MORIC - Chapter 99
Chapter 99: What In-laws?!
After being lectured by Xi Li, Xi Zhoumeng still had the nerve to complain that he was a nag, which infuriated her big brother to no end. Then, she turned with a smile to joke with Xi Chun.
Noticing Chi Yueshan standing off to the side, she reached out, pulled her over, and asked Xi Chun, "Second Brother, isn't Yueshan's dress beautiful?"
Chi Yueshan let out a small sound and turned her face away, feeling a bit helpless.
Xi Chun said, "It's lovely. Did you stock up an entire room of clothes for Yueshan?"
Xi Chun seemed much easier to get along with than Xi Li. He nudged his Alpha's shoulder. "Don't you think so?"
Wen Misen nodded.
Just then, someone walked out of the kitchen. At first, Chi Yueshan thought it was a maid, but the person was clearly not dressed in a maid's uniform.
She also looked incredibly familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
The female Alpha was tall, and as she drew closer, Chi Yueshan was stunned.
That face was frequently displayed in the main hall of Guyun Academy's primary teaching building. It was none other than the Empire's renowned Marshal Shen Yu.
Shen Yu was dressed with startling simplicity. It wasn't cold indoors, and with the fireplace roaring, she wore just a crew-neck T-shirt with her pant legs tucked into tall boots, which still managed to highlight her slender waist and long legs.
She just wasn't one for formalities.
Chi Yueshan was dumbfounded. Xi Zhoumeng said, "You met her yesterday."
Chi Yueshan nodded emphatically, her eyes practically glowing.
Shen Yu was an Alpha with the soul of a chef. If her S-rank spiritual power hadn't gotten her conscripted into the military, she might have stubbornly enrolled in the New Western Culinary Academy.
Shen Yu placed the dish on the table before turning to look at the young girl in the blue dress.
She had long, narrow eyes that could be quite intimidating when she wasn't smiling. But in this relaxed setting, she smiled at Chi Yueshan. "We meet again."
"Are you Zhoumeng's girlfriend?"
Chi Yueshan stammered, glancing at Xi Zhoumeng.
Xi Zhoumeng, however, was staring at the dish. "Is this roast goose the one you won from the ring toss?"
Chi Yueshan was instantly reminded of the woman's unerring aim from the day before, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
She couldn't understand why high-society folks had such bizarre hobbies.
And to think she actually brought it home and cooked it.
Shen Yu said, "I didn't expect you to play roadside games too, Xiao Ye. It's just that your precision wasn't high enough. You didn't manage to get a single one."
It would have been fine if she hadn't brought it up, but now Chi Yueshan wanted to laugh.
Xi Li, who was already in a bad mood, now grew angry. "Exactly! So embarrassing. You didn't get a single one and still had to buy all the geese. Do you have any idea how noisy those things are?"
Xi Zhoumeng sat down gracefully, as if she wasn't the one who had been embarrassed.
"Doesn't Auntie Shen like them? Then they can all be a gift for Auntie Shen."
After speaking, Xi Zhoumeng looked at the woman who was being pushed over in a wheelchair. "Auntie Lan enjoys a lively atmosphere anyway."
Shen Yu hadn't told Lan Lan about the ring toss incident at all and now looked a bit awkward.
Chi Yueshan had never seen this person before and looked at her with curiosity.
Xi Mingguang and Chu Jing took their seats, just in time to hear Lan Lan ask Shen Yu, "You… played ring toss for a goose?"
Shen Yu replied, "When you're feeling a bit better, I'll take you. It's a lot of fun."
Chi Yueshan quietly asked Xi Zhoumeng, "Is this auntie also an Alpha?"
Xi Zhoumeng nodded.
Lan Lan looked to be in poor health, but it was a different kind of frailty from Chu Jing's. It was as if she had returned from the brink of death.
It seemed a feat that she was even breathing.
Xi Zhoumeng said, "She was rescued during the last Zerg war."
Chi Yueshan glanced in surprise at Lan Lan, who was talking with Shen Yu. The two were actually about the same height, but due to her illness, Lan Lan appeared much weaker.
However, the atmosphere between them was clearly intimate.
It was hard not to let one's imagination run wild.
The last Zerg swarm was twenty years ago. Shen Yu was not yet forty, so she would have been quite young back then.
The consequences of a single war were on full display in Lan Lan. She would get winded after just a few sentences.
Xi Zhoumeng whispered, "Her lungs were injured, and the venom corroded her internal organs. She's been undergoing organ transplants all these years."
Even with advanced technology, it was impossible to return a person to their youthful prime.
Not to mention the psychological trauma that followed a war.
Unsure of what Lan Lan had said, Shen Yu called out to Xi Mingguang, "Senior, do you remember when you went to see Sister Chu Jing, and we played ring toss for geese in M-Galaxy?"
Xi Li asked, "They have that game in M-Galaxy?"
None of the younger generation of the Xi family were truly presentable on a grand stage, but that didn't mean Xi Li was ignorant. He too had traveled extensively in his younger years.
