Yao Chen sighed, resting his chin on his hand, somewhat worried about the current situation. Judging from the recent movements of the Ling family—especially Ling Tianji's recent movements—he was determined to make a big deal out of this.
"It's not optimistic, and we don't know what Ling Tianquan is planning." Yao Chen concluded calmly, as if he had already foreseen the situation a few days later, especially after he detected M7's recent movements, which made him feel even more uneasy.
Chaoge chuckled softly, stood up, and went to get a cup of hot water. In her mind, she thought: [Hmm, how about Ling Tianchu? Also, what are Ling Tianji's chances of winning? He can't be unaware of Ling Tianquan's power, can he?]
[Ling Tianchu's intentions are unclear. Actually, he and Yan Zihe are more focused on the general's engagement ceremony, as it's a major development attracting attention in both star systems. As for Ling Tianji, you probably wouldn't guess, but he was once on duty at M7. He preserved the planetary weapons that M7 was supposed to destroy, and destroyed the AI system, so Min Kaiyang didn't notice. They're probably planning to manually guide them later.] Yao Chen was shocked when he discovered this; he really couldn't gauge how far Ling Tianji was going to go.
Chaoge frowned and pondered for a moment, then sighed with some regret: "I understand. He's trying to take advantage of the recent shift in the Empire's attention..."
But he'll most likely be finished.
Putting aside others, Chaoge herself knew how much Qin Muge valued this matter. This included handing over most of her daily official duties to Kaiyang, even sharing the preparatory work with the members of her personal guard, and—personally keeping an eye on her.
She had to admire Ling Tianji's talent for causing trouble during Qin Muge's engagement ceremony preparations. She guessed that his previous liking for Qin Muge was all an act, and apart from the two of them, she wondered how many people in the Ling family had seen through it.
Anyway, Ling Tianxuan, the youngest and most hot-tempered one, probably didn't react in time.
[Let's get ready to rescue them. Also, let's make some arrangements; I'll be going to M3 in a couple of days.]
[What do you mean? Ling Tianji really has no chance of winning at all?] Yao Chen was mentally planning the arrangements for the next couple of days when he casually asked this question. Although he was using the star-rating system's evaluation system, the statistics showed that there was still a 30% chance of winning. He felt that if Yin Yang Group helped out, there was still hope.
【Hmm~ no, you didn't take Qin Muge into account, that big variable. Believe me, he really has no chance of winning.】 Chaoge shook the cup in her hand, the hot water quickly cooled down, she took a sip to taste the water temperature, and calmly gave her answer.
After pondering for a long time, Yao Chen made a very meaningful suggestion: "How about I start studying the Imperial Prison system today, and also learn about the mechanics of M7?"
【Okay. To be honest, from both my and his perspective, I actually hope he wins... because rescuing someone from the vast ocean is just despairing to think about.】Chao Ge pinched the bridge of her nose with the hand that wasn't holding the water glass. She felt a headache coming on, and she could feel even more strongly that this trip was unavoidable.
After ending the call with Yaochen, Qin Muge came out almost immediately. She was wearing a loose white bathrobe, her long hair was still wet at the ends, and her calves, which were on the ground, were exceptionally beautiful. Her skin was flawless, white and slender.
"What do you want for dinner?" Actually, when Chaoge went to see her grandmother, it was only in the morning. She had some pastries to fill her stomach at noon, and then noodles in the afternoon. By the time Qin Muge came to pick her up, plus the time she spent taking a shower, it was already past six o'clock in the afternoon.
Night had long since fallen outside the window, and all that could be seen were the scattered streetlights in this small, manor-like place.
Chaoge sat up straight, checked her body, and then stood up. "I'm not very hungry either. How about I cook? What would you like to eat?"
Qin Muge thought for a moment, his deep red eyes fixed on her, and smiled as he replied, "One meat dish, one vegetable dish, one cold dish, and a bowl of soup."
Chaoge: ...Why do you suddenly not want to fight anymore?
I really wanted to make her eat something simple, but when I thought about what she cooked for me every day, I felt that making such a request seemed a bit unreasonable.
So he rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the kitchen: "Let me see what ingredients they brought."
A hint of surprise flashed across Qin Muge's eyes, and his smile deepened as he followed her into the kitchen.
Leaning against the kitchen door, I watched her look around with a troubled expression, then turn back to me and ask, "There's fish. I don't know what kind it is, and I only know how to steam it. Do you want some? Won't it get stale from sitting out for a while?"
The fish came from a local lake in M1 and are still fresh.
"It's okay, I'll try a different cooking method for the next meal."
Watching her slowly and somewhat clumsily prepare the ingredients, a gentle warmth gradually appeared in Qin Muge's eyes. He had initially planned to help her if she encountered any difficulties, but despite her slow pace, she managed to cook a meal all by herself, quite efficiently.
The aroma of food mingled with the steam rising from the pot, slowly spreading and gradually giving this temporary place a homey feel.
