Chapter 20: Clumsy Maneuvers for Favor

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Yantu finally saw what Felix looked like.

The man on the other end of the video bore a striking resemblance to Xian. The uncle and nephew both had Western Caucasian features—sharp, well-defined lines like finely sculpted artworks, deep-set eyes and brows, broad shoulders, and the upright posture distinctive of soldiers.

Compared to Xian’s full head of golden hair, Felix’s black hair gave him a more composed and mature aura. Yet, unlike what Yantu had imagined, he appeared incredibly young—less like an uncle and more like Xian’s elder brother.

Despite their first meeting unfolding under such awkward circumstances, Felix remained composed. After a brief silence, he bowed deeply and said, “Greetings. I am Felix Lane. Please forgive my earlier offense of words—I shall handwrite a three-thousand-character self-criticism and send it along with an apology to you.”

Yantu was stunned but bowed repeatedly in return. “There’s no need for that.”

They bowed to each other like a wedding ceremony.

Feeling something was amiss, Yantu was the first to straighten up. Seeing Felix stand as well, she finally exhaled.

When Felix bowed to her, she was truly apprehensive.

This was the Empire’s Marshal—the highest-ranking officer commanding the Empire’s military—and also Xian’s senior. How could he be the one bowing to her and offering to write apologies?

Moreover, she was not even angry.

She simply needed to clarify herself: “I am not someone who’s fickle. I’m very sentimental. I will take responsibility for my future partner and will not abandon them after starting.”

Felix gazed steadily at her delicate, porcelain-doll-like face and remained silent for a long moment before asking, “You’re not angry?”

He had never encountered such a forgiving and gentle female. To him, she felt like a soft little rabbit—white, tender, and warm. Just from this brief encounter, he immediately understood why Xian had fallen for her at first sight.

Yantu shook her head. “Really, I’m not angry. I understand your concern for Xian—you are a good uncle.”

After a pause, she added, “I will also try to persuade him. He deserves a female better than me.”

The military headquarters was brightly lit.

A subordinate came to deliver materials to the Marshal’s office. Knocking with no response, he assumed Felix was not there and pushed the door open—only to be startled by the Marshal himself sitting inside.

After delivering the materials and leaving, the subordinate still felt uneasy.

He had never seen the Marshal sit in his office gazing absentmindedly. What was going on today?

The video call had long ended, but Felix still couldn’t come to his senses.

He raised a hand to his chest, feeling his heart beat strangely, while Yantu’s soft, warm voice echoed repeatedly in his mind.

She said she wouldn’t be fickle or abandon him, and that Xian deserved a female better than her.

Better than her… did such a female truly exist?

—

After hearing Felix mention it during the video, Yantu realized that her act of comforting the Black Serpent Beastman had been recorded and posted on the StarNet.

Her number of fans skyrocketed. When she glanced at her light brain, she found her followers had surpassed Earth’s entire population.

Yantu: “...”

She wondered what merit she had earned.

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Her account was still blank—no posts at all—but her fans were crazily sending gifts, filling her account with money she couldn’t possibly spend in a lifetime.

Yantu pondered this even as she tried to sleep, tossing and turning. It was the first time she had insomnia since crossing over.

Once insomnia struck, it lasted several days. She didn’t want to become an internet celebrity, yet felt it was rude to ignore her fans entirely.

After hesitating for days, one early morning she finally got up and told Lu Zhan and Xian, “I want to do a livestream.”

Though she didn’t want to be a web celebrity, at the very least she wanted to express her gratitude to her fans.

One livestream wouldn’t do with just a simple “thank you”—she needed to do something. Since Xian hadn’t made breakfast yet, Yantu gathered some ingredients to livestream making a classic Earth Chinese breakfast: meat buns.

Lu Zhan helped her set up the light brain. There was no need for extra cameras or to find an angle—Yantu just had to turn on the light brain and interact with the audience through the screen.

