The last few hadn’t been growing well, and Xia Ze had planned to nurture them further after returning.
Lately, he’d been so busy delivering plants to the military that he’d completely forgotten about the testing center.
Fortunately, registering as a plant cultivator could be done online, and the plants could be sent over by Butler Qi.
Colin was exasperated: “Can you not be so lovestruck? Do you know how important it is to become a high-level plant cultivator? Just sending a few of your flowers would qualify you as an advanced cultivator, do you realize how much money you could make?!”
“Are you really okay with being called ‘Qi Jing’s wife’ for the rest of your life?!”
Even during their honeymoon, Xia Ze’s name was replaced with “the General’s wife” in the news.
Colin hadn’t thought much of it before, but now it irritated him more and more.
A kid with so much talent, why did he have to get married so young?
He’d barely come of age before being whisked away!
From the moss on the boulders to Xia Ze’s familiarity with night-blooming cereus and the plants he cultivated himself, Colin had grown increasingly fond of him. Seeing him neglect his responsibilities for the sake of a honeymoon genuinely angered him.
The more he saw of Xia Ze’s plants, the higher his expectations became.
Xia Ze instinctively shrank back and immediately looked at Qi Jing.
Qi Jing also felt a little embarrassed and cleared his throat. “Don’t worry, we’ll register as plant cultivators now. Butler Qi will send the flowers and plants over immediately.”
Colin hadn’t realized Qi Jing was listening and added, “So this is what lovestruck looks like finally seeing it in person. You snatched him away so young, how could you?”
The internet even claimed that Xia Ze had slept the entire day after the wedding night.
He was still a kid!
How could he be treated like that?!
After the call, the strange tension between them eased slightly.
Xia Ze opened his communicator and began filling out the registration form using the link Dean Colin had sent.
When he reached the marital status section, he instinctively selected “single.” The moment he clicked, Qi Jing’s hand wrapped around his wrist.
Qi Jing, sitting very close, said seriously, “Wrong choice.”
“It’s ‘married.’”
Oh, right.
They were married now.
Their official records already showed them as married.
Their marriage certificate was even sitting at home.
Xia Ze’s ears turned slightly red as they filled out the rest of the form together.
There were also some plant-related knowledge questions, which Xia Ze answered effortlessly before submitting.
This step was meant to filter out unserious applicants, a basic threshold. The maximum score was 500, and applications scoring below 300 would be rejected.
After submitting the application, all that was left was to wait for approval.
At the Green Plant Inspection Center, the staff reviewing the documents were overwhelmed to the point of dizziness.
“Everyone thinks they can get rich off plants, as if it were that easy.”
“Exactly. With tens of thousands of applications, a day, how many even get approved? Maybe ten?”
“This is so annoying. They don’t even bother learning basic botany knowledge, yet still apply to become plant specialists.”
“Don’t even get me started. Many applications get approved, but they can’t even submit proper plant inspection reports.”
“Seriously, if you want to make money from plants, you need both dedication and talent.”
The popularity of plants in the interstellar era has made countless people want to profit from them, but very few actually succeed.
After all, cultivating plants nowadays is incredibly difficult.
“What?! Am I seeing this right? Is the system glitching?” a cute female voice shrieked.
What’s wrong?
Colleagues immediately turned to look.
The round-faced Beta girl exclaimed, “Full marks! He scored full marks on the entry exam!”
“Oh my god.”
“Full marks? Did he just search for answers one by one?”
“Unlikely. Our answer submission has time limits there’s no way he could’ve managed that.”
Many wanted to peek but didn’t dare. These exam papers were confidential, viewable only by authorized reviewers who’d signed NDAs.
While general scores could be discussed, applicants’ names were strictly off-limits.
Most applicants didn’t use their real names anyway, opting for pseudonyms instead.
Only those with top-level clearance could access their true identities.
This was to prevent harassment of top experts.
The round-faced girl quickly stood up, still dazed. After working here for years, this was her first time encountering such a situation.
Any score above 400 had to be reported to management immediately, but this was the first time she’d seen someone score full marks.
She added hastily, “He definitely didn’t cheat his completion time seems to have broken the application record.”
???
Completion time.
Broke the record??
Are you kidding me?
The test had about 100 questions, including fill-in-the-blanks and essays. The fastest record belonged to Colin, dean of the Natural Sciences Academy.
He’d finished in 33 minutes.
His performance had so shocked the previous dean that he was immediately recruited into the academy.
Now an applicant had surpassed Dean Colin’s speed?
The room fell silent.
Was the botany circle about to gain another top expert?
They wondered how old this expert might be and whether they could curry favor.
The inspection center’s management stared at the astonishing score, then at the applicant’s ID: Gabriel.
What an unfamiliar ID.
No known expert used that alias.
No other personal information was available.
But one thing was certain this person’s theoretical knowledge was exceptional!
