Jiang Lijin raised an eyebrow. Her gaze swept across the faces of these men, each wearing a different expression, and finally settled on the documents in their hands.
Tinia stepped forward with a smile. Holding the document in both hands, he presented it to her solemnly.
Jiang Lijin took it, glanced down at the cover. In bold, enlarged Interstellar Common script, a line of black text read:
“The Treaty of Domestic Peaceful Coexistence.”
Jiang Lijin flipped to the first page. The clauses inside were densely packed.
She looked up, meeting Tinia’s eager face. He practically radiated a desire for praise, his golden hair glittering under the living room ceiling light.
Without a word, she lowered her head and continued skimming the document. Most of the earlier content covered division of labor.
All financial power belonged to Jiang Lijin’s account. The five men were to hand over their full monthly income on time.
Tinia was responsible for daily expenses and bookkeeping.
Chiron handled paperwork and secretarial work—proposals and bills submitted by the Empire were to be initially reviewed, consolidated, and advised on by him; final decision-making authority remained with Jiang Lijin.
Baal’s section was concise. Though the insect race had vanished, the military still had a massive amount of post-war reconstruction work, and military power remained in his hands. He could handle few household chores; most of his energy went into coordinating interstellar defenses and troop deployments, serving as the family’s most solid security backing.
The duties of Tianyan and Tianque were very clear.
The Guixu planet was already Jiang Lijin’s private territory. As its creators, the Twins had full authority over the territory’s security, construction, and underground order management.
Division of labor was reasonable, each with their own duties.
Jiang Lijin’s page-turning finger paused.
She had spotted the most critical clause. It was bolded, and deliberately printed in an eye-catching red font.
[Regarding the issue of the right to determine Her Highness Jiang Lijin’s nighttime rest arrangements, in adherence to the principles of fairness, justice, and transparency, after unanimous deliberation and agreement among all male members, a strict rotation system has been implemented. See Appendix 1 for the specific schedule.]
[Note: No member may use a mental breakdown, sudden illness, loss of emotional control, sleepwalking, feigning weakness, or any other unjustifiable reason to cut in line, push ahead, or otherwise interfere with others' rightful turns.]
Jiang Lijin let out a snort of laughter.
“Pfft.”
These men in front of her—every single one was a big shot who could summon wind and rain out there. But now, lined up in a row, they had racked their brains to produce this black-and-white agreement just for some “ bedtime privileges.”
Jiang Lijin flipped her wrist and tossed the weighty treaty carelessly onto the coffee table.
She leaned back into the soft sofa, crossed her legs, and slowly swept her gaze across the five men, one by one.
The living room fell silent instantly, all eyes on her.
“I have no issue with the work arrangements,” Jiang Lijin said, looking at them, the smile still curving at her lips, but her eyes carried an unyielding authority. “But I reject this last clause.”
The smugness on Tinia’s face froze.
Baal frowned, stepping forward: “This was the result of an entire afternoon of discussion. It’s the fairest possible.”
Chiron quietly watched Jiang Lijin, a faint smile on his lips, as if he had already anticipated this development. He said nothing.
The Twins wore surprisingly identical expressions of stunned disbelief, exchanging a glance.
Jiang Lijin sat up straight, tapping her fingers twice on the sofa armrest.
“My house, my rules.” Her voice was light with laughter, but her tone was firm. “I’ll choose whose bed I go to. Whose turn it is, I decide.”
The atmosphere in the room hung stagnant for a moment. Their beautifully crafted, airtight plan had been vetoed by the queen herself—single-handedly.
Tinia was the first to cave.
“Fine…” he mumbled under his breath. “Whatever Sister says.”
But he quickly perked back up, blue eyes sparkling: “Anyway, Sister loves me best!”
Baal wanted to argue, but Chiron stepped in wisely, reaching out a steady hand to press on Baal’s arm.
“Lijin is right,” Chiron said, his voice gentle. “Since this is your home, it’s natural for you to call the shots. The schedule is void. We’ll listen to you.”
Tianyan shrugged, but his lips curled into a more playful smirk. “Looks like someone’s carefully crafted calendar is useless. From now on… every man for himself, I guess.”
Tianque, standing behind the others, nodded coldly, saying nothing.
No one raised any further objections. In this household, Jiang Lijin was the sole, absolute ruler.
…
That night’s celebratory banquet had been too exhausting; Jiang Lijin was tired.
Using the excuse of needing “ absolute quiet to rest,” she turned down all the obvious—and not so obvious—invitations and returned alone to the master bedroom.
The door closed. The world was calm.
Jiang Lijin lay on the large bed, her breathing steady, and soon fell asleep.
In the middle of the night.
A faint click sounded at the master bedroom window. The lock was picked from outside.
A shadow slipped in nimbly, landing without a sound.
Tinia held his breath, tiptoeing toward the bed.
Jiang Lijin turned over in her sleep. Tinia froze, standing dead still, not daring to move.
He waited a few seconds. When there was no sign of the person in bed waking, he exhaled in relief and continued creeping forward.
Just as he was about to reach the edge of the bed, the door suddenly swung open. A blue light flicked on in the darkness.
“Caught you, Young Master Tiniya!”
Xiao Yi glided into the room on its wheels, its mechanical voice lowered to a whisper, its screen displaying a smug emoji.
(￣▽￣〜)
Tinia’s eyes flew wide. Before he could utter a word, Xiao Yi’s mechanical arm shot out and seized him firmly by the collar.
