Although the lighting in the night was dim, it did not stop Li Xiao from seeing the mischief in Song Jin’s eyes.

Two Alphas who had just met, with no foundation of affection, not even knowing if they were friends or foes, proposing marriage—even a fool would know this was nothing more than mockery and teasing.

However, joking about marriage like this? The little Golden Lion was starting to go crazy in the middle of the night.

Does he think that by proposing marriage, I would back down?

Li Xiao’s tone remained calm: “As long as I agree to marry you, you’ll let me see him?”

Song Jin nodded without hesitation: “Of course. I always keep my word.”

Watching Li Xiao struggle, Song Jin’s mood improved; he felt the noisy, howling wind around him sounding much more pleasant. Making Li Xiao unhappy made him happy.

“Then let’s get on with it.” Li Xiao swiped open his terminal. “Which website in your country do you use to register?”

Song Jin: “…”

To ensure candidates could successfully call for rescue, the necessary communication network was maintained in the exam area, allowing access to various government department websites. Seeing Song Jin staring at him in silence, Li Xiao urged: “Hurry up, I’m sleepy. Let’s get it over with so I can go back to sleep.”

Is he trying to challenge me?

Song Jin opened the Imperial Civil Affairs Center page, provoking him: “Just fill in the information here and submit it.”

Li Xiao: “Can foreigners also do it?”

Song Jin: “It’s not a problem as long as one of the parties is a citizen.”

Seeing Song Jin’s expression that clearly said, “Don’t bluff, I know you don’t dare,” Li Xiao nodded slowly and clicked on the marriage registration page. An application form immediately popped up. The information required was basic. Li Xiao finished filling it out in a few seconds and asked Song Jin: “What is your citizen ID number?”

Song Jin looked at the completed form and tilted his head to look at Li Xiao: “Are you really going to marry me? Do your family members know?”

“Marriage is a private matter; my family won’t interfere.” Li Xiao feigned confusion: “Do you need parental consent to get married? Oh right, you just turned eighteen, you’re still a child. In that case, I can only—”

“Who said that? It’s just a marriage, what’s the big deal?” Song Jin, feeling mocked, filled in his citizen ID on the form.

Li Xiao had originally intended to mock him a bit, get his revenge, and then move on from the joke. He hadn’t expected Song Jin to dig his heels in. If he backed down now, the meeting with Song Yu would definitely fall through, and he had no idea what kind of demands the little Golden Lion would make next time.

Li Xiao pretended to check the form while quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Song Jin’s hand on the hood of the vehicle tightened slightly, secretly betting with himself that Li Xiao wouldn’t dare to submit it. If he backed down first, he would have to arrange for Li Xiao to see his older brother. Setting aside whether Li Xiao was friend or foe and whether arranging a meeting would put his brother in danger, the current relationship between the two countries was ambiguous. Once news of his brother meeting a Danse exchange student leaked, it could trigger a chain reaction; he had to be cautious. Most importantly, Li Xiao kept saying he was a child who couldn’t give him what he wanted, yet he was adamant about seeing his brother—this really angered Song Jin. He had never been looked down upon by anyone in his life. The more you want to see, the less I will let you see.

“Haven’t you finished checking yet?” Song Jin taunted.

Li Xiao said nonchalantly: “It’s too much trouble if it gets rejected because I filled in something wrong.”

Song Jin curled his lips and smiled sweetly: “Hurry up, I can’t wait.”

Li Xiao: “…”

It seems impossible to get this crazy kid to back down first.

He had no fiancée and no one he liked; he hadn’t thought about getting married in his previous life, either. If a fake marriage was the price for seeing Song Yu, it wasn’t too high. Li Xiao didn’t hesitate anymore and decisively hit submit.

“Hey, you—!”

Song Jin lunged to grab Li Xiao’s hand, but it was too late. A notification appeared on the Civil Affairs system screen:

[Submitting to backend for review—Review passed—Test questions have been sent to the linked terminal. Complete the test to finalize marriage registration.]

So you have to take a quiz to get married?

Song Jin breathed a secret sigh of relief, his palms sweating. That was close—I almost really married this kid. If Brother and Rong-ge found out, I’d get scolded again.

Oh, so there’s another process after this.

