Ring ring—

The moment the personal terminal went off, someone hung up on me.

Xia Shizhao's hand, which had been sticking out of the blanket, was quickly pulled back under the covers. Still half asleep, he asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Who is it..."

Ye Qiuling glanced at the name and said emotionlessly, "Harassment call."

Then he coaxed the person who wanted to see the message to fall asleep.

He looked down at the person in his arms, noticing the deep and shallow red marks on their neck, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

We will never be apart now.

She clicked her tongue impatiently as the personal terminal started ringing again.

He gently touched Xia Shizhao's ear and said softly, "I'll go cook, you can sleep a little longer."

"Um……"

Xia Shizhao was exhausted from staying up too late and drifted off to sleep.

Once fully awake, Xia Shizhao sat up with a start. What harassing calls? Her personal computer couldn't receive any harassing calls at all. She glanced at the message.

I touched the recessed area next to the bed; I don't know how long that spot had been cold.

Fearing that Ye Qiuling and Qi Mo would fight, Xia Shizhao hastily tidied himself up and went downstairs.

I found a peaceful scene below.

I was somewhat surprised.

Qi Mo, with her silver hair, sat quietly on the sofa, drinking tea, while Ye Qiuling sat on another sofa, reading a newspaper.

Let's go back a month to when they had a picnic with Liu Ruxuan.

Qi Mo approached her again, looking directly at her with her clear eyes and saying, "Can you be my partner?"

Merfolk Star doesn't place much importance on bloodlines. The position of king is held by the most capable. Qi Mo is the next king. Although her surname is Qi, she is indeed a member of another branch of the Merfolk race.

Even if they are related by blood, they are separated by ten or twenty generations.

Therefore, she pursued Xia Shizhao without any hindrance. Even though she knew that Xia Shizhao already had a partner, the merfolk's personality was different from that of ordinary interstellar people. They admired strength and, in some ways, thought like animals. The outcome was uncertain, and they would not give up until they achieved their goal.

This is what she said that day: "So what if you have a partner? Permanent marks can be removed. You might not be together even if you're not married, and you might not get divorced even if you are. And even if you don't get divorced, you might still find someone else outside."

Ye Qiuling, standing to the side, was so angry that her face turned black, but she seemed oblivious and kept babbling on and on.

Finally, he provoked Ye Qiuling, and the two started fighting.

Xia Shizhao was stunned. She thought they were being careful, but she found that the two were still wild and were fighting more and more fiercely. No one could persuade them to stop. She couldn't step in to stop them, so she decisively picked up the weakness potion and manually paused their fight.

As a result, the two, who were so weak they could barely stand, both looked like they wouldn't give up until they killed each other, which annoyed her so much that she left them at the hospital to avoid seeing them.

However, they still called for people from Mermaid Planet to come and take Qi Mo back.

I heard he's been put in solitary confinement.

We don't know how Qi Mo managed to escape.

Xia Shizhao casually threw on a jacket and looked at Qi Mo with a headache: "Do they know you've come out?"

"Yes, I know."

Qi Mo's eyes flickered as she looked at the marks on Xia Shizhao's neck. "I'm not here to harass you this time."

After a month of moral and ethical education, Qi Mo's morals have improved significantly. This time, she will give advance notice before visiting and will no longer climb through the window.

"Wang has found me a suitable partner. I'm here to deliver your invitation. She's very well-behaved and a perfect match for me. We'll be getting married in three months."

Xia Shizhao raised an eyebrow. "So... congratulations?"

Qi Mo smiled and put down her teacup. "Thank you. I hope you can come."

"no problem."

"Since you've married her, treat her well," Ye Qiuling casually reminded her from the side.

Qi Mo glanced at her and then looked at Xia Shizhao: "I should go."

"Aren't you staying for lunch?"

"No, your partner probably wouldn't be happy about that."

After Qi Mo finished speaking, Xia Shizhao looked at Ye Qiuling, who was pretending to be nonchalant, with amusement.

Her back ached so much she didn't want to move, so she slowly lay down on the sofa: "Then I won't see you off. Be careful on the road. Qiuqiu, could you please see the human off?"

"good."

The next day, Ye Qiuling, who had a cold and aloof demeanor, smiled and washed the chili peppers off her hands. "Come on, let me see you out."

Don't come again next time.

Qi Mo snorted lightly: "You just need to take good care of him, I don't need to see him off."

"Of course I know. I will take care of my wife myself. You should also take good care of your fiancée, after all, you will be together for many years."

The two exchanged barbs, their words dripping with hostility and tension.

Ye Qiuling immediately arranged for fitness to take the person to the airport, and then went back to the kitchen to cook.

But then she discovered that Xia Shizhao was wearing an apron and continued the steps she had just stopped taking.

But she felt a little unsteady on her feet, so she quickly lifted her leg and walked over:

"You go and rest, I'll take care of it."

Ye Qiuling felt a little guilty and quickly helped the person sit on the sofa.

Xia Shizhao got angry thinking about how her voice had gone hoarse last night and she still kept going. She kicked her shin and said, "We'll sleep in separate rooms this month."

"No, baby, I was wrong, I won't do it again next time."

After shouting, Xia Shizhao pulled the cushion next to him to cover himself and kicked the person away: "Protest denied, go cook, I'm so hungry!"

"receive."

After dinner, Ye Qiuling dutifully massaged Xia Shizhao, whose whole body ached. Xia Shizhao was working on his personal terminal: "We can move to Fan Hua Star in a while. How did you do that? The air there is even better than on Star Alliance Planet."

“Money can solve everything. The Third Organization lacks everything except money,” Ye Qiuling said, then paused and added, “However, the air purifier you developed earlier is still more effective.”

