Chapter 99: The Marriage Certificate
When Mu Mu woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky. He sat up groggily, stretched, and reached to his left, only to feel a cool, empty space where a warm body should have been.
He reached to his right, and it was also cold. There was no warm, furry creature either, just a single white dog hair caught between his fingers when he lifted his hand.
What time is it? Mu Mu rubbed his eyes and called out for Gui Gui in a voice still raspy with sleep. But no person came, only Wangwang, trotting over with a yellow stuffed ball in his mouth.
Wangwang nudged the ball into Mu Mu’s hand, resting his long snout on the edge of the bed. His round, black-and-white eyes stared pleadingly at Mu Mu, urging him to get up and play.
Mu Mu flopped onto the soft quilt, stroking Wangwang’s head and ears as he mumbled, “What time is it? Did Gui Gui leave? Did he go back to the Capital Star?”
Wangwang didn’t understand who this “Gui Gui” was, but his clever doggy brain figured it must be the person who had bought him.
Remembering how that person had taken him for a walk that morning and fed him kibble and freeze-dried treats, Wangwang let out a cooperative “Woof!” as if to answer his master’s questions.
Mu Mu couldn’t understand dog language, but that didn’t stop him from showering Wangwang with praise. He hugged the dog’s big head, telling him over and over what a good, smart boy he was, and asked if he was hungry or if he’d eaten yet.
The two of them carried on an ineffective conversation in their different languages for a good while before Mu Mu was fully awake enough to end it.
Mu Mu kissed the white fur on Wangwang’s forehead and reached for the optical computer on his nightstand. When he turned it on, the first thing he saw was the time: 10:02.
Oh no! It’s so late, way past opening time! In a panic, Mu Mu tossed the computer aside and pushed himself up on the bedsheets, ready to jump out of bed. But when he met the wide-eyed stare of Wangwang, whose ears had perked up at the sudden movement, he let out a little “Ah,” and sat back down.
Oh well, it’s already late anyway. If he didn’t open the store, Zheng An would. There was no need to rush.
Mu Mu pouted and searched the bed for the computer he’d thrown, muttering under his breath, “Yan Guixing must have turned off my alarm! That jerk, that big jerk!”
He found the computer at the foot of the bed and, still kneeling on the soft mountain of blankets, decided to keep looking at it.
When the screen lit up again, Mu Mu saw a notification: his account had been successfully linked and shared with Yan Guixing’s.
Mu Mu might be a little slow, but as a citizen of the Empire, he knew some basic things.
For example, shared accounts. Only a citizen’s legal guardians—their parents—or a legally wedded spouse who had signed a marriage certificate could link and share accounts with them.
At first, he thought it was just an ad from the Ministry of Finance. Citizens who hadn’t linked their accounts with a guardian or spouse often received these mass-sent advertisements as a way to promote the feature.
Mu Mu had never gotten one before. After all, he was an orphan and single, with no guardian or spouse to link with.
He chuckled, wondering when the Ministry of Finance had started helping the military’s generals with their love lives. But when he tapped on the notification, he saw the official twin-lion seal of the Ministry in the top right corner. Below it, words confirmed the successful sharing of accounts between Yan Guixing and his spouse, Mu Mu. At the bottom right was a red official stamp.
“Gui Gui and I are spouses?” Mu Mu was stunned. “What is this? Is this some kind of mistake?”
He quickly pulled up his personal information page. His marital status had changed from “Unmarried” to “Married,” and the previously blank spouse field now read “Yan Guixing.”
Married? When did he get married? And to Yan Guixing, of all people? He had no memory of signing a marriage certificate with him.
Mu Mu stared blankly at his personal information, trying his best to recall everything that had happened from the moment he saw Yan Guixing last night until he woke up this morning.
Oh! He remembered! In the hazy state between sleep and wakefulness that morning, Yan Guixing had woken him up. He had held Mu Mu in his arms, his deep voice murmuring something in his ear.
He had been too dazed by sleep to understand, only managing a few meaningless hums in response.
Then, a screen so bright it was nearly blinding was placed in his hands. Yan Guixing had taken his hand and guided it to draw something on the cool surface, then pressed it down.
Mu Mu frantically pulled up the marriage certificate. Ignoring all the text, he scrolled straight to the bottom.
Sure enough, beneath the strong, powerful signature of “Yan Guixing” were two characters that looked like chicken scratch, followed by an index fingerprint.
Mu Mu could just barely make out his own name and fingerprint.
For a moment, he was both shocked and furious. He couldn’t believe Yan Guixing would trick him into signing a marriage certificate while he was asleep!
“Jerk! Yan Guixing, you’re a big jerk!” Mu Mu never dreamed Yan Guixing would deceive him like this. He balled his hands into little fists and punched the mountain of blankets twice.
After his anger subsided, Mu Mu looked at the signature on the certificate, and his face instantly flushed red. The tips of his ears, hidden beneath his messy curls, were also crimson, looking as if they might drip blood.
He buried his face in the blankets, too shy to look up.
Wangwang, who had been squatting by the bed, thought something was wrong. He jumped onto the bed and nudged Mu Mu with his paws, whining softly.
