Chapter 8 Green Chirp-Chirp Gui Banjing

　　The kiss was brief.
　　When it ended, the guests rose one after another and thunderous applause filled the hall. Madam Morgan in particular laughed and cried at the same time, grief threaded through her emotion, happiness shining through the grief. Her acting was good enough to make every young idol in the entertainment industry hang their heads in shame.
　　Unfortunately, no matter how hard the extras performed, the two leads ignored them completely and maintained the same two blank faces. One said, “Where am I? Who am I?” while the other said, “All of you owe me eight million.” By the time they took the wedding group photo, even the extras’ smiles were running out of strength, and everyone looked as if they were about to be marched to the execution ground. Remove the color from the final photograph and it could probably be slipped into a commemorative album on military history without anyone noticing anything strange.
　　Fortunately, in consideration of the newlyweds’ “special circumstances,” the ceremony had been arranged to be grand but simple. The entire awkward wedding ceremony ended in less than fifteen minutes.
　　After leaving the hall, Wei Yin was brought by Major General Sain into the same flying car. They headed for the Sain family’s old estate, where the wedding banquet was about to be held. The banquet was private, with no media cameras and microphones, so Wei Yin, who had kept Film-Emperor Mode running the entire time, could finally relax—yeah, right.
　　Wei Yin sat inside the car with Major General Sain beside him, sitting as straight as a spear. Wei Yin did not dare move and kept his eyes fixed forward, yet he still felt as though freezing air was blowing continuously over the left side of his body closest to the Major General.
　　Wei Yin was almost crying. “I don’t think I’m going to survive tonight.”
　　Shangyang: “Weren’t you just blushing?”
　　Wei Yin: “Mm. I might blush again tonight.”
　　Shangyang: “…”
　　Wei Yin: “But those are two different things. Sob sob sob, Yangyang, I’ll miss you. Even as a ghost, I won’t let you off.”
　　Shangyang: “…Enough. I think Major General Sain’s condition is relatively stable.”
　　Wei Yin immediately stopped crying. “Why?”
　　Shangyang: “A Sentinel in a manic state can’t control his own spirit form, much less withdraw it into his consciousness cloud. But from earlier until now, I haven’t sensed any fluctuation from Major General Sain’s spirit form. So based on the current situation, his condition should be fairly stable. Congratulations. You’ll probably still get poked tonight, but at worst you’ll only end up paralyzed from the waist down.”
　　Wei Yin: “…”
　　Shangyang: “Remember to scatter red dates, longans, and peanuts on the bed.”
　　Wei Yin: “…” You’re a spirit form. Where did you learn all this random nonsense?
　　“You’re afraid of me?” Major General Sain, who had been sparing with words all this time, suddenly spoke. His voice was deep, like a stone bell struck directly against Wei Yin’s heart.
　　Wei Yin’s body stiffened for an instant, but he still held his neck rigid and played the wooden doll. Relying on Shangyang to help control his physical reactions, he simply pretended he had selectively gone deaf.
　　Major General Sain did not speak again, but Wei Yin could feel the Major General’s gaze resting on his face.
　　Just when Wei Yin thought he had exposed himself, a hand holding something pink appeared beside his lips. Then something fragrant was slipped into his mouth.
　　Sweet. It was a milk candy. It had probably been kept in a pocket too long and had softened slightly, carrying a trace of warmth.
　　Major General Sain put away the wrapper, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently stroked the top of Wei Yin’s soft hair.
　　For the rest of the trip, Major General Sain did not say another word or look directly at Wei Yin again. He reduced his own presence as much as possible.
　　Wei Yin sucked on the milky sweetness filling his mouth and said to Shangyang, “I think you were right. Major General Sain may not be as frightening as the rumors say.”
　　Shangyang: “I hope you still think that when he pokes you tonight.”
　　Wei Yin: “…” Can we still have a normal conversation? Can we or not?