Hands trembling, management clicked the approval button.
Xia Ze received the notification immediately and remarked curiously, “They’re so efficient. It’s already approved.”
Qi Jing nodded. “I’ll have Uncle Qi arrange plant delivery.”
“Great, I’ve already scheduled the inspection.”
When the center received news that “Gabriel” would be submitting samples, management nearly jumped for joy.
This expert was truly different!
Submitting samples right after approval showed incredible confidence.
Rubbing his hands, management thought: if he could build connections with such an expert, he’d be set for life!
But he didn’t forget the round-faced reviewer. “You come with me to receive him. Gabriel will arrive in an hour.”
The inspection center on the main planet was notoriously arrogant, but all pretenses vanished before a full-score expert.
Their excitement turned to crushing disappointment.
Because the person who arrived was clearly not the expert they’d imagined.
“Hello, I’m here to deliver some items on behalf of our young master. Should I leave them here for testing?” The Qi family villa’s driver politely unloaded five different potted plants.
There were three varieties in total, each thriving exceptionally well.
The driver felt slightly regretful the best plants had already been gifted, and these were just some of the leftovers. Otherwise, their young master could have sent even better specimens.
Even so, the management at the testing center immediately recognized that these plants were anything but ordinary.
After verifying the information, all the plants were sent to the testing lab, where results would be provided within a week.
They were already excited about how many Grade-A plants might emerge.
To be honest, no one was worried about plant cultivators submitting others’ work for testing.
Each cultivator had their own unique techniques. If a test revealed similarities to another expert’s methods, the offender would be blacklisted by the Plant Cultivators’ Association and barred from the industry for good.
Meanwhile, Colin finally relaxed upon learning that Xia Ze had sent his plants to the testing center.
Now, there was no need to rush they just had to wait for the results.
Colin had already decided to secure Xia Ze a place in the Natural Sciences Academy. Given his young age and profound understanding of plants, it would be a waste not to nurture his talent.
Unaware of the commotion at the main planet’s testing center, Xia Ze was nearing the tourist planet with General Qi.
From a distance, Xia Ze couldn’t tear his gaze away from the azure planet.
No wonder people said it resembled ancient Earth from afar, it appeared mostly covered in water.
His lips moved slightly as he murmured, “Is ancient Earth really lost forever?”
Qi Jing hadn’t expected the boy to ask this. “We only know its general location. No one has ever returned.”
Even if someone crossed the vast interstellar distance, they would only find a dead planet.
Truthfully, Xia Ze wasn’t sure whether the “ancient Earth” in this timeline was the same as his own.
But who wouldn’t miss their homeland?
Instinctively, he touched his gland.
Yet this very thing reminded him that he was no longer the same.
Qi Jing sensed an invisible sorrow enveloping the boy and covered Xia Ze’s eyes with his hand. “If you don’t like it, we can go somewhere else.”
His palm, rough with calluses, radiated a dry warmth that comforted Xia Ze.
“Let’s go. I want to see the beach.”
After a pause, Xia Ze added, “Maybe I can collect some fine sand to grow flowers later.”
Qi Jing chuckled, relieved to see the boy’s mood lift. “I heard they serve an ancient Earth delicacy here, crayfish. I’ll take you to try it later.”
Crayfish?!
Xia Ze swallowed reflexively.
He wanted some!
It had been so, so long since he last had any.
Summer was the season for crayfish.
“Can we get some beer too? Light beer,” Xia Ze blinked hopefully, it was the perfect pairing.
Qi Jing narrowed his eyes. “No. You’d be drunk in half a glass.”
“Then you drink, and I’ll watch,” Xia Ze conceded easily. Just having crayfish was enough to make him happy.
As they spoke, the aircraft landed with slight turbulence. Qi Jing pulled the boy closer to steady him.
The moment they stepped out, the humid, salty heat of the ocean breeze enveloped them.
Tropical winds thickened the air with moisture.
Qi Jing placed a prepared sun hat on Xia Ze’s head, while the boy put on the sunglasses Old Qi had packed for them.
The moment they disembarked, their welcoming party hurried forward.
The general and his wife were coming to their planet for their honeymoon!
Although it was a secret itinerary, as soon as the couple left, they could immediately advertise it, and this tourist planet would surely explode in popularity.
The staff receiving them couldn’t contain their joy.
Qi Jing and Xia Ze didn’t allow anyone to follow them, not even leaving any staff in their private villa.
Housework was left to the cleaning robots.
To the outside world, they simply said they didn’t want to be disturbed.
In reality, they didn’t want anyone snooping into their lives.
After all, theirs wasn’t a real marriage.
Normally it wouldn’t matter.
But living together would definitely reveal the truth.
Xia Ze was still brimming with excitement. The villa had an excellent location with breathtaking views, and there was even a private beach at the back, undisturbed by other tourists.
