To be honest, after Zero saw that piece of academic trash Zandar put out as his second work, he was already willing to believe him.
Any scholar who cared about their reputation would never allow their name to appear in a bottom-tier journal.
Zandar had already shown enough sincerity in exchange for Zero's trust.
So what reason did he have not to believe him?
Of course, this kind of trust didn't mean he would believe every single word Zandar said. It just meant he had let go of some of his concerns and was willing to selectively listen to what the other party had to say.
When Zero realized that Zandar was hiding something from him, he wasn't surprised.
Even couples who deeply loved each other still had secrets they were unwilling to share, let alone other people.
Zero and Zandar had reached a cooperation agreement many cycles ago. He didn't know what Zandar had been through, nor did he know their shared past.
That Zandar had secrets he didn't want to tell Zero was perfectly normal.
What Zero hadn't expected was how frank Zandar's attitude would be.
Originally, Zero only wanted to mess with Zandar's mindset by sending him academic trash.
Now it seemed he would have to write a few more papers and use the opportunity to figure out what it was that Zandar claimed he had been hiding.
Zero typed a reply.
[Zero: You're my teacher. Of course I trust you]
[Zandar: Since my student trusts me, then turn that piece of non-recyclable trash into something recyclable]
Zero took a deep breath.
Not a big problem. It was just revising a paper, right?
Enduring humiliation and carrying a heavy burden, he followed Zandar's suggested revisions and started rewriting it from scratch.
A week later, Zero sent the revised paper, edited during work hours, to Zandar.
The next day, Zero received a reply while at the Divination Commission.
Zandar only sent back two words, rewrite.
Zero couldn't help complaining inwardly.
'Zandar, you did this on purpose, didn't you?! You didn't even download the document and told me to rewrite it? You probably didn't even read it!'
Zero ignored it. After another week, he sent the paper again, unchanged.
This time, Zandar replied very quickly.
When the message arrived, Zero was with Jingliu. The two of them were focused on tasting dishes.
When the jade communicator vibrated, Jingliu reacted first and reminded Zero, "If you have something to take care of, go ahead."
She paused, then continued, "It's just tasting food. I can do it myself."
Zero glanced at the communicator and quickly skimmed the message.
"It's nothing important."
Zandar hadn't downloaded the document at all, let alone examined it carefully.
If he had looked, he would've noticed that Zero hadn't changed a single word.
Zero casually placed the communicator face-down on the table and picked up the serving chopsticks to get food for Jingliu.
"By the way, how many people do we need to invite to the engagement banquet?"
After saying that, Zero fell into thought.
He'd originally planned to book out an entire restaurant for the engagement day, but with his social circle as an ordinary diviner… he probably couldn't even fill one table.
Jingliu might think it was unnecessary.
Thinking this, Zero hesitated. He turned to Jingliu and asked for her opinion,
"I'm thinking of reserving the whole venue for the engagement. What do you think?"
Jingliu frowned slightly and was just about to refuse, when she suddenly remembered her lover's relationship with the marshal.
Given that person's status… how could they appear in a public setting?
Wait, considering her age… that person would probably have a lot of opinions about her, wouldn't they?
Jingliu forced herself to stop thinking about it and nodded in agreement with Zero's proposal.
Zero moved on to another issue.
"Oh, and the host…"
An engagement ceremony needed a host.
At that time, he and Jingliu would have to speak in front of everyone…
Oh, and there was also the part where family members were introduced…
Who was he supposed to introduce? Hua? What was Hua to him?
Zero instinctively felt resistant.
This kind of occasion… he really couldn't handle it.
But some women longed for a grand ceremony.
If he followed his own preferences, would that be unfair to Jingliu?
Jingliu looked at the person beside her.
Zero rarely had such a cold expression. Soon, he returned to his usual smiling face.
He spoke tentatively, "How about we simplify everything in the process?"
Jingliu stared at his face without speaking.
During the time she had spent with Zero, she had more or less figured out what his true emotions were when he looked cold.
When Zero's face went cold, he was either thinking or adjusting his emotions.
In certain situations, the way he looked when cold… how should she put it? It was very different from his usual self.
Without realizing it, Jingliu's gaze lingered on Zero's face, not moving at all.
Zero waited for a while. Seeing that Jingliu was just staring at him without saying anything, he felt puzzled.
