Exclusive Possession – CH 023

Chapter 23. Proceed Step By Step

“Based on the above strategy, the expected annualized return is between 4% and 7%.” I put down the documents and looked at Mu Xian on the sofa.

His gaze indifferently shifted from me to the numerical reports on the floating screen, and he said, “Okay.” He paused, then added, “Very good.”

“Thanks.”

His gaze, like ripples on water, returned to me. After a moment of silence, I lowered my head to tidy up the documents on the table: “Then I will go back to my room.”

“Hua Yao.” He stood up and walked to me. “I am going to inspect the wasteland today. Would you like to go for a walk? You can go to the robot factory and Helen’s Fortress. You can see the Cosmic Pillar there.”

I was taken aback.

Robot factories and the Cosmic Pillar of Time—these sound like very interesting things.

But was this an invitation?

That day, he proposed that I manage the funds, and he arrived early the next morning, as promised, to listen to my explanation of the investment situation. His attitude seemed very businesslike, so I naturally took it seriously as well.

He did not act like a “financial idiot” at all; his sudden, sharp questions actually stumped me. I said I needed to go back and look up the information. But he said, “I will wait for your answer here.”

I had no choice but to look up information on the spot while he opened the military command system to handle his own work. As a result, after I answered the first question, he came up with a second one.

In the end, we spent the entire morning in the study, and some problems were left unresolved until the next day.

Before we knew it, today was the fourth day. He did not ask any more questions but instead invited me to go out and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

“…Okay.” I looked up and smiled.

He looked at me without saying a word, his smile like the clear water of a lake, rippling across his fair face.

For the first time ever, a sense of joy welled up in my heart.

If he saw me as a princess, as an equal wife, I was willing to live peacefully with him.

**

Sunlight, like scattered gold dust, dotted the lush green grass. Before me stood a black airplane, its massive form and sleek lines resembling a steel eagle.

I paused slightly, glanced back, and sure enough, saw two metal heads gleaming in the sunlight by the window of a room on the second floor. Seeing me turn around, they almost immediately retreated.

“Are you not taking Mop and Morin with you?” I asked.

Mu Xian glanced up at the house and said calmly, “They have other missions.”

Their mission was to take care of me, was it not? Before I could think further, he had already boarded the plane. I glanced at the empty cabin—a commander of the three armed forces, going on an inspection tour without a single person? Just the two of us?

The fighter jet flew at high speed in the sky, while everything on the ground looked as tiny as ants. He held the control stick with one hand and placed the control panel with the other, making adjustments from time to time with great skill. The aircraft was quite stable, with only minimal vibrations even during takeoff and landing.

I could not help but recall the words of a former colleague: a man’s driving style reflects his personality. Some men like to constantly change lanes and accelerate and decelerate abruptly, making people dizzy; these men were more impatient than composed. Others were cautious, drove slowly, and were indifferent to worldly affairs, never making a mistake in their entire lives; these men were overly cautious and bland.

There was another type of man who drives smoothly and quickly, with ease. This type of man was generally steady, confident, and considerate, making him a good match.

I wonder if the same principle applies to men who fly airplanes.

I could not help but glance at him. Under the dark gray brim of his hat, his short black hair was tinged with sunlight, making his delicate and fair profile appear even more clean and fair. His long, dark eyebrows looked as if they had just been drawn on, with soft and delicate lines—his appearance was too delicate, which really did not match his personality.

“We are here.” He glanced at me sideways, and I quickly turned my head to look down.

The ground was covered with countless cubic metal buildings, reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight. In the very center was a pristine white plaza, where a few people stood scattered about.

The plane descended even lower, and I could see clearly that the ground was covered with robots. Most of them were about two meters tall; some were three or four meters tall; the two largest were as tall as five stories, very conspicuous.

As soon as we got off the plane, several robot officers came up to us: “Commander, welcome.”

Mu Xian nodded slightly and glanced at me: “This is my fiancée, Hua Yao.”

The robot officer saluted me very seriously, completely lacking the playful and silly charm of Morin. I could not help but sigh; this was a true cold-blooded robot soldier!

The surrounding robots, upon seeing us, were quiet for only a moment before resuming their tasks. Some stood chatting; others were repairing their… severed arms; most were gathered in a corner of the square—where the two tallest, colossal robots were fiercely battling, swinging their heavy fists. Their massive bodies were remarkably agile, each punch and kick as fast as lightning and as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Mu Xian spoke a few words in hushed tones with the robot officer, then suddenly turned to me and said, “Let’s go take a look.”

“Is that a Transformer?” I asked, a little excited.

He laughed: “Mechs.”

I was stunned, then even more excited—mechs need to be operated by people, and there must be someone inside?

He put his arm around my waist and walked over there.

As we walked, the robots stepped aside to make way for us. When we reached the innermost part of the crowd, all the robots in the square suddenly fell silent, including the two large mechs that were fighting, which suddenly stood at attention.

“Your Highness!” they shouted in unison, their voices so loud they seemed to shake the heavens. Caught off guard, my eardrums jolted, and my body involuntarily trembled. Mu Xian seemed to notice immediately, his arms around my waist tightening abruptly. Only then did he raise his other hand to bow to the robots.

“Please continue,” he said calmly. For a moment, everyone remained silent, like statues, then suddenly seemed to come alive simultaneously—some chatting, some fighting. I found it somewhat amusing—the robots’ reactions were indeed mechanical but also quite endearing.

