Chapter 6

This marriage had to happen. She couldn't waste her time in the protection zone. Just being there for a while had made her feel her spirit withering in the numbness of confinement.

Asher gazed at her sparkling eyes and radiant smile, then slowly nodded. If this truly was an exceptional situation, it was better to keep her close.

"Alright."

With that, Asher lowered his head and operated his Light Brain. Wu Ying watched his slender fingers tap in the air, and almost instantly, a message arrived on her own Light Brain: "Your marriage proposal has been approved and confirmed. The marriage registration is being processed."

A pleasant surprise!

Shock, joy, bewilderment, and even a sense of confusion swirled in her eyes. She hadn't really held out much hope—why had he agreed?

Her delight was written all over her face, but the confusion in her eyes was equally obvious to Asher. He stood up and avoided her gaze. "Let's go."

Huh? Go where?

Wu Ying stood up, puzzled, and followed him. As they walked out, they were met by the eager gazes of Director Xiang and Ivy. Director Xiang's eyes darted between the two of them, while Ivy stared directly at Asher.

"Commander, please allow us to observe and track your marital status. Your compatibility rate is unprecedented—I believe it will surely—"

Asher raised his hand to cut him off. That wasn't the reason he had agreed, and there was no way he'd let anyone pry into his private life.

"Sir, the disparity between you and your wife is too obvious. The institute's observation might be helpful for both of you," Ivy chimed in, her tone tinged with reverence and fear.

Wu Ying had been quietly standing behind, but at the sound of her voice, she quickly moved to Asher's side and said, trying to sound casual, "He already said no. Don't push it."

Asher turned to look at her, a flicker of something dark passing through his eyes, but he didn't deny it.

The guard captain, who had been about to explain, paused. "..." He hadn't heard the commander say anything, though he knew Asher's intent was to refuse.

He cast a somewhat strange glance at her, watching her stand beside Asher with such a natural air, and for a moment, the scene seemed utterly surreal.

Just moments ago, at the door, he'd heard Director Xiang exclaim in excitement that the commander had agreed, and it had felt absurd. Others might not know, but he knew Asher had initially intended to refuse.

The outcome had taken everyone by surprise. He even wondered if the commander had gone mad.

As he was thinking, Asher emerged with the person in tow, a short, small figure behind him that could be completely hidden by Asher's frame.

Wu Ying's words made Ivy's mouth drop open in shock, and it was clear she wanted to say something but held back. Wu Ying smiled, pressing her lips together in satisfaction. Then, a thought struck her, and she looked up at Asher, who happened to be looking at her as well. She flashed him a sweet, obedient smile.

"Let's go."

Asher didn't say much, just led Wu Ying away. The marriage registration was already complete, and the identity chip would be updated accordingly.

When he said go, no one dared stop them. Meng Ke followed without a word, and Wu Ying took a step behind, only coming to a halt in front of the hover car.

"Am I really just leaving with you like this?"

Was this how marriage worked in this era? Wu Ying wasn't sure, since she had almost no memories from the original body, only the Federation language was ingrained in her muscle memory. She could only judge things based on her own understanding.

Asher turned to look at her, a silent question in his eyes. When no answer came, he asked, "Do you have something else to take care of?"

"I need to go home and tell my parents. If I just leave, they won't even know."

Although Wu Ying didn't really consider them her true parents, she felt she should say something. This marriage felt so unreal, like she'd thrown out a random resume, been called for an interview, just stood there doing a self-introduction, and the examiner said, "You're hired."

Now the process had reached the point where the boss said, "Our office is at XXX, pack up and get ready to move."

It was like being pushed onto a stage, the urgency of finding a job so overwhelming that she almost forgot she was getting married.

"Alright, I'll take you there."

Asher agreed, and the three of them boarded the hover car. The military vehicle looked far sturdier than the one Ivy had used to pick her up, with all kinds of panels inside that looked intimidating.

"Do you want to come meet them with me?"

