Chapter 26: “…Jiejie, Is This Right?”
In the eyes of many professors at Q University’s Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Research Institute, the young Teacher Xiao Fei, who was offered a generous contract to stay at the university, possessed a brilliant mind adept at learning and a pair of exceptionally nimble hands, capable of crafting all sorts of handicrafts.
Intelligent, outstanding, skilled…
These were the words of praise that overflowed from colleagues whenever they talked about Ming Fei.
But now, this Teacher Xiao Fei, surrounded by praises after her transmigration, was nervously clenching her hands due to a question from her newlywed “partner.”
“—Is this the result of your practice?”
Ming Fei couldn’t refute these words. Although she had diligently read books and made a schedule to complete various exercises, she really wasn’t good at these things.
Her relationship experience was a blank slate, and her handling of intimate relationships was surprisingly bad. Worried about revealing her inexperience, she decided to consult this invincible Chief Judge.
Looking at Zhu Yiqiao, who was so close, her eyelashes trembled slightly, then she leaned in a little, closing the distance between them until there was almost no gap left. After doing this, she opened her clear almond eyes and asked, pretending to be calm,
“…Jiejie, is this right?”
She thought, in response to her partner’s approach, this kind of proactive intimacy should be correct, right?
But the reality was that Zhu Yiqiao… seemed even colder. Ming Fei felt as if frost had formed in those blue eyes, silently expressing dissatisfaction. Just as she was about to ask why, Zhu Yiqiao withdrew her finger from Ming Fei’s lips and sat back in her original position.
Both of their wrists were wearing pheromone bracelets, sharing the secret from another world. And because of the similar style and design of the bracelets, those who didn’t know might mistake them for couple bracelets.
The display on Ming Fei’s pheromone bracelet dimmed. She checked the other data on her body and found that everything was normal except for a slightly elevated heart rate.
Zhu Yiqiao said, “Let’s get out of the car.”
“Okay.”
Their luggage had been handed over to specialized transport robots before they left the villa. However, the cost of transport robots was generally high, so most people still chose to carry their luggage themselves when traveling.
Ming Fei smoothly got out of the car, but didn’t walk ahead. Instead, she stood by the hovercar door, waiting for Zhu Yiqiao.
When Zhu Yiqiao got out of the car, she asked softly, “Should we hold hands?”
Compared to her hesitant question, Zhu Yiqiao appeared more at ease. Without a word, she directly took Ming Fei’s right hand and led her into the flight station.
High-ranking public officials used the orange channel, which offered the best concealment and protection, for outbound travel. Faced with the endless unknowns, Ming Fei’s heart lifted slightly. She was a little nervous about encountering many outbound or inbound officials whom she had only seen on the public screen before.
But perhaps it was good luck. There was almost no one in the orange channel today. They only encountered a senior military officer returning through the right lane as they reached the end of the channel.
Although Zhu Yiqiao had already retired, the officer immediately stopped and saluted her when she saw her.
“Chief Judge Zhu, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
The senior officer was clearly very happy. Ming Fei guessed that she might also have been a fan of the Victory Column. Back when Zhu Yiqiao joined the Ares Special Forces, she quickly formed a special elite squad with Lan Lubai and Min Man.
Due to their outstanding performance and undefeated record, the citizens of the Independent State of Yi Meng affectionately called their squad the Victory Column.
After Zhu Yiqiao announced her retirement, Min Man, who had a background within the Trial Court, also retired immediately. When the only remaining member, Lan Lubai, announced her retirement, the public network of the Independent State of Yi Meng was paralyzed.
Because after that, there was no more Victory Column.
But even today, the name of the Victory Column was still preserved by the military, and it was still deeply etched in the hearts of every citizen of the Independent State of Yi Meng.
Ming Fei’s thoughts were brought back by their voices.
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t salute: “Colonel Xu.”
Colonel Xu, with tanned skin and heterochromia, politely looked at Ming Fei beside her: “Chief Judge Zhu, is this your partner?”
“Yes.”
Ming Fei introduced herself: “Hello, my name is Ming Fei. I currently work at Q University.”
“Hello.” Colonel Xu smiled. “Teacher Ming looks very young. Are you already teaching at Q University?”
Zhu Yiqiao glanced at the display screen in front: “My partner is twenty-five years old this year, quite young, and also rather quiet. Colonel Xu, don’t tease her.”
Hearing this, Colonel Xu laughed heartily, the wildness in her eyes softening a bit.
“On behalf of the AUW Special Forces, I wish you both a happy wedding.”
Her laughter subsided, and Colonel Xu saluted Zhu Yiqiao again: “Goodbye, and I wish you all the best.”
After the three said goodbye in the orange channel, because of Colonel Xu’s heterochromia, Ming Fei, who had slight face blindness, finally remembered who Colonel Xu was.
Her guess about the Victory Column fan was only half right. The AUW Special Forces, led by Colonel Xu, was the only team in the military that could rival the Ares Special Forces. And Colonel Xu’s personal resume was outstanding in every aspect.
But the biggest reason she remembered her was because of the rumors that Colonel Xu had once pursued Chief Judge Zhu.
“What are you thinking about?”
Ming Fei shook her head: “Nothing.”
Zhu Yiqiao reminded her, “Colonel Xu only cares about training and victory. She’s not like other shrewd politicians. Don’t mess up in front of the staff at the service counter later.”
Ming Fei assured her, “I’ll be careful, don’t worry, Jiejie.”
After the inspection at the service counter, Ming Fei, who had been holding her breath all the way, could finally relax a little.
They entered the aircraft. After confirming that they were the only ones in the cabin, Ming Fei released Zhu Yiqiao’s hand.
