Chapter 12 – An Incident
When Hua Mian’s hand touched Yan An’s arm, she immediately noticed his body was burning hot. In the dim light of the bedside lamp, she could also see that his eyes were hazy and unfocused.
“Are you running a fever?” she asked in confusion.
“Madam… big sister… uncomfortable…”
Yan An whimpered and called out shakily. His voice, still carrying the clear youthfulness of a young man along with soft pleading, was enough to make anyone’s heart soften.
“Where does it hurt?”
Hua Mian frowned slightly. Strange… why did he suddenly develop a fever?
“Madam, help me…”
“You…”
“Madam… big sister…”
Hua Mian suddenly thought of something—and slowly leaned in to kiss him.
The night passed in a rush of heat and rose-scented warmth.
When Hua Mian woke again, she was still lying in Yan An’s arms. The moment she moved, Yan An’s body stiffened nervously.
She lifted her head and saw his eyes were closed, though his eyeballs twitched beneath the lids.
“Pretending to sleep, huh?” Hua Mian poked his cheek with her fingertip.
Yan An reluctantly opened his eyes. With a flattering smile, he leaned close and nuzzled her ear like a spoiled puppy.
“Madam…”
“Hm?” Hua Mian shifted her sore waist slightly.
“I still want…”
“No.” Hua Mian instantly covered his mouth with her hand, shutting him up through action rather than words.
Yan An’s dark eyes filled with visible grievance.
By the time Hua Mian washed up and came out, Yan An had already cleaned the entire room. Seeing her step out so suddenly, he even jumped in surprise before hurrying over to offer her a cup of warm water—practically wagging his tail like an eager puppy.
When the two went downstairs, Chi Rui was clearing the dishes Chu Fufeng had already finished. He served a beautifully arranged breakfast to Hua Mian.
“Good morning, Madam.”
Chi Rui’s gaze hesitated when it landed on Yan An, who was following Hua Mian with a sweet pink atmosphere floating all around him.
So… he got comforted?
Not long after breakfast, Chi Rui received a communication. After reading it, he suddenly shot to his feet. He took a few hurried steps, then abruptly turned and walked straight toward Hua Mian.
His sudden approach startled her, and she crossed her arms defensively, leaning back warily.
Chi Rui didn’t notice and rushed up to her.
“Madam, something’s happened to Brother Xueji and Brother Yu Jin. I need to take Fufeng and go find them. Yan An will stay here to accompany you.”
Hua Mian asked, “What happened?”
Chi Rui’s expression was tight with anxiety. He was only telling her because she had managed to calm Yan An down earlier—but right now, he had no time to explain details properly.
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
“You’re seriously planning to just rush to a wild planet with no preparation?” Hua Mian raised a brow.
“I…”
Chi Rui realized his tone had been too brusque. Seeing Yan An’s disapproving look as well, he forced himself to calm down.
“Sorry, I was too anxious. Thank you for reminding me.”
Hua Mian saw that he still wasn’t going to explain further, so she didn’t press. She had fulfilled her basic humanitarian concern.
But… wait.
Wasn’t this event not in the original story?
Or was this something from the past of the five leading male characters that the author skipped—preferring instead to write endless R-rated scenes between the heroine and beastmen?
Unable to figure it out, Hua Mian simply lay back down, continuing to scroll through panda videos to pass time.
“Madam.”
“Hm?”
“I… I’m a little worried,” Yan An whispered.
“Hm, I’m worried too,” Hua Mian replied casually out of habit.
“Then… why don’t we go with Brother Chi Rui?”
“Alright.”
“That’s wonderful! You’re the best!”
Only after responding did Hua Mian realize what she had just agreed to. Her expression froze.
“Ah… Yan An, it’s not that I refuse to go—it’s that your Brother Chi Rui doesn’t want me tagging along! Even if we went to the wild planet, we wouldn’t help. Better to wait at home for them to return safely.”
She sincerely coaxed Yan An back into calm.
If Shen Xueji and Yu Jin couldn’t handle the situation, what use were she—a fragile female—and Yan An, who was sometimes not the sharpest? They’d only cause more trouble.
