She’s a little stubborn, principled, and very fond of food. The head of Star Network Planning summed up his impression of Du Xixi with this one sentence.

When the Blue Star Empire actively reached out to the Star Network to create a food experience area to promote cuisine, someone in the Star Network speculated that it was a decision made by His Majesty Chen Yin of the Blue Star Empire for Du Xixi.

When did the Blue Star Empire start promoting food? It seems to have begun when Du Xixi gradually appeared in the public eye. Step by step, Du Xixi attracted more attention, and under her and the Blue Star Empire’s promotion, food slowly spread across the entire interstellar.

However, while food promotion intensified, the public’s acceptance was still not fast enough; at least 70% of the Empire hadn’t been exposed to this cuisine, hence the Blue Star Empire sought cooperation with the Star Network.

Du Xixi wasn’t aware of this until the head of the Star Network Planning approached her, informing her of the cooperation between the Blue Star Empire and the Star Network. It wasn’t hard to guess that this collaboration was His Majesty Chen Yin’s idea, but the culinary promotion was likely Du Xixi’s intention.

The head of Star Network Planning looked at Du Xixi, who had a smile on her face and appeared to be in a very good mood, and said with a laugh, "I have work to do, so I won’t keep you any longer. If we have more collaborations in the future, we can chat then."

When there’s no collaboration, the head of Star Network Planning is cautious about conversing too much with someone of Du Xixi’s special status, fearing the Star Network might deem it favoritism toward the Blue Star Empire. Du Xixi was aware of this, so when she heard it, she smiled and agreed. After bidding farewell to the head of Star Network Planning, Du Xixi logged off the Star Network and returned to the real world.

It was past four o’clock by then, and Ke Lian had already returned. Du Xixi walked out of the study, not yet downstairs, when she saw Ke Lian stepping up the stairs.

Ke Lian immediately noticed Du Xixi standing at the stairway, glanced at her hand holding the railing, and was reassured as he said, "I figured you might come out soon, so I thought I’d come up to check on you."

As soon as he spoke, Du Xixi stepped downstairs, approached Ke Lian, saw his handsome face with a gentle smile, and his unwavering deep affection in his eyes belonged entirely to her. Already in a good mood, she smiled even more joyfully and called out, "I want to go on the swing; will you join me?"

There’s a swing in the Ke Family’s yard, made by Ke Lian himself when he had time. It’s carved with patterns Du Xixi likes and painted with safe white paint; it’s full of thoughtfulness, and Du Xixi would sit on the swing for a while whenever she had the time.

Ke Lian naturally agreed, and just as they stepped into the yard, they found Ke Xing sunbathing with the three children, while Miao Miao was reading under the shade of a tree. As the couple walked over, it seemed like the whole family came out for a leisurely afternoon.

The swing was big, enough to seat five or six people and with armrests and front clasps. Lying down was spacious enough for Du Xixi if she wanted to nap, especially since there was a soft blanket laid on it. Du Xixi simply lay flat on it.

"Oh, taking a nap at this hour?" Ke Lian gently pushed the swing, keeping it at a swaying level that would make Du Xixi feel comfortable. Seeing Du Xixi had slightly closed her eyes, hinting at the idea of taking a nap, Ke Lian laughed and said, "If you doze off now, I won’t come to wake you for dinner later."

Du Xixi didn’t open her eyes, just chuckled softly and replied, "It’s okay, 2569 will come and wake me."

Ke Lian lowered his head, gently tapped Du Xixi’s forehead, and teased, "What if I tell 2569 not to wake you up?"

"Oh?" Du Xixi finally opened her eyes, immediately seeing Ke Lian’s upside-down face, but she only met Ke Lian’s eyes. In those deep green eyes, all she saw was herself, "Do you think 2569 listens to you, or to me?"

Ke Lian: ...

Though reluctant to admit it, indeed, 2569 seems to listen to Du Xixi more. In his memory, whenever Du Xixi and Ke Lian issued orders together to 2569, 2569 always completed Du Xixi’s instructions first before doing Ke Lian’s.

Why is that? Ke Lian was a bit puzzled. After all, he was the head of the family, the one who modified 2569’s system. Why didn’t 2569 listen to him and always chose to heed Du Xixi?

Ke Lian couldn’t figure it out, so he straightforwardly asked Du Xixi, who laughed for a while before helplessly saying, "It’s because of you! Every time we both order something at the same time, you always tell it to follow my orders first, complete my instructions first. Over time, your commands differ from mine in 2569’s chip, don’t they?"

"Oh..." Ke Lian was momentarily taken aback, then understood, and smiled ruefully. It was indeed his oversight, as household robots have the ability to learn. Presumably, as Du Xixi mentioned, Ke Lian gave 2569 an order to prioritize her commands, and thus, 2569 repeatedly chose to follow Du Xixi’s instructions.

"So, do you want to modify 2569’s chip data again, make it only listen to you?" Du Xixi raised her eyebrows playfully.

Ke Lian lowered his head, kissed Du Xixi’s forehead, and instead smiled, "Forget it, let it follow your orders then. After all..." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"I also follow yours."

***

The silver-edged white roses in the yard swayed gently in the summer breeze, the fierce sun seemed merely a backdrop, making them shine whiter and more beautiful.

Ke Lian personally planted these roses to win Du Xixi’s favor.

Du Xixi looked at them every day and indeed found joy every day.

***

The main text is complete.