DBMEP CH81

Chapter 81: The Imperial Court Sent Disaster Relief Grain

Yi Hengxing sat down in a soft office chair.

It was a very standard office, featuring a map hanging on the wall, a safe, a desk, and a reception area. The only unusual aspect was that it was located inside a castle.

Perhaps because they hadn’t had time to clean it up yet, both the coffee table and the desk were cluttered with a messy pile of mechanical parts. There were also official documents on the coffee table; Yi Hengxing glanced over and saw the cover read “Eternal City 5-Year Development Plan.”

Yi Hengxing had worked in the Investigation Bureau for 20 years and had visited numerous surface settlements.

Most of them were crude, lacking scale. The people had never heard of the Human Alliance but were filled with yearning for the Divine Court. Their highest aspiration in life was to settle in one of the Divine Court’s surface cities.

In the eyes of the Investigation Bureau, the Divine Court was evil and cunning. They would deliberately release Mutants (for some small villages, a single Mutant meant total annihilation), and then have an Apocalypse Knight descend from the heavens.

The rescued small villages were often deeply grateful to the Divine Court. The Apocalypse Knight would stay there for a period of time and leave behind a missionary to act as the leader.

As the older generation died out, the Human Alliance paid less and less attention to the surface. In fact, many citizens believed that the remnants on the surface were blood-sucking parasites feeding off their high taxes, demanding an end to surface aid.

These citizens were usually the low-income earners in the cities; conversely, some self-proclaimed “elites” held the opposite attitude. They loved the abstract concept of the surface people, but did not love the people sharing the underground air with them.

People were divided by different viewpoints and stances; the true vested interests never made a sound amidst such antagonism.

The Human Alliance’s cohesion on the surface vanished bit by bit in this manner. Relying on a mere few hundred investigators per underground city was completely useless.

Based on his observations along the way, Yi Hengxing made a rough assessment of the Eternal City: an orderly, mid-sized surface city. Medium scale. Fresh battle scars on the city walls… Unaware of the Human Alliance’s existence, believing their leader to be Xiang Nanli from the Survivor Base.

“Orderly” was almost one of the highest compliments a surface city could receive. Not to mention that the people here were actually working and had food to eat. They weren’t covered in sorrow and exhaustion.

Passing by the cafeteria, Yi Hengxing couldn’t help but pause for a moment, observing the recruitment notice written on the blackboard.

He asked Ge Gen: “Has this base of yours recruited anyone?”

Ge Gen smiled honestly, possessing the unique simplicity of a farmer’s child: “Many of us have signed up. But the list hasn’t been announced yet.”

Yi Hengxing narrowed his eyes slightly: “You all want to go to the base very much?”

Ge Gen nodded: “Yes.”

He added: “Even if there aren’t enough spots, I still want to go. Because I want to help them. The base gave us food and seeds. And my cybernetic prostheses. Three months ago, Mutants besieged the city. I was heavily injured while defending it. The previous City Lord would have only abandoned me because I was useless; he wouldn’t have replaced my limbs.”

As they walked, Yi Hengxing arrived at the square where a monument stood.

Surprisingly, a few wild flowers and wheat stalks were placed in front of the monument. It appeared to be a spontaneous gesture by the people.

He walked a lap around the monument and saw the text written on the back.

“In memory of the heroic souls who sacrificed themselves for the liberation of intelligent life.”

—Declared by the Survivor Base.

Heh, they even have cultural propaganda.

A base whose name he had never even heard of harbored massive ambitions.

Yi Hengxing asked: “Then do you know about the Human Alliance?”

Ge Gen recited as if reading from a textbook: “I know. It was taught in history class. The Human Alliance Underground City League. We are all members of humanity.”

Only then did Yi Hengxing’s expression relax a little.

Sigh, seriously. Xin Zhui didn’t explain clearly at all.

What exactly was the distress signal they received, and what exactly were the circumstances they were supposed to observe?

But then again, as the head of the Investigation Bureau, Xin Zhui was in meetings or on missions every single day to clear out the Fungal Mothers in the city. It was already difficult enough for him to even remember this matter.

After bringing him to the office, Ge Gen somewhat clumsily poured him a glass of water, then retreated outside.

Yi Hengxing picked up the cup, didn’t drink, and took a sniff.

He pulled a reagent strip from his waist pouch and dipped it in; it didn’t change color. It seemed there were no strange additives inside.