Meanwhile…
Chi Rui was reporting the situation to Chu Fufeng, who rarely even carried his communicator.
When he finished relaying everything, he stared at Chu Fufeng’s calm expression in surprise.
This composure was completely unlike the typical Chu Fufeng. His face was expressionless, cool, and quiet—almost like Shen Xueji.
“So you’re saying that Brother Xueji and Brother Yu Jin were detained by the beastman mate of a soother, for unknown reasons?” Chu Fufeng asked.
“Yes. The message came from an unfamiliar terminal,” Chi Rui replied.
“What’s the soother’s name?”
“Her name is Sophia.”
“The C-rank soother?”
Chi Rui nodded with difficulty. This was the biggest problem.
Soothers held extremely high status. Even if her beastman mate killed Shen Xueji and Yu Jin, they might not be able to pursue charges.
Worse, they didn’t even know how the two had offended her. Their communicators were unreachable.
Chu Fufeng hesitated. “Have you told her?”
Chi Rui immediately understood who “her” referred to. He nodded and quietly relayed the exchange he’d had with Hua Mian.
After a moment of silence, Chu Fufeng said, “We have to bring her along.”
Seeing Chi Rui’s confused expression, he explained:
“With our strength, it’ll be very hard to rescue Brother Xueji and Brother Yu Jin from a beastman who could restrain them—and especially one who belongs to a C-rank soother.”
“The best solution is to have her negotiate with the soother directly.”
Chi Rui swallowed. “Will she go save them?”
His intuition was sharp—Hua Mian clearly had no intention of running off to a wild planet earlier.
Chu Fufeng also fell silent. He couldn’t promise.
“…Ask her,” he said.
Hua Mian looked up when Chi Rui approached her again—only for him to drop to his knees abruptly, giving her a shock.
“What are you doing?”
Good grief, what a way to shorten her lifespan. This wasn’t ancient feudal times! Why did everyone keep kneeling at the drop of a hat? The original Hua Mian must have trained them way too thoroughly.
“Madam, I want to ask you to come with us—to save Brother Xueji and Brother Yu Jin.”
“That’s great, Madam! We can go!” Yan An cheered from the side.
Neither of the other two paid him any attention.
Hua Mian reflexively prepared to refuse. But halfway to speaking, she realized…
If she refused and they resented her later… she would be doomed.
So she swallowed the rejection.
“Didn’t you say I didn’t need to worry about it?”
Chi Rui’s face paled, and he immediately offered a smooth, formal apology.
“What exactly happened?” Hua Mian asked. She was sure Chi Rui had just come from Chu Fufeng.
As expected—Chu Fufeng definitely wanted her dead on that wild planet!
Why go so far just to set her up?!
Chi Rui explained everything again—adding dramatic emphasis, insisting that only she could save Shen Xueji and Yu Jin.
Hua Mian: …No need to flatter me this hard.
“So you want me to go talk to this C-rank soother, Sophia, and ask her beastman mate to release them?”
Chi Rui nodded like a pecking chicken.
“Don’t you think you’re giving me too much credit? I’m just an ordinary female.”
“Madam—”
“Sister…” Yan An stared at her pitifully.
Hua Mian glanced at him helplessly.
After hesitating a moment, Chi Rui tried—
“Sis… sister…”
Hua Mian: …
She watched as Chi Rui’s face gradually turned red. With a headache coming on, she rubbed her temples.
“…Fine.”
Three hours later, Hua Mian was seated inside a starship of the interstellar era, heading toward the unnamed wild planet numbered C892, preparing to pass through the first wormhole.
As they entered the wormhole, she felt a brief wave of ringing ears and nausea, though it faded quickly.
Chi Rui handed her a small box of fruits—blueberry-like, but with turquoise skins.
She accepted it—just in time to see Chu Fufeng buckling his luggage closed.
Did he give this? What if it was poisoned?
She hesitated.
“Madam, try it! These are Greenberry Fruits—they’re extremely rare and expensive each year!”
