74: Kong Jiamu

After that day, Li suddenly left for a military mission.

When he returned three days later, he handed Tu Nan an invitation.

"The Tenth Anniversary Completion Ceremony?"

Tu Nan turned the exquisite invitation over and over in her hands.

"Yes. Mata City's Interstellar Air Defense Weapons were fully completed ten years ago; it's a vital node in the border defense chain."

Li tapped the invitation, which was embossed with auspicious cloud patterns, with a hint of casual pride.

"The tenth-anniversary celebration was ordered by the White Dragon Emperor. No one can use this pattern without royal approval."

Tu Nan looked at the familiar Eastern pattern in surprise.

There were always strange things here that were eerily similar to her original world.

Seeing Tu Nan's surprise, Li smiled.

"The military selection you mentioned last time is still a while off. However, because of this ceremony, the army held a special martial arts competition, and I won."

"Wow! So this..." Tu Nan grinned. Li's combat prowess was indeed beyond reproach.

Li was very pleased by Tu Nan's look of admiration and surprise.

"Yes, the top ten can bring a companion to the banquet. However, we have to attend the award ceremony, so you take the invitation and go to the banquet hall first."

Li scooped Tu Nan up in his arms.

"I'll come find you as soon as I'm done there." He captured Tu Nan's lips and gave her a wet kiss.

Li was gradually finding his confidence in the army. He was like a newly sharpened sword—more dazzling, sharp, and more talkative than before.

"By myself...?" Tu Nan asked him.

"I'll ask Karl's wife, Li Na, to take you."

The matter was settled.

***

The City Lord of Mata City cleared out the largest banquet hall to host this celebration.

No matter how cold and solemn the architectural style was, it was decorated exceptionally beautifully that day. The entire hall was refreshed and brilliantly lit.

Various fountains in the courtyard were spraying water, and from the gate to the banquet hall, flowers of all kinds—which Tu Nan had almost never seen here—were placed in every corner as the main decorations.

The combination of mist and fresh flowers was the most expensive decoration on Sand Star, far more costly and rare than silks and satins.

"It's so comfortable; it feels like the wrinkles on my skin have suddenly been smoothed out," Li Na remarked to Tu Nan from behind her fan.

"Nonsense, you don't have any wrinkles," Tu Nan responded with a smile. "But this truly is a grand gesture."

This was the most physically comfortable day Tu Nan had experienced since arriving, all supported by an exorbitant amount of money.

"Of course. I heard they just won a battle on the front lines, and Emperor Haoyuan was so happy he personally approved the funds for the celebration."

Li Na, in her forties, took on a bashful, girlish look of longing when she mentioned the White Dragon Emperor. "I wonder if he will deign to give a speech."

"His Majesty the Emperor is coming?" Tu Nan was surprised.

"No, no, no, how could that be possible? I mean a projection," Li Na said, lightly tapping Tu Nan with her fan. "You really dare to imagine anything."

Tu Nan smiled and remained silent.

The status of an emperor didn't feel very real to her; after all, the queen back in her old world was always in the gossip columns.

"Oh, I might have to excuse myself for a moment. Look, Karl's superior has appeared. I'll be right back." She gave Tu Nan an apologetic look.

"I'll go over there and enjoy the flowers," Tu Nan pointed to the terrace, where the floral arrangements were very elegant.

Li Na had been with her for a long time, and as the wife of the Sharp Blade Squad captain, she naturally had social duties.

"Alright, we'll go watch the award ceremony together when it's time." Li Na smoothed her skirt and walked away.

Tu Nan walked toward the terrace alone.

The area was wreathed in mist. The floral arrangement used many plant branches to create a large base, likely simulating a tree. The flowers chosen were mostly light and cyan colors, interwoven and cascading down from that tree like... Tu Nan turned around, looking for the source of that flower waterfall.

It was a bird woven from plants, its eyes adorned with two small, sparkling light blue sapphires?

"Do you like it?" someone asked in a lazy tone.

A man emerged from the screen of mist. His dark green curly hair was braided and hung at his side, his light blue eyes reflecting the sapphires, a glimmer of interest shining in them.

Kong Jiamu!

He was still wearing a white military uniform, but today's outfit was clearly a dress uniform, complete with a black satin cloak.

He glanced at Tu Nan, then lowered his head and spent a long time carefully selecting from the floral arrangement. His slender fingers deftly pulled out a pale yellow, slightly blooming flower.

"Look. This is the most beautiful flower here." He lowered his head to sniff it. "Seemingly delicate on the surface, but with a strong fragrance, and caught in that moment of being just about to bloom..."

He twirled the flower and reached out toward Tu Nan.

Tu Nan tilted her head, trying to dodge, but only received a light chuckle in return.

"Heh."

Kong Jiamu still accurately tucked the flower stem into the spot he had targeted—by Tu Nan's ear.

"A Cat Beast's posture is always the most elegant." He looked Tu Nan over with satisfaction. "It matches this flower perfectly."

The flower was neither too big nor too small, just right for this black-haired Female Beast.

Her black hair was loose, adorned only by a fine Pearl hairnet. Her dress was a style rarely chosen on Sand Star: pale yellow patterned fabric, a standing collar, frog buttons, tightly cinched at the waist, but with mermaid-like tulle grafted at the calves.

Her exposed arms were only adorned with simple bracelets.

Hmm... she truly fit his tastes in every way, Kong Jiamu thought.

With so many Female Beasts coming and going around him, he could be said to have always been settling in terms of aesthetics.

He knew this was his own eccentricity.

After all, it seemed other Bird Beastmen weren't like him; they didn't mind the furry ears and tails of Female Beasts. But if they were Sea Beasts, he always felt they looked too damp.

As for Bird Beastmen? Sigh... which bird looked better than himself? The thought of their feathers made him uncomfortable.

"What is your name?" He the more he looked, the more pleased he became.

It turned out that even a Female Beast with a low genetic Rank and no ears or tail could catch his eye.

Tu Nan did not answer him.

Kong Jiamu was flirting with her; it was too obvious.

The System's 5% reminder flashed brightly before her eyes. Its meaning was very clear, summarized in one word—Go!

But Tu Nan did not do as the System wished. She was having a fierce internal struggle.

Should she make a move? But this wasn't a problem that could be solved by a mere fling.

What the System required was to give birth to a child.

Was she really supposed to give birth to Kong Jiamu's child right under Li's nose? The genetic selection of the Beast Star made it impossible for her to hide such a thing.

Miao Miao and Ao Ao were still so small.

It was as if she were choosing whether or not to abandon them now.

Closing her eyes, Tu Nan understood clearly—she couldn't do it, at least not now.

Taking the flower from her ear, Tu Nan's lips curled in an inscrutable way.

"Colonel Kong."

She wouldn't pretend not to know him; in this banquet hall, it was impossible for anyone not to know him.

"I have a husband."

"So... I don't think you need to know my name."

She carefully tucked the flower back into its original place, didn't look at Kong Jiamu again, and simply turned around.

She walked back into the noisy crowd.

Leaving behind a thoughtful Kong Jiamu.

He looked at the flower and raised an eyebrow, deeply surprised.

"Rejected, huh..."

He gave a small smile.