Chapter 49: I Want to Grow Old with You, Our Hair White as Snow
Because the person in her arms seemed unwell, Ming Fei loosened her left hand, the worry in her eyes deepening.
The pheromone bracelet on her wrist flashed a blue warning light. Just as Ming Fei was considering what to do, Zhu Yiqiao said softly,
“…Sorry.”
“I’m fine, you two play, I’ll go back to the study for a bit.”
Instantly, all the pheromones that had surged out were withdrawn. Ming Fei felt that Zhu Yiqiao’s ability to control her pheromones and herself was truly terrifying. But she was still a little worried. After all, people could tell white lies for various reasons, but pheromones wouldn’t.
The moment she was hugged, the pheromones Zhu Yiqiao released were… strange. It was impossible that nothing was wrong.
Ming Fei insisted, “Jiejie, do you really not need my help?”
Zhu Yiqiao pursed her lips: “No.”
After saying that, she quickly left the living room, leaving Ming Fei standing there, stunned.
Because the paint on her face hadn’t been wiped off yet, and with the black character “king” on her forehead, Ming Fei, standing by the corner of the sofa, really looked like a dazed and helpless tiger.
Ming Zaozao, hiding on the other side, immediately ran over when she sensed something was wrong.
“Mommy, what’s wrong with Auntie?”
She made a questioning sound, “Auntie said she would only be back at night.”
Ming Fei didn’t know what was going on either. She had already done her best to express her willingness to help, but Zhu Yiqiao still refused. She wasn’t sure if Zhu Yiqiao had other considerations, or perhaps other solutions.
After all—
Zhu Yiqiao was different from her.
Before this period, she hadn’t had pheromones or a heat cycle, but Zhu Yiqiao had always been a normal alpha with pheromones and heat cycles. Moreover, as a member of the Ole Empire’s royal family, Zhu Yiqiao had received physiology lessons earlier than ordinary people and knew many differentiation secrets that ordinary people couldn’t access.
In addition, in their initial marriage agreement, Zhu Yiqiao had explicitly forbidden her from crossing the line.
Therefore, after repeated hesitation, Ming Fei worried that her persistence would only annoy Zhu Yiqiao, so she didn’t follow.
She bent down and picked up Ming Zaozao: “She came back for something, don’t worry, Zaozao.”
Ming Zaozao nodded like a pecking chicken: “Okay.”
This interlude interrupted their hide-and-seek game, and Ming Fei didn’t see Zhu Yiqiao come downstairs even during dinner.
At 8:30 pm, international news released a breaking news bulletin. At the same time, 0619’s display screen suddenly changed from emojis to an internal message from Zhu Yiqiao.
[Change of plans, going on a business trip.]
[Back in a week.]
After reading it word for word, Ming Fei asked thoughtfully,
“Are there other exits in the villa?”
0619’s display screen changed again, from an emotionless text message to Ming Zaozao’s favorite little bear emoji, looking a bit comical, but also cute.
“Yes!” it replied. “But only Chief Judge Zhu has the authority to open them.”
Ming Fei hummed in acknowledgment and returned her attention to her book.
Ming Zaozao was assembling a toy gun on the sofa, even more focused than Ming Fei, who was reading, so much so that even 008 didn’t interrupt. After assembling the toy gun, Ming Zaozao picked up the gun, which was almost taller than her, and walked towards Ming Fei step by step.
“Mommy~”
Ming Fei looked up at her and said with a smile, “Is Officer Zaozao going on patrol?”
The pink toy gun almost fell to the ground. Ming Zaozao caught it in time and said seriously with a straight face,
“Yes! Baby and Flower are going. Bye, Mommy!”
“Okay.”
The so-called patrol was just taking the elevator down to the first floor for a walk, with 008, which had full video surveillance, accompanying Ming Zaozao. Ming Fei was very reassured.
The study became quiet again, and she continued reading for a while, but the pages of the book remained unturned. Ten minutes later, she opened the chat software and switched to the chat page with Zhu Yiqiao.
A long minute passed.
Ming Fei took out a coin from the bookshelf, using her old method to decide whether or not to send a message to Zhu Yiqiao.
The coin, round like a small moon, landed on the table, showing heads, the positive answer.
Ming Fei’s lips curved upwards.
She didn’t immediately put the coin back as she usually did. Instead, she first typed the message she was going to send to Zhu Yiqiao, and only after the message was sent successfully did she put the coin away.
[Jiejie, how are you feeling?]
[Zaozao and I are a little worried about you.]
[[Kitten staring.jpg]]
To emphasize their worry, Ming Fei added another animated emoji.
