In order to encourage more people to use the Star Network, the military decided to livestream Orr Assai's award ceremony from beginning to end. As long as the netizen logged in, they could take the place of a spectator in the venue, to fully participate in this historic event. After the announcement, the number of people logging into the Star Network immediately surged. The scene was broadcasted to each person's terminal, meaning that everyone had a front row seat. But they couldn't see the other logins, so the scene wouldn't seem as crowded, and the real ceremony could proceed normally. The populace invariably put on their most formal attire to log into the Star Network. They knew that they were just a holographic 3D character, so they just calmly stood in the corner, when they caught sight of a famous figure, they'd go up to them, holding a red wine glass and emulating chatting with them, even though that person couldn't see them and wouldn't respond.
Just the awesome experience of coming face to face with their heroes was enough to keep them fangasming for half a year.
Honestly speaking, Angel was probably the least significant person in the room, if it wasn't for his identity as a Celayan family relative, he wouldn't even qualify to attend. The big wigs naturally didn't pay any attention to him, but the masses were quite fond of him, comments about him were constantly popping up on the public channel: "OMG, I just saw Angel, wow, I didn't know he was eligible to attend tonight's ceremony!"
"I heard that he's Kane's cousin, he's even related to Nan Qing. It's not that surprising, I always thought they looked a little similar."
"Omigosh, does that mean he's really dating General Orr? He's wearing a pure white suit, he's soooo beautiful, like an angel!" A few netizens uploaded their virtual selfies with Angel.
Nan Qing stood in a corner, using his personal terminal to read netizens' comments. He knew that the ceremony was playing in real time on the Star Network, as long as he could exchange a few words with Orr, or even better, dance with him, tomorrow's headlines would absolutely be about him. Didn't Orr want to meet Angel? Come, quickly come to me, I promise to treat you well this time. He thought of something and smiled slightly, he looked very pleased.
Just then, the Marshal and the four Admirals accompanied Orr into the venue. Not only the netizens, even the aristocrats attending the banquet couldn't help but gossip, because a boy wearing a silver-gray suit was standing by Orr's side. He looked about 18 years old, his face was still a little tender, but his golden eyes, decorated with an amber sun ring, was even more dazzling than the actual sun. With just a glance, he could instantly hook people's souls. He walked in slowly and gracefully, and in order to match his pace, Orr also walked slowly. When they climbed up the steps, Orr even stretched his arm around his lean waist to support him, but he didn't put them down afterwards, his affection for the boy clearly expressed.
The Old Marshal and the boy seemed to be on good terms, he chatted with him while they walked, after saying something presumably funny, the boy laughed, his dazzling eyes even more striking. He might not have a flawless, delicate face like Angel's, but with his soul stealing eyes, and elegant and calm temperament, even standing next to Orr, he didn't fade out. He was so distinctive and striking, he captured everyone's attention almost immediately.
People started speculating about his relationship with General Orr, because whenever he laughed, the always cold faced General Orr also couldn't help but smile. His icy and inorganic black pupils instantly melted with tenderness. He was half-hugging the boy, and whenever he started drifting away from him a bit, he would firmly tug him back, not hiding his possessiveness at all.
The netizens were very curious, flooding the public channel with questions about the youth's identity.
"Don't know, but he's certainly not a nobody, did you see how the Marshal and the Admirals treated him? Cautious and gentle, like they wanna be on his good side."
"I think he must be General Orr's lover, if you carefully observe the General's eyes, he's always looking at him."
At this comment, everyone finally noticed that Orr really didn't look at other people much, his attention was almost always on the boy. He led the boy to their reserved seats, seeing him slightly lift his arm, he immediately grabbed him a glass of juice, and even took out a white handkerchief from his pocket, ready to help him wipe his mouth. During this time, Kane tried to greet him several times, but he was completely ignored, which almost made Angel's gentle mask crack.
The netizens were amused by this scene, mocking Angel for believing in his own hype.
The Marshal knew that he wasn't today's protagonist, after making a simple speech, he took out the Empire's supreme medal and called Orr up to accept his award. Zhao Xuan was feeling a little impatient, he would've preferred spending an intimate night alone with his sweetheart, whether it was in bed, or peacefully watching a movie, or going for a hand in hand walk under the stars, all were unique, happy experiences for him. He walked onto the stage with a blank expression, but when his eyes landed on the boy who was smiling and waving at him, his irritability instantly dissipated.
He remembered his years imprisoned in the Queen's dimension. The Queen was incapable of killing him, so she used the endless reincarnation cycle to drain his energy and willpower, when he thought he was going to disappear the next moment, the boy suddenly intruded into his world, and guided him to break free of the shackles of fate. When that enormous energy was injected into his nearly faded out consciousness, he felt what it was like to have a heartbeat for the first time. He started chasing after the boy by instinct, like chasing the only light in his life. He thought he was destined to be formless, no future, no home. But when the boy sitting in the audience focused such loving, fervent eyes on him, he had a heartbeat, he had emotions, he had a form, a future and a home. He existed for him.
