“End-of-life care: making life’s departure warm, ensuring the patient achieves peace, tranquility, and comfort at the time of death, and leaving the family with no regrets… Well, I am the family, so skip that last part.”
Outside, the sun was at its peak, plating the freshly cleaned bedroom with a layer of “gold dust.” Xi Xiuran sat cross-legged on the floor, several light screens open before him. They were all filled with data regarding end-of-life care and looking after terminally ill patients. He took notes with a serious and earnest expression, as if he had been touched by the sanctity and warmth of a medical professional.
“Comfort… encompassing both the body and the mind… alleviating the patient’s symptoms?”
Xi Xiuran lifted his gaze toward Shi Xingzhou, looking troubled. “But I’m not an S-rank high-level Omega, nor am I a medical major. Sigh, if I’d known this was coming, I shouldn’t have studied Computer Science; I should have studied medicine. Being a wealthy, charming, young widow isn’t as easy as it looks…”
Shi Xingzhou: “???”
Wealthy, charming, young widow… Shi Xingzhou’s brow furrowed unconsciously.
As soon as Xi Xiuran saw the furrowed brow, he assumed the man was in pain. Since Shi Xingzhou suffered from Mental Sea trauma, would a head massage help alleviate it? To care for his grandfather in the past, Xi Xiuran had specifically studied under an old practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine; he was absolutely a pro.
Xi Xiuran was a man of action. He immediately stood up to get to work, but he forgot how incredibly weak his current body had become. Standing up so fast triggered a bout of anemia-induced vertigo. The world spun, and he fell straight toward Shi Xingzhou.
It’s over.
End-of-life care just turned into a high-speed funeral.
Xi Xiuran felt that if he crashed into Shi Xingzhou like this, he would definitely wake the man up. Then, he’d be killed by the berserk Admiral, and Shi Xingzhou would die even faster as his Mental Power spiraled further out of control.
First day of marriage, and it’s an instant Game Over for both of us.
No way!
In a frantic scramble, Xi Xiuran felt like he stepped on something, or perhaps something pulled him. Finally, he luckily ended up half-sprawled against the edge of the bed, his head inches away from hitting Shi Xingzhou.
Stunned for a moment, he regained his senses only to be hit by the “critical damage” of the man’s god-tier face at close range. He couldn’t help but blurt out, “Holy sh*t, he’s actually gorgeous…”
Shi Xingzhou, who had quietly retracted his Mental Threads: “…”
The two were so close they were practically face-to-face. Shi Xingzhou only needed to lift his eyelashes slightly to see Xi Xiuran clearly.
Unlike Mental Perception, which leaned more toward sensing emotions, visual sight allowed him to clearly see the youth’s appearance. Having been sent over as a “vase,” the boy was undoubtedly beautiful—ethereal and elegant, with round green eyes like a cat’s, clear and bright. His lashes were lowered, clearly still dazed, giving him an air of submissive innocence. Paired with that overly pale skin and extremely faint lip color, he gave off a frail, easily-shattered impression.
His complexion is too poor… Shi Xingzhou closed his eyes. Because they were so close, breathing the same air, he smelled the sweet fragrance on Xi Xiuran again. This time the scent was distinct: the crisp, sweet aroma of apple blossoms.
Xi Xiuran hadn’t expected to blurt that out. His ears felt like they had caught fire, burning fiercely.
Crap!
Being quarantined at home playing games, calling 2D characters “husband” and “wife” every day—I’ve made a habit of letting my mouth run wild!
Xi Xiuran quickly scrambled for a lame excuse, muttering to the “unconscious” Shi Xingzhou: “Head’s so dizzy… must be low blood sugar…”
Actually, once he mentioned it, he really did feel hungry. Calculating the time, he’d been here since he transmigrated this morning, and it was now 2:00 PM. He hadn’t eaten a single thing; it would be weirder if he wasn’t starving.
Xi Xiuran hurriedly stood up and started searching the room for food. Relying on that maid to bring him a meal was less likely than relying on her to come collect his corpse.