Less than three minutes after Yi Hengxing sat down, the office door was pushed open, and Xiang Nanli walked in with a face full of smiles.

Yi Hengxing stood up and grasped Xiang Nanli’s extended hand.

Xiang Nanli said enthusiastically: “Welcome. I am the current person in charge of the Survivor Base, Xiang Nanli.”

Yi Hengxing smiled slightly: “Your Human Alliance pronunciation is very standard. Judging from your speech, you’ve received a good education. Then you should know the meaning behind the name ‘Xiang Nanli’.”

Xiang Nanli couldn’t help but roast internally: [What does that mean? Don’t tell me I’ve run into another one of my toxic solo stans!]

Xiao Qing: [I believe this is a doubt many people would have.]

“As a thawed person, I’ve been called Xiang Nanli since the day I was born.” Xiang Nanli looked helpless. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

His parents named him! It was written into the family genealogy!

Yi Hengxing pondered for a moment: “According to mission logs, Gusu City received a distress signal from the City Lord of the Eternal City in January…”

Because the Divine Court was also unclear on the situation, the distress information Xin Zhui provided was very vague.

Yi Hengxing paused for a moment: “Did your base occupy the Eternal City?”

Xiang Nanli explained: “Not occupy. Liberate.”

Yi Hengxing gave an indifferent smile: “Actually, it doesn’t matter. We do not interfere in the wars of surface cities.”

His lack of concern came from the bottom of his heart.

In the eyes of the Human Alliance, there was no problem a long-range missile couldn’t solve.

Xiang Nanli fell silent for a moment. He opened the castle window, letting the cold wind outside blow in: “Comrade Investigator, please look.”

He extended his hand, pointing toward the plains about a kilometer away. Neatly leveled fields lay both inside and outside the Eternal City: “The Eternal City was originally a forest. The people of the city lived here for generations, bit by bit reclaiming the forest into farmland. This area is wheat; this area is corn. Behind the mountain is another plot, planted with potatoes and sweet potatoes.

“Winter on the surface is long, and only a very few short months are suitable for planting. Every resident is racing against God for time. For this, they can work from 6:00 AM all the way to 6:00 PM; hauling water, repairing irrigation ditches, catching pests, plowing fields. And many more agricultural tasks I can’t even imagine.

“These people have very short lifespans. The average life expectancy in Luoyang City is 140 years. For these people on the surface, according to the data I’ve seen, the average life expectancy is only 42 years.

“Part of it is due to accumulated radiation, but a larger part is due to chronic overwork, exhaustion, and hunger.

“What did their hard work earn them? In the past, these people were called ‘serfs’ by the City Lord. They were considered property, lower even than robots; the grain they produced was exchanged for jewelry, weapons, precious metals, collectibles, and high-end technological goods.

“The City Lord believed this was entirely natural. Because the seeds, the farm tools, and the fields all belonged to him. As long as he controlled these resources, he didn’t have to do a single thing to enjoy the multiplication of wealth.

“Every winter, elderly and weak residents starved to death. Why would people starve to death every year in an agricultural city, a grain-producing region? Comrade Investigator, I just stepped out of a cryo-chamber. I do not understand, and I do not accept it. Therefore, along with the others from the base, I killed the original master of this city.”

Yi Hengxing initially wanted to say, Which settlement nowadays doesn’t have slaves? What is the fundamental difference between this action and breaking into someone else’s house to rob them?

But looking into Xiang Nanli’s resolute eyes, he was suddenly startled.

Just because it has always been this way, does that make it right?

Xiang Nanli smiled: “We conquered the Eternal City with guns and fire, but what we brought was an abundant harvest. We freed them from oppression and ensured they were fed and clothed. Therefore, I say the base liberated the Eternal City. Does the Human Alliance, which proclaims Humanism—a city federation organization that claims to advance and retreat alongside all humanity—dare to disagree?”

Xiang Nanli’s tone was very polite, yet his words were extremely sharp.

Yi Hengxing was somewhat speechless: “When were you frozen?”

Xiang Nanli looked toward the distant field ridges, his gaze somewhat nostalgic: “Before the underground cities were even built.”

Yi Hengxing replied: “No wonder.”

Having said this, Xiang Nanli inevitably paused for a moment, an amiable smile appearing on his face: “By the way, I saw in the policies that surface cities that submit to the Human Alliance can apply for financial subsidies, right?”

