Chapter 83 I'm sure I like you a lot (The End): Me too.
"...That's the situation now."
Behind the doctor's desk, on the virtual screen at his hand, hung stacks of examination reports, piled high, enough to form a thick stack of printed paper.
Xi Congshuang scanned all the test reports, and all the results were excellent. To put it simply, Tan Yicheng could now kill a bull with his bare hands.
"Major General Tan is in perfect health, almost too good to be true... You can see that too. It has been preliminarily determined that the temporary amnesia is caused by excessive use of mental energy."
Xi Congshuang felt a little relieved: "Short-term amnesia means there's a possibility of recovery. Can it be restored in a short period of time?"
The doctor said, "It's hard to say, but I think what the major general needs most right now is a long, undisturbed vacation. Returning to a familiar environment might stimulate her memory and help her recall past events."
The continuous war brought far more than just physical damage; it also had psychological effects. Even an optimistic person like Lieutenant Qi went to the psychological therapy room several times and secretly got a few rounds of sleeping pills.
Tan Yicheng's symptoms may seem mild, but they are not entirely without impact.
"..."
Inside the spaceship, everything remained orderly. People occasionally rushed through the corridor like a hurried gust of wind, carrying heavy tasks as if wrapped in fallen leaves, heading in their designated directions.
Xi Congshuang stepped aside to make way and went upstairs in the elevator. The doctor's words were still ringing in her ears: her leave application had been approved. She decided to take the person home first.
Put aside everything else, like family, country, and the world.
The door opened, the room was brightly lit, and starlight shone through the porthole. Tan Yicheng, who had just been kissed, was still sitting in the same spot as he had been that afternoon, as if he had been stunned by the kiss, and had not moved an inch.
Star 16 doesn't have a name. Its full name should be N16666, a jump point auxiliary star. To simplify, we just call it Star 16.
This is a place where sunlight is not widespread. There is no sunshine, and since it is occupied by space pirates, it is impossible for it to have an artificial sun or artificially controlled seasons. There is only a long, eternal night.
Hearing the door open, Tan Yicheng stirred and slowly turned his head to look over.
Her reaction was more than a hundred times slower than usual. Judging from her expression, Xi Congshuang knew that she hadn't calmed down yet, but her right hand unconsciously rubbed the base of her left index finger.
Xi Congshuang glanced at her, and she seemed to wake from a dream, looking down at her hands, her dazed expression deepening.
"Is there something here?" Tan Yicheng asked.
Xi Congshuang hummed in agreement, turned around and closed the door, then walked inside: "You have a plain ring on your left index finger, set with diamonds extracted from planetary fragments. My name is engraved on the inside of the band. It's our wedding ring."
She said she had forgotten, but subconsciously she still remembered the little gestures she used to make when thinking, which was a habit that Tan Yicheng had developed after marriage.
From their first meeting, Tan Yicheng was amazed by the other person. When he spoke, she almost thought she was a voice enthusiast. Compared with her self-perceived identity, she began to suspect that she was a dependent wife who could be manipulated at will, and that her marriage to the successful CEO was just a contract marriage where each party got what they wanted, a plastic marriage that would eventually end in divorce.
She considers herself poor and lacking in glandular health, and believes that the business marriage is an equal partnership, with her being at best a contract worker.
It wasn't until Xi Congshuang pinched her chin and kissed her—a deep kiss that had absolutely nothing to do with a light peck—that her illusions about a fake marriage were shattered.
At this point, Tan Yicheng hadn't thought deeply about why such complicated thoughts were popping into her head, as if she had seen them somewhere before and couldn't help but identify them.
Now Xi Congshuang walked up to her, sat down beside her, and placed her ringed hand on her lap, which Tan Yicheng saw at a glance.
Tan Yicheng then asked, "Is this a pair with the one you have in your hand?"
This ring is beautiful, exquisite and simple, reflecting a delicate shimmer under the light, with a sense of design, and perfectly complements these near-perfect hands in every way.
Xi Congshuang let her take her hand, looking down at her serious expression: "Yes, it's the wedding ring we ordered together before our wedding."
Tan Yicheng looked disappointed: "I lost our wedding rings."
The marks on it turned out to be from her wedding ring, which she must have loved and worn every day.
Xi Congshuang gripped her hand tightly with the palm of his own, her tone relaxed: "It's nothing. We'll order a new pair of rings after you've rested."
Tan Yicheng was taken aback.
