The moonlight was hazy, and the budding roses shyly lowered their heads. For an instant, the passage of time seemed to slow.

From an outsider’s perspective, their current position might appear to be lovers lost in a deep, lingering kiss. But to them, it felt more like a strange, awkward, and overly intimate embrace.

“… Is she gone?”

With his chin pinched in someone else’s hand, Zhu Ming’s voice came out somewhat muffled. “It’s been 30 seconds. I doubt even real couples have that kind of lung capacity.”

Xi Xianqing’s grip loosened slightly as he turned his head, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room behind them.

Zhu Yingying’s figure had indeed disappeared.

As Xi Xianqing turned back, just as he was about to say something, his words caught in his throat when he looked at the person in the wheelchair.

The person in the wheelchair had disheveled hair, with faint red fingerprints on his cheeks. Everything about him seemed disordered and suggestive, except for those clear, bright black eyes staring intently at him.

“Still not gone?”

With his view blocked by Xi Xianqing, Zhu Ming craned his neck to look. “She’s pretty hard to fool… should we try a hotter pose?”

“Gone.”

A subtle feeling finally registered in Xi Xianqing’s heart as he abruptly straightened up. “It’s getting late. I’ve fulfilled my part of the agreement. I hope in the future, you can also—”

“Don’t go yet.” Before he could finish, the person before him tugged at his sleeve and interrupted in a soft, suggestive tone. “Tonight, can you stay a little longer?”

“…?”

Ten minutes later, inside the latest biological lab pod in District Seven.

As expected of the latest model, it incorporated District Seven’s cutting-edge space compression technology. The experimental space it offered was vast, and the instruments it came equipped with were state-of-the-art—a dream lab pod for any researcher.

Back when Zhu Ming was at the District Seven Research Institute, he had submitted a request to secure one for his team. It would have allowed his students and colleagues to work from home, ensuring they could take proper breaks during holidays. This way, they wouldn’t have to rush back to the lab daily to change the culture medium during cell cultivation.

Of course, his request was promptly denied by the institute director, with the justification that people in District Seven generally don’t take holidays.

He never imagined that one day his dream would come true, albeit thanks to someone from District Six.

“Relax a bit,” Zhu Ming said politely in front of the lab table. “And release to your heart’s content.”

Xi Xianqing: “…”

Xi Xianqing remained silent as neuroproton particles slowly gathered around his feet, their crystalline glow gradually taking shape.

Zhu Ming focused intently, jotting down every minute observation in his lab notebook.

The elegant, beautiful grand green peac0ck reappeared before Zhu Ming—it first cast a haughty glance at him with its beady eyes, then lowered its head to peck at the feathers on its chest.

The white fox resting on Zhu Ming’s lap leapt to the ground, sniffed curiously at the green peac0ck’s long, graceful tail feathers, but quickly lost interest. It curled up at Zhu Ming’s feet and fell asleep.

After completing the most basic observations, Zhu Ming instructed, “Good, now try implanting a suggestion in your mind. Focus all your mental strength on the tail feathers.”

Xi Xianqing pursed his lips.

Ten seconds later, Zhu Ming stared at the motionless peac0ck tail, pondering aloud, “Are you really trying?”

Xi Xianqing’s expression darkened. “If I could do it on my own, would I even be here looking for you?”

Zhu Ming: “Relax and try again.”

Xi Xianqing silently exhaled and closed his eyes.

Ten seconds later, the large peac0ck finally showed some movement—it turned arrogantly, then lay down next to the white fox, presenting its butt to both Xi Xianqing and Zhu Ming, and promptly settled into a resting state.

Not a single feather on its buttocks moved.

“Not even the slightest fluctuation, it’s more serious than I thought.”

Zhu Ming closed his lab notebook, arriving at a conclusion. “Now, I’m going to ask you a few questions. Don’t lie, and don’t argue. I’m a doctor, and you need to answer with a sense of responsibility toward yourself.”

“…Ask.”

“First question: Do you consider your spiritual manifestation as a part of yourself, an independent entity, or both?”

Xi Xianqing’s brows furrowed, “What do you mean?”

Zhu Ming pointed to the fox at his feet and explained gently, “For example, I personally view this fox as a part of my own body. However, some people are more inclined to see their spiritual manifestation as pets, existing independently from themselves.”

Xi Xianqing stared at the motionless green peac0ck on the ground.

After a moment he vaguely said, “It should be the latter.”

“Good.” Zhu Ming made a note. “And does it have a name?”

“…Doesn’t have a name.”

“Then I’ll help you come up with one. It’ll make it easier for us to communicate about your condition, and it’ll be helpful for record-keeping.”

“Whatever.”

“Okay.” In the next moment, Xi Xianqing heard Zhu Ming cheerfully say to the peac0ck, “Xiao Qing, relax ha, I’m going to touch you now.”

Xi Xianqing took a deep breath. “Can you pick a different name?”