It rotated its treads and began dragging Tinia straight toward the door.
Tinia dared not struggle violently, afraid of waking Jiang Lijin. All he could do was grip the doorframe with both hands, his feet scrabbling uselessly against the floor, trying to resist Xiao Yi’s pull.
“Let go,” Tinia hissed warningly under his breath.
“This butler is Her Highness’s personal bodyguard,” Xiao Yi said, increasing the power of its mechanical arm. “Her Highness long anticipated that you all would try to bypass the proper channels. She had me on standby 24/7.”
Tinia’s strength was no match for Xiao Yi’s mechanical arm. His grip on the doorframe failed, and Xiao Yi dragged him bodily out of the room.
In the corridor outside.
Tinia huffed, straightening himself up with an irritated jerk, smoothing down his rumpled collar.
“Fine. You win.” He pointed a finger at Xiao Yi’s screen, then reluctantly shuffled back toward his own room.
“Good night, Young Master Tiniya!”
(•̀ω•́)
Xiao Yi beeped out a smug electronic voice, watching Tinia’s door click shut. Then it rotated its treads and wheeled contentedly toward Rowan’s room.
It still had to check on the little emperor’s sleep.
The corridor fell quiet again.
What Xiao Yi didn’t know was that, at the moment it stepped into Rowan’s room and the door shut behind it, one black and one white figure materialized from the shadows near the master bedroom door.
Tianyan and Tianque stood side by side.
Tianyan smirked silently in the direction Xiao Yi had gone.
Tianque raised a hand, quickly entering a string of commands on the electronic keypad lock of the master bedroom door.
With a soft click, the locked door was effortlessly cracked open.
The Twins pushed the door and strode boldly inside. The door closed softly behind them.
Inside the master bedroom, it was still dim.
Tianyan walked to the edge of the bed, looking down at Jiang Lijin, who was already fast asleep. Tianque approached from the other side of the bed, his crimson eyes flickering in the darkness.
Jiang Lijin’s breathing remained steady and calm.
Without hesitation, Tianyan bent down, bracing his hand on the edge of the pillow, and leaned close to Jiang Lijin’s ear.
“A Jin,” he whispered.
Jiang Lijin’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. She didn’t open her eyes, but simply turned over irritably under the covers, her brow furrowed.
“Do people from the black market always pick locks in the middle of the night?” she said, her voice tinged with the annoyance of someone woken up. “Get out.”
Seeing how things were going, Tianyan immediately dropped his usual flippant demeanor. He leaned against the edge of the bed, a touch of feigned sorrow in his voice. “A Jin, are you really willing to send us away just like that?”
He let out a sigh, his slender fingers gently tugging at the corner of her blanket. “Tianque and I are leaving for the Abyss soon. A whole planet’s underworld order and reconstruction work—there are a thousand threads to untangle. This trip, at the very least, it’ll be ten days or half a month before we see you again.”
Tianque had been standing expressionless at the side, but Tianyan secretly kicked him under the bed.
Catching the signal, Tianque instantly lowered his gaze at just the right moment. A hint of loneliness gleamed in his crimson eyes, as if his cold-faced killer demeanor was masking a deep melancholy. It was devastatingly effective.
“In the black market, we got used to a life on the edge. This is the first time we’ve taken on such a legitimate job,” Tianyan continued, leaning in and resting his chin gently beside her knee, like a giant dog begging to be petted. “If we mess it up, it’ll be an embarrassment to you. Tonight… consider it a farewell send-off, alright? We’ll be good. We promise. We’ll follow your orders!”
Jiang Lijin let out a helpless sigh in the dark. She highly suspected these two brothers had secretly enrolled in some “Gentleman’s Cuddling and Babysitting Class” sponsored by Tinia, but she had no proof.
Yet, stubborn as she was, she could never turn down a gentle plea.
“Alright, cut the act.” Jiang Lijin sighed, her tone softening. She shifted over toward the inside of the bed, making room on the outside. “Get in.”
A flash of victorious cunning gleamed in Tianyan’s eyes as he swiftly lifted the covers and slipped in, even reaching back to pull Tianque along.
Tianque’s crimson eyes lit up faintly. While he wasn’t as eager as Tianyan, he didn’t hold back either, claiming his half of the space without hesitation.
The temperature in the room began to rise.
“Black market rules,” Tianyan murmured, his fingers wandering restlessly beneath the blanket, lightly brushing over her ankle. His tone was shamelessly earnest. “Goods sold—no returns. Since you’ve taken us in, you’ll have to take responsibility.”
“What’s with all the chatter?”
Jiang Lijin suddenly reached out, grabbing the collar of Tianque’s nightshirt, and yanked him close.
Tianque dropped down to meet her, pressing a kiss against her lips. His kiss wasn’t cold like his demeanor. Instead, it burned with an intensity that seemed to consume everything.
After a long moment, Tianque pulled back slightly, their breaths intermingling.
Seeing this, Tianyan’s eyes reddened with desire as he impatiently leaned in, only to be stopped firmly by Jiang Lijin’s hand pressing against his chest.
“Wait your turn,” she said in a tone that left no room for argument.
“I came first! And I’m the older brother!” Tianyan argued righteously.
Tianque gave him a cool look. Not only did he not back down, but he also wrapped his arm around Jiang Lijin’s waist, drawing her closer against himself.
Jiang Lijin took a deep breath.
She had a feeling—she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.
