Earlier, while greeting guests, he’d been downright rude, practically shoving the other man toward various people and smugly broadcasting his title.
Had the man finally snapped?
Emory’s face flushed green then red; his feet rooted him in place. He didn’t dare move closer to check ‘Mr. Xie”s reaction at the guest tables.
This lasted until he entered the dressing room and approached Miss Nevi from behind.
Miss Nevi sat sipping champagne beside him. She’d changed out of her floor-length gown into a knee-length mid-skirt.
A maid combed her hair from behind, movements methodical.
“What’s wrong?” she asked casually, glancing at her reflection.
Emory hurriedly recounted the message, hoping for some support from his girlfriend. “…So I wondered if he’s decided to drop me and back someone else?”
Miss Nevi’s brows arched high. She subtly glanced at Emory, voice still soft as she touched up her makeup.
“Unlikely. If he were angry, he’d have flipped out on the spot. A man of his status wouldn’t hold back until now to settle scores.”
“Probably something private to discuss. Go ahead,” she said offhandedly. “Use the innermost private reception room—no interruptions.”
Hearing her analysis, Emory’s complexion improved instantly.
He grasped Miss Nevi’s shoulders tenderly. “As expected of the eldest miss. You always think more thoroughly than me.”
Nevi paused, patted his hand lightly. “Alright, go. Don’t worry. I’m off to greet Uncle City Lord. If you’re quick, come out and show your face too.”
Emory caught her fingers. “I’ll be right back.”
He entered the reception room. Xun Jia already sat across the long table, hands hidden beneath it.
That bodyguard reappeared behind Xun Jia, wearing familiar shades, standing ramrod straight.
Emory always felt that the man looked familiar, but he couldn’t recall why for the moment.
“There were too many things going on earlier, so I arrived late. Please forgive me, Mr. Xie,” he said with an apologetic smile as he pulled out the chair across from him. Seeing no tea on the table, he immediately moved to circle around the long table to pour some, but Xun Jia stopped him.
Having failed to offer his courtesy, Emory sat down dejectedly.
He launched right into it: “I failed to host you properly this time—it’s truly my fault…”
Unexpectedly, ‘Mr. Xie’ had no interest in hearing these platitudes and raised a hand to silence him.
‘I want a reliable contact in Silver Watchtower, and you’re one of my candidates under review,’ Mr. Xie said.
This matched Emory’s guesses perfectly, so he nodded eagerly. “I understand.”
A question mark popped up over Xun Jia’s head.
This excuse was something he and Seles had made up on the spot ten minutes ago—what did you ‘understand’ about it?
He didn’t show it and continued smoothly: “I’ve also looked into your background and found some things.”
Emory’s heart tightened. He hadn’t noticed any investigation into him. As expected of the noble Your Highness from the East Territory—investigating someone is as simple as having a meal.
“You’re not a local from Silver Watchtower. Your hometown is on DS-45 Planet.”
Xun Jia spoke quickly, giving Emory little time to think. “You lived in Building 3, Unit 5 of Ke Wu Street, next to a pair of siblings who went to Central Third Elementary School. Later, you moved here with your family, right?”
Emory wanted to ask why he was inquiring about this, but he didn’t have the guts. He nodded first. “Yes, exactly right.”
“What’s your relationship with Xun Feihe?”
…Why does this feel like interrogating a criminal? Emory unconsciously frowned.
He replied offhandedly, “No real relationship—just knew each other from childhood.”
“Have you seen her recently?”
Emory: “How could I have seen her recently…” He started to say no, but suddenly remembered that rural vacation last time, and an ominous premonition grew stronger.
He immediately backtracked, pretending he hadn’t thought of it: “Oh, right, I forgot—we did meet not long ago. I went back home to visit my grandparents and take a short vacation, and we ran into each other. Why do you ask?”
Xun Jia said coldly, “Is the child in her belly yours?”
Emory choked: “Chil…”
His train of thought snapped, scattering to distant places.
That peaceful, quiet rural planet had little traffic and a slow pace. His family usually waited until after the summer shopping peak to head back for a vacation, and he’d gone last time too.
Nothing was different, but as he passed the street near his old home, he saw a young woman sitting happily on the doorstep of a small courtyard, fiddling with her Light Brain as if chatting with someone.
It was his childhood neighbor—truly, women blossomed after eighteen. If she hadn’t been sitting right there in that yard, he wouldn’t have recognized her.
Emory greeted her casually: “Feihe?”
The girl looked up in surprise.
Their childhood bond lingered, he wasn’t bad-looking, and with his family’s business modestly successful, he was invited into the living room like an honored guest and treated to a casual meal.
He could barely eat—the dishes were too crudely cooked, the seasoning insufficiently refined. He hardly touched his food.
