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The drone gently placed Qi Zihan’s package on the balcony, and Yu Chenyu went to get it.

By now, the freshly cleaned sofa was just about dry, so Qi Zihan moved from the dining table to sit behind the coffee table, casually crossing his legs.

When Yu Chenyu returned with the package, this scene greeted him:

Qi Zihan, elegant and relaxed, blinking up at Yu Chenyu with no intention of standing.

He clearly had no intention of opening it himself.

Yu Chenyu didn’t ask questions. He tore open the package with his bare hands, revealing two sets of suits stacked neatly within a transparent storage bag.

One was off-white with golden patterns, quietly luxurious. The other was dark blue without any decorations, but its buttons were pure gold and seemed to be accompanied by a complementary gold brooch, which gave a similar feeling to the white suit.

Both looked normal at first glance – neither were as gaudy as Yu Chenyu had feared.

Were there any hidden designs?

He wondered whether he should lay them out to examine the whole thing. “Should I open them?” he asked Qi Zihan uncertainly.

“Haven’t you already opened them?”

“No, I mean…”

“Open it and try them on, get them washed if they fit. I want them pristine by tomorrow,” Qi Zihan stated, no longer bothering to tease.

Nodding, Yu Chenyu took the suits out and handed the smaller white one to Qi Zihan.

After thinking for a moment, Qi Zihan took it. New clothes should be tried on so they could return ill-fitting pieces.

Thus, when Yu Chenyu stepped away to try the clothes on, Qi Zihan stood and did the same.

Both suits fit so well that it was as if it had been tailored for them. Although the cuts were different, they shared an understated elegance, making them look quite compatible.

Yu Chenyu didn’t see anything wrong with the clothes in the end. Nowhere was his body unduly exposed, and neither were there any designs that would make it uncomfortable to move.

“This is the suit you bought for me?” Yu Chenyu asked in a daze.

Qi Zihan, after putting on his set, seemed to be more noble than before. Knowing what he was thinking, he looked back in amusement. “What, are you disappointed that there’s nothing embarrassing?”

“No…” Yu Chenyu replied instinctively, before pausing when he realised that Qi Zihan seemed to be implying that the design wasn’t degrading. Letting out a relieved breath, he smiled wryly. “Not disappointed. I like it.”

Although it was called a formal suit, it looked more low-key than his military uniform, though it also had several details that revealed its true value. He liked it, he truly liked it very much.

“Yours looks good too,” he added, “it suits you.”

“Right? I think so too,” Qi Zihan said, calmly accepting the compliment. As he took off the suit, he continued, “I think my taste has always been good. If something I like isn’t liked by most people, it must be because they don’t know how to appreciate good things.”

Such an arrogant statement, yet Yu Chenyu agreed with it; and not only did he agree, he also thought that his expression as he said it was adorable.

It was too cute. No male wouldn’t be moved by a female like this!

If before, Yu Chenyu was still worried about the banquet, now he was completely relieved. From Qi Zihan’s tastes alone, it could be seen that he was an elegant person who had nothing to do with the word ‘vulgar’. A person like this wouldn’t bother to humiliate his male in public.

Yu Chenyu carefully washed both suits by hand, not using any machines for fear of accidents.

It didn’t take long, and they dried in a single afternoon. That evening, the two, wearing their respective suits, rode a hovercar to the banquet venue.

“Why not take a hoverbike?” Qi Zihan couldn’t help asking despite how much he enjoyed the hovercar’s comfort and spaciousness. It didn’t seem as if the two were much different in speed; if anything, the hoverbike was slightly faster.

“It’s a little chilly at night, the wind will make you sick,” Yu Chenyu replied with a glance at Qi Zihan. Of course, the one who would get sick wasn’t him.

He didn’t mention that any trips outside with Qi Zihan from now on would only be made with the hovercar, not the bike.

Admittedly, he had been angry when he went with Qi Zihan to the Female Association by hoverbike.

He truly didn’t have the mood to be gentle towards a female who wanted to break off the relationship immediately after marriage, and besides, no matter how weak they were, a female wouldn’t get sick just from a breeze or two.

But now… he regretted it. How could he let his wife ride a hoverbike? If anything happened, he would deserve to die a thousand times over!

The Queen’s Banquet didn’t require tickets. The male attendant at the doors only confirmed Qi Zihan as a female zerg and Yu Chenyu as his male companion before letting them in.

Yu Chenyu frowned subtly as they entered. It was one thing not to ask the females for their identification, but even males could get in without providing marriage information? If a female brought in a dangerous male for some reason…

Speculating on females wasn’t a good thing, but Yu Chenyu felt that the security risk was too great.

If this were the battlefield and they brought all kinds of prisoners into the camp, they wouldn’t even know how they were wiped out.

Although in the end, he didn’t say anything.

The banquet was being held near the Imperial Central Command anyways — if anything did happen, the army could quickly rush over to help.

Upon entering, Qi Zihan found that the banquet was even more grand than he expected, taking up three entire floors. The ground floor was bordered by numerous tables covered with exquisite lace tablecloths, on top of which were placed various delicacies, drinks, and tableware. The middle, spacious and brilliantly lit, was obviously for dancing.

The upper two floors were both made of balconies, where guests could enjoy watching the dancers, and inner rooms for resting.

Qi Zihan’s main purpose was to get to know other female zergs, so he only glanced at the exquisite food before picking up a small cake and turning his attention to the other females.