As he moved away, the sweet scent lingering around Shi Xingzhou’s nose gradually dissipated until it could no longer be smelled. Shi Xingzhou’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly before smoothing out, as if nothing had happened.
Xi Xiuran wasn’t searching aimlessly. He remembered the original novel mentioned that because Shi Xingzhou’s Mental Power was so strong, his energy consumption was also exceptionally high. Whether at military HQ or at home, he kept nutrient solutions stocked in many places.
In no time, Xi Xiuran found a drawer completely stuffed with nutrient solutions in the partition shelf. He impatiently twisted one open and took a sip. “Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey… This is absolutely disgusting! Is this stuff even meant for humans?!”
Shi Xingzhou, who had been consuming them for many years: “…”
Quite the picky eater.
Xi Xiuran felt like his tongue had gone numb. Is this the Interstellar version of that cursed snake-grass water? Didn’t the novel mention fruit-flavored or milk-tea-flavored nutrient solutions? Why did the Admiral’s stash taste so weird?
He had thought that by arriving at the Admiral’s manor he could feast on meat to his heart’s content, only to be tricked by a maid and locked in here. To keep from starving to death, Xi Xiuran expressionlessly downed a tube of nutrient solution and quickly chased it with a large glass of water.
After trying to calm down for half a minute, he still couldn’t swallow his anger. He cursed in a suppressed voice: “I’m so pissed! That girl named Emily—yours truly will remember you! Looking down on me, tricking me in here, locking me in a dark room, and not even bringing me food… Just you wait and see how I screw you over later!”
And the protagonist group, all of you just wait too! I’m holding onto all these grudges for the Original Owner!
While Xi Xiuran was practically jumping up and down cursing, he suddenly heard a low chuckle. He whipped his head around, locking eyes with a rare pair of orange-red irises.
The man had propped himself up and was sitting on the bed. Having just woken up, a few loose strands of hair clung to his forehead, further accentuating his handsome and noble features. The bright sunlight streaming in from the window bathed his pale skin in a warm hue, invisibly softening the cold, sharp aura around him.
Seeing Xi Xiuran looking over, he casually raised an eyebrow. His voice was deep and indifferent, carrying a metallic resonance: “Done cursing?”
Xi Xiuran was startled and jerked backward. Losing his footing, he was about to hit the floor again, but thankfully someone pulled him back—sending him crashing right into Shi Xingzhou’s chest instead.
Xi Xiuran went completely stiff. Shi Xingzhou looked down and asked, “Are you alright?”
Still in a state of shock, Xi Xiuran watched as the man helped him stand up straight, looked him up and down, and said in a gentle tone, “Looks like you’re fine. I know who you are, so there’s no need to be nervous.”
With that, Shi Xingzhou smiled. It completely lacked the sharp, icy edge he possessed while unconscious; instead, he radiated an elegant, warm, and pristine aura.
Xi Xiuran: “…”
Xi Xiuran was so stunned he couldn’t quite process it. This is the conscious Admiral Shi?
F***k, that’s practically cheating! Having an iceberg, ascetic face but radiating an aura that’s so incredibly gentle and noble—that kind of contrast is so lethal!
Shi Xingzhou spoke sincerely: “I apologize. The marriage contract had already been approved by the time I woke up. If you wish to leave now, I can file for a div—”
“No, no, no! No need!” Xi Xiuran instantly snapped out of his beauty-induced trance and said with absolute sincerity, “I willingly married you, Admiral. I wasn’t forced at all, really!”
The youth’s tone was firm, his face the very picture of sincerity. Had Shi Xingzhou not personally overheard his “end-of-life care” speech and his “wealthy, charming young widow dream,” he might have actually believed it.
Though, in a certain sense, the boy truly did want to marry him. No, he wanted to marry his assets.
A faint, ambiguous smile touched Shi Xingzhou’s lips, his orange-red eyes half-lidded. “Is that so?”
