, Wu Ying was baffled when she received Ivy's message. She was here to be set up on a blind date, wasn't she?

Why was she being told to go greet him at the door?!!

Wu Ying's eyes sparked with twin flames of fury that grew higher and higher—angry and aggrieved at once. She understood the logic; she'd come prepared. Clearly, she hadn't been prepared enough. Heavy is the head that wears the crown—that's how Wu Ying had consoled herself before. And now?

To hell with it. If she was going down, she'd take everyone with her!

Wu Ying didn't move and stopped reading the incoming messages. Her eyes stung, so she took a deep breath. Crying now would just be embarrassing.

Her face cold, she clenched her fingers so tightly her nails dug in. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in through the window, flipping her hair up and fanning the flames of her anger even higher.

Without warning, the door opened from the outside. Wu Ying looked up, and a stern, handsome face came into view.

It was the man from the photo—tall, a head taller than the people around him, his gaze heavy as it met hers.

A series of thoughts flashed through Wu Ying's mind—"kinda handsome," "poser," "so serious"—and the fury in her chest was doused in an instant. She stared blankly as the man walked over and sat down across from her.

Before she could react, the middle-aged man in the white lab coat hurried forward, telling her not to just sit there, and began rattling off introductions.

The man didn't say a word, silent the whole time. Director Xiang talked for a long while, but when he saw that neither of the two principals was speaking, he gradually trailed off as well.

The guard captain said quietly, "Director Xiang, shall we step outside?"

The reception room fell silent. Wu Ying glanced at the man across from her. She'd thought about saying something, but now she couldn't be bothered. She radiated the aura of a salted fish lying flat.

He was a big shot, after all—why would he ever take a liking to her?

Asher was silent too. He didn't speak, instead quietly observing the girl across from him. A girl with fire in her eyes; her amber irises lit up with emotion like shimmering gold. She was, unexpectedly, rather dazzling.

Sensing Wu Ying's gaze, he instinctively looked away. After the guard captain and the others left, he returned his gaze to her. The girl seemed a bit bored, idly twirling strands of her hair around her fingers. Her hair had a slight natural wave, forming a neat little ring as she wrapped it around.

Asher didn't know what to say, so he followed her gaze and watched her fiddle with her hair.

The sunlight outside the window traced its path according to the sun's trajectory without fail. When the shadow crept up to the table leg, Wu Ying finally couldn't hold back and looked up to check the situation.

She'd been waiting for Asher to say, "Well then, don't get your hopes up—we're impossible," but why was it so quiet?

Wu Ying lifted her head surreptitiously, peering at the person across from her through fluttering lashes. He was tall and powerfully built. Modern Blue Star people were all genuine products of genetic modification, so naturally they were all fit and muscular—and moreover, he was a soldier, far exceeding the people from the protection zone in physical ability.

Wu Ying's gaze first landed on his chest. Asher was wearing his military uniform—a black officer's coat. His chest bore some emblem she didn't recognize, and every button was in place, wrapping his solid, powerful frame.

Her gaze traveled up from his collar, across his neck, and before she could take in his face in detail, he caught her.

Wu Ying found it hard to describe Asher's eyes. Ink-dark, with phoenix-shaped eyes slightly narrowed, all sharpness concealed beneath a calm as fathomless as the sea—steady as a giant, as solid as Mount Tai.

He looked at her quietly, as if he'd accept whatever she said.

Asher was a man of few words. Years of military life had taught him to be concise. His raw strength gave him the confidence that required no small talk. His personal record was two weeks without speaking a single word, communicating entirely through his Light Brain and encrypted channels.

He was silent, but equally sharp. Asher didn't miss the restless vitality inside Wu Ying—it seemed to be wailing loudly under pressure, a cat-like beast raging helplessly, puffing and hissing as it stretched out its little claws to scratch at people.

According to the original plan, he was here to meet the candidate once and then issue his rejection. He'd expected the potential reaction: she might get slightly agitated, or perhaps want to finalize the marriage plan quickly.

But the plan had changed. This person's eyes carried something different—a spiritedness? More accurately, she was furious, holding a burning flame and ready to hurl it at anyone without a care.

This difference caught his attention. Intuition told him he couldn't simply let her go. He needed to further assess how much of a threat she posed.

Asher pondered. Her temperament didn't quite match the average protection zone resident; she lacked that numbed, submissive docility. Could she be an off-world spy?

Wu Ying had no idea about the dangerous thoughts running through his head. All she could feel right now was immense pressure. No wonder he was a commander—when he stared at someone without moving, it was like interrogating a suspect. It made her rather nervous.

"Um, I'm Wu Ying. The Wu is the one with the bird radical and a small ear—no, wait, it's the one on the right side of the character for 'crow,' and Ying as in 'mists curling out of the mountains.' Er, pleased to meet you."

Wu Ying introduced herself in her usual way, then caught herself mid-sentence when she realized it didn't quite fit the context. She pressed her fingertips together, stammering to a clumsy end.

The suspicion in Asher's mind deepened another notch. Even seated, he was much taller than Wu Ying. He looked down at her, taking in every expression she made without moving a muscle.

"Asher Sicel. Do you really want to get married?" His voice was low, carrying the hoarseness of one who rarely spoke.

Asher suddenly remembered that when he'd arrived, Xiang Lei had mentioned Wu Ying wanted to get married quickly. He hadn't paid it any mind at the time.

Under his heavy gaze, Wu Ying shook her head stiffly, then quickly nodded. Was there actually hope?

Asher rarely showed expression, but his brow twitched slightly. "You want to marry me?" he asked with perfect seriousness.

Wu Ying was speechless for a moment, then came straight out with it: "Yes. I have E-level mental power, I live in Zone Three, Building One, Floor 26 of the Yun 8 Star protection zone, I'm twenty years old, and I want to marry you. Anything else you want to ask?"

"I'm a soldier. My duties keep me busy, and I'm often away from home. I don't talk much. Are you sure you want to marry me?"

Never home and doesn't talk much? Those were major selling points! Wu Ying's eyes lit up. "I'll marry you!"

As long as they got married, he'd have to take responsibility for her. She wanted to go to school, and as long as she could earn the corresponding degree, she could find her own path.