Zero put down the storybook in his hands and began carefully recalling the details of how he had gotten along with Jingliu.
First, the confession.
Zero had originally wanted to confess, but who could have expected something to come up at the last moment, the Xianzhou needed the Cloud Knights of Luofu to go out to battle.
He didn't want to affect Jingliu's state on the battlefield and decided to wait until she returned to the Luofu before confessing. But that moment of hesitation let Jingliu beat him to it.
Next came holding hands. Holding hands was something he suggested, so that more or less evened things out?
Then came the kiss… Zero had only planned to kiss her on the cheek, but Jingliu skipped that step entirely and kissed him directly.
Maybe it was the alcohol last night, or maybe it was impulse, but Zero pulled open Jingliu's collar and left kiss marks on her.
What happened afterward… was a bit beyond what he expected.
For example, Jingliu lightly touched the marks on his shoulder and neck with the pad of her finger, smiling with her eyes, "See that? That's what counts as going too far."
Another example, Jingliu pressing his head onto the crook of her neck, teasing,
"Seems I'm better at this sort of thing than you. Don't worry, I'll teach you."
Then she added, "With a body of immortality, there's no need to mind anything. Whatever you want."
Zero, "…"
He had really lost all composure last night.
They each left kiss marks on the other's shoulder and neck, maybe that also counts as even?
Fortunately, Zero still kept some rationality. When Jingliu asked him to stay the night, saying she could tidy up a new room for him, he refused.
They had only been dating a bit over a month. Staying the night already… no matter how you think about it, that's not appropriate.
Zero recalled what people on the forums said.
Experienced netizens claimed men could never pick the right moment to confess.
He thought, not just that, right? It's not just about not knowing when to confess, right?
Zero picked up the storybook on his desk and set it face-down.
Thinking carefully… the two of them really did take the wrong roles in the script.
In the common view, men take the dominant role in intimate relationships, while women are the passive receivers.
In a sense, isn't that also a kind of stereotype?
Zero considered himself very open-minded.
He was even willing to fulfill Aha's wishes, surely there was no one more open-minded than him in this world.
So what if he took the wrong role in the romance script? Not a big deal.
Besides, with Jingliu's personality, Zero couldn't even imagine her being on the passive side.
Everything had been driven and initiated by Jingliu. At this point, it couldn't be undone anyway.
Leaving kiss marks was already intimate enough; the two of them wouldn't go any further.
The rest… would have to wait until after they married.
Zero quickly accepted the fact that he had ended up with the heroine's script.
Then, he heard a notification from his jade-mote.
[Jingliu: How do you feel today? Do you need medicine?]
Zero, "…"
People always complained about his ability to express himself, saying he easily caused misunderstandings.
Zero had never felt there was anything wrong with him, but now that he looked at Jingliu…
He might actually have a bit of a problem.
The two of them were surprisingly alike.
This message looked so strange.
Zero tapped a reply on his jade-mote.
[Zero: It's fine, I don't need ointment]
[Jingliu: Are you sure? Don't ignore an illness out of embarrassment]
Zero, "..."
They were just kiss marks. It wasn't to the point he needed medical treatment, right?
And if he did see a doctor, who would he see? Dan Feng?
Wouldn't that be way too embarrassing?
Earlier, Jingliu had brought Dan Feng over to check Zero's pulse, to explain his special physique.
Zero had wanted Dan Feng to casually make up an excuse, but the dragon lord instead declared he had some rare special disease.
He hadn't remembered the name at all, only vaguely that Dan Feng said he had a blood-coagulation disorder.
The marks on his shoulder and neck counted as subcutaneous hemorrhaging.
If he really had that kind of illness… then he really would have to see Dan Feng.
Keeping a blank expression, Zero typed, [Zero: Really don't need it]
After rejecting Jingliu's suggestion, he picked up the storybook lying face-down on the desk again.
In it, the domineering male lead finally cleared up the misunderstanding from Chapter 1 with the female lead in Chapter 169. They revealed their true feelings to each other and, with great restraint, held hands.
Then, the author used an ellipsis to skip what happened next.
In the corner, the author wrote a note, [Everyone who knows, knows what happened]
[Don't ask, if you ask, it's content below the neck that the Xianzhou won't allow me to write]
[I've rewritten this ten times already, spare me, please. I was wrong. I'll never again complain that the Xianzhou review system is unreasonable qwq]
Zero kept a calm face as he turned the page.
