014
Zhi Wei and Andre returned to the main planet.
They went to check out of the hotel, planning to leave first and take the starship for a spin around.
Starships and hovercrafts were vastly different. If Zhi Wei had to make a comparison, hovercrafts were like cars, while starships were like aircraft carriers.
Hovercrafts could only travel within a planet's atmosphere. To venture beyond the planet's edge, one had to take the gradient passage through the towers.
Starships, however, offered much more freedom—capable of navigating from the cosmos to land and sea without restriction.
Even Andre’s hovercraft could usually dock inside the starship for recharging.
Looking at it this way, acquiring this starship was truly a fantastic deal—like a fool suddenly striking gold.
They went to check out, initially in high spirits, but the moment they mentioned "checking out," chaos erupted again.
Zhi Wei took out cash, intending to pay—covering Andre’s share as well.
If she wasn’t even paying his salary anymore, the least she could do was cover his lodging. Otherwise, that’d be too much. So, she insisted on paying for Andre’s stay.
But Andre wasn’t happy about it.
Holding Zhi Wei’s canvas bag respectfully in both hands, he loudly protested, "I can treat you! Treating someone isn’t misusing public funds—it doesn’t violate any principles!"
Zhi Wei retorted, "Nonsense! Subordinates aren’t allowed to argue with their superiors!"
She absolutely had to pay—she was desperate to pay!
She had arrived empty-handed, with just a hundred yuan in cash and useless digital money in her Alipay, WeChat, and bank cards. Yet now, she had somehow accumulated a substantial amount of interstellar credit points.
Even after spending a fortune on the starship, money kept flowing in.
Donations on her personal website kept increasing, and she had no good reason to ask Andre to shut down the payment channel. As a result, funds kept pouring into her account.
If she didn’t spend it now, she’d never get rid of it!
As the two argued, the hotel owner stepped in.
The owner refused to accept payment, dodging any attempt to hand over money. "I won’t take your money—you’re a great candidate! I can’t possibly accept payment from you!"
Zhi Wei was horrified. "I have money, really! Let me pay!"
Andre, clinging to his noble pride, insisted, "I can’t stay for free—I’m a noble! What’s the difference between a noble who doesn’t pay and a thug?"
The owner took another approach. "Consider this a tribute to your superior."
Andre immediately changed his tune, swelling with pride. "Then we won’t pay."
Zhi Wei: "Pay right now!"
Owner: "No paying allowed!"
The three of them nearly started a full-blown argument.
In the end, Zhi Wei made a decisive move—she pressed all the cash she had on her beneath the vase on the front desk. Whether it was too much or not, the excess could count as a tip.
Then, grabbing Andre by the wrist, she turned and bolted.
Andre, still puzzled, remarked, "The fact that you were willing to pay her at all is already rare for a candidate. And you even overpaid."
Gazing at Zhi Wei’s stormy expression, he added with genuine admiration, "You’re really so kind."
Zhi Wei had only been in the interstellar era for four days, but she was already developing an allergy to the word "kind"!
—
Onboard the starship, Andre was studying the control panel. Since Zhi Wei had nothing better to do, she decided to learn alongside him.
She felt that piloting hovercrafts and starships wasn’t much different from driving—both were basic skills. Rather than leaving it in someone else’s hands, she might as well master it herself.
While she familiarized herself with the panel, Andre’s communicator kept buzzing nonstop.
None of the messages were for him—they were all people trying to reach Zhi Wei through him.
In the public eye, Zhi Wei had been obscure before but had now shot to fame overnight.
She was the ascetic from a barren planet, the dark-horse candidate who stunned everyone, the key figure that organizations fought to recruit for maximum returns.
So, after Zhi Wei officially registered Andre as her deputy, the number of people contacting him exploded.
No one could reach Zhi Wei directly, but they could always get to Andre.
Coming from noble lineage, Andre was far more familiar to many organization staff than Zhi Wei, who hailed from a backwater planet.
His communicator was practically melting from the flood of messages.
Andre pulled up his communicator interface, skimmed through the latest batch, and sighed. "A lot of organization leaders have reached out, hoping you’ll join their groups."
These leaders were the top decision-makers of their respective factions.
For them to extend personal invitations was the highest honor and show of sincerity such organizations could offer.
"Pass," Zhi Wei said after some thought, not even bothering to learn about each group’s size or ideology.
These organizations were somewhat like political parties or guilds. If she were an idol, the organization would be the entertainment agency that exclusively promoted her.
Zhi Wei popped a bean snack into her mouth, crunching loudly.
Following standard procedure—and mimicking what normal candidates would do—she really ought to have an organization backing her.
But while Zhi Wei didn’t know much about the organizations out there, she knew entertainment companies all too well.
An idol’s contract had to be chosen carefully—otherwise, the company could drag them down later!
"Let’s wait a bit. At least until we find one that’s genuinely good to us," she explained.
Andre was fully on board with Zhi Wei’s decisions, so he nodded emphatically in agreement.
After a few nods, he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly added, "Oh, by the way, Commander, the Temple wants to know where you’ll hold your next rally."
Zhi Wei immediately grimaced.
"Rallies, rallies…"
Her mind raced, trying to think of a place with fewer people—but not so obviously that it would reveal her slacking tendencies.
She thought about asking Andre for ideas, but Andre had none. In his previous campaign teams, he’d never even gotten this far.
