NOVEL NEXT 06
Chapter 6: He Didn’t Want to Turn the Surprise into a Shock…
The process of registering for marriage was quick. After a simple physical examination, Qi Yao and Yi Er received their marriage certificates.
During the break, Yi Er opened his terminal, logged onto the Star Network, and checked his marital status in the information section of the Second Legion’s personnel. It showed “married”.
Qi Yao followed suit, finding his information likewise marked as “married”.
So… they were married?
No wedding ceremony, no vows, no exchange of rings… and they were married?
Feeling excited, Qi Yao couldn’t help but think it didn’t seem quite real.
Perhaps he should hold a wedding for Yi Er. But with only the hundred thousand star coins Yi Er gave him, he could buy a decent ring, but it would use up most of the money, leaving nothing for organizing a wedding.
Maybe it’s better to wait. Wait until he earns more money, then he’ll give Yi Er the grand wedding he deserves. After all, if Yi Er talks to his friends in the future and mentions not having had a wedding, wouldn’t he feel neglected in front of others? How uncomfortable would he be?
In the future, he must give Yi Er a splendid wedding.
Lost in thought, Qi Yao realized Yi Er had already walked far ahead. Seeing Qi Yao still standing there, Yi Er called out to him.
Coming back to his senses, Qi Yao hurried to catch up. But before they could leave the hall, they were stopped by a sub-female worker at the entrance.
“Esteemed male, congratulations on your marriage. The registry office provides gifts for every couple registering for marriage. Do you need one? If so, please come here to collect it.”
Marriage registration comes with gifts?
Curious, Qi Yao asked Yi Er to wait in the rest area and went with the sub-female to collect the gift.
A minute later, Qi Yao returned, out of the small room with a complex expression, holding a leather whip with spikes, a copy of “Male Zerg Protection Law,” a copy of “Female Zerg Regulations,” and a copy of “Female Slave Contract.”
He really didn’t know the gifts would be like this. If he had known, he would have definitely refused and not followed the sub-female inside.
Moreover, just before registering, he had earnestly promised Yi Er that he wouldn’t treat her like Ke Lisi treated Lai An. And now, holding the small whip in front of Yi Er, he felt his face burning with embarrassment, suspecting there was a palm print of Mount Wutai on it, whether he put it there himself or not.
“Is this the gift?” Yi Er weighed the small whip lightly, clearly a cheap item, “If you use any force, I doubt it could last through a hundred strikes.”
He then picked up the “Female Zerg Regulations,” flipped through it indifferently, and then handed it to Qi Yao, “These three official documents might interest you. You can read them if you want.”
“Yi Er, I really didn’t know… Forget it…”
Qi Yao hesitated, then simply snatched the small whip back, along with the three official documents, and returned them.
Yi Er’s lips curved with a faint smile as he calmly watched Qi Yao’s actions. After Qi Yao returned the items, he said in a gentle voice, “Actually, you didn’t need to return them. Every married male zerg has these things. Documents like the Male Zerg Protection Law and the Female Zerg Regulations are memorized from childhood, engraved in our genes. If you refuse, you’ll appear as an outlier.”
“So what if I’m an outlier? I’m willing to return them, and no one can stop me.”
Qi Yao was still embarrassed. He returned them, so why say so much? Anyway, he had made up his mind. He wouldn’t approach anything offering free gifts in the future.
Leaving the registry office and boarding the aircraft, Yi Er activated the autopilot mode. The aircraft remembered the route to the downtown area, so Yi Er didn’t need to drive manually. Half lying on the seat, lazily gazing at the scenery outside the windshield as it receded, he said to Qi Yao, “Go tidy up at your place. Starting tonight, you’ll move in with me.”
Qi Yao was taken aback. “Is that appropriate?”
Yi Er raised an eyebrow. “Is it inappropriate?”
Qi Yao was mainly embarrassed. It had only been three days, they had only met three times, and they were already getting married and moving in together. Their whirlwind marriage was faster than anyone else’s.
After a pause, Yi Er said, “We’re already legally spouses. If we don’t live together, what’s the point?”
Qi Yao fell silent for a moment. “It’s not that.”
Yi Er asked, “So, do you want me to live at your place?”
Qi Yao thought about his fifty-square-meter apartment. With Yi Er’s height of over 1.9 meters, his spine might not hold up for long. Thinking of the military female who had to stoop in his tiny abode, Qi Yao felt it was a waste.
Better not.
“I don’t think my place suits you.”
“I think so too.”
Qi Yao felt a strange feeling wash over him at Yi Er’s words—vague disappointment and a hint of sadness, sour in his heart. He hurriedly found an excuse for himself, “My place is dark and damp, really not suitable for living.”
Yi Er looked at him. “No, living at your place means a one-hour commute to work. Living at my place only takes ten minutes.”
Huh? Was it like that?
The inexplicable emotions suddenly dissipated.
Yi Er parked the aircraft in a spacious area and insisted on helping Qi Yao move his things. Unable to resist Yi Er, and unable to find a reason to prevent his spouse from visiting his home, Qi Yao let Yi Er follow behind and went to his fifty-square-meter apartment.
Walking on the crowded and chaotic cobblestone alley, Qi Yao kept a careful eye on Yi Er. He was afraid Yi Er would show any signs of discontent with the downtown area.
