Chapter 49

When Shen Shiqian woke up the next day, he was already late for work. His whole body was sore and weak, and every bite mark on his body exuded a strong smell of alcohol. The suffocating, explosive pain was still in his mind. He had no memory of the time he was in a daze and felt a sense of disorientation about the memories he had to face.

His terminal was retrieved by the robot butler and placed on the bedside table. Shen Shiqian reached over and looked at the messages. Feng Ran had used the excuse that she had other special work to handle to brush off the request for leave from the military. She was becoming more and more skilled at controlling her own terminal. The other unread messages were from Xisen's instructions about Feng Ran's condition.

Shen Shiqian got up and got out of bed, feeling as if his legs were being torn apart. He felt that he was the one who should be carefully instructed. When Feng Ran went crazy, it was really unbearable for ordinary people. His body was still in pain, as if it had been rubbed raw. The lingering stimulation brought out a dampness.

They were in a sorry state, covered in mud.

He suppressed his discomfort, changed his clothes, and went out of the room. Feng Ran had woken up early and had set up a deck chair in front of the French windows on the balcony, where he was lying quietly sunbathing.

Although the robot had cleaned it, Shen Shiqian still found it difficult to look directly at the floor-to-ceiling window and stood far away watching it.

Feng Ran squinted and sat up unsteadily. "You're awake? How are you feeling?"

She looks gentle and well-behaved, completely different from yesterday.

Shen Shiqian stood cautiously to the side, and it took him a while to accept the situation. "I still feel a little uncomfortable."

His abdomen was bloated and painful deep inside. The robot couldn't help him clean it, and he couldn't do it himself either, because his sphincter was stretched wide and his intestinal wall was protruding. It was so sensitive and irritating that it hurt terribly to the touch. He didn't even dare to sit down now.

Shen Shiqian's fleeting vulnerability pleased Feng Ran, who stopped rocking in her recliner and stood up. "Really? I'm so sorry."

It's natural to get hurt if you're treated roughly without any prior preparation, but Feng Ran can't guarantee she won't do it again next time. If Shen Shiqian really can't stand it, then she'll have to ask Kobana for some relaxant for him to use. But given the dosage he gets in his brothel, it'll probably be too late to close up after he uses it.

Shen Shiqian: "Can we talk now?"

Feng Ran: "Of course, ask whatever you want."

Shen Shiqian took a deep breath, "When did you regain your memories?"

"Two days before you sent it to my lab."

"You're the one who let the space pirates escape."

"You know the answer already?"

"Why?"

"I'm the one who let you catch me, so of course I can just release you whenever I want?"

Feng Ran found it amusing and approached him step by step. "Marshal Shen, are you interrogating me? So what if I let him escape? Are you going to arrest me?"

Shen Shiqian instinctively felt his legs go weak at her assertive aura and absentmindedly apologized with difficulty: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

Feng Ran stepped on his knee, her toes slipping between his legs to spread them apart, gently pushing them towards his groin. Her hand pressed against Shen Shiqian's now loose and soft belly through his clothes, as if to help him review yesterday's position, which was particularly wicked. "It's early in the morning, clean up the smell and don't go into heat."

Shen Shiqian gritted his teeth and endured it, biting his lips until they were red and moist, a flush spreading across his entire face. Feng Ran was still using his knee to push against him, and the unease exposed by his legs being spread reminded him of yesterday's tricky confinement, making the pain in his abdomen even more intense.

"Feng Ran...don't do this..."

"You're begging me?"

"Ha... I beg you..."

Feng Ran stepped away from him and sat on the sofa. Shen Shiqian had ruined another pair of pants. He had managed to endure it, but unfortunately, they were still covered in the smell of rum from the previous day. The pheromones from the intimate contact made him feel a little hot. He wanted to go back to his room to change his clothes, but Feng Ran stopped him.

"Don't rush off. I still have questions for you. You can't just ask them and then leave me hanging. Don't you think that's going too far?"

"No... I just wanted to change my clothes."