Xia Shizhao stroked his chin. "The cost of that one was too high, and we couldn't lower the price. We just made one out of boredom to play around with. I didn't expect it to be so effective when used on a large scale."

“…Just playing around.” Ye Qiuling’s face froze for a moment when she heard this, but then she thought that Xia Shizhao could create that bug in fitness, so this didn’t seem so surprising.

Is your most vulnerable period approaching?

Xia Shizhao turned slightly to look at her and asked.

"……Um."

"No wonder you've been so clingy lately."

Xia Shizhao muttered to himself.

Ye Qiuling suddenly hugged her, rested her face on the side of her neck, and asked cautiously, "You don't seem to have a fever period."

"I changed the fitness settings, so it's not normal. Also, after the merman bloodline awakens, they can smell other people's pheromones, but they are not sensitive to pheromones."

Why are you suddenly so interested in this?

Xia Shizhao asked curiously.

Ye Qiuling seemed to be in a bad mood. She pursed her lips and quietly held her without saying a word.

Xia Shizhao thought for a few seconds, then touched her head, cupped her face, and said seriously, "Are you worried that I might like someone else?"

"No," Ye Qiuling replied somewhat stubbornly, but under Xia Shizhao's quiet and gentle gaze, her attitude softened, and she became somewhat uneasy.

I'm afraid you won't want me anymore.

Omegas don't need the comfort of alpha pheromones, but alphas need the comfort of omegas during their most vulnerable periods. She can leave her, but she can't leave her.

"No, I've been looking for you for so long, how could I let you go?"

Xia Shizhao smiled and cupped her face, rubbing it gently. "I'm sorry, I don't really understand the effects of pheromones in interstellar space. I can learn if you need me to."

Ye Qiuling placed her face in her palm, her sharp features softening considerably: "No need to learn, you're fine as you are. I'm just going through a sensitive period and tend to overthink things."

The sunlight was just right, the atmosphere was perfect, and warm breaths caressed his face as Xia Shizhao slowly brought his lips to Ye Qiuling's.

Ring ring—

Xia Shizhao paused, then turned to connect Ye Qiuling's personal terminal, leaving Ye Qiuling aside.

Ye Qiuling glared at her personal computer with resentment, wanting to smash it.

"Ye Qiuling! I've figured it out! I've figured it out! I've figured out the antidote for the Cold-Snake! Hahahaha! You can finally be cured! Quickly thank me!!!"

Fu Ziran was clearly excited and finished speaking in just a few seconds, before Ye Qiuling even had a chance to react.

Xia Shizhao frowned slightly and asked in a cold voice, "What kind of poison?"

Fu Ziran immediately fell silent and mumbled as he hung up the personal terminal.

Ye Qiuling was left sitting stiffly on the sofa.

Xia Shizhao looked at her gently: "Confess and you'll be treated leniently, resist..."

Fearing she would be kicked out of the room again, Ye Qiuling quickly said, "I'll talk to you, let me think about it."

Xia Shizhao nodded, looking like he was listening attentively.

Ye Qiuling took a deep breath: "Back then, I arrested all the servants who worked for the Xia family and interrogated them one by one... When I discovered the truth, I broke down. After dealing with those who had bullied me, I ordered everyone not to disturb me. Then I injected myself with the venom of the Cold-Snake and quietly waited to die."

Ye Qiuling gave a bitter smile: "But I've always been tough, and I managed to survive seven days. Fu Ziran noticed something was wrong and came looking for me, but I was already unconscious. She then forcibly took me to the hospital for treatment..."

The smile on Xia Shizhao's lips vanished. She simply stared at her silently. If Ye Qiuling had died at that time, she would never have been able to save her.

“I hate myself for not listening to anything back then and only thinking about revenge. If I had listened to your explanation, we wouldn’t have had such a difficult time.” Ye Qiuling’s face showed a trace of pain, and her eyes were red. She hugged Xia Shizhao and her voice trembled: “In the days after you left, I thought about you every day. I wanted to die, but I found that I couldn’t die no matter what I did.”

Later, I lived like a corpse.

Then I met you, and I was so happy. My dead heart came back to life, but you were afraid of me.

During the time you ignored me, I thought about stabbing me a couple of times to vent my anger, but my identity would only cause you trouble.

I have no choice, I'm in so much pain, all I can do is keep myself busy and silently protect you...

But I'm not resigned to it.

You're right. Deep down, I'm just like Xia's father and the others—I'll do anything to get what I want. But I'm afraid you'll leave me again like before, so I've forced myself to suppress my instincts.

As tears gradually soaked his neck, Xia Shizhao sighed, his tone full of doting: "Why are you crying even more now that you're so young? How about I call you Ye Crybaby?"

Ye Qiuling neither looked up nor refuted, but said in a muffled voice, "I can't forgive myself for everything I did. You were the only sun in my loneliest and most helpless years."

Xia Shizhao forcefully pulled her face away from his neck, looked at her seriously, and said:

"I am a creature illegally created by humans, constantly monitored as I grow up. I have no common sense or human emotions; I am like a machine that has been prepared, serving no purpose other than bringing monetary value to the laboratory."

You taught me, and you also made me understand what friends, family, and... lovers are.

So don't worry that I won't want you.

You are also my sun. Because of you, I exist. Otherwise, I would have been destroyed long ago, and I would not have my own name. Death would be a cold, impersonal code name, number ten.

But I'm very extreme; I have to have what I like, and if I can't have it, I'll destroy it.

After saying that, Xia Shizhao looked at Ye Qiuling's expression and lightly touched Ye Qiuling's heart with his index finger: "If one day you don't want me anymore, I will take you and me with me and leave together."

"Okay, it's a deal."