…

…

Even Yi Hengxing wasn’t entirely clear on why he, who was clearly here to investigate, ended up in a daze, signing a surface subsidy agreement.

His built-in AI accepted this electronic contract, which bore the Citizen ID codes of both parties. As long as they were on Human Alliance territory, it carried legal effect.

Yi Hengxing was a high-ranking cadre of the Investigation Bureau and frequently traveled to the surface. He had the authority to utilize a certain quota of the “Surface City Aid and Construction Fund.”

Yi Hengxing consoled himself: Forget it. The Ministry of Finance is paying anyway. At least this settlement looks like it’s genuinely building infrastructure, rather than the leaders stuffing it into their own pockets.

In his early years, Yi Hengxing was also a passionate youth. Just after graduating, he joined the Investigation Bureau. He had a poverty alleviation quota of 100,000 credits.

Yi Hengxing gave this quota to the village chief of a surface village. The village chief was overwhelmingly grateful, almost kneeling to him.

At the time, Yi Hengxing felt incredibly proud of himself. But that night, while arresting prostitutes at the Gusu City transport station, he saw the village chief’s figure…

Yes, the village chief had ordered two highly realistic love dolls and rented them for a month. The total price was exactly 100,000 credits.

Because the Survivor Base had too few people and didn’t qualify for registration, the targeted aid settlement was named “Eternal City.” This agreement could provide the city with 1 million credits in infrastructure subsidies.

“Eternal City” was the newly changed name. Once he returned, Yi Hengxing could load the system and update it.

Ever since signing the agreement, Yi Hengxing felt Xiang Nanli’s smile had grown even friendlier.

[Xiao Zhi! Hurry, hurry, hurry, check if the money has arrived in the account—]

It wasn’t Xiang Nanli’s fault for being so excited.

The money he earned himself could only buy supplies from the black market at most. Things in the black market weren’t necessarily good, but they were definitely more expensive.

The aid funds provided by the Human Alliance could currently only be used to purchase goods from the online mall; essentially, the Eternal City’s financial account had received 1 million in mall vouchers.

The items in the poverty alleviation mall were all at wholesale prices, and one could buy many things that ordinary people simply couldn’t access.

For example, subterranean electrical cables.

For example, radiation purification devices.

For example, various mechanical hardware and software.

For example, munitions. Of course, those were relatively expensive and consisted only of the most basic weapons, so they weren’t currently within Xiang Nanli’s scope of consideration.

There were also the research materials Beichen needed, which Xiang Nanli had been worrying about where to buy.

“Thank you very much, my friend.” Xiang Nanli grasped Yi Hengxing’s hand, shaking it vigorously up and down. “The Eternal City will forever be the Human Alliance’s most solid bulwark. Coming from so far away, you must be hungry. Come, let’s go to the cafeteria; I’ll treat you to a guest meal.”

The cafeteria’s guest meal was nothing special. At most, the cafeteria auntie gave an extra scoop of mashed potatoes because she saw the guest was with Xiang Nanli.

Yi Hengxing had eaten many guest meals, but this was his first time in such a public setting. He was surrounded by smelly farmers. Some had just finished pouring chemical fertilizer; some were dripping with hot sweat. The cafeteria was hot and reeked.

Many people made loud slurping noises as they ate, wolfing down their food. Even the color of the wooden tables was very dark, looking rather unclean.

Fortunately, Yi Hengxing didn’t mind. Compared to extravagant banquets, on the surface, this was actually what he wanted to see more.

Xiang Nanli handed over two work point vouchers and chose a slightly cleaner table, his tone carrying a hint of apology: “Sorry, the conditions in the city are like this. For the sake of entertaining a guest, the chef agreed to stir-fry two extra dishes.”

Two dishes: one meat, one vegetable. The vegetable dish was garlic scapes with tofu, and the meat dish likely used frozen meat, the texture resembling minced meat. But the taste was decent.

Yi Hengxing observed for a moment; the people around them were eating roughly the same thing.

In truth, had Xiang Nanli not observed Yi Hengxing saving Ge Gen during the battle, he might not have adopted this attitude.

Different people required different countermeasures. He simply needed to show the other party what they wanted to see.

Xiang Nanli even felt relatively lucky; at the very least, Yi Hengxing was a “good official” in the traditional sense. If a bastard had shown up, he hadn’t yet figured out how he’d fool the Human Alliance after killing him.

