Wanderer of the Zerg

Chapter 6: Meeting Again

Two days had passed since the blind date.

Ellis couldn’t forget the impression that male had left on him.

But what use were feelings alone? Previous blind date experiences had taught him that males didn’t like females who openly expressed anti-marriage or male-aversion sentiments. Just like before, this would end in nothing.

Moreover, his goal was to climb up the ranks quickly enough to become a senior commander and take control of his own destiny.

However, he still wanted to see the male again.

When males chose a blind date partner, the system sent a message to the female with details of the meeting time, place, and any additional notes.

Females receiving the message couldn’t view the male’s contact information, so he couldn’t even follow the male’s social media account.

Buzz, buzz. His wrist terminal vibrated.

A message had arrived.

Ellis thought it was a notice from the military and chose voice broadcast as usual.

“Hello Ellis, this is Xi Tian. We met two days ago. I would like to discuss marriage details with you. Are you available at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow? Same place. If the time is inconvenient, we can reschedule.”

This meant he was going to marry the male he had met once.

This would disrupt all his long-term plans.

Yet, why did he feel a bit eager?

Ellis had never experienced being asked out a second time by a male, so he sought advice from his close teammates. They chatted, eventually getting hungry and going to a nearby night market for a feast, using the excuse of celebrating Ellis finally leaving the single life and entering the so-called “marriage grave.”

It’s strange, even though females knew what marriage would bring, they still rushed into it, fearing they would fall behind others.

Xi Tian, timing it perfectly, arrived five minutes early and immediately saw his date.

Ellis was sitting upright, fiddling with his terminal, glancing at the entrance every so often. He had clearly dressed up, wearing a deep blue polo shirt with the collar buttoned up, giving him a slightly ascetic look.

“You’re here early,” Xi Tian said, sitting down.

“Oh! I arrived too early,” Ellis said, turning off the projection screen. “Have you eaten? The morning pastries here are quite good.”

“No,” Xi Tian replied.

Surprisingly, Ellis felt no anger towards this male who had disrupted his plans; he even felt a bit excited.

After eating some pastries, Xi Tian took a stack of papers bound together from the folder he had brought. The cover had large words: “Marriage Plan.”

“Mr. Ellis, marriage is no trivial matter. I have prepared a wedding process plan.”

He handed the plan to Ellis.

“This is the initial draft I prepared. It includes four main sections and twenty subsections. If you have any comments or suggestions, each item can be modified.”

Ellis had seen many weddings and heard many love stories, but he had never heard of a male drafting a marriage plan. Was this marriage somehow dangerous?

Recalling official statistics that about 60% of male-female marriages involved varying degrees of domestic violence against females, he couldn’t help but tremble. This was something he had always tried to avoid. Flipping through a few pages, he saw terms like “engagement” and “property notarization.”

“Um, engagement?”

Engagements typically involved underage males and adult females, and were rare between adult males and females.

The engagement ceremony was simple. With mutual consent, both parties would sign an engagement contract at the civil affairs office, accompanied by their elders. Once the male reached adulthood and consummated the marriage with the female, they would automatically become legal partners. During the engagement period, the female would serve the male with the proper etiquette.

“Yes. For certain reasons, you and I need to take this step first,” Xi Tian said calmly.

The reason for this was difficult to discuss in a public setting.

“Take it home and review it carefully. It’s almost noon, and people around here are probably going on lunch break, so I’m heading home.”

“Wait! Xi Tian,” Ellis suddenly called out. “Let me give you a ride home.”

“My place is nearby; I don’t need to take a flying vehicle.”

After leaving the café, Ellis changed his mind. He wanted to retrieve something from his flying vehicle.

Ellis asked Xi Tian to wait for a moment.

Soon, a bouquet of vibrant roses was placed in Xi Tian’s hands. Ellis’s face was slightly red as he glanced away, saying, “Beautiful flowers for a beautiful person.”

Thanks to the good genes of his unseen second father, Xi Tian had received countless flower gifts since childhood. Even trips to the supermarket often resulted in numerous flirtations (supermarkets rarely had males). In contrast, his approach to choosing a marriage partner was quite inexperienced.

Xi Tian hugged the flowers and pulled out a single bright red rose, placing it in Ellis’s hand. “You look very nice too.”

Ellis’s face turned beet red instantly.

Xi Tian felt his heart lift as he stepped forward and held Ellis’s hand, leading him along.

In about ten minutes, they arrived at a district filled with high-rise buildings. Ellis snapped out of his dreamlike state, realizing that the male beside him seemed out of place among these buildings.

Ellis knew that the Siming New District had been funded by the government to establish high-rise public rental housing, mainly for graduates without homes, talent brought in from other planets, and other special groups.

In his mind, males should already be married, supported by suitors or partners, and living comfortably.

However, married males wouldn’t reside in public rental housing.

Ellis asked, “Are you still single?”

Xi Tian nodded, “Yes, married males lose their eligibility for unemployment benefits.”

Ellis continued, “If you don’t mind me asking, you seem to have good conditions. Why do you want to get married?”

Xi Tian scoffed, “I have good conditions? The only good things about me are this face and my gender. It’s only natural for males to want to get married.”

Ellis replied, “But you’re different, not like the other males I’ve met…”

Xi Tian interrupted, “How many males have you met? If you want to know why I want to get married, fine. The reason is I want to escape my current environment, and you are the partner I’ve chosen for marriage.”

Ellis fell silent.

Xi Tian added, “If you regret it, I understand. I will choose someone else. Think it over carefully.”

Xi Tian turned and walked away, frustrated that he had given Ellis the option to reconsider.

Clearly, as long as the male made the request, the female could not refuse.

Ellis stood still, watching Xi Tian’s figure fade into the distance.