[Option 3 completed. Acquired Talent: 'Poison Milk King']
[Poison Milk King: When activated, every word you say will have the opposite effect.]
In the dazzling golden train car, Chixia and Lumi stared silently at Lucian and Jinhsi's interlocked hands.
Chixia cautiously said, "Magistrate Jinhsi, as the Magistrate and Lucian's superior, how could you steal him for yourself?"
Though Chixia was only a Patroller, when it came to her love life, she was bold enough to speak up.
She recalled mentioning her intent to marry Lucian to Jinhsi before, only to be rejected. Now she realized Jinhsi had her own motives!
And during the Mt. Firmament gathering, Counselor Changli had said to let Jinhsi decide.
So Changli must've known Jinhsi had feelings for Lucian too!
Damn it, now there was another rival, and one with such a high position as Jinzhou's Magistrate…
What should she do…
Chixia was plunged into distress.
Jinhsi: "…"
She also recalled Chixia's marriage proposal and felt a bit embarrassed.
But as the Magistrate, being with Jinzhou's Intelligence Officer was perfectly normal, right?
Wasn't this just the kind of workplace romance written in novels?
Jinhsi coughed lightly, saying seriously, "The foundation of the world is the nation, the foundation of the nation is the family, and the foundation of the family is oneself."
"The family is the basis of the nation, and the nation is an extension of the family."
"The small family and the great nation resonate together, seek the same spirit, and share the same fate."
"As Jinzhou's Magistrate, besides governing Jinzhou well, I must lead by example and build a happy family."
"This way, I can balance both the small family and the great nation."
Her words left everyone silent.
Lucian hadn't expected Jinhsi to justify her actions so eloquently, but he admitted he had a part in this and chose to stay silent.
Lumi looked on with admiration. Though this was her first time meeting Jinhsi face-to-face, it didn't stop her from idolizing her.
Coming from a humble background with little exposure to the world, Lumi naturally admired someone as articulate as Jinhsi.
The only thing that troubled her was that even the Magistrate liked Mr. Lucian.
If she took Lucian back to Yuezhou, would Magistrate Jinhsi hunt her down citywide?
Chixia muttered, "Sounds so noble… You just want to keep Lucian for yourself."
Jinhsi: "Hm?"
Chixia fell silent, "…"
As the Magistrate, Jinhsi couldn't be so unreasonable, especially since Chixia had proposed to Lucian first.
So Jinhsi explained, "I'm doing this because of Counselor Changli's guidance."
"Under her teachings, I've come to understand many things."
"Because I value the resonance between family life and national destiny, I've chosen to blend these emotions."
"From building a happy family to taking on the responsibility of saving the world—this is how it should be."
Chixia fell silent, realizing she could never outtalk Jinhsi. She decided she needed to team up with others!
With so many rivals, claiming Lucian for herself alone was nearly impossible.
So choosing the right ally was crucial.
First, it couldn't be someone as high-ranking as Magistrate Jinhsi, or she'd be overshadowed.
Second, it couldn't be someone too strong or possessive, like Rover.
At this, Chixia glanced at Lumi, who was a mix of admiration and hesitation.
Lumi was a Lollo Logistics navigator, not far from her own status.
And while Lumi was a Resonator, her strength wasn't great. Her possessiveness wasn't clear yet, but her youthful, radiant appearance suggested it wasn't strong.
With this in mind, Chixia pulled Lumi to the other side of the train car under everyone's puzzled gazes.
Chixia whispered, "Lumi, you like Lucian too, right?"
Lumi panicked. Had Chixia seen through her plan to whisk Lucian away to Yuezhou?
Stammering, she said, "I… I do have some feelings for him… but don't worry! I absolutely won't take Lucian away… Mmph!"
In her panic, Lumi let her plan slip, quickly covering her mouth.
Chixia: "?"
After a moment's pause, Chixia realized Lumi's possessiveness was strong too, but that was fine. Since Lumi was weaker, they could work on that after teaming up.
"Lumi, you misunderstood."
"What I mean is, we can totally team up!"
Lumi: "Huh?"
Chixia continued, "Think about it. Magistrate Jinhsi and Counselor Changli both like Lucian. With our strength and status, we can't compete."
"But as the saying goes, quantity leads to quality."
"If we have enough people, even the two of them won't stand a chance!"
"Lucian's such a flirt—he won't stick to just Jinhsi and Changli."
"When we outnumber them, Lucian won't resist our charm, and we can steal him away!"
Lumi's mother had told her to guard her man and not let others take him, so she still wanted Lucian for herself.
But Chixia's logic made sense. If both the Magistrate and Counselor Changli liked Lucian, she had little chance alone.
Why not team up with Chixia first, steal Lucian together, and then secretly take him to Yuezhou?
Lumi hesitated, "Um…"
"But it's just the two of us. Two against two, we still don't have much of a chance, do we?"
Chixia smirked confidently, "Don't worry. Besides us, we have more allies!"
"Once this dream is over, I'll rally our allies to take Lucian back!"
Lucian, from behind, asked suspiciously, "What are you two whispering about?"
Chixia spun around, grinning nervously, "Nothing, nothing… hehe…"
Lucian: "?"
He eyed the guilty-looking Chixia and admiring Lumi suspiciously.
From Chixia's expression, she was definitely hiding something.
But given Chixia's knowledge, Lucian wasn't too worried about her scheming.
The white cat tumbled around, "Wow! These two are pretty strong!"
Lucian asked, "Can we take on the black cat now?"
The white cat shook its head, "No, no. Though their strength is enough, I haven't reclaimed my access yet."
Lucian smirked, "Buddy, you've got some training to do."