"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Pei Shiyi, don’t cry!"

"Stop crying, stop crying. We can talk things over, okay?"

Before her, Pei Shiyi was weeping pitifully, demanding a formal commitment from Yu Lan.

Not far away, the reporters Huo Zhanting and his group had called over were all wide-eyed and straining to hear. Their cameras were trained frantically on the pair, their faces alight with the gossipy glee of people who didn’t want to miss a single moment of the drama.

Then there were the passersby at the Star Port. Some had seen on the Star Network that the scene was being live-streamed.

They immediately looked up, searching their surroundings. Upon spotting Yu Lan and her companions, they scrambled over, their phone cameras flashing and clicking away.

Yu Lan was completely frazzled, her smile growing stiff.

She couldn’t resist shooting a glare at Huo Zhanting, Li Yucheng, and the rest of them.

’Look at this brilliant idea of yours.’

’I told you we should have just met with Pei Shiyi secretly to clear things up.’

’Look at the mess this has turned into.’

’A bunch of idiots.’

Yu Lan wished she could smack each one of them with a hammer.

They’ve made me an interstellar trending topic again.

Huo Zhanting and the others didn’t look much better.

Pei Shiyi’s sudden, direct approach—bursting into tears right in front of the cameras—had almost caught them completely off guard.

At the same time, however, it only solidified their certainty.

’This guy is definitely after Yu Lan.’

’Damn him.’

’Another male coveting Yu Lan.’

All the men gritted their teeth in unison.

Yu Lan was frantically trying to coax Pei Shiyi to stop his pitiful tears, desperate to get him away from the chaotic scene.

"Pei Shiyi, there are too many people here."

"Please, stop crying for now. Let’s go somewhere else so we can talk this through properly, alright?"

The beautiful young female’s soft, smooth hand rested on the man’s large, well-defined one.

A tremor ran through Pei Shiyi’s heart, but he gave Yu Lan no chance to take it back. He immediately turned his hand over, enclosing hers, and pressed,

"Talk about what?"

"Are we going to discuss when we’re getting married and having the wedding?"

"If that’s what we’re talking about, then I’ll go with you."

"Oh my god!"

The moment Pei Shiyi finished speaking, the surrounding crowd of eavesdroppers erupted in shrieks and gasps.

"Are they already talking about when they’re going to have the wedding?"

"If I’m not mistaken, Princess Yu Lan and Marshal Huo’s group still haven’t had a formal wedding."

The faces of Huo Zhanting and his companions instantly turned thunderous.

Even the face of Shen Zueran, who was usually gentle, calm, and composed, instantly grew stiff and icy.

’Was it that they didn’t want to marry Yu Lan?’

’Was it that they didn’t want a wedding?’

’The men were going insane just thinking about it.’

’They were just worried that bringing it up suddenly would make them seem too desperate. They wanted to nurture their relationship with Lanlan first and bring it up slowly.’

’Did he think everyone was as shameless as Pei Shiyi, with no restraint whatsoever, just demanding a title, marriage, and a wedding?’

Argh!

’How could he just do that?!’

’If they had known, they would have brought it up too.’

In that moment, the men were filled with a mix of regret and irritation.

Yu Lan didn’t have time to think about any of that. The crowd at the Star Port gathering around them was growing by the second.

She grabbed Pei Shiyi’s hand and bolted.

"Quick, let’s go! We can talk about the wedding later."

He was clearly a tall and sturdy 3S-level male who could tear a Starship apart with one hand.

Yet now, he was being led away effortlessly by the small, beautiful female.

As he passed Huo Zhanting and the others, he didn’t forget to shoot them a covert, provocative glare.

His lips formed silent words.

’Thanks for the assist.’

’Did they really think he didn’t know who had summoned the media?’

’Having received an elite education since birth, the Lord of the Deep Sea was hardly a nobody.’

Huo Zhanting and the others clenched their fists tightly. If not for the crowd, they would have planted a fist right in Pei Shiyi’s face.

"Let’s go!"

