MORIC - Chapter 126

Chapter 126: The Little Toy Can Scold People

Because Xi Mingguang was not on the capital planet, the Xi family was represented by Xi Li and Xi Zhoumeng.

Among the current heirs of the eight great noble families, all except Xi Li were married, and they all came as couples or with their children.

A social butterfly like Xi Li felt no embarrassment about being single at his age in such a setting. He even returned the pleasantries with a brilliant smile.

Xi Zhoumeng stood to one side, serving as a perfect, flawless ornament.

She naturally possessed an awe-inspiring aura, giving off a sense of unearthly beauty in any setting.

Those who wanted to introduce potential partners to her or inquire about her situation would find themselves inexplicably unable to speak when met with her smiling eyes.

Xi Li: "So annoying. They're always worrying about whether I'm married or not. Even Mother doesn't rush me."

Xi Zhoumeng took off her gloves and sat down, letting out a soft scoff. "After all, Mother had you through an early marriage in her prime."

The news of Xi Mingguang's contractual marriage had never gotten out. Everyone assumed she had found a mature Omega right after she differentiated.

This was also why Xi Li was being rushed.

People would usually say, "By the time Commander Xi was your age, you were already in school."

Xi Li sighed, his heart aching again as he glanced at the bag on Xi Zhoumeng's lap.

"Didn't you say you needed it for a fashion show? Did you have to use it right now? My precious…"

That piece of meteorite had been turned into the handle of Xi Zhoumeng's handmade bag. It had a very designer look, and on the way here, many people had asked Xi Zhoumeng what brand it was.

Xi Zhoumeng stroked the meteorite, each touch giving her a scorching sensation.

No one else knew about this. She curled her fingers and said with a grin, "Doesn't it go perfectly with the new dress Third Sister gave me for an occasion like this?"

She even blinked. "Does it not match?"

Xi Li: "It matches. It matches to death."

Though he grumbled, he didn't show a hint of being heartbroken.

Once the annoyance of being pressured to marry subsided, he looked at the couples dancing on the floor before the event began with a bit of envy.

He remarked, "Looking at it this way, it's quite nice for these people to be in pairs."

After all, besides direct family members, only spouses could attend such events.

The partners brought along were all legitimate significant others.

Xi Li's flings were, at most, just casual dalliances. It wasn't even certain if they were physical, let alone emotional.

After his remark, he felt he had given Xi Zhoumeng something to hold against him and quickly tried to change the subject, but unexpectedly, Xi Zhoumeng nodded in agreement.

"It is quite nice."

She really wanted to bring Chi Yueshan to see this.

Although Chi Yueshan didn't say it, Xi Zhoumeng had seen the curiosity in her eyes when they returned from the palace banquet last time.

Now, for no reason at all, an impulse arose to carry Chi Yueshan with her wherever she went.

Whether it was to see the stars or the moon.

Am I very clingy?

Xi Zhoumeng belatedly wondered.

Xi Li: "What's there to announce about the successor? There's only one choice anyway."

He muttered under his breath. From a distance, he was the dapper eldest son of the Xi family, but in reality, he had started to complain quietly to Xi Zhoumeng.

Xi Zhoumeng: "Can't be helped. We just have to come."

She opened her handbag. In a place where she couldn't use her light-brain, she was bored to tears and had no desire to dance.

Xi Li: "What's this?"

Xi Zhoumeng: "Chi Yueshan made it."

Her ring was already eye-catching enough, and it surprisingly matched her entire outfit.

What she took out of her bag was a mechanical puzzle cube. It wasn't a traditional one; it had been modified to have a cute shape, and every time it was correctly assembled, it would display a set of numbers.

Xi Li found it novel. "Let me play?"

Xi Zhoumeng: "No."

Her eyes were focused, her fingers nimble, and she easily assembled a pattern.

But the displayed numbers also had hidden variations. When Chi Yueshan made this toy, she had also given Xi Zhoumeng a corresponding numerical code.

She had to decipher it according to the note.

Xi Li watched for a moment, then picked up the piece of paper. "What numbers did you get? Two, six, and five?"

The combination and order also made a difference.

Xi Li read the sentence word by word: "You… vain… princess with princess syndrome?"

If he weren't mindful of the occasion, he would have almost burst out laughing.

Xi Zhoumeng: "…"

She assembled another pattern, and a different set of numbers appeared.

Xi Li glanced at it. "'I advise you to be kind'…? What kind of new slang is this?"