The villa’s pool connected to the ocean, the water here both clean and safe.
“It’s so beautiful,” Xia Ze said, his eyes sparkling. “I want to go collect seashells now, is that okay?”
Qi Jing, of course, nodded.
Xia Ze took off his shoes and walked toward the back of the villa. The sand on the private beach was incredibly soft, making the whole experience wonderfully comfortable.
The twilight sunlight was just perfect gentle and beautiful.
For a brief moment, Xia Ze felt as if he had returned to Earth.
As if this were some beach on Earth, and he was just an ordinary person traveling with friends.
So happy.
It seemed marriage did have its perks.
Seeing how much he liked it, Qi Jing moved the table out to the beach and set out the lobster Xia Ze had been craving.
This planet had many specialty dishes, along with unique desserts and tropical juices.
Their honeymoon had officially begun.
Qi Jing noticed the faint bite marks on the boy’s neck though they were more like red marks from sucking, looking utterly suggestive.
After a day or two, the marks seemed to have faded quite a bit.
Somehow, that annoyed him.
Xia Ze turned to look at him and saw General Qi was actually drinking beer.
Beer made from wheat was naturally quite expensive.
Xia Ze licked his lips. Maybe just one sip. Just one.
Surely that wouldn’t get him drunk.
Xia Ze moved his chair closer to Qi Jing, staring eagerly. “One sip shouldn’t make me drunk.”
“If I get drunk, I’ll just sleep!”
The sea breeze tousled Xia Ze’s black hair, and Qi Jing reached out to smooth it down. Glancing at his own beer glass, he lifted it toward Xia Ze. “One sip.”
So they were sharing like this.
Well, one sip didn’t really require another glass.
Xia Ze took a tiny sip from Qi Jing’s glass and couldn’t help licking his lips again.
It was good.
“Another sip?”
Qi Jing’s smile, carried by the sea breeze, made Xia Ze’s ears tingle.
Why did he have to smile like that so embarrassingly charming.
Xia Ze happily took another sip and murmured, “This is really nice.”
So happy.
Qi Jing’s gaze darkened.
It was nice.
Which was why he had to win that battle.
Qi Jing rested his hand lightly on Xia Ze’s shoulder, his fingertips brushing faintly against his neck.
Xia Ze squirmed from the ticklish sensation and caught the mischievous fingers, comparing them. “Why are your fingers so long?”
Not just his fingers his entire hand was a full size larger than Xia Ze’s.
Xia Ze wasn’t short for an Omega, but he couldn’t compare to an Alpha.
Qi Jing looked at their hands and simply enveloped Xia Ze’s smaller one in his. “It’s fine.”
After a moment, Xia Ze suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, you said you’d teach me how to use a dagger. Maybe we can practice these days?”
At the previous banquet, Xia Ze had seen Sister Ding Ruijie wield a dagger with impressive skill and wanted to learn.
But when Qi Jing heard about it, he took charge of the matter himself.
However, he’d been too busy recently to follow through.
This week’s vacation was the perfect opportunity.
Xia Ze asked, “Can we buy a dagger here? Let’s go get one.”
Before he could finish speaking, Xia Ze saw General Qi produce a dagger from somewhere, spinning it deftly in his hand.
“Want to learn?”
“Absolutely!”
In this interstellar era, few people practiced with cold weapons.
Daggers were especially rare in use.
Naturally, Qi Jing was among that select few.
Xia Ze took the dagger, it felt heavy in his grip. Qi Jing wrapped his hand around Xia Ze’s wrist, guiding him smoothly through an elegant maneuver.
Qi Jing had Xia Ze practically cradled against his chest. In that moment, he caught a faint whiff of that familiar floral scent, the fragrance of Gabriel roses.
A flicker of doubt crossed Qi Jing’s mind. Is he still carrying petals on him? As a Beta, he had no need for such things.
Then he remembered during the incident at the last banquet, the boy had also been carrying them.
The question that had lingered in the back of his mind resurfaced.
Why?
Why carry petals meant for Alphas and Omegas?
Xia Ze had once mentioned giving them to someone else. Who?
Was he holding onto them for that person?
Had it become a habit?
And why had that habit persisted till now?
Where was that person now?
If they were to appear, who would Xia Ze choose?
Whose side would he stand by without hesitation?
Qi Jing had no certainty about any of these questions.
His gaze lowered, fingers tightening imperceptibly as he pulled Xia Ze fully into his embrace.
Xia Ze turned his head in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
Qi Jing looked down at the boy in his arms those beautiful eyes held only him.
They were so close that a mere tilt of his head would bring their lips together.
Qi Jing’s throat moved as he replied evenly, “Nothing.”
“Just… a bit sour.”
He frowned. The heat in his glands could no longer be ignored.
Why does it feel like my rut is coming?
