Exclusive Possession – CH 025

Chapter 25. If It Were You

The night was soft and clear, with the deep blue sky like a thin veil covering the earth.

We walked up the hillside in front of our house, and Mu Xian handed the clothes to the patrol robot, saying softly, “I will pick you up tomorrow morning.”

I turned to look at him in surprise. I had thought he would come in with me.

In the dim light of night, he appeared pale-skinned with clear eyes and refined, handsome features, a stark contrast to the aloof and gloomy image I remembered.

“Thank you for today,” I said. “I will go in now.”

He nodded, put his hands in his pockets, and stood still. I walked in, and after about ten steps, I reached the floating staircase at the entrance and subconsciously glanced back.

He remained standing there, on the starlit grass, like a graceful and serene statue. Suddenly, he strode over quickly, his long legs carrying him to me. “What is it?” he asked, staring at me.

I was stunned and quickly replied, “It is nothing.”

I just turned around to see if you were gone…

He looked at me and suddenly smiled faintly. The corners of his lips, slightly curved, seemed to be tinged with the warm, hazy light of the night.

“Oh.” A deep, gentle voice.

My face flushed inexplicably. I whispered goodnight and turned to go upstairs. But a vague understanding crept into my mind—was he hoping I’d kiss him? Or perhaps inviting him to sleep in?

So when he saw me turn around, he almost immediately caught up with me.

So he gave a helpless smile and thoughtfully said, “Oh…”

I quickly glanced back at him. He was still standing there, looking up at me. But the night was too dark to make out his facial features.

I closed the door in a daze.

He really was changing, just as he promised.

What about me? What should I do?

I looked up silently and immediately froze.

What was going on?

The lights were off, and the warm orange candlelight flickered gently in the dim light; melodious music seemed to drift from the depths of the night; the table was adorned with fresh flowers, their fragrance soothing the soul. In the center sat a deep blue wine bottle and two crystal glasses.

It was both heartwarming and ambiguous.

I was a little surprised. Could this also be part of Mu Xian’s plan? Would he come up again?

But a loud voice quickly refuted my idea.

“Miss! Why did you come back alone? Where is the commander?”

The lights suddenly came on, and Morin ran out from some corner, looking resentful, followed by the silent Mop.

I immediately felt relieved—I walked over to the sofa and sat down. There were pink heart-shaped candles on the armrest, clearly reflecting Morin’s taste, not Mu Xian’s.

“He went back to the military headquarters,” I replied.

Mop, unfazed, began blowing out the candles, turning off the music, and tidying up the scene. Morin collapsed onto the sofa, burying her face in the red velvet, and muttered in a low voice, “This is so slow…and we’ve been preparing all day!”

I patted his metal head and laughed, “Do not be discouraged; I will try harder next time.”

He looked up abruptly, blinking rapidly: “Really?”

I paused for a moment, then nodded.

He immediately sat up straight, covering his mouth and laughing. Just then, the doorbell rang, and the patrol robot brought in my new clothes.

I could not help but laugh, remembering Mu Xian’s nosebleeds. Morin, with her sharp eyes, asked curiously, “What is making you so happy?” I smiled and said, “I have a question for you guys. Does Mu Xian have a problem with nosebleeds?”

Morin shook his head: “No. He is stronger than a robot.”

“I’ve seen it a few times,” Mop suddenly interjected.

We both looked at him curiously, and he smiled and said, “During the four years that the Commander and Miss were separated, he would sometimes stay in the command room and admire Miss’s photos. I saw him have nosebleeds twice.”

Morin paused for two seconds, then understood. She jumped up, beaming, and gave Mop a loud high five. Mop gracefully returned the gesture, and the two of them looked at me with smiles.

I was laughing too, but as I laughed, a pang of sadness welled up inside me, and I could not laugh anymore. I did not know if it was for myself or for Mu Xian.

They were all stunned, probably noticing my slightly stiff expression. Morin asked cautiously, “Miss, do you still blame the Commander for what happened back then? Please believe me, the Commander would never have wanted to hurt you.”

I realize this question was unanswerable. Should I still blame him?

“I know he did not want to hurt me; it is a problem with the beastmen’s genes. The emperor told me,” I replied vaguely.

Both Morin and Mop were somewhat surprised. Mop said, “So you already knew.” Morin said happily, “That is good. We are not authorized to discuss royal secrets. Ah, I’ve been so pent up these past few days. The Commander is innocent! You can fall in love with him without worry!”

I ignored Morin and looked at Mop, asking with a hint of self-deprecation, “Did I not just happen to pass by your spaceship that day? So you chose me for him?” This was a question I’d wanted to ask for a long time.

Morin also looked at Mop curiously, though he was not on the spaceship at the time.

However, to my surprise, Mop shook his head.

“No. Of course not.” He looked me straight in the eye. “Now that you know about beast transformation, I have the right to talk to you about that—choosing you was the Commander’s decision.”

I could not believe my ears: “What did you say?”

Mop calmly replied, “I clearly remember that when the commander awoke from his beast-like coma, I told him that His Majesty the Emperor had issued the order to ‘mate immediately.’ He only said one sentence.”

My heart was pounding. Mop looked at me with warm eyes: “The Commander said, ‘If possible, I want Hua Yao.'”