His teasing was about to overflow. Xi Zhoumeng snatched the paper back, the sharp tip of her scorpion tail ring grazing the back of Xi Li's hand.

It almost made the blond Alpha yelp on the spot.

And so, Xi Zhoumeng played with her toy with single-minded focus at such a formal event.

Xi Li sat beside her, sipping champagne and smiling, feeling that this scene was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

After all, this younger sister of his usually seemed flamboyant and temperamental, but she was actually a bit cold deep down.

Moreover, those luxury goods were not Xi Zhoumeng's interests at all. She seemed to have no worldly desires, yet the courteous treatment she received felt as if it was something she was born to have.

For such a person to have lived well before, it was as if she was being kept alive by some unknown force.

Xi Li didn't dare say it, but he had actually worried that his little sister might one day quietly take her own life.

Of course, what others would call taking one's own life, for Xi Zhoumeng, would be called being tired of living.

Now, the layer of icy mist surrounding his beautiful Omega sister had dissipated.

Like the dense morning fog in a forest blown away by the wind, sunlight streamed down, revealing some hidden gem in the depths of the woods.

It made her eyes serious at this moment, and even her annoyance gave Xi Li a sense of vibrant vitality.

At this moment, Xi Li suddenly had a thought. When should he have Xiao Yueshan's household registration transferred over?

What a hassle. Zhoumeng is still an Omega.

If it's really an OO relationship, even I, working at the Civil Affairs Bureau, can't process it.

When will we achieve marital autonomy? Can the new queen introduce a new policy?

The next second, he shook his head, laughing at his own naivety. This regime had been consolidated for nearly a thousand years. The queen was constrained by that bunch of old geezers in the parliament. Even if the nobles had considerable power, they couldn't make any changes.

It was already impressive enough that military power was generally held by Shen Yu.

But that Marshal elder from the Shen family seemed insensitive to power, unaware of what she held, and was solely focused on her duties.

It had been a long time since Xi Zhoumeng had been so focused.

The way to play with this toy from Chi Yueshan was audacious. It provided a decryption tool, but it was also profound and complex. Some phrases meant completely different things forwards and backward.

Just as Xi Zhoumeng was about to continue, she felt a strong tremor.

She couldn't help but look up. The empire's national anthem began to play, and amidst the noble symphony, an Omega slowly walked onto the stage.

The veil the Queen wore this time was not as concealing as the one at the palace banquet, and one could vaguely see her aged face.

Xi Zhoumeng thought: No wonder all these backup candidates wanted to escape. Who could stand aging fifty years after only reigning for twenty?

So what did Sheng Yangkui look like in her past life?

Perhaps feeling a bit mean, Xi Zhoumeng put the toy back in her bag and caressed the modified Magnetic Star Meteorite.

Back then, she needed to use her own life to build a connection with the Magnetic Star Meteorite, while simultaneously fighting against a terrifying power that could cause a planet to fall.

Looking at it now, my world had a similar setup to this one.

The only difference was the absence of the Zerg and mechas.

Could it be that the power I resisted was the invasion of the Zerg consciousness?

Meanwhile, Chi Yueshan was in the Xi family's mecha room, watching the broadcast on a screen.

The Queen's announcement of the successor was being broadcast live across the galaxy, visible on all major TV channels.

Countless posts had piled up online, not to mention the people on the academy forums using threads to chat.

Chi Yueshan paused her maintenance work and focused on the screen.

Her light-brain screen was still on a chat interface. Xuan Ping was probably too distracted to do her homework and was also watching the excitement.

This was a major event in the interstellar era, a scene that would definitely be recorded in the annals of history.

Xuan Ping: I'm going to join the thread! [Link]

Xuan Ping: Yueshan! Someone in the thread posted a screenshot of Senior Xi!

Chi Yueshan hadn't planned on reading any filler posts, but she was lured in by that sentence and couldn't help but click on it.

The dense chat thread, aside from marveling at whose dress was beautiful and which A-O couple was rumored to be playing around on their own, was mostly discussing who was still unmarried.

Unfortunately, besides Shen Yu, who was several generations older than them, only the Xi siblings and the sole heir Wen Xinghuo were left.