She rubbed her cheeks, sore from the forced smiles. Her porcelain-white ears had already turned crimson from the staff’s well wishes.
Zhu Yiqiao’s prestige and popularity in the Independent State of Yi Meng were truly too high. They even received wedding gifts from some of the staff. In the end, Ming Fei could barely carry them all.
“—You two look so well-matched, a match made in heaven!”
“—Seeing you, I finally understand why Chief Judge Zhu said it was love at first sight during the interview.”
“—I’m so happy for you two, happy wedding! May you have a long and happy life together.”
…
Thinking of these words of blessing, the crimson on Ming Fei’s ears deepened, but it was more from embarrassment than shyness. She unscrewed the bottled water from her seat and drank almost half of it before silently looking at Zhu Yiqiao beside her.
Noticing her gaze, Zhu Yiqiao didn’t react, just focused on her work.
Ming Fei glanced at her and then looked away. She didn’t disturb Zhu Yiqiao, opening her e-book library on her phone and choosing a newly searched illustrated guide to paleontology to read.
The book’s content was rich and interesting, and the illustrations were exceptionally realistic. Ming Fei read with relish, gradually relaxing from her tense state.
She was used to wearing black-framed glasses when reading. The inner frame had the latest anti-myopia lenses developed by the Academy of Sciences, which could achieve a 90% prevention and control effect. Ming Fei found them very useful and replaced them regularly every year.
The flight from the Independent State of Yi Meng to Taiya took three hours.
When one felt relaxed, comfortable, or happy, time seemed to pass faster than usual. Before she knew it, Ming Fei’s reading time today had reached two hours.
Because she had woken up very early, she gradually started to feel sleepy, dozing off against the seat. Just as her eyes were about to close, she heard the person next to her say slowly,
“To prevent the Taiya media from making a fuss, the hotel only booked a suite with one bed.”
Ming Fei thought it was reasonable: “Okay.”
“There’s no sofa, so we can only sleep in the same bed.”
Ming Fei started to become less calm: “…Mm.”
“After we get off the plane, practice again.”
Ming Fei’s composure completely disappeared: “…O-Okay.”
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t speak again until they arrived in Taiya. As the aircraft was about to land, Ming Fei tentatively asked,
“Jiejie, when is the banquet?”
If the banquet was tonight, then her photos would definitely be all over the Taiya news tomorrow, and the news of her being Zhu Yiqiao’s newlywed partner would quickly spread back home. This meant that in the coming days, she would be bombarded with countless messages from her friends and colleagues.
She had to be prepared. Ming Fei thought to herself.
“Friday.”
Ming Fei was relieved to get the answer, as she at least had some buffer time.
“But there’s a small banquet tonight, and you have to go with me.”
“Small?” Ming Fei looked at her. “Who will be there?”
Zhu Yiqiao looked at her: “Besides the King of Taiya, several other people you often see in the news will be present.”
Hearing this, Ming Fei felt that Zhu Yiqiao’s definition of “small banquet” was completely different from her own.
She nodded, took off her glasses, and put on her black coat, which she had taken off after boarding. Then, before exiting the aircraft and facing the staff, she took the initiative to hold Zhu Yiqiao’s hand.
Fair, warm, soft, with faint calluses from holding a gun on the webbing between her thumb and index finger, and on her knuckles.
As their fingers intertwined, the calluses rubbed against Ming Fei’s fingers, making her palm itch, and the little deer in her heart fluttered nervously.
The Independent State of Yi Meng time on the display screen had changed to Taiya local time.
At 17:33, they officially arrived in Taiya. After leaving the flight station, they took a pre-arranged hovercar to their hotel.
Along the way, Ming Fei enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
Before getting out of the car, Ming Fei knew that Zhu Yiqiao’s prestige wasn’t limited to the Independent State of Yi Meng. Even in the international community, Zhu Yiqiao’s reputation was among the top. But only after she got out of the car and faced the frequent glances and well wishes did she truly understand how influential and popular Chief Judge Zhu was.
Even the robot that guided them presented Zhu Yiqiao with a screen full of electronic flowers and fireworks at the end of its service.
Entering the hotel room, Ming Fei checked the room as usual. Seeing the box of finger condoms marked with a heart in the bedroom drawer, she calmly put it at the very bottom.
Taiya’s customs were more open and enthusiastic than those of the Independent State of Yi Meng, and it was perfectly normal for the hotel to prepare these.
However, Ming Fei still wasn’t used to the fact that she was in a contract marriage. She found an extra cardboard box, completely covered the condoms, and made sure there was no trace of them before closing the drawer.
After doing all this, Ming Fei walked out of the room and looked at the single sofa in the living room.
She didn’t understand the hotel’s intention in designing it this way, but she planned to spend the night on it.
Zhu Yiqiao, sitting on a single chair by the French window not far away, had taken off her uniform jacket and was only wearing a white shirt. Perhaps because the room temperature was set a bit high, Zhu Yiqiao had unbuttoned the top button of her shirt.
Ming Fei poured two glasses of warm water.
Just as she placed one of the glasses on the table, she heard Zhu Yiqiao’s emotionless voice.
“Come here.”
She obediently walked over.
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t take off her white gloves, her expressionless face the same as Ming Fei had seen on the public screen in the past few years.
Perhaps it was a kind of intuition before danger, but Ming Fei had a premonition that what was about to happen would make her heart race again and might even cause changes in other bodily functions.
And sure enough, Zhu Yiqiao made her premonition come true.
“—Start practicing now, until I deem it satisfactory.”
Leave a Reply