***

The sky was already showing the first light of dawn, and I lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Mop also said that Mu Xian had visited Earth a few times before, but that was the first time he had heard Mu Xian mention my name. He had not held out much hope after hearing Mu Xian’s words, but still sent the spaceship directly to my city. Luckily, they found me a few blocks away.

I could not help but wonder if we had met before. But with his outstanding appearance, it was impossible that I would not remember him.

In my memory, I’ve never rescued a drowning black dog, an injured black dog, or a stray black dog. So I was sure I’d never seen him in his animal form.

There was only one possibility.

He met me by some means, but I did not know it.

And he might have had a crush on me; otherwise, he would not have insisted on having me in such a critical situation.

But this was truly unbelievable—Mu Xian had a crush on me? He likes me?

I’ve always believed that Mu Xian wanted to be faithful to his “wife,” both physically and emotionally, not to “Hua Yao.” Even if it had not been me back then, he would had treated any other girl the same way.

He himself said that he did not care about anything about me except fidelity. As long as the marriage partner was healthy, it did not matter who it is. If he liked me, how could he say such a thing?

No way, he could never like me.

I told myself, “Stop overthinking.” Whether he liked me or not was irrelevant. Since he was willing to respect and protect me, I just needed to be a good wife.

Even though I thought that way, my mind was still in turmoil, and I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

**

When Morin knocked on the door the next day, I had not slept for long at all. Sitting in front of the mirror, I saw two striking dark circles under my eyes. I felt a little frustrated but also amused. I changed into a new pair of pants I’d bought the day before and went downstairs.

Sunlight had already filled the entire living room. Mu Xian sat on the sofa, looked up at the sound, and his gaze lingered on me. After a moment, it moved to my face, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

I could already see the silent amazement in him, and he had obviously noticed the dark circles under his eyes, which made me feel awkward, as if someone had seen into my thoughts.

“Did not sleep well?” Mu Xian stood up and walked over to me.

“It is nothing,” I replied. “Maybe I slept too much the day before yesterday.” This excuse made me feel much better than admitting I had insomnia.

Mu Xian stared at me, a delicate and charming smile appearing on her face.

“That is good.”

My face suddenly flushed. What did he mean by “that is good”? What was he implying? Did Morin report our conversation from yesterday to him? Or did he think I could not sleep well without him?

I quickly said, “I am going to have breakfast,” and turned to walk towards the restaurant. His footsteps followed slowly and lightly, like stepping on the tip of my heart, trembling and numb.

After dinner, we boarded the plane. Since we were going to outer space, Mu Xian put on a spacesuit and even gave me one. It fit me perfectly, and I thought he had found me a female soldier’s uniform.

To my surprise, he stared at me with dark eyes and said softly, “These are my clothes from when I was a boy.” I immediately understood—why would he want to smell another woman’s scent on me?

Leaving the atmosphere, the dim space was dotted with starlight, a scene of serene brilliance. He performed a faster-than-light jump, then said to me, “After another two hours of travel, we will reach the observation site of the Pillar of Time.”

I nodded.

I’ve read some materials and heard about it from Mop and Morin. The star system where the Pillar of Time could be observed was located behind Helen’s Fortress. Helen’s Fortress was important because the infamous exiled mercenary legions of the galaxy frequently appeared in the nearby star system. They live by plundering planetary resources and were the common enemy of civilized planets. They had invaded Helen was Fortress many times, and the desolate lands had also been occupied by them, but were eventually recaptured by the Imperial fleet.

Major General Bai Lang, the commander in charge of the fortress, was Luna’s husband and a longtime friend of Mu Xian. According to Mop, he was an extremely loyal and excellent general. Mu Xian only brought one fleet to the wasteland this time; the other two fleets remained on Stan Star. Although he was Bai Lang’s direct superior, he did not intend to interfere with the normal operation of the local garrison but simply to strengthen defenses using his own forces.

Although there were only two of us going to see the Pillar of Time, there was generally no danger. That star system was quite far from Helen’s Fortress. If mercenaries were to invade, it would definitely alert the fortress was garrison. In other words, unless the fortress falls, it is unlikely that mercenaries would appear around the Pillar of Time.

**

But I was already sleepy, and jumping made me even more dizzy. I knew I should not sleep, so I kept my eyes wide open, staring at the beautiful nebulae outside the window, but I did not know when I fell asleep.

I did not know how much time passed, but I vaguely felt a slight itch on my lips, and a faint, familiar scent brushed against my cheek. I did not pay much attention and stuck out my tongue to lick my lips.

After a while, I felt an itch on my lips again; this time, the feeling was much clearer, and I felt something wet and soft licking me.

I snapped back to reality. It felt familiar; it was his tongue.

I froze and did not move.

He had stolen kisses from me before while I was asleep, but each time it was just a fleeting touch. I planned to wait until he stopped kissing me before pretending to have just woken up.

To my surprise, he licked it once, then again, without stopping. I could even feel him pressing his nose against my lips and cheeks, inhaling deeply.

I silently endured it, and when I counted to forty-five, I felt an unbearable itch on my entire face from his hot breath; my lips were also numb. I could not take it anymore, so I raised my hand to cover my mouth, pretended to yawn, and opened my eyes.