Just being able to consider rally logistics now was a huge career leap for him!
Zhi Wei didn’t have any brilliant ideas either.
They took the starship out for a spin, getting used to the controls and syncing with the autopilot system.
Just as Zhi Wei was starting to enjoy herself, she felt a faint vibration on the back of her neck.
A new message on her communicator. She accessed it mentally, reading the incoming transmission.
Surprised by the sender, she murmured, "It’s Professor Xu. She sent me a message."
Andre’s questioning gaze met hers.
"She’s inviting us to give a speech at the school where she works. It’s called… Lanmeng Academy."
Andre showed little reaction, clearly unenthused.
"Schools aren’t separate voting districts—no ballots there. At best, you’d make a small splash among the students, but students don’t carry much weight in the electoral districts. It’s a lot of effort for no real gain."
What? Effort? And no gain?
Zhi Wei’s ears perked up at that!
Right now, she loved things that were all effort and no reward! Not a voting district? No ballots? Even better!
Thinking about it, schools sounded like the perfect place! Not too many people, but enough to make her seem somewhat diligent—while ensuring she gained zero political advantage.
Plus, she might even get to sit in on some classes and learn more about interstellar society.
When Andre heard she wanted to go, he didn’t argue—just started offering his simple-minded suggestions with his simple-minded brain.
"You could host a film screening. Rent the equipment and invite people to watch a movie," he said.
Zhi Wei gave him a surprised look. She had assumed gatherings were just speeches, never imagining there could be such variations.
She asked Andre, "What kind of movie?"
"If it's just speeches, people who aren’t interested in your platform won’t bother coming. Of course, everyone is interested in your platform! If you don’t arrange any activities and just talk about your ideas and platform, everyone would love to listen!" The Little Bear aide couldn’t resist praising Zhi Wei even while discussing logistics.
Andre said, "In most cases, they’d organize activities—like movie screenings or cocktail parties."
Zhi Wei raised her eyebrows.
Andre continued, "For movies, you could screen something related to the glory of one’s maternal or paternal lineage. Families with illustrious histories often have biopics made about them, so descendants can use them during gatherings."
He had been speaking enthusiastically, proud of his clever idea, but then his mind caught up with reality.
Zhi Wei was from a barren planet. Her maternal and paternal lines likely held no such glory.
Had he just stabbed her in the heart? This was hardly the professionalism expected of an aide! Would Zhi Wei resent him for this, maybe even start hating him?!
As Andre’s mind raced with these anxious thoughts, he stole a cautious, nervous glance at Zhi Wei—only to find her deep in thought, her expression contemplative.
Zhi Wei mulled it over. No point letting opportunities slip away, but she also wanted to share the honor.
She said, "I don’t have one, but could I screen yours?"
Andre was stunned.
He turned to her, his gaze wide with shock. His face flushed instantly, burning so red it almost looked swollen.
He stammered for a moment, his demeanor oddly conflicted.
Part of him was smug, interpreting this as the highest trust his superior could show. But his rational side insisted that the idea of Zhi Wei screening his family’s films to elevate his lineage’s prestige was utterly absurd.
Still, he lifted his chin, radiating pride even as his words stumbled. "The Itur family has plenty of those films, but—but no, I’m just an aide."
Lowering his voice, he added, "I could watch them with you in private, but not in public."
Zhi Wei looked at Andre and saw his face set in solemnity. His cold, focused gaze, paired with his fair skin and red lips, made him as striking as a lone pine standing tall in a snowfield.
Andre declared, "An aide’s honor belongs to their superior, but a candidate’s glory cannot be usurped."
Zhi Wei scratched her head. "Then what movie should I show? I don’t have any films."
No immediate solution came to mind, but it wasn’t urgent. They decided to visit Lanmeng first.
Lanmeng Academy was located in the Stellard-Timothy electoral district.
This district was the most prosperous in the galaxy, encompassing two stars, thirteen planets, forty-two moons, and countless space stations and orbital cities.
Out of the 301 electoral votes in the entire galaxy, Stellard-Timothy held 32.
This was a significant share—enough to make any candidate salivate.
Moreover, Stellard-Timothy’s prosperity led to a highly transient population and open-minded attitudes. No faction had ever managed to turn it into a secure stronghold.
High electoral weight, thriving technology, vast territory, and dense population made it a battleground every election cycle, fiercely contested by all candidates.
There was even a saying: "Win Stellard-Timothy, and you win the election."
Because of its importance, by early January, candidates and factions were already maneuvering for position in Stellard-Timothy.
After a night’s sleep aboard their starship—equipped with a warp drive for rapid travel—Zhi Wei and Andre arrived in Stellard-Timothy the next morning.
While queuing for registration and security checks, they found themselves surrounded by other candidates’ ships.
Zhi Wei peered out from their starship. Ahead, a black-and-gold vessel hovered, its engines emitting a crystalline blue flame. Behind them, a sleek reconnaissance craft cut sharp lines against the void.
Andre had never experienced anything like this.
The feeling of standing alongside others while his own equipment looked shabby in comparison was entirely new to him.
He squirmed in discomfort.
"I’m so embarrassed," he muttered. "Our starship is the worst one here."
After a moment of silence, Andre slowly turned to Zhi Wei. His gaze lingered, and then, gradually, his spirits lifted—his pride flaring back to life.
"But my superior is better than all of theirs."
He boasted without restraint: "My superior is Zhi Wei."
