After successfully passing security check, Fang Jiawen and Lin Zimao boarded the civilian starship bound for Feigexingning City.
Half an hour later, the starship took off on time, with a voyage of one week.
The starship passed through the atmosphere and quickly rose into the air. After a while, after a rumbling sound, the starship entered a fixed route.
They booked a first-class rest cabin with a separate double room. After pressing a button on the display screen, the bed and desk slid out automatically, and the spacious interior became a little narrower. There was a simple bathroom next door.
Lin Zimao lay on the windowsill and looked curiously at the dark space.
Five minutes later, a beautiful stewardess came over personally and asked them what they wanted for lunch.
Lin Zimao looked at the menu given by the flight attendant and said indifferently, "Let's have whatever is more expensive. One glass each of red wine, steak, Coke, Sprite, and orange juice."
The flight attendant said it was a good thing and she was not surprised. There would always be people like this on Alpha Planet.
Fang Jiawen felt that Lin Zimao looked a little naive and wanted to cover his face, but when he thought about the fact that he had never left Alpha since he was a child, he couldn't blame him.
Lin Zimao seemed not to notice Fang Jiawen's embarrassment. He stared out the window, his eyes revealing his reluctance to leave the place where he grew up. He casually asked Fang Jiawen, "Assistant Fang, I heard there is a space jump point. Will it be very uncomfortable?"
Fang Jiawen said: "Don't worry, civilian spaceships now have anti-vibration features. As long as you don't get flying sick, there won't be any big problems. It will pass in a short while."
Fang Jiawen remembered something, opened his communicator, and sent a holographic dynamic photo to Lin Zimao.
Lin Zimao felt a little strange when he received the photo that Fang Jiawen sent to him in person.
This dynamic photo belongs to a man who is too handsome to be real. The photo was taken secretly. He should be reading a book in the library, with his left fingertips against his forehead and his right hand turning a page. He seemed to notice someone was taking a photo of him. Then he closed the book and stood up. There was coldness between his eyebrows and his eyes that scanned the surroundings without any warmth. What Lin Zimao couldn't take his eyes off was his beautiful face that was carefully carved by God. He was too handsome.
"Who is this?" Lin Zimao looked up at Fang Jiawen, somewhat puzzled. Fang Jiawen had previously sent him photos of his father's current family of five, but those people didn't look at all like the person in front of him.
Fang Jiawen is one of the assistants of Lin Zimao's father, Lin Bei. As an assistant who is usually responsible for picking up and dropping off children, he knows more or less about the Lin family's affairs. Moreover, his boss had emphasized the matter of this photo when he came to pick up Lin Zimao before he left.
He said as his boss meant: "He is your fiancé. You will marry him after returning to Ningcheng."
Lin Zimao sat on the edge of the bed, crossed his legs, and blinked in confusion: "My fiancé?"
Fang Jiawen repeated patiently: "Yes, your fiancé, you will marry Master Jiang Xuan after returning to Ningcheng."
Lin Zimao was silent for a while: "Real marriage or fake marriage?"
"Of course it's a real marriage, and you two will become a legal husband and wife." Fang Jiawen noticed Lin Zimao's silence, and wondered if the sudden appearance of his fiancé had hit the young man who had just reached adulthood. He must be very confused now.
Lin Zimao came back to his senses and tilted his head, with an unknown smile in his eyes: "Are you really getting married? How come I suddenly have a fiancé?"
Fang Jiawen did not tell Lin Zimao that they were actually having a business marriage. His job was just to inform Lin Zimao that he was going to get married so that he could be mentally prepared.
Lin Zimao opened the holographic dynamic photo again and pointed at the person in the photo with his fingertips, asking him to turn around and face him. This person was indeed very eye-catching, and it would not be a bad idea to marry him.
After that, Lin Zimao never talked to Fang Jiawen about his fiancé again. He wanted to ask, but they would experience a space jump every day. Fang Jiawen would feel dizzy and vomit. He would lie in bed with a pale face every day and could only calm down after breathing seasickness gas. He didn't have the energy to tell Lin Zimao more about his fiancé, and he knew very little about him.
On the other hand, Lin Zimao was very energetic every day. He walked around the starship and only returned to his room when it was time to sleep, so as not to disturb his father's right-hand man's rest. However, every time Fang Jiawen woke up, he would find that Lin Zimao looked at him with some pity.
As if to say, seasickness, how pitiful.
After getting off the starship, Fang Jiawen finally came back to life, and Lin Zimao's curiosity about new things also emerged.
They got on the flying cars that Fang Jiawen had parked at the starship field, and one flying car after another, smaller, faster, and more exaggerated in appearance, sped past him.
Below are towering high-rise buildings, with giant logos and advertisements of major companies displayed on the holographic screens on the roofs. On the green avenues, there are energy-saving buses and rail transit running on the ground, as well as pedestrians whose expressions cannot be seen clearly.
However, now is not the time to study which flying car model is smoother and cooler. Fang Jiawen turned on the automatic driving, freed his hands, and introduced the situation of the Lin family to Lin Zimao.
