Chapter 263: Her Confusion
In the interstellar era, Beastman couples had many ways of addressing each other. The most common was simply using their names. Many also called their partners "husband," though this was mostly used between couples who were very close.
However, these terms of address weren’t a definitive measure of a Beastman couple’s affection. He Hanshi didn’t actually care about the word itself, but rather the meaning behind it.
For Shi Lan to call him "husband" meant that she was truly beginning to accept his status as her Beast Husband from the very bottom of her heart.
He Hanshi looked at the woman before him, and his heart completely melted.
Not long after the two of them went downstairs, the doorbell rang. A look at the security monitor showed Ye Ming and the other three men standing outside, each holding a bouquet of flowers.
The scene gave Shi Lan a flash of déjà vu, reminding her of their proposals.
However, after He Hanshi opened the door to let them in, they all wished Shi Lan a "Happy Birthday" and presented her with their flowers.
Shi Lan couldn’t hold all the bouquets, so she stored them in her Space Chain, telling the men she would take turns holding each of them later.
Jiang Xia sidled up to her clingily and took one of her hands with practiced ease. "Lanlan, it’s okay. It’s the thought that counts. If you’re tired, Lanlan, you don’t have to hold them."
Mu Tangfeng shot a jealous glance at the hand holding Shi Lan’s, but his tone was one of restrained gentleness when he spoke to her. "It’s alright, Lanlan. You don’t have to hold the flowers."
Ye Ming and Yan Huoshui both echoed the sentiment.
At this, Shi Lan put the flowers away for the time being. They had all prepared birthday presents for her to open, and holding the bouquets would make it difficult to unwrap them.
Since He Hanshi hadn’t let them in during the night, they had all stashed her birthday gifts elsewhere.
Jiang Xia, being the most straightforward, had simply kept his in his Space Chain.
Mu Tangfeng was a little more cunning, having hidden his gift under the great clock of the church where he’d proposed. They would have to fly up to the sky to retrieve it.
Ye Ming had left his inside the Interstellar Mansion. Just as he had always intended, he had been wanting to give the entire estate to Shi Lan for a long time.
The security guard at the gate watched the group of people get out of the Hovercar, at first assuming they were just another group of powerful elites. But when he looked up, he saw they were all familiar faces.
He recognized Shi Lan, Ye Ming, and the others, of course, but what shocked him was seeing He Hanshi among them.
The security guard finally couldn’t contain his excitement. With trembling hands, he took out his lion figurine and nearly stumbled to his knees in front of He Hanshi. "Ad-Admiral He, c-can you... can you give me... an autograph?"
"I... I admire you more than anyone. Y-You’re my... my idol."
He was so excited he could barely get the words out.
He Hanshi was usually distant and cold toward strangers, but seeing the older man nearly fall, he quickly steadied him. "Are you alright?"
"I-I’m fine."
The older guard swallowed hard, his face filled with the joy of meeting his idol, and he continued to grip the White Lion figurine tightly in his hand.
He Hanshi sighed in resignation. Thinking that Lanlan might live in this community in the future, he took the figurine and wrote his signature and the date on its base.
The guard accepted it with almost religious reverence. Only after the group had gone inside did he call out in a daze, "Admiral He, I wish you and your wife a long and happy life together!"
The words had barely left his mouth when another group of people appeared before him.
The guard looked up. Jiang Xia, Mu Tangfeng, Ye Ming, and Yan Huoshui were all staring daggers at him.
The guard was baffled. Jiang Xia shot him a fierce glare. "Why didn’t you wish us well? Don’t I deserve a long and happy life with my wife?"
With trembling lips, the older guard repeated the same blessing. Satisfied, Jiang Xia finally left.
Noticing the others were still staring at him, he had no choice but to repeat the blessing again and again.
After he had finally seen them all off, he collapsed to the ground, wiped his sweat, and slapped his own cheek. "Yikes, gotta be more careful next time~"
’Still, who could be so lucky as to get autographs from both Admiral He and the Eldest Prince at the same time?’
’Me!!’
The older guard couldn’t wait to go on the Star Network to flaunt his prize, which immediately drew a torrent of envy, jealousy, and mockery from other users.
「Meanwhile.」
When Shi Lan received Ye Ming’s gift, she discovered he had not only given her an entire estate, but also a private yacht to visit the island on Capital Star where he had proposed.
Not only that, but Jiang Xia had emptied his savings account to buy her a private planet. The only reason it took all his savings was that he had already given the rest of his money to Shi Lan as a dowry.
But Jiang Xia was thrilled. He had finally fulfilled a promise he’d once made to himself: to buy a tourist planet.
Mu Tangfeng also gifted her real estate on Capital Star.
In addition to these, there were many other gifts, both large and small.
Yan Huoshui’s birthday gift was saved for last, but it was also the most thoughtfully planned.
He had placed all of his gifts in a luxurious restaurant, where he had booked an entire floor to host a private birthday celebration for her.
There were roses, music, fine wine, and exquisite food—everything one could ask for, along with many more gifts.
Each of them clearly had their own little secret plans and didn’t say much at first. It was only after seeing the gifts that they realized everyone had the same unspoken idea: they had all prepared 25 gifts for Shi Lan.
Just like He Hanshi, they all regretted not having been a part of Shi Lan’s past, but they were overjoyed that they would be by her side from now on.
As she sat down to eat, Shi Lan thought about the mountain of gifts she had just unwrapped and still felt a sense of unreality, a mix of indescribable emotion and bewilderment.
’The unreality came from the fact that I’d become wealthy all over again just by celebrating my birthday. I received multiple properties, a private planet, and Yan Huoshui, knowing I like Energy Stones, even managed to procure and gift me an entire Energy Stone mine on Red Flame Star.’
’I was once again struck by the reality of my newfound wealth. This was even more tangible than the dowry lists, as these were almost all fixed assets. Of course, I hadn’t looked too closely at my personal balance. If I had, I would have discovered that my Beast Husbands’ accounts were linked to mine, with funds that I alone had the authority to spend.’
’As for the bewildering mix of emotions, that was because I could sense the profound love my husbands had for me, but I wasn’t sure how much affection I had for them in return.’
’It was probably less than what they felt for me.’
’I had always been a person accustomed to being single, and I had always consciously avoided deep emotional attachments.’
’And now, this shift in my relationships and status left me terrified that I wouldn’t be good enough.’
’That I wouldn’t be a good wife, that I couldn’t properly reciprocate their feelings.’
Lost in these thoughts, Shi Lan’s eating slowed considerably. Even Jiang Xia, usually the most enthusiastic eater of the group, noticed something was off.
First of all, Yan Huoshui had pre-ordered all the dishes on the table to perfectly suit Shi Lan’s tastes, so there was no reason for her to dislike the food. Second, she normally had a look of pure delight on her face when she ate, radiating the bliss of savoring a good meal. But right now, her expression was vacant, and she seemed to be lost in thought.
Yan Huoshui put down his chopsticks and was the first to ask, "Lanlan, what’s wrong? You don’t have an appetite?"
Shi Lan snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "No."
"Is something troubling you, Lanlan? Would you mind telling me about it? I’m more than willing to be your listener."
His lips curved into a smile. His red eyes lost their sharp edge, becoming deep and captivating, as if silently tempting her to let down her guard.