Chapter 20: Custom Clothing

With the little Rong Feifei around, Shi Chan ended up missing his usual time in the Virtual Domain that afternoon.

The daily routine for the young Rong Beast was simple—eat and sleep, sleep and eat. Shi Chan only managed to carve out some time to download a few materials to look through on his terminal, while the rest of the day was spent beside the little Rong Feifei. He would play with it by tapping on the outside of the incubator when it was awake, and feed it when it was hungry.

Xi Ming stayed with Shi Chan until noon. After lunch, he returned to his own bedroom.

Shi Chan knew that Xi Ming was probably worried about the radiation from his body affecting him. Watching Xi Ming leave in silence, Shi Chan felt a pang in his heart. He sighed softly and returned to reviewing the materials.

Even though he couldn’t fully resolve the chaotic energy around Xi Ming, Shi Chan still wanted to reduce the radiation intensity around him as much as possible, ideally bringing it below the safety threshold. This way, they wouldn’t be restricted by the need to limit their time together and could interact as freely as ordinary people.

In the afternoon, after feeding the hungry Rong Feifei, Shi Chan’s terminal suddenly rang. Looking at the display, he was surprised to see it was from Xi Songkai.

After arriving at the Xi family’s residence, Shi Chan hadn’t been in contact with Xi Songkai again.

At the same time, Xi Ming, in another room, also saw the incoming call, and his expression immediately turned cold.

Ever since Shi Chan learned about the strained relationship between Xi Ming and Xi Songkai, he had intended to distance himself from Xi Songkai. But now the situation was one where the enemy was open while his side was hidden. After thinking it over, Shi Chan decided to answer the call.

“Shi Chan, it’s me,” came Xi Songkai’s voice over the communication, sounding overly warm. “I just realized, do you have an appropriate dress for tonight’s party? If not, my younger relatives happen to have an appointment with a designer. You can come by and get measured, and they’ll rush a set for you to wear tonight.”

Shi Chan’s voice was calm. “Thank you, Mr. Xi, but there’s no need to trouble yourself. I have something to do tonight and won’t be able to make it.”

“Won’t go?” Xi Songkai’s tone shifted, surprised. “What’s the matter? Is it important? If not, you could rearrange things. You might not know, but everyone of importance will attend the Lu family’s banquet. If you go, you might even make some new friends.”

“You’ve just arrived at the Xi family; you probably haven’t had a chance to meet anyone yet. This banquet is a great opportunity.”

What Xi Songkai said was actually quite reasonable. A gathering of people at the same social level was indeed the perfect place to meet new people. However, Shi Chan wasn’t particularly interested.

“Sorry…” Shi Chan was still planning to decline.

Before Shi Chan could finish speaking, Xi Songkai interrupted him, as though making small talk. “How’s your stay at the Xi family? What have you been busy with lately?”

Because Shi Chan wasn’t sure about the relationship between Xi Songkai and Xi Ming, he didn’t elaborate further. “It feels good; I’ve just been staying at home these past days.”

However, Xi Songkai thought for a moment. An omega staying at home all day with an alpha would naturally do all the necessary things. Even if they hadn’t permanently bonded, there must have been a temporary bond, and their relationship must be quite sweet by now. So now, this was the time Shi Chan was most concerned about Xi Ming’s health.

Thinking this, Xi Songkai’s tone lightened a bit, pretending to speak casually. “I see. Then you should go out and meet some new people. This banquet is attended by first-class families from Capital Star. Their family powers are immense, and many have their own research institutions. Sigh… I wonder how far their research into cosmic radiation has come. I don’t expect them to develop a cure soon, but if they could at least find something to reduce the pain, that would help. Every time I think about Xi Ming’s condition, I feel terrible…”

Shi Chan squinted his eyes. “A cure for cosmic radiation?”

“Yeah, the concept of such a cure has been around for many years. Some first-class families have been researching it for a while, but the specifics are all confidential. No one really knows how far they’ve gotten,” Xi Songkai said helplessly on the comm.

Shi Chan furrowed his brow, feeling conflicted. He wasn’t sure if Xi Songkai was telling the truth. If it was true, he would indeed like to see the solution to cosmic radiation in this world. After all, to eliminate radiation, they would first need to have a thorough study of at least a few types of cosmic radiation. That kind of information would be far more useful than the vast but empty and vague data in the virtual domain.

In another room, Xi Ming was listening to their conversation and furrowing his brow as well. Why did Xi Songkai suddenly bring this up?

After hanging up with Xi Songkai, Shi Chan continued to think about the matter. Although there was only a small chance he would obtain these obviously classified materials at the banquet, if he didn’t go, he wouldn’t have any chance at all.

After the call, Xi Songkai sent another message with the details for the scheduled meeting with the designer, also mentioning that even if Shi Chan didn’t attend the banquet, he could still go and have a few dresses custom-made for future events.

Shi Chan didn’t respond right away. Instead, he grabbed his terminal and went to Xi Ming’s room to briefly explain the situation.

“What do you think?” Xi Ming looked at Shi Chan.

“I’m not sure,” Shi Chan said with a troubled tone. “Even if I meet his friends who have research institutions on cosmic radiation, I don’t think they would leak any classified information to me.” He sighed. “But if I don’t go, I’m probably going to miss my only chance.”

“Even if you go, they won’t leak research secrets to you,” Xi Ming corrected him.