Seeing Song Jin finally panicked, Li Xiao feigned confusion: “What did I fill in wrong? Should I cancel it and fill it in again?”

Song Jin had already lost this encounter, and Li Xiao was happy to give him a way out, as they still had to cooperate later. Song Jin laughed softly, not panicked at all: “No, I just misread it.” They knew nothing about each other—how could they possibly pass a quiz?

Seeing Song Jin so confident, Li Xiao could probably guess what he was thinking. If they failed the quiz and couldn’t get married, it would be a way for them to save face and renegotiate the terms.

Li Xiao’s terminal vibrated, and the camera automatically floated into the air and was forced open.

[The partner is not allowed to offer hints during the quiz. If cheating is detected, the quiz will be terminated. Please be aware.]

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin: “…”

They’re making this look so real.

[Question: When you and your partner return home from work, your partner says to you, “My colleague said a newly opened barbecue place nearby is delicious.” What is their real intention? A. Wants to eat barbecue. B. Wants to gossip about the colleague. C. Doesn’t want to cook tonight.]

Li Xiao glanced at Song Jin. Given this kid’s personality, forget “not wanting to cook tonight”—it was impossible for him to cook even once in his life. Option C implied the partner usually cooked, which was obviously wrong.

Li Xiao didn’t think much: “C.”

It’s done.

Song Jin suppressed a smile, thinking about what demands he would make to get back at him later.

[Answer correct.]

Song Jin: “…?”

“How impressive.” Song Jin smiled, though the tone was anything but.

Li Xiao: “…”

[Question: You and your partner finally have time to travel. Your partner says to you, “Let’s go to the place you want to go.” What does this sentence really mean? A. Want to go to the place you want with you. B. Wants you to understand they are accommodating you so you will accommodate them later. C. Anywhere is fine.]

Li Xiao: “…”

Accommodating is impossible; never in this life. If we could accommodate each other, we wouldn’t be forced to take a marriage quiz tonight.

Li Xiao: “B.”

Song Jin hugged his arms and nodded, thinking this one was definitely wrong. The answer was clearly A.

[Answer correct.]

Li Xiao: “…?”

Song Jin: “…??”

Feeling the air pressure beside him suddenly drop, Li Xiao whispered: “How many questions are there in total?”

Song Jin’s face fell: “I don’t know.”

Li Xiao: “You don’t know?”

Song Jin: “I’ve never been married before.”

[Question: As an Alpha couple, you and your partner both hit your rut period and are forced to sleep in separate rooms. Your partner says to you, “Your symptoms are worse than mine; you should find a professional Omega practitioner.” What do you do? A. Obey and find an Omega practitioner. B. Say to them, “I’ll help you find one too.” C. Find what Omega? Endure it.]

Li Xiao: “C.”

Words like “endure” in options were usually obvious wrong answers. Song Jin frowned and pondered: “But the other two are also a bit…” His family had two old Alpha geezers who had been together for over twenty years, and he had never seen them seek out Omega practitioners.

[Answer correct.]

Li Xiao: “…”

What the heck?

Song Jin laughed in anger: “What are you thinking?”

Li Xiao: “It said ‘endure’.”

Song Jin: “That was a smoke screen to confuse you.”

Li Xiao: “…Next question.”

[Congratulations, you have passed the quiz test.]

Li Xiao/Song Jin: “…………”

There were only three questions?

Song Jin sneered: “Looks like I need to find someone to propose a marriage registration amendment to increase the number of questions to three hundred, otherwise too many people will get married by luck.”

Li Xiao: “…” Are you a demon?

Since things had come to this, Li Xiao joked: “If you don’t want to marry me, just say so. I’m not an unreasonable person.”

Song Jin gritted his teeth in defiance: “I just happen to be set on marrying you.”

Li Xiao: “…” How childish.

An image popped up on the virtual screen.

[Please perform the action shown in the random image and take a photo together.]

The photo showed two stick figures, one with an arm around the other’s shoulder and kissing. After seeing it clearly, Song Jin threw a sharp glare at him with clear intent to warn. Li Xiao raised an eyebrow; he felt nothing from such a warning and even thought the little Golden Lion’s reaction was somewhat cute.

“Come on, photo.”

At the same time, in the monitoring command cabin of the warship, a group of instructors stood in front of the giant screen, stunned. Some shift instructors entered, confused: “What happened?”