The two mechs engaged in another fierce battle. Before long, one mech crashed to the ground, while the other stood still, coolly raising one arm in a show of defiance, while the surrounding robots laughed and cheered.

“Want to give it a try?” Mu Xian stared at me.

I exclaimed in surprise, “Me? I cannot!”

He paused, his dark eyes fixed on me, and said in a gentle voice, “I can teach you.”

His gaze was strangely deep, and I could not decipher its meaning. However, the imposing mecha was undeniably irresistible, so I nodded, “Okay.”

He smiled slightly and gave a few instructions to the robot beside him. After a while, the fallen mech stood up, a door popped open in its chest, and a metal platform slowly descended. A man jumped down; he was human. He jogged over to Mu Xian and bowed. Mu Xian smiled faintly and said, “Well done.” The man looked honored and stepped aside.

The victorious mech remained stationary. It was unclear what kind of powerful figure was piloting it.

Suddenly, Mu Xian scooped me up in his arms, his hand holding down my skirt. After my initial surprise, I immediately understood what he meant—if my skirt billowed up while I was standing on that platform, it would be disastrous.

At times like these, he was always incredibly meticulous.

At this moment, all the robots looked over. I felt a little embarrassed and lowered my head. He carried me to the bottom of the mecha and stepped onto the platform.

“Is Your Highness planning to challenge me? And with a woman by your side?” The victorious mech let out a deep, resonant laugh. I found it odd; this guy’s tone was arrogant, and he sounded like he knew Mu Xian.

“Yes,” Mu Xian said calmly.

The robots in the square erupted in enthusiastic cheers. I could not help but laugh, my heart pounding. Mu Xian’s calm voice sounded in my ear: “He is no match for me.”

The platform rose to the mecha’s chest cavity, and I saw that it was a narrow, dark space inside. Mu Xian put me first, then crouched down and stepped in himself. The small door slammed shut behind him. We were almost chest to chest, with no room to move.

“Turn around,” he whispered.

I managed to turn around so he could sit in the driver’s seat. But he was so tall that there was no space on the seat, so I had to stand between his spread legs.

“Sit down,” he said softly.

I froze, unmoving. Where should I sit? On the ground? Could it be that I was supposed to…?

Sure enough, he gently pulled my hand and made me sit on his lap. Then he pulled out two seatbelts from the side, wrapped them around my waist and chest, and fastened them. It was a bit tight, so I had to lean back, my back pressed against his chest, unable to move.

Nestled in his arms, my face suddenly flushed, and I felt incredibly uncomfortable. No wonder his expression changed completely when he said, “I can teach you.” He must have expected this…

He grabbed my hands and rested his head on my shoulder. My body stiffened further, and I forced myself to ask, “What…do you want?”

There was a hint of laughter in his voice: “I want you to hold the joystick.”

The lights suddenly blazed on, and the metal wall in front of us became transparent, revealing a tall, menacing mech on the other side. A blue, transparent control panel appeared before us, filled with countless handles. He grabbed my hand and placed it on it.

“This is left punch, right punch, kick, bend over, turn…” His deep voice was as gentle as flowing water. “These are guns; we will not be using them today.”

At that moment, I felt half of my body slide onto his thigh, making me a little unsteady. I shifted inward a bit, and he, who was telling me about foot control, suddenly paused noticeably. After a few seconds, he continued explaining.

Just then, I suddenly noticed something was wrong. Something soft was slowly swelling up under my thigh. Of course, I knew what it was, so I just stayed still, pretending not to notice, and focused on what was in front of me.

“Hua Yao,” Mu Xian suddenly whispered in my ear, “you’ve suppressed it.”

I did not understand at first and thought he wanted me to press down on some control lever, so I asked, “Press down on what?”

“It is pressing down on me,” he replied in a hoarse voice. “It hurts a little.”

His cheek was slightly flushed, and I suddenly realized—I’d been sitting on that thing! I quickly moved to the side, saying, “Sorry!”

He did not say anything but held my hands and slowly tightened his grip. The small space seemed to be filled with invisible waves of heat, making it hard for me to breathe.

Just then, a loud “bang” sounded, like a heavy drumbeat in my ear, and at the same time, a tremendous force came crashing down on me. I only had time to see the steel fist of the mech in front of me stop against the transparent metal wall in front of me.

The world spun around in an instant.

We felt like we were falling from a great height, crashing to the ground with a loud “boom,” the entire mech making a clanging sound.

We were defeated.

My head slammed into Mu Xian’s head with a “thud,” like hitting a hard rock; it hurt terribly.

“Your Highness, are you planning to concede?” A deep laugh suddenly came from the communicator on the control panel. “To defeat the former champion of the Seventh Fleet’s mech competition like this—what a pleasant surprise!”

I was a little surprised—Mu Xian was a mecha champion? Oh, right, he grew up in the military.

And then, right in front of everyone, he was punched to the ground?

—I was afraid it was because he was only thinking with his lower body just now…

“Heh…” Mu Xian suddenly chuckled in my ear, took my hands again, and placed them on the control stick. I felt my body suddenly lift into the air, and we stood up.

The mecha opponents outside the window were rubbing their hands together, eager to try their skills. I was nervous but also excited.

He rested his head on my shoulder again, his face close to mine, and we looked straight ahead together.

“Hua Yao,” a gentle voice laced with cold arrogance said, “Beat him up.”