【Sigh, isn't this a fated ending? Why did Wen Xinghuo have to go through all that trouble? Just as rumors of her romance with the Princess started, the Princess…】

【Why? Are there no other Omegas in the royal family?】

【The selection probably involves genetic testing. This is a secret, so we don't know why.】

【Oh oh oh, I know a little. It's because their values fall within a certain range. The royal bloodline is different.】

【Wen Xinghuo is the most pitiful one!】

【The camera pans over, and it's all beauties… these nobles [lights cigarette] on what grounds!】

【They look so bored, and they can't even use their light-brains.】

【Spotted Senior Xi [Image]】

【What is she playing with???? Sob, the goddess's new look is also beautiful.】

【That older brother from the Xi family, he looks nothing like Senior Xi…】

Chi Yueshan also saw the screenshot. It was a high-definition image of Xi Zhoumeng looking down, playing with a cube.

That's the toy I made.

Just that one profile shot was enough to convey her concentration.

Chi Yueshan's face suddenly felt a little hot, as if she were the one being stared at by the other person.

Just then, the Queen appeared, and as Chi Yueshan looked up, she saw the camera cut to a fleeting glimpse of Xi Zhoumeng.

She's so beautiful.

The next second, Chi Yueshan resentfully denied it.

Taking advantage of being alone in the mecha room, she muttered, "I absolutely cannot praise her to her face. She'll get a big head."

The Xi estate was huge, and Chi Yueshan had unknowingly become a part of the family.

Although she shared a bed with Xi Zhoumeng, Xi Li had already asked Butler Li to prepare a separate study for her, and the equipment in the mecha room was also top-notch.

It was a top-tier setup that even ordinary students from the Alpha division at the academy couldn't get.

Unfortunately, Chi Yueshan's "general store" mentality hadn't changed at all, and she easily turned clean spaces into what looked like a scrap recycling station.

Even Xi Zhoumeng, who had accompanied Chi Yueshan to work in the warehouses of Mechanical City, wasn't very keen on coming here.

She felt there was no place to step and that dust would easily get on the hem of her exquisite dress.

The mecha bound to Xi Zhoumeng was on the side. Chi Yueshan had been climbing up and down to inspect it, and after a few days, she had already recorded the data.

She was just waiting for the materials.

She had studied Zhou Fengqin's notes so much they had developed a patina.

But her master had passed away too early, unable to impart all her knowledge. There were some rare materials that Chi Yueshan couldn't even fully identify.

After confirming that the academy's public mecha theory course was just for coasting, she not only accelerated her self-study but also had Xi Zhoumeng find her an external advanced mecha class to attend.

"I declare the next Queen to be—"

"Sheng Yangkui."

On the light-brain screen, the Queen's lips parted from beneath her veil, and the camera cut to Sheng Yangkui slowly ascending the stage.

Who knew how high her heels were. The train of her dress was long, like a flower that blooms only once in a lifetime.

After today, it would quickly wither.

Sheng Yangkui was devoid of joy or sorrow. She had long been aware of all this.

Even though the attitude of the servants around her had changed, even though her second sister, who had once bullied her and made her kneel as a footstool, and her eldest sister, who only ever fanned the flames, had gone to the next world.

She still felt no sense of satisfaction.

But this life was so much better than the last.

She had a period of affection that was like a night-blooming cereus.

Sheng Yangkui still couldn't be sure if it was love.

Why would Wen Xinghuo like me? I stole that past, but I couldn't steal her feelings.

In her eyes, am I even a little bit good?

The whispers from that day seemed to return, becoming a reverberating echo that drowned out the magnificent imperial anthem.

Sheng Yangkui obediently raised her hand, and the black obsidian bracelet that all successive queens had to wear was slipped onto her wrist.

It was just like in her past life. The painful invasion began from this moment, a great deception that spanned her entire life. Only when she died were these shackles unlocked.

The Queen's voice rang out—

"Due to the Zerg Tide, the succession ceremony will be held ahead of schedule."

"The official coronation will be held after the Princess returns from her practical training."

The timeline had changed.

Everything had changed, including me.

Sheng Yangkui revealed a bleak smile, her eyes meeting those of Xi Zhoumeng, who was applauding in the guest section.

Xi Zhoumeng nodded, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Just as they had agreed that day.

Xi Zhoumeng: "The consciousness invasion will take time. When it happens, you just need to give me that necklace."

In the dim room, lit by a single wall lamp, Xi Zhoumeng's face appeared obscure and indistinct.

In that instant, Sheng Yangkui even had the mistaken impression that this person was the most dangerous of all.

Xi Zhoumeng: "Don't be afraid. The worst that can happen is dying one more time."

"But it's not a big problem. You just have to keep my secret."

"I'm afraid if she sees me looking that ugly, she'll go and like someone else."

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