Except for a few reckless young zergs playing and almost bumping into Yi Er, Yi Er only gave them a low scolding, showing no signs of dissatisfaction or rejection towards the area.
The small apartment had been cleaned and tidied by Qi Yao long ago. When he lived alone, he didn’t feel the room was cramped. But now, with Yi Er standing at the door, his tall figure blocking most of the light, Qi Yao suddenly felt crowded.
Looking at his narrow wooden bed, he could imagine how cramped and uncomfortable it would be for Yi Er to live here. It couldn’t be denied—Yi Er and the downtown area were completely incompatible.
Qi Yao invited Yi Er in and asked him not to worry about anything, just sit quietly and wait for him to tidy up.
Qi Yao didn’t have much to tidy up, as everything in the room belonged to the previous occupant. As an outsider, once he got used to everything, he didn’t feel unnatural. But his inherent cleanliness still made him take as few things as possible.
Except for the household items he added after coming here, he didn’t bring anything else. Soon, Qi Yao packed up a small box and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered the small ceremonial cake he ordered in the morning hadn’t been picked up.
“Oh, there’s something I remembered. I need to go out for a bit, just for about ten minutes. You wait here,” Qi Yao said.
Yi Er asked, “What are you going to do?”
“Um… I need to get something.”
“Is it far? Do you want me to accompany you?”
Qi Yao had already reached the door. “No need, it’s very close. I’ll be back soon.”
With that, he hurried off to the cake shop.
He wanted to give Yi Er a surprise to boost his favorability, so he didn’t want Yi Er to accompany him. When he arrived at the cake shop, the pastry chef wasn’t there, only a female zerg waitress was serving customers. Qi Yao mentioned he had ordered a six-inch wedding cake in the morning. Hearing this, the waitress thought how lucky she was to have two customers ordering wedding cakes on her first day of work. She hoped luck would favor her and she would find a gentle male owner like Mr. Qi as soon as possible. She brought out the cake box wrapped like a gift and smiled, wishing Qi Yao, “Mr. Qi, congratulations on your wedding.”
Qi Yao, fearing Yi Er might get impatient waiting, replied with a quick “Thank you” and took the cake. He walked away with it. All along the way, he imagined Yi Er’s favorability soaring, and his steps couldn’t help but lighten.
When he returned to the apartment, Yi Er was waiting at the door. He had come out for some fresh air, but he didn’t expect to see Qi Yao coming back happily with a cake box.
Yes, it was a cake box.
It seemed Qi Yao had gone to get a cake, but why did he buy one? Was it his birthday today? Yi Er remembered that Qi Yao’s birthday wasn’t today during the assessment test.
“Is it stuffy inside?” Qi Yao approached him.
“No, I saw you didn’t come back for a long time, so I came out to see,” Yi Er replied casually.
To Qi Yao, this sounded like Yi Er had waited too long and was impatient.
Yi Er glanced at the cake Qi Yao was holding. “Whose birthday is it? Why did you buy a cake?”
Qi Yao felt embarrassed. “No one’s, I just thought since we’re getting married today, and I didn’t have any valuable gifts for you, I’d just buy a cake to mark the occasion.”
This touched Yi Er a bit. Originally, it was just a marriage of convenience, and he had thought of giving him a gift. Now, he even bought a cake to celebrate. Yi Er was curious about what was going on in this male zerg’s mind.
“What flavor is it?” Yi Er asked curiously.
“Strawberry,” Qi Yao replied. He wasn’t sure what flavor Yi Er liked, so he chose the universally popular strawberry flavor when he ordered.
“Okay.” Yi Er’s face showed no expression. He didn’t say he liked it or disliked it.
Qi Yao asked, “Do you want to try it now?”
“Right now?” Yi Er asked.
“If you’re not in a hurry.”
Because he was getting married, Yi Er had taken the day off. He hadn’t eaten much since he had been busy until now.
“Sure,” Yi Er agreed.
Closing the door, Qi Yao placed the cake on the table.
The two insects sat face to face in the cramped room. The soft sunlight seeped in through the old window, casting a warm hue over the small room.
Perhaps this was their life together, he thought.
Qi Yao absentmindedly and eagerly untied the red ribbon on the cake box and then opened it. Suddenly, he froze.
He quickly covered the box again, his mind racing. Would there be enough time to go back to the cake shop now?
“What’s wrong? Is the cake ruined?” Yi Er asked.
“No,” Qi Yao replied.
“I can see you’re very flustered.” Yi Er curiously reached out for the cake box and then opened it.
The cake was intact, without any damage. It was just that it wasn’t the strawberry flavor Qi Yao had mentioned.
The six-inch cake had a white base with a thin layer of chocolate sauce poured on top. In the center, there was a cluster of compact and vibrant roses, five in total, adorned with gold powder and round golden chocolate balls around the edges. There was also a small card that said “Happy Wedding” on it.
It was a very delicate and beautiful cake.
Qi Yao remembered that Yi Er didn’t like roses.
“Sorry, the shop must have made a mistake,” he said, thinking he should cover the box and go back to the shop for an exchange, while carefully observing Yi Er’s expression.
Qi Yao didn’t know how to explain. The strawberry cake had turned into a chocolate cake, with roses on top. He was afraid Yi Er wouldn’t be happy. On this supposed-to-be happy day, he didn’t want to turn the surprise into a shock.
Yi Er looked at him. “Why are you apologizing?”