Yú Chén closed his eyes, really too afraid to ask what kind of talent he had. Fortunately, the Third Prince didn’t elaborate on his “talent.”

“But I still selfishly hope you can stay by my side, to reclaim the lost first border of the galaxy with me, to conquer that sea of stars we have yet to set foot in.”

Yun Xunlan only expressed this thought, which concealed his personal wishes but could elevate their friendship. He looked at Yú Chén with an eager gaze, asking, “Major Yú Chén, are you willing?”

Yú Chén didn’t meet Yun Xunlan’s gaze. Instead, he clenched his right fist and saluted the silver-haired alpha: “…I am willing, Your Highness.”

Upon hearing this, both Yun Xunlan and the system felt satisfied.

The system was deeply gratified: “It worked! You recorded what he said, right? Make sure to keep it safe. Until we conquer the entire universe, he’s not allowed to leave you. If he tries to leave, just play this recording for him and let him listen to the promise he made.”

Yun Xunlan did record it, but there was a problem: “This recording has no legal effect and doesn’t hold any binding power.”

The system didn’t care: “But you can use it to morally blackmail him.”

Yun Xunlan replied, “What if he lacks the decency to accept moral blackmail?”

“Surely not? I think he has some…” The system started to say, but recalling why they kept Yú Chén around, it quickly changed its tune, “…well, he has a bit of decency.”

Yun Xunlan asked soulfully, “But if he behaves in a way that goes against today’s promise and leaves me, how much decency can he have?”

The system thought this wasn’t a problem: “Oh, if he lacks decency, you just need to find a way to make him have some. He’s yours now. You can have Ni Chun send a message to Commander Di Ke, asking him to strengthen the ideological education of the guards and improve their moral cultivation. There’s plenty of time ahead. Your initial interactions with Yú Chén have been quite successful; don’t bite off more than you can chew. Let your brotherly bond develop to this point for now.”

Yun Xunlan nodded.

He waved the dismissal card: “Major Yú Chén has had a long and tiring day. Ni Chun, please see Major Yú Chén back to rest well.”

“Yes.” Ni Chun immediately responded, leading Yú Chén out.

On the way, Yú Chén repeatedly wanted to look back but held himself back. He ignored Fu Yanxi and Gui Yan’s inquiries about why the Third Prince only met with him alone. Once he returned to the North Imperial Palace’s guard dormitory, he locked himself in his room to review what had happened since entering the North Imperial Palace.

The more he reviewed, the stranger the developments seemed.

He could confirm one thing: the sapphire communicator was definitely switched by Yun Xunlan on purpose.

As the Third Prince’s chief attendant, Ni Chun would never make such a low-level mistake. Yun Xunlan orchestrated this to keep him for a private conversation, but he couldn’t determine what Yun Xunlan’s purpose for that conversation was.

He initially thought it was for a makeup lesson, but throughout the conversation, Yun Xunlan never mentioned those two words.

Yú Chén, puzzled, called Pei Xingtian.

When Pei Xingtian answered, he directly said, “Yun Xunlan did meet with me alone, but he…”

Pei Xingtian had been on duty all day yesterday, hadn’t slept at all, and was still catching up on sleep when Yú Chén’s call woke him up. His mind was inevitably a bit muddled, so he could only respond absentmindedly, “Mm, mm, mm… I told you he would definitely look for you to make up—”

Yú Chén interrupted him: “Make up my ass, he didn’t mention that at all.”

“He didn’t mention the makeup lesson?” Hearing this, Pei Xingtian became more alert, frowning as he asked, “Then what did he say to you?”

Yú Chén was also thinking, what did Yun Xunlan say to him?

Actually, he said a lot, like how he liked the color blue, how he admired him, how his eyes and pheromones were like a sea… But what stuck with Yú Chén the most was that line—“With your talent, it’s a pity to only be my guard.”

…This sentence absolutely couldn’t be told to Pei Xingtian.

So Yú Chén began to ponder which of Yun Xunlan’s words he could share with Pei Xingtian.

After thinking it over, Yú Chén found that directly repeating what was said didn’t seem appropriate, as it could easily lead to misunderstandings.

Pei Xingtian hadn’t heard Yú Chén respond for a long time and couldn’t help but urge, “Speak! Did you meet Yun Xunlan and have your tongue bitten off, turning you mute?”

“He said he wants… Damn it!”

Yú Chén was struggling to figure out how to rephrase Yun Xunlan’s poorly expressed words in a way that wouldn’t easily lead to misunderstandings.

But before he could think it through, Pei Xingtian was urging him again. He instinctively opened his mouth, almost saying “He wants to conquer the sea of stars with me” instead of “He wants to conquer me.” In a panic, he tried to stop himself and ended up biting his tongue, instantly feeling annoyed and not wanting to say another word.

“Forget it, he didn’t say anything. I’m hanging up.”

“Yú Chén, you mother—”

Yú Chén cut off the call before Pei Xingtian could finish his curse.

By now, night had fallen, but he didn’t turn on the lights. The salty, fishy pheromones mixed with the blood from his tongue wound burst forth, instantly pulling him back to that memory wrapped in the scent of the sea.

In the darkness, Yú Chén seemed to see the silver-haired, golden-eyed alpha standing in front of him, smiling faintly as he whispered, “I admire you the most.”

He touched his light brain wristband and fell silent for a moment, then opened the social app to search for Yun Xunlan’s star network account. After finding it, he didn’t look at his homepage updates but directly clicked on the [Profile] section, fixing his gaze on a line of small text—

[Favorite Color: None]

Yú Chén read this line three times to ensure he wasn’t mistaken or seeing things, then called Pei Xingtian again.

As soon as the call connected, Pei Xingtian continued with the unfinished curse: “Yú Chén, I’m going to—”

Yú Chén interrupted him again: “What’s Yun Xunlan’s favorite color?”

