At three in the morning, the doorbell of the suite rang urgently.
Tinia opened his optical brain and saw it was Chiron, so he let him in. The door had barely cracked open when the man outside pushed his way inside.
Tinia walked to the living room and watched him. This youngest academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences had completely abandoned basic decency. His white lab coat was still on, the hem stained with suspicious scorch marks, and two buttons on his collar had popped off. His normally neatly combed black hair was a mess, plastered to his forehead, with a few strands stuck to his cheeks from sweat. His eyes were terrifyingly red, filled with bloodshot veins.
The moment he received the Tianyan coordinates, Chiron had crushed the test tube in his hand.
Tinia had wanted to throw a sarcastic remark, but seeing his pitiful state, he swallowed the words.
"Sister is asleep." Tinia lowered his voice, stepping aside to clear the path. "Be quiet. Don't wake her."
Chiron didn't even spare him a glance, striding straight toward the master bedroom. His steps were light, but his strides were enormous.
A sliver of light from outside leaked through the crack in the door.
Jiang Lijin was a light sleeper anyway, and having just survived a life-or-death crisis that night, her nerves hadn't fully relaxed. She woke when a shadow fell by the bedside.
The air was thick with the harsh smell of disinfectant. Chiron stood by the bed, his posture rigid, his eyes fixed on the lump formed by the blankets.
Jiang Lijin sighed. The man's breathing was trembling in the darkness, so suppressed it made her chest ache just listening.
She turned over, lifted a corner of the blanket, and reached out a hand.
"What are you doing, standing there like a statue?" she said, her voice still husky with sleep. "Come here."
Those two simple words shattered the last of Chiron's composure. His Adam's apple bobbed heavily. Without taking off his clothes or even his shoes, he dropped to one knee on the edge of the bed, leaned over, and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
He held her tightly. His arms locked around Jiang Lijin's waist, his grip fierce and almost out of control, his knuckles audibly cracking.
"I'm dirty," his voice was hoarse. "I smell."
Even as he said it, his hands showed no sign of letting go.
"Shut up." Jiang Lijin raised her hand and wrapped it around his neck. "Go to sleep."
Chiron didn't say another word. He only buried his face deeper. The smell of disinfectant wasn't pleasant, but Jiang Lijin didn't mind.
Her fingers ran through his black hair, soothing him in a haphazard rhythm, until his breathing steadied.
...
Morning.
Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the floor-to-ceiling windows. Jiang Lijin opened her eyes, her first sensation being the soreness in her arm.
Her hand was still around Chiron's neck. He had held that awkward position all night, his head buried in her shoulder, without even rolling over. At that angle, with his tall frame curled up all night, his neck should have been stiff. But he had endured it for hours, even deliberately slowing his breathing, afraid of waking her.
Jiang Lijin pulled her hand back and flexed her aching wrist.
"Awake?" Chiron straightened up, frowning slightly as he cracked his neck, then began to massage her hand.
Jiang Lijin reached for her optical brain on the nightstand. The screen showed an unread message from Su Han.
The first one was about the house: [Your Highness, both of your spare properties have been unfrozen and re-registered in your name. I've arranged for the villa by Emerald Lake in the Central Star Sector to be cleaned this morning, and the security system has been fully upgraded. You can move in at any time.]
The second was about Darren: [At three in the morning, Prince Darren committed suicide out of guilt in the detention room at the Supervisory Bureau. The forensic autopsy confirmed he hanged himself using torn clothing. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, and the surveillance footage is complete. The news was released to the public at six this morning. The old aristocratic faction is leaderless and in chaos. I've taken the opportunity to freeze several of their core accounts. At tomorrow's cabinet meeting, they won't be able to cause any trouble.]
After reading, Jiang Lijin tossed the optical brain back onto the duvet and raised an eyebrow with a smile.
Tianque and Su Han, one in the open and one in the shadows, worked together like a perfect team.
"Darren is dead," Jiang Lijin mentioned casually.
Chiron paused his massage. "That was too easy for him. Daring to use orbital cannons—he should die a hundred times over."
"Go take a shower." Jiang Lijin kicked him disdainfully. "Borrow some clothes from Tinia. You two are about the same size."
The dining area in the top-floor suite was absurdly large, with a long table covered in an array of breakfast dishes.
Jiang Lijin walked over and pulled out the seat at the head of the table to sit down.
Chiron followed her out. He was wearing Tinia's spare casual clothes, which were a size too small, the fabric around his shoulders stretched tight. Paired with his ascetic face, the contrast was striking.
Tinia glanced at him, curled his lip, but held back his taunts. After all, he had seen Chiron's soul-crushed state the night before.
"Eat." Jiang Lijin picked up her chopsticks and popped a crystal shrimp dumpling into her mouth. It tasted good.
The atmosphere at the table was surprisingly harmonious. Ryan and the Divine Shield squad were deployed around the hotel's perimeter, ensuring not even a fly could get in.
Halfway through the meal, Jiang Lijin's optical brain buzzed with a video call request from Baal.