"We can’t let him get away with this."

Huo Zhanting took a deep breath, then turned and strode after Yu Lan.

There was no way he could let Yu Lan be alone with that scheming male.

Otherwise, there was no telling what might happen.

「Ten minutes later.」

「In a coffee shop.」

The moment they arrived, Pei Shiyi ignored the murderous glares from the other males and sat right down next to Yu Lan.

He pressed himself right up against the beautiful young female.

"I don’t care. You stole my first kiss, and for us Deep Sea Merfolk, a first kiss is only for one’s wife."

"You must marry me."

Yu Lan sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. Seeing the jealous, hurt looks on the faces of Huo Zhanting and the others, she tried to defend herself:

"Pei Shiyi, you’re the one who told me to kiss you. That’s the only reason I did it."

"Right, right, I told you to kiss me, so you kissed me. Now I’m telling you to marry me, so why won’t you marry me?"

Pei Shiyi was pulling out all the stops to secure his claim.

Right in front of Huo Zhanting and the others, he crossed his arms, tilted his chin up, and with a look of haughty pride, dropped another bombshell.

"You even used your tongue."

"You took advantage of me!"

BOOM!

Pei Shiyi’s accusation struck like a bolt of lightning.

It shocked everyone present to their core, leaving them reeling.

"Y-you..."

Yu Lan’s pretty, fair face instantly flushed crimson, her ears burning.

Her beautiful amber eyes widened as she bit her lip in a mix of shame and indignation, wanting to say something but unable to form the words.

There was a simple reason.

It was all true.

Yu Lan couldn’t utter a single word in her defense.

Shen Zueran and the others, meanwhile, were completely frozen, stunned by the revelation that Yu Lan had not only initiated a kiss with Pei Shiyi, but had used her tongue.

They shot a venomous glare at Pei Shiyi before turning in unison to stare dumbfounded at Yu Lan. Gradually, their expressions turned to ones of pure hurt.

Su Xingye was the first to speak:

"Lanlan, I want one too!"

Li Yucheng, not to be outdone:

"Lanlan, I want one too."

Jun Lin Yuan scrambled to catch up:

"Lanlan..."

"Hmph. If they want one, I want another. Whatever they get, I have to get too."

Pei Shiyi abruptly ducked his head, his sharp, handsome face filling Yu Lan’s vision.

SMACK! He planted a kiss on the beautiful young female’s flushed, pink cheek.

He made up his mind.

"I want to be with you."

’And no one could stop him.’

"If you don’t agree, I’ll start a live stream and denounce your scummy female behavior."

"And cry my eyes out in front of billions of Star Network viewers."

On one side were Huo Zhanting’s group, looking as if they were facing a mortal enemy.

On the other was Pei Shiyi, ready to cry and throw a tantrum if he wasn’t given his rightful place.

Yu Lan was numb.

Her soul floated out of her body.

Watching the scene unfold, she wished she could split herself into six.

That way, each of them could take one and leave.

But alas, there was only one Yu Lan.

Right now, Pei Shiyi had latched on and refused to let go, demanding a formal commitment and threatening to cause a scene if he didn’t get it.

Her only option was to find a way to pacify him for now.

"Alright, alright! We’ll give it a try! We can give it a try, how about that?"

"You’ve spent your whole life in the deep sea; you’ve never even met other females."

"Now that you’re here on Central Star, you have the chance to meet other females."

"If you find someone you like better, how about I play matchmaker for you?"

Yu Lan finished and looked at Pei Shiyi, her expression tense.

’He’s only like this because he’s so inexperienced.’

’What if he meets other females and finds someone he likes more?’

She never expected that after she finished speaking, Pei Shiyi’s dark blue eyes would instantly turn deep and bottomless.

He caught the change in Yu Lan’s expression and quickly lowered his eyes, his face once again twisting into a look of pitiful hurt.

"You’re just trying to get me to meet other females so you can accuse me of being unfaithful and kick me out, aren’t you?"

"Yu Lan, how could you be such a cruel female?"