She hadn’t notified her fans in advance—the livestream was sudden and early in the morning, so she expected few viewers.

Unexpectedly, the moment the livestream began, she hadn’t even seen her own reflection on the screen before it was flooded with endless scrolling comments.

[Early risers see the best things!]

[It’s livestreaming! I can’t believe I caught it!]

[Good morning, dear.]

[Is this really a livestream? I thought I was hallucinating from waking up too early…]

[Good morning! Is this in the kitchen? How can they let a little female into the kitchen?]

[I recall the little female in the Emerald Pavilion once said she wanted to cook for the male. Could it really be true?]

[Letting a female do chores?? Her male must have a lot of guts! I’ve reported it.]

[Reported +1]

Yantu thought they were joking until the next second, when the officially verified Female Protection Association account entered the livestream.

Shocked, she raised both hands: “I’m not the one cooking—it’s Xian.”

They had already divided the roles clearly: Xian would steam the buns for breakfast according to her instructions, and Lu Zhan would serve as the livestream moderator.

Her wide-eyed, raised-hands look resembled a little startled rabbit, which not only made the viewers flood the screen with more comments but also made Lu Zhan reach out to tousle her hair.

Yantu squinted her eyes in pleasure at the touch, not avoiding it. She tilted her face up to Lu Zhan with a sweet smile.

Since Lu Zhan had said they were family, their relationship had grown closer.

Lu Zhan was a few years older, considered her older brother, so having her “brother” ruffle her hair was a gesture of affection she very much enjoyed.

Xian, watching enviously nearby, also reached out to touch Yantu but didn’t make contact.

Yantu shifted closer to Lu Zhan.

She saw Xian looked disappointed but resolutely pretended not to notice.

Unlike Lu Zhan, Xian’s feelings for her were romantic. He had already confessed.

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She couldn’t give a clear answer, so it was best to avoid unnecessary physical contact—to neither give Xian hope nor cause him anguish.

She taught Xian how to knead and proof the dough, keeping a certain distance between them.

When adjusting the filling to confirm seasoning, she leaned in slightly but subtly avoided his touch.

Scrolling comments appeared:

[Yantu obviously prefers Lu Zhan. Females really favor the gentle and refined type.]

[Yeah, herbivore males are more favored by females than carnivores. Though Lu Zhan isn’t exactly a herbivore, he seems gentler than Major General Xian. Females like gentle ones.]

[So does that mean our military’s carnivore males are doomed to be unloved?]

[Major General Xian, you’re so disappointing…]

Yantu was busy teaching Xian how to prepare the bun filling and didn’t see the comments.

Only Lu Zhan saw them clearly as the livestream moderator, a hint of amusement hidden behind his shaded eyes.

He drew close to Yantu, gently wrapping his slender shoulders. “Teach me too.”

As a male who barely passed cooking class, he naturally couldn’t compare to Xian, a perfect score student. So it made sense for the little female to teach him hand-in-hand, right?

Yantu didn’t detect Lu Zhan’s subtle scheme, nor did she notice the growing tension in the kitchen.

She earnestly taught Lu Zhan how to knead the dough and correct his technique when suddenly she heard a soft hiss from Xian’s side.

Looking up, she gasped, eyes wide: “Did you cut your hand?”

In a panic, she abandoned Lu Zhan and rushed to Xian’s side.

Forget about avoiding suspicion, she tiptoed and grabbed Xian’s bleeding hand: “Let me see!”

The livestream was flooded with question marks—

[????? Cut hand? Who’s that clumsy? Xian?]

[If I remember correctly, Xian has been the Empire’s Cold Weapon Fighting Champion since age seventeen. He’s more skilled with a blade than with an energy gun. Him? Cutting himself while chopping?]

[Such a clumsy trick to win favor—who would fall for it???]

[??????????]

[What’s going on? The little female actually believes it??]

[He’s obviously doing it on purpose! You really believe that????]