Xi Congshuang said without changing her expression, "When we first got married, you said that wearing only one pair of rings all the time was not interesting, and you planned to buy a new pair of wedding rings every few years and collect the old ones. When we get old, you can sit with me in front of the safe and count how many pairs of rings we have collected. Maybe you can be the wife with the most wedding rings in the intergalactic world."
Tan Yicheng was in a state of confusion when she was immediately taken aback and asked naively, "Really?"
Xi Congshuang stared at her intently for a while, and after being met with her clear gaze, she couldn't help but tell the truth: "It's fake, but we can start doing it right now."
"you……"
"Don't be upset. How about you help me think of what color diamonds to set in the next pair of wedding rings?"
Xi Congshuang then took off the ring from her hand, casually put it back in her coat pocket, and manually lifted Tan Yicheng's lowered chin to correct his gaze so that it was focused only on her own face.
Xi Congshuang glossed over the issue of the lost wedding ring, and Tan Yicheng didn't have time to be sad for more than a few seconds before continuing to think about her question.
I thought for a long time, but I still couldn't come up with any ideas.
I woke up to find my life progress bar sliding forward like crazy. Before I could even figure out how I got married, my wife dragged me into thinking about designing the next pair of wedding rings. My brain, which had been sluggish from being unconscious, suddenly couldn't keep up.
After suspecting that she was poor (A), she then suspected that she had some unspeakable problem with her intelligence. How could someone lose both intelligence and common sense after taking a nap?
Xi Congshuang moved closer again, raised her hand and hugged her, the familiar warmth of her face against her neck: "There's still plenty of time, take your time to think, if you can't think of anything, we'll just look at the catalogs in the designer's studio and pick one we like."
"Mmm." The voice was muffled, without the initial resistance.
Xi Congshuang pressed her advantage: "Then would you like to come back to our home with me?"
After a few seconds of silence, the familiar "hmm" sounded again. Xi Congshuang tightened her grip on her hand and rubbed her face against the top of her head.
"It's alright, it's just a ring. As long as you're safe and sound."
*
The day after her sick leave application was approved, Xi Congshuang took Tan Yicheng off the spaceship. Given Tan Yicheng's current condition, he couldn't even remember who he was, let alone stay and clean up the mess.
Moreover, given her condition, forcing her to stay would be considered patient abuse.
The route she took to leave was the same one that Xi Congshuang took to arrive. She had purchased the right to use the route and was paying an exorbitant fee every day, just so she could use it whenever she needed it.
The "Heavenly Cripples and Earthly Imperfections" duo expressed their envy and repeatedly tried to board the ship together to leave, but ultimately stayed behind to help with the final cleanup.
The spaceship that departed from Star 16 arrived at the central star five days later, and its return journey was two days slower than its arrival.
Tan Yicheng, who had just woken up on Star 16, suddenly felt a sense of unease upon returning to the bustling central star. Here, there was day and night, liveliness and peace, a stark contrast to the ruins and desolation of Star 16.
She was bewildered as she adjusted to everything before her, and was led home, standing in front of a door that was both strange and vaguely familiar.
Xi Congshuang opened the door in front of her. With a beep, the door opened after entering the correct password. The interior was bright and clean, with a very warm color scheme.
Even without the memory, Tan Yicheng felt a sense of peace, and her shoulders, which had been unconsciously tense, relaxed considerably.
Xi Congshuang bent down to pick up her luggage, her other hand never letting go of Tan Yicheng's hand. As she entered the room, she said, "I forgot. We should have set the menu before we got home so we could have dinner when we got back."
As Xi Congshuang spoke, she pulled the hesitant person standing at the door into her sunlit home.
Number 1, busy wiping the windows, quickly put away the cleaning cloth, and a cheerful electronic voice announced, "Welcome home!"
"Did you enjoy your trip, Master? Is there anything interesting you'd like to tell Number 1?"
The programs set up by Number 1 are all positive and uplifting, and all scripts are unrelated to negativity. It does not understand what war is, and it will go on a journey without saying goodbye when its master is away for a long time.
Tan Yicheng, whose eyes met the smiling face on the robot screen: "..."
say what?
Tan Yicheng had seen cold and taciturn combat robots and strict and rigorous healing robots, but she had never seen such an enthusiastic housekeeping robot.
Overwhelmed by enthusiasm, she was at a loss and subconsciously looked at Xi Congshuang, who was putting away her luggage.
