The notification from the Rose Society wasn’t just huge in size—the damn font was huge too.
Ordinary message notifications could only be read up close.
But Ning Shuyin, in her earlier attempt to slip away and make her lame excuse about “forgetting to turn off the gas at home” more convincing, had switched her Light-brain’s notification mode to “Public Broadcast”—all so that everyone in the room could hear the alarm urging her to go home and check the energy stove.
As it turned out, the fake alarm became a boomerang.
Ning Shuyin immediately learned what it meant to “sabotage myself.”
The Rose Society’s massive notification was now clearly visible to everyone in the room.
It was, in every sense, a public execution.
Situ Linchen’s face turned grim.
His gaze locked directly onto the words “Next One” and “New Date Match.”
But that wasn’t the end of it.
As if the scene wasn’t chaotic enough, the very next second—
“Ding-dong!”
Another notification sound rang out.
This time, it was Doctor Luo Lan’s Light-brain.
He frowned and raised his wrist to take a look.
Because they were standing close, Situ Linchen happened to catch a glimpse as well. What popped up on Luo Lan’s Light-brain was also a notification from the Rose Society:
【Friendly Reminder: A date match has been detected within 10 meters of your location. Seize the opportunity!】
【Friendly Reminder: You may now send a date invitation to Ms. Ning Shuyin. Would you like to proceed?】
The pressure around Situ Linchen plummeted. The volatile energy that had just been suppressed by the medication showed signs of spiraling out of control again.
Ning Shuyin felt a chill run down the back of her neck.
For the first time, a ripple appeared on Luo Lan’s icy, expressionless face.
He seemed equally surprised that the person he’d come to meet for a date—purely for “efficiency’s sake”—was right in front of him, and had just finished a date with Situ Linchen, no less.
After a brief silence, Luo Lan tapped 【Yes】 on the system prompt.
Almost at the same moment, Ning Shuyin’s poor Light-brain chimed again.
She had just been frantically trying to switch the “Public Broadcast” mode back to “Private” mode, but halfway through the operation, the sudden new notification interrupted her entirely.
The date invitation from Luo Lan was once again projected in front of everyone, at a size rivaling a cinema screen:
【Date invitation confirmed. Mr. Luo Lan looks forward to meeting you.】
“Ning Shuyin, so it’s you?” Luo Lan finally looked up at her with serious eyes, his voice cold and crisp.
Before Ning Shuyin could answer, another male voice cut in.
“Ning, Shu, Yin.” Situ Linchen enunciated each syllable, his tone merciless. “So this is what you meant by admiring me?”
【Warning! Target Situ Linchen’s affection level is dropping sharply!】
【Current affection level: -90 (Betrayal’s Hatred)】
【Target Luo Lan’s affection level is dropping.】
【Current affection level: -50 (Dangerous)】
On one side stood Situ Linchen, his Special Ability on the verge of going berserk, his gaze piercing. On the other side stood Doctor Luo Lan, his face as cold as frost.
Ning Shuyin, tucked away in the corner, felt like prey about to be torn apart by two apex predators.
“I…” Ning Shuyin opened her mouth, but ultimately chose silence.
It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to explain.
It was that her survival instinct told her not to dare complain.
The Rose Society’s user agreement stated it clearly—it supported a “one-to-many” date matching mode.
This was, at its core, official behavior.
Luo Lan directly ignored Situ Linchen’s displeasure.
“Come with me, Miss Ning. Our date is about to begin.”
Ning Shuyin was stunned.
A date, right now?
“My time is precious.” Seeing that she hadn’t reacted, Luo Lan frowned slightly. “I don’t like repeating myself.”
Just as his words fell, Situ Linchen let out a cold laugh.
“Luo Lan, you really are so desperate you’ll take anything.”
His gaze swept between Luo Lan and Ning Shuyin. “Let me remind you—don’t waste your effort.”
“Oh? How so?” A flicker of inquiry flashed through Luo Lan’s deep crimson eyes.
