Rong Shi felt a cat’s paw scratch at his heart for a moment, but when he tried to catch the mischievous paw, it darted away with a whoosh.

The car door closed before his eyes. Watching the hovercar ascend, he felt a sense of unreality.

Did little Song Cat just kiss him?

[Yes, he did. I recorded it, hehehe.]

Rong Shi: “…”

[Your first kiss, hoarded for years, has finally been delivered! Confetti! Confetti! ~]

Rong Shi: “…………”

---

Inside the hovercar, Song Yu’s tongue flicked across his lips, leaving a faint hint of milky sweetness—the taste of popcorn.

Recalling the touch, his heartbeat, in hindsight, gradually quickened.

He hadn’t expected someone so stiff all over to have lips much softer than he’d imagined.

Yin Rong’s gaze shifted from Song Yu, subtly observing the young man still standing in place through the rearview mirror.

“Your Highness the Second Prince doesn’t need to go to such lengths.”

Song Yu’s eyes turned cold.

“You’re meddling too much.”

Yin Rong respectfully replied: “Yes.”

The hovercar hadn’t even reached the palace yet when Song Ke and his father in the study had already received photos of Song Yu and Rong Shi kissing.

Song Ke zoomed in on the picture and carefully scrutinized it for a long time before confirming that the person in the photo was indeed Song Yu, not someone else pretending to be him.

They’re actually serious?!

Damn it, this is great!

Song Yu’s mercurial and unpredictable personality made it unsurprising that he would suddenly fall for an Alpha.

When the intelligence report first mentioned Song Yu and Rong Shi getting together, he wasn’t 100% convinced, which was why he went to great lengths to make them marry, to solidify the matter.

He had thought that Song Yu, being forced to lose his succession rights, would soften his stance upon returning to Imperial Capital Star this time. He hadn’t expected him to be even more reckless than before!

Several of his advisors had analyzed that Song Yu was taking a step back to advance, faking a marriage to gain sympathy and simultaneously make all parties lower their guard, thus biding his time.

But would a fake marriage involve such intimate gestures?

Perhaps for others.

But absolutely not for Song Yu.

Two years ago, the noble Shi family wanted to side with Song Yu.

For Song Yu, who had pitifully few supporters, this was an excellent opportunity.

The condition the Shi family gave for their support was to marry their most beloved Omega daughter to him.

Communication on mutual interests was smooth, and everything seemed to fall into place naturally.

But at a banquet, that Omega tried to seduce Song Yu, wanting to create a fait accompli. Unexpectedly, she disappeared the next day.

When she was found half a month later, she was still the same person, but had become mentally unstable and hadn’t recovered since.

After that incident, the entire upper-class circle kept their distance from Song Yu.

Yet, not long after, many people still gravitated towards him.

Song Yu would never engage in such intimate actions with someone he disliked purely for benefit. His self-respect alone wouldn’t allow it.

He would never give anyone a chance to laugh at him, no matter how down and out he was; he would always actively choose the path he wished to take.

Song Ke had always hated Song Yu since childhood, yet he understood him better than many others.

This photo almost 100% confirmed that Song Yu and Rong Shi were serious.

So, was he truly withdrawing from the throne candidacy?

---

King Song Zheng opened his terminal and glanced at the pop-up photo.

With a swipe of his finger, the photo was deleted.

The study door was knocked, then pushed open from outside. Yin Rong led Song Yu in.

Inside the spacious study, Song Zheng sat behind his desk, attending to official duties, while Song Ke sat opposite him in a wheelchair.

The scene was inexplicably harmonious, which infuriated Song Yu.

“Why did you call me back?” Song Yu’s tone was very bad.

Song Zheng’s brows bore a few faint lines, making him look particularly stern.

“What kind of attitude is that?”

Song Yu walked over unhurriedly, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

“Speak quickly if you have something to say. My wife is waiting for me to go home for dinner.”

Song Zheng: “This is your home. Where else would you go for dinner?”

Song Yu scoffed: “This is your home, not mine.”

“I think you’ve been wilding out too much and ruined your brain!” Song Ke sneered: “No wonder you dare to lay hands on your own brother.”

Song Yu rested his arm on the armrest, his long legs crossed in front of him, his voice cold.

“My father only had one child: me.”

“Enough!” The two sons argued as soon as they met. Song Zheng rubbed his temples irritably. “Apologize to your brother, and this matter will be over.”