“Sure ya. Xiao Lu,1Little Green Cui Cui, or Bi Bi.2Bluish-green; green jade Take your pick.”

Zhu Ming pondered for a moment, then suggested, “Or maybe a homonym for a name? Let me think. Xi Xianqing, Xi Xianqing… how about Dish Soap?3Xi Jiejing What do you think?”

“…” Xi Xianqing just wanted this torturous session to end as quickly as possible. Frustrated, he muttered, “Whatever you want.”

“Now, I’m going to put on this sensor glove to focus my mental energy into my palm temporarily. The goal is to establish a connection with Dish Soap.”

Zhu Ming slipped on the glove. “In simple terms, I need to touch it to make sure there are no issues with the connection between its feathers and its body.”

Xi Xianqing felt somewhat relieved that he hadn’t chosen the option of viewing his spiritual manifestation as a part of himself. Otherwise, Zhu Ming would be saying something like “touching you” right now, which would’ve sounded incredibly awkward. “…Go ahead.”

Zhu Ming wheeled himself closer, put on the sensor glove, and bent forward with some difficulty to gently stroke the peac0ck’s feathers.

Even though it was just his spiritual manifestation, the scene still gave Xi Xianqing an indescribable feeling, causing him to turn his face away.

“Dish Soap’s physical form appears to be quite healthy.” A moment later, Zhu Ming straightened up, drawing a conclusion. “So, unfortunately, the issue lies with you.”

Xi Xianqing’s expression was blank. “Thank you. I honestly wouldn’t have figured that out without your insight.”

Zhu Ming ignored the sarcasm in his words. “I have a second question. This one isn’t directly related to our treatment, so if it makes you uncomfortable, you can choose not to answer.”

Xi Xianqing paused for a little while and nodded.

“Actually, while your symptoms are relatively rare, compared to other cases I’ve encountered, they don’t seem to have significantly affected your quality of life.”

Zhu Ming carefully chose his words, trying to keep his tone tactful. “I’ve seen patients who were extremely self-conscious because their spiritual manifestation was a fly and asked if a spiritual manifestation transplant was possible. I’ve also dealt with patients whose spiritual manifestation were congenitally obese, pleading with me to arrange a weight-loss treatment.”

“These patients shared a common trait: their spiritual manifestations’ abnormalities had already impacted their everyday social interactions.”

Zhu Ming’s gaze returned to the large peac0ck before him. “But as for Dish Soap…”

He hesitated, unsure of how to express his thoughts. However, Xi Xianqing calmly took over the conversation. “You think that being unable to spread its tail is merely a minor aesthetic issue and doesn’t affect my life, right?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Zhu Ming shook his head. “A spiritual manifestation is deeply significant to everyone. Even the slightest change in its appearance is closely tied to psychological abnormalities.”

He gently stroked the peac0ck’s beautiful tail feathers with his sensor-gloved hand. “I’m simply curious—do you really think that treating this symptom is worth the cost of a marriage?”

After the words were spoken, Zhu Ming realized he seemed to have asked a stupid question.

In District Six, beauty is a way of life, and the Xi Family, where Xi Xianqing hailed from, was at its very heart. For someone constantly in the spotlight, an obsession with even the smallest details wasn’t exactly incomprehensible.

Zhu Ming looked at the person sitting across from him and hesitated before adding, “It’s actually understandable. Your district places a much higher value on the aesthetics of spiritual manifestations than other districts do…”

“It has nothing to do with aesthetics.”

Xi Xianqing interrupted him with a steady tone. “The reason I want it to spread its tail is because it’s one of the decisive factors in my candidacy for District Six’s representative.”

“The spiritual manifestation is related to your family’s representative’s race?” Zhu Ming was completely taken aback by this explanation, his eyes widening. “Are you saying that your district requires you to be able to spread its tail to become a representative? That’s ridiculous…”

A vein twitched at Xi Xianqing’s temple. He seemed eager to refute that claim but found himself at a loss for words.

With a slight clench of his jaw, he conceded, “The reality is a bit more complicated than that, but yes, essentially, that’s the case.”

A century ago, Xi Star originally consisted of only six districts. After the war with the neighboring star ended, the quality of life improved rapidly, and the golden age of religion and aesthetics began to unfold.

Thanks to the vigorous advocacy of the Xi Family’s ancestors early on, District Six was able to separate from the West to focus exclusively on aesthetic research, while the former District Six evolved into what is now known as District Seven.

This is also why District Six is the only one where the representative position is inherited through a family-based system.

Artistic flair seemed to run in their veins as if it were a natural trait for artists. The Old Master Xi Jianfeng, in his youth, traveled through various districts in search of inspiration. One could say he journeyed through a sea of flowers and came back with 800 petals stuck to him.

Over the years, he had too many descendants—some already married with three children, others not even past infancy. Deciding who would inherit his position became a significant dilemma.