Before Xi Mingguang could speak, Chu Jing said, "I remember. Mingguang didn't get a single goose and spent all her money."
Xi Li and Xi Chun both stifled their laughter.
Chi Yueshan glanced at Xi Zhoumeng. Xi Zhoumeng took a bite of foie gras and shot her a look. "What are you looking at me for? My money is inexhaustible."
Chi Yueshan: ...
Look at you, so capable.
What was there to show off about? It seemed to be a family tradition.
Xi Mingguang cleared her throat. "The geese in M-Galaxy are different."
Chu Jing said, "They weren't mechanical geese. If you couldn't get one, you couldn't get one. Just as long as you didn't cry."
This was Chi Yueshan's first time meeting Chu Jing, and she never would have imagined the rumored aristocratic lady to have such a personality. She was even somewhat lively.
But she had heard that this was a second marriage. What was Xi Mingguang's first wife like, then?
Xi Li was about to die from laughter, never having imagined his usually stern Alpha mother was like this when she was young.
Shen Yu nodded. "Exactly, exactly. Senior was trembling with anger back then and almost started an argument with the owner."
Xi Mingguang retorted, "I did not. We were in M-Galaxy for a cultural exchange. How could I have resorted to violence?"
Chu Jing exclaimed, "You wanted to resort to violence?"
Xi Yang chimed in, "For real? I thought our Alpha mom was pretty reliable."
Shen Yu waved it off. "Hey, we were all young back then."
Shen Yu had been directly recruited into the military due to the Zerg swarm before she even finished her studies at Guyun Academy. She had to come back later to complete her practical training.
Lan Lan was the same age as Shen Yu, and they were in the same cohort. At first, they didn't get along.
While placing food on Lan Lan's plate, Shen Yu said, "So it's perfectly normal for Zhoumeng to fail at the ring toss. The daughter takes after her mother."
The way Shen Yu spoke was completely different from the prim and proper Imperial representative Chi Yueshan had seen in videos. She even insulted the whole family in one go. Chi Yueshan had to try her hardest to keep from laughing.
Xi Mingguang said, "Where is this ring toss? I'm going right after we finish eating."
Chu Jing sighed. "It's been so many years. Why are you still hung up on this?"
Judging by their faces, none of them looked old, but their life experience was evident. Sitting with the younger generation, they just seemed different, as if they held many stories.
Chi Yueshan listened as she ate. There were plenty of talkative people at the table.
It seemed to be the first time Xi Yang and Xi Li had seen Lan Lan awake and alert, and they had many questions.
"Besides M-Galaxy, what other galaxies are fun? Didn't the Expeditionary Force visit many places for exchanges?"
"I heard that after some galaxies exploded, all traces of life vanished. I wonder if anyone escaped. It's so strange that the Zerg just love to attack us."
"Right? We're ruled by a queen. Damn it, are they looking down on women?!"
"Is Auntie Lan living at Auntie Shen's house now? Does Auntie Shen do all the cooking?"
...
Xi Zhoumeng rested her chin on her hand, quietly introducing the dishes to Chi Yueshan while adding a few complaints here and there.
Lan Lan's lungs were still weak, and she coughed often. Perhaps it was because she hadn't been in such a lively environment for a long time. She smiled and said, "I can stay for a while since Shen Yu isn't married. If she gets married, it would be better for me to live in a sanatorium."
The previous questions had all been trivial, but this particular answer seemed to cast a sudden chill over the atmosphere.
Even Xi Yang, who had asked the question, sensed the awkwardness and kicked Xi Li across the table in distress.
Xi Chun was also caught in the crossfire, and he wracked his brain for a way to salvage the situation.
Damn it! How were we supposed to know these two aunties hadn't even made things official yet?
To make matters worse, the elders at the table were even more oblivious. "Shen Yu getting married? Didn't she say she doesn't have the qualifications to marry?"
Everyone who understood what Xi Mingguang meant understood. Chu Jing took a deep breath, covered her face, and stomped her high heel viciously onto Xi Mingguang's leather shoe.
After her face twitched for a moment, Xi Mingguang corrected herself, "I mean, she hasn't found a compatible partner yet."
Lan Lan said, "There must be someone who meets the passing grade, right? I woke up and I'm almost forty. I seem to remember that Alphas who weren't married by thirty-five would be forcibly matched, unless they had a major injury."
She didn't look at Shen Yu, her expression tinged with a hint of sorrow.
A new message popped up on Chi Yueshan's comm. It was from Xi Zhoumeng, who was sitting beside her.
【See? I told you Auntie Shen is impotent.】
Chi Yueshan gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to curse.