[The male lead called over his childhood-friend physician, who complained, "Can you stop calling me in the middle of the night?" The male lead urged him to examine the female lead.]
[After sending the friend off, the male lead held the female lead's hand again and deliberately softened his tone, "How do you feel? Let me help you apply the medicine."]
Zero, "…"
That line from the male lead sounded way too familiar.
He slowly closed the storybook and tossed it into the corner of his desk drawer.
Zero thought, 'It seemed the review system still wasn't strict enough.'
Forget storybooks, he couldn't even read a proper book anymore. The déjà vu was too strong.
Zero took a deep breath and forced himself to stop thinking.
Before marriage, the two of them wouldn't do anything more intimate.
So… taking the wrong script didn't matter at all.
There wasn't anything left to progress anyway.
If they wanted to be more intimate, they'd just have to wait until they got married.
As long as Jingliu was happy, Zero didn't care at all.
He propped his chin with one hand and accidentally touched a piece of medicated plaster that was almost pressed up to his jaw.
At that moment, Zero missed the "Mara-struck body debuff" terribly.
Without the Mara-struck body… the dialogues from the storybook would probably keep repeating themselves in real life…
Zero stared blankly, thinking about who the culprit was that made him take the wrong script.
First, eliminate Jingliu.
After all, she was a Cloud Knight who went to the front lines. Of course she had to follow orders and carry them out as quickly as possible.
She was like that when leading troops, and even in private, she couldn't change her swift and decisive style.
His lover playing the male lead, was that a problem? Not at all. Completely normal.
Zero soon found the true culprit, Dan Feng.
Because he was never wrong.
In short, everything was Dan Feng's fault.
Zero didn't bother pursuing Dan Feng's responsibility. Magnanimously, he began thinking about the Vidyadhara fertility issue.
He contacted Hua and asked, [Zero: When do you plan on resolving the Vidyadhara problem?]
Zero knew very well that different races living together could easily create conflict.
Therefore, when the Vidyadhara first joined the Xianzhou, he hadn't immediately solved their reproduction problem. He only gave each dragon lord over a dozen commercial streets to collect rent from.
That was already generous.
To the Xianzhou back then, the descendants of the Aeon of "Abundance" weren't anything special.
Come on, they were under the protection of "Reignbow Arbiter"!
And besides, those were our Xianzhou commercial streets. Why did the Vidyadhara get a dozen of them the moment they arrived?
If Zero's prestige hadn't been high enough back then, satisfaction rates would've plummeted.
Fortunately, over the thousands of years, the Vidyadhara dragon lords had shown full sincerity, never violating their contract with Zero and always keeping the "Abundance" sealed.
This long period was enough for the Vidyadhara to integrate into the Xianzhou, and enough for the Xianzhou people to set aside their biases.
The previous researcher in charge had passed away. Hua must have found someone new to take over by now.
Zero waited a while and received Hua's reply.
[Hua: This issue is extremely complex. The fastest will still take several decades.]
Zero wasn't surprised.
Just like with medicine, from development, to clinical trials, to actual use, it took more than ten years.
And after taking the medicine? Would there be side effects?
People needed even more time to find the answers.
The Mother-Child River water, on a small scale, it solved the Vidyadhara infertility problem. On a large scale, it benefited the entire universe.
Aside from the Vidyadhara, what about other endangered species? Could they continue their lineage?
Zero didn't really understand the scientific field. Only when casually chatting with Marty did he hear a few professional terms.
Even as an outsider with extremely limited knowledge, he could still consider the implications for other species, let alone the actual researchers.
Especially since this project concerned life itself, which required even more caution.
Take endangered species for example, if researchers helped them reproduce and found the offspring weak and frail, should they reproduce again?
If it were another race, would they seek better physiques and superior appearances and keep reproducing again and again?
Then what about the "defective" new lives? What would happen to them?
The thought was horrifying. A small misstep could cross ethical and moral boundaries.
That was why the Xianzhou needed massive resources to research it.
Like developing medicine, they needed repeated clinical trials, time, and repeated checks for side effects.
Only after confirming everything was safe would the Xianzhou issue airtight laws to protect every new life, set strict restrictions, prepare everything thoroughly, and then inform the Vidyadhara about the Mother-Child River water.
Zero felt Hua's timeline was reasonable.
Just a few decades. That was nothing to the Vidyadhara.
You've been infertile for several thousand years already. Surely you can wait a few dozen more, right?
Zero trusted his successor and replied immediately, [Zero: As long as you understand what you're doing.]
