Yan Qiongyu had not come for a long time. From the time he handed her the communicator that once, to the point where Wang Luan’s small spacecraft had already been completely refitted, he still had not come. Even the once-every-three-days contact had suddenly stopped.
His previous message showed nothing unusual, still trivial and plain. He wrote using the characters of her hometown, the handwriting upright and proper, even the punctuation marks carefully added.
> “It’s been cold here recently, and it’s snowed. I don’t like cold weather, but snow is nice. Next time, if there’s a chance, we can take a spacecraft to go see the snow.”
Wang Luan sat at the entrance of the spacecraft, flipping through the last sentence he had sent last time. Looking at the final, round full stop in the image, the worry in her heart rose like the tide of the sea at night.
Yan Qiongyu had said that if there was still no message after ten days, the communicator was to be destroyed. Today was already the sixth day with no news.
Yan Qiongyu stood before the glass window, looking at the heavy snow outside.
In the first eighteen years of his life, he had never seen such heavy snow. Imperial Capital Star possessed a complete climate control platform—every day’s sunshine and rain were controlled by people, and the temperature was always maintained at the most suitable level. So the first time he saw real snow was on Snowfield Star.
Back then, seeing the vast expanse of white snow, although he had been awed by that pure white world, he had felt no particular like or dislike.
Now, seeing the snow again and thinking of going to Snowfield Star with Wang Luan back then, he instead felt that the snow had become familiar and endearing.
“Godson, everything has been arranged,” the assistant came over and said behind him.
Yan Qiongyu withdrew his gaze. “Got it.”
A few days ago, a new batch of pheromone agents was put into testing. Yan Mu’s reaction this time was especially severe, and she fell into brief comas several times.
The godmother’s condition was not good. The entire CON base automatically entered a special state, becoming a sealed planet.
All spacecraft were unable to enter or leave, and even all signals connecting with the outside world were blocked. It was not until this morning, when Yan Mu’s condition stabilized and she was fully conscious and able to issue instructions, that this emergency lockdown was lifted.
During this period of lockdown, even Yan Qiongyu, the godson responsible for the research and development of the pheromone agents, was closely watched, encountering some faint yet pervasive obstructions.
Under the surveillance of Yan Mu’s faction, Yan Qiongyu obediently stayed in the laboratory and did nothing. However, Yan Mu’s people intercepted a private message he had sent. Although they failed to capture its content, they confirmed the range of the receiving signal.
“Godmother, the godson just left the base on the pretext of observing the experiments in Area B13. Our undercover personnel have already followed him. As for the intercepted message’s receiving range, we’ve also arranged people to guard it in advance. This time, we will definitely catch the person you want,” said the captain of the CON base’s defense corps, standing respectfully before the hospital bed—a beta who was unfailingly loyal to Yan Mu.
Yan Mu lay on the bed, her cheeks slightly sunken, her features marked by the haggardness carved by illness, her eyelids half lowered.
She spoke slowly. “He’s too clever. That message was probably only used by him to probe things, not sent to the person he truly wants to find. Just like the B13 experimental area—it’s only a decoy.”
“Shunan, I don’t trust others. This time, you personally lead the people. Don’t bother with the messages he’s released, and don’t bother with the people already sent out. You only need to, at the very end, keep your eyes tightly on him… and wait for him.”
“Godmother, I understand. Please rest assured!” Guan Shunan responded, showing absolute seriousness toward her caution.
She led the loyal guard corps and secretly left the CON base, following behind Yan Qiongyu.
“Captain, it’s confirmed that he secretly boarded the transport spacecraft to the B13 experimental area. The one left in the Area B laboratory is only his assistant.”
Listening to the report, Guan Shunan realized that Yan Qiongyu had indeed slipped away. His disguise had been extremely clever—none of the people previously stationed outside the B13 experimental area had noticed anything.
“Activate stealth mode. He must not discover us.”
“Yes.”
“Captain, he changed to a public spacecraft midway and is heading to the Jingsha District.”
The Jingsha District was precisely the receiving area of that private message intercepted earlier. Under normal circumstances, she might also have thought that Yan Qiongyu’s caution was precisely to go to Jingsha District. But the godmother had said that the message was also just a decoy, so Guan Shunan was certain he had another destination.
