Tinia stepped over the threshold, holding the bouquet of red roses in one hand. He looked around and gave his blunt assessment: "This place is too small."
Baal followed behind him, his military boots making steady thuds against the polished floor. He surveyed the surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the holographic projection wall, the smart temperature control system, and the semi-levitating sofa in the center of the living room.
As the Supreme Commander of the Federal Military, he usually lived in the core residential district of the capital star, the exact same neighborhood where Chiron lived. The western suburban villa before him, assigned by the Female Protection Center, met all hardware standards and had a reasonable spatial layout. He couldn't find any major faults with it.
However, Tinia, the son of the wealthiest man, clearly didn't think so. He tapped the edge of the carpet with the tip of his shoe. "Ordinary material, rough craftsmanship. And the location is ridiculously remote. You can't even find a decent entertainment city for dozens of miles around. There isn't even a place to pass the time."
Tinia turned around, his blue eyes looking at Jiang Lijin with a brilliant smile. "Once we finish the procedures here, I'll take you on a trip to the Valoran galaxy. The private planets there have beautiful scenery. You can play however you want, without having to suffer in a broken-down little house like this."
Jiang Lijin stood to the side, not replying.
She called out to the system in her mind: [Xiao Yi, did you hear that? The son of the richest man calls our place a broken-down little house.]
Xiao Yi frantically agreed in her mind: [Rich people are just on another level! Host, I checked the data. The monthly maintenance fee for a private planet in the Valoran galaxy is enough to buy this entire villa! Hurry up and say yes! Let's go travel to the Valoran galaxy! Let him pay!]
Before Jiang Lijin could answer, Baal interrupted her thoughts. He looked at Jiang Lijin and asked, "My personal belongings will be delivered by a specialist tomorrow, so which room will I be staying in?"
Jiang Lijin was stumped; she hadn't thought about this question at all. She raised her hand and pointed toward the second floor. "There is an entire bedroom area upstairs. There are many rooms, so you guys can go up and take a look. Pick whichever one you want to stay in."
Baal nodded and prepared to head toward the stairs.
Tinia took a step ahead, cutting in front of Baal, and said with a smile, "First come, first served, Commander. My luggage will arrive before eight o'clock tonight. If I pick the room closest to my wife, I hope you won't mind."
Baal stopped in his tracks, staring intently at Tinia, as if restraining himself.
As the two were locked in a standoff, the aroma of food wafted through the air.
It was Jiang Lijin. Too lazy to watch their childish bickering, she had picked up her bowl of egg fried rice again and was eating on the side while watching them.
Tinia's nose twitched. He turned his head following the scent, and his gaze landed on the egg fried rice in Jiang Lijin's hands. He immediately guessed that she had made it herself. Ignoring Baal's icy glare, he walked over with the roses in his arms, looked down at the plate of fried rice, and his eyes lit up.
"Wife, did you make this yourself? The color, the heat control, it's absolutely fantastic! In all my life, I've eaten the cooking of countless star-level chefs, but I've never seen such a perfect combination of rice and egg! Just smelling this aroma has purified my spiritual power!"
A barrage of excessive flattery rained down on her without a single stutter. The spoon in Jiang Lijin's hand paused.
Baal watched Tinia's sycophantic display, the veins on his forehead throbbing twice. Then, he adjusted his breathing, looked at Jiang Lijin, and spoke in a serious tone: "We are going to live together in the future. No matter what our interaction dynamic will be, we need a formal process of getting to know each other. I propose we sit down right now and do detailed self-introductions."
Jiang Lijin nodded in agreement. Although she had already learned about them through various channels, that information was a mix of truth and falsehoods. Hearing it from the men themselves would surely be better.
The three of them walked to the living room and took their seats on the sofa.
Jiang Lijin went to the kitchen, grabbed two glass cups, filled them with warm water, and walked back to the living room, placing them on the coffee table in front of Baal and Tinia respectively.
"There's only water at home right now," she said as she sat on the single sofa, her hands folded on her lap. "No coffee, and no other beverages. Just make do with it."
