Leo’s tall frame trembled almost imperceptibly.
Even before he spoke, he had already prepared himself for Yunyang to refuse—for a female, the frontier star was far too dangerous.
So he hadn’t held out any hope; he was only trying for the sake of the First Army.
Even he hadn’t expected Yunyang to actually agree.
He suppressed the excitement inside him. “Of course, Lady Yunyang. If you feel that five beast-husbands aren’t enough, I can help select a few more from the First Army. They won’t participate in the battles against the insectoids—all of their time will be spent protecting you.”
The members of the First Army around him: !
Commander, you truly are our dear commander!
Yunyang: “…”
She glanced at the arm tightened around her waist and the corner of her eye twitched.
Help her select “a few more”?
Even if female beast-kin were gifted with extraordinary recovery abilities, Yunyang had no desire to live a life with zero days off.
Oh wait, she shouldn’t speak too absolutely—
At least for now, she didn’t want that.
Yunyang shook her head. “Commander Leo, I appreciate your kindness, but that won’t be necessary.”
Qin Mo and Xuan Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Having four love rivals was already a lot. If a few more came along, would they still have a place in their female master’s heart?
Fu Shiyi’s arms around Yunyang also loosened slightly.
Only then did Leo straighten up and say with some regret, “Very well, then.”
What a shame—he’d wanted to win some benefits for those ruffians.
Fu Shiyi finally spoke: “Commander Leo, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be taking our female master back now.”
It was almost dark, and their female master hadn’t even had dinner yet.
Leo glanced at the time.
It was indeed dinner hour now. Out of gratitude, perhaps he should invite Lady Yunyang to dinner.
But those three whelps—Qin Mo and the others—probably wouldn’t be happy about that.
Leo smiled. “Thank you again, Lady Yunyang.”
Yunyang took the initiative to open her optical brain.
“Commander Leo, your contamination level isn’t stable yet. Let me add you as a contact. If you need anything before you return to your post, you can come find me.”
“My pleasure.” Leo opened his optical brain as well.
After adding each other as friends, he and the other members of the First Army watched Yunyang and her three beast-husbands leave.
As soon as they were out of sight, Qin Mo swiftly snatched Yunyang out of Fu Shiyi’s arms.
That damn bird had held their female master long enough—he wanted to hold her too!
Xuan Yu also crowded in, deliberately shoving Fu Shiyi aside. “Female master, let’s head to the Lunar Rail Restaurant. You must be starving.”
Yunyang nodded. She really was hungry.
·
The Lunar Rail Restaurant was considered the best dining establishment on the Central Star.
Although the restaurant could seat quite a number of people, males who wanted to dine here alone had to grab a reservation number on the Interstellar Net. Females didn’t need to—they had absolute priority here and could bring their beast-husbands to dine at the Lunar Rail Restaurant at any time during business hours.
As Yunyang and her three beast-husbands approached, the male at the entrance—who had deliberately bared his ears and tail—immediately smiled and came forward.
“Respected lady, welcome to the Lunar Rail Restaurant.”
As he spoke, the male cast a flirtatious glance at Yunyang.
His beast form was likely feline, and the swaying cat ears and tail instantly caught Yunyang’s attention.
A kitty!
Yunyang’s fingers itched, but before she could act, her view was blocked by Xuan Yu.
Xuan Yu knew exactly how much fluffy things attracted Yunyang. He deliberately revealed his own wolf ears and urged, “Female master, let’s hurry inside.”
Yunyang’s attention was successfully diverted by his wolf ears.
Compared to some stranger outside, her own legal beast-husbands were obviously better.
She stood on her tiptoes and unceremoniously squeezed the wolf ears. Qin Mo, refusing to be outdone, also revealed a pair of tiger ears.
They were completely different from wolf ears, but just as fluffy.
Yunyang became a master of fairness, giving those a squeeze too.
Qin Mo and Xuan Yu shoved the male aside, then shot a smug look at Fu Shiyi, who had no fluffy ears to reveal.
Fu Shiyi didn’t react.
After a few more squeezes, Yunyang realized they were blocking the way. She quickly led her three beast-husbands into the restaurant.
A robot waiter came over and led them to their seats.
The Lunar Rail Restaurant didn’t have private rooms, but every dining table was surrounded by soundproofing devices. Once activated, all sound inside and outside would be completely cut off.
On top of that, an anti-peeping device could be enabled, turning the table and a certain surrounding area into a fully enclosed, private space. Those inside couldn’t see out, and those outside couldn’t see in.
Yunyang, a “primitive soul,” found everything novel. After fiddling with it for a bit, she successfully activated both devices.
Two small rings of mechanisms rose around the chairs, and pale blue energy screens descended from the ceiling, slotting into place.
In an instant, all external noise was cut off.
Yunyang looked closely and confirmed that her vision was also blocked.
High-tech stuff, truly different.
After a brief marvel, Yunyang began ordering dishes.
Because everything was made to order, the Lunar Rail Restaurant wasn’t fast, but half an hour later, all the dishes were served.
Yunyang couldn’t wait to take a bite, then fell silent.
Despite the soundproofing, she opened her optical brain and sent a message in the new contact group.
“Yunyang: This place’s food isn’t as good as what Xuan Yu and Fu Shiyi make.”
It was slightly better than Qin Mo’s cooking, but Yunyang didn’t say that out loud.
All three beast-husbands’ optical brains chimed with a notification.
It was faint, but obvious in the sealed space.
They all opened it at once.
“Qin Mo: Agreed.”
“Xuan Yu: Of course. Back at the Star Male Academy, my culinary course graduation rating was an S.”
Fu Shiyi silently sent his own graduation rating certificate from the Star Male Academy. In the culinary column, it also read “S.”
Yunyang blinked.
The Star Male Academy’s ratings only went from D to S, with S being the highest.
No wonder her beast-husbands cooked so well.
The Federal Marriage Center hadn’t lied to her!
“Yunyang: In that case, your reward is to make me a late-night snack tonight.”
After sending that message, Yunyang picked up her chopsticks and continued eating.
Though it wasn’t that delicious, since they’d come all this way and she really was hungry, she managed to eat some anyway.
The three beast-husbands didn’t mind at all—they scrambled to finish off the leftovers from her plate.
When it came time to pay, Yunyang realized that someone had already settled the bill.
Nearly all of the three beast-husbands’ assets had been transferred to her name, but they still carried a small amount on them, so Yunyang just assumed one of them had secretly paid. She didn’t think much of it.
They weren’t dining and dashing, after all.
Qin Mo helped wipe her mouth. “Female master, want to keep shopping?”
Xuan Yu scooped her up. “Female master, it’s getting late. Maybe we should head back to X92?”
Fu Shiyi rose to follow, letting his two love rivals shove him aside.
Only a trace of subtle darkness flickered behind his lenses.
He had an experience the other two didn’t, so he could afford to be lenient in such matters.
Yunyang wrapped her arms around Xuan Yu’s neck and thought for a moment. “Let’s head home first.”
Home was still a two-hour flight by airship away.
Surrounded by her three beast-husbands, she left the Moonrails Dining Pavilion, but they hadn't gone far when a petite figure darted out from seemingly nowhere and rushed toward them.