Xi Xiuran was about to pat his chest and swear on it when Shi Xingzhou suddenly looked toward the door, his tone flat: “Someone is coming.”
Xi Xiuran blinked. “Who?”
Shi Xingzhou smiled meaningfully. “My aunt, and the target of your newly formed grudge.”
Shi Xingzhou’s aunt… wouldn’t that be the current Emperor’s aunt, the Empire’s Eldest Princess, Theresa Augustus?
While Xi Xiuran was still trying to recall the Eldest Princess’s role in the original plot, his green eyes lit up at the mention of Emily. He immediately turned around, grabbed the broken glass shards from the trash can, and dumped them right in front of the main door, fully hoping they would stab Emily to death.
They all wanted to set him up to die. What’s wrong with returning a little favor?
After dumping the glass, Xi Xiuran remembered his “end-of-life care” duties. He grabbed another tube of nutrient solution, walked back, and gave Shi Xingzhou an obedient, harmless smile. “Your Excellency, are you hungry? Shall I feed you some nutrient solution?”
Shi Xingzhou glanced at the tube in his hand, remembered the youth’s earlier disgusted cursing, and smiled. “Alright.”
Just as Xi Xiuran sat down on the edge of the bed, the sound of a conversation approached from outside.
“…What is going on? Where is the Admiral’s Consort?” A middle-aged woman’s voice rang out, extremely arrogant and cold.
“The Consort kept causing a scene demanding to see His Excellency as soon as he arrived. Butler Wang happened to be out, and I… I really couldn’t stop him… Not long after, I heard the sound of things being smashed inside the room…” Emily’s voice was timid and nervous.
“Then why haven’t you broken the door down to save them?!”
“Are all you personal guards dead?! If Emily couldn’t stop him, couldn’t you intervene?! If anything happens to the Admiral or the Consort, I’ll have all of you thrown out of the manor!”
Accompanied by a massive “Bang!”, the bedroom door was violently pushed open. Seven or eight guards swarmed in, escorting an incredibly opulent and elegant noblewoman. Even from a distance, Xi Xiuran was nearly blinded by the diamond necklace around her neck. But what really caught his attention was the Imperial Green Jade ring on the Eldest Princess’s finger.
He distinctly remembered the original novel mentioning that the ring on the Princess’s hand was worth an entire life-bearing planet. Later on, when the Protagonist Gong and Shou got married, she agonizingly gifted it to them as a wedding present.
Xi Xiuran was very curious about what an Interstellar jade ring worth a whole planet looked like. He couldn’t resist taking a few extra peeks before pulling his gaze back and twisting the cap off the nutrient solution.
“Heavens, quickly, save them—” Princess Theresa charged into the room with Emily and the others. The moment she saw the broken glass on the floor, she put on an expression of shock and worry, yet the corners of her mouth were uncontrollably ticking upward.
But in the next second, the smiles froze on both their faces.
This was completely different from the gruesome murder scene they had anticipated. The inner bedroom was clean and tidy, without a single drop of blood. Xi Xiuran, who by all rights should have been decapitated, was perfectly fine. Shi Xingzhou, who should have been a berserk madman, looked completely normal.
In fact, the two of them looked like they were getting along quite well.
Shi Xingzhou was leaning against the headboard, and Xi Xiuran was currently feeding him the nutrient solution, speaking in a soft voice: “This nutrient solution is a bit bitter. Have a taste, Your Excellency. If you don’t like it, I’ll have someone swap it for a flavor that suits you.”
“Sorry to trouble you, Consort.” Shi Xingzhou smiled faintly and, guided by the youth’s hand, began drinking the nutrient solution at a leisurely pace.
The bright sunlight streaming in from the window fell perfectly upon the couple. One was handsome and noble, the other ethereal and elegant; anyone looking at them would feel a sense of tranquil, sweet warmth.
Butler Wang, who had hurried up right behind Princess Theresa and the others, witnessed this scene and his jaw instantly dropped.
What just happened?