Wearing his electronic lens, Xiang Nanli absentmindedly browsed an online marketplace while chatting with Yi Hengxing. They were both highly educated intellectuals, so they communicated without any barriers. When Yi Hengxing mentioned he graduated from Donglan University, Xiang Nanli casually replied, “I gave a lecture there back in the day.”

He then added, “But when I gave that lecture, you hadn’t even been born yet.”

Yi Hengxing inexplicably felt his tone was extremely grandfatherly.

But when he reviewed the university’s history, it seemed that aside from that “Xiang Nanli,” Donglan University had never invited any other scholar with the exact same name.

Yi Hengxing couldn’t help but feel a hint of peculiarity.

But Xiang Nanli quickly steered the topic toward the mycelium disease.

After downing two mouthfuls of grain liquor, Yi Hengxing became more talkative: “Traffic control is in effect in Gusu City right now. A lot of people want to go through the Investigation Bureau’s backdoor, heading to the surface from the transport station and then transferring to other cities.”

As one of the Group Leaders in the Investigation Bureau, Yi Hengxing had signed a lot of passes with his eyes closed.

Speaking of this, he couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating chuckle. He couldn’t say he hated it, but he truly disliked it.

After finishing their meal, Xiang Nanli checked the time and said: “I’m really sorry, but I have to go teach a class at the school. Should I call Ge Gen over to keep you company?”

Yi Hengxing was quite surprised: “Now? It’s already night.”

Xiang Nanli replied: “During the day, many students have to farm and harvest wheat. They only have free time at night.”

Yi Hengxing let out a boozy hiccup: “Mind if I sit in and listen?”

Xiang Nanli answered cheerfully: “Of course, you’re welcome!”

And so, Yi Hengxing followed him to the “Base School.”

The school was converted from a former church, its style somewhat resembling the Divine Court.

Xiang Nanli explained that they took it over from the previous City Lord and hadn’t really renovated it.

Yi Hengxing noted this down in his investigation report. It seemed the original Eternal City had been infiltrated by Divine Court ideology. Being replaced by people from the base might actually be a good thing.

At 8:00 PM, the students arrived punctually at the classroom. Thirty outstanding students from the graduating class had elected to take the “Mechanical Repair Course.” The age range was vast, spanning from teenagers to septuagenarians.

The school had no textbooks. The teacher used a whiteboard and markers, while the students used pencils and scratch paper.

What Xiang Nanli taught was all foundational knowledge; in an underground school, this would be taught in junior high. But even so, within ten minutes, Xiang Nanli had already explained two knowledge points incorrectly…

Calling it “incorrect” wasn’t exactly accurate. It was because the old knowledge system Xiang Nanli was teaching had already been replaced by new technologies. Assembling and repairing things according to his methods would be highly inefficient, and some new mechanical models wouldn’t even be compatible.

Tsk. If the historical Xiang Nanli lived to see today, would he also encounter the same embarrassment?

Yi Hengxing couldn’t help but interrupt, calling Xiang Nanli outside the classroom.

Yi Hengxing: “Little Xiang, although interrupting you isn’t great, I have to point out that Human Alliance technology has already been updated.”

He had taken this as an elective in university, so he spoke logically and clearly.

Xiang Nanli nodded humbly: “I see. Sigh, to tell you the truth, I just thawed from a cryo-chamber. The new textbooks are too expensive, and I have to purchase access rights. I have absolutely no idea about these things you’re mentioning.”

A trace of sorrow involuntarily appeared on his face.

Yi Hengxing felt he might have drunk too much; without even thinking, he replied: “The mission deadline Xin Zhui gave me is still a month away. I’ll be staying in Eternal City during this time anyway, so I’ll just teach it.”

…

…

How did things turn out like this?

Yi Hengxing stood on the podium, listening to Xiang Nanli introduce him with brimming emotion: “Students. Let us welcome the new teacher for the mechanical class. This is Yi Hengxing, from the Human Alliance.”

“Teacher Yi Hengxing rode a motorcycle for a week from Gusu City to our Eternal City. Braving hardships and traveling from afar, he brought us a subsidy of a million credits. And now, he has even taken the initiative to shoulder teaching duties. You must listen to Teacher Yi and study hard. He is only staying at the school for one month. Everyone must cherish this opportunity.”