Resting his chin on his hand, he asked, "What are you staring at me for?"
Jingliu thought that she finally understood the male leads in those novels.
The moment they saw the person they loved, they instantly lost all reason.
Her face showed nothing. She deliberately dragged out her tone and asked back, "What? You can't stand being looked at?"
Zero sighed helplessly. "Alright, alright, look all you want."
Then he repeated the question from earlier.
"Follow the full process? Or simplify everything?"
Jingliu replied, "Whatever you want. Let's simplify it."
Perhaps to others, engagement and wedding procedures were extremely important.
Jingliu didn't really care.
Being able to be with her lover, and celebrate together with friends, was enough.
Zero let out a sigh of relief.
Cutting out the family-introduction segment at the engagement banquet, next would be signing the marriage contract and exchanging rings…
Yeah, no big problem.
As Zero was thinking, he caught sight of Jingliu putting down her chopsticks. He glanced at the remaining food on the table and, after confirming she was full, asked, "Did the food suit your taste? If not, we can switch to another place."
Jingliu was quite helpless. She reached out and pinched Zero's palm, saying, "We've been eating continuously for over ten days now. What, are we still tasting dishes?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Jingliu, who was seated on the outer side, saw two familiar figures.
They were Zero's two elders, Daiyang and Chanzhen.
Led by a server, they were walking toward the two of them.
Zero knew nothing about this and replied, "It's our engagement. We have to be careful about it."
This was his first engagement, and also his only one.
Zero didn't get Jingliu's reply. Instead, he heard a familiar cry of surprise.
Immediately after, two familiar faces appeared in front of him.
Daiyang exclaimed loudly, "What? Engagement?!"
Chanzhen was so emotional that she instinctively used honorifics, "Why didn't you tell us, sir?!"
Zero, "..."
If he'd told them, it probably wouldn't have been just reserving the venue.
Daiyang quickly regained her composure and pulled Chanzhen to sit across from them.
Seeing this, Jingliu stopped the server and gestured for them to clear the dishes and bring out a few new ones.
With an eager expression, Daiyang pulled out her jade communicator after learning the engagement date.
"An engagement! This is an extremely important event! We have to celebrate with fireworks for at least five thousand days."
Zero's mouth twitched.
'Daiyang, those five thousand days wouldn't happen to mean the five thousand years I was single, would they?!'
He placed his hopes on Chanzhen.
Chanzhen was equally moved, tears in her eyes. Under Zero's gaze, she nodded vigorously and echoed, "And we should give flowers to all the immort..."
She seemed to realize Zero's current identity and had to change her words midway, "Distribute fresh flowers to everyone on the streets of the entire Luofu."
Zero and Jingliu fell silent together.
At the same time, the same thought arose in both of them.
'It's just an engagement. Is this really necessary?'
Jingliu looked at Zero, her gaze carrying a hint of helplessness.
Zero took a deep breath and calmly refuted Daiyang and Chanzhen's proposals.
"No need for fireworks that long… What? Five hundred days? Still no."
"Giving flowers to the people of Luofu, have you considered people who are allergic to pollen?"
The three of them argued their points. In the end, Zero was outnumbered and steadily retreated.
Looking at their expressions, as if they were about to burst into tears at any moment, Zero sighed helplessly and put forward his requirements for the engagement banquet.
"No extravagance. Not too many people."
The two reacted instantly, withdrawing their tearful expressions and breaking into radiant smiles.
'Yes! Roof-lifting success!'
Daiyang and Chanzhen knew the marshal well. They knew this would work on him.
They never actually planned to set off fireworks for five thousand days. They'd just exaggerated on purpose to make negotiations easier.
After finding out that the marshal was secretly preparing an engagement banquet without telling them, the two of them understood, he didn't want to spend too much manpower or resources.
Thinking back to when they'd selected consorts for the marshal, his first reaction back then had also been that it was a waste of xundis.
Now that there was finally an empress… no matter what, they, as subordinates, had to contribute something.
With a plan in mind, the two of them continued pressing, "Has the wedding date been set?"
Zero paused, then replied, "Not yet."
He'd seen on forums that most couples got married within half a year to a year after holding an engagement banquet.
Considering that he and Jingliu were long-lived beings, there was no need to follow those rules.
Before marriage, there should be some leeway, so Jingliu could carefully think through their relationship.