The Admiral is actually eating food fed to him by a stranger? That shouldn’t be possible! Butler Wang stood frozen in place, completely forgetting whatever he had rushed over to say.
Theresa and Emily were even more stunned, unable to recover their senses for a long while. It wasn’t until Shi Xingzhou raised his eyes, glanced at the items the Princess’s guards were carrying, and said flatly, “Why did Auntie bring a stretcher and a white cloth to visit my Consort and me?”
Consort?
Not ‘Mr. Xi’, and certainly not ‘Xi Xiuran’. Butler Wang’s eyelid twitched, and he quietly stepped back to the side.
Theresa had always feared this nephew of hers, especially this half-smiling expression of his. She forced a smile and said, “Emily said there was a bit of trouble on your end, so I brought some people up to check.” As she spoke, she cast an ambiguous glance at Emily.
Emily’s face was also ghastly pale. She hadn’t expected the plan to fail. By all rights, the comatose Shi Xingzhou should have been startled awake by a stranger’s approach and lost control. Why was everything perfectly fine this time? She immediately dropped to her knees and frantically explained, “Your Excellency, the Consort was causing a scene demanding to see you as soon as he arrived today! He said he didn’t marry you willingly and wanted to div—divorce you! I really couldn’t stop him, and when I heard noises from inside, I was worried something had happened, so I… I…”
Xi Xiuran: “?”
That works too?
You royal folks really know how to pass the buck.
“Such a thing happened?” Theresa immediately darkened her face, pointing the spearhead straight at Xi Xiuran. “Marriage is a major life event, not a child’s game! How can you marry one second and go back on your word demanding a divorce the next? Xi Xiuran, are you making a joke of the Empire’s laws? I thought that since Mengchen is so well-educated and reasonable, his older brother wouldn’t be too bad either. I never expected… you really are just a wild brat raised on a remote planet.”
Xi Xiuran: “???”
Logically speaking, no matter how arrogant or unruly a proper Princess was, she wouldn’t immediately start mocking her nephew’s partner as a “wild brat.” But this world was an old-school web novel, and the most basic logic was that there was no logic. So stepping on him, the cannon fodder, to praise the Protagonist Shou right out of the gate was completely standard procedure.
Thanks to this wave of “stepping-on-one-to-elevate-another,” Xi Xiuran finally remembered Theresa’s role in the novel. She was one of the Protagonist Shou’s “noble benefactors.” After all, in a “group-pampered” novel, various bigshots forcibly pampering and protecting the protagonist was a given.
As the Empire’s Eldest Princess, and simultaneously an elder to both Shi Xingzhou and the Emperor, Theresa’s status was incredibly transcendent. She was one of the highest-ranking Omegas in the entire Empire. Due to a bad marriage early in life and some misunderstandings, Theresa’s relationship with her daughter was very poor. Later, thanks to the Protagonist Shou’s help, the mother-daughter relationship was mended. Consequently, both Theresa and her daughter became the Protagonist Shou’s benefactors.
As the haughty Eldest Princess of the Empire, Theresa looked at Xi Xiuran out of the corner of her eye with utter disdain, but when she turned back to Shi Xingzhou, she was cautious, with a hint of fawning: “Xingzhou, Auntie never expected the Matching Center to handle things so foolishly. If I had known, I would have personally screened him for you.”
Shi Xingzhou kept his eyes half-closed and didn’t say a word.
Normally, Theresa would never dare speak so much in front of Shi Xingzhou. After all, Shi Xingzhou was terrifying whether he was conscious or having a berserk episode; sometimes she feared this nephew more than the Emperor himself. However, the current situation was special. She had to shift the blame successfully; she absolutely could not let Shi Xingzhou fixate on her because of this.
Thinking about how Shi Xingzhou always hated people getting close to him, and how this person was sent over by the Matching Center without permission, Theresa figured the only reason the two could coexist peacefully just now was likely because Shi Xingzhou had just woken up, didn’t understand the situation yet, and let Xi Xiuran live to give the Emperor face.
