Day 3 | TDLOAZH

“That little male from the Chiraso family…”

“I’ve seen him. He’s quite pretty. You don’t come across that kind of temperament in a male very often.”

“Isn’t he Young Master Leicester’s child bride? Pretty or not, you’ve got no shot, haha.”

“Get lost. Even if he’s that good-looking, is he prettier than Senia? Senia agreed to a date with me next week, you know.”

The brown-haired female’s words triggered a round of playful jeers and jealous teasing from those nearby.

The banquet hadn’t officially started yet, but guests had already filled the hall. The invitation list had originally been limited by Leicester to peers of their generation—mostly children of noble families he and Fan Lan had some prior interaction with. But the Chiraso name carried too much weight, and all kinds of families wanted to join in the fun. So nearly every reputable family on the Capital Star had sent their juniors over. At this time, the hall was very lively, and everyone gathered in twos and threes, chatting or gossiping.

“Shh, they’re here…”

The grand doors slowly opened, and the figures of a male and a female entered side by side.

The one on the left was familiar to most. He is the second young master of the Chiraso family and the next head. At just eighteen, he had already taken heads on the battlefield. He is a rising star in the Second Legion. His physical and mental prowess rivaled even the legendary General Raphael in his youth. A true son of a great general—many veterans of the Second Legion had even sighed that the next generation had already surpassed the last.

As for the one on the right…

The room collectively held its breath.

Fan Lan was wearing the black formal suit Leicester had chosen the day before. Most of the elaborate accessories had ultimately been left unused, and even the collar, just as they had discussed, hung casually open.

His build was slender but not fragile. Unlike the usual delicate frame of most males, Fan Lan carried a sharp elegance about him. Even standing beside Leicester, his presence wasn’t the least bit overshadowed. When the males who were originally slightly vigilant and scrutinizing met his smiling eyes, they couldn’t help blushing and looking away in a daze.

Fan Lan’s appearance was indeed rare among the Zerg. Most Zerg males had soft, fine, and delicate features, similar to the Asians on Earth. They are good-looking and exquisite, while the inferior ones are ordinary and neat. In contrast, the females were typically tall and broad-shouldered, with sharp features like high nose bridges, and strong jawlines—faces that exuded aggression.

When Fan Lan was young, his appearance was still delicate and soft. From a human perspective, he might’ve been mistaken for either gender. But as he grew older, maybe due to the soul fusion, his looks had gradually shifted toward his original human appearance. Back on Earth, he was a mix of Chinese and Eastern European descent. His features were defined without being overly sharp, blending the softness and elegance of an Oriental with Western boldness: striking brows, a straight but not exaggerated nose bridge, icy blue eyes, and full lips. The kind of face that talent scouts would chase down in the street, or that would be snapped by strangers and go viral in forums like “Those passers-by who amaze you with their divine faces.”

Even in the Zerg race, this face sat comfortably at the pinnacle of beauty. Females were stunned by how dazzling he looked, males instinctively backed off at his rare sharpness, but often found themselves circling back, unable to resist a second glance.

To put it simply, this was a face that bewitches both male and female.

“Zerg God above…”

The brown-haired female muttered.

“He looked at me just now. Do you think if I submitted a date request, he’d choose me?”

“Oh ho? Who was it just now bragging about landing a date with Senia?”

…

“Is that silver hair… or platinum? Move, you’re blocking me. His hair is so shiny. Does his ancestor have the bloodline of a flash butterfly?”

“He seems pretty nice. I thought he’d be the arrogant type… Wait, I swear he just smiled at me!”

“Leicester just left him—should I go over? Fuck, isn’t that the youngest from the Yang family? They know each other too?!”

Low whispers buzzed through the room, a current of tension and curiosity running just beneath the surface.

Fan Lan accepted a glass of wine from Nuolan Yang, unfazed by the surrounding stares—subtle or blatant—and chatted calmly with his friend.

“Just wait,” Nuolan Yang joked, “once those two months of early adulthood pass and your profile gets updated in the social registry, your application queue’s gonna crash your terminal.”

“Hm… But if you pay enough starcoins, you can reject applications, right?” Fan Lan rubbed his chin with two fingers.

“That’s right, but the amount will accumulate more and more. And even if you can afford it… Are you really going to go through with it?”

“I never said I was,” Fan Lan replied with a smile.

Nuolan Yang was always annoyed by his ambiguous way of speaking, but he couldn’t help but approach him the next time. He was just about to press further when he remembered something, he suddenly slapped his head and said: “The cultural relics exhibit on Jinsha Star! Want to come with me? I fought tooth and nail for those tickets.”

Fan Lan recalled the message he’d seen earlier and gave an apologetic smile. “The timing clashes with my school enrollment date. I might not be able to go. But if you do go, could you pick up some interesting trinkets for me?”

Nuolan Yang thought, If you’re not going, who else is gonna care about some dusty old exhibit? But then he looked into the pair of ice-blue eyes that seemed to contain expectations and promptly lost all sense of reason. He nodded like a man possessed and decided he’d just buy out the entire exhibit gift shop and ship it all to Fan Lan.

Before long, other acquaintances began gathering around Fan Lan. They were all playmates who had more or less interacted with each other since childhood. He actually knew most of the young people of this generation from the aristocratic or kinship families that were friendly with the Chirasuo family.

Fan Lan was never a loner. Although he had some difficulties with language and common sense at first, he was happy to explore and learn. Leicester was also the ‘king’ of the children in their circle, and with him dragging Fan Lan along, he gradually became a familiar face in their circle.

Back then, his ideas of male and female were still fuzzy, and he’d made some ridiculous jokes. Several young females went home and swore that they had an engagement with the adopted son of the Chiraso family and would get married when they grew up. Leicester, who heard the rumors, came to their door and beat them up. It was only then that Fan Lan finally understood he was a male with spiritual power, and that spiritual power shouldn’t be casually shared with females.

Mental power is a unique ability of male zergs, it is useful for sensing, healing, and empathizing. Traditionally, it had a calming and nourishing effect on females, which was originally one of the reasons why female zergs chased male zergs. However, in today’s highly technological society, the existence of soothing agents can basically meet the needs of female zergs. These days, most males rarely used their spiritual power. It had become more of a symbolic trait—an emotional sensitivity, nothing more.

When the banquet ended, it was almost midnight.

After seeing off the guests one by one, a long list of names was added to Fan Lan’s communication friends list.

He set his message notifications to “Do Not Disturb,” then put his terminal away and left the hall with Leicester.

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