The research had been ongoing for quite some time, but the progress was nowhere near as smooth as people might expect. In fact, even five years after his past life, when the empire was embroiled in war and the number of soldiers affected by cosmic radiation sharply increased, no medication to counteract the radiation had ever been released.

Others might not know, but Xi Songkai likely had a rough idea of the research progress. He also knew that a cure or pain-relief medication was impossible.

“I know, but…” Shi Chan understood how slim the chances were, but once he knew there was detailed radiation data somewhere, his mind couldn’t help but desire to take a look.

Seeing how worried Shi Chan was for him, Xi Ming’s expression softened slightly. He lifted his hand and gently patted Shi Chan’s head. “I’ll find a way.”

Shi Chan looked up at Xi Ming, his eyes lighting up. “What’s the plan?”

Xi Ming didn’t answer directly but moved his wheelchair to the desk. He asked instead, “What kind of information do you need?”

“Deep analysis of cosmic radiation principles, and…” Shi Chan leaned closer to Xi Ming and listed everything he needed, watching as Xi Ming took notes.

“Do you really think there will be any?” Shi Chan turned his head, looking at Xi Ming.

Xi Ming shook his head. “It depends on luck.” Some of the information Shi Chan needed was definitely available in certain family research institutions, but the rest was more difficult to obtain, and some of it only existed in theory. He suspected that no institution currently had a complete understanding of it.

Shi Chan sighed. “Alright, I wasn’t expecting to get everything, just a bit would be fine.”

Actually, this was just a reference for him; his main research focus was still in cultivation.

“By the way, he asked me to go and have a dress made for future events. I haven’t responded yet.” Shi Chan looked at Xi Ming, his gaze questioning. Since Xi Ming directly referred to Xi Songkai by name, Shi Chan didn’t bother with formalities and just called him “he,” knowing both of them would understand who he meant.

“Custom-made dresses?” Xi Ming’s expression darkened. He really couldn’t do anything about it. Custom-made dresses required well-known designers to take measurements and create the designs, but given Xi Ming’s reputation, no designer would accept his order.

Xi Ming had never thought about preventing Shi Chan from getting new dresses, even though he didn’t want Shi Chan to go out. These things were not something he would let Shi Chan lack. Omegas on Capital Star were always comparing everything—custom dresses, clothes—though expensive, not having them would lead to being looked down upon. Even if they didn’t wear them, they had to have a few in their homes.

Moreover, Xi Ming had overlooked the fact that Shi’s family was just a third-tier small family. Even if Shi Chan had old dresses, the price and level of the ones custom-made by the Xi family were incomparable. It had been a week since Shi Chan married him, and Xi Ming had only given him a Zhili Beast, nothing else.

“Go ahead. Besides the dress, also get a few everyday outfits. Don’t worry about the price. I’ll transfer some star coins to the public account later,” Xi Ming said, pinching the back of Shi Chan’s neck. “But after the measurements, come back quickly. Don’t stay out too long.”

“Okay.” Shi Chan nodded, suddenly recalling how Lan Ying had complained to him before about her husband insisting on making her wear certain outfits.

Alpha… they were probably all the same.

Shi Chan glanced at Xi Ming, hesitated for a moment, then spoke, “I know some designers also take orders in the virtual domain…” If Xi Ming wanted to accompany him in picking out the styles, they could actually go to the virtual domain to order clothes together.

Xi Ming’s eyes flickered for a moment, and his tone turned cold. “Next time.”

His gaze dropped to his unfeeling legs, and Xi Ming closed his eyes lightly. The virtual domain… it had been a long time since he last visited.

---

Shi Chan fed Little Feifei again, then went online to purchase an insulated box with feeding functionality. When the box arrived, he switched Little Feifei to its new “home” before heading to the place he had arranged with the designer.

The address Xi Songkai gave was not far from the Xi family’s old mansion. Upon arrival, Shi Chan saw a tall skyscraper with the words “Haolan Appointment” constantly shifting on the virtual wall, exuding elegance and grandeur.

After scanning the reservation info, Shi Chan was led by a staff member with a perfect smile to a reception room on the top floor, where he was told to wait a moment for the designer to arrive.

Looking inside, Shi Chan saw three people already present—two omegas and one beta. He couldn’t tell which one was Xi Songkai’s younger relative.

When Shi Chan entered, the three men noticed his striking appearance, their expressions varying.

“Shi Chan, right?” one omega spoke first, not even standing up. His expression had an undisguised arrogance. “My father asked me to look after you. When Designer Ji arrives, just follow the process and don’t talk too much. If you don’t understand anything, ask me.”

“Oh, by the way, the clothes here are cheap, but Designer Ji is a top ten designer in Capital Star. His fees are high, and the design cost for each outfit is no less than five million star coins. As for materials like secret silver and gems, he only uses what’s available on the market. We usually use materials from our own collection, but if you want something better, you’ll need to provide your own. If you don’t, each outfit will cost at least ten million star coins. Father asked me to cover the cost this time. Do you have any other questions?”

Shi Chan, having just entered, was bombarded with a barrage of words, and even though he had a good temper, he was a bit annoyed now. “No, but I’ll pay for it myself.”

A custom-made outfit costing ten million star coins? He had only borrowed that amount from Shi Wen recently. Now, he realized that it was just for one outfit. The extravagant consumption of first-class families was clearly something he couldn’t afford.

He glanced at his public account balance on his terminal, thinking, Thankfully, Xi Ming is wealthy. Otherwise, I would probably have just turned around and left.