"I heard you were hit by orbital cannon fire last night?" Baal said without preamble, his voice brimming with anger. "Is the Divine Shield squad a bunch of useless eaters? Can't even stop an old bastard?"
Jiang Lijin bit into another shrimp dumpling. "They stopped him. I'm perfectly fine."
Baal snorted coldly. "Ryan has already sent me the detailed report. That old dog Darren died too easily in the Supervisory Bureau. If he'd fallen into my hands, I'd have made him taste federal execution."
"Enough, no point in afterthoughts," Jiang Lijin cut him off. "The Divine Shield squad did well. Give them a bonus from my account."
"Think I need your money?" Baal glared. "I've already ordered a batch of the latest defense equipment. It'll arrive at your new place this afternoon. I'm almost done here too. Wait for me to come home!"
The call ended. Jiang Lijin stared at the dark screen and shook her head. That hot-tempered Python, his way of showing concern was always so hardcore.
"Su Han has cleaned everything up," Jiang Lijin said, taking a sip of warm water. "With Darren dead, the old aristocrats are scattered like sand. The villa by Emerald Lake is ready. We'll move there after breakfast."
Her gaze shifted to Rowan, sitting next to Tinia. The child was quietly pushing around a sausage on his plate, his red hair plastered softly against his cheeks, looking incredibly well-behaved.
"Rowan." Jiang Lijin called out.
Rowan quickly put down her fork and sat up straight. "Sister."
Jiang Lijin looked at her, tapping her fingers lightly on the table. "Darren is dead, and the obstacles from the royal family are mostly cleared. You don't have to hide your identity anymore."
At these words, everyone at the table stopped what they were doing.
Rowan shrank her shoulders, her eyes timid. She had been raised as a male prince; the old emperor had kept even her closest maids in the dark to protect her. Now, facing the prospect of revealing her true gender, she instinctively felt scared.
“Sister…” Rowan’s voice was small. “Are those bad people going to come and hit us again?”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Jiang Lijin’s tone was light but carried absolute certainty. “I’m here.”
She paused, softening her voice slightly: “You’re the future emperor of the empire. You don’t need to skulk around like a rat in a gutter. Being female isn’t a weakness—it’s your biggest advantage for securing the throne. Understand?”
Chiron chose that moment to add calmly: “Her Highness is right. I’ll issue the most authoritative genetic identification report from the Academy. Once the news breaks, the wavering neutral factions will side with you.”
Tianyan chimed in: “And once it’s public, the remnants of the old aristocracy will lose all legal footing. They wanted to prop up a collateral heir, but now that a legitimate female heir has appeared, they don’t even have grounds to argue.”
Rowan couldn’t grasp all the complex political maneuvering, but she understood Jiang Lijin’s words. As long as her sister was here, she had nothing to fear. The child nodded firmly. “I’ll listen to Sister.”
Jiang Lijin gave a satisfied nod and was about to return to her breakfast when a sharp clatter sounded beside her.
Tinia’s silver knife and fork had slipped from his hand and clattered onto the porcelain plate. His eyes went wide, blue irises trembling, as his gaze darted between Jiang Lijin and Rowan. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally managed to stammer out a full sentence.
“Wait. Sister, what did you just say? Rowan is… female?!”
Jiang Lijin shot him a glance. “Are your ears broken?”
Tinia completely lost it. He jumped up, grabbing his hair with both hands, his expression utterly crushed. “How can she be female?! She’s obviously a prince! The whole galaxy knows she’s a prince!”
“The old emperor changed her gender records to protect her,” Chiron explained calmly from the side.
“But!” Tinia was hopping with frustration. “I just had Yunlan’s bespoke couture brand rush through thirty sets of this season’s latest styles for male children! All hand-tailored! Even the cufflinks are cut from pink diamonds!”
He pointed at Rowan, his voice full of grief. “Thirty sets! All tailored to the measurements of male children’s clothing! And now you’re telling me she’s female?!”
Jiang Lijin’s head throbbed from his loud complaints as she rubbed her temples. “Return them and redo the order. You’re the heir to the galaxy’s wealthiest consortium—are you really worried about money?”
“This isn’t about the money!” Tinia leaned in close, aggrieved, like a giant golden retriever pleading for justification. “This is my hard work! I even picked colors that would match her red hair best!”
Jiang Lijin sighed and gently pushed him away. “Don’t fret. I’ll have the cabinet consider adjusting the tax exemptions for the Yunlan Group next year.”
Tinia’s eyes lit up, his mood shifting faster than flipping a page. “Really? Just a five percent increase in the tax exemption will do!”
“On the condition that you get rid of those male children’s clothes first. I don’t want to see a pile of useless junk in my new villa when I move this afternoon.”
Tinia snapped to attention. “Mission guaranteed! I’ll have them reorder girls’ clothes right away! Pink ones! With lace! And covered in tiny sparkly diamonds!”
Rowan scrunched up her little face in protest. “I don’t want pink lace!”
“Objection overruled!” Tinia waved his hand grandly. “Girls have to wear pink!”
The dining table grew lively. Jiang Lijin watched this group, and a warmth she didn’t even notice herself crept into her eyes.
