The abandoned courtyard, where even the dog hole was webbed, actually had people in there, and two of them!
Qu Tong, half emerging, wondered, should she back out?
But she recognized the voice's owner, wasn't it her cousin who harbored feelings for another, and her lover?
"Wanwan, I haven't seen you in so long, didn't you miss me?"
The girl bashfully responded, "Missed you, that's why I sneaked out to see you."
"Our Wanwan is so outstanding, it would break my heart to see you exhausted."
"Oh, wait until I pass the entrance exam, then we can be together every day." The girl's voice was coy and sultry.
He, unable to resist upon hearing this, closed in on her with a fiery gaze.
"Third Young Master, this is not okay… Hmm!"
"Why not? Don't you want it? Hmm?"
He teasingly pinched the girl's waist, eliciting a soft cry.
"Ah! No, it's not that…"
"Baby, I've missed you like crazy!"
"Third Young Master~"
He advanced, and the girl both resisted and welcomed him.
For a time, the sound of splashes and gasps echoed competitively.
Qu Tong, watching the couple lost in each other not far away: "..."
She rolled her eyes speechlessly.
Wow, just great.
The couple, deep in their kiss, didn't notice someone had appeared in the corner.
Qu Tong slowly and carefully moved her whole body out, then grabbed a broom to block the opening.
The couple was just by the door, making it impossible for Qu Tong to sneak out.
Fortunately, there was a stool nearby, which Qu Tong hooked over with her foot.
In a flip, Qu Wanwan was pinned against the doorframe by the man, the intensity escalating.
Qu Tong also saw the man's profile, and forgotten memories attacked her.
Three years ago, Qu Tong had seen him, the third son of the Lan Family, Lan Xingye, famously licentious and powerful.
"Cough, cough!"
Finally, when Qu Wanwan's clothes were half-undone and the man's hand moved toward his belt, Qu Tong interrupted.
It would be impolite to continue watching.
"Ah!" Qu Wanwan shrieked, pushing Lan Xingye away and quickly adjusting her clothes.
Lan Xingye, however, remained calm, merely glancing impatiently at Qu Tong before he started to leisurely adjust his clothes.
"Little... Qu Tong! What are you doing here?!!"
Qu Tong blinked, she didn't want to be here either.
Even though both the handsome man and beautiful woman were visually appealing, she certainly didn't have a particular fetish for live performances.
Lan Xingye whispered something in Qu Wanwan's ear, then turned and went outside.
Qu Wanwan's face visibly reddened even more, coyly nodding.
Once he was gone, Qu Wanwan's expression changed, turning filled with annoyance and threat: "What are you doing here?"
"Cousin seems to forget, this is originally my courtyard, but you, cousin, bringing an outsider into my room without a word."
Qu Tong stood up, stepping closer to Qu Wanwan.
A flicker of panic crossed Qu Wanwan's face, quickly replaced by a fierce glare: "You better pretend today's incident never happened, or I'll make you pay."
"That's fine, a hundred thousand Star Coins, and I'll keep your secret," Qu Tong smiled wryly.
She was indeed worried about being short on money.
"What? You dare to stipulate conditions with me?" Qu Wanwan was astounded for a moment.
In Qu Wanwan's eyes, Qu Tong was just a coward, always meek and bullied by her.
After staying on Huangxing for three years, she actually dared to resist.
Qu Wanwan's face showed scorn, her tone haughty: "You must have smashed your brain picking up trash on Garbage Planet, huh? That must have been painful."
"Not bad, huh? Do you want to give it a try?" Qu Tong looked at Qu Wanwan with a smirk, as if she was discussing something trivial.
Qu Wanwan: "..."
Qu Wanwan felt that Qu Tong was annoyingly smug at the moment.
"I don't have 100,000. At most, I can give 50,000; otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."
"Fine."
Without another word, Qu Tong pulled out her Light Brain and leaned in.
"..." Qu Wanwan was even more upset!
She felt that this annoying creature was doing it on purpose; her monthly allowance was only 50,000 Star Coins.
Seeing Qu Wanwan hesitate to transfer the money, Qu Tong raised an eyebrow and there was a "click".
"Little trash, what are you..." Qu Wanwan's words halted mid-sentence.
She looked down toward her left shoulder and saw half of a red cloud appearing under the white strap.
"Delete the photo. I'll transfer it to you. Don't go too far," Qu Wanwan said, frustrated.
While covering her shoulder, she transferred the Star Coins to Qu Tong.
Qu Tong swiftly deleted the photo after receiving the money.
"You've got the money, so keep your mouth shut, or you will suffer too," Qu Wanwan warned.
"Got it," Qu Tong dismissed her with a wave of her hand and hurried her along, "Are you not leaving yet, cousin? Be careful your darling boyfriend gets impatient and starts looking for other fish."
"You!" At this time, she couldn't reveal her relationship with Third Young Master. Even the usually submissive little trash dared to talk back to her—Qu Wanwan was fuming inside.
Thinking of the words Third Young Master said before he left, she only managed to leave after bitterly saying, "Don't think marrying His Highness War God is something great. He's just something I didn't want—an old man at 30, just wait to become a widow!"
Qu Tong couldn't be bothered to argue.
A Fertility Value of zero isn't the end of the world, interstellar folks have an average lifespan of two to three hundred years, what's an age difference like this? If he died in battle, she'd just become a rich single woman.
Back in her era, this was considered an incredibly advantageous situation—hard to find even with a lantern.
30 years old isn't old either.
Isn't there a saying about youth not knowing...
Forgot it.
Besides, she wasn't 18 either.
After ensuring Qu Wanwan had left the West Garden, Qu Tong followed her memory, moved a bench, and retrieved a metal box from above the light fixture.
The palm-sized, square metal box fit perfectly within the moon decoration in the middle of the light fixture.
In the original owner's memory, this part was especially clear, showing how much she treasured this item.
Knowing she couldn't protect it well, she carefully hid it.
*
In the evening, Qu Jianwen sought out Qu Tong again, stating that the Empress Dowager had agreed to his request. She would be taken to the palace tomorrow.
Qu Tong raised an eyebrow but wasn't too surprised.
Touching the forehead that had recovered as good as new, she marveled at the effectiveness of the Healing Chamber and thought about getting one for herself someday.
A quick online search.
After seeing the price with a string of zeros in the millions.
She gave up the idea.
Then she casually scrolled through the Star Network.
Immediately, she saw the headline pinned at the top: "Breaking! Empire's Heartthrob Reported with a Fertility Value of Zero, Where Do Thousands of Young Women Stand?"
The comments below were a frenzy.
"Ah! My heart is broken! My idol!"
"How could my perfect husband be like this? How can we live like this?"
"Even if his Fertility Value is zero, His Highness War God is still the god I admire the most!"
"Exactly, His Highness War God has killed so many from the Insect Clan and Star Beasts, guarding the entire Empire, how can you all be so shallow."
"Let me remind you, the Royal Family has officially announced that His Highness War God is engaged."
"Get lost! Ugly rejection!"
...
Seeing such grounded titles and fangirl comments, Qu Tong's lips twitched, she quickly browsed through the comments, and soon shifted her focus to something else.