Chapter 44

Shen Shiqian didn't even want to ask Feng Ran where she had gone, which was the topic of this morning. After all, she knew that using the system to erase the location trace would arouse his suspicion, but she still did it, which showed that she no longer cared about his attitude.

He actually wanted to defend her. After all, Feng Ran was a once-in-a-century genius, a rare and special Enigma. It wasn't difficult for her to create an intelligent system that exceeded the limitations of the times at the age of 16. Perhaps her desire to erase her identity wasn't to hide anything, but rather because she was upset and didn't want others to bother her. She could still be a simple, innocent, and good girl if yesterday's events hadn't happened.

Feng Ran's mental state was not good. When he was in pain and went crazy, he would want to hit the people around him to vent his anger. He could try to understand that, but the hatred in his eyes was too terrifying. In that instant, Shen Shiqian was so shocked that he could not move. That was not the kind of hatred that a sixteen-year-old child could have, especially since the target was him.

So the miracle of luck didn't just favor him; Feng Ran was also reborn and returned here. However, her memories recovered slowly, and by the time she could recall and control everything, she had already been forced to come to his side.

This explains why Bai Sha was able to escape successfully. The kidnapping at Paradise was just a self-directed and self-acted scheme by Feng Ran to force him into a state of panic. Feng Ran, who returned from hell, is undoubtedly a more obsessive and crazy woman than in her previous life. If Jiang Lan hadn't been cautious and didn't dare to go all out, she could have tormented herself even more. If she hadn't been so obsessed with him, she might have just faked her death and made Shen Shiqian suffer and regret for the rest of his life. She maliciously used her victim status to control everything behind the scenes and easily manipulated everyone's feelings.

Even so, Shen Shiqian couldn't bring himself to hate Feng Ran. Just as this body remembered the pleasure that Enigma had given him, Shen Shiqian also remembered the hope that Feng Ran had given to the world. It was brilliant and indelible. Even though Feng Ran now carried a world-destroying hatred and was more ruthless than anyone else when he went crazy, Shen Shiqian was like drinking poison to quench his thirst and couldn't quit.

The truth he initially sought was slipping further and further away from him, and the ray of hope he tried to hold onto and protect turned into a more lifeless and cold despair. It even seemed that the embers were no longer willing to offer him anything. The only piece of good news that could be considered a minor one was that Shen Shiqian understood Feng Ran very well.

At least Feng Ran's feelings towards him weren't entirely hatred and disgust. Before leaving Qiliya, Feng Ran and Shen Shiqian didn't know each other, but they had confronted each other more than once regarding that young and beautiful wanted criminal queen.

The title "Queen" was not a derogatory term; it simply reflected Feng Ran's personality at the time. She acted recklessly and arbitrarily, and despite being alone, she was untouchable by the hundreds of millions of people in the empire.

If she wanted, she had all sorts of ways to torment and take revenge on Shen Shiqian without having to compromise herself and depend on him. Of course, it's possible that Feng Ran was brewing an even bigger conspiracy, but Shen Shiqian's intuition told him that she was interested in him. As for whether this interest was good or bad, he would have to judge slowly.

How can he get Feng Ran to accept him and fall in love with him? It's a problem of the century. If he didn't have so many burdens on his shoulders, could he entrust everything to Feng Ran and let her make the decision according to her heart?

But it's not that simple. Even though Shen Shiqian isn't afraid of Feng Ran's hatred and revenge, and might even see it as atonement for his past misjudgment, Feng Ran, though powerful, intelligent, and omnipotent, is also very fragile. She's plagued by chronic physical ailments and her mind is deeply mired in pain, a pain she hasn't escaped in the past or present. In fact, she's more in need of concern than Shen Shiqian himself.

/

After Shen Shiqian recovered, his previous suspension period was over, and he started working at the military headquarters. Feng Ran was on leave at home and, on a whim, followed the robot's instructions to bake butter cookies.

She always picks things up quickly, and the products she makes by following the tutorial step by step are even quite cute. Today is a nice day, and she took a bite, but the taste was just so-so. She couldn't make the taste she wanted.

After being formatted, Little Pink updated its system on its own, becoming two versions more advanced than Little Blue. As a result, it went from being reserved to being lively and talkative again. It spoke in the system's original mechanical female voice, which made Feng Ran feel a little uncomfortable for a moment.

"We used a lot of ingredients to bake. If you can't finish them, you can pack some up and give them away. Handmade pastries are very popular and well-received gifts."

Feng Ran was feeling bored when she heard its suggestion and thought it sounded pretty good. She wondered what Shen Shiqian's expression would be when he saw her at the military headquarters. Although her relationship with Shen Shiqian was not public, Shen Shiqian didn't seem to want to hide it anymore. He never hesitated to let her meet people from the military headquarters, and even picked people to be her bodyguards.

"Okay, then help me pack it up, make it look nice, and while you're at it, contact Mr. Zuo, I'm going out in a bit."

Little Pink even found her a pretty woven tote bag, which divided the cookies into three equal parts, and she also carefully brewed a pot of tea and put it all together in a capsule cup.

Zuo Ling seemed to have moved to live near Shen Shiqian's house. He arrived very quickly, and because of his presence, the check became exceptionally simple. Feng Ran only needed to register his name to enter the military headquarters smoothly. He seemed very excited about coming to the military headquarters and instead of rushing to take Feng Ran to find Shen Shiqian, he enthusiastically introduced the various buildings and facilities of the military headquarters.

He seemed very proud of the empire's powerful military strength, but Feng Ran found it hard to agree. Elite? It looked like a paper tiger with nothing but a show of strength.