Feng Ran lied through his teeth: "What's wrong with these clothes? They all smell like me. Hmm, did you steal my clothes? It's like an Omega building a nest."

Shen Shiqian knew she was deliberately making things difficult, but he still found it hard to speak. She was perfectly fine just now, and he didn't know why Feng Ran had changed like this again. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with this person.

What do you want to ask?

Just as Feng Ran was about to speak, the terminal on her wrist vibrated. Without thinking much, she casually opened it. There were three messages. The first two were reports from Jiang Lan and Fran that she had put aside. The latest one was from Qin Xin, telling her to prepare to go home for Feng Linye's eighteenth birthday party.

Imperial citizens reach adulthood at eighteen, but the coming-of-age ceremony is reserved for nineteen. These two different time points are imbued with the meaning of bridging the past and the future, so the birthday banquets in these two years are held with extra grandeur.

Feng Ran had finally felt a sense of rebirth, but the invitation instantly pulled her back to reality. She didn't reply and instead checked the messages of the other two people.

Jiang Lan has successfully disguised himself and infiltrated Franklin Star, but at this time the Society of Light has not yet been established. Feng Ran has no intention of being the first to take the lead. He just wants Jiang Lan to adapt well, observe the situation, and give him a push when necessary.

Fran, on the other hand, was just whining for no reason. As usual, he posted about his recent research projects and experimental progress. The research was about developing a heterologous inhibitor assigned to him by Feng Ran. Because of the lack of test subjects, the progress was slow. Then, at the end, he whined that he wanted to go back to Kempe. Feng Ran ruthlessly rejected him and sent him a message saying "keep up the good work."

Feng Ran looked up: "Has Feng Xiqiao contacted you?"

Shen Shiqian: "No."

A bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong.

She laughed happily: "Oh, okay, then let's go on a trip for a few days."

Who would want to deal with that family? Seriously.

Shen Shiqian: "Is this all you wanted to ask me?"

He originally thought Feng Ran would ask more harsh questions, like the mocking one in the final video, asking him if he had ever regretted it, what he felt when 4601 was about to collide with Kiria, why he helped the Empire smear her, and whether his persistence was justice or rights.

But Fengran didn't seem to care.

In fact, Feng Ran didn't really care. Perhaps the Empire misunderstood her, but she didn't. She had always been at the absolute top of the information warfare, knew the Empire inside and out, and once she did something, she did it. Trying to explain would only turn into a bunch of lies told for the sake of appearances. She didn't indulge in the past and seek comfort for herself.

The person has already died once; what's the point of trying to make amends or bring them back now?

Feng Ran wasn't interested in why Shen Shiqian liked her, because she felt it was too complicated to understand, just like she didn't understand why Qin Xin married Feng Xiqiao, or why Luo Le fell in love with her at first sight.

She didn't care about the impact of the impression or the attraction of the pheromones; she only cared about whether she could use and control everything to become the dominant party.

Feng Ran replied listlessly, "Hmm, I'm not interested for a minute now. Do you have anything to say?"

Shen Shiqian had many questions he wanted to ask her. He wanted to ask her why she didn't clarify the space station explosion incident and the Franklin Star incident. He wanted to ask her if the various energy stars that appeared in interstellar space were trying to find a way to avoid the collision with 4601. He wanted to ask her why she stopped struggling and resisting and resolutely chose death.

He wanted to know all of these things, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.

He was afraid to hear the answer. He was afraid to hear Feng Ran say that it was because of his shot that she had completely lost hope in the world, and that he had pushed her into the abyss with his own hands.

Shen Shiqian shook his head bitterly, "You want to go out, but where do you want to go?"

Feng Ran started browsing the StarNet with his terminal, muttering to himself: "What are some of the more popular tourist destinations lately? I've never really liked the winters in Kempe. This is my first time traveling so far, so I should probably make some preparations in advance."

Shen Shiqian's patience was nearing its limit, and he remained frozen in place. Seeing that he did not respond, Feng Ran walked over again.

"Are you feeling unwell? Let me help you."

"No...no need."

