Zero lowered his eyes and stared at the message on the screen.
This was the first message Jingliu sent him today.
Zero lightly tapped the screen.
[Zero: I'm heading back now to feed it]
Zero put down the jade abacus.
Originally, he wanted to use this chance to let Dan Feng and Zandar meet, solving the Vidyadhara clan's issue ahead of time.
Who would've thought Hua would get to Dan Feng first.
But it wasn't a big problem.
They would meet tonight anyway.
Zero pulled back his thoughts and lightly rubbed the knuckle of his middle finger with his thumb.
That was where Jingliu left bite marks last night.
Before the two officially confirmed their relationship, they often chatted and met through Jade.
This time, Jingliu copied him and acted first before reporting later, preparing the materials needed for marriage in advance, even going to the Divination Commission herself to get the Taibu's stamp.
How far had things gone now? A checkup at the Alchemy Commission?
If everything went smoothly, they could probably get the marriage certificate very soon.
At a special moment like this... they should probably hire a photographer to record it.
As Zero thought this, he looked up at Zandar.
The other party was chatting with the waiter, wanting to meet the chef.
Zero had many questions.
That was also why he chose to meet Zandar immediately after seeing the message.
Unfortunately, Zandar kept dodging the topic and changing the subject.
Zero picked up the bill and stood.
"Zandar, I'm leaving first."
Zandar gave an extremely perfunctory "Oh."
Zero asked, "Where's Hui feng?"
Zandar turned his head and asked back, "Why?"
Zero looked calm, his tone steady, "I have something to ask her."
Unexpectedly, Zandar didn't stop him and instead willingly gave them a chance to talk privately.
"You can ask on the way."
Zero understood immediately.
Hui feng probably couldn't say anything useful either.
Zandar turned to the waiter instead, "Is there a starskiff? Send him back."
The waiter nodded repeatedly.
Zero thought for a moment. 'Better bring Jingliu another dessert too.'
He asked, "The dessert was good. Is there more?"
The waiter smiled brightly and softly asked how many servings he wanted.
"One is enough."
"Understood." The waiter nodded again and used his earpiece to inform the other staff. After seeing the bill in Zero's hand, he calmly said, "This is complimentary from us. No additional payment is needed."
Hearing this, Zero put away the bill and casually slipped it into his trench coat pocket.
It was Dan Feng.
Only Dan Feng knew where he was.
The other party needed something from Zandar but couldn't attend personally, so he could only pay the bill ahead of time.
Half a minute later, someone brought over the dessert.
The waiter carried the takeout bag in one hand while guiding Zero with the other. The two walked all the way to the starskiff.
Zero sat inside.
Beside him, apart from Hui feng raising a hand to greet him, there was also a gift bag containing an exquisitely wrapped gift box.
The waiter smiled and handed over the takeout bag with both hands.
Zero accepted it and casually placed it beside the gift box.
The waiter said, "Congratulations on your marriage."
Zero's expression froze.
'Wait, where did Dan Feng learn about this?'
By convention, Xianzhou people always went to the Alchemy Commission for a physical examination before marriage.
Dan Feng was the head of the Alchemy Commission...
Zero's brain froze for a moment.
Now, even the marriage health check report was ready.
All the materials had already been prepared.
'Could one person really just go to the Balance Commission and get the marriage certificate alone?!'
The reason Jingliu sent him a message was probably... To go with him to the Balance Commission and get their marriage certificate together, right?
Zero quickly denied this guess.
Could it be that Hua went to Dan Feng just to forge the marriage health report?
It was only a marriage certificate, not some major issue.
Hua wouldn't even need to speak personally. Someone would naturally handle it for her.
Zero thought this was normal.
Jingliu was a Cloud Knight.
After Cloud Knights started dating, they would actively push the relationship forward.
After all, who would dislike having more patrol stipends?
This was just human nature.
How could it be Jingliu's fault?
Tracing it back to the source, this was clearly Hua and Dan Feng's problem.
Zero took a deep breath, and suddenly an absurd guess appeared in his mind.
Jingliu couldn't possibly be planning to propose to him, right?
Yes, he had once been curious how far Jingliu would go for him.
Because of that, he patiently waited.
Zero thought it was more interesting when Jingliu took the initiative and spoke her desires aloud.
But what he waited for was definitely not Jingliu proposing to him.
Zero forced himself to stop thinking about it. Through the window, he looked at the waiter.
The waiter softly explained the gifts inside the starskiff, "These two bottles of wine were chosen for you by Imbibitor Lunae."
Zero subconsciously smiled, though his tone gave away no emotion, "Imbibitor Lunae..."
The waiter continued, "Imbibitor Lunae said he isn't skilled in music. He hadn't even looked at sheet music before."
"Fortunately, there are people within the clan who are proficient in music."
The smile vanished from Zero's face.
He recalled the letter Yubie left for him.
In the letter, the other party wrote...
[In ancient times, flowing water met lofty mountains and found a true friend who understood it.]
[It's a pity neither you nor I are skilled in music. Fortunately, there are people in the clan proficient in music.]
[If Imbibitor Lunae invites you, and if you happen to be free, then come to the Luofu and listen to a tune together, how about it?]
The waiter added, "Dragon Lord said that right now, he can only learn as he goes."
"If he misses your wedding, please forgive him."
Zero closed his eyes briefly. "...I understand."
The other party had lowered himself to personally learn music. How could he continue pursuing the matter?
The waiter stepped back two paces and bowed.
After the starskiff started moving, Zero withdrew his gaze and looked at Hui feng.
The nanomachines raised a partition, blocking the driver's view in front.
Hui feng picked up the drink beside her and took a sip.
During this cycle, she often saw him.
Naturally, the location was the medical pod.
This was Hui feng's second time seeing Eric awake.
Her tone was familiar.
"There's no surveillance equipment here. What do you want to ask? Just saying in advance, don't ask me anything related to scientific research."
Zero leaned against the seat.
He wanted to know why he abandoned Hui feng.
What exactly the backup plan was... Could it really be the system?
Zero asked, "What did the other me, Eric, say to you before separating from you?"
Hui feng blinked.
"I thought you'd ask about Zandar instead."
Zero glanced at her.
"I'm just an ordinary person with an IQ of 140."
When Zero carried both the "mental illness buff" and the "mara-struck debuff," his IQ dropped from 140 to 110.
According to the unified standard across the galaxy, 110 was a number most people could reach, while 140 could only barely earn someone the label of genius.
But in front of Zandar, in front of the other Genius Society members, he probably didn't even qualify for the threshold of what counted as a "genius."
Zero had worn an intelligence-reducing debuff for thousands of years. The tricks he came up with were far too lacking.
Hui feng quite agreed.
"How could we possibly know the secrets Zandar wants to hide?"
"As for our conversation..."
"You know this already. You've always been very good at word games."
"You might not get the answer you want. Maybe... it could even lead your thinking astray?"
Hui feng paused briefly.
"Most importantly, do you believe the things you yourself said?"
Zero thought to himself, 'Of course not.'
But nothing showed on his face. "Of course. Go ahead."
Hui feng: "..."
'You didn't say you believed it, so obviously you don't!'
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