When the familiar sight of his bedroom came into view, Yu Wenzhou was filled with utter disbelief.

He wasn’t dead.

’Did Lanlan save me?’

Yu Wenzhou instinctively tried to get up, but the poison hadn’t been fully purged from his system.

Though his mind was reeling with excitement, he could only lie in bed, silently biding his time as he waited for the poison to be completely purged.

The air grew still.

He heard the door to Yu Lan’s room next door open.

The footsteps were heavy—not like Yu Lan’s.

The beautiful little female had a slender figure and walked with an airy lightness.

’Then who could it be?’

Yu Wenzhou’s heart clenched, but the feeling quickly subsided, replaced by a sour, bitter ache.

Huo Zhanting and the others were all Lanlan’s Beast Husbands, and they were incredibly powerful. On the entire Central Star, the safest place had to be the very villa Yu Lan was living in now.

Only a complete fool would try to break into the villa and cause trouble.

So, what he’d heard wasn’t a thief.

’It must be one of Lanlan’s Beast Husbands.’

「At that moment」

「Inside Yu Lan’s bedroom」

Shen Zueran stood silently by the bed, gazing at the sleeping Yu Lan.

With her expressive eyes closed, the beautiful little female’s delicate features became the focus of attention. One could then see that every single part of her was exquisitely beautiful, as if she were the Creator’s favored child.

Shen Zueran’s gaze fell upon Yu Lan’s slightly parted red lips. His dark eyes grew deep and murky, and the hand hanging at his side clenched into a tight, restrained fist.

In the end, he did nothing.

He leaned over, thoughtfully tucking the blanket around Yu Lan.

The sound of the door closing was exceptionally clear in the stillness of the night.

The pride of these favored sons of heaven prevented them from acting inappropriately without the little female’s consent.

In the bedroom next door, Yu Wenzhou let out a quiet sigh of relief from his bed.

「The next second」

He heard Shen Zueran’s departing footsteps pause. His brow furrowed. ’Has he changed his mind?’

But unexpectedly, the sound that followed was his own bedroom door opening.

Shen Zueran stood in the doorway. The usually restrained, cool, and perfectly composed Scientific Research Institute Director offered a rare smile that could actually be considered one of concern.

"How’s your recovery coming along?"

"Can we talk?"

Yu Wenzhou was startled.

He had been lying in bed without making a single sound.

’How did Shen Zueran know I was awake?’

’Is this what it means to be 3S-level?’

Noticing the wariness in Yu Wenzhou’s eyes, Shen Zueran explained,

"Don’t worry, being 3S-level isn’t quite that amazing."

"I just estimated when you would wake up based on the time you took the antidote."

"You gave me the antidote?"

Yu Wenzhou asked, his voice hoarse and strained.

"Why?"

"I’d like to ask you the same thing. Why didn’t you act?"

Shen Zueran stepped forward and stood before Yu Wenzhou’s bed, looking down at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

Seeing his expression, Yu Wenzhou actually laughed.

The pale man’s lips curled into a smirk as he retorted,

"Why do you think?"

"I’m Lanlan’s Beast Husband!"

"A Beast Husband is eternally loyal and would never betray his Female Master. Isn’t that only natural?"

’It’s just as I thought.’

Even though he’d been certain of the answer in his heart, hearing it from Yu Wenzhou’s own lips still sent an unavoidable chill through Shen Zueran.

Yu Wenzhou’s feelings for Yu Lan were so genuine and deep.

He had been there first, and his bond with Yu Lan was the deepest.

’If it weren’t for Yu Lan’s amnesia, would the rest of us have ever stood a chance?’

Shen Zueran’s thin lips pressed together. "Do you know how Lanlan lost her memories?"

"And how did you come to know Belina?"

In response to Shen Zueran’s pointed questions, Yu Wenzhou just shook his head and gave a bitter laugh.

"To be precise, from the very beginning, neither Lanlan nor I ever knew her real identity."

"We made a pact: as soon as she came of age, we would register our marriage, save up, and leave Garbage Star to live on another planet."

"That was until Gu Xingchang came to Garbage Star. Under his governance, the planet developed more and more. Lanlan and I could even attend the government’s public school."

"During one school event, Lanlan unexpectedly came before Gu Xingchang. He was the one who told her about her identity."

"As for the rest..." Yu Wenzhou shook his head. "Lanlan didn’t let me know."

He just waited for a long, long time, but when Yu Lan didn’t return, he decided to go look for her.

After he requested an audience with Gu Deming, it was Gu Deming who pulled the strings and arranged for him to meet Belina. From that point on, he worked under Belina.

"Gu Xingchang told me that I must be patient and endure, that the day of our reunion would eventually come."

"Right now, both Lanlan and I are too weak. There are many people who want to harm us. I could only suppress my longing for her and get close to Belina."

As he spoke, Yu Wenzhou’s voice trailed off.

He had originally thought that by becoming a top interstellar celebrity and earning lots of money, he might be able to protect Lanlan.

But when confronted with true power, he realized how utterly unstoppable it was.

With things as they were, Shen Zueran understood.

’Garbage Star is Gu Deming’s territory. What secret could possibly be kept from him?’

’He probably figured out the truth of Yu Lan’s birth long ago—that she wasn’t the daughter of Queen Belina, but of Marquis Yisha.’

’Perhaps even Lanlan’s amnesia is connected to Gu Deming.’

’But should this truth be revealed now? Publicly, as Queen Belina’s daughter, Yu Lan still has a chance to inherit the throne.’

’If the truth is revealed and she becomes Marquis Yisha’s daughter, a mother-daughter reunion would be a wonderful thing, but would Belina and Louisa let them off the hook?’

’When the previous Queen passed away, was the throne truly passed to Belina?’

At this thought, Shen Zueran couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

「Just then」

There was another knock on Yu Wenzhou’s door.

Huo Zhanting, Su Xingye, and Li Yucheng stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Can we talk?"

Shen Zueran’s gaze flickered between Huo Zhanting’s group and Yu Wenzhou, and he keenly perceived something was up.

’How rare. A moment when even Huo Zhanting has to eat crow.’

Yu Wenzhou nodded. Huo Zhanting, at the head of the group, led Su Xingye and the others into the room. He stood before Yu Wenzhou’s bed for a long moment before speaking in a cold, stiff voice.

"About what happened before, I’m sorry."

"If you need anything, just ask."

When had such a proud, favored son of heaven ever had to admit he was wrong and apologize?

But Yu Wenzhou was different.

He was also one of Yu Lan’s Beast Husbands.

Even if only for the sake of harmony among them, Huo Zhanting couldn’t allow a thorn of resentment to fester in Yu Wenzhou’s heart.

No one understood the power of pillow talk better than they did.

The way Yu Lan treated Yu Wenzhou was so different. The natural familiarity, the silent understanding in their shared glances—it was enough to make the others’ hearts pound with unease.