Lin Zimao has an older brother who is the child of Lin Bei and his first wife. However, the couple divorced ten years after their marriage due to emotional incompatibility, and the child remained in the Lin family.
Lin Zimao is the child of Lin Bei and his second wife Xu Qiujie, but the couple divorced less than three years after their marriage. After that, Xu Qiujie took Lin Zimao back to their hometown, Alpha, a relatively low-level planet.
After Lin Bei divorced Xu Qiujie, he soon got his third wife. They have been married until now and have two children. Including Lin Zimao, Lin Bei has a total of four children.
Logically speaking, the task of this marriage should not fall to Lin Zimao, who has never lived in Ningcheng. This is because the mother of Lin Bei’s eldest son Lin Zifeng and Lin Zimao’s eldest brother is from the Lu family, and Lin Zifeng has a good relationship with the Lu family.
In order not to offend the Lu family, Lin Bei would not consider Lin Zifeng as a backup candidate. As for the other two, they were not of legal age, so the only candidate was Lin Zimao, who had been living in the countryside and whose mother passed away two years ago.
As for why the Jiang family would accept it, Lin Zimao didn't quite understand, but he had to live in Ningcheng now and had no other choice. He had no chance to refuse. Lin Bei had already arranged his whereabouts before taking him back to Ningcheng.
However, Fang Jiawen did not mention it. After spending a few days with Lin Zimao, she felt that it was a good thing that he did not know about the business marriage.
Fang Jiawen was distracted for a moment and didn't notice that Lin Zimao, who was looking out the window, gave a barely perceptible sneer.
The flying car parked smoothly on the Lin family's parking lot.
The robot butler unloaded two large suitcases from the flying car. Fang Jiawen didn't understand how Lin Zimao's small house could pack so many heavy items. There was also a cage at the back, in which was a silver-gray round-faced cat that looked even more dizzy than Fang Jiawen, who was seasick. When it saw its familiar owner, it meowed twice.
The Lin family had already learned the date and time of Lin Zimao's arrival from Fang Jiawen. It was around six o'clock in the evening when Lin Zimao arrived at the Lin family.
Lin Bei has returned from the company and is waiting at home. His current wife Bai Meiying is preparing dinner in the kitchen to welcome Lin Zimao back. Her two children have returned. Her son is playing holographic games in the room, and her daughter is acting coquettishly next to Lin Bei.
Fang Jiawen and Lin Zimao changed their shoes and entered the house. Fang Jiawen said, "Boss Lin, the second young master is here."
While listening to his daughter telling stories about interesting things at school, Lin Bei raised his head and looked at Lin Zimao who was carrying the cat cage. He was a little displeased when he saw the listless pet cat, but this was the first time the father and son met in more than ten years, so he immediately suppressed his displeasure.
The housekeeper knew that Lin Bei didn't like pets, so he immediately stepped forward to take the cage for Lin Zimao. Lin Zimao said lightly, "It's troublesome."
Lin Bei asked Lin Zimao: "Zimao, is the journey smooth?"
Lin Zimao said listlessly: "It's OK, but there's not much scenery."
Lin Bei said, "Space also has its own unique scenery. We can go and enjoy it again if we have the chance." He turned to Lin Ziyi and said, "Go upstairs and call Zihua down."
Lin Ziyi said yes obediently and smiled at Lin Zimao again, but no one knew what was in her smile.
Then Lin Bei's current wife Bai Meiying came out of the kitchen. She was a typical gentle beauty, well-maintained, not like a mother of two children. She didn't speak loudly. Lin Bei took the initiative to introduce her to Lin Zimao: "Just call her auntie."
She glanced up and down at Lin Zimao and said gently, "Zimao, was the journey difficult? Was everything okay when you passed the jump point?"
Lin Zimao said it again and it was okay.
Lin Zihua, who came down from upstairs, was just in the first year of high school. Being in his rebellious period, he had an unconcealable disapproval in his eyes. In his eyes, he felt that Lin Zimao, who was wearing a white shirt, jeans, and a pair of somewhat worn sneakers, was so unfashionable that he didn't fit in with their upper-class family. This man was actually his second brother, and he didn't really want to admit it.
Lin Bei proudly introduced him to Lin Zimao: "This is your fourth brother. He just won the first prize in the city's mathematics competition. Isn't that impressive?"
Lin Zimao forced out a faint smile and responded without much emotion: "Great."
Lin Zihua raised his chin and proudly called him "Second Brother".
Lin Bei patted Lin Zihua's shoulder, but the other ignored him and turned to the kitchen. Lin Bei said lovingly that this child is in the rebellious period, and then said to Lin Zimao: "Your eldest brother will come back from school and need some time. He is in his first year of graduate school this year."
Just as he finished speaking, a tall young man walked in. He handed a gift box in his hand to the butler and explained a few words. It was a chestnut cake, their dessert for tonight.
He looked at Lin Zimao, whose face was too pale: "Are we there yet?"
Lin Bei said, "He just arrived. Zimao, I still remember that when you left, your elder brother cried and was so angry that he didn't eat for two days."
