Chapter 83: Marshal Yan is Engaged, But Not to Him
A small space enclosed by curtains was dimly lit by a small lamp, its weak light, weakened by insufficient power, falling on Mu Mu’s face, softer than the moonlight outside.
Yan Gui Xing, lying behind Mu Mu, presumably already asleep, slowly opened his eyes; his green eyes, hidden in the darkness, were clear, devoid of sleepiness.
He gently propped himself up, reaching over Mu Mu’s back, his shadow falling over the dim light, completely enveloping Mu Mu in darkness.
Yan Gui Xing watched Mu Mu quietly, waiting until he was sure Mu Mu wasn’t going to wake up before carefully lifting a corner of the blanket and sliding off the bed.
The bedroom was dark; the light-blocking curtains were tightly drawn, shutting out the moonlight.
Familiar with the layout, Yan Gui Xing didn’t turn on the lights. Wearing only dark gray satin pajama bottoms, he walked barefoot on the thick carpet, avoiding all obstacles, reaching the outer room.
He put on a dark gray satin robe draped over the back of the sofa, the belt loosely tied, revealing a large expanse of his strong chest.
When Yan Gui Xing reached the study, Achi, Sha Xia, Luo Tang, and several men in uniform were already waiting.
They showed no surprise at seeing Yan Gui Xing in his robe and pajama bottoms, his hair disheveled, standing up neatly and saluting. Only after Yan Gui Xing sat down at his desk did they sit back down.
Achi approached Yan Gui Xing, separated the screen from his datapad, suspended it in front of Yan Gui Xing, quietly stepped back, and allowed Yan Gui Xing to view the content first.
Yan Gui Xing quickly scanned the content on the screen, leaned back in his chair, nodded to Achi, signaling him to begin.
Achi said, “Lanhai Building was completely sealed off at 5 PM today, with no entry or exit allowed. The entire building was inspected five times; aside from the fifty vetted staff and Miss Mi Ya and Anna, there was no one else except for the military personnel.”
“As per your orders, Boss, the star region will open tomorrow. Three major media outlets from the Empire will arrive at the starport at 5 AM tomorrow. After the squad picks them up and verifies their identities, they will be taken directly to Lanhai Building.”
Achi stepped back. Sha Xia was in charge of the security arrangements for the engagement party, and he stood up to report.
Yan Gui Xing had been resting his chin in his hand, his eyelids half-closed, his long eyelashes concealing his lake-green eyes; he looked listless.
And so it was. No matter how luxurious or grand the engagement party was tomorrow, even if it was live-streamed across the Empire, it was only for the military and the council.
This loveless marriage, let alone him, probably didn’t bring Mi Ya much joy.
Yan Gui Xing was now worried about the simpleton sleeping soundly in the master bedroom. A slight frown creased his brow; he no longer heard what his subordinates were saying; his mind and eyes were filled with Mu Mu.
The unease that had been plaguing him recently resurfaced. For a moment, he even wanted to call it off.
To hell with the engagement, to hell with the plan. Without the Mi family, he wasn’t going to fail to be elected marshal.
However, the impulse was fleeting, quickly suppressed by reason. His foundation wasn’t solid yet; he couldn’t gamble on anything less than certain success.
Yan Gui Xing, who always relied on himself, was unusually praying for Lady Luck’s favor, hoping that everything would go smoothly tomorrow.
—
Lake-green color filled the vacant eyes, like a finishing touch, bringing the beauty in the painting to life.
Mu Mu looked at the portrait, which was about 70-80% similar to Yan Gui Xing, holding his brush, surprised and delighted, as if he couldn’t believe he could paint this well.
The old painter, standing behind him, showed a satisfied expression, patting Mu Mu on the shoulder, generously praising, “Not bad.”
Aside from the initial sketch correction by the old painter, Mu Mu had done everything himself. The old painter was quite surprised that he had reached this level.
Looking at Mu Mu excitedly circling the easel, he felt a touch of sadness.
Perhaps this child truly had a talent for painting. If he hadn’t been…simple, he might have truly become his student.
The old painter understood; there were no ifs in this world. If there had been such ifs, the unlucky kid wouldn’t have met Yan Gui Xing, and of course, wouldn’t have met him.
Speaking of Yan Gui Xing, the old painter felt he’d seen news about Yan Gui Xing these past few days. What was it?
The old painter couldn’t remember. He tapped his head, sighed, and said, “Old age and memory loss, huh.”
He called the simpleton still circling the easel, scolding affectionately, “Stop spinning; you’re making this old man’s eyes hurt. Once you’re done, go play with your datapad. When the paint is dry, go home.”
Mu Mu stuck out his tongue, went to the window, sat on a small stool, held his datapad, squinted, and basked in the sun like a cat.