Xi Congshuang realized what she meant and came over with a smile to save her from the predicament, patting No. 1's round head: "No. 1 is a family robot, good at housework and childcare."
Tan Yicheng: "Child companionship?"
Her eyes darted between the two men, then looked around the neighborhood, but found no trace of any children.
The main question is, who will give birth?
She was still preoccupied with her incomplete A identity; her wife was a beta, and it wouldn't make sense for them to have children.
Tan Yicheng: "Children?"
Xi Congshuang: "Yes, it's the three of us: you, me, and number 1."
Number 1 protests: "Why is Number 1 after the comma? Number 1 wants to be with you too."
Xi Congshuang didn't care: "I dictated, you added the commas yourself when you transcribed the speech, it has nothing to do with me."
Number 1 calmed down: "Okay, I'll remove the commas from your words next time. Number 1 is also part of the family!"
Humans are easily misled by the idealized images they create in their minds, and robots with emotions are no exception.
Xi Congshuang, who was ruthless in deceiving the robot, casually replied to a few words, entered the menu, and put this particularly talkative housekeeping robot to work in the kitchen.
"Go, child, the hopes of the whole family rest on you."
Number 1 loves being expected of and praised, and immediately went happily: "I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
Watching the robot's cheerful back, Tan Yicheng, who was known for his iron-willed heart, felt a pang of guilt.
I thought it would be difficult to adapt from scratch, but with Xi Congshuang around, it became not too difficult.
However, Tan Yicheng overturned her own idea again that night. After taking a shower, she prepared to go back to bed and only left a night light on by her bedside.
She wasn't afraid of the dark; she just did it naturally, and then lay down to rest.
She pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, closed her eyes, and drowsiness gradually enveloped her as she drifted off to sleep.
Not long after, the room door opened again, and the dim light from the living room shone in as someone walked in.
After taking a shower and finishing her work, Xi Congshuang stepped lightly inside and sat on the edge of the bed, preparing to lie down and sleep.
Turning around, I met eyes that had suddenly opened by the bedside, and the person huddled under the covers cast a questioning look.
Xi Congshuang looked back at him with the same expression: "You're not asleep yet?"
Tan Yicheng used to fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed, and only occasionally on weekends would he play a few games of "hand-playing" (a type of mobile game), after which he would also fall asleep from exhaustion, leaving Xi Congshuang to handle the rest of the work.
Tan Yicheng: "I also want to ask you that."
The two, one lying down and the other sitting, continued to stare at each other in silence. Xi Congshuang immediately realized what was happening and her eyes showed hurt: "You don't want to sleep with me."
Tan Yicheng sat up abruptly, a little anxious: "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that... I'm not quite used to it yet... because we slept separately during those days on the spaceship, so I thought..."
Xi Congshuang interpreted all the unspoken words, enabling direct and barrier-free communication.
Xi Congshuang said sadly, "But we've shared a bed for so many years. The bed on the spaceship is small, and I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I tried my best to be patient. I never expected that it was actually you who didn't want to."
Tan Yicheng suddenly developed a condition where he couldn't bear to see a beautiful woman shed tears. His hands flickered, leaving afterimages: "I'm not unwilling, nor can I say I'm unwilling... How did the situation become so complicated...?"
Finally, she said she had nothing more to say, and simply gave up and reached out her hand: "Come on, go to sleep."
This was exactly what Xi Congshuang wanted. She hugged him back and pulled him back to the bed to sleep together.
After a moment of silence, Xi Congshuang opened her eyes again and kissed Tan Yicheng: "I said I forgot something, goodnight."
Tan Yicheng: "..."
She was prepared to stay up all night.
The person who made the decision fell asleep five minutes later, breathing deeply and sleeping soundly.
Even when asleep, people are more honest than when awake. The hands that were placed at the sides of the legs like military posture unconsciously wrapped around Xi Congshuang's waist, and the person adjusted themselves to a comfortable position and continued to sleep.
Xi Congshuang lay awake in the darkness, reaching out to turn off the orange bedside lamp, plunging the room into complete darkness.
They've both been too busy these past few years. Before marriage, they always managed to steal a moment of leisure amidst their busy schedules, and even after marriage, they didn't have many opportunities to spend time together. Both of them were busy in their respective fields and rarely visited each other's workplaces.
Now everything has been made up for at once. Xi Congshuang spent several days among a group of military A soldiers and managed to bring his sick wife back. Now, his wife, who is recovering from injuries and suffering from amnesia, comes to the company to accompany him to work.