【No way! She looks perfectly normal.】
【Xi Zhoumeng: Don't you read the gossip threads on the academy forum? Everyone says so, and there are posts on StarNet too.】
【Chi Yueshan: But Marshal Shen looks so normal!!】
【Xi Zhoumeng: You just don't get it. Some people look normal but have unspeakable difficulties.】
【Chi Yueshan: You can't perform either.】
【Xi Zhoumeng looked up at Chi Yueshan and mouthed: How can I not?】
Then she sent another message—
【Xi Zhoumeng: Why do you always deny it after we sleep together!】
【Chi Yueshan: Don't drag yourself into this!】
The atmosphere was just too awkward. Xi Li signaled a maid to pour wine and said, "Speaking of forced matching, I'm almost thirty. I'm so scared I'll be assigned an Omega I don't like."
Xi Yang said, "You get dumped every time. What can you do about it?"
Xi Li: ...
Xi Chun said, "Every galaxy in the universe has legends about a Magnetic Star Meteorite. I wonder if they're true."
He suddenly changed the subject, causing Chi Yueshan to look over.
Chi Yueshan had heard of it too. "Some say the Zerg only became the swarm we know today because they fear that energy. Otherwise, there would be no peace. But who knows if it's true."
The Zerg swarms had always followed a pattern. After each major offensive, the Zerg needed to hibernate for twenty to thirty years. Even though small waves occasionally appeared in the galaxy, no one knew where these primitive creatures came from.
It was as if they appeared out of thin air, launching massive invasions upon arrival.
Scientists had studied them for generations but had yet to uncover their origin.
Xi Zhoumeng lowered her eyes. After a fleeting moment of gloom, she returned to her usual nonchalant demeanor. "What can that thing even do?"
On this occasion, her tall glass didn't contain wine, but she managed to make even drinking milk look noble.
Chi Yueshan said, "I heard it can change the past and the future."
Xi Zhoumeng replied, "How is that possible?"
Chi Yueshan said, "It's a prophecy from thousands of years ago, so not many people believe it. But the versions circulating online are described in very convincing detail."
Xi Chun also enjoyed reading about such things and said to Chi Yueshan with a smile, "Does it also say that it requires someone carrying the ZR005 Soul Chain?"
Chi Yueshan nodded, though she herself wasn't fully convinced. "A genetic chain, I could understand! But how can a soul have a chain?"
Xi Chun hummed in agreement. "It is a bit far-fetched, but the stories passed down from the past were written quite realistically. Things about saving the world, changing the past."
Xi Zhoumeng snorted. "Then why is everyone still going on expeditions? Shouldn't they just switch to looking for that Magnetic Star Meteorite instead?"
Chi Yueshan reached out and pinched her waist. "You're so serious!"
For some reason, Xi Zhoumeng was being rather serious. Seeing Chi Yueshan's smiling face, she softened. "I was just saying."
Lan Lan murmured, "If it existed, we could go back to the last Zerg swarm. We were so close to victory…"
She spoke so softly that others only caught the last half of the sentence. Shen Yu heard the whole thing and reached out to grab Lan Lan's hand.
"It's all in the past."
Lan Lan took a deep breath. "No one believes what I saw."
Shen Yu said, "I believe you."
She also spoke very quietly, but it seemed to strike a nerve in Lan Lan, who pushed her away forcefully, even knocking over a wine glass on the table.
A maid hurried forward, but Shen Yu waved her off and personally wiped Lan Lan's hand.
Xi Mingguang stood up to take them to change their clothes. As she passed Xi Zhoumeng, she gestured for her to come over.
Once Xi Zhoumeng left, Chi Yueshan began to feel restless.
She had the awkward feeling of facing her in-laws all by herself. In the next second, she thought again.
What in-laws?!
Chu Jing, sitting one seat away, smiled at her. "Your name is Yueshan, right?"
"You look much younger than our Zhoumeng."
Chi Yueshan clutched the hem of her skirt and smiled. "I'm only a year younger than her…"
Chu Jing said, "It must be hard being with her. You're a good child."
Chi Yueshan thought: What kind of mother talks like that? Shouldn't she be saying, 'You lowly commoner from the Lower World, stay away from my noble daughter'?
Xi Li seemed to have read Chi Yueshan's mind and interjected, "We're not that feudal."
"But, Classmate Chi, if you like that kind of TV drama plot, we can play along."
Xi Chun caught on quickly, immediately putting on an exaggerated expression. "How much money will it take for you to leave our little sister?"
Xi Yang joined in with a strange, affected tone, "It would have to be at least a few tens of billions, right?"
Chi Yueshan: ...
What kind of people were these?!
The next second, a jade bracelet was slipped onto Chi Yueshan's wrist. Chu Jing smiled benevolently. "This one is less than a hundred million. Just wear it casually. Next time, Auntie will find you one made of better material."
Chi Yueshan felt as if her wrist was about to break, unable to bear the weight of that number.
Meanwhile, Xi Zhoumeng, who had been called over by Xi Mingguang, directly rejected her mother's proposal.
Xi Mingguang said, "This is the best option. If you're worried about your identity, I will arrange everything."
Xi Zhoumeng shook her head. "You can't be certain when the Zerg swarm will attack. How long am I supposed to wait?"
"Besides," Xi Zhoumeng looked at Xi Mingguang, "I don't want to leave Chi Yueshan's side for a single moment."
"I must stay with her."
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