He usually didn’t play with his datapad much and didn’t enjoy games. After sending Zheng An a few messages without a response—guessing Zheng An might be busy—he started browsing the star network.
Mu Mu had just opened the star network when a bold, highlighted notification popped up: Marshal Yan’s Engagement Live Stream.
Gui Gui’s engagement? Thinking it might be fake, Mu Mu clicked it without hesitation. The next second, the image appeared: Yan Gui Xing, in a black and gold marshal’s uniform and a black and gold cape, stood before a wall of white roses, holding Mi Ya’s hand. Mi Ya wore a champagne-colored, diamond-studded gown.
Brilliant beauty and elegant pride; a perfect match.
Mu Mu immediately recognized the girl Yan Gui Xing was holding—the Peacock Miss from the gallery.
So, Gui Gui’s fiancée was the Peacock Miss?
How could this be?! Mu Mu’s fingers trembled; he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. But the person speaking on the screen was Gui Gui. He recognized his voice!
Why would Gui Gui thank everyone for coming to his engagement party with Mi Ya?
Wasn’t he his boyfriend? Why would he get engaged to this Peacock Miss Mi Ya?
What about him? Mu Mu wondered dazedly, what about Mu Mu?
The image on the screen hurt Mu Mu’s eyes. Afraid his tears would fall, he quickly looked away at the window.
His blurry reflection appeared on the glass; he couldn’t see his face clearly but was sure it wasn’t as beautiful as Mi Ya’s in her champagne-colored dress.
Mu Mu’s datapad volume was high; the old painter, painting in the other part of the room, heard it. He quickly put down his brush and went to Mu Mu.
Hearing footsteps, Mu Mu turned his head. His eyes and nose were red, his gaze shattered. He hadn’t cried, yet he looked more heartbroken than if he had.
He subconsciously called out, “Boss,” his voice hoarse and tinged with sobs.
The old painter felt heartache. Even if he guessed what happened, he didn’t dare reveal the unconfirmed truth, only offering clumsy comfort, “Hey, don’t watch. It’s nothing important. Don’t watch, it’s alright.”
The voice on the datapad had switched to Mi Ya, saying similar things to Yan Gui Xing. Mu Mu thought, her voice is so beautiful. Unlike mine; everything about me is bad.
Mu Mu bit his lip hard, tasting a faint metallic taste. He raised his datapad for the old painter to see, stubbornly asking, “Boss, look at this. Are these people Gui Gui and the Peacock Miss from the other day?”
The old painter didn’t know if Peacock Miss referred to Mi Ya, but he knew who Gui Gui was—he’d heard it a thousand times from Mu Mu.
Although he didn’t want to hurt Mu Mu, insincere lies would only hurt him more.
The old painter still nodded, giving Mu Mu an affirmative answer. He thought Mu Mu would cry, wail, or even make a fuss.
But Mu Mu only sniffed his red nose, withdrew his hand, turned off the optical brain, and put it back on his wrist.
He sat quietly on the small stool, staring blankly at the floor, which was shimmering gold in the sunlight.
The old painter looked at Mu Mu worriedly, wanting to comfort him. But he really didn’t have any experience in comforting people, fearing that his words would be unpleasant and make Mu Mu even sadder.
Time slowly flowed between the two of them. Just as the old painter thought a long hour had passed, it was actually only five minutes when Mu Mu suddenly stood up.
The usually polite child now seemed dazed, ignoring the old painter, and rushed towards the unfinished portrait.
In a few strokes, he took down the painting. He didn’t care whether the paint was dry or not, directly rolling it up, hugging it, and rushing out.
The old painter reacted a few seconds later that Mu Mu had gone home. With an “ouch,” he also went downstairs.
Usually, Mu Mu walked slower than the old painter, but when Mu Mu could no longer hide his leg ailment, he could run incredibly fast.
The old painter had just come downstairs when Mu Mu had already dashed into the courtyard. The old painter could only shout loudly from behind, “Be careful!”
Leaning against the door, he watched Mu Mu run across the road, sighed deeply, and muttered, “What a fool, such a good child.”
Mu Mu, whose mind was already a mess after leaving the gallery, didn’t take a public air vehicle. He tightly hugged the painting in his arms and limped home.
Tears belatedly flowed from his eyes, blurring his vision, then were dried by the warm wind on his face, leaving streaks of tears.
The half-hour walk was shortened by Mu Mu to half the time. He propped himself up against the wall, panting continuously, until the pain in his lungs subsided, then he looked up at the video intercom.
The door, which should have opened smoothly, sounded a cold, inorganic, genderless machine voice.
“Identification error, not registered in the system, please enter the password.”
【Author’s Note】: In the next chapter, Yan will no longer have a wife! Finally got here (adjusts waist and exhales)
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