“Continue tracking.”
Yan Qiongyu mixed into the chaotic streets of the Jingsha District and stayed there for an entire night. There was no movement at all. Guan Shunan almost began to believe that he had indeed come here to meet someone, when, in the early hours of the morning, a person who was still monitoring suddenly sent an alert.
“He’s left the Jingsha District and boarded a private spacecraft!”
“Follow him!”
Guan Shunan clung tightly to Yan Qiongyu’s trail. She discovered that this godson was indeed very cautious—after three transfers, each one more concealed than the last, and if they had not prepared in advance, they might truly have been shaken off by him.
Even so, they still could not determine his exact location. After buying a bouquet of white birds-of-paradise at a large flower shop, he disappeared from surveillance.
“We didn’t dare follow too closely. For now, we only know that he last went to the abandoned urban area of the Yutong District.”
Guan Shunan remained steady. “Watch. Wait.”
The Yutong District was a half-abandoned planet. Its resources had already been exhausted decades ago, so the population had sharply declined. Now only a small number of areas still had a few people surviving.
No resources, no population flow, and therefore no Utopia forces deployed here—this place lay at the edge of the Utopia’s influence.
This time, they waited a full three days before Yan Qiongyu finally emerged from a certain abandoned street area of the Yutong District. He was clearly in a good mood, his steps light as he boarded a public spacecraft—it was the return route.
Guan Shunan knew that this time they had truly found the place where Yan Qiongyu was hiding someone. “This is it. Go down and search!”
She personally led people into the abandoned street area. The empty streets made her doubt whether Yan Qiongyu had really settled someone here, but then she felt that Yan Qiongyu could not be judged by common sense, or perhaps this very desolation was another layer of his concealment.
They continued to go deeper but still found nothing. The surroundings were empty and silent, and Guan Shunan’s sense of foreboding grew heavier and heavier.
Suddenly, in an empty house that clearly bore traces of recent human activity, she saw a bouquet of white birds-of-paradise, placed in a dust-covered glass vase. Light leaked in through the broken window, and the petals were dazzlingly white.
Yan Qiongyu rested with his eyes closed on the returning public spacecraft. This spacecraft would circle half a turn and pass above the Yutong District. Calculating the time, he cast his gaze out the window and tapped the rim of his ear.
“Boom!”
The tremendous sound of the explosion was greatly weakened by space. That terrifying noise, after being reduced, was transmitted to the small receiver hanging by Yan Qiongyu’s ear.
The other people on the spacecraft also noticed the massive explosion somewhere below in the Yutong District. The blast caused an entire abandoned street area to collapse underground, and the black clouds and smoke even pierced through the light layer, surging against the surface of the passing spacecraft.
Amid the discussions of strangers, Yan Qiongyu calmly watched the explosion zone gradually recede. He removed the now-useless device by his ear, crushed it, and discarded it.
Next, he should return to the CON base and see what card his mother intended to play next.
Only, when the spacecraft passed through the Nanshi District, Yan Qiongyu still got off. The Nanshi District was not far from the Little Wu District where Wang Luan was, and there was also a public docking port. He sat on a rest chair at the spaceport, watching the people coming and going.
He had not contacted Wang Luan for nine days. Going to see her now was still not very safe. He could only send a message first to reassure her. Once he returned to the CON base, he would probably be unable to continue contacting her again.
Yan Qiongyu’s wandering gaze suddenly fixed, his expression turning a little strange.
At the exit of a certain street in the spaceport, a figure wearing a dust mask, dressed in long pants and long sleeves, with a bag on their back, came up from the ascending stairs—it was Wang Luan.
Wang Luan had bought quite a few weapons and some energy supplies at the underground trading market of the Nanshi District. Her expression was somewhat stern. Just as she was about to return to her small spacecraft, she suddenly felt a gaze on her. She looked over sharply and saw someone not far away wearing a hat lower their head.
Although that person was wearing a long coat and was wrapped up so tightly that not even their eyes were visible, at a glance she felt that he looked familiar.
Hearing the footsteps already rushing up before her, Yan Qiongyu sighed inwardly and helplessly raised his head, seizing the initiative. “Why is Miss Wang Luan here?”
