Jiang Qin and Mo Chen had to get very close because of the loud music.

She sat, leaning in to listen, while he stood, bending down toward her.

They were so close they could clearly smell each other’s scent. In a place filled with so many mixed aromas, it was like they had found their own personal sanctuary.

Nan Xin watched the two of them whispering intimately, grinding his teeth in frustration.

So it turned out the solution for not being heard depended on who you were!

With him, she could only communicate using a Light Computer, but with this male, they could whisper in each other’s ears.

His eyes darted around as an idea struck him. He secretly snapped a photo and sent it to Yun Xie.

He added a message: [See? I told you. Instead of gaining a brother whose background you know nothing about, you’d be better off helping me. At least you know me inside and out.

Besides, we could even team up to win her favor. Right?]

Yun Xie ignored the message. After a careful look at the photo, he immediately knew who the male was.

He wasn’t worried about Mo Chen.

With Mo Chen keeping her company, it was a good chance for Jiang Qin to enjoy herself. So, he didn’t immediately head to the third floor to find her.

After all, no matter how close a couple was, they still needed to give each other space.

’Of course, *I* don’t need any space,’ he thought. ’If Jiang Qin wanted to be with me all the time, I wouldn’t mind being inseparable in the slightest.’

...

Nan Xin watched Jiang Qin and Mo Chen’s happy conversation, all the while anxiously checking his Light Computer.

’What’s going on?’

’I refuse to believe it. His own female master is being hit on, and that domineering Flood Dra is just going to sit there and do nothing? Is he on his way? Or did something hold him up?’

’It can’t be that the signal is bad just because the cruise ship is moving, can it?’

He didn’t know that love could change a person, enabling them to restrain their own instincts.

Of course, Yun Xie was far from calm. But he considered how Jiang Qin was never without a chaperone. It was a rare chance for her to enjoy herself somewhere without worrying about safety, and he couldn’t bear to disturb her.

Love truly is an illogical emotion. Once it takes hold, you can easily become someone you’re not.

The mere thought of her being happy—and of her telling him all about it when she returned—was enough to make him happy too.

Still waiting for a response that never came, Nan Xin decided he couldn’t count on Yun Xie.

He could only sullenly down glass after glass of the strong liquor-flavored Inhibitor, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes.

With two such males watching her like hawks, no other male dared to approach Jiang Qin.

Still, that didn’t stop some males from trying to entice her on the sly.

In the Interstellar Empire, pregnant females were, in some ways, even more attractive than those who weren’t.

The reasoning was that if she was willing to carry a first child, then any other male with enough skill could naturally coax the female master to carry one for him as well.

At the very least, it proved she wasn’t a female who was opposed to natural childbirth.

One could especially tell if she genuinely cherished her child by observing her movements.

Some females might get pregnant but not particularly love the child. They would, at most, carry it to term and then dump it on the father.

Females like that were hardly a rarity in the Interstellar Empire.

Most males, however, deeply loved their own young.

Therefore, some males who were especially fond of children would, when choosing a mate, specifically pursue females with a reputation for loving the young.

As for Jiang Qin, ever since her belly had begun to show, she couldn’t help but stroke it every so often.

This was especially true now that she could clearly feel the baby move.

Whenever the baby moved inside her, a look of maternal love would unconsciously appear in her eyes, and she would stroke her belly to soothe the child.

Mo Chen couldn’t help but let his gaze rest on her belly.

’He couldn’t help but picture what her child might look like.’

In that moment, he had to admit he felt a pang of jealousy. He was envious of the male who shared this child—the fruit of their love—with her.

***

When Jiang Qin decided to leave, Mo Chen escorted her upstairs, with a little tail tagging along behind.

As for Long Yue, she was still busy partying with the new males she’d met.

That meant Jiang Qin had to leave first.

In the elevator, she saw someone wearing a silver-white Combat Suit and a matching silver-white mask. For some reason, he felt familiar to her.

After they exchanged polite nods, the elevator fell silent.

Jiang Qingfeng wasn’t good with faces, but he had an exceptional memory for distinctive scents.

Especially this crisp fragrance, brimming with the vitality of nature.

’Is it her?’

’One of the guests from that variety show.’

But even though he recognized her, they weren’t exactly acquaintances, so he didn’t speak up to greet her.

DING—

When the elevator reached their floor, Mo Chen and Nan Xin followed Jiang Qin out, leaving Jiang Qingfeng alone to press the button for a floor below.

Jiang Qin looked speechlessly at the man still following her. "Mr. Nan, if I recall correctly, this floor is for females, isn’t it?"

’So is this on your way?’

"Yep. I’m here to see my blood brother, Yun Xie, and catch up on old times."

The three of them walked all the way to the door of her suite.

Mo Chen had already taken the hint and left, leaving only Nan Xin behind.

When the door opened, Nan Xin theatrically reached out to sling an arm around Yun Xie’s shoulder. "Hahaha! Brother, long time no see!"

However, Yun Xie immediately dodged his arm and said flatly, "It hasn’t been long. Didn’t we just see each other an hour ago?"

Jiang Qin couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

Caught in his lie, Nan Xin didn’t even blush. "An hour is a long time! Weren’t we always inseparable back in the day?"

Yun Xie couldn’t be bothered to reply.

There was, in fact, a time when they had been inseparable. He and Nan Xin had once been trapped together in a magnetic field.

That was how their friendship began. Afterward, they had led their respective teams on several cooperative missions.

Overall, they worked well together. When danger arose, neither of them would abandon the other; they always fought side-by-side.

So, they were indeed good friends.

Yun Xie had even sent Nan Xin a message on his wedding day, but Nan Xin had been away on a mission with the Imperial military and never saw it.

Only now that the mission was complete could he contact the outside world again.

He had already looked up information on Jiang Qin before his arrival.

She was an Interstellar celebrity now, so finding information about her was quite easy. That was why Nan Xin had decided to test the waters with his joking tone.

In truth, he was serious about his proposition.

It wasn’t that he thought Jiang Qin was so incredible, nor was it love at first sight.

Rather, he figured that if this female wasn’t worthwhile, a man with Yun Xie’s personality would never have let himself be tied down.

After all, Yun Xie wasn’t the type to bend over backward for the sake of love, much less the type to compromise and suffer in silence.

If he didn’t genuinely love her, he would never have compromised—not even for an SS-level female.

So Nan Xin knew this was true love. It was the only reason Yun Xie would stay by her side, even giving up the adventures he loved most.

Since she was a female that even Yun Xie could accept—and an S-level one at that—what did he have to worry about?

Unfortunately, this beautiful female didn’t seem to be interested in him.