Song Yu hadn’t spoken yet, but Song Ke was the first to slap the table and yell: “He almost killed me! Why should it just be over like this?! I’ve already shown you my wounds; the doctor said if it had been even slightly off, it would have pierced my gland, and I would have been crippled!”

Song Yu was accustomed to his shamelessness. He scoffed coldly: “Can you blame me for getting hit by a flying worker ant shell when you have no eyes yourself?”

Song Ke: “How could it be such a coincidence?! So many people were there, and all the ones in front were fine, but I was the only one hit?!”

Song Yu: “If you have evidence, present it. If not, shut up.”

Song Ke angrily turned to Song Zheng.

“Father King! Song Yu is framing me!”

Song Yu let out a short, scoffing sound from his nose, amused: “Now the whole country knows you harmed me, not the other way around.”

At the mention of this, Song Ke’s heart jumped. He turned his head to observe Song Zheng’s reaction.

Seeing his father’s frown deepen, he hastily retorted: “That video is fake! I’m not as deranged as you are!”

Song Yu lazily said: “Wouldn’t you know if it’s fake if you verify it?”

The calmer he was, the more anxious and irritated Song Ke became.

The two exchanged several sharp retorts, brought to a halt by a loud bang.

Song Zheng violently threw a folder onto the desk and sternly said to Song Yu: “Apologize to your brother!”

Song Yu met his father’s gaze, his eyes gradually turning cold.

“I will not apologize for something I didn’t do.”

Song Zheng: “Wrong is wrong!”

Seeing his father siding with him, Song Ke comfortably leaned back in his chair, a triumphant smirk on his lips.

“That’s right, wrong is wrong. Refusing to admit it just makes you look low—”

He didn’t finish his sentence. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and a sharp pain shot through his neck. His breath was choked off; he couldn’t even cry out.

The momentary dizziness passed. Song Ke desperately gripped the hand at his throat, struggling wildly.

“L-let go—cough, cough—help—”

“Song Yu!” Song Zheng shouted sternly, “What are you doing?!”

Song Yu gradually tightened his grip, letting Song Ke’s nails scratch a few red marks on the back of his hand, a smirk on his lips.

“Killing him would be as easy as crushing an ant; there’s no need to go to such lengths to plan it.”

Song Zheng’s face was terrible. He gestured for the guards to approach.

Before they could even touch his clothes, Song Yu released his hand and walked out gracefully.

“For the safety of your useless son, you’d better not call me back again.”

Reaching the door, he raised his hand to the doorknob, his tone sarcastic: “I have no interest in seeing you two again either.”

“Cough cough cough!! My f***ing—cough! Ah!—”

A sharp pain erupted on his face. Song Ke touched it with his hand and felt blood.

A blood-stained button plunked into the bathtub in the corner.

Song Yu’s voice was icy cold: “If you dare to insult my dad again, I will personally sew your mouth shut in front of everyone.”

“You f***ing—” Song Ke’s curse caught in his throat halfway through. His eyes met Song Yu’s, and instinctively, he swallowed all his words.

Song Yu turned his head to Song Zheng, a smirk on his lips: “Allowing the person you once loved most to be verbally insulted by this bastard, what good is it if you’re king? Truly pathetic.”

Being called pathetic by his own son in public, Song Zheng’s face was grim: “You are my son, but that doesn’t mean I will forgive everything you say.”

Song Yu scoffed, “Luckily, I didn’t inherit that gene from you.”

Without waiting for Song Zheng to reply, Song Yu opened the door and left.

Song Ke clutched his neck: “Father King! Look at him, cough cough cough—he’s this crazy, quickly send him to a mental asylum! If he’s let out like this, something will happen sooner or later!”

Song Zheng leaned against the back of his chair, his head splitting. He waved his hand, telling Yin Rong to take Song Ke back.

“Go back and let the doctor examine you first.”

Song Ke was incredulous: “That’s it? Song Yu harmed me like this, and he won’t be punished?!”

Song Zheng: “That’s enough.”

Receiving his father’s cold gaze, Song Ke’s complaints caught in his throat.

If he continued to make a fuss, he might push his father towards Song Yu.

---

Walking out of the study, Song Yu’s good mood from the date was completely ruined. If it weren’t for the broken white rose he still held, he would even think it was just a dream.

Back in his own sleeping chambers, his special assistant and assistant, whom he hadn’t seen in months, had prepared a large table of dishes.

The exquisite dishes were perfectly colored, fragrant, and delicious, a taste unobtainable outside the palace.

