Zero met Zandar's gaze and returned his handshake with just the right amount of strength.
Considering that this was their first meeting, neither of them held on for long. Following proper etiquette, they shook hands for only three seconds before releasing almost in perfect sync.
Zero's eyes carried a smile as he watched Zandar take his seat.
He had originally thought that a scholar as highly respected as Zandar, whose age was even greater than that of the Aeon of "Nous," would be an elderly man with graying hair and a beard.
He never expected that the other man's appearance would be so different from what he imagined, a middle-aged man who looked quite young.
This dinner only involved the three of them, so it wasn't a particularly formal occasion. However, the identities of two of them were simply too special, making it inappropriate to dress too casually.
Perhaps considering the special nature of this meal, Zandar wore a dark formal suit without a tie, instead decorating his chest pocket with a pocket square.
Zero felt that rather than a scholar, Zandar looked more like a British gentleman who could attend a formal banquet at any time.
It felt like he was only missing a pocket watch chain and a cane, well, a long-handled umbrella would work too.
Zero lowered his head, picked up the napkin placed in front of him, and spread it over his lap.
Seeing this, the other two followed suit and picked up their napkins as well.
Zero roughly scanned the dozen or so pieces of cutlery on the table and picked up the outermost knife and fork with both hands.
This time, after consulting Zero's preference, Marty had deliberately chosen Western cuisine.
Whether it was Western food or Xianzhou cuisine, Zero wasn't picky. Besides, since Zandar was the guest, it was only polite to accommodate his preferences.
Zero wasn't worried about Marty at all.
Marty wasn't good at socializing, but when he met someone with shared interests, he could talk endlessly.
Zero was happy to enjoy the leisure, listening to Marty and Zandar chat while he ate his way from appetizer to side dish.
Before long, Zandar couldn't sit still anymore and shifted the topic toward Zero.
Zero slowly put down his knife and fork and, in just a few words, tossed the topic back to Marty.
He wasn't in a hurry at all.
Besides, given his personality, if he only met Zandar once and then let him leave… that would be what truly alerted the Aeons to a problem.
At the very least, he had to keep Zandar in Yaoqing for three months, right?
Zero finished the last bite of fish on his plate. The waiter moved swiftly, replacing it with the main course.
He switched to a new set of cutlery, finished the main dish, and then Zandar took the initiative to bring up the museum drop, the "Rectification Core."
This drop could greatly increase the efficiency of constructing robots and massive structures.
When Zero first obtained this item, he had been concerned that the existence of robots might affect employment rates among Xianzhou people, so he didn't use it and instead put it in the museum for exhibition.
Zandar spoke modestly, saying that his research required borrowing Xianzhou artifacts.
Zero smiled and nodded, then added, "Sure, but you have to do one thing for me."
Marty's eyes widened.
The Marshal was never this easygoing with outsiders.
He took a sip of wine and silently watched the two of them.
Under Marty's incredulous gaze, Zandar shook his head at the Marshal.
He stared at him, his tone inexplicable.
"If the Marshal wants me to take someone as a student…"
Zandar paused, then rejected him outright.
"Please forgive me for refusing. I already have a student."
Marty was utterly baffled.
Come on, that was the Marshal. How could anyone refuse the Marshal?
Of course, even if someone did refuse him, the Marshal wouldn't get angry.
Marty blinked and looked toward his superior.
Sure enough, the Marshal, who was always gentle, didn't say anything after hearing Zandar's words, instead asking about Zandar's student.
The attendant at Zandar's side cleared away his plate and replaced it with a salad.
He said with a cheerful smile, "My student, aside from studying, he's good at everything else."
Marty was deeply puzzled.
A genius capable of creating an Aeon, teaching a student who wasn't good at studying?
Marty listened quietly as Zandar first lavished praise on his student, praising him to the skies.
Judging by the way he talked, it was just like how Marty's colleagues praised the Marshal, no matter how cheesy the words, they'd say them.
People from Marty's home planet, like him, had outgoing personalities and said whatever was on their minds. Even toward parents and children, they could openly express their love.
Marty was used to all kinds of cheesy talk.
His parents always told him, "Marty, you are the greatest gift heaven has given us. We love you very much."
But hearing Zandar today… It really put everything else to shame.
Marty felt goosebumps all over his body. When he glanced at the Marshal, the other man was still wearing that flawless smile.