After all, this is indeed the case. When the Empire has no external enemies, the main duty of the army is to scout the space environment, discover the appearance of alien species, and then carry them out in a concentrated effort. The appearance of legion-level alien species is always a low probability event. Other ordinary alien species can even kill one or two of the weakest mining team soldiers. That's why they take the opportunity to track down space pirates and strike at rebellious organizations when the interstellar battlefield is quiet.

Many people came here full of hope and longing because of the empire's call, but their daily lives consisted of nothing but training, ideological meetings, and sitting on the sidelines. They rarely had the opportunity to gain military merit and promotion. In this cruel reality, their original high spirits and lofty ambitions were worn down.

"Miss Fengran, that's the training ground. After the daily training missions, soldiers sometimes meet up there to spar. Would you like to go and watch? Sometimes it's quite exciting."

Is this a cultural wasteland where fighting is the only form of entertainment?

Feng Ran had no interest whatsoever, he just glanced at it cooperatively, and then he saw someone walk out of the training ground.

"That's General Lear, commander of the First Army Corps."

Li Er approached them. According to his military rank, he was Zuo Ling's superior. Zuo Ling saluted and introduced him, "This is Miss Feng Ran, the Marshal's guest. We are on our way to the Marshal's office."

Lear: "Is that so? I also have something to discuss with the Marshal. Let me go with you."

Feng Ran didn't speak, but stared at him intently and nodded.

She had never actually met Li Er in person; all her knowledge of him came from Feng Xiqiao's resentful grumbling and the brief information Xing Tong provided when she schemed against Shen Shiqian.

Li Er has a refined appearance, with light blue medium-length hair tied into a small braid and hanging over his shoulders. His eyes are as beautiful as fireflies, emitting a faint green glow in the dark. Outsiders describe him as upright, rigid, and businesslike. His deceptive appearance makes him seem as unapproachable as Shen Shiqian, but in reality, he is a warm-hearted and enthusiastic person.

So that's who it is. So that unlucky guy Li Zhun is his younger brother. I wonder how their brotherly relationship is. Feng Ran felt a little guilty.

She had forgotten whether she had directly confronted the First Legion in the past, because they had only met briefly once. Then, due to Feng Ran's extremely poor physical and mental condition, Luo Le managed to send him away from Qilia. She vaguely forgot about what happened at the princess's coming-of-age ceremony.

Feng Ran was actually very reluctant to go out at the time, but she had already married Basil and become a member of the noble Sleica family. She couldn't refuse to attend such a grand event as the princess's coming-of-age ceremony. Basil was pulled away to socialize, and she just wanted to get some fresh air away from the crowd, but she didn't know that someone had pushed her into the pool from behind.

It was winter then, and the snowflakes melted into the pool water, making it icy cold. Feng Ran could swim, but in that instant, the overwhelming grievances and pain in her heart swept away everything. She felt it was difficult to even lift her arm, and she was filled with despair. She selfishly wanted to die, but was rescued by Lear who happened to be passing by.

The general's winter uniform included a gray-black cloak draped over his shoulders, with a faux fur collar. Feng Ran was wrapped inside, and she felt warm, perhaps because she was feeling cold. She looked up at Li Er, whose fluorescent green eyes were clearly cold, but he smiled gently at her.

Zuo Ling and Li Er chatted casually for a while, and soon they arrived at the door of Shen Shiqian's office. Li Er gently patted her shoulder: "Stand back a little. The air conditioner vent in the Marshal's office is installed by the door. Every time you open the door, a gust of wind blows out and it's really cool."

Feng Ran obediently hid a little behind him. Sure enough, when the electronic door opened, a gust of wind blew out, blowing Zuo Ling's bangs all over, but he still stood firmly. Feng Ran followed them in, thinking irritably about how to poach Li Er to his side.

Shen Shiqian's office layout was similar to his study at home, except for a few more personal computers and more filing cabinets. He looked up and saw Feng Ran, and was surprised for a moment: "Ranran, what brings you here?"

Feng Ran: "I came to see you."

That was her original plan, but seeing Shen Shiqian's cheerful expression, she felt a little annoyed. She took out a biscuit from her handbag and placed it on his desk. "This is a gift."

Zuo Ling couldn't help but tease the two of them: "Oh my, Miss Feng Ran is so virtuous."

The next second, the virtuous Miss Fengran he had mentioned took out a bag of cookies and handed it to Lear with a smile: "This is for you, thank you for bringing me here."

Shen Shiqian's lips pursed into a straight line. Li Er wasn't completely oblivious. He looked at Shen Shiqian, whose mood had instantly shifted from sunny to cloudy, and then at the eager Feng Ran. He hesitated for a moment, then politely declined, saying, "You're too kind. I haven't done anything, and I feel unworthy of such a favor."

It's just face-changing, right? Anyone can do that.

Feng Ran immediately burst into tears, her eyes wide and red, glistening with tears and looking exceptionally pitiful. Her shoulders trembled as she gripped the bag of cookies.

Tears are truly a deadly weapon. Shen Shiqian knew perfectly well that Feng Ran was deliberately putting on an act for him, but he still couldn't bear to see Feng Ran cry. Even if the emotions were fake, the tears were real. Each tear hit Shen Shiqian's heart with a thousand-pound weight. Her aggrieved and vulnerable appearance was enough to make people forget all her faults and grant her any request.

Shen Shiqian was upset and sighed, "Take it."

With her face covered in smeared flowers, Feng Ran blinked away her tears and smiled at Li Er again: "He has nothing to say, so please accept it. I also have some red wine and ginger tea here, which goes perfectly with the biscuits."

Shen Shiqian: Myocardial infarction.