Chapter 3

Su Ling offered a faint smile. “How about some honey water? I’ll go prepare it.”

Just as he was about to leave, a mechanical electronic voice came from behind him: “Madam of the General, YL7429620421 greets you. It is now Master’s washing time. Please make way.”

Su Ling immediately stepped two paces to the side and turned his head. The robot that had suddenly spoken had a body even more human-like than Fang Fang’s—like a bronze figure coated in black lacquer. It must be the general’s medical robot.

The medical robot stood two meters tall, its arms thicker than Su Ling’s thighs. Standing next to it, Su Ling looked like a child.

The medical robot’s blue eyeballs flickered. It extended a mechanical arm, undid the buttons on the general’s chest, and revealed a stretch of honey-colored skin. The solid chest muscles carried a wild kind of sexiness.

Su Ling rubbed his nose and stammered, “I–I’ll go out first.” His footsteps were hurried, almost as if he were fleeing in defeat.

He had only wanted to see how the medical robot usually took care of the general. He really hadn’t meant anything else.

Su Ling’s ears were a little red. Why didn’t he have such a robust physique? With his thin arms and thin legs—it was unfair!

In a daze, he was led by Fang Fang to the dining room. On the white dining table sat a bowl of congee, five small cakes, two cold dishes, a cup of honey water, and a small portion of fruit.

Su Ling sat down. Fang Fang’s faint light screen flickered, and a holographic projection appeared before his eyes, broadcasting the news.

Su Ling knew these were all the general’s previous breakfast habits. Robots had no autonomous consciousness; arranging things this way could only mean the general had instructed it.

But the original owner hadn’t received such treatment, had he?

Su Ling pondered. On the night the original owner arrived at the general’s house, he had thrown a huge temper at the general, cursing him as a scourge who, even after being paralyzed, still insisted on marrying a wife to ruin him, and that it would be better if he just died early. Su Ling himself had shown no resistance, so he got breakfast?

Although the general remained silent, he had never intended to target the substitute spouse. Looking at it this way, his little life should be safe.

Su Ling happily took a sip of the honey water and was immediately choked by how overly sweet it was, his throat itching. “Fang Fang, can I have a cup of plain boiled water?”

“Please wait a moment, Madam of the General.” Fang Fang did not refuse. Master had instructed it to satisfy Madam’s daily needs.

While eating breakfast, Su Ling asked Fang Fang about how to use the optical brain. The optical brain, shaped like a wristband, recorded all of a person’s information. It was equivalent to an all-in-one ID card, phone, and bank card—an indispensable item in daily life. Fortunately, it was highly intelligent and quite simple to learn.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Su family’s press conference.”

Hearing the voice in the news, Su Ling put away the optical brain and looked up.

The head of the Su family, Su Mingfeng, wore a black suit and had his hair combed back. Though over sixty, he looked only about forty. “Thank you all for your concern during this time. The younger generation of our family and General Pei were married yesterday.”

He clasped his hands, lowered his head slightly, eyes carrying sorrow, tone sincere: “Due to General Pei’s physical condition, we held this wedding very low-key. We hope everyone can understand.”

Su Ling felt uncomfortable listening. Low-key? It was sneaky, all right! They were terrified of people finding out a beta had been substituted in marriage.

“We, like everyone else, are deeply concerned about General Pei’s health. In order to protect our homeland, General Pei disregarded hardships and personal danger, always standing on the front line against the insectoids. For the safety of all the people of Nalan Star, he slew the mother insect, yet suffered severe injuries himself! He is our God of War! He is our hero!”

Su Mingfeng spoke with passionate intensity, and the bullet comments frantically scrolled up.

“General Pei You, you are our God of War! We will always love you! You must get better!”

“Prayers, prayers, prayers—hero, we are waiting for you!”

“Young Master Su must take good care of the general!”

“Young Master Su and the general must be happy!”

“I will pray for you every day. General Pei, you will definitely recover! Never give up!”

Living in an era of peace, Su Ling didn’t fully understand this kind of emotion, but he couldn’t help getting excited along with them, an inexplicable feeling of hot blood surging through him.

He won’t let down your expectations. He will stand up. He will become even stronger! And I will definitely take good care of him.

Su Mingfeng’s eyes reddened. His tightly clasped hands couldn’t help trembling. “Our Su family will do everything in our power to treat General Pei. No matter what the cost, we will spare no expense!”

Anger flared in Su Ling’s heart. What a performance of sincere hypocrisy—truly disgusting! If they cared about the general, why hadn’t they come to see him? Why hadn’t they arranged doctors? They had done something as humiliating as a substitute marriage, yet still had the face to talk about concern? They were simply bullying the general for having no background. Hmph. Just wait until the general recovers—the Su family will be infamous! Thinking about it, he was actually looking forward to it. Watching a live face-slapping would definitely be more satisfying than reading about it in a book.

“Our Su family is equally grateful to and admires all the soldiers. For their safety and victory, the Su family has developed a new single-person combat vehicle.” A deep-blue combat vehicle appeared before their eyes, with elegant lines, understated luxury. The product manager took over, giving a detailed introduction and demonstration of the new product.

Although Su Ling was very interested in the high-tech products of the interstellar world—and combat vehicles even more so—he immediately changed the channel.

Not only had they belittled and humiliated the general, they were also using his name to release a new product! How could the Su family do something like this? In the eyes of the Su family, was money everything? Could they ignore their conscience, lie, put on acts, and stop at nothing? It truly made one’s skin crawl.

After complaining inwardly for a while, Su Ling suddenly thought of a question. “Fang Fang, does the general watch this news?”

“Yes.”

Su Ling’s chest felt a little blocked. Even he, an outsider, found it hard to bear. What must the general be thinking?

Su Ling finished the congee in a few large mouthfuls and had Fang Fang take him to the kitchen, where he mixed a cup of lightly sweet honey water—too sweet was bad for the body.

Holding the honey water, he knocked on the general’s door. After waiting a few seconds, he pushed the door open.

He saw the medical robot injecting nutrient solution into the general. The general lay with his eyes closed, without the slightest sign of life. The scene made Su Ling feel a little heartbroken.

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