"Have porridge for your main meal," she casually reminded her. Chaoge exclaimed "Huh?" and turned to look at her. She noticed that even while leaning against the kitchen doorway, Chaoge was still scrolling through messages on her smart device screen. Chaoge pouted.
These dishes and rice are the normal serving, why are you suddenly having porridge?
"Do you want it sweet, salty, or tasteless?" Chaoge fell into deep self-reflection, wondering if she was usually this difficult to please.
No, she eats whatever you give her! Because it's all food she likes!
Wait, it seems she's discovered something incredible?
Qin Muge... what do you like to eat?
I just wanted to cook a meal to please her, but the more I cooked, the more I felt that I was a terrible partner. What kind of feeling is that?
"Whatever you like." Qin Muge swiped across the screen with one hand without looking up, completely unaware of Chaoge's conflicted expression.
Why did I let her have her way again? She doesn't eat it anyway.
After thinking for a long time, Chaoge decided to rummage through the cupboard to see if there were any beans similar to the ingredients for eight-treasure porridge, or at the very least, some pumpkin-like beans to make some stomach-soothing porridge.
"Why don't you go to the study to take care of it? I'll call you when the food is ready." Seeing her standing at the door, looking serious and solemn, Chao Ge felt like she wasn't cooking at home, but being watched by her culinary school homeroom teacher.
Qin Muge replied casually, "It's nothing, it's about the engagement. Stay here tomorrow, someone will come to take your measurements. We'll pick out some clothes in a couple of days, and then they can start making them over there."
If it weren't for the fact that Chaoge has seen many storms and has a strong mentality, he almost overturned the pot in his excitement while holding the soup spoon.
Oh no... Heaven is against her! How is she supposed to tell Qin Muge about this?!
"What? You're busy tomorrow?" Qin Muge didn't hear her reply and looked up at her. The person being stared at felt inexplicably nervous. After holding it in for a while, she turned her head with a pitiful expression, "How about we talk about this later?"
Qin Muge's lips curved into a smile, which was somewhat bewitching. She tapped her chin with her beautiful finger and said in a drawn-out tone, "Baby, you'd better think about this seriously. I'm not joking about anything I say."
Oh no, she knows!
The little voice inside Chaoge was frantically grabbing his hair, looking utterly devastated.
What could she do if the timing just happened to be right? If she missed this opportunity, there would be no chance at all!
However, it must be a grand ceremony like Qin Muge's to attract attention from all sides and facilitate their plans.
Twenty minutes later.
Chaoge placed the prepared dishes on the table one by one. When she turned around to serve the porridge, she saw Qin Muge coming out carrying a bowl in each hand.
One of them was placed on the table opposite her. Chaoge replied with some confusion, "I'm really not hungry..."
"You'll be hungry tonight, so just one bowl." Qin Muge turned to look at her without room for argument. Seeing that she was still unwilling to move, he softened his voice and said with some helplessness, "You just ate something cold, so drink some porridge to soothe your stomach. Come on."
Chaoge had no choice but to squeeze over, sit down, and slowly drink the porridge from her bowl.
Ah, her cooking is amazing! This porridge is absolutely delicious!
A warm feeling spread from her stomach to every part of her body. Chaoge ate her bowl of porridge very quickly, and then, bored, propped her head up and watched Qin Muge eat.
"Tell me about what happened earlier after you finish eating." Qin Muge slowly picked at the fish, not even glancing at her, but the tone of his words made Chaoge nervous.
Hoping to hide as long as possible and sneak away if necessary, Chaoge hesitated for a while before saying somewhat guiltily, "Why don't you finish eating first? I'm afraid it will affect your appetite."
Qin Muge smiled, looked up at her, and a faint smile flickered in his red eyes. His already handsome face was even more charming when he was focused on someone else.
She replied nonchalantly, "It's alright. If you make sure I don't eat well, you won't get any sleep tonight."
Chaoge: ...Doesn't your conscience hurt?
Author's Note: La la la, an update! I'm a good author! Even when I'm in the blacklist, I still update occasionally, hehe!
Why am I suddenly feeling a little reluctant to see it end so soon...? QAQ
Thank you for the free ticket:
Oops, I threw a landmine! I always get so anxious when it's time for the free tickets! Especially when I'm always in a rush to update and don't have time to save up for next time! *sobs* I don't even know what to say! Thank you so much for supporting me all this time!
Thank you so much, you chatty idiot, for throwing a landmine! Ahhh, love you so much, muah! Hugs and kisses forever! Love you forever!
Thanks to Half Sandwich for throwing a landmine! Honey, study hard! Of course, you're welcome to give me a reminder to write more on your relaxing weekends to motivate you to study, haha!
Thanks to Awoo for throwing a landmine! Awoo, this is the last one! Hug you and give me a big kiss!