　　After half an hour, the flying car entered the Sain family estate.
　　The Sain estate had an exceptionally long history and covered an enormous area—it had been formed by merging two estates. Before the Empire was founded, the head of the An family at the time fell in love with the founding ancestor of the Sain family. Since the two estates already bordered each other, they simply merged them into one. After the Empire was established, the capital moved to Eden Planet. When the new An family was later created, it settled directly on Eden Planet, so the estate on Holy Star naturally came to be regarded as belonging to the Sain family.
　　Holy Star was currently in spring. Looking down from the flying car, everything was green, broken by brilliant seas of flowers. Gardens and fields spread across the mountainside. Compared with the An family’s exquisitely manicured estate, the old Sain estate felt more natural and far more lived-in.
　　The car stopped in front of the main villa on the mountain. More than a dozen flying cars behind them slowly landed as well.
　　A vast lawn stretched in front of the villa. Wei Yin did not know what kind of grass grew there. It felt incredibly soft underfoot, yet was also extremely resilient, like a thick cushion woven from yarn and tempting anyone who stepped on it to lie down and roll around. Many tables had already been set out on the lawn. More than ten intelligent housekeepers in chef uniforms stood behind them, while several more dressed as servers waited beside the drinks station.
　　Wei Yin was surprised that the banquet was a buffet, but before he could look around properly, Major General Sain led him straight into the villa. No one else followed them.
　　Wei Yin was a little disappointed—the robots outside were roasting a whole suckling pig.
　　The villa was large, but its overall decoration felt very homey: lazy lounge chairs beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, lush green plants along the coffee table and walls, plump throw pillows piled across the sofas… Every corner gave off the warmth of daily life. Many photographs hung on the walls. But unlike the formal portraits displayed by other noble families, these were ordinary snapshots of everyday life. The people in them were members of each generation of the Sain family. The largest photograph showed two men together.
　　Wei Yin recognized them: the founding ancestor Ares Sain and Earl An Yi.
　　Hundreds of years ago, after these two lords destroyed the Puppet Insect Emperor, they disappeared, leaving behind only the Well City ruins after the great battle—a place no one dared enter even now. Some said they later sent back word that they had gone traveling; some said they had actually died; others claimed they had transcended humanity and gone to a broader world.
　　Whatever the truth, they were legends of both the Empire and the Alliance. Yet the descendants of those two great men had now fallen to the point where one was mad and the other a fool. It was difficult not to sigh at the irony.
　　“These are the Founder and Earl An.” Perhaps Wei Yin had stared at the photograph for too long, because Major General Sain suddenly spoke. His expression was peaceful, and his eyes held the yearning admiration of a younger generation, as though the words had not really been spoken to Wei Yin at all, but to himself.
　　The expression lasted only an instant. Major General Sain quickly returned to his usual cold severity. He released Wei Yin’s hand, turned, and called, “Charlie, take him to change.”
　　Old Housekeeper Charlie appeared as if from nowhere and answered, “Yes, Major General.”
　　Charlie came over, supported Wei Yin by the arm, and led him upstairs.
　　Wei Yin was brought into a large bedroom. The instant he entered, it looked extremely familiar—because it was identical to his room at the An estate.
　　“Everything here was arranged to match Young Master An’s room on Eden Planet.” Charlie helped Wei Yin sit on the bed, then took a loose set of house clothes from the dressing room. As he changed Wei Yin, he chatted with a smile. “That intelligent housekeeper made to look like me was the Major General’s idea too. The Major General may look fierce, but he’s actually a very gentle person.”
　　His tone was calm and ordinary, like casual household conversation. Wei Yin could also hear the instinctive protectiveness toward Major General Sain in his words. Clearly, even if outsiders saw Major General Sain as a madman to avoid at all costs, in Charlie’s eyes he was still the same gentle and dependable master he had always been.