Gloria put down the small cake she was holding: "The cake you ordered just arrived, I brought it to you."
"Okay, thank you."
Tan Yicheng was online, and she needed to align her online channel with the real-world channel so she wouldn't be completely clueless.
However, this was still a bit difficult for a patient with short-term amnesia. The colorful StarNet world was too stimulating for her and she couldn't handle it.
However, compared to Xi Congshuang, she is nothing.
The same world, different ideas; the three people sharing an office have different thoughts.
Xi Congshuang was busy processing the accumulated documents, Tan Yicheng was busy dealing with incomprehensible internet slang, and Gloria, who was in the middle of it all, was surprisingly normal, and she was sighing.
Gloria sighed. Being a general isn't easy. He has to answer every call and basically works all year round. The reason he can take a long vacation is because his mental energy is exhausted, causing short-term amnesia.
One can imagine that if Major General Tan's memory were intact, she would never have been able to return to the central star to eat cake so quickly.
It's just hard to imagine...
With her back to Xi Congshuang, Gloria secretly glanced at Tan Yicheng, then at her again. The fearsome Major General Tan had an unexpected fondness for all kinds of sweets.
You could say they accept anything offered; if they figure something out, they eat something to reward themselves; if they don't, they eat something to reward themselves.
The reason this hobby could be kept secret for so long is because Xi Congshuang personally bought the items each time. It was only after several years that a third party learned about this little hobby.
As the days went by, Tan Yicheng became more and more accustomed to Xi Congshuang's presence and to going out and making progress together with her.
During this time, she still did not change her perception of being a disabled Alpha, but did not consider the possibility of treatment in the past. If Xi Congshuang jokingly brought it up, she would show a wronged dark expression, as if to say, "Are you going to dislike me for being a disabled Alpha?"
This left Xi Congshuang both amused and exasperated. As a beta, she couldn't prove to the other party that she was a healthy alpha, and she was even less likely to react to Tan Yicheng when talking to other alphas, so she remained in this state.
Enjoy her sick leave and annual leave with peace of mind.
On their second weekend back on Central Star, Xi Congshuang and Tan Yicheng went out for a trip together.
Just like any ordinary couple, they travel to a vacation planet for a few days, leave everything behind, and casually participate in local festivals.
As night fell, the Milky Way stretched out before them, and they had made a pact to go to a famous mountain to stargaze.
In the past, Xi Congshuang would never have agreed to do something so boring and time-consuming; she would rather spend that time reading more documents.
But with Tan Yicheng by my side, even sitting in the same spot for a long time doing nothing but chatting becomes interesting.
The two did not travel by aircraft, but walked hand in hand among the crowd.
There's a meteor shower today, so after walking around for a while, I headed to the restaurant I had booked and sat down, ready to enjoy the meteor shower streaking across the night sky while dining, just like the other guests in the lobby.
"Ah, a shooting star."
Suddenly someone said that the two people sitting by the window turned their heads and looked at the shooting star outside the window.
At first, only one or two shooting stars streaked across the sky, but then stars rained down, trailing brilliant tails as they swept across the sky, turning the deep blue dome into a starry gray.
"Make a wish quickly during a meteor shower; I've heard it's more effective that way."
It seems that even in the interstellar age, humanity has not changed its habit of making wishes upon shooting stars and placing its hopes on unfounded rumors.
Tan Yicheng was focused on the meteor shower, her eyes reflecting the dazzling starry sky. Despite her keen senses, she didn't notice the stares directed at her from the side.
After a while, Tan Yicheng wanted to share the scenery she saw with Xi Congshuang, but when she turned her head, she met Xi Congshuang's smoky gray eyes.
"..."
"Do you like the view?"
Xi Congshuang was puzzled. She couldn't hear with one ear, but she could read lips. She nodded and said, "I like it."
Beneath the vast Milky Way, the alpha with a missing gland approached the beta's deaf right ear, his cool breath brushing against the tip of her ear: "Even if I'm a disabled alpha, can I still be with you?"
Xi Congshuang held her head with both hands and turned her towards her left ear: "You can't hear me if you speak in this ear."
Tan Yicheng sat to Xi Congshuang's right, a position that was almost like embracing her.
Patting her back, Xi Congshuang asked, "What did you just say?"
Tan Yicheng repeated what he had just said.
Xi Congshuang didn't answer, but cupped her face and kissed her on the lips: "Nonsense."