He'd never felt that defending the Empire was his duty, but because the Empire had him, it became his responsibility. He accepted the medal and looked seriously at it for a moment, then he slowly said, "Actually, I'm not the great selfless hero you all imagine me to be, because I only fight for one person." He raised his left hand and affectionately kissed the diamond ring on his ring finger, then smiled, "Baby, all my achievements belong to you, I also belong to you!"
The venue erupted in commotion, the crowd never expected that Orr, the nerves of steel hero, would have such an emotional, heart touching moment. Only fighting for one person, it sounded like such a narrow minded motivation, but after thinking about, you couldn't help but feel envious. Everyone wanted to know who this lucky person was, and what kind of unparalleled charm they possessed to be able to render Orr so head over heels in love with them. When he kissed the ring, it was as if he'd drank several bottles of wine, his expression was so intoxicated, dazzling, and brimming with happiness.
Zhou Yun Sheng didn't shy away, he confidently kissed his matching ring and silently mouthed, "I love you too!"
Zhao Xuan laughed and stepped down to pin the honored medal on the boy's jacket, then hugged and warmly kissed him. The venue was silent for a moment, until the Marshal started applauding, then everyone else returned to reality and exploded into thunderous applause, sending their blessings to the two. The military personnel were already well aware of the boy's identity, seeing Kane and Angel's humiliated expressions, they couldn't help but inwardly mock: The apex of beauty and the apex of strength huh? That's all you've got? These two are the combination of the strongest military power and the most powerful brain, that strength is enough to lead the Empire out of Asaph Galaxy and into a higher plane. This is a true 'power couple'.
After the kiss ended, Zhao Xuan printed a few kisses on his sweetheart's ear, then contentedly led him towards the venue's exit. The after party was a waste of time, it was better to take his baby back home to enjoy a world with only two people. The two's glowing faces and the hot sparks that flew out when they gazed at each other was enough to let everyone know why they were so eager to leave. Smiling knowing smiles at each other, no one with more than half a brain tried to stop them to strike up a conversation. Except for Kane, who hurriedly blocked them at the door and asked, "Orr, didn't you say you wanted to be introduced to Angel? I brought him today."
Nan Qing immediately presented his most innocent smile, his pure eyes like a clear lake.
The netizens could see everyone's movements because of the 3D synthetic rendering of the venue, whenever they noticed an interesting grouping, they immediately skipped over to join in the fun. Orr asked to be introduced to Angel? Omigosh, what does this mean? Does Orr have a wandering eye? Two-timing? What about the declaration of love that pulled every heartstring in the galaxy?
"Yeah, I really wanted to meet Angel." Zhao Xuan didn't wait for Nan Qing to reveal his triumphant smile before beckoning to a nearby officer, "Okay, you can arrest him."
"Arrest me? Why? What do you think you're doing!?" Nan Qing desperately struggled against the hold, Kane was also surrounded by officers.
"You can stop pretending now, Nan Qing. We know you weren't killed, that was your clone's body." Zhou Yun Sheng sneered, then waved, signaling to the police to take them away. The guests were shocked speechless by this scene, unable to gather their thoughts for a long time. The netizens were also dumbstruck, not daring to believe their own eyes. But the military and the police departments soon held a press conference, clarifying the facts.
They'd always thought that Nan Qing was a bitch, but his deeds were numerous times more vicious than the populace imagined them to be. In order to frame Orr and have him die a disgrace in prison, they even set up such a sinister play. Orr's stepmother and brother also participated, they even paid off prisoners and prison guards to try to kill Orr, how ruthless! After the long trial finally ended, they were immediately handed over to the court, and punished with the highest possible sentence. They would spend the rest of their lives in prison.
The previous adoration for Angel all transformed into abuse and condemnation, as long as they thought of how he used General Orr's spouse's face as the foundation for his plastic surgery, everyone felt extreme revulsion, hoping that they never had to see his face again for the rest of their lives. The two heirs of the Celayan family were jailed, and their under the table business dealings were also exposed, causing a huge uproar in the Empire.
But all these things had nothing to do with Zhao Xuan and Zhou Yun Sheng. While the public's eye was focused on the case and the scandals, they had already left the imperial capital, and were honeymooning on a remote beastman planet. Before his departure, Zhao Xuan donated all of the Assai family's properties to the state, to help house the post-war orphans. If Orr was still alive, he would've surely agreed with this decision. The Old Marshal, who was originally worried about Orr being uncontrollable, was completely rest assured. Although that man's temperament became cold, below the surface, he was still a loyal to the state and loyal to the people solider. After leaving the Empire to him, maybe he could finally enjoy the rest of his life in retirement.
The End.