Chapter 1

"One million seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand nine hundred and thirty-six."

"Huh? What?"

In her drowsy state, Feng Ran felt as if she heard some sound. Her head was tingling and numb. She blinked sleepily and sat up from her desk.

"Master, go to bed if you want to sleep."

The terminal controller screen in front of her was split in two: one half showed the iterative code she had been reviewing before falling asleep, and the other half featured a colorful pixelated figure waving at her on the screen.

Feng Ran gently touched the sensor behind her left ear. The metal plate, almost embedded in her skin, was getting warm. As she touched it, the sound signal became intermittent, and she also experienced some tinnitus.

The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and a gentle breeze was blowing, making the space in front of the desk warm and cozy. For Fengran, who had stayed up all night, it was indeed a very pleasant sleeping environment.

She rekindled her mental energy, and the environment around her suddenly became clear and noisy. The pressure in her mind produced a fine, dense, needle-like pain, which quickly woke her up from her drowsiness.

"Have you finished the statistics?"

The sensor's temperature dropped, and the sound returned from the bottom of the terminal controller, the pixelated figure's voice filled with pride: "Of course, it's 3.729 seconds faster than last time."

"The Sherlock system contains a total of 1,728,936 planets. Currently, everything is stable. Planet 4601, which is of special concern, is about to fully enter the cold season. The pressure inside the planet's core is increasing, and the next violent movement is predicted to occur in two months."

Feng Ran rubbed his temples, closed the code window on the controller panel, looked at the remaining pixelated figure on the screen, and adjusted its colorful hues to bright yellow.

"good."

After tidying up the messy mechanical instruments on the table, Feng Ran lay down on the bed, feeling extremely tired. However, he couldn't fall asleep after relaxing, especially since he had to meet with Luo Le in the afternoon, and he knew her face would look as bad as a dead person.

Her headache seemed to be getting worse, and she felt it would be better to catch up on some sleep.

Fengran has always had poor sleep quality. Even when she tries to catch up on sleep, she can't sleep soundly and wakes up with an even worse headache. If she could, she really wouldn't want to go out, but unfortunately, it's not up to her to decide.

Over the weekend, Feng Linye went out to play with his friends, while Feng Xiqiao was away on a business trip. Only Feng Ran and Qin Xin were left in the huge house.

As soon as Feng Ran came downstairs, Qin Xin eagerly greeted him.

"Nothing good is likely to come of this," Feng Ran thought with annoyance, but he still let the young and beautiful Omega woman press him down onto the sofa and sit steadily.

"Ranran, how was your nap? I was going to call you down for lunch, but you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to wake you. Are you hungry now? I'll ask the kitchen to make you something to eat."

Qin Xin affectionately touched Feng Ran's face and looked at her with amusement: "I don't know who you took after when you sleep, there are red marks all over your face. How about Mom changes your sheets to silk?"

"Okay, whatever you say."

Qin Xin tidied her hair with satisfaction. "Ranran, do you have any plans for this afternoon?"

Feng Ran took a sandwich from the tray brought over by the nanny robot and chewed on it listlessly, while Qin Xin had already taken out a comb to style her hair.

"I made plans to go out with Basil this afternoon, but he didn't tell me what we were going to do."

Qin Xin touched her face again. The faint scent of roses in the air tickled Feng Ran's nose, but her heart remained calm and undisturbed.

"Dad has found you a very good marriage partner. Can you cancel your plans with Young Master Sleika today and go see Mr. Shen instead?"

Mr. Shen, who is even more powerful than basil...

"good."

Feng Ran didn't want to get too involved. The more she cared about this kind of thing, the more miserable she seemed. How much worse could things get? After all, Qin Xin had even put on a show for this "Mr. Shen".

After returning to his room and changing into clothes suitable for a blind date, Feng Ran glanced at the intelligence and information Xing Tong had collected.

Shen Shiqian, 28 years old, a double SSS-level Alpha, born into a noble and meritorious family, is the newly appointed Grand Marshal of the Army and the youngest marshal in the history of the Empire. He has just returned from the front lines after eliminating the alien race and is currently on leave. He is perfect in every aspect, and his status and position are indeed incomparable to the young master of the Sleica family.

Basil wanted to use twenty energy stars from the Sleica family as a "dowry" to get her, but Shen Shiqian only asked to meet her, and Feng Xiqiao and Qin Xin were eager to send her away.

Feng Ran sent a message to Luo Le saying that she had something to do today and couldn't make it to the appointment. She quickly received a barrage of replies from the other party, all saying "No" and "Not allowed". She could imagine Luo Le's anxious face turning red through the screen.

But he didn't ask her why, which suggests he knew the reason perfectly well.

Although Feng Ran didn't like basil, she couldn't say she hated it either. As for the high and mighty Marshal Shen who suddenly appeared and specifically asked to see her, she gloomily hated this pedophile.

/

The private rooms in the upscale club are clean, bright, spacious, and comfortable, with a subtle botanical fragrance that creates a calming atmosphere.

Feng Ran looked at Mr. Shen sitting opposite him. His back was straight, his white uniform was impeccably worn, his features were deep and delicate, and his temperament was cold. His stunning appearance was in no way inferior to Qin Xin, who was known as the "Number One Beauty" back then.