[[Little bear and little rabbit anxiously spinning.gif]]
The message conveyed by 0619 didn’t mention the destination of the business trip. Ming Fei guessed that Zhu Yiqiao probably hadn’t left the country, so there was no time difference. She waited for a reply while reading, but she didn’t receive any reply from Zhu Yiqiao until she left the study, went back to the bedroom, washed up, and was ready to go to bed.
Instead, Ming Zaozao, who was co-sleeping with her, asked,
“Mommy, what’s wrong?”
Ming Fei pinched her cheek: “What’s wrong, Zaozao?”
After learning how to express herself with actions, expressions, and words, Ming Zaozao had become a meticulous little detective, using a magnifying glass to capture all of Ming Fei’s unhappiness, no matter how well hidden.
Ming Zaozao said, “Mommy looked at your phone many times.”
Ming Fei’s voice lacked confidence: “Not many times.”
Ming Zaozao rephrased: “You looked at it every now and then.”
“Because there’s something I haven’t resolved yet,” Ming Fei coaxed her. “But I can only deal with it tomorrow. Let’s go to sleep now, okay?”
“Okay!”
Snowflakes were falling outside the window, like cherry blossoms covering the mountains. Just as she finished telling the bedtime story and was about to fall asleep, Ming Fei got out of bed to get the pheromone bracelet she had forgotten to wear from the bathroom. But just as she took a step, the phone on the bedside table vibrated.
Ming Fei picked it up and saw the four-character note.
[Chief Judge Zhu]
The communication page reminded Ming Fei that it wasn’t a message, but a phone call, where they could hear each other’s voices and sense the emotions behind their words.
She quickly walked to the corridor outside the master bedroom and answered the call as soon as the door closed, breaking the silence first.
“…Jiejie.”
The late-night call added a rare touch of gentleness to Zhu Yiqiao’s usually cold demeanor.
“Mm.” She explained, “I was delayed at the transit station and didn’t receive your message.”
Transit station?
Another trip abroad?
Ming Fei stopped guessing and asked softly, “Jiejie, are you going abroad?”
“Not yet, maybe tomorrow or the day after. Bai He has a backup plan to have the Silla higher-ups save her life. I will represent the Independent State of Yi Meng at her sentencing hearing in Silla.”
Hearing this, Ming Fei’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes widening.
Bai He?
Hadn’t she already been sentenced to death?
Why could she still be saved?
She suddenly remembered the words Zhu Yiqiao had said to her when they first met—”Power is foul.” Although she had been touched by these words at the time, because it seemed so distant, the brief touch hadn’t caused much of a ripple.
Now, the waves surged, condensing into a simple yet crucial concern as she spoke.
“Jiejie, please be careful.”
“Mm.”
Ming Fei stood under the wall lamp, bathed in a light golden glow.
She asked, “This afternoon, it really wasn’t a heat cycle?”
“No.”
Zhu Yiqiao added, “Because of long-term use of suppressants, my pre-heat symptoms are more obvious, which is why my pheromones went out of control this afternoon.”
Ming Fei understood: “I see.”
“I won’t be around recently, and Dr. Tang is also abroad. If there’s anything unusual about your gland or pheromones, tell me immediately.”
The corners of Ming Fei’s lips curved slightly.
“Okay, I will.”
The next day, the incessant snow finally stopped.
The self-driving car arrived at the school. Ming Fei first went to the academy’s office to pick up the gifts that had been brought back by the robot transport, then took the elevator down to the academy’s internal classroom on the first floor.
The class bell rang just as she arrived.
As Ming Fei walked in, she briefly scanned the students below and, seeing that they didn’t show any unusual reactions, still maintaining their usual seriousness, she opened the prepared supplementary materials and began the class.
“In the last century, the original machine drive control system mainly…”
As she spoke, the students below became more and more focused, all sitting upright. Until the bell rang for the end of class, no student mentioned her marriage, it was so normal that it was almost abnormal.
After all, even a little bit of news about Chief Judge Zhu before the school celebration could quickly spark heated discussions among the students.
As the last note of the bell faded, Ming Fei coughed softly.
The next words made her feel a little embarrassed. Fortunately, she had prepared a draft in advance. As she asked the two class representatives in the front row to help distribute the gifts, she said solemnly,
“I’m very grateful to you all for answering the questions and doubts of netizens on the public network. These are the gifts I brought back for you from the academic exchange. Thank you very much.”
The usually lively and cheerful students were already smiling happily.
“You’re welcome, Teacher Ming, happy wedding!”
“Teacher Ming, happy wedding, and may you have a long and happy life together!”
“Teacher Ming, happy wedding! Wishing you and Chief Judge Zhu a long and loving relationship!”
Ming Fei returned their smiles, her almond eyes filled with a gentle smile, like a night river reflecting the stars.