　　Wei Yin felt unexpectedly moved. Considering Major General Sain’s current state, perhaps Charlie and the other old Sain servants were the ones who were most heartbroken.
　　Charlie soon finished changing Wei Yin’s clothes. He even carefully found a thin platinum chain, threaded Wei Yin’s wedding ring onto it, and placed it around Wei Yin’s neck so he would not lose the ring.
　　After Wei Yin was dressed, Charlie stepped back to inspect him, then smiled until his face wrinkled all over. “Ah, our young madam is truly beautiful.”
　　Wei Yin agreed with that statement—he also thought he was very beautiful.
　　“All right, we should go downstairs.” Charlie came over, helped Wei Yin up, and guided him down.
　　As soon as they reached the lower floor, Wei Yin heard the clink of glasses and lively conversation outside. The wedding banquet had clearly begun long ago.
　　Wei Yin assumed Charlie would take him outside, but unexpectedly, Charlie led him directly to the dining room.
　　Wei Yin was confused. “Is it a Holy Star wedding custom for the newlyweds not to appear at their own banquet?”
　　Shangyang said faintly, “Why would you think the two of you—one fool and one madman—are the ‘main characters’ of this wedding banquet?”
　　Wei Yin was silent for two seconds before saying, “That’s why I hate politics.”
　　Shangyang was surprised—Wei Yin could actually say something serious?
　　Then in the next second, Wei Yin continued, “It’s keeping me from eating the roast suckling pig.”
　　Shangyang: “…” In a foodie’s eyes, is there anything that cannot be measured in units of food?
　　They reached the dining room. Several people were already seated there, and Wei Yin knew all of them—Major General Sain, Amanda, and Damm. All three had changed out of formal clothing into casual clothes. Their expressions were relaxed, and even Major General Sain’s eyes and brows looked gentle.
　　The instant Wei Yin entered, he instinctively swept his gaze over the dining table. Then he was stunned.
　　Wei Yin: “The Sain family’s dining table isn’t even five meters long.”
　　Shangyang: “…” Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about nobles?
　　Charlie seated Wei Yin on Major General Sain’s left. Wei Yin noticed that the food had already been served, but his portion had all been placed on Major General Sain’s side, and the Major General was currently cutting the steak on that plate.
　　Wei Yin’s heart thumped wildly. “Yangyang, it can’t be what I think it is, can it?”
　　Shangyang: “…” Great. The fog had turned maiden-pink again.
　　Major General Sain finished cutting the steak, speared a piece with his fork, held a napkin loosely beneath it, and fed it into Wei Yin’s mouth. Wei Yin opened his mouth woodenly and chewed by instinct, while inside he was already sobbing beyond words.
　　Wei Yin: “I. Can. Die. Happy!”
　　Shangyang, surrounded by maiden-pink fog: “I have lost the will to live.”
　　Major General Sain clearly did not often feed other people and his movements were rather clumsy. But he was meticulous and patient. Only after feeding Wei Yin his entire lunch did he begin eating his own meal.
　　Across the table, Amanda and Damm were already working on their second steaks. When they saw that Major General Sain had finished feeding Wei Yin, both raised their heads at the same time and arched their brows.
　　Major General Sain looked at them and said calmly, “He is my wife.”
　　He is my wife, and I am his husband. It is only natural that I take care of him.
　　Author’s Note:
　　————————
　　[This is just a sugar-sprinkling fluff story.]
　　[Of course it’s going to be sweet and silly.]
　　[Of course it’s going to make the lead ridiculously dazzling.]
　　[Of course.]
　　[Ah.]
　　————————
　　Originally I wanted to give Wei Yin a cape—Major General Sain would yank the cape away, making Wei Yin spin around and around until he fell into the Major General’s arms, and then the two of them would exchange the most most most (*N) classic melodramatic gaze beneath a rain of flower petals.
　　But then I thought I might get beaten if I wrote it, so I restrained myself.