In the end, Old Master Xi could only filter them out one by one: first, those with mediocre talent unlikely to achieve anything great, and then those with a bad reputation and indulgent lifestyles.

In the end, two people were left, Xi Xianqing and his cousin, Xi Sen.

Xi Xianqing explained, “A long time ago, the Xi Family established a supposedly fair assessment system.”

As a native of District Seven, Zhu Ming’s understanding of assessments was rather superficial. “So, do you guys have to take exams and answer questions too?”

“Of course not.” Xi Xianqing shot Zhu Ming a glance. “If you want to test a designer’s ability, you can only evaluate their works.”

“The cousin I just mentioned, Xi Sen, is a high-fashion clothing designer. Her task is to design a gown for the representatives of Districts One, Three, and Five.”

Xi Xianqing said, “For me, I have to travel to Districts Two, Four, and Seven to design a unique piece of jewelry for each of their representatives.”

Zhu Ming felt like he was listening to a scene on a dog-blooded soap opera about power struggles within a wealthy family, mixed with the plotline of a dungeon-crawling game.

He instantly became interested as well, propping his chin on his hand and asking, “What about your judging criteria, how do you set them?”

“For the sake of fairness, the district representatives don’t communicate with us directly. Instead, they convey their evaluations to my grandfather.”

Xi Xianqing said. “So, ultimately, the scores are still subject to the old man’s personal judgment.”

Zhu Ming seemed thoughtful. “I still don’t understand—how does this relate to your need for your spiritual manifestation to spread its tail?”

Xi Xianqing fell into an odd silence, and even the large peac0ck stopped pecking at its feathers.

Zhu Ming blinked, and the sleepy white fox at his feet suddenly came to life because of the gossip, it stared intently at Xi Xianqing with its round black eyes.

Xi Xianqing slowly said, “The problem is that, after the assessment, once the creations are given to the district representatives I… need to take a group photo with them.”

“Huh?”

“This group photo will be preserved in the family’s album as part of the assessment process. It’s also a tradition that the Xi Family has upheld for many years.”

He paused before adding, “The requirement for the group photo is that every candidate must have their spiritual manifestation appear in the picture, and it must… spread their feathers.”

Zhu Ming: “…?”

Avoiding Zhu Ming’s gaze, Xi Xianqing continued with a stoic expression, “Because all the Xi Family’s spiritual manifestations are birds.”

The person sitting across from him stayed silent for a long time, and Xi Xianqing couldn’t help but glance up.

He found Zhu Ming pursing his lips and staring at himself with a serious expression.

Xi Xianqing coldly said, “If you want to laugh, just go ahead.”

Zhu Ming’s shoulders shook as he turned his face away, fist pressed to his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter. “Pfft—”

“Sorry, I really… ahem, ahem.”

He was practically choking on his suppressed laughter. To cover it up, he cleared his throat. “So, hypothetically speaking, if you took that photo without having your spiritual manifestation spread its tail, what would be the consequences?”

Xi Xianqing shot him a chilly glance.

“As a District Six native, especially a member of the Xi Family, the emphasis we place on spiritual manifestation is something you can’t possibly comprehend. Even the slightest flaw would be magnified. It would be seen as a sign of poor health and will be criticized as imperfect.”

The cold white lights of the lab pod cast a stark glow, and Xi Xianqing sat in the dim corner, his profile half-submerged in shadow. “And it could very well cause me to miss out on my chance to finally becoming the representative.”

Zhu Ming looked at his face and smiled slightly, “I understand.”

“In fact, I should probably be encouraging you to fight for the representative position. That way, you’d be more willing to marry me.”

Zhu Ming spoke softly, “But I still have to ask: you’re very young, already highly respected in your field. Is it really worth sacrificing your life and marriage just for an honorary title?”

As he asked, the smile on Zhu Ming’s face faded. His dark eyes fixed on Xi Xianqing with an uncharacteristic intensity.

In truth, Xi Xianqing could have easily dismissed the question with a casual “It’s worth it.”

But inexplicably, he felt that this question was important to Zhu Ming.

After a moment of silence, Xi Xianqing responded, “Resources, status, and prestige are the obvious benefits. But at its core, the reason I’m vying for this position is the same as why you sought an arranged marriage with me.”

Zhu Ming was stunned, “The same as me?”

Xi Xianqing nodded. “To outsiders, it might seem like there’s little controversy over the District Six representative seat. After all, it’s always going to stay within the Xi Family.”

“But a large family is made up of many smaller ones, and the infighting among those bound by blood can be the most ruthless and cruel.”

Xi Xianqing rose from the shadows, the cold white light of the lab pod spilling over his profile. His tone was calm, detached: “Born into such a family, if you don’t eventually reach the top, you’ll spend your entire life living in fear.”

“Just as you wish to protect your aunt, I also have someone I want to protect,” he said. “The person you were originally set up for a blind date—my sister.”