Tinia picked up the water glass, took a big gulp, and smiled radiantly: "Water poured by my wife is sweeter than any high-grade nutrient solution."
Baal picked up his glass, took a sip, and without saying a word, simply placed the glass back where it was.
"Baal, Supreme Commander of the Federal Military." Baal sat up straight, looking at Jiang Lijin, speaking at a steady pace. "The nature of my work is special. I need to handle military affairs year-round and sometimes go to the front lines. But while on the capital star, I will fulfill my responsibilities as a partner."
He paused for a moment before continuing to explain his family background: "My parents are both in the Federation. My father is a retired military officer, and my mother is an A-grade female. There are no complicated relative relationships in my family. My personal assets have all been entrusted to my private assistant and can be transferred to your account at any time."
Hearing this, Jiang Lijin couldn't help but ask, "...All of them?"
Baal looked at her with serious eyes: "Yes. However, I will also need a certain amount of interstellar credits each month to maintain my daily necessities."
[Host! Hurry! Let him transfer it. The Supreme Commander of the Federation definitely has a lot of savings. Hahahahaha, we're rich, we're rich!] Xiao Yi couldn't help but exclaim excitedly.
Jiang Lijin ignored Xiao Yi. Baal's earnest attitude made her suddenly feel at a loss. She hadn't expected him to be so easy to talk to. In her mind, the higher the rank of the beastman, the more arrogant they should be. Someone like Chiron was just a very rare exception...
Tinia leaned against the back of the sofa, his legs crossed, his posture relaxed.
"My turn." Tinia put down his water glass, leaned against the backrest of the sofa, and winked at Jiang Lijin. "Tinia, currently holding no specific position. I usually help my mother manage some family businesses."
He added with a smile: "My mother is the interstellar's wealthiest person, Eileen. You should have heard of her name."
Jiang Lijin nodded. She had indeed heard of it, though she had heard it from Xiao Yi.
Tinia changed his sitting posture, leaning forward: "My mother only has me as her child. She doesn't like complicated family environments and doesn't want to raise a bunch of heirs who fight bloody battles every day over the family fortune. Therefore, from the very beginning, she only had a child with her first beast husband, which is my father."
He looked at Jiang Lijin, his ice-blue eyes full of smiles: "So I also hope that I can become your first beast husband."
Jiang Lijin froze.
First beast husband? Did he not know that she was divorced?
"Before you came, did you not investigate my information?" she spoke up, interrupting Tinia's enthusiasm. "I am divorced."
"Of course I know! I've read all those posts on the Starweb forums."
Jiang Lijin was stunned. It was only then that she realized her three marriages with Arden, Rex, and Kieran had long become the topic of after-dinner gossip across the entire interstellar space.
"That is all in the past." Tinia spoke in a relaxed tone, completely dismissing those three ex-husbands. "A mere three S-grade males—you should have divorced them long ago. What I want to be now is your number one, both for the present and the future."
Baal could not listen to this any longer. With a cold expression, he spoke up, his voice carrying a distinct warning. "Tinia, watch your words. On the matching list issued by the Mastermind, I am the first in line. If anyone is going to be the first husband, it is me."
Tinia turned his head, looked at Baal, and let out a scoff.
"Commander, did fighting wars damage your brain?" he retorted bluntly. "The order on the matching list was indeed arranged by the Mastermind based on our status and genetic compatibility. But that is just a string of cold, lifeless data."
He shifted his gaze back to Jiang Lijin, his tone turning serious. "The ranking on the list does not matter. What matters is who ranks first in my wife's heart."
Jiang Lijin smiled.
She smiled because the S-grade status her three ex-husbands had been so proud of was nothing more than "a mere three S-grade males" coming from the mouth of the 3S-grade Tinia. She was also amused by the sight before her: a Federation Supreme Commander with massive military power and a financial syndicate heir with wealth rivaling nations, arguing right in front of her over who would be her first beast husband.
How interesting.