Tan Yicheng rested his forehead on her shoulder, feeling extremely frustrated: "How come I still can't remember? I definitely like you a lot."
“Yes, me too.” Xi Congshuang smiled softly, her eyes lowered.
She couldn't recall any memories of her past, which she found regrettable.
Tan Yicheng muttered, "I should have followed suit and made a wish earlier. Maybe I could have regained my memories."
Xi Congshuang hugged the person and gave a long "hmm". She didn't say that when Tan Yicheng was watching the shooting stars, she had secretly made a wish on the shooting stars.
Sometimes she wondered if this was a parallel world version of herself, saving Tan Yicheng while also saving herself.
She'll be fine, and so will I.
"I hope..." Xi Congshuang's true feelings were hidden among the crowd's marvels at the magnificent meteor shower.
"I hope my loved one is healthy and safe."
The people who care least about life make a wish before a meteor shower.
*
After returning from her vacation, Xi Congshuang did not go back to work at the company, but instead spent more time at home with her loved one.
If you can handle things at home, do them at home. If not, take some time to go out and quickly resolve the issue before going home.
Today, Xi Congshuang quickly finished dealing with matters at the company, ignoring the attacks from everyone in the company, and flew straight to her doorstep in her flying vehicle.
Tan Yicheng was taking a nap, lying on the sofa wrapped in a fluffy blanket, her cheek slightly red from being pressed against the pillow.
Xi Congshuang approached silently, stared for a while, and then touched her face with her bent knuckles.
The temperature is a bit high, but still within the normal range. The pheromone tester at home showed a normal concentration. However, we still need to be careful as we approach our susceptible period.
She was about to withdraw her hand to go to the study to finish her work when her hand was grabbed.
The person lying on the sofa opened their eyes, and Xi Congshuang's figure was reflected in their clear eyes. They smiled.
"I remember now, I remember everything."
Xi Congshuang was stunned.
Tan Yicheng got up from the sofa and covered her and Xi Congshuang's heads with a blanket. With her lower back supported so she wouldn't fall, she repeated under the blanket, "I said I remembered, give me some reaction."
People are quick-witted when they are young, but gradually become dull as they get older.
Youth is no longer a curse imposed on everyone by time, and even in interstellar space where the average lifespan is three hundred years, youth is no exception.
Red Apple disagrees, saying that some people become duller with age, while others become more cunning and calculating.
A specific example is its host, Xi Congshuang, who becomes more and more cunning with age.
Time flies, and the woman with a full head of white hair bids farewell to her beloved. The Federation will hold a grand funeral for this civilian marshal, and the Federation flag will be draped over her coffin.
As Tan Yicheng's lover, she was unable to attend the funeral and experienced another physical separation as she was about to leave this world.
Even at the very last moment, she held her lover's hand, promising to be together again in the next life.
Xi Congshuang agreed.
Xi Congshuang watched as her eyes closed, and the vital signs on the monitor gradually disappeared. She gazed deeply at her lover on the bed for a long time.
Red Apple: "She had a wonderful life. You've done a great job, and it's time for you to leave."
The silent figure by the bed seemed to awaken from a dream and looked at the red apple.
Red Apple: "Are you looking at me like that because you want to say something?"
The woman, with her full head of white hair yet still elegant, nodded. The red apple flapped its wings and approached, expecting to hear its host say something about how reluctant she was to part ways and how she hoped they could meet again in the next life.
Xi Congshuang had already said this in her previous life. Unfortunately, it was just a system where points were accumulated and tasks were randomly drawn, so it couldn't do anything that advanced.
To everyone's surprise, Xi Congshuang asked, "Haven't we worked together before?"
"...?"
Red Apple almost crashed.
Red Apple looked at Xi Congshuang, who calmly looked back. Her clear eyes had nothing to do with the words "senile old woman." Based on its understanding of her, this woman was confident about the answer.
She discovered it.
She found out!
From the very beginning of this world, after Xi Congshuang tested it, the seeds of danger were sown.
Now, the hidden dangers that Red Apple had forgotten have been unearthed again at the critical moment of the end of her life, and exposed to the sun.
Even more terrifying, the red apple discovered that the contract was loosening and something was slipping away from it.
Soon, it realized what had slipped away from it: energy that had been converted into points.
A continuous stream of light points flew towards Xi Congshuang like shooting stars, melting upon contact with her like snowflakes, and quietly merging into her body.
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