“You are the future engineers of the base, the intellectuals of the Eternal City. The reason you earn more work point vouchers than those who toil away in hard labor is because I hope everyone can use their brilliant minds to create even greater value.”

Xiang Nanli spoke earnestly: “Everyone here has done farm work; you know what kind of spring a single grain of wheat has to endure to reach our dining tables. The reason we don’t farm, the reason we don’t share in the night-time labor, is so we can learn knowledge, assemble more useful mechanical devices, and bring about higher-efficiency production. For every minute and every second you spend in this school, there are others bearing the heavy burden for you.”

“Alright, let’s not waste time. Let Teacher Yi begin your class!”

Having said that, Xiang Nanli consciously stepped down from the podium.

Yi Hengxing stood alone on the podium, completely sobered up. A breeze blew past, making his back feel a bit cold.

Yi Hengxing admitted he actually harbored a bit of a superiority complex.

He came from a powerful underground city, graduated from the best school in the Human Alliance, and was a senior official in the Investigation Bureau. Why shouldn’t he feel good about himself?

But looking at the rows of eyes below him, burning with a thirst for knowledge, that superiority complex transformed into a profound sense of responsibility.

He coughed once, casually drawing out circuits and component diagrams on the whiteboard: “Since we don’t have textbooks, I’ll start from the absolute basics based on memory…”

Xiang Nanli quietly slipped out.

He contacted Dongfang Qingdi: “Xiao Qing, this is great. I finally outsourced the mechanics class.”

This class.

If he taught it any longer, he was going to die of anger.

Even Xiao Fu, such an obedient and sensible Omnic! The moment it heard about going to the school to teach, it frantically shook its head, claiming it was just agricultural machinery and knew nothing about mechanical repair.

Xiang Nanli knew he shouldn’t hold overly high expectations for students on the surface. But he truly couldn’t understand why, after he explained things that were simple and easy to grasp at a glance, all he received in return were eyes full of blank confusion.

Heh. It felt like going back to the days of teaching Luo Yang.

But Luo Yang was still a bit more detestable because he pretended to understand when he didn’t. Xiang Nanli handed him the encryption keys, and he nearly caused Alpha to completely crash!

After that incident, he banished Luo Yang to handle the commercial side of the company.

His effort to deliberately teach several knowledge points incorrectly hadn’t been in vain; that kid Yi Hengxing truly couldn’t resist the urge to lecture others.

Thinking of the one million credits he had delivered, Xiang Nanli walked toward the hospital with a smile on his face: “Xiao Qing, Yi Hengxing said earlier he was called here by Xin Zhui. Anyway, we have to thank Xin Zhui first. Do you think Xin Zhui is suspicious?”

He had also drunk quite a bit of alcohol to keep Yi Hengxing company.

Xiang Nanli didn’t like drinking, but now that he was relaxed, the buzz from the alcohol belatedly surged up.

Hmm, must be digestion issues. It actually didn’t hit this hard while I was drinking it.

Dongfang Qingdi: “He is. However, this is a matter between the Human Alliance and the Divine Court. What does it have to do with our base?”

Xiao Qing’s voice came through the earpiece. Walking down the street, Xiang Nanli pulled up his protective mask, rested a hand on a nearby streetlight, and forced himself to hold back, just barely stopping himself from laughing out loud.

Dongfang Qingdi continued: “Wait at the school entrance; I’ll come pick you up.”

When diplomacy was required, Xiao Qing was never eager to show his face, even deliberately avoiding suspicion.

It wasn’t that he had social anxiety; he just felt the base didn’t need two leaders. In the future, if he and Xiang Nanli had disagreements, people wouldn’t know who to listen to, which would be very troublesome.

Furthermore, as the base’s population grew, it would become a mixed bag of people, Omnics, and humanoids. He didn’t harbor such intentions, but he couldn’t guarantee others wouldn’t.

Neither Xiang Nanli nor Alpha could guarantee they would always be right—especially since many people believed that whoever controlled the weapons controlled the truth. Yet, truth never bows to violence.

The light before him began to blur; he couldn’t tell if it was the streetlights or the sun.

Xiang Nanli felt his mind was very clear, but his body was gradually refusing to follow his commands.

According to the data Xiao Zhi transmitted back, Xiang Nanli had already reached the standard for drunk driving.

When Dongfang Qingdi arrived at the school entrance to pick him up, Xiang Nanli was crouching on the ground, teasing a mechanical dog.