Yu Chenyu could clearly see what he chose: a chocolate cheesecake mousse. It was something that he could have at home.

Not being the kind to wait passively for someone to approach, Qi Zihan observed everyone who might be female, settled on a female who dressed similarly to himself, and went up to him. “Hello, can we get to know each other?”

The man wore an understated black suit with gold accents. His movements were slow as he turned towards Qi Zihan, his eyes blank and unseeing.

Qi Zihan thought that his mental state wasn’t quite right, but an excited voice interjected from behind before he could say anything. “Ah, isn’t this General Yu Chenyu!”

When he heard Yu Chenyu’s name, he forgot everything and instinctively turned around. He saw a flamboyant female wearing a crimson backless gown1礼服 is a gender-neutral term for formal clothing, so the females zergs (who, remember, have human male physiques) could be wearing fancy suits or fancy dresses. YMMV. with plenty of pleated lace on the collar and hems.

A female?

To be honest, Qi Zihan wasn’t very good at telling males and females apart. All the males he met knew that he was a female at first glance, yet he could only distinguish them by body shape and temperament.

The more slender the body, and the more confident their bearing, the more likely he was looking at a female.

And at a banquet for females, only a female would speak so loudly.

Looking at his extravagant clothes and enthusiastic smile, Qi Zihan immediately thought of a certain animal. A flamingo…

This wasn’t a female he wanted to meet, but he had already arrived in front of him. “I’m guessing you’re the general’s wife?” he asked.

Qi Zihan concealed his reluctance, nodding politely in reply. “Hello, nice to meet you, my name is Qi Zihan. You are…?”

“Luo Tinghong.” After casually throwing out his name, he immediately looked at Yu Chenyu. “You’re just as tall as I expected for a general! Can your little soldier also stand very high?”

Yu Chenyu: “…”

Qi Zihan: “…”

Qi Zihan couldn’t believe what he heard. Was this something that could be said to a stranger you met for the first time?

Yu Chenyu lowered his head and looked at his wife from the corners of his eyes. His expression was unperturbed, as if he hadn’t heard what the female said. 

But Qi Zihan couldn’t pretend the same. After a brief shock, he abandoned all politeness and stared at Luo Tinghong expressionlessly. “Insulting someone else’s male as soon as you come up? Your personality is as disgusting as that gown you’re wearing.”

“What did you say?” Luo Tinghong’s face instantly turned cold as the three males surrounding him all looked down nervously.

Qi Zihan wasn’t afraid just because his opponent had more people. In his opinion, he alone could take care of this short female who didn’t even come up to his chest and those trembling males, even if they attacked together.

If he couldn’t even beat this group, then his ten years of training would be wasted!

Thinking of this, he met Luo Tinghong’s eyes steadily as he said, word by word, “Apologise to him.”

A hint of surprise flashed across Yu Chenyu’s face, but just as he was about to look up, he reflexively raised his hand!

At the same time, Qi Zihan raised his empty right hand in a blocking motion — Luo Tinghong unexpectedly tried to slap him!

In the moment he moved, he was ready to feel pain in his arm. No, maybe Luo Tinghong’s strength wasn’t enough to hurt him.

However, neither pain nor touch appeared.

Because a faster, more decisive hand intercepted!

He looked at where Yu Chenyu’s hand grabbed Luo Tinghong’s wrist in disbelief, wondering how he did it.

What was this reaction speed?

Not to mention that Yu Chenyu had been looking down, not even watching Luo Tinghong!

Luo Tinghong’s eyes also widened. Not only was he surprised at Yu Chenyu’s reaction speed, he was also incredulous that he dared to attack him! A male, and a lowly male soldier at that, actually dared to get in his way! And he was being so forceful!

“It hurts!” he howled, his face warped with fury. “You, a mere soldier, how dare you?!”

Yu Chenyu retracted his hand, stepped back to once again stand behind Qi Zihan, and lowered his head, showing no intention to apologise.

He didn’t think he did anything wrong — it was natural for a male to protect his wife.

Qi Zihan glanced at Luo Tinghong’s hand. In just these few seconds, his wrist was already swollen red where Yu Chenyu had gripped him.
Wow, he thought.

Suppressing his surprise, he showed a playful expression on his face. He didn’t mind being a bit vulgar when dealing with vulgar people. “Now I know why you don’t have any soldiers. With a body like yours, you probably can’t bear it at all.” 

Yu Chenyu’s eyebrows raised, and his lips twitched, wanting to smile yet not daring to. For some reason, the same offensive words that made him feel sick when other females said them became inexplicably arousing when they came from his wife.

“If you don’t want to apologise, forget it. I’ll just assume that you’re jealous I have a soldier who’ll protect me; he’s much better than the rubbish around you.” Qi Zihan didn’t like wasting time on such meaningless things, so he stopped trying to force an apology. Instead, he pulled Yu Chenyu away and only let go when they reached somewhere with fewer people.

“Just think of it as being bit by a dog, there’s no use arguing with a dog, right?” he whispered.

Yu Chenyu looked at him deeply before responding with a hum.

Then he saw Qi Zihan eat his chocolate cheesecake mousse with an unhappy look on his face, before putting a cheese lava cake on his plate.

Hm, they could have this at home as well.

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  • 1
    礼服 is a gender-neutral term for formal clothing, so the females zergs (who, remember, have human male physiques) could be wearing fancy suits or fancy dresses. YMMV.