Beautiful, noble, and powerful—that was Feng Ran's first impression of Shen Shiqian. But setting that aside, Feng Ran felt a chill and unease as she looked at her reflection in Shen Shiqian's deep blue pupils.

Perhaps it was because they were both Alphas, she thought to herself in a weak and casual way.

Feng Ran is also an Alpha. Although she has not yet completed her second differentiation, her physical test report and pheromone level show that she is currently an Alpha and this will likely remain true after her second differentiation.

It's not surprising that Alphas instinctively repel each other, given their nature; they are too competitive, and traits like pheromones and mental strength either absolutely suppress or mutually repel each other. However, as interstellar technology has evolved, it has become more tolerant of all sexual orientations. While Alphas are rare, it's not a big deal; the Empire's principle is to avoid making exceptions.

A subtle bitterness slowly replaced the scent of the plant fragrance. Feng Ran felt that he was being a scoundrel, but the man's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end. She hesitated for a moment but could not come to a conclusion, so she hastily concluded that she did not like this person.

The man placed his hands neatly folded on the table, his deep blue eyes unfathomable as he looked at Feng Ran. He introduced himself, "Hello, I am Shen Shiqian."

Feng Ran felt a headache coming on. The physical pain, and even the disorder caused by the pressure, made her feel like her heart was hurting too. She deliberately avoided Shen Shiqian's scrutinizing gaze, slowed her breathing, and replied calmly, "Hello, I am Feng Ran."

In order to please Shen Shiqian, Qin Xin painstakingly dressed up Feng Ran before she went out today. In Feng Ran's memory, this was probably the first time, because Qin Xin did not like her appearance.

They actually look very similar. Before Qin Xin retired from acting, she was a traditional Omega beauty who maintained her top status solely based on her looks. Feng Ran perfectly inherited her mother's excellent genes and appearance. As an Alpha, her bone structure is even more prominent, with bright, delicate, and noble features. She is arguably even better than Qin Xin and has never lacked suitors since childhood.

She looks a lot like Qin Xin, but not at all like Feng Xiqiao. However, the couple was particularly sensitive about this, which made Feng Ran's existence in the Feng family delicate.

Shen Shiqian appeared very polite. Of course, everyone who approached her because they were attracted by Feng Ran's beauty was also very polite. She often had to spend a lot of energy being polite to those people. However, Shen Shiqian's identity was more special than theirs, so she chose to remain silent as much as possible.

"You're still in high school, right?"

The person opposite her seemed to have been preparing for a long time before finally asking the question, and their tone sounded like a routine, businesslike interrogation. But in order not to appear perfunctory, Feng Ran still managed to force a sweet smile and obediently answered, "Yes, I'm in Saint Ya, currently a sophomore."

The conversation stalled again, and Shen Shiqian fell into deep thought. Logically, out of politeness and to avoid awkwardness, Feng Ran should have been more generous and enthusiastic, and found some more topics for the other party to explore further.

But not long after they met, she already felt annoyed and tired. In addition, she felt unwell. It wasn't the mental discomfort caused by her subjective impression of Shen Shiqian, but a strange heaviness in her body. She wondered which nerve had died to cause this symptom.

Ugh, so annoying. To be honest, she didn't want to try so hard to snag this rich husband for Feng Xiqiao at all. Feng Ran thought she could accept it calmly, but seeing Shen Shiqian's eyes, she still felt disgusted.

A scrutinizing, appraising, unmoving gaze.

Do you want to marry me?

Marshal Shen's time seemed to be very precious. He went straight to the point about the meeting, his expression cold and stern. This seemed to be a matter that he needed to consider carefully, but he still chose Feng Ran and asked for her opinion.

Feng Ran looked at him and felt a stinging pain in her eyes. An inexplicable sense of irritation had lingered since the first time she met Shen Shiqian. What good would asking for her opinion do? Did she even have the right to choose?

She gave him a surprised smile and answered slowly but firmly, "I do."

Being so sincere that not a single flaw could be seen was one of the ways Feng Ran survived in the Feng family.

But Shen Shiqian's expression was rather unpleasant. He had a stern face as if she had cheated him out of money, which made Feng Ran feel confused. She couldn't understand what this person was thinking. He was the one who wanted to marry her, he was the one who suggested meeting her, and he was the one who gave her a cold shoulder after she agreed.

She silently cursed Shen Shiqian a hundred times in her heart, but Feng Ran's expression remained perfectly composed. The man, finally recovering from his shock, looked at her and continued:

"Then I hope you can move in with me before we get married. We need time to develop our relationship."

Chest tightness, dizziness, nausea.

An unexpected, yet not surprising, request.

She nodded: "I understand."

Ultimately, does their marriage even need love? It's really strange. Feng Ran glanced at Shen Shiqian again. He was sipping coffee at the club, his demeanor extremely elegant. Was he the adored star of the empire? It's such a disconnect.

She cut the dessert with her knife, glanced at the decorations on the cake, and her throbbing nerves slowly realized that it was chocolate.

She shaved the chocolate decorations aside and started looking for fruit in the layers of the sponge cake.