After making sure that every student had received a gift, Ming Fei said goodbye to everyone. After leaving the classroom, the two class representatives who had helped her distribute the gifts followed her to the office because they had to submit their lab reports to another teacher.
As they entered the elevator, the class president whispered,
“Teacher Ming, no matter how many social roles you play in life, at school, in the classroom, you are the teacher we respect, and also the pride of our Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Academy. So we usually don’t mention your marriage to Chief Judge Zhu during class.”
Ming Fei said softly, “Thank you.”
The class representative next to her smiled: “You’re too polite, Teacher Ming. We should be the ones thanking you for the gifts.”
The elevator reached the office floor, and the three of them stepped out. After returning to her office, Ming Fei revised the teaching content, then went to the lab to inspect the bionic robots of the two experimental groups.
At eleven o’clock, it started snowing outside. It wasn’t until three in the afternoon that the lingering snow finally covered the entire city of Xi He.
A week later, November 15, 167 New Calendar.
In Silla, located in the south, the case of Bai He finally came to a close.
After three days of public outrage and protests, coupled with the efforts of representatives from various countries attending the hearing, the Silla Military and Political Court finally announced that Bai He would be stripped of her property and political rights, and sentenced to death on International Day next month.
After the court announced the verdict, the representatives from various countries left in an orderly manner. The dark blue hovercar moved along the track like a fish swimming in a white lake.
Inside the hovercar, Lan Lubai and Min Man were discussing the latest developments in Moli. Zhu Yiqiao, sitting in the back seat, had taken off her cap but not her cloak. There seemed to be a chill in her eyes, a breathtaking beauty that also made people hesitant to approach.
After uploading the document to the intranet, Lan Lubai took a sip of coffee and asked,
“Are we returning now? I’ll go to Moli again in three days.”
Min Man said, “Is there any news from Secretary-General Wei?”
“Not yet.”
Lan Lubai changed the subject: “Chief Judge Zhu, are we leaving now? Or tomorrow?”
Zhu Yiqiao rested her chin on one hand: “We’ll return tonight.”
Lan Lubai glanced at the time on the display screen: “It’s only eleven o’clock now, wouldn’t it be more convenient to return in the afternoon?”
Min Man reminded her, “The transit station connections are very slow at night, it’s much faster in the afternoon.”
Zhu Yiqiao, who often attended international conferences and traveled between countries, naturally knew these advantages and disadvantages. But she didn’t hesitate at all, just casually saying,
“The flowers haven’t arrived yet.”
Min Man asked, “Yiqiao, what flowers did you buy? Aren’t you the one who dislikes flowers the most, like you’re allergic to them?”
Lan Lubai looked over in surprise, staring at Zhu Yiqiao, left and right. When she saw the watch on Zhu Yiqiao’s wrist, she suddenly thought of the newly arranged large garden in the villa, a flash of inspiration striking her.
“I know!” she said with certainty, “It’s the flowers you bought for Teacher Xiao Fei!”
Min Man was gradually surprised: “But… why did Yiqiao buy flowers for Teacher Xiao Fei?”
In the bet they had made with Xue Xun, Min Man was the only one who believed that Zhu Yiqiao had no other intentions towards Ming Fei and only treated her as a cooperative partner.
Lan Lubai, who held the opposite view, asked, “Silla…? Is it the new Blue Fia lily?”
Zhu Yiqiao: “Mm.”
As the hovercar passed Silla’s famous Lover’s Lake, Lan Lubai asked opportunely, “Chief Judge Zhu, did you look up the meaning of the Blue Fia lily before buying it?”
Min Man, puzzled, asked, “What meaning?”
In the center of Lover’s Lake, there was a large area of frozen roses. Zhu Yiqiao silently looked at the white roses among them. The various roses were piled up in different shapes, but the arrangement of the white roses reminded her of a certain snow rabbit far away in the Independent State of Yi Meng.
Seeing this, Lan Lubai smiled even more brightly with certainty.
“Oh~ you know, don’t you?”
“You know that the Blue Fia lily is a flower specifically given to one’s sweetheart, and you also know its meaning is—I want to grow old with you, our hair white as snow, right?”
Min Man, caught off guard, looked over in astonishment.
Before this, Lan Lubai and Min Man had asked Zhu Yiqiao twice whether she had other intentions towards Ming Fei. Zhu Yiqiao hadn’t answered either of the two questions, letting them sink to the bottom of the sea.
But this time—
When Zhu Yiqiao faced the same situation for the third time, she lowered her eyes to hide her emotions, slowly playing with her black pistol, and before the hovercar completely left Lover’s Lake, which symbolized blessings, she gave the answer from her heart.
“Yes, I know.”
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