Chapter 237: Congratulations, You’re About to Have a Wife
After sending the message, Yan Huoshui immediately realized it was in the group chat. He’d been so happy he’d grown careless and forgotten to be on guard against his rivals.
Worried the others might steal his ideas, he quickly retracted it and privately sent it to Shi Lan, adding that she could always ask for more if she wasn’t satisfied.
The dowry in the interstellar era was a bit different. If a male were to violate any of the various female protection laws or the marriage law in the future, the dowry would become the female’s private compensation. Furthermore, she could also claim half of the male’s personal assets.
Of course, if the female violated the marriage law, the dowry would be returned in full. Therefore, for a male who desired a long-lasting marriage, the bigger the dowry, the better. It was a greater temptation for the female, who, after all, would have complete control over the dowry after the wedding.
Yan Huoshui had actually listed two-thirds of his assets on the dowry list. He still needed the remaining third for post-marriage expenses, and besides, some were fixed assets that were difficult to liquidate on short notice.
Jiang Xia the Crybaby: [Cheapskate, why’d you retract it so fast? I didn’t even get to see it.]
Yan Huoshui: [Was afraid you’d freeload.]
Jiang Xia the Crybaby: [Tch, who’s interested? You think I don’t have my own?]
...
For some reason, the conversation turned into a discussion about dowries.
Shi Lan looked at the messages on her chip and the dowry list from Yan Huoshui. She was stunned, and at the same time, she scrambled to search the Star Network for information about marriage. ’The Beast Husbands are providing a dowry,’ she thought, ’so does that mean I should prepare a betrothal gift?’
The more she looked, the more Shi Lan realized that for a female in this world, getting married was a truly profitable venture. As long as she didn’t violate the Marriage Law, the male’s dowry was handed over to the female entirely, becoming her personal asset.
And as for the wedding itself, the female only needed to show up. Nothing else was required of her.
He Hanshi leaned gently against her shoulder. His gaze swept over the nickname Shi Lan had given Jiang Xia in the message pop-up, and he asked nonchalantly, "What are you looking at?"
Shi Lan sighed wistfully. "I just realized how many special privileges females get when they get married."
He Hanshi’s eyes lowered, his expression darkening slightly. His breath warmed the cool skin of Shi Lan’s neck, and his voice was a little hoarse. "No. Lanlan, aren’t the five of us enough? Don’t add any more males, please?"
’Five was already the limit of his endurance. It was the limit of the law, too.’
"Lanlan, if you want money, I’ll give you everything I have. You don’t need to get it by marrying more men. Besides, Jiang Xia and the others are all very wealthy. Lanlan doesn’t need to sacrifice so much."
Sensing the jealousy under his words, Shi Lan smiled, turned off her chip, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "What are you thinking about? I was just sighing about it. Having the five of you is perfect. I wouldn’t be able to handle any more."
The darkness in He Hanshi’s eyes deepened. "So, Lanlan, does that mean if you *could* handle it, you’d take on a few more?"
Shi Lan keenly sensed the danger in his tone and, driven by a strong sense of self-preservation, shook her head. "Of course not. I’m not the type to always be looking for the next best thing. I only want the five of you."
The gloominess hidden in his eyes dissipated, and a gentle smile graced his lips. He affectionately rubbed his nose against hers. "Lanlan is the best."
——
「The day after tomorrow arrived quickly.」
Early in the morning, before it was even ten, several Hovercars were already parked in front of He Hanshi’s house.
The Hovercar doors opened, and several men, all clearly having taken great care with their appearance, stepped out. They shot glances at each other, noting their unspoken agreement to all wear white suits, and offered insincere congratulations. "Congratulations. Today you officially get a wife."
"Yeah, you too. Congrats, congrats."
No one really meant it, but they were all resigned to the fact that they couldn’t get rid of these rivals.
Because they all genuinely loved Shi Lan, none of them would make things difficult for her by asking her to defy interstellar law and marry only one of them. They had long since accepted one another’s existence. They couldn’t stand each other, but they wouldn’t deliberately suppress one another or engage in malicious competition. The most they did was trade sarcastic barbs.