But watching Xun Feihe, he felt like he could eat a bit more.
They rekindled quickly in that short time. He took her out to play everywhere, bought her things, helped sweep the yard, and made her giggle.
Naturally, they started dating.
But it didn’t last long. He soon grew bored with her rustic style and rural accent, especially after they slept together—it became even duller.
He never mentioned it was just a vacation; he only said he had to return to handle company matters. She tearfully saw him off.
He hadn’t expected her to get pregnant from just that one time?
He denied it vehemently: “I wouldn’t know about that. What if she hooked up with another guy? You can’t pin it all on me.”
Xun Jia fell silent and looked down at his Light Brain under the table, where the screen glowed with an ongoing call.
“You don’t plan to continue with her?”
“Mr. Xie, these things are tacitly understood.”
Emory glanced back at the window and door—both quietly closed, no one eavesdropping. “A fling, a night of fun—that’s the unspoken rule. Besides, I’m registered in Silver Watchtower now. No matter what, I’d marry a local girl, not some country bumpkin like her.”
But the country bumpkin didn’t see it as a fling. She was still waiting in hopeless anticipation, nurturing a child.
Emory: “Rest assured, if you’re worried about my ties to off-world planets, I’ll send someone right away to make her get an abortion and set things straight with her.”
Xun Jia said nothing more. He abruptly ended the Light Brain call, stood up, and showed Emory several photos of him being intimate with different women.
“You even know about this…”
Before Emory could finish, he saw him heading for the door and panicked. “Mr. Xie?”
Xun Jia turned back, enunciating each word: “I never condone your kind of ‘tacit understanding.'”
Emory watched in stunned silence as Xun Jia and the bodyguard left. Just as he thought to chase after them, footsteps sounded from the inner room behind him.
He turned, and slap—Miss Nevi delivered a crisp slap across his face, her hand still raised.
“The engagement is off, Emory.”
She said icily, “No explanation needed, right?”
Emory’s legs buckled. He grabbed her arm and slowly slid to his knees on the floor.
…
Xie Jianxun was woken by someone and yawned groggily. “Uh—Professor Idis!”
Idis nodded to him, indicating it was time to get out. “We’re here.”
Xie Jianxun felt nothing amiss and followed him out of the air sedan. He only noticed that his wrist felt a bit numb from leaning against the window for so long while asleep.
…Wait, not numb at all.
He followed Idis into the elevator. When the light indicated it reached the direct entry door, it opened, and lights flooded in from the elevator space, illuminating Xie Jianxun’s view.
He stepped inside curiously, looking around Idis’s home.
The spacious living room had luxurious color schemes, a high, bright vaulted ceiling clearly spanning two stories.
The sofa and carpet were clearly high-end. A tapestry woven with fine lines hung on the TV wall, and the coffee table gleamed—money’s scent was everywhere.
Idis likes this style of decor…? As he thought that, Professor Idis said coolly, “City Lord’s Mansion allocated housing—came with the renovations. No time to redo it.”
He’d forgotten the man was a special mechanical consultant for the City Lord’s Mansion.
Xie Jianxun sat primly on the sofa and watched as Idis maneuvered his wheelchair to stop in front of him, gazing at him quietly.
Xie Jianxun: “Professor Idis?”
Idis’s lips moved, and finally he said, “…Set out your Mechanical Puppet.”
Xie Jianxun paused. “Right here? It might get dirt everywhere.”
Idis: “People in this line of work don’t have cleanliness obsessions.”
The atmosphere lightened instantly. Xie Jianxun smiled, tapped his Light Brain, and placed One’s shell on the carpet. He watched expectantly as Idis inspected it from head to toe, focusing on the massive hole in its abdomen.
What if it can be fixed?
Finally, he reached right in and pulled out the Mechanical Core for a look.
Xie Jianxun asked tensely, “What do you think? Can it be saved?”
The damage was severe—most mechanics couldn’t handle it, no wonder they’d come to him.
Idis: “Yes.”
One simple word, brimming with power.
“But too many parts are missing. It’ll need replacement materials to fill them in. I’ll make you a list. Some aren’t available on the market—you’ll have to hit the auction or send someone to collect from the wild.”
As Idis spoke, he set down the Mechanical Core and glanced at him.
In that instant, Xie Jianxun felt like he’d been bonked on the head by a gift from the heavens, dizzy with surprise and speechless.
He said gratefully, “None of that’s a problem—as long as it can be fixed. That’s great!”
“…”
“Work’s wrapped up for now, so last, a personal question.”
Idis reached out, gripped One’s chin, and forcibly tilted the Mechanical Puppet’s face upward. Curly hair fell back, revealing a smooth forehead and handsome brows and eyes.
With an expressionless face, he said, “You need to explain why it has my face.”