After sending the message, he remembered the alcohol Hua had asked Chanzhen and Daiyang to bring him.
Since he had accepted the gift, he should return one, right?
Zero asked Hua when her birthday was. For some reason, she took a long time to answer.
[Hua: Grace-Giving Day]
Zero was surprised.
What a coincidence, both their birthdays fell on Grace-Giving Day.
For long-lived species, they didn't celebrate birthdays every year.
Most celebrated once every five or ten years.
Falling on Grace-Giving Day meant there would be fireworks in the Xianzhou, so rounding up, you could say Hua celebrated every year.
[Hua: What are you planning again?]
Zero felt a bit helpless.
That tone made it sound like he was about to cause some huge disaster.
[Zero: Is that really necessary?]
[Hua: I don't trust you. You have a track record.]
[Zero: If this is about that BBQ meal, then you really don't have to be so wary.]
It's not like he ever saw Hua. One never left the Luofu, the other never left the Yaoqing. How could he possibly send her into the Alchemy Commission again?
[Hua: …It's not the BBQ. It's the dozen bodyguards you assigned me.]
Just hearing the number of bodyguards told Zero he had clearly listened to the company shareholders' advice.
Don't spoil the successor too much, picking only a dozen was fine.
Zero replied tactfully, [Zero: Think about your status. Only a dozen bodyguards is already very few.]
[Hua: Yes, and it would be even better if you hadn't made them wait for me at the academy gate after school.]
Zero, "…"
He thought about it, completely normal.
What child doesn't fantasize?
Fantasizing that they're an ordinary student on the surface, but secretly someone who saves the universe. And at a moment when the universe is in crisis, companions show up in front of everyone and say, "Hurry! The universe needs you!"
Or a group of attendants showing up with great fanfare, shocking all the classmates who always treated you like a normal student.
How could this be? We attend class together every day, how are you so special? Why do you have so many attendants? Who are you?
The next day, forced to reveal your identity, you can only confess everything.
Nothing strange about that, it's exactly the kind of plot from a storybook.
Kids love that.
Zero didn't explain too much to Hua.
[Zero: I've got the Mara-struck body now, just indulge me a little. Since you don't want me choosing, I'll ask directly, is there any gift you want?]
[Hua: No need.]
Zero very naturally ignored that message.
Since Hua was the Marshal, she had to think of the Xianzhou, right?
Zero quickly chose a birthday gift for her.
[Zero: I specially bought you things for good fortune, yellow crystal, a pixiu figurine, yellow diamonds and gold rings also attract wealth. I won't buy those jewelry pieces for you, but remember to buy them yourself. Oh, and I picked a few money trees for you. Take good care of them, don't let them die.]
[Hua: …]
———
Far away in Yaoqing, Hua stared at her jade terminal, and fell into long silence.
Her mind was now filled with wealth-attracting tricks.
Like wearing a gold ring on the left middle finger attracts wealth, while on the right middle finger preserves it.
Like where a pixiu figurine must be placed.
Her thoughts drifted from her guardian obsessed with making money for the Xianzhou, to other Xianzhou people. She immediately issued an order to all the generals to strengthen anti-fraud publicity and raise citizens' awareness.
———
Soon, the generals passed the order down to the Divination Commission.
The Divination Commission wrote a long awareness article with great efficiency. Other departments followed, urging everyone to repost it, including the Cloud Knights.
Jingliu, "…"
'Didn't the Cloud Knights only ever repost the Xianzhou's victory reports?'
She had thought the psychological tests from the Alchemy Commission were already troublesome enough.
Now what was the Divination Commission doing?
Jingliu tapped her screen and reposted the long article.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a colleague, someone who was usually too busy to be seen, standing beside her, looking hesitant.
Once the colleague noticed Jingliu looking, he immediately shared the rumor he'd heard about a "kept man."
He said angrily, "I think those comments go too far."
Jingliu's lover was still young. How could someone compare him to the Sword Champion's achievements?
Criticizing a twenty-year-old Xianzhou person behind their back, wasn't that too inhumane?
The colleague sighed emotionally. After considering it for a long time, he decided he should tell Jingliu.
Jingliu nodded, thanked him, then asked, "Have many people heard these comments?"
The colleague showed a tired office-worker smile, "Of course. You know my position, where would I ever have time to chase gossip?"
Hearing her colleague's confirmation, Jingliu suddenly felt anger rise within her.
If even a colleague who was always busy and never around had heard it…
Then Zero surely had heard it too.
So why didn't he tell her?