Mu Mu turned his head, revealing one side of his face, now even redder from being smothered. He took Wangwang’s furry paw and whispered, “Wangwang, why is Yan Guixing so mean? Tricking people into signing marriage certificates?”
As a dog, Wangwang had no idea what a marriage certificate was. Seeing that his master was okay, he lay down next to Mu Mu, rested his big head on his paws, and tilted his head to look at him, mimicking his posture.
In his simple mind, Mu Mu could never have guessed Yan Guixing’s true reason. Yan Guixing was afraid of the ever-changing battlefield, afraid that if something unexpected happened, he might not come back. With a signed marriage certificate, Mu Mu would be his legal spouse and, as such, would inherit all of his assets.
Furthermore, as the widower of a General who died for the country, Mu Mu’s future would be well taken care of by the Empire and the military. The military would even assign him a personal guard to ensure his safety.
Yan Guixing hadn’t slept all night, carefully planning and doing everything he could think of for Mu Mu. His intentions were truly painstaking.
Once the heat in his face subsided, Mu Mu picked up his computer, rolled onto his back using Wangwang’s belly as a pillow, and checked to see if he had missed any other messages.
There was indeed one from Yan Guixing, sent at seven in the morning.
Mu Mu suddenly felt a pang of nervousness, his fingers trembling too much to open it. He took two deep breaths before finally tapping the message with his cool fingertip.
Mu Mu, I’ve returned to military headquarters. I probably won’t arrive until this evening. Remember to message me when you wake up.
Of course, I’d be even happier if you could video call.
I’ve already submitted my application to the military, and the commander has approved it. I should be heading to the battlefield at the Border Star tonight. I won’t be able to maintain communication with you after that. Don’t worry, Mu Mu. If you miss me, you can send me messages. I’ll see them.
While I’m gone, you need to take good care of yourself. Stop drinking those nutritional fluids. Our accounts are linked now, so don’t hesitate to use it. Taking care of a dog costs a lot of Star Coins, and I don’t want you to neglect yourself just to care for him.
For certain reasons, I can’t leave anyone to protect you. I’m sorry. If you run into any trouble, you can call Qin Feng (Q542338). He’s a friend of mine and will do everything he can to help you.
Mu Mu, I will do what I promised you. I will love you forever.
Yan Guixing’s message was uncharacteristically long and detailed. After carefully considering everyone in his social circle, he had chosen to leave Mu Mu the private contact information for Qin Feng, the head of the military’s intelligence department, with whom he had become friendly through General Dessimo.
Reading the words, Mu Mu’s animal-like intuition sounded an alarm. A faint sense of unease settled in his heart, but he couldn’t pinpoint its source, so he attributed it to worry.
He immediately tried to video call Yan Guixing. After a long series of rings, the call was automatically disconnected. He tried again, but there was still no answer.
Understandingly, Mu Mu assumed Yan Guixing was busy. He sent him a message, reminding him to be safe, then got up, washed his face, and took Wangwang to the convenience store.
Zheng An, who was playing a game behind the counter, saw Mu Mu arrive. He peeked behind him and, not seeing Yan Guixing, asked cheekily, “Where’s General Yan? Why isn’t he with you?”
“Gui Gui went back to the Capital Star,” Mu Mu replied.
Zheng An keenly noticed the change in how Mu Mu addressed him. He put down his computer, sat up straight, and looked at Mu Mu with bright eyes. “Made up?”
Mu Mu shook his head gently. “Not yet. But I can’t be difficult with him right now. I can’t let him get distracted.”
Zheng An didn’t understand what Mu Mu was talking about. He asked a few more questions but got nothing out of him, eventually pouting in disappointment.
It wasn’t until around one in the afternoon that Yan Guixing replied to Mu Mu’s message. He apologized, saying he had been busy and hadn’t had time to check his computer. He then asked if Mu Mu had eaten properly.
Mu Mu had been staring at his computer all morning, afraid he would miss a message from Yan Guixing. He quickly replied that he had eaten at a restaurant in the university town and had used their shared account to pay.
Because of his prompt reply, he managed to exchange two or three more messages with Yan Guixing. But when Mu Mu replied again, Yan Guixing went silent once more.
Knowing that Yan Guixing was very, very busy, Mu Mu stopped waiting by his computer and helped Zheng An with the store. Zheng An teased him a few times, but Mu Mu just smiled foolishly, not knowing how to retort.
This time, Yan Guixing’s reply came in the middle of the night. He tried to video call Mu Mu first, and when it didn’t connect, he sent a message. It was just a short sentence.
[Leaving now. Take care of yourself. Don’t worry.]
By then, Mu Mu was already asleep and had missed his only chance to video call Yan Guixing. When he woke up the next morning and saw the message, a single tear, for some unknown reason, fell from his left eye and landed on the screen.
Mu Mu frantically wiped away the round droplet on the screen and touched the corner of his eye with his little hand. It was completely dry, without a trace of a tear.
“That’s strange. Mu Mu wasn’t crying. Where did the water come from?” Confused, Mu Mu replied to Yan Guixing’s message and started a new day.
[Author’s Note]: Mr. Yan has arranged the rest of his wife’s life. Mr. Yan is so good~ But Mr. Yan will live.
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