Situ Linchen leaned back against the sofa.
By now, he had regained that lofty posture, every trace of his energy aura withdrawn without a remnant left.
He said slowly, “This Miss Ning has no Special Ability. She is nothing but a thorough—ordinary person.”
Those words made Luo Lan’s brow furrow.
His gaze fell upon Ning Shuyin once more.
Ning Shuyin grew nervous under his scrutiny.
She feared that Luo Lan, like Situ Linchen, would think he had been deceived and, in a fit of rage, turn her into a specimen.
Yet, seconds later, Luo Lan merely spoke indifferently: “I will judge for myself.”
With that, he no longer looked at Situ Linchen, but turned to Ning Shuyin:
“Let’s go.”
This time, Ning Shuyin no longer hesitated in the slightest.
Compared to staying here facing a Marshal with a favorability of -90, leaving with an ice-cold doctor with a favorability of -50 was slightly less dangerous.
The two passed through a long corridor and arrived at the docking bay.
A sleek, silver-white research flyer hovered quietly there.
The cabin door opened, and Luo Lan stepped in first.
Ning Shuyin could only follow closely, stepping inside.
The flyer smoothly detached from the docking bay and sailed into the deep, boundless universe.
Outside the window, Alice Space Station rotated slowly, like the most brilliant jewel in the vast expanse of space.
Ning Shuyin sat stiffly in the passenger seat of the command cabin.
The interior of the flyer was minimalist and cool-toned, exactly like its owner.
Only after Luo Lan activated the automatic navigation mode did he turn and walk toward her.
He removed that spotless white suit jacket, revealing a gorgeous French shirt underneath.
His deep crimson eyes, under the cabin’s lighting, seemed less terrifying.
“Earlier at Situ Linchen’s place, you seemed frightened. Your heart rate was a bit high.”
Luo Lan took a goblet from the multifunctional bar and poured half a glass of a drink resembling liquid amber, handing it to her.
“Drink some of this. It will help calm your emotions.”
Ning Shuyin hesitantly accepted it. The wall of the glass felt slightly cool to the touch.
She took a small sip.
A fresh, sweet fruity fragrance spread across her tongue. Not only did it give a sense of satiety, but the tension in her body miraculously dissipated.
“Much better,” she answered.
From earlier until now, Luo Lan’s behavior had been fairly gentlemanly.
The novel’s author had designed this doctor’s character as scheming, lustful, utterly irreverent toward life, and with a few peculiar tendencies.
Ning Shuyin only hoped the author had exaggerated.
This doctor currently seemed quite… abstinent.
Luo Lan sat down across from her, his fingertip lightly sliding across the control panel.
“The flyer is now in stealth mode. Its location cannot be tracked. Situ Linchen won’t find you. So, according to Rose Society’s procedure, we are to begin our date.”
His words had barely faded when the four metal walls of the command cabin, the ceiling, and even the floor dissolved in an instant, as if they had never existed.
A holographic environment simulation surpassing 6D took over every sense.
In that split second, they found themselves in a tranquil primeval forest.
Ancient towering trees rose to the sky, their gnarled roots burrowing deep into the soft, damp moss-covered ground beneath their feet.
A few minutes later, the scene shifted once more.
The primeval forest transformed into a resplendent starry-sky restaurant.
After that, they arrived at a viewpoint overlooking a magnificent nebula.
The scenes before them kept switching without pause.
A dampness at her feet made Ning Shuyin realize she was now seated in a spa pool.
The pool floated unsupported in the midst of a sea of stars, with swirling spiral nebulae surrounding them on all sides.
Seductive fragrance wafted up around her.
The scent made her cheeks flush and her heart race.
She sensed something was off.
Within the pool’s shimmering, rippling light, there were even some loungers with rather… peculiar “functions.”
Ascetic, my foot!
Ning Shuyin’s pure little heart could hardly take it.
“I have no interest in traditional dating methods,” Luo Lan’s voice sounded again.