The wall clock pointed exactly to ten o'clock at night.
Jiang Lijin rolled out of bed, walked over, and opened the door. Tinia stood outside.
The young master had changed into a well-tailored casual suit, his hair specially styled, giving off an air of grand formality.
"It is the middle of the night. Are you dressed like this to walk a runway?" Jiang Lijin leaned against the doorframe, looking him up and down.
Tinia leaned in, lowering his voice, unable to hide the excitement in his tone. "Did you forget, Sister? I told you I prepared a big gift for you. Come on, let me show you."
Jiang Lijin was not feeling particularly sleepy anyway, and hearing him say this piqued her curiosity.
"Alright, wait for me to change my clothes."
Closing the door, she quickly changed into a set of casual sportswear that was easy to move in.
Five minutes later, she opened the door again.
The atmosphere in the corridor was extremely bizarre. The sensor lights overhead were flickering erratically.
Two formidable streams of spiritual power clashed silently in the narrow space, causing even the metal decorative paintings on the walls to tremble slightly and emit a buzzing sound.
Tinia and Baal stood three steps apart, neither saying a word. Fortunately, the butlers and chefs in the house had already gotten off work and left; otherwise, if ordinary people encountered the oppressive aura released by two 3S-grade males, they would pass out on the spot.
Jiang Lijin crossed her arms, watching the two males with cold eyes.
"Are you going to let this go or not? If not, both of you can get out right now. Do not tear down my house."
As her voice fell, the oppressive feeling in the corridor vanished completely.
The overhead lights flickered twice and returned to normal.
Baal retracted his spiritual power, his gaze falling on Jiang Lijin's outfit. "It is so late. Where are you going?"
"Not telling you," Tinia took a step forward, blocking Jiang Lijin's side, his chin raised high. "This is a surprise I prepared for Sister. Irrelevant people should not ask."
Baal completely ignored Tinia's provocation, staring only at Jiang Lijin. "You cannot go. It is not safe to go out in the middle of the night!"
Tinia bristled on the spot. He had specifically stayed up until ten o'clock, listening carefully until there was no sound from the two adjacent rooms, before sneaking over to knock on her door, all for the sake of some alone time.
"Commander Baal, aren't you sticking your nose in a bit too far?" Tinia gritted his teeth.
"Can you take responsibility if something happens to her?" Baal retorted.
Seeing that the two were about to fight again, Jiang Lijin raised a hand to rub her temples.
"Stop." She interrupted their argument and looked at Baal. "This is the capital planet, not the frontlines. Where else could be safer than here?"
She paused for a moment, her tone turning cold. "Furthermore, Commander Baal, in what capacity are you restricting my freedom right now?"
The corridor became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Baal froze.
He was used to issuing orders in the military, used to keeping all dangerous factors under his control. Subconsciously, he had already drawn Jiang Lijin into his protective circle—this was the territorial instinct unique to those in power.
But he forgot that in this house, Jiang Lijin was the head of the family.
The tall man visibly deflated. He lowered his eyes, a hint of helplessness flashing through his golden vertical pupils, and his straight back slumped slightly.
Seeing this, Tinia straightened his posture even more. His tail was practically pointing at the sky as he naturally took Jiang Lijin's hand. "Sister, let's go. Ignore him."
Jiang Lijin did not pull away, letting Tinia lead her downstairs.
In her mind, Xiao Yi's voice popped up: [Baal is probably dying of sadness right now. He might even go back to his room and secretly wipe his tears under the covers later!]
Jiang Lijin was amused by the system's wild imagination, unable to picture that scene.
She was in a good mood today, so as she walked, she replied in her mind: [Put away your rich imagination. If he wants me to accommodate him, it depends on whether I am happy and willing to do so. With that bossy attitude of his just now, not kicking him out of the villa on the spot was already giving him enough face.]
Xiao Yi quickly flattered her: [The host is mighty! This little one will retreat right now! I will not disturb your date with Young Master Tinia!]
The two arrived at the front yard.
The night breeze was slightly cool, blowing away the stuffiness they had caught in the house.
In the center of the lawn, the small white flying machine allocated by the Empire sat quietly. Its streamlined fuselage gave off a cold, hard luster in the night.
Tinia walked to the driver's seat with familiar ease and opened the cabin door.
Jiang Lijin stood to the side, looking at this expensive machine with some hesitation. "Do you know how to fly this thing?"
Hovercars in the interstellar era did not require a driver's license. They were equipped with AI systems boasting the highest safety ratings and perfect flight paths. Anyone, from an eighty-year-old lady to a young man who had just come of age, could just get in and go.
But flying machines were different. They involved switching high-altitude flight paths, judging air currents, and manual operations for emergency evasion, making them much more complex.
Tinia leaned against the cabin door with one hand, smiling brightly. "Sister, you underestimate me too much. Not only do I know how to fly it, but I also passed the interstellar highest-level flight instructor certification. If you want to learn, I can teach you anytime, guaranteed to make you a pro."
Hearing the words instructor certification, Jiang Lijin's eyes lit up.
"You said it yourself." Jiang Lijin readily stepped into the passenger seat. "Let's go. Let me see Young Master Tinia's skills."
Tinia nimbly slid into the cockpit and started the engine.
The white flying machine lifted off smoothly and quickly blended into the brilliant night of the capital planet.
The high-altitude flight paths were quite deserted. At this time of night, apart from some military patrol aircraft on duty, theirs was the only one weaving above the clouds.
Tinia controlled the steering stick with one hand, the profile of his face looking sharp and focused in the faint glow of the instrument panel. She had not realized that this young master actually had some real skills; he flew the machine very steadily.
In less than twenty minutes, the flying machine began to descend.
The location was a remote inland lake. Natural bodies of water in the interstellar era were pitifully scarce. Although this place had a lake, the surrounding environment could hardly be considered scenic. A few mutated plants grew sparsely, their leaves displaying an eerie purplish-red hue.
The cabin door slid open, and Jiang Lijin jumped out of the flying machine.
Before she could even steady herself, two familiar figures appeared in her line of sight.
In the clearing by the lake, the two uniformed butlers stood perfectly straight. Seeing her step down, they bowed in unison, wearing bright smiles on their faces.
"Good evening, Ms. Jiang, Young Master."
Jiang Lijin pulled her coat closer and turned to look at Tinia. "Didn't they get off work? Coming out to this wilderness in the middle of the night... to experience life?"
Miserable wage earners. She silently added in her heart. These evil plutocrats would not even let their employees go during their rest time.
Tinia leaned over with a smile. "I gave them twenty times their overtime pay."
The condemnation that had reached Jiang Lijin's lips got firmly stuck in her throat.
She reappraised the two butlers. Their smiles looked utterly sincere no matter how she viewed them, and their eyes even sparkled with infinite enthusiasm for their work.
She took back what she just said. This was not working overtime; this was basically picking up free money. No wonder they were smiling so widely that their back teeth were practically showing.
"Alright. You dragged me out here in the middle of the night, so what exactly did you prepare?"
Tinia didn't answer, merely blinking mysteriously. He raised his hand toward the two butlers, holding up three fingers.
Three, two, one.