Marty praised the Marshal inwardly. Then, Zandar suddenly changed direction and began scolding, without using a single curse word.
For example, the acknowledgments section of the student's paper sounded like an accusation, or like a confession.
The wording of the paper was far too obscure, to the point that even people with synesthetic beacons couldn't understand it.
Of course, Zandar's student didn't only write incomprehensible things.
Sometimes his writing was beautiful, the language elegant and the plot full of twists and turns that drew people in.
If submitted for an interstellar literature award, it would surely defeat countless competitors and become famous across the star sea, until Zandar took a closer look and realized it wasn't a sci-fi novel, but his student's research paper.
Marty almost burst out laughing.
He had previously worked at the Interastral Peace Corporation, then been dispatched to Yaoqing. After only a few days, he somehow transformed into a subordinate of the Marshal.
From then on, Marty began a dreamlike professional life.
The ultimate dream of any office worker was a job with good pay, little work, and close to home.
Following the Marshal, money was never an issue, and funding was nothing to worry about.
The work itself was what he loved, his colleagues were all like-minded partners, and he didn't even mind working overtime.
As for being close to home… after he became the Marshal's subordinate, his home planet was brought under the protection of the Xianzhou Alliance.
So when Marty first heard Zandar's words, he just found them funny.
Everyone around him was a good person. He would never end up like Zandar, getting so angry at someone.
Zandar let out a deep sigh, wearing an expression of disappointment, as if lamenting wasted potential.
"To be honest, sometimes I really want to tell my student, you're not suited for scientific research. Doing research is wasting your talent. You're truly a promising seed in the field of intellectual property!"
Marty didn't want to be rude in front of the Marshal and an outsider. He tried hard to hold back his laughter, but still couldn't fully control his expression and could only bury his head and eat his salad.
Wait, just now, for a brief moment, it seemed like the Marshal's expression hadn't looked very good…
Marty hesitated, then looked up again and saw that the Marshal was still maintaining his gentle smile.
Must have been his imagination.
Thinking that, Marty lowered his head again and continued eating his salad.
Zero's face carried a smile, but there was no smile in his eyes.
He asked, "It sounds like your student… is quite unique."
Zandar nodded.
"Yes. I've put a lot into teaching him."
"All the research projects I've handled combined can't compare to him."
Zandar paused, seeming to realize he'd phrased it poorly, and deliberately added, "I mean in terms of time and energy spent."
Zero, "..."
He smiled and said, "Being able to turn rotten wood into a useful talent, that's truly impressive."
Zandar showed an expression of shared pride.
"Exactly. If I can even teach him, who couldn't I teach?"
Following his words, Zero said, "Mr. Zandar, if you entered the education field, you'd probably be a famous teacher that no amount of credits could hire, wouldn't you?"
Marty's hand holding the cutlery trembled slightly.
Could it be… the Marshal was doing this for him?
Zero sighed, pretending to be troubled.
"I originally thought that this matter was something only Mr. Zandar could handle. Forget it, let's just drop it."
At this point, any normal person would continue to ask about it.
Especially since Zandar needed Zero's help to borrow the "Rectification Core," he should have been even more proactive in helping solve the problem.
But Zandar wasn't a normal person and didn't follow the usual routine at all.
He didn't continue questioning along Zero's line and instead, like Marty, lowered his head and started eating his salad.
Zero wasn't annoyed and instead smiled as he asked about Zandar's travel plans.
After learning that Zandar planned to leave Yaoqing in a week, Zero's tone turned light and cheerful.
"Since you're already here, why not have Marty accompany you and properly look around Yaoqing?"
Marty was suddenly named. He immediately looked up and swallowed his salad with difficulty.
He looked at Zandar and broke into an extremely enthusiastic eight-tooth smile, repeatedly echoing the Marshal's suggestion.
Zero said pointedly, "The Xianzhou isn't like other places. Staying ten days or half a month isn't enough to see all of Yaoqing's famous sights."
Marty nodded like a pecking chick. He didn't catch the deeper meaning at all and enthusiastically rattled off Yaoqing's tourist attractions like listing dishes on a menu.
Zandar was a smart man. Marty didn't understand Zero's subtext, but Zandar did.
The implication couldn't have been clearer.
Since he was already in Yaoqing, when he left would naturally be up to the Xianzhou.
Could a guest like Zandar really refuse their host's hospitality and insist on not being taken sightseeing?