Yet, Song Yu found them bland and tasteless.

They weren’t as good as Rong Shi’s chaotic hotpot.

Thinking of him, Song Yu recalled that emergency kiss.

Using that kiss to change the passive situation was true.

Wanting to kiss Rong Shi was also true.

His mood brightened a little when he remembered Rong Shi’s rare stunned expression.

Seeing Song Yu put down his chopsticks after only a few bites, the special assistant worried: “Your Highness, is the food not to your liking? Should we prepare a new table?”

“No need.” Song Yu got up and went to his study.

Having been away for so long, and having deliberately cut off contact, various matters were forced into a semi-halted state.

While reviewing the financial statements, Song Yu suddenly thought of something.

“Search near Andromeda B009 and buy all the planets that can produce those blue crystals.”

The special assistant agreed, though somewhat puzzled: “What exactly are those blue crystals?”

Song Yu quickly scanned the report.

“A betrothal gift for my wife.”

Special assistant: “…”

---

After roughly handling the urgent matters, Song Yu rubbed his temples, glanced at the time, and saw it was almost midnight.

He wondered if a certain rabbit was asleep.

Come to think of it, they hadn’t met online in a long time.

Song Yu took a quick shower, lay down on his long-missed large bed, and logged into Star Wars.

Having been left by the roadside during their date, the more Rong Shi thought about it, the more he felt he shouldn’t have let Song Yu go.

This little wild cat had finally become somewhat docile recently. A stimulus at the palace might make him bite again.

[Master, go bring your sugar daddy back!]

Just as Rong Shi was considering the feasibility of stealthily flying into the palace in his battle armor to retrieve him, he heard 01’s voice again.

[Sugar daddy still hasn’t delivered on printing my energy stone villa! He can’t just run off like that!]

Rong Shi: “…” Still thinking about that?

Back at the temporary residence, he had just opened the door when he almost collided with Qin Luo, who was walking out.

Qin Luo: “Why are you alone? Where’s my brother?”

Rong Shi walked in, saying calmly, “He went home.”

“What?! He went back by himself?! He didn’t even call me?!” Qin Luo clutched his head, almost falling to his knees.

In the evening, Chen Chen and his friends came over to hang out. They talked about Song Ke, and a group of them chattered and laughed for a long time.

Chen Chen: “Where’s the Chairman? Haven’t seen him for ages.”

Qin Luo, munching on a bag of dried purple sweet potatoes, said: “In his room, don’t know what he’s busy with.”

While little Song Cat was away, Rong Shi spent an entire night using 01’s two databases (from fifteen years later and the present) to investigate the military hospitals on Imperial Capital Star.

He eventually narrowed down a list of likely problematic ones.

The 88th Military District Hospital on Academy Star absolutely couldn’t exist alone.

Much of the lab’s data was related to the All-Round Competition, and one of the competition venues was on Imperial Capital Star.

Calculating this way, at least ten military hospitals on Imperial Capital Star were suspicious.

Lying in bed in the middle of the night, Rong Shi tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

He just felt like something was missing.

He stared at the plush rabbit on the other bed for a long time.

He swiped his terminal and logged into Star Wars.

As soon as he logged on, he was hugged by a soft little cat.

Little Cat: “You haven’t been online for so long, I thought something happened to you.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Soft and delicate, gentle to the touch, springy and yielding—a long-missed sensation.

One hundred points.

Rong Shi stroked the cat’s fur, his face expressionless: “Been a bit busy.”

Little Cat opened a room and brought him in.

“I’ve been quite busy lately too.”

Rong Shi cooperatively asked: “You weren’t home?”

Little Cat tilted his head, looking at him with a smile: “I was home. Just had a pleasant dinner with the family tonight.”

Rong Shi: “How pleasant?”

Little Cat’s smile deepened: “My brother was so happy he cried.”

Rong Shi: “…” That certainly sounds pleasant.

“What about you?” Little Cat asked him, “Is the competition over? Did you go home?”

“Not yet.”

The two sat side-by-side at the edge of the arena. Rong Shi looked straight ahead, saying calmly: “Living alone in a two-person room, it’s quite empty.”

Little Cat chuckled: “So?”

Rong Shi: “If only my willful roommate would come back sooner.”

---

Author’s Note:

Rong Bunny: My wife forcibly kissed me and won’t let me reveal my identity, what should I do?

Song Cat: Cooperate or die.

Rong Bunny: QuQ