Lin Zimao quietly looked at this big brother who was a head taller than Lin Bei, feeling quite intimidating.
Lin Zifeng glanced at Lin Bei and said directly to Lin Zimao: "I will take you to your room after dinner."
Lin Zimao nodded: "Okay." He had no impression of anyone here and left Ningcheng when he was just over one year old.
The dinner was quite harmonious and it was like a welcoming banquet.
After dinner, Lin Zifeng took him to the new room as he was told. The overall layout was very similar to the Mediterranean style of the house. The room was spacious and bright, tidy and clean, and the floor was covered with expensive beige carpets. The two large boxes he brought with severely worn surfaces were placed in the middle, like a clown who had accidentally entered an elegant music hall.
Lin Zifeng told him: "If there is anything you don't like, tell the housekeeper."
Lin Zimao nodded: "Yes, thank you, brother."
The housekeeper brought the round-faced cat to Lin Zimao, who thoughtfully gave the cat a fragrant bath. When Lin Zimao took the pepper and salt, it was full of the smell of shampoo, but it was now more wilted than a frosted eggplant.
Pepper and Salt don't like taking baths.
Lin Zimao's face darkened: "Why did you give it a bath? It has just arrived in an unfamiliar environment and will get sick."
The housekeeper said, "Second Young Master, we have never kept a pet at home. Your kitten is too dirty and has so many bacteria on it. I washed it for the health of you and your family. I also applied anthelmintic on it."
Lin Zimao looked at him straight in the eyes and said, "But you should at least ask for my opinion first."
Lin Zifeng took a step back when he saw the cat. He was a little afraid of small animals. “Uncle Luo meant well.”
Lin Zimao raised his eyes and remained silent. He gently scratched Pepper's chin to relieve its tension.
Butler Luo realized that the second young master who had just arrived was a little tough, so he apologized first: "Sorry, second young master, I didn't mean it. Next time I will definitely not act on my own initiative."
When Lin Zifeng and Butler Luo thought Lin Zimao would say "forget it", he said: "I regard Pepper and Salt as a family member. It is very important to me. This will not happen again." After that, Lin Zimao took Pepper and Salt back to the room to rest.
Lin Ziyi, who was standing on the stairwell at some point, took in everything that had just happened. She smiled at Lin Zifeng and asked him, whether she was really unaware or pretending to be unaware, "Brother, second brother came back from Alpha, right? I heard that the people there are of very low quality."
Lin Zifeng acted as if he didn't hear her. He walked around her and went back to his room without saying a word.
In the Interstellar Alliance, planets are divided into five levels. The fifth-magnitude stars at the end are also called garbage stars due to their scarce resources, and Alpha is a fifth-magnitude star.
It was quite tiring to stay on the starship for a week, and to deal with a hypocritical family. Lin Zimao felt a little sleepy after taking a shower, but he still forced himself to reply to a few messages using the communicator.
No matter what the Lin family thought of him, he slept soundly that night, smelling the shampoo on Pepper and Salt's body.
The next morning, he was awakened by the wet rubbing of salt and pepper on his nose.
When I opened my eyes, I was still a little uncomfortable with the first-magnitude sun in the early morning. It was too dazzling.
Butler Luo was holding several sets of new clothes. Today, he put aside his negligent attitude from yesterday and introduced these tailor-made clothes to Lin Zimao one by one. He explained that they had all been washed and could be worn directly, and put them all in his room.
He got up late and everyone else was gone.
Lin Bei didn't go to the company today. After Lin Zimao finished his breakfast, he called him to the study.
Today, when facing Lin Zimao, Lin Bei was less gentle than yesterday, and his tone was more commanding: "I will take you to have dinner with Uncle Jiang and the others tonight. Assistant Fang should have mentioned Jiang Xuan to you."
Lin Zimao said: “I mentioned it.”
Lin Bei said: "Your Uncle Jiang hopes that you will get the marriage certificate soon." He deliberately omitted the part about business marriage.
Lin Zimao played with a Pixiu figurine on Lin Bei's desk, tossing it back and forth: "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Lin Bei was worried that he would drop his antique, so he snatched the Pi Xiu and put it in the drawer.
He thought that it was not them who were anxious, but he was anxious. However, he still pushed the matter onto the other party: "Your Uncle Jiang is a bit superstitious. Jiang Xuan has not been in good health since he was a child. He hopes that you will marry him to bring good luck."
Lin Zimao was given goose bumps by the ancient and superstitious saying of "rushing for happiness". At the same time, he felt a little amused by Lin Bei's poor excuse. He nodded nonchalantly: "Okay, I understand."
Lin Bei was very surprised. He thought Lin Zimao would quarrel with him, but he didn't expect Lin Zimao to be so obedient. He saved the step of persuading him. But the tough threats he had prepared early in the morning were all stuck in his throat.
Just when he thought the matter was easy to resolve, Lin Zimao suddenly asked Lin Bei before leaving the study: "Dad, can you give me some money? I want to buy a decent gift for my fiancé."
Lin Bei: “… As I should.” It seems that this child didn’t call him dad yesterday