“Not sure.” Pei Xingtian replied irritably, “But as far as I know, he doesn’t have a particular preference for colors.”

Yú Chén frowned: “Are you sure?”

“I’ve been his doctor for three years. If I’m not sure, who would be?”

“Fine, I’m going to sleep.”

“Yú Chén, you’re really a fool—”

Yú Chén didn’t give Pei Xingtian a chance to finish his curse.

But he completed that word in his heart: fool.

—He actually took his superior’s brainwashing tactics for controlling subordinates seriously and even sought verification. What else could he be but a fool?

That’s right, Yú Chén believed that Yun Xunlan keeping him for a private conversation was to brainwash him, making him loyal to the point of sacrificing himself without hesitation.

As for why he specifically chose him, the reason was simple: he was the only one who hadn’t been “bewitched” by Yun Xunlan.

After all, the other alphas—especially Fu Yanxi and Gui Yan—had clearly been enchanted to the point of losing their minds. Did Yun Xunlan still need to brainwash them? The answer was obviously no.

The prince had made it clear upon their first meeting: he wanted to hear them swear to always be loyal to the empire and to him.

And what was his “oath”?

Compared to the deep and loyal vows of others, it was crude, vulgar, and unbearable to hear. Yun Xunlan had probably never seen anyone dare to say such “filthy words” in front of him, right?

No wonder Yun Xunlan would keep him alone, wanting to brainwash him. Even Yú Chén himself wanted to pour some water into his head to wash away those memories, not wanting to remember that “oath” anymore.

Looking back at the scene at that time, Yun Xunlan was actually quite nice. To take care of his feelings and prevent him from feeling too awkward, he even uncharacteristically said “admirable” and “I admire him the most,” which were obviously lies to comfort himself.

What a hard job for the prince.

Yú Chén decided to retract his narrow views of Fu Yanxi, Gui Yan, and the others. He wouldn’t ask them if they “love Yun Xunlan this much” anymore; he would only say, “No wonder you all love him so much.”

Truly deserving of being the top of the “Alpha You Most Want to Marry in the Entire Galaxy” list.

Yun Xunlan’s voice could make even brainwashing words sound so pleasant. If he were to speak sweet nothings, who could remain calm and not be moved, not want to marry him?

Licking the wound on his tongue that was almost healed, Yú Chén swallowed hard. After a moment, he suddenly got up, walked to the window, and opened it, letting the intertwined fragrance of lychee and rose waft in with the night breeze, gently brushing against his face.

Melting the lychee rose of eighteen on his tongue…

Yú Chén silently recited the advertisement for Ailianxia’s new ice cream, thinking: he still felt that Ailianxia’s ice cream cone itself wasn’t worth eighteen star coins, but the scent that was extremely similar to lychee rose might be worth it.

At this moment, inside the North Imperial Palace, Yun Xunlan, who was unaware that his friendly gesture towards his brother was misunderstood by Yú Chén as a brainwashing act, was chatting with another childhood friend, Jian Wenxi, who had been his good brother for many years, on his light brain.

Jian Wenxi was particularly confused about Yun Xunlan’s special treatment of Yú Chén.

[Jian Wenxi: Yun Xunlan, I thought about it all night yesterday, but I still can’t figure out why you find other alphas appealing during your sensitive period. This is more confusing than all the formulas in the universe. But I found a lot of information and discovered that this phenomenon does exist among homosexuals, so are you gay, not liking omegas and betas, but liking alphas?]

[Yun Xunlan: Sorry, Wenxi, my previous statement was misleading. Let me correct that: I don’t find other alphas appealing; I only find Yú Chén appealing. But I’m not gay.]

[Jian Wenxi: After hearing your explanation, I’m even more confused.]

There was no way around it; Yun Xunlan couldn’t explain too clearly, or else the existence of the system would be exposed. His system was an ancient treasure from the cultivation world, something that didn’t exist in this world. If he spoke about it, it would only make Jian Wenxi more bewildered.

After much consideration, Yun Xunlan chose a statement that he thought was simple yet very fitting for his and Yú Chén’s situation—

[Yun Xunlan: You can think of him as my destined partner. The moment he appeared, I couldn’t help myself. Does that help you understand?]

Jian Wenxi: “…”

Wait, you two alphas, what kind of destined partner is that?

Also, you want me to think of him as your destined partner, but you say you’re not gay???

Jian Wenxi was no longer confused; he was directly dumbfounded.

Who exactly is Yú Chén?

What abilities does he have?

Having grown up with Yun Xunlan, he had never seen him show such a special fondness for anyone.

Could it be that Yú Chén has some special seduction skills?

—Then he must be incredibly flirty!

Otherwise, how could he have hooked Yun Xunlan in just two days?

Hearing is believing, seeing is believing; this principle has never changed.

The more Jian Wenxi thought about it, the more he couldn’t contain his curiosity. After weighing it repeatedly, he made an extremely difficult and painful decision—

[Jian Wenxi: Yun Xunlan, I can’t wait for you to return to the lab to tell me in detail. I’ve decided to attend your birthday party to see Yú Chén, the one you consider your destined partner, with my own eyes.]

[Yun Xunlan: Okay.]

[Jian Wenxi: But you know I’m very afraid of people, so you have to come to the door to pick me up that day, protect me, and make sure no one else touches me. I’ll just take a look at Yú Chén and leave.]

[Yun Xunlan: Okay.]

[Jian Wenxi: You often sound like a tape recorder when you talk to me, but that’s good. I like it, so keep it up. Other alphas talk too much to me, it’s annoying. By the way, you don’t need to reply to this sentence.]

[Yun Xunlan: Okay.]

[Jian Wenxi: …]