Zandar met Zero's gaze and asked calmly, "Then how long would it take to visit all these places?"
Zero had finished his salad. Next came dessert.
He picked up the dessert fork and spoon placed in front of his plate.
He leisurely scooped up a spoonful of mousse cake and said, "No matter what, it'd take at least half a year, maybe a full year."
Zandar fell silent for a moment, then began to offer thanks proactively.
"In that case, I'll trouble the Marshal during this period."
He brought up the topic he had avoided earlier.
"I've only ever taken one student, and in the future I'll only have that one student."
"But since the Marshal has personally asked me…"
Zero carefully controlled his facial expression.
'Who personally asked you?!'
'You were scolding so fiercely at the table… I'm just keeping you here, what's wrong with that? Why are you still refusing to give ground verbally?'
'I'm already showing restraint, okay?!'
'If it were anyone else daring to show up in front of me and scold my people, they'd be an assassin.'
'And assassins would already be in the Ten-Lords Commission!'
Zero continued scooping his mousse.
Zandar continued, "You said this matter was something only I could do. If I rejected it outright, wouldn't I be betraying the Marshal's trust? Why not tell me, what do you need me to do?"
Zero first took a bite of cake. After swallowing, he said, "I adopted a child. After thinking it over, I feel that only the greatest scholar in the star sea is qualified to teach her."
When Marty heard this, he couldn't help but show a pitiful expression.
He had originally thought the Marshal was doing this for him, but it turned out to be for the Crown Princess.
Thinking about it, that made sense… He was just a subordinate. How could he be worth the Marshal specially inviting the founder of the "Genius Society"?
Marty quickly adjusted his expression.
The food tasted like nothing to him. He barely touched his salad and dessert.
Marty forced a smile and listened to the two of them talk, listening as they quickly reached an agreement.
Taking Zandar's feelings into account, the Marshal only said that Zandar would give lessons to the Crown Princess, without mentioning formal apprenticeship.
Zandar didn't hesitate any further and agreed immediately.
After that, the two of them chatted for a long time about child-rearing issues. The desserts remained untouched, and the attendant at the side could only wait.
Soon, they ended the topic, and Zandar began telling fables again.
Marty complained inwardly, 'Only children liked fables, right?'
As he was thinking that, he looked up and saw the Marshal listening very seriously, so he listened along as well.
It was a story that took place in a forest.
The home that the small animals depended on for survival encountered an unprecedented crisis. They united as one, went through hardships and overcame obstacles, and in the end, their efforts were not in vain, they succeeded.
In Marty's view, this was just a small story meant to teach children about unity and striving forward.
He didn't know why, but after hearing it, the Marshal seemed deeply moved.
The Marshal shook his head and sighed, "What a pity. Fables and reality are different."
Zandar looked serious and countered the Marshal with an example.
"How could that be? It's like doing experiments, as long as there's enough experimental data, and enough time, success is guaranteed."
The Marshal looked at Zandar, his tone inexplicable.
"Is that so?"
Zandar nodded without hesitation, giving an affirmative answer.
"Yes."
He paused, then repeated, "As long as there's enough time, success is guaranteed."
The Marshal didn't say anything else, only smiled.
For some reason, Marty felt that the Marshal's mood seemed to have… become especially good.
The Marshal made a gesture, signaling the attendant to bring the final coffee.
Zandar glanced at the coffee in the cup, and his expression instantly froze.
He asked, "Has the Marshal drunk coffee before?"
Zero shook his head.
"No. I usually drink tea. This counts as… a new attempt."
He picked up the cup and took a sip.
Zandar opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, then stopped. In the end, he said nothing and watched as Zero finished all the coffee.
Just like that, the matter of Zandar teaching Hua was temporarily settled.
A few days later, outside the academy gates.
As usual, Hua walked out together with her classmates. After only a few steps, she heard others exclaim in surprise.
They stared at the dozen or so bodyguards dressed uniformly in black suits and black sunglasses, and immediately began discussing among themselves.
"Wow, what kind of lineup is this?"
"They're wearing… tactical earpieces?"
"Could it be… some young lady from a wealthy family is coming to study at our academy?"
"Have you been reading too many novels? What era do you think this is? There's no such thing as young ladies anymore."
Hua sensed something was wrong and subconsciously slowed her steps. However, there were too many bodyguards, and one of them noticed her.
They immediately lined up neatly and shouted, "Greetings, Young Lady!"
Hua, "..."