Feng Ran looked at him with piercing eyes, "Are you sure you want to reject me? I'll be heartbroken, is that okay?"

"I mean, I don't feel bad... I'm much better."

"Yeah?"

Feng Ran pressed accurately on his aching abdomen, the pressure from his fingertips spreading downwards like a trail of flames. He finally couldn't bear it any longer and became even more viscous, and a rich, bittersweet aroma filled the air.

Feng Ran, who had started the fire, seemed to only want to tease him. He put his hands behind his back and said, "Lying is not a good habit, but if you don't want it, then forget it. Just remember to make time for your trip, since you can't go to the military headquarters in this condition anyway, can you?"

Since she already has him in her grasp, she has plenty of time to completely tame Shen Shiqian.

Leaving Shen Shiqian, who was starting to feel unwell again, Feng Ran returned to her room and asked Xing Tong to provide her with several travel options. Looking at the scenes in the expansion pack, she finally felt a little better, since she was still looking forward to traveling.

The day they officially left home was the day before Feng Linye's eighteenth birthday banquet. Because Feng Ran had not replied to Qin Xin's messages, Feng Xiqiao mustered up her courage and asked Shen Shiqian.

Shen Shiqian's private starship had just left Qilia when Feng Ran, enjoying the nuts Xiaofen had peeled for him while looking at messages on his terminal, said without looking up, "Just tell him I'm very sick and you're taking me out to relax. Don't listen to any of his nonsense."

Shen Shiqian replied as instructed, then looked at Feng Ran, who was clearly in a good mood, excited and expectant, and asked, "Do you hate them?"

Feng Ran smiled mysteriously: "Don't you hate it?"

Shen Shiqian remained silent.

Of course he hated her; he genuinely hated everyone who ruined Fengran. But because he was one of them, he had neither the right nor the courage to avenge her.

Feng Ran: "But there are plenty of people who hate them. Love and hate are unpredictable things. Why don't you hate them?"

When Feng Ran is in a stable and good mood, she can occasionally chat with Shen Shiqian like an old friend. The conversation always revolves around the little things that have happened between them, making Shen Shiqian feel as if Feng Ran doesn't actually dislike him at all. It's just that she doesn't intentionally dislike anyone, and similarly, she doesn't like anyone either.

Shen Shiqian knew what she was referring to. After all, they had once admired each other briefly. The Empire wanted to poach Feng Ran, and Feng Ran also wanted to poach Shen Shiqian. She asked him openly in front of everyone, without any attempt to hide it, "Do you know that your current status comes from betrayal?"

Shen Shiqian answered her firmly that he knew.

From that point on, there was no longer any possibility for them; they could only go in opposite directions.

In an interstellar battlefield where no Legion-level aliens appear, damage is actually very low. The excuse of taking a detour to avoid a wormhole only to be ambushed by space pirates and having one's starship shot down in the chaos still makes Feng Ran laugh. But because this is an official announcement from the Empire, everyone can only remain silent, solemnly mourning and remembering Old Shen Jue who sacrificed himself in this accident.

Feng Ran couldn't understand why Shen Shiqian would accept such betrayal from a superior, and even be willing to give up his loyalty for it.

Shen Shiqian looked straight at Feng Ran: "Because I have something more important than hatred, something I want to achieve."

Feng Ran looked back at him frankly: "Ha, you're the one who should get your head checked."

She tossed the terminal in her hand in front of Shen Shiqian, resting her elbow on Xiaofen's smooth, round head. On the terminal was a long post from Xisen, who hadn't been able to come along. Half of it was a condemnation of Feng Ran's passionate indulgence. As Shen Shiqian's private doctor, he had developed stomach problems from the various ailments that the two of them occasionally exhibited. Especially now that he also had to work as a proctologist, it was practically a form of personal bullying against him.

"I'm really fed up with you. Why do you tell him everything?"

Shen Shiqian turned off the terminal, his ears feeling a little hot: "If you don't want to see it, just block him."

Feng Ran crunched on a pine nut: "He sent me eight boxes of condoms."

Shen Shiqian: ...