“Some students are getting married!” someone answered.

The instructors instantly sobered up and crowded over to gossip. When they saw who was on the screen, they exclaimed: “Isn’t that Song Jin and Li Xiao?!”

“What are they doing, getting married?!”

“Is there a mistake? They’ve only known each other for a few days.”

Someone pointed at Li Xiao’s screen—because it was in public mode, everyone could see it. “Can’t be wrong, this is the registration page of the Civil Affairs Center!”

Instructor Chen Xing was awakened by his colleague’s persistent calling and rushed over: “Dammit! These two troublesome little brats!”

The Central Military Academy had been established for hundreds of years, and no one had ever gotten married in an exam hall! The key was that there was a 99% chance these two weren’t even serious. Why play with this, of all things?

Chen Xing walked to the operation console and asked the staff to turn on the voice-activated system near that area: “This is the surveillance center! Please note: Marriage is prohibited in the exam hall! Marriage is prohibited in the exam hall!”

[You brats! Marriage is prohibited in the exam hall! Get back to sleep right now!]

Hearing Chen Xing’s warning, Song Jin looked regretful: “Nothing to be done now, we can only get married after the exam.”

“When did you become so obedient?” Li Xiao put his arm around Song Jin’s shoulder nonchalantly. “By the time they rush over, we’ll have already finished registering. What are you afraid of?”

Song Jin glanced at the hand on his shoulder, struggling to resist the urge to flick it off, and asked patiently: “What if points get deducted?”

Li Xiao: “Deduct them, then. There are plenty of points.”

Seeing Li Xiao leaning in closer, Song Jin leaned back, finally realizing that this kid wouldn’t let him go easily. He pressed his hand against Li Xiao’s chin to push him away: “Don’t get so close.”

Li Xiao ignored his hand: “The photo time is almost up, cooperate. You’re the one who wanted to get married—are you afraid?”

Song Jin replied through gritted teeth: “What do I have to be afraid of?”

Li Xiao: “Then let’s go.”

Song Jin: “…”

Too close; a familiar sense of oppression struck, and his nose was filled with the other person’s scent. Seeing Li Xiao was still composed and had no intention of backing down, Song Jin called for a stop at the last moment, pressing his hand on Li Xiao’s shoulder to push him away: “Fine, you’re ruthless enough.”

Li Xiao: “I don’t understand, what do you mean by that?”

Song Jin lowered his voice: “I will let you see him.”

Li Xiao smiled with satisfaction: “It’s a deal. Then I’ll cancel this marriage application—”

Click.

The sound of the photo being taken exploded in their ears, and they looked at the screen sharply. A photo of them remained in the window. Because of the angle, it looked like they had actually kissed.

[Photo passed review.]

[Marriage registration process completed.]

[The next six months are the marriage observation period. Happy wedding.]

The two checked their personal information on their terminals; their marital status had changed from “Single” to “Married (Pre-married).”

Li Xiao/Song Jin: “…………”

They played it way too far.

Qian Can woke up groggily to use the bathroom. As he walked out of the cave, he saw the glowing virtual screen and was so startled his voice cracked.

“Boss, y-you’re married?!”

His voice was so loud that it woke up the students near the cave entrance. Thinking mutated beasts were attacking, they rushed out with military knives, only to see a screen full of pink hearts.

Everyone: “…?!!!”

Two big bosses secretly got married in the middle of the night sitting on an excavator?! What kind of logic is this?!

Tianjiang Star T100, Danse Royal Palace.

Li Ji took advantage of his office break to hide in a small pavilion in the corner of the small garden to watch the playback of the practical exam. This type of assessment was usually not public, but because exchange students were involved this time, the Shengya side specially opened network access to the Danse government.

“His Highness’s skills are really good.” Special Assistant Lao Liu poured tea for Li Ji and handed him snacks. “I don’t know who he learned from in the past.”

Li Ji ate the snack: “Just a wild kid.”

Special Assistant: “He’s not inferior to the Shengya military cadets at all. The little sprout from before has really grown up.”

Li Ji hummed vaguely and didn’t answer.

By midnight, they couldn’t hear the conversation between Li Xiao and Song Jin in the playback, but Li Ji felt the atmosphere between the two was a bit wrong: “What are they doing?”