With this thought, Theresa suddenly felt emboldened. She said softly, “Before coming here, I asked His Majesty on your behalf. He doesn’t mean to force you into marriage; he just felt it wouldn’t be good to simply give up, and he hoped you’d have a partner to take care of you. Everything is up to you to decide now that you’re awake.”
As soon as her voice fell, Shi Xingzhou lifted his eyelids, staring at her with a half-smile. Those orange-red eyes, which should have been a warm color, made her shiver for no reason. A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on her back. She braced herself and continued, “In Auntie’s opinion, this Xi Xiuran has no manners whatsoever and isn’t worthy of you to begin with. Plus, he dares to clamor for a divorce. We might as well just get the divorce over with. The news hasn’t been released yet anyway, so the public doesn’t know.”
“If it’s inconvenient for you, Auntie will handle it for you.”
Shi Xingzhou let out a chuckle. “Leave it to Auntie to handle?”
Theresa saying so much was actually just an attempt to make Shi Xingzhou despise Xi Xiuran and brush past today’s incident. If Xi Xiuran fell into her hands, she could perfectly vent her anger on him. Could a country bumpkin from a remote planet really turn the tables on her?
Hearing this, no matter how slow Xi Xiuran was, he finally caught on.
So, after failing to pit me into getting killed, she’s trying to make me the scapegoat. Worst of all, she’s actually instigating Shi Xingzhou to divorce me!
F***k, this is intolerable!
Even if you are the noble protagonist group, if you dare stand in the way of my ‘wealthy, pretty young widow’ dream, you can all go die!
“For no good reason, why is Her Highness the Eldest Princess ruining my innocence out of thin air? When did I ever clamor for a divorce?” Xi Xiuran shook the nutrient solution in his hand, casting a sidelong glance at Emily, and laughed in amusement. “You’re convicting me based on the nonsense of a single maid? Then couldn’t I also say that Emily is jealous of me, which is why she deliberately framed me like this?”
Saying this, he touched his own face and sighed dramatically. “Sigh, being this good-looking is also a sin.”
Theresa: “…”
Emily: “…”
Shi Xingzhou raised his eyes and looked at Xi Xiuran. The youth’s features were radiant, his green eyes bright and clear, prettier than jewels. He truly was very good-looking. Even though his tone was narcissistic and arrogant, it was impossible to hate him.
He was like a proud, narcissistic little kitten—completely devoid of the lazy appearance from earlier.
Shi Xingzhou watched him and didn’t chime in for the moment.
When had Theresa ever been interrupted like this? She was just about to reprimand Xi Xiuran for lacking manners when she saw him grab Shi Xingzhou’s sleeve, blink, and say earnestly, “Admiral, you have to believe me. I really married you willingly. I never wanted a divorce.”
Seeing his action, Theresa’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Where did this country bumpkin get the guts to grab Shi Xingzhou’s clothes?! Does he have a death wish?!
Theresa originally wanted to harm Xi Xiuran and push him out to take the fall. Seeing him seek his own death, she leisurely swallowed her reprimand, waiting to see how Shi Xingzhou would punish him.
Her nephew’s methods were extraordinarily ruthless. Theresa watched with anticipation as Shi Xingzhou reached out to grab the youth’s slender, pale wrist…
It’s so thin, it’ll definitely be snapped in an instant, and then he’ll be mercilessly thrown out the window.
At this thought, joy couldn’t help but reveal itself in Theresa’s eyes. She watched as Shi Xingzhou grabbed Xi Xiuran’s wrist, tightened his grip, and then—
Gently brushed his thumb over a red mark on the back of the youth’s hand. It was a scratch he had gotten earlier while dumping out the broken porcelain pieces.
At the same time, Shi Xingzhou slowly opened his mouth and stated: “I was awake the whole time.”
The entire room fell dead silent.
The faces of Theresa and the others grew paler and paler, while Xi Xiuran’s face slowly turned completely red.
T/n: You can support the original author here. Happy Reading 💅