Qin Mo felt a strong sense of crisis.
He leaped over to Yunyang, shifted back to human form, and began trash-talking Fu Shiyi with abandon.
"My female, Fu Shiyi is just a stuffy old male. He walks around with that sour face all day, like everyone owes him millions of federation credits."
"He spends all his time cooped up in his design studio. He never works out—his physique is terrible."
"Oh, and did I mention, he's nearsighted too. He's always running around with those glasses of his!"
Even though it was against his conscience, to avoid gaining a fifth romantic rival, Qin Mo decided to toss his morals aside.
Anyway, Fu Shiyi would never find out!
Yunyang: "..."
Old? Bad body? And nearsighted?
That doesn't seem right, does it?
She quietly opened the materials the Federal Marriage Center had sent earlier—the ones with photos attached—
Name: Fu Shiyi
Age: 26
Height: 195
Beast Form: Golden-Winged Roc
Ability: Wind Type
Ability Rank: S-Class
Occupation: Chief Combat Mech Designer
Gene Compatibility: 97%
26 isn't really that old, after all, the average lifespan of interstellar beastmen is up to 200 years.
As for his body, he doesn't look bad in the photo either.
Though whether he's nearsighted or not isn't listed in the materials, and Fu Shiyi does indeed wear glasses in the photo.
But can beastmen even become nearsighted?
Yunyang remained doubtful. Besides, Fu Shiyi's beast form is a Golden-Winged Roc!
In the classic novel she'd read in her past life, it even said that the Golden-Winged Roc had star-bright eyes and leopard-like vision (from Journey to the West).
Even if, for argument's sake, Fu Shiyi really were nearsighted, she could still accept it.
After all, the way this guy looked wearing glasses in the photo... gave off a strangely attractive "suave villain" vibe.
She had a taste for that sort of thing.
Yunyang didn't have her guard up around her beast-husband, so Qin Mo accidentally caught sight of the materials on the holographic screen. He froze, then jolted up from the sofa in shock.
"My female, Fu Shiyi is also your beast-husband?!"
"Mm-hm." Yunyang nodded quietly.
Qin Mo: "..."
Good thing Fu Shiyi hadn't arrived yet and hadn't heard what he'd just said.
"Ahem, my female, I was just joking around."
Knowing that Fu Shiyi was a beast-husband matched by the Federal Marriage Center for Yunyang, Qin Mo gave up on slandering him, but still sneakily tried to drag him down a notch.
"But Fu Shiyi really is dull. I heard from the people over at the First Army that he never laughs or jokes. Behind his back, the mech research base calls him an old stick-in-the-mud."
Fu Shiyi's gene compatibility with Yunyang was 1% higher than his own. In general, the higher the gene compatibility, the stronger the attraction between the female and male.
If he didn't "try harder," and once Fu Shiyi actually showed up, what if the female ended up favoring only him?
He'd just gotten his first taste of intimacy—he didn't want to end up alone in an empty room every night, becoming a bitter, resentful husband.
Yunyang: "..."
The more Qin Mo talked, the more curious she became about Fu Shiyi instead.
An old stick-in-the-mud, huh? Would he keep that expressionless face even in bed?
Kind of want to see that.
She just wondered when Fu Shiyi would move in.
If Qin Mo knew that his own words had actually piqued Yunyang's interest in Fu Shiyi, he would probably slap himself twice.
Central Star.
The little incident from last night hadn't affected Fu Shiyi's work. He put the final touches on the design blueprints, then took off his glasses and leaned back in his chair, looking slightly tired.
Three more months until the Mother Bug's breeding season. To ensure the Mother Bug had enough energy to reproduce, the bug race would definitely launch a large-scale offensive against the Federation—that was how it had always been.
So, to make sure the Federal military could get this batch of combat mechs in time, he had been working overtime for a whole month straight.
Even an iron body gets tired.
Once the design was submitted, he'd apply for some time off.
After closing his eyes for a brief ten-minute rest, Fu Shiyi put his glasses back on. "M702, submit the design."
"Yes, Master."
The intelligent core unit quickly executed the command, and one holographic screen after another unfolded in front of Fu Shiyi, submitting the various sections of the design in batches.
The rest of the work didn't concern Fu Shiyi. He checked the time—still before noon.
Looks like he'd have a chance to go home for lunch today.
With that thought, Fu Shiyi opened his optical computer to send a message to his mother and father.
That was when he noticed a message he'd been ignoring for days.
[Federal Marriage Center: Fu Shiyi, your mating request application has been accepted. Congratulations! You are now betrothed to the honorable Yunyang. Please proceed to Yunyang's side at your earliest convenience, and remember: Protecting females is the foremost duty of all males in the Federation. Wishing you a happy marriage~]
Attached to the message was a very detailed profile.
A contemplative look passed through Fu Shiyi's eyes behind his glasses.
Mating request application?
It seemed there was such a thing. But because the Golden-Winged Roc clan had special genetics, it was extremely difficult for them to have high compatibility with females.
If a male's gene compatibility with a female fell below 80%, the Federal Marriage Center wouldn't establish a marriage between them.
Even his own father had used every trick in the book back in the day to get his mother to willingly take him as a beast-husband—which wasn't restricted by gene compatibility.
Knowing this, when his parents used to nag him about marriage, he had submitted the application without worry.
That had been four years ago. He had submitted the request and never checked on it again. He never thought it would actually succeed.
Fu Shiyi carefully flipped through Yunyang's profile, his gaze lingering for a long, long time on the gene compatibility line.
In theory, the highest gene compatibility was 100%. But in reality, that wasn't quite the case; at the very least, the highest compatibility in Federation history was only 99.9%.
So anything above 95% was already considered exceptionally high.
And between him and that female—
Fu Shiyi opened the photo attached to the profile, and the female's bright, gorgeous features suddenly filled his vision.
Soft wavy chestnut hair that reached her waist, sparkling black eyes with a liquid sheen, a high straight nose, and rosy red lips.
Those delicate features set against porcelain-white skin could easily capture any beastman's gaze.
She was more beautiful than any female he had ever seen before.
A female so beautiful and precious, with a gene compatibility of 97% with him.
From a genetic standpoint, they were destined to be a pair.
Fu Shiyi's fingers twitched slightly. First, following the profile, he sent Yunyang a friend request. Then, he told his father and mother the news.
In the villa, Yunyang suddenly received a friend request.
Her gaze lowered, and her optical computer automatically opened the request.
[Fu Shiyi requests to add you as a friend.]
Yunyang raised an eyebrow. Speak of the devil?
She nodded, letting the optical computer accept the request.
The next moment she added him, the Federal Bank sent three messages in a row.
[Federal Bank: Respected Honorable Yunyang, your account has received a transfer from user Fu Shiyi...]
[Federal Bank: Respected Honorable Yunyang, your account has received a transfer from user Fu Jianyue...]
[Federal Bank: Respected Honorable Yunyang, your account has received a transfer from user Fang Yanzhi...]
Three transfers in a row—all astronomical sums.
Yunyang: "..."