Wang Luan did not hear what he said at all. She threw her arms around his shoulders, held it in for a long while, and then said, “I thought you were dead!”
Yan Qiongyu: “……That’s not quite the case.”
He had not planned to come back, but who knew he would unexpectedly run into her here as well. Judging by the strength of her embrace that could practically strangle someone, leaving right now was probably impossible.
Yan Qiongyu coughed lightly. “Actually, I was just about to return to the Little Wu District. Something unexpected delayed me. I came in a hurry, so I didn’t even bring flowers.”
Wang Luan said, “This isn’t a delay. This means you weren’t planning to go back at all this time.”
Yan Qiongyu: “…………” He also found it strange—why was it that he could even deceive Yan Mu, yet could not deceive Miss Wang Luan.
“How could that be? If I wasn’t preparing to go back, what would I be doing here?” Yan Qiongyu lowered his voice, gentle and soft, sounding extremely sincere.
Wang Luan did not listen to his sweet talk at all. She lifted a hand and hoisted him up, as if firmly seizing some wild animal, and strode quickly toward her own small spacecraft at the spaceport.
The posture was a bit strange, drawing the gazes of passersby.
Yan Qiongyu: It really was a bit embarrassing.
He pulled his hat down lower, covering his face.
Fortunately, once they reached the spacecraft, Wang Luan put him down. Yan Qiongyu acted as if nothing had happened, removed his hat, patted the creases in his clothes, looked around the interior of the spacecraft, and immediately began praising it. “Miss Wang Luan’s refitted spacecraft is indeed very good. At a glance, it looks very comfortable, with a homey atmosphere. And these decorations—excellent taste…”
As he spoke, his eyes landed on a certain decoration on the wall: printed images pieced together to form a familiar set of five characters—“You Only Care About Cats.”
The rest of what he had been about to say instantly got swallowed back. Pretending he hadn’t seen it, he shifted his gaze away, and then noticed all kinds of supplies inside the spacecraft, weapons in particular being plentiful.
“With so many weapons prepared, could it be that Miss Wang Luan was planning to go find me single-handedly?” Yan Qiongyu saw through her intention at a glance.
Wang Luan looked at him. “I dreamed that you fought with others over territory and lost, got hung up and beaten, and had to kneel in the snow until you froze into a snowman.”
She did not deny it. She simply spoke of her not-so-realistic dream, with some lingering fear still in her eyes.
Yan Qiongyu’s expression was inscrutable. “You were really preparing to go find me alone? You know where I am?”
Wang Luan said, “I don’t know. I just felt like I might run into you.”
Yan Qiongyu thought of the one or two times before when he had suddenly run into her under unexpected circumstances, and found himself unable to refute it. It was just that her behavior was not within his plans—far too dangerous—and he did not want her to be dragged into some terrifying situation.
Yan Qiongyu said, “If you didn’t find me, then fine. But if you did, things might become even more complicated. So next time, don’t come looking for me.”
His words were not pleasant. Wang Luan said, “If I delayed your affairs, I apologize. Next time you suddenly disappear, I’ll still go looking for you. If you don’t want me causing trouble, then try your best to report that you’re safe on time.”
Yan Qiongyu sighed. He disliked it most when others interfered with his plans, yet he had no way to deal with Wang Luan.
Wang Luan kept looking at him with that kind of gaze. He failed to maintain his expression, walked closer to her, and said in a low voice, “It’s me who should apologize. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to be in danger.”
“Sugary bullets—I don’t eat those.” Wang Luan covered his mouth. “We agreed last time. No matter what you’re going to do next, I have to take you somewhere first.”
“Alright. Anywhere is fine. Miss Wang Luan is more important than what I’m going to do next.” Yan Qiongyu pulled her hand down, still spitting out the sugary bullet.
Wang Luan sat down in the pilot’s seat and suddenly looked straight ahead. “Our spacecraft, I’ve finished refitting it.”
He had already seen it, but she still wanted to say it once more herself.
Yan Qiongyu understood what she meant. Standing beside her, like a swan lowering its neck, he leaned in and brushed against her cheek. “Mm. It’s a great spacecraft. Even better than I imagined.”