Chanzhen was quite dissatisfied with this.
"Marriage is a top-priority matter. It needs to be decided quickly. If we don't reserve a venue now, it'll be too late..."
Zero originally wanted to refuse outright, but then he thought of Jingliu.
He had to consider Jingliu's feelings.
Zero looked at his lover and asked for her opinion.
Jingliu had met Zero's two elders before, so she shouldn't have felt uneasy.
But thinking about the topic they were discussing, she couldn't help feeling a bit shy.
Meeting the two of them's expectant gazes, Jingliu took a long time before managing to say just three words, "I'm fine with anything."
Daiyang was the first to make the decision, "Then half a year later. Usually people get married half a year after engagement. Then we'll pick an auspicious date."
Chanzhen patted her chest and promised, "Don't worry, we'll make sure everything is arranged properly!"
The two of them chatted back and forth, enthusiastically asking Jingliu questions, acting as though everything would be done according to her wishes.
At first, Jingliu was fine, answering calmly. But as the conversation went on, her body gradually stiffened.
Seeing this, Zero quickly spoke up, "Alright, alright, we still have things to do. You eat first. If there's anything else, we'll talk about it next time."
With one hand, he pulled Jingliu up. With the other, he waved at the two of them.
Zero went to the counter to pay. He conveniently topped up a membership card so the server could deduct Daiyang and Chanzhen's expenses later.
After paying, he pulled Jingliu out of the restaurant, brushing past the bustling crowd.
Walking side by side, they reached a quiet street. Zero said softly, "If you feel the pace is too fast, you can tell me directly."
Jingliu suddenly stopped walking. Seeing this, Zero stopped as well.
He saw Jingliu looking at him with a gaze that… he couldn't describe with words.
After meeting his eyes for a long moment, Jingliu sighed.
She reached out and pinched Zero's cheek, saying irritably, "I'm afraid even the golden nanmu tree in Zhizhong Forest can't compare to you."
Zero, "..."
If we're talking about age, that's actually hard to say.
She's not calling him wooden, is she?
Zero and Jingliu hadn't discussed the wedding date.
Running into Daiyang and Chanzhen today was purely a coincidence. Who could've expected that they'd overhear the two of them preparing for an engagement?
Jingliu wasn't close with the two of them and just thought of them as her elders.
In front of them, she naturally couldn't say anything to refuse.
At times like this, Zero needed to privately ask Jingliu for her thoughts.
His actions showed great respect for Jingliu.
After thinking it over again and again, Zero felt that what he'd done was perfectly fine.
He lowered his head and looked at Jingliu, who was pinching his cheek, and said half-jokingly, "If it's about age, then that's really hard to say."
Jingliu raised an eyebrow, not taking it seriously.
Zero loved using that harmless face of his to say strange things.
Five thousand years, bad temper, and the like.
Jingliu thought of the forging tools Yingxing had given her.
It seemed she needed to start preparing earlier.
She decisively withdrew her hand.
"Alright, no need to walk me further. I still have things to do, so I'll head off first."
Zero watched Jingliu leave, then turned around and went back home.
After changing into pajamas and washing up, just as he was about to sleep, he remembered that he hadn't replied to Zandar's messages.
When Zero opened the jade communicator, he found that this time Zandar hadn't sent his paper back. Instead, with a tone of frustration at wasted potential, he had taken a step back.
[Zandar: Let's just leave it at that. We're not submitting it to a journal anyway. My name won't be on the second author or the acknowledgements]
As Zandar's good student, could he let go of, or rather, miss, the chance to make his advisor famous?
[Zero: If you want to, it's not impossible]
Zandar immediately called him.
As soon as the call connected, Zandar hurriedly urged him, "Hurry up. Revise that piece of trash of yours this week."
Zero just wanted to hang up as soon as possible and bluntly refused, "I don't really have time lately."
Zandar didn't care. "You? What could you possibly be busy with?"
Zero replied casually, "Preparing for an engagement."
Zandar seemed to lose signal, staying silent for a long time.
After a full half minute, Zandar finally spoke.
His tone was shocked. "You? You? You mean… you're preparing for an engagement?"
Zandar couldn't believe it. After taking a long while to process this explosive news, he sighed, "So even you have a day like this."
Zero, "..."
'Why does that sound so weird?'
'Zandar, your ability to express yourself really is something else.'