Ye Ming was adjusting his suit. Ever since his father had learned that Shi Lan possessed S Spiritual Power, he hadn’t seemed to have any more objections, even though Ye Ming had never mentioned her Fertility Value.
Still, the look in his father’s eyes had been dark and inscrutable, leaving him with a strange sense of unease.
’But they were getting their licenses today. His father no longer had the right to interfere with his choice.’
’He was his father, yes, but that didn’t give him the right to control his entire life.’
Mu Tangfeng, who usually adored colorful clothes, had for once gone with the flow and worn a white suit. The marriage bureau had a basic dress code for Beastman couples coming to register: they had to wear white to better coordinate with the various photo backdrops for the license.
But he still had his own little tricks. He had tucked a few of his own feathers into his collar, which he had even dyed a little to make them look more vibrant.
Jiang Xia wasn’t a big fan of suits. He found them uncomfortable and preferred his everyday clothes, but for important occasions, he still paid close attention to the required etiquette.
Right now, he was combing his long hair with the comb Shi Lan had given him. He had been in a rush to leave today, and the ends of his hair were a bit tangled; he hadn’t had time to comb them smooth.
Yan Huoshui had taken off his glasses. He stood nonchalantly to the side, a bouquet of red roses in his arms, his eyes fixed on He Hanshi’s yard, trying to catch a glimpse of Shi Lan.
Mu Tangfeng eyed the roses in his hands covetously. "Hey, Yan Huoshui, spare me one, will you?"
Yan Huoshui languidly lifted his foxy eyes, the corners of his rosy lips curving into a sarcastic smile. "On what grounds? If you want one, go buy it yourself."
He gritted his teeth in anger. ’If it wasn’t almost ten o’clock, did he think I wouldn’t go myself?’
’So conniving. To actually remember to bring flowers.’
While Mu Tangfeng was silently cursing him, he was also annoyed with himself. He’d been so preoccupied with getting dressed up this morning, his mind filled with the excitement and anxiety of getting their license, that he had completely forgotten about flowers.
’But at least he wasn’t the only one who had come empty-handed.’
Ye Ming also spared the flowers in Yan Huoshui’s hands a couple of glances. The corners of his lips tightened silently before he produced a bouquet of white roses from his spatial earring.
On top of the white roses sat a doll with long black hair, dressed in a little white dress.
Mu Tangfeng secretly gulped and tried to save face. "It’s just flowers, right? The proposal site I made for Lanlan was covered in them."
Then he looked at Jiang Xia. Jiang Xia, at least, was empty-handed like him. He felt a secret sense of relief; at least he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t brought anything.
’No, this won’t do.’ He quickly made a call to arrange an express delivery. There were still three or four minutes until ten; it should be enough time.
Just then, a Hovercar marked with a professional delivery logo arrived. The delivery person got out. "Whose flowers are these?"
Mu Tangfeng glanced up—they weren’t the champagne-colored roses he had ordered.
Jiang Xia quickly put his comb away and accepted the flowers. "Thanks, man. That was fast."
The delivery person beamed. "You know it! For express delivery, you can count on 1-Second-Arrival. We deliver rain or shine. Have a great day!"
With that, he departed quickly, leaving only a gust of wind in his wake.
Mu Tangfeng’s expression darkened. He stared anxiously at his chip.
Thankfully, with one minute to go until ten, his flowers arrived safely.
He breathed a sigh of relief and happily tipped the guy 1,000 Star Coins, though he couldn’t help but grumble, "If you’d been any later, I was going to give you a zero-star rating."
The delivery guy maintained his smile. "Of course, valued customer. I’ll be even faster next time."
With that, he took the tip and left, beaming.
And just then, right on schedule, Shi Lan and He Hanshi emerged from the villa, hand in hand.
The men waiting outside, who had been lounging about casually, immediately straightened up, their demeanor becoming serious and proper. Each one stood there, holding a bouquet, dressed head to toe in white. They looked more like ’brides’ waiting for their wedding than Shi Lan did.