Suddenly, a strong sense of dissonance hit her. If this were her actual parents, they'd probably want to kill someone. A daughter goes out for a while and comes back saying she's already married, and now with just a word, she's leaving with someone.

Asher naturally nodded. He'd been careless—he should have thought to meet the people who had raised Wu Ying.

He had expected to gain something, but the result was even more surprising. Wu Minggang and Xia Li were the most ordinary people you could imagine. Silent and introverted, their gazes toward him held the same familiar fear and confusion.

When they learned of the marriage, they only stammered out, "Take care of each other." Wu Ying watched the barely concealed shock on their faces, and her heart seemed to settle back into calm.

Xia Li didn't dare look at Asher. Her gaze flitted timidly toward Wu Ying, as if she wanted to say something, felt she should say something, but the jumbled thoughts rolled around in her head and she couldn't find the words.

She didn't know what kind of concern her daughter wanted.

Wu Minggang was the same. He wanted to say, "If you ever run into trouble, you can come to me," but then he thought, Wu Ying had married a big official, and if she had real trouble, he wouldn't be able to help anyway.

Sometimes, indifference was just a mask for helplessness.

Wu Ying looked at the two, noticing their awkwardness, but what could she say?

She went to her room and looked around, eventually just packing a few clothes to take with her. She had never belonged here, and there was nothing here worth keeping. The identical bedroom was like countless others, produced from the same template.

The protection zone grew smaller behind her, shrinking from a point to nothing, until the entire Yun 8 Star turned into a black speck and vanished into the distance.

Wu Ying sat in Asher's escort ship, unable to tear her gaze from the bizarrely beautiful starfield ahead. The universe unfolded before her, so vast that she couldn't tell where she was.

"Careful."

Asher suddenly leaned over and pulled her aside. He pressed something, and a white panel rose over the window in front of her, blocking the view outside.

The dreamlike starfield disappeared from her sight. Wu Ying blinked, a wave of dizziness washing over her brain, and it seemed like colorful little figures were dancing in her eyes.

"My head hurts." Wu Ying stumbled back a few steps. Asher quickly grabbed her arm—it was so tiny that his hand wrapped around it completely.

The warmth of his palm made goosebumps tingle up his arm instantly.

"Stand still." He let go of her as if shaking off something unpleasant, his hand immediately moving behind his back.

Wu Ying had just managed to shake off the dizziness when Asher pressed her down, a firm force pinning her to the floor. She finally steadied herself.

"Why did that happen?" She didn't understand, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Asher's face was cold, and he didn't want to answer. He turned to walk away.

Wu Ying happened to be someone who didn't take hints, so she quickly tried to grab him. Seeing her reach out, Asher sped up, tossing a line over his shoulder: "Meng Ke, you explain."

Wu Ying turned to look at the man who was about to follow, her eyes innocent. "Meng Ke? Hello there."

"Hello, madam." Meng Ke nodded amicably and explained what had just happened. The principle was a bit complicated, but in short, everyone who enters space for the first time goes through an adaptation phase, and the lower one's mental power is, the stronger the adverse reaction.

Asher had pulled her aside because he remembered this.

Wu Ying nodded thoughtfully. What could she say? He might be more gentle and attentive than she had imagined—after all, not everyone would think of that in the moment.

Since it was Asher's personal escort ship, Wu Ying could wander freely. She was married to Asher now, and by law, her security clearance and authority on the ship were equal to his. She couldn't go to the deck, but everywhere else was open to her.

There was no turning back now—she could only go forward. Once Wu Ying completely set aside the matter of her original family, she began energetically exploring the escort ship. There were too many unknowns, and she needed to absorb information like a sponge.

At first, she tried to pester Asher with questions, but then she suddenly noticed that her access to the interstellar network had expanded. Information that was previously unsearchable for protection zone residents now appeared before her.

An artificial information cocoon—that was what had trapped the people of the protection zone.

...