The special assistant leaned closer to peer at Li Xiao’s screen, suddenly thought of something, opened his terminal to investigate the relevant data, and was shocked.

“This is—!”

Li Ji said impatiently: “Speak!”

The special assistant projected the information about Li Xiao’s fake identity: “His Highness married this blonde Alpha boy!”

“What kind of marr—uugh cough cough cough—cough—” Li Ji slammed the table and stood up, a piece of snack stuck in his throat. He gulped down several mouthfuls of tea, so angry that he smashed the tea cup to pieces. “Get out and investigate this matter immediately!”

The special assistant jumped up to avoid the flying porcelain shards and hurriedly responded: “Yes!”

Shenlong Star, Shengya Royal Palace.

King Song Yu had just arrived at the Government Affairs Hall early in the morning to work. His special assistant knocked on the door and entered with a subtle expression. Song Yu picked up a folder and flipped through it: “What’s wrong?”

Special Assistant: “Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince and Li Xiao are married.”

Song Yu looked up from the documents: “Who married who?”

The special assistant hesitantly took out the exam playback record: “The Fourth Prince and Li Xiao. They successfully registered last night.”

Song Yu opened his personal terminal and found the little brat’s personal information from the “Love-Hate Family” group chat. It showed: Married (Pre-married).

Nice one, Li Xiao.

Is this the attitude you have when asking for cooperation? I haven’t even seen a shadow of you, yet you’re already targeting my successor!

With a smack, the folder was thrown onto the table. The special assistant’s heart skipped a beat, and he bowed his head slightly, not daring to look at Song Yu’s face. “Should I contact the Civil Affairs Department to cancel the marriage registration?”

After a moment of silence, Song Yu rested his chin on his hand and laughed: “Since they’re married, it’s not bad to lure him back. I don’t mind having an extra younger brother.”

Special Assistant: “…” What are you saying, are you serious?

Tianqi Q303 Exam Hall.

Before dawn, the news of Song Jin and Li Xiao’s marriage had spread to everyone. The expressions of the crowd were hard to describe—shock mixed with confusion, confusion mixed with sadness, and sadness mixed with a bit of excitement. Two top-tier Alphas with heaven-defying strength and looks had combined, and had a flash marriage—how could they not go crazy over it?

The two centers of the topic were unusually silent, each sitting on one side sorting their backpacks. They had played around until they got married, and since it couldn’t be canceled or divorced on the same day, they had to wait until the next day. Even if they did get divorced, a marriage record would remain in their personal information; any future marriage would be a “second marriage.”

Thinking of this, Song Jin’s anger flared up. Since they were going to get married anyway, he shouldn’t have backed down then. He had lost this round to that kid Li Xiao!

Qian Can walked over tentatively, squatted down, and whispered: “Boss, are you serious?”

“Otherwise?” Song Jin asked back in a chilly tone.

Qian Can: “…” Which person who just got married is as murderous-looking as you?

At the cave entrance, Da Bei was so anxious he couldn’t stand or sit still.

“Brother, did you really marry Song Jin?”

Li Xiao: “Yeah.”

Da Bei grabbed his hair: “You like him? But we are exchange students, and we have to go back to our country before long…”

“Why go back?” Li Xiao tied his boot laces, tightened the metal buckle, and said in a self-abandoning way, “Nobody expects me to go back to the country anyway, and I’m disliked in the palace. I might as well stay in Shengya; at least the people here treat me well.”

Da Bei: “…?!”

That’s still no reason for you to marry an Alpha randomly!

Da Bei was just about to urge him again when he saw Song Jin coming over, followed by Qin Le and Qian Can. Song Jin was over 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. Years of training made his posture look very upright, and just standing there gave off a strong aura; the Alpha’s oppression hit them head-on.

Da Bei was suddenly too scared to speak. Didn’t Cousin used to say that His Highness likes gentle, powerful Omegas who love to take care of people? Did he remember the intel wrong? Song Jin has nothing to do with His Highness’s ideal type at all!

Song Jin walked to Li Xiao and lowered his eyes: “Time to go, babe.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Da Bei/Qian Can/Qin Le: “…”

Others: “…”

What a terrifying nickname, woo woo.