NOVEL NEXT 66
Chapter 66: Election
A few steps forward, they heard Angie’s voice from behind.
“Hey, Ellis!”
Turning towards the voice, they saw Angie and Owen together. They wore dark green tops with skirts that reached their ankles, revealing black leather shoes only when they moved.
“Angie! Owen!”
Ellis greeted them warmly with a hug, while Xi Tian waved to them as a greeting.
“Did you get the pouches?” Angie exclaimed, turning to Owen. “Quick, let’s pick two as well!”
Owen looked resigned. “Why do you believe in this stuff? Longevity and happiness should come from personal effort. If this worked, everyone would be doing it.”
“It’s for good luck! Ever since I learned about the festival, I wanted to get one,” Angie replied, standing in line with some difficulty, supported carefully by Owen.
Angie enthusiastically called out to Ellis, “Wait for us after we get ours, and we can hang out together!”
Owen quickly lowered Angie’s raised hand.
“Should we wait for them?” Ellis asked with a smile.
“Let’s wait. We have the whole day,” Xi Tian replied gently.
Angie mischievously picked a bright red pouch with a maple leaf pattern for Owen, which covered the needlegrass design on his shirt. Owen, resigned, chose a traditional needlegrass pouch for Angie.
“Why are you wearing skirts?” Ellis and Xi Tian asked curiously.
“It’s because of Angie. His leg is still healing, and the tight clown pants hurt his leg, so he opted for skirts for both of us,” Owen explained with some frustration.
Angie stepped between Ellis and Owen, lifting his skirt and grinning, “Don’t we look pretty?”
“If I were a male, I’d definitely compliment you, but I’m a female!” Ellis laughed.
“Didn’t I wear one too?” Angie said, laughing, with one arm around Owen and the other around Ellis.
“You’re not exactly a typical female,” Owen remarked flatly, pulling Angie’s hand down.
Angie’s leg injury made him unstable. With one hand still around Ellis’ neck and the other searching for support, he accidentally grabbed Ellis’ pouch. The string snapped, and Angie fell, clutching the small pouch.
Everything happened so quickly that the other three didn’t react in time.
Owen hurriedly helped Angie up.
Angie looked apologetic and said to Ellis, “I’m so sorry, Ellis, I broke your pouch.”
Ellis felt a bit down, a faint red mark still visible on his neck from the string.
Xi Tian took the pouch, the string now broken into two pieces, hanging loosely in his hand.
“It’s okay, we can just replace the string.”
Whether it was his imagination or not, the pattern on the pouch seemed slightly different from what he remembered.
Instead of following the parade, they walked aimlessly along the roadside, mingling with the scattered groups of people in green.
On the way, they talked about the recent happenings on their home planet.
During their time on this planet, their home planet was preparing for the next presidential election. The president on their home planet changed every four years, and the election followed a democratic system. Candidates were nominated by the reformist and conservative factions of the House of Representatives. The last election had been the year Ellis graduated from university.
“I remember the current president is from the conservative faction?” Ellis said, recalling that it was due to the policies of that president that he spent three years in the army before seeing combat.
“Yes, the two factions are at each other’s throats right now. The reformist candidate this time is the youngest male ever, just forty-two years old. He’s like a nouveau riche, not playing by the usual rules,” Angie said.
“Forty-two? That’s really young,” Xi Tian remarked.
“Exactly. Usually, the conservatives have had the upper hand during elections. Both factions are well-versed in each other’s tactics by now. But this young male came in and immediately exposed scandals from the conservative candidate’s past as a politician. Have you been following the trending forums?” Angie asked.
“No, why?” Ellis replied, not having the habit of following political news. Xi Tian hadn’t kept up with it since leaving their home planet.
“The reformists and conservatives are tearing each other apart. The reports on the trending forums are constantly on the hot topic lists. On our home planet, you can’t go through a day without hearing about the candidates, it’s so annoying,” Angie said.
“Is that why you left the home planet?” Owen asked, wide-eyed.
“It’s just because we left in a hurry and didn’t tell you.” Angie gave Owen a kiss on the cheek. Owen wanted to push him away but was afraid he would fall again, so his arm remained stiffly supporting him.
Ellis found it a bit strange and novel to see them being affectionate in front of him for the first time.
“Since it’s a democratic election, which side are you on?” Xi Tian asked, feeling a bit bored. He took out Ellis’s pouch, fixed the broken string, and kept turning it over in his hand.
“Angie and I support the reformist faction. Although the conservative candidate is a female, the reformist proposals clearly benefit ordinary people like us more,” Owen said.
“Ellis, what about you?”
“When I graduated, I voted for the reformists. I don’t know much about this time. What about you, Xi Tian?”
“I didn’t pay attention to factions before, so I just didn’t vote.”
A bar appeared in front of them. Here, bars were open from noon to early morning, offering not only alcoholic beverages but also simple meals.
Perhaps because they had been talking for too long, they felt hungry only when they saw the food sign at the bar.
For the Needle Grass Festival, the bar offered local specialties: corned beef with cabbage, soda bread, sausage with mashed potatoes, potato pie, draft beer, a light local soda water, and low-alcohol fruity sparkling wine.
Each of the four ordered some dishes, and half a dozen beers were brought to the table. Ellis initially wanted to take a bottle of beer but changed to fruit wine under Xi Tian’s gaze. Xi Tian tried a couple of sips from his glass, frowned, and switched to soda water.
“How long are you staying here?” Ellis asked.
“We’ve already booked a flight for tomorrow afternoon. We came here just for the festival,” Owen said, taking a bite of mashed potatoes, which he didn’t particularly like.
“In such a hurry?” Ellis said.
“He came just to keep me company,” said Angie, who, despite his leg injury, was quickly piling his plate with food. “If you plan to stay longer here, a piece of advice: make sure to buy earplugs in advance and keep your doors and windows closed in the coming days.”
“Why is that?” Ellis asked.
“The elections on the home planet will soon affect the residents who still hold home planet citizenship. As long as you still have citizenship, you have one vote. The election is an event that involves everyone in the galaxy, and no one can escape it,” Angie shrugged.