A few days later, the escort ship finally landed on Blue Star. Wu Ying barely had a chance to take in her old hometown before being rushed off to meet people. Asher was busy, and so were his parents. They met in a short gap between their schedules, which felt rushed.

But clearly, only she felt that way; no one else cared. Who would have thought that when she accompanied Asher to Blue Star for his duty report, she wouldn't meet his parents in person, but instead attend an online video conference? The agenda: expressing disapproval of Ms. Wu Ying joining the family.

Throughout the meeting, Wu Ying could only keep a straight face and silently rage. Then she complained, "All interstellar people are crazy!"

You couldn't say they disrespected her—they never said a single insulting word, even addressing her as "Ms. Wu Ying" the whole time, and ending with "Please forgive any offense."

What could Wu Ying say? She clenched her fists in anger, feeling like she might lunge across the screen. But then Asher turned to look at her, and quicker than you could say jack, her eyes were brimming with tears, so full that she looked like she might cry any second.

She put on a perfect performance of a timid, terrified daughter-in-law, and it seemed to work well, because her mother-in-law, Ming Yu, immediately stopped talking. Her father-in-law stayed as quiet as a ghost the whole time.

The meeting ended with Asher saying, "You don't need to meddle in my affairs. That's final."

Then, at rocket speed, they flew to Yuanji Star Beta. He gave her access to everything in the house and then hurried off, saying there was an emergency in the war zone.

That left Wu Ying alone in the huge house, like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar. She tiptoed around at first, but soon, all that filled her mind was pure joy.

In the morning, facing the sun...

"Good morning, Master. Today is sunny, temperature 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. Suitable for wearing short sleeves, dresses..."

"Pause. Jiujiu, report the greenhouse camera feed for today."

Wu Ying shuffled to the floor-to-ceiling window in her slippers, pulled open the massive curtains, and stretched lazily in the sunlight, raising her arms.

"What a nice day. I'm full of energy!"

Hands on her hips, voice rising at the end, a bright smile on her face—every strand of hair in the sunlight seemed to radiate ease and joy.

Look at her now—a girl so full of life!

She stood in the middle of the living room, lights coming on as the robot butler hovered nearby, looking as if everything was up to her.

Wu Ying thought for a moment, then sent a message to Asher: "Can I do whatever I want with the house?"

A moment later, he replied, "Whatever you like."

Okay, got it.

Immediately, Wu Ying dove headfirst into a massive shopping spree. People don't just adapt to their environment—they shape it.

Curtains? The color's ugly. Replace them! Sofa? Too hard. Replace it! Lights? Not elegant at all. Replace them! Oh, and of course, that bed with the heavy masculine vibe. Replace it!

Can't find a style she likes? Wu Ying just custom-orders!

After all that doing, Wu Ying was now lounging on a soft sofa, clutching a glass of milk, swiping through her Light Brain. She was checking the course catalog.

Last night, she'd registered for university courses and paid a hefty registration fee. And this was just the registration—if she eventually picked a college and major, she'd have to pay tuition too.

Terrifying. But Wu Ying wasn't looking at the bills anymore. Asher had plenty of money, and after marriage, her account was linked directly to his, no transfer needed, so she could run wild without a care.

Yet somehow, the bills kept piling up, and Asher never so much as raised a question. Wu Ying smacked her fist into her palm. A generous man, indeed. She hadn't misjudged him!

Wu Ying was picking courses now, overthinking it so much that all ten toes were practically smoking. She curled up on the sofa, feet propped on the armrest, toes wiggling in sync with her furrowed brow.

It was all so complicated. She'd only recently learned that the world didn't just run on nutrient solutions. The outrageously priced fruits and vegetables weren't conjured out of thin air—they were grown by planters in cultivation bases through scientific breeding.

Damn it. If they could grow vegetables, why didn't anyone grow flowers?

She had never come across a flower shop online. She'd assumed something so inherently romantic as flowers might be monopolized by a select few. But after searching extensively, she confirmed that there wasn't a single flower shop in the entire world, nor a single planter who grew them.