Thinking it was Xiao Fu, he was babbling endlessly to it. The mechanical dog couldn’t understand and tried to walk away, only to be grabbed by its hind leg and dragged back.

It was a good thing this mechanical dog had its combat module removed long ago.

Otherwise, it would have blasted Xiang Nanli with a cannon shot right then and there.

Dongfang Qingdi listened for a moment. The things Xiang Nanli was muttering were a complete mess: “Power transmission pipeline temperature control… excavating permafrost, use robots.”

“Polluted water purification layer, crops can be planted on the upper layer…”

“The first step of the controllable nuclear fusion power generation experiment is…”

“The order of a subgroup must be a divisor of the order of a finite group. When high-speed running machinery enters…”

He couldn’t help but interrupt: “Xiang Nanli.”

With his face flushed red, Xiang Nanli looked up at him: “Xiao Qing is here; come.”

Dongfang Qingdi released the mechanical dog that had been tormented for several minutes, then crouched down in front of Xiang Nanli: “I’ll carry you.”

Draped over his back, Xiang Nanli hummed twice.

He truly had no sense of boundaries, pinching an earlobe one second and tugging on hair the next, like a hyperactive brat.

Fortunately, Dongfang Qingdi was already used to it; no matter which part of his body was played with, he wasn’t surprised.

Xiang Nanli whispered in his ear: “That Yi Hengxing from the Human Alliance thinks I’m an idiot, but he’s the real idiot. Still, an idiot is better than a villain, right?”

“I was still thinking about how to send the inhibitor back in a convincing way. I originally wanted to contact Luo Xiu. But now, it seems Yi Hengxing will be much easier to fool. Luo Xiu, surnamed Luo…”

Dongfang Qingdi paused for a moment, his footsteps changing direction: “We’re not working anymore today. Let’s go back and sleep.”

Xiang Nanli lived on the top floor of the castle.

The first and second floors of the castle served as the municipal office. While taking the elevator, Dongfang Qingdi ran into Andrew, who was working overtime.

Standing in the elevator, Andrew held his breath, his eyes wide, shrinking into the corner. He watched helplessly as Dongfang Qingdi walked in carrying a semi-conscious Xiang Nanli on his back.

Dongfang Qingdi shot him a glance: “Which floor?”

Flattered by the unexpected attention, Andrew stammered: “Th-third floor.”

As Andrew stepped out of the elevator, his feet felt light, as if he were walking on clouds: The boss pressed the elevator button for me and even told me I’ve worked hard.

It seemed the boss was in a fantastic mood today!

Heh… considering he got to stick to Xiang Nanli for so long for no reason, of course this guy is thrilled.

But Andrew was still a bit worried about Xiang Nanli.

However, he quickly realized that when Donghuang Heavy Industry manufactured this body, they hadn’t installed any extraneous parts, and his suspended heart instantly dropped back into place.

Dongfang Qingdi carried Xiang Nanli to the bed. He took off his shoes, changed him into pajamas, and went to the kitchen to boil some hot water.

Water heaters consumed too much power, and recently, the city had been urging people to save electricity to charge the agricultural machinery. Xiang Nanli didn’t even use the lights in his dorm room anymore.

He poured the hot water into a basin, mixed in cold water to reach the perfect temperature, and then brought it to the bedside. Crouching beside the bed, he dampened a towel and carefully wiped Xiang Nanli’s hands and face.

There were traces of engine oil on Xiang Nanli’s hands, along with tiny cuts of unknown origin. The cuts might have come from wire or perhaps rough paper pages.

Dongfang Qingdi disliked them. He scrubbed diligently for a long time, meticulously cleaning even the crevices between his fingers.

Although conditions on the surface were limited, how could he possibly take worse care of him than Luo Yang did?

After Dongfang Qingdi finished carefully washing him, he looked up in satisfaction, only to find Xiang Nanli with his eyes slightly open, staring at him with a hazy gaze. He didn’t know how long he had been watching.

What kind of look was this?

Why did it seem somewhat sorrowful?

“Xiao Qing…”

Xiang Nanli reached out, rubbing the side of Dongfang Qingdi’s face.

It was soft to the touch, indenting slightly when poked. The moisture content was perfect. The skin was smooth, and the touch was warm.

“Hmm?” Dongfang Qingdi responded.

With drunk, hazy eyes, Xiang Nanli spoke: “If only Alpha were half as obedient as you.”

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