Thanks to Lurao for throwing a landmine! I recognize most of the people who threw landmines, I feel like you guys are all magazine girls hahaha, love you all! Sending love! Thank you for your support, enjoy reading!
Chapter 104: The Fifth Form of Daily Dog Torture
Faced with the serious threat of not getting any sleep tonight, it would be truly foolish for Chaoge to reveal his plan.
He could only prop his head up and watch her slowly finish her dinner, then clear the dishes and take them to the kitchen to be washed by the dishwasher controlled by the AI.
"What do you want to say to me now?" Qin Muge opened the refrigerator, took out the small cake she had bought a couple of days ago, and carried it towards the sofa. At that moment, Chaoge was holding a cushion and flipping through the channels with a bored expression, trying to find an interesting program to watch.
Hearing her question, Chaoge glanced at the person lazily and decided not to waste words and fall for her trick: "You don't want to talk to me about business, and I don't know what you're going to do about important things. But you? You can guess what I'm going to do just by looking at my expression. I'm at a huge disadvantage."
At this point, she suddenly remembered a good idea, a way to get a good night's sleep without having to rack her brains to deal with Qin Muge.
【Yaochen, cooperate with Min Kaiyang and exchange the energy of the Snake Mother.】 Recalling the time when Qin Muge often didn't want to go out in the Yuandu Palace, so she would have Kaiyang disguise himself as her and go out. After racking her brains, Chaoge finally came up with a good idea.
【Understood.】 Yao Chen always granted her every request.
If she goes back to Yuandu with Qin Muge and seeks cooperation with Min Kaiyang, with the cooperation of the empire's most advanced AI, wouldn't it be easy for her to leave the Wujing Empire and cooperate with Luo Qinghe and Ouyang Haoze, and then take down Si Zhongqi?
Hearing Chaoge's words, Qin Muge couldn't help but smile. She sat down next to her, scooped a spoonful of sweet cake with a small spoon, and brought it to her lips, replying in a good mood, "You sound pretty amazing?"
Chaoge, who believes that good food should not be wasted, bit the spoon with a loud "Awoo".
After carefully tasting and swallowing the cake in her mouth, she looked at Qin Muge's slightly relaxed expression, narrowed her eyes and sized her up for a while, and suddenly said, "No, you don't know what I'm going to do next."
That's why I've warned her again and again.
The gentleness in Qin Muge's smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a chilling aura emanating from her beautiful face, like a sharp blade suddenly slicing across her cheek amidst a shower of peach blossoms.
"Would you like to give it a try?" Red eyes beneath her arched eyebrows were fixed on her face.
Chaoge shook her head, met her gaze, and smiled easily: "Even I wouldn't be so rude as to provoke you, okay?"
Who would have thought that the person who was always more cynical than her would reveal his serious and stubborn nature along with his possessiveness after he got together with her.
"If it's about the engagement, you'd better tell me first." He rarely put on a serious face when speaking to Chaoge, but after seeing her avoidance of eye contact, he added in a slightly harsher tone:
"Don't lie to me about this."
Chaoge had always been familiar with her combination of soft and hard tactics, but neither her previous harsh words nor her joking warnings carried the same weight as when Qin Muge spoke these words seriously.
After thinking it over, she exhaled, licked her slightly dry lips, and looked up at her earnestly, saying, "Then, if I ask you to postpone the engagement, will you agree?"
Seeing that she had opened up, Qin Muge smiled slightly, like a leaf leaving a mark on the surface of a lake, and said softly, "It's postponed. What are you going to do? Hmm?"
Chaoge remained as quiet as a chicken, shrank her neck, and turned her head and body like a puppet, pretending to be engrossed in the TV, refusing to answer her question.
A cold laugh came from the side. Qin Muge put the plate in her hand on the table, rested one hand on the back of the sofa, leaned over to Chaoge's side, and her burning gaze made it impossible for her to pretend to be stupid any longer: "What do you want to do at this time? Divert the attention of the Juecheng Federation? Who are you going to cooperate with to deal with Si Zhongqi?"
He whispered three words in Chaoge's ear, as light as a feather: "Luo, Qing, He?"
"No..." Chaoge supported herself on the cushion behind her with one hand, leaned back a little, and looked at the ground beside her, thinking about how to tell her about M3.
She swallowed hard, took a breath, and said quickly, "You know about M3. Ling Tianji and I were originally working together, and I have to go over there to keep an eye on the Yin Yang Group. So I might have to go to M3 in a couple of days."
Qin Muge did not withdraw her momentum because of her retreat. Instead, she moved even closer, her smile meaningful and her red eyes cold, like frozen watermelon juice in summer, you could feel the chill even before you got close.
"What does going to M3 have to do with postponing your engagement as you mentioned before? Your subordinates are so disobedient, do you need me to teach them a lesson?"
She knew it! Whenever she's around Qin Muge, she has to act like she's not lying, and she has to be logical! Good heavens! Why not just let her die already!